It was the day after she’d watched Martin. Sonya stepped through one of her portals and into the quiet interior of her office. The lights came on of their own accord as she strode over to her desk. The wall-s came on line and the feeds immediately appeared, spreading around her. She barely paid any attention to it, her astral eyes already f on the ceiling and . If something important came up she’d divert her attention but she doubted it. Besides, she had more important things to herself with.
She sat down on her desk and yawhe dial tone in her head ringing over twice before the other side picked up.
<“Mistress?”> Bckrazor answered.
She smiled, <”Bckrazor! How are things, dear?”> She asked.
<”Productive, mistress. We’ve pleted the selective purge and replenishment of workers at the new headquarters. We are currently just a few days behind schedule,”> Bckrazor said in his usual mild tone. <”We have pleted a full and thh iigation and have removed one hundred and thirty-fh yield explosives hidden throughout the site.”>
She tilted her head and pursed her lips, <”Does that include the exterior buildings?”> She asked, her lip twitg a bit.
<”Yes mistress, if we tinue as is we will plete the main plex including the tral building just a small deviation past the inally projected timeframe,”> He let out a sigh, <”Shameful.”>
She ughed, <”Oh don’t be such a grump about it. Do you o hire more people to catch up?”> She asked.
<”That would certainly be helpful, but I doubt simply throwing more ma the problem will fix it. We may very well have to accept the dey,”> Bckrazor admitted ftly.
She clicked her tongue, <”It is what it is, then,”> She sighed and rubbed her neck, <”Damn that Liberty, she’s like an iion and she knows where headquarters is going to be. I might need you to at least maintain high alert until stru is done,”> She said, unhappy with having to do so, that was a lot of night-society agents and security forces left standing around at headquarters rather than moving about throughout the rest of the world for her. She could be trag more people than just Martin, not that she o really, nor wao, but it would be o have the option avaible.
<”Nothing will touch your new home,”> Bckrazor said with all certainty.
She smiled, <”I appreciate you,”> She said, <”How’s Kera?”>
<”Still obsessed with fruit, erratic, but effit when doing her job, calm and tent when we are simply socializing, I personally don’t uand it,”> Bckrazrumbled.
She raised an eyebrow, <”...fruit?”>
<”Dates, in particur, mistress,”> Bckrazor said.
Sonya let out a groan, she threw herself ba the desk and pihe bridge of her rying to resist the urge to grieeth. She threw her hand up, <”Bckrazor, dear, could you do me a favor and use that nice phone I got for you to look up what the ‘social’ definition of a ‘date’ is? Please? For me? Really quick?”> She said exasperatedly. <”I promise it might help.”>
There was a long, very long, unfortably long, pause.
<”Ah. I see,”> Bckrazor mumbled. <”I appear to have made an unnecessary purchase.”>
She squinted, <”The hell did you buy?”>
<”A date farm i, I assumed it would make Kerauna happy,”> He said with a heavy sigh, <”I appear to have wasted my efforts.”>
Sonya snorted, rexing a little. He was as dense as a ron star but it seemed that he at least had good instincts. He just o redirect them a little, <”When you , call panion and talk to her about the situation, alright? Back to business. How are our spies in Liberty’s territory?”>
<”Uood,”> He paused before speaking, <”We have been fortuwo of my agents ierritory were promised but mao escape. A third was beginning to behave erratically and I had him extracted. We are getting a steady stream of intellige I still do not have anyone close enough to her to do any real damage.”>
She exhaled, <”Just keep an eye on her and send me a write up on what you’ve learned,”> She said as she gowards the s, Liberty was standing at a podium again, shouting, <”I want to know everything. We’re getting closer and closer toal.”>
–
Liberty stepped down from the baly and through the doors. Her expression darkening as she passed the two guards who bowed quickly before shutting the doors behind her. She reached up and adjusted the armor on her shoulders, the fit was off again. She scowled and stormed past a trio of women in robes who quickly dropped to their knees and pressed their heads against the ground. She ighem too, her metal heels g against the hard floor beh her. This is taking too long, she thought, those wretches aren’t w hard enough, after all I’ve given them. Ungrateful. She growled.
