Chapter 109
[141]
“Following news of yesterday’s attack on both Ryker’s prison and The Raft, the death toll of which is still being counted,” The news anchor began with a solemn tone. “We have received another...disturbing report early this morning. News of the death of noted crime lord, Junichi Kobayakawa, has come to us as his body was found in Shibuya...hanging by a spider web. While this news may come as a relief to some, one can only speculate as to what this means for the near future. Is our city’s hero...a murderer?”
“This is bullshit!” Ryuji slammed his fists on the table in anger. “What the hell is goin’ on!?”
The team was currently gathered at Leblanc in the booths, thankfully Sojiro had decided to close up for the day to allow the kids to hold their meeting. The atmosphere in the normally calm cafe was noticeably darker as the team grieved over the countless deaths that had taken place less than 24 hours ago.
“Calm down Ryuji, nothing will get solved if we only react. We need to think who could do this and why.” Makoto stopped the blond. “There are larger figures at play here than we had at first thought. If we don’t figure out what’s going on now, then we risk playing right into their hands.”
The rest of the team looked down somberly, their thoughts occupied by their immense failure. The only team member not present at the meeting was Futaba who, along with Sojiro, was at home grieving over the death of Wakaba Isshiki. According to the reports, the bomb that had blown up The Raft wasn’t actually a bomb at all, rather it was the result of Wakaba’s powers going out of control and destroying the prison in an explosion comparable to that of a nuclear bomb.
Needless to say, she didn’t make it.
“So what’s our next move?” Ren asked. “We don’t have any leads, we don’t have a motive, is there anything we can even do?”
The group sat silently for another moment, wondering what their next move could be.
“There is.” A voice replied as the bell to the cafe rang. From the front door, a figure dressed in blue walked in. “And honestly, I’m a little offended.” Tokyo’s Detective Queen smirked as she removed her hat. “You never called.”
“N-Naoto?” Ren said in surprise.
“Uhhh, Ren?” Ann asked.
“Right. Guys, this is Naoto Shirogane. She’s a detective who’s been um, helping me out. I guess you guys never really met before.” He said, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.
“There’s no need to introduce yourselves, I already know all of your names.” Naoto said before turning her eyes toward the door. “Um, but I have some people I’d like to introduce you all to.” She opened the cafe door and a group of strangers in their twenties walked in. The two groups gave each other a strange look just before-
“Holy shit! Risette!?” Ryuji exclaimed.
Sure enough, the last of the group to enter was the celebrity singer and previous Spider-Man’s widow, Rise Kujikawa. The team gaped in awe as the woman entered the cafe, however the celebrity’s usual smile was instead replaced with a grim look as she gazed down at them.
“Um, h-hello.” Ren stood up, greeting her awkwardly. ‘Oh god I’m not ready for this.’ He thought quietly.
“So,” Rise turned to Naoto. “Him?”
“Yeah.” Naoto looked down. “Him.”
Rise turned back to Ren before walking over to him. Even though she stood nearly a foot shorter than him, the superpowered teen felt terrified by the woman in front of him, as if her mere gaze could crush him.
“This isn’t how I wanted you to meet.” Naoto spoke up, somewhat breaking the tension. “I wanted to speak to you first, get your thoughts on it.” She looked down, gripping her forearm. “But yesterday’s events...changed things. We need to act now if we’re going to stop the man behind all of this. We don’t have time for secrets.”
“The man behind this?” Ren turned to the detective. “Naoto, do you know who’s responsible for the attack on The Raft?”
“Not just The Raft.” Rise interrupted. “Everything. The gang wars, the advanced technology...the attack on Shibuya.” A grimace crossed her face.
“Then quit holdin’ out on us!” Ryuji stood up angrily, marching over to Rise. “”Tell us the bastard’s name already and we’ll hunt him down right now!”
“Hey, calm down kid!” A large blond man with several piercings and a scar on his forehead stepped in between them, pushing Ryuji back. “If you tried that you’d be gunned down before you even knew what hit you.”
“Hey man! Don’t fuckin’ tell me what to do!” Ryuji pushed back. “I’m a helluva lot stronger than you think! Want me to show you?” His eyes flashed white and his teeth sharpened.
