With no actual plan other than "walk around in gangster suits" and "hope they all start attacking", the Squad - Verness and Odette excluded - were leisurely walking around the city as a whole, hoping that the villains would attack them one by one.
"... and then he kisses the girl," Giichi begins to explain as they walk along. Holding a bottle of soda, talking about this one show she watched. "And then like the evil jerk he is, he tells the girl, 'You thought your first kiss would be with Joke, but it was I, Dog!' Pointing his thumb at himself like... this."
"... I- I feel like those names are wrong-" Caspian objects, almost offended at this.
"Yeah, but... copyright law," Quade responds, idly tilting his head from side to side. Continuing to remain disguised as the gangster whose name is starting to fade from memory.
Caspian- blinks under his visor, staring at the gangster. "Copyright law? For saying a buncha names?!"
"Mhmm. Who knows? Sayin' those copyrighted names in public could be a problem. Say that we were being tailed by some guy writing 'bout us. Could be enough to raise some legal trouble if not careful."
"C... Could someone just say 'Starveil City' and get in trouble?" Caspian asks, continuing to stare at Quade in disbelief, Tugging the collar of his suit's shirt, visibly tense.
"No, no, Starveil City's fine, but take the girl's soda here," Quade begins to explain, holding the bottle of soda for a moment. "If we asked someone if we needed a bottle opener to open a bottle of... this brand, it could be possible to sue if she then spat out the soda and called it the worst soda she's ever had."
"That... why do I hate that?" Caspian asks, hand held to the side of his head.
"Well, because that sucks if it's true!" Giichi exclaims, looking to Quade holding the bottle. "I don't want people to get sued just for saying Starveil, or just talking about soda! That's... that's-"
Immediately, a bullet shoots out from an alleyway, aimed straight at the side of Giichi's head. The sound of the gunshot interrupting her speech completely, the girl slowly turning to face the bullet floating in the middle of the air.
Rosemary shot out of Giichi's body to hold the bullet, the gas suspending it in the air right before it could achieve contact. "... what the hell?" she asks, holding onto the bullet.
The group, collectively, turns into the alleyway and stares at the gangster inside. All of them just staring at the gangster, glaring him down.
"..." The gangster realizes that the bullet was caught by some red gas. Looking at the five people present, he... starts to back up slowly...
... finding himself stopping after he bumps straight into Nyx. The woman standing right behind him, having swam in the alleyway's shadows to intercept him.
"............." The gangster was about to- run for his life, his hand shaking in fear. "Y... You-"
"Snatch-!" Papaya exclaims, taking Giichi's bottle of soda out of Quade's hands. "I know what you're going to say!" Papaya exclaims, pointing the metal cap of the soda bottle at the gangster. shaking it as fast as she could.
Conveniently, both Papaya and the stress-filled gangster - the one that was now taking aim at Papaya - say the exact same thing:
"D-Don't try anything, bitch, or I'll shoot!"
Papaya grins widely as she managed to perfectly predict this line, the gangster- gasping audibly. In the next instant, electricity began surging through her hand, sparkling and crackling- before she points the soda at the gangster. The cap shooting off of the bottle and launched STRAIGHT at the gangster's finger.
On contact... the cap twists and turns, contorting the gangster's trigger finger to an inhuman level. Prompting the man to scream in pure agony as he falls back, leaning against Nyx. "AAA- AAAAAAAAA!"
"H... Holy crap! Papaya, how'd you-" Giichi exclaims, before completely dropping the question altogether as she looks at the open bottle of soda. "O-Oh, thanks!"
"Mhmm!" Papaya exclaims, handing Giichi the now open bottle of soda. Letting the dragon girl drink, as she now directs her attention to the gangster. "Now, guys... what should we do with this dude?"
A pause between them for some time, as the gangster screams in pure agony in the alleyway.
"... I propose we do nothing to him," Peritzal comments, turning immediately in the direction they just came from and starting to walk back to the bar.
"N-Nothing? Why-?" Giichi begins to ask, as she follows after.
