Chapter 92 (Patreon)

Lillian stood in front of the door, her hand on the handle. On the other side was a room with someone who could literally decide how far she goes in the future as a hero. She took a deep breath and pushed down, pushing the door open and stepping inside. It was a simple conference room, one long table with several chairs. There were actually three people inside, more than she’d expected. She had figured that Handmaiden and Sonya were present, but who was this third person?

Across from her, Sonya was sitting at the end of the table. She was pulling her hair back and letting out a breath. There was a bit of tension in her shoulders and Lillian got the feeling she was irritated. Maybe she and Black Lotus had an argument about something? Black Lotus seemed to think that Sonya was the best person to talk to. She rubbed her neck and glanced up at Handmaiden. The pretty brown-haired woman stood stoically behind Sonya, her hands crossed delicately at her waist. 

Then there was the third presence, it was a youthful looking person with brown hair that had been tied back into a partial ponytail while the rest spread out over their head. They were sitting a bit back from the table, legs crossed. They were ridiculously pretty. The person glanced up from a notepad and raised an eyebrow at Lillian before winking at her. She flushed immediately and cleared her throat, looking at an expectant Sonya. “Miss Chernovna, I’m here?”

Sonya brandished a winning smile and got to her feet, “Yes you are! I’m so glad you came, Lillian. I was a little worried you’d wait!” She laughed and walked around the table to approach her. She held out her hand, offering a handshake. “Allow me to properly introduce myself, I’m Sonya Chernovna, CEO of the Applied Strategic Technologies Association. ASTA for short!” She said brightly, “My company provides technological, logistical, and agent-based assistance for heroes as well as maintains its own Guild.”

She gestured to Handmaiden, “This is Marta Daphne, but you probably know her as Handmaiden. She is a Mythic Licensed Hero and my bodyguard and attendant,” She said.

Marta inclined her head and her stoicism melted into a gentle smile, “It’s nice to meet you, young lady.”

Lillian already had stars in her eyes getting the full treatment from Sonya and now Handmaiden was smiling at her. She barely processed when Sonya turned her towards the other person in the room, “And this is Colin Matthews. Colin is my personal legal advisor and possesses a very unique set of skills and a fascinating ability.”

Colin got to his feet and grinned, reaching out to take Lillian’s hand. Soft. “Nice to meet you Miss Landrey. I hope you don’t mind me being here. ASTA takes these conversations very seriously and my role is to help Miss Chernovna vet our candidates.”

“Vet?” Lillian asked. “What do you mean?”

Colin nodded, “My ability isn’t on the public record as I never got licensed,” He said, “I am able to endorse and hold people to contracts,” He said and reached down, he pulled a suitcase up and opened it, revealing a sheet of paper with text on it. It was very brief. 

I [BLANK], DO AGREE TO TELL THE TRUTH FOR THE DURATION OF THIS INTERVIEW. IN EXCHANGE, ANYTHING I SAY WILL BE HELD IN CONFIDENCE BY THOSE PRESENT.

It was signed by Sonya, Colin, and Handmaiden herself.

“Do you understand why I am having Colin use this document?” Sonya asked, peering up at her from her side with a serious expression.

“An Set,” Lillian breathed. “You’re checking for false heroes.”

Sonya gave her a sad smile, “As much as I want to trust you, I have to be careful as does the Pandora Committee,” She said, “The other sponsors have similar methods that they are employing. Forge has a living lie detector in their room right now.”

Lillian stared at the paper and set her shoulders, “Hand me a pen,” She had nothing to hide and knew what kind of person she was. She wanted to, had to believe that with all of her heart. She wouldn’t have lied to begin with, but this made everything clearer for all parties. It was the right way to handle it.

Sonya blinked and looked her up and down, a small smile growing on her face. “I knew I had a good feeling about you,” She said and walked back to her seat, sitting down. “Colin?”

“Right away, ma’am,” Colin said and drew the paper out, setting it down with a pen in front of Lillian. Lillian filled her name in and signed on the dotted line. Instantly she felt a charge run up her arm and a tension wash through her body. She let out a breath, reaching up to touch her neck thoughtfully. 

“Have a seat, Miss Landrey,” Sonya said.

Lillian sat down, “Thank you, ma’am,” She said after catching her breath.

“We’ll start with a few test questions to keep things above board and make sure the contract is acting as intended,” Sonya said, “What is your name, place of birth, and age?”

“Lillian Aubrey Landrey. Atlanta, Georgia. I’m Eighteen,” Lillian said.

“Pretty name,” Sonya said with a smile and nodded, “Okay, are you in any way affiliated with any villain-related organization or know someone who is?”

