ALL NOVEL Chapter 43: Branching Enterprise
Chapter 43: Branching Enterprise
Iceberg Lounge, Harlem, New York
Iceberg Lounge was too lovely of a building not to open fully, especially with Paradise potentially shutting down. It was unfortunate he hadn't been able to acquire the deeds.
Initially, The two-story, 12,800-square-foot restaurant and lounge combination had included a large pool for pet seals and penguins in the center dining area, an iceberg-like sculpture, a ship-themed dance floor, and polar decor.
Anne trailed beside him as he waved his hand like a magician performing parlor tricks, items vanishing before their eyes.
He had no use for a zoo or aquarium, so he sold those back to the system. The Penguin was a lot of things, but interior decorator he wasn't, but the club had been prosperous under his thumb, so he had excellent business acumen.
He did keep the restaurant. He stopped admiring the thirty-two-seat dining section, the idea sparkling inside his mind.
"Anne," he called, drawing the blonde girl's attention. "I need three girls, twenty-one at the least, to run the nightclub and dining. My Lawyer will be in touch with you. Do you think you can handle this part?"
Anne blinked and stared at him before returning to staring at the new renovations.
"I…can do that." She stammered.
Cole nodded, walking forward, eyes looking around for other changes.
She called out as he left without her. "I do have a question."
Cole paused, hand exaggeratingly waving as he formed a bar surrounding the nightclub walls, a bar forming around enclosing the dance floor and a small v.i.p section.
"Go ahead, no need to ask for permission." He said.
"Are you sure you cannot teach me that?" She waved her hand around, indicating his current actions.
He sighed. "I cannot, Anne. But I can give you a serum like Kevin if you want." He had other plans for her. Namely, he wanted her to have the perfected super soldier serum; admittedly, he didn't know how Kevin would turn out. As far as he knew, his system-enhanced centipede serum would make him equivalent or grandeur to Deathlok.
Her shoulder slumped at his supposed rejection. He reached out, gripping her shoulders. "If you follow me, I promise to show you things you couldn't imagine. Yes, I can show you magic, but nothing like what I can do, as it's an innate ability of mine."
They continued. Anne had even taken it upon herself to offer suggestions. She had already contacted four older girls that she had known. She claimed they were also once Carmichael kids, either twenty-one, but he could manage that part easily.
"You will need security. This is Harlem, you know." Anne interjected.
He nodded. He messaged Bullseye to send some of his contact to the club. He would contract them so he didn't care about spies, and he also wanted to see what the system would do to those who broke a deal. He smiled, showing white teeth as he stared at his reflections in the reflective window.
"So, you know the Carmichaels will come after you, too, right? You can handle it, but you probably want to prepare regardless."
Cole chuckled. He hadn't even had to mention them to Kaecillus. He had already departed to make things obvious for the Matron.
He enjoyed the idea of having people to assist. He could focus more on technology and preparing for the inevitable consequences of being in this Universe.
Firestar stepped from the elevator. She looked around in wonder before spotting them off to the side.
"This is so unreal." She muttered before walking toward the door.
"Thanks for the new gear. The bio-helmet is unreal." She stammered her helmet under her arm.
He pointed at the item in question. "Don't walk out with it. Either take a vehicle or wait until tonight and fly back to the redoubt."
Anne's eyes bulged before looking at the girl she had just met and quite honestly liked in a new light, and Firestar looked incredulously at Cole.
Cole didn't say anything but lowered the temperature in the immediate area, causing Anne and Firestar to shiver.
"You're both mutants, right," Anne shouted
He stopped his manipulation, ignoring Anne's outburst, and raised his hand before his palm glowed brightly.
"I'm unsure if I can fly yet, but we have similar power." He said, smiling at Angelica, aka Firestar.
"How much do you know?" Angelica Allen asked.
"I pay attention." He said, ignoring her question.
Obviously," she snorted.
"I just want you to be careful at the end of the day." Cole declared.
They talked some more before Angelica's departure. He was correct in his assessment. She had been practicing with her powers. He even offered to help her since they had similarities.
He still hoped she would assist him in the field but would be OK with her on overwatch.
'It seemed my involvement had changed her trajectory.' He thought.
She was a group member whose deeds led to the ratification of the Registration Act. Maybe this Universe would follow the MCU timeline.
He wasn't aware of her having any friends, but he did notice her and Anne hitting off, so hopefully, the firebug would have more affinity with her, knowing her abilities.
Sometime later, he and Anne had made their way further, adding and adjusting the Lounge; no distractions had allowed him to work uninterrupted.
The Penguin also had his private dining area upstairs near the apartments. He kept it the same, opting to make it his office when he handled business, where he could oversee everything.
Some of the nightclub's more secret areas include the Penguin's armory and some of the Iceberg Lounge's hidden back rooms, which serve various criminal purposes.
He had set up a training gym, turning one of the sub-basements into a gym with state-of-the-art tech, some alien in nature.
The Lounge had four levels: the club and restaurant floor, the second level was office spaces and apartments, and each had two bedrooms.
He now had to find a spot to place his other corporation. Unlike the Lounge, the procurement of Armacham Technology Corporation came with an abundance of items and software.
F.E.A.R. (First Encounter Assault Recon) was founded to combat paranormal threats to national security.
