*Tap, tap, tap tap.*

  The four of us stared ahead as the woman tapped her fingers on the table.

  I felt the awkwardness of the situation, and tried my best to make the atmosphere a bit less tense, but I had no idea where to start.

  Stella and I had moved to the other side of the booth with Ichigo and Albert. I'd taken over Black Star's place at the table as we watched the scene unfolding in front of us. Black Star, or Enrico, or Henry, was seated in front of us, nursing a bruised cheek, as he sat across the table next to a stern looking, 30-something woman with curly black hair, who was quietly sipping tea.

  Her aura had calmed down, and I was able to get a read on her now that I wasn't freaking out. Her aura was a calm, tranquil blue with a simmering red and pink underneath. She was clearly very, very angry, and yet had the air of someone who had seen some serious shit.

  And of course, I'd met her during the apocalypse at Refuge Zeta.

  Right before Red Masque gave the order to kill or capture me.

  "Mmrgggh. Pass the soy sauce, please?" Ichigo murmured with her mouth full, pointing at the bottle next to me. She looked at me with an expression of curiosity and concern.

  I slid the bottle across to her and glanced at Albert, who was smiling sheepishly at the woman.

  "Um. Hello there," I said with a nervous smile. "Good to see you again, Arsenal."

  I was still transformed, but I'd recreated my normal appearance.

  The woman gave me a cold stare, her eyes narrowing, and she pursed her lips.

  "Why am I not surprised that when things go to shit tonight, you three are involved?" she said with a sarcastic drawl, looking between Albert, Black Star, and me. "Especially you, pendejo."

  Black Star flushed and scratched the back of his head nervously. "Well, you see..."

  He trailed off, his gaze darting between her and me.

  "You. Do not speak. Boy." she snapped, glaring at him, before looking back at me.

  She glared, and then her face softened as she turned to look at Ichigo, who looked like she was gonna choke on her sushi if she took another bite.

  "Look. I don't have to know where you stashed the Matsudaira girl and who the magical girls that put my muscle on the shitter for the last hour. And I am fairly certain it was you lot and the little shit here who got the her out," she continued, turning to face me. "You did well in saving my stupid little Enrico here back a Refuge Zeta. You are not my enemy, and family is family."

  Her face suddenly hardened.

  "But we do have a problem," she said, pointing her fingers at me, and then Black Star. "And it is a problem I cannot let stand. The schism of the Crimson Order is tearing this city apart. And you two, whether you wanted to or not, played a role in that."

  Black Star winced, and looked away.

  "Yeah. I know, Tia," he sighed.

  "She's your aunt?" Albert asked, looking at him.

  Black Star nodded. "Yeah, uh, technically we're cousins, but we're more like siblings, really."

  "Valentina Rodriguez, though people know me better as Arsenal," she smiled, and shook Albert's hand.

  "Er, good to finally talk to you when we're not running from oversized monsters I guess," Albert smiled, awkwardly.

  "It is. Though, if I may be honest," she said, "if you were not sitting here with my dumbass little dipshit here, I would probably be kicking your ass and twisting your nuts off for tonight."

  She glared at him for a long moment.

  "A smash and grab operation like that isn't Red Masque's style. What the heck is even going on with the Order?" Albert asked.

  "You are aware of the current situation, I take it?" she asked. "Gang leaders and newcomers scrambling to seize territory in Red Masque's absence. Myself included, unfortunately. I was hoping to get some support from my lil bro here and help get things back to normal as Red Masque's right hand woman while he keeps things from going to shit. Instead, what I got was a fucking coup and a civil war as he eats sushi with a bunch of snot-nosed brats."

  I looked at her with wide eyes.

  "You guys are really trying to get him to take Red Masque's place?" I asked.

  "Perhaps. And unfortunately, we do not have Red Masque's access to all his accounts," she replied. "Which, to my knowledge, Enrico here does. Our systems were set up so that if 336 hours go by and Red Masque does not access his systems, biometric ownership passes to Enrico."

  "Look. I don't want that kind of power!" Black Star groaned. "That would mean dealing with the other villains and their stupid bullshit. And way to blow my identity out of the water here!"

  He glared at the girl sitting next to him, who was busy eating a roll with her chopsticks.

  She raised an eyebrow and glanced at him.

  Ichigo practically did a spit take.

  Black Star raised a finger and opened his mouth, then closed it, his face red with anger and frustration, and turned away. "Ugh, fuck it."

