Gangster Pete... New York

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***

Digression.

Some time before the Klipot system overheats.

A couple of girlfriends, Anne and Linda wanted to check out the Anomalies. They had already been told what they were and even shown camera footage, but seeing things in person was much more interesting. It was not forbidden, so there was no obstacle to their desire.

When they reached the holding cells, the first thing the women did was to approach the Punishing Bird. It was quite tiny and sat on a specially made stand. 

- How cute it was! - Ann admired it, looking out the porthole.

- Thank you! - The bird sneezed in a sweet voice.

- Yeah. Except it's a YOOH that'll kill you and me," Linda said sourly, folding her arms across her chest.

- Come on, don't be a grump! It's all right now. Look at her! Oh! The baby's tummy's moving! Look at that! 

Linda gave in to her friend's pressure and did indeed see Puny Bird's belly move. But what happened in the next second shook Ann's confidence in the creature's cuteness.

The Anomaly's stomach split into four parts, covered with huge teeth. It was like the jaws hidden inside a bird. 

- And now you think she's cute too? - A pale Linda whispered

- Ahem! Not really... It looks creepy in person. Shall we go look at the others?

- This one wasn't enough for you? 

- Nope.

Next was Big Bird. Her eyes were looking in different directions, constantly moving. As the friends approached the porthole, the Anomaly stared at them and yawned, showing an impressive set of teeth.

- They're some kind of wrong birds.

- They're abnormals. What did you want?

But no sooner had they continued their inspection than the alarm rang, and the reality around the cells seemed to become viscous and shifting. Without a word, the women hurried to their squad. At the gathering place, everyone of He class and above was already there.

Also present there were the 'beasts'. They seriously stood out from the other subordinates of the Head. Especially the rabbits. These soldiers were too emotional. The treatments had turned them into adrenaline junkies. However, the rabbits did not go to extremes, preferring to bring couples together through sparring and sex. And in both of these activities they were very good. From what they were tolerated and sometimes forgave various joints. The rest of the beasts also had their own quirks, but still not as much as the main leaders of the Refraction. And tonight, they're going to show what they're worth. 

Mia Harris danced impatiently from foot to foot. The adrenaline in her blood was so high that she wanted to fight at least one of the Anomalies as soon as possible. Her subordinates had similar feelings.

Finally, the wait was over. The cameras were opened to prevent the Anomalies from breaking down the doors, and the radiation from the Klipot system was reduced to a minimum. At the same moment, the Birds "went for a walk".

- Come on, rabbits! Let's fry them in breadcrumbs! - joyfully shouted Mia, running in the lead.

- Mummy's a rabbit!

Her words were the trigger, after which the fighters began to bombard the Anomalies with all available arsenal. Big Bird gave an unhappy roar. Her eyes changed colour from yellow to red, and then she raised her lantern higher, trying to charm the attackers. It didn't help, however, as due to the Moonstone, all of the Head's subordinates could ignore such tricks. Then the Bird opened its beak and tried to kill the nearest opponents. It didn't always manage to hit, because it was actively hindered by the jumping people. Anna Stone joined the fight, showing her E.G.O. and redirecting all the blows to herself. Having accumulated as much energy as possible, the woman threw it into the Anomaly, almost tearing it in two. But the Bird was still alive.

While her many-eyed sister was frolicking, the Bird of Justice was also trying to keep up, despite the hurricane fire of her opponents, which weakened her considerably. She judged those around her with her foul scales, and when one of the scales was outweighed, the victim was suspended from a gallows that appeared out of thin air, dying painfully. But Stone's ability to protect others helped here too, and people survived with only minor wounds.

The Punishing Bird flew over the fighting men and pecked them, inflicting non-dangerous but painful wounds. It was their punishment. They tried to run away from it, not intending to provoke the second mode that could kill a person with a single blow. But someone accidentally shoved Anomaly away, which she considered an attack. The bird turned completely red, opened her creepy maw on her stomach, and tried to tear her offender apart. She almost succeeded, if it weren't for Mia Harris.

