Book 2 Prologue 2

Amos shifted a bit on his feet. The shoes were unbelievably uncomfortable. Sonya kept insisting that they were the most comfortable dress shoes of their brand, but it still felt like his feet were in a vice. That wasn’t even to begin to talk about the rest of it. He could hear the distant sound of Sonya talking, giving her speech. He groaned. Sure, this is exciting, but for heaven’s sake, does it have to be so formal? He shifted again, and a hand grabbed him by the tie, tugging him forward to hold him still and straighten it.

“You are worse than a kid before a school play,” Colin said with a huff, pulling a strand of hair behind his ear as he fussed with Amos’ tie. “Stop wiggling around.”

Amos glanced down at Colin’s expression of concentration and went still, relaxing as his boyfriend went to work straightening him up a bit more. He stared for a bit, lost in the smell of his perfume. Colin glanced up at him as he patted his chest and smiled coyly. Amos’ heart did a flip. "Now, now, none of that,” he said softly. "I’m wearing lipstick today,” he said and reached up to touch Amos’ chin. "Relax. You’re going to be fine.”

“Why’d you have to wear lipstick?” Amos complained in a low whisper.

“Because I wanted to look good for you,” Colin hissed.

“It worked,” Amos muttered. "I can’t take my eyes off you.”

“You’re going to have to,” Colin teased and stepped back, putting his hands on his hips. He was wearing a suit jacket, tie, skirt, and black hose. Anybody at first glance would mistake him for a young woman. His sweet voice and effeminate charm was impossible not to be swept away in. He was short too, which Amos loved teasing him about, only a little taller than Sonya. He pursed his lips and gave Amos a once-over from afar before nodding. "Okay, you’re good to go.”

“I dunno if I can do this, babe,” Amos said. "That’s a lot of people out there.”

Colin tilted his head and raised an eyebrow, his pretty lips doing that tilted thing again that made Amos feel weak. He walked forward and reached up to cup Amos’ face in his hands. They were so fucking soft. “Amos, listen to me carefully,” he said, putting some firmness in his voice. "You got your degree back. You’re Doctor Amos Carter, celebrated post-Pandora scientist, and the guy who probably saved billions of lives with that mana tracking radar of yours. If there is anyone on the fucking planet who deserves what’s coming out there, it’s you. You’re going to be fine. Fuck those guys. Just talk about what you did, accept the award, and get the fuck outta there.”

“I-” He opened his mouth, but it was cut off by a finger.

“Get through it, and you’ll get that kiss, mm?” Colin put a bit of that husk in, and Amos melted, his shoulders slumping as Colin pulled back with a wink. "Okay?”

“Yeah,” Hh breathed, feeling significantly more motivated to go out there and get through it. He glanced towards the curtain to the stage again, hearing the words. Time was up. He didn’t have a chance in hell at this point.

“...and so with that said,” Sonya said to the audience. "I am honored beyond words to introduce my dear friend and fellow Nobel laureate, without whom nothing I accomplished would have been possible. The father of the post-Pandora era, Doctor Amos Carter. Doctor Carter, the floor is yours.”

Trumpets blared, and Amos felt Colin push him towards the stage, doing his best not to stumble before stepping out through the curtains. The lights beat down on him, the applause of the crowd was deafening, the trumpets were a lot, and the stage was bigger than he remembered. He focused on Sonya, who was standing on the podium with her arm outstretched and a smile on her face. She wore a sheer white gown that sparkled as much as her skin, and her hair was done up with crystals. She beamed at him, and he felt his chest tighten. You say that, but aren’t you the one who pulled me out of the gutter? He thought as he marched forward and took her hand. She pulled him gently towards the podium.

“I’m so proud of you,” she whispered before giving him a kiss on the cheek and stepping back, clapping with the audience.

He cleared his throat, a little bit of pressure behind his eyes, and looked towards all of the people gathered. Physicists, scientists, historians, and authors - all amazing people. He looked down at the podium for a moment, his hands shaking, and caught his breath.

<You got this.> Sonya said through their technopathic connection.

He took another deep breath and blinked a few times before brandishing his best smile. Just handle it like Sonya would, he thought, using his usual mantra. “We all remember the time before the flash,” he began. "Before our world irrevocably changed and life as we knew it took on a whole new dynamic. The touch of Pandora's light brought out the best and the worst in us. It changed us, and with it came a force that shook the foundations of our knowledge and understanding of the universe.” He looked across the audience. "A veil lifted, and our eyes were opened to just how little we understood.”

