Broker

Chapter 119

Sonya marveled at the disk floating in her hand, it was beautiful, but also a little scary. That golden glow looked a little familiar too. She’d seen it once before, though not in this state. Like it was on the cusp of becoming something so very much more. She cradled the sparking and twitching disk for a moment before gently putting it to the side with the others in her warehouse. She looked them over one more time, Gravitic Flight, Adomopathy, Storage Space, Digital Illusions, Nectar and Ambrosia, Unbound Legion, and the beautiful Visage of Titania. All of them promised to be potent improvements to her arsenal and her gut told her she was grossly underestimating them.

She let out a breath and opened her eyes for a moment, though, glancing up to Chunhua who was standing back at the passage into the main part of the dungeon. The woman glanced back at her and raised her eyebrow, “How’s it going?” She asked.

“Just finished making the abilities,” Sonya said thoughtfully, taking a quick breather to mentally steel herself for what came next. “Going back in,” She said gravely, “Going to take my time with this. If I start to… you know. Just be close. I’ll survive it,” She said as she glanced back at Marta who nodded seriously.

“Be careful,” Marta said.

Sonya nodded and smiled, “I’ve got a plan.”

Sonya closed her eyes and went back into her warehouse before picking the one most likely to help her through the rest of the process, Nectar and Ambrosia. She’d had Hands of the Healer and Grace for a long time and had, admittedly, been unwise in not merging in a healing power sooner. Not that Hands of the Healer was an option anymore. She smirked as the ability became active and the instincts started to bubble to the surface. She pushed them aside, the ability might be changed by the merger so it was best to just wait to suss it out afterwards.

Merger.

<Nectar and Ambrosia has been selected. Nectar and Ambrosia is compatible with Deus Ex Machina, Efficiency Level: Medium>

<Would you like to proceed?>

Medium, so it’s unlikely to be improved by the merger. That’s okay, Proceed.

First came the faint tingling, she knew it well. She braced herself as the tingling intensified. First in her muscles before seeping into her veins. She jerked as the sensation turned into pain and she let out a shuddering breath, planting her hands on her knees and gritting her teeth. She faintly heard voices around her as the pain grew more and more intense. It felt like her blood was on fire, no, molten. She reached up and clutched at her heart, coughing out a breath as her head toppled forward to the ground. She planted her hand on the soil and felt someone run towards her. She threw up her hand irritably and waved whomever it was away.

“I can-” She grunted, “I can do this,” She gasped, rolling onto her side and kicking out her feet as the molten feeling rushed up to her brain before going back down into her stomach. It felt like the worst acid reflux she’d ever experienced in her entire life. She wanted to puke. Throw it all up. She knew it wouldn’t help, though. No relief came for one of the longest minutes of her life until finally it subsided. She wheezed and gasped, coughing as her body relaxed. “Fuck me sideways!” She swore, “God damn that hurts!”

<Abilities Nectar and Ambrosia and Deus Ex Machina have been combined. New Functionality added for Deus Ex Machina: Nectar and Ambrosia.>

She stared at the message on her HUD. “Full integration, didn’t alter it at all,” She wheezed, satisfied with her prediction while resting her head on the soothing earth for a moment. She let the instincts rise up into her mind this time, feeling out the function of the new ability. Her eyebrows rose and she sat up abruptly, “Seriously?” She laughed and winced at her aching muscles, “No way.”

“Sonya?” Marta asked, “Are you-”

Sonya held up her hands, “Hold on, hold on,” She said and held out her palm, she exhaled and small particles of light began to gather over it. They coalesced into a small sphere that popped like a bubble, a tiny ‘bloop’ sound accompanying it. Out of the bubble, a humble strawberry appeared. She turned it over in her hands, it looked perfect in every way. Bright red, brilliant green stem, perfectly spaced seeds. She glanced up at Marta and grinned at her, “Bottoms up!” She snickered and popped it into her mouth. She let out a squeal of delight as it exploded with flavor. More importantly, the pain immediately began to subside. She groaned, “Oh that’s the stuff.”

Chunhua couldn’t help herself and walked over to join them. “What kind of power is that?”

