Chapter 42 (Patreon)

Sonya’s vision cleared only after a few seconds, her eyes fixed on the viewing box far away from her. Her arms slung down as her waist folded over Wake’s shoulder. She glanced sidelong at him for a moment and huffed out a breath as he began to wrap himself in his power again. The chaos around her was muted, she wasn’t sure if it was the momentary delirium of being teleported or the fact that it really didn’t affect her. She’d seen worse, honestly the fighting going on seemed to her more like a training skirmish than anything truly serious. 

She spotted a civilian dart past her and Wake and throw himself beneath the bleachers and snorted before spotting Marta charging towards them. She saw Shark, or rather, Kingshark, Kingshark, really? Of course you would. I guess I can’t really blame you. She mentally shook her head and made eye contact with Marta, she looked desperate, terrified, Marvelous performance, Sonya thought and closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath as the smoky cloud enveloped her and Wake.

The next thing she knew she was outside the building where the fighting was still going on. Somewhere inside she heard a bang, people began pouring out of the doors. The smoke wrapped around her again and she was on top of a building. She took a moment to curiously note the trail of smoke that followed where the teleportation took them. Is that why he calls himself Wake? It’s just inexperience, I’m sure the trail will go away with training. She thought distractedly before glancing at the gaunt young man again.

“You’re going to have to move a bit faster than this,” She said now that they were out of earshot of anyone who mattered.

He glanced her way, heaving hard, “Shit, you scared me.”

She narrowed her eyes, “You’re carrying me, how did you forget I was here?”

He paled a little, “U-uh, s-sorry, ma’am.”

She rolled her eyes, “Just hurry up and get me to the rendezvous point,” She commanded and he glanced over his shoulder, frowning a little.

“What’s the rush? It’ll be a bit before the boss comes out.”

The doors slammed open to the old high school and Marta came barreling out, her head whipping around in the distance. She spotted the smoke trail and followed it, looking directly at them. Sonya chuckled, “Because she might catch up, and if she does, she’ll make my rescue look very convincing,” She warned as Marta began to run, leaving cracks in the ground behind her. Her footsteps sounded like thunder even at this distance.

Wake swallowed, “U-uh, right!” He stammered and pulled the smoke around them again. 

They jumped from point to point, racing across the city with leaps and bounds. Occasionally he had to stop and catch his breath, sweat beading on his face. She pat his back a few times during a particularly rough coughing fit, “You’re doing good, keep it up,” She said, “Just think of this as endurance training for your ability.”

“Training?” He asked, wrapping the smoke around himself again with a heave of effort.

“Yes, training,” She said as they reappeared, “Your powers are like a muscle, dear, they have to be strengthened before they can reach their peak. Haven’t you seen er… Kingshark working hard on his own abilities?” She asked him as they disappeared and reappeared on top of a small office building. She could hear sirens in the distance and felt a message come through mentally. 

Kingshark: <On my way. Mission Complete.>

Good boy.

“Well yeah, I just thought he was learning how to use it properly, there’s a lot of features to his power, right?” Wake mumbled, glancing around for his next jump spot. She closed her eyes and checked her location and counted the number of jumps they’d made. At this rate they’d be at their destination in about ten more. She hoped he could hold out, she’d have to talk to Shark about making sure his men were actually ready to take on a task before they did it.

“That’s part of it, mastering the nuance is important, but you also have to build up stamina,” She explained, Big talk coming from me, she thought a bit gruffly, I’ve been so busy building up my arsenal and orchestrating all this I haven’t had a moment to even see what my current limits are. Could I even reasonably beat Kingshark in a fight right now? Probably not. She thought and her expression soured even more. She sighed when she glanced at him again. “Why couldn’t you be prettier?”

He blinked and looked at her, “I’m sorry?”

She groaned and shook her head, “Nevermind.”

