Broker

Sonya stood at center stage. There were only a few faces in the stands, but with the light shining down on her she felt… right. She’d always loved a bit of extra attention, but having the spotlight on her while she pulled some of her greatest tricks of misdirection and illusion was exhilarating. She was like a stage magician but only she knew that she was performing. Well, her and a few select people. Her lip curled upward a bit into a smile as she flicked her eyes up and looked into her adoptive daughter’s face. She looked tense.

“Well, aren’t you all dressed up?” she asked with a chuckle.

Cass looked down at the ruffles on her sleeve and frowned a little, her blue eyes narrowing a bit. “...Too much? Marta said-”

“You look great,” Sonya said with a grin and twined her fingers behind her back, taking a single playful step away and towards the tray with the ‘tokens’ in it. “Just wanted to ease up the atmosphere.”

Cass snorted out a laugh. “Jerk.”

Sonya turned with a flourish and pretended to pick one of the tokens. “Don’t call your mother a jerk,” she sing-songed and turned back to her. She walked over and slipped the token into her hand, cupping the back of her hand with a smaller palm. “You earned this.”

The shared knowledge of Sonya’s little weakness made Cass’ eyes flicker just a little bit and she swallowed, nodding. “...Thanks,” she murmured and took a few steps back on her own. She let out a low, shuddering breath and held the token up.

I was with Set while you were preparing, Sister, Erina cut into Sonya’s thoughts. What did you give her?

Oh… a combination of a few things. DeM was useful in simulating what I wanted to come out. It took a bit to figure out how to turn Natural Swordsman into something that would be useful for her, though. Sonya thought with a bit of wry amusement.

Curious. And as for how you’re going to confirm the results? Erina asked. Did Amos complete another toy?

As a matter of fact…

CRCK!

The token shattered in Cass’ grip. The pale light of Pandora’s power flooded down from the point of contact as if she’d finished a deal with Sonya. Sonya felt the powers slipping from her warehouse in the order she’d prepared. A staggered release to get just the right effect. The reaction from Cass was instantaneous. The girl gasped and dropped to a knee, her body growing briefly for a moment and her horns erupting from her temples. They twisted and changed, the horns taking on a metallic hue before lightening into a golden color.

“Ack!” Cass gasped, hunching forward as the surface of her very soul was rewritten. Sonya kept her arms crossed behind her back. Her eyes narrowed, but she didn’t move, just watched as her daughter ascended to the power she deserved. A power comparable to her sister’s.

What was its name? Erina asked after a moment of silence. Cass remained still on the ground, that pale light rising off of her in smoke-like wisps. As she rose to her feet, her eyes remained closed. She held out her hand and reached, her war maul forming in her hand. It wasn’t rugged metal and stone anymore. It looked like it had been crafted from a single lump of orichalcum. The golden handle gleamed as it slammed down on the reinforced stage.

Dominion of Heimdall

Cass’ eyes snapped open and rippling rainbows swirled in her irises. They flicked and twitched, micromovements only Sonya could see. Her lips curled up into a smile, and she released her ability with a gasp. Her body shrank down to normal, and her weapon vanished in a small flare of light as she looked down at her hands, flexing her fingers.

“...I can see so much,” she breathed.

“Interesting!” Sonya crowed, putting on her best ‘I had no idea what you were gonna get’ performance possible. She walked up to her and looked her daughter up and down. “Shall we find out what it’s called? I have something a little bit more formal than a handshake prepared.”

She gestured over to the tray where the tokens were kept and led her over. There, she reached down and pulled out what looked like a standard-issue ability-tier checker. The crystal ball was set onto a small wood-looking platform and glowed with a faint inner light. She held it up for all to see by the wooden plate beneath it. “We’re having a product unveiling today too!” She laughed and the others chuckled. She winked at Cass and then pulled her phone from her pocket, tapping through the screens.

“As you all know,” she said, swiping through. “The tier detector hasn’t really been improved upon since it was first created during the early days of our new era,” she explained and found the menu she was looking for. “You might also know that while my eyes can see a person’s name, I can identify the name of an ability with a touch.”

She grinned widely to everyone watching. “Problem there is that I can’t be everywhere at once, y’know?” she laughed and tapped the last button. The crystal ball slowly came to life, the inner glow turning solid and filling the sphere. “Doctor Carter has spent a loooong time studying my ability, and...” She trailed off and gestured into the stands where Amos stood up and offered a smug bow.

