“STRENGTH FROM LIBERTY!” the men shouted, charging down the hallway as a clow erupted from their skin. Ishtar kept walking, hands raised slightly, fingers curled. Her legionnaires raced around, heavy feet stomping against the ground. They collided with the men who scrambled to respond, raising their ons and firing iually against the mythistructs’ skin. A few stray bullets mao reach as far as the supervilin herself, smming into hexagonal panes of light that sprouted in the air in front of her as she walked.

  Golden swords met copper flesh and blood poured onto the ground. Bodies fell and she strode past them, her little legion marg on ahead and breaking down doors when they found them. Ahead of her, she spotted the odd looking room Sonya saw when she’d e in. The eerie e glow ing out from beh the door. She left her Legion to their bloody work as they poured through the building, anyone who attacked them were cut down without so much as a gesture of mercy. She stopped in front of the door and pced her hand on it, reading the sign on it.

  Workshop?

  She pushed the door open and was greeted with the stra sight. Oside, she could still see the glow of whatever was within. She could even pick up high temperatures through the door with her cyberises. Yet when the door swung open she found… nothing. Ay, square room made of smooth crete. She looked up at the doorframe, her eyes narrowing behind the helmet. It was engraved with text that glowed out of what looked like poured metal. She looked down and bato the room as realization dawned on her. She khat script, or rather, Sonya did. So this is where you’ve been hiding all this time.

  “I know you’re here,” she rasped into the empty room, “Craftsman. Ever the coward. What an ingenious way to hide. It’s so like you, I guess you’ve already cut your balls off then?”

  She extended a hand, “It may not be today, but I am going to kill Liberty, Craftsman. So keep hiding in her shadow, that way I know where you are. Wheime es, I’ll have your head too,” she hissed and turned away before stopping. She sidered for a moment, wondered, and turned her head to look back over her shoulder, “Or, I suppose there is a sed option. One day I’m going to return to this pd turn it to rubble. When that day es, kneel, and I’ll let you live.”

  She closed the door behind her, “Either way I’m ing for you! Run all you want!” she called and stepped fully into the hallway. She gowards the door and saw that the temperature spike was gohe glow ing from beh the door with it. She barked out a ugh and strode down the hallway, heading for the door to the catwalk. Now, let's see what kind of damage I do before you get back, Liberty. She thought and rubbed her hands together gleefully, pushing out onto the catwalk and sending her Legion charging forward.

  “Ighe cooks and workstaff!” She called after them, “o waste your time!”

  “AS DECREED!” the legionnaires shouted as one.

  She huffed out a breath and stopped at the ter of the catwalk, Grim creatures. I don’t mind the fanaticism though. It’s a rather nice ge of pace, she thought wryly, thinking of all the teasing that Sonya got from her inner circle. Her lip twitched as she felt a warm glow of resonaion from Sonya. I… suppose it isn’t so bad. She turned her attention to the space below and leaned against the railing, looking down at the small gathering of workers who had been disassembling the corpse of a mythic, apparently.

  “I am Ishtar,” she called, “For your sake, I suggest you run away.”

  The workers didn’t o be told twice, they scrambled away from the clumps of d charged for the door, pressing past one ao be the first o as she hopped over the railing and floated down. She alighted on the floor and took a quick s of the room. This must be one of the main storehouses. The other one must be for food, she thought as she walked towards the body, looking down at it. She pushed one of the crate sized blocks of cy over with her hand, tugging at the material thoughtfully.

  Poor bastard, Sonya’s thoughts rose up.

  Ishtar tilted her head, “You pity him?”

  Yeah, Sonya murmured.

  Ishtar touched the material again and activated Digital Ste, the material broke down into motes of blue light and drew into her hand. She repeated the process for each k until nothing was left. I’ll destroy it ter, I don’t have an ability in the warehouse that burn it at the moment, she thought before turning to the rest of the space. Over a dozen long racks den with crates of all shapes and sizes lihe room. She walked over to eae, tapping them o a time with her finger and verting them to be stored. Somewhere in the distance she heard gunfire and shrugged, waltzing through the aisles like she was shopping.

  “Guns,” she hummed to herself, “Explosives!” she chuckled and tapped another box, “Oh are those ndmines? My, she really is prepping for a war, isn’t she?”

