Broker

Chapter 202

Everything was murky for a while. Like floating at the bottom of a pool. The little mote of consciousness could still breathe in those depths, still feel alive, yet the world seemed so distant, so far away. There was a sense of urgency, somewhere, inside? Outside? Separate but together, contained and unleashed, a discord of contrary concepts bounding around in the depths, setting the water to boil. The little mote of consciousness tried to reach towards the surface. There was light there, order, the world made sense outside of the water. That's where it needed to be. It needed to rise up and breathe.

A ragged gasp joined into the din of noise that bombarded her ears. Warning alarms went off, heart rate monitors tittered and beeped, shouts rang out, someone put something over her face. She wanted to lash out. How dare they try to restrain her? How-

She was in the water again. Floating. Drifting. A little more aware than before. She wasn’t alone either. She drifted through the water next to another person. A woman with white hair and alabaster pale skin. The woman’s eyes were closed as they floated together, her expression serene. Something about it made the little mote ache. She reached for the other woman and saw vines wrap around the woman, tug at her, pull her away. She tried to swim, tried to catch up, she couldn’t see, it was too dark beneath the water. She felt like she would drown if she went any deeper. The surface, I have to get to the surface!

BEEP BEEP BEEP!

“She’s up again!” a shout rang out, “Get the- thanks!”

“Hold her still!” another voice shouted.

“Amos get over here!” a third chimed in.

BEEP BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP!

The drift back into the water was slower this time. Lingering. A voice whispered into its ears. “We’ve got you, hang in there,” the voice said, “It’s going to be okay. Just rest for a while.”

BEEP BEEP … BEEP … BEEP

The depths were… soothing.

The little mote felt itself rise to the surface again one last time. There was no urgency anymore, no frantic movement within the world. The space outside was quiet, all but empty. It reached for that boundary between the underwater world and the open air and breached. Air filled its lungs as instead of the light of the sun, it found itself bathed in darkness. For a moment, it panicked, wondering why it could not see. It tried to open its eyes but found that they were already open. Bandages? Yes, but even then, this darkness is…too much.

It took a moment to reflect, Who? Ah, yes. I am Ishtar.

Ishtar flexed her fingers, they ached terribly. Her entire body was sore and cold, a chill rattling her bones. She took a shuddering breath and reached out with her senses. Her mind recoiled, tensing and spasming at the too-soon use of her abilities. She winced and coughed, raising a hand to cover her lips only to feel something attached to her limbs. Tubing inserted into her skin. A hospital? No, Companion wouldn’t allow that. Something similar then. Ishtar thought before something more serious occurred to her, Why am I in control? Sonya? She called the name out into the vastness of her consciousness, Sonya! Are you there?

A presence rose up in response, a small, fragile, infinitely precious mote. It reacted to the name but it did not speak. She could sense emotions boiling within the mote: fear, anger, confusion, worry, hatred, love, sadness, regret. She cupped the mote in her hands, trying to feel why it had been reduced to this state. She tried to sense her other half’s endless resolve, that strength that she quietly leaned on. To her horror, all she sensed was madness at its deepest points, a creeping vine of insanity that was spreading through the mote’s very being. Irrationality, hostility, Ishtar saw it for what it was. Visage. It was more unstable than either of us suspected. To use it at its full power like that… that was a mistake, I shouldn’t have encouraged you. I’m sorry, Sonya.

The little mote did not respond. She touched it again with her mind and the vines crept back a small amount. The mote shone briefly and followed her lead. Pushing back just a little before going quiet again. Now, all she felt was exhaustion and then a sense of peace.

Ishtar smiled shakily, what she saw scared her, but she knew Sonya would recover. Rest well.

“Sonya?” a voice brought Ishtar back to reality. Again, there was darkness as her mind turned outwards. Blind again. Something is wrong with her eyes. She took a moment to recognize the voice, Crusader. 

Her lips parted and she hesitated, Her civilian name… ah yes. Her words came out hoarsely, her throat cracking under the strain of trying to speak. “Lillian?”

She felt a hand grasp onto her own and grip it tightly, “Oh my god you’re awake! How do you feel? Oh shit, I should let Marta know. She was getting some rest, I just- right uh, one sec, I’ll be right back. I promise!”

