Walking down the main street leaving the docks was an experience for Jake. He was walking through a medieval city, or the closest thing he would ever see to one… Well, maybe not. I have no idea what exists in this world.

Anyway, the streets were cobbled but surprisingly wide. He had been to towns and cities made back in the day when horse-drawn wagons were the only expectation. It felt like he could stretch out his arms and touch both sides of the road on some of those streets.

While here, two semis could easily pass each other on this road and still have room for sidewalks.

That was not to say the road was not packed. Walking forward was pushing through a river as people constantly brushed against one another.

It was amusing for Jake to watch the surrounding people borderline fight one another to reach their destinations as they rushed around.

He was walking comfortably despite the sea of faces around him.

Walking in the wake of the Young Mistress as the mass of people traveling down the center of the road parted was a sight to behold.

There were no armed guards pushing people back that got close or someone shouting for everyone to clear the way based on a family name's power. It was just her.

She was alone at the front of the column of sailors, to the point that it was more like they were two separate groups that happened to be walking in the same direction.

Jake could feel, and apparently, so could everyone else, why people fought to get out of her way. The pressure radiating off the young woman as she strode forward made Jake feel… wary? It was like walking into a strong breeze from where he was. Annoying but not a big deal.

For those who got too close, it was far worse. The couple of people Jake saw that got within arm's reach crumpled to the ground like a boulder fell on them.

There was no Qi in the pressure she was exerting on her surroundings…

He was positive about it.

Jake was pretty sure there was no Qi…

And Jake was also pretty sure the ground was flat, yet he kept tripping over all the bumps and potholes on this shit non-modern road. It didn't look like there were walking traps, but they were just so well hidden they were hard to see. Only explanation possible.

No one else was having trouble crossing the ground, but that was because they were natives. Or regular visitors to this town.

Sailors usually go between a few ports, right? Yeah, that's it. They're used to walking on this shi—

Jake's body pitched forward again as the ground tripped him again. The only reason he was still sliding across the ground on the top of his feet was because of the iron grips of Wel and Kel on each side.

"This is the worst case of sea legs I have ever seen. Did ya ever learn to walk, or were ya born on the water?" Wel Joked jostling Jake.

"Couldn't walk on deck either." Stated Kel.

"In the water?"

"Wasn't swimming that great."

"In the air?"

"What's born in the air?"

"From an egg?"

"Hatched, dumbass. And… nah, birds on the water float, he was more sinking than anything."

"Are you two— done," Jake groaned, holding back the contents of his stomach that wanted to come out at the words. The land was moving.

The two chuckled together.

Jake ignored them. He also completely gave up on trying to walk and ignored their protests.

They were already basically carrying him. And his efforts to walk were doing more harm than good for the duo, so they shut up quick.

Closing his eyes, Jake tried to focus on the pressure the Young Mistress was exuding on the world.

It was the only thing around him that could keep him balanced as he moved. And the land moved. Or didn't. Whatever was happening.

On the ship, he was… distracted… by what was around him. He kind of felt nauseous and claustrophobic on the boat, but it was distant. Something that he could ignore

And he was on a ship. Many expect to be nauseous on a ship, so no big deal, and it was hard to feel claustrophobic on deck. Can't get much more wide open than that.

Now in the city, whose air was tainted with a smell of shit and piss, it was all hitting him with interest.

He found that analyzing the pressure around him could level him out more than anything else.

He tried looking at the ground, the sky, and a building down the street. Everywhere he looked, he felt the same thing.

It was so limited. Basic and bland were also good.

Like he was looking through a slit between his fingers at something he had never seen before, unable to see it in its entirety.

But all he was looking at was a wooden building. They don't change all that much, but the feeling still persisted.

Jake was expecting… more.

It was the same with the ground.

Every step, and it did not matter if he was looking at his feet or not, was like walking up flights of stairs whit his eyes closed.

As he put his foot down, he kept on expecting the ground to be farther or closer than it was, and when Jake was wrong, he would stagger around like a drunken sailor.

