"Miss Planner... grrrgghh... Miss Planner, you... sure like to eat."
"Hmph. What a rude thing to say to a woman. But then again, there's no accounting for taste. Hehehe..."

Miss Planner and Black Smoke (formerly called Death Smoke) were eating lunch together at the cafeteria. The two of them sat across the table from each other, eating their sandwiches, talking to each other about nothing in particular. They were practically best friends.

Black Smoke's new position as Miss Planner's assistant was the first real job he had in his entire pitiful life. She lent him some money so he could get a haircut and a few sets of tasteful business attire, and she made sure to arrange him a luxury suite in the Tower of the Chosen. He wasn't used to waking up as early as Miss Planner quite yet, but he was sleeping quite comfortably.

Miss Planner was serious about helping Black Smoke change and grow. She was certain he had great potential, and she was determined to show it to the rest of the organization. The problem was that it didn't really matter what kind of person you were if you had nothing to do. As the boss, Miss Planner didn't know exactly what to do with Black Smoke. Although, he seemed more than happy just following her around and doing whatever she did at any given moment.

The two ate lunch, then Miss Planner got back to work. Black Smoke did little more than sit and stare at her while she got things done. The thin man never offered to contribute anything. He just stared at her while she worked, wheezing and chuckling to himself. Miss Planner wasn't particularly bothered by this, though. It was her own fault for not giving him any meaningful work to do.

"Miss Planner... hahahaha!"
"What is it?"

Black Smoke laughed, and Miss Planner just kept working on her computer without looking at him. The skinny, sinister-looking man pointed at her and burst into laughter again.

"Grrghh... hahahaha. I'm sorry... cough. I can see... how uncomfortable you are. I'll be quiet."
"You're not bothering me one bit, Black Smoke. You have no idea how much it helps to hear someone laugh sometimes... hehehe. Hehehe."

Miss Planner smiled politely at Black Smoke, and he smiled back.

"Rrrgghh... you are really killing yourself... with this job. Hahaha... cough."
"This much is nothing. I could do this in my sleep. You should have seen how fast I was moving when the Controllers attacked us. That was a real rush!"

"Ha. Hahahaha! Cough. Haha. Ha. Hahaha!"
"Hehehe!"

Black Smoke coughed, and Miss Planner giggled.
"Haha... Miss Planner... you've been... haaa... so good to me."

Miss Planner gave Black Smoke a playful smile.

"Hmph. But I bet you're getting bored."
"No, no. Hahaha. Not really... cough. Haha. In fact, I'm thinking... about what I should do. Haaahhh... cough. I think I know... how I can help you. Hahaha..."

"Hm? Help me with what?"
"I can... rrrrrghh... kill those slobs... the Controllers for you. Their powers... don't affect me at all. Cough."

"You want to fight them, huh? I know we have to deal with them sooner or later, but if I'm being honest, I'd rather keep our conflict with them going for as long as possible."
"Hahahaha. Grrrgh. No. I just thought of something else. Hahahaha. How about this..."

Black Smoke smiled, and Miss Planner raised an eyebrow.
"Well... cough... what if we took their power for ourselves? Cough. Do you know... haaa... how the Controllers get their powers?"

Miss Planner stopped typing and leaned forward in her chair.

"No. Do you? It's almost impossible for us to get any information on them."
"Cough... haaahhh... well, I was... in the Wild Cards, so I know a little. They use a drug... it's called Cloud, or Controller. Cough. It's what makes... them gain weight, too."

"Interesting. You want us to make our own pet Controllers?"
"Exactly... hahaha! I can... figure out where they make Cloud. Cough! Cough! If we can figure out the recipe... cough... then you can turn as many Chosen Ones as you want into fat, lazy pigs! Hahahaha!"

Miss Planner chuckled.

"That does sound like a great plan."
"Of course it is... hahaha! Don't worry... haahh... I got it covered... cough. I'll do everything myself... haha... and you won't have to worry about anything. You can just concentrate on your work. Hahahaha!"

Black Smoke coughed and laughed at Miss Planner again, satisfied with his idea. Miss Planner giggled and looked at him with a smile.

"Hehehe! Oh, would you? Everyone here is so needy. I always have to take care of every last detail for everyone."
"Ha. Cough. Then let me... help. Cough. You'll see. I can do this. Hahaha...."

"Just give me a call if you need anything. I can have a security force dispatched anywhere you want, day or night. If you can pull this off, I'll make sure you get a big reward."
"Heh... cough. What kind of rewards do you think I'm interested in? Hahahaha! Cough! Cough!"

"A cash bonus, a vacation, psychic materials, drugs, weapons, training, whatever you want. Just name it and I can get it for you."
"Hahaha. Hahahaha... cough. Cash... cash is fine. Hahaha."
"Hehehe!"