Chapter 39: Chapter 39

The entire street in front of the old High School had been closed off for the event. Stalls had been allowed to be put up to serve those who had come to see what amounted to the dawn of a new era. Security was tight, and police armed with anti-monster munitions were posted in numerous spots around the area. The entire open-air park across the street from the school had also been cordoned off for the event to allow for the sheer number of people. The turnout was outrageous, thousands had come and many were forced to wait outside because of concerns about the crowds.

Sonya looked out the window of the helicopter, her legs crossed. She wore a pantsuit, white of course, with a pink tie. Her glittering skin shone a little but it was easy enough to excuse as a fashion choice. A pair of oversized fashion sunglasses covered her mechanical eyes as they scanned the crowd. “I could get used to this,” Sonya said quietly, smiling to herself. She glanced up at Marta who sat across from her, fidgeting. Marta’s brown hair was down her shoulders and she wore her usual maid outfit though it had been customized a bit. Most of the garment was made of monster materials. Her hands were gloved with metal plates over the knuckles. “You’ve fought monsters before, why so nervous?” Sonya called out to her.

Marta flinched and looked up, “I’m… not so good with crowds like this,” She said hastily, looking down at her hands again.

“Just imagine them naked!” Sonya laughed.

Marta frowned at her, “Ma’am you know that never actually works, right?”

“I know, but your minds off it now,” Sonya teased her.

Marta scowled before sighing and cracking a smile, “Thank you.”

Sonya glanced at the two ASTA security guards with her. Both of them were wearing protective masks and had serious weaponry strapped all over them. They looked like mercenary operators than standard security, but that was the way of things these days. The helicopter came in for a landing on the street around the rear of the school. It too had been closed off to travel, but in this case for the arrival of VIPs. When it touched down the two guards hopped out along with Marta, all of them examining their surroundings while the party from the Pandora Committee approached.

Sonya took a deep breath and got into character, “Today’s the day,” She said merrily as she slipped out of her seat, “Let the games begin.”

She stepped out of the helicopter as the blades slowed, her hair whipping around her face. She reached up and pulled it back as Rupert Sohmer and, to her surprise, Carla Mint approached. She brandished her brightest smile and walked towards them, a hand outstretched, “Mister Sohmer! Miss Mint!” He chirped merrily, shaking their hands. She took a moment to fix Carla with a stare before turning back to Rupert, “Are we ready?”

“The speech is scheduled in a few minutes,” Rupert said, “We’re thrilled to have you ma’am.”

“Thrilled to be here, it’s going to be an exciting day!” Sonya laughed, walking past him. Marta fell into step at her side and her two guards moved into position ahead of her. They made their way through the rear gate of the school and into the halls, staff were running this way and that, making sure the final preparations were in place. She walked past them, her head held high as they made their way to the front doors and the outer steps of the school turned testing center.

“The press is present and already situated, they’ll want a word after your speech, ma’am,” Rupert said.

“I figured as much,” Sonya said with a shrug and glanced at Carla, “Has the committee finished with my paperwork?”

“You-Your license has already been made, ma’am,” Carla said hastily, “We’ll present it to you as part of the ceremony.”

Sonya snorted, “A hero license,” She shook her head, “It’s not like I’m going to be running around staring at monsters all day.”

Rupert laughed, “It’s an honorary thing, for your contribution to this effort.”

Sonya raised her eyebrows at him and smiled, “Fair enough,” She said and turned to the doors, taking a deep breath of her own and pushing through them. Immediately she was hit by a wall of noise as the crowd roared up at her, her eyes took in everything, every face, every camera, every detail. The lenses in her eyes shifted quickly, reacting to the stimulus. A few faces in the crowd stood out to her more than others, in particular. Shark was there along with several of his lieutenants scattered out in the crowd. She didn’t see Razor but he was probably covering his face.

She stepped up to the podium. An ability detector had been set up on it and was waiting for her. A rigged detector, it’ll be disposed of after ‘detecting’ my ability. She thought as she stepped up next to it. Rupert fell into a spot a few paces behind her alongside her security, Carla, and Marta who was watching the crowd like a hawk. The cheering continued until Sonya held up her hands and silence quickly followed. She gripped the Podium and leaned forward, Alright, it’s time, the hero era begins now.

“When the flash happened, and the first monsters appeared, there were those out there who stepped up, despite the danger, and discovered something remarkable about themselves. The Light-Touched were born on a day of fear and death,” Sonya began, “We survived, thrived, and many of those light-touched continued to fight against the horrors that are scrambling to see humanity’s light extinguished. You, heroes,” She said and pointed out at the crowd.

“Today, we are here for the inauguration of a new era. Heroes will be born today, you’ll get your licenses and you’ll join a guild, whether it be the official state guild or one of the independent guilds that have taken shape,” Sonya continued, gesturing to everyone, “Many of you already know where you’re going, many of you will go it solo for a while. But there is one thing you need to remember, you are heroes. In this age where monsters and villains hide in the shadows, it is your responsibility to stand together as one host, one unified force against the darkness that threatens our tiny blue ball,” Sonya grew more impassioned, her chest heaving a little bit, her fists clenching.

“You cannot let another Dharan happen! As a hero you take an oath to the people of this world and not yourselves! Yes, you will be paid for what you do, but you are a servant of the people. That is what sets you aside from those who would style themselves like gods, kill people, and lord over others!” She shouted, raising her fist in the air, “Never forget that, oh heroes! Today you begin your legend!”

The shouts were deafening, the cheers, Sonya felt it all wash over her in a wave. She closed her eyes and felt it sink into her skin. She basked in it for a moment before holding her hands up again, “Mister Rupert Sohmer of the Pandora Committee would like to say a few words.”

