Chapter 34: Heartbeat of The Night
Volume 1: Origins
SoHo, New York
Cole pushed himself ahead, the slow ungrasping of the bio-electrical energy that was Chi slowly dwindled a minuscule amount retired to his core. At the same time, the vast majority of the Chi held returned to the atmosphere.
The inevitable decline occurred almost instantly.
Cole's legs began to noodle, and his ankles felt as if he had hundreds of pounds of weight attached to each leg; his shoulders grew heavier, and his pace came to a regular jog.
He came to an immediate halt, leaning comically against the wall, bent over, huffing as his breaths came in rasps instead of being crestfallen at his prey's further escape. He smiled and laughed out into the night.
He mentally ordered the Boas drone to track Mabel and report back when she stopped at whatever hovel she intended to hide from the law. He turned around against the wall and flipped down, resting.
He had two of the four boas drones that weren't under Angelica's command silently hover above on overwatch, observing everything that may enter his vicinity.
Nothing like the present, he thought inwardly, pulling the relevant prompts to the forefront, forgoing the goons he defeated but pleasantly surprised when the System labeled them as 'Puppeted.'
System message: Puppeted Stokes Goons Incapacitated. Relationship: (Jason Todd) Hated. Rewards: Heroic alignment. $700. Jokers Crowbar.
Cole summoned the crowbar into his waiting hands as memories not of his own surfaced.
When Joker tricked Robin (Jason Todd) into falling into his carefully planned trap, his weapon of choice in dealing with Jason was a crowbar. Joker brutally beat Jason Todd to near death.
When Jason Todd returned from the "dead" and took on the guise of the Red Hood (Joker's first identity), he eventually confronted Joker and beat him with a crowbar but let him live.
'His anger sparked as he recalled the death. The downside of the Persona system was he knew and felt everything from the persona; the good side was he wasn't overtly affected by them unless he focused on a particular memory.'
He recalled the brutal beating, the darkness that was death, which he still found quite jarring, and his rebirth.
He twirled the crowbar in his hands with familiarity, already aware that this crowbar was unique. Like most bat-family gadgets, the Joker crowbar had a hidden power source, Nothing too powerful, that is, if you ignore the actual metal of this one. It was made from Batmanium.
Batmanium was given its name in honor of Batman after he had died in the Joker's endgame, with science funded by the Court of Owls.
Batmanium can be used as a liquid or a solid at room temperature. It is incredibly dense, as shown when Powers International fashioned a large Batarang for its public reveal to weigh two tons. Whatever industrial applications for the metal thus far remain unknown.
It was later discovered that Batmanium was one of the five divine metals required to form the portal to the Dark Multiverse, along with Dionesium, Electrum, Nth Metal, and Promethium. When one person was exposed to all five metals, that person would be transported to the Dark Multiverse and switch places with anyone waiting on the other side.
Batman was unknowingly mantled to be the portal and was exposed to all the metals throughout his career, being exposed to Batmanium last by the Court of Owls.
Cole shivered at the thought of being replaced by an alternate ultimate evil version. He thought on it for a while and came to another conclusion, ensuring that wouldn't necessarily be the case for him. He doubted it; at least, he hedged a bet that it would occur. He was unique, an anomaly; another him shouldn't exist.
But just in case, he wouldn't lay hands on the other three metals unless he had some assurance. Worst case, he accidentally opens a portal to whatever is the version of Marvel's dark Universe.
System message: Heroic Strongman Stalemate. S.H.I.E.L.D. Relationship: (Jason Todd) Wanted. Rewards: Villain alignment. $1200.
He hadn't gotten anything worthwhile with that one. It seems like stalemating someone like Luke didn't warrant a worthy prize from the System.
System message: Milestone level achievement- The host action has led to the defeat of a person capable of catastrophic crisis.
Rewards: +++Hero alignment. $500,000. Armacham Technology Corporation.
Cole's mouth opened and closed. He hadn't had time to gawk at the incredulousness of the prompt that populated his vision. His mind was swarmed with newly implanted information before
"Shit." He cursed aloud, uncaring if anyone heard him.
Purpleman wouldn't have conquered SHIELD. He couldn't control the entire world and the incoming burgeoning superheroes. His actions would have done worse.
He exposed HYDRA and the Skrulls; the latter were beginning to superimpose themselves throughout both organizations. The battle had weakened the heroes, many perishing in the fighting and… well, he didn't know. He just had the chance to understand that he had done a service to the world. He could assume that whatever came next, albeit Apocalypse, Thanos, or many other world-engulfing foes, had won.
