Chapter 36: Making an Enemy of Me

Chapter 36: Making an Enemy of Me

London Sanctum

Kaecillus had fooled them all.

He and his acolytes had murdered one of their brethren and escaped with forbidden mystical artifacts.

"Hypocrite." Sneered Kaecillus.

Ancient one sighed, removing her hood, showing her youthful appearance.

"Master Kaecilius, that ritual only brings you sorrow."

The ancient one had battled all her former students, having the unfortunate tasks of putting them down or risking them using their talents to harm innocents or, worse, risking the mystical well-being of the world.

The Ancient One had failed to notice his gradual change.

Their battle happened on multiple planes. Before their inevitable clash came, the two masters suspended their attacks.

The anomaly again.

His actions rippled across the mystical world; once again, the sensitive eyes looked up from their tomes and focused on New York.

The astral plane wasn't a place one should toy with. It was a plane tied to numerous others. The anomaly transitioned into the astral plane, inadvertently forming another entrance to one of the four inner planes.

A physical doorway to another plane was terrible, especially unprotected; beings could slip out and cause untold problems in the mortal world.

"It seems your interest is needed elsewhere, but I wonder if I could persuade this natural adept to my side before you hypocrites attempt to put him down.

She turned her attention off momentarily, but it was too late that her student had fled. She stepped through her portal, acolytes and masters preparing to intercept.

Kamar-Taj

The masters had been alerted that Kaecillus had gone rogue; sanctums placed on alert, and acolytes deployed to secure places of power, but the anomaly, or natural adept, which the students had started calling them.

...

"These are trying times indeed." Wong declared.

"Kaecilius is driven by blinding rage and despair over the loss of his family, whose deaths he has never fully come to terms with." Ancient one said, her eyes closed agamotto

"So, he betrays the world for what? Dormammu cannot be reasoned with," Mordo added, sitting meditatively.

"He cannot believe that personal tragedy is a natural part of life, and as such, he views death as an injustice."

The Ancient One hadn't been idle.

"Prepare." she precautioned them.

The artifact opened, the green eye blazing in mystical power.

She and the masters of the mystical arts sat down, all facing Alter Oshtur.

"By the Omnipotent Oshtur!"

Astral Plane-First of the Inner Planes

The Astral Plane is an alternate dimension in an equivalent space to our own, where all matter is composed of ectoplasm.

On the astral plane, other beings' life energies and consciousnesses are discernible to adepts.

Adepts can reach the astral plane by psionic or magical means. Powerful psychics and sorcerers astral project their "Spirit or astral body" into the realm, allowing them to manipulate the astral plane, e.g., turning their arms into weapons or growing in height.

It borders the domain of Nightmare and is connected to the Dreamscape via the Mindscape.

Cole Stephens had awoken in another place and drifted as an amorphous cloud of colors and shifting energies.

Cole quickly recalled the last moments before the system began installing the newest persona—the pain was indescribable, but the memory of it didn't affect him; his state of mind could be said to be apathetic.

The substance poured from his orifices had a similar makeup to this place.

The surrounding energies pulled at his new state of being. He recalled a similar experience, not of his own making but of Todd's resurrection.

Could the Lazarus Pit be related to this place? Or are there similarities between the essences that made up this plane?

What if he could wield a version of the pit here?

He was intrigued about working out connections between the two, but like most of his projects, he lacked time and dedicated labs, so he pushed it to the back of his mind.

He carried on, treating the astral plane like a casual stroll in the park, aware that his sense of self was skewed but uncaring that he felt that way.

Further, he drifted the more he came to understand. He whirled around, senses stretching outward at an alarming rate.

He could determine his Occultism's ability had grown a lot. Magic was different in that case compared to other powers; a casual spell could push a user to levels not familiar with before...

The new knowledge is related to this plane, this other place, known to the waking world as the astral plane. He could draw power from the astral plane with magic or ritual.

No wonder Constantine was a potent foe to his enemies; knowledge and connection like this are dangerous to outer beings, demons, and the supernatural.

He had another thought. He should probably attempt to get training from Kamar-taj. The ancient one would sense his ability with the arts and make him the sorcerer supreme…

"I'm probably riddled with bullets." Cole thought absentmindedly before he recalled the time worked differently here.

He pushed his hand out, forcing a facsimile of a human arm to take shape as the gaseous cloud that made up his body continued to build his arm, the cloud shrinking as his arm formed.

He was mesmerized by the appearance. It was a pale arm that ended in delicate hands and black pitch nails that came to a sharp point. He flexed his new astral hand and brought it closer to examine it.

It didn't look like nail polish but old dark blood. His ring finger insulated before his lantern ring appeared next.

Cole chuckled inwardly. Red Lanterns are pretty different from others; their rings are seeped into the blackest of magic.

Unsurprisingly, they could astral project; all the lanterns could shift into varying planes, granted they had the fortitude and aptitude.

