Darc Green Gang
It’s more than it seems.
Staring at his hands, faint lines of wrist bands, darker opaque red, the green light shines, draining the pinks, browns, and oranges from that patch of skin; green highlights that cast orange shadows by blue veins twisting underneath the scales of skin, the wrinkles where dark red shadows and sweat collect. But looking quickly, all the colors sink deep into skin and flesh, and it seems solid and white-orange, like the pale wood of the chair.
Jack turned his hands over, methodically tracing the curves of shadow and color with wonder. His eyes sparkled in the green light of the high-ceiling room, but they weren’t full of panic like before. They weren’t overpowered by the lust to know more of this strange, colorful world…
It had taken an hour or so of just sitting there and watching for Jack to calm himself. The shock had shaken off, and curiosity set in. And for the first time all night he was able to rationalize. What am I going to do? That was the first clear thought that came into his head. The Green Teens, as he had dubbed them, were kind enough, and mostly let him be even after Darc left. They even brought him some water and food, after the girl named Netto insisted.
----------
“What, are we his servants now?” the bitter blonde, Malachyte had said, looking indignant when the word ‘hospitality’ came up. Netto rolled her eyes at him, and ordered him to go get Jack something to help the ‘shock’. The fact that this younger girl was bossing around the older teens was strange at first, but Jack could see that she had some rank above them.
Malachyte brought a bottle and what looked like a candy bar for Jack, who was just beginning to realize how hungry he was. When was the last time I ate? Yesterday morning? He clutched his whining stomach, and grimaced. God, what’s yesterday mean anyway?
"Sorry we don't have any fresh food for you." The sarcasm from Malachyte's words pierced Jack's skull, adding to his already throbbing headache.
“Listen, just… fuck off,” Jack said dejectedly. “It’s been a hell of a day, you can’t imagine.”
“Yeah, I’m sure your life’s really fucking tough.”
Jack tore the silver wrapper off the bar. On it in harsh colors was the word DINNER. He bit into what tasted like hardened wheat, sawdust, and leftover thanksgiving. Malachyte watched him for a moment, and then left.
As he busied himself with the so-called meal, he kept an ear on Netto and Darc, who were speaking in low voices a little ways away.
“…Manage to get anything… bitmites?”
“Not sure… refused them… pushed out… I can see some brain damage.”
“Is it…?”
Netto shook her head. “Altered his perception…”
----------
Jack pushed against one fingernail, marveling how the opaque pink grew pale with the pressure. The tips of his fingernails were gouged with grime, and tinted yellow. He had never spent this long staring at his hands, even while he played his guitar.
His guitar. Playing guitar. A sharp knife twisted in his memory. “Did I play with Path?” he muttered. “Does that mean anything?”
Jack looked across the room at the Green Teens conversing in secret. They seemed to be so paranoid about outsiders, and he couldn’t blame them—if someone had told him that they weren’t from the City of All Cities, well… it would be imagining the unimaginable.
But why was he here? What did Path say? Jack folded his hands over his eyes.
He really couldn’t remember.
“Hey kid.”
Jack peeked through his fingers. Darc had moved to the couch across from him. He leaned forward, arms on his legs—a casual stance that radiated power. It was the way his head was tilted down and out, the way his cat-eyes gleamed in the light, the tremor in one of his hands that held dark green static. “You ready to talk?”
A spark of paranoia lit up static under his skin, that familiar itch of fear. Jack wouldn’t be surprised if his hair stood up on end.
“What’s your story, Jac?” Darc asked.
The words passed through him in a shudder. “Actually, I think I’ve fallen into the wrong one.”
Darc seemed pleased with the response. He saluted Jack. “Amen to that.”
They sat in silence. Is he going to kick me out? I can’t tell him about the City of All Cities! Since this Era is closed off, if I start talking too much, the Guards will be on my ass in minutes. I’ll just have to find my way back to the Modern Era myself… Thinking of that task was daunting in and of itself. It was hard enough to get through the City if you knew your own way—but finding the exits to a closed-off Era, one that was so closed off that Jack had never heard of it before, could take months. Years. It could be impossible.
