Chapter 55: Rogue Gallery 

Kaecillus 

'As you command, master Jeremy.' He internalized. Jeremy and he had a psychic connection; words weren't needed. 

Kaecillus had understood he had traded one master for another. His prior master was always a lie, a promise of power at the behest of relinquishing your soul and becoming a puppet. 

His fate would have been like his students. To become a mindless one.

He touched his chest, the rhythmic beating of life gone, now lain plasmoid blood. He hadn't left his sanctum unscathed. He had still paid for his mistakes. 

His new master had granted him powers and abilities without the shackles of his sanity and soul. 

He closed his eyes; mystical energies that had to be ushered to do his bidding now rushed at his call—all thanks to the master and his bequeathed power ring. 

He weaved intricate patterns as the scrying was unwound. His power pulse was aggressive and all-encompassing as he passed above the city like a blistering red comet. 

Shalloh Carmichael had been targeted for his crimes against the master. 

He had beaten Jeremy to an inch of his life; Kaecillus could hardly fathom such an outcome, knowing the strength and miraculous powers his new master possessed.

It was damp, the rain had seized, and the angry clouds had grown lighter. Kaecillus hovered in the sky, unbothered and unbridled. Shalloh had exited the car and froze, his nose scrunched, his eyes peering around before jerking skyward. 

'Interesting.' The former master of the mystic arts thought as he descended. 

Master had expected a mutation. Kaecillus hovered off the ground, onlookers hurried away, and cameras in the surrounding shut down at the behest of the boas drone that made sure his passing was minuscule.

"W-who are you?" The man stuttered, retreating to the protection of the car.

Kaecillus stared into the man's eyes behind his shades, his long coat shuffling behind him. 

"I'm a warning and a massage, an instrument of his rage, a servitor of injustice, the butcher, and the bill is due." 

Fast, the lantern thought as the young man lunged, his fist cocked back for a decisive blow. Kaecillus had only will it, and burning chains broke from the concrete. 

Shalloh screamed as his flesh burned. The lantern drifted forward, hands behind his back.

Angelica|Firestar 

"Ouch," she cursed, sucking her throbbing finger. 

She stared at her finger, concentrating. Her finger began to glow red and radiate heat. She smiled. She placed her finger against the bolt and applied pressure before her finger melted through quite quickly.

The Blue Beetle Bug craft held extraordinary tech inside and out. It was a VTOL craft shaped like a bug. 

The Bug is made of a metallic alloy of titanium and steel panels. Alfred had suggested an overhaul of its armor, but she hadn't agreed with him. 

Even if they had better metal, it wasn't necessarily needed. It is equipped primarily with solar collector panels as its primary power supply. 

As protection, the ship has thick reinforced armor and automatic deflector shields. At the same time, the fuselage has electric charges and a solar energy converter that shoots thermal bursts.

She is expressly interested in its propulsion system and appendages, which, if she went by the specs, she could have the shift inverted for hours and grasp a person without smushing them into pulp. 

The control unit contains flight and weapons controls and various sensors. In addition, the pilot can lower himself in flight from a strong rope attached to a control bar where the ship can be piloted to an essential degree.

The pilot's chair can move from the helm to the portable crime lab, which includes a computer, communications center, television, stereo, a closet with, believe it or not, spare blue beetle uniforms, and several changes of civilian clothes, the formal she ignored, who would wear hideous uniform? 

The ship is extremely quiet in flight, thanks to antigravity units on the port and starboard. It can circle on autopilot and has jets capable of propelling it at 1600 km/hour. 

To enter areas of more restricted horizontal space in flight, the rear section can independently reorient 180 degrees. A diving mode can travel underwater, reaching a depth of up to 300 meters.

She couldn't believe he had gifted it to her; he had given it to Anne. But the girl only thought it was cute. Was he aware of the tech inside? She shook her head, aware that he knew. 

The Redoubt had continued to grow miraculously. She was sure Jeremy York was some magician, but she hadn't questioned him. 

Its original floor plan had been altered; once, a single room and many computers had now boasted three additional subterranean floors. 

The second floor was a hangar, Lab, and state-of-the-art workstation where she worked. The second was more apartments, and the final led to a tunnel system, a river, and bats. 

Angelica still hated her curiosity; being chased by flying rodents wasn't her fondest memory. 

She had the place to herself, that was, at least until that slimy man came by to grab stuff. 

"He should get his secret base?" She grumbled. Not even Jeremy bothers to come here, liking the luxury of the Iceberg Lounge.

Angelica slid a panel back in place. Her hair was tied in a messy bun. She wore thick overalls that wouldn't be out of place in a body shop. 

