Sonya shook Glint’s hand as the crowd roared. Despite the vicious battle just a day before, the stands were packed. It helped that many of those in observation were licensed heroes, of course. Glint was dressed in a suit rather than his hero gear. It looked good, but she made a mental note to fit him in something Lucci brand as soon as she had the opportunity. He was her sponsee now. Glint was a few inches taller than her with short, dark hair and sharp eyes that were almost silver in color. He had a rakish, severe appearance that undercut the brightness of his smile a little bit.
“Congratulations, Glint, on making first place. We’ll handle the distribution of the awakening token somewhere secure,” Sonya said. “I want you to get started on mastering whatever you get as soon as possible.”
He nodded. “Thank you for the opportunity, Miss Chernovna.”
“Don’t thank me!” Sonya laughed. “You proved that the barrier between Mythic and Heroic can very much be crossed. Well done.”
She turned to Armory and Sol, who were standing off to the side. Armory had a severe appearance like her brother, but it was offset by her long, straight hair and confident stance. She beamed at her brother despite having been bested by him in the final round. “Congratulations to the two of you as well. The world is a better place with young heroes like you in it,” she said and focused on the orange-gold-haired young man who had found himself in third place.
“Sol, I know you’re probably disappointed, but I believe that you’ll make your way to the ranks of the Internationals on your own. Focus on growing here and being one of the leaders to raise the next generation of powerhouses,” she said.
Sol cracked a smile that shone as bright as his powers. “I’m not disappointed,” he said with a laugh. “If that token of yours is as great as you say, then Australia will have another Mythic to be proud of. I couldn’t be happier.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and nodded to Glint. “Congratulations, Hero.”
Glint walked over and shook his hand while Sonya’s eyes lingered on the solar hero. That young man is going to be one hell of a Guildmaster.
Yes, Ishtar agreed. It does seem like that’s his destiny. He certainly has the stuff.
She turned to the crowd, and her voice spread across the stadium. “Thank you all for coming and for hanging in there despite the excitement there at the end!” She laughed and put her hands on her hips. “As you can see, the villains aren’t the only ones who have strength! We can stand on our own just as well!” she called and raised a fist. “Let’s thank our brave heroes for their service!”
The roar in response was deafening. She smiled to herself and turned to nod at Glint and Armory, who were staring in awe at the rowdy crowd. “Come along, we’ve got some paperwork to do. Then we can celebrate!”
The paperwork for Glint was nothing short of smoke and mirrors. Colin had created the most contrived and confusing hunk of legalese that Sonya had ever seen. It contained all of the formal details of how Glint’s sponsorship would work, of course, and at first glance there was very little that seemed out of place. However, there were numerous sections scattered throughout that were interconnected via references and clauses that, when separated and combined, created the most important part of the contract.
The scattered tidbits stipulated that Sonya was obligated to provide the so-called ‘token’ to Glint and that upon breaking it he would receive an ability from her warehouse. The act of breaking the token would be the ‘trigger’ for the deal. Like a pre-deal sanction. In short, an illusion to disguise a power-granting broker deal. To cover all of her bases, she’d had Colin write up an official version of the contract that was much clearer and killed significantly fewer trees than the one Glint was currently sifting through with a bewildered look on his face.
She’d give it to him later.
You’re gaslighting the poor boy, Ishtar laughed.
Is it really gaslighting when I’m giving him money, benefits, and power? Sonya asked.
Yes, Ishtar chuckled. Though I doubt he’ll complain.
They were currently occupying one of the offices belonging to the Pandora Committee branch office here in Sydney. It wasn’t an overly large room, consisting of a single large desk, two couches, and a coffee table set between them. Sonya was sitting on the couch with Marta standing behind her as usual. First Wind and Qilin were sitting opposite her on the other couch, while Armory, who had signed her overly thick contract already, was on Sonya’s left, watching her brother with pride.
