The Warriors had gotten cozy into their seats when the train was getting closer and closer to the next stop. What they were hearing was nothing they wanted to hear, and if anything was something they'd wish not to hear. It resembled a police siren, but it was not so.

It was a firefighter's siren. Someone had set their train ablaze, wrecked it beyond repair for the time being. No, this was not good for the Warriors.

"No ing way," Seulgi groaned out as she started to look out the window. "That train's had it, man, it's up in flames."

This caught everyone's attention to the windows, watching the orange flames dance and fight against the strong water current. This was no good news. If it were to be repaired in the speed of light it'll still be done by tomorrow if anything, nowhere near NOW.

"This is impossible," Peniel said disappointed.

"What are we going to do now," Yeri inquired, genuinely wondering what was next as they all stared at Irene.

"," Namtae cursed. "Why couldn't it rain now?"

Irene's face showed disappointment but also showed that she was thinking hard and fast. "She would worry 'bout something else, huh?"

"Yeah, who set that damn fire," Joy chimed in.

"Doesn't make of a difference," Peniel said pessimistically.

"Hell yeah it would, I'd kick their asses to mars," Seulgi angrily expressed, starting to become jittery and unable to sit still.

This was an obvious sign that Seulgi was getting impatient and angry and Irene knew this very well. Thinking would do later, but unless she wanted to avoid casualties inside the train she had to move. "Let's go," she commanded, turning around and making it out of the train with her chin up high and her brain drunk in thoughts.

The Warriors were hitting the streets once again, this time with their fist clenched and their furies livid. They were in a state where the wannabe-gangster would know not to step in front of them.

Of course, they strolled through the empty streets of this foreign part of their city, walking like they knew what they were up to and like if they were packed to the teeth with weapons. Instead, all they had was Namtae's bag with the spray and a molotov cocktail they save for rainy days. (Seems someone wasn't trusting the truce, ironic).

"So, Warchief, what's the plan?" Seulgi defiantly began, walking forward and getting to Irene's pace--up in the front.

Irene did not take the offense, instead she took it as a real question. "We're going through to another train, to Union Square."

Seulgi chuckled, shoving her hands in her pocket. "Oh yeah? You say we gonna walk all the way there?"

"If the situation makes it necessary, yes."

"What if--."

"Seulgi, be quiet," Irene firmly stated, looking at Seulgi briefly with dagger glares. "We'll figure something out, we ain't got time to discuss. And I sure as hell ain't got time for your tantrums."

The thin woman rolled her eyes and started to move back a little bit back to where she originally was, walking side to side with Wendy.

"Hey, stay loose, Seul," Wendy softly spoke out as the others drowned out her voice. "Why you picking a fight?"

Seulgi rolled her eyes and her teeth. "I still don't think she's a capable leader, ya dig?"

"Yeah well, Joonhyung saw something in her, didn't she?" Wendy chuckled, adjusting her shirt and her vest. "We all know that cat has eyes to see that's impossible, you oughta believe in him."

The girl didn't want to admit it, but she did believe in him. However, she didn't just want to give up the spot to Irene without a fight, without having her prove it. She needed to prove that Irene was better leader than her. She craved the attention Irene gave her when she was defiant, but she also craved for Irene to show her what's business.

She was a mess in her thoughts, and she couldn't sort herself out no matter how much she wished to. It's perhaps not the time to think of it anyways.

She wanted... to understand her feelings.

"Guys," Joy softly spoke as they all came to a slow halt in the middle of a street.

Lots of rundown apartments, real poor, like their streets back at Coney--just a little dirtier. Some streetlights weren't even functioning, they were dead or flickering madly, or just giving a faint pulse every now and then. Despite looking like home, it felt nothing like it.

Irene turned to look at Joy, who was peeping up in the sky for something, but upon looking she found herself a few watchers. They were on the roofs, just staring at them with careful gazes and evil intentions. They all knew what this gaze was, this gaze was for nothing except for trouble. They all just kept high on their toes and looked back at them, seeing more of them pop up from the other roofs. This was their territory for sure and they were up to watch.