  Only you would be that excited about ndmines, Sonya chimed in from the back of her mind.

  “So talkative,” Ishtar said thoughtfully, tapping a crate filled with grenades and drawing it into her ste.

  It’s like riding in the passenger seat of a car, Sonya said, I see everything you do. Ishtar frowned and opened her mouth only for Sonya to cut her off, Don’t start. It’s better we get used to this than fighting it at this point. I wouldn’t have made it out of the Bas without you.

  “...fine,” Ishtar growled, “We will talk about it though.”

  Suit yourself. I for one don’t mind our current situation, Sonya said.

  “That is part of the problem,” Ishtar pointed out before she stopped in front of another crate and paused, frowning a little behind her helmet. She reached for the lid and ripped it open, nails and all, with a jerk of her wrist. She tossed the lid aside and pulled out the obje top, a set of clothes that unfolded in her hands. A Pandora ittee uniform, there have to be dozens of them in here. She thought before setting it down and drawing it intital ste. A heartbeat ter a chime rang in her head and she answered the call.

  <”Teocrat,”> she greeted without preamble.

  There ause, <”Mistress Ishtar,”> he said, <”Liberty just arrived at the camp.”>

  <”I know,”> Ishtar said.

  <”One of Liberty’s people got a cheap shot in on Bck Lotus, I think she’s been poisoned,”> he added, making Ishtar pause as a pang of ay rose up from Sonya. She’ll be fine, Ishtar soled her. A new sensation caught her attention, she frowned a little and turo look up at where the door to the catwalk led back the way she’d e. She sensed movement. <”Is panion on the move?”> she asked idly.

  <”She just responded, are you sure about letting her loose? That’ll raise some questions,”> Amos said.

  Ishtar scoffed, <”I sincerely doubt that. Nobody will question her assista such a critical point,”> she said and paused as she felt Sonya’s worry rise a little more. She sighed, <”What is Bck Lotus’ status?”> she asked relutly.

  Amos paused again, <”Still fighting,”> he said, sounding a little exasperated. <”I told her to retreat but she’s not responding. I think her earpiece got damaged.”>

  Ishtar clicked her tongue, <”If that idiot hero gets herself killed, I will find someoh a resurre ability even if I have to scour the globe, bring her back, and kill her myself,”> Ishtar snarled, Sonya’s panic setting her off, <”I don’t care if you have to broadcast it, you tell that fool to back off before the worst happens. Handmaiden just o hold Liberty’s attention for a while. She’ll leave soon.”>

  <”You think so?”> Amos asked.

  <”Well, I did just release my legion in the middle of her main pound and I may be lootiorehouse as we speak,”> Ishtar said with a chuckle, stoppio another crate, <”Teocrat, how are we on Lurker Hide?”>

  A peal of ughter rang out oher end of the call, <”People are dying and you're shopping. Damn boss. You are cold as ice,”> he said before sighing, <”ever have enough hide.”>

  Ishtar tapped the crate and digitized it, <”I’ll drop it off when I’m free,”> Ishtar said as the door far above her smmed open. She ig, she knew who it was. <”How about-”>

  “ISHTAR!” Phillip roared from the catwalk.

  She turned slowly to look up at the man, her lips thinning into a frown. She raised a hand and pointed a fi him, “Noisy,” she growled. A ray of light streaked from her fiip and bored a hole in the wall behind the spot he’d been standing a moment before. He leaped off the side and threw his hands down, iing a track that he slid down, accelerating in her dire. Ishtar scoffed, <”Teocrat, I’m going to have to let you go. Mahe situation at the camp.”>

  Ishtar raised her head high as the call ended, “I gave you an opportunity to live, boy.”

  He threw his hand out in her dire, shards of iing in front of his hand before ung out in her dire. They collided with hexagonal hard-light panels, Ishtar herself not moving an inch. Instead, she just raised her hand again and poi at him, a bead of light f on her fiip. He dove and spped his hand on the ground, ice spreading from the point of impad rag across the crete floor at a shog pace. The ice rose up her feet and encased her up to her calves.

  Ah, his ability is like Firestorm ahwarden then, she thought as he pushed himself into the air with a pilr of ice that exploded from the ground. She lowered her hand, dissipating the ray she was creating and flexed her fingers. He threw himself at her, armor of iing around his arms and legs as he hurtled towards her. When he was close enough, her hand snapped out like a bolt of lightning, catg him by the face. She squeezed a out a cry of pain, throwing his fist at the side of her head. Light formed around her helmet and took the blow. She was surprised to see his little icy gau didn’t shatter.