He knew that because Kel was telling him, she was having a flashback to carrying a plastered Wel back to the ship.

To Jake, it sounded like she was more upset that she was sober than carrying him.

He couldn't blame her. He would rather be waisted too. At least then, he would have an excuse for not being able to walk.

The reason this was happening was not the top thing on his mind, though. It was actually pretty far down at the moment. Or up.

One of the issues on top of his lack of ability to walk for Jake was what he was feeling with his Qi senses. Which was pretty much nothing.

He could feel Kel and Wel's hands and the Young Mistress's aura.

You know, because they were obviously touching him. Not in the same ways, but they were all blatant.

Jake was surprised by how much his lack of Qi senses bothered him. Having a sixth sense that only reached his skin was super aggravating. He wanted to lash out at everything around him until he could feel everything again.

Which was the whole problem. Jake was not connected to the land around him. Not in the way he was to his garden. So his expectations and reality were off.

There was no voice in the back of his mind whispering information about everything he saw. He did not intuitively know where everything around him was. It was more upsetting than Jake would like to admit. His desire to inspect what was around him was more than he thought it would be. It hasn't been that long since I first got that ability… that's not good, is it.

Realizing why he was having a problem walking and feeling claustrophobic helped. A little.

Feeling the pressure on his skin, Jake let it wash over him. Pass through him.

There was no Qi within the pressure. His original guess—Ahem! Analysis was correct.

It made him feel like he was standing in a shadow streaked with moonlight. Weird, but that was what he felt.

Underneath the impression, Jake could feel… her. The Young Mistress. The force was born and really comprised of her will and understanding.

That was all.

Jake thought he could exert his will on his surroundings. That he was doing this on his land and when he fired off his Qi claws.

Apparently, his land was more of a crutch for him and his abilities than he thought. A lot more… He thought missing another step.

Jake opened his eyes, unable to keep them close a moment longer, and tried to look around at what was really distracting him.

The view called to him. And he wanted to soak in the beautiful, tantalizing sights.

He didn't look too long, he was already being carried, and Jake did not want the two carrying him to suddenly notice him with an erection every time he looked at the red light district around them.

Jake was just fished out of a sea and came off a boat, but he should not be this thirsty.

He was never one for prostitutes, nothing wrong with it, but if Jake was going to hook up with someone, he would rather it be for his personality than his wallet. Though… things change.

Right now, if Jake could stand—shit if he could craw—and had some money, he would make his way to one of the brothels around him and say inside until his wallet was empty.

A night with her would be worth any price… Jake could feel drool pooling in his mouth at the thought as he studied a woman leaning on a balcony, fanning herself a little ways down the street.

She was wearing a tight-fitting black robe with red and yellow flowers growing across it. The robe hugged her waist and breasts, leaving the valley between her breasts bare and little more to Jake's raging imagination. The robe hung loosely around her shoulders, and her light green disheveled hair fell over her shoulders and onto her glistening chest.

"Ahh, Mistress Ray," Wel sighed with longing. "She always does put on a good show. Pay up, Kel."

"Humph!" Snorted Kel tossing a small pouch to Wel, "First ya don't immediately pop up, and now ya couldn't hold off until after we passed Mistress Ray? Fucking men, learn some control and consistency."

"Mmhmm, right… Ya think I don't see you glancing at the men? Between the two of us, ya spend more at brothels than I do."

"That's because ya suck at cards." She said with a shit-eating grin.

“…So buddy," Wel said, ignoring Kel as she continued throwing out jabs about his prowess. "Ya don't get to hide it; the man that can walk across this island without getting hard is a man who can't get hard. And should be pitied."

Looking up at Wel as he was dragged along, Jake found him nodding like a sage as he spoke with all the surety of stating an immutable fact.

And then he looked around the crowd.

Jake had never felt so awkward in his life, and his face flushed red with embarrassment. Is growing erection was not helping.

Was it weird being dragged around? Yes.

Was it weird being dragged around with an erection? Hell yes.