"Because, I have come up with a better plan," Peritzal explains, looking to the group. "I believe we are all aware that they are exclusively targeting you, Giichi."
Giichi- nods in response. "I- did start understanding that after Niagara Straws, yeah..."
"Then it is more optimal to keep you in one place, rather than walk around aimlessly. We shall return to Niagara Straws and have you linger around, to really provoke them. But from there, we split into two groups. Giichi and Rosemary will be accompanied by three more of us, so that any attempts on her life will be met with strong back-up."
Nyx immediately comments: "I think it's best if I join that group. Remaining indoors will keep me out of harm's way, and I can appropriately cut open any of-"
"No killin' any more of us..." Quade immediately objects. "... I think- we've seen enough death last night, the night that started all of this. Nonlethal only."
"... very well," Nyx responds.
"... meanwhile, I will wander off to conduct my own research. In the event of- complications, I will require backup. For now, I believe that-" Peritzal begins to speak, her eyes looking to Papaya and about to suggest that her sister accompany her.
Immediately, however, Quade raises a hand. "Should be me. I'll go with you."
Even more immediately, Nyx loudly shouts: "ABSOLUTELY NOT! I REFUSE!"
Startling most of the group with the sheer magnitude of demonic rage, as Peritzal... remains unfazed. "... Nyx has a point. I believe your role would be more suited in an enclosed setting," she answers, looking to Quade with narrowed eyes. "What purpose would there be in having you with me?"
"Simple.... I should be as far away from the bar as possible..." Quade discreetly answers, his voice trailing for a bit. "As a gangster, I would be deemed a traitor, and... would be best suited elsewhere in the city, rather than the location where they will appear."
A silence is shared between Peritzal and Quade, Peritzal tapping away on her tablet while Quade trails behind her. The two turn a corner, walking along as they were now a far enough distance from the others. Nyx, willingly going with the others, leaving her and Quade to talk.
"..." Peritzal... sighs, and nods. "Very well, then... everyone else shall hold up in the bar itself. But I will take- input. Nyx, do you possess a problem with me accompanying this gangster?"
Nyx was about to answer, but- ... found herself hesitating, and sighing. Keeping herself in check... just, unable to object for now. She had to be a good girl for Quade and comply with this plan. "... no. It's fine. The points provided are fair. You... you are free to go."
Peritzal nods, and she and Quade start to walk away as the others go back to the bar.
"..." Peritzal then lets out a sigh as she stares at the tablet. "Alright. What is the real reason you are coming with me? Are you, in truth, concerned about the safety of your hat if I travel alone?"
Quade shakes his head. "Nah, nah... like I said, trust you with that. I just- didn't want to be in a bar with Nyx right now..."
Peritzal hms with disinterest, tapping her fingers on the screen of the tablet.
"I am not interested in romantic affairs," Peritzal bluntly responds.
Quade... sighs. "I reckon that's fair..."
"..." Peritzal's eyes blink as she looks up from the screen, looking at Quade.
"...?" Quade looks back with a raised eyebrow. "W... What? I get you're not-"
"I was making an attempt at a tease, which Earthly social convention demands you say 'it ain't romantic' as a sort of banter," Peritzal admits, staring directly at Quade. "Your lack of response. Does that mean your current issue is romantic?"
Quade just- nods as the two cross a street. "... yeah. Nyx confessed to me. Took my hat and spoke to my ex-girlfriend-"
"Dahlia, yes, I'm aware," Peritzal interjects.
"Right, and-" And now Quade looks to Peritzal with narrowed eyes. "... how d-"
"Would you believe me if I told you Papaya guessed because we were listing names of the people everyone is most likely to date?" Peritzal asks, looking to Quade.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
"... I would, yes," Quade responds.
"Well, according to her guesses, I'm to date a William, Caspian's going for a Minerva, Giichi miiiiight end up with a Percy, Odette with... well, we don't know him enough. Nyx is a... 'Lance', and we pinpointed a 'Dahlia' to you."
