Broker

Side-Story: Seattle 1

Lillian was exhausted. She felt like there was just nothing left in the tank for her to pull out. She sat down on the cot that had been provided for her at the camp just outside the break zone, letting her head hang. During the fighting she hadn’t had any time to think or process what was happening. Now it felt like it was all coming back to her in waves. She reached up and rubbed her eyes before letting out a tired sigh. I need to meditate and consolidate what I learned. If I take too long after an experience like that, teacher will put me through physical conditioning again as punishment.

She pulled her legs up into her lap on the cot and steadied herself before taking a deep breath. I’ve got a few hours until they’re expecting me to come back out and help, that should be enough. She let out the held breath and relaxed. 

“Lily!”

She opened her eyes with a frown, “Cass?’ she called back. She sounds frantic, what now? She slipped off the cot, her legs aching as the flap to the tent flew open and a flurry of blonde hair raced inside. Alex was right on her heels followed by Snow. They all looked horrified. “What? What happened?”

Cass held out her phone, there was a live stream of the news playing. A man in a suit was sitting behind a desk, his expression grave and his skin pale. “-more when things develop. For those of you just now joining us as word spreads, chaos in the western United States following the dungeon break in the Kato Ward of Tokyo. Several high security private prison complexes containing a population mounting in the hundreds of known villains and high-threat criminals underwent simultaneous prison riots and break-outs within the past hour.”

Lillian's blood ran cold and she took the phone from Cass, her legs giving out as she sat down on the cot, watching the man on the screen as footage showed villains attacking prison guards and destroying walls at one of the prisons. “The riot began after Ishtar invaded the various prisons' security systems and intercoms. Witnesses say that her words indicated that this had been planned for some time. Prison guards outside the structures reported the formation of Ishtar’s signature portals at every location,” the man gestured to the display next to him that changed to show a map of the United States with off-blue clouds moving in various directions. Two large systems were clearly visible and their positions horrified Lillian.

“The significant release of mana by the Tokyo dungeon break has pushed a condensation of mana over the pacific ocean in the direction of the west coast. This is happening simultaneously with a sudden spike in mana coming from the epic dungeon near Seattle, Washington. It is reported that Black Lotus, currently considered the world's most powerful hero, is actively attempting to clear the dungeon,” he continued with a picture of her teacher appearing on the screen. The man’s face went dark, “With the incoming wave nearing the western seaboard, guilds are moving quickly to react and shore up any dungeons within the effective area. Reports indicate that some manner of interference is preventing the Pandora Committee from using their gateway network to send reinforcements to Black Lotus, the Chairwoman had this to say.”

The screen changed and showed Miss Carla standing behind a podium with a pair of heroes behind her. One of them was an asian woman in a green cheongsam with a bored expression on her face. She played lazily with her long black hair and shot the occasional glance at her counterpart. He was a buff man in a blue-gray suit and sunglasses and a dark widow's peak. He had a grin on his face and was waving to the reporters as the chairwoman spoke, “We are currently ascertaining the severity of the situation in Seattle. Tokyo was the second dungeon break since Dharan and the first we were able to measure with a carter radar. The scope of the potential damage is still being estimated. Right now our priority is getting as many heroes as possible close to the area in order to get them inside the dungeon to assist Black Lotus.”

Carla adjusted her glasses and stood up straighter, “We have reason to believe that despite her hostility towards the Pandora Committee, Ishtar has broken villains out of prison in order to send them to the Seattle dungeon. Carter radar readings from the portals at the prison and flare ups at the Seattle dungeon seem to support this. We are unsure how she was able to coordinate so many portals or get them through the interference, but we are looking into possible methods to replicate what she’s done.”

A reporter raised his voice, “Word on the internet says that Ishtar is responsible for the Tokyo disaster! Is there any word on that investigation?”

“The Tokyo investigation is ongoing,” the Chairwoman said with a frown, “We have reason to believe that this was the act of another villain, though.”

“So the lives lost in Tokyo were a result of a grudge between two villains?” the reporter pressed, “How can they get away with-”

“Let me be abundantly clear,” the Chairwoman said sharply, putting her hands on the podium and leaning forward. She glared into the camera, “The heroes of this world, the Pandora Committee, and society itself will not take this lying down. When we find out who is responsible, there will be a reckoning. No further questions.”

Shouts rose as she turned around, marching past the two heroes who turned quietly to follow her. The screen changed again, “The Pandora Committee has made no further comments on the situation. With many heroes still assisting in stabilizing the situation in Japan, concerns are mounting about what response can come in time for Seattle. Civilians are already evac-”@@novelbin@@

Lily pulled herself out of the near trance she was in from watching the footage. She paused the feed and handed it over to Cass in silence, rubbing her temples. “Is there anything we can do?” she asked with a sigh. The situation was so bad she’d gone from panicked to numb in an instant. She could barely draw up enough emotion to be angry about the situation let alone anything more. Snow sat down next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. She looked at her girlfriend and saw something painful in her eyes. “There’s more, isn’t there?”

“Liberty’s thugs who got away, they attacked Sonya. She’s hurt pretty bad,” Alex said shakily, “Marta’s with her at the hospital.”

It was as if her entire world had just collapsed in on itself. “She’s hurt?” Lily croaked, “What do you mean she’s hurt?” 

Snow shook her head, static filling the air as she spoke, “We don’t know, Bandit just told us.”

“Sonya’s out of commission,” Cass said hollowly, “Black Lotus is trapped in the Seattle dungeon and we all know who’s actually trying to attack it. If the news is true, villains are going to try to intervene but we have no idea what they’ll do after, even if they do succeed.”

“Greg told us how that Halloway pricks powers work,” Alex grunted, crossing his arms, “He must be why the Pandora Committee can’t get people to Seattle.”

“We can’t even take a gateway to go help,” Lily said and let her head fall between her knees. She felt sick. Images of the devastation in Tokyo creeping up in the back of her mind. Imaginings of how bad the situation in Seattle would be, could be. “Are a bunch of random villains really the only hope we have?”

“No,” Snow said firmly. Lillian looked up at her and a small hand touched her cheek. Snow smiled, “Black Lotus is there,” she said.

“Yeah!” Alex said, “No worries. Besides, Black Lotus is in the dungeon, not outside. She can go all out in there. I bet you Liberty’s in for one hell of a rude awakening.”

Cass hesitated next to him but nodded her agreement after a breath. She squared her shoulders. “That woman’s going to get what’s coming to her one way or another. If it isn’t at Seattle then we’ll have our shot. I know it. We just need to keep making a good showing of ourselves so they’ll call on us when it’s time,” she said, “Trust your teacher.”

Lillian let out a breath and nodded slowly. She looked up at them. The team that had seen her through some of the toughest fights of her life. They were right, she had to believe in her teacher. If there was anyone on this planet who could make it through this, it was Black Lotus. She firmed up her resolve and smiled at Snow and the others before hopping to her feet. She let her power feed through her muscles. It wasn't exactly healthy, she knew. Bed rest was better, but if everyone else wasn't resting then she wasn't about to either.

“Come on,” she said, “We’ve got work to do.”