There’s a bit more to it, obviously. You need to have signed your consent to have your ability identified, which I had slipped into the token contracts. She chuckled inwardly. I’ll be putting the same phrasing into the Carter Radar app EULA now that Broker can work with it, thanks to that little upgrade. I am gonna make so much money, hah! Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on N0veI.Fiɾe.net

Erina sighed.

“Tada!” she cheered and held the device out to Cass. “Miss Harbinger, if you would?”

Cass chuckled and shook her head. She obviously knew there was more to the trick, but someone in the know could still appreciate the performer’s theatrics. She held her hand out and put it on the sphere. It flared and bloomed through colors before stopping at orange. Applause filled the theater. “Mythic confirmed,” Sonya said and glanced at her phone. It took a heartbeat to load. “Dominion of Heimdall.”

Silence reigned for a heartbeat before Alex let out a whoop. “Named Mythic! Woop! Hell yeah!”

More cheering broke the silence as the others joined in on the applause. The proper ascent and confirmation of a new Mythic to join the ranks of International Heroes with her new team. Cass beamed, planting a hand on her hip and examining her fingers again. Her eyes looked thoughtful for a moment, and she flicked her eyes towards Sonya. “...Kinda feels like her ability, how I imagine one half of it would work,” she said in a low voice. “The part I knew was far more impressive but she never used. There’s some residuals of my old ability too…”

Sonya gave her an innocent smile. “What an interesting coincidence,” she said with a wink.

Cass snorted out a laugh and reached out for a hug. Sonya returned it and patted the girl on the back. “...Use it well,” she murmured. “Do some good, little hero.”

“I will.”

Sonya parted from her, and Cass turned to step off the stage, waving at the other heroes and friends in the stands and in line. She walked over and took a seat as an observer while Sonya turned her gaze towards Snow. The young woman hopped up onto the stage and walked over with a casual grin on her face. She was a far cry from the shy young woman that Sonya had met at that camp. It felt like ages ago.

A faint static filled the air. “Sup, sponsor-lady.” the girl said. The words seemed to come from her mouth as her lips moved. She’d gotten so good at it that it was a bit of a challenge to detect the delay. Her expression fell a bit. “You got something good for me?”

Sonya searched her face. “Guess we’ll see, won’t we?” she said gently and put a hand on her shoulder. “Either way, you’re going to do great.”

Sonya turned away and went to grab another token. She’s really feeling Lillian not being around. Her own perceived weakness isn’t helping, I imagine.

It doesn’t help that she is surrounded by titans, Erina pointed out.

Well then, let's see if I can’t bring her up to their level, Sonya thought. This timeline’s heroes will be ready for anything.

She turned back with a token in hand and walked over to Snow, putting it down into her palm with a grin. Caught in Amber and a few other things should do the trick. I added Color Theory as well. DeM gave me some… amusing results. Abilities formed out of this era’s impressions are very unusual sometimes.

With a few quick steps back, Sonya gave Snow some space. The girl looked down at the token, closed her eyes as if she was saying a small prayer, and crushed it in her tiny hand. The flare rose up through her arm, and her eyes went wide. Her entire body locked in a rictus for a moment as her head whipped back and light poured from her eyes. Static filled the air, flickers of sound, and her body seemed to distort for a moment before steadying as she caught herself.

She let out a shuddering breath, the sound coming out a bit more smoothly as she reached up and rubbed at her throat. Then she stood up a bit straighter and furrowed her brows, tilting her head back as her lips rose a bit in curious mirth. She raised her hand and flicked her finger. “Neat,” her voice came out with even less delay than before but still with a bit of that background static. It was almost unnoticeable. “Heh, very nice.”

“What is it?” Colin shouted from the crowd, holding his hands over his mouth like a heckler.

“Gimme a sec, why don’t ya!” Snow shouted back over her shoulder.

The room paused for a moment, and even she had to blink a little and furrow her brows. She rubbed her neck again and grinned. “...Goddamn seamless.” She barked out a laugh. “Still isn’t the real thing workin’ but… damn that feels good.” She closed her eyes again and took a deep breath, probably examining her instincts. “It feels like multiple sets of instincts.”

“Multiple abilities,” Sonya said curiously. “Well, how novel. Who could have predicted that?”

You are too much, Erina laughed.

Hush, let me have my fun, Sonya shot back.

Snow opened her eyes and looked to Sonya before looking down at the scanning device, a silent question in her eyes. Sonya just shrugged at her. “It’ll work. Amos has multiple - we checked.”

