Broker

Chapter 234

Otis turned away as the helicopter began to take off, his hair fluttering about. The golden-boy charm glowing on his face fading to something a bit more comfortable. His skin crawled after having been so close to mundanes. The civilians who cheered for him when he did his hero work in New York was one thing, but nosy reporters were scum. That said, they do have their uses, he thought pleasantly as he took a relaxing walk from the site of his battle with the monsters. Ah, monsters, didn’t the pre-battle report say something about one of Liberty’s henchmen being a monster manipulator?

He clapped his fist to his palm, “Oh, that woman was Ito,” he said in realization as he stopped near the edge of the treeline. The scent of smoke stung at his nostrils and he frowned. Messy, he thought irritably as he glanced up at the cloudy sky. Lightning crackling between the clouds. It had been a while since a bolt had come down. Perhaps she’s resting, he thought, I still don’t understand why Ishtar would just let that creature flail about like that. What’s the benefit gained from burning down the surrounding forest?

He shrugged and leaned against a tree. Should I check in? He tapped his earpiece and listened in on the flurry of communications and orders going back and forth between the Pandora Committee and the heroes on the ground. Most of it was beneath him. Requests for backup, status checks, confirmations of this point being taken and that point having more resistance than expected. Boring stuff. Until Guildmaster Evergreen spoke up.

<“Crusader, update on Ishtar and Liberty?”>

Sounds like she’s taking command. Is Black Lotus busy?

<“They’re still fighting ma’am.”>

<“Alright, keep me posted and stay out of it, we’re almost done securing the surrounding area. More damn villains snuck in, apparently Ishtar issued a bounty on Liberty’s people.”>

<“Yes ma’am.”>

So you went straight to Liberty? Oh, Ishtar, I thought you wanted to let the heroes handle it. He rubbed his chin, No, you like to delay things so you can get the optimal result. You’re softening her up so-

His nostrils flared and he spun, punching through the tree behind him and sending it toppling to the ground. “So it’s Crusader!” he snarled, “You’re planning on giving it to Crusader! Her! AGAIN! Always encroaching on me!” he stepped away from the shattered tree and took a cleansing breath, “Calm down…” he ordered himself, Getting angry won’t solve anything, and you have more important things to do before you return.

He smiled in satisfaction, Right, right, I almost forgot.

He waved his hand and a menu bar appeared before him with a list of selections.

<Cheats>
<Walkthrough>
<Side-Quests>
<Status>
<Abilities>

He’d felt it after finishing the interview. It had been the first time in a while that his instincts had shifted slightly, the sense that his ability, ‘The Man, The Myth, The Legend’, had opened up for him a little more. I’d committed to exploring my powers more back at Camp but that was easier said than done. Training my body only got me so far as well, even with my cheats making the process easier, there’s a base cap to how high my attributes can go as well as a maximum for how high my cheats can pump them up. The Walkthrough only gave me my next steps with a whole bunch of pointless text that could have been boiled down to ‘Get Famous’.

He looked at the bottom of the menu, Now I get it.

He tapped ‘Renown’.

<Current Renown Level: 0. Renown Points to level up: 0. Level up Ready!>

He pursed his lips and flicked back to his status page for a moment, checking it before returning to the renown screen, I don’t have a level or experience points on my status screen. Just my attributes. Is this how I get stronger?

<Would you like to Level Up?>

Yes.

A light suffused his body for a heartbeat before fading. He frowned. He didn’t feel any different save for an odd sense of growth that wasn’t tied to any one thing within his person. It was a little disconcerting, but he pushed it aside as a new window appeared.

<You have risen to Level 1 Renown: Somebody>

<Base maximum potential attribute cap from training has increased. Increasing your attributes through training will further increase your maximum cheat values.>

<A Choice has been presented:

You may improve your most used cheat (Anonymous). Anonymous will become a non-stamina draining passive ability that you can activate or deactivate at will. It will be added to your abilities page. Applications of Anonymous will cost less stamina.

Or.

You may gain access to the skills screen. Skills, unlike abilities, are mundane talents that you may acquire. Acquiring a skill will allow you to learn it at an increased pace compared to a normal person.

You will not be able to revisit these options in the future. New options will be made available at higher levels of renown.>

His eyes went wide, “This is it! This is what I was waiting for!” he laughed, “That’s how I do it!” he looked up at the helicopter that was already moving further towards the center of the battlefield. A little fame here and there finally got me to this point. I get it now. He looked at his choices and paused. His eyes flicked towards the Walkthrough tab. When I got my start, I wanted to be a faceless hero, the no man, like Odysseus. I still do, sort of, but now… he trailed off in his thoughts. Is the mystique really worth it? It feels nice to be ‘cool’ and all but playing that role has gotten me nowhere. Every scheme in the background has backfired, all because of Ishtar.

