Persona: Hero x Villain System

Jennifer Walters had chided herself on her awkwardness; it was just a simple hug and didn’t mean anything. Legal gave her a thin smile. She took her seat, her mind whirling with rapt exhilaration.

She had been briefed on what to expect and had seen her share of wondrous things, the mutants or meta-humans, a term she heard he preferred in private with her boss, but Legal said it’d be decades before Jeremy could change the terminology.

‘What did he mean by that?’ she thought. She appraised the younger man near her again, not having the luxury of being in his presence as her immediate boss was Legal. He looked up from his phone and stared at her. She froze but soon forced a smile and looked back at the presentation.

He was handsome, much too young for her. He was like, what? Sixteen.

With steel-grey eyes, sharp cheekbones, and a well-proportionate nose; his chin was well defined, and his dreadlocks, or locs what the kids were calling them now, weren’t to her liking, but who was the multi-millionaire and who was the college student that got all her debt paid and the chance to practice corporate law right out of college, she hadn’t even past the bar exam yet and he paid her the salary most partners made at the multitude of firms around New York.

Having had the same NDA as the others, hers was more in-depth and ensured she stayed on. So far, she was excited, though she had the clause put in that she could still practice law. She had always wanted to be a defense lawyer, especially for the vulnerable population. She still couldn’t believe that people were being forced to live underground, The Morlocks, and then the experiments, illegal and unethical, that were being carried out.

Cole Stephens

Having felt Jennifer’s appraisal, Cole turned and smiled, giving her two reassuring thumbs up. Jennifer is a talented lawyer and the cousin of Bruce Banner, the Hulk. He had no idea if his recruitment would alter anything, but he vaguely knew what had occurred. After being mortally wounded, if his memory was correct, it was a mobster from an unknown family. Jennifer needed a blood transfusion, and her first cousin, Bruce, agreed. His gamma-irradiated blood mutated Jennifer into the She-Hulk, kicking off her adventuring career.

‘In the worst case, I procure the blood for her.’ He smirked, ‘Mammoth Persona might need to emerge in that case. I can’t have Jason Todd being too eye-catching, plus she-hulk will be needed; the more Hulks, the better.’

Hardlight mesmerized the scientists, inventors, and doctors, each integral to his business operations. Such technology didn’t exist, and they would have a heart attack if they saw what lantern rings could accomplish.

Cole leaned forward, latching his hands together and resting his chin atop them as he intently followed the presentation. Suddenly, the annoying need to smoke crept into his mind, and he grumbled, wondering what other eccentricities he would have to weather down the road of progress. He realized that his idleness had increased his risk of cancer.

His H.U.D. populated his vision, his bio-contacts gleaming in the room’s low light. Cole schooled his face as he watched the live recording. ‘Lobo Cartel? if I remember correctly, a family of mutants is predisposed to lycanthropy.’ Cole wondered if it was a case of an old curse that, in turn, mutated. He noted it and made a file for the doctor to check.

‘Who is next from South America, Snowflame?’ In all seriousness, the cocaine powerhouse was probably around. He quickly updated their files, adding a marker on the man. This version of Earth would give him a heart attack sooner or later; he just hoped he had Earth 19999 big bads.

The Terrain Boa was attached to the side of the building when The Lobos attacked. Hammerhead had been altered already; he was a prolific man with a five head that could crush most people into pulp; it was the sheer ferocity of his attacker that did him in and the fact they caught him off guard, already reeling from an early assault from The Punisher. Frank Castle had been at the top of his list, but the man was a lot of things and easy to find, wasn’t he? It was almost as if he knew where cameras were located and avoided being spotted on them. ‘Old school method it is, then.’ Cole thought as he knew he would have to spare some time to haunt the vigilante.

Back to the recording, Cole observed the building—a nondescript property sequestered in one of Manhattan’s cheaper areas. Was this supposed to be a secret base to lay low? Whatever, the werewolves had annihilated the Hammerhead crime syndicate quite gruesomely.

‘How did this boa even get above ground, glitch? ' He thought to himself, realizing he had no drones in the area, but he shrugged. Remember, Cole had ordered his Terrain Boas to map the underground in search of the Marauders; as anticipated, that hadn’t bore fruit; he was hopeful that those kidnapped deserved some advocacy, and he would endeavor to rescue them or bring their killers to meet them. He had already forgotten he had sent it to deliver Legal Tuxedo. It also happened to be one he had been working in his lab earlier.

Hammerhead, a local mobster with adamantium enhancements, mainly his spine, shoulder, head, and torso, comically charged his foes, which was quite effective, as he had enough strength to tangle with Spiderman.