The men I sent to iigate the camp where my sister is staying never returned, dead probably since I haven’t heard anything about it. Wise, the bombs in their guts would have gone off if they had said anything stupid, She thought as she rounded a er. A young man with dark hair was leaning against the wall right at the edge. He gnced up at her and smiled, holding his hand over his heart and ining his head. She shot him a hard look for a moment before looking back dowh, “Philip,” She grunted, “Your sister is moving slowly.”
Philip shrugged as he turo walk alongside her, “She always uses i methods, she’ll do her job,” He said bndly, reag up to run his fihrough his hair. It glistened a little as it seemed to harden a little on his head, “She’s probably waiting for the right moment.”
“Either kill Cassiopeia her back here, one or the other, it is not plicated,” Liberty snapped, “Remind your sister that my patience is not endless,” She said with a huff, “If I must send troops to the camp myself, I ot promise her survival.”
Philip snorted, “If she dies like that, then she wasn’t worth raising,” He said with a shrug, “She’s a professional, ma’am,” He paused and then gnced her way, “Actually, if you do end up doing that, I’d like to go myself,” He said with a sneer.
She gnced his way, “Absolutely not, I want you here. I have others from the round table that I will send in that event,” She said as they came to a stop in front of a door, a wave of heat radiated from it and she noticed how he stepped away a bit, reag for his hair again, “Leave me,” She anded. He quickly bowed and turned away, hustling as far away as he could without actually running.
She pushed the door open and a bloom of heat crashed into her, she clicked her tongue and stalked inside, shutting the door behind her, “Taylor!” She barked. “I want to talk!”
The room before her wasn’t like the spartan crete of the rest of the main pound. The walls were entirely made of dark metal and an e luminesce spread radiantly through a gray haze that hung in the room. The sound of metal crashing against metal came from every direaking it hard to dis which way one was looking. The heat bubbled the air, oppressive and nearly lethal to most, she ig as if it were just a particurly warm summer day as she marched through the haze, “Graham Taylor!” She barked again, “Show yourself!”
A low ‘tsk’ ripped through the air and the haze evaporated in an instant, taking the heat with it. The room became visible and she took in the sight of ons hanging from the walls. All of them magnifit works of art. She shifted her view past them towards the thin man sitting at a ben nothing but a white tanktop and off-tan cargo pants. He was leaning over an anvil made entirely of dark, crystallione. His glowing e eyes burned behind his gsses as he looked at her, the small estic strap holding them to his head looking a little droopy in the heat. He sat up straight and ran his fihrough his cropped e-brown hair.
“Liberty, please e in, I wasn’t busy or anything,” He clipped dryly, “I told you to call me Craftsman.”
“I’ll call you whatever I please,” She snarled and stalked towards him as she reached up and uhe buckles of her shoulder armor. She tossed it to his feet, “They’ve stopped fitting again.”
He s her, “Perhaps you should y off the treats during your ‘rituals’?”
She stepped towards him, her head tilted and he flicked his wrist, a gun appearing in his hand. The on was made of the same dark crystal as his anvil. He trai on her just as her fingers reached his throat. The two stared at one another for a few heartbeats, her moving before she pulled her hand away, “Watouth, Craftsman.”
“Keep givierials and I’ll think about it, Liberty,” He said with a grin befng down at her armor, “Your body is increasing in size and mass with your ability?” He asked.
“It would appear so,” She said with a frown, “What be done?” She asked.
He hummed to himself, turning the pauldron over in his hand as he sidered. He gnced up at her and raised an eyebrow, “You could give me the name of your ability, you’ve figured it out haven’t you?” He said with a cold smile, “Give me that and I make you the perfect suit of armor, never have to get out of it again.”
She narrowed her eyes, “And allow you to start dising possible weaknesses? I think not.”
