UUNS! UUNS! UUNS!
The thrummi rippled through the building, the base pounding against skin and sending the dancers into a frenzy. Men and women from all walks of life and backgrounds crashed against one another as the light fshed and a multiclow washed over them iherwise dark chamber. There were screams of ughter, gasps, shouts, and howls of excitement. The stage beyond the dance floor remaiy, a single spotlight hanging down above it as mist poured into the room. Above the stage, a tinted gss wall looked over them, the vague outline of a shape with glowing red eyes could be seen just past it. One of the men in the crowd threw a fist in the air, “Let's hear it for the Ferryman!”
The roar in response was deafening.
The pair of glowing red eyes didn’t so much as blink, but the head they were attached to nodded on reition before turning away from the window. More bodies cshed, more madness ehe party kept going as the music began to slow down. A few looked up at the stage expetly. The same guy that screamed for the Ferryman held a glowing wand over his head, “Tenebra!” he shouted. “Te Ne Bra!”
“TE NE BRA!” More joined him.
“TE NE BRA! TE NE BRA! TE NE BRA!” The chrew and grew as more waved glowing wands over their heads, hopping and moshing about here and there. Their t nearly shook the building until a cloud of bck smoke boiled out from just off-stage. The sight of it caused it all to boil over, shrieks and shouts of delight rose to the ceiling as a woman skipped out onto the stage with a microphone in her hand. She wore a short puffy gothic skirt and long bck stogs leaving just a bit of exposed skin. Her high heels ccked against the ground as she threw her incredible length of bck hair back, her own iridest red eyes gleamie the spotlight that fixated on her.
She threw a hand up and waved, “ Vilins!” She called, “Riding the waves of the Styx?” She shouted and held a hand up to her ear.
“Drowning in ‘em!” Came a chorus of replies.
She threw her head bad ughed, “Yeah! That’s what I’m talkin’ about! How many henchies we got in here?” She held her hand over her eyes and preteo scope out the audience. A sizeable number of them roared in response. “Woah!” She gasped and held her hands up to her mouth, “Do your bosses know you’re out partying?” she asked, feigning shock before crag a wicked grin, “Solo acts! Sound off!” She crowed into the microphone and another rousing shout respoo her, “And where are the heavy hitters? Lets hear those supervilins roar!”
The whole building shook in respoo a gathering of voices that bellowed iing. She preteo stumble back, throwing her hands over her head, “Woah woah woah! There’s a lot of you guys here tonight! I wonder what the occasion is?” She asked, tapping her lips, “What could it be!”
“Top ten! Top ten! TOP TEN!” The crowd ted.
She crossed her arms and nodded sagely before spinning and pointing at the wall behihe bck space burst into life and turned into a live news feed of the Pandora ittee assembly. A number of stuffy people in suits and ties sat at tables speaking quietly to one another with the Chairman’s podium in the background, “That’s right folks! Top ten! New Chairman is revising the roster! Who’s it gonna be?” She sed the crowd, “You all pce your bets? Toss those s! Get that money flowing! The Ferryman is watg!” she goaded them, “With the Queen’s Inner Circle quiet these days it’s anyone's game!”
She tilted her head and pouted, “I hope Bckrazor doesn’t get pushed out,” she said with a wistful sigh, “He’s so edgy,” she threw her hand up in a dramatic faint before standing up as the crowd shouted and some even booed. She smirked, “Keep it in your pants boys,” she sniffed and strutted across the stage, “Who all thinks Liberty’s gonhe top spot?”
More boos, even louder this time. She cupped her ear with her hand and nodded gravely, “Yeah, yeah! I hear you! That bitch has got it in’ doesn’t she! Who does she think she is?” She held her hand up to the side of her mouth spiratorially as she spoke into the microphone, “Way I hear it, Ishtar herself is gonna pce a bounty on that uppity holier-than-thou skank if she pushes her luy more,” she rubbed her fiogether greedily, “That’s some real cash money right there, yeah? Who wants that money?” She shouted and held her micropho to the crowd, they roared in respoomping their feet.
“Well,” she turned and poio the herself, “Don’t just take it from me!” She said and threw her hands out, a wave of bck mist washing briefly over the crowd. The r and shouting died down. She walked to the edge of the stage and sat down, swinging her legs, “Not just from me, maybe,” she swept her gaze over the crowd one more time, “Just maybe, you’d like to hear that kinda thing from the woman herself? Yeah? Yeah!”
