Chapter 342
Team Pyrolysis was not the only hero team present on the Idol of Venus. While Cass, Alex, and Snow had gathered on deck to enjoy the clear skies and pleasant temperatures, Team Wallbreaker had taken to the sizable arcade they’d discovered a few doors down from the theater. Every time Sonya walked down the inner hallways of the massive ship, she could only wonder at how big the damn thing was. It was like its own self-contained city. Right now it felt a little empty, though, with only Setsuna’s cult and Kingshark’s people making up the majority of the population.
Sonya had already sent Team Pyrolysis with Marta to the theater to wait while she went off to find Team Wallbreaker. It didn’t take long to suss them out amongst the various freestanding arcade games and flickering lights.
“Ah, damn it!” Kong shouted from one side of the space, the sound of bells announcing a winner in whatever game they were playing. Some scattered laughter followed, and Sonya made a beeline, reaching up to stroke Levi’s head lazily. “How are you so friggin’ good at that?”
Sonya wound her way around a pair of claw machines and spotted Kong leaning against what appeared to be a supersized fighting game. The screen was large enough for onlookers to watch. Next to him was Nietz, his big arms crossed and a smug smile on his face. “There’s no shame in losing to the best, Kong,” Nietz said with a chuckle.
Kong looked much the same as he had when Sonya had first met him - dark hair with red highlights and a light tan to his skin. He wore a black martial arts robe wrapped around his waist and a compression shirt, emphasizing his lithe figure. He looked small next to Nietz. The blue-eyed hero had changed significantly since her first encounter with him. Nietz was tall and broad-shouldered with powerful muscles and a strong jaw to go with it. His Evolutionary ability had pushed him close to physical perfection from the looks of it - or at least his variation of it.
“There you two are!” Sonya called out to them as Kong pouted.
Nietz turned first and raised a hand in greeting. “Hey, Sonya! Everything okay with that emergency or whatever?”
She smiled at him. “Yes, I’ve taken care of what needed to be handled,” she said casually, walking over to stand in front of the two young heroes. “Where’s the rest of your team?”
“Dragoon, Armory, and Locke went off with Hammond to check out this big claw machine over there,” Nietz said and pointed off towards the other side of the arcade. His expression fell a little, and he turned towards the rear of the arcade. He pointed at a large, black, egg-shaped structure looming over everything. “Hui and Glint are in there,” he said with a frown.
Sonya raised an eyebrow. She hadn’t really had time to explore the arcade, so she had no idea what that thing was. “...Doing what?”
“Glint is swinging his dick around,” Kong said with a click of his tongue. “Hui is humoring him.”
Sonya tilted her head. “Trouble in paradise?”
“Somethin’ like that,” Kong said. “We all agreed that Hui should be in charge. He’s the most competent thinker and strategist. A good leader, too.”
Nietz cut in. “Glint was not there for the agreement and has his own opinions on it,” Nietz said diplomatically, his smile a little weary. Clearly he’d heard Kong complain about the situation for a while now. “We all agree that he and his sister are a good fit…” He trailed off and gave Kong a look. Kong just shrugged and nodded. “...but he wasn’t there during the Dharan event or Shanghai, so we’re all just getting to know each other.”
Sonya laughed. “A bunch of Mythics all in one room; it’s not surprising there’s a bit of tension. I trust you guys to work it out,” she said. “Let me know if you need me to help. I am your sponsor; it’s my job to assist in managing situations like this.”
“We got it handled, I think,” Kong said and glanced again at the big black egg thing. “Hui knows how to handle guys like Glint.”
Sonya nodded as Levi shifted a bit to get more comfortable on her shoulder. She looked over at Nietz, whose eyes had moved past her, his expression softening even more. She raised an eyebrow and glanced back to see the girls and Hammond making their way back. Locke was smiling and talking energetically with Armory, who had an expression of mixed amusement and exasperation on her face. It was little wonder why. Dragoon was dragging two man-sized plushies behind her with a cocky smile while Hammond hefted a third on his shoulder, looking put upon.
She flicked her eyes back to Nietz. “...Have you talked to her?” she asked quietly.
Nietz’s eyes didn’t move when he nodded. “Yeah, I…” He blinked and trailed off, going a little red in the face and looking at Sonya. “I mean, huh?”
Sonya snorted. “Oh, come on, it’s obvious. Did you or did you not?”