With his and his sister’s victory and the promise of an ASTA sponsorship, Glint and Armory had tendered their resignations to their home guild. According to Carla, Glint was already being added to the list of possible selections to join the International Heroes by the upper echelons of the Committee. It wasn’t surprising, though she did find it a little annoying that they were already eager to poach someone she’d just taken in. They should be giving that attention to Lillian, she thought irritably.
Her association with Cassiopeia is controversial in the Committee right now, Ishtar reminded her. Even if your daughter was proven innocent, that doesn’t change that getting involved with her resulted in a hellstorm of investigations.
Asinine, Sonya grumbled. But that’s politics for you.
“Alright, signed,” Glint said quietly and looked up at Sonya with anticipation in his eyes.
Across from her, First Wind scoffed. “Still don’t get how a Mythic lost like that. I’ve got half a mind to knock Sol around a bit for screwing up like that.”
Sonya frowned at him. “Have a care, would you?”
He met her eyes and shrugged. “I’m just sayin’,” he excused himself, “that token would be mine if you’d let some of us from the first generation play.”
“And that was the reason why I arranged the rules the way I did. This is for the next generation to rise and stand on the level of your generation,” she said flatly.
He grunted and looked away, leaning towards Qilin to say something in her ear. Qilin was sitting with her signature bored look, her eyes distant as she zoned out from the conversation entirely. She flinched and looked his way in disgust before crossing her arms and turning fully away from him. Sonya watched First Wind’s dejected expression and promised herself she’d drag his suffering out as long as possible. She turned back to Glint, who was frowning. “Ignore him,” Sonya said and rose, gesturing to Marta.
Marta stepped around the couch with a suitcase gripped in her hands. She set it down on the desk, and Sonya took a heartbeat to look back at Qilin. She met the Herald’s eyes and gave her a look. Do something about him. If he interrupts, we’re going to have a problem.
Qilin didn’t need to be a mind reader to understand clearly. She frowned hard but turned to face First Wind and brandished a tiny smile in his direction. That was enough to get the idiot’s full attention. Sonya rolled her eyes and turned back to Glint, reaching down to open up the suitcase with the faint whirr of the motorized lock. There, sitting on a pillow of velvet, was a glowing disk about the size and shape of a hockey puck. “Take it,” she instructed the breathless young hero.
Glint swallowed hard and nodded, picking up the item and clutching it hard in his hand. “I just break it?” he asked.
“A quick warning before you do,” Sonya said. “This will probably hurt.”
Glint glanced up at Marta, who was, for all Glint knew, the sole recipient of such a gift. Marta nodded. “Yes, it’s painful. Try to stay conscious as long as you can. I suggest doing it while you’re sitting down.”
While Qilin distracted First Wind so he didn’t interrupt, Glint sat down in the chair. Armory quickly got to her feet to watch and arrived just in time for the noisy crack of glass as the disk shattered in Glint’s hand.
Sonya let her core ability do the rest. For the first time in a while, Deus Ex Machina was activated. Instinct guided her choice, and the deal was completed. It only took a heartbeat.
Interesting choices, Sonya thought. I’m glad I shook that sucker’s hand back when we were buying the Idol.
The other one is from one of the brats who made it to the top two hundred, right? Ishtar asked.
Yes, Sonya confirmed. I-
Light bloomed in the room, blinding everyone but Sonya, whose eyes immediately adjusted. She watched Glint slump in the chair, his body twitching with the convulsions that usually came with a merger. She hadn’t watched one this intense in a while. Though everyone I help merge abilities for is already pretty used to the process at this point, she reminded herself as Glint’s skin began to change to an off-gray color before turning back. He stiffened and gasped, his entire body becoming transparent before he was abruptly in two places at once. He and the chair now occupied spots to the left and right of the desk respectively. Both copies were twitching and groaning in stereo now.
“Is he okay?” Armory gasped. “What’s happening?”
“His ability is awakening. It’s not a fun process,” Marta said.