“Alright. Just listen,” Darc said.
Jack lowered his hands.
“You don’t want to talk about what happened. Fine. The way that I see it, you found a way to get yourself out of the system, trash your past. You came down to the Streets for a reason, right?”
Jack nodded. Yeah but I can’t remember why I came here.
“Well, whoever erased your ID did a great job.” Darc smirked. “Frankly, if you don’t care about your origin then neither do I. Fuck the past, right?”
Jack raised his head, and nodded.
Darc knocked his head back with a laugh. “Cool. Also, I saved your ass. You owe me. You work for me now.”
“Uh. What do you––”
“It’s a good thing us Greens found you. Red, you’re dead. Blue, you’re through.”
“Work for you?”
Darc smirked. “I’m a gangster, baby. You better hope I can find some use out of you.”
Netto approached the two, frowning at Jack’s deer-in-headlights expression. “How’s Jack doing?” she asked. “And, um, what are we going to do with him?”
“Oh he’s fine!” Darc dismissed her worry with a hand. “He works for me now, right Jac?”
“He’s… what!?” Netto exclaimed.
“It’s a dangerous city down under.” Darc turned to Jack. “Whatever rumors you’ve heard about the Street Level from up in your white towers, well, they’re not just true. It’s worse down here…”
“Darc! Pause the dramatic monologue please!” Netto grabbed his arm, making him look towards her so she could hiss in his ear. “Krono and Kremlin wont like this one bit. You can’t bring in all the stray cats you find lying in the street!”
“You were a stray cat once, doll.”
“He could be a spy from another gang for all we know!”
“He seems pretty harmless, no offense.” Darc flashed Jack a charming smile.
“None taken.”
“And didn’t you say he has no bitmites, no ID? He’s out of the system; he could be from outside the city.” Darc waggled his eyebrows, a look of pure excitement stretching his skin.
“And how exactly does that prove he’s not dangerous?” Netto gave Jack a bitter look. “All… I just mean the Gurus won’t like it a––”
She paused, and flipped her sunglasses back over her eyes. “Well it looks like the Terrible Two are on their way. I guess you get to meet the rest of the gang, Jack.”
She jabbed her thumb over to the front doors, looking exasperated. There was a piercing screech of metal on concrete, and a deafening crash. A few shouts sounded outside, but no one seemed to be particularly concerned with the commotion. Two laughing figures burst from the front doors with a swell of green light; one of them wrenched off their helmet, a cascade of black hair with green streaks tumbling out. Her face was soft and round… and Jack couldn’t help but notice the way the leather clung to her curves. As she approached, numerous facial piercings shone in the green light. Glinting. She was clinging onto a young man, who was thin and only a bit taller than her. His gangly limbs jerked around awkwardly. He had sunken eyes and sickly skin, but his smile was genuine. Both of them looked windswept and dizzy.
“Hey guys!” Darc whistled at the two newcomers, and motioned for them to come over. “What’s up?”
“Skyrace,” the guy gasped out.
“I won,” the girl said, panting.
“Did not!”
The two looked at each other, and then fell into fits of laughter. Darc walked over to Jack and clapped a hand on his shoulder, and the two teens finally took notice of him. “This is Jac, he’s new to town.” Darc gestured to the girl. “Jac, this is Crash––”
“What an appropriate name.” Jack smiled faintly.
“And this is Twitch.”
Twitch waved his hand at Jack shakily, his whole arm jerking subtly as he did. “Nice to meet you, Jak! Or is it Jac? How do you spell it?”
“Um?”
“C’s are better,” Darc said loftily. “You spell it with a C, don’t you?”
“What about a Q?” Crash collapsed on a couch, still giggling.
“Yeah, Jak. You’re new to town? But, uh, this is the only town around. Oh. You mean from up.” Twitch peered into Jack’s eyes. “You don’t look like a Green… I mean, I’d probably feel your aura, unless it hasn’t come out yet… ooh.” He looked sheepishly at Darc, his mouth stretched wide with an inward hiss.
Darc shrugged, said lazily, “Late bloomer?”
