Dragon's Progeny: Chapter 43

“So what is this place we're going to again?” Taylor asked warily as Lisa turned their car onto another empty street. It was just her and the other girl in the car. The others had decided to take the much more comfortable van to their shared destination, and Taylor wanted to take the opportunity provided by their absence to question her friend in exactly what they were doing.

“It's a place called Somer's Rock.” Lisa explained, “A little dive bar near the slums that cater to people like us. Just don't eat or drink anything except tap water. Actually, don't drink that either. The U.S. health code is a suggestion in this place.”

Taylor ignored her confusing comment in favor of asking another question, “People like us? You mean villains?”

“Villains, vigilantes, even some rogues depending on their stance on the IRS.” Lisa shrugged, “It's not exactly openly advertised, but most people know about it. Even the heroes, but they know better than to show up.”

A bar catering specifically to villains? Taylor knew she should be surprised that something like that existed, but honestly she was running out of charitable thoughts when it came to how this city operated.

“So who is going to be there?”

Lisa winced, “That's the part that you aren't gonna like. It was an open call. Anyone who got it was invited here for a meeting, and anyone is everyone. Literally anyone in the city who isn't an explicit PRT affiliated hero could be there.”

Lisa was right on the money when she said Taylor wouldn't like it. The brunette’s eyes widened in disbelief and anxiety spiked in her chest, “Anyone? You mean all of the gangs are going to be there.”

Lisa nodded, “Most likely. It's a good thing the Merchants are gone now. This is already going to be enough of a cluster fuck without Skidmark trying to pick a fight with anyone with a pulse. Still, I wouldn't bet on things going smoothly. Especially since Yosei was the one who put together this whole shindig in the first place. Apparently she has some sort of big announcement that she thinks will affect everyone.”

“The ABB are the ones who we're all meeting?” Taylor asked in disbelief, “Is this an ambush? Why would she call all the gangs together in one place just to make an announcement?”

“It's definitely not an ambush. Yosei's strong but she's not that strong – I hope – and Somer's Rock is neutral ground. If she wanted to ambush us, she wouldn't do it there. She's a woman of integrity, or at least that's what she wants us to believe.”

“Neutral ground? Do people actually care about that?”

Lisa laughed darkly, “More than you'd think. In a world with roaming bands of murder-hobos and giant monsters that can wipe a city off the map in hours, it's nice to have a place where you can talk things out without expecting a knife in the back. These days, most cities have at least one place where villains can meet without having a sniper perched nearby.”

Lisa had a thoughtful look on her face, “I think the last time one was used here on this scale was when the Teeth got pushed out of the Bay. Places like this are usually used to gather all the top dogs around so that they can deal with threats that might pose an actual concern. The only reason it works is because who breaks the agreed neutrality ruins it for everyone, including themselves. Mutually assured destruction and all that.”

“So you don't think it's a trap?”

Lisa bit her lip, looking unsure “...Let's keep our options open and our eyes on the door. Neutrality or not, that many capes in one place is a recipe for disaster. If things do go south, the five of us should be able to get away while the rest of them work it out between themselves.”

