Dragon's Progeny: Chapter 64

Woke up yesterday sick as a dog and my head still feels like it's full of water. I should be posting the Fire and Wind update later today, assuming I can concentrate on anything lol

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Tammi's feet ached slightly as she hovered high above the ground, practically stapled to her longboard as she watched the large crowd of people mingle down below. They were surrounding a large truck loaded to the brim with rations. Bottled water, canned food blankets, all wrapped up in a nice, easy-to-carry package for them all.

There were a couple guards stationed around the plaza, but not many. After all, she was here to keep the peace. She kept a watchful eye out for any issues, keeping an eye on everyone equally as she watched their civilian volunteers unload and hand out the goods. Tensions were high and everyone was on edge, and it was her job to keep things at least semi-civil so that everyone who had a chance to get a ration pack got one.

She didn't have to do this very often, but this was one of their bigger shipments and Spook was busy with the new kids so it fell to her to keep it safe. If something happened and they lost the shipments, then all the goodwill the companies felt towards the gang would just go up in smoke. Things were already tenuous since the companies, mostly non-profits and charities, didn't want to be publicly known as supporters of the ABB; there was no reason to make them back out because they couldn't even keep their product safe.

Of course, the only reason the companies had even been willing to work with them was because of the way their operations had shifted since Leviathan. After the city was decimated, the ABB had more or less gone clean. They were still making money with some lighter drugs and protection rackets and junk, but the brothels and weapon sales had pretty much stopped. There just wasn’t a need to add even more fuel to that fire.

Hiashi was mostly overseeing things in those areas because Yuko was too busy with literally everything else. She still ran the gang ostensibly, but she trusted her people to work without her constant oversight and everyone knew that the moment something went wrong, Hiashi would come running straight to her.

It was a good thing too, because Yuko had been even more busy recently finding a place for their new recruits and, much more importantly in Tammi’s opinion, working with Tattletale to get Kon back.

At least that’s what she assumes they were doing. Tammi knew that Yuko didn’t particularly care for the smarmy blonde, an opinion that both of them shared, and she couldn’t really say any other reason her girlfriend would be working with her besides that. Tammi wasn’t privy to all the details of what they were planning but she trusted Yuko to tell her once they had something concrete figured out. She knew her girlfriend wouldn’t leave her out of it for too long.

Tammi still couldn’t believe that a small fry like Coil had actually managed to snatch the man out from under their noses. She always thought he was just some C-list villain with a bit of money, but apparently he had enough dough to fund not one, but two whole teams of supervillains and he was in good with the PRT. Tammi dreaded to think about how much of a problem he would have turned out to be if Tattletale never gave them the juicy details on his operations. He’d probably be a bigger thorn in their side than the Empire and Agnes combined.

Oh well, they were gone now and soon enough, he would be too. Tammi just hoped she’d get to be there personally when they finally got him back. She missed her friend.

Tammi swooped low over the crowd, making sure they knew that she was still there and watching before soaring back up above the buildings. The reactions to her presence were fun as always. Some people looked at her with fear, others with awe. It was a far cry from what she was used to. She stared at them all, hovering dozens of feet above their head, meeting several eyes in a silent threat to anyone who might cause trouble. Her gaze told them one thing: Behave. Or else.

Many people looked away from her and Tammi smirked before returning to making lazy loops around the crowd. It felt good having that kind of power over people, though she wouldn’t admit it. As Rune, she could barely get most civvies to flinch on a good day. Now people were actually afraid of her and best of all, they listened. JUst another improvement from her life before the ABB.

As Tammi flew higher, cresting the buildings on her longboard, a glint in the corner of her eye caught ehr attention. She glanced in the direction and raised an eyebrow as she saw another figure approaching on a vehicle eerily similar to her own. There was only one person that she knew of who could do that, and he definitely wasn’t welcome anywhere near here.

Tammi angled her board, dashing towards him on an intercept path. Kid Win stopped as he saw her approaching, waiting patiently as she flew up to him. It seemed he wanted to be seen.

“Any particular reason you're flying over our territory, hero?” Tammi asked as she floated up to him, crossing her arms imperiously, “You looking for a fight? We told you to stay out of our borders.”

“No, I’m not here to cause trouble, Herald.” The teen said, raising his hands in surrender. “I’m just here to talk.”

