Chapter 64: Earth 9592
Cole Stephens
His Wayne-tech alarm blared. Cole awoke Monday morning with an unnatural crook at the base of his neck. His healing factor is supposed to take care of this, he thought, internally groaning at the annoyance. For someone like him with his healing abilities, pain was usually momentarily. His nerves, he assumed, massaging the area rhythmically.
Monday was a momentous day for him. He needs to be in his best shape. He waived his hand and purchased a Sarcophagus. The act was an act he had made a habit of. He didn't need to move a body part to summon from the shop, but he didn't let that fact be known in case he ever got captured.
'School starts back today.' He thought to himself after browsing messages and emails.
After Norman's defeats, the tabloids had given him that moniker, and Spiderman was credited with his takedown. Unfortunately, the mortally wounded billionaire had run. Still, the news of the following day had revealed his whereabouts: Norman Osborne was dead. If he hadn't had the slight pain, he would drink to the hateful man's death.
He quickly slid into the sarcophagus and submerged himself in the alien healing liquid, the lid closing as he laid down, sealing him inside. The substance could only be fully utilized by anyone with Naquadah in their system. Currently, that was only two people.
He wasn't afraid of anything untold occurring inside; Kaecilus was near like a guard dog; the powerful lantern refused to leave him vulnerable, the man's words, not his. He relented, and once the older man was brought up, Iceberg Lounge was attacked.
He laughed when Alfred had alerted him. Bushwacker had barged in demanding to see the owner and ended up being beaten near death as the Russian mutant dismantled him.
'Street-level trash,' he thought.
The man was in the A.T.C. building under Mishimoto's watchful eye. It was fortuitous; Luke and his nemesis were super-soldiers, and genetically modified superhumans were widespread in Marvel. Cole and Mishimotos were hell-bent on creating their own. If he took the time, Cole's system could perfect any serum he had obtained.
Bullseye had returned with the Asian male, Chan Yo Yin, a mid-level pyrokinetic whose blood palates were instrumental in creating a version of the super soldier serum. Chan was destined to die, and Cole's intervention hadn't been a whim but one of necessity. He wanted the man's blood for his plans, not nefarious but to create a force that was accountable to him alone.
He had been reluctant to interfere, but those sensibilities had gone from him; he suspected his personas acquisitions were helping him rationalize or disregard the implications altogether. What's the worst that could happen was a thought he had, but he swallowed hard, realizing what he was facing.
The man had readily agreed to join his side; performing on the streets wasn't getting him anywhere, and when he witnessed what Angelica and I could do with similar powers and the potential to do similar, he came on as a probationary member.
He was rewarded for his help.
System message: The Host has altered the events of one individual, Chan Yo Yin, a meta-human known in multiple iterations as Scorch. Interfering in the life and death of integral people could lead to unforeseen events on Earth 9592—Reward: Roy Mustang Gloves.
He nodded at the rewards, not minding the system message; he watched the movies and knew how disturbing the time works. He shelved the implication of what Earth he was on; at least, he knew now. He was bummed not to be on 616, but that also meant he needed to grow more, being on an unknown iteration of Earth.
The alchemist gloves would double his fire manipulation powers. The unique pyrotex-ignition material had been unlocked in the shop. Alchemy combined science and magic, at least in that universe; the system's withdrawn items kept their function. One reward had helped him so much; he had the element and schematic now to construct a suit that could benefit Firestar and, if everything went according to plan, even Scorch.
'Another Fire person, and I'll have a fire brigade.' He joked internally.
Submerged as he was and needed to remain still, he pulled up his H.U.D. and began to do some work. Legal had hired a firm to hire people for him. The managers, directors and even a C.F.O. had been tapped. He had an idea of who ultimately wanted to run his company, but that had yet to be realized; he was still biding his time.
Speaking of the Sarcophagus, The Doctor had excitedly wanted to study the tech, explaining that it would benefit his research. Cole shrugged and purchased more; his accomplishments the last few days had brought him almost half a million dollars.