What had been the weird part of him being dragged down the street this long and was now causing a commotion around him as people groaned and cheered as they passed money between each other, and the reason why Mistress Ray was looking particularly pleased with herself going so far as to wink at Jake before she disappeared into the brothel behind her? Jake was the only man on the street without an erection.

Jake had not noticed because he was… distracted. But apparently, that was the norm in this city for some indefinable reason.

"The fuck~?" Gasped Jake in disbelief to himself as he looked around at the men walking around without shame.

Jake said it to himself, but Wel decided to answer, "Ya see, this whole island, but especially the main streets because they are the main conduits of the spellform, are saturated in lust mana. Usually, ya can't set foot on the island without feeling aroused and getting up, if ya know what I mean, but The Society must have used a lot o' mana holding back the wave. It's amazing they could do it in the first place."

"What?" Jake asked, confused. He missed a lot of what Wel was saying as he looked around.

"Ahh, ya amateur, ya leave me no choice… HEY!" Wel shouted in Jake's ear, causing him to turn.

"So," Wel Said, holding up a finger on his free hand, "Two things ya need to remember. Not being aroused can be taken as an insult or a challenge in this city. And if you ever see a succubus, run. If they proposition ya, ya can't turn them down, and if they take a liking to ya… well, you won't leave until they're done," Wel said with a shrug. before his face broke into a lecherous grin. "Not that ya'll be complaining."

A smoldering anger deep inside of Jake stirred at the thought of a succubus trapping and controlling him. He had no idea where it came from, but it raged to life for a moment causing his face to twist in rage.

Regaining control of his face as Wel looked at him with concern, Jake asked, "How will I know them when I see them." Seeing them seemed like a terrible idea at the moment. He had no idea how he would react and wanted to stay as far away as possible.

"Mmm, I he—

"Walking sex… and beauty,” Butted in Kel with a hint of longing. "Doesn't matter what ya prefer, see one, and ya think of nothing but sex. Can’t help it.”

"Ya saw one?" Wel asked, interested in her longing tone.

"Yeah, when I was walking through the main strip last time we made port here."

"What! Why didn't ya tell me! Or come get me~! Can't believe you left me hanging like that…" Whined Wel.

"As I recall, ya told me to 'f off, so I can catch that tail' when I told you it was time to go back to the dorm."

Wel's eyes faded for a moment as he thought, and Jake studied him as Jake said, "Didn't you say to run?"

"Ehh~, guess I did, didn't I? Never caught her, though…" A fond smile flickered over his face before he replied to Jake's question with a look of superiority.

"That's for ya. I am a man of stamina, dedication, and sacrifice. If I must be taken for someone else to go free, I will be willing to ma— Oww! Why ya hit me. Oww! Can y—

Jake started laughing as Kel attacked Wel with a look of disgust on her face every time he tried to talk.

A few more jabs were thrown out around Jake before Wel learned to keep his mouth shut, and the trio made their way down the street in companionable silence.

One or two more attempts to walk left Jake resigned to the ride until they reached their destination, where he would have to relearn to walk.

Closing his eyes, Jake began to feel his skin again.

The pressure of the Young Mistress was consistent and ever-present. Hard to miss.

With every step forward, though, he could feel the force from the Young Mistress lessen.

Her will was being pushed back by something. It was an energy that slowly crept forward, worming into everything.

Even with the Young Mistress partially shielding him, he could feel strands of the energy touching Jake's skin and working their way inside his body.

Now that he was looking, he could feel the energy working through him. It made his body tingle and thrum with life, causing his now constant boner.

With the energy running through him, Jake could tell it was not Qi. It was close, but the energy had too much… will within it. That was the only way he could describe the energy pulsing with more and less life as they traveled.

Opening his eyes and looking around, he began looking in the direction the energy was pulling him.

At first, he saw nothing, and every few steps, the direction, and strength of the pull would change. Something was calling him, and the energy within him was responding, stimulating his body.

It became apparent what the pull was. The same thing that kept distracting, Jake.

His eyes passed over the shapely, scantily clad women standing on the balconies and porches along the street, finally settling on one.