The rabbit was firing at the Bird of Justice at that moment, but seeing such an entertaining sight, she grabbed her high-frequency dagger and with a face expressing fierce joy, rushed at the Anomaly. Using her armour enhancers, she was near the monster in one fell swoop and sliced along the Bird's carcass with her Sin of Wrath-enhanced blade. The blow was executed with surgical precision and killed the Anomaly instantly. At the site of the Bird's 'death', a white egg with a red stain and a weapon armour were left behind.

- Ha! How simple! - Mia exclaimed, helping the woman who had almost fallen victim to the Anomaly to stand up.

- Because this little thing is only second class," the rescued woman grumbled, looking around and assessing the situation. Fortunately the humans were winning so far. - We need to suppress the others as soon as possible.

- Yes, yes. You owe me one, Jeanne! - said Harris with a grin, firing at the regenerating Big Bird. - What's that for? Kha!

- Mia? Oh, shit!

Jeanne had a picture of the rabbit captain being pulled upwards by a black rope noose attached to a gallows that appeared out of thin air. A gasping Harris tried to free herself somehow, but it was all in vain. The Bird of Justice's ability had picked three more victims and was slowly killing them, not just their souls, but destroying their entire bodies.

It wasn't easy to take down the hanged people. Anna Stone's ability wasn't working now, so there was no point in waiting for protection for a while. Jeanne realised that she couldn't wait any longer, so she began pouring lead on the Bird of Justice, shouting for help from her companions. Oleg, the Rhinoceros commander, responded at the same time and, having unleashed his huge armour, flew at the Anomaly with the help of jet engines. As a result of the collision, both fell to the floor, but the man managed to get up faster. He redirected all of his energy into a power hammer and with a thunderous roar struck the Bird trying to get up, tearing most of its body. The whole base shuddered from the power used. Oleg followed up by hitting and punching the Anomaly until there was nothing left but an egg-like object and an E.P.O.S.A. Finally he fell to the floor, tearing off the overheated armour and throwing the broken hammer away. The man had worked himself to the limit and couldn't fight anymore. But he had already done all that was required.

Big Bird was the last one left as the rest of the Anomalies were suppressed. Even her half-destroyed body didn't stop her from inflicting monstrous wounds and trying to swallow people. However, it was not allowed to recover, piling on in droves, gradually shooting, dismembering, and blowing up just in case.

- Have we suppressed them? - one of the women on her feet asked Anna.

- Yeah. We managed to suppress not the weakest Anomalies without casualties and serious injuries. 

- What do you think of the rabbits, ma'am?! - asked her dancing Mia, who had already recovered from her act of "justice".

- Well done. Well done, everyone. Now you can rest.

- Yes!!!

End of retreat.

Well, the subordinates have performed well. I can now safely entrust them with the suppression. Except I had to choose who to give the E.P.O.S.s left over from the trio of Birds.

The first was a set obtained from a Punishing Bird called Beak. A gun, a costume, and a gift necklace in white and red colours. The weapon, despite its size, had a good kill rate, physical damage, and was quite painful to hit due to the many jagged edges on the bullets. The suit had good defence and that was about it. The necklace, on the other hand, sped up the wearer. Taken together, they gave the wearer the ability to use the all-devouring jaws of the Punishing Bird, which grew out of the wearer's chest.

The second was the Lamp set, from Big Bird. It consisted of a lantern-shaped hammer, with a light inside, attached to a long shaft, a black suit covered with yellow eyes, and a gift that also looked like eyes on the top of the head. The weapon, in addition to destroying both body and mind, could beckon victims to the wielder like moths to light. The armour gave impressive protection and visibility from all sides at the expense of the eyes. The gift amplified everything little by little and gave the ability to see things that a normal person would not be able to. When all three parts were combined on one person, it was possible to inflict monstrous destruction within a radius of several dozen metres with the hammer.

