Broker-Chapter 277

Sonya wandered down the hall with Carla next to her, their arms locked. She’d dismissed Qilin for the time being. There was no need to have her lurking around all the time, and frankly it made her uncomfortable. It was becoming increasingly obvious that Qilin had some kind of fixation on her because of her dual identity. The last thing she wanted was for Qilin to see the person that the two of them were off to see now. That would make things even worse.

Her phone buzzed as they approached the room, and she paused to slip it out. She had a filter set to block notifications from all but the most important topics. Bluestar? Odd.

She flicked her phone open and glanced at the message. Carla leaned into her and rested her chin on Sonya’s shoulder to read along. Sonya glanced her way and smirked before reading it herself.

<Otis just got back from the Hospital Assignment. Case Closed. Serial Killer using the intensive care ward as a hunting ground with a perception manipulating ability. He’s handling it well, but we have a bit of an issue with what he brought back with him.>

Sonya frowned. Not a surprise he’s making a big deal about it.

Sonya hammered out a quick response. <What did he bring back?>

The response came almost immediately. <A Mythic-tier girl, just had her tested. One of the killer’s potential victims. She’s seventeen. According to Otis, she awoke while inside. Another anomalous awakening. This is happening a lot these days.>

Sonya’s brows furrowed and warning bells rang in her head. She glanced up at the door they were approaching before looking back down at the phone screen. <Let me guess, he wants her for the guild?>

<Yes, thoughts?>

<Get a psych evaluation and a full dossier on her ability. I want to know everything before I say anything. It’s ultimately your call. She can’t register until she’s a legal adult, so let the legal team figure out what to do with her for now. Parents? Any relatives?>

<Still looking into it. The whole custody situation is complicated.>

<Thanks. Keep me posted. If you find out anything, make sure to give me their information.>

<Yes, ma’am.>

Sonya closed her phone and sighed. “I knew it. I had a feeling with Riot and Felwinter, but I’m certain now,” she said and rubbed her head, leaning against Carla, who patted her back. “He’s given up on gathering the old Heralds and is making a new crew. This girl is probably a new recruit for him. I’m worried about her family, if that’s the case.”

“Didn’t you say Riot was one of the good ones?” Carla said.

Sonya’s heart sank. “I did. I thought he was. Riot hasn’t said anything about Otis since they started working together, though. I’ve had Amos monitoring his computer just in case, but his notes on Otis have been slowly drying up,” she scratched her head in exasperation. “I can’t pull strings for everyone at once. Riot has to make his own decisions.”

“It's hard to believe Otis is so bad,” Carla said. “He seems so heroic on camera.”

“And that’s the problem,” Sonya agreed. “Regardless, the deal with Pandora was to take down the old Heralds to upgrade Broker. I can’t stop now. I need to deal with them first. As long as Otis stays with the ASTA guild, though, I can keep an eye on him and his new team.”

“Is that why you gave a tacit approval?” Carla asked.

Sonya nodded. “If we don’t take her in, then Otis will build her up on the side, out of sight,” she slipped her phone into her pocket and took a deep breath. No point in worrying about it. She had Otis under observation and already knew the two he was hanging around with. This just played into her existing strategy. Though now I need to finally rip off the bandaid and examine Karmic Threads. Something about that ability makes me queasy though. I’m wary about trying to merge it. She smirked. Oh well. Just another part of our game, right Otis? I’ll counter every move you make. Just keep struggling until you slip up; one of these days I’ll learn what your weakness is.

They stepped into the room and found two women sitting inside surrounded by books that were stacked up nearly to the ceiling. It was a small room that probably had served as a minor office or storage room but now only had a table and a few chairs to decorate it. Marta was sitting on one side of the table with a book in her hand and her eyes fixed on the pages. On the other was Ishtar in her Legionnaire body, quietly flipping through the pages of a book with a title in Russian.

“You know Russian now?” Sonya asked.

Ishtar blinked and looked up before breaking into an easy smirk. “I also know Ukrainian. Still working on Polish,” she said and got to her feet after setting the book down. She tilted her chin up and looked down her nose. “Chairwoman.”

“Ishtar,” Carla said quietly. “That’s… quite a look you’ve chosen for yourself.”

Ishtar put a scarred hand on her hip and shrugged. “I’m partial to it,” she said. “I am afraid that you will have to settle for just one sister, though.”

Sonya turned and coughed out a laugh while Carla started to fret. “N-no that’s not- I- oh my god!”

Marta, off to the side, had raised her book in front of her face to conceal her own amusement. Carla turned to Sonya and pouted at her. “Sonya! You know that wasn’t what I meant!”

“I know! I know!” Sonya laughed. “She’s teasing you.”