He wondered, deciding to open his status screen to see if something had changed and wanting to see where his parameters were at.
Name: Cole Stephens
Known Name: Jeremy York
Alias- Red Hood
Race: Updating
Physique: Unique Physiology
Alignment: -Neutral
System-Bank: 1,989,987
Minion(s) Bullseye—Contracted
Anne Weying—Contracted
Kevin Lourdes-Contracted
Legal—Contracted
Angelica "Angel" Jones—Contracted
Dr. Mishimoto-Contracted
Kaecilius- Red Lantern-Holder
Morlocks-Coerced 15%/100%
* Leech-Protectee
* Annalee-Corerced 29%/100%
Persona(s)Jason Peter Todd- Red Hood 103%|100%
Daniel Kilgore- Priest - Haunt 44%|50%
Kurt Kilgore- Special Agent - Haunt 42%|50%
He stopped in his tracks, and his mental stability fluctuated. He alerted his ever-present guard as his door was unceremoniously opened, the lantern stepping in, eyes aglow with power scanning the room.
"Sir?" His so-called guard asked cautiously.
"Apologies, Kaecillus," Cole said, his eyes refocusing.
"Are you well?"
"Yes. Just a moment." Cole said. Kaecillus nodded, not even glancing at the futuristic tech in the middle of the room and retreated, closing the door behind him.
Was his race changing again?
What did that mean? He hadn't paid much attention to what he was, understanding that he was a mutant or this body was; Jeremy York would have awakened to powers, but he needed to figure out to what degree.
Cole understood that his parents potentially were mutants; even if they weren't, the gene was recessive. If both of them had a recessive gene, then his potential to be one was almost guaranteed, granted he wasn't positive, and his memories on the x-gene were limited to what he could dredge up. He didn't have a photographic memory or total recall to help him remember old memories.
So, if Jeremy was a mutant, how do you explain the inhuman part? He tapped his chin as he strolled toward the sarcophagus, unconsciously updating the Goa'uld device to his personal preferences. Inhumans were experiments. After discovering their latent potential, the Kree subjected ancient humans to genetic experiments. He had assumed that was the x-gene present in the human population. The Inhumans were meant to be soldiers in the Kree-Skrull. Still, the supreme intelligence abandoned the project after discovering their defeat at the hands of their creations.
He relaxed, pushing the ideas to the side; his mind would theorize while he finished his notifications; the pressure build-up was annoying.
Host-generated mission updated: Oscorp C.E.O. Norman Osborn has learned about you. As a student in the same grade and classes, he has tasked him to secure your tech by any means.
Oscorp isn't a company that accepts no when they request something.
Oscorp, currently led by the deepening insanity of The Green Goblin, has orchestrated an attack on The Baxter building. Angered by his canceled defense contract, Norman has released powered inmates and their Super-Soldier.
Subsequently, the Host's attendance changed the original mission and increased the rewards alongside difficulty.
Rewards: Clark Kent Cape
More magic. Color me impressed. He had the glasses and now his cape. 'Did this mean he would get Superman Persona next.' He thought excitedly, only to remember the system doesn't work that way.
There wasn't a rhyme or reason behind what persona he unlocked. He hadn't even had to use Haunt. His armor had suffused itself with the complicated ectoplasmic anti-hero.
He had a thought. 'I kinda got two anti-heroes as personas. Jason Todd was complicated but fit the mold more than anyone else. The Kilgore brothers were extremely grey, and that was considering that they did some good albeit vicious.'
He looked at his status, not recalling if he had checked it earlier, and what he saw made him smile. If other Personas were this easy, who would rack them up?
Cole needed all the power; he would need the power up to contend with all kinds of entities, and this world still had him clueless about just what was out there.
His phone rang, and he answered it on the third ring. It was Anne, and she was headed his way. He chuckled to himself. Anne had wanted to arrive at the school in style.
'It was time for him to be a York.'