Lex Sedet In Vertice: A Supervillain in the DCU CK2 quest

And so the first parts of the subvote section have come out. I wanted to try something a little different with some of the options and so I hope you find things interesting and engaging. There's no massive curveballs and most of this stuff should be pretty run of the mill but you've got a good amount of things to get to.

I actually think that there's a lot of interesting information that might affect people's decision-making here a bit that I'm not sure if the thread is aware of it or not. Firstly is that Helena Bertinelli on top of being able to act as another security/military hero unit, actually has a teaching degree and so can legally be employed as a teacher. It's not a major thing but it opens up options you might not initially consider. Secondly while I have called Silver Banshee in the text of the quest a "metahuman" before this is potentially misleading information (she looks and acts like a metahuman so Lex thinks she is one) but traditionally Silver Banshee is not a metahuman and instead merely looks like a metahuman from the outside. This does have implications for both her character and her potential uses as a hero unit.

Feel free to ask any questions you might have and I'll do my best to answer what I can. I hope you all enjoy!

Turn 27 Results Part 4
Please keep all votes in approval format. Any votes in plan format will be discounted. There is a 1 hour moratorium on voting.

Oversight Committee Candidate subvote
With you having held up your part of the bargain now it is up for the government of Japan to live up to its end of the deal. Naturally being able to pick your own candidate to place on their oversight committee is an advantage well worth seizing. As such you ought to pick a candidate who will both be able to regularly see what is going on and interact with other members of the committee and is someone whom the other members would listen to and respect. It's an important choice to make as it'll shape how you interact with the Japanese government's own stance on metahumans. Please pick your favorite option from the list below. Write-ins are available for this subvote but all write-ins are subject to QM approval. There is a 1 hour moratorium on voting.

[ ] [OCC] Lex Luthor
There is an expression that if you want something done right you ought to do it yourself. Claiming candidacy personally will ensure that your will gets enacted and respected but you're unsure how effectively you'll be able to keep an ear to the ground and aware of what the relevant facts are.

[ ] [OCC] Mercy Graves
Mercy is almost as good an option as you yourself in terms of being someone who knows what to do and will be respected but she almost certainly will not be able to actively monitor the situation due to also being the head of LexCorp security.

[ ] [OCC] Katherine Kane
Katherine's someone with experience and someone who is respected in Japan due to forging ties while training the Tokyo troopers. She also is someone whom you can afford to have stick around in Japan for a while to make sure everything is able to work out all right. However all of this comes at the potential cost of annoying her due to moving her out of the country Pamela works in and will put her outside of LexCorp's main aegis of influence.

[ ] [OCC] Mari McCabe
Mari is a competent businesswoman and while not a metahuman is metahuman adjacent. She personally might run into some issues in getting people to listen to her but you are confident that she can prove competent enough to succeed in this role without compromising her current position

[ ] [OCC] Marie Louise Dahl
Marie has proven to be useful as one of LexCorp's main PR people. Her job doesn't require her to be in any one city. As such this could be an opportunity to see if you can get Marie to apply her skills to a more complicated bit of optics management. She's almost certainly going to encounter difficulties due to her disabilities but it might be worth it to challenge Marie and see if she can rise to the occasion.

[ ] [OCC] Mr. Frost
Mr. Frost is a meticulous individual who while finicky and often pedantic about details, is capable of running quite the efficient and effective team if given the opportunity. Putting him forth as your candidate could result in good results for the fledgling department to be shaped according to your will but it would have to account for his eccentricities.

[ ] [OCC] Write-In

Silver Banshee Recruitment subvote
Oswald Loomis and Rene Carpenter have managed to meet Silver Banshee AKA Siobhan McDougall. The teenaged supervillain seemed remarkably at ease being confined in prison, even whilst wearing some kind of collar meant to shock her if she used her powers. Still despite Silver Banshee's initially caustic attitude and her irreverence for others, she proved willing to negotiate things and hold a conversation with others. Ultimately Siobhan ended up offering a deal. Silver Banshee is willing to work for LexCorp in exchange for a few things. Firstly in order to work for LexCorp, the company must provide Siobhan with a room that has security around it at least equivalent to the prison she is currently in, can be looked from the outside and preferably is soundproof. An odd request but one likely tied into why she is at ease remaining in prison. Secondly Siobhan demands that LexCorp allow her to pursue a career in music. LexCorp is not required to aid her in any way besides providing her with a reasonable wage, a way to access a recording system, internet access and the time to pursue such a potential career. It's not really much of an issue and is something you could likely push back on and alter but it seems as though this is something Silver Banshee clearly wants. Thirdly Silver Banshee has demanded that LexCorp give her the means to pursue higher education which includes potential monetary costs of attending university. You can accept Silver Banshee's deal as is, push for something else or just reject it outright. It's up to you to decide what to do with this potential powerhouse's proposed deal. Please pick your favorite option from the list below. As always there is a 1 hour moratorium on voting.

[ ] [Silver] Accept Silver Banshee's deal as is
[ ] [Silver] Propose a counter-offer to Silver Banshee's deal (triggers another subvote)
[ ] [Silver] Deny Silver Banshee's deal entirely

Hiring Dekan Drache subvote
Dekan Drache has come as promised and demonstrated his magical prowess to your panel of observers. On the surface he seems practically ideal to be hired on for a position at LexCorp. He's demonstrated a wide variety of magical skills and was able to pack a good amount of power behind it. Furthermore he didn't bother with lying or attempting to trick you and instead just delivered on what he'd promised. However in practice things are a little more complicated. There seems to be a discrepancy between what he can do and his own knowledge of how to practically use what he can do and apply it which is odd if not a deal breaker necessarily. The most concerning thing was that Dekan Drache seemed to be talking to some outside source you were unaware of whenever he did something particularly impressive. Whether that was some kind of incantation, a way for Dekan to consult an outsider for advice or most concerningly a way for Dekan Drache to receive commands on what to do the fact remains that this is an unknown and a potential variable for complications. Still it's your call what to ultimately do in this situation. Please pick your favorite option from the list below. As always there is a 1 hour moratorium on voting.

[ ] [Drache] Hire Dekan Drache as a full member of LexCorp
[ ] [Drache] Hire Dekan Drache in a non-official off the books capacity
[ ] [Drache] Attempt to get a way to contact Dekan Drache to have him work as an independent contractor
[ ] [Drache] Don't work with Dekan Drache at all anymore

Hunting Prey subvote
Helena Bertinelli met you and struck a deal with you nearly two years ago. It seems as though results are starting to show from the seeds you planted all the way back then. Helena has not succeeded in killing the man responsible for her parents death but she has narrowed down his most likely identity to Stephan Mandragora. However the Batman has been coming down on her hard and has slowly been closing in on her, getting closer and closer to finally capturing her. As such Helena is offering an alteration to your original deal in order to keep to the spirit of the first deal while helping her accomplish her goals. Helena is going to make one last attempt on Madragora's life and then regardless of her success or failure she'll head out to work for LexCorp. However if she does fail to kill Mandragora she expects LexCorp to give her resources to enable her to attempt again next year. If she continues to fail to kill Mandragora then LexCorp is obligated to assist her with at least one attempt a year until she succeeds. It's a deal that complicates things but definitely something to consider. Please pick your favorite option from the list below. As always there is a 1 hour moratorium on voting.

[ ] [Hunt] Accept Helena's deal as is
[ ] [Hunt] Offer an alternative deal (triggers another subvote)
[ ] [Hunt] Stick to the old deal no matter what
[ ] [Hunt] Cut Helena loose and declare that all previous deals are now null and void