“She can do that?” Carla asked in honest confusion.

Sonya nearly doubled over with laughter as Ishtar took her turn to look flabbergasted. Marta dropped her book and howled as well, nearly falling off of her chair. After a few seconds of mirth, Sonya stood up and calmed herself, meeting her sister’s furious eyes with a wink. She looked up at Carla and squeezed her arm. “I’m back, and her sense of humor came with me,” she said and looked back at Ishtar. “Go easy on her, will you?”

Ishtar shrugged. “Why wouldn’t I bully the Chairwoman of the Pandora Committee?” she asked offhandedly before sitting back down. “I’ll behave.”

“Thanks,” Sonya said. “How are things going?”

Ishtar frowned. “This isn’t an easy thing to decide on,” she said, running her fingers over the books.

“What are you doing?” Carla asked, walking over to the table and picking up a book.

“She’s deciding on a name for herself,” Sonya said before Ishtar could weasel her way out.

Carla nearly dropped her own book before turning to Sonya, her eyes wide. She’s so cute when she’s like this. I feel kind of smug knowing that the Pandora Committee doesn’t get to see this side of her, she thought merrily.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Carla ran her hands over the books and then looked up at Ishtar. “May I help?”

Ishtar looked taken aback. She looked up at Sonya, who shrugged. “I’ve got business with the Inner Circle. Probably not a good idea to bring the Chairwoman with me to meet with them.”

Ishtar considered her for a moment before nodding. “Very well. I don’t mind. Any news?”

“Otis picked up a new Herald, and I’m confident now that he’s building a new team rather than hunting for the old ones,” Sonya said bluntly. “Felwinter and Riot are definitely on that list. I didn’t want to believe it, but I can’t dismiss it any longer.”

Marta’s smile fell, and Ishtar looked thoughtful. Ishtar leaned back in her seat with a breath and eyed Sonya. “As long as they stay under observation, it won’t be a problem. You’ll have to finally pull Karmic Threads out and study it, though. Did you make sure to have this new Herald added to the ASTA guild?”

Sonya chuckled. “You know me so well.”

Ishtar nodded with approval. “Good. I suggest sending the recruit to the next hero camp even if they demonstrate themselves well in the meantime. Get an unfiltered picture of their abilities through the eyes of the instructors.”

“Otis won’t like that,” Sonya said with a smirk.

“Good,” Ishtar agreed and then picked up her book. “Now go away, I’m busy.”

“Boo, my sister is mean,” Sonya complained and turned to Marta. “Did you hear that? She’s kicking me out! On my ship!”

Marta put on her best poker face and shrugged. “She is the big sister. That has to count for something.” freeweɓnovel.cѳm

Sonya huffed. “I’m older than her!”

“Since when was that relevant?” Marta asked with a coy smile.

“Carla!” Sonya protested.

Carla, who had already sat down and was picking through books, didn’t look up. “Darling, don’t you have business to attend to anyway?”

Sonya slouched. “I am the only supervillain who gets bullied by her people like this, I swear!” she whined before she sighed out a chuckle. “Have fun you guys. I’m off,” she said and made her way out the door with a wave.

—

Sonya only stopped briefly on the deck when she spotted Qilin lounging next to the wave pool where Glint and Armory were enjoying their time off. The brother-sister hero duo wouldn’t be going back onto active duty until Glint had fully mastered his abilities, and Sonya didn’t want him waiting things out in Australia. It was better to let him relax a bit and enjoy the benefits of her sponsorship while he could until she threw him at one challenge after another. He wasn’t a major piece for her to work with, but another powerful hero was good for the world and that was all that mattered.

Qilin, on the other hand, looked just about as bored as anyone could possibly be but brightened the moment their eyes met. It made Sonya sick. Their interaction was brief, fortunately, as Sonya excused herself as quickly as she could. The one useful tidbit she got out of the woman was that First Wind was now below deck with Nietz. Apparently he had taken a fresh interest in the young man and was helping him with fighting techniques in the dojo Amos had prepared.

I was under the impression he looked down on lower-tier people. Does he know about Nietz’s growth ability? Curious. I’ll have to monitor their training as well. Ah… so much to do, she thought as she descended the steps into the stern of the ship. She passed the members of the crew, who waved to her on occasion, until she arrived at one of the rear storage compartments. The heavy doors had been reinforced and layers of security added to control who came and went through them.

For her, though, it only took a gesture for the massive doors to part and reveal the playground on the other side. Playground was the only word Sonya could think of to describe the mix of lounge, dining, and entertainment center that had been crafted by Amos’ dolls. There was everything from televisions with game systems attached, a sports bar, and even a small mini-golf course. Charon himself was standing atop the green with a putter in his hands and glanced up when she entered.