I need to chart a different path if I want to beat her.

Otis chose and lightning flashed overhead.

–

Tap… tap… tap… tap….

The single stream of blood dripped onto the frost caked ground. The grass had been turned white and brittle, each step accompanied by a satisfying crunch. The two combatants faced one another, Phillip’s arm hung limply at his side, a small hole driven through his left bicep, a trickle of blood running down his arm. He wiped his nose and lip as his sister picked lazily at her teeth, with claws made of black ice attached to gauntlets that ran down to her elbows. Her flat, heartless eyes, devoid of any spark or joy, fixed him with an unblinking stare. A little of that black-blue hair of hers falling over her face.

He hopped back a step and threw out his right hand, the air grew thick with mist that condensed into dozens of spinning spikes of pale ice. He clenched his fist with a grunt before taking another sharp step back and raising a wall of ice between him and his target, making sure to keep it transparent so he could see. She looked up at the buzzing spikes and frowned, reaching up to tug lazily on the thick black and blue winter jacket she was wearing. The grass at her feet wilted and turned black.

The spikes fell on her only to splash against her body and rebound, eerie black clouds filling the ice before it launched in his direction like machine-gun fire, crashing into the transparent wall he’d made and clouding it as well.

Damn it! Nothing’s working! What the hell changed?!

The barrier exploded, frozen shrapnel pelting his body as he slid back several more steps, his good arm raised to protect his face. Little cuts spread across his arms, one scraped his brow, another across his hand. Every single cut sent a chill through his body, eating at him, burning away his vitality. The barrage ended and his arm fell, It was getting harder to move. Mist billowed from his lips. Why am I so tired? We haven’t been fighting that long, he thought as he watched her. She hadn’t moved an inch. 

The girl he used to enjoy tormenting was long dead. The cowardice that he’d leaned on. He thought he’d be more angry. It was hard to remember what happened during the ceremony, but he remembered enough to know that he’d been humiliated somehow. He’d certainly gone into the fight with his blood boiling. Now? Now he only felt cold inside. Every time that ice cut him it was like a little bit of hope, of positivity, of anything he could use to keep himself going was drained away bit by bit.

He clenched his fist, Just need to find an open-

“I’m bored.”

Is she going to do more than just play around? He thought, raising his guard and letting ice run down his arms and to his fists. She didn’t move from where she stood, staring off into space. She sighed and brushed a bit of snow off her shoulder, turning to look him up and down. “I can’t believe I was afraid of you for so long. Embarrassing,” she said with disgust. “What’s your deal, anyway? You know I’m gonna kill you, why are you even bothering with this fight? Shouldn’t a sane person run at this point?”

He frowned but kept his mouth shut, he needed to think. Every time he used his powers it was like fighting against himself. The moment her ice touched his, that was it. The unsettling black stuff clouded his ice and she sent it right back at him. She wasn’t wrong that this fight was boring, he hadn’t done a damn thing! Him! Even if he had been beaten then as well, Ishtar had acknowledged his strength. He clenched his jaw, I’m not letting you past me. 

A hand brushed against his back and he spun, whipping his arm out only for a spike to rise up from the ground at his feet. He tried to pull away but something invisible wrapped around his wrist. He knew what came next. First was the pain. His bone cracking as the spike pierced it. Then the cold that clawed at his insides, burning through his flesh, his bone, and down to something that he was scared to think too hard about. Something so vital to who he was that just the faintest scratch made him tremble.

The guy with the glasses, who had been on the sidelines the entire time, walked back towards her from where he’d snuck up behind Phillip. How’d he get behind me? “See anything good?” his sister asked, turning to the guy.

“He and Liberty are an item,” the guy in glasses said, stopping next to a frozen tree and leaning against it with a weary sigh, “Happy now?”

Phillip felt his guts hollow out. “W-what?” was all he could manage as his sister turned to him again.

CLKT CLKT CLKT

The sound made his skin crawl and that part of him that kept aching, that deep, essential part of him, it recoiled, wailed in terror. Goosebumps spread across his skin. She was clapping. Her harlequin smile was unholy, demonic. Inhuman. But it was her eyes that made him realize he wasn’t getting out of this alive, and not until after he suffered. Eyes that arched with malicious glee. Eyes that he’d seen when he was a boy. Eyes that she had probably seen from him. Their father’s eyes.

 “Oh, I’m very happy. Thank you Riot.”

–

Ishtar centered herself with a long, deep breath. This had been the longest she had ever spent fighting, from round to round, battle to battle. It was more taxing than she had anticipated, though she supposed that went without saying. One could not appreciate something fully until it was experienced first hand. She looked down at the ground as her thumb ran over the handle of her knife. You know it, though, this feeling, don’t you? She mused as she loosened up her shoulders. Liberty was kind enough to let her stretch a bit before their next round.

