Dragon's Progeny: Chapter 44

The bar was completely silent as Yosei’s group strode forward towards the table. Their quiet footsteps were almost deafening as she walked with confidence in spite of being surrounded by so many possible enemies.

She took a seat at the end of the table, staring out at the entire room as her entourage took up places around her. Taylor watched nervously as the woman settled in her seat, looking eerily calm despite the disposition of everyone else in the room.

It was like she didn't even notice them or if she did, she was completely disregarding them all as threats. The Empire didn't appreciate that judging by their increasingly angry posture, and Taylor wondered just how long this ‘neutral ground’ would last. Judging by the way Lisa was glancing at Brian, not very long at all.

Taylor turned her attention back to the table as Yosei finally spoke. Her voice was soft, and yet it carried a certain amount of power that reached the ears of everyone present, “Thank you all for coming. I understand that my inviting you here out of the blue may have been quite forward, but I assure you, you would all prefer to experience today's events in person.”

“You say that, and yet none of us have been informed as to why we were called here in the first place.” Kaiser's tone was smooth as it echoed from his armor. The man wasn't intimidated by the woman before him in the slightest, and everyone knew it, “Normally, when calling a meeting such as this, a subject is brought up well before anybody shows up. We're all here on an act of good faith that the rules of neutrality will be respected, so I trust that this is not some sort of ambush in the making.”

There was an undertone of mockery in his voice and Yosei met it with some of her own, “Believe me, Kaiser, I would notice stoop so low as to break such a sacred rule. Though there are many here who have caught my ire, I assure you that I have no plans to harm anyone within this building.”

“That is very specific phrasing, Yosei.” Coil was the one to speak this time. Despite being by himself, it was clear he belonged at the table just by the attention he immediately received upon speaking, and even Taylor found herself paying more attention to his quiet words, “Would you care to tell us what you really mean?”

“I mean what I said. I will not harm anyone in this building, regardless of what happens during this meeting.” Yosei repeated, not really answering the question, “Now then, if it pleases you all, I would like to get down to the reason for this meeting.”

“Indeed.” Kaiser agreed, “I for one, would like to know why you decided to call a meeting of this magnitude. As far as I know, there are no threats that require the attention of all of us.”

“No there is not.” Yosei agreed, “The reason why I called you here today, and you specifically, Kaiser, is to make a request.”

Kaiser glanced at his subordinates, clearly confused and wary, “That being?”

“The girl you kidnapped.” Yosei said simply, “The one who was rushing to my aid the day your people attacked me in broad daylight. You will free her and return her safely to me.”

Kaiser’s posture tensed with rage and even Krieg scowled at the woman's demand, “Rune was never yours to begin with.” He spat, shocking everyone present, “You poisoned her against our ideals, making her turn her back on her fellow man. I am not going to hand her back to you just so you can turn her against us once more!”

Rune? That's who this was all about? Taylor turned to Lisa, finding the girl staring at the arguing capes with narrowed eyes and pinched lips, a look that Taylor knew meant she was capital ‘T’ Thinking.

“What's going on, Tattletale?” Brian asked before Taylor could, his voice muffled as the voices at the head table steadily grew louder. Lisa didn't respond at first. Her eyes moved between Kaiser and Yosei, seeing something that nobody else present could, and after a moment, her eyes widened and her mouth opened in surprise.

“Tattletale?” Grue repeated. Taylor watched Lisa with growing concern as the girl's gaze darted between Kaiser and Yosei, her mind clearly running a mile a minute behind her eyes.

Just as Taylor went to nudge to try to snap her out of it, she spoke, “Holy shit. He doesn't have her.” She whispered so quietly that Taylor could barely hear her.

Taylor and Brian shared a confused glance, “What?” He asked.

A grin was quickly forming on Lisa's, her eyes sparkling with that chaotic mischief that Taylor had slowly come to associate with the girl as she turned back to them, “He doesn't have her.” She repeated, “Kaiser doesn't have Rune. That's why he's not backing down. He wouldn't give a shit about letting Yosei have Rune if he thought it would prevent a fight, but he can't. He doesn't know where she is.”

Lisa clearly thought the whole thing was hilarious judging by the look on her face, but Taylor was just confused, “What do you mean he doesn't have her? Who does?”

