Stand and Bear Witness [Wang Ba][Saga]

There were few people Wang Ba would stoop so low as to meet on their own terms. The potential of it being a trap aside... It was the same as placing himself on a level below theirs. It was fascinating how such a man's actions could be dictated by so ephemeral a thing as 'face,' and yet, they were. Perhaps his obsession with the abstract concept was similar to his insistence on being decked out in all manner of extravagant garb- Jeweled to the teeth, as it were. It was not enough to have money, to have status. Other people needed to be aware of the things he had. It was pathetic, really. Not that any dared to say so to his face.

But although this meeting was on Ishtar's territory, Wang Ba still deigned to arrive in person- Accompanied by his bodyguards, naturally. Three steps behind, the woman in red- Wings folded tight against her back. Zhu Que. Three steps ahead, a hardened face. A man who had been through a fight or two in his life. Zhu Que to the South and Xuan Wu in the North. Although it left East and West conspicuously absent... Those two had their own assignments. Besides which, he had dealt with this Lady Chernova before, and bringing guards at all was more a formality.

That was not to say that he trusted her. If he trusted anyone in this world, it would be his five closest bodyguards- No, trust was not the word for it. What he felt was faith. Faith in himself, that he was more useful alive than dead. Perhaps a baseless confidence- But it was one which had served him well in the past. If he lacked confidence in his own organization, what business did he have running it? He should just go back to the streets of his forsaken past.

However, compared to his ease, Zhu Que and Xuan Wu were both tensed up. For different reasons, of course. The latter, because he had never met the White Queen. The former, because she had. Even now, she recalled the eyes which had stared as though to look into her very soul, even offering to buy her off of the boss. Surely the boss would stand by his decision to not use her as a bargaining chip... Right? But it totally seemed like something the boss would do! But if the boss ordered it.... With a gulp, the young girl steeled herself for her fate. Ahead, her actions were... Noted, and promptly ignored by the man who could read her mind to the last detail. Of course, it didn't help her case that she was so easy to read.

Xuan Wu, on the other hand, was frustrated. He had been left behind when Wang Ba had visited the Shinagawa auction. Had been too far away to help when things went south- As all five of Wang Ba's Shitennou had known it would. To be left behind in such a case, to the man, was a mark of his own weakness- He was simply incapable of keeping up with the power of quirkers in this world. In such a gathering, he would have been more hindrance than help. And that fact irked him more than words could express. Even now, was he not only being brought along because it was definitively safe? It was a disgrace to his title as the Black Warrior.

---

"Lady Chernova. It is a pleasure to meet you under more... Pleasant circumstances." The man would return her greeting. While their first meeting had been interesting, their second had been... Relatively less so. It could be said that he owed her one for allowing him to enter her getaway car, but then- Even if he had not, it was not as though he was helpless. Rather, it could be said that she owed him for ignoring the commands of the police who had been escorting him to safety. Of course, that was merely semantics- And the fact that he was the one who led the police to that spot in the first place, knowing fully well she was making her getaway there... Was a secret between himself and Zhu Que. And the police who would be hard pressed to admit they had been cooperating with a villain. In short, it was difficult to say one owed the other- But nonetheless, a connection had been formed. One which led him here today.

"I am as ever in awe of your work, Lady Chernova. Such a facility, and no one the wiser. It puts my meager operations to shame." Flattery came easily to the man. But his words held their own meaning- Would such a man merely make a self deprecative statement? In short, for his facilities to pale in comparison... He needed to have facilities of his own. As for what kind of facilities, their location, and their purpose... Well, business was business. "As always, ASTA remains ahead of the curve in all respects." His eyes followed the stairs of light as he spoke. Clearly, the demonstration had already begun.

It was as much a pleasure as it was a frustration, to meet someone whose attitude was so similar to his own. A calculated smile for a calculated smile. Every word having its own place, every action, a meaning. Eyes so sharp they hardly belonged on such a rotund face followed the other's every change. The gaze on Zhu Que behind him was unmistakable- A shame, but his bodyguards were not for sale. No amount of money could buy loyalty- Nor would he be willing to part with such an amount, if it could. Those he trusted were as rare as they were valuable. However, the lady's interest in his messenger had been unmistakable since they first met- An interest he would be a fool to ignore. When it came to young and pretty things- His homeland's patriarchal society had done him quite the favor. But such topics were crude, and unsuitable for the pleasantries of introductions.

Without prompting, the other would explain what she had done. His eyes narrowed at the words. Her stairs were not what he had thought- Or perhaps they were. But the technology behind them was worth quite a bit. Quirk enhancers were rare, a fact which had led to the rapid spread of the Quirk Enhancement Drug. Ironically, a drug which had no actual impact on one's quirk. It didn't matter. It sold itself as doing so, and the people bought it up. And what sold, Wang Ba was naturally intrigued by. And that was before considering his very self- Was his own quirk not a form of hard light? Although he had a rather personal distaste for using it, the ability came in handy on more than one occasion.

But his interest would be carefully masked behind an impassive face. To show interest was to raise the price. Besides, pleasure before business- He had not even been offered a seat. "Quite the advance. You have been busy indeed. Even your competitors remain stuck at mitigation, far from amplification. The future for ASTA seems bright indeed." Would come his words. The future, was it? Of course, that would rely on herself. For himself- He was a salesman, not a researcher. His was not to create, but to sell. The present, that was his place.

"However, a device made for one person... Pardon me, but, while the technology is impressive, there is simply not large enough of a market." Quirks were far too unique to be so broadly treated. No two were alike, it seemed- And what similarities existed, often came down to both having a tail, and needing a hole in their pants for it. As a salesman, this meant that the project had high costs, but low returns- As impressive as Chernova's steps were, they were not something which could be sold. They were distinctly her own.

