Sonya smirked to herself as she wheeled the hand cart out of the rather cramped elevator, the two men who had ushered her ihe building walking on ahead. They were walking along some kind of catwalk overlooking a rger room that also seemed to be for ste. Is her base made entirely out of warehouses? Preppers, I swear, Sonya thought as something caught her eye. She squinted down at the distant shape, a mass of something misshapen and off-gray y on the ground amidst a small crew of men and women who were disassembling it.
“What is that?” she asked.
One of the men gnced over the rail of the catwalk towards what she’d been looking at and sniffed, “You didn’t hear? Liberty slew Oscar the Golem, a mythic cut down in a single swing,” he said, “It retty big gossip around the pound.”
She pyed up her best sheepish expression, “I’m… ly in the loop these days.”
The two guards exged a look before one of them shrugged, “If you’re being bullied, that’s your problem. Might makes right, if you ’t put them in their pce then you’re where you belong,” he said and turned his attention back to the path ahead of them.
She’s strohan I thought, Sonya mused, eyeing the corpse for a heartbeat longer before turnitention to the backs of the two guard’s heads, Also, that’s some iing insight into her little cult. That’s how they see one another, mm? Her lips curled upwards, I wonder what that means if I put Liberty down?
The two men opened another set of doors and ushered Sonya through into a much rger hallway that ed around the upper level of the enormous building. They hung a right as Sonya gnced left, spotting an odd e glow ing from one of the rooms. She frowned a little, something in her guts twisting as she turo follow them. They made their the hall and around one more er in silend arrived at the heaviest looking door she’d seen iire facility.
One of the guards approached and kwice as the other rounded on her, “Say nothing, serve their meals, and stand to the side and try to look pretty or something. I don’t know what Sir Phillip is into these days.”
Man, this guy sounds like an asshole, she grumbled but nodded anyway. The door opened with an angry hiss and she pushed her way inside past the two men who looked very relieved not to be joinihe room was just rge enough to allow for a fereable and a rge s on one end of the room. The lights were dimmed and two figures sat at the table watg it carefully. She felt every muscle in her body scream at her, every instinct ture as she hastily tried to catch her breath. The first was a man with a cut head of wavy dark hair and a smug smile on his face, leaning on his knuckles as he watched the s with cold eyes.
The other was Liberty. The name above her head firmed it.
She’s right there! Sonya screamed into her head.
You’ve already accepted you ’t beat her in a head to head fight, not now, focus on what you get out of this, Ishtar reminded her. Sonya took a steadying breath as the doors shut behind her and pushed the cart over to the table. She g the dishes, two sets of each pile of hearty meats and other delicacies. She picked up a pte and walked over to Liberty, her heart pounding in her ears as she set the dish down in front of her hated enemy.
Liberty clicked her tongue, ign her as Sonya moved back to pick up a gss a o her. Sonya flicked her gaze up towards the man in the room who was likely this lecherous Phillip character. Phillip eyed her with amusement as Sonya poured out some wio the gss before returning to the cart to move it around and serve him. She gnced his way and saw his name floating over his head.
Marta gasped, <”Are you-”>
<”No time!”> Sonya hissed, <”Liberty is heading your way. Find an excuse to dip from wherever you are. I need you to be ready to fight if anything happens to hua, don’t worry about our cover. Be ready,”> she said as fast as she could, pulling away from Phillip as he took another sip from his gss.
“Told you, you should have just goh them, it’s gonna take a while for that guy to get you over there, even with your enhas,” Phillip said before reag for his pte and taking a zy bite.
Liberty turned her glowing blue eyes on him but could only frown in response, she nodded sharply before turnitention back to the man hanging in her grip. She tilted her head, “Well?” she growled, “Take me to West Virginia, now.”
A pop of rushing air ter, and Liberty was gone. Just like that. Sonya stared at the spot where she’d been standing as the doors slid closed again. She looked from the spot to Phillip who was also staring at the door. He huffed out a breath, “This is what I get for being wo,” he sighed and scratched his head. She searched his face, He looks familiar, she thought as he got to his feet and frow the s. “You have any siblings, miss Lee-Anne?” he asked.
“Not that I’m aware of,” Sonya said ftly. Is he all that’s left of her ‘round table’ here? She decided to hazard a question, “Shall I serve the others, sir?” she asked.