He cleared his throat and grinned a little sheepishly. “Yeah. We talked.”
“Good!” Sonya crowed, clapping her hands together and turning to look at the four heroes approaching her. She couldn’t help herself. She planted her hands on her hips and gave the beleaguered Hammond a playful sneer. “What, are all your pretty fem-coded familiars not enough for you, Hammond?”
The bald hero turned beet red in an instant, his usual stammering catching in his throat. To make matters worse, Locke, Dragoon, and Armory all turned to look at him in unison with equally mischievous looks on their faces. He looked down at them with wide eyes from his greater height, his eyes bulging with panic. “Wh-wh-what? I wouldn’t! I mean- I- oh, gosh.” He groaned as the girls laughed.
Dragoon was the first one to step forward with a sharp nod. “Miss Chernovna, thank you again for welcoming us onto your ship.”
Sonya waved a dismissive hand. “It’s fiiiine!” Sonya said with a chuckle. “You’re my sponsees! It’s only right I dote on you in your downtime. Enjoy it! You’ve had a crazy few weeks.”
The holder of one of Athena’s core abilities nodded. “Agreed,” she gestured to her comrades. “We’re all relieved to have somewhere to decompress.”
Armory, who’d turned to glare at the isolated game that her brother and Hui were currently engaged in, crossed her arms. She let out a sigh and shook her head. “If only my brother wasn’t making things awkward. Drongo ain’t got a thought behind his eyes sometimes.” She pursed her lips. “Hui’s obviously the smart one. Makes sense he’s in charge.”
Locke nodded sagely. “Men? Am I right?”
Dragoon sighed and nodded with the other two. “You are not wrong.”
Sonya’s lip twitched, and she slowly turned her head to look at Kong and Nietz, who were staring at the latter two young women with exasperation. Sonya snorted and covered her mouth, turning away to hide her amusement. She was happy that they were all getting along, relieved even. Her decision to add Glint to their group had been something of an impulsive choice, but most ‘fireteams’ that formed the core of a hero group were between five and seven. Enough to cover all necessary roles on the field while not being too large to be unwieldy.
The exaggerated sound of a pneumatic hiss drew everyone's attention, and Sonya looked up to see Hui and Glint making their way out of the pod-thing. Whatever it was. Hui was nodding patiently, his smile just a little smug, while Glint spoke in quick, if quiet, bursts. The others couldn’t hear, but Sonya certainly could.
“...this doesn’t prove anything, you know.”
“Mhm.”
“I’ll play ball for now, but I want a rematch next chance we get.”
“Yes, of course.”
“A leader should be at the front, not-”
Hui cut Glint off with a raised hand and looked up to meet Sonya’s eyes. “Miss Chernovna! All done with what you needed to take care of?” he asked, walking over to join the rest of their gathered group.
Sonya’s lip twitched into an amused smile. “Sure did, just waiting for you two. What kind of game was that?”
“A virtual reality fighting game. It’s quite intuitive, shockingly so. I’ve never heard of the developer though,” Hui said thoughtfully, glancing back at the structure. “Are you familiar with CarSom VR?”
Sonya snorted out a laugh. So that was how it was. It was one of Amos’ one-and-done fun experiments that he’d left lying around all over the place like a messy child. “It’s Amos’,” she said with a chuckle before nodding to Nietz. “Like your exercise equipment, Amos likes to make things and just keep them after he’s done.”
Hui let out a low whistle and glanced back at it. “I almost wish he’d make a bigger one. I could imagine how beneficial it would be to use it as a group.”
Sonya raised an eyebrow. “Is it really that nice?”
“Very much so,” Hui said with a nod.
It must be based on that laboratory simulator he built back when we were based in New York. Interesting that he never told me about it, though I’m not surprised. He has so many inventions it’s hard to keep track of them all, Sonya thought before putting her hands on her hips. “Well! Since we have everyone here, why don’t you join me and we’ll head to the theater? The rest of Team Pyrolysis is waiting for you.”
Glint perked up at that. “Is Crusader there?”
Sonya shook her head. “No, she’s still in China.”
He frowned. “Damn, I kind of wanted to meet her.”
“She’s spoken for, ya hare,” Armory chastised her brother.
Glint whipped his head towards his sister with wide eyes. “That's not why I want to meet her, you loon!” he protested. “She’s the number one’s protégé. Ain’t nobody better to get advice from.”
