Broker-Chapter 184

In just a few hours, Sonya would go to Japan.

It was something that she had been anticipating for quite some time. Not only because she had a vested interest in going there as the CEO of ASTA Corporation and the head of her growing network of supporters in Ishtar’s ‘Club’, there was a far more important reason. There was a cult active in Japan, one that worshiped her alter ego as some manner of savior. She had been keeping track of their rhetoric and protests, cataloging their signs and the messages that they put out. To anyone else but a very small group of people these messages would be nothing more than the usual fanatically driven drivel.

To Sonya, it told her that someone she did not know knew way more than she would have liked.

That wasn’t to say that she intended to destroy the cult. Quite the contrary. So far they had done little in the way of actively causing problems for the world around them. She had learned that they were taking in those who had been displaced by the flash. Japan was a very conservative nation and it took time for it to adapt to changes. The flash had been a very, very big change. The fallout in the first few months after the flash had seen light-touched ostracized by their families and communities. They lost jobs, careers, even their lives when enough unawakened ganged up on them. Japan was not unique in this, this kind of treatment of light-touched was common in the time before Vegas across the entire planet.

What made Japan’s situation unique was the group that had taken all these people in and protected them, fostered them, and to the surprise and concern of many; did not weaponize them. According to what Sonya had learned, the cult operated with a very small security staff of Rare and above light-touched. She had yet to learn their names or even get a good look at any stand-outs among their group. Another thing that she had learned was their tenuous cease-fire with the Mythic-Tier International Hero Sapporo was declining very fast.

Sapporo was a stern man despite the nature of his ability, Festival of Dionysus, he was Yakuza for much of his life before he acquired his ability and embraced the moral responsibility that possessing such power entailed. He could be gruff and short-spoken, rarely speaking a word on assignments according to the records she had access to through her various connections within the Panora Committee. She’d met him once, even analyzed and copied his amusingly powerful ability, eventually granting it to Kingshark to turn him into a lovecraftian nightmare of epic proportions.

Sapporo was powerful. Sonya did not disabuse herself of the fact that he likely had surpassed Chunhua a long time ago but cared little for titles or prestige. Chunhua was catching up now that their relationship had stabilized and her heart demon had been quelled, but it took time to refine and strengthen an ability in order to squeeze everything out of it. Sapporo’s single-minded approach to strengthening himself for the sake of his homeland and the world at large had given him the drive to reach heights that Sonya would have expected from heroes years from now.

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If she was being honest with herself, she wasn’t even sure she could handle him at full strength.

The fact that you are having that thought predicates that you are being honest with yourself. Ishtar pointed out.

Sonya snorted out a laugh as she leaned on the balcony looking down over the city of New York in the dead of night. Even when so many were asleep, the city continued to thrum and churn as it glowed so brightly that it could be seen from orbit. She reached up and brushed the strands of white hair tousling about in the wind out of her face. “Yeah,” she admitted, “I know.”

She looked down at the object in her other hand, an egg that had grown a bit in size since she had acquired it from Spice King Erebus as part of her deal to rid the world of Queen August for him. It was bigger than an ostrich egg now, the odd coloration it had before replaced with a smooth white veneer laced with silver octagons that made her think a little bit of a golf-ball. It glowed from the inside, thrumming occasionally in her grip. For a long time now she had been feeding it her internal energy, mana coursing into her body before traveling down her arm and into the item.

That process had stopped just about an hour ago.

It’ll be soon, I imagine, Ishtar said, I’m curious as to what will come out of it.

“As long as it’s not some chibi kid or something,” Sonya snarked.

“You’ve been reading from my library,” Marta’s voice came from behind her.

Sonya turned and graced her friend with an easy smile, “You’re up early, or is it late?” She pursed her lips and tilted her head, “Let's go with both.”

Marta snorted, “You seem to be feeling better, ma’am.”

Sonya’s smile reached her eyes, “Yeah, still got some things I’m working on but I’m better than I’ve been in a long time, I think,” she said with a chuckle and her expression relaxed into something softer, “Cass really pulled out the big guns.”

