Jaager Worldwide was a sinking ship. The wolves were at the doors demanding money and had his firm not terminated relations when the money stopped flowing, the firm Ion worked for might have been bleeding out to try and save them. Luckily for Ion, his firm could recognize a lost cause.

Luckily for Ion he was free to act against Jaager Worldwide.

Ion sat in his office one day when a shifty individual who gave a clearly fake name was let into his office. Calling himself Gaius Cassius was a little on the nose for a traitor, but some people fancied themselves wittier than they were when they happened to have a little bit of historical knowledge.

”Have a seat.” Ion motioned for Gaius to take a seat. ”How can I help you?”

Gaius lay a folder on the table. “What I have here is damning evidence against Jaager Worldwide. It could be used as the final nail in the coffin.”

”Jaager is a sinking ship. They have no money and all their support has evaporated. Why would I want to hammer the final nail.”

“Jaager still has assets. Subsidiaries, properties, less liquid assets that can be milked. The courts are still deciding what to do with them. This could rip away one of them, and potentially lead to criminal charges against those at the top.”

Ion sighed and waved for Gaius to pass over the folder. He did and ion opened the folder. He doubted this man could have anything so nasty it would accomplish what he promised.

It could.

Gaius had handed Ion internal documents detailing the takeover of Faust Pharmaceuticals. It was deceptive, manipulative, completely criminal. Ion was impressed. If the documents were correct than Jaager had used a masterstroke to wrest FP from the previous owner, Lori Faust.

Ion eyed Gaius. ”What do you get out of this?”

“I get to know I hurt them. I want to fiddle as Jaager burns to the ground.”

”How did you get these documents?”

“When you work IT for a company that goes under… People don’t notice you.”

”Why bring this to me?”

“I’ve been put in positions.. Been forced to do things I can’t believe I did. Mostly covering tracks, under threat. Now that they are going down I want to hurt them as bad as I can. This is the best way. Why you? Your firm is good. You represented Jaager and kept them up against the greatest of legal assaults, but you still recognized a sinking ship. You see dollar signs, this has dollar signs all over. You’ll act in your best interest, which aligns with my interests.

The next hour was spent with Ion going over the documents with Gaius. When finally Gaius left Ion set to work. He needed to find Lori. Lori was the only person who could use this information. Sure it could be used in a criminal investigation, but that didn’t benefit Ion. No, he needed Lori to use it to bring a suit against the collapsing Jaager. Jaager still had FP as an asset, Ion could see it returned to her or that the money from its sale went to her. And as her attorney, a fat share to him. She had standing, he needed to find her to bring the lawsuit.

It was a good thing then that he worked for a firm with private investigators on speed dial.

It took a week, but finally he had what he needed. Lori Faust had a few haunts which included the mansion. Lately though she had been keeping the road hot between New York City and D.C. Metaphorically speaking. She flew often enough. It turned out Lori was also a mutant who dealt in electricity like him, though according to his investigators she was like a battery, with a charge that could be high or low. It seemed to affect her mood as well as her power.

She would be flying back from D.C. and Ion would meet her at the airport. Her charge would likely be low, if she proves unreceptive Ion could change her mood.

Ion arrived at the airport as Lori’s flight was scheduled to land. He didn’t carry a sign or anything so plebeian. He entered the airport and waited where arrivals would pass him. He did receive a few looks from people as they passed, he was the only person waiting that was wearing as fancy of a suit as he was. Finally he caught sight of Lori. Ion cut through the crowd and approached her.

”Good afternoon, Miss Faust. My name is William Faraday, I’m an attorney. I have information regarding Jaager Worldwide you need to hear.”


((Tag: Raine))

Striding away from that godawful airplane wasn't just satisfying. It was rejuvenating.

Lori Faust went as fast as her towering heels would allow. With her carryon looped over one shoulder, she could swing her free hand through her own personal magnetic field in order to generate up a little charge. Since she'd brought a carry on and nothing else, she didn't have to stop and mill around the conveyor belt to wait for checked luggage. She just had to get through those doors and breathe in the blessed New York pollution to know that she was home again.

