Broker

Chapter 22

BOOM!

Ocche was thrown back, colliding with the sofa. Pain shot through his arm as he rolled over the furniture, sliding to a stop a few meters away. He grunted, grabbing at his arm. It hurt like hell but was probably only a minor fracture. He forced himself to his knees and whipped his head around. Dust from the debris obscured his vision. He needed a better view. “Verde! Veloce! Are you alive?” He demanded, You idiots better not have left me with a mess to clean up! He groused inwardly, closing his eyes and focusing on the astral eye that was set up in the room. His vision shifted and he was looking down. The dust was still clearing but he could make out a single figure standing where the wall of the manor had been caved in.

Who the hell?

“The fuck was that?” Veloce demanded, “Who’s there?!”

“I’m fine,” Verde growled, “Do you see them, Ocche?”

The dust settled a little more and he finally got a look at their attacker’s face. It was a woman. He’d seen her before. The Maid?! 

“It’s the maid!” Ocche shouted, “She’s Light-touched!”

He opened his eyes, the dust had almost completely settled. Only moonlight cast down on them from outside, providing the sparsest amount of illumination. It was enough to have made out her face and now it framed her eerily. She was dressed in that ridiculous maid outfit again, her expression inscrutable. Is she wearing a domino mask? What the fuck?

He shifted to his feet, scowling at her, “How did you find us?” He demanded.

The woman ignored him and glanced towards Amos and the girl who were both on the ground. It looked like Amos had thrown himself on top of the girl to protect her from the debris. “Amos?” The woman spoke flatly, her tone laden with dangerous promise. 

He shifted and looked up at her a weak grin on his face, “Hey Marta, glad you could make it.”

‘Marta’ looked down at the girl, “And her?”

“She’s fine, but she’s out like a light. It’s been a rough night,” Amos said and moved to shift the girl away from the center of the room. 

Veloce snarled, “You just going to ignore us? You busted our house, bitch!” 

Verde’s hands ignited with green flame and a pair of axes took shape, he swung them experimentally before stalking forward alongside his partner. The woman didn’t move. Ocche frowned, she clearly had some sort of power that could cause destruction but she wasn’t holding any weapons. A strength enhancement? He remembered a video that circulated online of a woman using brute strength in New York around the time ASTA surfaced. Were they the same person? Probably, still, something doesn’t feel right. She’s too calm.

He closed his eyes again and focused on the eyes outside his house and immediately opened them, “There’s someone else here!”

DOOM

Pressure washed over the entire building like a wave, it cascaded over Ocche’s body and sent him right back to his knees. Nausea built up in his guts and he retched, gasping for air as he caught himself with his hands, pain shooting up his injured arm. He coughed, What-? Was all he could manage as the pressure intensified, terror, absolute terror, it was like a snake coiling around his throat. He could sense death in the air, something was coming that was so oppressive it could only bring death and pain. He forced his chin up and watched as Verde and Veloce took an involuntary step back. Their bodies were stronger than his and they both seemed to handle it a bit better than he did.

Past them, though, the Maid simply stepped aside and bowed.

She stepped in with the grace of moonlight and the certainty of an executioners axe. She wore a full body combat suit, a jumpsuit made of some kind of sheer white leather. A darker coat worn over her shoulders that gleamed as if it were armored in places. She had a luxurious frame, almost sexual, awe inspiring. But it was what was above the shoulders that chilled him to the bone. She wore a helmet without a face, a pair of hot-pink eyes blazing in the dim light. Hair light starlight fell from the back of her helmet in a wild wave. Her arms were crossed behind her back, relaxed, utterly in control.

“Ishtar…” Amos breathed nearby.

“Who?” Veloce grunted, gripping her chest.

“The world's first supervillain, the mother of all bad guys,” Amos said with a chuckle, shooting Veloce a defiant sneer.

Ocche’s stomach fell, Was he serious? Who the fuck did we piss off?

“Verde and Veloce,” A rasp like a bloody knife over ice came out of the helmet, it sent another nauseating chill through Ocche. Ahead of him, his allies flinched, “But I don’t know you,” Ishtar hissed and turned her head towards him. The presence that had been filling the room seemed to focus entirely on him, he felt his heart seize for a moment, was he going to have a heart attack? He gripped his chest and shifted back, wide eyed.

“Ocche,” He gasped, not knowing why he felt like he had to answer anything she asked.

“...Ocche?” She sounded almost surprised. 

“That’s fuckin it!” Veloce snarled before she could say any more, she vanished from view for a moment before reappearing next to Ishtar, her fist moving like a rocket at the woman’s head. Immediately the pressure vanished and Ocche felt his lungs fill with air again only to immediately exhale in shock as a tall pane of light burst into being at the supervillain's side. Veloce’s fist collided with the hardened light and stopped dead, crumpling a little. She howled in pain, taking a step back only for the maid to grab her by the arm and hurl her towards the ground with the force of a speeding car.

BANG!

Veloce let out a cry of pain, blood erupting from her mouth as she hit the ground, a small crater forming in the tiled floor beneath her. Marta’s hand moved light lightning, grabbing Veloce’s ankle just as Verde let out a roar of challenge, launching himself at the maid. With a rapid movement she wrenched Veloce up into the air and used her as a club against Verde’s side. Verde seemed to bend in half for a moment, his eyes going wide and distant, the axes disappearing from his hands. He hurtled through the air with Veloce attached to him, the two crashing into the nearest wall and bursting through it, deposited on the other side.

