“The latest wave of supervillain-led attacks in Southeast Asia has left the region reeling. Efforts are already underway to repair the severe damage to the electrical infrastructure in Vietnam following Kerauna’s vicious attack on the Fanispan dungeon. Eight heroes remain critically injured following the response with three fatalities,” the reporter, a sculpted looking man with dark hair, said gravely. “The resource-rich dungeon was cleared, and its treasure was taken by the Supervillian.”

“Similar reports out of Singapore and the Philippines have arrived following attacks by Kingshark and another supervillain calling themselves Mephisto. The brutal attacks are the latest in a crime wave sweeping the planet in response to Ishtar’s very public involvement during the Liberty War. These attacks culminated with the Supervillain Blight’s appearance in Jakarta,” the reporter continued, turning to the severe woman next to him. “For more on the situation, we are joined by Pandora Committee legal expert and analyst Leiandra Firth. Miss Firth, what are your thoughts on what’s happening?”

The dark-haired woman nodded solemnly. “There has never been an international criminal this brazen. While we are still in the speculation phase, we do know that Ishtar is not the kind of individual to act without a reason. Despite her irreverent personality, she has made it clear on several occasions that she favors order over chaos. Even going as far as to set her enmity for Heroes aside to attempt to assist the peace talks ahead of the Liberty War.”

“So you’re saying that she has a larger goal,” the reporter pressed.

“That is the expectation, yes, though again, we are still in the speculation phase,” Leiandra confirmed with a nod. “This could be a resource grab or some manner of demonstration to the other villains of the world. She does refer to herself as the Queen of Villains, after all.”

“There has been some talk that the masked man assisting Blight in Jakarta was the Supervillain Blackrazor,” the reporter said. “That attack was different from the others with one of her people taking a supporting role. What are your thoughts on that?”

“Hero First Wind is one of the most powerful International-Class Heroes on the planet and has had several run-ins with Blight already,” Leiandra said. “Discrediting him in the public eye would certainly be advantageous for her. I think that she is underestimating the general population’s ability to discern an obvious smear campaign, though.”

“There was some word that he was actually in the area during Blight’s appearance,” the reporter added. “Why didn’t he respond?”

Leiandra’s smile didn’t fully reach her eyes. “Hero First Wind is currently on a separate assignment and not active in the area in his usual International role. According to the treaty between member nations of the Pandora Committee, a visiting hero can only get involved when called upon. The Indonesian government chose to send its own heroes, as is its right.”

“One more question,” the reporter said. “Shifting topics a little. Do you have a favorite up-and-coming hero for the ASTA Competition Preliminaries in Dharan?”

Leiandra’s lip twitched. “I’m still keeping an eye on things, personally. I can only hope that this activity helps improve things for heroes overall.”

The image flickered and faded, Sonya smirking to herself as the car wound its way back towards the private helipad on the northern side of Jakarta. Quite the neutral response there, Leiandra. Still not a fan of my little competition? That’s okay. You just keep wondering about what’s going on in my head, and I’ll keep leading you around by your nose.

She pretended to check her phone, flipping through it casually as the rest of those in the vehicle sat in an uncomfortable silence, her humming drawing more than a few looks. “You got some good news, Luca,” she said and glanced up to catch First Wind’s furious eyes. “Seems like some people are dismissing what Blight had to say. Not a surprise.”

He crossed his arms and scowled at the window. “I could have ended him yesterday.”

“Could have, probably,” she agreed. “But the last thing you want to do is go around breaking treaties.”

The Herald grumbled but didn’t argue the point, slumping further into his seat and mumbling something about getting a drink. She dismissed his presence and focused on her phone again, pulling up a game app and playing on it a little. No point in bogging herself down while things were already in motion. Hm… thoughts on which upgrade to pick?

Sonya, I’m not helping you play that silly waifu game of yours.

Heh, you said waifu again.

“Um, Sonya?” Nietz’s voice cut into her thoughts.

“Mm?” she hummed, not looking up. Their shared love of junk food had mollified her a little towards his pushy behavior, but her annoyance was not easily overcome. Ooh, I can fuse these two and-

“You’re really calm,” Nietz said. “Blackrazor was barely a hundred miles away during Blight’s attack. Shouldn’t you be more concerned?”