He g her and scoffed, “I’m it today, babe,” he said with a smirk, looking her up and down, “Not bad, picked a good ooday,” he said and picked up his gss of wine. He sipped from it again and turo look at the s. He raised the gss to it, “Welp, with Liberty on her way, Jessica is as good as dead, niowing ya sis.”
And there it is, he’s the big brother, she thought with a small smile. Though from the sound of it, she’s bee aside. She’s of no use to me then, pity. Not that she’s done much, I wonder if she’s of a simir mio Cass. Should I foster her instead of suppressing her?
She pushed the thoughts aside for now, Lets deal with this guy. I worry about that ter.
“Sir Phillip?” she said invitingly, immediately drawing his attentiouro face her in that dark room as a small smile spread on her face. She opened her warehouse and drew out Amethyst Sorceress. He returned her smile only for it to falter slightly when he saw the look in her eyes, “I have a message for Liberty that I didn’t deliver while she was here,” she said sweetly, taking a step forward, “Would you please deliver it for me, sir?”
His eyebrows furrowed, “...what message?”
She broke into a manic smile, “Ishtar sends her regards.”
–
Car leaned forward in her desk, she was standing, her eyes fixed on the s. Still nothing but insequential bickering. Her lips trembled. When should she speak up? When did she make her move? She g the camera monitain, hua was standing at the steps again. A brief lull in the fighting. The two glowing men had backed off. hua’s posture roud as ever but even Car could see the blood on her clothes and the wear in her shoulders. She’s getting tired, she looked at the men bickering over poihings again.
Do I do it now? She wondered, What if it fails? Does Sonya have enough political capital to make it work? She looked at her phone and closed her eyes tightly, She’s trusting you, Car. Stop doubting.
“I’ve had enough!” She barked at the s, the faces all whipping up to look back at her, startled. She smmed her fist oable, “We are an anization dedicated to supp the heroes! To making sure this world is safe from people like Liberty! If there aren’t regutions io hahe situation then damn the regutions!” She said and stood up straight, her stare cold, her jaw set, her fists ched. “I’m taking over,” She decred, “I am hereby tendering a proposal to the ittee. I will serve as ag Chairwoman of the Pandora ittee until this crisis is over, after which we will hold aion,” She sed the faces on the s that had gone pale.
None of them wahe job. Not after what had happeo the Chairman. They khe kind of danger she was inviting on herself. She just didn’t care. Even more, to them anyway, she’d spoken out of pce. A general proposal wasn’t something she was allowed to tender, she was just an administrator. Even if they allowed it, she’d least five votes in favor for it to nominally pass with those present.
Please.
“The Uates endorses the proposal,” Representative Harman said and gave her a small nod and she nearly felt her knees give out beh her.
“All in favor?”
–
hua held her ground, her eyes fixed on the woman as she stalked forward with her on drawn. She shot a gowards Ewen and Ellis who were lig their wounds. Their abilities had been more potent with that glow around them but in the end it was more of the same. Power didn’t override experiend the injuries she’d sustained after their ‘power up’ had been rgely superficial.
“A duel,” The woman said, pointing her sword at hua’s heart, “You and me, ‘World’s Stro’. I want to know who’s better.”
hua gave her a ft stare, “After I’ve fought your friends? Hardly sp,” she bit out.
The woman smirked, “That was your choice,” She said with a snort, “I was standing there the whole time, you could have e at me.”
hua gred at her but didn’t dignify her with a response. So long as the woman didn’t make a move she didn’t have the attention to spare for her. Now it was just the two of them. She let out a sigh through her nostrils. “Your name?” She asked.
“I’m not usually in the habit of giving dead people my he woman said, cheg her nails, “But if you must know, it's Dame Kant, a member of Lady Liberty’s Round Table. Though you call me Heavenly Demon.”
hua’s shoulders stiffened, Worse than just a cultivator-type. I’ll take her measure first. She thought before taking a fighting stance. Her on held up before her as she shifted her weight. Dame Kant held her own on out zily, her head tilted as her eyes began to glow with a dark red light tinged with e. She sneered before kig off the ground in a fsh of movement. One moment she was there, the she was- hua spun, raising her on and brag herself as an attack came from behind and to the left. The strike pushed her back, her feet sliding against the ground as she met a pair of burning crimson eyes with her own bck stare.