The front doors opened again. Darc held his hand out to silence the group, and sat up from his seat. “Ace?”
Boots clack-clacked against the marble floor as the man approached. A long black coat kicked about his heels. He was bald, save for a green strip of hair down the middle of his head. A pair of military goggles hung from his neck, and the rest of his gear was equally suited for combat. Tight leather, padded arms and straps that held a few mysterious pouches—he looked ready to stir up some trouble. A gun was slung at his hip. He wasn’t a big man… Ace looked to be shorter than Darc as the gangster approached him, but his eyes were far colder. A slash of red cut up across one eye. It wasn’t glowing, but was just part of his skin, a scar against his color pallet.
“Looks like the whole crew is filling in,” Crash said cheerily.
“Are you good?” Darc asked Ace sternly. “Your stream shorted out.”
“There was trouble brewing in the Red Sector,” Ace said. “I went to take a look.”
“What kind of trouble?” Darc asked, taking on a serious tone that contrasted darkly with his earlier attitude.
“More kidnappings, so I hear. A few bodies showed up on the edge of town. Could be unrelated.”
“Blackshirts? They were flying around last night.”
Ace shrugged. “Don’t know. They have been pretty ruthless lately though.” Ace raised an eyebrow at Darc. “You didn’t off anyone, did you?”
Now Darc frowned. It didn’t suit him. “Just because I don’t like Deth’s stupid fucking entourage doesn’t mean I’m going to kill needlessly.”
The silence between the rest of them was growing uncomfortable. Netto sat down on one of the couches, looking away as if to not listen. Twitch was fiddling with something in his hands. Crash whispered to Jack, “They’re being all serious-gangster now. It’s supposed to be down time for our gang. They’re not usually so uptight.”
Jack shrugged; the only gesture he could think of.
Darc passed away from the group. “Maybe that’s why Deth came after me…”
“He did!?” Twitch and Crash both jumped out of their skins. Darc shrugged.
“It’s not a big deal.” The Green Gang leader turned back to Ace, his forehead knitting together. Concern didn’t suit him either. “Look, don’t get involved with something like this if you can help it. I don’t want you to be another body.”
Ace nodded, and almost rolled his eyes. “The Reds are furious. They’re going to bring down hell.”
“Aren’t they always?” A voice came from above.
Tilting his head up, Jack could see a young woman and man leaning over the railing. She began to head down the stairs towards them, while the other climbed over the railing and down to the lobby floor via a worn rope. “Hey guys, how’s it hanging?” he said as his feet hit the ground. “We heard everyone was around… and there’s a new-comer?”
News travels fast here. The thought startled Jack. How did he know about me?
“Hey Jade, Il—nice of you to join us.” Darc gave each of them a friendly nod, but his face was still stern. Jade sauntered over to the group, her eyes fixed on Jack.
“So, who is this mysterious stranger?” she purred. Her hair was red-brown and twisted, and her charcoal eyes were creased with the contours of sleep. She was dressed down from the rest of the green teens, as though she had just woken up despite the approaching evening.
“That’s Jaq!” Crash said enthusiastically. “There’s no need to be shy, Jaq. Jade won’t bite.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Jack said, trying to shake his nerves. “Sorry, I––”
“I’m going to bed,” Ace cut over Jack, giving Darc a final nod. Ace grinned, confident as the player with all the best cards. His eyes sparkled with cold laughter. “You know, you never said that you didn’t kill them.” And then the sly Green stalked off into another room.
Darc waited until Ace was gone before rolling his eyes. “Sorry… Ace is just in a bad mood. He’ll warm up to you in no time.”
“I don’t know if I’d say that!” Il said. “Funny guy, that Ace!”
“Is Jak hanging around?” Twitch asked, fiddling with the buttons on his jacket.
“Good question,” Netto looked to Darc. “Is Jack hanging around?”
Darc nodded. “He owes me. So, until we can find a way for him to repay his debt, he’ll stay with us. We’ll show you the ropes. But I won’t lie to you, Jac. My city is a dangerous one. If you don’t watch out, she’ll eat you alive.”