“That she did,” Marta said before glancing towards the egg, “Do you think it would be best if we brought it inside?”

Sonya eyed the egg, “I’m not sure,” she said, “Information security says yes, let's do that, but I’m a little worried about the amount of processed mana I’ve pumped into this thing with the number of abilities its filtered through,” she frowned, “What if something humongous comes out and ruins my lovely apartment?”

Marta raised an eyebrow, “That’s your concern?”

Sonya waggled her eyebrows but said nothing only to get a flat look from Marta. She rolled her eyes, “Fine!” she complained and waltzed her way back through the sliding doors, earning her a sigh of her relief from her friend in the process.

The two of them made their way to the couch, the sliding door behind them closing and the windows turning opaque. Sonya hopped down and conjured up a can of cola, sipping from it as she let the egg rest in her lap. Marta gave the can a judgemental look and Sonya pointed at it, “Want one?” she asked.

“Those things are spoiling you,” Marta said with a frown.

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“No they won’t, zero calories, remember?” Sonya said with a grin, a box of chocolate covered biscuit sticks appearing in her hand with the sound of a popping bubble. She held it out to Marta who stared at it before shaking her head and taking it from her. She sat down next to Sonya and opened the package, fishing out a stick and biting down. The smile that came to her face next was quickly schooled into one of mute concentration when she saw Sonya grin.

Sonya sipped at her drink, content to admire the egg while they waited in a comfortable silence.

“I’m surprised Bluestar didn’t complain about you stealing her recruits for a weeks vacation in Japan. She seemed like she wanted them exploring New York,” Marta said after a while.

“Bandit’s in japan supporting a dungeon run,” Sonya said offhandedly, “She didn’t say it but she wants me to check in on him. It’s a large-scale uncommon-tier dungeon, pretty rare, something our newbies might enjoy taking a crack at with a professional team behind them.”

“You think they’ll go for it?” Marta asked.

“Probably,” Sonya said, “Lillian definitely and Snow will follow suit. That said, I hope they don’t spend too much time there. Their experiences in the camp were rough, and if there’s anything I’ve learned is that everyone needs a little rest and relaxation now and then. I want them to see some new sights and come to terms with the life they're about to start. Their grace period before they are required to begin patrols and dungeons isn’t very long, you know.”

This time, Marta’s smile stayed on her face; “It’s good to have you back, Sonya.”

Sonya snorted, “I never left, I was just cold and sour,” she paused, “Speaking of which!” she gestured and a panel of light appeared next to her that she rested her can on. She flicked her wrist and with another bubble-pop sound a waffle cone loaded with lime-green sherbet appeared. She licked it experimentally and shivered, “Now that’s the stuff.”

“How is Ishtar?” Marta asked.

“Why don’t you ask her yourself?” Sonya said, “It’s not hard to switch anymore, not sure what that says about me really. She doesn’t approve of it but I kind of like it.”

“Okay,” Marta said hesitantly, “Ishtar, how are you doing?”

Sonya’s shoulders slumped slightly before rising up a bit, her chin tilting up as well as she slowly turned her head towards Marta. Ishtar leveled her with a stare before cracking a grin, “Providing the silly girl with a running commentary has been amusing, to say the least. I can sympathize with your struggles before the flash, dear Companion. She is a handful.”

Marta raised an eyebrow, “I remember you being a bit… chillier.”

Ishtar snorted, “Only because Sonya was a grouch. I enjoy my games as much as she does, we are the same person after all. Her mood reflects on me. I feel… stronger when she is happier, more in control and more capable of bringing my power to bear.”

The maid seemed to visibly relax a bit at Ishtar’s words, “It’s a relief to hear you say that. I know you promised to protect her, but that can mean a lot of things.”

Ishtar’s expression turned a little flinty, “That it can, Companion,” she said and turned her gaze to the city before glancing at the ice cream in her hand. She frowned, “I hate sweets,” she said with a bit of disgust and waved her hand, the confection vanishing. She tilted her head as if listening to something and cracking a grin, “Yes, well I have to taste it too. Can’t you enjoy something more refined? Dark chocolate is nice and bitter.”