Dame Kant gred at her, “What? No powers?” she demanded, “Am I not good enough for you?”
hua returned her accusation with a deadpan stare, “Earn it, cultivator, you asked for a duel.”
Dame Kant snarled and her body moved impossibly, her waist twisting before she whipped her leg out to catch hua on the shoulder. hua pulled her arm bad pivoted, avoiding the strike as somethiruck her in the eye. Spit? She blinked, her eye stinging just when a fist drove up and intut. She was unched up a foot and a half before she came back down, rolling out of the way and whipping her leg out to strike at the woman’s ahe woman hopped back lightly, ughing, her feet stepping on thin air as she got a little distance before ung herself forward with a snarl.
She air-step too.
hua flung herself to her feet with a quick kip up, turning as fast as her body would allow, pushing down every instinplify her reflexes and speed with her abilities. She brought her sword up just in time, the two bdes g as she was driven back. “I hate you,” Dame Kant snarled, “You and your pretty ability, it even smells he ushed hard, shoving hua’s sword back.
“You talk too much,” hua bit out through the sword lock.
Dame Kant’s lips curled into a sneer before she punched hua in the mouth, her fist as fast as lightning. hua saw stars as she staggered, training the only thing that caused her to pivot just as a stab snapped out to catch her in the abdomen. “I could have been a hero too,” Dame Kant tinued despite hua’s earlier ent. “But my powers, my ability, they thrive on suffering.”
A blow came from above, and then to the left, and then the right. hua blocked, pivoted, redirected, taking step after step backwards as she looked for some kind of opening. Every stance erfect, every movement practiced. She’s trained hard, kind of sad really. hua thought as the woman bore down on her. She deflected each attack as she followed the woman’s movements, pig up on tells from her style. will be a retreat and then a jab.
“Who needs a hero that needs people to be in pain to grow?” Kant growled before leaping back several meters, leveling her on with the ground. Blood-red light began ing around it as her eyes grew dark. The wind up happening in the span of seds. “Liberty gave me purpose and the ce to kill the person who has everything I ever wanted!”
hua didn’t respond, she set her jaw as she judged the distan a heartbeat. Too far to interrupt her, she figured and readied to defend. The first couple of jabs came in fast but manageable. She turhem away as more and more red streaks began to dart in her dire. Soon, though, her vision turned red, so many strikes ing at ohat there was just no way. A crash rang out behind her, crumbling stone. Bedrocks walls! She shifted from a total defeo proteg her vitals, defleg blows aimed at her torso, head, and thighs, while strikes gnced off and cut against her arms and calves. She pushed through the pain, her eyes fixed on the woman’s face, unblinking.
Wherike ehe woman was just… there. Dame Kant swung down with a powerful blow that hua could only block, throwing her on up and pnting her palm against it to hold it off. She winced as her knee buckled and bore her teeth at her enemy. She shifted her right hand up, letting Dame Kant’s on slide down and to the left, she snapped her knee up and into the woman’s gut. Dame Ka out a gasp as hua stepped past her, swinging her sword down hard. Kant was fast, though, and she rolled out of the way to avoid a fatal blow-not without her side getting cut in the process.
hua panted as she turo face the itting at the ground, “How shameful, what happeo all your bravado?” She rumbled as blood dripped from every limb, from her lips, her nose, her bones creaked and groaned under her ow. She’d already been fighting for so long. She raised her free hand up in a gesture, two fingers poio the sky as she cycled her internal energy. A low breath ing out of her as her wounds began to glow and the st of blossoms filled the air.
Across from her, Kant tilted her head and looked down at her injury, she stood up straight and ughed before making a simir gesture followed by a sweep of her hand. Somewhere behind her, one of the cultists that had survived Amos’ turret onsught let out a cry of pain and colpsed. hua’s eyes widened in horror as the wound on Kant’s side healed. Fast. I don’t think I could match that healing speed even if I was at full power. Kant threw her head ba a peal of ughter, “You were saying?” She snarled before pointing her sword at hua.
“You don’t think I don’t uand what you’re doing? Quit testing me, Bck Lotus. I’ve put up with yame long enough, fight me properly,” she growled.
hua cracked a savage grin, “Make me.”