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Tom watched as William appeared shortly after he did, no doubt waiting for Brie just like he was. Well, that of all things definitely wasn't a surprise. He expected a couple more, but he supposed he was the only one actually curious about what was going on. William's reason for being here most likely wasn't pure curiosity about just what Powers wanted with her. The two didn't share any words as Tom watched the few stragglers left filing out of the hall, each of them looking up at him at first with a look of surprise, then one of slight annoyance, in turn. He gave the last one a small wave before they scuttled away down the corridor, joining a group of people conversing not too far away. He didn't recognise any of them and he felt his eyes glaze over them as he watched them for a second before turning back to the door of the hall. 

It was a few minutes before Brie appeared, where she proceeded to walk directly into Will's chest. Tom rolled his eyes, waving back at her as she addressed him, before he leaned forward slightly and watched the upside-down conversation now proceeding in front of him. He eyed up the manilla folder as she held it out. What secrets could the folder entail? Information about a suspension? Something about ICOSA? It seemed not... the folder allegedly contained information about Brie's parents. Tom couldn't help but take notice of Brie's eyes flicking about everywhere, but before either him or Will could ask anything else, she was gone, speedwalking down the hall. [Color=SteelBlue]"That was weird, right?"[/color] he said absentmindedly to Will, before he shrugged and flipped back down, heading out of the hall himself. He didn't have hero patrol today - but he was still going to go out and float about the skyscrapers for a few hours, see if he could spot anything. 

A little while later, and Tom was on a deck chair on a building, sipping a can of energy drink and looking down at the streets below. Seemed like a pretty boring day today. He felt his phone buzz, and picked it up, not expecting it to be anything interesting. But, it did turn out to be something interesting. A text from Brie... about a party! Well, he could always go for a good party. Angie's wasn't too far away from where he was now, so he picked up his drink and began the short float over. Soon enough he had reached her apartment building. He had no idea what number she lived at, so he floated down to the door of the lobby and stepped inside, looking around for wherever the information about who lived in what apartment was. He didn't spot anything. He supposed he would wait here for someone else attending the party to arrive. 

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The meeting was obviously a large one, and so it took a while for all of the heroes that had been stuffed into HERO One to fan back out across the city for their various duties that day, most of which simply involved patrolling the streets to look out for any crimes or villains that the legions of H.E.R.O could spot. It was turning out to be a pretty quiet day - one might even consider it a boring one, especially after the hype of the earlier meeting. C-Tier hero Stinger certainly thought so. Walking around the streets for hours on end was pointless - he at least deserved a break. So, he ducked into an alleyway and pulled out a cigarette, lighting it up. But that turned out to be a mistake. Before he knew what was happening, he felt an arm around his neck and sensed the sweet smell of chloroform filling his nostrils. 

Stinger awoke with a jump. He took immediate note of the the fact that he was tied to a chair. His hands were tied in a way that pushed the palms into his back. After that, he took note of his surroundings. He was in an empty wooden room, completely silent, with darkness filling the corners, as the light filtering in from the slits in the door were not enough to fully illuminate the small room. Trying to regain all his senses, Stinger felt his heart skip a beat as something emerged from the shadows in the corner of the room. It was a man, tall and thin. He was dressed in casual, ordinary clothes from the neck down, but his face was covered in an old looking gas mask. The man seemed to consider Stinger for a moment, before taking another step forward, leaning over slightly. 

[color=YellowGreen]"State your codename, tier, and power."[/color] Came a voice from below the gas mask, ever so slightly muffled. It was certainly a cold voice, but it wasn't emotionless. Stinger spluttered slightly. [color=Gold]"What... Huh?"[/color] He looked back up at the man, who said again simply - [color=YellowGreen]"State your codename, tier, and power."[/color]. Stinger paused, his mind racing. He suddenly had a small epiphany, and audibly gasped. [color=Gold]"Hang on... I know you! You're-"[/color] But Stinger was rudely interrupted. The man's voice was now audibly annoyed, filled with malice. [color=YellowGreen]"I'm not going to ask you again. State your codename, tier, and power."[/color]. He leaned forward and placed his hand on Stinger's leg. That seemed to be enough of a threat. 

[color=Gold]"S-Stinger. C-Tier. I can make poison tipped spikes from my hands."[/color] He said, clearly not willing to defy what this man wanted any longer. [color=YellowGreen]"Good thing I made sure those hands are against your back, then."[/color] The man mused. A silence fell over the scene, before Stinger broke it. [color=Gold]"What do you want with me?"[/color] The man removed his hand from Stinger's leg, and stood up to his full height. [color=YellowGreen]"Nothing much, truthfully. I just want to know why exactly it seemed that every hero in the city was called into H.E.R.O One this morning."[/color] Stinger looked up again. Really, was that all this man wanted? 

[color=Gold]"It was just... Director Powers was just giving a meeting. There's been too much collateral damage recently, apparently, and so... So H.E.R.O is being inspected."[/color] He finished. The man continued to stand still. [color=YellowGreen]"Inspection? Inspection by who?"[/color] Stinger paused for a moment, before firmly deciding that this wasn't information that he wanted to risk his life over. His pay was nowhere near high enough for that. [color=Gold]"ICOSA. ICOSA is bringing in some international heroes to... to act as a check on our ones, I guess."[/color]. 

The man sighed heavily. That piece of information seemed to have annoyed him. [color=YellowGreen]"And did anything else happen in this meeting apart from that announcement?"[/color]. Stinger shook his head, and then stopped. [color=Gold]"Well... Powers called a girl to speak to him after the meeting."[/color] The man's silence indicated to Stinger that he should go into more detail. [color=Gold]"Um... It was... Brianna Hart."[/color] The man chuckled. [color=YellowGreen]"I don't care about what her real name was. What's her codename?"[/color] Stinger nervously thought for a couple of moments, before what he thought was her codename came to mind. [color=Gold]"Static... I think, I'm not sure.[/color]

The man nodded. [color=YellowGreen]"I'm done with you."[/color] He leaned down placing his hands on the ropes that bound Stinger to the chair. A slight sizzling noise could be heard, before Stinger was free to stand, which he did so quickly. [color=YellowGreen]"You are to leave, then walk to a police officer or another hero to get your hands free. Tell them that Dweller or someone tied you up. If you tell them what really happened, I'll know, and I'll see to it you don't make it back home."[/color] Stinger went to take a step forward. In an instant, the man thrust his hand forward into Stinger's back, where it came out of the front of his chest. Stinger was, of course, dead instantly, as his heart had been completely disintegrated. His lifeless body stood standing for a second before it fell over. 

Caustic chuckled, taking off his gas mask to reveal the pale, tired-looking face underneath. He looked down at the body below him - he'd deal with it later. For now he was pondering on what he had heard. So, ICOSA was in town, towing along behind them some top heroes from around the world. That would certainly pose an annoyance, as an increase in the number of heroes always did. And if they actually made the heroes of Castleburg somewhat competent, that would also pose an annoyance. Hugo Powers talking to the heroine named Static also flashed over his mind, but it was probably something completely inane. ICOSA agents were fairly easy to distinguish from regular people, maybe he should try and pick one up later. He bent down, picking Stinger's wallet out of his trousers and pulling some money out of that. For now, however, he could do with a spot of lunch.