"Link with A.I.M. systems." She ordered, hoping she had it right this time around. Her baby is assisted Imagery Motion systems, or A.I.M. systems for short. It was a self-contained guiding system; each projectile could guide, direct, and redirect itself toward a target even if said target moved or the parameters were updated in a second note. 

"Wait till he sees this." She said, thinking of showing Jeremy her work. 

She wiped the oil smudge from her face, her Lab Arm Assistants. The assistant was plural because each arm had a modicum of intelligence, nothing grand, just basic processing and problem-solving capabilities, which had helped her take apart the inside of the beetle. 

Angelica was installing new software when the alarms blared. She tapped the side of her head, activating the H.U.D. She darted toward the elevator, aggravated at the monotone music that played while she went up. 

It only took her seconds to contact Jeremy and Anne. Her car sparked off the descending Bay doors as she floored it.

Anne Weying

Anne had tagged alone, not out of interest but to see what the Baxter building had vs what she had access to. From what she glimpsed, they were leagues ahead of the scientists. 

She recorded everything she saw; Angelica had tasked her to watch any tech Jeremy brought out. Anne assumed she would be interested in The Baxter Building technology. 

It was sudden and unexpected. Anne had no idea villains were beginning to show worldwide; even heroes came out and attempted to throw their super-powered counterparts.

With the reflexes of an Olympic gymnast, she grabbed the two girls nearest her and pushed them down. 

She pushed her hand out, generating a forward circular shield. Fire washed over her and the girls; the scientist didn't fare well. 

Before they could even grasp what had occurred, she rendered them unconscious, altering their memories with a thought using both rings in tandem.

Angelica's messages popped across her H.U.D. Anne answered, reassuring her and Jeremy she was good. 

The green attacker zoomed overhead, and the mad cackling laugh followed more pumpkin-esque bombs clattered across the floor.

She growled, her voice cadence taking on an alien warble. Her eyes glowed white, and her figure was engulfed in another explosion.

Cole Stephens|Red Hood 

The Agent jumped out of the way. 

The T-spheres impacted Rhino, and electrical shocks and compacted explosion caused the massive brute to stumble. 

Cole smiled underneath the cowl, his bat logo pulsating red as the kinetic charge had been built up quite quickly. 

"Rargghhh." Rhino bellowed and began to stump and thrash as more spheres hovered around him. Cole had purchased more and more, but he stopped blowing them up when he realized the shocks were better utilized against the Russian genetic experiment.

Spiderman had crawled away, battered and bruised. He looked into the smoke, seeing the pulsating bat logo.

"Rhino kill!" The raging monstrosity regained his faculties and lumbered toward Cole. 

His rate of acceleration was quite cartoonish. It is unreal how such a colossal, towering brute of muscle could accelerate at such a rate. 

Cole lunged away, the beast smashing through the walls, its charge seemingly unstoppable. 

A dozen spheres zoomed behind the behemoth, blasting him and directing him toward a place where Cole and Rhino could battle.

Juggernaut would be a real menace if Rhino had strength on this level. He had noted the insane rate of its healing, the tiny explosions damaged to its thick hide nearly gone. 

The T-spheres would be a staple component to his gear. He would need to ply them open and add some things that Holt wouldn't. The polyglot wasn't a killer after all. 

Two spheres descended, and he stepped on them. Like magnets, they stuck to his soles. 

He was about to fly, he thought. He could glide already due to his Ectokinesis, but he couldn't fly with that yet. There was potential to fly with Thermokinesis, too, but he had yet to progress.

That didn't mean he could use them. His body became light and untethered, making himself weightless; his floating was because he lacked physical form under the power of Ectokinesis.

"Stand down, Red Hood." The Agent's voice came from his back, his sidearm drawn. 

"That wouldn't work, Agent," Cole said. 

"You're a student at Midtown High. Soon, we will discover your identity." The Agent threatened. 

Cole whirled around, his mask slid back, and Todd's face was visible to him and Parker. 

"Student? Look at me. Tell your partner that her attempts to find me are useless." He shrugged, his mask consuming his face again. 

The Agent bared his teeth. His gun lowered. It was useless. They had no means to find who or what he was, the theory was some form of facial mask, but the eggheads had determined that wasn't the case. The person was a mutant or alien and could shapeshift.

"I know you care about people. You wouldn't risk identification. We know you can shapeshift. You're not the first we have come in contact with." 

He continued. "Come in. And I promise you that we will help you, atone for your crim-"

The air chilled, and the fire snuffed out instantly. 

"Agent, I've no idea who you are, so I will assume you die soon, or your action meant little in the grand scheme. You have no idea what's coming and will come." 

Characteristically, from his type, he ignored Coles's apparent insults. Please work with us! Your tech and capabilities could save many lives." 

He laughed. "Pass. When the world realizes what's outside their backyard, I'll stand against those that only take, but that's only because I want to live peacefully." 

