Broker

Chapter 106

The vote was unanimous and so obviously predetermined that Sonya nearly burst into laughter, she controlled herself, though. Enjoying the moment of hitting the top of everyone’s lists with a single vote. She leaned back into her seat, shifting her shoulders a bit to get more comfortable and crossed her legs. From her spot off to the left and facing the podium where the Chairman stood, she savored it, the feeling that, in a weird way, the world acknowledged her for what she was doing, even if it didn’t know why. She was pretty sure this wasn’t the sense of belonging that Ishtar had intended her to feel, but it certainly was a way to look at it.

As the momentary noise died down, the Chairman moved on to the proper list; “There are ten individuals that have been designated as the ten most wanted villains on the planet after the one who is believed responsible for assisting the majority of them, Ishtar,” The Chairman rumbled, again reading from a prompt in front of him before turning again to getsure at the screen, “These ten individuals are first; The Supervillain known as The Companion,” A grainy picture of an armored woman in a gown with a veil over her face appeared on the screen at the top left.

“Little is known about her abilities, but she is the personal attendant and attache of Ishtar and likely knows all of her secrets. While she has not overtly committed any crimes, the international ballot released to you all succinctly agreed she is a high priority for arrest, as the information she could provide could be vital to her master’s arrest,” The Chairman continued and there were nods of approval throughout the audience. Sonya nodded along as well, it was a rational approach. If they can’t get her, get Marta. Not that they ever will, she thought, I’ll make sure of it.

“Next is the far more widely known Supervillain, Kingshark,” The chairman declared and an image of a massive gray skinned monster that looked vaguely like a man appeared on the screen, causing a stir among the representatives. The monster appeared to be grabbing the front end of an ocean liner and lifting it up.

Sonya leaned forward opened her mouth in amused interest, “Oho?”

“Kingshark operates as a subordinate of Ishtar but managees his own international criminal empire. He focuses on street-level gangs and youth, bringing them in under his wing. His reach spans most nations of the planet with a connection to a body of water and has committed dozens of maritime crimes since his rise to power,” The Chairman explained, “More importantly, it is believed that he actually ‘rents out’ his gangs and soldiers to other villains for profit.”

Wow, they are well informed, good work, good work! She chuckled inwardly, resting her chin on her palm and watching with increasing interest as the picture turned to a blank image with the word ‘BLACKRAZOR’ over it. She restrained another snicker and tilted her head, maintaining her poker face as murmurs spread.

“Blackrazor, number three, is a Peak-Mythic Assassin working under Ishtar. His name was discovered after extensive investigation though his connections and activities remain unknown. He is personally guilty of murdering a Mythic-Tier hero and is suspected to be involved in any number of murders across the planet, his face is unknown,” The Chairman said gravely as he looked across the crowd before continuing.

“Fourth is a supervillain of an unknown name that has been active in recent times, carrying out terrorist attacks across the planet,” The Chairman said before gesturing to a picture of a bolt of lightning that ended with the shape of a woman, fires were burning around her, “This woman has not publicly revealed her name or purpose and attacks with ferocious impunity, she has caused billions of dollars in damage and ended hundreds of lives in her attacks.”

Kerauna, Sonya thought, There was no way you wouldn’t make it on the list. Wild thing. 

The Chairman rest his hands on the podium, “These four make up the first notable supervillains of our new era and are widely known through most of our member countries in one way or another, I now open the floor to the representatives to propose additions to this list.”

“The Representative of Australia asks to speak,” A voice rang out.

The Chairman nodded, “The Committee recognizes the Representative from Australia, Mister Carey.”

Mister Carey got to his feet, a perfect mop of blonde hair slicked to the side as he adjusted his jacket, “Australia would like to propose to add the Supervillain Blight to the list of Pandora’s most wanted. He has been active in the south pacific for some time now and has committed numerous acts of ecological terrorism,” He said firmly.

“New Zealand supports the proposal!”

“Philippines supports the proposal!”

“Indonesia supports the proposal!”

“Japan supports the proposal!”

The Chairman cleared his throat, “Five votes for proposal, does the Committee consent?” He asked and a few more major nations joined in, leading many others to finally chime in with their approval. With that, the Supervillain Blight was added to the list. 

Sonya tilted her head. We've not met yet, guess that needs to change, she thought with some amusement, I should congratulate him, maybe he’d like some flowers.

After that, four more supervillains were added to the list and their names reorganized in levels of importance of arrest according to the Committee;

1. THE COMPANION
2. KINGSHARK
3. BLACKRAZOR
4. [unknown Lightning-based Light-touched]
5. SPICE KING EREBUS
6. BLIGHT
7. QUEEN AUGUST
8. PASSAGE
9. DRASTIC

The four were all mostly isolated to their own countries, Sonya had done business with the Spice King before but the others were relatively new names though from the sounds of it they hadn’t been lazy. August was apparently turning people into gold and leaving their petrified corpses behind as she pilfered jewelry from homes. Passage was leaving text on walls that would trigger into hallucinations that caused mass panic for hours at a time. Drastic had burned down several small towns in South America and was believed to be a literal dragon.