Sonya glanced up at the woman, “Mm? Hey Chunhua, want me to shave off a few years for ya? Piece of cake,” She cackled out a laugh and a literal piece of chocolate cake appeared in her hand.

Chunhua frowned at her, “Excuse me?” She blurted, looking at the cake with surprise.

“Nectar and Ambrosia,” Sonya said, “Food that heals, cures, or even grants youth and vitality if I want,” She said and with a gesture the cake vanished from her hand. She pursed her lips, “Downside is I have to, you know, eat it.”

The two women looked at one another before Marta let out a huge sigh, “Of course your healing ability would have a drawback like that” She said before raising an eyebrow, “How are you supposed to use it with your helmet on?”

Sonya pursed her lips and gave her a smug smile. Marta returned her stare with a growing frown as Sonya worked her mouth a little before sticking her tongue out, a little blueberry sitting on it. She winked and pulled her tongue back in before starting to chew. “Easy peasy,” she began before letting out another delighted sound, “Man that tastes good. Want some?” She asked, holding up a bag of chips, waggling her eyebrows, “Ambrosia, zero calories, all the flavor!”

Marta gave her a deadpan look, “You are going to abuse that,” She grumbled while Chunhua walked over and slipped her hand into the bag. “Chunhua!” She blurted as the hero popped an original flavored chip into her mouth.

Her eyes widened, “Oh wow, that is good!” She gasped.

Marta rubbed the bridge of her nose, “You’re encouraging this?” She grumbled only to freeze at the sound of a soda can opening. She pulled her hand from her face and looked down at Sonya again who was bringing the can to her lips.

Sonya blinked innocently at her, “What? Ambrosia and Nectar.”

Marta sighed, “Can you move on to the next one’s please?” She asked and gave Chunhua who was now holding a full bag of chips in her hand and chewing slowly a glare. Chunhua shrugged and walked back to the spot where she’d been standing guard and continued munching away while Sonya just shrugged. Marta always got so testy about her snacking. These snacks were actually good for her! She paused, Well no, not really, zero calories literally means zero calories, besides healing me they won’t actually feed me. I should be careful not to get caught up in that. She warned herself before sipping at the can again and sighing, Tasty as hell though.

She closed her eyes and got back to it before Marta had a conniption, she still had six more to go after all.  She pulled Digital Illusions out of her warehouse and primed the merger. Let's get the unchanged ones done with next.

<Digital Illusions has been selected. Digital Illusions is compatible with Deus Ex Machina, Efficiency Level: High>

<Would you like to proceed?>

Could get something nice out of this. Proceed.

As the merger started she continued to sip at her drink. It was a weird feeling. She could sense the changes taking place, the sensations going through her body as the circuitry in her head was rearranged, but it didn’t hurt. It was more like a really aggravating itch that she couldn’t scratch. She clicked her tongue at the feeling but otherwise let it pass and exhaled when it finally ended.

<Abilities Digital Illusions and Deus Ex Machina have been combined. New Functionality added for Deus Ex Machina: Augmented Reality Projection>

She opened her eyes for a moment and tilted her head. Interesting, She thought before flexing her fingers. The instincts for it and hard light are kind of bleeding into one another. Just like how hard light and non-euclidian work well together. I wonder… She trailed off as she flexed the new instinctual muscle, putting a little concentration into it. Light gathered in front of her before collapsing. Oh that’s way harder, she thought before trying a simpler task. The light gathered again before condensing into a humble white plastic plate. She reached out and touched it. It really feels like plastic, but it’s just hard light and the illusions playing tricks on my senses. Definitely going to have to practice this.

She proceeded to create a pile of cookies on the plate and grinned to herself before closing her eyes again, ignoring the groan from Marta. She moved on to the next one, pulling out Storage Space. Alright old reliable, time to make it official.

<Storage Space has been selected. Storage Space is compatible with Deus Ex Machina, Efficiency Level: Very High>

<Would you like to proceed?>

Proceed. She thought before immediately taking another sip of her drink. She drank deeply as the sensations intensified. This time there was a little more pain than before, the merger doing a lot more work than she had expected it to for its tier. She closed her eyes and scrunched her nose as what was basically a really intense caffeine headache washed over her. Nausea came next and she grimaced before relief came. She coughed and wiped her lips, grumbling, Guess Nectar and Ambrosia isn’t all powerful for ongoing sensation. Good to know.