“No ma’am,” Lillian said.

“Good!” Sonya nodded, “Have you at any point before or after acquiring your abilities fantasized or considered using such abilities for a crime?”

“Absolutely not,” Lillian said, shaking her head.

“Excellent, one more,” Sonya said, “Do you have any intention to use the legal authority granted as a hero to benefit yourself in a way that would be considered by others to be selfish?”

“Not in a million years,” Lillian said, “I want to become a hero like Firestorm.”

Sonya raised her eyebrows, “I saw your jacket, let's talk about that,” Sonya said and set her notepad down, resting her hands in her lap. “What exactly does that mean to you?”

Lillian shifted a bit in her seat and took a deep breath, she looked down at her hands, “I want to be someone who helps people, not just that, I want to do whatever it takes to help people. I want to do a little good in the world, you know? It would be nice to make a name for myself too, and sure, it’s a job. But,” She trailed off, “He gave everything for others. Right? He made a difference, I want to do that.”

She looked up into those glowing mechanical eyes of Sonya’s, they whirred and spun quietly, for a few moments. Even though they were made of metal, Lillian could see something soft in them. The small smile that spread across Sonya’s face made Lillian’s heart ache. Sonya had ‘raised’ him as a hero. She already knew everything Lillian had said, it was a little embarrassing to just go on a tirade like that. She looked down at her hands with a flush, “That’s what I think.”

“Firestorm, Nick,” Sonya said softly and leaned back in her chair. Lillian looked up at the distant look in Sonya’s eyes, “He was a special guy.”

“What was he really like?” Lillian asked, unable to resist the opening.

Sonya looked into the distance for a moment, “Kind,” She said, swallowing a little, “He was kind,” She snorted and glanced up at Handmaiden, “Remember the cartoon dungeon where they found Inky?” Sonya asked with a laugh.

Handmaiden chuckled, “I remember.”

Lillian sat up, “I’ve never heard this story. I know that Bandit found his monster companion in a dungeon, but not how.”

“Not his proudest moment,” Sonya laughed, “Now this is all how Bluestar told it to me,” Sonya cautioned, “They were in the dungeon and found themselves wandering these maze-like halls. Absolute nonsense it sounded like. Anyway, they stumbled upon a trap. A woman was inside of a pit, crying for help. Wailing,” She shook her head, “It was a fresh dungeon, there was no way someone had made it inside, the likelihood of this person making it that far in was ridiculous!”

She let out a sigh and sank a little in his seat, “You know what Firestorm did?”

Lillian couldn’t help herself, her lip trembled, “He jumped right in.”

“He jumped right in, no hesitation, not a doubt in his mind. Even if there was an infinitesimal chance that it was a real person in real danger, he went for it. It was of course a genuine trap and they had to pull him out but,” Sonya sighed, “He did it anyway.”

Lillian felt a glow in her heart and looked down at her hands, smiling a bit dumbly, “Wow.”

“It’s a good story,” Sonya said with a sigh, “I miss him.”

Lillian looked up, “I want to live up to his legacy. I don’t want to be him, but… I want to be that person that can run in, no matter what,” She sighed, “I just don’t think my ability is up to it,” She said and bit her lip, “What is it, anyway? You said you’d tell me.”

Sonya sat up a little, “Do you mean that?”

“Mean what?” Lillian asked, a little confused.

“Do you mean what you just said? That you want to live up to that story? All of what you said? The contract demanding you tell the truth aside, from the bottom of your heart, do you mean that?” She asked, fixing Lillian with an intense look.

Lillian hesitated, Is this what Miss Chernovna was looking for? I don’t understand. She’s so intense right now. “Well, yes, of course!”

Sonya glanced towards Colin and then back at Handmaiden.

Um… what’s happening?

Sonya got to her feet, “Alright,” She said and walked over, standing over Lillian. Lillian looked up into those glowing eyes as a gentle hand touched her cheek and another landed on her heart, “I’m counting on you, then. Become a great hero, Follow in his footsteps, I know you can do it.”

–

The next thing Lillian knew Sonya was in her seat and smiling at her, “I think we’ve got all we need, I want to sign you on with ASTA, Miss Landrey, but I’d appreciate you keeping that information to yourself for now until we’re further into the camp. Does that work for you?”

Lillian blinked, her head felt a bit funny and her chest felt really warm, “Um… wait, really?” She gasped, sitting up in her seat, “Are you serious?” She felt like she was flying! 

“Yes! Is that alright with you?” Sonya asked with a playful laugh.