  “Maybe I should work on colleg the whole set,” she said coldly, squeezing down harder. His eyes bulged and he reached up to grab at her wrist, ice spreading from the point of tad up her arm. She growled and kicked him, sending him flying into the slide he had created for himself with a crash. She looked down at her wrist and rotated it. Her frown deepened as she felt something surprising from the motion. Pain. She looked up at him, “You hurt me. I’m impressed.”

  She created a berry in her mouth and chewed it, the frostbite on her arm fading immediately as she began to mar his dire. He sat up, appearing unphased by the impact. “Madam Liberty hits harder,” he growled and pulled himself to his feet, bdes of ice appearing in the air around him and beginning to spin, simuting a dozen floating drills.

  “Speaking of your boss,” Ishtar growled, “I hope you took the time to call her home. I want a word.”

  “She’s busy,” he said before crag a wild smile, “I’ll let her know you asked after her.”

  Ishtar’s eyes narrowed on her helmet as her presence washed across the room. She pushed down on him, “I think,” Ishtar said with the promise of violen her tone, “You may be brought to resider that decision. Sir Phillip. You are powerful and I dare say unlike your peers you’ve takeime to turn your ability into somethiile. It would be a terrible loss for your dy if you died here,” she expined as she drew closer, one hand raised. She activated hard light.

  “Thanks for the pliment!” he snarled and threw his hand forward, the drill like spears of ig towards her like bullets. Spears of light formed around her and fired off in response, crashing into his attack. She turned her hand and jerked upward, a line of light stretg up from the ground at his feet. He started only for it to turn into a that cmped tightly around his throat. She threw her hand down and his face smmed into the floor.

  She stopped above him and looked down as he struggled to rise, grabbing at the hard light around his ned spreading ice across it. She kicked him in the fad the ice stopped moving. “I said you were powerful, but I’d only put you around the level of an upper-crust hero. You are nothing pared to my people, brat, know your pce.”

  He spat out a tooth and gred at her, “I’m not calling her back. It’s obvious you don’t want her killing those heroes,” he said with a sneer, “I’m gonna give her all the time she needs.”

  Ishtar went quiet for a moment, staring down at his sneering fa ption. She cocked her head to the right and reached down for him, a purple glow surrounding her fingers. “We’ll see how long that sts, won’t we?”

  –

  hua grunted as her entire body nearly bent in half against the forces ag on it. The single swing colliding with her sword which had been the only thing keeping her from being cleaved in half. Her eyes bulged as she collided with the stone walls Bedrock had set up to protect the on building, blood erupting from her nose and mouth. Her vision swam as muffled words popped and crackled in her ear. She shuddered and rolled forward, nding on her hands and knees before reag up to rip the earpiece out of her ear. It had been crushed by the impact.

  She scrambled to her feet, swaying a little before looking up at the looming form marg towards her. Liberty’s body was alight with a golden glow, her blue eyes spotlights, her armor shimmering as strags on its surface bzed with e-red light. Her sword rose up over her head only for a white streak to collide with her from the side, a brilliantly lit fist crashing into the side of the monstrous woman’s head. Liberty stumbled only a step, righting herself as Handmaiden slid to a stop between her and hua.

  hua raised her hand, making a gesture and drawing mana to her body, ign the pain that shrieked in her meridians. The poison reading each time she tried to draw her power. e on! She growled, f it back down to the wound. She o heal, quickly. Handmaiden is a damage sponge and hit hard with momentum, I’lll hahe direct attacks while-

  “Bck Lotus!” Handmaiden shouted, hua looked up to see that head of brown hair fluttering in the rising winds. Handmaiden gnced back over her shoulder at her, “Stay there. You’ve done enough.”

  hua’s stomach dropped, What? No- I-

  She winced against the pain in her side and shot a gre at the colpsed form of Dame Kant lying on the ground, fotten by her leader. Liberty paid no mind to her other two subordinates who hurried over to collect their fallen rade. hua leaned against the wall, scowling, she wasn’t going to take this lying down. She sat down and crossed her legs, closing her eyes and focused on her recovery.