Except things never did work out that simply.

> ”Good afternoon, Miss Faust..."

She turned, ready to rip into whoever dared interrupt her escape from the airport, but stopped when she saw the suit. The suit was money, as much as hers was. Also 'attorney' was as good as 'policeman' or 'President' as far as Lori was concerned. There'd be consequences if she didn't play nice. In this case, she let her exhaustion show. How dare one of these guys jump her right after a flight? Anyone would be tired after dealing with the TSA. She just needed to walk a few miles to get her charge back up. Then she could deal with this...

"I have nothing left to give to Jaager Worldwide, Mister Faraday." The name, she slipped into conversation because it would help her remember it later. "If you'll excuse me, I'd rather be almost anywhere else." She flashed him a sympathetic smile and turned to go. If there was one place all of mankind and mutantkind could agree on, it was that airports sucked. She considered that litigious bullet dodged.

The initial contact with Lori went less than well. She had expectations as to what a meeting about Jaager would include. After such a hostile takeover it wasn’t surprising. It was irritating. Lori had dismissed him and turned to leave. Money was on the line, Ion wasn’t about to let her just leave.

”You misunderstand.” Ion said as Lori moved to walk away. ”This is about taking from them... putting the last nail in their coffin.“ That said, Ion moved to catch back up to Lori. ”I have internal documents related to the acquisition of Faust Pharmaceuticals, but we can discuss this elsewhere. No need to air out their dirty laundry in an airport terminal.”

Ion was having to take a guess at what would motivate Lori to act. He held a chance for revenge and a chance for money. Would she bite on one or both of those? If not he could always try and change her mood. She was a battery, and his information indicated her mood changed with how charged she was.

Taking from them? The game was over and done. She'd lost. She'd moved on. Lori increased her stride in the hopes that he would take the hint. "I think you misunderstand. The last thing I want is anyone looking into my business." Hell. Money was nice, but it wasn't going to be enough for Lori to potentially implicate herself if someone looked too closely to what they'd really been doing at Faust Pharms.

He tried to explain about going elsewhere. Wasn't that the big no-no when getting kidnapped? Not that she expected a suit to go there...

Faraday kept pace easily, it was a mistake and a testament to how foggy she felt that she hadn't put it together that he was much taller than her and therefore had a much longer stride. So him catching up was nothing. He probably didn't even break a sweat to be able to cut her off. Lori's heel slipped and she came to an abrupt stop in order to not slip and fall, already she was worried she'd tweaked her ankle a bit, but she absolutely would not admit that in front of an attorney. Even one who thought he was on her side.

Deep breath. Zen thinking. At least it was easier to keep her temper when her reserves were low.

"Mister Faraday. This is not a case you want because it is not a case I want." She hefted her carry on before it slipped further. "I'm not sure what you can do to change my mind."

And Lori was still insisting on letting her opportunity go. Though, she had provided a reason for why. She didn’t want someone looking into her business. Her business being quite interesting. She ran Faust Pharmaceuticals while it had engaged in less than savory experimentation. Good to not let someone dig too deep and see that, especially when there was a kid involved. Ion’s investigators had dug up that Lori had a kid, Rhys or Roger as people called him, who lived at the mansion. Everything being drudged up could endanger what she had.

First, address the roadblock, ”I get it, you don’t want what you were up to at Faust Pharmaceuticals to come to light. You have a reason to keep it under wraps. I’m not here to help drag the awful thing you were party to into public view. I know what went on, and in so knowing can keep it buried.” Then drill down on the motivation, ”This is your one chance to get retribution. Kick them while they are down and ensure they can never get back up.” Finally, a little assurance, ”What happened in the part of Faust Pharmaceuticals is not germane to the issue of its acquisition by Jaager. If they even attempt to bring it up it can be easily shut down. And it isn’t like they will run a PR campaign against you, they hardly have the money to pay their attorneys to keep up their debt shell game.”

Lori watched as he presented his case. He remained controlled. He reasoned. He talked with his hands. For someone who had been trying to stay out of the spotlight, she had an awful lot of people who knew her business. That was the problem with trying to step out of the limelight after living publicly for so many years. She wondered if the Private Investigators high fived when they saw her name on their list since she'd already been run down a time or two.

