Best Laid Plans

Duani was sometimes very glad that of the League, the most extensive organization belonged to her. There were several establishments in town she owned, staffed entirely with people loyal to her specifically. It was one such place that she had Double Agent meet her at-a cafe downtown with a private room set aside specifically for her.
She arrived exactly five minutes early, signaling the staff to send her recruit back to her when he arrived. In the meantime, she sat down to read reports sent to her by her people and other members of the League.

Exactly on time, the door to the room opened and her operative stood to the side, allowing a tall, thin woman with chinese features to enter the room. She was dressed in a long brown trenchcoat with a matching hat and had a large beauty mark just above her right cheek.

"Xiè xie" she said in a flawless mandarin accent as the operative closed the door behind her, leaving alone.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a pack of long thin cigarettes, one of which she lit as she sat down opposite Duani.

"I wanted to be sure I wasn't followed. Old habits and all that." she said, by way of an explanation, "You wanted to see me?"

Duani smiled broadly at the woman. She knew she'd picked the right person. He was very discreet and clever. The two of them would make a great team to take over the league for better purposes.
She smiled wickedly at him. "Of course I did. We have work to do. Did you really think I invited you into the league just to cater to those blind fools? We have work to do, important work. I need to know where you stand."

Double Agent leaned back in her chair and took a long drag on her cigarette before responding.

"Where I stand is as far away from those three lunatics as possible. They're dangerous. Talented, yes, but rash. Unpredictable. Careless. They expend their resources recklessly. They attract attention. They murder innocents rather than consider strategy. I have no problem with killing when it's necessary, but I'm not here for a body count. If this is what the League values then perhaps I was wrong in coming here."

Duani nodded, smugly satisfied. "That is EXACTLY what I'd expected to hear from you. You're smart. You're not destructive, you just realize the current order is corrupt and ineffective. You and I, we're different than those idiots. We're on a much higher level than those fools, and it's our job to take over and lead the new order."
She paused as someone knocked. She waved in a timid looking waitress, ordering and motioning for Double Agent to do the same before continuing.
"Look, DA, I need you to stand with me while I reshape the League into more productive channels."

Double Agent blew out a cloud of thick grey smoke and nodded.

"Double cappuchino, extra foam." she said to the waitress, and waited for her to scurry away before turning back to Duani.

"I've known that something was wrong with this world for a long time, Duani. For a while I tried to bury it in nationalism and patriotism. I thought that working for the system might change something. It took my... accident... to make me see things differently. The best I ever did in Uncle Sam's service was take the occasional pot-shot at the chaos surrounding us and then celebrate when the results weren't too horrible. Terrorists. Conspiracies. New World Orders. The world is poised on the edge of a razor, Duani. One wrong step and we fall into the fires of anarchy and nuclear horror. I'll do whatever it takes to prevent that. Whatever it takes."

"Right now the league is one of the strongest and most malleable tools in the world, and we're sitting on the ground floor. Now you say you can take over, and I believe you. If I didn't I wouldn't be here. But before I commit to this, I want your word that we're gonna walk the line together on this one, all the way to the finish. I need to know that you want the same thing I do, and I need to know you're willing to go all the way for it."

Duani smiled again, the expression on her face something almost... good. Seeing it, one could hardly help but be reminded that she'd once been one of the most promising heros in Genera. Sure, she was Duani now, but somewhere in that smile was Diana Force.
"I know how you feel. I spent way too much of my time and energy fighting to put away some of the same villains we have working for us now in the league, but they'd always slip away, or bust out of jail, or get parole and then come back to do the exact same thing. The world was too big, and the system too corrupt for me to do anything within the legal channels. So I stepped outside of the law to do what really needed to be done, and they jailed me for it!"
She sighed heavily, a tired look crossing her face momentarily. "I've learned just how terrible the system really is, and I've spent twenty years amassing my organization, one that not even the League itself can match without me. I will be there fighting with my people, I am willing to do anything it takes to get this done. I've put up with their crap for two decades because I believe in my goals."
The look she gave him was intense, challenging him to step up with her. "Now that I have you around, I can finally get started. I needed someone with your abilities, your training. Someone who can earn the trust of the other villains. For now, you've got to play by their rules as I have, make them think you're one of them. Learn their secrets and their weaknesses. Your group is a talented bunch, and it's well within their grasp to sabotage my success if they're not taken care of. Be especially aware of that psychic girl. The Oracle raised her as her own protege. She is so firmly ingrained in that woman's twisted ideals that she will gladly do anything to protect them. She is one of the biggest dangers to our new order. I need that danger taken care of, one way or another, but be warned-Her mother will do anything to protect her. You must be very careful."
The waitress knocked at the door again, this time holding their orders. She handed DA her coffee and set a loaded sandwich and a milkshake in front of Duani, who raised the glass in a odd sort of toast. "To progress, then?"

"I'll frink to that." Double Agent said as she waitress handed her a wide mug of coffee. She sipped at her coffee thoughtfully and licked the foam from her lips.

As the door swung shut again she set the coffee down and continued.

"I believe you. I think you know what you're doing and you were smart to bring me into this. Which leaves me only one question. I saw how powerful those two psychics are. I've seen them control a person like a puppet on strings. If they even suspect that there's something off about me they'll probe and probe until they find something. Now, I've been trained to resist interrogation of almost any form, but even I can't stand up to that kind of psychic scrutiny. How am I supposed to keep a secret from someone with a skeleton key into my head?"

Duani took a bite of her sandwich as she listened to his question, chewing thoroughly before swallowing and answering him. It gave her time to think.
"That is tricky. There are multiple ways to do that, but most of them require extensive training and/or natural talent."
She paused to take a sip of her shake before continuing. "The best method for the situation at hand is the simplest. Think of trivial unimportant things. Make grocery lists, play games in your head, recite history lessons or read off every sign you see. Just occupy your surface thoughts with trivial things, and they will have no reason to delve further."
She pauses for another bite before finishing the thought. "It's tricky, but impenetrable if done right."

Double Agent nodded and took another drink of coffee.

"I'll do what I can. Let's just hope they never find a reason to get suspicious. In the meantime I still have a few contacts in the agency. I may have one of my old contacts see if he has anything that might help."

She swallowed what was left of her coffee and stood up, placing the empty cup on the table.

"I'll play the monster for now, let them see my fangs. Just be sure you can bring the hammer down when the time comes. I'm not gonna be left stranded again. Not for anyone."

Duani nodded. "Probably a good plan. Unfortunately, I can't risk giving you anything special from the League. It would be noticed, which would us both look much more suspicious."
She sighed. "That's the one thing I do miss about working with heroes. You could do so much more without them getting suspicious."
She grinned with satisfaction at his final words. "Don't you worry on that front. My plans on that front are prepared and ready. It will be my greatest pleasure to take down those disgusting fiends."
She stood, as if to shake his hand, before continuing. "Now hold still. There's one thing I CAN do for you. This shield will protect you from low level intrusions until you can get your thoughts in order. It won't stand up to forceful probing, and it will only last a day or so, but it will give you time. If I do any more, they'll see my power on you and know something is going on." That said, she closed her eyes and rested her hands on his shoulders.
This particular shield was one she granted all of her people who could not do for themselves. It had been described to her as feeling like being submerged in water slightly cooler than body temperature, or like being wrapped in cool sheets. It did tend to feel confining for the first minute or so, before the sensation went away.
"I will continue to send my people when appropriate. War in particular will most likely be eager to join you again, as it seems he has grown fond of one of your comrades."

Double Agent shook off the aftereffects of the ward Duani had placed and nodded.

"Then I guess we're done here. I'll keep you updated on what happens with my... colleagues. If you need me, you know how to find me."

With that she tipped her hat briefly and turned to walk out.

As she left the cafe, she pulled out another thin cigarette and lit it, then turned left and walked a few steps past a scruffy old man with tattered clothing sitting against the building. He held a small tin cup with a few coins rattling around inside of it and a sign saying "vETEran pLEasE GivE" in black marker. As she passed, the man pushed himself to his feet and started walking behind her, his sign and cup lying forgotten on the sidewalk. Together they crossed the street to a tenement apartment building and entered, heading for the stairs.

"So?" the man asked.

"So, I think she's playing the best game in town." the tall asian woman said without inflection.

"You trust her?"

The woman looked at him as though he'd gone mad as they headed up the stairs.

"Of course not. No more than she trusts me. I think she believes what she says, but there's no way to know for sure. And even if she does, we'd be stupid to think we're the only splinter cell in the league. Or the most powerful. And no matter what she thinks, the clown and the headshrinker are dangerous. Even if Sid does have some sort of device to shield me from their powers, there's no telling what they're capable of. Still, Duani is no fool. She's seen the writing on the wall and she needs our help, or else we wouldn't be here."

As they climbed the stairs to the top floor, the woman stopped and opened a window on the landing. Together they climbed out onto the fire escape and scaled it the rest of the way to the roof.

"You let her put her mojo on you." the man said, grunting with the effort of climbing.

"I didn't have much of a choice." the woman said, waving her cigarette noncommittally, "If I refused there's no telling what would have happened."

As they climbed up onto the roof a handsome, middle-aged man in a black suit and sunglasses was waiting for them. Slung over his shoulder was a Smith and Wesson .40 caliber sniper rifle.

"So what's our move, then?" he asked them.

"We wait. We play our part." the woman said as the three gathered around in a small circle, "Duani has the only game in town with rules that we like. But if shit hits the fan, we need to be ready. We're in the big leagues now."

The three of them nodded in unison and stepped forward, seeming to merge like a puddle of mercury. After a moment they reformed into a solid mass that quickly took on the outline of a young, scruffy looking biker with a leather jacket.

Double Agent walked over to the edge of the building, rifle still slung casually over his shoulder, and stared down at the cafe where his new boss was probably still finishing her meal. He took a last drag on the thin stub of a cigarette between his lips and casually flipped it over the side of the building.

"Time to play ball." he said, before turning and walking away.