Silly girl, Ishtar thought with amusement as the girl let her hand go. She could hear the door open and shut to the room, wherever she was. She tried again to reach out with her senses but her mind jolted once more. Terribly inconvenient, she hissed. That hurt, I cannot use my senses, I’m as blind as I-we-she was before the flash. Our body is so weak too. She tried to sit up but her muscles just gave out beneath her. Her lips thinned into a line, Damn.

Ahead of her the door opened and several sets of feet poured in. She couldn’t make out who was who. “Lil, you mind stepping out for a bit so we can talk to her?” Technocrat’s voice said, “You can catch up with her after that, I promise.”

“Huh? Oh yeah sure! No problem. I need some coffee anyway,” she heard Crusader-Lillian’s voice say, there were a few steps on what she assumed was tile floor before they paused, “I’m glad you’re okay, Sonya. We’ve been so worried.”

Ishtar forced a smile as she lay on her back, “Thank you, dear,” she said hoarsely before the door shut. She heard a few sets of feet move up to stand near her bed, a strong set of thin fingers reaching down to take her hand while another stronger set of finger touched her face and examined her. “Who’s here?” she croaked.

There was a long pause, “You… can’t sense us?” Technocrat asked.

“No,” she responded, it was taking a lot of strength just to speak. Bothersome.

“I’m here,” Companion said, her fingers squeezing Ishtar’s hand. “So is Doctor Da-Som.”

Ishtar nodded, “Ah, good. Thank you for coming, Doctor. I appear to be in a rather awful state.”

“You nearly died ma’am,” Doctor Da-Som said, his voice somewhere between shaky and stern, “Your heart, among other things, just about gave out. Your body couldn’t take the strain of whatever you did. You maxed yourself out so completely that your cybernetics nearly ripped themselves out of your body.”

Ishtar paused, “Regrettable.”

Several seconds of silence followed that single word, she couldn’t feel what they were doing but she could imagine it. An exchange of looks, silent moments of eye contact and shared conversations without words. Companion and Technocrat were close, they knew one another’s mind well enough to do something like that. Given how much Technocrat worked with the doctor, she would not be surprised if they shared a similar level of connection. No words were needed from them to ask one another the same question.

“You aren’t Sonya, are you?” Companion asked.

Ishtar’s lips thinned, “I am afraid not.”

“Can we speak to her?” Technocrat chimed in.

Ishtar’s thin lips turned down into a frown, “I am afraid not,” she repeated.

“Why?” he asked sharply.

“Amos,” Companion said with a hint of warning in her tone.

“I have theories,” Ishtar said, she was feeling tired all of a sudden, “But I do not know the full reason. She is… weaker than I am right now. Small. Sleeping and hidden in my subconscious. I can’t say when she might recover. Her silence is deafening, painful,” she wheezed, an exhausted arm reaching up to grip at the hospital gown she was trussed up in. Her chest hurt. “I can’t use her HUD. How bad is her body?” she asked. There was silence again and she scowled, drumming up the strength for a snarl, “Tell me!”

“The fact that you just moved your arm is a miracle,” Doctor Da-Som said in a low voice, “Your abilities are largely cybernetic, your muscles have partially separated from your bones in places. Your heart is a mess, your joints too, everything is just a wreck. Your eyes are gone. You’ll be wheelchair bound until you recover enough to use one of those fruits Marta told me about.”

Gone? I was afraid of that. I can’t even channel enough mana to use my senses, let alone conjure up ambrosia, damn, Ishtar thought irritably, This might take a while. 

She sighed and flexed her fingers as Companion began to pull away, she squeezed the woman’s hand. There was a flare desperation in her chest, a need for that physical contact to continue for just a moment. It was a strange emotion, one she’d never felt before. She didn’t understand it and it annoyed her a little. She furrowed her brows, “Don’t,” she managed, “Stay.”

“I wanted a word with her,” Technocrat growled.

“Amos now isn’t the time, besides, she’s still Sonya, just… different,” Companion insisted, “Calm down.”

“She did it again, Em!” Technocrat shouted, “Just like Florence!”

“I’m not getting into this with you again, Amos,” Companion said shortly, “She needs us.”

Ishtar heard him stomp his foot and start to pace. She imagined him running his fingers through his hair and felt for him a little. She knew how reckless Sonya could be with her body. The silly girl was extraordinarily self-destructive when doing so could spare the many for the few. A character flaw or a sign of greatness? I’ve never really been able to decide, Ishtar thought.

