Sanctify
Chapter 24 - Changes

Noriko opened her eyes and blinked a few times before she felt her vision cleared. Like seeing the world through a computer, her mind moved quickly as the rest of her body turned on. Noriko sat up and looked around to see Jenna enter the room, followed by Dr. E and Edward. Everyone seemed different, somehow.

Jenna stepped closer and asked, “Are you feeling okay? Should you be sitting up so soon?”

“I’m alright,” Noriko replied, wiggling her toes and clenching and releasing her hands. She looked herself over and asked, “Is it supposed to feel like this?”

“Like what?” Edward asked, carefully observing her.

Noriko blinked a few times and then moved to stand. The world was very solid around her and she felt very secure. Very awake and alive. She looked up at Dr. E, who nodded, “You feel it, right?”

Noriko nodded, “Yes. I feel it all.”

Dr. E smiled and Edward stepped back, allowing Noriko to take a few steps forward and then a few back. She looked human and the same as always, but her movements were swifter and she seemed to glide more than before. Not only that, but the way her eyes moved, zipping around the room, and the response of the brain behind those eyes would have impressed them all more if they could witness it, too.

Jenna sighed and leaned against a table, “Now that she’s awake, maybe we can settle all the commotion.”

Noriko turned to Jenna and frowned, “What commotion?”

Dr. E shrugged but Edward nodded, “They want proof that Nox is back, so they need to see her.” Edward turned to Noriko and explained, “You’ve been out for two weeks. During the integration, your heart stopped and you died a bit, just before we could reboot the system, which started your heart again. During all of this, Michel and Oren made contact with the Guardians of the Haven. The Guardians want proof that you’re back and have decided to take Michel and Oren as hostages until you visit them.” He turned to Jenna, “I think that’s all of it, right?”

Jenna nodded, “Lady May and her operatives have relocated to the Dane-Hawkins mansion. They’re setting up shop and waiting for us there. She’s quite eager to meet you,” Jenna added with somewhat of a smirk.

Noriko nodded, “So we have to revisit my Guardians, save the guys, and re-establish The Glass House.”

“The Glass House? Is that what you call it?” Dr. E asked, running the worlds through her mind.

Noriko nodded, “With so many windows and because of how huge the place is, it felt right. That’s what I’ve always called it.”

Jenna nodded and pushed from the table, “I’ll get you some clothes. We need to get moving.”

Dr. E smiled, “Let me do one more check up before you go.”

“I’ll help the others at The Glass House and prepare for your arrival,” Edward added, winking at Noriko. There was no flirtation in that wink, but Noriko felt guilty for receiving it. The thought soon vanished as she was checked over and pulled on proper clothes. Her movement was a bit off but her mind whizzed by quickly and without a hitch.

Jenna frowned, noting the weight before Noriko stepped on to the car and after. The extra inches surprised her but she remained quiet. The drive to the old water and power plant was quiet and short because of Jenna’s expertise in navigating the streets, and because Noriko navigated from her old knowledge of the route. When they got out of the car, Jenna loaded up her weapons but Noriko raised one hand.

“We won’t need those,” she stated and walked straight for the front entrance. Jenna followed and kept watch of their path. Noriko led the way through the old lobby, through the back hallway, and down a flight of stairs. She stopped and raised her fist. She blinked a few times and then placed her hand on the glass pane on the door that looked like it ought to have held a sign. Instead, it lit up and scanned her hand before the deadbolt unlocked and the door swung open.

Jenna frowned, “There’s no way the guys would have known to do that.”

Noriko nodded, “Of course not. This was my idea,” she added, a sweet smile crossed her face. She stepped into the darkness and the floor lit up. “All of this was my passion-project back in the day,” Noriko led the way through the lit floor to another door but before that, a man stood in the way. He wore a suit and had on a pair of sunglasses to match his black shoes and white shirt. He looked downright spiffy.

He looked over Noriko and then Jenna before he demanded, “State your purpose.”

Noriko smiled and replied, “Routine checkup.”

The man was quiet and Jenna tensed. The door behind him opened and a woman stepped out, her long blond hair streaked with black. Her blue eyes looked from Jenna to Noriko and she gasped. “Riko? Is that you?” she asked, rushing forward and grabbing Noriko by her shoulders, “You haven’t aged at all.”

Noriko sighed and smiled, “Katrina Clearwater, it’s been a long time. Have you been here since that day?”

“Oh no, no,” Katrina replied, shaking her head, “Professor Egas arranged shifts and we’ve been training up replacements, but there’s a grueling system before bringing them in.” Katrina pulled Noriko into her embrace and gave a small yelp when Noriko hugged her back. Katrina pulled away and smiled, “Have you been working out?”

Noriko chuckled and shrugged, “I love the technology of this generation. And assuming that upgrades have been maintained while I was gone, then we should be running on the best of all systems.”

Katrina nodded and waved aside the suit, “Come on in and check it out for yourself. I’ll have your two guys released and they’ll join us shortly. Come on, Kanon will be happy to see you.”

