Party Antics (Mental Planning)

Once I was finished with my drink, I quickly started mingling with some of the senators, making sure I could subtly influence them. Honestly, the most annoying thing was what the party was all about, Samartians Embrace. The fake little charity made by Vought so that they could inject children across the country with Compound V. So all these senators and other various government individuals coming to support this little event was like one big joke.

That didn't stop me from taking advantage of the situation and getting to know a few people here and there. Never hurt to have a few friends in high places or specific positions of power. All the while I was thinking in my head about what to do next, what I could do to gain the attention of the right kind of people. I needed to get some form of mask going on, one that could hide my voice and all of my facial features. 

Then how I would get my name out there, just announcing my presence in the world wouldn't be enough no I needed to send a message. I wanted The SEven to remain unharmed for now, their presence and personalities made it easy for the future to remain largely unchanged well hopefully anyway. Then a thought popped into my head, the race between A-train and Shockwave I believe. 

Shockwave's speed would be useful and was probably far superior to A-train at least I believe so largely in part due to A-trains heart problems. Maybe the classic All for One look, just imagining it I could feel the intimidation I felt back when I first saw it. To be honest, Hulu was one of the few things I paid for and could afford to pay for. Well, not anymore but back then it was and I remember watching a lot of anime well I wasn't a huge fan but I enjoyed watching My Hero Academia. 

It might be nice to pay it forward, of course, I would make a few modifications to the mask maybe some nice crimson eyes that I could see through. Well, I could workshop It and maybe get a few designs and contact some online workshops. Pay for the actual manufacturing which would take a few days at least. 

Right now though I would enjoy the party and slip out when plenty of time has passed, and if Madylin thought about answering any question she had about my "nephew" which in hindsight I probably could've come up with a better lie but when I met her, the idea popped into my head. 

Unfortunately for me, she did approach me, it was getting close to my own departure time when she walked up to me with a smile on her face. 

"So how are you enjoying the party so far, Mr. Shigaraki?"

With a small smile on my face, I put both hands in my pockets before responding.

"Well the charity part is nice, except it's a bit of a snooze fest, we both know why you invited some of these people here, just imagine it supe's in the military."

Hearing that he laughed a bit, raising a glass and giving me a bit of a toast before taking a drink out of it.

"Well I'll drink to that, and hopefully fingers crossed Senator Calhoun sees things our way."

After that, we chatted a bit before the real reason came up after a bit. 

"So hows our favorite shareholder's nephew any changes recently." 

I just smiled and started walking towards the door slowly with her following me.

"Nothing recent but we think he's due for a growth spurt any day now but other than that no changes."

Of course, she wasn't satisfied and kept badgering me for more details, but I didn't have any for her beyond the basic prepubescent kids talk. Once she realized that this conversation wasn't going anywhere she executed herself but I could she was annoyed, almost angry under that fake smile of hers. I did eventually reach the elevator and made my exit alongside one Queen Maeve who had a drink in hand and a fake smile on her face as she saw me on the other side of the elevator. 

We greeted each other and made some small talk before I asked her.

"So what's with the fake smile, the whole act."

She was caught off guard but she held her act together, and so much more professionally than the others I caught off guard. The supe's who were still had a few fans but not enough to make a dent in Vought's pocket. 

"No idea what you're talking about."

Sighing I just looked a my reflection in the elevator, taking a peek at hers and I could see all the small muscle movements, everything she did to try and put up this act. 

"You don't have to talk to me, I already know what supe's are like behind closed doors and what your personality is really like, especially when it comes to relationships."

Now that surprised her and she dropped the whole act and just got angry, but I could tell she was a bit nervous.

"How the h-"

"I research Vougths top products to make sure whether I should buy more stock or just sell before something terrible happens and that includes The Seven."

"Earth's mightiest Heroes are all under Vought's control and to be honest I don't care what you do behind closed doors but I hate when people put on a fake face around me."

"It just gets annoying after a while, so if you don't want to force yourself to make small talk like I do when I'm at these things don't, just be honest with yourself."

Just like that, we stopped talking, she would look at me every once in a while to look at me, probably trying to figure out if I wanted to use her for something. She stepped out first and I smiled waving her goodbye, she didn't and I could finally drop my fake smile. I'm no hypocrite I hate myself when I do that but to get things done you have to act a little, even I understand that. 

"Time to get some wardrobe stuff taken care of."