Quirky Row Chapter 49: Interlude 7

Chapter 49: Interlude 7

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♦Topic: Bounty List Update (Gang: Ronin)
In: Boards ► Quirk Index ► Villain Bios ► Bounty Hunting List 

►Level-Up (Original Poster) (Moderator)
Posted on March 16, 2124:

As of 8:00 AM Eastern Seaboard Time, the bounties for the following villains have been rescinded: Shogo Akuji aka “Raijin,” Kazuo Akuji (no alias), Lee Hamilton aka “Tengu,” and Jyunichi Akuji aka “Katana.”

The Full list of rescinded bounties has been updated HERE. Better luck next time, folks.

(Showing page 1 of 19)

►Get Funky (Bounty Hunter)
Posted on March 16, 2124:

Whoa, wait, what happened? Why are these bounties gone? Did somebody else cash ‘em in?

►Dragnet (Bounty Hunter) (Quirk Groupie)
Posted on March 16, 2124:

Check the location and the reason for why, @Get Funky. The Ronin were a big deal in Stilwater. Until now. Seems like the Saints removed them from the board in a very permanent manner.

►Get Funky (Bounty Hunter)
Posted on March 16, 2124:

Oh. Yeah, that makes sense.

Edit: Just looked up some info. Holy shit, how is this city not a smoldering ruin at this point with all that shit going on in there?!

►Eye-Gone (Quirk Groupie)
Posted on March 16, 2124:

Hot damn! The Saints did it! The Big Three are gone and the city is finally safe!

►Bundle-o-Joy (Quirk Groupie)
Posted on March 16, 2124:

Hey, @Dragnet, didn’t you say you were gonna take a crack at the Saints at some point?

►Dragnet (Bounty Hunter) (Quirk Groupie)
Posted on March 16, 2124:

@Bundle-o-Joy I thought about it, took a look at the shit going on in there, and decided to play it smart. Do you know how many other bounty hunters have tried to hunt bounties in Stilwater? Over a hundred in the last three years. And not a single one cashed anything in. So I’ve stuck to the outskirts of city and been picking off the small fry that have been fleeing the Saints’ purges and catching anybody stupid enough to try and sneak in to carve out a slice of the pie. Not exactly making a lotta money at once, but it’s been pretty steady work this past year.

►Bundle-o-Joy (Quirk Groupie)
Posted on March 16, 2124:

Ah, working smarter, not harder. Smart. And definitely safer.

►Get Funky (Bounty Hunter)
Posted on March 16, 2124:

Bah! That guy is a poser and an old hack! He doesn’t have the cajónes to handle things, but I do! I’ll have a Saint or two wrapped up and delivered to the cops in a week, tops!

►Eye-Gone (Quirk Groupie)
Posted on March 16, 2124:

Salutes the idiot about to go do something foolish We’ll pour one out for ya when your mangled corpse washes up on the beach, @Get Funky.

►Dragon Spark (Verified Mercenary) (Masako PMC)
Posted on March 16, 2124:

Hmm, interesting. This posting has been rather dull so far. I wonder if the boss will allow us to go hunting when our contract in the city is up…

(Showing Page 1 of 19)

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♦Topic: This Week In The News – Saints Take Over Stilwater

In: Boards ► News ► Local ► Gangs

►Stilwater Channel Six Official (Original Poster) (Verified News Outlet)
Posted on March 16, 2124:

In what is being called the Comeback of the Century, the Third Street Saints have done the impossible. Again. In less than a year, the Saints have come back from the brink and eliminated all competition in the city, driving out and eliminating the other gangs. First to fall were the Brotherhood, followed by the Sons of Samedi before Christmas, and finally, as of yesterday, the Ronin have been fully wiped out.

What exactly is the future for Stilwater? And what are the Saints going to do next now that they control over 75% of the city? Will the heroes be able to stop them? Will the Saints work with the police and government officials in taking care of the city? Or is this the beginning of a new reign of terror, one clad in purple? Only time will tell.

Please check out this video of our panel of analysts who are discussing the implications of a single gang controlling a majority of Stilwater’s infrastructure HERE.

