Gacha God: Shinies (ch. 28) (Patreon)

As it would turn out, it was a lot harder investigating the gangsters in Harlem than it was the Russians simply on account of the fact that I was extremely white. So, trying to blend in with a crowd of people… well, I was the one white spot, so I stood out. Which left me investigating the gang either with Ned's help or invisible thanks to my latest item. It was the same beat that we went through with the Russians -- I was boots on the ground, giving names and Ned was tracking them online. Which was shockingly easy. Turns out criminals posted about their crimes on social media.

The fact that the cops still couldn't catch these guys was nothing less than absurd.

In any case, it was how I found myself sitting in some rafters in a club called Harlem's Paradise. In the past week that I had been scoping it out, I saw that it played a wide variety of music -- some smooth jazz, some rap, but all of it had soul. The club itself was run by Cornell Stokes, a lifetime criminal. According to the streets, his mother ran Harlem before him and he ran the streets now. There were plenty of street gangs in Harlem, but the Stokes family were the big dogs in the pen.

They got the best street corners, the best trade deals, and the money flowed through their fingers. Everyone else got the scraps that they didn't want or couldn't be bothered to take.

"Oh, look at that," I muttered, seeing Cottonmouth meeting with his sister -- Mariah Dillard, formerly Mariah Stokes. Something that she did a good job of hushing up, but not good enough to stop Ned from finding out. She was on the city council. I genuinely had no idea that New York had a city council, and I didn't know what they did, but what I did know was that Cottonmouth was funneling money to Mariah. At first, I thought, to clean it, but it turned out that he was funding her Harlem Renaissance thing.

The two were meeting in his office, which I had bugged, letting me hear what was said as I snapped photos. "I don't trust it, Cornell," Mariah said, her voice terse.

"I wouldn't bring it to you unless you couldn't. This fat ass? He's a damn whale. Plenty of him for us all to eat well," Cottonmouth remarked, seated in a chair with a biggie smalls painting behind him. "You wanted to know why I could kick twice the amount of money to you? Because I'm making three times as much. He's got the Chinese, Yakuza, fuckin' Tracksuit Mafia working together, making money hand over fist. Whole damn city opened up."

Oh, the kingpin! I did love a criminal conspiracy. That wasn't really news to me. I already knew that much. Just as I knew that the Salone family was rapidly gaining power and influence in other boroughs. Interestingly enough, they took over the pieces that the Russians had once held.

"That's exactly why I don't trust it. It's bad enough that I'm using your money, but at least you're family. Taking money from the mob?" Marishia said, a look on her face that told everyone who saw it what she thought of that.

"Ain't like that. They have clean money. A lot of it. They're running it up into a corporation -- real estate. Someone I know you know," Cottonmouth informed, letting that sit in for a moment. "Union Allied Construction-"

That got a reaction out of Mariah. And me as I scribbled a little note, listening with half and ear.

"But they're-"

"The biggest developer in New York? Damn straight," Cottonmouth finished for her. "Don't know how much is dirty and how much is clean, but we're seated at the high table now. The right word to the right people? That Harlem Renaissance stops looking like a far off dream and more like an inevitability." Cottonmouth sounded proud of himself for it too. I had been watching him closely, mostly to make it easier to map out his organization -- I think he actually did care about Harlem. In his own way.

Mariah sensed it too, "And you?"

"I'll cut myself a fat slice of the pie. There's always going to be dirty business done on these streets, no matter how clean they get. Some young thugs looking to make a quick buck. That side of the business will be handed off while I go legit. Safer that way. For you, Kingpin, and me." Cottonmouth scratched at his thin mustache, meeting Mariah's gaze. "So, shall I set up the meeting?"

There was a telling pause, "And what does he want me to do?"

"Nothing you aren't already doing, except for voting for something he asks you to," Cottonmouth stated, sounding like he believed that much. "He doesn't need more than that. I'm not lying to you, Mariah. This whale? He has the keys to the gates. People find out about the connection? Shit, they can't say nothing. He can't go down without taking half the city and the police with him." That sounded exciting~! I couldn't wait. I could practically see it now -- working my way up the chain of command, puzzling out his connections, piecing together the clues to his identity.

Then a confrontation. I could give a fuck if taking him down brought down half of the city along with him. I could, but I wouldn't. That was icing on the cake, honestly.

I could see that Mariah had already taken the bait, but hadn't swallowed the hook yet. She was chewing on it, knowing better, but I could see the greed in her eyes. "If you trust him, then set up the meeting. But I want promises, Cornell. Promises. None of that bullshit of maybe finding money in the budget or any of that nonsense. I want a solid commitment to rebuilding Harlem the way it should be."

To that, Cottonmouth laughed in agreement.

Lowering the camera, I decided that was enough for today and as if to agree with me, my phone vibrates. Fishing it out of my pocket, I pressed it to my ear, "What's up?"

