The Collector (MCR Killjoys fanfic)

Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid... Korse.

The office was dark and cold. The grim, cheerless room was stark and sparsely furnished with glass and chrome furniture offering little comfort. At that moment, however, that detail was irrelevant as both occupants of the room were standing.

Exterminator Korse, had been summoned even before he had arrived back at the towering building that housed BLI Headquarters. The call had come through on the radio as he approached Battery City's outer limits. Even though he had expected it and had tried to prepare for it on the journey back, Korse was still on edge. The last time he had been summoned, he had been decommissioned for months and subjected to partial processing. The procedure sounded innocuous, but was something he dreaded happening again. He had suffered a combination of brainwashing techniques accompanied by a variety of punishments that could only seriously be described as torture and he was determined that it would not happen again.

Now as he stood stiffly in front of the desk, staring blankly ahead, his body rigid with his hands clasped behind his back, he wondered, with a dry mouth and racing heart, if partial processing was the least of his worries. Katsumi Miharu, Director of the S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W Unit paced the room behind him. The interview had begun some twenty minutes earlier but as yet, she had not uttered a single word. With every second, Korse's fear grew but he knew better than to be the first to speak, especially after the debacle ending with all Killjoys escaping virtually unscathed.

To outward appearances, the Chief Exterminator feared nothing and no one. The reality, however, was very different and although it was true to say that he feared only one person, that fear was deep seated and significant. Madam Director Miharu held absolute power in the S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W Unit and even beyond in the wider circles of BLI. She was ruthless, merciless and dedicated to BLI and despite their shared qualities, Korse was deeply fearful of her. He had reason to be.

Now, feeling agitated and nervous, Korse drew in a deep breath as she walked past him once more; wishing, almost willing her to speak, he remained rigid.

"So," she finally spoke after a further eight minutes of pacing, while she collected her thoughts, making Korse await her wrath. "Let me see if I understand this correctly."

Pausing while she walked slowly to stand behind her desk, she fixed him with a cold, steely glare.

"I arranged for the Hart woman to capture and contain the Killjoys. She had three of them, but you remove Party Poison from the premises?"

Korse had his own answers prepared and began his defence, almost by attacking.

"Under your orders, Madam Director," he objected.
"My orders?" She raised an eyebrow. "Are you quite sure?"
"Madam Director, I am under your instruction to destroy the Killjoys, I was following your orders. You told me where to find them!" Korse tried to maintain eye contact but the severity of her glare forced his eyes to look down to the floor.

Leaning forward on the desk, Miharu almost spat her next words.

"I wanted to show you that I had done what you had failed to do. I had neutralised the Killjoys."
"It wasn't complete," he argued. "She didn't have Jet Star. He rescued them, that was not my doing."
"Well, that is open to opinion."

Picking up a grey folder from her desk, she opened it to a marked sheet and read aloud.

"Hart reports: 'I had three of the Killjoys locked in their individual exhibition cells and was awaiting the arrival of Jet Star. I was, admittedly, unaware that he had arrived at the museum having avoided capture, however, if Exterminator Korse hadn't removed Party Poison from the exhibition, I would not have been distracted and it is doubtful that an escape would have been possible. I successfully recaptured Fun Ghoul and had placed a governor in Kobra Kid's neck causing him severe pain at will. It was only a matter of time before I recaptured them all and returned them to their cells. However, I have since discovered that one of Korse's lackeys was in my employ and helped them to escape the guards I had placed at the exits. Without his assistance all of the Killjoys would still be in my possession'."