He chuckled. 'How interesting his new persona was the ideal target for the special unit.'
He had thought he needed all Wayne tech to become unfettered, but he hadn't expected to get access to a possible world-dominating company as he did.
The Lounge was set up now, so he and Zane should depart soon. He would shop around and find an ideal location for the new corporation.
He almost forgot, not caring, that he had been working with the Lawyer a lot lately. He had told him about other ideal helpers. It was his job to bring them aboard.
He sent the message out. He wanted the Armacham operational by next week, which meant he needed to hire a lot.
'Why couldn't the system bring over the people too?' He complained inwardly.
He thought about it but realized it was a possibility. The system had only been upgraded once. Who's to say one day it wouldn't be capable of granting life, too?
His phone rang, and he looked at it, surprised passing across his facial features.
"Why are you calling me Parker?" He said aloud before swiping to answer the call.
Name: Cole Stephens
Known Name: Jeremy York
Alias- Red Hood
Race: Inhuman Mutant
Physique: Unique Physiology
Alignment: -Neutral
System-Bank: 1,123,789
Minion(s) Bullseye—Contracted
Anne Weying—Contracted
Legal—Contracted
Angelica "Angel" Jones—Contracted
Kaecilius- Red Lantern-Holder
Persona(s)Jason Peter Todd- Red Hood 103%|100%
Daniel Kilgore- Priest - Haunt 14%|50%
Kurt Kilgore- Special Agent - Haunt 13%|50%
Attributes
Intelligence: +Moderate Tier 9
Strength: +Exceptional Tier 1
Speed: Moderate Tier 8
Durability: +Exceptional Tier 1
Energy Projection: +Moderate Tier 4–>10
Fighting Skills: +Advanced Tier 8
Gear-Inventory
Red Hood Symbiosis Costume
Atrocious 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
Star Trek Commbadge
Abilities
X-Gene: Host mutant factor has awakened.
Thermokinesis, Fear Inducement
[Unexposed]Terrigenesis
Unique physiology: The Host's mutant abilities, alongside your latent inhuman nature and the new ghost-like powers and abilities, have caused the Host to develop a unique physiology.
[+1] Holder of the Hero-Villain System.
[+10] Criminology: Deception. Stealth. Infiltration. Demolition.Enhanced Investigation.
[+7] Occultism: The Host knows various mystical concepts due to his training with the All-Caste.Additionally, the Host has formal training as a Catholic priest.
[+4] Superhuman Senses: The Host has supernatural senses, allowing them to see, hear, smell, taste, and feel better than their average species member.
[+8] Skilled marksman, assassin and expert tactician.
[+6] Expert martial artist and hand-to-hand combatant. Highly trained in Dim Mak.
[+5] 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.
[+10] Superhuman strength, speed, and durability due to exposure to the Lazarus Pit and your latent mutant and inhuman metamorphosis. Chi reinforcement.
Astral Projection Portal: by manipulating Ectoplasm energies, The Host can project his consciousness onto the astral plane, allowing him to manifest and communicate without being physically present and create portals, using the astral plane to move to other places the Host has marked spiritually.
[Limited] Ectokinesis: The user can create, shape, and manipulate an energy unique to spirits/ghosts.
Thermokineis: The ability to manipulate the motion of molecules, slowing or speeding them up, thus changing temperature in the immediate vicinity with the power of one's mind. This is a broader spectrum ability than simply pyrokinesis or cryokinesis.
[Limited] Transformation: Originally, when Daniel and Kurt's ghost merge, Daniel's body becomes covered in ectoplasm that gives him various superhuman abilities; because of the unique nature of the Host, this transformation involves all personas, significantly increasing Haunt's parameters.
Red Hood Armor Symbiosis: Combine your Haunt ectoplasm|Bio-Electricty with your armor. Amplifies Host parameters to an undefined amount. Red Hood Cowl Heightened Mental Resistance. This is a symbiosis of Host abilities
[0] Claws: Haunt has razor-sharp claws on each finger that can easily decapitate enemies.
[Limited] Metamorphosis: You can manipulate his ectoplasm to create tentacles, cobwebs, spikes, blades, and other appendages.
Adhesions: Haunt can stick on walls.
[+5] Inhuman Optimal Healing Factor: Granted by the system and augmented by Chi and Ectoplasmic energies, you can heal from extreme mental or bodily trauma in minutes.
Red Lantern Mantle: The first Lantern has been chosen; the Host now bears the responsibility of holding the Mantle of the Red Lantern Corps.
The First Ring-Atrocious: You wield the first Red Lantern Ring ever created. The boundless rage of Atrocious fuels your powers. Furthermore, unlike the more scientific Green Lantern Ring, the Red Lantern Ring uses vast amounts of 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.
[0] 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.
[+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 significantly boost his Chi healing and recovery time.
[+6] 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 waking and spiritual environment, causing the HostHost to become ominous, dark, foreboding, or even a monster. This is considered a mutant ability.
[0] Thermokinesis: The ability to manipulate and control the motion of molecules, slowing them down or speeding them up, thus changing temperature in the surrounding area with the power of the host mind. This is a broad spectrum ability than simply being pyrokinesis or cryokinesis. Mutant ability is affected and can be altered by other attributes and abilities. This is considered a mutant ability.