5252/A DeLIGHTful Meeting

A DeLIGHTful Meeting
Date of Scene:	27 August 2018
Location:	Latveria
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Doctor Doom, Shredder, Lex Luthor

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Doctor Doom has posed:
Latveria. Weather: Stormy. Temperature: about 75 degrees.

Castle Doom, the Chair and seat of Latverian rule. The tall and extremely well fortified castle remains the single most respected seat in perhaps the the entire middle east. But...perhaps it's also the most feared. Doom has been quiet in the political games of late, but mostly because he's been equally focused on what goes on in the shadows...especially when he was called by his fellow members in the Light for strong mystics and minds, which Doom has both.

But...upon hearing that one of his comrades had met this...shadow psionic entity, Doom became intrigued, and sent out a simple holographic message to Shredder. Untraceable and so heavily encrypted it would take a gifted mind like Reed Richards or Tony Stark to fully decrypt. The hologram was a perfect, but smaller image of Doom in his full armor. But the message read as follows.

'Shredder. I heard news of your experience. I recommend you come to Doomstadt in Latveria to tell me of your experience so I can decide the best move.'

Then the message would end. It was up to Shredder how he would arrive, but one thing remained the same:

Doom was sitting on his throne, and at the appointed hour, he dismissed his servants from the throne room, leaving Doom alone in those hallowed, majestic halls.

Shredder has posed:
    The Shredder responded that he would naturally come, the information that he could gain from the meeting was just as great an interest to him. He arrived as Oroku Saki, his true name, but to the world he is just the Majority shareholder of TGRI and StockGen, nothing of noteworthiness.

    As for the Throne Room itself, Shredder arrives rather mundanely, dressed as himself, Saki, though it seems that even with a well guarded room, the guards prior to the actual entrance to the room did not announce that he was on the way. He steps through the door in his business suit, the Japanese man calm and collected. "Doom," he says simply in greeting as he steps through the doors.

Doctor Doom has posed:
Doom has many eyes and many ears. Not himself of course, but literally every guard and every system in the city is wired to perfectly keep him aware of what is going on in his city in most if not all times. With that in mind, Doom is in his full armor and cloak, though he did take his mask off and lowered his hood to offer the same formality that Saki had given him. Doom nods to Shredder as he arrived.

"Saki." Victor spoke in his naturally deep voice...which seems he doesn't quite need the helmet to do. He stood up, and approached the Shredder, extending a simple hand to shake if only as a sort of collegiate respect.

"I trust your time in Latveria has been enjoyable. But now business must be discussed. Tell me what you remember about what you saw and what you experienced." Doom was never one to plant filler information or otherwise make idle chat like many of the Light's members were prone to do.

He was blunt, straightforward, and sharp.

...Nor did he like to waste time. Whehter it was his or someone else's.

Shredder has posed:
    Saki shakes the hand, firm, but polite level of pressure in his grip.

    Thank you," he says, "Yes, it has been pleasant," he says, the tone a general acquiensence to the question rather than any heartfelt response.

    "Indeed," Saki answers, "I am suspicious of the force which I encountered," he says. "Kitsune is likewise apprehensive. I believe she knows more of it than she tells me. It's ability to so dominate its thralls, whatever the force is, makes it both a potential powerful asset, and a potential threat. Kitsune senses that there has been a disturbance in the spirit world, though she has not pinpointed the cause quite yet."

Doctor Doom has posed:
Doom did not expect anything less than what Saki had already given in terms of his answer.

"I see. A psionic entity whose preference is to dominate weak or strong minds?" Doom asks curiously. "On many occasions, your suspicions would be correct. Often times subordinates will hide things from their masters. Do you know if she has had any more experiences with this creature? she might already be feeling it's touches upon her mind."

Doom then waits a moment. Doom and Saki converse in peaceable assembly in the majestic throne room of Castle Doom, in Doomstadt.

"So then, do you seek to enslave the entity or destroy it?" he asks only to learn the thought process of Saki.

