She strode into the room, the open space illuminated from above with strong lights. The entire area was made out of that same reinforced metal that they had fitted her merging chamber with but it was far rger. Resources from hunting monsters had beore plentiful almost ht and Amos was quick to look into ways to streamlihe process. This room, though, was far less of a secret thahers, though it still didn’t have aernal observatio up. It was for testing, pure and simple.
Today’s test subject? Sonya herself. The reasoning was simple enough: she was going to the dungeon. The Time’s Square dungeon had been one of the most catastrophic events in the early history of the world after the fsh in her past. The sheer number of mohat had e out of it st time had been inprehensible. Dungeon Breaks were a fairly straightforrocess, the mana imosphere gathered slowly at a locus point, a hot zone, and formed a dungeon. Even after the formation it tio draw in energy until someoered it and it stabilized.
The problem came when a dungeon was left ued or worse, heroes failed to quer it. The lo was left without an outsider inside of it, the more mana began to build. That mana ut to use by the dungeon, creating monsters and the rewards that came from pleting it. Unfortunately a dungeon could only handle so much mana build up, it could only tain so many monsters before it became overpoputed, and could only gee so many rewards. After enough time, the dungeon just broke open like a water balloon. The monsters going everywhere and the potential energy tained within the rewards verted into kiiergy.
The crater that was the area around Times Square had bee a breeding ground for monsters, they maed en masse, p out of the crater and rag into the city to re into nothing more than a ruin in a matter of days. Millions died during the break, and millions more succumbed to subsequent breaks that took pce throughout New York state after the entire area was abandoned in a mass exodus. The north-east of the Uates had bee a warzone ihan a month after that and it had taken years and a veritable arty of heroes lead by han two dozen mythics to clear it and finally quer the boss that had steadily grown stronger in the heart of the big apple’s ruins.
No one had any theory of how many monsters were in the dungeon as it was building up to its break, but that didn’t really matter. They’d beonstrously strong once exposed to the mana rich atmosphere of earth. In the duhey were far more manageable, if still a signifit threat. Sonya didn’t know if it ossible for Firestorm and his team to ha alone and she wasn’t about to leave it up to ce. If Firestorm’s team was forced to retreat, she would go in herself with Kingshark and his crew. Between herself, Marta, and Kingshark it shouldn’t be much of a problem.
Though her own impact depended entirely on just what she was capable of. Something she’d yet to test in any way. She’d spent so much time pying politics, business building, and orchestratis that she hadn’t given much thought to her own personal strengths and limits.
It had been a long time since Florence, since she had merged her abilities and had ged her body into this thing that it was. She had spent time trying to analyze herself using her own abilities but there was only so much that could aplish. While she had some stifiowhow, she was better at people, pnning, and fighting than anything else. Her enhanced-intelligence had given her an edge, and it had served her well so far. But now the ces of her being fronted by a hero will steadily increase going forward, it was time to see what she was capable of.
She drew her hair back a little and rolled her shoulders ifit. It was a more standardized version of the Ishtar jumpsuit, the material was a bit thinner and designed for mass produ rather than her own ized uniform. She turned her head towards the only other person in the room and smiled. Marta was wearing the same kind of outfit and was stretg her arms and legs, rolling her ned tying her brown hair bato a ponytail. She turned and fixed Sonya with a steady look.
“Are you sure about this?” She asked, “You’re not supposed to be a fighter, Ma’am.”
Sonya smiled, “I know my role,” She said with a breath and pat the knives on her hips, “But yes, this o happen.”
No warehouse abilities this time around, I ’t rely on them. Eventually I will either merge them ive them away, I have to focus on what this body do without them.
Marta looked at Sonya’s waist, “Knives? Like Bckrazor? I’m pretty sure I hahat.”
Sonya smiled, “You might be surprised,” Sonya said with a wink and drew them out, both bdes pointed down and away from her body, she crossed them in front of her a her body into a slight crouch. Marta, you’ve only fought monsters and a few ht-touched. I’ve traio fight light-touched for years. I’ve fought heroes on the front lines of the war. I know how to deal with strength enhancers like yourself. Yeion is the only obstacle.
Marta nodded, “Okay, I trust you.”
Sonya nodded bad took a deep breath. Her powers were ied into her body with merger, but it still felt like there was a distin-off switch to them. No, more like a volume dial. She had tur up a few times but not all the way. She’d never had to. Never had to turhing to one hundred pert. She felt strength flood through her limbs, a tingling as the cyberics that were ied deep inside of her body came online. She felt the air arouingle against her skin as it began to harden, she could hear her owbeat, Marta’s heartbeat. She could hear it…
TICK TICK TICK TICK TICK TICK
Full power.
Marta was gohe instant she opened her eyes, the blink she was in front of Sonya, her fist pulled back. Frontal blitz, her bread-and-butter strategy. Sonya’s senses kicked into high gear, everything seemed slow for a moment, her mind processing Marta’s and her own movement data in an instant. She pivoted and turned, kig her foot out and driving her right-hand knife up and towards Marta’s leading shoulder. The knife dragged against the reinforced fabrid Marta stumbled forward, sliding to a stop and turning around.
Sonya was in her face the moment, “Superhuman strength causes you to subsciously wind up, Marta,” She said quickly and hooked her foot around Marta’s ankle. She put her hand on the same shoulder she’d struck before and pushed sharply, taking advantage of Marta’s moment of surprise. She drove the woman down and onto her back. Sonya dove, driving her knife down towards the ter of Marta’s chest. Marta’s nostrils fred and she rolled out of the way, getting to her feet and driving a kito Sonya’s side.