She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. One man's awful was another man's necessary. Lori wasn't ever going to get out from Jaager's thumb, it seemed. Unless... something like this worked.

"Your card?" She liked that he immediately jumped into action to retrieve one and was even more glad to receive it. Nice quality. Super thick. Recognizable law firm name pressed in gold leaf. This wasn't some class action TV lawyer come to make a name for himself. This was somebody who already had a good thing going on, someone who saw a sure thing that made it worth driving all the way to the airport.

"Kicking them while they're down is nice and all," she would be glad to return that favor, "but I am going to assume that Jaager must still have something worth going after. Otherwise you wouldn't be here."

Lori took a long look at the man.

Was there really enough to warrant this fancy-schmancy man to come all the way out and ambush her at the airport?

"So, what would you get out of all this, William?" She pocketed the card. It wasn't a yes, but it was much, much further away from a no.

There it was, Lori was considering it. Instead of another attempt to dismiss him or to walk away, Lori asked Ion for his card. Without missing a beat Ion produced his business card. A high quality card with a known corporate law firm. Ion wasn’t some well dressed personal injury ambulance chaser.

He smiled as Lori began to ask questions about why. She was considering it but looking for Ion’s motivation in the issue.

”Jaager Worldwide has almost no cash on hand. Which is which limits their ability to fight a suit, but would also mean they would be unable to pay a settlement. Except they still have most of their less liquid assets. Of particular note is Faust Pharmaceuticals. The property and and contents are still owned by Jaager Worldwide and due to the conditions of the takeover you can get them back." That could be good news, but Lori had worked hard to distance herself from that enterprise, ”It would be nothing but a building full of stuff which you would then be taxed on. Instead of taking it, we deny Jaager the money from the sale of it all. Insure you receive every penny as it is sold off as compensatory damages and then due to the criminal takeover push for more as punitive damage. The revenue from more sales becomes yours. We use this case to put you at the front of the line of creditors.”

And what does he get out of it? ”I get what every attorney works for. Attorney’s fees. I can work on contingency. The nature of this case allows us to push for my fees to be paid by Jaager. You would only pay me if they became unable and only out of what you are paid. As for the percentage, we can discuss that.”

At first lil Willy's story made Lori totally unimpressed, but he did come around to the point eventually. She could get her company namesake back. That action would screw William over to some degree. Or he'd take his pound of flesh in other fees she'd have to find elsewhere. He was right in that she didn't want it, though. Lori loved her name on the side of the building, but a mutant cure was a money hole that could never be filled.

She would rather have no building and 3 money.

"I'll have to think about it."

Though what more there was to think about was mostly what he needed from her, how much impact this would have on her schedule, and the potential for blowback. He said they could talk percentages, but until Lori knew what kind money they were talking about, she wouldn't put anything to paper. Not even a verbal agreement. Faust Pharms, for all she knew, had been abused in its time outside of her hands and had decreased in value. She'd certainly hoped the investors that she brought in had jumped ship, no matter how unlikely that would be.

His offer to work on contingency might have sounded nice, but considering that Jaager's assets sounded tapped, his fee would likely be coming from what would be awarded to her. Nice try sounding nice. Nice wasn't worth much.

"And now I have your number if I need to call. It's been... interesting William Faraday." She pat her pocket where she'd tucked away his card and turned to go.

To spit in Jaager's eye and to put this matter entirely to bed, it might still be worth it even if she walked away with hardly anything.

Perhaps that was too altruistic a thought because karma came back around and as Lori was walking away from her would-be attorney, Lori's heel snapped and she stumbled just a few paces from the door.

She realized there was nothing tying her to this attorney in particular and she could likely just go find another, maybe at a better percentage for herself. Byt as much as she thought it, it wouldn't glue her heel back together.

She had to think about it. A perfectly normal reaction in the situation. Not what Ion wanted to hear. Thinking about it gave Lori the chance to err on the side of caution for the sake of her son instead of taking a fight to Jaager Worldwide.And her wording, “...if I need to call.” Lori was already considering not moving forward with the suit. That or she thought she could use another attorney.

