Chapter 6

Amos looked down at his hands, gripping his knees tightly. His shoulders were shaking. 

Ever since that day weirder and weirder people keep showing up around me. I can't stand it, what did I do to deserve this? I can't catch a break! What does this person want with me?

In front of him, one of the prettiest women he'd ever seen in his entire life was scarfing down a burger like she hadn't eaten in ages. Next to her, another gorgeous woman was picking delicately at a basket of fries and staring at him as if he was shit on the heel of a shoe. He looked away as soon as he met her gaze.

What is this chick's problem? They're wearing really expensive clothes. Are they models? Did they see me get kicked out of that shop and want to bully me or something? I can't take this.

The white-haired lady let out a contented sigh after sipping her soda for a moment and stretched out her legs beneath the table.

"Hot damn, nothing's better than a burger after some shopping," She said, patting her belly contentedly. Behind her, a half dozen customers stared in disbelief at her. She pointedly ignored the stares and rest her elbow on the table, cupping her chin in her hand. "Hey."

He jumped, looking up at her, "Uh… yes?"

"I bought you a meal, eat it," She said firmly and he caught something behind those tinted sunglasses of hers. Were her eyes glowing?

Is she another freak like Shark? Like me?

He shifted back in his seat a little, tensing up, "Why am I here? What do you want? Who are you people?" He asked, even as his trembling hands reached for the burger and snatched it up hastily. He took a bite. He wished he could enjoy it, it was really good.

"You're Amos, right?" The woman asked, "I hear you're pretty good with hardware."

He choked on the burger, coughing and reaching hastily for his drink before slurping it down. He cleared his throat and stared at her, aghast, the bags under his eyes only deepening. "How do you know my name?" He asked, "Did Shark send you? I told him I'd pay!" He pleaded, lowering his head, "Please!"

"Excuse you? What are you implying?" The woman in the green dress growled, starting to sit up.

"Easy Marta," The woman said with a wave of her hand, not moving from her casual pose. She reached up and tilted down her sunglasses, revealing a pair of mechanical eyes that clicked and whirred inside her head. He froze, awestruck by the complexity of them even at this distance, they were beautiful, "I have my ways, no idea who this Shark guy is, though."

He hesitated, "I uh…"

"You like them?" She asked playfully, "My eyes?"

"Um…" He grunted, feeling heat rise to his face.

The woman cracked a grin before snorting out a laugh, "Sorry, sorry! I'm just having some fun, I thought I'd play the cool mysterious stranger!" She cackled, slapping her knee. "Oh relax, I'm not here to hurt you or anything!"

He lowered the burger down, "Then what do you want?" He asked evenly, looking her dead in the eyes.

She opened her mouth to speak when a loud crash outside the restaurant shook the windows, he jumped, nearly knocking over the table as he whipped his head around to see what the commotion was. The following roar was enough to tell him exactly what had happened. He watched through the window in horror as a group of jackal-looking beasts the size of panthers leaped through the air and landed on a car. One of them raised a mighty pawed hand and brought it down on the windshield, crushing it.

"Marta?" The white-haired woman said, drawing his attention back to her. She hadn't even blinked! She was still sitting there, picking at her fries like it was nothing. "Feel up to giving your powers a test run?"

The woman in the green dress, Marta, got to her feet and brushed off her hands. "Absolutely," The woman said and strode towards the door.

Amos stared at Marta's back, then at the woman who was still eating her meal. "Who are you people?"

The woman broke into a magnanimous smile, "Oh! Sorry about that! I'm Sonya!" She said, extending a hand, "Nice to meet you Amos."

–

Holy fucking shit that scared me! Sonya screamed internally, a cold sweat going down her neck. I completely forgot how suddenly they would appear during the first year! God damn! So much for all that combat training, at least I kept my poker face. Sheesh!

She glanced up at Marta as she stepped outside, Still, I'm more shocked by how quickly Marta agreed. She really doesn't know her strength yet, but if lifting a sofa with one hand is any indication I doubt she'll have any real problems. I can just heal her if the worst happens. Sonya kept the frown that formed off her face, You don't need to prove anything, Marta, just be safe.

One of the beasts turned its head and spotted Marta stalking towards them, her sundress dancing in the wind that was common in cities with tall buildings like New York. It snarled and lunged at her, both paws raised up and ready to strike. Marta seemed to hesitate for a moment, a very natural fear of danger taking hold before instinct driven by her awakened powers took over. She reared back and delivered one hell of a haymaker, straight into the head of the oncoming beast. It launched off of her fist and careened into the nearest car, smashing into it as the driver scrambled out the other side. The creature struggled once before falling limp.

Oh. Sonya blinked, She'll be fine. Sonya thought and turned her attention back to Amos who was positively trembling. He watched Marta take out the first of the monsters with a mixture of awe and horror on his face.

"Ain't she the best?" Sonya chimed, drawing his attention back to her. His eyes were like saucers. "Hey, this is gonna keep happening, man, you gotta get used to it."

I say that, but if I have my way, you won't be seeing any action, ever.

She kept her hand held out and he stared at it, then at her, then back at it. Discomfort was written all over his face as shouts and crashes echoed from outside. Sonya shrugged, she could be patient. She put her hand down and smiled at him. It's hard to believe that this sniveling punk is the future charismatic head of the biggest hero gear conglomerate in the world. What the hell kind of life was he living before his business kicked off? He said something about a shark?

