Chapter 77: Breach Of The Mind
Harlem, New York. A.T.C. BUILDING
Charles Xavier
Before the events in the Cerebro underground room.
Erik hadn't wanted to go along with his decision. Still, he also wouldn't interfere, calling Xavier a fool, and the consequences of his action would harm mutant-kind.
The decision was ultimately his, but it was something he had to do. He had done it twice before, but this time seemed more complicated and dangerous. The implications of his gut feelings were still on the omega-level mutant.
Xavier placed his hands on his temple. 'This is for mutant-kind. If one day were able to depower mutants like him, he would undo what he was doing.
Xavier had no idea what he had accomplished, but the implications of his assault would shake the astral world. A battle that denizens of other planes would keenly sense.
Xavier hadn't been met with the same resistance as he only entered the child's subconscious mind, bypassing the extraordinary shields of the conscious mind, but this was only accessible to him due to the nature of his intrusion earlier, not seeking the boy's secrets hadn't caused system interference.
He was astounded at the child's mindscape. I never expected mental shields to be constructed in such a manner yet so simple in their application inside the child's mindscape. Xavier had slowly begun the process of putting the youth in a coma. Once done, he will alert Misty Knight, Liasion of X-men, to apprehend the subdued mutant.
'I'm sorry.' He thought, knowing there wasn't forgiveness to be received. He had done this years ago to his son, a dreadfully powerful mutant, and seeing this... Jeremy York and understanding his many gifts made him think of his son, trapped inside his mind.
Cole Stephens
A rare sense of worry settled upon him out of nowhere, and he was struck by bout dizziness, and he swayed in his seated position. He regretfully opened his eyes and scanned the room. Everything was in order, nothing to worry about. Kaecillus was still here, so he wasn't under attack; maybe his training session was going too far.
Cole had no idea of the breach, not being aware that it was capable of occurring. His earlier assessment was the system would kill him if the secret were out. Still, there seemed to be rules to that, and Xavier had stumbled across it, circumventing the seemingly omnipresent system.
Returning to his meditative, Cole had summoned his status partially. The metaphysical display didn't need physical sight to be perceived; it appeared to him in whatever way was convenient.
Name: Cole Stephens
Known Name: Jeremy York
Alias- Red Hood
Race: Updating
Physique: Unique Physiology
Alignment: +Neutral
System-Bank: $3,231,987
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 25%/100%
Leech-Protectee
Annalee-Corerced 29%/100%
A.T.C Employees|Soldiers- Coerced 34%/100%
Persona(s)Jason Peter Todd- Red Hood 103%|100%
Daniel Kilgore- Priest - Haunt 50%|50%
Kurt Kilgore- Special Agent - Haunt 50%|50%
Baran Flinders- Mammoth 9|100%
Attributes
Intelligence: +Moderate Tier 10
Strength: Exceptional Tier 2 -> Extraordinary Tier 1
Speed: Moderate Tier 10->13
Durability: +Exceptional Tier 1->3
Energy Projection: +Moderate Tier 10–>15
Fighting Skills: Advanced -> Exceptional Tier 1
A 9% increase in meditation was all right, but it could have been better. He was confident that Mammoth's profile was not about calm and composure but impotent Rage and destruction.
His heart palpated as if his casual thoughts had struck upon a secret of the system itself. Jason and Mammoth's personas resonated on a level he didn't understand.
'Are the personas related, in a sense, to a degree of magnitude? Jason Todd wasn't a raging brute, but Rage had existed in the young man, and Lazarus Pit had intensified that.'
Nothing. The system either didn't care to confirm, or the observation was far off. He mentally shrugged and shelved the thoughts about the enigmatic system.
His Thrumming heart settled as he slowly but steadily drowned the Rage that bubbled beneath the surface. Jeremy's vestiges had awakened with the attack of The Hand.
To have so much anger after his passing was startling, even with his knowledge of everything he had to admit. If Jeremy had survived, he would have been a dangerous foe. Still, his Rage would have inadvertently seen him captured or, worse, dealt with in extreme measures.
He assuages the 'id' of his previous body owner. No longer could he remain passive, and he understood with all his tech and capabilities, he should be able to pin down the location of the command structure of his enemies.
He sat in a meditative posture and missed his notifications. Most of them were routine updates about his relationships. However, he noticed that Elektra had been resurrected, which piqued his interest. He wondered how Matt, his dad's friend, would react to this news. Little did he know that Matt had already fought against his revived lover and managed to escape before he was defeated. Matt couldn't bear to attack his lover.
It seemed a CLASS 50 rating isn't simply physical strength; regardless of his status, he had long understood what was represented was vague and was accountable to the system.
No, that was a wrong assessment; it was more like self-discovery, and he had lacked time to delve into his abilities, and the more he accumulated, the more time he needed.