(Showing Page 6 of 85)

►Gorgonzolla (Verified Cheesy)
Posted on March 16, 2124:

HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT! IT FINALLY HAPPENED!

►Benny Drill (Quirk Groupie) (Verified Handyman)
Posted on March 16, 2124:

WOOO! PRAISE THE SAINTS!

►Nero-Fight (History Enthusiast)
Posted on March 16, 2124:

YES YES YES YES HOLY SHIT STILWATER IS FREE!!!

►Ravioli-Molly (Quirk Groupie) (Weed Enthusiast)
Posted on March 16, 2124:

YEAH! WOOO! WE’RE GONNA CUT LOOSE TONIGHT!

►Rattlebones (Quirk Groupie) (Verified Doctor)
Posted on March 16, 2124:

Well, if this isn’t an excuse to get blindingly drunk, I dunno what is!

►Flathead Screwdriver (Quirk Groupie) (Know-it-all)
Posted on March 16, 2124:

For those who might be unaware of what’s going on (though I don’t know who could possibly be so out of touch as to not know) word on the street is that the Saints and Ronin had a major throw-down at the Marina yesterday. Apparently, after Shogo/Raijin tried to crash Aisha’s (second) funeral, his father, some bigshot Yakuza guy, tried to kill the Saints in their own base but failed. This resulted in a bloody fight between the remnants of the Ronin and the much stronger Saints. The Saints also took control of and raided several sites that turned out to be Ronin hideouts.

Then, Skunk and Johnny Gat fought and killed Kazuo Akuji, Shogo’s pops, on a yacht that was trying to flee to Hawaii. Apparently the Yakuza are cowards who don’t like fair fights. Who knew?

What does this mean for Stilwater? It means the Saints are gonna be keeping the city safe. Duh. Already, prices for real estate is shooting through the roof with the Big Three gone and stock prices for Ultor have quintupled. Things are starting to look up for once.

►Click That Like Button (Online Influencer)
Posted on March 16, 2124:

I was at the Marina! I was filming a segment for my upcoming Dives of Stilwater video and caught most of the fight on camera! HERE, I’m putting up a link to it. Kinda bloody, so FYI.

►Flathead Screwdriver (Quirk Groupie) (Know-it-all)
Posted on March 16, 2124:

Oh, wow! Are those flipping rocket launchers?! Can’t believe the Ronin had those sorta things! Grenade launchers like what Johnny Gat and Skunk use is one thing, but those are military grade weapons! And they have three of them!

►Benny Drill (Quirk Groupie) (Verified Handyman)
Posted on March 16, 2124:

I’m more worried about the fact Tengu looks like he’s tripping balls on Trigger. That stuff is lethal if taken in large doses. And look at his blood! It’s black! That means he’s been juicing on a crazy amount of the stuff for way too long! Dude was probably not gonna last more than a week, tops, with that poison in his veins.

►Ravioli-Molly (Quirk Groupie) (Weed Enthusiast)
Posted on March 16, 2124:

Who cares about that sorta stuff? Guns and drugs are a part of Stilwater’s ecosystem! Anyways, there’s a lotta parties going on around the city! Gonna go find one that my boyfriend and girlfriend would like to go to. See ya later!

(Showing Page 6 of 85)

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♦Topic: Third Street Saints – Villains or Vigilantes? [THREAD CLOSED BY MODS]

In: Boards ► Discussions ► United States

►BroccoliBoy (Quirk Groupie) (Original Poster)
Posted on March 17, 2124:

I’m not sure how many people know about this, considering what’s been happening is overseas in America, but I know that a few of the news channels here in Japan have been talking non-stop about it.

So, I was just wondering: what is everyone’s opinion on the Third Street Saints? Are they villains, or vigilantes?

I didn’t even know that Stilwater was a thing until last year, when my father’s job had him travel overseas to the city. But I learned a bit about it, and was honestly disturbed by a lot of what I saw.

The Third Street Saints have committed a lot of atrocities, and even killed heroes and members of the local government. They’ve effectively taken over large chunks of the city, and waged a brutal gang war that has shed a lot of blood.

