The Bonanos

The Bonanos are an organized crime group primarily composed of humanoid skeletons in mobster attire. Their first official emergence occured on October 31st 2006. Since then, they have earned both respect and scorn from rival gangs for being one of the tougher illegal organizations to maintain a foothold in human society. They are one of the NAPD's most persistent enemies, though the NAPD still tends to overpower them in fair matchups.

The Bonanos operate primarily in Earth's western hemisphere, taking a particular liking to the west coast of North America. They've occasionally been known to crop up in Slovenia for some reason, and have even appeared in human colonies on other planets. The NAPD is quick to to destroy any instances of Bonanos that appear in the non-earth worlds they police, lest the organization gain a foothold in them and spread its roots further.

## Overview

The Bonanos function similarly to that a typical crime family, embracing traditional attire and values reminiscent of the faction. The Bonanos differ in a few key ways, though, one of which being their highly effective recruitment system. Skeleton mobsters looking to recruit will first scout an area for potential candidates, then track a desired target's movements until they can be properly isolated. From there, members of the group will reveal themselves and begin a special skeleton ritual: rapidly chattering their teeth while emitting signature anomalous pheromones. These pheromones "awaken" the skeleton within a host's body, resounding within the marrow and granting life and vigor to the ossified components. This usually causes the newly energized skeleton to tear itself out of the rest of the body in a desire to join the faction. While the process is tremendously gruesome, it is not truly fatal. In most cases, these pheromones cause affected persons' brains to undergo a form of ossification while partially fusing it to the inside of the skull. The result is a preservation of the victim's original identity and knowledge, albeit one resounding with the Bonanos brainwave. In very rare cases, the brain is not preserved, and the resulting member is little more than a mindless automata only fit for simple instructions.

Popular persons of interest regarding this initiation method include rival gang members, organization leaders, and NAPD officers—though the latter have become subtly more difficult as the typical officer has become subtly less human. The process of conversion is taxing to Bonanos, and it is possible for them to run out of pheromones or produce warped pheromones that do not work. Their ability to produce proper pheromones seems tied to their ability to chatter their jaw, and those with damaged teeth or broken mouths may need to regenerate or buy more from the store.

Post-initiation ossified brains become resistant to atrophy or decay, effectively granting victims biologically immortality so long as they can avoid injury. As a side effect of the transformation, skeleton mobsters typically retain all of their memories and skills from before they became a skeleton mobster. They also possess a near perfect recall of who they were before transformation, and can freely draw upon any past information that can help them in the present. The downside to this trait is that the brain of a Bonano lacks neuroplasticity. It is a near perfect archive of the past, but has great difficulty forming new memories and skills. The Bonanos brain is naturally resistant to change, whether beneficial or harmful. Some speculate this is why the bulk of the Bonanos' upper echelons enforce an older style of mob rule that informs their aesthetics. It also means that Bonanos are encouraged to indoctrinate a steady supply of new recruits to keep up with a rapidly changing world.

Some Bonanos will replace broken bones if the damage is too severe to regenerate. In most cases, they simply tear out the bones of fallen enemies to use as replacements. This behavior extends to femurs, wrists, teeth, and even parts of the skull. Like a zombie, destroying the brain is the most reliable way to kill a Bonano.

## History

Although the first official Bonano was traced back to 2006, evidence points to the group's gradual emergence from 3 years prior. Between Halloween 2003 and Halloween 2006, multiple incidents would be reported of random citizens in the San Francisco area becoming manic and self-destructive. These people would turn on themselves, ripping through skin and muscles with bare hands and any implements they had on standby. On average, they were able to tear off much more than would ordinarily be possible before natural expiration, with each new incident ending with more and more of the body removed before the victim's passing. On October 31st, 2006, several people were successfully able to remove all of their flesh and muscle, leaving only their skeletons and brains. As the first survivors of the process, they fled the scene and began recruiting into what would soon become the Bonanos.

Since their first members, the group proved very prolific to those who might have otherwise underestimated them. On December 16th, 2006, a growing group of skeleton mobsters invaded and successfully took control of San Francisco. The local populace was fully aware of the event and its perpetrators, but chose not to do anything about it because the world was already a hellhole and what was even the point.

On March 25th, 2014, they raided an NAPD base overnight in one of their most daring heists of the decade. Eschewing weapons and supplies, the group opted to steal the base itself, wheeling it off and leaving all else behind. It is unknown exactly how they managed this, even to the NAPD members inside the base at the time.

## Trivia

* There was once an incident in 2013 where they kidnapped Alonso Cain, a consigliere with stone man disease working for a rival gang. Since then, it has not been uncommon for higher ranking Bonanos to be "reinforced" with extra bones. Alonso Cain is purportedly still in Bonanos custody, possibly as one of them.