"..." Quade just... huhs at this.
"And if you're curious, Verness is too young to go through this experiment, and Papaya's too scared to know the name of her guy in the event he's too-"
Peritzal immediately interrupts herself as she stares forward, seeing someone standing far ahead of them. Blinking at this person for a bit, watching his burling muscly arms holding a portable Gatling Gun - a heavy, rapid fire machine gun with a spinning barrel, bullets dangling between his backpack and the gun barrel.
"... oh. Hello," Peritzal greets the gangster.
"U-Uh- hey!" Quade exclaims, disguised as the gangster.
"Cut the crap, we know you're not Lyle Silvers," the gatling gun gangster comments, with a group of gangsters walking behind him. "And we know your little plan to have us go back to that bar..."
"..." Peritzal blinks for a moment. "You're... aware of the plan?"
"Yes... not a single one's going back to that bar," the gangster speaks up, as the two of them are now surrounding the two. "And the boss has said, kill on sight... guess who we all see, right now? Two easy targets we're going to take out first on our turf."
"Your turf...?"
Peritzal and Quade both look around, now, seeing that - after they split up from the others - they were now surrounded by armies of remaining gangsters.
"... oh, good grief..." Quade mutters to himself.
Meanwhile, the group of four - technically, five - arrive back at Niagara Straws. Returning back to their scene of chaos, contently readying to set themselves up as the bait and beacon to draw the gangsters in. They were expecting to see an army of gangsters back at the bar.
However, the ones with Peritzal and Quade were telling the truth. Most of the bar seems to be cleared out, except for the bartender... currently sweeping the floors with a broom, tending to the frost everywhere.
"... oh, for f- you lot are back...?" the bartender asks, seeing the three people enter. "You all made a fine ol' mess here... the hell do you want?"
"Uh, so, we decided we're gonna hang out here, wait for more of y'all to show up," Giichi explains, smiling at the bartender. "Is that alright?"
"... no, I- no. Your plan is stupid, why would that be okay?" the bartender asks, narrowing his eyes at the two.
Nyx, rising out of the ground, glares at the bartender. Harboring some pure anger as she glares. "Simple. Because-"
The bartender immediately holds his hands up into the air, broom falling to the ground upon seeing Nyx. Filled with sheer, mortal terror at the sight of her, staring at her with horror. "Y-You! O-Okay! Okay. Fine. You all can stay, just don't kill me!"
Nyx, the devil knight of the shadows, decides to keep secret that she stormed the bar herself. She had intent on getting a suit the moment she saw the group wearing them, and found those that matched in the nearby bar... before she even knew they were gangsters, or knew that the group already attacked them. Once inside, as they were cleaning up, Nyx immediately snatched a suit from one of the gangsters in her size and put it on.
Upon the gangsters acting against this, one of them approaching with intentions to punch her, Nyx countered immediately and threw a punch back. Her hand went straight through a gangster's stomach upon this happening, having an inhumanly brutal strength behind it.
Somehow, she managed to avoid every single vital organ and sealed his body up to still function with a gaping hole through his body. The man somehow surviving having a hole punched through his body was enough to scare out the gangsters, leading to the predicament before them. No gangsters in sight, the bartender absolutely terrified beyond all belief, intimidated into just completely giving up the VERY moment he risks becoming a glazed donut.
"..." Caspian slowly turns to Nyx, staring for a bit. "He seems familiar with you."
"Indeed..." Nyx calmly dusts off her suit and takes a seat at the counter. "Well, bartender, glad we have come to a mutual truce, and I thank you for your warm welcome."
The gangster bartender is too scared to tell Nyx to go screw herself.
Caspian- just... huhs at this, as he takes a seat at the counter as well. "So... got anything for us to drink?"
"..." The bartender narrows his eyes at Caspian, offended. Pointing his thumb at the wall of bottles that rest behind a protective case, all of them in tact despite the earlier assault. "I don't know, what do you think?"
