End of the Year Meeting

December 27th, 1996

General POV

In the hall of guardians, around the meeting table, the leaders of BIS gathered for their annual meeting. Everyone was dressed in all-black suits & dresses, waiting for their leader to arrive.

"He's late," Edgar said, looking at his watch.

"Come now, Edgar. I'm sure he'll be here soon," Raymond said, enjoying his whiskey.

"I haven't been able to get in touch with Desmond or Trey this past week. They both said something about training. In any case, we can start the meeting without them if they don't….." Artemis stopped hearing a slight Whoosh. In Jamie's lap, a black 6-year-old with curly hair appeared. In the middle seat, their other boss sat down as well.

"Glad you could finally make it," Eli said.

"Why are you on top of me? Not that I mind," Jamie asked her new small companion.

"There are no other seats. I can't stand because I'm too small. Most importantly, because this is the most comfortable seat. If I sit on anyone else, it feels uncomfortable. No offense, guys." Trey explained while the others rolled their eyes.

"Ahem, sorry we were late. Testing our powers on each other took longer than expected. Jamie, why don't you go first." Desmond said, taking control of the meeting.

"I bought 5 locations in major cities for the Diamond Casino Resort chain. The first one in Miami should be done in the first quarter of next year. I made deals with every major mall on the east coast to get all of our stores in by the end of next year. I'm currently working on designs for the park in Orlando. We will start construction on the project in the fall of next year." Jamie said, playing with Trey's hair. Desmond then looked toward Edgar.

"Are gross profit was 18 billion this year. We have 10 billion left after giving Artemis & Eli an extra cash infusion. The animes for existing manga are ready to go starting next year. Totally Spies, Sabrina The Animated Series, Daria, Rugrats, Blue's Clues, Duck Tales, X-men, Spiderman, Dexter's Laboratory, SpongeBob SquarePants, Family Guy, and the Simpsons are all also scheduled for the coming year. The Disney movies you sent me are all in preproduction. Trey, you, on the other hand, need to appear in public more. You rarely show up to award shows. It's hurting sales. Your manager emails me daily about how she can't get a hold of you." Edgar admonished him.

"Fine, I'll make a clone to follow her around, but I'm done if she has me do a press circuit. It's creepy how these grown men & women bagger a child for answers. I can't imagine how it feels to really be a child star." Trey said, agreeing with him.

" I'm next. We closed the year with 1.5 billion in profit from Dock Tease & Luxury Motorsport. Next are food companies that have begun production & will launch in local supermarkets on the west coast & mid-west next year. I also contacted the Army last month about selling them vehicles. I'll nurture this relationship to get contracts for weaponry." Eli said, finishing his report. Raymond looked to go next, but Artemis coughed.

"Sorry, Reddington, but I think I should be the one to tell them. Butler report to them what happened." Artemis said, causing everyone to raise their brow at him.

"Young master was attacked yesterday. The largest shareholder of Met General, Chris Godwin, set up a meeting to receive more Baymaxes for the other hospitals he owns in the state. At the meeting, two other shareholders were there. As soon as Artemis entered the room, they attacked us & Chris. These men were trained killers. Juliet & I were able to subdue them after a while but not before they stabbed Chris. He'd be dead if it weren't for the med-gel you sent us." Butler explained.

"The men also committed suicide. Before they died, they said, "Glory to the Demon" in Arabic." Artemis said, remembering.

"FUCK!" Trey & Desmond exclaimed. Desmond looked at Raymond.

"You were going to tell us you found no trace or chatter about them in the underworld. There's no information at all on what they said, right." Desmond said, sighing.

"Ohh, I guess you know something about them then," Raymond said, enjoying the situation.

"Don't start, Raymond. This is serious now. The group we're facing is worse than the Cabal you were a part of. It's the League of Assassins, the main hit squad of the Light. As I told you all, they have two immortals & four other super geniuses, each a master of their own field. I didn't think anyone of us would catch their attention this early. On that note, Raymond, take whatever funds you need to accelerate the plans to take over Madagascar. We're gonna need manpower if this wasn't just a hit." Desmond said solemnly. Butler & Raymond shared a look at that revelation.