<Abilities Storage Space and Deus Ex Machina have been combined. New Functionality added for Deus Ex Machina: Digitize Object>

Eh?

“Hey uh, can somebody toss me a stick or something?” She called out as she opened her eyes. She immediately sensed an object coming her way and snapped her arm back to catch it. She glanced down at the piece of wood in her hand, “Thank you,” She chirped before twirling it between her fingers and concentrating. “And bye bye,” She said as the stick started to turn blue and literally crumbled into tiny little blue cubes in her hand before they too dissolved into motes of light. “Okay and…” She squinted at her HUD, “...is there a folder for it?” She muttered, “There!” She laughed out loud as a small folder appeared in her vision with a single ‘file’ in it titled ‘Stick’. She focused and it reformed in her hand.

“Oh I am going to enjoy having this ability,” She snickered before tossing the stick away. Gonna have to figure out its limits as soon as possible. Wonder if I can store a car. That would be funny.

She rolled her shoulders and set down the empty can, grabbing one of her cookies and shoving into her mouth as she pulled out her next pick.

<Adomopathy has been selected. Adomopathy is compatible with Deus Ex Machina, Efficiency Level: Medium>

<Would you like to proceed?>

She got ready to bite down, Proceed.

This time it wasn’t an itch or a burn, but a slicing sensation inside of her head. She immediately bit down as soon as she felt it and started chewing the cookie. That proved to be a smart move. The slicing feeling only intensified after that and her vision started to blur as even her eyes began to undergo changes. She blinked a few times and shook her head, vertigo followed and she nearly fell back. She threw her hands backwards and caught herself as the slicing feeling began to go through the rest of her body, attacking her muscles and ligaments. I thought it was an observational power! She winced and snatched up another cookie, shoving it into her mouth and sighing with relief as the pain eased. When it finally stopped she flopped back onto her back and groaned. “Ouch.”

<Abilities Adomopathy and Deus Ex Machina have been combined. New Functionality added for Deus Ex Machina: Adomopathy.>

She stared at the words as her two guardians walked over to check on her. “Miss Chernovna?” Marta whispered, “Are you alright?”

Sonya pressed her lips together, “Power altered things I wasn’t expecting it to,” She grumbled.

“What was it?” Chunhua asked.

“Adomopathy,” Sonya said and rubbed the bridge of her nose as she pulled the instincts out. She actually gave them a hard assessment this time, concentrating on them, “I observe and learn. I can replicate movements that are within my ability to replicate.”

Chunhua stared at her for a moment before taking a few steps back, “Let’s see it,” She said immediately and pulled out her sword. Marta frowned but Sonya got up and got to her feet, grinning. Chunhua took a stance and performed a few quick but powerful swings. Sonya watched and felt her muscles twitch beneath her skin as the lenses in her head clicked and twisted rapidly. 

She narrowed her eyes, “One more time,” Chunhua nodded and performed the movements. Sonya nodded, “Got it, I think,” Chunhua sheathed her weapon and was about to walk it over to Sonya when Sonya held up a hand with a grin, “I got this,” Hard Light and Augmented Reality Projection activated in tandem and a sword not very different from Chunhuas appeared in her hand. She tapped her temple at the look on Chunhua’s face, “Everything’s working together,” She said before taking a step back and entering the same stance Chunhua had been in. She took a step forward and swung, up once, down, and then a thrust. 

Chunhua crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows, “Perfect form but oddly clinical somehow, I can’t put my finger on it.”

Sonya nodded and dismissed the hard light weapon, “Difference in body type probably,” Sonya said, “My body’s doing the best it can.”

Chunhua nodded, “Makes sense. Still, a very potent ability. Would be useful for analyzing an opponent's fighting style and sussing out counters.”

Sonya raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms, she pursed her lips and thought about it. She’s right. I’m happy with my martial fighting style as it is, I’ve always preferred knives, but this could really come in handy for learning someone’s technique quickly and bypassing it. She gave Chunhua a big smile, “That’s a great idea!”

