Miss Planner wasn't the only one in the Pit making big changes to the way things worked. The Controllers were making a quantum leap forward as well, and the man who was making it all happen was known as the 'Master Controller' or 'Mastermind.'

The Mastermind emerged the victor of a decade-long civil war between differing factions of Supercontrollers, enslaving the rest of the Supercontrollers in the process. He was a skinny man with long black hair and a distant gaze. Anyone lucky enough to conduct a psychological survey on him would find that he possessed nearly all the traits associated with natural leaders, from broad-mindedness and confidence to intelligence, ambition, and determination. He remade the Controllers from an organization of backstabbing schemers into a group of skilled technical workers that functioned in perfect unison. It was widely assumed that his was the most powerful mind in the long history of the Controllers. 

The Controllers weren't just mindlessly expanding like a colony of insects anymore. They exported their services to the outside world, and their operations were growing in sophistication and complexity. The Mastermind took full advantage of the Controllers' greatest strength: their ability to transform any normal person into a highly-functioning, obedient worker. Under his leadership, the Controllers commanded armies of slaves in factories and warehouses across Grandebelle. He kept them busy with a relentless schedule of repetitive tasks that produced an endless stream of top-quality processed goods. The Supercontrollers, who possessed a limited degree of personal autonomy, found themselves trapped in their own private hells, forced to toil endlessly as administrators, supervisors, and accountants.

The Mastermind's minions never lacked for work. He made business alliances with most of the other black organizations in the Pit, selling them cheap labor on the condition that they paid him a percentage of every sale. He worked most closely with the Black Gloves and the Wild Cards, but he occasionally made deals with the Devils of Evil, Circle of Light, and others, too.

The grand criminal alliance that the Mastermind was creating was unlike anything that had ever been seen in the Pit before. The black organizations were in the process of enacting a genius scheme to outmaneuver and destroy the white organizations of the Pit, who collectively controlled virtually all the wealth in the city due to their tight control over the production and sale of Nuke.

The Mastermind was holding a meeting with his closest allies in the room where he held court. Lila of the Wild Cards was there, a woman known as the 'Witch of Darkness' and 'Master of the Sludge Monsters.' The Black Gloves' leader Psychosoldier was also present, a metal man in a suit of lovingly-crafted full-body psychic armor. Nearly all of Psychosoldier’s original organs were replaced with psychic materials, and he'd used many different kinds to arm himself with a wide variety of unique weapons and abilities.

The Mastermind was seated at the head of the table, wearing a black cloak and a smile of satisfaction as he surveyed his collaborators. His arms rested casually on the surface of the table, but his fingers flexed slightly against the wood.

"We have a great deal to discuss today. I've heard from the Devils of Evil and the Ghouls. They are very pleased with our sample plastic weapons and armored suits."

Lila grinned wickedly, her eyes shining with a hunger for blood. She was a beautiful woman in her early thirties, with long, brown hair, pale skin, and greenish-blue eyes that glowed with immense psychic power. Psychosoldier stroked his chin with a clawlike metal hand.

"I want to thank both of you for your help in producing these prototypes so quickly and efficiently. The Devils of Evil have ordered a thousand units of each item, as well as a hundred Crystal Eyes. Development of the Sealed Casket is still in progress, but it should be ready soon."

The Witch of Darkness Lila stood up and walked around the table. Her long hair and skinny body swayed as she moved, giving her an almost alien appearance. She leaned down until her lips were a whisper away from the Mastermind's ear.

"I'm glad we could provide what you needed, Master Controller," she said softly, "but we still have a lot of work to do. The Chosen Ones are starting to sniff out the locations of our safehouses. We're going to need to strengthen our defenses if we want to keep them from catching us off guard again!"

The Mastermind nodded thoughtfully. He looked past Lila, staring into the distance as he spoke.
"Yes, we can't risk letting the Chosen Ones get the upper hand. Psychosoldier, how is the development of the Cybercontrollers going?"

Psychosoldier glanced down at his hands. He rubbed them together slowly as though trying to concentrate. He had no mouth or nose, only a pair of red mechanical eyes. Only those who knew him best could interpret his emotional state through his body language, and even then they couldn't always tell for sure exactly what he was thinking.

"The first Supercontroller completed the surgery with no complications. He has been installed with all of the desired capabilities. He is still recovering from the operation, but his mental shield is fully functioning and he appears to be in good health. I expect that he will regain consciousness within the next few days. He will resume testing then. The next batch is on standby until we finish our analysis."

The Mastermind smiled. He was a thin man with sharp features. His eyes were dark and cold, but his smile seemed to brighten the room.
"That's wonderful news, Psychosoldier. How are the rest progressing with their training regimen?"

Psychosoldier continued rubbing his fingers together. His robotic eyes flashed with pleasure.
"We have three candidates ready for surgery now. The rest should be ready within a few months. Their minds are perfectly synchronized."

"Excellent, excellent! I can't wait to see their power firsthand."

Lila twirled around on the spot, her arms spread wide and a wicked grin splitting her face.

"My dear Master Controller, your plans are working perfectly! If you don't mind my saying so..."
Lila grinned. Her teeth glittered with a malicious edge as she leaned closer to the Mastermind.

"You've got the whole world in your palm!"