She knew for a fact they were a gang because they were all wearing the same thing. Green t-shirt, jeans, other accessories. If it was for that alone you wouldn't be able to tell, but another way to tell was that they didn't back down with their gaze. They all had a knack for not backing down on a stare contest, it was mostly to prove who was the baddest and who was the weakest. For Irene, she didn't care, but she was doing it to analyze them better.

"They're wearing colors," Irene softly explains as she intensely stares into some randy's eyes. He looked like a wimp and was very much so; he only lasted a few seconds against Irene's intense gaze. "I made 'em."

"Yeah, they just made us," Yeri remarks, coming up from behind and staring back at them, her head tilted. "Who are these guys?"

"Orphans, real low class, y'know. So low on the map they're not even on the map, I barely know 'bout them," Joy instantly explains, crossing her arms and tilting her chin up.

"They look like they're just wannabe's," Wendy says.

Irene keeps quiet for a moment before she deeply inhales and speaks. "Numbers."

"Full strength, maybe thirty?"

"That's a lot more than eight," Peniel spoke.

"Not if they're wimps," Seulgi laughed, staring down at them and even getting one of them to look away and nervously fidget around with his weight. "And I'm sick of this running crap."

Irene had analyzed the situation far before Seulgi even made the comment. "Well, you oughta do a bit more running," she firmly said before sharply turning and starting to walk. "This way."

And with that they all started to move en massé, their boots and shoes making noises against the damp pavement, alerting any keen eavesdropper with their presence. However, that's what Irene wanted.  They continued to walk down the road until they caught a pack from afar, and they all got tense and were just waiting for Irene's command to stop walking. The closer in they got, the more in danger they felt, but they weren't backing down from a fight.

It wasn't until they got closer and saw that they were wearing the same colors from before that they were dead sure this was their turf and for this they stopped in their side of the street and watched the other gang until they got their attention.

It was quite funny, because the moment they caught their attention was the moment they decided to stand up straight and look as tough as they could, leaning against the railings nearby.

"Losers," Seulgi spoke softly, before being hushed by Wendy.

One of them, a tall man who looked like he hadn't showered in a while, came forth with his thumbs dug into the hem of his jeans. He did look a bit tough, but there was an aura to him that looked and seemed... off.

The snap of his fingers made one of the members separate from his clique and run down the street until it disappeared on the corner.

"Ya know where that cat's headed, don't ya?" Yeri said, earning an affirmative nod by most of the members.

"Reinforcements," Dongho answered, sounding calm despite the imminent danger.

However, someone was being pessimistic as always. "We're going to get yapped here, man!" Peniel said, trying his best to look calm and dangerous like the others.

Seulgi huffed at the concern. If they were going to get yapped then these bastards would have to fight tooth and nail to even try to tear HER down. In that moment she saw Irene and wondered if she would stand a chance with the Orphans. For a moment, Seulgi had comforted herself with the thoughts that Irene couldn't hold her own, until she remembered that the soreness she felt on her body was caused by none other than Irene herself.

She would hold her own against them... So the answer was a very bitter yes.

They did not depart gazes from the members of the crew, while Irene was busy staring right into the supposed leader's eyes. "No matter what he says nobody lip off, nobody get hot. I'll see what I can do," she calmly said, without a worry in the world.

"Since when did you turn into a ing diplomat?" Seulgi bitterly spoke out, more angry about the previous thought she had than for anything else. Of course, she couldn't contain herself from making a comment out of pure rage.

"Yeah, you're not from the state department type, aren't ya?" Yeri says, attempting to lift up the mood a little bit.

However, Irene ignores this. "Joy, you should come with me."

Joy gives Irene an affirmative nod.

"And Seulgi, you best save the rage for later, baby," Irene said out of nowhere, patting Joy's forearm to indicate her that she was going to move forward and get ready to talk to them.

This left Seulgi dumbfounded and with agape a little, especially because of that endearing name that they didn't use in two years from then. It suddenly made her heart flutter and her rage dissipate. What was going on with Seulgi?

