Chapter 105 (Patreon)

Sonya woke the next morning feeling more refreshed than she had in a long time. Her eyes fluttered open and she took a deep breath of the smell of freshly made coffee, rolling over onto her side and seeing… no one. She tilted her head and sat up, racking her brain as she tried to remember who she’d slept with the previous night. Then it came back to her and she let out a sharp laugh, flopping back onto her pillow and letting out a delighted sound as she stretched out her legs. It was like a fog had lifted a little, it was still there, but she felt clear. She let out a relaxed sigh and glanced down at Marta who was standing at the foot of her bed.

“Morning!” Sonya chirped.

Marta gave her a pleased smile, “Morning to you too, how’d you sleep, all on your own?”

Sonya sat up and grinned before hopping off the bed with a flourish, “Better than I have in a long time!” She declared and struck a pose before raising her arm and frowning, “Marta? Shower free?” She asked.

“I finished about an hour ago,” Marta laughed.

“I’ll be back,” Sonya said quickly and fled to the restroom. As she walked in she stopped at the sink and hesitated for a moment, resting her hand on the counter and remembering. She turned and looked at the mirror and saw her own smiling face looking back at her. There was a twinkle in her reflections eye, she was still there, but… No mask. She sighed with relief, No mask. How long has it been since I’ve seen my own face in the mirror? She thought and looked herself over, checking her jaw and running her fingers up her pale skinned face. Like a porcelain doll.

A knock came to the door and she jumped. “Sonya? Do you need any help getting ready?”

Sonya looked up at her reflection and grinned, “Nah, I’ve got it today!” She said merrily and made for the shower, casting one look back at herself, “Thanks again, I’m glad I can count on you,” She said with a wink.

–

Marta sat on the bed in her gown and glanced down at her phone, smiling a little at the selfie that Barry sent her from his mission in the pacific. He was grinning ear to ear, wearing a silly poka-dot vacation shirt and his hair swept back. A couple of his boys were in the background with what looked like heavy duty construction equipment atop a large boat. She tapped a quick message back to him, <You’re adorable.>

<Missin’ you, have fun with the politicians.> He shot back.

<Miss you too, see you soon. She’s feeling better, by the way. I think the worst is over.> She responded.

<Good, give the lil queen my best.>

Sonya threw open the door and stepped out of the bathroom with a grin on her face. Vibrant pink lipstick just how she likes it, a little bit of eyeliner and some pink shading around the eyes. Her hair hung down straight, all the stress curls long gone. She’d even done up her nails, hands and feet. She cast a smug grin over at Marta who turned to give her an appraising look, relief washing over her seeing her dear friend finally able to care for herself again. “Full battle paint!” Marta laughed, “Looking good,” She chuckled and set her phone down, “Barry says hi and sends his best.”

Sonya gave Marta a coy grin, “Sexting, this early? Marta!” She teased.

Marta switched to her most offended frown as she shoved her phone a little bit more under herself, “Sonya! Get your mind out of the gutter!”

“Can’t put it anywhere else!” She laughed and walked by the television, hitting the button as she snatched up her clothes that Marta had laid on the bed. She started throwing on her white shirt as the news came on, pulling her tie around her neck. Marta rolled her eyes and got to her feet, walking over and giving her a hand, “I can do it!”

“You have never been able to tie a tie, good days or bad, Sonya Chernovna,” Marta quipped and got to work as Sonya huffed and puffed up her cheeks.

“We’re here at the Headquarters of the Pandora Committee at The Hague, Netherlands. In just a few hours the first session of the fully organized Pandora Committee will be held in this recently completed building. As you can see behind me, the promenade is beautiful and standing prominently is a statue of the Hero of Vegas, Firestorm,” The reporter said and Marta glanced up to see Sonya smiling at the TV.

First time I’ve seen you smile first when he was mentioned in a long time too. She thought as the reporter moved on down the promenade.

“Representatives from every member nation of the United Nations will be in attendance as well as several representatives of the new Hero Support industry from across the world. First among them is Sonya Chernovna, the Voice of the Hero Movement and CEO of the ASTA Corporation. She is slated to deliver a speech about the first round of Aspirant Hero Training Camps that have been underway worldwide since just over a month ago,” The reporter continued.

“Still remember your speech?” Marta asked, glancing up at the side of the woman’s head.