“I know it was necessary,” Amos rumbled, “That’s exactly why someone should have been with her! We’re her team but we never seem to be there when she needs us most! Fucking damn it! When I agreed to set the connection up I didn’t know - shit, Em look at her!”

“Tech-” Ishtar began and then cleared her aching throat, “Amos. For what it’s worth coming from me,” she said, “I am sorry this happened to her. I suggested the course of action. She was panicking. It was our only option.”

The room went quiet for a moment and she could feel all eyes on her. She heard Technocrat sigh, “...yeah well. I’m glad you’re alive,” he said awkwardly, “Apology accepted.”

She heard Companion chuckle a little and felt the woman’s tense hands grow a little warmer, a little gentler as she squeezed Ishtar’s weakened fingers. 

“We uh,” Technocrat started with a mumble, “We have some ideas for what to do about your eyes, but it’ll take some time. They’re purely artificial, so healing abilities aren’t working on them. Even if they’re a part of your natural ability set, they just aren’t growing back. We even had Vytal take a crack at it. It’s like… it’s like your body is resisting abilities being used on it.”

Ishtar paused and her fingers squeezed Companion's hand a bit more tightly. Her muscles hurt under the effort but the explanation she came up with was upsetting enough to distract her from the pain. Visage of Titania, am I infested with it? She swallowed and opened her mouth to speak but she felt a wash of weakness crash into her, a tiredness that made her want to slip back into slumber. She shivered again. Post surgery trembling, exhaustion, I’m pushing her body too hard already. I’ll explain it later. I need to use what strength I have wisely. First thing’s first. She chewed her lip. “Companion?”

The hand gripping hers tensed a little, “Yes, Ishtar?” she asked gently.

“I need to know, was it worth it?” Ishtar asked, “Did her plan work?”

Another long pause, “I don’t think-”

“I am not as fragile as my better half,” Ishtar said with weary anger, “Tell me.”

“...better?” Companion began before clearing her throat, “Fine. Why don’t you two head out and keep working? I’ll sit with her.”

Ishtar heard two sets of feet move to leave, “Amos? Doctor?” she called. She heard them pause and she allowed herself to smile, “Thank you for saving her,” she said.

“Yeah, well, get better. For her and for us. You’re the boss, we can’t save the world without you. Both of you,” Amos said, “We need you,” he added before the door shut.

She felt the silence weigh on her for a moment. It was so strange being wholly in control. There was usually a lingering sense of Sonya in the back of her mind, an idea of what she would say, a concept of how she would feel. It let her emulate emotions better. Yet now she felt oddly lost. A warmth in her chest she did not recognize without Sonya to identify it properly. Was it gratitude? There was something else, an ache, perhaps concern. Concern for them. They were shaken by what had happened. 

Sonya was not present and they knew it. Their friend was silent and it was only Ishtar for now. What was worse, she had never been this weak in their eyes before. Not even after that hair-brained effort to merge abilities in Florence. There was little she could say to comfort them. Logic insisted she do something to alleviate their concerns, but she could not lie. She did not know, she did not have answers. She could only wait, just like them. It was strange. She spent so little time in control that she realized she barely knew them personally even if she had all of Sonya’s memories. Without her for context, they seemed almost like strangers. Warm strangers, but strangers nevertheless.

Companion pulled her hand away long enough to grab a chair from the sound of it and drag it over. She sat down next to Ishtar and took her hand again. “You’re cold.”

“I’ll recover,” Ishtar said thoughtfully and then a bit more quietly, “I wish I had something comforting to say to them.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say something that kind before,” Companion said.

Ishtar huffed out a weak laugh, “Strange, isn’t it?” she trailed off, “Tell me what happened.”

Companion cleared her throat, “The villains you freed from prison arrived at the Seattle dungeon, I’d say about three quarters of them went, the rest didn’t heed your call. After that, Black Lotus cleared the dungeon.”

More than I expected, Ishtar thought, “That’s good, but there’s more.”

“Liberty was there waiting for interference, along with a significant portion of her round table. That man you were cultivating a connection with, Graff. He fought her and she retreated into the dungeon. He pursued while the round table remained outside. It wasn’t pretty. Most of the villains that attacked then were between common and rare at best.”

“You have a good understanding of the play-by-play outside,” Ishtar commented, “How?”@@novelbin@@

“Wicker was there, he’s leaving Kingshark’s group by the way. He’s joining up with Graff as a henchman,” Companion explained.