"Yeah, Caspian, what do you think?" Rosemary spitefully asks. "Does this place, a literal bar, have anything to-"
"Anything that isn't poisoned," Caspian immediately interjects, hostile in tone the moment Rosemary speaks.
"Ah. That's fair, actually..." the bartender responds, nodding in slight apology. "I would say- all of it's safe. Contrary to... popular belief, with my affiliation, I don't tamper my drinks with poison. Not even if the boss asked me to, himself. I make it a specific rule that anything I make has to be poisoned by another gangster after I serve the drink."
Caspian nods gently at the bartender, hmming a little at this information. "Mm. I see. Question, though, is it fair to say I don't really trust you?"
"Is it also fair to agree that I don't trust you either?" Papaya also asks, taking a seat at the counter as well. Legs crossed, both elbows on the counter.
"And I do not care if it is fair, I just do not trust you or your word about poisoning," Nyx bluntly goes, resting her cheek against her hand. Elbow on the counter, with the other arm at her side.
Giichi looks to the three, and just... nods to the bartender, nodding to her. "Well- I trust you! I'll try it out, gimme something I can afford!"
The bartender nods. "T... Thank you. I'll prepare something for you, miss."
Back to Quade and Peritzal...
... who were standing alone on the gangster street. Outnumbered in every way.
"... Peritzal, do you have a plan...?" Quade whispers, tensely gritting his teeth.
The girl nods. "Stay close... specifically, within five feet of me at all times," Peritzal explains, gripping her tablet tightly as she walks forward. Tapping away at her screen, intimidatingly walking forward.
"Oh. You're approaching me?" the gangster asks, grinning as he starts to wind up his gatling gun. "Instead of running away, you're coming right to me?"
"Well... we can't beat the life out of you without coming closer..."
"Hoho. Then come as close as you like!" the gangster speaks, starting to unleash rapid gatling gun fire onto the two. Streams upon streams of bullets fired to kill, with the surrounding gangsters watching...
... to see the bullets hit into some transparent, green wall that flashes upon contact.
Peritzal tensely stands as her technology was in the midst of shielding her and Quade from the bullets. The gunfire hitting into the transparent wall, achieving impact against it with a thud. As if bulletproof glass was being shot into, with Peritzal actively directing electricity to maintaining these shields.
"Quade-!" Peritzal shouts, tapping her foot forward with urgency. She wasn't able to shout out something critical and crucial to their survival, inhibited by the fact that Papaya wasn't here to perfectly understand her inner thoughts and machinations.
The man notes Peritzal's shout, quickly thinking about- ... the rest of the gangsters!
Guns locked on the two, many of them about to fire and shoot.
"... tch-!" Quade shouts as he bites his thumb. Quickly throwing himself forward and hugging Peritzal's body, making sure not to disrupt her as he keeps himself over her. His skin hardening and thickening, starting to manifest. Thinking on his feet, what was hard enough to...
... armadillos!
As the gatling gun gangster watches in shock and surprise, he- doesn't let up on the weapon. Continuing to fire bullet after bullet at Peritzal, competing with her power supply and how long she can keep the shield up.
Peritzal, in truth, could only maintain the shield in one direction... and her supply was limited. She was focused on diverting the power to this one wall to guard and shield against these bullets. If the shield itself runs out of power and cracks, Peritzal and Quade are dead, as the gatling gun could rip them to bloody shreds.
Meanwhile, Quade continues to cover Peritzal in his body, morphing to cover her from the other sides. His face tensing up as the gangsters' pistols shoot into his armadillo skin barrier. It wasn't enough that he needed to focus to maintain the unusually large shape to begin with- he had to endure as the bullets repeatedly fire into the armadillo coverage.
And he was visibly in pain, as... the shell itself was bulletproof, but not his insides. Serious damage to his internal organs, practically sacrificing his safety to protect Peritzal... as he- to the best of his ability- bounces the bullets back with the armadillo shell...
"C-Come on...!" Peritzal growls, gritting her teeth as she keeps a close eye on the shield's power level. "Come on!"
