There was silence in the chamber as the members of the Senate looked at one another. Sonya kept her face as expressionless as she possibly could. She’d carefully worded everything in her little speech, it not only had to achieve the results she desired, but none of it could be a falsehood. That had been the hard part. After all, she wasn’t here to have a repeat of the society that had ended the way it had in her past lifetime. She only hoped that the little bit of prep-work she had done before the hearing would be enough. After all, a pretty speech accomplished only so much, it was the conversation that followed and more importantly, the tone and theme of the conversation, that mattered.

Too much manipulation could result in push back, a deal with the Vice President to allow the heroes in and…

As the murmurs in the chamber rose, the Vice President looked up from where he had been staring at Sonya and inclined his head, “The Senate recognizes Senator Adam Chavez of Florida.”

Behind Sonya and the others, a man in a black suit and red necktie got to his feet. Sonya kept her eyes forward, not meeting his gaze even as his own eyes fixed on the back of her head for a heartbeat, he cleared his throat, “While I appreciate the spirit of Miss Chernovna’s argument, I disagree on the assertion of a singular guild. If such a movement is to take place it should be in the hands of the states and independent organizations. As she said, this is the beginning of a new industry, centralizing it and giving ownership to the federal government would cripple it before it had a chance to grow.”

Sonya closed her eyes and kept her expression as stiff as possible, Take the bait.. Come on…

The Vice President’s eyes shifted, “The Senate recognizes Senator Lucille Haygar of New Hampshire.”

“Forgive me, but I cannot see how the heroes being supported by ‘independent organizations’ can possibly be a good thing. Is the gentleman from Florida suggesting that corporations be allowed to form their own guilds?” A woman in a suit with a blue necktie said, her arms crossed as she cast a scathing look across the chamber.

Sonya crushed the urge to grin, And now the tone is set, it isn’t a matter of whether the guilds should be formed or not, rather who’s in charge and how much autonomy they’ll get. 

“Centralizing the heroes puts too much power into one place and eliminates flexibility! They must be able to respond in any state of the union, besides, competition is important,” The senator from florida insisted.

“Competition? That’s just an excuse to-” The woman shot back only for the Vice President to clear his throat. “Apologies, the Gentleman from Florida raises a good point, but there must be clear rules and standards put in place if we are going to rely on multiple guilds.”

Sonya finally allowed herself to smile, one of the biggest issues from her previous life had been that each nation had followed the example of a singular central guild. Guilds were going to be formed across the planet over the next few years, this wasn’t a matter of convincing the government to form a guild. No, this was about making sure a single guild per country never happened. There is no way I’ll allow the same culture that gave rise to the so-called ‘Gods of the New World’ to be born. She clamped down on the bubble of rage that formed in her gut, No, I’ll never let it happen. With this, the world will follow the United State’s example.

More murmuring filled the chamber as the senators spoke in hushed tones. She watched them like subtitles in her vision.

<Sensory Data Loading>

<Clarence: We should work in a sponsorship clause.>

<Abeline: Your reasoning?>

<Clarence: Superheroes running around saving people? Slap a brand logo on that.>

<Abeline: I should let Garret know.>

<Philip: Do we have any notable light-touched in Maine?>

<Bruce: A few, shouldn’t be hard to get in touch with a little effort.>

<Philip: Good, we’ll need a head start on this.>

Sonya’s grin widened a little more.

“You seem pleased with the direction of the conversation, Miss Chernovna,” The Vice President commented, his eyes on her.

She cleared her throat, thankful for her amplified mind so she could think on her feet, “I think the suggestion of decentralizing the guilds is a good choice, I’m glad the Gentleman from Florida made the suggestion. I am a businesswoman after all,” She joked. There were some scattered laughs in the chamber as she sat back a bit and crossed her legs, “In all seriousness, I am only here to ensure that we keep moving forward for the sake of the future.”

The Vice President nodded, “Well said, I think we know our starting point. We will hammer out a proposal to send to the House to be turned into legislation.”

