The Phoenix gang was one of the most well known Tier-1 gangs across the country. The main reason for this was their leader Sin who wasn't one to shy away from showing off his powers. Unlike most of the Kings who seemed contend with secretly ruling from behind the scenes, Sin was very public in displaying his face and fighting on the front lines, especially if there was a group that annoyed him.
Even though his face was so public the other Kings didn't attempt to go after him, or increase their influence, which, in a lot of ways, showed the power the Phoenix gang had. This was precisely the reason why two people from a small Tier-3 town had decided to join them, Raven and Gil.
The two of them had nothing left behind for them at Slough. Gil's parents had long since abandoned him, his consistent streak of getting into trouble had caused them to eventually give up on their son.
As for Raven, his parents had long since died, leaving him and his brother on their own. Trying to make a better life for themselves, he had joined hands with his two friends Brendon and Yevon and had founded the Grey Elephants, who had managed to become one of the two overlords of Slough. Alas, his friends, as well as his brother, had all messed with the wrong people and had ended up killed.
As if fate had brought them together, Raven and Gil had nowhere else to go but they shared a clear goal, and that was to punish the person they held responsible for all of their recent misgivings, Gary Dem.
Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do on their own. They both knew his strength, he had proven himself by taking out the Underdogs. Being in the de-facto strongest gang made them as untouchable as a world renowned celebrity, so they needed help and so Raven had decided to leave town and join the Phoenix gang.
Coming from a Tier-3 town, despite being the vice-leader of a prominent gang, Raven had no choice but to start from the bottom, same as Gil. Nevertheless, this didn't bother him. The two of them were always quick to volunteer for any and all jobs, be it to clean up one of the gang hideouts, or to get rid of some dead bodies or evidence of crimes committed. Doing the dirty work that no one liked to do had quickly earned them a favourable impression from the others.
Neither one of them was a stranger to gruesome sights, but some of the scenes they had to witness would make any normal person faint, yet eventually they had grown numb to such things. When being given their first proper task, it allowed them to commit to what they needed to do, easier than they thought.
The gang was impressed, and slowly they were being spotted for their talents. They were given jobs that had more importance, one that required them to get stronger.
Raven had always been quite the skilled fighter, and Gil had natural strength and agility from his rugby days. The two of them would often train against each other, and continued to grow their fighting skills, but it wasn't enough to stand out. In a tier-1 gang, there were many like them who were just as skilled or just as strong.
At some point they hit a wall. Without rising to a higher position they would have no influence, but those that were able to rise up, were at least Altered, something that they could never be unless a miracle occurred.
Unbeknown to them, their wishes would soon be granted. Being the leader of the Phoenix gang, it was next to impossible for either one of them to meet with Sin, not only because their standing was far too low, but also because he would often be out and about doing his own thing. Nevertheless, for some reason they couldn't even begin to fathom, one day they were called out in front of him, since Sin seemed to have some interest in Slough. Being natives, he asked for all the information they had on the place.
The two of them shared everything they knew, with Raven giving more of the detailed information about the underworld. About how the Underdogs worked, what members the Howlers had, and more.
A few days later the two of them continued their normal duties in the gang, when they were called once more, only this time they were to head to the large villa that was in the mountains overlooking the sea.
Both Girl and Raven sat down nervously as they looked at the surrounding guards, and Sin in a dark red jacket, looking out at the view from his balcony.
"I called you two back, because I wanted to thank you for the information you provided before." Sin explained, still not turning around. "I am a fair boss who rewards those that are helpful, and you have been very helpful in this situation."
One of the men that was standing by the side with sunglasses on his face came over with a metal briefcase. He slammed it on the table in front of them, and lifted it open revealing two syringes.
'Is this what I think it is!' Gil thought with excitement. 'I've only heard the others talk about it, the new method to becoming an Altered, it's Altered solution… he's really allowing for us to become Altered!'
Although Gil was over the moon, the same couldn't be said for Raven, because when looking at the syringe he noticed something. The colour of the liquid inside was a little black. It was moving around as if it was alive.
'This… this seems awfully like the same liquid he wanted us to disseminate amongst the Grey Elephants… and it turned them all, into those mindless monsters.'
Sin turned around, and when he did, he immediately noticed the look on Raven's face. "From the looks of it, you have seen this before."
Raven was quite surprised, because in their last meeting Sin had seemingly forgotten all about him.
"I can already guess what your main concern is, so let me calm you down, this solution has been vastly improved. Think about it, what would I have to gain from turning two of my own men into Crazed Altered? If I wanted to get rid of you, would I really have to use such methods?
"The reason why I am offering you this chance, is because I have big plans for you two. Whatever reasons you have for leaving Slough, you will be able to head back with no problem at all if you take this.
"And, to go one step further, this is your choice, your reward for being loyal, I will not force you to take it."
Raven looked at the syringe again, it was slightly different to the one he had given them. The tint of black was almost sitting on top of the other colour inside the tube rather than mixing. Last time as well, only part of the solution had been used rather than the whole thing, which could have been a reason for the bad side effects.
'Gary is growing stronger, and according to my information, his whole group is also improving at a frightening speed. If I wish to have any chance of catching up, to get revenge for Hawk, I need to take risks.' Raven convinced himself, as he grabbed the syringe and right there and then stabbed it into his shoulder.
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