...
And the gunfire stops...
Peritzal- quickly disables the shield, just in time to maintain 1% of power left in her entire system. The bullets scattered all over them, a massive pile in front of Peritzal.
Quade- collapses backwards, his body morphing back into his normal human shape. Lying on the rest of the gangsters' bullets.
"... there's... no way... no one could just deflect my Gatling Splash..." the gatling gun gangster shouts. "D-Does anyone have a shot on-?!"
Peritzal flicks a finger up, using her tablet to magnetically lock onto the bullets. In a single second, the mass amounts of bullet shoot outward, violently taking out every single gangster in visible sightline. All of their bodies collapsing one by one, taken out in an instant.
Horrified by this... sight, this onslaught, the gatling gun gangster- shakes as he drops his gatling gun. No more bullets, holding his hands up in surrender. "P... Please- spare my life- it- it's only a job...!"
Peritzal glares at the gangster. "... ask for mercy from your target, your more 'forgiving' brown haired target," she explains, lifting up a hand as drones spread out from her sleeves. Charging up bright lights, Peritzal intending to use the last of her power to obliterate this man. "Your gatling gun went after someone that had no intentions on sparing you in the first place."
The gangster... drops to the ground, shaking with his hands in the air. "... I... I'll give you- everything I have. Everything! Home- money- what's your price?!"
"Oh, please..." Peritzal responds, rolling her eyes at the sniper as she takes out Quade's hat. Putting it atop her head and securing it, fingers on the brim. "You really believe you're worth money? No... garbage bags should know..."
Peritzal stands right in front of the man, a tractor beam shot out from one of her drones. Locking the man in place and lifting him a few inches up into the air.
"... they cannot pay their debts with money!" Peritzal shouts, commencing with her attack.
Peritzal's drones start to shoot out blasts upon blasts of light, a barrage of pure condensed light shot out at alarming speeds. Each impact was stylized to be... nonlethal, to avoid any pesky homicide laws, but... they packed a heavy punch as they hit into the man's body. Over and over again, quite like his gatling gun bullets.
Jabs. Hooks. Uppercuts. The angle of the blasts attack the man from all over. It should be enough to do this for a short time, but... that entire incident was getting to Peritzal, adrenaline and irritation coursing through her body. Peritzal grits her teeth and lets out her pent up rage and annoyance in this onslaught, getting revenge for the gang doing any of this. For going after Giichi, forcing them on this little hunt and war, and for almost killing the two of them in brutal fashion.
And because of earlier, because of Giichi and Papaya talking about... 'Joke' and 'Dog', the first thing that came out of her mouth is a battle cry: "... take this, take this, take this, take this, TAKE THIS, TAKE THIS, TAKE THIS, TAKE THIS-!"
Aggressively locking all of her power into this, all remaining power into this onslaught. Brutally hurting this man as much as possible in 1% power. Severe amounts of internal damage as the gangster felt his body in unyieldingly high amounts of pain from this, his body screaming out in pure agony.
With the depleted power notification shutting down her tablet, Peritzal shouts one last time: "TAKE THIS!" Losing the last bits of electricity she had left, the tractor beam disabling... as her drones charged and send one last blast into the man's body. One final blow, with the force of a wrecking ball launching him high into the air.
The gatling gun gangster screams in pure agony as his body smacks into the brick wall of the building. This wasn't, by any means, strong enough to break through walls...
... but Peritzal watches as the man's body falls downward. Conveniently having launched him in front of a building with a trash can.
"..." Peritzal... victoriously stands in place, her body limp and exhausted. Looking back to Quade and staring at him, standing over his body.
Quade, back in his normal form, his shapeshifting body in the midst of- ugh- being vulnerable, stares up at Peritzal. "..."
"... thank you," Peritzal tells him, before she loses all feeling in her body and collapses over Quade.
Quade, remaining under Peritzal, just... nods. Silently staring in the sky, hoping they get out of this aftermath alive.