72 Interlude: Taiyang Xiao Long

In the life of a man who can live for years inside of a single day, it is rare for anything to hold interest.

This is a truth that Tai has come to realise since he acquired his powers.

The worst day of his life was when he had to watch his father die in front of him.

Made even worse as he triggered, and not knowing how to control his powers, he spent days, weeks or even longer watching his father's dying breathe leave him.

However, he eventually managed to understand and control his power. The power to alter his perception of time. To make a single instant last a century in his mind.

It allows him to come up with complex plans on the fly, to thoroughly analyse anyone or anything whenever he wants and it means that he will never have to act impulsively, being able to think out every action in excruciating detail.

It's with this power that he thought he could make some money in Vegas. Make back what he lost with his father's death.

Unfortunately that didn't happen, but he learned many valuable lessons in the city of sin and when he returned to Denver he was ready to restart his family, his heritage.

Thus, the Xiao Long family was born once more, stronger than ever with a parahuman at the head.

The only problem is that his rivals, the men who killed his father, still live. Not just that but they oppose him, standing in the way of his plans of taking over the cities underworld in the name of the Xiao Long, turning the name into one that holds actual weight in the country.

Unfortunately, they don't only have more capes than me but they also have some of the strongest Blasters in the state, making assaulting them no easy task.

Which means that when Tai get's word of a fresh cape walking into their territory of their own volition, asking to join them. Well, he will always make the time to meet any parahuman recruits personally.

Their value is simply too high not to.

Besides, if there is one thing he has in spades, it's time.

But a parahuman recruit would only be enough to grab his interest. It's the story his men told him that kept said interest, even after spending a few days worth of relative time thinking about how they will act and how to best respond, as well as angles from which this could be a trap.

He also makes sure to keep Junior with him, just in case she reacts poorly to anything. Something that wouldn't be a surprise considering the tale him men have told.

According to them, they were just doing routine patrols when they heard screaming. The desperate, fearful kind of screaming.

But when they arrived at the alley the sound came from, that they only bothered to investigate due to it's proximity to our border. They were greeted with a grisly sight that I am almost intrigued enough by the description of to send someone to get me a picture.

Apparently, they round the corner to the sight of a horror movie. Blood covering the floor and decorating the walls, limbs and organs all cut into pieces and lying around randomly.

And in the centre of this bloodbath, standing in half torn clothes with unrecognisable bodies of flesh surrounding her, was a woman.

With claws as long as knives and as wicked as an executioners axe, his men certainly did a good job embellishing the sight.

Presumably, she was either about to be, or in the middle of being raped. Such a trauma then caused her to trigger, following which she did what would only be natural to someone in such a position.

She killed the men who caused her such pain.

And now she is here, to see me.

Best guess is that the men who assaulted her were Hispanic, in which case she likely still thirsts for revenge.

Joining the Heroes would get her a chance at them, but doing so would mean that she can only arrest them.

I believe that she would much prefer that they die instead, hence coming to me instead of them.

It also shows that she's not completely stupid, that she sought allies rather than simply charging in headfirst all by herself.

Well. That's enough thinking for now. I'll be able to understand more once I actually meet the woman in question.

My office is a simple thing. One desk, two chairs and a single bookshelf behind me filled with books I have read a dozen times each and between one blink and another, time resumes.

The first thing that comes to my attention is sound, as sound takes time to travel and thus it is quite silent when I truly put my power to use.

The second and much more important thing is my door opening.

The woman who enters certainly fits the description I was given. In short? She looks like shit.

Her clothes are in tatters and covered in blood, most of it likely not her own. Thankfully at least, one of his men was decent enough to give her a large jacket to cover herself with, so she is thankfully not exposed.

I get the feeling she would not take kindly to being nude around any men any time soon.

Her brown hair is a mess of dirt grime and even more blood and her green eyes have an intensity to them that is so rarely seen.

It is mildly impressive that she is even capable of meeting me here, just a few hours after her trigger.

Though the look in her eyes tells me that the reason for that it likely the rage that is driving her forward. That and a desire for revenge.

As she enters the room, I observe her with my power in full swing.

Her gait speaks little of hesitancy, and considering her recent experience it's likely that she is simply too burnt up emotionally right now to even feel fear, whether she sees us as a threat or not.

But I do think she sees us as a threat, or at the very least she doesn't trust us a single bit, evidenced by the way her eyes flit around the room, looking for weapons and exits no doubt.

Good. It would be foolish if she had any trust in us.

When her eyes pass over Junior and I I note a muted expression of curiosity. Understandable given that I am a blond man with Asian features being guarded by another Asian who has the typical black hair, except he is also nearly seven feet tall and built like a tank.

We must make quite the sight.

But she quickly throws away her look of curiosity, replacing it with one of caution as she examines us, just as I do her.

She quickly seems to dismiss me, likely not seeing me as a threat unlike Junior. An understandable sentiment, and true in this case.

The way she is folding her hands in front of her doesn't give me the impression of a nervous tick, at least not one made out of shyness. Likely she is simply uncomfortable with my gender.