Sonya glanced up at him, meeting his worried eyes and then shooting First Wind a look. Qilin was in the other car. She turned to Marta, who was sitting next to her and shrugged. “I don’t think I should be worried, do you?”

Marta smirked. “You are quite safe in the present company, ma’am.”

Sonya looked back to Nietz and gestured to Marta. “See? We’re fine.”

He stared at her for several more seconds before blowing out what sounded like a breath he’d been holding for a long time and chuckled. “Alright, can’t argue with that.” He hesitated, and Sonya’s phone let out a melodic chime, he raised an eyebrow. “You play Battlefront Ladies?” he asked incredulously.

Oh lord, Ishtar groaned.

–

“I didn’t even think of that combo,” Sonya said, putting her phone away while she got out of the car.

Nietz stepped out with her with First Wind and Marta coming up behind. “It’s all about Beretta’s special ability. It gives a bonus to Langley’s boost skill.”

“Oh…” she said thoughtfully. “I get it.”

“I hate to interrupt your riveting conversation, ma’am,” Marta chimed in. “I think the General wants to give you his regards before you leave.”

Sonya grinned at her friend. “Don’t be like that. You play too.”

Nietz whipped his head towards the battle maid. “You do? Who’s your frontliner?”

Sonya chuckled and walked away from the pair, savoring the bored-to-tears expression on First Wind’s face as she approached the General, who was standing next to his own vehicle with his bodyguard. Qilin was just getting out of the same car with a frown on her face. She immediately brightened when she saw Sonya and hurried over to stand with her. Sonya resisted the urge to roll her eyes and focused on her very hospitable host.

“I’m glad we got to do business, General,” she said, extending a hand. “It’s too bad the circumstances put a damper on things. You are a wonderful host, and I enjoyed the tour of the capital.”

The General took her hand and shook it. “Despite everything, I take your visit as a net positive, all things considered. We may have lost that dungeon, but there are others. Our deal will serve my country far more in the long term, I think,” he said.

She grinned. “A man of foresight.”

“I didn’t get where I am by not looking at the big picture,” he said.

Sonya turned to his bodyguard. “I was hoping to share a few more words, Miss Wati.” The sharp woman turned her visor-covered eyes to Sonya with a momentary look of surprise that was quickly covered. Sonya chuckled and held out a hand. “I didn’t actually get your rank or codename. You’ll have to forgive me for peeking; these eyes don’t exactly turn off.” She winked. “Not that I didn’t mind looking.”

“Captain. My codename is Captain Batu,” Wati said stiffly and took Sonya’s hand in a brief handshake.

Analyze

You have acquired the product: Visage of Medusa

Oho, no wonder she has a visor on all the time.

Sonya released her grip. “It was a pleasure.”

–

The Idol of Venus was already on its way a mere hour after Sonya and the others returned. She spent most of the day having fun as she waited for the sun to set. Carla really wanted to spend some time with her at the wave pool, and she was happy to oblige. The anticipation of what came next was even enough to push aside the mild discomfort that came from Qilin's constant jealous gaze. She couldn’t wait to see the reaction.

After all, there was one more thing she needed to do before she could put her full focus on Dharan. One last act of mischief and chaos to really kick the heroes while they were down. The world already hated Ishtar, but if she was going to get the heroes to properly unite, she needed to pressure them into a corner.

When night fell, she was standing in her office with her sister at her side. Marta had gone off to stay with Carla. Sonya didn’t think Qilin would do something stupid, but she also didn’t trust her one iota. Besides, this was a show for Ishtar and Ishtar alone.

“Pick a name yet?” Sonya asked absently, opening her digital storage space and selecting one of the files inside. It was one of the spare lurker hide jumpsuits that Amos had made for her back in New York. She’d decided to try wearing it underneath her regalia for a little bit more shock absorption. 

“I have a few ideas,” her sister said quietly. “Not satisfied, though.”

