[b] The Estate [/b] 

Binary said, "Thanks Sixgun. We'll send somebody to pick it up. As for Midwest supervillains...." there was a bit of a pause before she said, "There aren't very many active supercriminals that remain on the radar. It seems they all went to ground when Legion started recruiting. There's a few dozen metahumans allied with the Outfit and there are international mercenaries that they might be able to hire. As for local boys... sources say the Panamanian is still unaffiliated and there are a couple dozen other lower-level supers that could be hired. I'll work up dossiers as soon as possible." 

The two men nodded at Fletcher Ross, one catching the bottle as they began another argument. It seemed this one was a debate on who the best villain rapper was. One man argued that Quickshot's rapid rhymes beat out Freakshow's shapeshifting showmanship. His partner vehemently disagreed. They both seemed to agree however that Outcast was one of the most profound artists out there. They forgot all about Ross and Fontana's room remained empty. 

Wire was shown in to Marconi's office where the two of them had since regained their composure. Marconi sat in the chair while Music leaned on the wall. Sixgun's bug had not been noticed and probably never would be. Marconi nodded at Howard who kept a blank face, "Glad to see you're alright Howard. I would have hated to have lost you." He stared at Wire, "You must be the go-getter. Tell me how did you find our boy here? And how'd you get him back?" 

[b] The Den [/b] 

Binary said, "Just look at it, I'll use your implants as a wireless booster to... and got it. Downloaded all the files skimming now." Binary hummed as she speed-read through the information, "A lot of it is manifest stuff. Incoming and outgoing "converts" there seem to have been a few dozen superhumans and even more young women that went through here. Plus a bunch of shipments of potion crap. There's references to the Master and to that dead alchemist. It seems these women are all captures from their previous pimps. They took all the best girls, got rid of the pimps who wouldn't play ball, and started enthralling them. They've been keeping a record of customers and... damn there are a bunch of local businessmen and officials on here." 

"The.... private rooms are on the second floor and they usually get business at night. First floor is a bunch of storage for their potions and where the Enchanter sets up shop. Apparently they keep all the girls they turned in the basement. They ship off the Superhumans but they don't say where. As for the girl..." Binary hummed even more while she read but then it died in her throat,

"She's a.... my god she's a Conduit." Conduits were among the rarest and most powerful superhumans of all. A Conduit's power was the ability to manipulate other powers, both meta and magic. A Conduit could weaken or even negate a Superhuman's power to nothing or accelerate their power to massive levels temporarily. They could detect powers and it was said they give themselves temporary powers. The duration and potency of the power changes depended on the Conduits's power level. 

There were only two, perhaps three known Conduits in the United States. American Dream, a supersoldier in the Superhuman Operations Corps, Lady Liberty of the superhero team the Metropolitan Watchmen, and it was always suspected but never confirmed that Apex, public enemy number one, was a Conduit. There were no more than a couple dozen Conduits world-wide. Now it seemed there was a fourth American Conduit. And she was in Legion's hands. 

Binary gasped, "Morningstar.... if they manage to bend her to their will. And if she's top tier... she could wipe us out. They might be able to depower Zenith and the Founders at least for a short time. Then they could have the run of the crime rackets for the majority of the country. Beyond even. We can't let Legion enthrall her. No matter what you have to make sure they don't get control of her." 

Binary's nervousness came through the line, "If you grab her now they'll know and you won't be able to recon any further. But they can't have her. It's your choice, if you think you can scope out the place for the League to raid great. If not, grab the girl and haul ass out of there. I'll set up the evac just in case." 

[b] The Hall [/b] 

Prudence wrinkled her nose at the smoke but didn't comment instead conjuring a small hand-held fan to blow away the fumes. At this point there was nothing to be gained from even trying to get him to stop smoking. She sighed but grinned right after, "Those things will kill you. Oh wait. Not a problem I guess," She giggled and continued, "Thomas is going to know you blew smoke all over his work." She picked up the emerald ring and buffed it on her sleeve before setting it back down. 

Madam Rosario snapped her head back aghast and turned, muttering under her breath about back-talking familiars and sorcerers who were too curious for their own good. Prudence chuckled, "I always liked Ryan Reynolds better. Especially ever since they actually came out with the Deadpool movie. And I forgot to tell you. It only works if you have something of a person to put in the locket too. A hair, a nail clipping, anything like that. You wouldn't need it for a drawing but it wouldn't look as realistic." Prudence grinned mischievously, "I snagged some of Thomas's hair after he got into the fight with the demon lord." 

[b] The Prison [/b] 

Since Light did not gush blood like a fountain, a few droplets splattered Xaxx and Reaper. Knightmare lost his balance actually fell into the portal when Light hit him and Copycat dove back and his fingers turned into long claws. Diluvian raised his hand and the droplets of mist started moving. They coalesced into almost solid streamers of stinging liquid that shot straight into her eyes. Polaris raised a hand and a beam of light slammed into her and slammed her against a wall. Xaxx and Reaper began firing bullets at her while they side-stepped closer and closer to the once-again stable portal followed by Diluvian. 

Sarco, Growth, and Behemoth were almost upon the portal as well. Polaris saw Hot Rod and chuckled, "That poser. I'll hold him off. Get them out of here." Copycat was about to protest when Hot Rod's punches slammed off of Sarco, Behemoth, and Growth with almost no effect other than startling them and making them even angrier. Hot Rod got in the first punch and a second but no more. Polaris turned into a corona of light and every-time Hot Rod zoomed in he zoomed away. He was as fast as him if not faster and Polaris's hard-light fists punched at Hot Rod in rapid succession as he blocked and dodged the majority of his blows, cranking up his brightness to disorient Hot Rod. 

Zenith spoke into the comm, "Hold him off for a few more minutes we're almost there."