Chunhua’s chest puffed out a bit as Sonya sat down, “Glad I can finally be of some help.”

Sonya raised an eyebrow at her but said nothing, I’m just happy I can talk to you comfortably again, She thought before sitting back down, snatching up another cookie and giving Marta a sidelong look. “Going back in.”

“How many more?” Marta asked, frowning, “You seem fine but I’m getting nervous.”

“Three,” Sonya said, “Two might be big ones, I’ll warn you.”

Marta nodded and rested her hands over her lap, “Very well.”

She popped another cookie in her mouth and settled it between her teeth. Time for Gravitic Flight. Her heart soared a bit at the idea, Real flight, not just walking around on glowing platforms, even if the dramatic effect is pretty nice. Okay, really nice. Still it would be good to fall back on. She rambled inwardly as the confirmations popped up.

<Gravitic Flight has been selected. Gravitic Flight is compatible with Deus Ex Machina, Efficiency Level: Medium>

<Would you like to proceed?>

Proceed! 

She bit down on the cookie just as she felt an all over ache. It subsided for a moment before coming back with a raging fury. She grunted as the ache spread from her brain to every limb in her body and finally to her skin. It burned for a while even as she downed another two ambrosia cookies and she coughed once as the pain reached her heart. Directional was magical, she realized. It's reacting to Heavenly Jade- She was cut off as the pain intensified again and she doubled over, coughing up a small splatter of red onto the ground. Okay this one’s intense. She dug her fingers into the soil beneath her as the pain rose and finally, mercifully, fell.

<Abilities Gravitic Flight and Deus Ex Machina have been combined. New Functionality added for Deus Ex Machina: Gravitic Flight.>

She exhaled, panting a bit as she fell back onto her rear, looking up at the canopy of the dungeon’s forest. She wiped her lip, “Phew,” She sighed before pulling up the instincts. So it lost the area of effect that Greg has and I can’t exert as much instantaneous force as Val. However, she trailed off as she willed herself into the air. At first a few inches, then a few feet. She bobbed over the ground and let her legs hang down beneath her. She twirled once and let out a laugh, “This is great!” She cheered, “I can-” She kicked her foot and went rocketing into the wall of trees around the clearing, crashing into one and leaving a nice divot in the wood where she struck. She slid back down onto the ground. “Okay, definitely going to need practice.”

Marta barked out a laugh, “Careful!” She chuckled and walked over, holding out a hand.

Sonya took it gratefully and got to her feet, brushing herself off, “I can fly, Marta.”

“Yes you can,” Marta smiled at her and led her back over to the spot where she was working. “What’s next?”

“The ability I was going to give you,” Sonya said thoughtfully before glancing over at Chunhua, “This is going to be a big one probably. I might pass out even with the ambrosia.”

Chunhua who was smiling at her antics went stiff and nodded with a serious look, “Understood, we’ll catch you if it happens.”

Sonya gave her a grateful smile before sitting back down. She waved her hand and the cookies disappeared, “The drink worked better,” She muttered and conjured up another can of nectar soda, cracking it open as she closed her eyes. Okay, let’s do this.

<Unbound Legion has been selected. Unbound Legion is compatible with Deus Ex Machina, Efficiency Level: Perfect>

<Would you like to proceed?>

Perfect? How is it more compatible than a technological ability? Well it did say it was guaranteed to change. She wondered before shrugging, Proceed, I guess. She thought as she began to sip at the drink, she felt the nectar wash into her and its power spread through her body only for… nothing to happen at first. She just sat there for almost a minute before she felt anything at all. 

She blinked a few times until a gentle warmth blossomed in her chest, in her heart, before simply subsiding with a wave of relaxing heat. She looked down at herself for a moment. Her clothes were covered in dirt and a few splatters of red. She squinted at her chest before crossing her arms, Well that was anticlimactic.

<Deus Ex Machina has activated, the ability Unbound Legion will be converted into a usable ability. This process cannot be stopped.>

Deus Ex is what? She thought with surprise, Oh shit! She started chugging the soda as her heart felt like it exploded in her chest.