"What is it?" Desmond asked. Raymond shook his head to stop him, but Butler chose to say it anyway.

"When I checked the bodies, there were pictures of you & your fami—" Butler shuddered as the air got colder around the room. Trey released a massive amount of malicious intent with his aura. Causing everyone in the room to sweat slightly. Desmond looked at him, causing the aura to go away as quickly as it came.

"I apologize. This body still influences me at times. Butler, thanks for the update. I'll address that at the end. Raymond, your update?" Trey said, changing the subject. Jamie slowly went back to playing with his hair.

"We've done 100 million in profit this year. The bunker you made in Jersey has allowed my empire to flourish. Most major dealers on the east coast have bought unmarked firearms & computer parts from me. We're on trajectory to be the lead player in the U.S. by the end of next year. Wu-tang Financial's first two locations open next month. Zafiro Añejo will start being sold in local liquor stores next week. Madagascar is still two years away, even if we accelerate the plans. My advice is we shouldn't rush no matter how dangerous these people are." Raymond concluded.

"I agree we can't let others dictate how we do things," Eli added. Jamie then looked down at Trey as a question came to her mind.

"I have a question I've been dying to ask. Why did you stop the rest of us from making a secret organization? Each of us has run one previously but you only let Raymond make one." Jamie asked.

"The Light is the main reason. No one you hire will be stronger than a league of assassins or court of owl member. Also, if any of your people get captured, any telepath could get some level of information, which could be a catastrophe for our plans. I'll have something to remedy this soon. The Light won't care about an arms dealer. He's nothing in the grand scale of things. No offense, Raymond." Desmond explained.

"None taken," Raymond said, not offended in the slightest. Trey & Desmond communicated telepathically, coming to a decision. Trey flew out of Jamie's lap, making shadow clones to accompany everyone in the room.

"I have good news & bad news. I can give you powers, but only two I have access to now. If you choose to wait longer, I may be able to give you stronger powers in the future. It's your choice. The one exception to this is the shields from Mass Effect. The shields from that universe will give you basic protection. It can block bullets, lasers, and small debris several times. The shields also recharge after a minute cooldown." Trey said, connecting with each of them telepathically.

In the end, almost everyone chose one power. Artemis chose Technopathy, Eli & Edgar chose Telepathy, Raymond chose Activation & Deactivation, and Juliet, along with Jamie, went with Chakra. Butler was the only one who decided on two powers Super Strength & Spider-Sense. Combined with his Mass Effect combat tree powers, he'd be the ultimate soldier. Trey then bought Mystique's shapeshifter powers for Holly so she wouldn't have to keep drinking poly juice. Once he was done, he had another announcement.

"I have something I want to try. Who'd like to be a part of my expir—I meant to say who'd like to assist me," Trey asked. No one moved, knowing he had bad intentions. Desmond sighed at himself. He used telepathy on Butler to show him what he wanted to try. Butler then held Trey's hand, waiting for him to start. Two of his other clones grabbed his shoulders before starting.

A massive amount of aura flooded the room as Trey created his first infected. His other clones began creating aura nodes with DNA Manipulation along with healing him simultaneously, so the nodes worked correctly in his body. One minute later, Butler had become a Nen user. Desmond then flew over, pumping enough aura in him to make him level 20. Butler manifested a bright orange coating around everyone in the room. He explained his ability was Coat of Protection. Whoever was coated in his aura was invulnerable to damage for 2 minutes. He could only use it a couple of times a day. The amount depended on how much aura he had left. Butler still smiled. He had the perfect ability to protect his young master.

"Thank you," Butler said to Trey.

"I'm next!" Holly said, excited about getting a new ability.

"Your gonna have to wait a couple of hours. Were both drained from pouring all of our aura into him." Desmond explained, bursting her bubble. She sat down, a little disappointed. Artemis patted her shoulder, trying to keep her spirits up. Jamie smiled at her antics.

"You still haven't addressed how you'll handle the League of Assassins," Edgar said, getting back to the issue at hand. Desmond smiled at the question.

"We'll fight fire with fire. I'll introduce them to my fellow brethren." Desmond said with a toothy grin.