Face twisting up in rage at the realization, the bronze skin woman he was looking at, who was clothed in several long strips of glittering silver cloth, stepped back in momentary fear.

He was able to even out his face, but the anger was still there, burning just under the surface.

They are manipulating me! Controlling me! Thought Jake. It might not be much, and he could easily fight it off, but something about the whole situation set him off. He would not stand for it.

The indulgence of his mild curiosity meant to distract himself from being toted around like luggage was replaced with a seething bone-deep rage.

He wanted the energy out of his body. Needed it gone.

Reaching deep inside of himself, Jake planned to use his Qi to expel the energy from his body.

Down and down, Jake reached within himself, and he found nothing but wisps of Qi. There was no inner well of Qi within him.

Adrenaline pumped through his body as a twinge originating from his stomach spread through his body, filling him with strength. In his panic, he was filled with the need to free himself from his restraints.

Wel and Kel were thrown to the sides as Jake planted his feet and threw his arms out. They could not resist his strength.

Feet smashing into the ground, he thought he heard a crack from the impact. A moment later, Jake found he was thrown up and forward into the air.

Arms and legs flailing, Jake saw heads turn to the man tumbling through the air like a fucking retard. It was something Jake was used to seeing. For some reason, he saw those looks a lot. Probably the people I hang out with.

At first, Jake was looking at the heads pass underneath him in a blur before his vision was replaced by the open sky.

It was a beautiful clear day with a few clouds off in the distance and two moons hanging in the sky overhead.

Blinking, Jake took in the fact that there were two moons in the sky.

Someone screamed, and more people took up the chorus until the sound bounced off the walls around him.

His legs and arms were thrown wide as he completely gave up controlling his travel through the air. He deserved what was coming, and his spike of fear over being controlled was gone as he looked up into the sky.

Then something brushed the inside of his leg, and the instincts of a young man who had more than his share of ballbuster incidents took over.

Clamping his legs together like a hydraulic press, his hands also appeared between his legs, cradling his boys and trying to shield them from the coming impact.

A groan escaped his lips as his balls were sucked up into his chest, and the prepain gut punch of anticipation hit.

His imagination flashed pictures through his mind of a steel pole with everything from fist-sized spikes to needles slipping between his legs, aiming directly for his bait and tackle.

For some reason, legs felt more give than should be in a steal-hard spiked post, but it was a trap! The traitorous thought that it wasn't a spiked pole passed through his mind, but Jake rightfully ignored it.

This is no time for half measures or doubt! Jake thought, steeling his resolve.

Such an occurrence of it being all in his head wasn't possible… so Jake clamped down harder!

He heard a grunt and gasp as he finally got his head positioned enough to see what would hit his crotch this time.

"Well~ shit." Jake groaned as he looked at the burning hatred in the eyes of the Young Mistress, his legs wrapped around her waist, trapping her arms.

Continuing with his forward momentum, Jake, and now the Young Mistress, knocked off her feet and locked to him by his legs, started to fall backward onto the ground.

Jake tried. He really did.

There were no good ways this could end, but plenty of bad ones.

His hands that were projecting his boys, Jake tried to pull them to his chest along with his legs so he could tuck into a ball made only of himself as he rolled to a stop, but the Young Mistress was not ready to trust his actions at the moment, for some reason.

Understandable, if undeserved, complained Jake.

When he began to move his arms, Jake noticed the Young Mistress's clothes shift, and a light tension appeared around his wrists and ankles.

As he pulled his arms up, he felt some resistance, but it was nothing he could not power through. More like those resistance bands rich people use for workouts.

Widening and unclamping his knees, Jake huddled forward, tucking his head and trying to bring his legs to his chest.

Jake was rather pleased all things said and done. He could have ended this tumble while still lying on the young woman. That would have been bad.

It was not until his knees were most of the way to his chest that his hands came into contact was something soft with just the right amount of resistance.

He knew what it was. He could feel the other on the back of his right hand. …Shit…

Looking down, Jake accepted his fate. He was not surprised he was feeling up the Young Mistress.

