“Numerous European news agencies have reported on the sudden de-aging of numerous important officials, businesspeople, and politis throughout the political bloc. When asked to ent, they have universally reported a Non-Disclreement with their quote; ‘Physi’. There have been calls for these individuals to reveal the identity of the mystery physi but none have e forward,” The woman on the radio said.

  Martin frowaking a drag on his cigarette. He g his glove partment and ope, finding a note inside. He sighed and snatched it out, reading it before shaking his head, Damn it Carl, I need a drink.

  “The Pandora ittee, inally established by the Uates, has been adopted as the primary ittee by the United Nations for iigating the effects of Pandora’s Fsh six months ago. Numerous nations across the globe have established their own branches of the ittee and are partnering with local w enfort,” The woman tinued.

  “Curres indicate that the number of monster sightings world-wide has steadily deed. This has not been accredited to the growing number of light-touched who are engaging the monsters, but rather to a currently unexpined phenomenon. Some stists have reported that energy readings they have detected near monster sightings have not decreased despite the downward trend.”

  Martin scoffed, “There’s no way it’s over.”

  “The steady alleviation has not reduced u, however, and demonstrations worldwide indicate universal fears of something big ing.”

  Martin clicked his tongue and looked out the window.

  “ASTA Corporation, which has grown moally over the past few months, released a statement indig their willio cooperate with military and w-enfort agencies worldwide but require materials to produce additional armaments. Their anti-monster ons are derivatives of monster corpses. The Uates Gover has refused to ent while several iional groups have apparently reached out to the pany and offered rewards to light-touched for monster remains.”

  That woman again, Martin groused, She’s basically getting civilians to source her materials for her.

  “United Natioary-General Borris Kovac has made ents suggesting that a lising program fht-touched to legally deal with monsters should be explored but has not eborated further, more on the issue we have-”

  Martin shut off the radio a out a sigh, a cloud filling the car. He turo the windoeered out into the alley before looking down at himself. He wore a set of bck cargo pants and a button up shirt with a white queen chess-piece logo stitched onto it. He’d never seen the logo before, but he’d beeed it after w his way into the good graces of one of the local gangs. It had been pullih to get this undercover operation to go ahead, and boung between the NYPD and the Pandora ittee had worn him out.

  Finally, though, it had paid off.

  He opehe door to his car and slipped out, putting out his cigarette and making his way out of the alley. He checked his watd looked around. Just around the er several more men and women in the same outfit came walking down. One raised a hand iing aurhe gesture. They approached and stopped for a moment, the one who had waved at him was barely out of his teens. He had a mess of dark hair and a sharp gleam in his eyes, he’d seen a before, probably monster hunting.

  “Derrek!” The boy ughed, throwing out his hand and taking Martin’s own. Derrek was his identity as a member of this particur gang. “Gd you could make it!”

  “Niko, good to see ya,” Martin grunted and g the others, “Everybody’s here.”

  “Course!” Niko chuckled, “Boss Shark is calling everyone in, all the gangs of New York in one pce, it’s crazy. We even got these swank uniforms.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and o him, “I wonder what he wants.”

  “Don’t we all, you haven’t heard anything?” Martin asked as they started walking again.

  “Nope! Apparently the security is crazy though,” Niko said, his voice dropping spiratorially, “All the heavy hitters are here, not just Boss Shark’s light-touched bodyguards but some of the scariest power users in town.”

  Martin swallowed, the statement sending a chill up his spine. Was this Boss Shark building an army? This was worse than he imagined. Even if this was a sting operation, he doubted that the entire NYPD would stand a ce dealing with all those freaks. He’d learned a bit about Boss Shark, apparently he could turn his body into some sort of fish-person and could trol water at will. He’d drowned a man just by looking at him, so the stories say. What the hell am I walking into?

  Niko cpped him on the shoulder, “No worries! This is friendly territory!” He chuckled.

  “Right…” Martin exhaled as they approached their destination. He looked up and squinted, it was an old automobile manufacturing building. The structure was huge and built entirely out of opaque white crete. roups were already filing into one of the doors on the side of the building, a mao the door iing everyone before letting them ihey fell into line and were permitted entrahout much more than a cursnce from the guard.