Sonya inclined her head, “Thank you, Mister Vice President.”

“Thank you for coming,” He turned to the other four, “And for your service.”

Nick choked a bit next to her and she nudged him, “Say something.”

“R-right!” Nick got to his feet awkwardly, “I uh… It-it’s a dangerous job, but that’s why we have these powers, right?”

Sonya’s eyes widened and she glanced up at him, You have no idea what you just said, kid, She mused with delight, That sentiment is going to be on every television in the country in no time.

–

Martin watched the proceedings from the side with an expression of mixed feelings, his arms crossed. Lucian glanced at him a few times before finally letting out a sigh, “What is it?”

“At first it seemed like she wanted there to be a single guild, but I’m getting the feeling she got exactly what she wanted,” He grunted.

Lucian snorted, “She’s not a god, Martin. I’m sure there was some reverse psychology there, but no one gets exactly what they want in DC.”

Martin’s eyes narrowed, “Not a god…hmm…”

Lucian shook his head, “Don’t get so bent out of shape, it looks like we’re going to have a lot of work ahead of us,” Martin turned to him with a raised eyebrow and Lucian shrugged, “Think about it, it sounds like the Pandora Committee’s powers are going to explode after this, there’s gonna have to be oversight with these guilds, who’s going to be doing that, you think?”

Martin let out a sigh and looked back at that woman again, “Ah, fair point.”

–

When the hearing came to a close, the media was in a frenzy outside the chambers. While the photographers and cameramen had been allowed inside, no one was allowed to approach the guests or senators until they left. Sonya spent some time shaking hands, snatching up new products, and greeting more than a few of the Senators who expressed their warm feelings about her words or made some sundry remarks about working more closely together in the future. Sonya waved most of the comments off in stride but made sure to log their names and faces for later. She’d approach them as Ishtar.

“That was quite the speech,” Lucille Haygar said, extending a hand to her.

Sonya took it, Analyze.

<New Product Acquired: Steelskin>

That’ll come in handy, I might even be able to merge it, Sonya mused before giving the woman a winning smile, “I’m just glad the conversation moved along smoothly,” She said, “We could be sitting here arguing about whether the heroes deserve to exist or not.”

Lucille shrugged, “I very much doubt that would have happened after last night,” She said with a sigh, “Dharan was a wake up call. Supporting the light-touched became a forgone conclusion, though I’m sure you realized that already.”

Sonya just winked at her, “I had a feeling.”

Lucille chuckled, “Have you considered politics, Miss Chernovna?”

“I’m afraid that, while I’m naturalized, I wasn’t born here,” Sonya said with a shake of her head, “Besides, it would get in the way of business for me.”

“Well if you’re interested in branching ASTA out, I can put in a good word with the governor,” Lucille said before stepping away to talk with a few others. Sonya watched her go and shook her head, Games upon games.

She turned away and spotted Nick and the others speaking with senators and even some representatives of the Pandora Committee. Of all of them, Bluestar seemed to be handling herself the best. She smiled at the right time and laughed when she needed to, her eyes were everywhere, though. I wonder how she is with administration, Sonya thought, She might make a good guildmaster.

Sonya let out a sigh and pushed the thoughts aside, she was getting tired and there were still dozens of frantic news anchors and journalists waiting outside the chamber doors like hungry piranha. She made her way over to Bandit and Lifesaver who were trying their best to avoid conversation and even snagged Firestorm along the way. When they finally managed to pull Bluestar away from an enthusiastic conversation with the Senator from Georgia she lead them out of the chambers and into their next battlefield.

–

It was hours before they made their way back to the hotel room. When the door opened the first thing Sonya did was throw herself at Marta, “Marta! I’m so tired, comfort me!” She whined noisily. Marta took a strategic step back and Sonya nearly fell on her face with a grunt, catching herself and scrambling back to her feet. She pouted, “Not even a hug?” 

Marta raised an eyebrow, “Save it for your arm candy.”

Sonya grinned and leaned against the wall as the others filed in, “Aren’t you gonna ask me how it went?”