“We’re having a party when you pick,” Sonya said and glanced her way, looking over the scars that the slightly taller woman had over her body. She still wasn’t sure why Ishtar’s self image included them, but she’d decided not to confront her on it. She was happy about being an individual now, and that’s all that mattered. No need to rock the boat just yet.

Her sister sighed. “Fine, but we’re having a dark chocolate cake.”

“Ew,” Sonya grunted. “Bitter much?”

“I like bitter food.”

Sonya squinted at her and zipped up the jumpsuit. “Alright, fine. Dark chocolate it is.”

Her sister grinned and stepped forward. First, the augmented reality around her body faded, and she took on the appearance of one of the Legionnaires. Then, the marble body crumbled into dust, fading away like so many motes of light. The next moment, she felt Ishtar’s presence rise up in the back of her mind. She closed her eyes and savored the feeling of completeness it gave her. She didn’t feel ‘hollow’ or anything without her, but there was an extra strength she got from that presence that made everything feel right.

She reached up and ran her fingers through her hair, running her illusory augmented reality through it. Her hair lit up from within, glowing eerily in the dark room. Not that she could see it without concentrating; near-permanent night vision had all sorts of drawbacks.

Including once again forgetting to turn the lights on. You know I can’t see in the dark when I’m separate from you, right?

Ishtar said.

Sorry…

Sonya raised a hand and pointed it towards the wall, her eyes brightening a little. She reached out to the ship’s computer and felt the mirrored presence of the entity within. The sliver of Amos’ soul was like a shadow compared to the real thing, but it was more than capable of controlling what it needed to. A brief exchange with the silent existence was all it took for the drones surrounding the ship to turn their signal blocking all the way to maximum. Besides her own connection to the ship, the Idol of Venus was cut off from the outside world. No news would be getting in for a while.

She turned her hand over, and petals spread from her palm, covering the walls of her office, blocking any sensory abilities that might pick up what came next.

She clenched her fist.

“It’s time to put my mask on…”

Regalia of Sonya Chernovna fully activated.

The fantastical armor began to form plate-by-plate, sparks of pale white light glimmering around her body. Her head was framed, and the visor slid down; her clawed gauntlets clicked as she opened her hand and felt power wash through her. Donning the armor for Nietz and putting on a good show was one thing. Fully activating it was another matter entirely. She felt something inside of her step past an invisible boundary, and all of the functions within the ability came into alignment. 

Being a Claimant felt like being someone who had been working with a dozen pieces of software to accomplish a goal, only to find a single program that handled the entire workload at once seamlessly. I flew to the fight last time. Let's try a different feature.

Will of the Architect was Regalia and Deus ex Machina’s merged and refined version of Hard Light, Non-Euclidian, Augment Reality, and her storage power. She could feel it synchronize with Regalia through Deus ex Machina as a fulcrum point. I’ll try Word of Power too.

Information ticked over in her brain, coordinates calculating faster than thought, and a word spilled from her lips that echoed with her sister’s voice. “Open.”

Instead of the usual steady widening and expansion of one of her hard-light portals, a pair of off-white hard light columns materialized before her. The next moment, a portal formed with a familiar view. A few passers-by stopped to stare on the other side, one even pulling out their phone to record. She grinned. I can finally make portals as stable as Euclidia, she thought and walked through. 

Most of the gawkers immediately changed their minds about sticking around. They turned and ran, shouting on their phones and calling the police. One or two stayed to record, moving back as far as they could while still getting a good view. 

Let them watch.

Sonya spread her wings and rose into the sky, letting out a peal of laughter that spread across the city. She activated her Astral Eye and opened it as well, but didn’t look through it. The visual effect was enough. The brilliant, spinning, glowing eye hung above Jakarta as her glowing wings cast illumination down on an obelisk standing in the middle of a park. She alighted atop the Jakarta National Monument as sirens went off around her.

Next came her presence.

She released her bloodlust like a billowing wind, bystanders doubling over as they tried to dart away. More sirens, screams. She broadcast her voice for all to hear, Technopathy carrying it through the city on any speaker she could connect to. Her laughter continued, and spears of hard light appeared in the air around her, dozens of readied blades aimed at anyone who dared approach. The heroes would arrive soon.

“People of Jakarta! Ishtar is here!”