Marta raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment.

Ishtar glanced down at her lap and frowned, “It’s time,” she said, “I think it would be best if you were in control for this, silly girl.”

Sonya’s body relaxed again and she abruptly sat forward, “Now wait just a minute, I’m not done- oh,” she blinked a few times and looked down at her lap before puffing up her cheeks petulantly, “I was enjoying that ice cream.”

“You can just make more,” Marta said.

“It’s the principle!” Sonya whined as a low hum began to fill the room and the air began to move, a faint breeze picking up. “Hm, might want to make sure this doesn’t end up on tomorrow morning’s carter radar report,” she said and held out her hand. Vines wrapped up the length of her petite arm before growing small bulbs that blossomed into flowers. The flowers launched out, slapping against the walls and windows around them before growing in size and taking on an otherworldly pale glow. “There, that oughta do it.”

“That was Visage of Titania,” Marta said.

“Yep,” Sonya said as she rubbed her wrist, Another flare up, her eyes fixed on the egg as it shuddered, the breeze in the room picking up in speed. “I got some practice in.”

“I didn’t know, we haven’t talked a lot about how you’ve been developing your ability suite. I’d like to better know what you’re capable of so that I can help you better,” Marta commented, getting a wince from Sonya.

“I’m sorry,” Sonya said soberly, “We should do that soon.”

“After this and once you’ve actually gotten some sleep,” Marta said with a reassuring smile, patting Sonya on the shoulder.

As she did so, the door to the bedroom that used to belong to Amos burst open, a bleary-eyed Cass poking her head out, “What is with all the- woah!” she gasped, stepping out and staring in awe at the gathering forces in the middle of the living room. The egg was starting to glow brighter and brighter, “It’s hatching! You should have woke me up!” she said eagerly and hurried over to the couch to join them.

“Tried to,” Sonya said as the egg began to float up from her lap, “Somebody was tuckered out from spending all day flirting with a hero.”

“I was not flirting with Alex!” Cass protested, getting two equally amused side-eyed looks from Marta and Sonya alike.

“I didn’t say Alex,” Sonya said with a wry smile.

Cass spluttered before quickly pointing up at the egg that was now suspended in the air, catching an opportunity to move the conversation away from her personal life. “It’s doing something!”

Sonya and Marta looked up and watched as the hexagonal patterns on the egg began to shift, sliding in and out of its surface in waves that made it seem more like a large stone than something containing a living organism. Light flashed from within, the power inside growing to a fever pitch as multicolored light gathered around it. Sonya shifted a bit in her seat as did Marta, they both knew what that kind of reaction meant. A monster was taking shape before them and its focal point was the egg.

The light continued to gather, becoming so bright that Cass and Marta had to raised their hands to shield their eyes. Sonya’s own eyes simply recalibrated, shifting and whirring inside her head to compensate for the excessive amounts of input. She barely reacted as whatever it was continue to take form, the room trembling once as a pulse of mana rippled out from it only to stop against the surfaces where the flowers had bloomed. A final blinding flash suffused the room and even Sonya had to avert her gaze for a moment before her eyes adjusted again.

What stood in the middle of the room was a mixture of strange and familiar. It was a lean four limbed creature with the head of a jackal. It had a long thin tail that whipped about as it took in its surroundings with its back to them. Its fur was as white as Sonya’s hair, stark and shimmering in the faint light of the dimmed ceiling lights.

“A hound?” Marta asked, confused.

It turned back to face them, fixing Sonya with an unflinching stare through a pair of luminous multicolored eyes. They looked like the rainbow-like energy that heralded its creation was now bound within its eye-sockets. Sonya returned its stare, taking in every detail of the surprisingly passive creature. She got more information from that observation than she was expecting. Unlike any monster she had laid eyes upon, this one had a name plate, like that of a human.

<Unnamed Familiar, Hound Form, (Leviathan)>

Sonya couldn’t help herself with the tension hanging in the room, “Does our building have a dog policy?”