  The interior was dimly lit with lightbulbs that were strung across the ceiling, the building had no power, probably, so they were using geors. They rounded a er and passed through a pair of heavy doors and into a din of sound. It hit him like a wave and he had to stop an marvel.

  Biforms, everywhere. There had to be thousands of people in here.

  “Oh my god,” Martihed.

  “I knht?” Niko grinned, “We’re part of something huge now.”

  The other members of the gang mirrored his enthusiasm, chug and g oher on the shoulder as they made their way further inside. Gangs that had been historically at war with one another barely looked at eachother, there were faces from major crime families, ethnigs, local gangs, criminals from wanted lists. It was the who’s who of New York’s underworld. Suddenly Marti very, very small. He was surrounded by a small army that would turn and kill him if they knew who he really was.

  “You good, Derrek?” Niko asked.

  “Just a lot to take in,” Martin coughed, taking a deep breath and falling into step with the others. He was just another fa the crowd. He had to remind himself of that.

  They came to a stop in an open spad he peered around, trying to get a view of where they should be looking. He eventually spotted the raised stage at the far end of the massive room. There were six men standing oage, their hands crossed in front of them in that pose that all security guards maintained. Each of them was huge. He’d learhat Shark surrounded himself with eight particurly powerful light-touched who were at his stant bed call. The Eight Limbs.

  “One of those guys could take out a whole gang in a night,” Niko breathed, “I heard they somehow got their pifted to them.”

  Martin whipped his head towards Niko, “Gifted?”

  “Yeah… no idea how though…” He trailed off, “Oh it’s starting!”

  Martin turned back to the stage and saw three more meer. Two of them were dressed like the other six of the limbs. The st one was a man in an expensive suit, he looked bigger than his guards. His skin was an ashy gray and his neck was so thick you could break a log on it. His eyes were small and hooded with strong brows. His hands looked like they were cwed. He approached the edge of the stage, the st two limbs parting to stand oage oher side of him. He held up his hands.

  “Looks like you bastards made it!” He bellowed, his voice carrying over the entire crowd. Everyone fell silent.

  “Boss Shark…” Niko breathed reverently.

  The boss of all of these gangs, the veritable king of New York's underworld, Martin wao take a picture but didn’t dare risk it. He swallowed hard.

  “First things first, boys and girls! I wanna thank you bastards, tonight, we celebrate the unification of New York’s Underworld! No more infighting, nang wars, only profit!” Shark bellowed, throwing his arms out wide. There was a roar of approval that answered him before he raised his hands to silehem, “But we aren’t stopping here. There are many gangs here with brahroughout the states, we even have es overseas!” He ughed, “That’s you guys! Not even the NYPD stand up to us!”

  Another roar, Martin forced himself to join in.

  “I’ve spoken with the leaders in the bhs and we’ve made pns to expand,” Shark went on before holding up a fist, “We’ll be unstoppable!”

  He lowered his hands and seemed to defte a little, “However, we’ve lost a lot of good guys and we’ve worked hard. We deserve a reward, and I’ve seen to it. Today, you guys get your reward for ing over to the right side.”

  Martin frowned, what kind of reward?

  “We’re reanizing the gangs, with the ine we have now ay you guys a hell of a lot better. It’s time to spread the love!” Shark barked before the crowd could get rowdy again, even so, Martin heard the whispers of excitement spread through those present. “Sed! I’m pleased to inform you all that you will be the very first to meet the person who is behind all of this,” Shark said and put his hand over his heart, “The person to whom I swore loyalty to and gave me the resources to start this whole thing.”

  “What?” One person murmured, eg the se of everyone present.

  Martin’s blood went cold, There was someohat Shark answered to?

  “This will be her first public appearance, only the Bh Leaders and Myself have had the honor, but you boys and girls ear,” Shark enthused.