The two women started to walk forth and Irene softly whispered something. "Keep ya cool, alright?"

"Yeah," Joy cleared , relaxingly placing her hands inside her pockets as they continued to walk.

The leader of the Orphans walked forth a little bit more, a bit of a smirk to his face.

A smirk everyone wanted to wipe out of his face.

"Maybe y'all oughta show me your invitation?" He said, his voice less gravelly than what was expected from his looks.

"How did you figure?" Irene retorted, calm as ever.

"You come on and down here. Invading our territory," he paused, starting to look a lot more serious and his frown becoming more prominent. "No permits, no parley."

Irene shook her head, her face neutral and cold. "We're not invading, and we're parleying right now."

Joy, who seemed more confident than cold, chimed in. "We were just at that big meeting up in the Bronx."

The leader of the Orphan tilts his head a little, quickly gazing back at Irene and staring into her eyes before he looked away.

Huh, he lasted less than his soldiers. Maybe it was the proximity? Irene had to bite back a smirk.

"We're going home to Coney. Train gets messed up by a fire and dumps us here," Joy finishes.

"I don't know what you talking about, man," he chuckles rather bitterly. "How come there was a big meeting if the Orphans wasn't there."

At that moment Irene couldn't even begin to think of what to say, being a woman who carefully thought her words out.

Thankfully, Joy was there to help the situation get alleviated a little bit in that department, the girl had a knack for using her words to tell part of the truth, but at the same time make sure no one knew what happened for real. She was a magician in that sense, a tactician. Very useful when parleying and discussing with other gangs in times of needed peace.

So, almost instantly and with confidence, Joy spoke. "You didn't miss anything, lots of heads got busted, lotta hassle."

"What, you think the Orphans ain't with it?" The leader said rather loudly, as if his ego was shot. "You think we ain't well known?"

"We didn't say that," Irene clarified peacefully this time.

"Well, we got a heavy rep. If you mess with us you'll find that out!"

They were both quiet, staring down at the man who seemed to get riled up real fast to be a leader. Irene was keeping her cool, keeping her distance and maintaining a sense of true parley. When the man snapped his fingers again one of the members came forth and dug a piece of newspaper out of their pockets and showed it to them.

"See that?" The man spoke out again, this time secure of himself. "They write about our raids in the paper."

Joy grabs the piece of paper and starts to read it with Irene peaking over the shoulder and suddenly realizing that they were wimps! They carried that around with them everywhere? Did they just forgot that the only way to show your heavy rep is by having your name be heard around and also fighting? Well, all the better. After the distasteful encounter with the Turnbulls she could not complain.

"Oh, The Orphans! I remember now," Joy suddenly began, her tone unreadable, it even made Irene's eyes peel up a little bit. "Our youth worker talks about y'all all the time!"

"We ain't got one," the right hand of the leader spoke, sporting a very neat afro.

Joy then returned the paper. "Well, that must be because they're so afraid of you," she smirked softly. It was also unreadable for these amateurs, who seemed to loosen up on them.

Irene hid her contentment but she was proud of Joy's charismatic skills.

For a moment of silence, they exchanged looks that were more relaxed rather than predatory. Then, the leader spoke in a very calm tone. "It's not a problem if you're making it through our turf as long as you're coming in peace."

Bingo. That's a parley.

", they really did it," Yeri chuckled a bit.

"Told ya," Wendy chimed in. "That Joy can lip down a monster and tame it to be a docile puppy, man."

"I owe you five bucks, then," Yeri laughed.

Seulgi would laugh too if it wasn't for that woman starting to walk down the stairs and getting closer to the conversation. That wasn't good. "I wouldn't celebrate so early if I were you," Seulgi quietly spoke out, tensing up and staring up and down at that woman. She was frail looking, her long wavy black hair and tight pink shirt with a nice fashionable but cheap skirt that reached above her knees.

The way Mercy was looking at Irene… it was a very peculiar stare, almost a wild one, one full of desire and attraction. She wasn’t in love, she was interested.