He did get a leg up, though, understanding the System could at least grasp potential futures. The Secret invasion and HYDRA uprising weren't a forgone conclusion but inevitable.
He stood. His brief respite replenishes his depleted stamina reserves. He did a double take, not at someone but at the prompt. He hadn't read it all.
"Armacham Technology Corporation." He uttered in bewilderment. He stared at the Reward, not entirely ignoring the whopping half a million dollars he was awarded.
Cole blinked rapidly, his mind whirring with the implication of what he had just gotten. The System was more and more terrifying. Armacham Technology Corporation, or A.T.C for short, was the central antagonist in the F.E.A.R. franchise.
He rummaged through his memories, understanding what he had been given, and realized that he had been wrong to think Wayne had the best technology; other universes had companies with some quite powerful but awful technologies.
A.T.C. had its hands on unethical human experiments, cloning, psionics, time travel, and other heinous avenues.
He scanned to continue understanding what he was granted. "Artificially manufactured psionics." He uttered.
'Quite the haul,' he thought inwardly.
He hadn't even completed his other enterprises, and he had another one. He needed more people. Knowing what he knows now, he would need to speed along his technological advancement.
He opened and closed his hand and did a few squats in place. He wasn't one hundred percent, but he did draw deeply on his chi empowerment, and his assessment of the previous situation was warranted; the Purpleman escape would have meant a lot of bad shit all at once instead of the average pace prevalent in mcu.
'One big bad guy at a time was fine with him.' He concluded.
Had he known his Chi reinforcement would have altered his mutant ability to the point that he had something akin to a breakthrough, which wasn't too uncommon in the comics at least, mutants would have an epiphany and harness more of their power or discover a new ancillary ability, and there were the secondary mutations which he considered to be a magnitude of power boost.
However, it is something to be expected; the flavor text included bio-electricity, which resonated with his fear fragment.
He pushed outward, beckoning forth his mutant ability. The bat formed atop a dumpster. Its ruby ephemeral eyes were more prominent than a traditional bat. It regarded him, its alien intelligence unlike his own, but there was a connection there, but something else he couldn't glean existed in its strange mind, something not from him he could tell. Still, he had to hope it was the System's power, as it was a mutant ability granted by the System.
Cole had realized that his innate mutant power was fire-related. He had experienced his rage, causing his body to overheat, at no discomfort to him, and burn his immediate vicinity. Could that power be his, be Jeremy's innate x-gene? That thought had opened up a lot more questions.
Cole was brought from his musing by another presence seeking him out.
'Old man, give it a rest.' Thought Cole.
He sighed and fired his grappling gun toward the adjacent building, pulling himself up rapidly. The bat hadn't flown but materialized back on his shoulder, its mind still a hodgepodge of alien unfamiliarity.
The bat focused on him before its head swiveled, and its eyes focused on something in the distance.
'Oh.' Cole thought as thoughts appeared in his mind. He, too, turned his head northward.
His comm beeped. He relinquished his control of his mutant ability. He listened to Angelica but hadn't stopped focusing on what he sensed that he had been shown how.
Angelica informed him that X men and The Brotherhood were still searching for him. He was aware of them and the redhead he warned her about. It seems Jean had taken a more active approach. He shifted a small portion of his focus to watch and monitor.
"I see. Jean is using a teleporter to move around, hoping to get the jump on me." He said absentmindedly, still distracted by the thrumming of the heartbeat that beat into the night.
"Earth to… hey, what's your name again?" Hardlight construct of Angelica said, a drone hovering above silently allowing her to exist in her current form.
Cole had refocused and looked toward Angelica.
"Is it wise to show up here?" He asked her, observing the hardlight technology in more depth.
She waived him away. "Right," she said, winking out for a split second. She returned her face and features androgynous. She was delving into the tech side of things.
"Better?" Angelica said, observing her new form. "This is neat. Have you patented this technology?"
He sighed. He had so much to do and not enough time. 'Maybe I should just drop out and get my G.E.D. He can't continue to act alone; being unable to be in multiple places limited his presence in the city.
He looked toward the girl and began explaining the new plans for the future. He also dropped a bomb that he was the son of the former York C.E.O., who had been murdered.
She had looked him up, not understanding how he looked different, but he removed the glasses before putting them back on. Angelica had departed. She had a lot to think about, realizing he was much more than she expected and understanding how he had access to particularly advanced technology. He would let her assume it pilfered York's cache of tech he had learned about from his parents.
