Owner	Pose
Shadow King	There's an incoming call from an unidentified number. Who picks those up anymore? Still, when the message is checked, it turns out to be an eerily familiar voice. Paul from Mexico.     "Hello," Paul says, voice serene. There's vibrating hum of machinery in the background. "Just checking in. I had a good time talking to your SHIELD friends. I was wondering how you've been, and if you missed us. I can't imagine things are going too well for you guys. I'm still accepting 'work'. Within limits. Let me know. Bye-ie."
Clark Kent	Clark is sitting at his desk in the newsroom at the Daily Planet. He listens to the voicemail from Paul and frowns, scribbling some notes on his pad of yellow, lined paper. After he is finished, he puts the phone down and flips through is notebook for a number he had tucked away. He finds it and dials, craddling the phone with his shoulder while he keeps typing up the story Perry assigned him to; soccer. "Hey, Jessica, it's Clark," he says when the call is answered. "You won't, you won't believe who called. Paul from Mexico. Says he's still looking for work."
Jessica Drew	"Clark!" Jessica says a little out if breath. She turns off the treadmill and checks the pulse at her throat. "Paul, huh? No kiddin'. Wow, Did he sound desperate yet?"
Clark Kent	"No, he sounds... smug? Said he had a good time talking to SHIELD and asked if we missed 'us'. Seems to think things are not going well... It was weird, even for him. I was, was thinking of calling him back and setting up a meet. What do you think?"
Jessica Drew	"Oh, absolutely! Let's do it! Mai-Tais, sun, sand. I'll even sit on his lap!" Jessica sounds ecstatic. "Wait, PLEASE tell me he's still in Mexico. Uh...maybe we should ask where exactly he is wanting to meet. I guess there is the teensiest chance this could be a trap...maybe."
Clark Kent	Clark turns in his seat and accepts a folder from one of the interns and then turns back to his computer screen. "Yeah, it could be, I guess. It sounded like he was somewhere industrial? I'm not sure. I can call him now and patch him in if you want?" Assuming she says yes, there are some clicks and then the sound of dialling.
Shadow King	It rings a few times, and then picks up. There's the sound of a squeaky chair leaning back and the breath of the man. "Hello again," Paul says, at ease. "My message did find you, then."
Jessica Drew	Jess nearly blurts right into the call, but decides maybe she had better wait for Clark. He was the one who got the message, after all. She instead takes a quiet drink from her water bottle and waits.
Clark Kent	"Hi Paul, yes it's Clark. I have Jessandra on the, on the line as well," Clark says and clears his throat. "Um, you said you were still looking for work and we might need you... What, uh, what gave you that impression?"
Shadow King	"Hi Clark. Doing well I hope. What gave that impression? I watch the news," Paul says, with a surprised tone. "Or I google. That's the same as watching the news, these days, isn't it? Some terrible videos out there," Paul says, in apparent distress. "Countries maybe going to war. A shame."
Jessica Drew	"I heard something about that, yeah," Jessica replies. A real shame, that. I really don't think there's anything you can do about that, at this point, though. It seems a little out of a small time telepath's league, now. Don't you think?" She's not sayin'. She's just sayin'.
Clark Kent	"She has a point," Clark says. "Nobody is going to, ah, pay for clearing out single mushrooms, at least, not pay much. My sources say, say that the attention is all on these clusters, now."
Shadow King	"You're talking about the ones in Europe, then?" Paul asks, thoughtfully. "Those were already paid for, of course."
Jessica Drew	"Paid for..." Jessica repeats. "Seems to me people know about them, and they are actively foraging, so I fail to see how /that/ was money well-spent." Jessica is taken aback by his news. But she has begun to wonder whether someone paid for them to be put there instead.
Clark Kent	"Mhmm, are you saying someone paid to cause the situation in Latveria was paid for?" Clark asks incredulously. He shifts the phone to his other shoulder. "Nobody could control that many of them could they?"
