Marvelous Intel

Emma tried to conceal her astonishment. Watching in disbelief how many guests humorously tried to entertain the other party. They talked to themselves... thinking they were entertaining and enjoying the company of that gorgeous ruby. 

The rest of the guests didn't find it strange.

'Just how far does her range reach?' Emma questioned; she was doing the same. She had dominated illusions from the first moment she dominated her powers as a telepath, but compared to her, Jean's capacities were completely different to a difficult degree of comprehension.

She hadn't even practised that much. All Emma could do was attribute that power to the entity secretly living in Jean's mind, that phoenix who had bestowed on her telekinetic capacities with a mere wave of her wings.

She still didn't know what that entity was or what her intentions were... but at the very least, she wasn't an enemy.

Jean was sitting alone at a table, a bit bored, while her illusions entertained at least twenty guests. She wasn't used to this sort of setting; it felt fake. When she pried on people's minds, all she found was everlasting greed, wickedness, lust, and perversion—a complete dissociation from the pure facade they showed in public.

It disgusted her; she didn't want to be here, but a mission was a mission. 

The life of those opulent, powerful and wealthy wasn't what she expected. It was a chess game in which only the one who managed to conceal his or her intentions the most would win the fight. 

'We have many interesting guests; everyone here should be a major stakeholder of Charleston Industries, ' Emma sent her some input. From across the room, she saw that Emma was indeed talking with some guests while subjecting others to illusions. A deceptive domain that enraptured every guest in the hall. Cameras would be able to tell something was not okay. Cameras wouldn't be able to find the culprit. 

Among them, there was an individual Emma paid particular attention to. She stood with the group who had made that man the centre of attention. 

...

"How was your journey to Afghanistan, Mr Stark?" One of those millionaires asked with a rather sarcastic tone. Everybody knew how Tony Stark's trip to Afghanistan had been.

"A bit agitated, I was hoping for some coochie, but ended up coached in the arts of terrorism. Failure holidays," The CEO of Stark Industries jested; everyone in the circle knew him as a womanizer. 

"It is nice to see you have recovered. Do you know anything whatsoever about that flying armour that's been trending?" A lady inquired, getting rather close.

His brows flinched; in the middle of the crowd, he witnessed that diamond-like beauty staring at him with a subtle smile, drinking some whiskey, hearing his tales... prying his mind. 

"I know as much as you do, Lady Park. I'm more interested in some other case, to be honest".

"And what would that be?" Emma asked, earning a scowl from the woman who tried to harness Mr Stark's attention. 

"A case where people disappear without leaving a trace... such a case. But that's too much stress for me; I need some real holidays. Now, if you'd excuse me," Tony put the annoying lady, Miss Park, aside and pressed his way towards an acknowledged heavy-hitter. 

"I didn't expect your presence in this party, Lady Madeline. Do you hold Charleston shares?" He picked up her palm and kissed it without asking. 

Emma giggled, "A friend of mine does. By the way, I'm sorry about Mr Stane."

"He was a great friend of mine; I have experienced many losses in a short period. It happens every so often in a man's life" He pulled her aside to the bar, making his move, "Did you come by yourself? I don't see Mr Shaw".

Emma sipped her wine in a sour mood that improved with every word, "We broke ways... our interests no longer align, let alone, I found myself some young stud that can keep up with me, unlike that old man~".

Tony lifted his brows, brazenly staring down at this diamond he had coveted every single time he met her at an outing. The indestructible barrier, Sebastian Shaw, was not with her this time around. 

"I wonder if that boy can actually keep up? I could do a better job".

"Aren't you still injured from that little incident? it is better you don't make promises you can't keep".

"We won't know until we try".

Emma laughed and fixed Tony's tie; he saw that as a clear green light until she spoke, "We don't need to try because I'm absolutely sure you can't match him~ now. You'd do better leave these premises early. Tonight may get a bit intense, Mr Stark."

He frowned, "Is that a warning?"

"It is... be on your way".

His mind suddenly relaxed; Tony felt like he entered a higher state and started walking towards the exit alone.

'Who was that?' Jean asked her from far away, wondering why Emma had to engage in an actual conversation with that man. He had to be important. 

'That's Ray's dad'.

'... are you joking?'

'I am not, he's Ray's father. He had a tryst with Veronica, which brought up Ray. As a result, he didn't want to be a father, so he settled for giving Veronica complete custody with child support until Ray reached adulthood'.

'That's... sad. I never knew. Does he even know how Ray looks?'.

'From Veronica's memories, he doesn't. He wasn't even there when she gave birth. So, no... but he's Tony Stark, a hooligan multimillionaire genius; you'd expect this much from him. It is not like Ray cares; he cares about Stark Industries. Enough of him, though; I made him leave. Do you know where our objective is?'.

'Elizabeth Charleston is still not here; apparently, she's conversing with another major stakeholder'.

'Can you sense their presence?' Emma asked.

'Can't you?' Jean countered with a grin.

'Of course, I can. I'm testing you, ginger.' The blonde rolled her eyes, and she could.

'They're coming right now. It is her and some big man. She looked a bit discouraged; before, she was also talking to another woman; going by their conversation, her name was Mariah Stane, but she had already left and had no interest in attending the party,' Jean communicated.

'Obadiah Stane's sister. She must have been the one to inherit his shares in Charleston Industries as per his inheritance. Did you manage to catch anything in her memories?'

'I'm influencing too many minds now; I'm not an octopus, Emma'.

...

Not long after, as Jean predicted, two individuals entered the hall. One was a massive, intimidating man; the other was a gorgeous middle-aged lady who looked like she had seen better days. 

'Madame Elizabeth Charleston, ' Emma thought, walking up to the position where Jean was; after extracting the memories of those she 'entertained', she let them go on their way, increasing her scope of action once again. 

"So we have to brainwash her…" Jean grunted.

"You either take care of the mercenaries, and I do the brainwashing, or how do you want to do this?"

"Can I choose to do neither and just cover you from the back?"

"Cool, I'll do everything, and you don't get paid then, let's go–".

"Wait! Ugh… I hate this capitalist society".

"So do I, Jean. Actually, I don't~".