Sonya swam in darkness for a time, drifting between thoughts and dreams.

When she opened her eyes she was greeted by the sound of cicadas and the warmth of the sun above her. She smiled, basking in the radiance for a moment and sitting up straight. She yawned and stretched her arms over her head as conversation carried on nearby. That was a good nap. She thought and crossed her legs beneath her, absently touching the combat knife on her hip. 

“Oye!” A voice called out, she turned and spotted a familiar face hustling over. A young man in fatigues slid to a stop next to her grinning ear to ear. He had a mess of dark hair on his head and tan skin, his brown eyes were sparkly with naivete. “Hey Senior!”

Sonya raised an eyebrow and rested her chin on her palm, “Sup, newbie. Excited?”

He threw his hands in the direction of where most of the conversation was taking place. A crowd of people were gathered around what looked like a pair of marble pillars that had burst from the ground. Between them, a swirling vortex of teal light was crackling and churning. “You crazy? Of course I’m excited! My first time in a dungeon! I’ve been training for this!” He put his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest, “I won’t let anything get past me.”

Sonya chuckled and reached out to flick him in the forehead, he winced and stepped back while she winked at him, “Easy there, I know you’re excited but don’t overdo it. Survival comes first for us scouts, got it?”

He covered his forehead and frowned, “Yes ma’am…” He mumbled.

She clicked her tongue and nodded towards the crowd, “Why don’t you go introduce yourself over there, kid, I already know you.”

He grinned and started in the direction of the other heroes gathered, “Okay!” He paused and glanced back, “And it’s not kid, anymore! It’s Wanderer!”

Sonya chuckled, “Yeah yeah,” She waved a dismissive hand and went back to relaxing. She reached for her pouch and tapped it once, opening it and slipping her hand inside the magical space hidden within. The things those scientists come up with, it's crazy. Monster cores really changed the world. She mused and pulled out a can of sugary soda, pressing the cold can against her face and humming delightedly. All so I can have a cold soda on a hot day.

“Sugar high before the run?” A soft voice chimed out behind her.

Sonya froze and then let out a sigh, falling back onto her back and looking up at the person who’d snuck up on her. The woman was tall, with an athletic build. She had jet black hair that hung loosely over her shoulders and a pair of abyss black eyes to match. As always, she was beautiful. Chunhua squatted down next to Sonya and tugged a strand of hair back over her ear, smiling at her. Sonya returned the smile, “Hey you.”

“Hi Sonya,” Chunhua said and reached out to tap her nose, “Are you being a good senior?”

“Yeah,” Sonya said, lost in Chunhua’s face, “I won’t bully them too much.”

“You better not,” Chunhua laughed as Sonya took her hand, running her thumb over the ring on the other woman’s finger. “What’s wrong?” Chunhua asked.

“Nothing,” Sonya fibbed a little, “Just… good to see you. Being a Mythic-grade hero keeps you busy.”

“I know, but after this run I’ll have some time,” Chunhua said softly, playing with Sonya’s hair, “I complained a bit to the Guildmaster.”

Sonya snorted, “Good! He deserves some grief now and then!”

“How about we check out Shinjuku, it’s not far from here,” Chunhua suggested.

“That sounds great,” Sonya breathed and relaxed on the grass, “Hey Chunhua, I-”

“Black Lotus!” A man called nearby, “Need some help with briefing some of the new guys, can you join us?”

Sonya sighed, “Duty calls.”

“That it does,” Chunhua murmured and bent over to peck once on Sonya’s forehead, “Time to wake up, sleepy head.”

Sonya blinked, “Huh?”

–

“...well she’s definitely alive.” 

That was Amos’ voice. Oh, right, I blacked out.

“Where’d all this blood come from?” Marta groused, “What did she do to herself?”

“No idea, I don’t see any wounds,” Amos grunted. “Probably some weird shit with her powers.”