"We found vibranium!" Peter's voice filtered through the speaker, colored by nothing less than pure relief. I'm not sure Steve Rogers cared as much about his shield as Ned and Peter did. "The sensors worked and we managed to find some vibranium. Well, a lot of vibranium. A whole lot. More than we know what to do with, honestly." Peter rattled off and that caught my attention. Vibranium was rare. Not just on Earth, but in the whole wide universe. The amount that went into Captain America's shield was double the amount that could be found in some galaxies.

"How much are we talking about here?" I asked, tucking my camera away and floating down from the rafters, down to the door leading to the kitchen. It opened and closed frequently, so I wouldn't have to wait long for a chance to slip through.

"Well, there's some little amounts around -- mostly in London, in museums. There's a whole lot of it on a ship though? Like, actual tons of it. The ship got beached a long time ago, but on back channels, according to Ned, some guy called Ulysses Klaue operates from it. He's an arms dealer." Peter informed me, and that brought me up short as I slipped through the door when a waiter stepped through it.

Tons of vibranium? That was… actually kind of insane. What could I do with that much vibranium?

However, then my thoughts paused. "The vibranium in the museums. Is it enough to make my regalia?" I asked, my gaze sweeping over the kitchen to see a half dozen people working and joking around. There was an idea kicking around in my noggin. Fighting arms dealers for tons of vibranium sounded cool, but I had an idea for something more fun.

"Yeah, should be plenty… why?" Peter asked, suddenly cautious.

"I want to plunder a museum. It's always pissed me off how the UK keeps getting away with showing off all the cool shit that they stole while I can't," I told him and I could hear Peter getting a headache. "So, we nick everything. All the paintings, all the artifacts… then we can ship them off to their rightful owners while we keep the vibranium."

Peter paused, "It is kind of messed up… did you know that the UK has been refusing to give the stuff back for years now? I mean, I kind of get it when it was back in the day, but now…" he was quickly wrapping his head around the idea.

And I had a better one. Who better to help us with this heist than a renowned thief?

"I'll call Black Cat and start workshopping the idea. Shouldn't be any issue," I told him, earning a confirmation from Peter before I ended the call. However, as I ended the call, I heard a 'Kobe!' a split second before a tag hit me in the side of the head. A wet one. First of all -- gross. Second of all, I felt the hood tug down. And based on the immediate reaction, I knew I had been revealed.

"What the fuck was that shot?" I questioned, glancing at the hamper that the rag should have gone in. It was damn right impressive that he managed to miss that shot so much. Didn't even come close. I really hadn’t seen this coming, I reflected as I met the gazes of the various workers. Including a huge guy with a thin goatee and a clean shaven head. The rest couldn't move on from their shock, but the big guy started frowning.

Luke, I recalled. Luke Cage. I think. He sometimes worked the bar.

"You- you're that guy. From the video in Italy," he seemed to realize. I wasn't wearing my mask. A stupid thing in hindsight but… well… I was invisible. Why would I sit there for hours on end with an uncomfortable mask on when no one could see me in the first place? It seemed stupid. Until now, I suppose.

I frowned at him, not quite sure what to say. "Um… no I'm not," I boldly declared before I flipped the hood up, startling everyone when I suddenly vanished. Then I proceeded to get the fuck out of there before their shock could wear off. It didn't take long because I heard the commotion as I left the club, entering a back alley and flying up away.

Well… I'm sure that wouldn't cause me any unforeseen problems.

…

"... Do you even understand the concept of laying low?" Felicia asked me as I floated the idea to her as I walked around the museum that I intended to plunder. It was a pretty big one, honestly. The colonial powers were major league shit lords, but they sure knew how to plunder -- I would give them that. All it took was a quick portal over to London and an admission ticket. "The entire world is looking for you -- You just fought one of the Avengers, and your first instinct is to rob a museum?"

"Plunder," I corrected, looking at some quality artifacts. I was in the Africa section. The British Empire had looted so much that the artifacts and treasures they stole had to be decided up by landmass. "Heist implies taking one thing. Or a lot of one thing. Plunder implies taking everything that's not nailed down."

"You do see my point?" Felicia questioned, sounding amused despite herself.

"I do. I just don't find it particularly compelling. So, you in?" I asked her, coming to a stop in front of the items I would be keeping myself. The fucking audacity of it -- to display all the shit you stole then mark it with little notes that told you who, when, and where you stole it from… I should steal that idea, I decided, looking at a couple of rusted looking weapons. It would be easy to mistake them for simple iron weapons.

But, sure enough, under that orange rust was vibranium.

"What's in it for me?" Felicia questioned, and I already knew her answer. She was in.