It was a slow process, but he continued, hyperfocused on reforming the remainder of his body.

He had noticed his mind had undergone a metamorphic change. It was hard to describe as he had already possessed parallel thought to a limited degree, but now he possessed said ability and many more.

Cole had already held some suspicion but now understood the status screen wasn't an actual representation of his attainments, at least toward his more esoteric abilities.

He studied himself as the last particle of the cloud that formed his astral body had vanished into his current spiritual form.

His astral form was shocking, though he understood that his original shape was honestly his most authentic self, he concluded.

Being able to become the Personification of another 'being' in soul and body had its intricacies.

He now stood at an impressive height of seven feet; he had a pale, almost ghostly complexion, and his physique was lithe, yet it held an indescribable power.

He could tell this form lacked the energy potential of the cloud form but held strength in other areas.

He noted he innately absorbed the ectoplasmic energies at a slower rate in this form. It was still quite a fast rate. He felt that he didn't have competition when it came to absorbing the energies of this realm.

Amorphous clouds like his body began to form overhead; they sparked with phantom lights and electrical energies, each undulating like a jellyfish.

He had many questions but decided to summon the interface to understand his new parameters.

Name: Cole Stephens

Known Name: Jeremy York

Alias- Red Hood

Race: Inhuman Mutant

Physique: Unique Physiology

Alignment: +Neutral

System-Bank: $749,000

Minion(s) Bullseye—Contracted

Legal—Contracted

Angelica "Angel" Jones—Contracted

Persona(s)Jason Peter Todd- Red Hood 100%|100%

Daniel Kilgore- Priest - Haunt 5%|50%

Kurt Kilgore- Special Agent - Haunt 5%|50%

Attributes

Intelligence: +Moderate Tier 9

Strength: +Exceptional Tier 1

Speed: Moderate Tier 8

Durability: +Exceptional Tier 1

Energy Projection: +Moderate Tier 4

Fighting Skills: +Advanced Tier 8

Abilities

[Emerging] X-Gene

[Unexposed]Terrigenesis

Unique physiology: Burgeoning mutant physique alongside your latent inhuman nature and the new ghost-like powers and abilities has caused the HostHost 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.

[+2] 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.

[+3] 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.

[+7] 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.

[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.

[0] Claws: Haunt has razor-sharp claws on each finger that can easily decapitate enemies.

[Limited] Metamorphosis: Haunt 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 Ring: Red Lantern Ring powers are fueled by rage. Furthermore, unlike the more scientific Green Lantern Ring, the Red Lantern Ring uses some 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.

[Limited] Rage Suppression: Said to be a rarity amongst Red lanterns, holders of this power need not the baptism of the blood ocean. You're able to control the Red Lantern ring's degrees of intensity

[+2] Chi Manipulation: Host mastery of martial arts has made him skilled in sensing and manipulating Bio-electricity energy.

[Augmentation] The HostHost Chi can enhance physical and supernatural parameters and intensely focus his Chi to increase healing and recovery time.

[+4] 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.

"Father god." He exclaimed, reaching for a rosary that wasn't there.

"I need a smo.." He stopped talking, realizing his additional personas had quite the habits.

He was a priest; admittedly, he had long lost faith in his lord, exacerbated by alcohol abuse and his penitent for using church funds for prostitutes.

He was a special agent that worked for a clandestine outfit. He had killed numerous people and knew about infiltration and demolition.

Kurt Kilgore's persona was least prominent, but the cold rationale was there; the man killed on orders, and his targets weren't always guilty. He, at the least, resonated with Todd's Persona.

His foundation persona was unique, and he was lucky to have gotten Todd.

Overall, everything was better. He was a more powerful version of what he was prior and had some added benefits.

The system had updated Cole's physique. The description was vague, but it seemed like a lot was missing.

Alarm!

He moved, his body reforming out of the way of danger. He felt a sense of vertigo as the world seemed to speed past as if Time was speeding up.

He looked around. He had been brought to another plane. One that he had no real connection to, but he did feel his energies continue to grow.

The clouds above remained, tied to him metaphysically. Each one struck out at his discretion.

Phantom bolts struck the ground around him, shattering buildings and roads that healed almost instantly from the damage.

"Who?" Cole called, squatting low, raven claws extending from his pale digits.

"Your very existence goes against the nature of the world." a hate-laden voice called out.

The mirror plane shifted.

Cole's face scrunched into confusion; he scanned around him, seeking the speaker.

'That cannot be true.' He thought

A man suddenly appeared, adorned in monk robes. Cole studied the man's features with alarm.

"Mordo?" He said.

Mordo's countenance became frosty at the utterance of his name.

"Unnatural creature who has told you of me." Mordo hissed, his esoteric blades pointed toward him.