“Of course!” Lillian practically shouted, hopping to her feet. She ran her fingers through her hair, “Oh my god, but, my ability, are you sure?”

“I’m sure,” Sonya said, “As for your ability name, take some time to figure it out yourself. I know I said I would tell it to you, but I strongly feel it’s something you need to explore before you can appreciate the name.”

Lillian nodded, that made perfect sense to her, “No problem at all, I’ll work on it!” She flexed her arm and clapped her bicep, “I’ve got this!”

“Good luck, little hero,” Sonya said, “Now go have fun with your friends. It looked like you found yourself in a good group.”

Lillian bounced on the balls of her feet, “Yes! Right! I mean! Oh my god!” She forced herself to calm down, deep breaths, deep breaths, Miss Chernovna told me to keep it to myself for now. Gotta be cool. Be cool. She breathed deep and then exhaled. “I’m good.”

Sonya laughed, “Go on, we’ll talk more soon.”

Lillian brandished her own big smile, “Thank you, so much,” She said slipped out the door.

–

Sonya watched the girl go and tilted her head, a sad smile playing on her face. Colin shifted a bit in his seat and looked her way, “That was quite the investment, and those sanctions were…”

Sonya glanced his way, “I know. I never said I was a nice person.”

“You made the right choice,” Marta said, putting a hand on her shoulder, “She’ll go far.”

Sonya reached up and touched her dear friend’s hand. She felt a little guilt for what Lillian would have to go through. “She’ll have to endure a lot to earn it,” Sonya said, “But I wouldn’t expect anything less from his successor,” Sonya said and looked down a bit, “After what happened with Chunhua, I need a sure thing, even if that means I have to stack the deck.”

Marta squeezed her shoulder, “Don’t talk about her, it’ll just upset you. Come on, you’ll have at least one more by the end of the night.”

Sonya let out the boiling emotions that were stirring in her chest with a heavy sigh. She clapped her face with her hands and drew her hair back, schooling her emotions. “Right. Back to work!”

–

Lillian did her best to control her excitement, she really did, but it was so goddamn hard. She hopped down the steps two at a time before landing in the now dimly lit common area. It seemed like most of the eating was over and people were just chilling now. A few of the guys had left for the dorms and now Ollie, Val, and Snow were the only people she recognized. She walked over to them and waved. Val nodded at her, “How’d it go?”

“Pretty good! The interview is intense though, all the sponsors have lie detection methods to check for potential villains,” Lillian said, sitting down on the couch.

“Huh,” Val rubbed his chin, “Good to know, I like that. Alright, well I got what I was waiting for, I’ll go tell the guys,” He said, clapping his knees and getting up. “Ollie, you coming?”

Ollie was furiously writing something down in his notebook and mumbling to himself. He looked up and blinked, “Oh? Right! It is late," He said and hopped to his feet. He turned a small awkward smile on Lillian, “Glad the interview went well, I hope you get it. Miss Chernovna is a good person. She helped me out.”

Lillian smiled at him, “I’m sorry about earlier, by the way.”

He rubbed his neck, “It’s fine,” He said, “You guys are nice to me, even after that. If you need anything, I’ve already plumbed through the catalog. I’ll help you figure out your schedule tomorrow.”

“I’d like that,” Lillian said, “Now go to bed you guys. I’m gonna catch my breath for a minute.”

“Sure, later,” Val said and walked off, Ollie close behind.

A small flash of movement followed by a pressure in her lap drew her attention. Lillian looked down to see Snow’s head down there, facing out towards the common area. She raised an eyebrow, “You know the couch has actual pillows, right?”

Snow tapped away at her phone, <You do know you are literally the most comfortable thing on the planet, right? Like, it's probably your power?> 

The text appeared in front of her and Lillian chuckled, “Yeah, that’s fair,” She said, “Miss Chernovna said I should explore my power a bit before she gives me the name. That we’d talk more later.”

<Must be serious business.> Snow said.

“You know,” Lillian said, glancing around, “There’s barely anyone here, you don’t have to talk to me through your texts.”

Snow froze, shifting a bit in her lap. Just the glow of her phone illuminating the slight frown on the girl's face. Lillian felt like she’d stepped in another landmine again. She opened her mouth to speak when another text appeared. <Did you know that Miss Chernovna was blind before the flash?>

Lillian read the words and immediately understood, “Hey, I’m sorry,” She said.

<Then don’t move for a bit.> Snow said with a huffy looking emoji, <You’re seriously comfy as hell, I was joking earlier but what the hell.>

Lillian laughed, “Sure, I can do that.”