  Valentina turned to face us again, and crossed her arms. "As you can see, the little ma is not very keen on being a leader."

  "Well, that's understandable," Stella interjected, looking at Black Star. "It's not like he's really had the best of experiences with your organization."

  Valentina sighhed.

  "Like it or not, he does have a responsibility to the people here. Even if we are criminals, we do have a sense of pride and honor as Red Masque's men. He can't just run away from his responsibilities, especially not now when things have gotten so chaotic. I've been busting my ass to get everyone to calm the fuck down while we figure shit out. It's not easy to be the one trying to hold this all together. He should be helping us, and instead, he's out playing around with you kids," she replied.

  She looked around, glaring at each one of us.

  "I'm not asking for much," she continued. "Just for him to come back and do what's expected of him as a man and a leader. I can do all the heavy lifting. I just need everyone to rally around him and stop being pencil dicked, testosterone-fueled morons."

  She glared at Black Star again. "I don't care if he stays here and eats with you idiots. But if he doesn't want the whole fucking city to burn down in gang violence, then he needs to step up and stop being a brat."

  "Is this seriously about money? Accessing Red Masque's personal accounts?!" Black Star asked.

  "Of course, dipshit. It is about money. Money for the people who depend on the Order for a paycheck, food on the table, and medicine. You think they get healthcare or worker benefits from the fucking state?! They rely on the organization's funds to get by. And without access to the vaults, a lot of the people working for us are hurting," she snapped.

  Black Star's face fell, his expression one of guilt, and I couldn't help but feel bad for him.

  "Still. It's blood money. And you guys just tried to snatch a goddamned girl in the middle of the street. I'm sorry but you are going to have to forgive me if I don't just hand it over," he replied.

  "You know very well we expanded beyond drug money a decade ago," she replied, giving Black Star an angry glare. "Real estate. Construction. Opioids and amphetamines discarded and expanded to the manufacturing of diabetes medication, statins, and antibiotics. Legal services. Food banks. You know all of that."

  He frowned and looked at her, crossing his arms. "Yes. Yes I know."

  She looked down at her cup of tea.

  "We have people who rely on the Order. If it collapses, there will be a power vacuum, and then it's only a matter of time before a rival gang or organization moves in, or some upstart takes control, and the city goes to shit," she explained, looking up at him.

  She put a hand on his shoulder.

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  "You are not Red Masque, you can't do everything he could. But you can help, Enrico," she said.

  She looked over to me and I winced before leaning back into her seat.

  "I mean, sure. You could just let the entire underworld collapse into a war, and then when the Magical Knights come to wipe out whatever is left, I guess they could help then," she shrugged.

  "That's not what I said!" Black Star shouted, his voice raising in volume.

  "I am just saying," she said, her tone level and calm, "you don't want to be a leader. You don't want to step up, take responsibility, and do the right thing, that's okay! Yet you are happy to use your little trust fund to eat sushi, but don't want to help those who are less fortunate than you. Fine. But don't expect us not to look at you with resentment and disgust when we are struggling."

  "I didn't mean it like that," Black Star said, rubbing his temples.

  "Well, that's what you're doing. That's how you are coming across to me, and the rest of the men and women who raised you and are dying because you won't help us," Valentina snapped back. "If you don't want to lead, fine. Let someone else step in, but you are not doing right by the people of this city by keeping Red Masque's secrets to yourself."

  Black Star was silent, his head hanging in shame.

  "Look," she continued, her voice softening slightly, "you can do whatever you want later, Enrico. I just ask that you do the right thing, and help the city in whatever way you can. I'm not asking you to sign over everything to me and for me to take over the family business. I'm asking you to give the men and women who are out there fighting for scraps something to keep them from falling apart. We need something right now. We need you to help us, to give us hope that things won't fall apart. Without you, the whole city falls to pieces, and there is going to be nothing but violence and destruction. You are the heir of Red Masque, you have a duty to this city to do something, if you don't step up and do the right thing, no one will. Do you really want that on your conscience?"

  Black Star sat there in silence for a moment, his face contorted in thought. Then he spoke.

  "What about the Magical Knights?" he asked. "You can't tell me they don't have some sort of plan to deal with the situation here. They have to be planning to do something about the chaos in the city."

  "They, above all others, lost more people in the Cataclysm than any other faction. The only ones who suffered greater casualties were the Heroes Guild," she replied.

  She looked around at us, a serious expression on her face.

