legacy_of_evil: (Black shirt smug)
Norman H. Osborn ([personal profile] legacy_of_evil) wrote in [community profile] nextgenerationmarvel2014-11-28 07:35 pm

The Deal (Ariadne)


"Okay, Stella. Be safe. I'll see you when you're back."

Norman hit "END" and the call closed down. Stella was away for an indeterminate time on business, meaning that he needed to handle things for himself. He could get another assistant, yes, but no one had Stella's ability. He sighed and set the phone down, then pulled out his appointment book and looked over today. Breakfast meeting. Lunch meeting.

Dinner meeting with the representative from Typhon Group, followed by a meeting with his contact from the Organization.

His return to New York after another hiatus was low-key this time around. OsCorp was ready to make a major announcement but he needed to put a few other things in place. He flipped on the TV in his office and watched Christina Frost's new reality show with a smile.

She was already doing better than he hoped. E! owed him one for the suggestion.

He pressed the intercom button on his desk and waited for Lucy, his secretary, to answer.

"Lucy, please get a representative from Typhon on the line. I need to iron out some final details."

"Right away, Mister Osborn." Lucy said.
 


hisstress: (Say Something)

[personal profile] hisstress 2014-11-29 08:58 am (UTC)(link)
Said representative - who actually played a far bigger role in both the Typhon Group than she was letting on - was currently in one of the research labs, mixing small samples of her own venom with another formula to see what the results were.

Mattie, one of her minions assistants brought the phone over to her. "It's a Mr. Osborn."

Ariadne nodded, took the phone, and shooed Mattie away.

"Mr. Osborn. I do hope we're still on for our meeting tonight," Ariadne said. From the corner of her eye, she watched as SHIELD chased down a rogue mutant on one screen. On another, she saw Spider-Man swinging through Midtown, engaged in a minor squabble with a villainess calling herself Silkworm. Ariadne turned her attention back on the phone. "We both have terribly busy schedules, and I'm not certain how easy it would be to set up another meeting." Granted, Ariadne hadn't even been in New York a week, but she had plans, and Osborn would play into them nicely, if she could make it work.
hisstress: (Investigative Eyes)

[personal profile] hisstress 2014-11-29 08:11 pm (UTC)(link)
"Of course, Mr. Osborn. Who else would it be?" In truth, it could have been a couple of other people - HYDRA legacies who had been vying for control over the New York branch of the sprawling, many-headed organization. Ariadne had dealt with them once she'd come into town.

Her mother had been Madame Hydra. Perhaps not of the New York branch of operations - Madripoor had always been Ophelia Sarkissian's stomping grounds - but once the Grim Reaper had stepped down from leading the New York branch, a small vacuum had opened up.

One which Ariadne had intended to fill.

As Osborn gave her the address, she typed it into her special edition Baintronics tablet. An eyebrow went up with interest. This was only a few blocks away from the apartment where all those people had been killed, courtesy of her. It was right where the town went from tolerably bad to terrible.

"Testing me, Mr Osborn?" Ariadne asked in a calm, affable manner. She may be someone who liked to hide in the bushes before she struck, but she never liked to beat around one. Besides, Ariadne had never met a test she hadn't passed. "I have to admit, it's an interesting move. I'll be there." Probably a few minutes early so she could skulk around in the shadows, make sure he didn't have anything else up his sleeve.
hisstress: (Surprised or Serious)

[personal profile] hisstress 2014-11-29 10:18 pm (UTC)(link)
Ariadne's mother was one of those women who lived her life in uniform. No matter where Viper was, she was always in that all-green outfit of hers, ready for action. Granted, Ariadne herself was also always ready for action, but given that she was practically poison herself, she had no such compunctions.

Besides, this was a business meeting, not a supervillain illuminati catch-up. So there she was, dressed in blacks and greens, but still somewhat business-like and professional.

Ariadne slinked over to where Mr. Osborn was sitting. She'd already been in the restaurant when he'd arrived, though she'd stayed out of the way, hidden. Waiting to strike as it were. So far, she sensed no danger. Granted, she had set things up here so that things were, quite unerringly, in her favor.

"Mr. Osborn," she held out a hand, her perfectly manicured fingernails painted a deep, luminescent green. He wasn't hard to recognize. How could you be when you the scion of New York's more infamous families? Besides, HYDRA always did their research.

Even if no one outside of HYDRA knew where the Typhon Group's origins lay.