Shredder has posed:
    Saki frowns, "I am not certain. My experience is that the domination of the will is often a careful process, from past success and failure alike, I have learned that it is a very useful, yet delicate process. This entity has mastered the technique, but has done so through what appears to be brute force. It could be powerful to use against foes, I prefer that my subordinates be 'enlightened' to follow me more than beaten into submission. The former allows for continued servitude should the control be broken."
    He taps his head. "This being," he indicates, "Prefers that when its control is broken, there is nothing left of the person. Luthor's captive seems to be an example of this. Whether to enslave or not. I think that this could be a difficult pursuit. If Kitsune is cautious, I think we all should be. She has been at this practice for several millenia. I doubt we should succeed in enslaving it. That does not mean we cannot benefit from it if we are wise. But if it is opposed to us, I would strongly recommend we eliminate the threat."

Lex Luthor has posed:
The holoprojecters in the Throne Room come alive as Lex Luthor connected with an encrypted tunnel through the LexCorp networks into the meeting. A view of him sitting behind his desk in LexCorp Tower at his own 'Throne' in Metropolis can be seen as a perfectly replicated avatar of him is placed near the two, "Gentlemen. My apologies for the delay, I've been confirming a few things with my employees with the asset." Lex offers in explanation, before he steeples his fingers on top of his desk.

"I understand that Mister Doom has an interest in the entity I've spoken to previously?" Lex inquires.

Doctor Doom has posed:
Doom seems to strike his light beard very softly as Shredder informs him of more information. "I don't like Pawns in a game we can't truly control, but only anticipate. But I admire this being's mental etiquette. Doom has used similar practices on only a few people in the past."

"You doubt we could enslave it? You underestimate the will of Doom." Doom says in monotone...which is //NEVER// good.

Though Doom pauses. "Thankfully, another mind to consult upon the matter should arrive any moment now."

Lo and behold, Luthor arrives! "That's Doctor to you." Doom corrects firmly. "interest Profound Mr. Luthor. Perhaps you can enlighten me of your experiences regarding your test subject."

Shredder has posed:
    Saki quirks his mouth to one side briefly, a failure to be amused by Doom's self-appreciation. "I said that I doubt we /should/. The subjugation of death has taught me that enslavement must be maintained, where if you can direct a being's attentions and mold them to align with your own, you have a much more willing subject." Perhaps a mild but pointed claim that Shredder expects all people to be his subjects eventually, even if he is an absentee ruler in the afterlife he visited. "We may be able to enslave such a thing, but it could be costly to upkeep, and the consequence of losing such an enslavement could be disasterous." He tilts his head toward the hologram of Luthor. "Yes, do tell us of your discovery," he agrees, motioning with his hand for the new intelligence.

Lex Luthor has posed:
"I didn't have too much time with it, but I did record the physical process of it taking control of the host in my facility. The host has been, for all intents and purposes, turned into a psychic relay. The meeting I had with the entity suggests it enjoys deception, and has a sense of proportion." Lex types something into his console, and a free floating 3D model of a dark, enclosed space pops up, "feel free to take a look at this data yourselves. The subject himself was shopping his services around for potential clients. Given he is a telepath, I didn't have any interest in playing in the uneven negotiation field that would represent, so I had him captured from Manhatten on a midnight."

The hologram starts to play, "without more data, I couldn't tell you the entities motives. I have theories, but nothing to base them on yet. It seems likely that the recent portals above our cities are it's doing, and that it collected the fungus on the planet." He leans forward with a shrug, "I don't know where they went, but I assume it's back, given The Shredders new encounter."

Doctor Doom has posed:
Doom mostly focused on Luthor's words and he nodded softly. "Hm." Doom ponders. "Are you certain this entity wasn't a Demon?" Doom inquires. "Regardless, I'd like to personally see this subject of yours, Luthor. Has Selene glanced at this subject yet?"

Though Doom does use his advanced technology to accept and start decrypting the data.

Shredder has posed:
    "I cannot be completely certain that it was not a demon," Saki admits, "The chi of the woman I spoke with altered when she became the host. It was very powerful, it was as if another soul entered the room. If it was behind the fungal outbreak, I think its motivations should be clear," he concludes.