Sonya winced involuntarily, a bit of guilt swelling up in her gut. In retrospect she probably should have been a bit more forthcoming about what she planned on doing. How was she supposed to know it would be so intense? It wasn’t a good excuse, she admitted to herself.

There was a pause and then silence. Ah. They saw me wince.

“Sonya…” Marta growled.

Sweat began to bead on Sonya’s forehead.

“I know you’re awake…” Marta pressed.

Sweat dribbled down Sonya’s face.

“Quit playing dead!” Marta barked, “You aren’t getting out of this!”

Sonya groaned and cracked open an eye, glancing wearily over at Marta. Her body still hurt like hell but it wasn’t as bad as she figured it would be. Marta stood next to her bed with her hands on her hips and a frown on her face. Sonya gave her best smile, it wasn’t very convincing. “Heeey Marta, can you get me a Soda?” She asked, trying to sound both cute and weary at the same time.

“You…” Marta growled and raised an irritable fist.

Amos quickly got between them and held up his hands, “She’s still hurt, probably, Marta! You can whack her one later!”

Sonya grimaced, “O-or we could not whack me, that’s an option!” Sonya suggested only to get a glower from Amos. “Okay maybe I deserve that,” She admitted and shrank a bit into the bloody sheets.

“What the hell happened?” Amos demanded, crossing his arms. “And no beating around the bush! Straight answers.”

Marta crossed her arms, “And no fibbing either.”

“She can’t,” Amos pointed out.

Marta raised her eyebrows and glanced at Sonya, “What do you mean ‘she can’t’?” Sonya shrank a bit more into the sheets and looked away nervously. “She can’t lie? Are you saying that she’s leading a double life and she can’t lie? Is that the drawback for Broker?” Marta demanded.

Sonya offered an even weaker smile than the last one, “Haha, Surprise!”

Marta clapped her hand over her eyes and groaned. “You’re completely nuts, Sonya.”

“So I’ve been told,” Sonya sighed and looked up at the ceiling, “Broker got an upgrade, it evolved,” She explained and looked over at them, her expression serious. The two of them stiffened before going through a variety of expressions and emotions as she explained how Merger worked and what she’d put herself through. She detailed everything as best she could, though she carefully omitted what had triggered Broker’s evolution. That was way too hard to explain.

“That was reckless,” Marta said finally.

“I know,” Sonya nodded, “But I had to do it,” She began before raising a hand to cut off their protests, “After what happened, I couldn’t let myself not do it. I need this power to accomplish my goals and to…” She trailed off, “...protect you guys. I can’t bear to let that happen again.”

Marta’s hard expression softened a little, “You could have warned us. We’re your team, Sonya.”

Sonya sighed, “I know, I just got swept up in it,” She tried to sit up and the two of them immediately went into fretting mode. “I’m fine! Just sore,” She grumbled, sitting up straight and looking down at her blood-matted hair. “And gross. I need a shower,” She muttered and slid to her feet. She stumbled once and Amos caught her. She smiled at him and pulled away, forcing one foot in front of the other as she made her way towards the bathroom.

The two of them exchanged looks behind her, “Abilities can evolve?” Amos said thoughtfully.

“Guess so,” Marta said and looked at Sonya’s back as she disappeared into the tiled room, “We need to get stronger, Amos.”

“Yeah, we do.”

–

The next day, Sonya found herself out in the garden again. This time going over her gains. She could feel the enhancements throughout her body, more than just on an instinctual level as was common with most abilities. It was like every muscle in her body was hardwired into her brain in such a way that she could perceive the raw data of how much they could output. Her senses had increased in acuity as well but thanks to Enhanced Sensory Processing, it didn’t feel as overwhelming as it should be. Her mind was taking all the data in as easy as it was to breathe. Every scent cataloged and identified in an instant. She could faintly feel the wind shift around her, the changes in density and pressure. She could even sense her phone in her pocket, the energy inside of it as well as the signals that came and went. 