The third was Justice. The set included a two-handed sword with a golden hilt, feathers, no blades, and sheathed in a white cloth similar to bandages. The black costume, with gold clasps and chains, was also covered with white ribbons, and the gift was made up of them. The weapons, which Gats would not hesitate to take, were second in strength only to my gloves from Dahaka. Aside from the sheer power, it allowed me to unleash pale coloured slashes with the very energy of "death". In addition to protection, the armour gave me the ability to control the bandages, binding them tighter than steel chains. The gift seriously accelerated the wearer. Not to the level of Mercury, of course, but not bad either. And all together, it could replicate the attack of the Bird of Justice and punish sinners with a gallows. This E.P.O.S. was probably the strongest one received today, which was not surprising. Even though the Bird of Justice was a threat class 4, it was close to the borderline of 5.

Now it was time to hand out E.P.O.S.s to the honourable ones. The beak was given to Harris. The rabbit had earned it. The Lamp found its bearer in the person of our hammer-wielding Oleg. And Justice went to Anna.

Okay, I've given out the goodies. Now we just need to get a few more E.P.O.S.s for the subordinates and we can leave the suppression of even the Alephs to them.

Hmm, what's this? Looks like the latinos from MS-13 have decided to visit my gangland. People got nothing better to do. They were told in plain Russian-American-English not to come here. No. I guess the gangsters want to show off their toughness. I think these guests should be met in person.

- What are we going to do with them, Mr Pluto? - Abi asked, checking her weapons.

- Depending on how our dear guests behave. But still, well done. They work quickly, and they don't skimp on the amount of meat.

We didn't have to wait long. More than thirty well-armed Latinos got out of the cars and, scaring people away, entered my club. At the same time they were careful not to push their way in. When they bumped into Natalie and a couple of other girls, they immediately stopped. The bandits were somewhat relieved when they saw the size of my left arm and the machine gun in her hands. But not completely. Judging by their emotions, they thought that quantity decides. Well, well, well. It's a shame to screw them up. Oh, no. I'm not.

Speaking of which, the ninja I let go was here too. She must have been dragged here by force because she didn't show any joyful emotions. The girl's only wish was to get the hell out of here.

- We're here to talk to your boss about last night," the head of the rabble said in a distinct accent, looking at Natalie with some tension. - Pluto or whatever his name is. Is he here now?

- Yes, yes, I'm here! - I exclaimed happily, stepping out from behind Natalie's broad back. - Why do you have uninvited guests?

- Uninvited guests?! This is the territory of Diaz, who worked for my boss and had protection from the outlaws! - exclaimed the bandit indignantly, to the cheers of the tense henchmen.

- It didn't do her much good," I said with a slight sneer, but in a polite tone of voice, waving my hands apart. 

- Listen here, cabrón! - shouted the Latino, losing his temper and pointing his gun at me. His manoeuvre was repeated by men on both sides. - Now you load your kulo* into the car and go to the fight with my boss, you understand?! Otherwise we're gonna fuck you up and make you eat your own guts! Just like you said yesterday!

- I didn't actually say the first one. As for the rest, the offer is interesting, but I won't accept it, - I answered him calmly, with an annoying smile. - You should have at least taken some strong mutant for the sake of decency, if you decided to try to twist me into a ram's horn.

- I don't give a shit about those hu*****s! I don't give a shit about you either! And if you move, we'll shred you! - this bloke kept on bellowing. Is it just me or did he take something before coming here?

- You don't learn," I said, shaking my head sadly. The bandits, looking at my calmness, began to get nervous. - What makes you think that I need to twitch? And even if you do, why would you be able to oppose me? 

- Fire! - shouted the chief mouchachos** and tried to shoot at me, along with his mates. Naturally, just like with Diaz, it didn't work.

- Don't touch the boss.

Hmm, that's weird. Didn't the girl tell them what I did last night? If you listen to her feelings, yeah. Interesting. But we can think about that afterwards. My subordinates quickly shot the surprised to the core bandits while the ninja threw herself on the floor and covered her head with her hands. 

When it was over, I, transforming into a black skeleton headed towards the standing muchacho. As soon as I approached him, he clutched his big golden cross with a shaking hand and began to pray in a broken voice.

- Madre nuestro que estás en los cielos!...!

- I will help you! - joyfully interrupted the Latino with a creepy voice and grabbed his hand with the cross with his bony limb. - I think with two voices we can definitely reach Heaven! Come with me! Santificado sea tu Nombre, venga a nosotros tu reino!