“There she is!” he called out and the others scattered around the room looked up.

Soon, the present members of her Inner Circle gathered around her while the doors shut. She spread her arms out in greeting. “You guys did great! Fabulous job.”

Kera, who had been sitting at the bar with Blackrazor, grinned wildly. “Oh, it was a blast. Can’t believe you missed out. I knew an Epic dungeon was just what we needed!” She made a few quick fighting poses. “I was like, Blam! Pow! Bzzap! Fried me some bird people. Smelled like chicken.”

Blackrazor nodded mutely next to her. “It was a good experience, Mistress.”

Kingshark grunted. “Shame I missed it.”

Kera turned to him. “Excuse the fuck me? You got to be on TV! Full on brawl!” She whipped her head to Sonya. “My turn next!”

Sonya chortled. “Sure, sure, you can run wild next.”

“Hell yes!” Kera laughed and did a quick dance. After that, she turned and darted towards one of the many couches, hopping over it and landing with a grunt. She threw her hand up and waved at them. “Welp, you guys are gonna talk business or some shit, so I’m out. Not my thing. Have fun!”

Sonya shook her head and looked up at Kingshark. “Congratulations,” she said with a small smile.

He flushed and rubbed his neck. “Thanks boss.”

Sonya put her hands on her hips. “Now! Kera’s right. We have business! Tell me about the haul. What did we get? What was the clear reward?”

“I can answer that.”

It was a new voice. Sonya blinked and turned to see a muscular middle-aged man in a compression shirt walking over with a white-furred hound monster in step with him. He was wearing cargo pants, flip-flops, and had his black hair styled in a neat comb-over beneath a baseball cap. It was a ridiculous look. More importantly…

“Who the hell are you?” she demanded and looked at the hound. “Levi-”

Just before she barked an order to have her familiar pin the man, Kingshark burst into laughter. “Well, it definitely works, that’s for sure!” She turned and scowled at him. He smirked. “Easy, boss, no need to sic Killer there on poor Colin.”

Sonya blanched. “Colin?” She turned back to the man, who reached up and plucked the hat off his head. His body flickered and shrank until it turned back into his usual petite, effeminate appearance, usual outfit and all. He struck a quick pose before turning and kneeling next to the Hound, scratching under Levi’s chin before pointing to Sonya with a chuckle. Levi bounded away before sliding to a stop at Sonya’s feet and sitting down, raising its dignified head to look her in the eyes.

Sonya scoffed and shook her head. “That’s one hell of a toy you got there, Colin,” she said and knelt down to Levi. “Good boy! Did you enjoy your hunt with my friends?”

The hound huffed once, dismissive as always, but she saw that tail wagging. She rubbed his sides as Colin approached and presented her with what had to be the ugliest top hat she had ever seen in her entire life. The majority of the hat was a dark red-purple color with faded spots and patches all over it. The stitching was green, and there was a huge orange feather sticking out the band. She took it from him and wrinkled her nose. “Wow, this is…”

“Hideous, yeah?” Colin chuckled. “But we agreed it's a perfect fit for me.”

“I ain’t wearing that shit!” Kera shouted from the couch. “Fuckin’ ugly ass thing thinks it can change my pretty face.”

Sonya turned it over in her hand. “So… it’s a disguise? Seems a bit of a let-down for an Epic dungeon reward.”

“Oh, it’s more than that,” Colin said with his usual mischievous grin. “Flip it over, and you’ll understand.”

She raised an eyebrow, and turned the hat over, peering inside. There was a white patch there with some scratches on it that looked almost like letters. They blurred for a moment before changing into more familiar text. She blinked.

<Property of Arsene Lupin, Man of Many Faces>

“What the fuck?” she breathed.

“I know right?” Colin laughed. “Isn’t that the name of that ability you gave Marta?”

She spun the hat between her fingers and frowned. “More importantly, Arsene Lupin is a modern fictional character,” she said thoughtfully. “How?”

She had tacitly accepted modern characters being represented in abilities back in the previous timeline, but after all she’d seen and experienced, it raised a lot of questions. She knew that figures like Zeus and Loki were clearly real people at one point. Where did that put this guy, though? What did it mean? She ran her thumbs over the rim of the hat before glancing up at Kingshark.

He nodded. “So is Cthulhu.”

She shook her head. “Every time I think I’ve got things figured out, another mystery pops up,” she said and handed the hat back to Colin. He took it gratefully. “The others are right. Your identity is a big hole in our strategy. No offense.”

He chuckled and twirled the hat before plopping it onto his head. “None taken. This is perfect.”

With that, he simply tipped the hat and began to change.