Neon signs reflected in puddles at night. A drizzle crackled on vinyl umbrellas and storefront awnings. Large droplets gathered at corners and overhangs, falling on the asphalt in a pitter-pattering rhythm. The branches of the Aurora Stellaris undulated calmly underneath the rain clouds. Their light drew rainbows in the night, visible from far and wide. It was such a common sight in Starlight City, nary a soul looked up to behold the wonders of nature and magic at work.

  As pedestrians without umbrellas hurried from one cover to the next, store owners started to close their shops. The restaurants of the Old Neon District would remain open for a while longer. Office grunts came here to air their grievances over many a bottle of alcohol, partying deep into the night. After all, tomorrow was the weekend.

  Those so inclined would head west after getting a buzz going and find themselves in the red-light district. Its history was as old as the city itself, perhaps even older. As in every town, when trade ships would sail up and down the coast, sailors needed to stretch their limbs. Where there was demand, people knew to provide. And demand was never higher today, when nothing in life seemed to hold real value anymore.

  One shop was uncharacteristically closed. Now was the prime hour to lure in customers, but its neon sign, Royal Honeypot, remained dark. Beyond its closed doors was the small entrance area where a musclebound man in a black suit sat on a chair creaking under his weight, smoking while reading a magazine. Around the bend was a bar, tended to by a lady in a button-down shirt and suspenders with a burn over her left eye. She filled eight glasses with various drinks, ranging from whiskey on the rocks to a simple soda.

  A waiter in a black waistcoat put them on a tray and carried them through a double-winged door, down a long corridor with private rooms left and right. All of them were empty. A door opened at the very end, and a young waitress in a form-fitting, glittering violet dress took over. Beyond was a room filled with smoke. At an oval table sat eight people, staring at each other silently as their drinks were placed before them.

  The waitress finished her job and excused herself with a nod, closing the door behind her as she left. A wizened old man with a sparse beard and even sparser white hair on his head raised a shaky hand. His fingers flipped through several hand signs with practiced movements that belied his frail appearance. Then, a glowing marble rested between his index and middle fingers. With a twist of his wrist, he flicked it into the air.

  The marble's light expanded outward and revealed itself to be an unfurling web of complex shapes. It washed over the others in the room, who remained unmoving through the display, and covered the walls. The light then seemed to seep into their surroundings before fading away. The man lowered his hand and raised a bushy eyebrow to reveal a sunken eye underneath. The perceptive light within was not of someone with one foot in the grave.

  "We can speak freely now," announced a refined young man in a black silken gown. A rising dragon was embroidered across his chest with golden threads, something only a single individual in all of Starlight City was allowed to wear. He was Peter Wei, Dragon Head of the Neon Triad. The wizened old man was Wei Dalao, his great-grandfather and the former head of three generations past.

  Peter's grandfather and then his father had both died in the last ten years, leaving him to take up the mantle of leadership. His great-grandfather recognized the fire in his heart and continued to support him even at the age of a hundred and twenty-two. He had consolidated the slipping strength of the Neon Triad and returned it to its former glory within the span of two years. Now, most businesses in the red-light district paid tribute to him.

  "I came because Mr. Wei invited me, but what is this vixen doing here?" spat a rotund man wearing teashades that were decidedly too small for his fleshy face. He was not just bald, but entirely hairless, with pale skin and thin lips, resembling a deep-sea fish that had been pulled out of its natural habitat. His cream-colored robes were unable to hide his ample weight.

  Few people in the underworld of Starlight City didn't know his name: Deng Lau, the Soulripper. He was the leader of the Crimson Enforcers, muscle for hire with no political affiliation. Even the corporations sometimes made use of them when dealing with issues they couldn't afford to let the outward-facing magical girls do.

  "My, a pig speaking the human language. Mr. Wei has presented us with a unique curiosity once again," the vixen in question responded with a sneer. She was a voluptuous woman in a lavish, low-cut purple evening dress. Silver fur was draped over her shoulders, and in her hand rested a smoking pipe. Her black and white hair, almost slit-like, narrow eyes, and broad mouth did indeed evoke the image of a cunning fox. She exuded the self-confidence of someone who had seen it all, even though her appearance suggested she was in her late twenties.

  She was Niv Adama, better known as the Witch of the Wastes, one of the most mysterious entities in Starlight City. Legends had it that she was born long before the city even existed, weaving her strange spells on the settlers of yore on her whims. Many had tried to kill her over the years. She was still here; they were not.