  "You guys are all kids. What, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen years old? I know that I can't ask you guys to do too much. But if I could give you just a bit of advice, it would be this - be careful out there. This whole city is on the edge, and it won't be long until something goes down. Be ready to act, be ready to do whatever it takes to keep this place from going to hell, because once it does, there won't be much that can save it. And that includes the Magical Knights."

  She sighed, shaking her head. "I don't mean to be an alarmist, but I don't think the situation can get any worse. And I am not even going to talk about what happens if another of the Fourteen show their ugly mugs in town."

  "The Fourteen?" Ichigo asked, raising an eyebrow. "Who the hell are they?"

  "Ah. It's just a name given to the fourteen most wanted and dangerous supervillains in the world," Stella replied.

  Albert nodded. "Yeah, they're a really big deal. Red Masque's presence was a deterrence from the more psychotic ones coming in to do whatever. I guessed that the knights moved Tesseract and Emberline down here strategically."

  "Yup," Valentina said, nodding in agreement. "But our intelligence posits it is more defensive posturing to keep the academic district safe rather than an offense against the underworld. They're a bit shorthanded right now."

  "And they have to protect their base," Albert said. "So the rest of the city is a bit fucked."

  "Yup."

  The two looked at each other, then back at Black Star, who looked like he was about to cry. He took a deep breath, and looked back up, meeting Valentina's eyes. She held his gaze for a moment, before nodding. Then he spoke again. "So I don't really have a choice here, do I?"

  "No," Valentina said firmly. "No you do not."

  "Alright. Alright," he said. "Fine."

  She looked at him and smiled, and patted his shoulder.

  "But I do have some conditions."

  She raised her eyebrows.

  "Such as?"

  Black Star looked at us and then back to his aunt. He took a deep breath, and spoke.

  "I want you to promise that no matter what happens, we will finish transitioning out of our current business. The people who work for the Crimson Order will be provided for. I don't want any more drug dealing, or human trafficking, or any of that shit. No matter how much we try to justify it with good works, that's the shit Red Masque was doing, and that is not a legacy I want to continue."

  She raised her eyebrows.

  "Arms sales and prostitution are our biggest sources of income."

  He sighed.

  "I know. And there are things like prostitution I'm not so negative on if it's voluntary," he said, running his hand through his hair. "But since everyone's balkanized, that means the different businesses and supply chains have been carved up, and it'll be easier to start shifting them over to a new paradigm, right? I can help. And you can too. And if you want me to take charge, that means you will have to accept some of my decisions."

  She nodded. "That's true, but the money still needs to come in somehow. We can't just turn the tap off and expect things to be fine. It will take time."

  "That's why I'm asking for your help," Black Star said, his eyes narrowing. "We can start with a couple of things. Start shifting the focus from the bad stuff, and start shifting towards more legitimate enterprises. I can do a lot, I know I can. I just need you to help me, to support me. I'm only sixteen, and I know nothing about this business. I'm going to need your help. So let's start small. Let's start by shifting some resources towards things that don't involve killing people. Things like construction, medical research, immigration lawyers. Stuff we've already been doing, but more. Things like that."

  Valentina smiled, and put her hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently as he furrowed his brows.

  "I imagine Voltage ran off with the sex trade and drugs, and you were stuck with the real estate and weapons manufacturing?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

  "He always had his hands on that shit. Especially the drugs, that fucking coke fiend."

  "Then it should be easy to transition out, shouldn't it?" he smiled.

  "You need money to keep the men happy," she replied. "And our tenants are all hurting on cash. If you want the men and women in the organization to follow you, you will need to pay their dues. And you have to make a show of power. Especially with all these rival gangs moving in on your territory."

  "I don't know how to do that," he replied.

  Valentina shrugged.

  "Look. Just be willing to do what it takes. Violence has a certain language that the men speak, and right now you need to make sure you speak that language loud and clear."

  Black Star shook his head and looked at our side.

  "I just. I'm just so sick and tired of this shit. The killing, the fighting, the death, the drugs, all of it. I want out. I want to be free of all this, I want to be my own person."

  "That's why I said to let me do the heavy lifting. I will help you," Valentina said. "You can be the man you want to be, and I'll be the person that makes that possible."

  Black Star sighed.

  "I'll need time to think about all this," he said. "This is a lot of shit you're throwing on my lap. Look, I promise I won't run away flat out, and I'll even help you unlock the funds you need. Just keep me out of public eye."

  Valentina smirked and ruffled his hair. "Good boy."