Shadow King	"Are you looking at this as humanity versus the fungus? Let's say the cost of 'safety' was just a dollar, like I offered. What would you pay to have them go somewhere /specific/ instead? Eight dollars?" He pauses. "Dear girl, they are exactly where they were paid to be. Some people are more creative about what they want them to do than others. Now I've given you something juicy. Perhaps you'd like to share with me what's going to happen next? From your view. I'm curious."
Jessica Drew	"Gee, I dunno, Paul. Maybe I could come and sit on your LAP and discuss it," Jessica is -clearly- losing her temper, and her words are nearly hissed through gritted teeth.
Clark Kent	Clark stops typing and picks up his pen. He leans back in his chair, brow furrowed. Click, click. Spin. Click. "I think... I think there is going to be a bidding war. To see who gets to control them," Clark says carefully. Click. Click. He thinks about what heard about the giant Oomycetan in space. "If they're not controlling themselves by now. What do /they/ want to do?" Click. Spin. Click.
Shadow King	"What a lovely idea. Yes, let's meet. Would it end in me in a SHIELD cell again?" Paulie doesn't seem bothered, though. His attention is drawn more to Clark's commentary, since he wants to play ball. "Yes, the big ones are strong, aren't they. For what they /are/. Let's say, then, that someone wins a bidding war. Think it'd be world domination? I don't see a difference from them controlling themselves, do you?"
Jessica Drew	"So I guess I just don't get it," Jessica says, seething, but calming down. "So there's a war. Good job. What does it matter, if the damned things take over the planet? Are people /really/ that short-sighted?" She's on the treadmill again, and the gentle whirring can probably be heard over the line. But better that than losing her temper again.
Clark Kent	"Good point, Jessandra. Whoever wins the bidding war will want them stop eventually, and..." Spin. Click. Click. "...You know, they're a very good weapon if you can't, can't get rid of them when they're done. So there'd be a difference... The winning bidder will want to stop them and get rid of them, the mushrooms.... may not want to stop at all."
Shadow King	"So we've come to that it's better if somebody controls them, because at least that person can be reasoned with or doesn't want the place they rule to rot. Okay. Hmm. Until we place someone in power, what do we do? Maybe prolong the bidding war. Spread out who owns them, move things around, stall, group them up, maybe some heroes destroy the fungus. Maybe quietly help out, keep things more contained. Something like that?"
Jessica Drew	"Ohhhhhh..." comes Jessica's realization from her end of the line. She apparently didn't have the presence of mine to keep it quiet. The whir of the treadmill has stopped. Because what /she/ knows, Paulie does not. "So what happens if they get some weird fungal rot and just die out? I mean it's happening to bananas even as we speak. It could happen to ginormous mushrooms, too, couldn't it?"
Clark Kent	On his end, Clark is quiet. He leans forward and starts scribbling his notes, catching up to where they are in the conversation.
Shadow King	"I suppose? Magical faeries could fix it all, too," The man scoffs. There's a clear perception that he doesn't see anyone going to be killing any mushrooms anytime soon. "Fantasy aside, my /patron/ is possibly well placed, if everyone sees clearly about this being the best option for survival, and wishes for them to act. I should think everyone would want that outcome."
Jessica Drew	"Well you don't have to be a dick about it," Jessica concedes. "So what IS it that you want from /us/, then? If you've got it all figured out...why call? Just to gloat?"
Clark Kent	"Or is it because your patron is ready to meet and do business? Truth is, we /can't/ have this stuff spread any more. If your patron can control mushrooms on a national scale... We know, know people that will pay top dollar."
Shadow King	"The gloating IS fun, but this isn't really about ME, I just had to call," Paul answers, as if that was hard for him to actually say. His tone catches weirdly. "What do I want? Perhaps your news articles should be positive towards those who are working to contain the fungus. That if control is found, everyone should /appreciate/ the huge effort, I don't think you realize how difficult our job has been, and how cheaply it has come," Paul says. "Ready to meet? Perhaps. My patron would like this viewpoint spread. That we are noble heroes doing noble efforts. My patron is less interested in money beyond what it takes to do what must be done, I think, but I don't speak for them."