It’s more than it seems.
Staring at his hands, faint lines of wrist bands, darker opaque red, the green light shines, draining the pinks, browns, and oranges from that patch of skin; green highlights that cast orange shadows by blue veins twisting underneath the scales of skin, the wrinkles where dark red shadows and sweat collect. But looking quickly, all the colors sink deep into skin and flesh, and it seems solid and white-orange, like the pale wood of the chair.
Jack turned his hands over, methodically tracing the curves of shadow and color with wonder. His eyes sparkled in the green light of the high-ceiling room, but they weren’t full of panic like before. They weren’t overpowered by the lust to know more of this strange, colorful world…
It had taken an hour or so of just sitting there and watching for Jack to calm himself. The shock had shaken off, and curiosity set in. And for the first time all night he was able to rationalize. What am I going to do? That was the first clear thought that came into his head. The Green Teens, as he had dubbed them, were kind enough, and mostly let him be even after Darc left. They even brought him some water and food, after the girl named Netto insisted.
----------
“What, are we his servants now?” the bitter blonde, Malachyte had said, looking indignant when the word ‘hospitality’ came up. Netto rolled her eyes at him, and ordered him to go get Jack something to help the ‘shock’. The fact that this younger girl was bossing around the older teens was strange at first, but Jack could see that she had some rank above them.
Malachyte brought a bottle and what looked like a candy bar for Jack, who was just beginning to realize how hungry he was. When was the last time I ate? Yesterday morning? He clutched his whining stomach, and grimaced. God, what’s yesterday mean anyway?
"Sorry we don't have any fresh food for you." The sarcasm from Malachyte's words pierced Jack's skull, adding to his already throbbing headache.
“Listen, just… fuck off,” Jack said dejectedly. “It’s been a hell of a day, you can’t imagine.”
“Yeah, I’m sure your life’s really fucking tough.”
Jack tore the silver wrapper off the bar. On it in harsh colors was the word DINNER. He bit into what tasted like hardened wheat, sawdust, and leftover thanksgiving. Malachyte watched him for a moment, and then left.
As he busied himself with the so-called meal, he kept an ear on Netto and Darc, who were speaking in low voices a little ways away.
“…Manage to get anything… bitmites?”
“Not sure… refused them… pushed out… I can see some brain damage.”
“Is it…?”
Netto shook her head. “Altered his perception…”
----------
Jack pushed against one fingernail, marveling how the opaque pink grew pale with the pressure. The tips of his fingernails were gouged with grime, and tinted yellow. He had never spent this long staring at his hands, even while he played his guitar.
His guitar. Playing guitar. A sharp knife twisted in his memory. “Did I play with Path?” he muttered. “Does that mean anything?”
Jack looked across the room at the Green Teens conversing in secret. They seemed to be so paranoid about outsiders, and he couldn’t blame them—if someone had told him that they weren’t from the City of All Cities, well… it would be imagining the unimaginable.
But why was he here? What did Path say? Jack folded his hands over his eyes.
He really couldn’t remember.
“Hey kid.”
Jack peeked through his fingers. Darc had moved to the couch across from him. He leaned forward, arms on his legs—a casual stance that radiated power. It was the way his head was tilted down and out, the way his cat-eyes gleamed in the light, the tremor in one of his hands that held dark green static. “You ready to talk?”
A spark of paranoia lit up static under his skin, that familiar itch of fear. Jack wouldn’t be surprised if his hair stood up on end.
“What’s your story, Jac?” Darc asked.
The words passed through him in a shudder. “Actually, I think I’ve fallen into the wrong one.”
Darc seemed pleased with the response. He saluted Jack. “Amen to that.”
They sat in silence. Is he going to kick me out? I can’t tell him about the City of All Cities! Since this Era is closed off, if I start talking too much, the Guards will be on my ass in minutes. I’ll just have to find my way back to the Modern Era myself… Thinking of that task was daunting in and of itself. It was hard enough to get through the City if you knew your own way—but finding the exits to a closed-off Era, one that was so closed off that Jack had never heard of it before, could take months. Years. It could be impossible.