“Patient, aren’t you?”

Liberty smirked, “I’m in no rush.”

You should be.

Ishtar dodged left, swaying her head with the movement as Liberty’s fist exploded past her. Internal energy pulsed through her body, power pumping faster, Heavenly Jade Heart working just a little bit harder. She dropped and swept out a kick as Liberty drew her hand back in an effort to catch the back of her head. She felt the air rush over her as her leg collided with Liberty’s shin. It didn’t budge. She looked up at Liberty who sneered down at her, the silver glow on her skin intensifying as thunder rumbled in the distance.

She’s drawing on more of her followers. She’s going to notice soon.

Liberty’s fists fell. Ishtar flickered. Her new eyes helped her keep up with her own movement. A blur of motion processing in her mind with far more clarity. She struck from behind. Liberty blocked. She struck from below. Liberty stepped back. Keep it going. Faster! Faster! A hand wrapped around her ankle and she felt the sudden rush of g-forces as the smooth stone floor of Liberty’s domain rose up to meet her. She twisted her body and threw a hand down. She caught herself and the ground shook with the force. She felt her bones creak inside her body. 

They stilled there for a moment. Ishtar looked over her shoulder at Liberty who met her gaze with a baleful glare. Lightning flashed and Ishtar shrugged at her, “Heh.”

Liberty’s eyes bulged as veins throbbed in her neck. That's right, get mad. Ishtar threw herself into a rapid spin, tearing herself free of the iron grip. She stopped and pushed off the ground with both hands, launched into a flip, hitting the ground and pushing off again just before Liberty’s fist collided with the spot she’d been in a fraction of a second before. She extended her hands and released a spray of narrow rays of light. Liberty threw up her arms and blocked, the stream of attacks pinging off of her body like bullets off a steel hull. 

Ishtar landed and flipped her hair back, “Even with that banner of yours, you’re still just a glorified tank,” she mocked her. This is starting to become fun. I can see why Sonya likes banter so much. Infuriating an opponent to push them to make mistakes.

“And you’ve gotten talkative,” Liberty growled, “You’ve been dragging this out for a while now.”

Ishtar stood up straight, “Have I? Worried about something? Your armor is looking a little rough, by the way.”

Liberty looked down at her breastplate, caved in by Sapporo’s titanic punch. Ishtar was honestly impressed with the fallen hero, a man who had embraced the role that Sonya had created for him and risen above anything she had ever expected. The heralds, like Liberty, weren’t forces to be fought by ordinary heroes, even mythics, one on one. Yet he’d lasted so long. You’ll stand with Firestorm for certain, old man. Ishtar thought as Liberty looked back up at her. Her lip twitched and she grabbed the top of her own breastplate before tearing it down with a single jerk of her arm. Metal tore and creaked and she tossed it aside with a lazy gesture.

“It was just weighing me down anyway,” Liberty said dismissively.

Ishtar grinned, her blood felt hot. One fight after another, the thrill was getting to her. “Is that what it is?” she asked with a laugh.

<”Boss!”> Technocrat’s voice crackled through. Static making it hard to make out.

Liberty raised her fists and Ishtar took her own pose, creating a dozen more spears to point at her opponent. <”I’m busy, Technocrat.”>

<”Boss! It’s Kera! She-”>

BOOOOOM!

The force of the strike sent Ishtar stumbling backwards, wind kicking up and blowing past her. She held out her hands, barriers forming to stem the forces acting on her. What the- Who? Her eyes went wide as a person hurtled in her direction, landing at her feet after bouncing off her barrier. “Kera!” Ishtar gasped, the young woman writhing on the ground as sparks danced across her body. Kera curled inward, gripping her sides. Ishtar looked up and pressed her lips together.

Looks like time’s up.

Otis stood tall, a smile on his face, as he stared up at the sky. His hand was scorched and red, his face burned, one eye tilted lazily. Yet in just a matter of moments it healed, his skin becoming smooth and pristine. His glowing golden sword shimmered as he lazily turned his head to the right, looking first at Liberty and then to his left at Ishtar. “Am I interrupting something?”

Ishtar clenched her fists, she didn’t take her eyes off her enemy. “Kera, can you move?”

“Only broke my ribs and… everything else… I think. I’m sorry… I couldn’t hold him,” Kera wheezed. “He just grabbed me.”

With the sound of a bubble popping, Ishtar created a bottle of water and tossed it to the villain who grabbed it. She waved a hand and a portal opened beneath Kera. With a nod the girl vanished into it. Otis looked down at the spot, “You’ve got a soft spot for your people. I keep learning things about you today, Ishtar.”