It took a moment to realize that Kid Win was addressing her by her new cape name. She only adopted it recently, and it still felt a bit weird to hear it out of another person’s mouth. Not bad. Just… weird.

“So what are you doing here then?” Tammi didn’t miss a beat. “And please make it quick; I’m kind of busy here if you couldn’t tell.”

Kid Win glanced down at the crowd surrounding the van of rations and a strange expression crossed his face. It wasn’t quite surprise or even shock. Instead it seemed almost… resigned. He looked away quickly and his lips thinned as if he really didn’t want to do this but was being forced to.

“The Director wants to speak with Yosei.” He said stoically, “To discuss a treaty between the ABB and the PRT, if that’s at all possible. I’m just here to deliver the message.”

Tammi hid her shock well but there was still a slight pause in her demeanor. She never thought she’d see the day that the heroes would actually be willing to have anything to do with a gang like the ABB apart from trying to put their members away. 

Tammi glanced down at the crowd, making sure that things were still alright and taking the time to get her thoughts in order before turning her gaze back to Kid Win. “Really now? And what kind of treaty do you think we even have to discuss? We’re the top dogs in the city these days and the PRT is barely even present in the streets anymore. Why would we agree to any demands you have?”

She expected Kid Win to refute her words or even try to deny them, but instead, to her immense shock, he actually nodded. “You’re right. The ABB is the main driving force in the city right now. And that’s why we want to help you.”

“Help us?” Tammi parroted incredulously. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Why the hell would the PRT want to help us?”

Kid Win sighed and his shoulders sagged. He seemed to age five years in a single moment, as if he had been putting on a strong face this entire time and just couldn’t keep it up anymore. The lines on his face, what was visible of it at least, grew deeper as he looked down at the crowd below.

“You didn’t hear it from me, but the way I hear it, the higher ups are wondering whether or not Brockton Bay is even salvageable at this point.” He said quietly. “The city was going downhill way before Leviathan, and your war with the Empire didn’t help anything. It’d take hundreds of millions of dollars and a whole lot of time to try and fix it all. It just isn’t worth it.”

Tammi’s heart sank but she wasn’t surprised. Half the city was rubble at this point. The docks were gone and the Boardwalk was a shell of what it used to be which meant no tourism apart from the ones who wanted to come see what was left of the city that killed Leviathan. Long after that monster’s waves had stopped, the city was still drowning.

“So you want to form some kind of truce to save the city?”

Kid Win nodded. “That’s the gist of it, as far as I can tell. Like you said, the ABB is the main force in the city now. We want your help to keep the city above the water, so to speak. Just in case the government decides to stop rendering aid.”

Tammi mulled over what he said for a long moment. There was a chance that this was a trap but honestly, even if it was, it wasn’t like that would matter much. After her showing against Leviathan, there wasn’t any dispute about her being the strongest cape in the city and the heroes were nothing if not careful. They wouldn’t try to pull a stunt like they had before Leviathan showed up and if they did, everyone knew exactly how that would end for them.

Deciding that there was no harm in at least letting her girlfriend know about the meeting, Tammi nodded. “Alright, I’ll let her know. Where’s the meeting being held?  There isn’t a lot of neutral ground left in the city anymore.”

“I don’t know the specifics. I was just told to give you this.” Kid Win held out a small, blocky cellphone. It didn’t look like tinkertech, but it clearly wasn’t a normal phone either. “That’s a satellite phone. It’ll work pretty much anywhere, even without a cell tower. Just have her call the number already in there and they’ll set things up for you.”

“Useful.” Tammi tucked the phone away into the folds of her coat, and then she and Kid Win just sort of floated there, neither of them really sure what to say.

Tammi took the opportunity to examine the junior hero. Since Leviathan attacked, the amount of unaffiliated capes in the city dwindled to near nothing. Pretty much all of the rogues and solos had been washed away or just left. Uber and Leet, Circus, Parian, and all the other unaffiliated capes were either gone or dead. This was the first time she had seen a cape outside of the ABB or their allies in a while.

And now that she had, it was clear to her that recent events had taken their toll on the teen before her just as much as the rest of the city. She knew that he lost some friends; Gallant and Aegis had been counted among the dead if she remembered correctly, and it was easy to see the loss was hard on him. Tammi hadn’t really interacted with Kid Win outside of battles, but she remembered him being young and full of cheer, a boyscout basically, bright costume and all.