“It was on national television,” Marta said with a shrug.

“Boo you’re no fun,” Sonya jeered and walked past her as Marta held up a hand with a small smile. Sonya slapped it and grinned back at her, “Lets order pizza!” She shouted to the others as she walked past. Marta was about to protest as the others raised their fists and cheered.

“Oh fine,” Marta grunted and went to grab her phone.

Sonya hopped over the back of the couch and sat down, loosening her tie, “How are things going, Amos?” She asked.

“Lets see,” Amos said, setting down his controller after pausing his game, he turned to face her, “The munitions will be in Nepal in a few hours, their government sends their thanks,” He paused, “Oh, and apparently you’re the ‘voice of the hero movement’, now, so, congrats I guess?”

Sonya snorted, “Great,” She rolled her eyes, “I’m sure our friend in New York will get a kick out of that.”

Amos cackled, “Oh he’s been texting me, it's hilarious!”

Before Sonya could ask to see, Bandit slipped into the couch next to her with a groan, “Oh my god I’m so tired, how the hell is talking to people so exhausting?”

“It wasn’t that bad, Logan!” Sonya teased, patting him on the shoulder, “You guys did great.”

“I dunno, we really didn’t get to say anything during the hearing itself,” He said, his shoulders sagging.

“Are you sure about that?” Sonya asked him with a tilt of her head, “You said quite a bit just by being there. Didn’t you catch what the Vice President said to you?”

“He uh… thanked us for our service?” Logan said, looking a little nonplussed, “I’m not a veteran.”

“You fought monsters on home soil, you brat,” She ruffled his hair, “He honored you. You came here hoping that maybe they’ll consider supporting and legitimizing heroes, it wasn’t even a conversation, the hard part for them is how, not if. You got what you came for and then some.”

Bluestar put her hands on the couch behind them and leaned down, “She’s right, Logan, we did it!” She said brightly, “This is huge!”

Lifesaver scratched his nose somewhere behind them, looking sheepishly down at the table, “It did feel pretty good, didn’t it?”

Logan finally broke into a smile, “So what happens now?”

“Now we wait and see what they come up with,” Sonya said, “It’s out of our hands but I have a feeling it won’t take very long. They know they’ve gotta do something or the next Dharan could be here in the US.”

Amos snorted, “They’re not exactly known for solving problems quickly.”

“It’s either that or let people like Nick run around with far less compunctions and oversight,” Sonya quipped, thumbing back at Nick who was downing a beer.

Nick choked, “Wh-what’s that supposed to mean?”

Laughter followed, then pizza, then the conversation finally drifted away from the topics of the day. They played some games and wound down as best they could until night finally took them. It was two in the morning when Sonya found herself looking out the window of the hotel room, staring at her reflection as her glowing eyes blazed. She reached up and touched the glass thoughtfully before noticing a shift in the air and Marta’s reflection.

“Voice of the Hero Movement and The World's First Supervillain,” Marta said quietly.

“Mhm…” Sonya nodded.

“Is this what you wanted?” She asked.

“This is just the start,” Sonya said and lowered her eyes, “I’ll manufacture heroes and villains and pit them against each other and the monsters.”

“Why? I know there’s a lot you can’t tell me, but at least…” She trailed off as she came to a stop at Sonya’s side.

“I won’t let the heroes see each other and humanity as rivals and lesser beings…” Sonya said quietly, running her fingers down the glass, “The heroes need to be united with a common goal, the right goal, even if I have to force it on them.”

“Lesser… beings?” Marta murmured thoughtfully and looked up at Sonya, “You think… some heroes will start seeing themselves as gods?”

“Marta, I call myself Ishtar,” Sonya said incredulously, “You don’t think I’m the only one, do you?”

Marta blinked and then looked out the window again. She was silent for a while as she swallowed and mulled Sonya’s words over. She clenched her fists, “No one is going to thank you, for doing all this to keep humanity going. They’ll never know how far you went.”

Sonya smiled, “I’m fine with that.”