Seulgi clenched her fist, not because of what this woman might represent for the parley.

"Oh, look what's here," Dongho chuckled.

"Trouble," Namtae spoke.

But for what she might want with Irene.

Irene hadn't even noticed her until she started making chicken noises, noises which seemed to visibly aggravated the leader, causing him to groan and turn around to talk to her.

"Cut it, Mercy," he sounded less firm, still angered but powerless.

She just laughed at him and slowly came down the stairs, locking gazes with Irene instantly. There was a sly seductive smile to her, a mischievous look in her eyes.

Irene continued to stare with a soft smirk, still keeping still as stone.

"Those vest are real nice," Mercy's voice was definitely sultry and husky now.

"Lighten up, Mercy, stop looking for trouble," the man spoke, growling at her. "Should've slapped your mouth the minute you opened it--."

"So, who stopped ya?!" Mercy barked back, sounding a lot tougher than the Orphans leader himself.

And of course, the man dared not to speak out again. So, Mercy drew her attention back to Irene. "C'mon, give me one."

Irene shook her head.

"Just one! You can get another one, girl!"

Irene had a slight hint of a smirk before she spoke firmly. "No chance."

This girl was trouble, she knew that for sure.

Seulgi was shifting her weight around, however, her fist clenched tightly. So tightly the leather of her gloves were creaking again, which made Wendy look at her weirdly.

"Seulgi? You OK?"

Seulgi didn't respond.

Mercy looked at the orphans' leader and huffed. "Are you just gonna let them army through here anytime they feel like it? How is it going to look, huh?"

Irene instantly knew that their parley went to . Everyone knew this.

"Soon enough all the gangs are going to boogey right in. Soldier right through, and let me tell you... some man you are. Letting girls talk you down like that?"

Both Wendy and Irene had to hold back, and they both had to discreetly pat someone's forearm to calm them down and keep them grounded. Joy's and Seulgi's respectively.

The leader seemed to reflect on that before speaking again. "Take your colors off, you can walk through."

Irene shook her head slower this time, still calm. "We don't do that."

"Take off your colors if you go as civilians it's fine. If you go as soldiers I gotta come down on ya!"

Silence. Both Joy and Irene were back to staring the guy down without a word coming out of their mouth.

"Did you hear me?!" He was getting aggravated that his orders weren't being heard. Who were these girls anyways to tell him what to do. No, he had to tell them what to do!

But they weren't listening.

" you," Irene softly said, sounding firm anyways.

Mercy now had a eating smile.

With a snap of the leader's fingers they all went inside the apartment without hesitation, following their leader instantly. And soon, all of them were gone...

Except Mercy, of course.

"Well, that proved fun, wasn't it?" Joy remarked to Mercy.

Mercy didn't respond of course, still, she stared at Irene with that sly smirk of hers.

Irene knew exactly what this was, but she didn't bother to even acknowledge her or consider it. "Let's go," she commanded, turning around and walking back to meet with the rest of the people, Joy closely following behind.

She had to admit she felt a lot more powerful, more confident, but she did not have time to ponder about this.

"That little , she messed up the parley," Seulgi said the instant Irene was within ear shot.

"Yeah well, whatever," Irene instantly replied, placing her hand on Seulgi's shoulder. "Stay loose, we ain't fighting yet."

Everyone nodded, Seulgi of course just stayed quiet and deeply sighed.

"We're marching down to the next station. Right through this lame s territory," Irene commanded, looking at everyone and making sure they were all there. "Now, let's move."

And so they started to walk.

They marched forth with their chins high and their egos a tiny bit more inflated, especially Joy's who managed to get a parley for all of five seconds before it got shattered and destroyed by some girl. Some girl who was eagerly shouting at the walking Warriors about how lame they were.

"Real tough, huh? Just gonna walk away like that? You don't show me much. Why don't you walk all the way back home?!"

Still, they ignored it and continued to walk. They did not have time to waste on someone who was there to just cause trouble.