I don’t remember someone with a dragon power like that back in the previous timeline, things really have changed, She thought, rubbing her chin as the representative from America stepped up to speak. She glanced his way thoughtfully. She was pretty sure she was aware of all the supervillains in-

“The United States would like to submit the woman known as Liberty as the tenth spot,” The man said.

Sonya blinked, surprised but not unhappy about the turn of events, she was a little curious though. How are you going to pull this off? She thought, Officially she hasn’t committed any known crimes, she just runs a cult, which isn’t illegal… technically.

“Liberty is the active head of a cult originating in the southern United States that has begun to spread internationally,” The man said, “It is believed she gains strength from every additional member added to her cult, though the full details of her ability are unknown. What is known is that she is getting stronger by the day and is a serious threat to international security if she is allowed to remain as simply an unlicensed, likely Mythic, light-touched.”

Ah… going the ‘we all should be worried’ route, not bad, but not great, I would have tried that if I thought it would work, Sonya thought and glanced up at the Chairman who was searching the room for additional votes in favor. Japan chimed in but that wasn’t really all that surprising. She considered firing off a few texts to her ‘friends’ around the room but decided against it. There was no need to push her hand on the scale just yet. She had her own plans for Liberty.

“I am afraid the motion remains unsupported, Mister Harman, do you perhaps have another suggestion?” The Chairman asked.

Mister Harman nodded, “As a matter of fact I do,” he said, “I would like to propose Masque, the leader of the Darksiders. I think we are all aware of their activities, while brash, they are widespread and they are escalating rapidly. It’s only a matter of time before they do something to belong on this list anyway. I think we can all agree that they need to be prioritized.”

A rumbling of approval moved through the crowd of politicians and Sonya relaxed in her seat. That’s more along the lines of my expectations, did he suggest Liberty to soften everyone up? She glanced at Harman, Maybe he and I need to get to know one another a little better, she thought as she noted the small hint of a smile on his face as he sat down and shook hands with the Japanese Representative to his left.

The Chairman glanced around one last time before grabbing a gavel and banging it, “The full motion is passed, the ten most wanted villains of the Pandora Committee have been confirmed. They are now the highest priority targets of the world’s heroes after their duties of preventing dungeon breaks,” The Chairman declared, “The matter is settled.”

A round of applause followed and the Chairman moved on, “I would personally like to open a matter, if the Committee would have it,” He said and no one voiced their disapproval, “While this woman ‘Liberty’ may not be an exigent threat, she certainly commands enough pause to investigate. The Pandora Committee should send an investigative team to confirm Representative Harman’s concerns,” He suggested.

Harman was the first to raise his hand, “The United States supports.”

Several other nations followed before Sonya raised her hand, “The ASTA Corporation urges a favorable vote on this matter,” She said, voicing her opinion for the first time during the committee. 

“Forge Tactical agrees,” Alex chimed in next to her, raising his hand.

Brent glanced at the two and huffed out a breath, “Marion Heroics agrees.”

That of course resulted in a tidal wave of other support corporations jumping on the bandwagon. After that, more nations chimed in and a majority was reached. The Chairman banged his gavel, “The motion passes, an investigative team will be sent to the territory of the Light-Touched, Liberty, to assess her threat level.”

Sonya grinned, Perfect, that’s more like it, a little political pressure goes a long way. She glanced towards Alex and gave him a wink of thanks before nodding at Brent who gave her a begrudging nod in return. The major American support companies are a unified front for now. People will follow our lead.

After the Liberty proposal, more topics came up as the hours dragged on. While it had been pretty cut and dry in the beginning, they started moving into grayer areas as the topics grew more complicated. The Dharan Project was one hotly debated topic. Some groups wanted to wall off the Dharan area and turn it into a restricted zone for the time being while others wanted to begin pushing in and reclaiming territory. The arguments continued until a general consensus of walls and towers manned by hero-led military groups was agreed upon. It’s New York all over again. I remember standing on one of those towers.

As the proposals came to an end, the Chairman moved on, “Now on to brighter things,” The jovial man said, dabbing his brow. He’d been standing there for hours, “As you are all aware, the Aspirant Camps are now a month in. Miss Chernovna of the ASTA Corporation personally stayed at the East Coast camp for the first month and has a few words for us. Please come to the podium, Miss Chernovna.”

Sonya smiled at him and got to her feet, “Thank you, Chairman,” She said.and walked around Alex and Brent before descending the steps and making her way over to the stairs leading up to the podium. She met face to face with the Chairman and shook his hand briefly, giving him a peck on the cheek before turning to the assembled Representatives. She looked out over the crowd of those gathered, while some of them were there for their own gain, there were many who truly believed in what they were doing. She’d heard it in their voices as they debated, listening to their passion. It was real. This was real. This world was real.