  "Stop it, you two!" boomed a bear-like man. He had shaggy black hair that wrapped around his broad jaw and connected into a bushy full beard. Two piercing green eyes peered out from underneath his hair, glaring at the two offenders. The sleeves of his dark brown martial arts uniform were torn off at the shoulders, revealing sun-tanned arms as thick as tree trunks. His presence exuded strength, both physical and spiritual.

  Durgama the Seeker, leader of the Kshatriya. They were a roving band of martial artists who regularly challenged the law and magical girls as a form of training. All of their members were supposedly normal humans without any enhancements. Few gave that rumor credibility when Durgama could stand toe to toe with transformed magical girls.

  "Indeed, we are here to conduct business, and everybody at this table is an equal in this transaction," declared the leader of the Neon Triad. He then turned his attention to the woman sitting across from him, sipping on her whiskey on the rocks. If they didn't know better, they would think she was wholly out of place in this meeting.

  "This will definitely be worth your time," she said with a husky voice belying her childlike appearance. Flaming red hair in a wolf cut, piercing golden eyes, a diminutive stature wrapped in a revealing green evening dress. Felicia Varcolac, better known as Lady Rosca, former executive of the Heartstopper Syndicate and leader of the Iele Coven. "A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to leave the shadow of the corporations and grow into their equal."

  "Pah, that sounds like a death wish," Deng Lau commented with a dismissive snort. "The first rule of Starlight City: You do not mess with the corporations' bottom line."

  "Yet, here we are," Lady Rosca said, gesturing at the people around the table. Every one of them had run-ins with the city's true owners and their attack dogs.

  "Speaking of, who is this young lady?" the man sitting next to her asked. He was of an average stature, with curly, shoulder-length brown hair and a three-day stubble. A bright orange tweed jacket over a white frilly shirt with the top two buttons open, signs of a free spirit. His expression was the most relaxed among the gathered, smiling carelessly as if this were a simple drinking party and not a meeting of some of the city's most powerful criminal leaders.

  "You can call her the RFC Bomber," replied Lady Rosca. Her smile grew proud like a mother's when the gathered showed genuine surprise. It seemed that their information networks were not as good as they thought. "Her name is Raven."

  "Oh my, a real celebrity," the man commented with an ironic grin. He was Enzo Montanari, the face of the trio making up Negative. Unlike the others here, he wasn't the leader of a crime organization but a freelancer working only with his two brothers. They were master thieves for hire, working for whoever was the highest bidder. At times, corporations would hire them for industrial espionage. At others, they would try to hunt them down. Enzo's presence here suggested it was the season for the latter.

  He knew Raven and had feigned ignorance to shake up the conversation. But his charming smile didn't move her. She took a sip from her drink and placed it on the table before her calmly. All of these people were heinous criminals she had clashed with in the past. She could rid the world of this scourge right now. But she had to keep the bigger picture in mind. While they caused a great deal of death and suffering in Starlight City with their moneylending, drug trafficking, and other illicit businesses, the corporations did so on a global scale. It was a matter of prioritizing the greater of two evils.

  "I can begin to see where this is headed," said the Witch of the Wastes, breathing out a puff of her sweet smoke. "A direct attack on a corporation. But with a twist, it would seem."

  The only reason all these heavy-hitters would be involved was scale. If it were simple industrial espionage, Negative could do it on their own. And an army would be detrimental to a surgical strike like Raven's attack on the Raytronics Financial Center. Something big was going to happen in Starlight City. But that was predicated on the cooperation of everybody in this room.

  "Let us hear it, then, Lady Rosca," Peter requested.

  "Starlight Dynamics." These words alone caused everybody else to tense up. Deng Lau spoke of not messing with corporations' bottom lines. But the Starlight Conglomerate topped the list of those not to be messed with, period. They were the de facto rulers of the city, with a military force that could rival that of a developed nation.

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  "We actually have a foolproof plan," Enzo quickly added with a wry smile when he felt the temperature in the room drop. But his flippant attitude only made things worse.

  "This isn't even worth talking about," declared Deng Lau, standing up from his chair.

  "Sit down," Raven suddenly spoke up. The rotund man froze at her voice, then glared at her through his teashades. The audacity of this newcomer to command him. "We are going for their data center. The research data inside is worth more than your life."

  "You upstart!" he roared, putting his hand into his sleeve to take something out of it.

  "Silence!" Durgama's voice shook the entire room. When all eyes were on him, he continued, "Let us hear what this is about first."

  "I have already worked out an infiltration plan with Negative," said Lady Rosca. "But we all know the kind of security Starlight Dynamics has."

  She wasn't referring to the blast doors and biometric locks. There was only one thing that came to mind when talking about corporate security: Magical girls. Specifically, Titan Valkyrie. Despite being ranked fifth on the billboards, her public feats of might were unparalleled. Some said the only reason she didn't hold a higher rank was her abrasive personality, making her a walking PR nightmare.

