LeavesThe door that Decoy had led Ira to was a highly advanced sliding steel door locked by magnetism. There was no handle, no buttons to press. The unlocking mechanism was a nearby combination retinal and palm scanner, holographic of course, projected from a small camera next to the door. If Decoy's word was to be believed, it was unlocked for Ira, and so... Yes. As soon as she applied her hand and held an eye to the scanner, the door rushed open with the signature "whoosh" of a vacuum replacing the air. It led to a small chamber large enough only to hold maybe four or five people, with another magnetic door on the other end. As soon as Ira stepped into the chamber, the door behind her sealed itself. From two cameras on opposite walls a holo-grid was projected, scanning the entire chamber from top to bottom, logging Ira's presence. After a second the grid vanished, the projectors shut off, while a computerized voice emanated from... Somewhere. "Ward: Epsilon. Access - Approved."
The second door opened with the same vacuum sound, granting Ira access to Decoy's personal room. A grid lined the entire place, which was about thirty feet in length as well as width. The entire thing was reminiscent of classic Star Trek episodes. The entire room was one big hologram projector. A single figure stood at the center, unseen, masked by dozens of holographic screens floating around simultaneously. With a wave of one hand, the screens were dismissed allowing the figure to walk toward Ira. Decoy was... Not as advertised. A tall 5'9" with slender, beautiful skin and a lithe soft body, she made for a gorgeous Japanese woman. Her brown-red hair hung just barely below the shoulders, and she carried herself with a measure of grace to match the flowery blouse and blue skirt she wore.
<"Riese-chan, I am glad to make your acquaintance in person, after all our tutoring sessions."> As she spoke, the door slid shut behind Ira. It was just the two of them, now completely alone. <"I apologize for ordering you to hold your tongue, Riese-chan. It was distasteful, to say the least. But necessary at the time. You all are required to attend therapy for what happened tonight. Imagine the psychological damage the other Wards would have suffered if they knew? That is assuming they wouldn't have become too distracted to survive. Please, make yourself comfortable, Reise-chan. We shall talk."
Decoy waved her left hand in an oddly specific gesture, which seemingly conjured a red sofa chair near Ira. Though it was a light projection, Decoy's tinker technology had made it quite real. Hard light. That was a new one she hadn't ever shared with the Wards before.
The Broker shook his head a little low at the sudden influx of questions. He was not used to being accosted in such a manner, and to be honest he cared very little for it. His first instinct was to dismiss it with a wave, but no. That would not do, would it? Instead he poured himself another glass, then began to speak with everyone. "You've all earned some explanation, I suppose, and a good chinwag never hurt anybody. Well," He glanced at Chatterbox with a knowing smile. "Almost anybody. Very good."
The Broker downed his drink in one go, set his glass back on the bar, then continued. "I don't interact with powers. Not directly. I interact with the source of powers. Your... Passengers, you might call them. Every parahuman has this thing that gives their powers, and I control those things directly. But that's enough about me. I hate talking about myself, worst sodding topic." He took the box that Heartless had produced and gently caressed it on the bar top. "Whimsy, would you be a good lass and dispose of the... Extras? Like you did a few weeks ago? Apologies for the mess, but the second was defective as well. You see, her power didn't function at all. A non-functional Whimsy was no use to us, and on the streets would have been a liability. I don't deal in loose ends. If Love Craft still had a functioning brain, you could ask them."
At this point he stopped his caressing and keyed in a small code on a number pad the case had. It popped open with a small hiss as the insides of the case repressurized. "Hm. Nice to see the bloody wankers haven't changed the master code." he mumbled. The boss man then lifted up the top of the case, revealing its contents: six colored vials. "Since you've earned it, what we are doing here has to do with these. None of you are aware, but there is another way to gain powers beyond a trigger event. There are people out there who sell powers. A secretive group, like a real world Illuminati." He closed the case once again, a smirk of satisfaction across his face.
"The more information you have on them, the more danger you're in. You've heard rumors of the Bogeyman, right? She works for them." There seemed to be a certain amount of venom as he emphasized that word. "It seems we have stopped the Community from bringing in six new parahumans into their organization. Capital work gentlemen, and lady. Capital indeed. One step closer to taking down that thick sod Patriarch."
The Broker stood up from his bar stool, taking hold of the box. It was just about time to take his leave. "The money is in your accounts. Thank you for your services tonight. I won't have another task for you for another three weeks. Until then, relax, assist one another on any jobs you'd like to get done amongst yourselves, and prepare your silver tongues. It's about time to call all the villain factions to neutral territory for a meeting to discuss The Community. Anything else I can do for you before I pop off?"