He crossed his arms, “Suit yourself, but I’m w for you now aren’t I?” He said, gesturing around his workshop, “As long as you keep me well stocked and funded I’ve got no reason to turn on you,” He said, “Besides, what would I do with that information? Kill you?” He barked out a ugh, “Then who would run the cult? Your sister?” He ughed again and leaned forward, “Look, you need me as much as I need you, dy. If you want to keep me around a what you really need out of me, then yonna have to show a bit of trust.”
Her lips curled in disgust, “Trust you? You’re a snake.”
“I am an ior,” He corrected her, “And an opportunist, there’s a difference.”
She scoffed, “Hardly,” She crossed her arms and they stared one another down for several heartbeats. She rolled her eyes and looked away, turning her ba him for a moment as she mulled it over. “Does it have to be visible on the armor?” She asked after a long moment, tapping her foot with growing irritation. “You engrave the name of the ability onto the equipment you make, correct?” She asked.
“You noticed!” He said, “Yeah, I do, but the name doesn’t have to be visible. It could be on the inside if you want.”
She rounded on him, “Then why didn’t you do that for the men I sent to get fitted?” She demanded.
He shrugged, “They didn’t ask,” He said with a sneer, “Besides, it was a good opportunity to test whether or not there was a differeween high visibility pts and the ck thereof. Data, Liberty, data!” He beamed, “Every piece of informatios me closer to a perfederstanding of this ability,” He said aured to the anvil and the hammer that appeared in his ha. The dark metal hammer wreathed in gold strips glowed with a faint e light that caused the temperature of the room to start rising.
“All you care about is testing your toys?” She demanded, “Not the lives of the men wearing them?”
He gave her an incredulous look, “Like you actually care either?” He scoffed, “You delude everyone else but you don’t have me fooled. Your blood is made of ice.”
She popped her neck, “I would endure a lot to rip your arms out of their sockets right now,” She growled before letting out a sigh and reag up to run armored fihrough her hair. She gnced back at him again, “Standard of Glorious Camelot,” She said after another few seds of hesitation.
He returned her stare for a moment before he actually gave her a half-respectable smile, “See, that wasn’t so hard,” He said aured to the ground, “Leave your armor and I’ll have it done by the end of the week. Masterwork takes time.”
She huffed and reached up to remove her breastpte, tossing it to the ground. She did the same with her gaus, revealing the pression shirt and her growing muscles. He stared at her for a moment, eyeing her arms, “You’re disgusting,” She spat.
He wrinkled his nose, “Please, physical is are a distra from sd creation,” He said, “I extricated distras from my body shortly after the fsh,” He said and gnced down at his hammer, “This is all I o derive pleasure for myself,” he said, hefting it, “I simply find the physiological ges from your ability fasating. Arthurian in in, very iing,” He rubbed his , “I wonder if Excalibur or Caliburn or whatever it’s called is real, then.”
“No evidence so far,” She said as she removed the st of her armor, leaving it in a pile at his feet, “If there is, I’ll find it. It’s mine.”
He smirked, “Don’t wao make a sword for you?” He asked.
She turned away from him and stalked away, “There’s only one on worthy of me,” She said with a growl, “Be honored enough you get to make my armor,” She added as she left, shutting the door behind her. She closed her eyes and ighe fit of mad ughter that echoed through the door as she stepped into the hallsychopath, she thought and made her way down the hall. As she walked one of the women walking down the hallway saw her in nothing but her pression shirt and scks and hurried to her side, taking off her own sharesenting it to her without hesitation.
Liberty stared at the offered cloth aed the urge to sp it away in disgust, “I’m fihank you,” She growled instead, tinuing past, “I have clothes in my chambers,” She said, “Send for the rest of the round table. I want them to meet me in an hour.”
She paid no attention to the figure prostrating behind her and instead marched down the hall until she got to the stairs, going up and and up until she arrived at the floor set aside for her personal residence. She pushed through the double doors as her eyes began to glow again, One week until my armor is dohat’s good enough. Philip’s mole has one week until I mobilize against the East Coast Camp.
