A Lewd Cultivator in Brockton Bay 57 (Patreon)

A Lewd Cultivator in Brockton Bay

Chapter 57

-VB-

Honestly, I didn’t know why Gesellschaft was trying again. It wasn’t as if they hadn’t tried this right when the Empire fell. It was their meddling that led to the Empire fracturing.

Still, they were trying again and it was my job to make sure they didn’t remain.

It turned out to be harder than I imagined. Not only were most of the Empire remnant gangs skittering around the edges of my usual patrol route in an effort to not draw my attention but they had a network of observers in their territories and without watching for any hero activities.

It was something they had even during the Empire days, but this felt more … premeditated. Almost as if this was the plan given to them by someone else so that Gesellschaft would not lose their footing even before they arrived.

I had a week at most before the European racists came, but I wasn’t sure if I could find our fanatic racist remnants before that time.

The problem with being small hero - and that’s what I was realistically, even if I was the strongest combatant in all of the city (probably) - was that I lacked the resources in times like this that would help me.

What did I know about the Empire Reborn?

-VB-

“You want me to make a bunny.”

It was an odd request, but Alan was asking her. She’d do it, but she was curious as to why he wanted a bunny with such specific abilities.

Alan nodded.

“That can detect powers.”

He nodded again.

“You realize that we’re New Wave, right? We don’t go around finding people’s identities. Not like the IRS at any rate.”

Amy still remembered when Alan told her about the IRS’s plan to collect taxes after the apocalypse if there was one. She still couldn’t get over that fact.

Like … there’s an apocalypse and your priority is to collect taxes?

“I just want a general sense of direction,” he told her. “I got information from a contact that Gesellschaft, Empire’s European ally, will be sending over a few capes to try and cobble the Empire back together. I don’t want that to happen, so I’m going to go and hunt down the remnant gang that is most likely to accept the Gesellschaft capes as their own.”

She grimaced.

She and the Empire was a tricky thing. Yes, they hurt her when they really shouldn’t have. It took Alan running across the city at an unsustainable pace that left his feet mangled. She saw those pictures, even if she never told him that. It was, after all, all over PHO at one point. Them hurting her was what led to the Coalition forming from across the USA and attacking the Empire until it shattered.

Though they were nowhere near as large as they were before, they still lived and that connected them to her. It wasn’t as if they were ever going to forgot who and what led to their downfall.

“I can make one that detects abnormal spatial folds, I think,” she frowned. “But it might give you false positives since there are capes with abilities like Vista’s that warp space.”

“Anything would help. Can it be done today?”

She nodded.

“While I’m working on it, why not go and ask the former Coalition? You know that most of them are pretty much anti-anything related to the Empire.”

He rubbed his chin and looked off into the distance. “Yeah, that might be something I should do. I don’t know any one of them personally, though.”

She smiled as she pulled out her phone. A few taps later, she showed him a PHO group.

He raised an eyebrow, took her phone, and read the name and some descriptions.

“Post-Coalition Meet Up?” he asked.

“Well, it started off with me telling a few of them that I’ll give them some priority healing for taking care of the Empire. It kind of snowballed when other members of the Coalition got involved, and that’s what it ended up as.”

“Huh.”

“I like to think of them as my little guardians to your big guardians.”

“Little guardians, huh?”

“Uh-huh. And my spirit jaguars are Purrdians.”

He cringed at her joke.

“Amelia, no.”

She pouted. “But I already named them all! They’re the Purrangers!”

“No!”

“YES!”

Then they laughed together.

And then cringed together when Olenna began crying from the loud laughter.

-VB-

I took Amelia’s advice and went out of the way to find the members of the Coalition who settled down in the city.

Honestly, I didn’t care if they were indies or grouped; rogues, heroes, or villains; or new or veteran. They helped me and Amelia out by taking care of the Empire, so I always gave them some slack. It wouldn’t last forever, but the more they helped me, the less I’d give a shit as long as they didn’t cross some pretty fucking obvious lines.

But the person I was meeting was above my judgment because he was as strong as I was.

I walked into a club and followed the gesture of the bouncer who recognized me. It wasn’t long until I found myself in a private room, and sitting with a girl in his arm was Vacaneer.

“Rabbit.”

“Vacaneer,” I greeted the burly man. The man who’d led the Coalition to its completion and settled into Brockton Bay was a villain, but despite his occasionally dramatic fights with powerful heroes like Alexandria, he actually didn’t do much. He called himself a villain, but he headed no criminal organization, didn’t do hard drugs, and generally just provided protection for some clubs that did do hard drugs.

“Please. Take a seat.”

I did.

“So, how can I help you?” he asked me while tilting his head over his girl, who giggled and pushed herself up against him. Her scanty dress that barely covered her breasts squished against Vacaneer.

Hers reminded me of Vicky’s, and my girl’s girls were better.

“Location of the Wahrreich’s capes.”

“... Not homes, I hope.”

“No. Their meeting place will do.”

“Alright then,” he hummed as he pulled out his phone. A few taps later, I got a message through the PHO group.

“Just like that? You aren’t going to ask me for any money or favors?”

The girl wrapping herself around him giggled. “If he wanted money, then he would just beat up villains for it.” She then looked up at him. “This guy’s not that smart, is he?”

I snorted as Vacaneer laughed.

“Hey, Rabbit. Mind leaving now?” he said.

When our eyes met, I saw the lust in his eyes, and his gaze drifted down to the girl.

I chuckled as I rose up.

“Sure.”

And I left quickly after that.