Dangerous…

Ocche tried to shift back a bit but Ishtar’s eyes were still on him. He looked up at her in horror while she seemed to examine him from afar, her head tilted in curiosity. “Marta,” Ishtar rasped as the maid was getting ready to crawl through the wall and continue her beatdown of Ocche’s allies. The maid paused and glanced over her shoulder. “Get our friends outside, please, if Verde and Veloce have any sense, they won’t get back up until I’m done here.”

“But-”

“I’d like a private word with Ocche.”

The pause that hung in the air was thick, Marta seemed more than willing to kill Verde and Veloce if she had the chance. Ocche could see the veins in her throat pulse with indecision for a moment before she relented. She sighed and curtseyed once, “Yes, Mistress Ishtar,” She said and strode over to where Amos and the girl were. Ishtar stayed where she was, her arms crossed behind her back as the maid knelt down to check on the two of them. With a bit of effort from Amos, he got to his feet while the maid took the girl up in her arms. Ocche caught Amos glancing back once at Ishtar, reverence in his eyes, before turning away and walking out the hole that Marta had made.

Just like that, they were alone.

“Verde!” Ocche called, not taking his eyes off the supervillain for a moment. “Veloce!”

“They will die if they step in this room,” Ishtar hissed and finally started to walk, her heels clicking ominously on the damaged tiles. “They won’t help you.”

Pressure built behind Ocche’s eyes, his heart hammered in his chest, he tried to shift back a bit more but that pressure crashed back onto him like a vice, pinning him in place. “What-what-what do you want from me?!” He screamed, “You got your people back! You-you thrashed my team, what more do you want?!”

Ishtar remained silent as she closed the distance, he felt something warm begin to pool beneath him. Tears welled in his eyes. She extended a hand, “Stand up,” She commanded and the pressure eased a little.

He looked at her hand, What is she planning? Is this mercy? Am I getting out of this alive? He took it hesitantly and she pulled him to his feet only to let go and grab him by his shirt. He screamed as she wrenched him into the air. “What the hell?!” He cried, kicking his legs and grabbing at her wrist. She was so strong! How could someone have this many powers? It didn’t make any sense. Everyone he knew who was light-touched had one! His feet struck at her uselessly as she moved to the nearest wall and pressed him up against it. All he could see was the black screen of her helmet and those narrowed pink eyes.

“Ocche of the All-Seeing Eye?” She rasped.

He froze, “H-how do you know-”

Her shoulders started to tremble a little, What the? Then she started to laugh. She gripped him tighter and moved in closer.

“I can’t believe it, so this is where you got your start,” She hissed, the horrible modulated voice echoing in his ears. “Here I was thinking I’d have to scour the world and you just fall right into my hands!” She burst into uproarious laughter, “This is too good!”

What is she talking about? Is she crazy? Start? Start what? 

“What- who- you’re insane!” He shrieked, scrambling harder at her arms but finding no leverage, “You crazy bitch! Throwing your weight around, calling yourself a supervillain! This isn’t a comic book! You’re friggin nuts! Let me go!”

She tilted her head hard to the right as if she was looking at him with one eye, “People are running around calling themselves heroes these days,” She hissed, “Why can’t I call myself a villain?”

He paled and opened his mouth to speak when the most horrible sound came out of that helmet. It was a low, gentle hiss, like she was shushing a child. His arms went limp, “It really is too bad for you, Ocche,” She said, shaking her head, “You were destined for greatness. But I made a promise to that girl that I would protect her,”

His eyes went wide, “No! Don’t!”

“You made a liar out of me, Guildmaster.”

Visible electricity raced up her arms, he felt a tingle, then a burn, and then everything turned into pain.

–

Ishtar relished his screams for as long as they lasted, which she had to admit wasn’t as long as she had hoped. Of all the people to meet, She thought as she dropped his smoking corpse onto the ground. The future head of the Mediterranean Heroes Guild, hiding in a house without light bulbs. She snorted and brushed off her hands, crossing them behind her back. You bastard, you were the first to side with Otis. Good riddance.

She turned away and examined her warehouse;

<New Product Acquired: The Astral Eye>

She smiled to herself, satisfied, and looked down at her gloved fingers, “Might of Thor, huh? Not bad. I-” A pulse rushed through her head, a throbbing pain that faded as soon as it came, “Ugh, what?” She gasped.

<You have upheld a portion of your deal with Pandora. Delivering payment. New feature added: Merger>

Her eyes went wide as the words appeared before her.

<You may now combine existing products with your abilities, creating a more powerful whole. Powers must be compatible with one another in order to be combined. Some limitations may exist based on the core ability. Warning: Merging multiple abilities may have unforseen consequences.>

This is it! This is what I needed! She would have jumped for joy if it weren’t for her surroundings. She cleared her throat and focused. More interesting, it looks like my promise from before I returned is being upheld as a deal with Pandora. So if I kill more of those who are destined to ruin things for humanity, will I get more improvements to Broker? I wonder what it means by limitations and consequences. This ability isn’t exactly user friendly, is it?

She grinned, “Perfect,” She rasped and stepped into the center of the room. Oh right, I almost forgot.

“Verde, Veloce, I know you’re still alive, get up and get out here,” She commanded.

The duo did not hesitate for a moment, they zipped into the room and dropped to their knees, pressing their heads to the ground. “Y-yes ma’am!” They both barked in unison. Both of them were trembling. 

Good.

“The two of you are very lucky,” Ishtar said, looking down at the back of their heads. They both flinched, “I’m considering letting you live despite what you did. I need people here in Italy and you may very well be of use to me.”

They both looked up, hope in their eyes, and were met with her outstretched hand. 

“Let’s talk about the terms of your servitude.”