“No clue. Third party maybe? Night and Fog are definitely Empire affiliated but they don't work for Kaiser as far as I can tell. They answer to someone else.” Lisa bit her nail, staring at the head table as the conversation became more heated, “I'll have to do some more research, but what I can tell you for certain is that Kaiser doesn't have Rune, and he really doesn't want that to get out.”

So what did that mean for them? If Kaiser couldn't give Rune back, what was Yosei going to do when she realized that. Taylor wasn't sure she wanted to be here to find out.

“Should we leave?” She asked quietly, ready to unleash her swarm and cover their escape. Lisa immediately shook her head.

“No. We need all the info we can get and mh power works better firsthand. Keep those bugs ready though. We might need to make a quick exit.”

Back at the table, Kaiser stood suddenly, drawing all eyes to him. His posture was laden with anger his shoulders shaking with rage, and Taylor wasn't sure how much of it was real and how much of it was just an act.

The anger in his voice was very real as he addressed Yosei, “Enough! I will not entertain this farce of a negotiation any longer. The Empire far surpasses the ABB in power, both parahuman and normal. Any threats you make are empty, and you must be more arrogant than your father was of you think you are in any position to make demands of my organization!”

“If I may so bold, Yosei,” Coil interrupted the proceedings before things could get too intense, “Why did you make this an open call? This is clearly an issue between your own organization and the Empire's. There is no reason for the rest of us to be here.”

“It is simple. I needed witnesses to Kaiser’s obstinate so that my resulting actions won’t be called into question.” Yosei calmly held out a hand to the man clad in tactical gear. He immediately reached into one of his pouches and handed her a cylindrical black object, “After all I wouldn't put it past the Empire to play the victim for what is about to happen, despite it being their own fault.”

With those threatening words, Yosei flipped the device open, revealing a blinking red button. Everyone present tensed at the sight of the detonator, “Tinkertech.” Lisa hissed, loud enough for everyone to hear, which only made the tension rise further.

Taylor glanced at Oni Lee who was still standing at parade rest behind Yosei, looking utterly unconcerned. Was the detonator connected to the bombs on his vest? Was Yosei planning to blow them all to kingdom come as well as herself, or did she have some sort of escape plan? Either way, there was no way this boded well for anyone present.

Silence reigned in the bar as everyone stared at the tiny device in Yosei's hand, each of them wondering the same thing. What was she planning?

As everyone stared, Yosei slowly brought a hand up to her face and grabbed her mask before, to the shock of everyone present sliding it up and over her face. They all watched in shock as the ABB leader placed her mask on the table in front of her, the soft sound of ceramic meeting wood sounding like a gunshot for how loud it was in the silence of the room.

And as Yosei looked out at them all with her piercing grey eyes, Taylor went stock-still as she recognized the face that had been revealed.

That was the girl that had been at her house a few weeks ago… The one who’s live her dad saved. She was Yosei. Yosei had been at her house. The leader of the ABB knew where she lived.

As Taylor came to terms with this horrific revelation, Yosei spoke again, her features a stoic mask that prevented anybody from getting a read on her true feelings.

“My civilian identity was compromised in the attack on my person, so I see no reason why we cannot speak face-to-face, Kaiser.” She spoke slowly, as if she was giving everyone present the opportunity to digest her words before moving onto the next, “Though I wouldn't dare ask you to unmask to me, please take this as evidence of my seriousness in this matter.”

Though her face gave nothing away, Yosei's eyes were like tiny chips of ice as she stared at the armored man, “I am not asking for much. As a matter of fact, I believe I am being exceptionally lenient in comparison to what I could be asking for. You have taken someone from me, stolen her away against her will. Rune left the Empire of her own intention and had no desire to return, and yet you decided to take it upon yourself to come and rip her from the safety I tried to provide and thrust her back into that world once more.”

Her fists clenched around the detonator, “That is unforgivable, and by all means I should be demanding nothing less than your head on a plate or moving to take it for myself.” She loosened her hold on the device and everyone took a collective breath, “But I have always been a believer that diplomacy should be placed above violence whenever possible. I will give you one chance and one chance only to correct your mistakes...”

“Give. Her. Back.”

Her words were punctuated by a click as she printed the detonator. Kaiser stared at her, not saying a word, before…

“Who exactly do you think you are?” Compared to his fellow gang leader, Kaiser's anger was just as potent and much more apparent.

