I moved on the offensive. Using my super speed, I flew in like a bullet. The woman shot acid at me dozens of times. Simultaneously, Yayo fired his yo-yo in my direction. I spun and weaved in and out of their attacks. The streams of deadly liquid and energy bursts from the yo-yo were whizzing past me at high speeds, barely an inch away from my skin. My concentration was acute and my movements were precise. This allowed me to successfully navigate the air between their projectiles. Then, when I was close enough, I wrapped both of my arms around the two and slammed them both into the brick wall behind them. They groaned while being slumped over in pain, and that is when I rapidly tied my loose cape around the woman’s mouth and launched Yayo’s yo-yo across the warehouse. Finally, our fight was at an end.

The two criminals surrendered, waving their hands above their heads, signaling they wanted to cease our battle. I stood them up and released the woman’s gag with a warning to not shoot any more acid. She complied. I asked her what her business there was, and after moving her jaw around to restore its feeling of normality, she told me she is an enforcer in Spliff‘s crew. She had stepped outside to see their business associates off when I arrived, and when she returned, she jumped in to defend Yayo.

I inquired about her name and history, and she informed me she goes by the alias Paradise. She was from a wealthy part of Platinum City, but every summer as a child she would come to the King Projects, where Spliff and Yayo are from, to visit her grandmother who still lived there. Paradise always felt more at home in the rough neighborhood than she did in her upscale native residence. She did not face constant scrutiny or feel out of place because of her skin color and texture of her hair when she stayed with her grandmother in the projects. Everyone around looked like her. They welcomed her and accepted her for exactly who she was. Naturally, she would catch flack for being the rich girl. One of her nicknames was Money Bags. But ultimately that came to be a badge of honor as Paradise always had the freshest gear, kicks, electronics, and was personally really cool. Thus, she fit in great and was never ostracized for being well-off.

Over the years, the allure of fast money and dangerous living attracted Paradise to Spliff and Yayo, and the three became close friends. When Spliff was away in Platinum City University, she dropped out of school and moved to the King Projects to be at Yayo’s side and help hold down the enterprise. Then, after Spliff returned, the three worked to grow things to the next level.

So, how did this beautiful young lady come to have the ability to spit acid? Well, I shall tell you. Paradise gained her powers one night after secretly going through Spliff’s personal items, looking for his private stash of marijuana. It was known that Spliff always kept some grade A for himself. However, instead of just sparking a joint with his stuff, she also found a little container of liquid. She laced the weed with the substance, believing it to be THC. Paradise, however, was dead wrong, as the vial actually contained a stable form of the same chemical that exploded in the lab and gave Spliff his powers!

After a few minutes, Spliff walked in and saw the empty vial next to an unconscious Paradise. Immediately, he knew what happened and began injecting her with a counter-serum to combat the overdose Paradise was experiencing. This combination actually caused for a mutation to occur in Paradise’s mouth, giving her additional muscular support in her mandible and tongue, along with a transformation of her salivary glands that now could produce the potent acidic liquid she used to attack me with. It took some time for her to master the new ability, but once she did she immediately began using her powers to help enforce Spliff’s justice and rules, often teaming up with other associates of the street legend, Blunt and LaLa.

I finished my questioning of the two by asking what they knew about Ramses Hondo pushing weapons through Platinum City. Neither knew anything about The Pharaoh, which wasn’t a surprise. They did inform me, though, that there had been an influx of secret weaponry that seemed to have some next level technology. They noticed that members of the Italian mob had been testing them privately, and began inquiring to their contacts about the weapons’ origins. Obviously, they both admitted to wanting to use and sell the advanced guns. I queried about who these “contacts” were.

As I expected, they refused to give me any names. I became frustrated with their willingness to only partially cooperate. That is when I explained to the two that traditional weapons were bad enough, but these new weapons presented a completely different threat. They most likely had alien technology incorporated into them, and their heightened destructive power could easily turn their neighborhoods into shambles with one mishap. I explained to them how I witnessed what these weapons were doing overseas in war zones, how thousands of people were dying instantly as a result of these guns, and unlike in Platinum City, there were not millions of people in close proximity with each other. One shootout in their neighborhood could easily level a dozen blocks, taking endless lives. Yayo and Paradise listened to my words and agreed that the release of these weapons on the streets could spell catastrophe. So, they took me to Spliff and I explained the same.

In order to save the King Projects, Spliff said he would look into the weapons before they hit his territory. However, he did not give me any of the key information I was looking for, telling me doing so would directly affect the standing of his business relationships. With a certain reassuring confidence, though, he did tell me to continue digging as he was sure I would be led to the answers I sought.

Frustrated, I began to depart our meeting place. On the way out, Yayo told me I owed him a new yo-yo. I told him it would be in the mail but to not hold his breath. That is when Paradise opened the door for me, spit acid on her hand, looked at me and asked if I would shake on the agreement. I made sure to let them know I would be back soon. We shared an awkward chuckle as I walked out.

Their refusal to give me names, locations or any detailed information means they definitely know things about the bigger picture of what is going on around here. Ramses very well could be in Platinum City right now. Their stance also lets me know that they are an integral piece of that bigger picture. However, no matter what I do or say, I know they will not snitch on their business associates and give me the intel I am seeking. And at this point, attempting to bring down Spliff’s business would only call more attention to what I’m doing and perhaps cause the true villainous masterminds to go deeper into hiding. I have to find an ally or neutral partner who has something to gain from exposing the source of the alien hybrid weapons.

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