  But the people in the room knew the real reason. Many of her feats couldn't be publicized because of her brutal way of fighting. She was a psychopath. Each one of them had seen what she was capable of, and nobody wanted to be on the receiving end of it. Still, the fact that they hadn't left yet showed a certain level of self-confidence. After all, they had survived encountering her before.

  "You want us to create a diversion and draw out Starlight Dynamics' magical girl force," Niv said. She reached forward with her pipe and knocked it against the ashtray, dropping the still-smoldering ball of tobacco inside. "A suicide mission?"

  "A diversion, yes. But not a suicide mission. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here," replied Lady Rosca. "And I wouldn't be committing Sister Striga to the cause."

  Durgama flinched at that name. Once again, the temperature in the room dropped. If everybody knew Titan Valkyrie, they knew Sister Striga better. Mainly because she had been active in the underground for a decade longer than the magical girl. In the Heartstopper Syndicate's heyday, when the corporations had yet to consolidate the city's security forces with the magical girl vigilantes, she was an unparalleled monster.

  "This sounds like a massive undertaking. But how are we supposed to make away with the data?" Peter inquired calmly. "And how are we going to make use of it? Surely, it is all technology that requires an entire industry behind it to work."

  "The data itself is worth money. And there are plenty of corporations, both foreign and local, willing to pay for it," explained Lady Rosca. "I have a few channels to parties interested in their weapons research program, for example."

  Raven's eyebrows twitched. If the data got into the wrong hands, it could result in untold destruction down the line. She glanced at Lady Rosca. Maybe she had her means of making use of the technologies, too. It would then put her ahead of all the other criminal organizations in the city - more than her current power base already did.

  "Leave the stealing part to us," Enzo added with a shrug. He made it sound easy. Surely, there were exabytes of data in those server racks. There was no portable storage device in the world that could fit it all. And going through them would take days. How would they know what to take?

  "Just know that once Negative is inside, we will get the data," added Lady Rosca.

  "So we take you at your word, send our forces to distract them outside, and then what? You make off with everything and leave us to die?" Deng Lau asked the question everybody else was thinking about.

  "A distraction doesn't mean fighting to the death, now does it?" Enzo waved off their concerns flippantly.

  "When the other side has Titan Valkyrie, it does." Even the Witch of the Wastes was not convinced.

  "Well, we have multiple exit strategies. But for now, let's concentrate on the broad strokes of this heist," said Lady Rosca. She took up the small remote control on the table beside her glass of whiskey and pressed a button. A small wooden box on the table projected an image onto a prepared screen hanging on the wall. "This would be the timeline."

  At ten in the morning on the Sunday two weeks from now, there was an event in the Everleaf Center's auditorium featuring most of the top-ranking magical girls in the city. Of course, Titan Valkyrie, being the antisocial person that she was, wouldn't attend. But it would mean other reinforcements would take time to arrive.

  The Neon Triad, Crimson Enforcers, and the Kshatriya would perform a simultaneous attack across the Coalworks District once the event began, targeting various weapons manufacturers near Starlight Dynamics. Regular security forces would not be equipped to deal with such a coordinated offensive, so the corporations would be forced to call out their stationed magical girls. Starlight Dynamics would have to respond and let Titan Valkyrie sortie. The Witch of the Wastes, Durgama, and Sister Striga would then lock her down together.

  The Negative trio would use that opportunity to infiltrate the Starlight Dynamics compound, make their way to the data center, and do their magic. Once they got the signal that everything went according to plan, the diversion unit would stagger their retreat to act like they were responding to enemy pushback. The perfect outcome would be for the corporation to remain unaware of the breach and think of the attack as a daring attempt by the criminal underworld to steal magitech weapons and supplies to even the playing field against the city's law enforcement.

  Raven and her crew were on getaway duty. If anything went wrong, they would extract the trio and shake off any pursuers in the old warehouse district. At that time, the diversion unit would retreat all at once and scatter to the Atlas District in the west and the Wasteland in the north, where the Iele Coven and the Witch of the Wastes could hide them until the heat passed.

  "Who are we kidding? Of course, something will go wrong," added Enzo at the end of the briefing. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his hands behind his head. "But if I get the cute RFC Bomber to bail me out, that might not be so bad."

  "There was no mention of how we would share the spoils," Deng Lau grumbled.

  "Let's not count our chickens before they have hatched. The Neon Triad will ensure that all involved parties are fairly compensated for their work," Peter declared. With the Heartstopper Syndicate gone, his organization was the largest within the city once more. Clearly, he didn't know about Lady Rosca's plans to consolidate the remnants under a new name.