When she came to, she was fortunately still sitting up, though her chin felt wet. She reached up and wiped her jaw irritably as once again her guardians were staring at her. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up wearily at Marta who just sighed with relief. Sonya just groaned and turned her head, spitting out a glob of blood and cleared her throat. “Yup, that sucked,” She muttered before checking her HUD.

<Deus Ex Machina has created a new ability: Heavenly Legion. It’s functionality has been added to Deus Ex Machina.>

She narrowed her eyes, I don’t like that name, she thought gruffly as the instincts started to roll in. Her shoulders tensed as she chewed her lip. She looked up at Marta and then at Chunhua before clearing her throat. She got shakily to her feet and waved at them to back up a little before holding out her hand and narrowing her eyes. She felt her heart thump, the power rising beneath her skin as the words came unbidden from her lips, “Bring woe to those who slander me, march, agent of the heavens,” She said, her voice grave.

She snapped out of the momentary trance as Marta and Chunhua gave her a bit more distance. Her hand fell to her side and a narrow band of light spread up in the air to her right as if the air itself was being cut in half. It opened, and something strode out. It looked female, whatever it was, it wore a gown that stretched down to sandaled feet. Its face concealed behind a veil that hung over its nose. Its eyes gleamed with white light and its skin was like marble. In its hand was a sword that curved in at a point and shone as if it were made of silver. Its hair was bound in silver wire that forced it into curls before falling down into marble-white dreadlocks.

It stood at attention, staring Chunhua down for a moment before it turned its eyes on Sonya. It had to be at least seven feet tall, like the valkyrie. Yet the aura was far more imposing, stoic, and tyrannical. Sonya felt her mouth go a little dry before she squared her shoulders and returned its stare. “That’s enough, return from where you came,” She commanded.

It brought its sword up to its chest and inclined its head with reverence, its eyes falling shut before it dissolved into scattering motes of light. When it was finally gone she let out a breath and sat back down, “Holy shit.”

Marta and Chunhua ran up to her, “What on earth was that thing? I thought it was supposed to be a valkyrie!” Marta blurted.

“Was that supposed to be that ability I saw on television? You got it from Brent, the CEO of Marion, right?” Chunhua asked before glancing at the spot it had stood, “My god.”

Sonya nodded slowly, “It’s peak mythic now, Heavenly Legion. I hate the name,” She said sourly as she drew her knees up to her chest. All she could think about was Otis and his mad grab for divinity.

“It fits Ishtar though,” Marta said.

Sonya’s lip twitched but she couldn’t help but smile a little bit, it was freaking cool. “Yeah, yeah it does,” She said, “I’m gonna have to get used to it, though. That one uh… agent,” She said, waving her hand at the spot where it’d stood, “Was just the start. The name is Heavenly Legion after all.”

“Do you want to stop?” Chunhua asked, “You’ve done a lot already.”

Sonya shook her head, “Just one more. I’m not backing down now.”

Chunhua and Marta exchanged a look before they nodded and stepped away. Sonya summoned up one more can of nectar soda as she closed her eyes and pulled the last ability out of her warehouse. She cleared her throat and cracked the can open, bringing it to her lips as the messages appeared in her HUD.

<Visage of Titania has been selected. Visage of Titania is compatible with Deus Ex Machina, Efficiency Level: Normal>

<Would you like to proceed?>

For an ability that seemed to be almost unstable when she’d created it, it was a fairly mundane reaction from Broker. She frowned, My guts telling me I need to go for it, though even while every ounce of logic is warning me otherwise. She crushed the fear with a scowl. I haven’t come this far to back away from something like this. I need power for what’s to come. Bring it on.

She took another deep breath and started to chug the nectar.

Proceed.

There was no itch.

There was no pain.

There was no confusion.

There was no loss of consciousness.

There was only a surge as the world around her was blanketed in light.

<Abilities Visage of Titania and Deus Ex Machina have been combined. New Functionality added for Deus Ex Machina: Visage of Titania.>

<Warning. Visage of Titania may have abnormal interactions with other abilities. Use caution during future mergers.>