Sonya sensed Qilin and First Wind on their feet behind her but paid them no mind as the two copies flickered before slamming back together at the center with the sound of shattering glass. For a brief moment, Glint lay there, his entire body slowly turning black as his pained eyes glowed with a deep red heat. Then he blinked, and his body turned back to normal. He gasped and heaved once only for Marta to appear next to him with a trash can.
Sonya didn’t blink as he retched. Was that obsidian?
Yes, I think so, Ishtar mused. An interesting result. Tephrakinesis is ash manipulation. What role did Surge play? An enhancer?
Possibly, I’m still getting used to ability math, Sonya said.
Please don’t call it that, Ishtar complained.
But that’s what it is!
Success! Sonya crowed inwardly as Glint sat up and wiped his lips. He looked physically exhausted, though his eyes told a different story. There was a fresh ferocity there. He looked down at his hands and clenched his fists.
“This feels amazing,” he breathed. “There’s so many functions. The instincts are still settling. I can barely make heads or tails of it.”
“Welcome to the realm of Mythics,” Sonya said brightly. “We’ll have to confirm it officially with a mana reader, but I think it’d be enough to ask the other Mythics in the room if it was a success.”
Marta nodded while Sonya turned to look at Qilin and First Wind. Qilin had a rare expression of shock on her face, her wide eyes fixed on Glint. Meanwhile, First Wind’s eyes glittered with something darker. Greed and envy. He clenched his fists before turning away and walking out of the room. “Yeah, welcome to the club, kid,” he grunted as he shut the door behind him.
Sonya resisted the urge to smirk. That’s right, you bastard, stew on it. I’m going to humiliate you over and over before this is done. When you finally snap, I’ll make sure the whole world sees you for what you really are. The world will scorn you right before the end.
She shot a look towards Qilin, who met her gaze and looked away. “Yes,” she said quietly. “The boy is a Mythic now.”
Sonya brightened and clapped her hands. She pirouetted to face the still stunned Glint and put her hands on her hips, puffing out her chest with pride. “Wonderful! Now how about we all celebrate? Who likes steak?”
First Wind didn’t want to admit it, but he’d been shaken by what he had sensed.
Qilin liked to make fun of him for being a bit of an idiot. He knew that he wasn’t as book smart as other people or as socially aware. He didn’t care much about that. All he cared about was talent, and he had that in spades. He had been raised knowing that he was talented, a star athlete. Yet that upbringing came with the knowledge that talent was useless without skill. Skill only came with practice. When the flash had come and his powers awoke, he knew he’d been given a new talent to hone.
He had tirelessly worked to refine it, make it his. Reveling in the experience of growing all over again after thinking he’d reached his peak in his youth. Another mountain to climb. Every new act of wanton destruction was another chance to experience his power and learn new ways to use it. An opportunity to push himself, to earn power.
What he saw in that room was nothing short of galling. That brat had been given a talent. Given a power that he could enjoy honing and making his own. Not only that, but First Wind could feel the ability already inside Glint’s body literally merge with the new power that had been bestowed upon him. It had grown and advanced into something entirely new. Of all the things he had seen in the two years since the flash, that had been the most mind-blowing experience of his life.
He wanted to feel it too. He wanted to experience it. It isn’t fair. Just because I’m a few years older, I can’t participate? Bullshit! He snarled, clenching his fists as he paced in the break room he had found to seethe in. If I had one of those tokens, I would have two talents! Or one even greater one! He imagined it, getting the chance to explore and develop a talent like that all over again. To feel that sense of accomplishment.
I need to make Chernovna give me one, he thought. I have to have one.
He paced, clenching and unclenching his fists as stationary, cups, and trays rattled and danced across the counters around him. Ishtar’s after her, I’ll use that. All I need to do is get Qilin to fuck off for a little while. I’ll get Chernovna alone and force her to agree.
He grinned. Yeah, that’ll work.