  "I don't care about technology or the likes. Facing Titan Valkyrie is reward enough," announced Durgama with his arms crossed. The Kshatriya were not organized crime but rather just a gang of like-minded people. They worked odd jobs for a living and only cared about training their bodies and minds. In their eyes, wealth was measured in those factors alone. Raven glanced at the bear-like man. She had heard the rumors but never faced him directly before. But possessing that level of self-confidence in the Starlight City underworld suggested the might to back it up. Otherwise, he would have already died in a ditch like a dog long ago.

  "So, we are going to sacrifice a lot of our forces in this," said Deng Lau.

  "You, of all people, should not talk about sacrifice," Niv commented with a dismissive sniff.

  "Let's move on to the details," Lady Rosca spoke up before the two could start a verbal exchange again. "We have obtained a floor plan of the main facility. The largest obstacle is the X-ray corridor."

  The projector showed the path that Negative would take through the building. Enzo already knew this, but it was a visualization for the others to understand the timeframe for the infiltration and diversion.

  "I estimate three minutes in, three minutes out, less if there's an issue. But the big question is how long the pickup is going to take," he explained with a wave of his hand. "My source tells me the data download will take barely a minute with a certain handy device. But I've had too many bad experiences to trust that. So let's calculate ten minutes."

  "Over fifteen minutes of fighting against the full might of the corporations' security forces," muttered Peter thoughtfully. If none of the top ten magical girls were involved in this, that would not have been such a problem. But they were actively seeking a confrontation with the number five. And this timeframe would allow some of those attending the event downtown to fly over.

  "That is decidedly too long for my tastes," said the Witch of the Wastes with a click of her tongue. This wasn't about Titan Valkyrie. Everybody understood, but nobody at the table wanted to say it.

  "White Wish." Raven had no such qualms. The others stared at her in shock, as if invoking her name would summon her.

  "The White Reaper," Deng Lau muttered under his breath.

  White Wish's outward appearance was that of the perfect magical girl. Not even her civilian name was known, let alone where she spent her time out of the limelight. Whenever she appeared in public, it was in her magical girl outfit. Acting in film and on television, singing, dancing, and participating in pageants. She aced whatever she touched. And outwardly, she had a spotless image. She was every PR manager's wet dream.

  There was only a single known instance when White Wish faced human opponents in Starlight City. One year ago, shortly after her debut, a fight against a high-level monster took her into the slums of the Atlas District. Back then, she was not yet on the rankings, so the owner of the turf she unwittingly trespassed on, one Wargas the Ogre, thought she was easy prey. He wanted to hang her battered corpse from a lamp post to send the corporations a message.

  When the police arrived, the only thing they could find of the Ogre and his men was a lifelike mural on a wall. Upon closer inspection, it turned out that they had been flattened into a painting so quickly that their expressions were frozen in self-confident grins. He was one of the remnants of the Heartstopper Syndicate, an enforcer who fought alongside Sister Striga for years. And he found his end without even knowing what had hit him.

  Of course, the public of Starlight City never heard about that incident. But the underground learned the terror of the White Reaper that day.

  "I will deal with her when she appears," Raven declared with nary a change in her expression. The gathered stared at her in utter bewilderment.

  "What she meant to say is that her crew will be on double duty. If the White Reaper really does appear, which I highly doubt, given her track record, they will do everything in their power to distract her," Lady Rosca quickly qualified Raven's statement, speaking calmly as if this was rehearsed. But in her mind, she was screaming at the black-haired girl beside her.

  "And here I thought she was making a joke at this juncture," commented Niv. Her pipe was lit again, and she breathed a smoke ring across the room toward Raven. Its shape gradually changed into a heart, but she blew at it dismissively and scattered the smoke before it reached her. The witch smiled.

  "What kind of monsters are in her crew for her to speak so casually about facing the White Reaper?" Deng Lau inquired, peering over his teashades with his slit-like eyes to get a better look at Raven.

  "I can give you one name: Nightingale," responded Lady Rosca in her stead. That elicited grunts of surprise and approval from the gathered. The legendary nightmare-class hacker of Starlight City definitely had an eye for people, or she wouldn't have been active for a decade without being caught. "Now that we have laid out the overall plan, let's work out the details for the assault."

  She glanced at Raven, a silent signal for her to keep her mouth shut from now on. Despite coming across as cold and calculating, the hotheadedness of Flameheart still smoldered within her. That would get them all into trouble down the line, she was sure of it.

  "Let's begin with the forces each of us will bring." She turned to gesture at the Dragon Head. "Please, Mr. Wei, if you would be so kind."