He rested his hand on the podium. "We as a species have fought our way tooth and nail throughout history to survive, to thrive, and to adapt to an ever-changing world. To learn more so that we can push that progress to the next level. Mana, the force that now swirls around our world, has added a whole new level to this challenge. Yet it is the very tool we need to push through the boundaries that we once saw as insurmountable for the foreseeable future.”

“My fellow laureates, excellencies, majesties, nobility, and leaders, it is up to us to responsibly harness this power and turn it in the right direction. I believe in humanity’s capacity to do good, to accomplish good, and to struggle and thrive even in the direst of conditions. I have seen what it looks like for someone to fight against all odds, even when it feels like the world itself is their enemy, and step forward to make a difference. I have seen heroes rise. I have met them.” He lowered his eyes. "I made Firestorm’s armor. The same armor he wore when he walked into Vegas with his head held high four months ago.”

He looked up and smiled. "And I will keep supporting heroes, just like him. I hope you will too. Because that is our role in this post-Pandora world. Strive for better, Earth. Thank you.”

He bowed, and the applause took his breath away. He stood up straight and glanced back over his shoulder. Sonya was gone, back behind the curtain. It was all him. He blinked a few times and looked out at the crowd as the representative of the Nobel committee stepped onto the stage and handed him his prize and shook his hand. The representative had tears in their eyes as they kept the handshake going for a few more moments before stepping back. “It was an honor to hear you speak, Doctor Carter. Thank you.”

Amos swallowed. "Thank you,” he said before turning and forcing himself to walk naturally back to the curtain. He dipped through it and immediately felt a thin pair of arms wrap around his neck. Before he could react, soft lips pressed against his own, and he staggered forward and to the right. He felt the last bits of tension wash away as his shoulders sagged, and he wrapped his arms around Colin’s waist. He held the kiss for a while, not wanting to ever let the moment end. Eventually, though, the two had to come up for air, and they parted.

“You are amazing,” Colin breathed.

“Thanks to you,” he chuckled, resting his head against Colin’s before glancing up at Sonya. "And you too.”

Sonya was standing off to the side, leaning against the wall with a red face. She crossed her arms and looked away. "You’re a jerk,” she said quietly. “You know I can’t cry, right?”

He chuckled, and while still holding onto Colin, walked over to her and pulled her into a hug. She rested her head against his shoulder and reached up to hold the back of his head. She sighed into his shoulder. "I’m so proud of you, so happy for you,” she croaked. “This is where you should be.”

He squeezed her tight. "You deserve it too, no matter what anyone says,” he said and pulled back, squeezing her arm. "Thank you. For saving me. You are my hero, Sonya. Don’t ever forget it,” he said and grinned at her as she stared at him, wide-eyed, her lips trembling. He chuckled and slapped her arm. "C’mon, let’s go home, get out of these horrible clothes, and play some games or something. Yeah? We don’t have to go to an after-party or anything, right?”

Sonya and Colin winced and exchanged looks.

“...Right?”

–

Sonya stepped out onto the balcony to get away from the constant attention. She enjoyed it most of the time, but her social battery was just about empty. It didn’t help that she was losing sleep again. She rubbed the bridge of her nose and pulled up her HUD, distracting herself with a little bit of work. Marta moved in behind her while she leaned on the railing and grumbled to herself. “Lots of applications are coming in. The company is growing,” she muttered.

“There were a few priority ones I marked for you, ma’am,” Marta said.

“Oh?” Sonya mentally flipped through a few before blinking at the first name. She whipped her head towards Marta with a frown. “Is this some kind of joke?”

“She applied unprompted,” Marta said calmly.

“Annabell Adders?” Sonya asked. "Really? She-”

“She’s extremely qualified,” Marta said. "And she wants to support the business that her brother-”

“No.”

“Sonya,” Marta chided. "She has every right to be involved. Don’t let your emotions get the better of you here. We started selling Firestorm memorabilia last week.”

Sonya shut down her HUD. "I will not get another Adders involved in my life. I-” She squeezed her eyes shut and turned away. “I’m done talking for now.”

Marta sighed. “I’ll be here, always, ma’am. Just let me know when you’re ready.”

–

KRRRAK! KRAKAKAKAK!

Gunfire roared over the range as men took positions and fired at distant targets. The off-white firing stands cracked and shuddered beneath each volley as bullets pierced material crafted from monster bone. Sonya stood off to the side in her favorite get-up. White suit and pink tie, this time going for her oversized sunglasses. She grinned as the trio of older gentlemen standing at the back spoke amongst themselves.

“I think we got ourselves another buyer,” Marta chuckled behind her.

Sonya glanced back at her. "Oh yeah. Just waiting for the haggling now.”