The silence was deafening as everyoared at her wide eyed, Tenebra sneered, “My boss has a very special guest upstairs right now!” She hopped to her feet and threw her hand up to the tinted gss wall that looked down on them, “Let's hear it for the queen bitch of the underworld! Ishtar!”
Overhead, a pair of bzing pink eyes stared down through the tinted gss at the crowd and the response was deafening. The moment all the lights went out, when they came back, Tenebra was o be seen. Instead, a solitary figure stood oage, in person, a dark gleami on her head with long glowing white hair fluttering out behind her. Her white armor shone in the light that beat down ohe crowd went deadly quiet as the masked supervilin brought the microphone up to approximately where her mouth would be, “Hello my darlings,” she purred and the crowd went wild. She hopped into the air and floated, crossing her legs casually as she seemed to bask in the adoration before speaking again, “Looks like there are some big names in tonight! Is that you over there, Blight?” She called and a spotlight shone down on a man sitting on one of the upper levels, he looked youthful with dark hair and steely eyes. He nodded solemnly and raised a hand iing.
She pivoted and poio another part of the other level, “And my friend Erebus is here too!” she said delightedly and another spotlight shone down, the dark skinned supervilin’s body glittering like gold-dust as he rested his on his palm and wi everyone who looked at him. “I don’t see Passage anywhere, you all don’t thi arrested do you?” She asked and the crowd booed, “I don’t think so either,” she tittered out a ugh, “That guy’s elusive isn’t he? Drastic didn’t show up! Oh well, his loss,” she snickered before l her arms and growing serious, “And we all know why Masque and August aren’t here,” she said before l herself back to the stage as the crowd grew quiet.
“We vilins operate with rules,” she said, “Some of those rules we make up for ourselves,” quipped and the crowd chuckled, “We have goals, ambitions, you run around like a maniac rog the boat and pissing off the ittee and that causes problems for all of us, doesn’t it?” She poi a random vilin in the crowd, “Ripsaw! I heard the PC presence has beeing tight over in South Africa, that right?”
The spotlight shone down on a burly man with enormous hands and a bald head that scowled up at her, he raised his voice, “Yeah! Some idiot went and attacked a hero guild directly now they’re swarming all over the pce, business is tight!”
She nodded, “Damn shame, e see me ter, we’ll talk options,” she said and turo another, “Europe’s been swarming with heroes ever sihose camps ended, haven’t they, Sce? These kids are tough!”
A rail-thin man with fmes for eyes ched his fists, “They just came outta nowhere!”
The spotlight came back to her, “That’s right, more heroes and they aren’t like the first geion. They’re trained, powerful even if some of their tiers aren’t that high,” she poio everyone in the crowd, “It’s because people like Liberty are running around making a mess of things. If one of those dungeons goes off, it isn’t just the heroes and public who have to deal with it, right? We gotta deal with the mooo!”
A roar of agreement respoo her and she o them all, “That’s right, it’s bad for business and what are we in the business of making?”
“Money!” The crowd responded.
“That’s right, that’s right,” she said, “So here's the deal,” she said and feigned holding out her hand to shake with everyone, “War’s ing, her atta the camps means it's iable, she’s started something that won’t end until either she or the ittee are left standing,” she tilted her head, “So I figure we vilins put our hands on the scale, what do you say?”
A rousing shout of approval was her answer and she waved a hand, words and numbers appearing in the air, “Destroy a cell of her group? One huhousand. Destroy a branpound? One millioroy a major pound? Fifty million. Put down one of her hehose ‘Round Table’ members?” she paused for dramatic effect, “Two hundred and fifty million.”
The roar started but she held up her hand, “Wait! Wait! I’m not dohey all went silent and looked at one another, “I want her humiliated,” she said, “We’ll soften her up for the war with the heroes ahem do the heavy lifting on her main camp. No need risking ourselves, right?” she chuckled, “But!” she floated into the air, “If you get a ce to grab her alive and brio me,” she ched her fist, “One billion is yours,” she gestured towards the portion of the Styx where most vilins made purchases fear. “There’s a tract waiting so you get your money right away on pletion of a task. Sound like fun, darlings?”
“ISH-TAR! ISH-TAR! ISH-TAR! ISH-TAR!”