The next couple of jumps took longer than the first, but that didn’t really matter since they were well outside the eyes of anyone immediately looking for her. Marta knew where to go, of course, and was likely running in the direction of the destination. More important was what came next. Her eyes narrowed and she concentrated on sending a message to Amos.

<Is he following?> She asked.

<Holy shit what a show, yeah, he’s on his way.> Amos responded.

<Don’t be too surprised, Amos, this is only the beginning.> Sonya said with a cold smile as she and Wake rematerialized on the concrete lot outside of a large warehouse, they were just within eyeshot of the water and the city port. Wake took the time to carry her inside before setting her down on her feet once there was no more possibility of watchful eyes. She rest her feet on the ground and threw her hair back, straightening it a little and letting out a sigh, “Well done, Wake,” She said, turning to face him, her expression magnanimous. He’d already dropped to his knees and bowed his head.

“Thank you Mistress, thank you for allowing me to be in contact with your grace,” He said humbly, pressing his forehead to the ground.

She smiled at him, “Lead me to the meeting room, dear.”

He looked up into her smiling face and hopped to his feet, “Y-yes!”

–

Beyol darted down the street, moving as fast as he could, his eyes fixed on the figure barreling down the path ahead of him. Occasionally she would abruptly change direction, her route seemingly nonsensical to anyone who didn’t understand the situation. He’d seen the smoke too and knew it well. The bastard from the rooftop, the teleporter, the trail of smoke that slowly disappeared was the only trace left behind by the man who had kidnapped his target. The maid was quick on the uptake, but she wasn’t as fast as he was. 

This was his chance, Sonya Chernovna was separated from her brutal bodyguard. He just had to make sure that he got to her first. It required making a few predictions and working off the information he had pulled out of his interrogation subject the other day, but it was more than enough data to work with. They were heading for the warehouses in the port district. He didn’t know which warehouse specifically but he’d managed to learn that area was where the big boss maintained a headquarters.

Ballsy to make such a scene just to kidnap a CEO. He’ll have the entire world crawling up his ass in no time, He thought dismissively, leaping over a fence and cutting through one street after another as he worked through his mental map of the route. He turned sharply, speeding across the ground as the blood in his veins pumped harder and harder. He darted across a street just a few seconds after the maid crossed his path, taking the long way through.

Just following the smoke, it’s obviously a misleading trail, idiot.

It took him over a half hour to make his way from where he’d started to where the trail ended. He didn’t have much time. He noted the faint smoke trail still leading towards one of the warehouses from atop a nearby building overlooking the port and smiled, There you are. He growled inwardly, Our game is just about up, he thought and cut his arms, silver blood pouring out and taking the shape of knives. He twirled them between his fingers, stalking towards the door. He pushed it open slowly.

A dark hall stretched out in front of him, lights strung along the top provided minimal illumination. That worked for him. He pulled his hood up over his cap and slipped inside, slipping his sunglasses off and making his way down the hall. The place reeked of rust and humidity, they were doing a good job making it look like it was occupied by squatters rather than organized criminals. Villains, he corrected himself, his lip twisting a little. Gotta admire them a little, I guess. He admitted, spotting a door and leaning against it, listening quietly. Nothing. Next door.

He kept moving until he spotted a door that was partially ajar. He pushed it open a little and spotted an illuminated stairwell leading down beneath the warehouse. He licked his lips, Found you.

He descended quickly, practically gliding down the steps until he found himself in what had to be some kind of subterranean storage area that had once been a living space for the workers of the warehouse. There were piles of materials and crates everywhere. None of them were especially big, but it was enough to show that they were preparing for something big. Bigger than attacking the heroes on Hero Day? What does this Shark guy have planned?

He stopped next to one of the crates, it looked like a munitions crate, he frowned and reached towards it only to freeze when he heard a sound nearby. Movement. He whipped his head in that direction and narrowed his eyes. He crouched low and moved as quick as he dared, slipping across the room until he came upon another door, a trail of smoke leading out of it. Slowly, very slowly, he pulled down on the handle and peered inside. There was a single figure sitting on a chair with a bag over their head in the center of a large room. He glanced around. Clear.