Yet at the same time… the Saints have done good things. They’ve cleaned up the streets, taken care of criminals who were doing truly horrific things, and even disposed of one of our countries own problems, namely a high-ranking member of the Yakuza. Heck, from the digging I did, all of the heroes they did kill were incredibly corrupt, with numerous things being covered up and hidden from the public.

What are the Saints? I just don’t know what to think.

(Showing Page 139 of 143)

►Giddy-Up (Quirk Groupie) (Horse Girl)
Posted on March 17, 2124:

Honestly, I’m conflicted, too. I see a lot of commenters saying they should be arrested and made to face justice, but the problem is there was no justice in Stilwater. If anything, the Saints are vigilantes. They took out villains way worse than themselves.

►FastGlasses2
Posted on March 17, 2124:

@Giddy-Up But they broke the law! That automatically makes them villainous! Even if they tried to do good, it should be done within the confines of law itself! Going outside of it is only asking for trouble an anarchy!

►Giddy-Up (Quirk Groupie) (Horse Girl)
Posted on March 17, 2124:

@FastGlasses2 I find it hard to care, honestly. The Sons of Samedi killed my uncle, and it was the Saints who avenged him and brought his murderer to justice. For that, they will have my respect and gratitude.

►Clearly (Quirk Groupie)
Posted on March 17, 2124:

I’m sorry to hear that, @Giddy-Up. I hope your family is able to find some measure of peace.

►STAINED
Posted on March 17, 2124:

The Saints are false prophets. Though they have my respect for eliminating false heroes, the Saints are betraying the very ideals our society was founded on. Heroes are not supposed to claim territory and rule it like petty warlords.

►Hands For Days (L33T Gamer)
Posted on March 17, 2124:

Uggh, gross. Why are they trying to fix society? They should just tear it all down and start over.

►Clearly (Quirk Groupie)
Posted on March 17, 2124:

Okay, getting a little weird in here.

BTW, @BroccoliBoy, thnx for those ideas for my Quirk. They were actually really helpful! Imma be super sneaky now!

►BroccoliBoy (Quirk Groupie) (Original Poster)
Posted on March 17, 2124:

Uh, yeah, I may have to ask the Admins or Mods to close this thread down. Got a little more heated than I expected it to. And it was no problem, @Clearly. I like analyzing Quirks. Um, @Giddy-Up, did you find any of my suggestions useful?

►Giddy-Up (Quirk Groupie) (Horse Girl)
Posted on March 17, 2124:

Thanks, @Clearly. And yes, we’ve managed to recover a bit. Talking with you and BroccoliBoy has really helped. In more ways than one. @BroccoliBoy Yes, they were all very useful! I’ve gotten so much better at controlling my Quirk!

►Clearly (Quirk Groupie)
Posted on March 17, 2124:

We should totally meet up IRL! Imma DM you two! We can be buddies! Probably should stop talking about this on here, though. Kinda derailing the whole plot.

(Showing Page 139 of 143)

111 &&&&& 111

(Saturday, March 18th, 2124)

“Damn,” Andrea muttered, whistling as she stared at her phone. “This’ll shake things up.”

A video was playing on it, showing a snippet of the battle between the Ronin and the Saints at the Marina. Nobody had managed to get a good view of what happened on Kazuo Akuji’s yacht, but the video did end with the sight of Johnny Gat and Skunk riding a motorcycle onto a ramp and over to the fleeing vessel.

“Andrea, no phones at the table,” Mayor Monica Hughes snapped, glaring across the dining room table at her daughter. It was clear to the college student that her mother’s annoyance came from the fact the video was about the Saints more than anything else.

“Fine,” she sighed, tucking the device into a pocket. “Still, surprised you’re not still in the office right now. I mean, what with the Saints taking over the city and all.”

“I have been discussing things with the Chief of Police, other aides and members of the city’s government, as well as the governor of California, for two whole days since this happened,” Monica stated primly. “I am taking a nice, well-earned break from the bickering and fear mongering.”

“I like Troy’s family. His husband is nice. And his kids are cute,” Andrea said, recalling the time she’d had to hide out in a Saints safe house with the Chief of Police’s family when the Ronin had tried to steal them away as leverage over their loved ones.

“I’m sure,” Monica said, in a clearly disbelieving tone.