She was really here.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, reaching out to grab onto the podium and cracked a grin, “We all aspire for greatness,” She said with a small chuckle, a few of the men in the crowd joined her but most stayed deadpan.

<YOU DID NOT! HAHAHAHA!> Amos texted her almost immediately. 

She kept a straight face and tilted her head, “A little humor is good for you, you know? Especially in times like these. It helps lift you up, brighten your day, and give you that extra bit of strength to move forward,” She said, “I have never seen so many young men and women with so much good humor in their hearts in my life, so much drive to be more, to grow into the shoes of those who came before them. To live up to legends.”

“I have seen in one month a young man struggling with the visceral appearance of his ability overcome his misgivings with a little help from the support companies. He will be a force to be reckoned with one day,” Sonya said, “I met a young man who wanted to stand up and help people, even if they were frightened of him. A man with a power some might find frightful but with a tremendous heart,” She smiled brightly, “He wears his scales proudly now.”

“I have seen a young man who can clear a room with a touch, his sharp mind and keen eye will take him to the top within a few years, of this I have no doubt in my mind. His awareness of his comrades needs is second to none,” She continued, “I have seen with my own eyes a troubled young man who’s actions led him to harm others with his ability throw himself with every ounce of strength he had into becoming a man who could not only make up for his sins, but help people heal and strengthen those around him.”

She tilted her head, her smile growing thoughtful, “I saw a young woman who couldn’t speak change minds as she turned a field of grass into a winter wonderland in one moment and a field of glittering gemstones in the next,” She continued, “I have met the everyman,” She chuckled, “Someone who’s power is to simply be talented,” She looked at the audience, “You know what he said to me when I asked why he wanted to be a hero instead of becoming a very wealthy man?”

She cleared her throat, “It just makes sense,” She said with a gruff tone, “That’s it, nothing else,” She laughed, “These young people are heroes already, just amazing,” She said, “So much potential,” She looked down at her hands, “I met a young woman who’s power had just awoken on the bus heading to the camp. She was scared because the first manifestation seemed unsuited for the role of a hero,” Sonya paused and swept her gaze over the crowd, “That young woman in the firestorm jacket is one of the top aspirants now, dueling regularly with the incomparable Black Lotus.”

Sonya raised her head with pride, “Those are the kinds of young people in those training camps, those are the kinds of heroes we want to raise up and support in the future. The camps are not just a good idea, or a great idea, they’re just the start. In the future I believe there should be established schools like these, a permanent place where these people with such enormous hearts and spirits can step up and join the ranks of those willing to serve and protect humanity.”

She grinned, “A friend of mine once said, ‘Earth, Strive for better’.” She looked over the crowd, “These young people are doing just that, and I for one can’t wait to see what they become.”

Harman stood first, then Alex and Brent, then the rest of the representatives gathered began rising and clapping as she descended the stairs, a smile on her face and blooming even more brightly in her heart. The applause continued until she reached her seat and made her way to sit down only to slip as the ground shook a bit under her feet. She blinked and looked up, confused as the ground shook again. 

“What the-” Brent grunted, hopping to his feet.

A third shudder and sirens began to go off over their heads, Sonya whipped her head around and grabbed her phone, she hit the speed dial, “Marta? What’s happening?” She shouted as phones began to ring around her. 

“Explosions inside the building, ma’am, security is moving to investigate, stay put!” Marta responded as another blast shook the ground and Sonya grabbed onto her chair, “I’m right outside. I won’t let anyone in.”

Sonya clicked her tongue, Why now? She growled inwardly as another call came in, “Switching to Amos, be careful Marta!” She said hurriedly before switching the call over, “Amos, what’s wrong?”

“The lab’s been bombed!” Amos shouted, “Four of our buildings across the states, there’s bombs going off all over the place!”

Sonya’s heart nearly sank, she gripped onto the chair and took a deep breath. She had to stay calm, now was not the time to slip back. She set her jaw, “Who was inside?”

“I have most of Da-som’s team here but a lot of our interns and other employees were there, it’s bad Sonya,” Amos said as more shouts rang up around her, angry voices. “Who the fuck-”

The screen that had displayed the top ten villains fizzled and static filled the air. Sonya whipped her head up to look at the screen, “I think I might have an idea,” She said, “I’ll call you back, Amos,” She said as a dark smile spread across her face. She would not let this bitch see her frown. Not in a million years.

On the screen, a pair of cruel blue eyes glowed, looking down on them and framed by long yellow-blonde hair. The woman wore a full suit of medieval armor, her gauntlet covered hands set in front of her as she broke into a sneer.

Sonya looked right into the woman's eyes and clenched her fist, her grin widening, “Liberty. Now you’ve done it.”