It seemed Mabel hadn't gone far, opting to hide at her daughter's taxpayer-funded house in an affluent neighborhood.
He stepped toward the ledge of the high-rise, looking over more fabulous New York City and its many Burroughs, and dropped down, the wind whipping at his face, his black hair swishing around his head as he descended at an ever-increasing pace.
System message: Persona acclimation beginning...
He had figured it was incoming. He wondered what or who he would become, aware that each persona was an actual living soul and had an effect on him, known and unknown.
He fired the bat-grapple swinging across the high rises of So-Ho, headed toward Mabel Stokes and hoping to complete his mission before reevaluating his plans again with the new additions.
Name: Cole Stephens
Known Name: Jeremy York
Alias- Red Hood
Race: Inhuman Mutant
Physique: Updating…
Alignment: +Neutral
System-Bank: $743,000
Minion(s) Bullseye—Coerced 19%|100%
Legal—Contracted
Angelica "Angel" Jones—Contracted
Persona(s)Jason Peter Todd- Red Hood 100%|100%
Attributes
Intelligence: +Moderate Tier 3
Strength: +Moderate Tier 2.5
Speed: Moderate Tier 2
Durability: +Moderate Tier 2.5
Energy Projection: +Potential Tier 3–>4
Fighting Skills: +Advanced Tier 4
Gear-Inventory
Red Hood Advanced Costume
Red Lantern Ring
Jokers Crowbar
Batman Utility Belt
Clark Kent's Glasses
Scarecrow Gear
Orichalcum Knives
Nth-Promethium Katana
Dual Pistols [9mm rounds]
Dual Modified| Sniper Mod|M1911 [.45]
Captain Cold's Gun.
Fear Toxin
Smoke Grenade
Pocket Explosives
High Powered Taser
Bulk Medical Bag
Bulk Duffle Bag [Electronics]
Kinetic Hammer
Super-bike
Black Hawk [Damaged]
Tumbler Batmobile
Abilities
[Emerging] X-Gene
[Unexposed]Terrigenesis
[+1] Holder of the Hero-Villain System.
[+5] Criminology: Deception. Enhanced Investigation.
[0] Occultism: The Host is knowledgeable on various mystical concepts due to his training with the All-Caste.
[+2] Enhanced senses: The host has supernatural senses, allowing them to see, hear, smell, taste, and feel better than an average species member.
[+3] Skilled marksman and expert tactician.
[+4] Expert martial artist and hand-to-hand combatant. Highly trained in Dim Mak.
[+3] Acute understanding and utilization of high-tech equipment, Bioengineering, and advanced weaponry.
[+4] Business Management: Wayne Enterprises, Lexcorp, Iceberg Lounge.
[0] Computer Operations: Computer Hacking.
[+7] Enhanced strength, speed, and durability due to exposure to the Lazarus Pit and your latent mutant and inhuman metamorphosis. Chi reinforcement.
[+5] Inhuman Optimal Healing Factor: Granted by the System and reinforced by burgeoning Chi abilities, you can heal from extreme mental or bodily trauma in minutes.
Red Lantern Ring: Red Lantern Ring powers are fueled by rage. Furthermore, unlike the more scientific Green Lantern Ring, the Red Lantern Ring uses some magic in its construction. A Red Lantern's ring is one of the most potent weapons in the known Universe. Red Lantern's ring can affect and use fundamental forces of the known Universe, including electromagnetic energies such as gravity, radiation, heat, light, and powerful blasts of concussive force. The ring can also create fields of power formed from a red energy spectrum. The limitations of such use are the user's skill, knowledge, and imagination.
[Limited] Rage Suppression: Said to be a rarity amongst Red lanterns, holders of this power need not the baptism of the blood ocean. You're able to control the Red Lantern ring's degrees of intensity
[+2] Chi Manipulation: Host mastery of martial arts has made him skilled in sensing and manipulating Bio-electricity energy.
[Augmentation] The host Chi can enhance physical and supernatural parameters and intensely focus his Chi to increase healing and recovery time.
[+1] Fear Inducement: Your presence has shown itself as a fragment of fear. The physical manifestation of your presence takes the form of an incorporeal bat-like thing. The target of your inducement perception may be altered, causing them to have waking nightmarish dreams drawing on their deepest fears. Your presence can affect the environment, causing the host to become ominous, dark, foreboding, or even a monster. This is considered a mutant ability.