"Well, last time I sent her to prison, she promised to, and I quote: 'Turn my asshole inside out'. So...maybe?" Esmerelda smirks, before frowning. "She can't fly, no, but she can form ice from her hands to use as projectiles - she's shot people out of the sky before. It depends - do you think you can move fast enough while carrying me? I can't fly anymore." She explains. Outside, Ice points to the door, ordering the bikers to come enter the building.
"A biker gang?" Vanessa was surprised at how normal it was, Unless there are some supers that like motorcycles? She pondered, before reading up more. Her eyes widening as news about Horatio, or rather how famous he is in the city. What? And he's still alive!? She screamed inside her mind, gulping as she felt her body shuddering, seemingly recalling his touch. "Tsk. Hopefully he'll end up like Oscar, and remain in a coma for the rest of his days." She clicks her tongue, No, this also means that I'll have to make Jacob move residence at all costs. She thinks to herself, taking a deep breath as she starts reading up on the hospital attack. "They're keeping it quiet?" Vanessa raised an eyebrow, "Hmm, I see, so that's what they went with." She pondered, There might be some truth to that, but rather than kill me, it seems they don't want me finding out what Oscar left me. The heiress grumbled, she calls for Lawrence, telling him to follow up with the law firm to see if there were still copies of Oscar's will.
“Well, that's one promise she won't be able to keep today – not if I can help it. As for your other question...” Azura paused as she looked at the two unconscious bikers. “Flying while carrying you won't be a problem, but my speed is limited, so I'd rather not take the chance. How about we just go up to the next floor and let the bikers try to explain what happened?” She suggested as she moved to pen the door. Hoping that they would be able to make it up before the bikers could see them.
"It appears, madame..." Lawrence tells her, as he returns from his phone call with the firm, "...That the police have obtained the secondary copy of the will, and are holding it as evidence."
"What?" Vanessa was shocked to hear the details, "What exactly does that have to do with what happened?" She sighed, "Unless... was the copy on the dead lawyer?" She asked, pondering why the police would go to a law firm to get the copy. What was on that piece of paper, you bastard. Don't tell me you did something else? The heiress curses at Oscar, shaking her head as she tries to focus on other matters. "Right, anyway, is there news about the company?" Vanessa decides to instead focus on something she can work on.
"Worth a shot, I suppose." Esmerelda nods, as Sapphira whispers "Whatever we decide, let's do it now! They're inside!" Spoiler: Stealth Roll D100: 99 (Crit) The bikers reach the second floor just as Azura and her companions disappear to the third. The men are reasonably professional - when they enter room two to find it trashed and their hostage missing, they draw their sidearms. Room by room, they kick down doors, tearing through the apartments and terrifying the residents, as they search for Esmerelda. Azura finds herself in a broom closet, her companions squeezed in on either side of her, breasts pressing against her, as they hide. Finally, the thugs pass Azura by, heading for the fourth and fifth floor, with the same disappointing results. They return downstairs to report their failure, and Azura hears one of them scream in agony, before she hears bike engines starting up and fading away in the distance.
“That will definitely help expand. The larger the following the easier it will be to pull more resources. The following is available to anyone, but give special interest to young adults with important parents….or sad old adults who are sort of important business wise themselves. Your job will be to spread influence that way and I’ll deal with the harder elements….tomorrow.” She yawned. “You’ve been doing well, so far. Don’t disappoint me…” she tried to remember what his name was before just remaining silent. She’d remember eventually. For now, she headed off to the master bedroom alone to sleep.
"No - this is a backup copy that was stored in the firm's safe. Apparently the police arrived and seized it - citing that due to being a copy of what the thieves collected, it was valuable to their investigation. They had a warrant signed by Circuit Judge Milani, and didn't give a date for when they'd return it." Lawrence smiles. "There's a few things that require your attention with the company - a hostile takeover attempt not least among them, but before we abandon hope on the will issue, there was one more thing." Lawrence pauses - among his few faults as a butler is a flair for drama - before revealing what he has to say. "The partner I spoke to at the firm told me that the lawyer had secreted a message on his computer, to be given to you in the event of his violent death. There's another reserve copy of the will - a backup of the backup, you might say, hidden in a safety deposit box at the Century Central Bank, in your name."
(Perfect time for a crit! ) Azura waited a few more minutes, in case not all of the bikers had left, or in case Ice had not left yet (and totally not because she was enjoying being sandwiched between Sapphira and Esmerelda – definitely not). Once she felt certain they were safe she signaled for her companions to get out of the broom closet. “That went better than I expected, honestly. Time to get out of here... but where should we go? They will probably be watching Esmerelda's place, in case she goes home. We can go to my pl;ace, or to Sapphira's. Any opinions?”
"Yes, ma'am!" The boy seems totally unphased by the fact his idol can't remember is name, as he races to his room to get to work on his computer. After an eventful evening, Malady passes out with speed, bathed in the satisfaction of her victory over Ryota, even if it's not a permanent one. She awakens to the smell of coffee on the bedside table the next morning.