That wouldn’t happen.

She needed the documents Ion had to show damage thus giving her standing. Without his help she had nothing. Likewise without her he had nothing.

Lori turned and went. Ion had used his best arguments, so while he could continue to present his case it would be retreading where he had already been or going in directions he knew wouldn’t work. Further argument could only push the woman off the fence.

She made it a few steps before one of her heels threw in the towel.

From what Ion had learned about her Lori, breaking a heel would be more catastrophic for her than other women. Other women could remove their shoes and walk. If Ion’s assumptions about Lori, based on the description he had read, were true she would be grounded and lose power.

This gave Ion a unique opportunity to endear himself to her. That or, as was far more likely, have her see him as more useful to her. As Rahm Emanuel said, "never waste a crisis."

Stepping up to Lori one last time he said, ”Allow me to help you.” His body erupted in Saint Elmo’s fire. He reached out and put his hand on her arm as electricity began to arc off his body. People near them jumped back not wanting to be shocked. Ion released his power into Lori.

She stood incredulously with more than a few bad words peppering her thoughts. The door was right there, but it may as well have been miles. Lori could try to fake it. She tested the heel to see if she could pop it back in place and use her weight to jam it back together, but it predictably split off to the side as soon as she put her weight on it. She hadn't yet devised another alternative when William f***ing Faraday stepped up beside her.

She didn't get a chance to refuse his offer, or rather her automatic refusal died on her lips as soon as a corona of electricity blossomed to life just off of his skin. Her eyes were wide. He knew what she did. That wasn't surprising considering everything else he knew. And this right here may have been a reason why his firm had sent him specifically.

Where he touched her, she felt the electricity pour in. A small amount at first, but ever growing. Lori reached out her free hand to run along at just the edge of the flare of his power. The little filaments bunched toward her hand like a long shag carpet that was static charged.

Every second that ticked by made her stronger, thinking clearer, smiling more.

"How long can you sustain this?" And was the doorway to the airport really the best place to put on a light show? Lori's magnetic field expanded as her empty well of electricity filled, a natural consequence of so much power. She could feel the ferrous materials around them in an ever widening arc as she reached down to remove her shoe.

Could she do it? Would he keep up the light show just so she could?

Lori put her bare foot down on the ground. Immediately the path of electricity went from filling her well to traveling straight through her, but she had gas in her tank. Even if he let go, she could go a few steps without passing out now.

"Where to now, Mister Faraday?"

As Ion charged Lori her demeanor changed. She went from looking like she wanted to bite his head off to sporting a smile and using her hand to trace his corona. Taking the chance to charge her was already looking to have been the correct move. And with her first question he knew for certain it had been.

“How long can you sustain this?”

”Long enough. I'm a generator.” There was no need to reveal the finer points of his power to Lori. All she need know was that he could help her. That, and as she could likely tell it ramped up over time.

Then Lori leaned down and removed her shoe before she placed her barefoot on the ground. The energy Ion was releasing was redirected into the ground. The need for the flashy show over, Ion balanced his generation with his ever increasing output to slowly bring down the light show. He wanted to keep the power flowing, if he stopped and Lori lost her charge it would take time to build up his ability to charge her again. He had her in what appeared to be a good mood now, her collapsing could ruin that.

“Where to now Mister Faraday?”

Ion smiled to himself. ”I have a car parked close.” He indicated the direction before moving. He kept his hand on her arm. They could go to the office and discuss the case or he could take her home. Either instance he could work with. In the case of the latter he could talk to a more charged Lori which could lead to the outcome he desired. She had made up her mind before, but much had changed in the last minute. And fortune does favor the bold. ”Save you the cab fare to the office.”

Oh. He was a generator was he? Lori snorted and looped her arm into his in a more normal paired way of walking rather than being dragged around by her elbow. She didn't mind, in this case, being guided along. Every other step, her well of power filled. Every off step meant a pause in the ever widening flow of power. She would walk with him to the moon if they could go that far.