He was surprised she was still so close to him and that he almost had his nose buried in her collarbone, which smelled like a field of freshly mowed grass, but as soon as his left hand came into contact with her breast and he instinctually squeezed it, Jake knew what he was touching.

As they hit the ground and started sliding across the cobbles on Jake's knees and the Young Mistress's shoulder blades, Jake did not try to move his hands.

He also did not look into the death beam burning into the side of his face. Making eye contact with that monster would in no way help him now. Instead, he looked at the traitorous architect of his destruction and noticed the strip of cloth wrapped around his wrists.

Her clothes must have wrapped around my wrist and ankles, and when I tried to get away, I brought us closer together. Well, that's unfortunate… Jake thought to himself.

As they slid to a stop, Jake thought, fuck it! Can't go much deeper.

Squeezing the vary nice breast one more time, Jake heard a high-pitched yip below him.

A moment passed as his eyes finally moved to the red-faced woman glaring below him. Oh, the center of her eyes has a hint of blue in them, that's pretty. Then all his strength left his body like a switch, and he was moving, flying through the sky again.

Before he could hit anything, Jake's vision was washed over by a wave of black, and he lost consciousness.

**********

In a city that existed on an island slightly larger than a hundred and seventy miles from longest point to point, that looked a little like an oval on a map, there were surprisingly few places to hide. At least for those on the devastated outer ring of the island.

Most of the island was taken up by the inner city and farmland hidden behind the wall. Of the four main docks, one in each of the cardinal directions, only two were still intact. One of those was the city's military naval docks enclosed by the wall and a natural bay on the island's north side.

With most of the buildings outside the walls destroyed by the wave, a bit less than a third of the buildings that comprised the Docks of the outer ring were still standing. And a portion of those were, well, they weren't really standing before the wave, and the wave didn't help matters. A strong wind could knock them over now.

All of this meant that there really wasn't all that much space to make a hideout for Katherine.

The survivors were trickling into the western side of the island and the docks located there. It was the only still inhabitable and functioning part of the outer ring.

Not that many people had work. It was just that it was better to lay in an alley that was close to a source of food, possible money, and shelter, limited as it was. With so little infrastructure remaining, the people had nowhere else to go.

With the flood of people, the standards of the West Dock’s living conditions were getting worse by the hour. Moving the bad living conditions steadily down the scale to abysmal.

The Western Docks had become a mess with the traffic of the three commercial docks forced into one. The West Docks could not hope to contain it all.

Katherine even noticed that the courtesans were hurting because the sailors could not stay on shore long enough to spend their money.

More than that, the surviving labor of the other two docks had arrived and were willing to work for food, causing the prices of moving shipments to drop.

The prices for everything were rising as the demand increased, those who came out of the disaster with some money were quickly discovering that it was far from enough to support themselves and their families at this time of trouble.

In short, it was a perfect area and time for Katherine to ply her planned new trade.

A trade that will be made possible thanks to an issue not many knew, or even cared about. With her quick visit an hour ago, she almost had all she needed to start her little empire.

An empire founded by on sewers.

Few people in the Docks realized sewers were running below them. No one in the Docks could use them, and the entrances were few and far between.

And the few people who went down into the sewers to explore them never returned. Or come back with horror stories no one wanted to prove or disprove.

The reason was simple, monsters lurked down there, and they did not abide intruders.

If one knew the proper routes and was careful enough, they could travel the sewers and come out alive anywhere on the island, even on the other side of the wall.

Katherine knew those paths. It was the only reason she was still free. Many a time, one gang or another tried to trap her, only for her to escape into the sewers, which they were unwilling to enter. The few times someone did chase after her, they did not like the results.

Not that she did something to them, but the point was she didn't have to.

And thanks to the massive wall of water that washed over the island, those sewers, once filled with creatures looking to kill anything they come across, were all dead.

A willing, savage enough workforce could clear out a path to the inner city, where they could take their coin and buy goods, which were sometimes a third as cheap as the Docks, and resell them.