Their group fell silent for a moment.
“Wild she’s out there getting even stronger,” Kong chuckled. “I kinda want to fight her.”
“We’ll catch up,” Nietz said, drawing their attention. He crossed his arms and tilted his chin up. “Even when the rest of her team gets bumped up with the tokens today. We’ll keep up with them. There’s plenty of dungeons and villains to go around.”
“Agreed. Besides, the more strong groups like us out there, the better,” Dragoon said with a nod, before they all turned to Sonya. “We’re ready, ma’am.”
Sonya searched their faces for a moment, her chest warming a little more. When she’d started everything a few years ago, when she’d come back from that terrible future, this was what she’d envisioned. Heroes that were proud of one another, not driven by jealousy. A unified whole ready to stand against the coming storms. With their team being representative of numerous nations and regions of the world, it was a visible testament that everyone could see.
Proof.
The word hung over Sonya’s head as she turned and gestured for them to follow her with her signature smug smile. “Come on, then! Let’s get you kitted out!” She cheered and started walking, her thoughts drifting back to Set.
What will be my proof of Duality?
–
The movie theater inside the Idol of Venus doubled as a stage. It was easy enough to throw a few switches, and the black-framed, silver screen rose up to reveal a sizable space for a stage play to be put on. Amos had been kind enough to use his ability to alter the properties of materials in his vicinity to reinforce the stage a bit in case a bit of a mess was made during this particular activity. The result was an off-gray, wooden stage that had a slight metallic hue to it. Sonya stood at the heart of the stage, looking out at the audience gathered.
The already Mythic-tier members of Team Wallbreaker had taken seats. Amos, Colin, and some curious members of the crew had filed in to watch, mostly in the place of their bosses, who couldn’t attend for obvious reasons. Most notably was a surprise guest that Sonya was incredibly pleased to see had made time. Carla sat right up front, legs crossed and eyes fixed on her. Her dark eyes met Sonya’s, and she raised an eyebrow as she reached up to play with the pink gemstone hanging from her collar.
We still haven’t had a chance to have that… talk, Sonya thought, returning her look with a wry smile. Fine. We’ll do it tonight.
Her sister’s presence surfaced at the back of her mind. I’ll see myself out after the festivities, then, Erina said.
There you are. Where have you been? Sonya asked.
Studying with Set and the others, trying to figure out what happened to Mikayla.
Sonya kept her expression from changing even as her chest tightened a little. Did you learn anything?
No, but we have some theories now, Erina said. We can talk more later.
Thanks, Sis.
Sonya cleared her throat and turned to the young men and women who were waiting in line. Cass was there. Her ability was still technically Heroic-tier, so getting her over that hump was an important next step. After her was Snow, then Alex. Hui, Locke, and Armory were right behind, along with Hammond. Seven upgrades to go through. Sonya clapped her hands together brightly and did a little twirl before gesturing backstage. On cue, a woman stepped out in a sparkling dress, pushing the tray on which a heavy-looking suitcase stood.
Amos barked out a laugh in the crowd as Sonya kept her amused expression steady. The First Dean of the Night Society winked into the crowd before bowing to the young heroes waiting for their prizes. “This is fun,” Chamak said.
Sonya chuckled. “Thanks for playing along,” Sonya murmured.
“Of course. I’m almost done with what you asked for, by the way,” the woman added while maintaining her demure pose. She stood back up and turned away, walking backstage.
Sonya watched her go before glancing back at a squinting Carla and shrugged. “That was Miss Chamak, one of the new Directors of ASTA’s Financial department, everybody. Let’s thank her for coming out.”
Scattered applause followed the woman as she went backstage, and Sonya put her hand on the suitcase. She cleared her throat and then fixed her eyes on the heroes waiting in line. “Inside this case are the tokens that First Wind tried to raze Shanghai to the ground over,” she said, her lips forming a line. Everyone went still, and a few of them shifted on their feet. “There are a few more in here from my collection, of course, but all of the originals are present.” She nodded solemnly. “Some of your fellow heroes paid a heavy price as a result.”
She held her head high. “Do not forget that when you accept the tokens, heroes. All power comes at a price, and your growing strength comes from not only your own achievements but the sacrifices of others,” she said and met Cass’ eyes. “Cassiopeia Chernovna, please step forward…”