Marvel: Merchant Days

Emma Frost sat in her high-rise office building looking coldly at the numerous folders and documents occupying every single space on her desk. Her choice of attire was halfway between daring and indecent, but that was exactly the kind of person she was.

She was neither a saint too virtuous to wallow through the muds of immorality, nor was she a soul too meek to squeeze the air out of the lungs of a man.

A cold bitch she was called by the young and old alike, and she had found, without any exceptional need for clarity, that a cold bitch was exactly what she was.

In front of her was a series of contracts, proposals, information, blackmail etc. It was every single piece of data she had acquired concerning Shaw over the years, which regrettably was not that much. Except all that had changed in the last few days.

Shaw was dead.

She had gotten the information from the news like everybody else and that, more than anything else about this ludicrous situation, pissed her off.

According to the news, he had died from a stray explosion when trying to get to safety during the recent spontaneous alien tussle. It wasn't even an invasion, just some group of aliens causing trouble, and yet he turned up dead.

The entire notion that Shaw could die from an explosion was so ridiculous that all she could do was absentmindedly accept it and move on.

The least Selene could have done was give her a heads up before the damned news.

Of course it was Selene who killed him. She did not even insult herself for a moment and tried to think if it was someone else.

Selene was basically his lifeline for things bigger than he could handle. She didn't know what kind of deal he struck with the woman but their relationship had been symbiotic even before she became part of the Hellfire Club.

Not to mention some of the files laid out in front of her were sent to her by none other than Selene— and that was the bad part. The worst part was that she did it without specifying anything. No favors, no goodwill, no lobbying – nothing. She hated that vagueness.

She did all she could in cutting a part of the pie for herself before the sharks Shaw kept in his tub cannibalized everything.

Emma Frost had been putting off on surveying the Merchant for his expertise mainly because of the lens Shaw had on everybody after the misfortune that befell Buckman. Now, she no longer could afford to. She preferred dealing with Shaw than she did with Selene if she was being honest with herself.

Sitting upright, she picked up her office telecom and spoke into it. "Prepare the car." She didn't wait for the acknowledgement of the order as she stood up.

She grabbed a stark white fur coat among several hanging off a coat rack and threw it on before walking out of her office. Everyone was still busy rolling their heads off their necks due to Shaw's death but she was already past it. She had gotten what she could from it and had already moved on to the newest avenue for profit.

She entered her car and Richards, her smartass elderly driver, gave her twenty seconds to settle in before asking her where to.

The drive itself was nice but the moment of respite was hardly what she was focused on. She knew that the knowledge of the Merchant would escalate things between the Club and it was how right she was that left her disgruntled. Selene killed Shaw for whatever reasons – rightly so because the idea of Shaw arming himself up with anything from the pawnshop was… – and by doing so became the most powerful voice in the Hellfire Club.

"We're here, ma'am." Richards' voice softly interrupted her thoughts and when she looked up, they were parked just before the entrance of Junk 'N Stuff.

"Wait here." She slid out of the car to her driver's incomprehension and walked into the shop to his further confusion.

The air inside welcomed her with its subtle over-the-top refreshment while the buffer over her telepathy settled in like an unwanted tenant. There was no getting used to it.

She walked in like she owned the place, at least for a second before remembering the manner of the individual she was attempting to deal with, and continued walking ever so onward with the same confident gait. She was dealing with a dealer, an aptly called Merchant, nothing else.

Once more she stood in front of him, and the CEO and fashionista part of her couldn't help but give his semiformal attire high marks. It was well put and he wore it with a grace she could appreciate.

He smiled as she came up to him, a smile she noted was pure service and customer-tailored. "Ms. Frost, how wonderful to have you with us on this fine day."

Some might call it over-the-top but she called it neutral enough. Personally, she was looking forward to what he would show her.

"Isaac." She looked around the counter, idly noting the few items on display, one of which was a jar of dirt. Just dirt. She ignored it.

She focused on the reason why she came here today of all days, a day when everyone would have expected her to stay indoors and try to consolidate as much as she could of Shaw's company. "The last we spoke, you described your services in the range of items. Is that all your offer?"

While the others had been more focused on Buckman's abrupt expiration – like she'd done, partially – the process following his death grabbed more of her attention.

"Well items are more mainstream and they cover over 96% of my sales. Not to mention how broad they can range." He replied. "But yes, I also sell other esoteric stuff."

"Like memories?" She asked.

"Among others. Skillsets, skills, experiences, instincts, knowledge, personality – y'know it's a whole lot of a cat's bag with purchases of those kinks."

"So you'll be selling what you took from Buckman then?"

"If you're interested, then of course. Everything under this roof is for sale. As long as you can afford it, it's yours." He said with a cheer and she knew he meant every word of it. She was almost tempted to ask the price for everything he owned, as well as himself, but a reminder of Buckman's stupidity put a stop to it before it could become a conscious thought.

The fact that he also added the last part of that sentence—well she took that as a well-meaning warning. This was hardly the place where arrogance needed to be displayed. Once again, reference: Buckman.

"I need skillsets. Complementary. Business adjacent. Judiciary, if you understand what I mean." He nodded, showing an easy intellect she appreciated. "Something full suit business too."

A base, that was what she wanted to build. She could see how easily everyone opted for the power gimmicks, wanting to become the next Magneto or something, and easily forgetting that they would still have a life to live after whatever power fantasy they had was fulfilled. With this she would be filling the blanks in wherever they were generous enough to leave it.