“RYUJI!” Makoto grabbed the younger blond and pulled him away from the man. “Calm. Down.”
“S-Sorry…” Ryuji shook his head, returning to normal. “I...I’m not sure what just happened.”
“It’s fine.” Rise assured him, turning back to Ren. “As for who’s responsible, just take a look at the news.” She pointed to the TV screen where footage of a live speech was playing.
The one conducting the speech was none other than Masayoshi Shido.
Across the city, in front of the Shinjuku police station, Shido addressed the public in regards to the attack on the prisons yesterday. With criminals and villains running free on the streets, the public wanted assurance that they would be safe. And clearly the police weren’t enough to deal with a danger this big.
“We realize that the threat posed to the city is unprecedented. We have never experienced an attack on this scale before and frankly, we are in dire need of a new, more efficient system of enforcing the law and protecting our citizens.” Shido looked across the crowd’s anxious faces before turning offstage and nodding to one of his employees.
“It is for this reason that Shido Sciences has come to an agreement with the Tokyo Police to help better equip them for the challenges that they may face in the coming days. So please allow me to present to you, the future of Tokyo law enforcement!”
To the right of the stage, a curtain rose, revealing a group of men dressed in armor that looked far more advanced than standard police gear. With white helmets that covered their faces and grey bulletproof vests that were lined with technology, the appearance of the figures looked as if they were pulled straight from a work of science fiction.
“The Silver Sentry armor. With this, our officers will be safer than ever. Equipped with rifles powerful enough to bring down a charging rhino and armor strong enough to resist said rifle, they will be more than prepared to bring down any criminals who resist arrest.”
Next, to the stage’s left, a second curtain rose. Behind it, a group of glistening chrome figures stood 7 feet tall. Clearly, based on their size and shape, the figures weren’t human and couldn’t fit a human body. These were robots, created for combat and equipped with a variety of weapons.
“The Silver Centurions. Thanks to Shido Sciences’ cooperation with Madicce these androids are equipped with the latest AI technology and are able to function in tandem with police officers to assist in the apprehension of dangerous metahuman criminals.” Shido smiled proudly as he turned back to the crowd.
“But I realize what you must be thinking, you don’t put your faith in guns or robots. You want to place your faith in people. And so, I present to you, leading this new force of technologically advanced peacekeepers, she boasts a truly impressive track record and years of experience in the field.” As Shido spoke, a woman with silver hair walked onto the stage, stepping toward the podium.
“Ladies and gentleman, Ms. Sae Niijima.” The CEO stepped aside, applauding the woman as she took the podium in his stead.
“Thank you Director Shido.” Sae gave a small bow to him before turning to address the audience, a serious expression on her face. “My name is Sae Niijima, though some of you may know me by the moniker given to me by the media, Silver Sable. I am the Head of Security at Shido Sciences and look forward to serving you all. You have my word, I will do everything in my power to protect all of you and bring any criminals in this city to justice, including those who falsely claim the title of hero. Unlike others who claim to be heroes but hide behind masks and false names, I will not cower away from responsibility. On that,” Sae turned toward the camera and glared.
“You have my word.”
[Bonus]
“Geez.” One of the guards patrolling the prison turned toward the cell in front of him, seeing the boy lying quietly in the bed. “The criminals keep getting younger and younger. A damn shame.”
After the destruction of the prisons the previous day, criminals who were still being processed were being sent to smaller prisons around the country. This one in particular had received nearly 30 prisoners in under a day, including the young man in the cell.
As the guard walked off, whistling softly to himself, he didn’t hear the boy quietly muttering to himself.
“It’s okay little ones.” He spoke as he looked down at his hands, small specks of black liquid writhing beneath his fingernails. “You must be hungry. Don’t worry, I’ll feed you.” The boy dragged his fingers across the concrete wall, leaving small trails of blood on the wall. Once he finished, he raised his hands to the blood trails and allowed the black specks to begin absorbing them.
“Soon, we’ll be whole again. A family. And then we can begin wreaking such wonderful…” He paused for a moment before a sadistic grin crossed his face.
“Carnage.”