She held out her hand and concentrated, in an instant a stick of luminous energy formed in her palm. She gripped it and turned it over to examine it. It was as thin as a blade. “Been a while since I used a knife,” She said thoughtfully and focused a bit harder. When nothing happened she screwed up her face and squinted at the bar of light, trying to picture what she wanted. Genius Level Intellect wasn’t exactly helping, it only improved her natural cognitive talents. Come on… I’ve got a supercomputer in my head, I can do this! She groused inwardly, Come on… like a knife, like a knife.

After a few tries she finally got the stick to curve and shift in shape. It was crude, but it looked like a fairly standard kitchen knife. She sighed and released her hard light power, “Progress I guess…” She grunted and flopped onto her back before frowning. “...I never got that soda yesterday.”

A tingle went through her mind, a signal to her phone, someone was calling her. She concentrated on it for a moment and answered her phone mentally. Heh, Technopathy rules.

“Hello?” She said aloud.

“Hello Madame Chernovna,” Bernetta said.

“Madame Lucci! How are you?” She said delightedly, sitting up.

“I’m well, would you mind if I came over to visit?” She asked, “I looked over that young lady’s portfolio that you gave me.”

“Oh?” Sonya brightened, “What did you think?”

“Well, if you would consider not poaching her from me, I would love to have her apprentice with me here, if possible,” Bernetta said.

Sonya froze and glanced towards the part of the building where Mikayla was still holed up in her room. She swallowed before letting out a breath, a smile crossing her face. Yeah, this is for the best. She thought, “You know what, I think she’d be thrilled.”

“Good, I’ll be there in a few hours,” Bernetta said, “See you soon, Miss Chernovna.”

“See you soon,” Sonya repeated and disconnected the call.

A few hours later, Sonya was back in the garden again, sitting quietly and enjoying the fresh air. Bernetta had come and Mikayla had been surprisingly eager to speak with her. Sonya had been so worried that the girl wouldn’t come out of her room, but she was relieved she’d been wrong. She smiled to herself thoughtfully as she meditated on her new abilities some more, deciding how she wanted to practice them going forward. 

I need a martial arts instructor. Hero Scout combat is passable, but I’ll need better than that.

Her thoughts were cut short when she felt the air shift nearby. She caught a scent in the air that she immediately identified. She opened her eyes and looked up at Mikayla. She was dressed in a patterned sundress that set off her looks quite nicely. Sonya took a moment to admire her before standing up, “How’d it go?”

Mikayla cleared her throat, “It… looks like I’ll be staying here a while longer,” She said, meeting Sonya’s gaze.

Sonya’s smile didn’t break even as her chest tightened a little, “I’m proud of you.”

“Thank you, Miss-” She cleared her throat, “Sonya, for everything, I mean it.”

Sonya opened her mouth but Mikayla held up her hands, “Please, let me say something,” She continued and looked down at the ground before looking back up at her. Her eyes were determined, strong. She’d come out of the fire tougher, the frailty having been burned away. “I… I know this-we-were just a fling, but you were so kind to me. You went so far for me.”

Mikayla’s fingers tangled together in front of her, “Sonya, you love too hard. You’re going to end up hurting yourself one day,” Mikayla said finally, “I don’t know if anyone’s ever told you this, but I think you need to hear it. You take some things too seriously. You can be playful, but you’re just covering up, aren’t you?” She said and then brandished a smile that made Sonya’s heart melt. 

“Sonya, you need to go have some fun, stop holding back. If you don’t do it for yourself, do it for me.”

For a moment, a fleeting moment, Sonya saw dark eyes and long black hair superimposed over Mikayla’s own looks. That same smile, earnest, and a bit sad. Worried. Sonya’s hands fell to her sides. She was speechless.

“That’s all I wanted to say, I have to go get packed,” Mikayla said and let out a breath, “Good bye, Sonya. Thank you again, for everything.”

Just like that, Sonya watched her go. There was nothing she could say. After all, she was right.