Cutting a Deal

Ms. Elena Vexus had recently returned to the world of the living and quite the shopping list on her hands. Shortly after her return there were some precautionary measures that Elena needed to take in order to further her plans. Some time ago her and Nightkill had constructed the largest and most powerful Quantum Computer, and soon before her death she had made some alterations to the computer so that she may 'upload' herself into the computer which she has done. Now being one with the most powerful computer on the planet, technologically there was nothing she could not due and she would be using her new found 'abilities' to their fullest extent.
The information she had found and gathered from literally controlling the internet brought her across this organization that called themselves 'Dominus'. Diving deeper into the topic she only became more and more intrigued, Vexus found them to be an excellent first target so that she may replenish her diminishing expense account. After a little research she found their locations and sent a clone and Helena off in order to pay them a visit. Of course, Elena would be the first to 'knock' on their door before they arrived.
The target was Alaska. Helena and the clone of Elena were quickly in route, as for Vexus herself she was already tearing down the security in the heart of their headquarters. Tapping into the cameras Elena saw two individuals in the main control room. One she could identify as Adam Paxton the current leader of Dominus and who seemed to be Franklin Salters. It was as good as time as ever so Elena took over all of the screens covering them in complete static disallowing them from any other actions. After a moment of nothingness the sound of the static ceased and footsteps could be heard coming from behind the door. They were getting louder as the sound of heels came closer. The screens inside the room all turned a bright shade of pink as gunshots were heard right outside of the room. The door opened and the body of a guard tumbled down the steps and slowly following was Helena Vexus in a white trench coat holding a pink glock with shot blond hair, her bangs covering her right eye. She got to the step where the guard had fallen and kicked him aside. Following Helena came Elena Vexus. The silence that filled the room was broken ever few seconds with each individual click of her heels and she made her way down the steps. Her pink hair flowed flawlessly, she had on one of her signature outfits. A white blazer with black trim and nothing underneath, silver jewelry, black skirt with violet stockings and black stiletto pumps with a hot pink sole. Once she reached the bottom of the step she put a hand on her hip and slowly started to make her way over to Adam and Franklin.
"Hello there Mr. Paxton. My name is Elena Vexus and I have a bit of an offer to make you..."
Helena followed closely behind keeping an eye on the two. Vexus meanwhile pulled up a chair and took a seat casually crossing her legs.
"Though I will be honest it is a tad one sided..." She looked over her shoulder checking the position of Helena, who had not yet said a word.
"As you can see your computers have taken on a lovely shade of pink. Yes, this is of course my doing. I have erased all of the information in your database, but have no worries. I copied it all first and saved it as a backup. I am keeping your data hostage for the time being and I will not 'anonymously' send it to, well, everyone you're hiding it from for $10 Million. But if you would rather take the risk then that's fine too. You're screens will stay pink and Time Magazine might call you for an interview..."
Elena sat still with her hands folded on her lap giving a nice smile at Andrew waiting for an answer. She saw that he was about to speak and interrupted.
"Oh!" she said quickly moving to her feet. She now began pacing the room very slowly."I did see that lovely little 'list' that you all have put together. And if we double the price on that ransom, I will help you find these people... And after their capture or assassination they will be in my custody until a sum of $1 Million is paid to me for the transfer of the body..."
Vexus could see the doubt in their eyes so she pointed to the screens behind them. Appearing on the large monitors were live feeds of some of the heroes and villains listed. A devilish grin crept across her face as they looked upon their targets.
"Now then, Mr. Adam Paxton... Do we have ourselves a deal?" she said in a slow, cold and merciless tone...

The Alaskan alps, grand in size and breathtaking to behold if one were to marvel at its startling beauty and sheer scape. However beauty always has a habit of hiding particularly dirty secrets and amongst the snowy alps of the great craggy mountains was something man-made..something built into the side of a mountain itself. A single door led into the compound and a whole array of security details constantly scanned the area with impressive precision , troopers routinely watched over the base as if it were their child...nothing was to enter and tarnish the grand headquarters of what was one of the most feared organisations of this century...Dominus.

A man of fifty years sat with arms crossed, fingers interlaced as images flashed across a whole array of screens in front of him. Eyes constantly scanning the data, numbers, images and videos that graced their way across the state of the art technology that was built into the wall of bullet proof room. This man, Adam Paxton, was not alone however; he was naturally paranoid so it only made sense that he would have some company to make sure nothing particularly troublesome would come his way. This company of his, was quite simply the worst and best man he could have next to him. This ever watching cigarette chomping man was Franklin Salters, otherwise known as Mr Salt and possibly one of Dominus' most fearsome members.

All was calm in that room, the latter choosing to fiddle with a state of the art blade that he deftly threw into the air only to catch in between two fingers. However the awkwardly peaceful atmosphere suddenly shattered when the technology within the room took on a more vibrant and feminine hue. Adam flinched at the sudden change, this was state of the art technology..not something that was subject to computer malfunctions or anything of that 'threat level'. Things only became worse when gunfire erupted just outside of the sliding door to the room, the distinctive sound of heels tapping against polished concrete had both men giving each other quizzical looks.

"The fuck is this...?", Franklin muttered just before two women strutted into the room...one of which was wielding pink pistols, something that had the Dominus agent reacting with a cocked eyebrow. The pink haired woman, confident in her approach and eloquent in her delivery was definitely the last thing Adam expected to walk through the door and the very thought thet such an obscure looking woman managed to make her way into this particular room had him baffled. "How do you know my name?!", he spoke with a surprising level of calm, however his clenched fists were shivering with subdued shock...was she a metahuman? He asked himself curious as to what she would want with him.

Her sudden explanation, the deal she wanted and the bargain that was practically forced onto him had him clenching his jaw whilst rubbing his temples with increasing pressure. Mr Salt however was not so subdued with his reaction to the two, staring the scantily dressed blonde up and down with a mixture of lust and amusement...all he saw in her was a challenge, pink guns were by far the least imposing weapon he had ever laid eyes on. Mr Salt was by no means an idiot though and he knew from experience in this particular career that looks are deceiving and that a gun wielding whore could possibly much more dangerous than she seemed.

Adam Paxton sighed, furrowing his brow as he stared the woman straight in the eyes, "Manipulating me is of no use, I control an army and you are just a woman..however what you provided me with, this valuable information..", he spoke nodding at the images of the listed metahumsn, "Is quite grand if I say so myself...", he said slowly mulling over the possibilities of finally getting his grasp on the metahumans that ran free across the free world.

Before he could answer the woman a whizzing sound snapped through the air, a metal wire shot through the air with an unbelievable level of speed darting towards the cocky woman instantly cleaving her head off. The head slid off, a clean cut was made and what many would expect to be a blood and flesh was instead electrical wires and mechanical oddities. The body drooped to the floor as all members within the room stood stunned at the sudden change of events, this was only changed when a feminine voice shattered the atmosphere with a cold, almost robotic voice.

"Threaten my father like that...and that's what happens" she muttered, retracting the wire as she stared the blonde woman down..practically threatening her with the same fate if she did not comply. It was none other than the number 1 agent from Dominus, Agent Gossamer...

Helena's sensors had alerted her of the incoming danger so she ducked avoiding the destructive wire. She glared at the new threat thinking terrible thought, however she knew there was more to the plan.
The screens went from pink to a blank channel screen with a monotonousness long beep. After a moment the screens went black and Elena Vexus' face appeared on every single screen.
"My dearest Gossamer. I will do as I please in this organization. As from this moment on, I am above you." The instant she finished her sentence, everything that gave off light in the room turned off. Once everything turned back on, Elena's body had disappeared and Helena was now holding an automatic Glock to the head of Gossamer. With Helena's skill the slightest move and she would blow the agent's head clear off.
"Now then, I will give you the locations of your targets and return your information for $30 Million. But, because I am in a good mood the price per retrieved body will remain at $1 Million. However now I shall be keeping an eye on all of your operations from here on out. My associate will also join your ranks and shall report back to me on every last detail. Out bursts such as those of Gossamers' shall not be tolerated, and if such mutiny is suspected, this organization will burn. You have my word..."
Once her terms were agreed to, Helena would lower her weapon. Until then she was on high alert.
Elena Vexus never did take the answer 'no' very well.

Adam Paxton, a man who had passed the half century mark with barely any signs of retiring; a man whose influence spanned over years of hard work and dedication, one who could send the state of America into turmoil if he so pleased and yet he didn't. He possessed power that some of greatest dictators only dreamed of, this was no war over land nor was it concerned with the politics of the geographic landscape it was netled in. Adam's aim was to eradicate the metahuman threat that had so easily sent the grand city of new York into rubble, he wished for a safe world, a world where families wouldn't have to cower under their beds waiting for a psychopathic electrokinetic to leave their property. He believed full well that why he was doing was both noble and necessary. That is until Elena Vexus decided to waltz right into HQ.

She had presented him with a serious moral dilemma, submit to her seemingly immortal state with his grasp now fully on the targets he toiled endlessly to track or allow refuse her deal and suffer the possible consequences of his daughter having a hole blown through her head and all of Dominus' classified information getting leaked to all major news stations. Glancing at Sheryll he wrinkled his nose, she was certainly problematic as of late and it was clear that he no longer held her within his grasp, "You are such a troublesome girl..." he muttered, turning his head back to the woman on the screen.