- Hágase tu voluntad así como es en el cielo, en la tierra! El pan nuestro sustancial de cada día dánosle hoy! - almost crying, the bandit continued, squeezing his eyes shut and looking like he was about to wet himself. Ugh, and this is the cool guy who decided to bring me to his boss?! 

- Perdónanos nuestras deudas, así como nosotros perdonamos a nuestros deudores. No nos dejes caer en la tentación, mas líbranos del malign!

- Pues tuyo es El Reino, El Poder Y la Gloria, Ahora y siempre y por los siglos de los siglos.

My boys surrounded us with interest and began to watch the free spectacle.

- Amén," I finished with feeling and pretended to look around with interest, "Hmm? No one seems to have come to rescue you, hmm? Let me guess - you broke a commandment and made an idol for yourself?

There were chuckles from the guys, and the Latino was shaking. Oh, come on. It's time to end this circus. I stuck my hand into his chest. There was no blood, because I didn't pierce the bandit's body, but his soul and mind. And then I began to pour the Light into him, carefully controlling the process and saying:

- I told you not to come here, didn't I? You did. Didn't I say that I would take terrible revenge? You did. And I like to keep my promises.

After a moment, he pulled his hand from the bandit, took a critical look at his work. He hadn't changed in appearance, which was good. The distortion went like clockwork.

- Listen to what I'm about to tell you. You head to your boss now and as soon as you meet him first say this phrase....

Backtracking.

Alberto Garcia was driving to his gang base. He wanted to scream, but he couldn't even move his lips. The moment the creature that was definitely El Diablo stabbed him with his hand, the man became a prisoner in his own body. Every second the bandit mentally prayed to all known saints. Only no one responded to his desperate pleas.

The base was not very far away and after five minutes on a busy road Distortion got out of the car. There he was met by his companions, asking uncomfortable questions, but the man was able to disengage himself from them trying to fulfil his only purpose faster. Thoughts of the original Garcia he ignored.

It didn't go smoothly everywhere, but he managed to get in to see the boss. They wouldn't let him in at first, but the pathetic humans couldn't resist the Distortion. In the blink of an eye, he killed anyone who got in the way. They couldn't even realise they were dead. With no one blocking the way, the creature entered the boss's office. He was Juan Marcos, a stout man with swarthy skin and a perpetually scowling face. As soon as Distortion walked in, the boss tore himself away from some notes and stared at the intruder.

- Did you bring that cabron, Alberto?

- Better. I brought his answer.

- What?" Juan asked puzzled, beginning to suspect something and reaching for his gun. Only he didn't have time to do anything.

- Pluto told me to tell you that Art is a blast!

At the same moment, Distortion's body swelled up and burst into flames in such a way that it destroyed most of the building and killed almost all of the bandits. There were no civilians in the holy of holies branch of the local Mara Salvatrucha group. 

And no one noticed how in the flames devouring the building a smiling man in a tee suit appeared and took something glowing, then disappeared in an unknown direction.

End of retreat.

- So, now what are we going to do with you ninja? - I asked the girl who was pretending to be dead. However, no one present could be deceived by such a thing.

- Senor Pluto, I beg you not to kill me! - she exclaimed, standing up carefully with her hands raised. 

- 'All right, I won't kill,' he told her, beckoning her with a gesture. - Come here. Let's talk like normal people. 

- Gracias! - thanked the girl, stomping after me.

- So, let's talk," I told her, signalling her to get something to drink and eat.

And she started talking. Her name was Gabrielle Cortez. Now I had time to get a better look at her. A young girl with slightly dark skin, a graceful figure, straight black hair down to her shoulders, dark brown eyes, full red lips on a pleasant face. Quite a pretty Latina. First she told me about how she had passed on my words yesterday. She'd been beaten for it, but not killed. Naturally Gabrielle didn't like that, so she distorted the facts of my brief confrontation with Diaz and her subordinates. That's why the bandits didn't know much about my abilities and decided to drag the rink in with a crowd. It didn't work, it didn't work out.

I interrupted Cortez at this point, as the suicide bomber had just blown up. It was time to retrieve the Light that was left at the site of his death. Quickly teleporting straight into the fire, I did what was required and jumped back.

After that, I began to ask the girl about her life. In her twenty-one years, the girl had been through a lot. She lived in El Salvador until her mother was killed in the middle of a bandit war. In the end, in order not to starve to death, as there was no work to be found, the girl had to join another group. She was on the run, doing all sorts of nonsense, but did not manage to participate in something dirty. That was surprising, because as I knew, gangs like that often had blood on their hands. Through questioning, I managed to find out that it was planned for just today, if I hadn't come here and slaughtered the entire gang of 87. Coincidence? I don't think so. And my gut just confirms it.

- You're a mutant with enhanced luck. Your ability isn't very strong, though. It won't save you from me, for example.

- So why didn't it help when they killed Mum? - Cortez asked with a sob.

- Most likely the mutation was activated at the moment of severe stress, namely at the moment of mum's death. Think of it as her last gift.

Gabrielle cried at that, wailing through her sobs. I didn't bother her with her emotions and took a sip of the brought cocktail. When she more or less calmed down, I approached her closely and turned with an interesting proposal.

- Listen, wouldn't you like to work for the organisation I belong to? I will develop your power to unbelievable scales, provide you with accommodation, money and a full social package. In return, we'll sign a contract that prevents you from betraying us. What do you say?

Cortez started asking for details and after a while she agreed. After that, she and I went to the base, where Gabrielle carried out the necessary procedures. In addition to technology and experience, the Contract had increased her abilities many times over. It took a lot of effort, but it was worth it. Now I'll have my own Domino. Heh-heh-heh. Even for good luck charms, there will definitely be no surplus.

Leaving the girl to settle in, I teleported back. Nothing happened while I was gone, which is amazing. Just when I thought about leaving my clone and jumping to the girls, I was approached by Natalie, who leaned over me and my eyes shot to her cleavage against my will. Well with those sizes it would be a sin not to look.

- Boss! Boss?!

- Hmm? What's wrong?

- I have a question.

- Well, go ahead and ask," I told her, making her comfortable. The rest of the guys began to flock to us.

- That's why you never once answered these scum to all the insults and only smiling all the time? 

- Heh. Four reasons," I began with a smile. - They're already dead anyway, so why bother proving anything to them? Now the second reason. Answer me one question. Who can be really good in our world?

A question I asked everyone in the room, downloading them.

- Trick question boss? - asked Andrew, the only other man in the building besides me.

- Not really a trick question, more of a trick question.

- He's supposed to be a very kind man? - Nat said half-affirmatively.

- Only the really strong can be," Abi replied, crossing her arms under her chest and leaning against the wall.

- That's right! I appointed you my right-hand man for a reason! - I exclaimed, pointing both index fingers at the woman. She grinned and even blushed a little at the praise. - A weak man is more obliged to be kind than a strong man. I, on the other hand, have chosen how I will act. All opponents are within my power as it is. The third reason is the dissonance between kindness and the terrible fate that follows. Everyone is used to expect danger from an evil man, but not from a smiling man. And this smiling man, hehehe, with one wave of his hand turns your mate into an incomprehensible something. It's very confusing. And the last one is that I prefer to follow the saying: smile, it's annoying!

- Boss, you're a real villain! - Natalie said with a grin. The other guys supported her.

- Yes, I am!

After this incident, things settled down for a while, only to flare up again with renewed vigour. The gangs were engaged in a localised redistribution of power, and they were legitimately getting at a thug like me. I had to give them a slap on the wrist, since I didn't have a "roof" like Quinpin, Greyhair, Maggia, or any of the other tough bumpkins.

The police didn't interfere much in the matter, as it was favourable to them. Let the criminals kill themselves. Besides, the civilians, who had learnt from bitter experience of such wars, knew where not to go, so the casualties on their part were minimal. I had no casualties at all in my neighbourhood, due to all my abilities. The superheroes were doing their part, even if it wasn't the biggest.

And when the gangs started to get more and more serious, threatening to turn into a war of annihilation, several big bosses agreed to get together and solve this problem. And naturally I couldn't miss it, even though I wasn't invited.