“Course I do,” Sonya said with a grin, “I’m gonna make a few adjustments, though. Fit the mood a bit better.”

“Just don’t do anything silly,” Marta warned.

Sonya cast a sidelong look at her and winked, “Me? Silly?”

Marta frowned, “Sonya, this is going to be internationally televised.”

“Exactly,” Sonya said with a nod as Marta finished buttoning up her shirt for her. Sonya glanced down and raised an eyebrow before shrugging and grabbing the rest of her stuff, plopping down next to Marta as the television continued.

“Among the topics today will be rise of Supervillains and the widespread increase in villain activity across the globe. Discussion will likely lean in the direction of the self-proclaimed First Supervillain, Ishtar, and her relationship to the growing number of organized villain groups. Notably the Darksiders who-” Sonya’s personal phone rang and they both glanced down at it with raised eyebrows.

Sonya snorted, “Forgot to take my cybernetic phone off silent,” She laughed and picked it up, “Charon! Darling! How are you? Sorry about that, busy night,” She tilted her head and leaned back a bit, “Oho? No dear, I’m not worried about them. Thank you though. Oh it’s no trouble, you were just adhering to the contract, I can’t fault you there. Thank you for the heads up again,” She laughed, “Oh you’re terrible, kisses!” She hung up and set it down. “Darksiders are using gear bought from Charon or rather, me, to ‘attack’ the Pandora Session today.”

Marta frowned, “Really? Aren’t they-”

“Stupid?” Sonya asked with a laugh, “I don’t know how some of them remember to breathe in the morning,” Sonya said, “I-” Her phone rang again and she grinned at it, “Oh here we go, this is going to be good.”

“Chief Bruno!” Sonya answered, “Yes? I see,” Sonya was grinning ear to ear as Marta watched her friend put on the best serious act she could, “And what’s being done? Good. I expected nothing less from you all. Good work, thank you again, Chief,” She hung up the phone and tossed it down, “And that was the Chief of Security for the region, they already know,” Sonya snorted and burst into laughter, “Those idiots are going to owe me so much money!” She chortled and kicked her feet.

Marta shook her head, It’s good to have you back.

Sonya hopped up as the television kept going and grabbed her heels, “Several international leaders have voiced their outrage at the attacks by the group which communicates predominantly on message boards throughout the dark web.”

“They could at least invest in a secure communications system, don’t you sell those to villains?” Marta asked, glancing at Sonya as she pulled her heels on and threaded the straps.

“Mm? Yeah,” Sonya said, glancing up at the television, “Apparently they’re big on the whole message board thing, they’re a rogue offshoot of another group that used to be pretty all right a decade ago, they got kicked out for being crazies and terrorists,” Sonya said.

“Why haven’t these people been rounded up already?” Marta asked.

Sonya shrugged, “Free speech? Technically only a percentage of these idiots actually do anything, just whine and talk about it,,” Sonya said and got to her feet, straightening herself up and grabbing her coat, throwing it on over her white shirt before striking a fresh pose, “How do I look?”

“Fabulous,” Marta said with a smile. After all her friend had been through, after the memories she’d been shown, after the struggle for the past year to get back on her feet, after everything. Seeing that glee and light was more refreshing than any balm. “Shall we go?” She asked.

“We shall!” Sonya declared and they made their way to the door.

–

Sonya held her head high as they walked through the grand atrium of the Pandora Headquarters and to the massive doors that lead to the Committee chamber. She shook hands with a few more people and even managed to greet the French Representative who was blessedly free of Astaroth, now accompanied by another young man who was far less skeevy in her opinion. As per the regulation, the bodyguards would have to stay outside the room until the session was over.

Sonya snorted a little at that thought as she pat Marta on the arm and left her at the door, walking down the steps into the recessed room and towards the long desk where she would sit with others from the support industry. The entirety of the leadership of the Hero Culture gathered in one room and the worst supervillain in the world is locked in there with them. Something funny about that, she snickered and skipped the last few steps before sweeping into her seat and crossing her legs.

Adam Frask approached her first, sitting down next to her and inclining his head, “Miss Chernovna, you look lovely this morning.”

She beamed at him, “Adam! Thank you dear, you’re looking roguishly handsome as ever.” She shook his hand and winked, “How are things with those fancy dolls of yours?”

He puffed out his lips and leaned back, “Hit a few snags, actually, wish I had your man Amos to help. The second generation Forge Dolls are still years off unless we figure out what’s going wrong.”