“How exactly do you plan on handling things?” Andrea couldn’t help but ask as she dug into her meal.

“The heroes will be granted discretionary powers to arrest anyone suspected of being a Saint, and to investigate and shutdown any business associated with the gang.”

“You’re putting Stilwater under martial law?” Andrea gasped in disbelief.

“No. Much as the Governor may want to do so, he won’t,” Monica replied. “This is as far as we can go.”

“That idea still seems reckless. Lotta people are going to be supporting the Saints right now so memorabilia with their markings are going to be all over the place, and if the heroes try to bully random people without any good, hard evidence of wrongdoings, then you’re looking at a mountain of lawsuits,” Andrea said, immediately pointing out the flaws of the plan.

“It’s the only thing I can do,” the mayor sighed. “There are a lot of powerful people who are concerned about what might happen to the city and want it taken care of, but at the same time, don’t want to risk igniting the powder keg.”

“I don’t really see the problem,” Andrea admitted. “The Saints are way better than any of the other gangs. They keep the hard drugs off the streets, they unionized the pimps and streetwalkers, there’s no more sex trafficking and murder and other crime is way, way down.”

“No matter how much they might be ‘helping’ the city, they are doing so by breaking the laws,” Monica said tersely as she cut into her food. “They must be brought to justice so order can be restored.”

“Seems to me like the Saints are the ones restoring order to Stilwater,” Andrea commented.

“And it seems to me like you are praising the Saints a little bit too much,” Monica said in a curt tone.

“Hey, I’m not the only one who’s seen the good they’ve done for the city! Not to mention it doesn’t take an idiot to see that the Saints do their level best to limit civilian casualties,” Andrea said. “Unlike some heroes. Didn’t… ugh, what was his name? Oh! Right, Stampede, he had a bunch of lawsuits for excessive violence. Blaze-It also burned a bunch of random people by accident whenever he tried to catch villains. A lot like that hot-headed brute in Japan. And Monorail had a whole lot of property damage complaints. Compared to them, the Saints are nowhere near as bad.”

“I thought you were aspiring to be a hero?” Monica uttered, voice dark.

“I am, but that doesn’t mean I can’t learn from the mistakes of my predecessors,” the heroine-in-training pointed out.

“Then why are you praising those low-life scum?” the mayor demanded furiously.

“Look, it’s not like crime is ever going to disappear,” Andrea said with a shake of her head. “So I’d much rather have somebody like the Saints around than anybody else. Better them than bigoted sex traffickers, drug dealing lunatics, and foreign crime elements muscling in on American turf.”

“The Saints are criminals! They’re led by a pair of murderers and they are indoctrinating children into thinking it’s okay to do whatever you want!” Monica shouted.

“The Saints are helping, mom!” Andrea claimed.  

“THEY KILLED YOUR FATHER!” Monica screamed, finally losing control over her temper.

“FUCK THAT GUY!” Andrea shouted back, causing her mother to stagger back in shock.

“Fuck. Him,” Andrea spat out a moment later, quieter but with no less venom in her voice.

“Andrea, you don’t mean that,” Monica eventually tried to reply, but was cut off by her daughter once more.

“Mom, I barely knew him,” Andrea said with a shake of her head. “Or did you forget that I spent maybe a month a year in his presence from the ages of 12 to 18 due his ‘brilliant’ idea to send me off to boarding school?”

“That was for the best,” Monica stated. “The schools in Stilwater were terrible! Still are, honestly.”

“And whose fault was that?” Andrea said in a mocking tone. “The gangs? Nope! It was because dear old dad and his cronies kept dipping into the public education funds!”

She shook her head. “And even then, I hardly ever saw dad when I was here. Or when I was younger. He was always too busy.”

“Your father was doing his best to keep this city from falling apart!” Monica shot back.

“Was he? Because it’s not hard to wonder about what exactly he was doing all day if this was his best,” Andrea said with a scoff.

“So you think you can do a better job than he did?” Monica demanded. “Than what I’m currently doing?”

“Honestly? I couldn’t do worse!” Andrea shot back. “Hell, it’s why I chose to go the heroics route!”

“Your father was a good man!” Monica declared.

