Having found no other cells that were worth her time or interest, The mistress used the nearest elevator to go down to a floor that was dedicated to the crews. Pravum was a large operation, and the complex had a size that reflected that. To ensure its people were taken care of, several floors spread throughout the facility were dedicated entirely to them.
Each crew floor was built in the same fashion. A large common room, where people could gather for meals or socialising. Training rooms allowed for the perfection of skills, or to learn new ones as the mood pleased. A well-stocked medical bay would ensure that crew health remained well above normal, with trauma teams on standby for when training or missions required immediate medical support. Each floor had dozens of living rooms, each assigned to a specific individual. Living underground with limited freedom of movement, they knew that each person needed their own space to which they could retreat for some much-needed privacy. Finally, each floor had its dedicated kitchen, in which a team of cooks worked to provide the best meals possible. Everything was designed to ensure Pravum's personnel remained happy and motivated, and it nicely offset the hard and demanding risks of their day-to-day assignments.
The elevator opened up directly into the common room, and Ariel wasted no time to get a much-needed hot beverage. For convenience's sake, the serving desk of the kitchen was placed directly in the common room, so it was no effort to get whatever you wanted and find a place to eat or drink. Many of Pravum's of-duty personnel gave her a respectful nod as she walked past them. They all wore the same uniform, but almost everyone had made some subtle, or not so subtle, alteration to it, personalising their appearance to their style or taste. Though The mistress herself despised the mismatch of uniforms, she preferred them to be all the same, but the small increase in morale from being allowed to customize it a bit was not something she could reasonably deny.
As she sat down at a table, she took out her data device and began to scroll through a list of messages and reports that had accumulated over time. Most were standard mission reports, and recommendations from her staff about various projects or operations being executed. One such recommendation was made by Silk's trainers only ten minutes ago, and they requested to move her into the next phase of her training, based on her faster-than-expected progress. Having seen the results of Silk's training herself, she permitted it, on the condition that she was kept under close observation until the end. She also made a side note to her file, requesting daily updates on her training. Again, for professional purposes, naturally.
Another one that stood out, was one that she had seen on the list many times over the past months. It concerned two individuals; Wonder woman, and "Princess".
Of course, "Princess" was not the agent's real name, but it was a call sign she had been given based on her near-flawless record. She had been recruited from an Afrikan spec-ops team for her exceptional leadership skills. And sure enough, under her command, her team had quickly grown to be the most successful, and most respected of Pravum's acquisition units. The team had taken the name of "Shadow Hunters" for their uncanny ability to infiltrate and extract targets without much hassle. It was this team that had recently captured Supergirl, and it was this team that had also subdued Wonder Woman half a year ago.
Breaking the mighty Amazonian had been a lengthy process. For the first week, no progress could be made, the proud woman was simply too strong to fall to their normal methods. The real breakthrough came when one of her trainers suggested they use her famous lasso as part of her restrains. This started a process in which Wonder Woman was kept bound by the golden lasso in increasingly tight positions. It allowed her trainers to exert a measure of control over her since the lasso forced the bound to obey the owner. But more importantly, the lasso forced Wonder Woman to always speak the truth. No longer able to hide her emotions and thoughts behind her legendary strength or training, her trainers began the process of exposing her to everything she had repressed or ignored in service of her people.
After that, it only took several weeks for her to accept her new life. No longer bound by expectations or social norms imposed by a society that had abandoned her, she fully embraced the freedom Pravum could give her and readily joined them to bring others like her into the fold. Her exceptional skill in combat, near-perfect mastery of weapons old and new, and tactical insights made her a clear fit for the Shadow Hunters. Unfortunately, this caused some friction with Princess.
Princess had long stood at the top as Pravum's best agent, and the sudden appearance of Wonder Woman threatened that spot. And while the two fought and operated together with flawless synergy, becoming an unstoppable duo capable of taking down almost anyone they met, their off-duty relationship was far from perfect. Their rivalry had reached legendary proportions by now, and tales of their spars or competitions were almost as fantastical as the exploits made by the superheroines they often captured. The mistress seriously considered resigning one of them to a different team, but the message this time included footage from their latest spar and a simple note.
"Problem solved."
The footage showed one of Pravum's high-tech training rooms. This time, the room's micro fabricators had converted the space into a fighting ring from ancient Greece. No doubt a move from Princess to rile up Wonder Woman, or one from Wonder Woman to mock how her "archaic" training made her better than Princess's modern training. Both had done things like that, so it wasn't unthinkable.
The video showed both women moving around the ring with a speed and grace that few could ever dream of reaching. They were sweaty and breathing heavily, they both had small bruises and cuts from where they had hit each other with their weapons or hands. Wonder Woman was still wearing the same outfit she had worn in her old life; A pair of extremely short booty shorts that showed what The mistress had to admit was one hell of an ass. Her top was skintight, revealing a flat stomach with strong muscles that rippled as she danced out of Princess's reach. A pair of well above-average-sized breasts sat atop her chest, and the firm mounds moved barely, constrained as they were by the tight fabric. A tiara was still adorning her hair, which flowed behind her in thick black curls, but the centrepiece was now a jewel finely crafted into Pravum's symbol. The only thing from her old getup that remained the same, was the bracers wrapped around her wrists. The colours of her outfit had been changed to match Pravum's, and her long legs were encased in knee-high boots.
Theologists and religious preachers often claimed that God created mankind in his image and though Ariel herself thought that to be false, there was something truly inhuman about Wonder Woman's beauty. Something no mortal can ever hope to reach. She made a stark contrast when compared to Princess. Both women were tall, easily reaching over six feet, but Princess was still the shorter one of the two. Ebony black skin shone in the artificial light. Midnight black hair, cut in a short style that was just a bit too long to be considered military. Her body shape was simply said, perfect. Round breasts that matched her tall frame. A firm, bubbly but that stood out no matter how you looked at it. Long arms and legs, that ended in delicate hands and feet. She knew from previous reports, that those hands and feet could deliver punishing blows or kicks when needed. Princess wore the standard Pravum military outfit. Nothing was done to customize it, as she was far too professional to allow such frivolities. It was something The mistress respected in Princess, and she secretly held her in higher regard than the other squad commanders because of it. Not that she would ever admit to it, of course.
The spar came to a sudden and abrupt halt when Wonder Woman managed to ensnare Princess with her lasso. The black woman squirmed mightily, trying every trick she knew to escape, but the fabled rope held, keeping her bound. Wonder Woman got down on one knee, and there was a short conversation between the two. Unfortunately, not even Ariel's clearance was enough to override the privacy, so there was no sound, but based on Princess's shifting expressions, it was an emotional one. Ariel had to give credit to Wonder Woman, Princess was a woman who kept her emotions strictly under control, and she was now forced to release that control by the power of the golden rope. It was the same way Wonder Woman had been brought to their side, and the former superhero used it flawlessly to uncover the source of their rivalry.
After a while, The mistress saw something she would never imagine ever seeing. Princess broke down in tears. In moments, the shimmering rope of the lasso disappeared, and the Afrikan woman was being embraced by Wonder Woman. There was a moment of nothing before Princess looked up towards the other woman holding her. Their faces moved towards each other, pulled by some unseen force, and their lips met in a passionate kiss. That was the final straw that ended their rivalry, and the last thing The mistress saw before the video ended, was Wonder Woman already topless, with Princess in the process of stripping herself.
'Problem solved, indeed.' Ariel thought to herself. Glad that that annoying bit was over, Ariel finished her drink, and after returning the cup made her way to the elevator. There were always more things to do, and she liked to keep a personal eye on things. The elevator silently closed its doors and fell down the shaft towards the next floor.