  Martin g Niko who ractically trembling with excitement. Why wouldn’t he be. Boss Shark was looked at like a god by some of those present. To think that there was someone powerful enough to put him in his pce, it was mind boggling. The detective swallowed and looked up at the stage only to start when he heard his phone chime. Simir sounds went off throughout the crowd. He pulled out his phone and saw it was going through its shut-down sequence. Everyone else preseed simirly, he looked up at Niko who was staring back at him with wide eyes.

  “I’d like to introduce the world's first Supervilin! Ishtar!”

  The crowd went dead silent as nothing happened for a moment. Then a wave of something indescribable washed over Martin. He felt a pressure weigh down on his chest that eased after a few seds, it was like he’d been dragged dowh water for a heartbeat. Everyone gasped, looking around before somebody shouted and pointed up towards the ceiling. He whirled and looked up. Someone was standing in the middle of the air, floating on what looked like a panel of hardened light.

  The person took a step and another panel appeared, a bit lower, then another, and ahey were walking on light, desding as if from the heavens themselves. She wore all white, a bat jumpsuit from the look of it with an armored coat on her shoulders. Her head was entirely covered by some sort of helmet that showed nothing of her face. Hair that glowed like starlight hung down iheric waves from the base of her head. Martin was rooted to the spot, it was like she was glowing. Ishtar? Like the goddess of war?

  Then her voice came out, and everyone froze. It was raspy and terrifying, moduted by her helmet.

  “There are people out there calling themselves Heroes, some aren’t so bad,” The woman began, “But you all know who I’m really talking about. The self-important greedy mongrels feeding off of the dahat have appeared ever since Pandora’s Fsh,” She tinued her dest, everyog her from below.

  “The Gover is spinning its wheels. It won’t protect us, nor would it bother anyway. Scum,” She growled, “Trash, Human Filth, Gangbangers, The Lowest Rungs of Society,” She snarled, “That’s what they call you, don’t they?”

  Despite the chill in the air, a few started to shout their agreement. More voices rang up, adding to the cacophony of agreement. These people felt like society had turs ba them, thats why many had turo a life of crime. It was their only recourse. Now a so-called goddess was here agreeing with them. Damn it! Martin’s fists tightehis is really, really bad!

  “I have another name for you,” Ishtar tinued as she arrived at the stage and turned, nodding oo Shark who stepped back from where he’d been standing. She held out her arms, “My Children, my people.”

  “Every hero needs a vilin, it’s how stories work, right?” She raised her voice high, “As far as society is ed, we’re the bad guys. So why not embrace it?”

  “There are some among you who have the potential to be more than just criminals and gangbangers, to bee the new leaders of the underworld in this new age. I have the power to see that potential and to transform you into something more,” She raised her head high.

  “So who wants to bee a vilin? Who wants to help me rule the world?”

  Martin watched on in horror as men and women threw their arms into the air. He looked down at his shirt again, at the white queen on it. The ts were rising, the cheers, the roars of greed and desire. This has been what he’d been afraid of; a light-touched powerful enough tahe others, oh ill iions. This was the birth of a nightmare for the world. Worse than any mohat appeared oreets. Oh charisma. He had to get out of here, had to tell the ittee, he had to find some way to stop this. Were those so-called ‘heroes’ really the only option?

  We are so screwed.

  “ISH-TAR! ISH-TAR! ISH-TAR! ISH-TAR!”

  –

  Clouds billowed in the sky over Dharan, the small city drifting off into another peaceful night as the nightlife slipped off into a fortable silence. Rain began to fall, scattering the st remaining pockets of those spending time outside. It eaceful night, water casg off the lonely front of the Budha Subba Temple. Lightning fshed and the wind picked up. Small animals rag to find shelter amidst the increasing downpour.

  The clocktower’s hand turned over and marked the hour. Three in the m.

  Just withiy limits, in a grove marked by the ruins of old Nepalise buildings, long fotten by time and history, a crackle of teal light ripped through the air. It froze in pce, humming and twitg amidst the a stohe tear in space cracked open and tugged at itself just as an eye opened behind it followed by a low, bestial growl…

  – Broker, Prologue: in of the Goddess –

  – End –