It turned out that people with abilities, at the moment, couldn’t get plane tickets. Sonya hadn’t tried to get one during her first go around after Pandora’s Light, so she hadn’t known how quickly the government had responded to the situation. It was pretty hard to figure out who had abilities, though, and the suspicions were all levied on her rather than Marta. Unfortunately, Sonya couldn’t lie when asked whether she had abilities or not and dodging the question wasn’t an option in front of airport security. Unfortunately they were forced to take a bus, it wasn’t the most glamorous mode of transportation, but she had to admit it was pretty low key which she appreciated.

Even land travel was tough, though, and there were all sorts of checkpoints and hiccups along the way. Apparently some awakened individuals were running amok here and there, using their powers however they liked. It wasn’t something Sonya could be bothered with, yet, she needed a more stable footing before she took any aggressive action. Even then, she still wasn’t sure what kind of action she would end up taking. What kind of method could she implement that would force the various future hero groups to not waste their time on one another and focus on what was important?

The idea came to her from an unlikely source.

It was on the second day of the trip, as they were crawling down the highway, that Sonya had gotten bored and started watching movies on her phone. One in particular stuck out to her, though. In the film a group of superheroes had been forced-largely against their will-to band together against a threat no individual could take down. In that very same film, one of the heroes had built gear and tools for the other heroes. It reminded her of the awakened support corporations that had popped up a year or so after Pandora’s light, when society had begun to stabilize. That had only been after wave after wave of monsters had catastrophically changed the socio-political landscape of the world.

Sonya watched one of the parts of the movie again and again, the heroes banding together dramatically against their common foe, all wielding special gear made just for them by one of their stalwart allies.

A villain, no, a Supervillain.

She set the phone down and looked out the window with a grim expression. It's not like I don’t plan on fighting some of the heroes that pop up. Some of them just don’t deserve that title. I could use what I already intend to do to my advantage, she thought, but I can’t play the villain alone, there are going to be heroes all over the world. But the strong awakened always end up joining the various groups, regardless of their inclinations. Strong, unaffiliated awakened would be increasingly hard to find.

She glanced down at her fingers, But what if I make them? What if I manufacture villains and have them do it all for me?

They’d need resources too, gear and weapons just like the heroes, Sonya reasoned, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. She glanced over at Marta who had dozed off again and snorted, Fortunately, we’re already going to the right place if I’m not mistaken. Though that guy’ll be a bitch to track down.

She nodded to herself, It’s settled, I’ll play both sides against one another. I’ll force the heroes to work together, exterminate the problems, and use criminals to build up their teamwork. If they don’t have the luxury to hate one another, then Otis won’t have his way.

Her lips curled into a frown, his face, bloodied with eyes without remorse popped into her mind again, it haunted her. Otis. When I find you. I don’t care what stage of growth you’re at. Everyone else doesn’t know it, but I know you aren’t invincible. I’ll put you down like a dog. She clenched her fist and glared into the window, Just you wait.

Tick tick tick tick tick tick

–

A few days later…

The apartment was certainly not the most luxurious or prominent in New York, but it was classy to say the least. More importantly, it came with a reasonable enough price tag given Sonya’s situation. With six bedrooms, and office, and a large open common area, it was perfect for what she figured she’d need for the time being. Even so, moving in was a little embarrassing. Normally you brought your worldly possessions with you when you moved, but besides her phone and the clothes on her back, Sonya had nothing.

“Thank goodness it came furnished,” Marta said, chuckling a little as they looked out the wall sized window, peering out over one of the busier streets in the city. “I still can’t believe how big it is, it’s bigger than my house!”

“Gotta be some magic nonsense going on,” Sonya said thoughtfully, “The building we’re in seemed so much smaller on the outside.”

Marta whipped her head in Sonya’s direction, eyes wide, “You think so?”

Sonya glanced at her deadpan, “It was built in the nineties, no way.”