Jessica Drew	Jessica defers that line of questioning to Clark. She isn't in the newspaper business. If she were, she is pretty certain she would be fired within the week for a lack of decorum in her articles. "Yeah," she finally says, "that chick who tried to level Central Park with a mushroom was pretty noble..."
Clark Kent	Clark swivels around in his chair, thinking. Click. Spin. Click. "I can't just take your word and print that. I'd have to meet your patron, interview, ask questions. Then I can write a story."
Shadow King	"My patron isn't responsible for what everyone does. Everyone has /choice/. Allowing people to choose what they want to do with the fungus," Paul answers. His tone grows more pointed, "If you could do anything with them, move them anywhere, what would you do, hm? It is an interesting thing to see."
Jessica Drew	"When is BEING done with them amounts to murder, warmongering, sabotage, treason, and a whole host of other atrocities. It's WRONG. And it's illegal. What you are asking is for us to be a accessory to that." Jessica is seething again. But what else is new?
Clark Kent	Clark waits for a response to Jessica. He turns back to his pad of paper and quickly scrawls some more notes.
Shadow King	"Don't you have enemies? Isn't there someone that hates you? Why destroy the fungus when it can defend you? That is an opinion of a number of governments. It's not illegal if they say it's not, isn't that so? Wrong is a point of view. The barrier in Latveria is defensive. A wall of fungus and safety." Paul stops talking. And then: "My patron may meet you, if you are open-minded of the benefits of the fungus, and seeing that it only seeks to /serve/."
Jessica Drew	Jessica's response is calm. At this point anger serves no purpose, nor arguing. "I can see the merits of it. Weapons will be used by countries, regardless of their source. Maybe...it would be a good idea to meet, Clark."
Clark Kent	Clark taps the point of his pen firmly on his notepad. He sighs. "Open mind, we get your patron's side of the story and put it out there."
Shadow King	"My patron will show when they are not busy. Helping the world to help itself is a large job, probably," Paul says, as if he's guessing. He may really just not know. "I'd come to the meeting with some idea of what you'd want the fungus to do. It's important." Paul hangs up.
Jessica Drew	"I'll TELL you what I'd wanna do with it, you sleazy sack of SLEAZE. I'd shove it STRAIGHT UP --hello?" Jessica sighs. "Damn it. He's gone."
Clark Kent	Clark holds the phone a bit away from his ear. "Always interesting talk with him," Clark says dryly. "I guess, I guess we just wait for a call? Do you buy his bit about wanting publicity?"
Jessica Drew	"I think he is looking for some sort of immunity, too," Jess muses. "Because he doesn't need the publicity. Not really."
Clark Kent	"You're probably right. Well, I'll keep my phone forwarded and I guess we'll see what happens."
Jessica Drew	"Sounds good, Clark. Thank you for keeping me in the loop. There is...more information. Some stuff I learned in Italy. But that is for a personal conversation. I don't like talking about it on the phone."
Clark Kent	"More? Well, I'm free anytime. Give me a time and place and I'll be there."
Jessica Drew	"How about...The Tilted Kilt, say 6? Unless you have something else going on..."
Clark Kent	Clark looks over at Lois. She is on the phone as well, talking animatedly with someone. The truth was he did have somewhere else to be... "Nope, nothing I can't move around. I'll be there."
Jessica Drew	"Sounds perfect. I'll see you there!" Jess hangs up the phone, gets back on the treadmill, and picks up her book. "And miles to go before I sleep..."
Shadow King	Paul sits back into his chair, far away from the others he'd been speaking to, pressing hands against his eye sockets, nearly into the jumble in his skull. He then gets up to get a new drink. He's sick of making the calls but just can't stop making them. At least he can add his own flair, messing with the people. So long as the message gets through. There's more to do. So much more to do.