Chapter 207

“YOU WANT TO DO WHAT?!”

Ishtar leaned back with the sudden rush of wind that blew over her in the wake of Marta’s outburst. Ishtar made a face, reaching up to scratch at her nose. Hm. Perhaps I should have brought that up more tactfully. She thought as Amos burst into laughter on the couch to her right. She turned towards him and felt the thud of his body as he fell onto his side, howling with mirth. He rolled off the cushions and landed on the ground. Is he kicking his feet?

“Marta,” Carla insisted from Ishtar’s left, “Even just agreeing to it could snatch just a small amount of peace back, the world needs this.”

Marta let out a groan, “Look at her!” she barked, “She is in no condition to be doing anything! Let alone having a meet and greet with Liberty!”

Ishtar flexed her fingers, galled, her muscles were still atrophied. That was why she felt so weak. The consequences of invoking Visage were more dire than she could have imagined. It had quite literally sucked the strength right out of her. Even so, she was feeling well enough to move her torso. She took a breath and sought patience while Amos pulled himself back onto the couch. Marta is just doing her job as caretaker and guardian. She turned her head towards Carla and considered her. If the war breaks out too soon, though, I won’t be able to play a role either way. All that preparation Sonya had put into place, wasted. There are still some final details to settle as well.

“Marta,” Ishtar said patiently, “We need time.”

Marta’s rant trailed off and she let out a sharp sigh, “You’re committed to this?”

“She wants Ishtar at the meeting and she wants the Pandora Committee to facilitate it,” Ishtar said, “I will concede, I am not good at people without Sonya’s assistance, but I understand her mind, I know what she wants. She wants to make a point of the Pandora Committee begging Ishtar to come. It will raise questions and undermine the Committee’s standing. With what she’s done, the Pandora Committee is desperate to avoid a war even with the international committee’s blood boiling. Though I believe war is inevitable.”

Carla let out a sigh, “I hadn’t considered her using it as a public relations assassination.”

Ishtar chuckled, “You don’t think like a villain, I do,” she said and held out her hand, palm to the ceiling, “The trick is controlling the narrative. I imagine she sent the conditions very securely?”

“Yes, just as we sent a specialist to keep things quiet, so did she,” Carla said.

“I thought so,” Ishtar said with a grin, “Because she wants my appearance at the event to be squarely on the Pandora Committee’s shoulders. Sonya’s appearance will be the concession she emphasizes,” Ishtar clenched her fist, she imagined that irritating woman’s head popping like a ripe tomato in her palm. Her lips curled, “So we take the initiative and use those so-called demands for our own benefit.”

Marta grunted, “That is all depending on whether or not you go. I’m putting my foot down here, you’re in no condition to go. She will take one look at you and kill you. She wants Sonya dead for her role in Cass’ life. If she found out how Cass sees her now she’d lose her mind.”

Ishtar opened her mouth but Marta continued speaking.

“If I go as Sonya she won’t see an injury on me, I can’t fake it and that’s why she wants Sonya there, I’m guessing. I can put her face on but that’s it. If I go as Ishtar...” Marta said, “You’ll be sitting in Sonya’s seat, in this state and, I’ll repeat myself, she will kill you. I’ve fought her before. She is a monster.”

Ishtar raised her hand to her chin and considered it, “You’ve been learning.”

“I spend a lot of time around you, ma’am,” Marta said.

Ishtar leaned back on the couch, I wish I could cross my legs, she thought with a sigh before turning to Amos, “How long do you think it will take to finish your project?”

He whistled, “That’s not an easy number to come up with,” he said, “I’m reverse engineering an ability and basically building a replacement. Those implants were just simulations of technopathy, they used a lot of pre-pandora tech and post-pandora materials to achieve the desired effect. This is the real thing,” he said, “It’s like... working with magic. Some of the things in those eyes of yours were just impossible by pre-pandora standards of tech.”

“You took a full scan of them, every detail,” Ishtar said, “Can you not just make copies?”

He chuckled, “It’s a little more complicated than that, boss.”

She sighed, “Timeframe?”

“A month?” he said, “If I can pull a few more people off some other projects. That’s a big maybe, by the way.”

“She won’t wait that long,” Carla said, “Based on what we’ve managed to get out of her, she’s willing to wait at most half that before the promised day.”

“So your eyes won’t be ready,” Marta said, “Then-”

“Then I will focus on other things,” Ishtar said firmly, “Fifteen days, can you get Liberty to allow for that long, Carla?”

Ishtar’s world was pain.