Digression.

There were six people present in a small room. Quite an interesting bunch of people. Quinpin, in a white suit and carrying a cane. Sledgehammer in a blue suit straight out of the 1920s, a thug who had a flat titanium sheet inserted in his head, which is how he got his nickname. Miss Negative, the Chinese woman who took over Chinatown. She was perhaps the most interesting of the gathering, just because of her looks alone. The nickname reflected it perfectly. It was as if the woman had been reversed in colour. The grey-haired, old and experienced mob boss who looked at the upstarts gathered today with disdain. Benita Cano, who is the head of the largest Latino gang in New York City. And Monica Brown, the boss of one of the black gangs.

- This is not good! That Pluto or whatever his name is, he's made a mess of things. I'm sick and tired of these bought cops. I got to pay them even more. And those damn clowns are getting in the way of business! - Sledgehammer raged, occasionally pounding the table with his fist.

- No matter how many people we send out, the bastard kills them all. What's more, every time he lets one attacker go, who then gets blown up or otherwise destroys our bases! - Benita said angrily. - He's either a mutant or some kind of creature that crawled out of the depths of the Underworld. Mierde, my men don't want to meet him, and they almost rebel when it comes to retaliation! And we haven't learnt much about his abilities, other than giving him powers and controlling ordinary people.

- So hire mutants or other supers," Fisk suggested lazily, sitting back in her comfy chair. If Kyle Smith had been here, he would have noticed the similarities between the size of this thug and the female enhanced rhinoceros. 

- The smartest one?! He killed them too!

- You hired weaklings," Quinpin said mockingly. - Hire someone stronger.

- If everything I've heard about this Pluto is true, it probably won't help," the grey-haired man muttered. - He's too strong. And cautious. The men I bought him couldn't get anywhere near him. Even that miserable club where he sits was signed over to him by the law. 

- So let's hire the strongest! - said Benita, leaning on the table. - That bastard's in everyone's way!

- You're wrong," the Chinatown boss, Miss Negative, addressed her in a meowing accent. - 'I, for one, am not as much in the way as the rest of you.

- Neither do I," a smiling Fisk joined her. 

- And maybe some of you are helping this Pluto! - Brown, the African-American woman who had been silent until then, pointed her fingers at Quinpin and Negative. - That's why that out-of-nowhere bastard got off to such a fast start!

- These are serious allegations," Fisk said, stopping smiling and clutching her cane. - Do you have proof?

- 'No,' the woman replied with a little relentlessness. - But your reluctance to deal with this outlaw is alarming. And you have the most to gain from this!

Quinpin was about to reply when suddenly the door opened and a smiling man in a black three-piece suit with red accents, a cylinder and a cane in his hands burst into the room.

- Well, well, well! How do you do, ladies and gentlemen? - he cheerfully exclaimed, spreading his arms as if he wanted to embrace the audience. - I thought my cheeks were burning! And it turns out such honourable people are discussing me behind my back! It's not nice!

- What the hell?! You bastard, how dare you come here after all the shit you've done?! - Kano asked, jumping up from her seat.

- How rude! - Pluto said offended. - I didn't insult you, did I? And why shouldn't I have come here? Especially when the main topic of discussion is my humble person!

As soon as the man stopped speaking, several guards ran into the room, pointing their weapons at the intruder.

- C**a! There you are, you bastard! - Benita said with an evil grin. - I don't know what kind of powers you have, but no mutant has ever lived with his head bashed in! Zastre!

- I wouldn't advise you to do that," Pluto interrupted her calmly, standing with his back to the guards. At that moment, a sense of otherworldly terror struck those present. - Those who do shoot will suffer a terrible fate.

It was said with absolute certainty, and the bandits lowered their weapons, glancing uncertainly at their superiors.

- Martinez, shoot that cabron! - Benita bellowed, glaring at her subordinate. She had to shoot, but the bullet couldn't even penetrate the man's skin and just fell down. She tried again and only stopped when the entire magazine was emptied. - Mierda...

- You know what? - With a snicker, Pluto asked, shaking off his suit of non-existent dust. - How about I show you a trick where my hand disappears? I think it'll put us in the right frame of mind.