As for her distaste for her own name- He was hardly disturbed by it. Aside from it being the name she had gone by when they first met, choosing to use her surface name instead of her villain name at this time had its own meaning. As such, he would hardly be bothered by her request. "Is that so? My apologies, Lady Ishtar. Ah yes, as long as introductions are in order... You have already met Que'er." The winged blonde cowered behind her boss's large frame as she was introduced. It seemed Sonya scared her more than she ever admitted. Ah well. "But this would be your first time encountering Xuan Wu." He directed his bejeweled hand towards his other bodyguard. "Do pardon his silence. He is yet unused to such illustrious company."

Or rather, his tone was so coarse, he was liable to insult her if he were to speak. A loyal dog, but one to leash nonetheless. Was it just him, or was his entire inner circle made up of such people? But then, those proper enough that he need not control them, would hardly place their faith in one such as him. As for Zhu Que... She was similarly liable to speak out of turn, and silly enough to do so despite his orders. Fortunately, her fear seemed great enough to silence her... For now, anyways.

Having displayed it in front of her in the past, it was no wonder that Chernova had placed two and two together. Although he made no habit of making his abilities- Or their limits- public. There was only so far that he could hide the gemstone in his hand crumbling to dust as the barrier around his partner faded from the world. Nevertheless, his brows ever so slightly furrowed at the gift. Although it was a present on the surface, it held the subtext- They knew what he could do. As the one who made an effort to be more informed, it was a frustrating result- But then, he was still working on building the level of network he had enjoyed in the past. Some gaps between him and the established status quo were to be expected.

Nevertheless, he would show the bare minimum of courtesy by accepting the gift. Opening the box, he lay his eyes upon one of the ugliest gemstones he had yet witnessed. Sausage-like fingers would pinch the gemstone, holding it up as he looked it over with the eyes of an auctioneer. It was a blatantly artificial gemstone. Hardly worth the money spent to make it. To put it simply- It was so cheap, he would usually never look at it. A gemstone was a mark of status, and merely touching such a thing felt cheap.

Ishtar had misguaged this time. His interest lay not in reducing the costs of his quirk- Money was something he never lacked for. In fact, the more expensive the gemstone he burned, the more it was a slap in the face of those people who could never afford it to begin with. What he disliked was being forced to do such a thing, that feeling of being cornered. As well as that naggling instinct in the back of his heart that demanded he be more frugal- He hated that voice most of all. The voice of a time when he lacked the power to do- This.

Since he was given this as a gift, he would use it as he pleased. The milky white gemstone would glow, a pale glow, not unlike the pink of the observer's eyes. And as it glowed, a milky white barrier would appear around the man's bulk, even his own partners being forced to step away. "Xuan. This one is yours."

At his command, the black warrior of the north would turn around. The boss's orders were absolute. Let's see how strong this artificial gemstone was, shall we? The mortal human would display his strength, smashing a fist into the tortoiseshell. Cracks ran through the gemstone as it absorbed the impact. It would only be able to take a few more hits like that- It seemed making the gem itself harder had no effect. Of course, that was something he could have said without this test.

But while phrased as a test, the meaning was clear. The fruit of Ishtar's efforts was defeated in a few blows by a quirkless man- Was she, perhaps, all talk? The male villain would lower his gaze at her, waiting for her to defend her product.

The last crumbs that had once been a gemstone- albeit artificial- filtered to the floor. "Real, artificial. It matters not." The man said, by way of explanation. "Neither size nor shape nor hardness has a bearing on my shell." In the first place, her direction was wrong. But it hardly hurt to let her do her thing, and so at her clear choice to not give up, he gave a noncommittal smile. "Although, in the first place... If I am acting myself, then things are far beyond the point of trinkets." He added. Anything to bring the price down... As well as to satiate his own pride. He would hardly lower himself so far as to ask for a favor, unless the benefit was truly overwhelming... And in this case, it could hardly be said to be so.

"Not a trouble, my dear. I am sure there is only so much that can be developed without... Firsthand experience." And so he explained away his own actions. It was not to display how weak such a gemstone was- It was to show the Lady Ishtar in what areas her own product was lacking. And so the insult becomes a blessing, the curse a word of advice. As to whether or not it would pay off... That depended on whether the product was enough to be worth it. While perhaps not his conscious thinking- Wang ba's subconscious mind truly enjoyed the burning of true gemstones. Even as he claimed to hate the waste of money... There was nothing quite so invigorating as telling others that he had enough wealth to burn it so wantonly.

But there were yet more toys to play with, and Wang ba was not one to end the tour early. His eyes covered the prototype armor his host showed off with hardly disguised desire- And yet, even that, was calculated. If he appeared truly disinterested, the host would have no reason to continue showing off. However, it was a shame that- "Alas, that none of my staff have such a quirk." It was an excellent technological demo, but. One that was of little use to him, aside from the technology it represented. And, speaking of representation... It highlighted the difference in philosophy between the two villains.

If it were Wang Ba, he would never invest in such research and development. The result was an armor only one person could wear. Even if he obtained it... What would it be worth? There would be no competition, the price would fall to the lowest possible. Perhaps he would not even recoup the losses he had incurred developing it. But each quirk was unique, inimitable. There was no point at which the research fees ceased, and the profits soared. Frankly, he felt the whole thing was unsustainable... yet necessary. Mostly, he was glad that it was someone else who felt obligated to waste their money this way.

"An ambitious project. What material is this? I have never seen its like." And so he played the attentive audience, asking questions that would allow the objects seller to describe its best points, and flaunt her resources- As, of course, was the entire reason to propose such a tour. Aesthetics were lost on the man, who only saw appearance for the value he could draw from it. However, of all the features of the armor... Its ability to withstand damage was more universally applicable. That, was a secret he would be interested in learning.