Every cell in her body screamed as the strange energy from Black Lotus’ palm worked its way through her body. She felt it move, pushing against the numerous roadblocks in the form of Visage’s seeds. The stream that they ran down bucked and shifted with each change of the flow, gentle ebbs that turned into mind-numbing agony when the seeds shifted. She gripped the sheets on the bed and gasped before snapping her teeth back together. She could feel one of the seeds starting to loosen. Almost there.

“Should I let up?” Black Lotus asked.

“Don’t,” Ishtar grunted, “You dare.”

“Fine, have it your way,” Black Lotus growled and Ishtar felt her redouble her focus. It was like she could perceive the woman’s state of mind through the connection that had formed. Another rush of power crashed through her body and she doubled over, several seeds shuddering under the onslaught. One in particular put stars into her eyes, a seed lodged in her spine. She clenched her fists, her nails digging into flesh. The seed wriggled again, whatever was anchoring it in her body giving way a little more.

“Keep going!” Ishtar croaked and her head spun. She forced herself back to her senses with a growl and felt four seeds come loose. Her lower spine, her right shoulder, just beneath her left breast, and a last one in what she assumed was her kidney. She grabbed hold of them and tried to relax her mind as best as she could. She pulled and felt Black Lotus’ fingers twitch on her back.

“Da-Som, be ready!” Black Lotus called.

Ishtar heard the man race over as she pulled the seeds through her flesh, she felt her body tearing beneath her skin, her muscles and sinew giving way as she yanked the offending objects out. The first one surfaced and punched through her skin. She let out a gasp of pain and a hand touched her arm, “Not yet! A few more!” she wheezed. She pushed, and pushed, and pushed, until four blood soaked seeds fell onto the bed around her. When she slumped, Da-Som quickly put his hand on her shoulder, a prick of pain signalling the use of his ability.

Ishtar shuddered as her body began to heal, the wounds closing where the seeds had vacated. Muscle reached out to attempt to reattach to bone, something hard inside her muscles budged and shifted here and there. She endured the agony until it faded and Black Lotus pulled her hand away. Ishtar panted with the exertion, sweat pouring off her face.

“Are you alright?” Black Lotus asked.

“I’m fine,” Ishar said as Da-Som pulled away. She tested her right arm and tried to roll her shoulder. The movement was difficult and a little painful from the soreness, but she finally enjoyed a full range of motion. Her muscles still felt thin, though. Not enough to restore heroic strength, Ishtar thought and moved on to experiment with her legs. With the seed lodged in her spine gone, perhaps she could move them a little.

She shifted her right leg, then her left, then she kicked her feet. The effort it took to do so was monumental though, and she could feel the seeds in her knees and hips. At least I can feel them again, she grumbled before slouching where she sat. She was exhausted.

“You did well today,” Chunhua said, “Your meridians are getting stronger too. They weren''t as shaky this time on my end.

“You’re... taking this seriously,” Ishtar panted.

“Chairwoman Mint told me about what you are going to do, now that she apparently knows everything,” she commented, “This is the right thing to do, even if I’m loath to see you back on your feet. I’d feel better if I was doing this for Sonya.”

“Keep your kinks out of this,” Ishtar rumbled, “I would prefer it if Sonya did not have to experience this kind of pain.”

“My- what?” Black Lotus barked before letting out a calming breath, “You’re messing with me.”

“I consider it practice,” Ishtar said.

“How is coming up with inventive ways to annoy me while I’m doing you a favor, ‘practice’?” Black Lotus demanded. Her tone was as hostile as ever but she sat down next to Ishtar anyway. Ishar smirked at her but said nothing, shaking her head. She fell back onto the bed and felt the plush fabric and mattress support her. She didn’t care that she was getting blood on the sheets. Though she knew Marta would give her a hard time about it later.

“Just... getting used to it,” she finally said.

“Pretending to be like Sonya?” Black Lotus asked after a pause.

Ishtar nodded, “Doctor Da-Som?” she called out and the man walked over from where he had retreated. “Thank you for your effort today, that will be all for now I think.”

“Of course, ma’am, always happy to be of service. I’ll collect the seeds and deliver them to Doctor Carter,” he said before gathering what he needed and departing.

When the door shut, Black Lotus turned towards her, “Are you alright?”

“I’m improving,” Ishtar admitted before feeling something twist in her gut, her lips thinned as she realized what it was. She let out a heavy sigh and turned her head away from the hero sitting next to her. “Black Lotus, I know this is not for me. It is for her. It’s why I’m enduring it as well,” she said in a low voice before turning her head towards the ceiling again, “Regardless, I will say this only once...” she trailed off and frowned, struggling with the words. They felt wrong and right at the same time and it irked her that emotions could be so complicated.

“Thank you.”