And Graff is allowing that? Wicker’s powers are more impressive than I had thought, apparently, she thought before nodding, “Go on.”

“The majority of the villains were slaughtered,” Companion said, “Halloway was there so any who didn’t run or hide right away weren’t able to get away once he was hunting them, but the stronger villains that came kept the round table busy, the rest, well,” Companion trailed off, "Sometime after that, the dungeon dissipated and Liberty escaped with her people. Graff wants to meet.’

Ishtar let out a sigh, “Dutiful as always, Companion.”

“Thank you, Ma’am,” Companion said.

“What is the news saying?” Ishtar asked.

“I… I don’t think-”

“Please,” Ishtar insisted. The woman holding her hand let out a sigh and moved away for a moment before setting something down on the bed next to Ishtar. 

She heard a brief hum before audio began to play. A voice rose up, clearly that of a reporter. “...The supervillain, Liberty, who is now being connected to the Tokyo disaster, attempted to follow up that attack with a plan to detonate the Seattle dungeon. The chain reaction from its fallout would have decimated a significant portion of the north west United States and south west Canada.”

Ishtar pursed her lips as the man continued speaking, “There is still significant contention online as to the real perpetrator of the disasters. With leaks connecting Ishtar to the Tokyo incident and her orchestrating a major prison break, opinion is currently divided on what happened. Though the hero Black Lotus has made her position clear that while Liberty is the mastermind behind this historic tragedy, Ishtar is complicit given the false-flag nature of the attack and her long standing feud with the other supervillain.”

There was a long pause, “Despite Black Lotus’ success in clearing the dungeon and preventing the worst, the outcome is still being considered a pyrrhic victory at best for the Heroes. Liberty and her entourage escaped justice. Several Pandora Committee scouts lost their lives in the dungeon, Guildmaster Evergreen is currently in the hospital along with Black Lotus after sustaining severe injuries during their battle. While many escaped villains died in their own attack on the dungeon, several high profile villains remain unaccounted for including the special-class Supervillain, Graff.”

The reporter let out a heavy sigh, “The death toll between Seattle and Tokyo has now exceeded five hundred thousand people, the single largest loss of human life in a single day in history since the Shaaxi earthquake in 1556,” the reporter said solemnly. “This tragedy could have been all the worse if not for the brave involvement of the heroes who stepped up to-”

“Enough,” Ishtar said hoarsely.

Companion ended the video and Ishtar deflated a little where she lay, “Those prisoners were one of Sonya’s trump cards, most of them were lost it sounds like,” she said with a sigh, “This is Liberty’s win. Even if she didn’t get Seattle. I’m glad Sonya isn’t awake for this.”

“...I’m sorry, mistress,” Companion said after a pause, her hands gripping even more tightly against Ishtar’s fingers. 

She felt them trembling. An instinct rose up in her chest and she felt her body want to reach up to touch the woman’s face. Her body didn’t respond, though, and she could only lay there impotently as the woman shook, “Speak your mind,” Ishtar said as gently as she could.

Companion stirred for a moment, stewing, before she broke out into a tearful shout, “It’s not fair!” she barked, “I can’t- sometimes I just can’t stand it. You saved so many lives, both of you did, you did the bad thing that would do the most good and- and- and no one is going to. Damn it,” the woman croaked, “I thought I was over this.”

Ishtar felt an incomprehensible pit in her stomach. Another driving instinct. A question itching in her mind. What would Sonya say right now? She wondered before fumbling out a guess, “No one? Aren’t you someone?” Ishtar said, trying to put a hint of Sonya’s mischief into her voice.

“But!” 

“Comp- Marta, it’s fine,” Ishtar said, “This is our path,” she added before asking, “How long have I been out? When was that report recorded?”

“A week ago,” Marta croaked, “We’re at headquarters in Minneapolis.”

Ishtar shook her head, “Liberty, she even took Sonya’s grand opening from her,” she grit her teeth. She couldn’t let herself feel the defeat. She needed to learn from it, adapt to it, and when the time came, avenge it. She rallied with what little strength she had to keep speaking, defiance fueling her, “I’ll recover, she will too, and while we convalesce, I will plan. This is far from over, dear. The Pandora Committee must be getting ready for war and the inner circle will be there. I will be there.”

Companion-no, she reminded herself, Marta-squeezed her hand, “And I won’t leave your side.”