Cole had sensed the second attack. He controlled the clouds above, each forming around him. Mordo hadn't moved in their vicinity, and Cole hadn't sent the outward more, wanting the man to assume he had a range.

An eldritch spear demilitarized. Another sorcerer had emerged.

'Wong too? Why were masters of Kamar-Taj attacking him?'

He had sensed it, but he hadn't had time to reposition himself. The ancient one had attacked, and her assault had disrupted his connection to his phantom clouds.

Cole hissed in dissatisfaction, sliding across the ground by whatever force was thrown at him. The ancient one had walked forward, her students training her.

"Screw this." He didn't know enough. The ancient one attacking him had made the hairs on his nape stand at attention.

He focused. Nothing happened. He continued to focus.

'I can't leave.' He looked ahead. The three were still nearing him.

He looked up. His clouds had been stopped, too.

"I'm sorry we must do this. But your presence can no longer be allowed." The ancient one said; she held a face of pity, but he could see the underlying reason.

He had been trapped. His mind quickly filled in the blanks. Kamar-taj isn't the one he was aware of, and they have been seeking him. That gut feeling he had about his ring usage had come from them.

"What have I done, Ancient One?" He snarled, his pointed teeth on full display.

"You put forth such a question with your appearance and powers unsafe to the world." she lied.

They meant to kill him.

"Do you kill all mutants or me?" He fired back. He was still trying to escape, but he didn't have a connection to the outside. He was aware of this being his spiritual body and not physical.

He needed a connection.

Wong looked taken back, and Mordo sneered at his admission.

"Mutant? You think me a fool, youngling? I'm The Ancient One. Centuries I've protected Earth, and you think I can't tell a mutant from an extra-dimensional being."

What had he done to upset the protector of the mystical world?

He was almost positive there were far more mutants other than him that were way more dangerous, like the externals.

He scoffed in annoyance.

He lunged forward, his pitched claws extending into sharp talons. He had to disrupt the binding somehow and flee.

He didn't know why they were after him, but he felt something was wrong with this situation.

The Ancient One arms flowed in a mesmerizing circle. Clones of her flowed around him. He froze mid-lunch, eldritch whips, grasping at his arms and legs, another entangled around his neck.

He had been forced back down, like a quartered anime awaiting the slaughter. His apathetic mind receded, and rage steeped in fire roiled Inside of him.

Cole had enough. His ring began to glow.

"Such power," a fourth voice called out. The masters of the mystical arts turned, shields of eldritch energies materializing to defend against the ambush by another group.

"This power can help me remake the world." Said the voice of the hooded, avarice exuding from his mere presence.

He appeared near Cole, sword in hand. Six other dark-attired individuals flanked him, grasping at the eldritch chains that The Ancient One clones held.

Cole's face scrunched into confusion.

"Why is Kamar-taj attacking me?" He asked.

He was sure he wasn't a threat to the mystical world; well, he had no plans of being one. He had the potential to be many things, but his overall goal wasn't conquest, just enough strength to be carefree in this mad universe.

Kaecillus's dark dimensioned eyes peered into his eyes and brought the blade down on Cole's wrist, severing it at the stump. Cole groaned in pain as another acolyte retrieved his pale, detached hand.

Kaecillus smiled at the display of causing pain to another, quickly getting his prize, another mystical object.

"Kaecillus, don't be a fool." his acolytes moved around, shielding him—the master of Kamar-taj in defensive formation.

"You're the fools to follow a deceiver." He replied to Wong.

He regarded me again, a smile across his face. Cole moaned in displeasure. The bastard had cut his hand off. It took everything in him to stop the wound from healing.

This night, early morning has been one the records; X-men, we're tracking him, and now Kamar-taj.

Kaecillus's arm rotated, creating an eldritch circle, his eyes still on me, a smug smile across his face.

"Don't despair, Kamar-taj, and this world will fall soon enough." He stepped through the mistrial portal.

I looked ahead stoically at the masters.

"I had always wanted to train at Kamar-taj, even if I didn't mention it." He can admit that much. He had been realizing that acting alone was hard, especially with his abilities. "Growing up, all I had was my comics and the occasional series and movie."

The Ancient One became startled. The anomaly speaks as if he knows them.

Cole continued. "Watching what you did for the world was admirable."

I looked into the Ancient One eyes. "Even you, the biggest hypocrite of them all. I had understood why you channeled the powers of the dark dimensions."

The two masters shuddered at the accusation. Channeling power from the dark dimensions was dangerous.

"I get it, pursuing strength no matter the cause to protect what you care for, the earth, right?"

The Ancient One, Wong, and Mordo stared at me, wounded, quartered, and speaking as if nothing mattered.

"I will come for you all for making an enemy of me." Kaecillus had given me away unknowingly."

My spiritual body swirled, a portal beginning at the center of my chest as the master of the mystical arts called on the powers of the magical arts to end me.