Sonya grunted and flew, hitting a wall and rolling down befetting to her feet. She coughed, the wind had been knocked out of her but it didn’t hurt as bad as she’d expected. “Better.”
“Where’d you learn to fight like that?” Marta asked.
Sonya wiped her lip, “Wouldn’t you like to know?” She teased.
Sonya darted forward, taking advantage of her enhanced speed and zipping past Marta in an instant. High preovement allowed her to stop on a dime and drive an elbow into her friend’s rib. She kicked off the ground and swept her knife aarta’s field of view. The threat of pain driving the woman back a step. Sonya nded and with both her strength and speed swept her foot dowh Marta. Marta grunted and kicked off the ground, getting some distance. Sonya pushed off and pursued her, Faster! Faster! All the way to the limit of what these abilities do. That girl in italy was faster than this!
TICK TICK TICKTICKTICKTICK
She practically disappeared, reappeario Marta before nding a jab and leaping out of the way of the woman’s attack. Again! She darted beh Marta’s fist, processing the ahout looking at her. She had a mental image of Marta’s stand position in her mind, she barely had to keep her eyes open. The information was ing in so fast. Her muscles began to warm as she moved faster. Vanishing before each blow hit, letting each fist e within milimeters of her own body. Stay close, attack the joints, put them off bance, keep them on the ground, deliver a killing blow. That was how you harength enhancers.
TICKTICKTICKTICKTICKTICKTICK
The tig in her head was even louder, drowning out everything, her mind was rag as information processed faster than a human could ever ha. Her own sciousness moving somewhere between instind the speed of data. She could hear every shift of the fabri Marta’s outfit. She could sense where the blow was going to nd. Her hits were strong, but not strong enough to pletely throw Marta off. She pnned her few moves in an instant. Dodge, block, feint, trip, pin, strike.
The blow came and she pirouetted out of the way, Marta ig up speed too. Her eyes ser focused now. Sonya shifted back a pad threw her arms up, a sheet of light appeariweewo of them and tanking the majority of the blow before it shattered. Sonya swept up with her knife again at Marta’s face, the woman took a step back, pulling her head out of the way as she pivoted for a kick. Sonya moved to kick her leg out-
TICKTTTICKKTICKTICKKTTTTTKKICCKKK—
“Huh?”
Sonya’s vision had gone red, no, the edges of her vision were pulsing red. Everything was… slowing down? Her muscles ached, her mi sluggish, and her vision blurred a little bit. She blinked as her kick barely impacted Her friend’s leg. A wave of exhaustion washed over her, “Wh-what?” She gasped just as Marta’s kick hit her in the shoulder. She was sent flying, dazed, into the wall and bounced off the reinforced surface. She felt her body creak beh the impact. Her head spun, her mind trying to process what had just happened. She coughed and tasted iron on her lips. She heard a shout as she nded on her side.
What… happened?
Her vision swam. She squi the HUD over her vision, fshing red, words in bright red were blinking in the ter of her vision.
Energy… low?
Marta was at her side in an instant, “Sonya? Sonya! Are you okay? What happened?”
Sonya coughed and tried to pull hand of the healer out of her warehouse but felt resistance, she grit her teeth and curled in on herself. It hurt so much. She focused harder and dragged the ability out, activating it aing the soothing green glow wash over her. She coughed again as it fizzled out, returning to her warehouse. Fug shit… what the hell… She grumbled, rolling onto her bad breathing hard. She felt like she’d just run a marathon.
“Sonya!” Marta called out again and Sonya raised a weary hand.
“I’m… I’m fine…” She gasped, coughing again, “Just gotta… catch my breath I think…”
Marta looked down at her with wild in her eyes, “What happened?”
“Figuring that out… now…” Sonya breathed, looking through her HUD and trying to get the information to be more clear. A paper-doll image of her body appeared with several ses fshing yellow indig various injuries that still hadn’t healed. She pushed the image aside and looked for more, “What… energy levels? What is this thing talking about?” She mumbled, trating harder. Finally a bar appeared at the er of her vision that indicated ten pert of something remaining.
Expin…
She broke it down as she read it. My body’s internal energy is based on Teo-Eyes? What does that even mean? Internal energy? Powers run on energy? That doesn’t make any sense. I’ve never seen someone run out of energy while using their powers, sure they get tired but that’s just stamina.
She frowned, her protests really didn’t matter, what mattered was the facts. And the fact was that her body depended on internal energy reserves to operate. She felt like a goddamn paraplegic right now, her limbs not w at all. She sought out the logic behind why this was happening.
Wait, what about Broker? Does Broker not depend on internal energy? She mulled it over, I felt a little tired after the party on the boat but it wasn’t anything like this. Each power has their own limit, then, but Cyber-punk is a bunch of abilities stacked on top of Teo-Eyes. I may have the other abilities built in because of merger but my internal energy didn’t get aer. In other words, I’m trying to operate a jet eh a motor cycle’s fuel tank.
Damn it!
“...Sonya?”
Sonya rolled her jaw angrily, and closed her eyes, trying to ter herself. She turned her head to look up at Marta and flexed her fingers, the feeling was starting to e back to them. “It would seem I’m battery powered. Get me to Amos… I barely move…”
Marta let out a shaky breath and carefully helped Sonya to her feet, “It was amazing in the moment,” Marta said.
Sonya let out a harsh ugh and shook her head, “No, it was awful,” She grimaced a Marta pull her arm over her shoulder. “Not good enough.”
Nowhere near good enough, not for A, aainly not for Otis.
TheBroker