"You're here early. I always appreciate a man of his word." She wouldn't sit until he had stood up and greeted her.
hisstress: (Default)

[personal profile] hisstress 2014-11-30 07:51 am (UTC)(link)
The waiter was pretty quick with their drinks, placing Norman's Coke and Ariadne's sparkling mineral water in front of them. Ariadne gingerly plucked the wedge of lime off of the rim of the glass, squeezed the juice into her water, and then dropped the wedge in. She took a slow, careful sip, savoring the fizziness of the water and the sweetness of the lime.

"Well, Norman," she said, trying out the name, "given the reputation that you rich New York boys have, I can't say I fault them." Ariadne knew better, though. HYDRA knew a good deal about the Osborn family. Ariadne herself had read up on the history ever since talks of a meeting had come up. "Most of your set are either known as flakes, hardcore party boys, or worse." There was a reason why Midwestern boys tended to make such good soldier-types.

"We're looking at our options," Ariadne said. "One or two leads seem promising, but I should have something more concrete by the end of the week. Certainly, I don't forsee a problem with a press conference on it. I'll have my people contact your people when we've got a clearer idea of when everything will be ready."

She took another sip and pondered that for a moment. "Hmm. Perhaps. I will send someone along." Or perhaps she'd do it herself. She'd just need to see how dangerous it would be to appear on tv. While the general public wouldn't know the weight of the name "Sarkissian", people like the Avengers and SHIELD would. They didn't need to be tipped off that she was in town.

Neither did a certain hairy Canadian X-Man.

"Couldn't hurt. I like to think that this will lead to a long, steady partnership."

hisstress: (Default)

[personal profile] hisstress 2014-12-04 01:59 am (UTC)(link)
"Very perceptive, Norman," Ariadne said after a beat. "You've done your research. Or you've had somewhere do it for you. Either way, you're reaping the benefits," she smiled. What he didn't know was that a lot of those people, a lot of those names, were mere figureheads. Workers, sure. HYDRA operatives and drones doing either Ariadne's bidding or the bidding of her mother. But they were people who were also good at their jobs, educated, and had a right to those positions. Ariadne herself knew that she had a lot of work to do to be on their level, but she was working hard at it.

But the fact was that as Madame Hydra's daughter, Ariadne had a certain cachet at the Typhon Group, and within that specific branch of HYDRA in general. She'd already proven herself a capable and willing agent - smart, shrewd, cunning.

She took another slow sip of water, mulling Norman's words over just a bit more.

"I do assure you," she said finally, "we're not cooking our books. Typhon's funded by our own original investors - there's nothing fishy going on with us." Monetarily, at least. HYDRA was a lot of things, and lacking for money wasn't one of them.

"I'm curious. What is it that you want help getting, Norman? You practically have everything as it is."
hisstress: (Default)

[personal profile] hisstress 2014-12-04 04:07 am (UTC)(link)
"I'm a great believe in doing one's own dirty work," Ariadne said, picking up a fork. She started tapping something onto the table herself - morse code, the exact same thing that Norman had been tapping out.

"Domination, Norman? I wouldn't expect anything less from a man of your breeding." Nor a man with his family history.

Once she was certain that he had understood what she'd been tapping out, Ariadne set her fork down.

"I believe we can work together to meet our goals."
hisstress: (Speak)

[personal profile] hisstress 2014-12-04 11:13 am (UTC)(link)
Ariadne grinned. "It kills you, doesn't it?" she asked. "Having that one piece of information that you want just out of your reach? Money can't buy it, and despite your vast resources, you don't have the capabilities to infiltrate the Typhon Group to get that one little word." She took another sip of her drink. "Fine. But only because we're working together for the foreseeable future." It was only fair, no?

"Ariadne," she said. "Ariadne is my first name." She could have lied, and indeed, she had almost been tempted to. She could easily have been Adrianna or Anoushka or Amelie. But he knew her last name already. What would have been the point?
hisstress: (Speak)

[personal profile] hisstress 2014-12-04 09:16 pm (UTC)(link)
She'd verbally poked, prodded, and jabbed him, and he'd taken it in stride.

Good. She liked that.

"I know the myth," Ariadne said. "In some places, she was also considered a snake goddess." This was, clearly, where Viper had gotten the idea of Ariadne's name from.

Well, that and the fact that it had once been an alias that the original Spider-Woman had gone by.

"What Minotaur did you have in mind?"
hisstress: (Surprised or Serious)

[personal profile] hisstress 2014-12-05 09:23 am (UTC)(link)
Ariadne had enough blood on her hands to fill a few Olympic-sized swimming pools. To her, suggesting taking someone down was akin to being asked if she wanted another cup of coffee. It was a part of her daily life.

