Michael Forester
Michael was not a man who knew what defeat tasted like. He had spent the majority of his life with the upper hand and would have liked to spend the rest of his life maintaining that upper hand. However as the news anchor continued to elaborate upon the recent information released regarding the prison break. He had not forged so many alliances and moved so many pieces so that a lone hero could bring ruin upon his plan. The world would not forget what it had seen, it would not forget the chaos brought by the Hero Society of America. However now that they believed the team had been manipulated by Azrael everything was undermined. The sentiment would swing back to the positive the moment that the heroes did something to redeem themselves. Without a doubt anything he managed to get passed would have be repealed sooner or later anyways. He had expected it but he had also been hoping for more time before sentiment began to sway back. Owen and his Horsemen had been smart, accelerating the timetable so soon had suffocated Michael because the investments that were dependent on time had all fallen apart. People who feared Mr. Fraus had shirked their duty in greater fear of the Hero Society, an unintended consequence of what he had caused. He had made them look like monsters and doing that had made the criminal underworld fear them more than they fear the name Fraus. Michael's influence had taken a blow that he had never expected it would. The effort to fix the damage was an expensive one but Michael had shifted around some stock in his company to compensate. Now he sat at his desk filling out some online work to finalize
a recent company merger. It had been big news in the financial world recently. Forester Enterprises was merging with a new player in the field. They had been making big moves suddenly and it had made them quite the force in the medical industry. It was a company called Artificium. The company provided Forester Enterprises with some security and by sacrificing control over half of his company to the owner of Artificium he would be able to divert more of his personal attention to establishing order in his criminal empire. Artificium's CEO wasn't likely to do anything to dramatic to the company while Michael made the name Fraus a name to be feared again. Once that was done it would be easy to drive the man into madness and get him to sign over his controlling shares. What can a narrator say, Michael Forester had a lot more going on in his life than the simple criminal episodes that are often shown.
It was as he typed away at his computer that a knocking began to emit from his door. It was late into the night by now and he had been drinking but he was still sober enough to present himself. Michael stood and brushed his hair out of his face but when he did his entire appearance shifted into that of a cleaner and more composed business man. He smoothly glided across the floor to the door and paused at it for a moment to check his breath. Then he decided he could just mask the smell of alcohol with an illusion and he opened the door. Michael expects a lot of things when he opens the door to his office/home. He expects it to be an assistant who stayed at work too late on accident or an assistant who stayed a little late to try and get some personal time with the oddly attractive boss. He expects it to be a security guard doing a room check or a janitor who has come to take the trash. On rare occasions he expect a surprise stripper or two or maybe even a super villain looking for aid or to kill him. However he never expects that when he opens the door to his office/home his greatest enemy will be standing on the other side of that door. So when he saw Owen standing outside his office, free from police custody, he was more than unpleasantly surprised. He summoned a pistol into his hand and went to pull the trigger but found himself with a sudden splitting headache that caused him to scream in pain and cover his ears. He couldn't hold an illusion like this. As quickly as the pain came, it went and Owen stepped around Michael to enter the room.
"You need a new trick." Owen walked across the room to Michael's desk and picked up a cup and Michael's decanter. He poured himself a glass of the amber liquid inside and then poured another glass for Michael using the cup over by Michael's keyboard. "Drink." Owen said with a stern voice. His hate for Michael could never be described in words but he couldn't focus on his hate now. He couldn't feel it. Instead as he looked at Michael he felt a tinge of joy. He had won. After all these years he had won. At long last Mr. Fraus would be nothing more than a trophy in The Gallery and memories.
"You surprise me, Azrael! I thought your mind would break when I killed your pregnant wife. Who would have guessed-" Michael began to reply spitefully. He was cut off by a sudden choking force that wrapped around his throat.
"Aren't you tired of trying to get a rise out of me?" Owen almost seemed to be speaking to himself as he sipped on Fraus' alcohol. Owen snapped his fingers and the television set turned on. It was still on the news which had begun playing Owen's statement on a loop. Owen gestured to it with his drink and in an uncharacteristically cocky way he said, "Checkmate, Fraus."
It was then that Michael began to laugh through the choking which Owen released moments later to allow Michael's explanation. Michael took a few deep breaths first and then he replied "You have made yourself a household name and not as a hero. The world is hunting you, Owen." Michael tried to take back some pride knowing he had forced Owen into his current position. "The senator will still continue to work against heroes, Morgana will probably rise to be greater than even myself, and Legerdemain... well he will continue to do whatever drugs it is that he does exactly." Michael stood taller and Owen took another sip from his cup.
"Maybe, but it is over for you. Mr. Fraus has been beaten." Owen responded as he set his cup down and leaned on Michael's desk. Owen, even in this moment of triumph, did not smile.
"You haven't beaten me, you idiot. You really think that one thwarted venture is going to stop me? I have built an empire that your little garage band stands no hope of destroying. I'll admit you showed more resolve than the usual heroic garbage that the washes up in the world but in the end you failed to do anything that mattered. I'm still here and at a whim I could wipe your new 'Horsemen' off the Earth." Michael made the bold threat as a result of an unfamiliar feeling creeping in. Panic. Owen sounded so certain that Michael innately felt the need to violently attack Owen's stance but in doing so he made himself seem unstable.
Owen seemed unphased by his words. He sipped the drink and looked to the floor, then Fraus. "Enough, it just seems desper-"
"No! You are the desperate one! Why are you here? What have you come for? To kill me? Is that it? Everyone thinks you're a villain so you might as well take my life while you can? Hm? Is that it? Go ahead! What is one more body among the pile you are being blamed for?" Michael began to sound frantic. He became more paranoid as he began to truly believe that Owen knew something he did not. "Go ahead. I told you last time you came to my office that you couldn't. You'll never know when it is-"
"Save me the speech. I was there to hear it last time." Owen cut in "You're right. I'll never really know if I can hurt you physically. I'll never be certain. You were a problem I could not solve because I couldn't just arrest you. You were too good at covering up your crimes, so I needed an angle. I needed a different weapon."
"A different weapon? What are you talking about?" Michael spoke fast and he quickly crossed away from Owen to no place in particular.
"You are so smart when it comes to using your company to launder your money. But it turns out you are a little too trigger happy when it comes to company mergers." Owen began to unravel the deed that would bring an end to this war. "The Horsemen are funded by the members within the team. We happen to have more than enough money to start a company and we have more than enough resources to make that company thrive. We couldn't present ourselves as anything too threatening. You would have been alerted to it and never would have agreed to the merge. But if I built a company with a young owner, someone who seems irresponsible and easily controlled... well you would leap at the chance to absorb them. Fifty-fifty ownership. You are so generous when you think you'll be able to take it back." Owen paused and then spoke more plainly. "Your company is now our company and every day I am going to use it to tear apart the things you love. Just like you did to me."
Michael's face twisted in horror as Owen's words found his ears. He understood all too suddenly what Owen meant. His empire, his life's work, he had just given control over half of it to Owen's team. The resources, the people, the funding. There was a moment where he came to realize the gravity of what he had done and he wanted to lash out. His blood boiled with rage and he lunged at Owen who sidestepped the lunge and walked towards the door. "See you around the office." Owen mocked before he left the room. Michael thought to pursue him but still had enough sense not to chase and kill a man while in a building with his name on it. Michael's rage outlasted Owen's presence in the room and he made a rash decision. He called Morgana. He did not wait for her to speak instead he leap into a angry demand. Michael would not stand for what had been done.
"Owen Hunt. Find him and kill him."
Day: April 21, 2013 | Alias: Mr. Fraus | Not In Disguise