He slipped inside and shut the door behind him before standing up straight. They must have secured her in here and then left. Too bad for them, their hostage is my mark. He thought smugly and prepared his knives, stalking towards the prisoner, no reaction. He narrowed his eyes, Is she even breathing? He thought, They didn’t just kill her did she? Damn it. He frowned and hurried over to her side, grabbing the bag and pulling it off. 

“What the fuck?” He blurted.

It looked… kind of like Sonya. It was limp and appeared to have flesh, it had a mouth and even a facsimile of her mechanical eyes, but they looked more like toys shoved into the head of a meat puppet rather than a real person. The hair color was right too. What is this thing? He poked it once with his knife and blood trickled out of it, A corpse? No. A chill ran up his spine and he spun on his heel, Fuck! He raced for the door just as it opened. He slid to a stop and stepped back, Fuck fuck fuck!

The maid stepped inside, her armored dress glinting a little bit in the extremely dim light. Her dark eyes were fixed on Beyol.

“How…?” He blurted, pointing one of his knives at her as he took a few steps back, setting his jaw as he looked for another escape route. The woman ignored him, instead she simply turned back to the door and crushed the doorknob with her bare hand. She turned back to him and gave him a baelful look.

“Park Beyol.” A raspy voice called out above him. It was coming from speakers. He whipped his head around, there were cameras somewhere in here too, then. “Razor.”

“Who are you?” He demanded, “Chernovna?” He demanded and glanced back at the grotesque facsimile on the chair, “This was a trap. You set all this up just to get to me?”

“Hardly,” The woman said over the speakers. “You were a convenient addition.”

He grit his teeth and kept his eyes on the Maid as he worked it all through, she’d been kidnapped on purpose, but why? If it wasn’t to entrap him what was the point? He allowed more blood to leak from his cuts, knives slowly forming around him, levitating in the air. “So is this where you kill me? I’m not telling you who hired me,” He growled.

“I already know who hired you,” Sonya said, “Feng Hyunh.”

He felt his gut twist, How? That’s impossible. He forced himself not to react visibly, as the woman across from him watched. She hadn’t moved an inch from the spot. “What now?”

Her voice turned colder, if that was even possible, a rasp that cared the murderous intent of a bloody blade across ice. He could feel her bloodlust even from wherever she was hiding. It sent a chill down his spine, “Prove you deserve to live.”

The words were like a gunshot set off to start a race. One instant the maid was standing there and the next she was in his face, her fist reared back. Shit!

–

Sonya sat in a chair in front of the monitor, her legs crossed and her helmet in her lap. Kingshark stood next to her with his arms crossed and his eyes fixed on the screen. She mentally disabled the microphone and glanced over at him, “Kingshark, huh?” She asked playfully, her mechanical eyes spinning in her head. The faint ticking of her lenses adjusting and readjusting echoed in the small room.

TICK TICK TICKTICKTICK TICK

He shifted uncomfortably at the sound and glanced her way with an uneasy smile, “Thought it sounded good.”

She snorted, “You’re not wrong, it’s a worthy moniker for you,” She said and reached over to pat his arm gently.

He turned his attention back to the screen, “Why not just kill the annoying bastard? Isn’t this too elaborate?”

She huffed out a breath, “His powers may have gone to his head, but at one point he was a skilled professional. He’s a member of the Night Society after all, not that I know much about them, what he needs is a wake-up call.”

Kingshark narrowed his eyes, “Night Society.”

Sonya smiled and rolled her helmet between her hands, “I want them, and if I’m going to have them, I’m going to need him.”

Kingshark glanced her way, “By beating him half to death?”

Sonya glanced up at him and smiled one last time before pulling her helmet over her head. The digital screen on it sprung to life and the hot-pink lines that symbolized her eyes bloomed on its surface. They burned with malice as Ishtar turned back to the monitor, “Something like that.”