The portal archway rose out of the helipad and opened with a rushing of air. Sonya stood off to the side, watching as a powerfully built young man at least a head taller than Nietz stepped out. He had a shaved head and a bit of a baby face. What was most interesting about him, though, was the distinct way mana seemed to move around his body. It was constantly drawing inwards towards him at a very steady pace. It was small enough to not be problematic, but it did read on the ship’s Carter Radar fairly similar to a monster formation.

The boy himself doesn’t seem all that threatening, Ishtar commented as the big man reached out to clasp Nietz in a bone-crushing hug. He picked him up off the ground for a heartbeat before setting him down, the two of them laughing. It doesn’t help that he’s dressed for a vacation.

Hero Hammond was in a t-shirt, cargo shorts, and sandals. He only had a small duffle bag in his hand and nothing more. She listened to the two of them exchange a few pleasantries before turning to her as the portal shrank back into the deck and disappeared.

It’s a little galling that as soon as I create portals stable enough to see the other side through them, Euclidia masters non-stationary portals. I can make them while moving, but the portals themselves are still stationary, she huffed. That’s natural talent for you.

Sonya, are you distracting yourself? Ishtar asked as Nietz and Hammond walked over. Your Declaration - the sooner you figure it out, the better.

She smiled at the two of them and reached out to take the young man’s hand. I’m fine, no worries. I’ve got that covered. Hammond, despite his earlier enthusiasm at seeing Nietz, clammed up so hard she could have sworn she heard a snapping sound. His face turned beet red as her hand wrapped around his many calluses. “Uh- I- Um… Nice to- uh…” he babbled before drooping his head and mumbling out a barely audible greeting.

Poor thing, stage fright, she chuckled. Analyze.

You have acquired the product: Caught in Amber

Interesting.

She broke into one of her easy smiles. “Welcome, Hero Hammond. Nietz here told me that you were the perfect person to help him move to the next level. I admit, I’m very curious about how you intend to do that.”

He pulled his hand away and shifted awkwardly where he stood, turning a wary look towards his friend, who shrugged and gave him an urging gesture. Hammond nodded and squared his shoulders, taking a step back and looking down at the deck of the ship with a frown. He looked back up at her. “Might want to step back, m-ma’am.”

Huh, okay. She took a half step back, and Hammond knelt down to place his duffle bag down with a heavy thud. What the hell?

He unzipped it, and the glitter of dozens of spheres of amber shone in the bright sunlight. She narrowed her eyes, focusing on the little objects, and felt an odd uneasiness overtake her. She took another step back as he plucked one out and turned back to Nietz one more time, who nodded at him eagerly. Hammond shrugged, and he tossed the sphere into the air.

“Porter!”

The sphere flashed and vanished. In its place a creature only two and a half feet tall landed on the deck with a cackle and a snarl. It looked a bit like a goblin - long nose and floppy ears. Instead of the usual green complexion, it had ruddy, red skin that seemed to be lightly coated in gold dust. It wore gold jewelry all over its body and not an ounce of clothing otherwise. Even its teeth were gold. What interested her more was the leather sack slung over its shoulder. She’d only ever seen one of these things before in her past life and only in a sketch drawn by another scout.

Loot goblins are real?!

‘Porter’ snickered and turned to Hammond, snapping its teeth once before setting the bag down and opening it. Hammond walked over and reached inside, pulling out a pair of sunglasses. “I c-catch monsters,” he said hesitantly. “P-porter is m-m-my storage. He c-can carry anything b-but the others.”

She looked down at the bag. There had to be at least a hundred of them in there. She looked at Nietz. Evolutionary builds resistances, it's the base instinct of the ability. With all those monsters and his regeneration…

He’s planning to speedrun, Ishtar chuckled. Smart.

She put her hands on her hips. “As long as the two of you don’t damage my ship,” she said with a tilt of her head. “Go have fun.”

Nietz cringed a little and scratched his head. “I don’t think I’m going to be enjoying any of it, honestly.”

She laughed. “No pain, no gain, hero.”

–

First Wind was back by the time they passed Singapore and quickly returned to his room before moving over to Nietz’s training room. Sonya watched him only briefly before focusing on more important things. Her Inner Circle was finally gathered and ready for pickup. She created the portal inside of their lounge, and they stepped through. Mephisto, Kerauna, Blackrazor, Kingshark, and Blight were talking merrily with one another as the portal closed behind them. With a thought, she sent the Legionnaires that had accompanied them back to the Alps Base, leaving only one left.

She grinned at them. “How’d it go?”