‘Joseph, should I help you out?’ His thought had caught the attention of his original inhabitant, and he relented.

‘The Enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?’ He thought. Admittedly, he hadn’t targeted the mafia family or maggia, as he knew they were backed by some demon or whatever. He. He. He rolled his eyes at the fact that most organizations in Marvel worshipped one demon or another.

‘Should I send my Replica Forces? No. Kelvin has been coasting and has had enough time to adjust. I also want to see him in action. His serum wasn’t one of Mishimotos but a system-perfected version, and he needed to appraise The Shattered Round Table again.’ Having watched the video, he and Kacecillus determined it was a blood resonance.

‘I got so much to do with so little time, he needed clones..’ He paused as he checked the shop. As expected, Naruto’s items were purchasable, especially after he bought the summoning spell.

‘Too costly. The Shadow Clone Jutsu is a forbidden secret jutsu, and it would transfer well here since Ninjutsu was considered supernatural, likely because of chi and the universe’s natural laws.’ Cole went and purchased a standard academy skill set for cheap; clone jutsu alone could be helpful in battle, along with Henge.

The purchase had added more to his workload, but he relished the challenge it brought. Just wait until he gets ahold of ten million, or the system awards him the Jitsu he can practice with ease.

With mental nudges, he placed some commands for the boa and returned it to its duties, not even realizing he had glossed over something important that he missed by the exciting news. He had no qualms about the system-purchased items; some stuff was hazardous to his health, but The Glacial Stone was the perfect item to focus on. It was a dangerous, potent, ancient artifact that could freeze even him with his innate resistance, but that was simply because he lacked the strength to handle it.

He was brought from his musing as the hardlight construct of Angelica materialized inside the room, causing another round of exclamations and excitement. The technology had already been developed to a point where they could project almost anywhere with a wired network, but a Boas was still better as it couldn’t be interrupted. Bullseye had logged in, wondering what was up with everyone else’s messages. Anna and Annelee had been given access, and the only ones who didn’t bother were Anne and Kaecillus, the former still awol.

Legal

Legal nodded his head at Angelica’s abrupt arrival, ignoring her disruption. He had to visit the redoubt someday, as Jeremy, fixer/Lawyer, wanted to understand the dynamics of integral people in the organization more personally.

Stuart Clarke, or Rampage, shouted in alarm as the table opened, exposing a hidden compartment with an array of equipment. Stuart was comically the first to take them out of their sealed case; the new iteration of the bio-contacts slid into his eyes quickly. Jeremy had given him and the others the more advanced ones, the exact ones Hammers and CCC industries had their sights on.

Jeremy had confided in him about some world-shattering information. He believed the others were also aware of it, but he was still in awe. He wondered what the kid could achieve if he stopped concealing his abilities. Kingpin’s comeback would be a walk in the park, as the big man had anticipated, as long as he avoided crossing paths with the kid.

Legal cleared his throat, drawing amzed eyes back toward him. “These are yours from here on out. Do not use anything other than our equipment to work on them,” he added.

Stuart raised his hand. Legal called on him to speak, ready to get the disclosure back on track. “Is there a chance I can get a place to stay and perhaps a company car?”

Legal looked toward Cole, who had a broad smile on his face. Cole shrugged. “We can do that also; there is no need to restructure your contract. For now, you can stay at one of the apartments at Iceberg Lounge. Warning: It’s a club/Fine dining on the first floor, so expect slight noise once it opens.”

Stuart had no complaints, nodding in acceptance. “You can take one of the cars here; take it as a bonus. I also want you to look at this.’ Cole pinched the air and flung it toward Stuart. Confused murmurs emanated around the room before everyone caught on and quickly placed the contacts in their eyes.

Staurt’s eyes bulged. He looked at the screen and back at Cole with awe, his body shaking in wonder and excitement. “A..Are you sure? I can work with this?”

Cole nodded and said. “Why not? You already have your exoskeleton concept, so why not continue and possibly help me with the slimm-bots?

Stuart shook his head, unable to believe his luck. He was broke and had nowhere to go when his money ran out. All he had was his exoskeleton, which he refused to sell. Now, he had a place to stay, a car, and an advanced schematic for armor.

Dr. Perry’s hand shot up before legal could continue. “I would also like a place to stay until I find a place near here.” Cole and Legal hashed out some things. Cole looked at his funds as they slowly dwindled; the Brownstone had cost him over four hundred thousand; it was worth way more, but he was still spending more than he was bringing in. Red Hood had to return to the streets or The Abbott.