"Could there be a redundancy in his abilities? What about overlap?" he thought, but a sudden surge of information interrupted his thought. Any outdated abilities would be absorbed by the system and incorporated into his attributes for an overall boost.
'That was refreshing to know. So if he got a separate fire-related ability, it would boost his old one.' He thought before the system responded in its way.
"Interesting. So, there are various types of pyrokinetics. Abilities like Angelica and Scorch may seem similar but vastly different. Scorch's powers are limited in scope and magnitude compared to Angelica's, the most powerful of the three. However, if you remove other amplifiers he had, it's a different story."
He surveyed the updated abilities that he unearthed through his meditation and training.
—>[+11] Rage Suppression: Said to be a rarity amongst Red lanterns, holders of this power need not the baptism of the blood ocean. You can control all the Red Lantern ring's degrees of intensity; lanterns under you have limited access to your passive suppression.
—>Rage Empowerment: Your new mutant ability—Raging Strength synergizes with your plasmoid blood. Under the influence of the Ring[Activated], Rage itself becomes your strength.
He thought of the benefits of his growing Rage. He realized he needed to improve his ability to suppress anger to counterbalance this feeling. Unlike ordinary people, his Rage had no limit. Controlling his emotions was a constant battle as a red lantern, even with his suppression techniques. There were instances where even the most level-headed red lantern had been driven to such extreme anger that they destroyed entire planets.
—>[+9] Chi Manipulation: Host's mastery of martial arts and hidden innate parameters have unlocked one of the most sought-after abilities in the Universe. You can wield and manipulate the natural forces of life and control your steadily growing Bio-electrical energy.
Chi was in itself life energy. He had yet quite to grasp the level of performance to wield it outside of his source, but there was a path to power there for him.
—> [+3] Augmentation: The Host Chi can enhance physical and supernatural parameters and significantly boost healing and recovery time.
Chi had many mysteries and only touched upon the basics; even the system help hadn't touched upon it all, making the energy that everyone possessed to some degree genuinely mystical.
The subsequent notification had flared his anger, and his hands clenched with considerable strength, causing air to displace in the training room.
He channeled his chi, calming himself as he read the notifications.
System Message: The Hand has changed its designation of Jeremy York. Due to having two different identities, only Jeremy York's relationship has been updated. The Hand Relationship-Jeremy York: Highly Wanted. Red Hood: Irreconcilable.
He was thinking about what to do next, still in his meditative pose, when a familiar sensation superimposed itself just behind the fabric of the physical world. He slammed close the prompt.
He peeped, and he noticed something he hadn't before. Kaecillus hadn't moved from his inspection of a blade he had summoned. Cole had only to think, and he knew something was wrong.
'How? Someone had stopped his Red Lantern Mandate from working. His connection was cut off, and he could no longer feel the mind of his unwelcomed, but He had no idea what was happening to him, so he could only use guest work.
Suddenly, a figure materialized outside of the A.T.C. Building. It was Xavier, Professor X, an omega-level telepath.
'The moment you meet your heroes, everything changes.' Cole thought, knowing the powerful telepath would hear him.
Xavier shook his head, misunderstanding Coles's words. Coles's eyes narrowed; Xavier was confident in walking away.
His once seren face scrunched. Anger bubbled beneath the surface; Xavier had undoubtedly sensed the confounding Rage that the teen barely held onto.
Xavier's figure dissipated before he appeared before the prone teen. Cole's body twitched, but he couldn't move or activate his powers.
'Just how?' He thought. Xavier had appeared to him clear as day as he bypassed the walls between them.
'I have trapped you in your subconscious mind. I'm sorry, child, for what I must do, but your actions are detrimental, mutant kind.'
Cole barely lifted his head to look at Xavier's hover astral projected form. That angered him. He was forced to look up at the man who attacked him twice without reason.
Cole stared at the man. His eyes trailed around his face and the outline of an oblong-shaped helmet. 'Cerebro?' He shouted, causing Xavier's eyes to slant in worry.
'You are privy to information-' He shook his head, and his conflicted face shifted to one of solid resolve.
'No, I cannot falter; I'm afraid prying into your unique mind will lead to awful results,' Charles Xavier sighed, seemingly hurt by his decision.
'This is not out of spite or anger but of sacrifice for the greater good. I'm truly sorry.'
Professor Xavier extended a hand, the other on his temple, an action Cole was all o familiar with. 'For mutant-kind,' he said, his voice casting across the distance in a commanding tone.
Cole's figure vanished into particles. Xavier deflated as the sheer magnitude of psionic energy required nearly drained him. He looked on in resignation at what he had to do. 'Truly a formidable child.' He turned around as the veil he created inside the mind parted.