“Nice haul. Rare dungeons are pretty good for loot, but not really a challenge after fighting in an Epic,” Mephisto said with a flip of his hair. He walked over and held up a familiar brown suitcase - the same item she had Handmaiden use back in Japan and usually lent to him. “Everything’s in here.”

“One hell of a storage space,” Sonya said thoughtfully, patting the suitcase. “I really need to thank Erebus for sending it to me.”

“Meh, the guy’s running a little too wild, even for my taste,” Kingshark grumbled. “At least we aren’t nation building.”

She snorted and looked him in the eyes. “Are you sure about that, Mister King of the Sea and Father of the Fishmen?”

He scoffed. “That’s different,” he grunted and nodded to the case. “Found some Mithril in my dungeon; good vein of it.”

She brightened. “Good to hear. It’ll come in handy.”

He crossed his powerful arms with a frown. “Not that it compares to what Kera found.”

Sonya tilted her head. “Oh?” 

Mithril should be incredibly rare in that level of dungeon; I can’t imagine much that would be better than that, she thought.

On cue, Kera skipped over to the suitcase with a wild grin on her face and popped it open, reaching into the black void within. It took her a moment, her arm jerking back and forth in her search, before she plucked out a small black book. Sonya sensed no energy in it, nothing. It was a mundane object. She was about to make a remark about getting teased when Kera opened it, and there were words on the pages along with diagrams. It was a language she’d never seen before.

She walked over and took the book, flipping through it quickly. What… is this?

It looks like some kind of manual; there are meditation postures in it, Ishtar said. Martial arts, perhaps? I’m not sure either.

“Fought a whole bunch of skeletons in robes for it,” Kera said with a laugh. “It was wild. There were puzzles and traps, and this one guy kept tryin’a talk to me, but I didn’t understand a word of it,” she shrugged. “Boss was fun. He actually managed to land a hit before I fried him like a chicken.”

“Fascinating,” Sonya said. “Excellent find, Kera, and magnificent work, all of you.” She turned to the others. “We’re getting just the reactions we want and…” She patted the suitcase. “...Plenty of resources to work with. Once Amos gets back, we’ll look at upgrading all your gear to meet the next level of challenges.”

Mephisto adjusted his tie with a smirk and plucked the hat off of his head, setting it down on the table. “He’ll be back before we know it, I’m sure. The guy’s a wizard.”

“Hopefully after Dharan,” she said. “For now, take the spoils to the dolls and have them get sorted. We’ll go over the magic items you acquired later during a little watch party I have planned. Speaking of which, I need to call Charon about the expansion of the Styx into that area east of Perth.” She turned to Blight. “Walk with me?”

The villain nodded, and she turned to her friends. “Get some rest, guys. We’ve got another Epic dungeon on the horizon.”

The four of them nodded, and Kera snatched up the suitcase, bringing it over to the couch while the others crowded her, chatting and already breaking into small arguments while Blight moved to join Sonya. She turned and walked out the door in silence, her arms crossed behind her back. “Your plan is playing out nicely,” she said. “You really know him quite well. I’m almost beginning to suspect you two have a bit more history than you initially divulged.”

She turned her head slowly and looked him in the eyes. “Just your name is enough to get him riled. What aren’t you telling me?”

Blight had visibly aged a little from using his ability to restore the land that had been upturned by the base created around the Jakarta dungeon. His complexion was a bit paler, and there were hints of wrinkles around his eyes. The reversal element of his ability was attractive, and it was certainly something she could counteract with Nectar and Ambrosia, but her gut told her that taking it and merging it in would do far more harm than good. Deus ex Machina told her even more in that moment that it would basically cancel out her favorite snacky trick.

Some abilities have some serious drawbacks, she thought as he returned her stare with a frown as a bit of sweat beaded on his temple.

“We were friends, once,” Blight said finally. “Back in Australia. I left New Zealand to study in the country for a while before starting my group. I sold him on the movement. He even helped with a small attack before the flash.” He frowned. “Then one more after.”

“He was a believer?” she asked incredulously.

He shook his head. “A rich kid with a lot of talent, a violent predisposition, and a willingness to take up any excuse to do something crazy.”

She snorted. “That sounds more likely. So what happened?”

“I figured that part out a little too late; the first raid after the flash ended in him killing a lot of people. Destroying property to bring down the groups that poison our world is one thing,” Blight grumbled. “Murdering people for the fun of it is something completely different. I kicked him out, and that animal

has been ruining nature in my name ever since.” He clenched his fists. “For practice!”

She patted his shoulder. “Well, we’ve made good headway. The next phase of your scheme is after Dharan.”