The person she was seeing now was none of that. Kid Win’s armor was dirty and scuffed, clearly lacking the intense upkeep that all Tinkers were known for and he hadn’t smiled once during their conversation. He was quiet and intense, seemingly miles away in his own mind. Tammi wondered what it was like over at the heroes’ camp for someone like him to be reduced to this.

“Hey.” Kid said after a long moment. Tammi inclined her head, showing that she was listening. “You… You’re Rune, right? Or I mean, you were.”

Seeing no harm in the question, Tammi answered honestly. “Yeah, I was. Before Yosei saved me.”

He nodded, staring at her with an unreadable expression. “I like you better this way.”

Tammi smirked. “You aren’t the only one.”

Just then, the squeal of tires on wet pavement broke through the still air. The two capes looked down below, watching as three pickup trucks screamed into the parking lot. There were men standing in the backs, clutching rifles and shotguns to their chests as they leaped off, pointing the weapons at the crowd of civilians and barking orders at them.

“What the hell?” Tammi said, watching as the crowd scattered in the face of the armed men. The ABB soldiers guarding the rations were gunned down before they even had a chance to lift their weapons, falling to the earth in bloody piles as they were riddled with bullets. As the parking lot cleared out, the cab of the leading truck opened and a man stepped out, walking lazily among the armed men.

Tammi’s eyes locked onto him and narrowed. He was a cape, though not one that she’d ever seen before. He was wearing a dark blue bulletproof vest with nothing underneath, seemingly trusting the armor to do its job. His tanned, muscled arms were covered in tattoos and he was sporting fingerless gloves on each of his hands. A simple domino mask did little to actually obscure his identity, leaving his thick brown hair and grinning mouth full of crooked teeth exposed to the world.

The people in the ration truck, realizing what was going on, tried to beat a hasty retreat. They closed the back of the truck and stepped on the gas, trying to get away before things escalated any further. The cape, seemingly expecting this, just laughed. “Where are y’all going? The fun’s just getting started. You don’t want to miss the real party, now do ya?”

His accent was thick and southern, something that you’d expect to hear from someone much further south than Brockton Bay, Massachusetts. He clapped his hands and spread them apart, forming a large bubble of energy in between his palms which he sent flying forth. It landed on the concrete in front of the van as it began to pick up speed and the concrete exploded, bursting upwards with enough force to send the entire thing ass over teakettle.

As the van skidded to a stop, smoking and sputtering as the wheels spun ineffectually, the cape clapped his hands with a wide grin. “Whoo! That’s what I’m talking about! Alright boys, you know what to do. Rob these sons of bitches for all their worth! Imma take care of these rude fellas who thought it would be a good idea to run.”

As the man walked towards the cab of the van to finish off the people inside, Tammi cursed silently. She didn't recognize the cape leading the group but beside her, Kid Win let out a small curse, making her look his way. “That’s Squall. He’s a Crowley.” The hero frowned as he watched the man approach the cab of the van, and Tammi mirrored his expression.

The Crowleys were a branch of the Fallen, a cult of capes and criminals who were actually insane enough to worship the Endbringers. The Crowleys, of course, revered Leviathan, and had shown up in the city less than a week after the monster’s death to avenge their “God”. Their presence was minimal, but growing by the day, especially in ABB territory as they apparently blamed Yuko for Leviathan’s death.

“Fucking assholes. We need those rations.” Tammi angled her board towards the group of me and glanced back at Kid Win. “Hey, you guys wanna help the city, right? Help me take care of this real quick.”

Kid Win seemed torn. He had one hand on his hip where his pistols were hanging, but he made no move to actually draw them. “I have to call this in before I can engage. I’ll get in trouble if I–”

Tammi rolled her eyes, interrupting him with a huff. “Whatever. I’m heading down there. When your bosses give you permission to grow a pair of balls and actually help out, then you’re welcome to join in.” 

Tammi flew towards the interlopers, leaving Kid Win to stew on her words as she moved to fulfill her duties to the ABB. One hand reached into coat, pulling out two shiny black spheres which began to float around her, while the other unholstered the pistol strapped to her hip. The same model as the one she used against Fog all those weeks ago. It fit in her hand with a surety that she didn’t feel back then, and as she disengaged the safety with a flick of her thumb, her resolve was as solid as steel. 

She’d been given a job to do and she was going to do it right. If some idiots had to die for people to realize its a bad idea to mess up a good thing, then she was fine with that.