“Boo! Outing a guy on stage!” Amos shouted good naturedly.

Sonya rounded on him and gave a rude gesture. “Everyone knows, you dolt!” The gathered heroes, secret villains, and allies all laughed as Sonya turned back to Snow and held out the sphere. The girl put her hand on it, and Sonya ran the app. The light bloomed and turned orange. Applause followed. “Confirmed Mythic,” she said and turned her head towards the screen. “Augment Reality,” she raised an eyebrow and glanced at Snow.

“It’s a really powerful illusion ability,” Snow explained, searching her instincts. “Like… makes my old one seem kinda tame, if you couldn’t tell with how great I sound. I still need this, though.” She tapped the implant at the back of her head. “It probably could use an upgrade, though.”

Sonya glanced up at Amos, who gave a thumbs up. Sonya looked back down at the screen and held back her chuckle. “...Digital Tamer?”

Snow looked down at her fingers and flexed them. “...It kinda feels like Hammond’s ability, not gonna lie. But I don’t get to just toss ‘em all into a bag. I can only have a few at a time… for now, I think. I also have to scan a monster and make my own, not just take the one I found.” She clenched her fist and it trembled. “...But now I can fight,” she said with a savage smile, her eyes sparkling. “Now I can keep up.”

Snow looked up at her and broke into a heart-melting smile of gratitude. Sonya clapped her arm and nodded before gesturing to the stands. The girl skipped away, humming to herself and slipping into a seat next to Cass. The two shared a fist bump as Alex slowly stepped onto the stage, looking overwhelmed.

“Woowoowoo!” Cass shouted up at him. “Get a good one! Pull that gacha!”

Alex hunched his shoulders and scratched his nose sheepishly as Sonya glanced his way and raised an eyebrow. She shook her head and walked over to the table, grabbing another token. She waited for him to approach and then pursed her lips. “You know, it isn’t impressive to your girlfriend's mother if you drag your feet, young man.”

That got him moving.

You’re terrible, Erina laughed. The boy is terrified.

Good. He’s dating my daughter, Sonya quipped.

She looked up at Alex as he came to a stop. The blonde young man had his hands stuffed into his pockets, which he quickly realized would be a problem. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath before settling his shoulders. The cocky grin that came back was more like how she expected him to be. “I’m ready, instructor,” he said awkwardly, not realizing he called her by the title she had at camp.

She looked down at his tapping foot and up at him. The grin was there, but there was also a desperate hope in his eyes. The other two had rolled well, so he desperately wanted to keep that ball rolling. She thumbed the token in her hand and gave him a steady look.

You didn’t pick something to bully him, did you? Erina asked.

No, Sonya thought. I picked something to make sure he’d always be strong enough to back her up. She glanced towards Cass and put the token in his hand, taking a few extra steps back while pretending to just do a little double skip.

…What did you do?

She grinned. Gave him Lord of the Depths and his own ability again.

You… WHAT? What would that even do?

Sonya’s grin grew wider as the token cracked in Alex’s hand. The Hero BLF glowed with that faint pale light and he stumbled, grunted, and then collapsed. The scales grew across his body as they always did but then suffused back into his skin. He let out a gasp as his head slammed into the reinforced floor and left a dent. He hunched and heaved, the scales growing back yet again and thicker this time. What happens when the pure version of an ability comes in contact with the version you’ve been developing? With a Mythic to bridge the gap? she thought. Guided growth. Just giving him Lord of the Depths ended up with a boring, unnamed Mythic. But this…

His body grew in size briefly as he whipped his head up and a furious red glow burned in them. He rose to his feet as his muscles fleshed out even more, his jaw popped, his nostrils flared, and he rolled his neck as the entire ship very briefly creaked with a sudden addition of weight. The floor beneath his feet bowed just a little, and he took another breath. The creaking stopped. Everyone had gone dead silent.

“...I am one big snake,” he chuckled dryly.

Sonya stepped forward with the scanning device in her hand and offered it to him. He held up a hand to forestall her for a moment and took another deep breath. The ship shifted again, this time feeling like the weight had been taken off the vessel. He let out a low, almost strangled breath as a relieved expression came across his face. He looked down at the sphere and put his hand on it. As expected, it flared orange immediately. “Confirmed Mythic.”

No one clapped right away; everyone wanted to know the name.

She glanced at the screen. “Jormungandr,” she said. “The World Serpent.”