Instead, their walk ended at the parking garage next to a car. It was enough steps together that Lori wanted to rub her face against him like a cat might scent-mark what belonged to her, but not enough that she was fall down drunk with power. Lori balanced on one foot as Faraday walked around to the far side of the vehicle and some of the fancy features clicked and whirred to make the handles stand out from the profile of the car.

An Edison, one of those extremely expensive electric cars named after one of the pioneers of the electric world that she'd wanted to see up close, but never dared. Lori was patently terrible at controlling herself. Hypothetically, she was about to make him enough money that he could buy a replacement, but it seemed like such a waste...

Lori slipped inside, bare foot first. It was a little like a BDSM spaceship, though some of the shine was somewhat lost when all the screens in the vehicle sprouted rainbows.

> ”Save you the cab fare to the office.”

Pushy little generator. Lori stretched in her seat and the roof of the car dented inward like a pickle jar whose lid seal had been broken.

Ah. Oops.

"So long as you're buying the drinks."

As they approached his car, a blue Edison, Ion turned off his generation but kept sending his power to Lori. He had never stepped into his car with a corona or electrical breakdown occurring, but the sensitive electronics likely wouldn’t agree with it. After Ion released Lori to go to the other side of the car he released the last of his generated power into the ground. He had been using his power for several minutes by that point and it was as if he had released a small bolt of lightning from his hand. It was powerful enough that if sustained could cut through an eighth of an inch of steel. Due to short duration, it only left a black mark on the ground.

Ion likely hadn’t even have bothered. As soon as Lori was in the car her magnetic field did a number on it. The screen died and the roof dented in. Ion only wondered how bad it would be if Edison’s didn’t have aluminum supports in the doors and roof styled after what the Apollo capsules had. It was fine, he told himself. With the money he would get from this case he could buy a new one a couple times over.

"So long as you're buying the drinks."

Ion’s eyes drifted from the dent to Lori, she hadn’t objected. He had succeeded in what he had considered the harder part of the pre-trial game. Getting his foot in the door on an in person cold call.

”Of course.” What corporate law firm in New York City didn't have a stocked liquor cabinet to wine and dine clients with? And the bigger the clientele the bigger and higher dollar the cabinet became. Normally those same cabinets would be reserved for those larger clients, but Ion didn’t see harm in using it to seal the deal on a one time client who would bring in a high value per hour spent.

He pulled out of the parking space. I it wasn’t for the squealing of the tires as they turned the vehicle would have glided silently. And then off they went, out of the garage and into New York City traffic. Driving the car in NYC was a blessing and a curse. With the car’s autopilot it could almost drive itself through the gridlock. Yet, it was a car with nearly unmatched factory acceleration. It could go zero to sixty in under three seconds. There was little to no chance of using that in his day-to-day. Never having to stop at a gas station was also phenomenal and in a pinch Ion could charge the batteries himself.

Arriving at his firm’s building, Ion parked in another parking garage before stepping out and offering his arm to Lori and turning on his power again.. He could see about someone on staff repairing or going out to retrieve a pair of shoes for Lori while they worked through what Ion had on Jaager Worldwide.

The outside of the building was a little dated architecturally speaking, but that was much of the North-East in a nutshell. The interior was more modern; lots of glass, everything in in black, white, and dark brown, and a fair helping of metal. Ion led Lori through the lobby and to a meeting room. A long black table dominated the room, nice leather chairs lined it. On the far wall a pair of doors could be seen set into the wall that could be opened to reveal a fully stocked liquor cabinet.

Ion gestured for Lori to have a seat and turned to a legal assistant who had followed him to the room, ”I need the Jaager case file off my desk. And Miss Faust will need some new shoes.” The legal assistant nodded before she turned and left.

Then Ion went and opened the doors revealing the liquor. ”What’s your poison?” He asked as he pulled out a bottle of 43 year old scotch and poured himself a glass. Ion was a believer in the Ballmer peak and as such was in no way opposed to drinking while working.

From zero to vroom, they slipped from one parking lot to the next. Maybe it was that Lori was distracted by all the buttons and bobs and doodads on the interior of the car. She ran her hand along the dashboard (which was immaculately dustless) and marveled at how sleek and oleaginous it felt. She supposed it was worth the money when it was full of so many amenities.