"Hmm, I suppose that makes sense, in case those criminals try to change something, they could have another copy to check." Vanessa hummed, before frowning as she recalled the strange feeling she got from the police chief. "Unless the criminal is big enough to buy a private army, and the city police for himself. And ensure the changes he makes it solid." She grumbled, before Lawrence spoke about the company. "Right, I'll be sure to check on those." She nods, before smiling at how dramatic he suddenly got. "Really now, if you can still keep up your flair for drama, it'll make me think that what we've been discussing isn't that serious." Vanessa giggled, until her butler finished speaking. Her eyes widening, "That is... who else knows about this?" She asked, realizing how suspicious the events have been. "It looks like my schedule for tomorrow is set." The heiress hums, deciding to do some work for the company to pass the time until she had to get ready for the ball.
"I don't have a permanent domicile. I mostly just crash with whoever I'm shacked up with at the time, so I say we go to your place." Sapphira admits. "Heh, can't fault her logic." Esmerelda chuckles. "I agree - we can't go to my place. It's either your home, or we grab a hotel - the latter might be worth it in case they were ultra-careful and left a sentinel to watch the building - though I don't know if Ice and a bunch of bikers would be."
She wasn’t exactly in a hurry to get up, but slowly went through the entire morning routine, then took her seat, helping herself to some coffee. Today would like involve an annoying amount of work, but she was getting close to being properly established in the city. She hasn’t really thought of where she wanted to go from there, but knew she’d need manpower and influence to make anything happen anyway. She waited for that fat geek, still needing to know more about these apparent delinquents. Would that really make them good servant material? She wasn’t sure. But she knew she’d still need proper criminals to get things done eventually when she did want to go on to bigger and better things.
“I doubt they would leave someone to watch the place, but no need to take chances. Give me a minute...” After taking a quick look around to make sure they were alone Azura focused and slowly covered each of them in an illusion. When she was done all three looked like plain women: brown hair, brown eyes, plain clothes... nothing to make them stand out in a crowd. As a bonus Esmerelda's lack of proper clothing was now hidden. “There, now let's get out of here. We have 5 to 10 minutes, 15 at best, before the illusions vanish. Let's go!” She led her two companions down the stairs and toward where they had left her car.
"Let's hope he's not that big." Lawrence frowns at the idea, before answering her question. "The lawyer who informed me definitely knows - beyond that, I have no idea. It could be just him, but word could also have gotten around the firm's office - someone writing a message to only be read in the event of their violent death is the sort of thing drama-mongers love to talk about. It's also possible a policeman got access to the deceased lawyer's computer." Spoiler: Business Roll D100: 91 (Crit) As she goes through various businesses owned by her corporation, wary about Lawrence's warning about a hostile takeover, Vanessa comes across an oddity. Looking at her holdings, she sees a mining complex situated in an African nation that's just had a revolution. When Lawrence mentions seeing a speech from the new president about nationalising foreign businesses, she gets on the phone, finding that Arch Corp is surprisingly willing to buy the complex despite the inevitable nationalisation. A few minutes later, with the deal made concrete, she wipes her brow. The company's half a billion dollars richer, and narrowly avoids losing a massive investment in the mine. If she'd failed to catch this, it would have looked very bad - the board might have had ammunition to remove her as CEO. Several members, she knows, are eager to see her replaced. Business concluded, Lawrence informs the heiress that it's time to prepare, and that he'll be down with the car to take her to the ball.
"Well..." The fat boy says after returning to her, some food in tow. "They're former football jocks - all their muscles are big, except for the one up here, you know?" He points to his head. "They hang out by the alleys not far from here - mugging people. They, uh, make me pay them every time I cross their street... I heard that they're trying to get the attention of one of the Big Four - get hired as mob enforcers."
Luckily, there's no one to hinder their trip outside - the three women make it to the car without incident.
"Right, I suppose I'll bring the collar, just in case." Vanessa mumbled, already having an ingenious way of bringing her collar around in public. Which was simply having it attached to her coats, making it seem as if it was merely a fastener. With that over, she gets to work being an actual CEO. Only to realize how dangerous the situation has gotten overseas. But, as she immediately found a buyer, "Huh? What is Arch Corp doing?" She couldn't help but utter, as a half a billion deal was finished in one afternoon. Could he have that president in his pocket? Vanessa wondered, but, as the overseas venture was merely an extra. She was more focused on ensuring that the Fitzgerald legacy would remain solid within Central city. Then, as Lawrence informs her of the time. "Alright, I'll get ready now." Vanessa hummed, taking a quick shower, and dressing up for the ball. "Hmm, is the fur coat too much for a charity event?" She asked Lawrence, smiling as she gets in the car.
“Well, they aren’t going to be brought on for thinking.” They already had committed at least some petty crimes and were trying to make a reputation for themselves. Not exactly the 1,001 and elite samurai she had around before but…..one step at a time. “I’ll go see for myself then. In the meantime, try organizing the rest of the fan club and bringing in the numbers. Presumably try to do it in a more public place like a cafe. There’s no laws against peaceful assembly after all, and if anyone makes a big deal out of it , it will just raise awareness faster when people want to see what someone doesn’t want them too.” Supervillain or not, these people weren’t really committing crimes or do anything. And as far as most would be aware, it was just nerds talking about fictional characters. The proof she was very much real…or is now anyway, would definitely spike popularity with this groups. But she had the other side to focus on at the same time. “I’ll probably keep these guys separate from that crowd once they’re pledged their loyalty to me.” She didn’t even present it as a subject in question. At least this wouldn’t be far to walk.