Before anyone could answer, the man disappeared and reappeared near Kano, then stuck his arm up to his elbow into the woman who had no time to react. Except it felt like Pluto's limb was submerged in golden water instead of flesh, and waves rippled across it.

- Tadaaaam! She's vaporised! - exclaimed the intruder cheerfully. After saying that, the guards pointed their weapons at him again. - It's useless unless you have tanks in your pocket. What? No? Then don't bother.

- Martinez! - Benita wheezed, grabbing onto Pluto's arm that was stuck in her. - Help!

At the same moment, her skin began to turn grey, her body deformed, and her eyes enlarged. As the changes came to an end Kano began to cry. Pluto shoved her aside, but Martinez managed to catch her superior, except it was too late. The distortion was complete.

- Whimper, whimper! Waaaaaah! - she sobbed out loud. At the same time, some absolutely obscene amount of tears flowed out of the woman's eyes.

- Boss! Boss! What's wrong with you?!

The assembled bigwigs and their subordinates watched with fear and a kind of perverse curiosity.

Martinez tried to help Benita, but nothing worked. It didn't take long, though, until some of the liquid that was pouring out of the Distortion got on her subordinate's skin. Immediately, the guard's body began to turn to glass, spreading from the point of contact, causing incredible pain. Now she herself was calling out and begging for rescue, but everyone present wouldn't budge. No one wanted a similar thing to happen to him. Then Martinez turned to Pluto, but all she saw was a cold smile. And so she turned into a glass sculpture while her boss still whimpered as she spilled litres of incomprehensible liquid around her.

- Now, I told you I'd doom the shooters to a terrible fate. I always keep my promises," Pluto said calmly as he approached the statue. - Why did you have to shoot and insult? We are civilised people! Oh, well. Benita, my dear, will you be quiet?

But Distortion didn't listen to him and continued to sob. And her tears gradually covered more and more space and approached the nervous guards.

- Oh, you're disturbing us. Please be quiet," Pluto asked, turning to Benita. But this time too, his words had no effect, to which the man shook his head exaggeratedly sadly and pointed his hand at Distortion. The next second it shrank into a point and disappeared, leaving behind a golden ball. Pluto beckoned the substance to him, grabbed it with his hand and swallowed it quickly, licking at the end. Finished, he turned to the bandit bosses, who were looking at him with different, often opposing emotions. - Where were we?

- 'That you came here because of the subject of our meeting,' Miss Negative prompted him, lifting the corner of her mouth in a snide grin.

- 'Exactly! Thank you beautiful lady! - Pluto thanked her sincerely, bowing to her and taking off his cylinder. - I came with a proposition. As one character said: let's live amicably. I sincerely do not understand the reason for your attacks on me. Each time I warned you not to attack me and each time some of the people here didn't listen to my good advice.

- You killed a bunch of our people, came here, turned one of us into a fuck knows what and now you want peace? - hissed a pale Monica Brown. - You broke a bunch of rules and now you're gonna jump off like nothing happened?!

- Yes," Pluto replied artlessly, glaring at the dark-skinned woman. - But to be honest, I don't care about the rules that were made before me and without me. If I wanted to follow the rules, I wouldn't be a criminal. You know what I mean? Anyway, I say we bury the hatchet and go into business. A further war would be very expensive for you first of all, so why continue it? And friendship is better than war. Or don't you think so? But I'm willing to follow your rules if you can't. But only if we stop this nonsense.

- So you want the war to stop? - Fisk asked him, lighting a cigar and leaning on the table.

- Yes. And forget about all the claims to my territory. And if it were the Latinos, it wouldn't be. Everyone who is not lazy decided to try their luck, - said Pluto cheerfully, actively gesticulating. - Believe me, it's much more profitable to be friends with me and not at all profitable to fight. 

- I'll agree to your proposal, as long as you don't encroach on my territory," Negative said, leaning back in her chair.

Her words broke the dam after which the other bosses, albeit reluctantly, decided to end the war. The possibilities demonstrated were too staggering. Besides, if things continued like this, soon there would simply be no one left to fight.