“Miss Chernovna,” a tall man with graying hair said. He had a thick accent that took her back to life in North Carolina. “We’re impressed. The US Government would like to start an exclusive-”

“Sorry, General,” Sonya said, wagging her finger left and right. “We both know that’s not on the table. You want to buy my product? Great! But we need to share.”

The General frowned and opened his mouth only for one of his companions to whisper in his ear. Sonya could hear it, of course, warning him about the near embargo that An Set almost caused for his country. She just smiled and put her hands together in front of her. “General,” she said consolingly. “I know you’re a busy man. Why don’t we have a look at one of my newer products? We can consider a discount for the US for a little while as a… friendly gesture. I know you’ve been dealing with a certain problem in the south.”

He frowned. “You’ve heard more about Liberty than the news is saying, haven’t you?” He sighed and shook his head. “Damn. Alright, I’m all ears. What have you got for me?”

She grinned. Gotcha. “Oh, you’re going to love this! Amos has been working on ways to suppress abilities. It’s still rudimentary and bulky, but…”

The deal didn’t take long after that, and ASTA was just a little bit richer as a result. She had a whole boatload of traveling to do to get as many countries buying her stuff as possible. Fortunately, with the help of the now Nobel Prize-winning Amos Carter and a few ‘deals’ with people in high places, manufacturing wasn’t going to be a problem. The more post-Pandora munitions there are out there, the fewer people will die from monster attacks. I need to keep going.

She rubbed the bridge of her nose as she walked out of the firing range.

“You need sleep,” Marta said.

“I know,” she grumbled.

“Also, Sonya, we need to-”

“I don’t want to talk about it right now,” Sonya sighed. "I know you’re right. I just need time to think about it. I still haven’t apologized to you properly for blowing up at the after-party.”

“You’ve been under a lot of stress,” Marta said consolingly. “There’s still no word in your hunt for Majordomo and Craftsman either.”

“That is no excuse, and you know it. Also, how can a man that big just not show up anywhere?” Sonya grunted and pushed the door open, stepping out into the main lot of the base. The presence nearby hit her like a truck, and she couldn’t believe she hadn’t sensed it earlier. Her eyes went wide and then narrowed into slits as she spotted the black-haired woman approaching her.

“Sonya,” Lian Chunhua, Black Lotus, called out to her.

Sonya frowned. The moment he comes up in conversation, you show your face. Life really likes to one-two punch me, doesn’t it? She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders, tilting her head and looking the woman in the eyes. "Can I help you, Hero? What are you doing in the States?”

Black Lotus paused at the tone in Sonya’s voice and let out a breath. "You weren’t made aware?”

Sonya’s lip twitched. "I wouldn’t be asking if I knew, hero.”

“I was traded to the United States in exchange for…” She cleared her throat and frowned. "Hero Qilin.” Sonya watched her face as it fell just a little. “It just went through. I was hoping for a moment to have a word with you,” she said hesitantly, rubbing her right arm.

Sonya’s eyebrows rose. "Oh? Qilin’s in China now? Oh, that’s-” she choked, unable to blurt out even the lie that was sarcasm. She coughed and stumbled, grabbing onto Marta, who held her up. Chunhua stepped forward, and she held up a hand. "Get. Away. From. Me.” Sonya bit out. “Now.”

Chunhua stiffened and nodded, turning away.

“I am looking forward to working with you in the future, Miss Chernovna,” she said with resignation and walked off. Sonya watched her go and wanted to scream.

That damn fool. She chewed her lip and looked at Marta. "We’re heading home.”

–

Sonya took a deep breath of the fresh air and spread her arms out wide, taking a few hopping steps before turning and falling right into the grass. It was beyond refreshing. She chortled a little to herself and stretched out her legs as Marta stopped at her side and looked down at her with a frown. “Ma’am, grass stains on a white suit?” She said disapprovingly.

Sonya snorted and hopped up. "Oh, we can afford to get it cleaned. It's fine!” she said, and shoved her hands into her pockets, turning around to admire the hard work of the Pandora Construction teams. The Green Bank Observatory in West Virginia was the perfect location. A dungeon had been located nearby, and it was within the National Radio Quiet Zone. It was still undergoing the conversion into an elite training facility, but it was far enough along that she could poke around and see if there was anything worth taking advantage of.

Also to get a little space. She’s been coming around way too often.

A month of being away from her villain work should have helped her clear her head. Instead, the very person she didn’t want to see more than anyone had been coming by constantly. She knew she was coming to apologize for what happened after the funeral. Sonya just didn’t care. It took everything she had, every time, to turn her away. It was beginning to wear on her mind. A deeper part of her kept telling her that she needed to handle it better, that she was being too harsh. She ignored it. It felt the same as that feeling she got when she saw that face in the mirror.