"Pick of the lot?" I offered, striding past the vibranium weapons to see some war masks. They looked cool. From… Wakanda? What the hell was a Wakanda? Google should know… and… it was a very minor nation in Africa -- who, interestingly enough, was never conquered by the British. Interesting. Quite a feat considering that the rest of Africa was treated as a piggy bank for the empire. "And don't pretend you aren't already scrolling to see what you want "

That got me a warm chuckle, "I have my eye on a few things. I do trust that you have a way to transport all of this? And a plan?" And, in response to that, my gaze landed on a slip of paper tucked underneath the mask display with a sticker marking it. A symbol caught my eye, and when I unfolded the sheet of paper, I saw that I did, in fact, have a plan.

"Sure do," I confirmed, looking over the passcodes, security guard patrols, and so on. The one thing that stood out was a latitude and longitude marking that had 'weird gravity shit' written next to it in my handwriting. A quick Google search revealed that it was near an abandoned warehouse. "So, are you in?" I questioned again, feeling excited when I saw the recommended things to bring -- wine, food, and a checkered blanket. A picnic in a museum that we would be plundering.

That wasn't a bad first date.

"This is a terrible idea. How could I say no?" Felicia replied, a laugh in her voice. "I'll see you tonight then," she decided, ending the call. I allowed myself a small fist pump before I tucked the sheet of paper into a pocket.

I felt like I was walking on cloud nine as I left the museum, my attention drawn to the 'weird shit' Future Me had remarked on. With my hands in my pockets, I began to make my way down to the weird shit, but as I was on my way, I ended up getting another call from Peter.

"Hey, Sebastian? Um… you know how I've been working on a side project?" Peter began, and I genuinely had no idea what he was talking about. Peter didn't have one side project. He had dozens, and he was working on about ten of them at any one time. I followed Ned's recommendation to not bother trying to keep up with them simply because Peter didn't know what he was working on half the time.

"For the sake of the conversation, sure, I do. What's up?" I asked him, making my way down to the abandoned warehouse. Luckily enough, it was a quick trolly ride down that way.

"... I need another cup of the Divine Water," Peter hesitated to say, and that caught me flatfooted. I expected him to ask to borrow some vibranium, not ask for another cup. Peter hadn't handled the first particularly well. "I had a breakthrough in the side project, but for it to actually work, I need to make DNA malleable. And that means…"

I paused for a moment, "If you want another cup, then I'm not going to stop you, Peter. That's your call. You went through it once already. You know what you're getting yourself into because the second cup isn't easier than the first." I warned him, wondering what the hell he was working on that needed a second cup. Peter had screamed for hours on end the first time, his voice going hoarse and breaking before the halfway mark. I drank the water because pain was just pain. I wasn't normal. Peter, for all of his intelligence, was a normal teenager. "Are you sure you want to, though?"

There was a long pause. Long enough for me to arrive at my destination -- I was greeted by the stench of fish, salt, and mold. However, as soon as I approached, I felt it.

Power.

Like a hum in the air, like static electricity waiting for a chance to be unleashed. I heard kids laughing off in the distance, inside of the building and through a window I saw them tossing a bottle down the staircase. Only for the bottle to fall again from above them instead of crashing on the ground.

Weird shit indeed.

"No, not really," Peter admitted after the long pause. "I've been trying to think of another way to do it without the water, but it's… it might work, against what I know will work, you know?" Peter told me as I explored the area, feeling the power wash over me in waves. This was magic. A natural kind rather than manufactured.

"It's your call. Just don't do it until either Ned or I can watch over you, alright? Actually, it'd be better if I did. I'm not sure Ned could handle it," I admitted. Ned was a solid guy. A great friend. But it was a tall ask to have him watch over a friend in incredible pain, screaming his head off, and be unable to do anything.

"Thanks, Sebastian. You… aren't going to ask what it's for?" He questioned, sounding like he had been prepared to defend the decision.

"Nah, I'll find out-" I started, only to hear static fill my ear. I might have questioned why that was if it wasn't for the fact my surroundings completely changed. The old parking lot of an abandoned building was gone, replaced with… I'm note entirely certain beyond that it was dark and everything was made out of black stone.

"Okay. Weird," I muttered, more curious than alarmed as my gaze settled on the line source of light. It emerged from a pillar of black stone at the center of this nifty pocket dimension, a small gap in the center that told me that the pillar wasn't a singular whole. Stepping forward on a walkway, I approached the light and felt the hum of power grow stronger. Peeking into the space between the pillar, I saw-

My head flinched back when the red ooze jumped at me, seeking escape. I threw up a hand to block it, only to feel it skipping into my pores- "Ew! Ew, ew, ew! Fucking gross! Get out of me!" I commanded the red sludge, making it pause as it was halfway done flooding through my body. With shocking obedience, the red sludge began to leave me, condensing into a singular point.

A red jewel hovered in the air -- it was pretty big. About the size of a golf ball. Then it promptly plopped into my waiting palm, letting me inspect it. "Oh," I muttered, feeling the hum of power coming from it as I pinched it between two fingers. What was it? A jewel, obviously. And a powerful one. But why was it here, locked away? I had a number of questions, but the most important fact of all was…

"Shiny."