"Killing him outright would be faster, but you're right. That's not the smartest move to make here." She smiled, then. "I do like the idea of keeping the capes busy, though. Out of my way." She folded her arms in thought. "I can help you out with resources, but I'm sensing that you have some sort of plan here. Care to share the details?"
hisstress: (Default)

[personal profile] hisstress 2014-12-06 12:28 am (UTC)(link)
Politics, taking control of people in power, these were things that HYDRA was definitely interested in.

Helped with that whole world domination thing.

It was definitely a project that Ariadne could hand out resources to, and help oversee. With one caveat.

"I'm all for helping out with this, Norman," Ariadne said. "Certainly, you've got a lot of cogs turning, and I can see where HYDRA would be able to lend support. Here's the thing, though. Publically, in any matter, I don't want any of this to lead back to HYDRA. I'm on your side here, because the fallout of this is certainly something that interests me. But for now, HYDRA's a silent, non-public partner. Deal?"
hisstress: (Look Down and Smile)

[personal profile] hisstress 2014-12-06 09:10 am (UTC)(link)
"Done." Getting those things wouldn't be too difficult. It might take a little bit of work, but HYDRA had good people work for them.

Well, good bad people.

And they had spies everywhere.

"Though I have to say. HYDRA's best assassin is sitting right in front of you."
hisstress: (Default)

[personal profile] hisstress 2014-12-07 03:01 am (UTC)(link)
The expression on Ariadne's face didn't change when he asked those questions. Sure, the smile was still there, but there were secrets hidden behind that smile.

"I'm trained to kill in a variety of ways," she said after a moment. "Whatever's most convenient, depending upon the mark. I would say that I'm not a fan of guns, though. They're so impersonal. Death is the last conscious thing a person experiences. They should go out while someone's there to hold their hand, don't you think?"
hisstress: (Default)

[personal profile] hisstress 2014-12-07 04:26 am (UTC)(link)
Did she enjoy it? Ariadne wasn't sure. She was certainly good at it. She enjoyed the thrill of the hunt. If she didn't like you, watching your life slip away was certainly something of a pleasure.

"Sometimes, it's a necessity," she replied. "Sometimes, sport."
hisstress: (Surprised or Serious)

[personal profile] hisstress 2014-12-07 06:01 am (UTC)(link)
"Is that how you release your stress?" Ariadne asked. "I somehow can't imagine you to be some sort of banal serial murderer, running around the city at night, casually killing people."

Well, unless he was in a goblin suit.

Was that a thing he did?
hisstress: (Stare)

[personal profile] hisstress 2014-12-08 12:45 am (UTC)(link)
"If you're this brutal with your business deals, I can see why you're so successful," Ariadne replied. "But no. Though I may enjoy it sometimes, for me, killing is a means to an end. One body is just another rung on a ladder for me to climb as I make my way to the top." Though, to be fair, she was also bred to be one hell of an assassin. Viper wanted her daughter to be able to protect herself at all costs. "But you don't get to where I am without being the best at what they do, however dark it may be."
hisstress: (Investigative Eyes)

[personal profile] hisstress 2014-12-09 12:45 am (UTC)(link)
There was no good and bad. Not in Ariadne's world. No, her world was filled with grey, tinted with greens, blacks, and yellows.

Ariadne raised her eyebrow as Norman rushed to the window. She followed him at a leisurely pace, and stood behind him, arms crossed, patiently waiting.

"Saw something that interests you?"
hisstress: (Say Something)

[personal profile] hisstress 2014-12-09 03:18 am (UTC)(link)
"Funny," Ariadne said softly. "My mother loved them."
hisstress: (Smile)

[personal profile] hisstress 2014-12-09 10:39 am (UTC)(link)
"Mmm." Ariadne peered out the window. "When you say 'spider', I get the distinct feeling you don't mean the eight-legged arachnids," she said. She did, of course, know what specific species of spider Norman was referring to.

"My family has some history with...cousins...of your species," she said. "They don't matter to me, though. I mean, what's a spider to a snake?"
hisstress: (Pursed Lips)

[personal profile] hisstress 2014-12-10 09:40 am (UTC)(link)
She quietly smiled at the bit about the venom.

If Norman only knew of her true nature.

But Ariadne was a woman full of secrets, and that was one of them. No one ever needed to know one-hundred percent of her business.

"As long as you don't give him reason to, I'm sure he won't," she said, in a matter-of-fact tone. "You've heard of self-fulfilling prophecies, I'm sure. They're in many of the Greek tragedies. The protagonist sets out to stop something heinous from happening - something that's happened to family members before, you know. Anything. But instead of preventing it, they only invite the inevitable in."

She looked out the window again. "If you haven't engaged him yet, then maybe you can break that cycle."