    "That presence was designed particularly to destroy all life on the planet. Considering the number of telepathic heroes that were listed in the news to have engaged the fungus, it stands to reason that anything able to direct such a large mental presence on its own and against such opposition should be handled with care. I can speak with Kitsune, perhaps she can take control of your captive, Luthor, bring him back and use him to infiltrate the presence. It will almost certainly kill him, but in the mean time, we may be able to learn things new from him."

Lex Luthor has posed:
"My preference is to keep him alive as an obvious relay point to talk to the entity. It's in a secluded area and under heavy security, so it's a relatively neutral ground for us to speak with it. That being said... if it refuses to actually deal with the Council fairly, we may have no choice." Lex concluded himself, before his holographic eyes look to Doom, "I only recorded what my instruments saw. I cannot confirm or deny it was demonic in origin. If you can test for that, I can give you the coordinates for the facility to see for yourself."

Doctor Doom has posed:
Doom nods very softly. "Very demonic activity in terms of history and origin by the sounds of things." Victor seems to reach that conclusion rather easily. "But I can confirm nothing until I or another mystic can look at the situation personally." Victor then looks to Shredder. "Considering it was behind the fungus, I find myself inclined to believe you. It may have been thre presence I had an extremely brief confrontation with when I attempted to find the center point of the hive mind. If these two entities are the same..."

Doom's eyes narrow. "It will either die or submit to Doom."

Doom clearly had a grudge. As per the usual.

Regardless, he looks to Shredder. "Attempt to use your aid first before I attempt. I don't want to expend more power than I would have to to take care of this." Doom being arguably, aside from Selene, the mystic representative. "I'll take the coordinates, Luthor. I'd like to have you or one other with me for the sake of recording the event, that we may be prepared for similar circumstances in the future."

Shredder has posed:
    Saki's eyes narrow, and he appears to be deep in thought, considering Doom. He quietly folds his hands in front of him at belt level, then shifts his gaze to the hologram of Lex.

    "Kitsune is my wife, and whie in subject to me, I am not her master." His tone is of a great deal of respect for the witch, a sense of her as an equal more than a subordinate. "I will confer with her to see if she is willing, I will heed her wisdom on this matter. She is cunning and wise on how to best engage such matters. If this is a demon, it would not be the first to be slain with her help."

Lex Luthor has posed:
Another set of fingers go over his desk console, and both Shredder and Doctor Doom receive GPS coordinates. The facility itself is deep in the Sahara desert, "the passcode will get you through the electronic and human security at the site. I'm planning on maintaining the prison until I'm sure the host body is no longer useful, given that the man himself is pretty much dead, from what I've gathered." Lex remarks with a bit of sadness. "He might have been an interesting employee, but I didn't account for him being part of a hive mind when he was taken."

He looks to his left, "keep me updated on this matter. When anyone is ready to try and talk to the entity, let me know and I can fly out within the hour." He takes something from someone off-screen, and looks through a document folder, "He's still in a vegetative state, it looks like." He shrugs, "anything else?" He looks up, finally.

Doctor Doom has posed:
Doom glances to Shredder. Perhaps that was a clarification that should have been best kept to himself. While Doom doesn't comment on it, he now knows specifically how to make Saki's life a living hell should they ever find themselves mortal enemies. But since it isn't needed and hopefully won't be, he simply puts it in his back pocket for hopefully to never use.

Alas...even Doom has his soft spots. Everyone has a weak point.

Regardless, Doom receives the GPS location and he nods lightly. "I'll keep you informed, Luthor. That is all from myself." Saki may have other needs or wishes, and Doom speaks for none but for himself and Latveria. Though Doom does glance to Saki.

"Noted." Demon hunters or warriors are always needed in one form or another.

Shredder has posed:
    Shredder nods as well. "Very well, I will keep you both informed, and look forward to seeing the progress we are able to achieve," he says simply. He unfolds his hands from in front of him, then gives a nod to the holographic Lex, and Doom in person. "Until next we meet."

Lex Luthor has posed:
"Good luck with your endeavors. I've got plans to deal with." Lex states, before he reaches over and hits a button on his console, terminating the connection. His hologram disappears.