“Does a ‘good man’ go through three to five secretaries a year because all of them had to go on ‘maternity leave?’” Andrea asked mockingly.

Monica glared at her daughter, blue sparks flickering around her body at that, and Andrea just folded her arms.

“The only thing I’m grateful to dad for is what he did for me indirectly. I certainly never had to go hungry, like some people. And I always had clothing, an education, and plenty of spending money. But beyond that? He was more like a distant relative you meet once or twice a year for the holidays,” Andrea sighed out. “It would have been even better if the money he spent on me hadn’t been stolen or blood money or the like, but whatever. He’s dead, he can’t hurt us or anybody else anymore, and we have his money. Win-win.”

Monica slammed her hands onto the table, glaring at her daughter. “Get. OUT!”

“I’m going, I’m going,” Andrea sighed, standing up, only pausing long enough to stuff the last of her food into her mouth before departing.

When she was gone, the mayor slumped in her seat, cradling her head in her hands. Why did so many people hate her husband? Why did everyone love the monsters who killed him?

‘One way or another, the Saints are going to pay,’ she vowed silently to herself.

111 &&&&& 111

“Hmmm… the Saints, is it?” a voice that was scratchy with electronic-laced tones muttered to himself as he ‘observed’ the data his agents were feeding him.

Despite lacking eyes and ears, several of the Quirks he had stolen allowed him to perceive the world around him, and right now, he was quite invested in learning everything he could about these new potential assets and variables.

“These no-name thugs managed to tear down three gangs that had, in some form or another, my support,” All for One mused thoughtfully. “Fascinating.”

That they had done so with naught but grit and gumption was very impressive. Their Quirks were not that strong. Aside from the one used by the lieutenant known as ‘Defender,’ most of the Quirks were unappealing to All for One, and others were out-right worthless, like the Saint who could turn into a fish. Not even a shark, he just transformed into a human sized goldfish. Useless!

Yet somehow the Saints had taken over an entire city. Twice! What made the Saints a threat was how these weak Quirks synergized with each other. It was impressive, and had already given the Demon Lord some ideas about combining some of his own collection.

“The charisma of their leaders cannot be understated, either,” All for One drawled to himself. “Fear. Money. Drugs. Unity against those deemed ‘lesser.’ These are all valid methods of control. Yet this villain, this ‘Skunk’ is able to run a gang off of pure charisma, to say nothing of the Quirkless man.”

Johnny Gat was a genuinely terrifying individual. The Quirkless should know their place in the new world order the advent of Quirks had brought. Yet he had a personal kill-count that almost rivaled All for One’s own. It showed that even against a powerful Quirk, a high-caliber bullet could still be a problem.

“Should we do anything about them?” the good doctor inquired as he adjusted the IV drip feeding medicine directly into All for One’s veins.

“Inform Loren that I am requesting his services,” All for One stated after thinking it over. “And let Vogel know he is to keep me abreast of any new developments regarding the Saints.”

“Understood,” the doctor nodded. “I hope the Saints don’t disrupt the Nomu production in Stilwater. They have come up with some fascinating methods of gene-splicing that makes the Nomu 12% more stable.”

“It is good to see that my investment is paying dividends,” All for One agreed.

Stilwater had been one of the few cities in America that had a decently sized population and industrial base that All Might had not managed to clean-up during his decade-long trek across the world, fighting crime and eliminating all of the Demon Lord’s agents he could find.

It had made Stilwater an attractive place to hide certain resources, and while it was annoying several of his long-term assets had been destroyed by the Saints, he still had a few lurking here and there.

“What are you going to do next, Third Street Saints?” All for One wondered. In spite of himself, he was curious, and eager to see what they did next.

Would they continue to oppose him, knowingly or not? Would they join him? He didn’t know, and that was exciting!

111 &&&&& 111

(Monday, March 19th, 2124)

“I’m sorry, I must have misheard you,” Dane Vogel said, making an exaggerated motion of cleaning his left ear out with a pinky finger. “Could you repeat that?”

“Mr. Dexter Jackson, our head of security, has been stealing nuclear waste from the power plant and selling it on the black market,” Eric Gryphon said, his tone completely serious.