"You can't keep this up. Why make an enemy of the government." 

Cole sighed, the cold deepening; the Agent shuddered, his voice visible. He observed the mutant, his eyes incredulous at what he was witnessing.

He calmed down. He hates the recruitment spilling these types of handouts; in actuality, it was control and manipulation. 

"Don't kill anyone." He said flatly, giving up whatever the voice in his ear told him; Cole didn't even bother listening in.

"If Rhino or the others continue, then it's on them to determine the outcome."

"Wait," Peter called, holding his ribs. 

"No." He conveyed, blasting away. He didn't care what the teen wanted; he had a wild beast to put down. He and Parker were almost destined to come to blows, especially after tonight.

He requested a battlefield report from Alfred. The artificial intelligence acted immediately, superimposing three-dimensional trajectories across his field of vision. 

"Rhino charge has stopped." an arrow pointed him forward. "He's outside. authorities are readying engagement." Alfred Said. 

Cole handed control of the T-spheres to Alfred. The Swarm hadn't acted outside of keeping first responders at bay. The Boas were already analyzing him. He was, for all intents and purposes, a swarm of bees. He had some psychic control over the queen or queen, which allowed him to control the Swarm and continue to exist. 

Cole was intrigued. Jason Todd's memories had pointed toward The Bat being capable of psionically controlling swarms of bats. Then there was the Scientist Morbious, another individual Legal was recruiting for his business. 

He smiled at the prospect. He needed to capture The Swarm; the man was a Nazi, so recruiting him was out of the question. He just needed his body, or bodies, for research. 

'Capturing protocol enabled.' His orders were submitted. Boas would act alongside the T-spheres. The spheres would deploy an electromagnetic net while the boas captured every bee in the net.

Rhino had charged his way through the walls of The Baxter Building, finding himself outside, blinded by lights from New York Finest, the officers decked out in riot gear and carrying heavy artillery.

Windows on the upper floors exploded, and a green goblin emerged from the wreckage, a thruster blowing black smoke, obviously damaged. Behind him was Anne, masked up atop a Boas. She had called in her gear, with the Boas unable to summon her like me.

Cole sent a thumbs-up. Angelica would be here soon; she had finally used her gifts and was rapidly approaching. The lights landed on his speeding figure, and he righted himself as cameras all turned toward him.

A voice came over the intercom. He recognized it. He turned his head until he met the eyes of Special Agent Misty Knight. Rhino flipped a vehicle, tired of the stinging attacks of the spheres that harassed him.

"Stand down now, Red Hood." 

He theatrically raised his empty palm. The Kinetic Hammer materialized into his waiting grasp. He tightened his hand on the shaft, synching the hammer to his suit.

The spheres moved away, hovering out of the behemoth's reach. Cole swallowed. Rhino wasn't the one he was familiar with; outside of his stupidity, the beast of a man was a damn class 100 individual at his peak, but here, Cole had no idea; he was more biological in this version. The only tech he could gleam was the horn on his head that had a percentage of vibranium in its make.

"ARGH. Rhino smash you, wee man." He kicked at the ground, destroying asphalt quickly, and took off, his trajectory me, his momentum already causing the surrounding building to shudder.

"Aleksi Sytsevich, let's see who's tiny, you idiot." I landed on the ground, my hammer gripped in both hands. I briefly heard Angelica's arrival as she hastily blasted The Goblin in a powerful attack. 

I summoned my chi, infusing my muscles, and bio-electricity coalesced around The Hammer. I took on a batter's stance, and the Rhino charge brought him to me in a blink, his charge as deadly as his namesake. I swung, and the hammer impacted him across his head, his momentum wholly negated as the kinetic charge detonated point blank. 

My arms shattered. I cried out, but it stamped down on my painful wail. The Rhino was blasted across the pavement. The beast roared, shifting on all ours as his limbs corrected themselves.

He charged again. I assured myself that this was a different attack. He was on all fours, his speed greater, and the impact would decimate me. I took the skies, barely dodging his massive figure. As expected, he couldn't maneuver well using such an attack. I slammed into the side of his head with all my strength; I retreated a step and swung the hammer around, hitting his head into the asphalt. 

Not letting up, I froze his head in a cube of ice. I checked my suit. The kinetic charge wasn't high enough. 

Suddenly, a prompt appeared. I ignored it and returned the hammer atop the Rhiono as he fought with the ice.

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.

Subsequently, the Host's attendance changed the original mission and increased the rewards alongside difficulty.

Rewards: Based on the Host's completion.

I slid across the ground. My hammer knocked from my hand—Rhino lept at me. I rolled out of the way, shooting a gout of flame at him for trying. I stood, raised my hand, and the hammer returned. 

"Let's wrap this up," I announced. I pulled at my core, requesting more of the empowering energies.