The fact that she is willing to ignore that and talk with me speaks well of her rationality, that she can push aside those feelings, knowing that they are the result of trauma and nothing more.

I've got to say, she is impressing me already and no one has even said anything yet.

Hmmm. There is only so much to be learned from observation.

As my thought finishes, time resumes it's normal speed and the woman finally reaches the seat in front of my desk, though she chooses to stand even after I wave a hand to offer her a seat.

"My name is Taiyang Xiao Long. You may call me Mr Xiao. Though if you end up joining my family, then I will expect you to call me Boss."

My introduction is simple and offers her plenty of information without intruding any boundaries or pushing any buttons.

In her circumstance it is possible, however unlikely considering what I have seen so far, that she would take any direct questions as an invasion of privacy and relate that to her recent trauma, thus clamming up.

Instead I chose not to directly ask any questions but to imply one, leaving the ball in her court as it were to keep her from growing uncomfortable.

It also helps that I don't have any silly cape name to give her, lessening the distance between us simply by not using such impersonal titles, especially since she is unlikely to have a cape name and could feel disadvantaged if she is the only one using an actual name.

As expected, she takes the unsaid invitation to introduce herself.

"Lucy. Lucy Kalmana." Is all she says. Her voice is quiet but holds the same intensity as her eyes.

An interesting name. Kalmana. Is that Arabian? She doesn't look like she is from the middle east, looking more European. French, perhaps. So she likely has mixed heritage.

"Well Miss Kalmana. I have an idea of the reason already, but I would like to know for what reason you have sought me out?"

I make sure to word my question such that it does not come out as a demand, but an expression of curiosity that she is free to appease at her leisure.

She seems to deliberate for a moment, opening and closing her mouth as if she cannot force the words out.

I do not try to help, knowing perfectly well that people in situations like this do not like to feel pitied, like they need help to do simple things like answering a question.

Any offer of assistance would likely be met with anger as she uses the perceived insult as a means to direct her burning anger.

So instead of allowing that, I simply sit back and watch, prepared to signal Junior at any time to subdue her.

However that doesn't seem to be necessary as she soon starts hyperventilating, clutching the jacket, the only clean and whole item of clothing on her, closer to herself.

Her eyes close as she starts shivering and I notice the way her eyes are flitting about under her eyelids, likely seeing things that aren't present.

But once again, I do nothing. From what I have seen of her so far, I get the feeling that she will not need any help.

I am proven right as shortly after she started shivering, she begins to calm down. Her breathing slows until it is almost even, just breathing slightly too hard as if she is exhausted, which is likely the case.

When she opens her eyes however, the fire that was burning in them before seems to have turned into an inferno. Before, there was only malice shining through, a simple desire to kill.

Now? Now there is something else. If I had to describe it, I'd describe it as an anticipation for something that she is certain will come to be.

It almost makes me smile. She doesn't see her revenge as an unobtainable goal. In fact, she sees it as a battle that has already been won and that she only needs to wait for it to come to it's natural conclusion.

Said conclusion being her gaining her revenge of course.

It makes me think of a quote by the great Sun Tzu,

"Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win."

When she speaks again, she does not lack the quietness from before, but her words do not need to be loud for them to be heard.

"You and those fucking spics are enemies right? Let me join you and I will kill any one of the taco loving cunts that get in your way."

Aside the crude wording, the message is certainly one I can get behind. The only question is whether or not she can deliver. The Street Lord's capes are quite powerful after all.

But if she truly can deliver on her bold claims?

Well. A truly driven man, or woman in this case, can accomplish great things. And if her drive doesn't peter out, then I believe she could accomplish great things for my family.

With that in mind, I offer my hand with a smile.

"Please. Call me Boss."

She smiles a bloodthirsty smile and takes my hand, joining my family with the exact same end goal as myself.

Revenge.

=======

Meanwhile, on the other side, there is one thought going through 'Lucy's' head as she shakes her new Bosses hand.

"Engage people with what they expect. It settles them into predictable patterns of response, occupying their minds while you wait for the extraordinary moment — that which they cannot anticipate"

Truly, Sun Tzu is wise.

=================

A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!

Booyah! How many Sun Tzu references can i get in one fic? This is three so far by my count, and I haven't even used up my 'Sun Tzu is Wise 2 Electric Boogaloo' slot yet!

Also, I hate myself. Why do I force myself to make so many OC's? I can't wait till we get to canon and I can just plagiarise, but before that we have to finish this Elite arc and transition into the next arc, which will finally have some canon characters.

Only then, we might actually end up in the bay (canon setting). But even that is subject to change depending on how the next arc goes, because I literally have a single prompt for a single chapter for the whole arc to work with.... why do I punish myself so?

Edit from the future: including this chap it's gonna be like 10k more words 'till you get Lusia's POV again, aka 5 chappys. I'm going for a more spy like, subtle approach here, you know, trying out new things.

(5+)Advanced chapters with the links below!

pat/reon.com/user?u=41732867 (get rid of the first slash or check the description)

Also, join the discord with this invite code! Pj3Dttwses