Marta paused, blanched, and then rubbed the back of her neck with a laugh, “R-right,” She turned around and put her hands on her hips, “Welp! I think this furniture could do with a little shift here and there, make things feel less sterile!”

Sonya shrugged, “Sure, do what you want,” She turned around, “Do you need any-”

Marta looked up at her as she lifted one of the couches off the ground with one hand, Sonya’s lips went thin while Marta looked at her in confusion. She turned back to the window and tried to hide her own embarrassment. She cleared her throat, “We need to do a little shopping, get some clothes and necessities.”

Thump!

“Sounds like fun!” Marta said, setting down the sofa once she’d decided where to put it. 

“Also…” Sonya trailed off, looking down at her phone, “...there’s someone I’m looking for.”

–

Amos held his head in his hands, his blonde hair a mess, his head hurt again. It wasn’t a traditional headache, if only, it was like his head was a bottle of soda with a cork in it and some nutjob had put it through a rock tumbler. Any second he felt like it would explode like a bomb. There were so many ideas in his head and he couldn’t do anything with them! Instead, he just stared miserably at his workstation, the empty space haunting him like the ghost of an old lover.

To make matters worse, this asshole was bleeding him dry.

“Amos! Snap out of it!” A curmudgeonly voice broke him out of his misery, “You got the money or not?”

He looked up, bags under his eyes, and restrained the urge to glower at the man standing across from him inside of his pathetic hovel of a shop. The man was well dressed, for a thug, and kept his hair cropped in a flat-top that made him look like an action figure. 

“I’ve got it Barry,” Amos grumbled.

“It’s Shark, now, Amos, I told you already,” The muscle bound idiot insisted, crossing his arms and striking a pose with all the fervor of a middle school kid. Amos just gave him a dour look and pulled out his phone. He switched over to the payment app and set it on the table between them. ‘Shark’ stepped forward and tapped his phone against it, there was a pause, then a chime, and Shark checked his phone, “That’s not everything, Amos.”

Amos gaped at him, “Seriously? It’s the same as last month!”

“Times change, Amos, I warned you that rent was going up after the Pandora incident,” Shark said, tilting his head and staring unblinking into Amos’ face, “You know the deal, I keep problems from happening here and you pay me and my boys for our services. “So pay in full, Amos,” He grinned, “You wouldn’t want there to be problems now that there are people with powers walking around, right?”

“But-” Amos stammered, “I don’t-”

Shark slammed his hand onto the table and his skin turned blue, his eyes becoming black dots as his face twisted, beneath his snarling lips, long, deadly teeth formed. Amos shrank back, stumbling onto the ground. “Okay! Okay! I’ll figure something out! I don’t have it right now though!” Amos shouted hurriedly.

“Yeah, that’s more like it,” Shark snarled, turning back into his human form. He turned away, “Do yourself a favor, Amos, stock this place with something that actually works. Maybe you’ll make some money that way!” He laughed and left without another word.

Amos lay on the ground, miserable, his head still covered with his hands.

What’s the point of this brain that light gave me if I’m gonna be eaten by one of those freaks?! He whined, Dammit!

–

Sonya admired herself in the mirror, she wasn’t a big fan of dresses, it made it hard to move and her decade of training as a field scout had hammered in the need to be flexible. Even so, the golden flower pattern on the side of the white one piece dress was luxurious. She whipped her hair back and and turned, winking once at herself before letting out a groan. She covered her face in embarrassment, it was impossible to match her looks with her head right now. Every time she enjoyed herself she felt old memories come crawling back up in her head.

She rubbed her temples again, she needed to do something for herself, though, or she’d be miserable all the time. Given the nature of her abilities, a good mood was important. She had to look and sound confident, that went without saying.

She forced herself to relax, “I’ll take it,” She said with a breath, turning to look at the flustered looking shop attendant. 

The girl inclined her head quickly, her face flushed, “Y-yes ma’am. Did you want to try on a few blazers, perhaps?” She asked hesitantly.