“Alright. Just listen,” Darc said.
Jack lowered his hands.
“You don’t want to talk about what happened. Fine. The way that I see it, you found a way to get yourself out of the system, trash your past. You came down to the Streets for a reason, right?”
Jack nodded. Yeah but I can’t remember why I came here.
“Well, whoever erased your ID did a great job.” Darc smirked. “Frankly, if you don’t care about your origin then neither do I. Fuck the past, right?”
Jack raised his head, and nodded.
Darc knocked his head back with a laugh. “Cool. Also, I saved your ass. You owe me. You work for me now.”
“Uh. What do you––”
“It’s a good thing us Greens found you. Red, you’re dead. Blue, you’re through.”
“Work for you?”
Darc smirked. “I’m a gangster, baby. You better hope I can find some use out of you.”
Netto approached the two, frowning at Jack’s deer-in-headlights expression. “How’s Jack doing?” she asked. “And, um, what are we going to do with him?”
“Oh he’s fine!” Darc dismissed her worry with a hand. “He works for me now, right Jac?”
“He’s… what!?” Netto exclaimed.
“It’s a dangerous city down under.” Darc turned to Jack. “Whatever rumors you’ve heard about the Street Level from up in your white towers, well, they’re not just true. It’s worse down here…”
“Darc! Pause the dramatic monologue please!” Netto grabbed his arm, making him look towards her so she could hiss in his ear. “Krono and Kremlin wont like this one bit. You can’t bring in all the stray cats you find lying in the street!”
“You were a stray cat once, doll.”
“He could be a spy from another gang for all we know!”
“He seems pretty harmless, no offense.” Darc flashed Jack a charming smile.
“None taken.”
“And didn’t you say he has no bitmites, no ID? He’s out of the system; he could be from outside the city.” Darc waggled his eyebrows, a look of pure excitement stretching his skin.
“And how exactly does that prove he’s not dangerous?” Netto gave Jack a bitter look. “All… I just mean the Gurus won’t like it a––”
She paused, and flipped her sunglasses back over her eyes. “Well it looks like the Terrible Two are on their way. I guess you get to meet the rest of the gang, Jack.”
She jabbed her thumb over to the front doors, looking exasperated. There was a piercing screech of metal on concrete, and a deafening crash. A few shouts sounded outside, but no one seemed to be particularly concerned with the commotion. Two laughing figures burst from the front doors with a swell of green light; one of them wrenched off their helmet, a cascade of black hair with green streaks tumbling out. Her face was soft and round… and Jack couldn’t help but notice the way the leather clung to her curves. As she approached, numerous facial piercings shone in the green light. Glinting. She was clinging onto a young man, who was thin and only a bit taller than her. His gangly limbs jerked around awkwardly. He had sunken eyes and sickly skin, but his smile was genuine. Both of them looked windswept and dizzy.
“Hey guys!” Darc whistled at the two newcomers, and motioned for them to come over. “What’s up?”
“Skyrace,” the guy gasped out.
“I won,” the girl said, panting.
“Did not!”
The two looked at each other, and then fell into fits of laughter. Darc walked over to Jack and clapped a hand on his shoulder, and the two teens finally took notice of him. “This is Jac, he’s new to town.” Darc gestured to the girl. “Jac, this is Crash––”
“What an appropriate name.” Jack smiled faintly.
“And this is Twitch.”
Twitch waved his hand at Jack shakily, his whole arm jerking subtly as he did. “Nice to meet you, Jak! Or is it Jac? How do you spell it?”
“Um?”
“C’s are better,” Darc said loftily. “You spell it with a C, don’t you?”
“What about a Q?” Crash collapsed on a couch, still giggling.
“Yeah, Jak. You’re new to town? But, uh, this is the only town around. Oh. You mean from up.” Twitch peered into Jack’s eyes. “You don’t look like a Green… I mean, I’d probably feel your aura, unless it hasn’t come out yet… ooh.” He looked sheepishly at Darc, his mouth stretched wide with an inward hiss.
Darc shrugged, said lazily, “Late bloomer?”