As the deafening cries of excitement died down she raised the mic to her helmet o time, “I know she’s got ears here,” she said, “I wao know,” she tilted her head, “You asked if what you did was bad for business, Liberty. Here’s my answer. You’re not just at war with the heroes now, the vilins are after you as well. Good luck!” She threw her head bad ughed wildly before turning towards the rear of the stage, “Tenebra, they’re all yours dear!”
With that she vanished into a fsh of light. Tenebra hurried out onto the stage and caught the microphone suspended in the air for her before letting out a shaky breath, “W-woah!” she gasped into the mic, “One Billion! If there was any questions about whether or not Ishtar issed, there’s your answer! Now! With all that excitement! It’s about time now isn’t it!” She said and took a few fident steps to the side, gesturing to the s, “The ittee has begue! All bets are closed! It’s time dies alemen!”
The crowd cheered and grew quiet as the volume rose on the s. A woman in a dark suit with thick gsses stepped out to stand behind the podium. She had a steely gaze that she cast over the entire room. She brushed her dark bob haircut back over an ear and began to speak, “Wele, Leaders and Representatives of our new Heroic Age. Today we call into order a session of the Pandora ittee. This is the first gathering of its kind sihe atta our first meeting and the death of the previous Chairman. I'd ask for a moment of silence as we prepare ourselves for what we must discuss.”
Silence reigned on the s as the vilins in the crowd spoke among themselves, the new Chairman straightened her shoulders, “As is right and proper I want to thank those who made today possible. We have reahe holding structure of the Iional Team and it is now based out of this very building. This structure is now one of the safest in the world,” she tinued, “All national representatives are present, this ittee alshe presence of several heads and representatives of the various support anizations from across the globe. Acc to our charter, they are here in a capacity to provide advid submit proposals only.”
She o a few people off s, “With that, may this session of the Grand Pandora ittee begin.”
“Our first order of business is the assessment of exigent threat levels amongst the vilins of the world, in the past we held a vote during these sessions and discussed additions and ges. These be reassessed during the open portion of this ittee, however, in the months betwee session and this one, we have ratified a new process. The most wanted will be verified by iional poll and submitted ahead of time,” she said before looking at the gathered representatives, “Are all representatives present satisfied with their choices?”
A chorus of ayes followed many of the representatives tapping a button on their desks. She gnced down at her own podium and waited several moments before nodding. “The ayes have it, it is unanimous. We will proceed with the updated listing as chosen during the out-of-session ballot,” she said, “The most notable ge shall be the pt of the Supervilin, Liberty, in the position of most wanted. Her crimes against the public, humanity, and the pandora ittee in general are unsable. She has decred responsibility for the assassination of my predecessor a a strike force against one of the hero training camps. With her growing anization and the dangers posed by her own powers, we have no choice but to prioritize her arrest over any other.”
“Following her,” she tinued, “These adjustments have been made…”
With her words a list appeared on the s and the night-club exploded with noise.
1 - LIBERTY
Updated: Crimes against humanity, attag gover facilities, murder, war crimes, assassination, terrorism, high viliny.
2 - THE PANION
3 - SPICE KING EREBUS
Updated: Sedition, warm, acts of war, high viliny, open rebellion against a sn state.
4 - SIR HALLOWAY
Updated: Capable of interfering with the Pandora ittee Portal work. Assassination. Direct subordinate of Liberty.
5 - KERAUNA
Updated: Identified. Previously: Unknowrical-type Mythibsp;
6 - BLACKRAZOR
7 - BLIGHT
8 - KINGSHARK
9 - AR
Updated: Human Experimentation, murder, high viliny, grand ry, terrorism.
10 - BLACK SONG TENEBRA
Updated: Encing acts of viliny, high viliny, murder, instigation of riots, terrorism, direct e to the vilin underworld leadership.
The shouts and ughter rang out throughout the club as money exged hands and a fe to the betting ter to either cim winnings for mercy. Tenebra stared at the s, shocked. She turned on her heel and stomped her feet, gring at the crowd, “Oooh! I knew I shouldn’t have let you guys stream my certs!” She whined. "The boss is gonna be so mad!" Above the writhing mass that was the dancefloor of the Styx, Ishtar looked down with Charon at her side. Behind her helmet, she smiled.
I’m ing for you, Liberty.