Sonya glanced her way, “Oh? How’d you know?” She took the girl’s appearance in more directly this time, committing it to memory. She had a pixie cut of dark hair and two silver earrings, her eyes were bright and her tan skin was a bit flushed. She looked more like an athlete than the attendant of a high-class clothing store. 

“You came in wearing slacks, ma’am, and you seemed more comfortable that way than in a dress,” The woman said, avoiding her eyes, “Also, your body is-” She froze and cleared her throat, “Not that I was staring, just that, well I figure it would look good on you.”

Sonya raised an eyebrow. She's observant, but she’s trying to cover it up with intuition. “What’s your name?” She asked as if she didn’t already know.

“Mikayla,” The attendant said.

Sonya extended a hand, “Nice to meet you Mikayla, I’m Sonya, are you full time here?”

Mikayla hesitated for a moment before accepting her hand. “Yes ma’am.”

Appraise.

<New Product Acquired: Eye for Detail>

Why is it that the abilities that unawakened seem to have are so fitting for them? It’s like they’re tailored somehow.

“Go ahead and pick out a few sets for me, Mikayla, I think I’ll be coming back here from now on,” Sonya said with an easy smile and sent the girl on her way.

Some time later she stepped out of the shop, sunglasses glinting brightly over her eyes. She’d picked a pair of black slacks and a gray blouse to wear out, the blazer hanging on her shoulders. With the added inclusion of her sunglasses and her all-white hair and skin, she’d had a few people already stop to gawk. So much for keeping a low profile, Sonya chuckled to herself as she savored the feeling. It wasn’t bad, honestly, she could get used to the attention. It was better than being looked down on her entire life as a mundane-tier awakened.

Behind her, a rather disconcerted looking Marta stood in the doorway. Her face flushed as she tugged on her hair, “A-are you sure this is okay, we spent so much money…”

Sonya looked back at her and tilted down her sunglasses, Marta was wearing a magnificent green floral sundress with a jet black trim. She looked like a flower. Marta noticed her staring and looked down at her feet, “Is it… too much?”

“It suits you,” Sonya said with a smile and hefted the bag she was carrying over her shoulder. Marta made a sound and hurried over, despite her embarrassment. She snatched the bags out of Sonya’s hands. “Huh?”

“Sonya, I’m your caretaker, let me handle these,” Marta insisted with a bit of a frown. “You should have given them to me sooner.”

Sonya scratched her head, “Uh… yeah sure, sorry.”

Now that she was doing something she felt was helpful, Marta seemed to forget about how uncomfortable she was in the expensive dress. She hurried to follow Sonya as the two of them made their way down the street, passing a few more shops and more than a few gawkers along her path. 

“Who is that?”

“Is that a model?”

“Never seen her before.”

“I’mma ask for her number.”

“Are you insane? She’ll eat you alive.”

Sonya restrained a grin, this was going to go to her head if she wasn’t careful. Had her body changed somehow too? She’d been in pretty good shape before the end, but she hadn’t exactly been stunning before her awakening. Was it because of her products? She’d taken on heroic strength and it had made changes, she’d felt it, but it wasn’t like she had it active all the time. There were still so many unexplained factors that she had to wrangle with.

“Get out of here! Idiot, this isn’t a place for handouts!” Someone shouted.

She glanced towards the commotion and frowned, using her eyes to zoom in on what was going on. There was a tattered looking man sitting on the ground in front of an electronics shop. “Please! Just a few of them! I-I’ll figure out a way to pay! I just need some trash hardware, that’s all!” The man begged but the owner of the shop wasn’t having it. He spat on the ground and slammed the door in the tattered man’s face.

The man slumped on the ground, people whispering and walking around him. Sonya narrowed her eyes, focused on his face. Straw blonde hair, pinched face, and the name above his head.

<Amos Carter>

Her eyes widened and then a wicked grin spread across her face. “Marta, you hungry?”

“I could eat,” Marta said, glancing over Sonya’s shoulder at the man on the ground, “Something happen?”

“I think I just found who I was looking for,”  Sonya said, her eyes glowing behind tinted lenses.