Rupert cleared his throat and gave Sonya an assessing look, like he was reevaluating his opinion of her. She smiled brightly at him and stepped aside. “Today you will be first tested for the rank of your gift, whether it be of the common rank or something greater. You will provide an explanation of the function of your gift and be given a general category for your licensing test.” He rambled before taking a breath.

“Afterward you will take undergo a physical trial to test your readiness for what’s to come. Those of you who applied have already read the small handbook that was distributed. You will be tested on this as well to assure compliance,” He continued, “Now I’m sure you’re tired of listening to me explain things, so we will begin with Miss Chernovna. After that you will go inside to the testing room,” He turned and activated the ability detector. “Miss Chernovna?”

Sonya turned to it, she knew what her actual rating was, Mythic, she and Amos had tested it immediately after completing the prototype. It would be a catastrophe if she was outed like this and she hadn’t been able to refuse the honor of being the first tested without raising suspicion. The solution had been simple and she trusted Amos’ work.

She put her hand on the sphere.

It began to glow before brightening into a bright white color. She felt a tension she hadn’t known she was feeling wash away. Rupert nodded at it, “Sonya Chernovna, Codename: Farsight, Uncommon-tier,” He reached for a small envelope in his pocket and handed it to her. “Your license, Miss Chernovna.”

She opened the envelope and a card fell out with her photo, tier, name, age, everything that was necessary to identify an active hero. She turned to the crowd and held it up over her head to another rousing cheer. “Let’s get started!” Sonya shouted before turning away to head inside, a small smile playing on her face, Smoke and Mirrors.

As Sonya walked inside, escorted by her security, they stopped in the testing room for another licensing. While Sonya’s test had been waived by the committee, Marta would have to undergo the same process as everyone else. People would be pouring in soon and she wanted to get somewhere comfortable and out of the crowds quickly. She sat down in one of the chairs outside what used to be the main office of the school and waved Marta away as she went inside. Her two guards sat next to her on either side while Rupert and Carla sat nearby.

“Have you already checked Marta?” Carla asked hesitantly.

Sonya gave her a look, she was still annoyed with the woman but decided to give her a break, “Yes, actually.”

“What were the results?” She asked curiously.

“You’re about to find out,” Sonya said with a smug smile as heavy footsteps came to the door of the office and one of the aides, a rotund man in a labcoat, poked his head outside. “Overseer!”

Rupert sat up, surprised, “What is it?”

“She- Miss Daphne, is Mythic-tier!” He shouted.

Rupert looked more confused than shocked, Sonya could only chuckle a little. They still don’t understand the ramifications, not fully, of what kind of existence a Mythic-tier is. City destroyers, or in Marta’s case, unkillable warriors. There’s a reason why so many revered them as nearly god-like. She thought, even though it put a sour taste in her mouth.

Carla looked at Sonya and the two exchanged looks, “That’s the highest rating the machines can detect, right?” Carla asked.

“That’s right,” Sonya said, “I’m excited to see what she’s fully capable of, now we should probably move somewhere else, it’s about to get very crowded.”

–

As Marta waited for the first group of aspirant heroes to be ready to take the tests, Sonya made her way to the gymnasium and found her way to the viewing box. She wasn’t sure why a high-school gym had one of these but it probably had something to do with a very wealthy and narcissistic donor. Either way, it had been remodeled as a place for the testers to observe the proceedings without putting themselves directly in harms way. She spotted over a dozen members of the committee in the room, many of them wearing an unusual pin on their lapel.

Is that a torch? Ah, they’re light-touched. Probably the testers.

She opened the door to the box and paused, there was someone else inside. A man in a suit with the mark of the committee on his lapel. He was a normal, then, and a very familiar face. Though they’ve never spoken, she’d kept a close eye on the career of one-time Detective Martin Fuller. She cracked a wide smile at him, “Detective! Or should I say, Agent now?” She said merrily, drawing his attention.

He sat up and blinked, wide eyed for a moment before clearing his throat. “Miss Chernovna,” He said craggily, tension obvious in his throat to her eyes.

Nervous? No, he’s restraining himself. He’s suspicious of me, has been for a while. You poor man if only you knew…

She stepped towards him, “We saw eachother at the hearing, if I recall, a friend told me you’ve been following my career closely,” She said and extended a hand, “Finally we meet face to face.”

He flushed a little, “Just a standard investigation,” He said cautiously, eyeing her hand for a moment. “I don’t shake hands, ma’am.”

Tsk, “That’s a shame,” Sonya said and settled into the seat next to him. “Are you excited for the tests?”

“I’m just here to observe and keep an eye out for dangerous elements,” He muttered, looking back out. His expression was hard.

“You can speak your mind, you’re going to give yourself an aneurism if you keep holding back,” Sonya said as she turned to look out over the gymnasium with him.

He gave her a sidelong glance, “I… think this is wrong. Heroes?” He shook his head, “It’s going to put people on a power trip.”

“It will,” Sonya said flatly, “But that’s what the committee is for.”

He turned to her, “So you expect it to happen too.”

“Of course I do, there are people out there calling themselves villains after all, their powers have clearly gone to their heads,” Sonya said with a shrug.

He tilted his head down, “Like Ishtar,” he said in a low voice.

Sonya had to use every ounce of self control not to tense up, This bastard, bringing up Ishtar in front of me. It’s not like Ishtar’s existence is a secret, the word has spread through the underworld, but…

“Have you heard of her?” Martin asked, fixing her with a stare.

Shit! Of all the damned questions to ask! Sonya felt her throat tighten as she tried to lie on instinct, she glanced his way and fixed him with a stare of her own, he didn’t even blink when he looked into her eyes hidden behind her sunglasses. There was certainty in his stare.

The hell do I do now?