The front doors opened again. Darc held his hand out to silence the group, and sat up from his seat. “Ace?”
Boots clack-clacked against the marble floor as the man approached. A long black coat kicked about his heels. He was bald, save for a green strip of hair down the middle of his head. A pair of military goggles hung from his neck, and the rest of his gear was equally suited for combat. Tight leather, padded arms and straps that held a few mysterious pouches—he looked ready to stir up some trouble. A gun was slung at his hip. He wasn’t a big man… Ace looked to be shorter than Darc as the gangster approached him, but his eyes were far colder. A slash of red cut up across one eye. It wasn’t glowing, but was just part of his skin, a scar against his color pallet.
“Looks like the whole crew is filling in,” Crash said cheerily.
“Are you good?” Darc asked Ace sternly. “Your stream shorted out.”
“There was trouble brewing in the Red Sector,” Ace said. “I went to take a look.”
“What kind of trouble?” Darc asked, taking on a serious tone that contrasted darkly with his earlier attitude.
“More kidnappings, so I hear. A few bodies showed up on the edge of town. Could be unrelated.”
“Blackshirts? They were flying around last night.”
Ace shrugged. “Don’t know. They have been pretty ruthless lately though.” Ace raised an eyebrow at Darc. “You didn’t off anyone, did you?”
Now Darc frowned. It didn’t suit him. “Just because I don’t like Deth’s stupid fucking entourage doesn’t mean I’m going to kill needlessly.”
The silence between the rest of them was growing uncomfortable. Netto sat down on one of the couches, looking away as if to not listen. Twitch was fiddling with something in his hands. Crash whispered to Jack, “They’re being all serious-gangster now. It’s supposed to be down time for our gang. They’re not usually so uptight.”
Jack shrugged; the only gesture he could think of.
Darc passed away from the group. “Maybe that’s why Deth came after me…”
“He did!?” Twitch and Crash both jumped out of their skins. Darc shrugged.
“It’s not a big deal.” The Green Gang leader turned back to Ace, his forehead knitting together. Concern didn’t suit him either. “Look, don’t get involved with something like this if you can help it. I don’t want you to be another body.”
Ace nodded, and almost rolled his eyes. “The Reds are furious. They’re going to bring down hell.”
“Aren’t they always?” A voice came from above.
Tilting his head up, Jack could see a young woman and man leaning over the railing. She began to head down the stairs towards them, while the other climbed over the railing and down to the lobby floor via a worn rope. “Hey guys, how’s it hanging?” he said as his feet hit the ground. “We heard everyone was around… and there’s a new-comer?”
News travels fast here. The thought startled Jack. How did he know about me?
“Hey Jade, Il—nice of you to join us.” Darc gave each of them a friendly nod, but his face was still stern. Jade sauntered over to the group, her eyes fixed on Jack.
“So, who is this mysterious stranger?” she purred. Her hair was red-brown and twisted, and her charcoal eyes were creased with the contours of sleep. She was dressed down from the rest of the green teens, as though she had just woken up despite the approaching evening.
“That’s Jaq!” Crash said enthusiastically. “There’s no need to be shy, Jaq. Jade won’t bite.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Jack said, trying to shake his nerves. “Sorry, I––”
“I’m going to bed,” Ace cut over Jack, giving Darc a final nod. Ace grinned, confident as the player with all the best cards. His eyes sparkled with cold laughter. “You know, you never said that you didn’t kill them.” And then the sly Green stalked off into another room.
Darc waited until Ace was gone before rolling his eyes. “Sorry… Ace is just in a bad mood. He’ll warm up to you in no time.”
“I don’t know if I’d say that!” Il said. “Funny guy, that Ace!”
“Is Jak hanging around?” Twitch asked, fiddling with the buttons on his jacket.
“Good question,” Netto looked to Darc. “Is Jack hanging around?”
Darc nodded. “He owes me. So, until we can find a way for him to repay his debt, he’ll stay with us. We’ll show you the ropes. But I won’t lie to you, Jac. My city is a dangerous one. If you don’t watch out, she’ll eat you alive.”