"Your screens will probably come back to normal with a little rest. It's prolonged exposure that's ruining." Or if she hadn't been holding on to her power so tightly. If she'd actually been trying to ruin his screens then they really would have been kaput.

She wasn't pleased to have failed at putting her heel back in place. The main nail that held it in place snapped in two. There was no coming back from that and so Lori accepted her escort and bobbed between sucking in power and releasing it all the way to a gentrified sort of building. The decorations inside were not all bolted well to the walls. Most tipped and swayed at their passing. Again, if she'd been trying there wouldn't have been anything left.

Faraday deposited Lori in a chair comfortable enough to spend a few hours in, but it'd be a little awkward to have actual fun in considering the arrangement of arms and leather. Skin liked to stick to leather. She stretched again and the chairs around her all shifted away a short scoot.

"Those are Jimmy Choos." She wasn't about to trade them in for some cheap replacement from Bullseye. "Size 7." She helpfully supplied to the intern or secretary or assistant to an assistant to a secretary.

> ”What’s your poison?”

"Hendrick's and a splash of tonic." She spied a few familiar friends in that cabinet and Lori had expensive taste. Despite it being her go-to, she avoided the Grey Goose. Somehow it was a gin sort of day. She was caught feeling half like jello and half like dancing. She wasn't too full of charge, but she really should let some go...

Maybe after their little tête-à-tête. Now that she had it, the familiar feeling of power was warm and delicious and just too tempting.

"So, the top shelf liquor, new shoes, a little bit of playing chauffer... You must have all your dominoes set up." It was impossible to not sound amused considering the circumstances. People didn't just drop out of the sky and woo her away in order to hand her a check. She was still waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"Hendrick's and a splash of tonic."

Ion returned the bottle of scotch and took down the bottle of Hendrick’s. Any near wall sized cabinet of purely top shelf alcohol was going to have Hendrick’s. Even if Ion found it a tad overrated. The Patron of gin. He wasn’t a huge gin drinker, maybe he just didn’t get it.

He set the glass of gin and tonic down in front of Lori and took one of the chairs that had been shifted away from Lori. Sitting across from someone created an adversarial atmosphere, put people on the defensive. Ion sat next to her, a cooperative positioning. Like they were at an incredibly upscale bar.

”I can’t bring the suit myself. I have all the evidence I need, but I have no standing. You have standing.” Ion sipped his scotch, ” You cannot succeed in a suit without what I have on them. Their legal team may be neutered, but you cannot show injury-in-fact without it.”

Too have standing a party must be able to show injury-in-fact, causation, and redressability. That there an injury or an invasion of a legally protected interest that was is both concrete and particularized, and actual or imminent. There must be a causal link between the injury and the conduct complained of that is traceable and not the result of an independent action of a third party. And that it must be likely that if the court sides favorably it will redress the injury.

Faust Pharmaceuticals was taken by criminal means, by Jaager Worldwide’s direct involvement, and value for the company, its holdings, and earning potential for the years it was outside of Lori’s control could redress the injury.

”I need your cooperation to be able to do this, and keep what you were doing in the basement quiet. I see no reason why we cannot have an outcome where we both walk away richer and without parading around what you were doing in pursuit of a cure. You don’t earn enough to have a building like this, dress this nicely, and stock a liquor cabinet like that defending those who have nothing to hide.”

The assistant from before entered the room and slid a folder in front of Ion. He rested his hand on top of it. ”Thank you, Rachel.” Ion said to the assistant and she turned to leave. Being polite keeps the help happy. When they’re happy they perform better. ”Here is how we move in front of the line of creditors.”

Ion slid over the folder. It didn’t contain everything, a few pieces were held back in case Lori decided to duck and run. What was there was a full accounting of what Panu did and why to wrest Faust Pharmaceuticals away from Lori. It was stitched together from emails, memos, transcripts of recordings. The digital paper trail a massive corporation leaves on everything. Even their illicit dealings, no matter how hard they work against it.