THE MOMENT
"Maybe this one is more to your tastes?" The realtor led Ellis into the large foyer and gestured down the various hallways. "It's got three bedrooms, one bathroom, cozy little attic, a private dungeon, two car garage, and a pool," she said. "Oh, and the neighborhood is great for kids!" She added the reminder as the two girls, Electra and her best friend, Royalty, dashed through the home checking out all the rooms. They ran in as soon as the realtor opened the door, eager to inspect the house.
"Electra and I only need two bedrooms...," Ellis commented as he appraised it himself. The floor plan wasn't as open as he would've liked; but, it was easy enough to fix. The structure looked solid and he identified a couple of walls he could remove with minimal effort. The floors were linoleum, he'd want to replace that. All in all, it was the nicest place they'd seen; but it needed work to be perfect. "... but, a guest room wouldn't hurt." He was thinking aloud, and not necessarily trying to bargain.
"This is a little bit of, 'saved the best for last'," Christine, the realtor, replied. "At the moment, there aren't a lot of homes on the market with a private dungeon and more than one bedroom. Although, depending on how flexible your wants are, I do have some homes with easy access to public dungeons," she nodded.
"No thank you," Ellis shook his head. "Electra's insisting on a private one, and who am I to say no?" he chuckled. The decision was more involved than that, but Ellis had fun pretending to be wrapped around his daughter's finger. From an outsider's perspective, it would seem that he spoiled her rotten, and he got a kick out of that in his old age. He used to be one of the most feared Supervillains around and it was a nice change of pace to cultivate this new image of a doting father. "Speaking of..," he nodded with his decision already made. "ELECTRA!?" he yelled for her and his voice echoed through the spacious, empty home. Then, rushed footsteps were heard and both girls appeared, coming from the bedrooms.
"Yeah?" the blonde girl asked.
"What do you think?" Ellis asked. The fact that he was asking her meant he'd already made his decision and the rest was up to her. They had a plan even before they visited the first home, but the only thing Christine saw was the girl making the decision.
"Buy it for me, please!" Electra giggled.
"Alright," Ellis nodded with a smile. Then, he waved at them to come closer. He was specifically inviting Royalty forward, and the girl new her part too.
"I'll take it," Ellis turned and nodded at Christine. "Let's talk numbers," he said.
"Absolutely," Christine smiled, but, she was distracted. Royalty stepped forward as if she wanted to say something.
"Something on your mind, Royalty?" Ellis asked. She nodded silently, and Christine realized she had yet to hear the girl say a single word. She'd shown the group several houses already and she heard plenty of giggling; but, she had no idea what Royalty's voice sounded like. The moment she had that realization, she was suddenly interested in what she had to say.
"You should give Ellis the best deal you possibly can, without doing anything illegal, or losing your job or anything like that," Royalty said, and Christine smiled.
"I will," she nodded. It was an odd thing to say then and there, and it was entirely unexpected. She had her usual plans and hidden fees ready to make a killing; but, Royalty's strange request struck a chord. Maybe, just this once, she could give someone a straight deal, if not an even better one.
"Thank you," Royalty smiled and returned to Electra's side.
"We're gonna go check out the dungeon!" Electra said.
"Oh, wait," Ellis held a hand up to get their attention. Then, he turned to Christine.
"Do you know how many floors the dungeon has?" he asked.
"The last tenants only went as far as the 10th floor," Christine shook her head. "There's an 11th floor, but, they never went any further, so the complete number is unknown."
"Okay," Ellis turned and nodded at the girls. "No lower than the 10th floor, we'll explore more thoroughly later," he promised.
"Thanks, dad! Love you!" Electra waved and spun around to dash away with Royalty right behind her.