“That’s what I thought you said,” Vogel groaned, massaging his forehead in frustration. He wasn’t the only one to have pinched expressions. Kagami, head of the Masako PMC, along with his two lieutenants Ryuto and Sakura, were wearing worried grimaces.

“If this gets out, we will be eaten alive by the media! Our stocks will tank!” Vogel snarled. “And even worse, the feds may send in someone to investigate us!”

That would be very bad, as quite a few of Ultor’s secret projects being researched in the Pyramid skirted the limits of the law, if out-right broke them. Like the Nomu project.

‘Ultor is finished if anyone discovers this!’ Vogel thought to himself, feeling a rare flash of panic surge through him.

“Should we kill him? Bring him in?” Kagami inquired, a note of worry in his voice. Nobody liked dealing with radioactive shit, but it wouldn’t be the first time the Masako PMC had been used to handle something like that.

“He’s a former Saint,” Vogel eventually said. “Make them clean up after one of their own.”

“That’s a very reckless idea,” Eric cautioned his boss.

“I can’t use Ultor’s security, they’re probably compromised with moles loyal to Dex instead of me or the company. They’d tip him off and he’d run. And if I send in the Masako, then everyone will know what is happening,” Vogel replied sternly. “Too many people know I hired the PMC, and if the wrong person learns that I dispatched them against one of Ultor’s own employees? Well, the board of directors may start to get nervous and worry I’ll use the mercs against them next.”

“I dunno, we can be pretty discreet,” Sakura said, her fox tail waving a bit behind her. “Especially with the boss’ Quirk. We can sneak up on this Dexter fellow and cap him or capture him, no sweat.”

“I can’t take that risk,” Vogel snarled. “The Saints, however, are well-known for their anti-authority stance. It wouldn’t be a surprise for them to attack Ultor. More than a few of their lieutenants have made their opinions on me and the company clear on social media as well. Just make sure that any trace of Mr. Jackson’s actions are removed. This cannot be traced back to us!”

“Very well,” Eric sighed heavily. “Do you want me to make the call? Or do you want to tell the Saints yourself?”

“Better we both do it,” Vogel said. “That way, I can use you as a distraction in case I have to run for my life.”

“Your concern for me is touching,” Eric drawled, rolling his eyes.

“Hey, you don’t have to outrun a bear, you just have to outrun your friends,” Vogel joked. “Seriously, though. The Masako will accompany us, of course. Don’t worry. We’ll be safe.”

Eric just sighed again and walked out of his boss’ office. He had work to do, after all.

111 &&&&& 111

He stared at the screen of his smartphone, more specifically, at yet another article extoling the golden days to come for the city. There was more, of course. Reports on the widespread celebrations that still continued on throughout Stilwater, even days after everything had finished, forums and threads debating and discussing what this meant for the citizens of the most crime-infested city in the world, and stores selling Saints branded merchandise. Some bootleg, others official.

After a moment he sighed and put the phone away into a pocket, tired of seeing it all.

Saints this, Saints that. Everyone was talking about them. And why wouldn’t they? The Third Street Saints had done the impossible!

Stilwater had been freed from the iron grip of three gangs, just like it had happened five years ago, but was now back under the control of a single group.

‘How did Playa survive the bomb all those years ago?’ he couldn’t help but wonder. ‘Boy must’ve had the devil’s luck.’

The bomb had been perfect. His Quirk had made it so it’d gone undetected until the last minute. And then again, his Quirk had pushed it to the brink, allowing it to be even more devastating that a single IED should have been.

‘I can’t let things happen like they did last time,’ he decided, and he stood up. He had some planning to do. Perhaps he should reach out to the only other person from the time who hadn’t gone crawling back to the Saints.

It was a longshot… but he had to make the attempt. To protect Stilwater from Playa’s tyranny, he would do whatever he had to do.

111 &&&&& 111

(Tuesday, March 20th, 2124)

“I can’t believe it,” Mink said, staring out the window at the city as she lounged in Playa’s penthouse. She was naked and lying in a king-sized bed with silk sheets bunched up around her.

“Me neither,” Shaundi agreed, walking over to the bed, completely naked as well. She had two cans of energy drinks in her hands, and held one out to her fellow lover. “He was a real beast in the sheets last night.”