Noriko followed Katrina down a few hallways, Jenna with her, and Katrina smiled, “I guess you’ve finally met one of your Shadows?”

Jenna frowned, “How did you know?”

“I knew the person who put together the schematics of that project. Well, he was my dad, and well, I got to understand all that and figured out that’s why they took Noriko. But, I’m a fan of the Incredible Four, so I stayed on board to manage the Guardian station they set up for, well, you know, the Haven?” Katrina’s whimsical reply left Jenna quite confused.

But Noriko nodded and added on, “Topher, Di, Mav, and I were quite the team. We set up the Haven for safety in the cyberspace and only granted access accordingly. Most of the technology out there has been stored, developed, and rechecked in there. Who got to release and distribute it was up to the Guardians and the Four.”

They stepped into a large room filled with computer servers and a few others. Noriko’s excitement hit the roof as she touched and inspected each unit. Like a kid in a candy store during Christmas, Noriko moved carefully and easily. When she reached the main unit, she swallowed and murmured, “Let’s try this.” She placed a hand on the unit and closed her eyes.

In the darkness of the soft whirring of machines, Noriko felt herself shoot through space and time. Without a warning, Kanon greeted her in the darkness in a series of beeps and sounds that Noriko heard as a smooth bisexual voice, “Welcome home, Nox.”

Noriko opened her eyes and replied, “It’s good to be home, Kanon.” Her pupils dilated and her irises turned gray. She turned and walked to the mainframe and typed around quickly. “Kanon, update me and prepare to extend your reach. I’m bringing you home,” she added and smiled.

Jenna heard voices and turned to see Michel heading up the hallway from a side door. She threw her arms around him as soon as she could. Oren smiled and moved over to Noriko and asked, “You built this place?”

Unnoticed, Michel reached up and pulled out of Jenna’s embrace. Then, they stood there in silence, Jenna watched him but Michel looked away from her. “Not just this place,” Katrina stated, rolling by in a chair, “the Haven was her idea.” As she moved, she wrote down numbers while instructing others around her.

Oren frowned and asked Noriko, “What’s this frenzy?”

“We’re going to build an extended unit at The Glass House. I need Kanon with me more,” she added, moving files around on the hard drives.

Oren nodded, “I can get with that. You talk to Lady May yet?” he asked.

Noriko smiled, “She won’t want to see me just yet.”

“Why not?” Oren asked, Jenna and Michel still too preoccupied to pay any attention to their surroundings.

Noriko chuckled, “She’ll hate that I’ve beat her to the punch.” Off of his frown, Noriko explained, “The Ghost Agents idea was formulated after studying great assets in the past. Once they died, it was all gone and that didn’t seem fair. So, if the operative can be fused with mechanical substances, they can be rebooted and their abilities can continue to be useful within the right hands.” Noriko leaned back in her seat and concluded, “That’s what we called the Ghost Agents and it was in the works but held off on because the technology during the early 2K wasn’t really up to standards.” With that, Noriko smirked, realizing she was the first revived Ghost agent of The Glass House.

Jenna rather awkwardly pulled Michel closer to the others and asked, “So, what’s the plan now?”

Noriko leaned forward, watching the files move without her touch, Kanon responding to her thoughts, and she replied, “We start our own functioning facility at The Glass House and take over the intelligence network.” The words were short but Noriko felt the fire within her burn. Finally, after many deaths, many attacks, and many hours spent in frustrated and painful silence, locked away in a dreamless sleep, Noriko felt ready to take revenge on the world that took everything from her.

Lady May looked around as Shadows and Origins checked in, working together to clean up the great Dane-Hawkins estate. She hadn’t liked the idea of being locked away in their own space, but once Jenna had made contact, she knew they had to move, for their own protection. Prejudice against them by humans was natural, but a hostile working environment was the least of all pleasant places she wanted her team to be.

A whomping sound grew until it seemed to land within the grounds of the estate. Hurrying out, she stood on the balcony, watching a few helpful agents rush forward and pull out computer units on carts. When Jenna and Michel were in view, she nodded once to them. Oren passed without looking at her and then her world stood still as she locked gazes with Noriko.

The Shadows and Origins alike stopped what they were doing and didn’t even worry about outright staring at her. She was, after all, very much a superstar in their eyes. First, for being the first Origin to have seven Shadows and now, because she was the first Ghost Agent of The Glass House. As the heir to the Dane-Hawkins regime, it was known that only she would have the power to pull together the remnants of the secret projects the government worked on, and that, she did.

Lady May nodded to Noriko once, and Noriko returned it. If the two were going to work together, they needed to figure out what had to be done to make The Glass House function. It was true that Lady May had only held her position of power because of the efforts of Professor Egas, but it almost seemed unfair that she would have to give it up for the sake of Noriko’s return.

They would talk. They had to. But even so, Lady May couldn’t help but feel a sense of dutiful submission towards Noriko. And it was that feeling that burned within her as she watched Noriko enter The Glass House, like she been born to own it.