She didn't seem that confident in her words, and as Taylor leaned back in her seat to stare out the window, her mind ran rampant with all of the ways this could easily go wrong and she wondered, not for the first time, how her life had led her to this.

~~~

The bell above the door rang quietly as Taylor entered with the rest of her team. The chime was almost silent, but it was heard clearly by every patron in the bar who turned to gaze at them as they entered.

Lisa hadn’t been lying when she said this place was a hole-in-the-wall establishment. Taylor hadn’t been to many bars in her life, but this one was by far the dirtiest, and least put-together establishment that she had ever had the displeasure of entering. The scent of burnt grease hung in the air and nearly every surface was coated in some form of dust or grime, indicators of owners who had long since stopped caring about how their business was perceived.

It was set up like a normal bar, with booths on the sides along the walls for customers to sit, but the tables had all been pushed together in the center of the room and converted into one large table. Most of the people inside weren’t sitting at that table though, instead choosing to occupy the dirty booths. 

Taylor looked around slowly, taking in the numerous faces that were occupying the dingy bar and recognizing almost every one of them. As a matter of fact, the only people she didn’t recognize was a man wearing a tophat flanked by a cape in a black and red sun-themed costume and another in a similarly colored outfit that was absolutely covered in small pouches and pockets. There was a large red arrow on his chest, though Taylor couldn’t discern if that was just a stylistic choice or a thematic one to fit with his powers. Hopefully she wouldn’t have to find out.

A woman in a welding mask was sitting in a booth near the door, her hands steepled on the table in front of her as her head turned towards the Undersiders as they entered. She was surrounded by several capes of different sizes and shapes. Faultline, Taylor's mind supplied as she walked behind Brian, a mercenary. It looked like Lisa was telling the truth that it wasn't only villains here.

Taylor spotted other familiar faces. People who weren't exactly notorious supervillains but definitely weren't heroes. Uber and Leet had a booth all to themselves and were chatting quietly, while someone who Taylor was pretty sure was Circus was loitering nearby. They clearly weren't there together, few people would willingly associate themselves with Uber and Leet of all people, but they were close enough to give at least the sense of being allies. Likely an idea by Circus to dissuade anybody messing with the only lone cape in here.

Taylor doubted that they would matter at all in the grand scheme of things. Sitting around the table in the center of the room, holding an air of barely-concealed hostility between them, were the real players in the Bay. Or at least two of them.

Kaiser's armor gleamed even in the dirty bar as the man sat atop an iron throne he had seemingly created all on his own. To his right was Hookwolf, the shirtless man gazing at them like his namesake, while on his left was Krieg who was much more composed comparatively.

Sitting across from them was a rail-thin man in a spandex suit that clung to his ribs and made him seem even thinner somehow. A white snake wrapped around the length of his suit, sliding around his waist and sliding up over his chest and shoulders. Coil.

Noticeably absent from this meeting was Yosei or anybody affiliated with the ABB, and as all eyes in the bar followed them, Taylor wondered why she would call them all here if she wasn't even going to show up.

Hookwolf leered at them all from the head table as they approached, and Taylor was reminded all at once that the people in this room were some of the most dangerous people in the city. So far, her interactions with her fellow villains had been limited to the other Undersiders. The stark difference between her teammates and the people sitting around the room was… unsettling.

Taylor pushed her rising anxiety into her swarm, squaring her shoulders putting on a brave face as Hookwolf broke the silence that had shrouded the bar with their entrance.

“Well look who decided to show their faces instead of running away. This city really has gone to hell if dregs like you are crawling out of the woodwork.” Hookwolf sneered at them all.

“It must be an epidemic.” Lisa shot back without pause, quick on the draw as always “I saw three honest-to-god Nazis earlier, can you believe that? You'd think that in the current year people would have a little more sense but I guess you can't really get rid of stupid.”

“Maybe we should put them in the camps.” Alec chimed in from behind, and Taylor knew he was sporting a shit-eating grin underneath his mask, “See how they like it. We could have our own little Nazi zoo.”

Brian sighed in front of Taylor as Hookwolf growled at the blatant jab and went to stand from his chair. Everyone inside the bar tensed noticeably at the man’s hostile action and Taylor was no exception. Her fists clenched at her sides and she was moments away from calling her swarm out of the woodwork and bathing the entire bar in insects for their impending getaway before Lisa elbowed her in the side, giving her a look and shaking her head.

Taylor stared at her for a moment, before sending the insects back to where they had come from, letting them crawl deeper into the cracks and crevices once more as she relaxed. Everyone in the bar watched as Kaiser reached up and placed a calming yet firm hand on Hookwolf’s shoulder, stopping him from doing anything rash.

“Calm yourself, Hookwolf.” Kaiser spoke in a smooth tone, “Don’t allow the lessers to get under your skin. This place is neutral ground for the time being, and we wouldn’t wish to be the ones responsible for changing that.”

Hookwolf’s shoulders tensed as Kaiser touched him, but eventually the man relented with a huff, sitting back down in his chair and turning away from the Undersiders. 

And with that, the tension in the room settled back to something only slightly above murderous intent, which was a fair change in Taylor’s opinion. Now that they weren’t under immediate threat, Brian made his way towards a booth close to the door, and just as they all settled in, the door opened once more.

All eyes turned to the group who entered and immediately, the aggression that had been lost returned in full force as the woman of the hour made her entrance.

Taylor had never seen Yosei in person before, but the moment she laid eyes on her, she could instantly see why the woman had become one of the most feared parahumans in the city in her short tenure as a cape. Even disregarding her immense power, she carried herself with a quiet confidence that few could hope to replicate at their best, and yet she made it seem as effortless as breathing. Even her companions seemed all the more intimidating in her presence.

Yosei was flanked by three people, though Taylor only recognized one. Oni Lee looked as intimidating as usual, with his blood red mask glaring at them all through the eerie silence. His bandolier was stocked full of blinking orbs and rectangular boxes that even Taylor could recognize for what they likely were. The ABB had still had Bakuda's tinkertech.

Beside her, Lisa cursed quietly, “So that tip wasn’t just bullshit. That’s not good.” She muttered, and Taylor gave her a questioning look but she shook her head, mouthing ‘later’ and the brunette nodded, turning her attention back towards the group.

To Yosei’s right was a figure that Taylor had never seen before. They were extremely tall, with their head almost scraping the admittedly-low ceiling above, covered in a dark trencoat that acted more like a cloak than a functional piece of clothing. They were hunched over, long, gangly limbs hanging nearly to their knees, and even though Taylor couldn’t see a single inch of their actual skin, she could tell that they weren’t a normal cape. It was an instinct in the back of her mind, a feeling of uncanny valley that made itself known from the moment that they walked in the door and told her something wasn’t right. They weren’t human.

Comparatively, the man on Yosei’s left looked about as normal as you could imagine. He was decked out in full tactical gear and was carrying a rifle loosely in his hands, but there was an easy expression on his lips underneath his helmet, as if he wasn’t concerned in the slightest that he was walking into a room with some of the most dangerous people in the city. That, combined with the sucker in his mouth, made Taylor think that he wasn’t nearly as dangerous as his compatriots, though she had a feeling that was the intention.

As she stepped into the bar, Yosei’s head slowly moved around the room, taking in the various faces held within, and for the first time Taylor noticed that the woman’s costume was different. It wasn’t the normal robe and half-mask that she remembered seeing all over PHO after the woman’s debut. It was more practical and less ceremonial, clearly made for fighting instead of just presentation. Similarly, her new mask covered the entirety of her face instead of just the upper half, painting her features with the face of a snarling fox.

As Yosei’s head turned towards her, Taylor’s mind immediately flashed back to the woman’s father and the night that had led her to this place. The image of the angry fox glinting in the light brought her back to that night, surrounded by fire and an angry dragon out for her blood, before Yosei looked away once more and she was left with the feelings that image produced.

Taylor wasn’t alone however. The tension in the bar spiked noticeably at Yosei’s entrance, like a simmering pot of water reaching that critical temperature that took it over the edge of boiling, and Taylor shared a look with Lisa who suddenly seemed just as nervous as she was.

Without words, each of them reached a similar conclusion. This could go very badly, very easily.