His voice shook with rage as he spoke, gesturing around at the capes sitting around the bar, “Do you think you can just march in here and make demands of me in front of God and everyone else? Even if I were willing to give her back, the mere gall with which you have acted here has strongly diluted any desire to do so!”

Kaiser clenches his fists, his metal gloves squealing as they bent under the pressure, “This farce of a negotiation is over. You make demands yet offer nothing but empty threats in return. You have done nothing but waste my valuable time and the time of everyone here. As I suspected, you are as brush as your father yet not nearly as impressive. At the very least, he knew his place.”

Yosei closed her eyes, “So that's your answer then?”

Her question hung heavy in the air, sitting above them all like the Sword of Damocles. Kaiser was unwavering in the face of his fear, or at least he put up a brave front, “It is.”

Yosei didn't look surprised in the slightest, “I see… I should have expected as much.”

Yosei's thumb was brought down on the big red button. The detonator beeped and all at once the bar burst into motion. Thick metals walls spread around Kaiser and his men. Circus, in an impressive display of acrobatics, jumped the ten feet between themselves and the nearby bar in an instant, disappearing behind it, while Uber and Leet cowered underneath their table. Faultline and her crew had disappeared behind their largest member who interposed himself between the booth and the incoming blast, though Taylor doubted that would do much of anything.

Curiously, Coil made zero attempt to move away from the incoming blast, looking as utterly unconcerned with the situation as Yosei's own contingent. He shielded his eyes with one hand but other than that, he didn't move from his spot.

Taylor wished she had half of his composure. She jerked back in the booth, accidentally slamming Lisa against the wall as she tried to get away from the explosion she knew was coming. The other girl didn't appreciate it judging by her pained grunt, but Taylor barely heard her over the blood pounding in her ears.

Inky black smoke shot from Brian’s outstretched hands towards Yosei in a massive wave, seeking out the detonator in some vain hope that he could stop the signal that was being sent out, before the world was bathed in white.

A bright flash so blinding that the entire room seemed dark in comparison bled in from the windows of the bar. Everyone present braced themselves for the inevitable bang that followed such a powerful flash, and yet nothing came. They waited, and waited, and when they finally realized that nothing else was coming, only then did they finally open their eyes.

And when they did, it was to be met with a plume of pure white smoke rising into the air, visible all the way on the other side of the city. It didn't look natural which, given the lack of actual explosion left only one explanation.

“That's Empire territory.” Brian said, staring into the distance along with everyone else.

“Once you return to whatever hovel you call home, Kaiser,” Yosei's voice pierced the stunned silence, “You shall find that your stockpiles of ammunition and weaponry have significantly decreased. You would do well to increase your operational security, though given what I suspect will take place over the next several days, I doubt you will have much chance.”

Yosei placed her mask back on her face, smoothing her hair out of the way as she stood from her chair. Her companions gathered around h r on an unseen signal, forming a tight circle, “It pains me to be required to resort to such drastic measures, truly it does, but I'm afraid you left me no choice.”

The shell shriek of metal on metal rang through the bar as Hookwolf’s skin unfolded, hundreds of rotating metal blades and hooks forming around him and taking the form of a large lupine creature standing in the middle of the room. His head scraped the ceiling as his fake fur bristled as the murderous cape stared at Yosei, just waiting for the word from his master to tear the woman and her part to shreds.

“Do you have any idea what you've done!?” Kaiser finally spat, utterly furious at the blatant provocation.

“More than you know.” Yosei said solemnly. Mist rolled off of her skin, like a fog machine was hidden just out of sight behind her back. It slowly spread and thickened, eventually growing to the point that Taylor couldn't even see her or her companions.

“I gave you a chance, Maxwell, never forget that when you lay burning with the remains of your empire. Everything that comes now is solely your fault.”

Hookwolf roared, leaping towards the fog like a dog-shaped buzzsaw and tearing the floor and nearby tables to shreds as he rammed straight into the mist…

And then straight through it. His claws scraped across the ground, leaving deep furrows in the wooden floor as he skidded to a stop mere inches away from busting through the wall. He turned to the fog, snarling and practically snapping at the air as it slowly disappeared.

When the most cleared, Yosei and her companions were completely gone, leaving behind a bar full of shaken parahumans and tense silence.

“Well.” Lisa said, her voice echoing through the silence as she looked at Kaiser, “You're screwed.”