"How are you so calm?" He demanded, "There are monsters out there right now! People are screaming!"

"What do you want me to do about it?" Sonya asked with a shrug, "Marta's got it handled, or would you rather me leave you here alone?"

He froze, "Um…"

Sonya sighed, "Look, why don't you tell me about why you were kicked out of that store?" Sonya asked as a massive jackal flew past the window. Marta stormed past and stopped briefly to wave before getting back to work.

He watched Marta walk by with a pale look on his face before looking back at her, he looked down at his hands. "I guess it won't hurt…" He said uneasily. "I've always been smart, I know it, but I could never afford to get into a good college. I learned everything on my own. I wanted to make some money fixing stuff so maybe I could get a degree later," He sighed, "But I messed up, repaired phones for the wrong people, and they held it over my head. Then there was that light and I've… I've had all these ideas!" He clenched his fists, "Amazing ideas! But I can't afford to make any of it happen! I can't even afford to keep my shop open! The head of the group I've been working for got powers too, he's terrifying! He keeps raising the rent, it's like he's bleeding me dry."

"This shark, you mentioned?" Sonya asked, a frown forming on her face. I had no idea his origins were so bleak. He worked hard but he'd become just as corrupt as the rest of them. Which isn't a bad thing for me, I suppose. It's better I get him than him running amok on his own.

"Y-yeah, that's what he calls himself, he can turn into a shark… thing… its awful," Amos said sullenly, "Rip a door right off its hinges, punch through a-" He glanced over and saw Marta holding one of the beasts by its throat, it collapsed as people stood around and took pictures of her. Police had already gathered nearby but they were refusing to approach just yet.

He looked at Sonya and caught her eyes, she smiled at him, "Let's make a deal, Amos, it sounds to me like you're someone worth getting to know."

Outside, Marta brushed herself off and walked away from the bodies of the monsters. People were filming her the entire time on their phones. The police had rushed in as well, setting up barriers around the corpses while keeping a close eye on Marta. Sonya restrained a smile, they probably had orders to keep their distance for now. No one knew how to handle the awakened yet and she had acted in the defense of others. Even in such a short amount of time there were groups trying to figure out how to make use of these new powers, especially the government. Even so, they weren't stupid, they wouldn't barge in and make demands.

This isn't a comic book, she thought as she looked back at Amos. He swallowed, hard.

"What do you have in mind?" He asked.

"I take care of your problem and you work for me? I can pay you and keep your projects funded, you'll have to start small though, this isn't a free ride," Sonya said with a shrug.

He stared at her for several more moments before getting to his feet just as Marta walked by. In front of a crowded window filled with people filming, Sonya took his hand and shook it as Marta inclined her head to Sonya and sat down to resume her meal. Sonya kept an easy smile even as her heart pounded in her chest, Now this is publicity, it's a shame I don't have anything to sell yet. She looked down at Amos' hand and grinned.

Appraise!

<New Product Acquired: Genius Level Intellect>

<New Product Acquired: Technopathy>

Sonya froze, two products? He had two abilities? Her mind reeled, he'd never demonstrated that he had that kind of ability in the future she remembered. She looked up at his name and it said clearly that he was awakened. She forced herself to calm down and shook his hand before sitting back down in her chair. Already the crowd was being dispersed by the police. Sonya glanced up at the growing presence of the authorities and looked to Amos, "We should get going."

"R-right," He said hastily.

"I just got back!" Marta groaned and snatched up her fries, "I'm eating on the go!"

–

Detective Martin Fuller frowned as the pale woman with white hair left the restaurant through the side entrance, the woman in the green dress and what looked like a homeless person on her heels. He pulled his radio up to his lips, "Let them go, don't bother them, but figure out where they're going," He said quietly and got a clipped acknowledgement in response. He set the radio back on his shirt and scowled.

He hated being hamstrung like this, but orders were orders. The top brass were still arguing about how to handle the light touched, as some had started to call them. Politicians were making discreet inquiries and it was getting harder and harder to keep a lid on things. More of these freaks were showing up every day. To make matters worse, the monster sightings were becoming more frequent and publicized. 

"Let it go, Martin," A voice said next to him. He turned to see a white haired man with a cut on his chin, the older man pat his shoulder, "No getting involved unless they attack a human. If they deal with the monsters that's less work for us. Our guns don't work on the damn things anyway."

Martin sagged, his dark hair glinting a bit in the afternoon sun. "They're basically vigilantes, Carl!" He retorted, "This is wrong."

"Yeah, but do you want to get into a fight with the woman in the green dress?" Carl asked, giving him a side eye.

Martin hesitated and sighed, "No, not really. I'm more interested in the woman she seems to answer to," He said, crossing his arms.

"The pale one?" Carl asked, "Yeah I noticed that too. One of the witnesses said she even gave the order to attack the monsters. She isn't even trying to be subtle about their power dynamic. She spent the entire time talking casually with the homeless-looking guy. I think that was Amos from the east side," he said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin.

"You think those freaks are getting organized?" Martin demanded, "It's barely been a week!"

"People are prone to gathering together when crazy things happen," Carl warned, "Especially if one of them has charisma," He squeezed Martin's shoulder tightly, "Also we're calling them light touched for now, ease up on the language." Martin clicked his tongue and looked away, Carl chuckled, "Still you're right to have put a tail on them. I've got a feeling we are going to be seeing a lot of that woman."