“It’s hardly my scheme anymore,” he laughed. “You took it and ran with it.”

She laughed as well. “What can I say? I hate the guy too.”

—

“Sonya Chernovna stopped just south of the Bay of Bengal this morning to enjoy a little sunshine on one of the public beaches there,” the reporter said. “She was joined by the Chairwoman of the Pandora Committee, Carla Mint, during a brief mandatory respite amidst her responsibilities. According to reports, the Chairwoman is slated to return to The Hague this evening to resume her duties.”

“Miss Chernovna’s beach stay is happening amidst growing turmoil as villains and supervillains intensify their attacks on dungeons worldwide, and Ishtar herself has made numerous moves. Nations across the world are rapidly buying up post-Pandora munitions and gear in order to send as many heroes as possible to the event and increase their chances of victory. There are four slots on the line.” The reporter continued, “An interview managed to get a quote from the eccentric CEO.”

The screen changed to an image of Sonya standing on the beach in a bikini and sarong, her black and pink sunglasses shining a bit as she grinned at the camera. “Hide? Me?” she laughed. “Nah.” She waved a dismissive hand. “It’s business as usual. Dharan is very important to the Heroes, and I’m not about to let them down on it. Some real greats are going to be born during that competition, whether they win or not. That will be the counterattack.”

The reporter reappeared on the screen. “She’s quite confident,” he said and turned to a new person sitting next to him. A woman with black hair and red eyes, Leiandra Firth.

“Chernovna’s confidence will likely color the opening of the event, which is her aim,” the legal expert said. “She isn’t wrong that Dharan might see the birth of more than just a few powerful new heroes. We’ve seen multiple times that new ability features often awaken in moments of dire need.”

“Do you think the Villains will attempt to intervene?” the reporter asked.

Leiandra’s smile turned just a little dark. “Let them. We’ll be ready.”

Val closed his phone with a smirk and got to his feet, adjusting his gauntlet a little as he looked over the snowy city street. Little multicolored lights glittered on a few of the storefronts. The chill in the air was cut by a mixture of his armor and the lingering heat from his thrusters. He smiled to himself. He wasn’t some big important hero, but that didn’t matter to him. Pyrolysis was happy to serve New York with all of his strength. The kinds of action that his old friends from camp got into were way past what he wanted to get involved in. He was more interested in helping the little guy.

I need to buy John a present today. I’m running out of time, he thought and shifted his jaw in his helmet to turn on the microphone. And do a little content creating while I’m at it. The sponsor loves my clips. Maybe I should do a bit more flying on the next one? Really give the viewers a roller coaster.

A chime rang on his phone, and he checked it. Monster formation - it’s close by. He squinted at the street it was on. That’s Team Otis’ patrol route, though. He brightened. Hey, maybe I can go say hi to Ollie and help out a little. Not that they need it! He has seemed a little down recently, though. Hopefully a friendly face cheers him up.

He blasted into the sky with a flex of his power, rocketing through the air before adjusting his direction and launching down towards the target area. There was an old brick aviary on top of one of the buildings near the spot. He’d land there and get a better view on things before saying hello. His boosters flared once right before he landed in a thick layer of snow that melted rapidly, boots clacking on the concrete roof. He glanced around, and to his surprise, he spotted Ollie inside the aviary.

“Hey!” he shouted, walking over. “Ollie! I was just about to go looking-”

He crunched his way over the snow and stopped at the window. Ollie was standing next to another man he immediately recognized. He had short, partially burned black hair and wild eyes and wore a dark jumpsuit and armor plating fashioned from looted post-Pandora gear. It was a local villain, notable enough to be on wanted posters but not exactly a heavy hitter either. What was more worrying was the white strand between Ollie’s finger and the man’s chest.

“...Kraven? Ollie, what are you doing?”

Ollie turned to look at him. There was a single perpetual stream of tears going down his right cheek. His smile was broad, but there was a coldness there. Val wasn’t the strongest amongst his friends. He wasn’t the most prominent. He was good at reading them, though. This is bad. He reached for his wrist and popped the storage card out.

Behind Ollie, sitting on one of the crates in the rear of the room, was Otis. The blonde man smiled at Val, and the heads-up display on Val’s helmet flickered, his face becoming grainy. “I think we’re done here, Riot,” Otis said.

His engines warmed up again as Ollie raised his hand, a trail of multicolored thread following it. He tossed the card to the side and started to move. I need to get away! 

There was no stopping whatever hit him next; it just passed through his armor as if it were nothing. All he saw then was a kaleidoscope of color that overwhelmed his vision before giving way to darkness.