Running out of options, Angel had no choice but to visit Prometheus. She didn't want to visit a known retired Class S supervillain, who would? But she didn't have a choice
After she saw Jessica cry for the first time in front of her, how could she leave it alone? She needed to find Sara or at least avenge her death, no matter the cost
But finding information about those hood guys was extremely difficult. For starters, most heroes didn't bother with them
The first reason was that if they managed to catch one, they always ended up death. Having people dying in your watch always looked bad, even if it wasn't your fault, so most only tried to repel them and didn't bother to capture them since it was pointless
The second reason was that they were small time. They only did small drug deals, didn't force their product, and didn't sell to kids directly. They just sell to anyone that ask, nothing more, nothing less. They were drug dealers, but they weren't as bad as many others all around the country. They would be even considered one of the better ones if it wasn't for the dying thingy
The third reason was that they didn't have a bounty. The heroes association usually put bounties on known criminals to "incentive" both heroes and private contractors(mercenaries and bounty hunters). For example, both Cat and Red Eyes had a bounty of $100.000 and after the factory incident, Cat bounty went up to $250.000 but only in Capital City. By the way, the reward was only valid if they were alive, only mass murderers or calamities got the dead or alive bounty
As for the grey cult, they had no bounty on their head. Not for the level c and b grunts, or the leaders. With no money plus death after capture and that they weren't really a bother, most heroes just left them alone
Usually, after attacking a group, heroes would write a report, leaving behind some information about them. The hero association also hired people to track and research about different dangerous groups, and others heroes could use that information for free or for a price according to rank. Sadly for angel, since no one attacked the group and the Hero Association didn't even bother many resources to research about the Grey Cult, the information she could get in the association was barely better than an online search
With the heroes and the hero association being so uninterested in them, it was hard for Angel to get proper information about them by her regular ways, which made it difficult to find out anything about them
She even sent a request to the association asking them to spend resources in researching more about the Grey Cult, but all she received in response was a simple generic reply that basically say "we will think about it", wich could be translated to "nope, we won't do it"
That left Angel with little choices. She could either ask for favours from her friends and acquaintances or she could pay someone to research the group. The first option would be ideal, but sadly, most of the people she knew were good at kicking a-ses and not researching. The closest one would be Missing, but she barely knew the guy, she just worked with him a couple of times
The other option would be to hire someone, but researching about a group like the Grey Cult would be dangerous, so it would be expensive and she didn't have a lot of cash. It is not like she didn't earn well, but she had an expensive lifestyle plus Jess expenses. She did slow down a little with her expenses, and had some savings, but she didn't think it was enough to find what she needed about the Grey Cult. She could ask a friend to introduce her to another friend and maybe get a discount or something, but it would still be expensive
In the end, she decided to try to ask the infamous information broker Prometheus. He went by Frank actually, and if you tried to arrest him for his cape days, he would simply layer up and play dumb, but would advertise he used to be that Super villain in any other case. She didn't like the guy, and never actually visit him before, but his reputation was top notch in what he did. You couldn't go to anyone better than that guy if you wanted to find out something about someone
He also had the best prices, so if she wanted to know how much it would cost, he was the best guy to ask. If it was too expensive, or he simply refused, she would try her friends, and maybe collect a favor or two. The only reason she didn't want to use the favors first, was simply because she wanted to use them when she attacked the Grey Cult after she collected enough information about them
She wasn't stupid, she knew that even if she handed all the information on a silver plate, they wouldn't move since there wasn't anything in it for them, so her only hope was asking for favors , and maybe a guilty trip or two to the more honorable ones
The best case scenario would be to get the information at a good price, convince a couple of heroes to attack and destroy them before they can react. It would also be great if she found Jess sister on the way, but she didn't have her hope ups, she would be satisfied if she just took revenge on them
So with not much choices, she asked for an appointment with Prometheus and went in costume to his office the next day. She didn't want the heroes to find out she dealt with the guy, but if she went without costume, she was afraid Prometheus would find out her secret identity, which would be much worst
"Miss Angel! a pleasure to meet you. I must admit it's rare that a hero asks for my service, but I never refuse a client"(Prometheus) said in a polite way from his chair behind a desk
It was the first time that Angel meet him in person, and she must admit he looked intimidating, even when sitting in a chair. With his over showing muscles and his deep scar in his forehead, he almost looked like a thug from a 90's movie. Being suspected of having an S level of power also didn't help. If there was something that helped her relax a little, was that he looked really worn out for some reason, making him look more human than monster
"Nice to meet you. If you don't mind, can we go directly to business?"(Angel) said in a really respectful way
She really didn't want to mess with him or piss him off in any way. Besides, she didn't want him to overcharge her because she was rude or he dislike her attitude. But even if she didn't want to be rude, the less time she spends there, the better
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
"No problem. What bring you here then?"(Prometheus) Said while showing her a business smile that in no way helped her relax
"I want information on the Grey Cult. I want to know what information you could get me and at what price"(Angel) Said directly to the point
If Angel would have paid a little more attention, she would have realised that the moment Angel mentioned the Grey Cult, the attitude from Prometheus changed. He straightened his back, stared directly at her eyes and face expressions and even put his hands on the desk while interlocking his fingers while getting a little closer to her to get a better look at how she reacts
"Why do you want that information"(Prometheus) Said in a completely serious tone, that even sounded a little threatening
Angel didn't notice the change in attitude with his movements, but she did notice he was serious now, instead of his business smile and attitude from just a moment
Even if she had come close to death a couple of times in her hero career, that was definitely one of her scariest moments ever
"I want to take them down"(Angel)
"Then why come to me? Ask one of your hero friends"(Prometheus)
"The organisation has them at a low priority for the moment, and I don't think they will change their standing int he near future"(Angel)
"I see. And why this personal vendetta? if you don't mind me asking"(Prometheus)
"It's personal"(Angel) Dodged the last question
She didn't want to involve Jess in any way in all this
"Oh! For your little kid then"(Prometheus) Said as a matter of fact
He was actually fishing, trying to see if it was because of that or another reason, but Angel completely fell for it. She showed a surprise expression that practically spelled "How did you know?"