"It seems you've given me barely any choice on the matter, I have to admit this is a well thought out scheme, but let me ask you...why have you suddenly decided to band with us? Is this some ruse to infiltrate this organization and slay us all?", he said in a stern voice, brushing his fingers against the cold metal monitor,"before I agree to any terms how do I know that you are capable of such feats? How do I know I'm gettin my money's worth?" he uttered, clenching his fist as he once again glanced at the gun wielding woman, she was still on alert and any sudden movements would obviously be fatal for a few members of the control room.

"Oh no, noo. I wouldn't kill you off. Your members would prove quite useful. So they shall remain here for the time being... Except him."
Without even the slightest instant of delay Helena through a knife through the skull of one of the guards who had entered the room from the alert. The force from the weapon pulled the guard back to the wall the knife sticking into the wall a little bit. The weapon itself had a guard on it so it did not shoot clean through the guard's head put was long enough so that it would emerge out of the back of his skull.
"As for capabilities for these tasks, as you can see my assistant will be able to handle herself in the field. And your other participants may take join in, I am not monopolizing myself in finding these supers. If there is someone in particular that you would like to find all you have to do is ask..."
All of the screens in the room except for the largest turned the same bright pink as before, her face remained on the large screen.
"The supers are a problem. I agree with you on that. I can assure you that the safety of the rest of your organization's member will extend only as far as the level of danger you choose to accept. I have no problem revealing the whereabouts of the individuals you are to go after, I will even inform you of the targets my assistant will be capturing so that there are no misunderstandings..."
Regardless of Elena's view on the supers or this organization or anything all she needed was the money. Helena had been bringing in substantial amounts of funds over the months, but targeting major groups such as these proved to me more beneficial even considering the higher risk factor.
"Now then, Dominus, I ask again... Do we have a deal..?"

The startled gurgle that escaped the troopers lips after having the blade plunged through his skull reinforced Adam's initial view that these women were beyond the par of the hordes of gifted individuals strewn across the world. Pursing his lips the man glanced at Franklin, the knife wielding agent was chewing on his tongue..a habit he picked up during his earlier years on the field. Catching his gaze Franklin smirked, and nodded; it appeared the monster of a man approved of his new allies. Sheryll however was not impressed at all, she was glaring at the blonde haired woman with intense level of hatred, if it were not for the gun pointed at her skull she would have sliced the woman clean in half. Unfortunately for Sheryll, Adam Paxton was a man who believed in progress and his adoptive daughter going into a temper tantrum was not going to affect his decision making. One time he had put his faith into his agents but their volatility and relative inexperience was something he had grown to abhor...this Elena might possibly be his key to the immeasurable power that comes with thwarting the metahuman threat.

Wiping a bead of sweat off the side of his wrinkled forehead with a well worn handkerchief he turned his head to face the televised woman, "You give me the metahumans and I will give you your money.", he said after eating his throat, a startled gasp from the opposite end of the room told the Adam that his daughter dissaproved, "However I expect you and your friend to not only meet my needs but to exceed them and that is why I want you to track down the organisation known as Shade..I assume you have some knowledge of their whereabouts..", he glanced at the gun wielding woman with a look of foreboding, she had managed to kill a few of his men so it would be interesting to see her up against more challenging opponents. "...However here I am king, no questions asked. We are equals, that I will enforce and if you ever exploit this deal of ours..well let's just hope you don't", he uttered with a dry smile.

Things were gonna get interesting..

Vexus gave an evil grin on the monitor screen as the rest of them returned back to their normal processes. Helena also then lowered her gun and stepped away from the Dominus Agent. She really was kind of disappointed on how easy that was, but on the other hand it really did not need to be difficult. She came in, got what she wanted, and now she's leaving. And only roughly three people lost their lives.It had been extremely productive. All he asked was that she find the organization known as Shade, but she had the list and would probably be going after other targets. The money was a must right now, she had too much planned to try and continue without any income.
Adam went onto mention that he was the King and that neither her nor Helena should overstep him. Vexus did try to retain herself from laughing because honestly, there was nothing he could do. She did not feel like calling him out on his false sense of confidence right now because the deal had been sealed. Helena had started on her way out of the base, her heels clicking with every step.
"Thank you Adam Paxton and members of Dominus. Your decision will not go unrewarded. It had been a pleasure doing business with you..."
And she was gone. The screens had returned to normal and all of their information had returned seemingly untampered. Of course Vexus had a copy of every last megabyte, which would come in handy later on in her plans...