The Watchwomen

Chapter 23 (Act II): Sonya, Traitor To The Legion

We last read Chapter 22, in which Voltara and Coldsnap successfully make a phone call to the number which Gill posthumously provided to them, getting in contact with a former Diamond Legion assassin named Sonya Pillsbury, who supposedly worked on manufacturing the antidote for the Legion's brainwashing tactics alongside him and Ivan. Though Sonya refuses to say too much on the phone itself, she sends a set of coordinates to Voltara's phone that directs her, Coldsnap, and the rest of the Watchwomen to her ranch so they can talk things over a little further.

However, because B.B.—who is unwillingly affiliated with the Diamond Legion thanks to Allie Bannister's machinations—has been spying on the Watchwomen ever since they escaped from the Utah State Correctional Facility, Allie now knows not only the heroines' next move, but that they and Sonya, who defected from the Legion seven years ago, will be in the same place at the same time. Quickly adapting, Allie makes another adjustment to her plan. Even though she knows where Sonya is—and could send a squad to attack her hideout and kill her immediately—she figures that it would be more satisfying to mind-control the Watchwomen to serve the Legion and have them kill her instead. To that end, she orders her two bodyguards, George and Ringo, to choose four Legion Guard troops to participate in a trap that will be set at the outskirts of Sonya's humble ranch estate, insisting that they "start small" when it comes to brainwashing the Watchwomen; said trap also involves a handheld Bluetooth speaker.

The chapter ultimately ended with the Watchwomen successfully making it to Sonya's ranch, located in an undisclosed location off the grid, before landing their airship, exiting by way of the rear ramp, and approaching the house.

This time, the Watchwomen converse with Sonya Pillsbury about the ins and outs of the Diamond Legion, intent on knowing as much about their foes as possible before the big showdown.....

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-Sonya Pillsbury's Ranch, Unknown Location-

The former Diamond Legion assassin Sonya Pillsbury now lived a mostly quiet life in a ranch estate located off the grid from pretty much everywhere else. Her property consisted of a sizable amount of land in her front yard, an extensive garden in her backyard, a barn on the western side with at least six horses kept in stables, and a pigpen on the eastern side containing ten pigs whom she fed regularly.

Though she had left the Diamond Legion behind—and now practically despised every aspect of it—there was no running from the time that she had spent there. It wasn't like she could simply forget about it or "re-condition" herself into thinking it never happened; that stain would forever be on her reputation, as well as the stains left by every single act she committed under their service. All that mattered was the Diamond Legion's termination.....and if she really had spoken with two of the eight Paragons earlier, then she would be getting a big help with that task; a big help indeed.

She had tan skin and presented as being of Asian heritage. She possessed boyishly-short hair which was practically at buzzcut levels, gold earrings on her ears with fake red gemstones within each one, and nails that were painted black. Still using her former organization's colors—the black combat suit with red lining and highlights—she opened the eastern exit door of her ranch house, took a bucket of pig feed from a hanging hook just outside, and headed to the shed to give her pigs their "lunch".

Walking in, she stopped at a pen that contained three pigs: one whose fur was completely black, a second whose fur was completely white, and, remarkably enough, a third whose fur was white with numerous black spots. Then, she reached both of her arms over the gate—which only needed to be high enough to prevent the pigs from escaping—and refilled the trough with some of the feed from the bucket. Though the all-white one and the spotted one quickly headed for their lunch and began eating, the all-black one initially stopped short of the trough, seeing no room for them at the container's edge.