Any good enterprise will inevitably create competitors. Or those who think they should be in charge and are willing to exert their claim by force if necessary. Katherine would have to be ready for someone to challenge her.

The key to her plan would be inviting the right people. They couldn't be all that much older than her. Five years was probably the limit. So around 20 years old?

More than that, they would look down on her and not be willing to follow her orders, even if she was a woman. Age and size matter, especially to those who view the world in fighting abilities. It was sad that some people attributed size and age to skill.

You could prove them wrong, and that would work for some, but Katherine learned long ago that when she put someone down with her skill, there would be one out of four that thought it was some trick one-off, they could still beat her, or they started resenting her for her skill and caused problems she could not respond to with direct force. Politics were always a bitch.

It led to a slow build-up of tension that eventually exploded into violence that she would have to run from. It was easier to pick those who would follow her without being beaten down repeatedly.

Scanning the crowds, she started looking for those who would be of use to her.

There was a range of people she was looking at. On the high end, there were those whose clothing was… good. Good for the Docks after a disaster that destroyed two-thirds of the outer ring, at least.

Inside the walls, they would hardly make it a few steps without being picked out as 'poor peasant trash' had little to no reason to belong in 'this fine city' because they didn't have the coin. Unless they lingered too long in one area, the guards would not be called to hall them off back to the Docks, but they would be noticed and marked as less by the inhabitants.

Here, in the outer ring, they would be identified as sheltered easy marks which could not put up a lot of fight. They were usually the children of courtesans, merchants, fishmongers, and shopkeepers. Those kids of the near wealthy and influential who could make a living but not a fortune.

While they could be everything Katherine needed, more often than not, those individuals would fold given the slightest bit of pressure. It was not worth the chance. Later she could pick some of them out that showed promise, but for now, it was too soon. She needed seasoned, experienced people.

The other side of that spectrum was the true bread street rats. Those kids born into squaller and had spent every day having that fact beaten into them by someone.

They were shifty feral things that looked and acted more like wild animals than humans at times. No one but their long-term friend could trust them, and even then, you had to wonder.

That is not to say it was an absolute. Nothing is. Katherine was sure some were good people she could meet. As an outsider, though, she would have to assume no one was trustworthy if she wanted to live. For a while, at least.

Even gangs had to be careful of the street rats so long as their foundation of power was in question.

You could beat them down over and over again, and they would say whatever they thought you wanted to hear. They might even help you a few times so long as they felt it was in their best interest or could get something out of it.

And then, as soon as you had your back turned, and they thought they could get away with it, they would pull out their shiv—they all had one even if you didn't see it—and stab you in the back.

She could easily gather up a few dozen of the street rats and form her group, but either because of their lack of education or being constantly shit on their whole life, one of them was bound to betray her thinking it was better to get something little now than a potential windfall that would probably never come in the future.

While no gang could exist without them, having your core formed of them without having known them for years was impossible. For her, at least.

Once Katherine had someone she could somewhat trust, she would be able to pick out street rats to join her.

Until then, she needed those who lived in the middle of the spectrum.

Those who had fallen to the bottom level of society and managed to scrape by without having the spark of believing they could do something more beat out of them. Those like me.

After she found those, she just had to pick out the individuals who didn't look like assholes.

It was… a lot harder than she thought it would be.

Not even a whole day had passed, and already groups were forming and beginning to try and make a claim for small pieces of territory.

Katherine walked past and threw alleys as the situation demanded.

There were those who were not welcoming to outsiders, and if one was going to survive, they had to pick up on the cues.

Like a section of nearly empty alleys when the surrounding ones were packed, it was a subtle difference Katherine picked up on and immediately turned around, walking another way.

The catcalls and jeers that followed her did not make her pick up her pace, that would only be inviting pursuit, but she did turn and flip them off, calling them incest-spawned bastards.

It was all part of the dance of walking the backstreets.

As she made her way through the city, Katherine ventured in then out of the more repaired sections as she searched for the right group to approach.

At one point, she even ventured past the main road leading to the city gates.