- That's great! - Pluto exclaimed contentedly, creating black business cards with the red Star of David symbol and a crossed cylinder and cane inscribed on them. The man tossed them on the table so that each would end up in front of one of the bosses. - Like I said, I'm a profitable friend. And if you happen to have a problem, you can come to me for the appropriate fee. Curing a deadly disease, giving you superpowers, taking pleasure beyond human imagination, or a little thing like rejuvenation, I can do it all. Just take my card and wish to meet me. I'm sure we can agree on a price. Now I have to run away, my dear colleagues! Have a good day and I hope to see you soon! Oh yes! I give you this statue as a souvenir! Bye-bye!The next moment the smiling dandy vanished into thin air, and almost everyone present exhaled in relief.

- S**a! - Monica shouted, hitting the table. - That prick thinks too much of himself!

- If I were you, I wouldn't insult him anymore," the smirking Negative said, pointing at the glass statue and then twirling her business card in her hands. Putting it in her pocket, she continued. - After such a demonstration I think there's no fools to conflict with him.

- I don't give a damn about his powers! - said the African-American woman, not very confidently.

- In general, it's good to know that even at this time there are still men who have balls, - said the Chinese woman admiringly.

- Yeah, with his impenetrable skin or whatever it is and such strength, it was very brave to come here," Sledgehammer grumbled.

- And yet, I know people who, even with superpowers, can't do anything brave.

- So what are we going to do with this arsehole? - Monica asked quietly.

- 'Nothing, personally,' replied Miss Negative with a smile. - 'We can probably find a lot of common ground.

- Ugh! What about you, Quinpin? You're gonna chicken out, too?!

- Easy with the language, Monica. If he decides to continue the war, I'll crush that Pluto no matter how strong he is. But this has to stop before the politicians decide to bring in the National Guard. And then it'll be bad for everyone.

They argued and discussed for a while and then went about their business. Despite the words about ending the war, almost everyone wanted Pluto's blood, if only for the fear they had experienced. The powerful don't like to be afraid at all, and when they get their heads in the shit, even less so. And Pluto had done both today. Except that among the five bosses, there were both fools and smart ones. The former would not be able to resist the desire for revenge for a long time, and the latter would only try it at the most opportune moment. 

But all of this was to Pluto's advantage. He would justifiably destroy the former after a failed assassination attempt. The latter would wait for the moment when the man had grown so strong that he could hold the whole of New York in his hands. Everything was going according to plan.

End of retreat. 

Back at the base after the entertaining meeting, I picked myself a tasty cocktail and began to sip it with relish. 

- The hearth burns there for me, like an eternal sign of forgotten truths. It's the last step for me, and that step is longer than life," I sang, remembering a cult song. And it fits my gangster role.

- Are you singing boss? - Nata asked. - Nice words, by the way. Where did they come from?

- From a cult Russian film about gangsters," I told her, taking a sip of my cocktail. And then the newspaper she was holding caught my eye. - Hmm, masked scum terrorising the city?

- Yeah boss! There's a new super! Name's Spider-Girl! She's not too famous yet, but I think she's on her way.

- What are you excited about? - I asked her ironically, picking up a newspaper. - Our opponents have joined the ranks.

- Oh, man, that's right! I wouldn't want to fight her! She's so fierce!

- Don't get it wrong," Abby interrupted her lamentations, tapping her on the head with a rolled-up piece of paper.

Interesting. Anyway, I have some company business to attend to. As usual, I left my doppelganger to entertain my subordinates and teleported to the skyscraper. I decided to start by approving next week's schedule.

- ...One last thing, Mr Smith. The Midtown School has approached us with a desire to attend an exhibition of the latest prosthetics," the secretary informed me.

- Say yes. Let the boys see what it's all about. Hmm. Do I still have time to spare?

- Yes, sir, Wednesday, 10:30 to 11:00.

- Great. Then have them come by then, I'll give them a personal tour. At least that'll take some of the pressure off.

- You got it.

Eh, next week's gonna be a busy week.

 Commentary on Chapter 37. Gangster Pete... New York

 * Culo the arsehole

* Muchacho's a guy

***

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