  I shared a glance with Albert. Black Star seemed conflicted, and I wasn't sure how I felt about all of this.

  Ichigo chewed loudly on the food on the plate, her cheeks puffed out from all the rice she had shoved into her mouth.

  "Mmph?" she asked, her eyes darting between Black Star and Valentina.

  "I agree with him, Valentina," Albert said. "All this talk of murder and killing isn't really helping the situation."

  Valentina snorted. "Boy, I know you aren't one of us. I can tell from your aura. You have a good heart. You are a hero in the making, I can tell. You are all heroes in the making."

  I winced and looked away.

  "But know this. Crime will always exist. There will never be a time where the law isn't needed. There will always be people who will try to take advantage of those who are weaker, who will do anything to gain power, and there will always be those who will stand up to fight them. If crime exists, better it be quiet and organized, rather than a disorganized, chaotic mess that will harm the poor and downtrodden. All of the people that I represent are criminals. We all know that we aren't saints. But Red Masque had rules, and we tried to minimize collateral damage as much as possible."

  The four of us were quiet, processing her words. Albert spoke first.

  "What do you mean?" he asked. "Are you saying that crime is inevitable, so you're just trying to manage it?"

  "Yes. That is exactly what I mean," Valentina replied. "Crime will exist, whether we like it or not. It's an inevitability. The only question is what kind of crime we tolerate and what kind we don't. And the answer to that is that we want the kind that causes the least harm possible. Red Masque understood that, which was why he ran the Order the way he did."

  "I don't understand how you can justify what the Crimson Order does. You guys deal in drugs, weapons, loan sharking, all sorts of terrible things. And you say that it's better because you guys control it, and that it's less harmful?" Albert said.

  "It is less harmful, because it is managed," Valentina said. "We leave profit on the table to avoid destroying our clients."

  "By your own logic," Albert continued, "the only reason you are better than the other criminal organizations is because you're more powerful than they are, and can write the rules. If they were as strong as you were, wouldn't they be able to do the same thing?"

  "In a sense, yes," she said simply. "That is how power works, and why the hand that holds power should be steady like Red Masque's was. But I know you guys are heroes in the making, and I am not trying to convince you otherwise. But this is the truth of the matter - we live in the world as it is, not as we wish it to be."

  "I still don't think you're right," Albert said.

  "And I'm not going to convince you otherwise," she said with a smirk. "Keep your idealism. It is what makes you strong."

  Albert and Stella looked at each other. I could feel their uncertainty and discomfort.

  I was quiet. I didn't want to say anything that might offend the woman in front of us.

  Valentina turned to me and Ichigo. "I am sorry to burden you kids with this."

  She looked back at Albert, and then to Stella.

  "But this is the reality of our world, and I think you need to understand it."

  Stella nodded and looked back to the others, and I did the same. I could see their discomfort in the air.

  "Now, enough with the heavy talk. You kids eat, I've gotta go take care of some things," Valentina said. "Enjoy the meal and the appetizer, courtesy of me."

  With that, she turned to Black Star.

  "You and I are going to have a little chat about you ditching us earlier, boy. I'm going to bring Blackwood and Lysander in too, and we are going to get some things sorted out," she said, picking up her sandal cannon by the entrance and tapping her hand with it.

  Black Star sighed and nodded, cringing away from the overly engineered weapon.

  "Yes ma'am."

  Valentina gave me one last look, and then got up and walked away. Her aura was calm, but there was still a simmering anger beneath the surface. I couldn't tell what she was feeling, but it made me feel a little uncomfortable.

  Ichigo, still stuffing her mouth full of food, watched her leave with narrowed eyes before glancing at the others, and then back at her plate. She looked at the sushi, and then she finally sighed.

  "Ugh, fuck," Ichigo said. "I thought she'd never leave. What the fuck, Sienna. No offense to Stella here, but meeting Matsudaira was a big enough shock. Now a bigshot supervillain has your phone number and is a regular contact? What's next. Osmium Titan is gonna show up for a house call?"

  Stella and Albert both winced and gave each other awkward looks.

  I shrugged and sighed.

  "It's a long story, okay?" I replied. "Just an unlucky week."

  "Ugh. Try an unlucky month," Ichigo groaned. "But, at least I don't feel bad anymore for beating up a few of her guys."

  She sighed, and took another bite of the food, before chewing thoughtfully, and swallowing.

  "You know," she continued. "I wonder if this place serves uni...?"