That face in the mirror that wasn’t hers.

She pushed the thoughts off and savored the air. This was a good chance for a break. On top of everything else, being the CEO of a company responsible for creating munitions to kill monsters wasn’t a cakewalk. “This is why I have a board and people in charge who can run things for me. Speaking of which,” she tilted her head and looked up at Marta. “How is Annabelle settling in?”

Marta smiled down at her. “Miss Adders is settling into her new role just fine. She sends her best wishes and thanks for the opportunity.”

“Hiring her was the best decision you’ve made so far, Boss. Now I don’t have to do your job on top of mine,” Amos called, walking over from the central building. It was still under a mass of scaffolding and hardware, so it was hard to tell what the finished product would look like. Amos stopped and slipped his hands into the pockets of his lab coat. The bags under his eyes were more pronounced than usual, and his hair was a disaster. Even so, he looked refreshed in his own weary way.

“How is it inside?” Sonya asked.

“I can have a lab set up there in no time, two even. One for classes and one for…” He trailed off and smirked, "...more practical use.” He scratched his nose. “This place is a dead signal area for electronic devices. I’ve set up a temporary tower to use my new system so you can get a signal for now. I’ll install something more reliable later.”

“Excellent work!” she laughed. Things were looking up. “Are you sure about joining me on this? It’ll take you away from your projects for a bit.”

He shrugged and jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “On the contrary, designing gear for a bunch of newbie heroes sounds like a great way to get some practice in. Besides, I’ve got some experiments I’m working on that I can bring with me that won’t cause too much of a disruption. I’ve dragged Da-Som along with me. Thanks for getting him in the loop, by the way.”

Sonya waved a dismissive hand. "He’s trustworthy, and I made an NDA deal with him. It’s fine. He wants to push forward medical technology without getting bogged down in stuff, and I need a doctor I can rely on.” She pressed her palms together. "So… no weather machine?” Sonya asked innocently.

He shook his head dramatically. "I’m afraid not.”

“A tragedy,” Sonya said wistfully before walking past him towards the building. “Do we know anything about the early registrants?”

“There are a couple interesting faces here and there, though Colin’s got a particular scoop for you. Said to call him,” Amos said. "Also, Beyol made it to Russia with the new girl.”

Sonya looked up. "Oh? Did she pick a name yet, by the way?”

He snorted. "No, of course not.”

Sonya rolled her eyes. "That girl is so particular.” She shrugged and pulled out her phone. She pointed at it, and Amos gave her the thumbs up. She nodded. "I’ll call Colin.”

She dialed out while Amos and Marta stepped away to chat. At first the signal buzzed and then it clicked over before it finally started to ring. Her lawyer quickly picked up. “Hey, bitch. How you doin?” She crowed, eager to hear even more friendly voices.

<“Sup, pretty lady!”> Colin chuckled on the other end. <”Just the queen bee I wanted to hear from.”>

“Amos says you have something interesting for me?”

<“Yup. A case popped up for me for a newly awakened light-touched. It’s about this brat named Ollie Anders. He manifested the other day and accidentally caused a riot. People got hurt. He’s in prison.”>

Colin had gotten out there a little since Vegas. He was her lawyer, sure, but he’d been involved in helping the Pandora Committee set up some of its regulations. He knew them better than anyone and knew how valuable a lawyer could be to a criminal. It was easy to meet just the right people when the broad majority of light-touched cases were ending up on his desk. He was a publicly registered light-touched lawyer, after all.

“Caused a riot? Mind control?” Sonya asked with a small frown. No, Colin wouldn’t call me if it was something that distasteful. She perked up. "Perhaps something more interesting?”

<“I’m thinking the latter,”> Colin said. <"The PC actually sent Verity to interview him and confirmed his story. He swore to her that he didn’t use mind control, but something else.”>

“So they confirmed his story. Why’s he still in prison?” Sonya asked.

<“Because not everybody is adapting to the new world as fast as we are,”> Colin said. <“A truth-detecting ability is not good enough for small local governments. The state prison he’s in won’t let him go without someone to vouch for him, and his folks disowned him the moment they heard he had an ability.”>

Sonya’s heart sank. "Poor kid.”

<“Yup, poor kid. Just needs somebody to vouch for him,”> Colin said. She could almost see him wiggling his eyebrows.

Sonya’s lip twitched. "You dog. Alright, fine! I’ll do it! No need to twist my arm,” she grumbled playfully. “Where am I heading?”

“Nashville.”