Mink rolled her eyes at Shaundi, before accepting the can, popping the tab and guzzling the drink.

“You know what I meant,” she said when the can was empty, and the green-haired Saint laughed.

“Yeah, I do,” Shaundi agreed. “It’s hard to believe that we rescued the city. Again.”

“Hopefully this time we can hold onto it. Keep it safe,” Mink muttered.

“Same,” Shaundi nodded. “Playa probably knows how hard that’s gonna be, though. The heroes are already circling like vultures. Two of our money laundering businesses were already raided yesterday.”

“Explains why he went to the Mission so early this morning,” Mink sighed.

“He’s going to work himself into an early grave at this rate,” Shaundi grumped. “He does more admin work than any other pencil-pushers we employ. And that is something hard to believe.”

“What is? The fact he works harder than anyone else? Or the fact a gang has accountants and people to do paperwork for it?” Mink asked jokingly.

“You do not fuck with the Taxmen,” Shaundi said with a shiver of terror. “Even the Big Three had people make sure every penny was accounted for when tax season rolled around.”

Mink shivered a bit as well. “Yeah, good point.”

When Quirks had first appeared, some villains had thought it would be fine to just stop paying taxes. The IRS took exception to that, and was the first government agency in the United States to hire people with Quirks for the sole purpose of hunting down other people with Quirks trying to avoid paying their due.

It was a little-known fact that most of the first-generation heroes were actually IRS agents who made sure nobody cheated Uncle Sam, and even today, many heroes could be called upon and drafted by the IRS to hunt down tax-dodgers. There was a reason why Numeral, the current Number 3 hero in the United States, was so feared by villains. His Quirk was based around math and numbers, and it let him figure out if any villains were cheating the system. Numerous villains had been arrested because Numeral had used his Quirk to check their math, so to speak.

“So! Not to change the topic or anything, but do you know what the boss’ plan is?” Mink asked, trying not to think of the IRS anymore.

“Nope. He’s kept it close to his chest. Only Johnny knows what he wants to do, and his lips are zipped,” Shaundi replied.

Well, whatever it is, I’m sure Playa knows what he is doing,” the pink-haired shrugged.

“Yeah, totally,” Shaundi agreed. “I mean, it’s Playa! He definitely has a great plan.”

111 &&&&& 111

“This is reckless,” Johnny muttered.

“Yeah, it is,” Playa replied. “But I don’t think there is anything else we can do. Not without giving up everything we’ve worked so hard to achieve.”

The supervillain glanced sideways at his best friend. “You can still back out. Wait out here for me to finish.”

“Not getting rid of me that easy. I’m with ya to the end,” Johnny declared. Playa gave him a grateful nod, and then squared his shoulders.

The two of them were incognito, dressed up as ordinary civilians, as they entered a small mom and pop barbeque restaurant. However, this establishment was not in Stilwater. It was located in the heart of San Franciso.

“Well, well, well, I am surprised to see you show up, to say the least,” Cathleen Bate, or as she was better known, Star and Stripe, the Number 1 Hero of the United States of America, commented, arms folded across her chest as she stared at the two supervillains as they entered the restaurant. There was nobody else in there, save an elderly couple running the kitchens. It was just the hero and two villains meeting face to face.

“And I’m surprised you actually agreed to meet with us,” Playa replied as he took a seat at the table across from the heroine.

“I wanted to get a better look at the men who’ve caused me and my companions so many headaches,” the heroine stated. “And I’ll admit, your request for a private, secret meeting was too curious to pass up.”

“Hmm. Well, whatever the reason, I’m glad you agreed to it,” Playa said as Johnny took up position behind him. “Now, let’s talk business.”

The heroine who many considered to be the equal of All Might in terms of power nodded in agreement.

“Yes, let us do that.”

111 &&& 111

Author's Note: And here we go: the beginning of the end. The final arc involving the Saints and Stilwater.

The story is coming to an end, soon. It will end up going on Hiatus, as I'd like to continue, but due to the lack of interest and engagement, will be putting it aside for now. There's still a dozen more chapters coming up, though, and I will wrap up everything involving Playa.