Even nd travel was tough, though, and there were all sorts of checkpoints and hiccups along the way. Apparently some awakened individuals were running amok here and there, using their powers however they liked. It wasn’t something Sonya could be bothered with, yet, she needed a more stable footing before she took any aggressive a. Even then, she still wasn’t sure what kind of a she would end up taking. What kind of method could she implement that would force the various future hero groups to not waste their time on one another and focus on what was important?
The idea came to her from an unlikely source.
It was on the sed day of the trip, as they were crawling down the highway, that Sonya had gotten bored and started watg movies on her phone. One in particur stuck out to her, though. In the film a group of superheroes had been forced-rgely against their will-to band together against a threat no individual could take down. In that very same film, one of the heroes had built gear and tools for the other heroes. It reminded her of the awakened support corporations that had popped up a year or so after Pandora’s light, when society had begun to stabilize. That had only been after wave after wave of monsters had catastrophically ged the socio-politidscape of the world.
Sonya watched one of the parts of the movie again and again, the heroes banding together dramatically against their on foe, all wielding special gear made just for them by one of their stalwart allies.
A vilin, no, a Supervilin.
She set the phone down and looked out the window with a grim expression. It's not like I don’t pn on fighting some of the heroes that pop up. Some of them just don’t deserve that title. I could use what I already io do to my advantage, she thought, but I ’t py the vilin alohere are going to be heroes all over the world. But the strong awakened always end up joining the various groups, regardless of their inations. Strong, unaffiliated awakened would be increasingly hard to find.
She gnced down at her fingers, But what if I make them? What if I manufacture vilins and have them do it all for me?
They’d need resources too, gear and ons just like the heroes, Sonya reasoned, rubbing her thoughtfully. She gnced over at Marta who had dozed off again and snorted, Fortunately, we’re already going to the right pce if I’m not mistaken. Though that guy’ll be a bitch to track down.
She o herself, It’s settled, I’ll py both sides against one another. I’ll force the heroes to work together, extermihe problems, and use criminals to build up their teamwork. If they don’t have the luxury to hate one ahen Otis won’t have his way.
Her lips curled into a frown, his face, bloodied with eyes without remorse popped into her mind again, it haunted her. Otis. When I find you. I don’t care what stage of growth you’re at. Everyone else doesn’t know it, but I know you aren’t invincible. I’ll put you down like a dog. She ched her fist and gred into the window, Just you wait.
Tick tick tick tick tick tick
–
A few days ter…
The apartment was certainly not the most luxurious or promi in New York, but it was cssy to say the least. More importantly, it came with a reasonable enough price tag given Sonya’s situation. With six bedrooms, and office, and a rge open on area, it erfect for what she figured she’d need for the time being. Even so, moving in was a little embarrassing. Normally yht your worldly possessions with you when you moved, but besides her phone and the clothes on her back, Sonya had nothing.
“Thank goodness it came furnished,” Marta said, chug a little as they looked out the wall sized window, peering out over one of the busier streets iy. “I still ’t believe how big it is, it’s bigger than my house!”
“Gotta be some magisense going on,” Sonya said thoughtfully, “The building we’re in seemed so much smaller oside.”
Marta whipped her head in Sonya’s dire, eyes wide, “You think so?”
Sonya g her deadpan, “It was built in the ies, no way.”
Marta paused, bnched, and then rubbed the back of her neck with a ugh, “R-right,” She turned around and put her hands on her hips, “Welp! I think this furniture could do with a little shift here and there, make things feel less sterile!”
Sonya shrugged, “Sure, do what you want,” She turned around, “Do you need any-”
Marta looked up at her as she lifted one of the couches off the ground with one hand, Sonya’s lips went thin while Marta looked at her in fusion. She turned back to the window and tried to hide her own embarrassment. She cleared her throat, “We o do a little shopping, get some clothes and ies.”
Thump!
“Sounds like fun!” Marta said, setting down the sofa once she’d decided where to put it.
“Also…” Sonya trailed off, looking down at her phone, “...there’s someone I’m looking for.”
–
Amos held his head in his hands, his brown hair a mess, his head hurt again. It wasn’t a traditional headache, if only, it was like his head was a bottle of soda with a cork in it and some nutjob had put it through a rock tumbler. Any sed he felt like it would explode like a bomb. There were so many ideas in his head and he couldn’t do anything with them! Instead, he just stared miserably at his workstation, the empty space haunting him like the ghost of an old lover.
To make matters worse, this asshole was bleeding him dry.
“Amos! Snap out of it!” A curmudgeonly voice broke him out of his misery, “You got the money or not?”
He looked up, bags under his eyes, araihe urge to glower at the man standing across from him inside of his pathetic hovel of a shop. The man was well dressed, for a thug, a his hair cropped in a ft-top that made him look like an a figure.
“I’ve got it Barry,” Amos grumbled.
“It’s Shark, now, Amos, I told you already,” The muscle bound idiot insisted, crossing his arms and striking a pose with all the fervor of a middle school kid. Amos just gave him a dour look and pulled out his phone. He switched over to the payment app a oable between them. ‘Shark’ stepped forward and tapped his phone against it, there ause, then a chime, and Shark checked his phohat’s not everything, Amos.”
Amos gaped at him, “Seriously? It’s the same as st month!”
“Times ge, Amos, I warned you that rent was going up after the Pandora i,” Shark said, tilting his head and staring unblinking into Amos’ face, “You know the deal, I keep problems from happening here and you pay me and my boys for our services. “So pay in full, Amos,” He grinned, “You wouldn’t want there to be problems now that there are people with powers walking around, right?”
