Vidocq was looking over everything. The casino was up and running, as was the hotel. The ad campaign was in full swing, and it was shaping up to be a real legitimate source of income. As for his own lair, it's staffed to capacity for now. Of course there was still the grand scheme.
His doomsday weapon. Vidocq went through the background information, the stuff never talked about in the game. Most civilians had the same intelligence level as his minions. Which is why the Forces of Justice having such blanket authority to do whatever they felt was necessary. Even if those actions were stupid, morally corrupt, illegal, or some combination of the three.
Vidocq thought about his power, if he could mold the minds of everyone who was in power or craved power, then he could do something impressive. He would need to do research, and he would definitely need to deal with the super agents. All of them, but that would come later.
Soon, reports would come in about the competition, the scammers, and those who care less about him and more about how they can use him for their own goals. Still, things were progressing smoothly. A message from Polar let him know that guests were arriving, and then he got his first lead. Fugu Furukawa, the mistress of poison sushi. 'She would be all kinds of useful,' Vidocq thought. He then looked at some of the messages for potential thefts. Soon he would need to start expanding to the upper levels.
More vaults, more power generators, backups for everything, it could get complicated. He was already setting up what he liked to call the false gauntlet. A door on the opposite side of the casino, which leads to a long, convoluted series of hallways that led nowhere but back to the casino and was loaded with traps. Some lethal, and others merely draining. He never did understand why, but whenever investigators, soldiers, or anyone who came in that front door and wasn't pretending to be a customer, would normally start with that hallway. Maybe it was the lack of an intimidating door or maybe because it was just closer.
Vidocq then decided to check on a special project in the lab, one that can turn unsuspecting investigators into unwitting spies for him. Information was always a valuable resource, especially the stuff only his enemies had access to. Time for some hands-on investigating.
[<+>]
Atomic Olga was practicing with her heavy 50. machine gun. Her strength made it unnecessary to even worry about such things, but she liked to do it anyway. Made her feel normal. As she mowed down the target dummies, she got an alert.
There was a break-in at a lab. Of course it wasn't just any lab, it was the lab that created her. She immediately took the next available helicopter to investigate. It wasn't her strong suit, she preferred to bash heads together. However, this was important.
When she arrived, the lab was a mess. The guards and scientists were were found slaughtered. The security was trashed, research notes missing, and no signs of the attackers. It was disheartening to say the least.
Someone had kicked down the door of her home, wrecked the place, and then left without a trace. Olga contacted her handler; she wanted a target. But instead of telling her where to go, she was being stonewalled. 'Something was wrong, did they know who was responsible?' Olga immediately rejected that idea; it was more likely that they didn't have a clue and didn't want people to lose faith in them.
She then remembered an earlier report on a string of other crimes. Their nature didn't originally interest her, but perhaps she should take a second look. She's been too complacent lately; it's time to go hunting.
[<×>]
A video screen lit up. Familiar faces shared the screen. Each one of them looked annoyed. The one charge spoke, "I'm going to skip the formalities and get to it. As I sure you're all aware, the subject from Project HADES apparently was not killed when the lab was destroyed."
Hammer spoke up, "What happened? While admittedly you did tell us it was dangerous, but it seems that you under-sold how much." Peace responded, "In my defense that part wasn't purely my fault. I didn't originally think much of it before, because none of our key scientists were on site during the attack. However, once we managed to partially rebuild the security tapes and saw the subject in action, I decided to personally question said scientists. That was when I found out that they were only declared key personnel because of nepotism and their ability to steal credit from others."
The screen shifted showing a single scientist. Peace continued, "This individual right here was the real brains behind the project. And because he was tired of others stealing credit, most of the alterations he made went undocumented digitally. His shriveled husk was recovered from the wreckage and that was when we were notified of how the subject might have escaped."
Hammer spoke up, "I think I can confirm that. Earlier the lab dedicated to maintaining and hopefully recreating our super-agent; Atomic Olga was hit. Had that message warning us about project HADES been a minute slower there would've been a serious risk of losing her, because she was ready to go hunting and still is. If we don't give her an appropriate target soon, she may take matters in her own hands." Patriot then adds, "Our man, Agent X, has also been tracking a string of pointed schemes. Protocols kept him from personally investigating the connection without reporting to us first. After close examination, we concluded someone is baiting our agents."
Saber asked, "I have a question, I'm assuming the reason the subject was obscured on the cameras was because it is still too damaged. So, why are the physical reports going out of their way to avoid giving any means of identifying the subject?"
Peace sighed and then said, "Those in charge at the lab decided they were going to be DEI friendly and didn't want to put labels on it. Worse, those idiots didn't keep or even accept any report that did identify it in any way. And an even dumber thing was they can't even tell us anything about the subject themselves, because they have been working remotely since the beginning. Needless to say, they been relegated to the more appropriate task of cleaning by hand the interior of every septic tank in our collective organizations."
Anvil gave a sigh and then said, "For the record, I thought implementing that social experiment as a form of population control and as racial and gender segregation was an incredibly stupid idea. Now it seems to be biting us in the ass." Patriot responded, "I can't argue against that, but we needed something at the time after we lost the original methods got too aggressive and the end goal got leaked. Still, it's disturbing that we have no means of identifying the subject. Worse, it seems to know our playbooks."
The others agreed, Peace then said, "Alright, we need to work together to try and find any clues that can help us identify the subject. We'll need to be in constant communications with each other. Remember, no detail is too small when hunting this thing. Also, we need to keep our super agents away from this thing as long as possible. "
[<=>]
Polar was standing in Vidocq's inner sanctum. Her attention was divided between going over the new plans for Vidocq's ultimate weapon and picking a sexy little number for later tonight. Some might believe that the plans were more important, but she felt differently.
Especially since there would more women coming here. The poisoner Fugu Furukawa for example. Vidocq has decided that on top of destroying the forces of justice and neutralizing their super agents. He would eliminate or recruit the competition. Now that's not a unheard of play. She herself could see hiring at least five of them.
However, Vidocq plans on having ten. And his abilities would guarantee that they would be helpful one way or another.
Polar stopped her thoughts as she settled on a sky-blue number. With white fur covering the best parts. She felt it would keep Vidocq's undivided attention. Then she turned to the plans. It was ambitious and considering it fused Emma's V.E.N.O.M. and Zalika's V.O.I.D. with his own personal touches, as well as utilizing the power source from her own plans. Now, all that was needed was a name for the project.
When fully completed it would destroy the minds of the corrupt and stupid. So basically, the people who tend to be in charge of governments and corporations.
She sighed, it would be a very interesting world without such individuals, but she wasn't sure how it would work. She guessed she would just have to have faith. Her thoughts were interrupted by a message notification.
It was from Vidocq. It said, "I settled on a name. Project H.A.M.A.N."
'It is a good a name as any.' Polar thought. Though she did wonder what significance for that name was. A question for another time. She still has other things she needs to take care of.
[<÷>]
Penny Foxworth was sitting under an umbrella drinking her favorite custom alcohol, a Screaming Viking. Most of her coworkers found that drink repulsive, but she actually enjoyed it, she was legitimately surprised that the bartender knew how to make it. The waves of the ocean could be heard giving a relaxing vibe.
Another cruise liner pulled into port dropping off new guests and picking up ones that were leaving. While this vacation had been forced, she silently admits to herself that she is enjoying the relaxation. Although, she did find certain things odd. Two hallways at opposite ends of the casino. The hotel rooms were elevator access only, so guests didn't have access.
As she returned to her room that's when she spotted them. Three agents from the organization ANVIL. They were clearly low rank investigators. Kept getting caught trying to enter the employee only areas.
As she entered her room, Penny immediately called her organization trying to get information, only to be blocked by the receptionist saying they were sorry but they weren't allowed to connect her while she was on vacation and then immediately hung up. She was getting pissed, someone from her own organization was blocking her. Here she was, potentially in an enemy stronghold unable to do a damn thing about it.
She thought about leaving immediately, but that wouldn't fix the problem with her work blocking her while she was on a mandatory vacation. She paused and took a deep breath deciding to be rational about the situation.
That plan went out the window when a sudden knock from the door caught her by surprise. Before she could react a voice from the other side said, "Hello? Miss, is everything alright? Several staff members reported seeing you agitated and rushing towards your room."
She swore under her breath. Not wanting to have things escalate further, Penny said, "I'm fine! I just realized I forgot something important in my room is all."
The voice responded, "I see. Well, as the owner of this hotel it's my duty to make sure your experience here is a pleasant one." Penny thought, 'Wait, if this is the owner of the hotel then they are potentially the evil genius.' Then she said, "Hold on a second, I need to ask you something."
Perhaps her lack of field experience was playing a part, but Penny was making one rookie mistake after another. Thus, without actually thinking about the consequences of how this could play out, she opened the door. A well-dressed man stood there, his attire was somewhat regal. If she was going to be polite about it. Like some Victorian era noble, complete with white gloves. As for his face... Penny found own her face getting warmer.
She tried to calm herself. He was handsome, sure, but that shouldn't mean she should feeling like a school girl finally talking to her crush. He entered the room and said, "It's nice to meet you face to face, like I said I'm owner of this fine establishment." He removed the glove from his hand and extended out, then he said, "I'm Vidocq, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
Penny looked at the hand for a moment, caught between suspicion, not wanting to be rude, and not wanting to out herself. As she reached hor the hand she said, "Penny Foxworth, charmed I'm sure. Wait, what's *breathing getting heavier* happening to me?" Everything started to feel warm and fuzzy for Penny the moment she made contact with his hand. As she looked at him, she thought, 'What did I get myself into?'
[<+>]
Vidocq stood there getting dressed. Penny was sleeping on the bed, the sheets clinging tightly to her body. He hadn't lied, the staff really did inform him about her rushed behavior. The moment he realized who she was he decided on an experiment. Thanks to Polar he knew affection had a part to play when dealing with his ability. But does the amount matter, or how long? Penny showed him, it does not.
Vidocq learned that as long even if there is a passing attraction then a bond is formed. He looked at Penny, she was now and forever, effectively in love with him. It was a gamble that she even feels anything, but when he saw that flicker of interest on her face, it paid off. It opened some possibilities for him, as long as Polar and Penny get along. If they are in active competition with each other than that might change some things. Polar didn't seem to mind when Vidocq was enjoying the services of Zalika. But that may be because Zalika was basically a toy, even with the effort he put in to preserve every aspect of her usefulness she was still a toy.
Penny on the other hand would be more like Polar, devoted to him sure, but capable of her own decisions. No matter how his end game plays out he'll need to tread carefully. It would be problematic if they each decide the other was an obstacle. His thoughts were pulled when he got a message that a certain theif had been spotted on the mainland.