She was following her instincts like she always did, and while she did not find a group, she did see an amusing sight of a man flying over a crowd, landing on a young foxkin woman and feeling her up.

He was flung into a wall a moment later, but Katherine was pretty sure he survived, not that she would want to be him because the people of the young woman dragged him away a moment later. Would hate to be him when he wakes up.

Day turned to night, and still, Katherine walked through the city searching.

She was not discouraged. Hard work gives the greatest rewards, after all.

A few times, she approached a couple of groups but backed off after a few words. They didn't feel right to her.

One of the key lessons her mother taught her was: "Hard work in the beginning was less work by the end." It was why the foundation of a house was so important.

Loyalty was needed. If not loyalty for her, which was fine for now, then at least loyalty to their self-interest and the future. She just needed to find a group that could look into the future. Then if she gave them a reason to trust and believe in her, they would follow. Hope was a powerful thing.

The sun was just beginning to set, and Katherine believed she had finally found the right group.

She ran across the group an hour ago and spent that time getting up on the roofs and watching them.

They seemed to have the right amount of loyalty and ruthlessness. The two blocks of streets and alleys they ruled seemed to be doing well.

Those who paid their protection fee were being protected. Any individual that wanted to pass their turf would need to pay. It was only a couple of coppers, and under the circumstances, it was reasonable. Anyone delivering a shipment to the hand full of stores was left alone.

Best of all, those who tried to cause trouble were put down. How they were put down depended on how they were causing trouble.

There were a lot of problems for the relatively small group as there were only three dozen in the gang she had spotted. The leader appeared to be a man in his early twenties.

Him and the core group of the gang, which consisted of five other people, were good fighters. Too good to just be some street tuffs, but their backstories didn't matter.

They might be able to hold their ground for now, but sooner than later, they would be overrun by sheer numbers.

By sooner, Katherine meant within the next few minutes, if not seconds.

They didn't have the numbers, strength, or skill to overcome the odds walking toward them.

Around forty individuals walked down the road towards the surviving massed strength of the group she was watching. Around the bloody and slightly swaying forms were the groaning bodies of three dozen other gangsters from the attacking group.

They would not last long, and they knew it.

It was time for a hero to drop in.

As she moved to get up, she felt her body swell with strength. Her vision sharpened, a deep breath painted the air in colors, and the wood under her hand splintered into shards as she slightly squeezed.

Before, it was questionable whether she had the skill to solve this problem. It would have been a gamble.

She would have had to ruthlessly cut through the attacking group and try to make them run in fear.

Every now and then, you just had to throw the dice. But now? She would shatter the attackers.

Pushing off the side of the roof below where she was sitting, Katherine arched out through the air.

She traveled over the edge of the gang she was watching, ending her fall a few feet past the first of the bodies lying on the ground in between the two groups facing off against one another.

Waving and the approaching group of men and women with a wide toothy smile, she shouted, "Hey-ya!"

Taking a step back and turning, she grabbed one of the larger men lying on the ground by the ankle before stepping forward and casually throwing him with a wide swing of her arm.

The man began rapidly spinning, making three rotations as he traveled the fifteen-foot distance between her and the attacking group.

Crashing into the right side of the line, the large man's body came to a stop after bowling over a half dozen people.

She had already grabbed another body by the ankle and was cheerily smiling and waving at the shocked group, "Leave or die. Decisions decisions?"

Nothing moved for a second before the leader turned around, looking at her people, trying to gather herself for a statement of ridicule or to shout charge or something. Who really cared? She had no support.

In the time it took the woman to look around, Katherine got another two bodies and was trying to juggle them with limited success. Bodies were awkward, and she had spent little time practicing juggling. She usually only tried it when she was bored.

No one in the group could stand up to her, and her display made that apparent. Suicidally brave was not something usually attributed to gang members.

The burly woman shouted something about coming back before the group turned to leave.

They didn't care about the fodder around Katherine. Whether they came back or not, there would always be more.

Dropping her juggling people, Katherine turned, waving and smiling as she said in the same cheerful tone of voice, "Hi-ya! We gonna chat a bit. Mmk?”