“But-” Amos stammered, “I don’t-”
Shark smmed his hand onto the table and his skin turned blue, his eyes being bck dots as his face twisted, beh his snarling lips, long, deadly teeth formed. Amos shrank back, stumbling onto the ground. “Okay! Okay! I’ll figure something out! I don’t have it right now though!” Amos shouted hurriedly.
“Yeah, that’s more like it,” Shark surning bato his human form. He turned away, “Do yourself a favor, Amos, stock this pce with something that actually works. Maybe you’ll make some mohat way!” He ughed a without another word.
Amos y on the ground, miserable, his head still covered with his hands.
What’s the point of this brain that light gave me if I’m gonen by one of those freaks?! He whined, Dammit!
–
Sonya admired herself in the mirror, she wasn’t a big fan of dresses, it made it hard to move and her decade of training as a field scout had hammered in the o be flexible. Even so, the golden flower pattern on the side of the white one piece dress was luxurious. She whipped her hair bad and turned, winking o herself before letting out a groan. She covered her fa embarrassment, it was impossible to match her looks with her head right now. Every time she enjoyed herself she felt old memories e crawling back up in her head.
She rubbed her temples again, she o do something for herself, though, or she’d be miserable all the time. Giveure of her abilities, a good mood was important. She had to look and sound fident, that went without saying.
She forced herself to rex, “I’ll take it,” She said with a breath, turning to look at the flustered looking shop attendant.
The girl ined her head quickly, her face flushed, “Y-yes ma’am. Did you want to try on a few bzers, perhaps?” She asked hesitantly.
Sonya gnced her way, “Oh? How’d you know?” She took the girl’s appearan more directly this time, itting it to memory. She had a pixie cut of dark hair and two silver earrings, her eyes were bright aan skin was a bit flushed. She looked more like an athlete thaendant of a high-css clothing store.
“You came in wearing scks, ma’am, and you seemed more fortable that way than in a dress,” The woman said, avoiding her eyes, “Also, your body is-” She froze and cleared her throat, “Not that I was staring, just that, well I figure it would look good on you.”
Sonya raised an eyebrow. She's observant, but she’s trying to cover it up with intuition. “What’s your name?” She asked as if she didn’t already know.
“Mikay,” The attendant said.
Soended a hand, “o meet you Mikay, I’m Sonya, are you full time here?”
Mikay hesitated for a moment before accepting her hand. “Yes ma’am.”
Appraise.
Why is it that the abilities that unawakened seem to have are so fitting for them? It’s like they’re tailored somehow.
“Go ahead and pick out a few sets for me, Mikay, I think I’ll be ing back here from now on,” Sonya said with an easy smile ahe girl on her way.
Some time ter she stepped out of the shop, sungsses glinting brightly over her eyes. She’d picked a pair of bck scks and a gray blouse to wear out, the bzer hanging on her shoulders. With the added inclusion of her sungsses and her all-white hair and skin, she’d had a few people already stop to gawk. So much for keeping a low profile, Sonya chuckled to herself as she savored the feeling. It wasn’t bad, holy, she could get used to the attention. It was better than being looked down on her entire life as a muier awakened.
Behind her, a rather discerted looking Marta stood in the doorway. Her face flushed as she tugged on her hair, “A-are you sure this is okay, we spent so much money…”
Sonya looked back at her and tilted down her sungsses, Marta was wearing a magnifit green floral sundress with a jet bck trim. She looked like a flower. Marta noticed her staring and looked down at her feet, “Is it… too much?”
“It suits you,” Sonya said with a smile aed the bag she was carrying over her shoulder. Marta made a sound and hurried over, despite her embarrassment. She snatched the bags out of Sonya’s hands. “Huh?”
“Sonya, I’m your caretaker, let me hahese,” Marta insisted with a bit of a frown. “You should have giveo me sooner.”
Sonya scratched her head, “Uh… yeah sure, sorry.”
Now that she was doing something she felt was helpful, Marta seemed tet about how unfortable she was in the expensive dress. She hurried to follow Sonya as the two of them made their way dowreet, passing a few more shops and more than a few gawkers along her path.
“Who is that?”
“Is that a model?”
“Never seen her before.”
“I’mma ask for her number.”
“Are you insane? She’ll eat you alive.”
Sonya restrained a grin, this was going to go to her head if she wasn’t careful. Had her body ged somehow too? She’d been iy good shape before the end, but she hadly been stunning before her awakening. Was it because of her products? She’d taken on heroic strength and it had made ges, she’d felt it, but it wasn’t like she had it active all the time. There were still so many unexpined factors that she had tle with.
“Get out of here! Idiot, this isn’t a pce for handouts!” Someone shouted.
She gowards the otion and frowned, using her eyes to zoom in on what was going on. There was a tattered looking man sitting on the ground in front of aronics shop. “Please! Just a few of them! I-I’ll figure out a way to pay! I just need some trash hardware, that’s all!” The man begged but the owner of the shop wasn’t having it. He spat on the ground and smmed the door itered man’s face.
The man slumped on the ground, people whispering and walking around him. Sonya narrowed her eyes, focused on his face. Dark brown hair, pinched face, and the name above his head.
Her eyes widened and then a wicked grin spread across her face. “Marta, you hungry?”
“I could eat,” Marta said, gng over Sonya’s shoulder at the man on the ground, “Something happen?”
“I think I just found who I was looking for,” Sonya said, her eyes glowing behind tinted lenses.