Memories: it was a brilliant stroke of madness that were it not for her talents, she would have thought that someone had put it there.

Everyone was scrambling, or they would soon be, thinking it was an arms race but at the crux of it, it was inherently a financial one.

Whether they liked it or not, whether the Merchant liked it or not, the market controlled the profits and whoever could influence it would have a say in who profited from it.

The smile on his face turned from the customer architecture to something that was a tad bit more inviting. It was an expression she couldn't trust, especially since it was the only thing she could read from him.

"Wonderful idea. A business mogul package. I can't say it's something I have much experience in selling."

"Because most people are idiots." She remarked coldly.

He chuckled. "Let's call it the endless exploration of individuality." She snorted. The easy neutrality truly fit the general image of Merchants cultivated in people's minds.

He went to one of the lockers behind him and knelt down to pull out a crate of vials from one. "Hmm, this one too…."

He dropped the crate on the counter and started rummaging through his drawers before bringing out one more vial.

For someone who could no doubt make these things appear with a snap of his fingers, he put effort into the visual role, an act that gave the buyer a feeling of inclusion and, like he said, individuality. She noticed all of this and cataloged it in a silent corner of her mind.

He started selecting a few vials and placing them in front of her.

"A fine array of choices that should suit your needs." Isaac declared.

She took one look at the vials and the tags hanging off the corks and frowned, showing her displeasure for the first time.

"I don't know what any of these names mean." She couldn't judge skill from a name and a sales description and the look she gave him told him exactly how she felt about this insurance of his service.

He was swift with the reprisal. "Apologies, Ms. Frost." He sighed and crossed his arms. "This is one of the shortcomings of these types of trades. Experiences are hard to quantify, and while I stand by my standards, ensuring that my customer's expectations are tailored to their purchase is the burden I delightfully bear."

"If you're about to suggest a budget, don't." She put a stop to the likely collection of words that were about to escape his vocal tunnel. "Recommend away. I'll judge the worth afterwards."

Instead of showing a hint of reluctance, he welcomed her words with a smile. "Perfect."

"Now I can list out a slew of options and explain their intricacies but that would just be wasting your time. These are my picks:…"

—Skill/Trait: Gordon Gekko (Wall Street): The archetypal ruthless investor. His 'greed is good' describes an era of financial excess.

*Skillset: Aggressive corporate raiding, financial analysis, insider trading and psychology of the market. The representation of peak modern capitalism.

Price: $56,000,000.

—Skill/Trait: Louis Litt (Suits): A financial corporate genius. The ultimate backbone for any legal and illegal corporate backtracking.

*Skillset: When it comes to the technical mechanics of corporate laws and bylaws, financial law, corporate tax and corporate structuring, nobody is more thorough.

Price: $8,000,000.

She didn't flinch at the price as such reactions were beneath her. She however looked at him with a raised brow, seeing as he also wasn't done.

"The perfect supplementary card for someone with your talents."

—Skill/Trait: Mind Palace: Grants absolute control over your mind, granting immunity to all mind abilities below Mythical level. It also enhances thought speed, grants perfect memory, and allows you to alter your mental landscape at will.

Price: $10,000,000.

She looked up at him after seeing what the last item was, a part of her mind reluctantly acknowledging how good he was at arresting her interest.

Emma Frost could admit to herself that while a financial genius, she wasn't the best at it. Would these make her one, she doubted so, but what she expected of it was to at least bridge the gap. She was taking an uninformed risk from a variable factor – a gamble in layman terms.

She eyed the vial of white fluorescence and turned to the self assured look Isaac gave her. She picked it up for a closer look and idly appreciated the aesthetics before corking it open and watched as a white mist flowed out and into her nostrils.

A click echoed softly through her mind as a form of authority settled through it in a way that has always eluded her. Her telepathy did not grow stronger, not really in sense, but it became much easier. A mental freedom she never expected was possible.

Without looking at Isaac, she picked up the vial of one Gordon Gekko and once more let the mist permeate into her nostrils.

Given that it was the trait of another person, she had thought it would settle in a corner of her mind with accessible boundaries, but the opposite happened. It melded into her mind like a natural memory that without the help of the Mind Palace, she would have had trouble pinpointing where her experience stopped and where Gordon Gekko's started.

The inheritance of someone else's skills was a weird experience but Emma quickly got over it. With her expanded mind, it was easier to acknowledge the knowledge and brilliance of the man's skills. She could even infer from his memories regarding his skillset if she wanted to.

With both the Mind Palace and Gekko's skillsets, it was hardly an experience when she finally took in Louis Litt's skills.

She easily did away with their harmful traits by completely erasing it from her mind as it offered no practical use.

A minute was all it took her to fully analyze and assimilate both Gekko's and Litt's skills and for both to perfectly imprint themselves as first nature into her psyche.

She looked up at him and for once, appreciated the confident smile on his face.

"They are worth it." She spoke with the appropriate amount of respect and praise. She wasn't one to shy from remarks of acknowledgments as long as it was deserved.

He gave her a respectable bow. "Your delightful review is graciously received, Ms. Frost."

The edge of her lips hinted at an upwards twist. "We're not done yet."

"Of course, whatever else might you be interested in? Junk 'N Stuff assures nothing but the highest quality."

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A/N: I'm late, sorry about that.

QQ is still inactive. I have exchanged a few messages with one of the administrators but it is yet to be resolved. So that's that. Spacebattles, FF, SV, NovelPhoenix and Ao3 are still platforms I post on, so that's something.

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