She hummed a bit and tilted her head, “Let’s make a deal, let Amos pick up what he can from their bodies, not their brains, and I’ll let you borrow him for a while. Consider it a trade,” Sonya said and held out her hand again.

He raised his eyebrows and rubbed his chin, “How long?”

“Let’s say, on-and-off six months, I can’t lose him too, you know. He comes by on occasion and helps your boys work out the issues and then comes home,” Sonya offered.

Adam grinned, “Deal,” He said and shook her hand, “We’ll talk more later.”

She smirked, “Of course!” Brent was the next to arrive, descending the steps and casting Sonya a small frumpy look, she raised her eyebrows at him as they stared one another down before she brandished a winning smile, “Brent.”

“Sonya.”

She pressed her lips together, “I was a little hard on you last night,” She said and tilted her head, “I’m sorry about that. It’s been a long couple of weeks.”

He paused and blinked, staring at her in surprise, “Uh, thank you,” He said and cleared his throat, “I shouldn’t have been so hostile about your ability. It must come in handy.”

“It really does,” Sonya said with a laugh, “Thank you, dear. Truce?”

He shrugged and settled into his seat a bit more comfortably, “Truce,” He agreed and they shook hands. He crossed his arms afterward and glanced at the Chairman who was talking to a few representatives before things got underway, “How is Madame Rouge doing?”

“Oh she’s wonderful, a bit tough but that’s to be expected from a woman like her. She’s got her eyes on one of my endorsees, been on top of him constantly to improve his ability. Fierce one for such a property lady,” Sonya commented.

Brent chuckled, “Certainly, she comes from a big manufacturing family. Money, but hard people,” He said with a nod, looking thoughtful for a moment, “She was going to take over the family business before the flash and developed her abilities. Terrifying powers. I’ve never seen hounds behave themselves until her.”

Sonya raised an eyebrow, “I’ve only seen it once before, a very eccentric friend,” She admitted, thinking of Charon.

“You’ll have to introduce me, those kinds of abilities are rare and valuable. Monsters can make quite the useful commodity if maintained and turned on their own,” He said as he turned to face the raised podium where the Chairman was making his final preparations.

I know how you feel about monsters, she thought, smuggling them through Russia last year. It’s a shame you’re just a jerk and not an evil man. I really want to kick you around for it. Oh well, such is life.

She turned as well and set her hands in her lap, smiling at the Chairman as the microphone came on. “Welcome, Leaders and Representatives of our new Heroic Age. Today marks the first annual meeting of the Pandora Committee. As is right and proper I want to thank those who made today possible. The people of various nations who came together to build this building, the nations that signed the Pandora Accord, and the people who helped start the movement as a whole,” He gave a small nod in Sonya’s direction. Sonya waved at him before settling in.

His eyes swept the room, “All national representatives are present, this committee also recognizes the presence of the eighteen heads of the various support organizations from across the globe. They are here representing the interests of the guilds they sponsor and the organizations that make what we do possible. According to our charter, they are here in a capacity to provide advice and submit proposals only.” He said aloud, “With that, may the first Grand Pandora Committee begin.”

There was a round of applause as he stood there, nodding to everyone in turn before he cleared his throat, “Our first order of business as agreed in our charter is the discussion of exigent threats to humanity and society as a whole and the declaration of the ten most wanted villains in the world,” He paused, “Of course, it goes without saying that a special place has been reserved for the spot of public enemy number one, separate from the top ten,” He said grimly.

There was a chorus of murmurs throughout the room and Sonya leaned back to enjoy the show. Behind the Chairman a screen slid down and flickered to life before revealing footage of her eye opening over Vegas and her descent in a column of light. The images flickered and were grainy. It was clear to everyone who it was, though. The image shifted to an artist's rendition of herself in her full regalia and helmet.

“We have no close up images of the Supervillain, Ishtar,” The Chairman said gravely, “We do have this image based on all descriptions provided,” He cleared his throat, “For the crimes of High Villainy, Murder, Terrorism, Organized Crime, Supporting Villain Activity, and others listed above me,” He recited, reading from the prompt, “With this Committee’s approval, I hereby declare the Villain Ishtar Public Enemy Number One, and the most wanted person on this planet we call Earth, may I hear the Ayes?”

The resounding approval was deafening.

Sonya just smiled as she added her own private, “Aye.”