"wha..? how..?"(Angel) tried to ask, but she was in such a panic state she barely managed to say those words
"Come on, everyone knows you adopted a kid after the incident in the factory, and everyone knows who was behind it. You haven't confronted those guys in the last few years, and they haven't caused any other important incident since then so that only leaves your kid. It's my job to know this stuffs"(Prometheus) Lied
He knew a lot about a lot of people, but there was no way he would remember every single action every superhero made. He usually just added the new information to their file and would look at it when necessary. Same with incidents and their connections
The only reason he remembered Angel took a kid was because it was actually Sara's sister, and the reason he remembered about the factory was because he was deeply interested in the Grey Cult, and because of Sara of course
Still, Angel totally believed him, and even increased her respect for him a little
"I see, I guess I shouldn't be surprised"(Angel) Said reluctantly
"Like I said, it is my job, right?"(Prometheus) Said in a way that sounded funny, but was still staring directly at her eyes
"Yeah... so, what can you get? And for how much?"(Angel)Said still a little nervously
"I can get you their underground main base teleport address, plus its design"(Prometheus) Said casually
Wich took Angel by complete surprise. She was expecting to be directed to someone and his price, she didn't expect for him to already have important information ready
"Hhhow Much?"(Angel)
"Just two things. First, you don't wait, you must strike between the next two days, and tell as few people as possible until the last moment. Second, you own me a favor. If you are ok with those terms, the information is all yours"(Prometheus)
"How do I know they are legitimate?"(Angel)
"Kid, I have a reputation that has been kept for years, I lose more by lying than you"(Prometheus)
"What kind of favor will it be?"(Angel)
"I don't know, I doubt it will be something extreme, but it may be something illegal. It is up to you if you take the chance"(Prometheus)
And it was. He probably knew she didn't have the money to pay for that kind of information, so he offered an alternative. From the start, she was willing to ask and demand a couple of favors to get what she wanted, but it was not the same to owe a favor to a hero than to a criminal. The question was, what was she willing to do to get what she wanted
"Deal"(Angel) Decided to risk it
"Great! Give me a second and I will get you the info"(Prometheus) Said with a smile
Probably the first true smile he gave in all day, and actually for a long time. He quickly grabbed a pen drive, connected it to his laptop, and added some information to it. Then he grabbed a pen, some paper and wrote a number on it
"Here is the pen drive with the information, and here is a number you should definitely call. Just tell him who gave you this number and what you want to do and he will help you"(Prometheus) Said while handing her the stuff
"Thank you?"(Angel) Said, a little confuse with the extra service
"No problem, and if you don't mind, I am a busy person so if you don't have any more business, please go"(Prometheus) Said, and shortly after he started to look at his laptop while completely ignoring her
It was a simple tactic so she would leave fast, and have no time to change her mind until it was too late, and like before, she fell for it. She left her chair and got out of his office and building shortly after before she could even finish processing everything that happened inside
She went home, still a little dazed, and started looking into the files. It had both teleportation coordinates and the facility blueprints, with a rough estimate of enemy forces
As for the number, it was a number, but she didn't know it or appeared when she searched on google. With not much choice, she gave it a try and called
"Hello? Legend speaking"(Legend) said
Turns out, it was the phone number of an S class hero
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Note: Thanks Neiden for the grammar help ::) not much to say exept this and the next one were really long chapters :;^^: