Chapter 65: Spreading Out

Chapter 65: Spreading Out

Seven-thirty A.M. news played on the T.V. in the living room; turning on from his approach, he paused; Cobblepott had some nice things. He observed the excited woman, his memory clicking place. The Iceberg Lounge had grown from his efforts last night.

'It seems Ms. Watson had taken my warnings to heart.' As expected, the news had turned the story into something all could stomach. The proto-goblins had been dumbed down to drug-fueled anarchists.

He had met her days ago during the chase of the late Stokes matriarch. The devil of hell's kitchen had left her in a precarious position. If it were not for him and his team, he would have been in Ukraine somewhere inside a brothel, working as a sex worker.

Cole had stumbled on the Marvel cinematic origins of Daredevil. He had no idea or reason to discover why, but what did Misty Knight have on Daredevil to turn him from his course?

His phone rang; Anne was there, and he stared at the T.V. before turning around.

"I can't believe I'm going to Midtown High." She dances in the driver's seat as Cole enters. Midtown-High was a school that only some could attend, and it was easy to get Anne in with Alfred's helper.

Anne was ecstatic, and he was happy for her; the once-troubled girl was coming around. He beamed at her, showing his pristine white teeth; she blushed and refocused on the road.

"I feel like a proud dad." Cole declared, sighing dramatically.

She guffawed, her blonde locks cascading behind her; she glowed; no, she was radiant. He mentally ordered Alfred to collect samples from her once they departed from the car.

He rested, closing his eyes as his mind expanded, his subconscious and conscious mind becoming one.

He still remembered the rewards he had obtained. Nabu, a Lord of Order, had obtained one of the items that created its avatar on Earth.

System message: Proto-Goblins defeated. Proto-Goblins Relationship-Enemies —>Voided. Rewards: +++ Heroic alignment. $180,000. Cloak Of Destiny.

His mind tapped into the information of the cloak.

* Magical Resistance: The Cloak of Destiny is a powerful vestment considered fireproof and able to resist and even suppress various strong forms of magic, such as those possessed by the Lords of Chaos (aka Chaos Magic).

* Flight: Capable of Subsonic flight.

'Interesting. Magic resistance will come in handy soon. He had another flight method; I could already float under the power of the still limited Ectokinesis. The cloak is a divine object.' He thought to himself. His touch, or metaphysical touch, had shown him that.

'Just what is order magic?' The system had strangely been unresponsive.

There was Clark Kent Cape, which was simply an extremely durable material that absorbed solar energy. Was that the case in the movies or comics? He had assumed Clark had many, but it seemed this series on the cape was what he was wrapped in as a baby and was nigh-indestructible.

A leather tote was slung cross over his body. Cole stepped from the Aston Martin. It was a beautiful car with a fleet of vehicles when he brought out the A.T.C. Building. His classmates gawked as the two of them departed. The doors shut themselves. He scanned the crowd, noting the looks of ire and confusion on some.

Anne had grown nervous, but he squeezed her shoulder and pushed her into the office. He would see her later in homeroom.

"Ah. Mr. York." His homeroom teacher called when he strolled through the door, the second Bell before tardy still ringing above."

Eyes landed on him. He had updated his wardrobe. He wore black suede boots, boot-cut black jeans, and a dark navy shirt from bottom to top. Anne had assisted, saying it made his eyes stand out. He wasn't sure but went with it. It was winter.

'Time to pay the butcher bill.' He sighed and walked toward his teacher.

His attempt at low profile was useless after he dealt with the starting footballer, who would be out the remaining season; football parents and most coaches were braying for his expulsion.

He made his way to the sitting teacher, his face impassive, awaiting what he already knew.

"Jeremy, I'm afraid you're no longer in my homeroom." he paused, uneasiness wavering in his eyes, "your recent incident and disciplinary actions weren't deemed fitting."

"I understand," he reached for the folder, opened it, and nodded. Alfred Hack had been rebuffed. He turned, snickering and ridiculing on his classmates' faces. Jeremy had been here before, so he just casually departed.

'In-school suspension,' he chucked. 'This was great. He didn't have to move around, and his decision to halt all financial allotments with the school and any other entities his family had agreed upon was warranted.

Cole had been placed on indefinite in-school suspension. He didn't fight it. He worked on his schoolwork and completed projects. Anne had wanted to combat it, but he talked her down.

He spent days in suspension. The Agent, a S.H.I.E.L.D. operative, had come to see him on the third day. The man had questioned him about his company. Cole laughed, placed his lawyer card on the desk, and returned to suspension.

Ms. Hammers had also come by; again, she wanted to ask about his projects, but he declined and told her not to abuse her position.

'Done. He had managed to create a believable hologram projection with the hardlight technology. It helped that he had the lantern ring and had intricate knowledge of constructs.

Cole zoomed through the afternoon traffic of New York. His destination was the Redoubt.

"Sir, Bolivar Trask servers are incredibly secure, and it's impossible for me at my current abilities." He raised his head, staring into the distance; at least, that is what it looked like to the other delinquents.

"One of Anne's targets? He knew who Trask was and what he meant for the world."

"Yes. she was assigned him among others. I'm afraid I couldn't force myself into his systems, even forgoing stealth hacking. Alfred had said Cole felt like his voice was pained.

He nodded as he stared ahead, his hands tucked in his overcoat as his mind worked. "You're growing," he said, speaking about the artificial intelligence growth rate."

"The upgrade to the Redoubt has placed me into another league." He answered.

"And yet we can't crack Trask system," he said self-depreciatingly. Still, a smile stretched across his face, his eyes glowing brightly.

"Angelica has been doing wonders with the Kord Tech, and I will refocus my systems and assist her in implementing the technologies into our daily lives."

He nodded, wise; Kord Industries wasn't anything to scoff at. "I will query the system store and see if there is something that can help us."

"Remember, I will alert the team that the timeline will play out. If needed, I will assist if this happens to be one of those Earth the machines win the war. He shivered at the idea, knowing his safety would be at stake, but he shook the depressing thought off.

"Fucking marvel." He deadpanned, a signature brand cigarette appearing in his mouth. as he hopped from his sports bike. Trask was expected to arrive tonight by plane.

Jeremy York: Bullseye, I need you in Washington, D.C. Take Scorch.

It had already been three days since the goblin incident. Scorch had been easygoing and even trained with me and Angelica. I was shocked to see he was nothing like the comics. He was a nearly thirty-year older man who had survived on the streets of New York by performing tricks,

Scorch: Just us two? What about the operatives?

Bullseye: Gear up pussy. Tell the guys to come along. And Boss.. time is running out. I-

Jeremy York: So be it. Poindexter, when you return, meet the Dr at the A.T.C. Building. The injection will be given to you.

I logged off; I didn't want to see his reply. I liked him to have the best version, but the doctor had been working since we had so many. I will suggest he get the one exposed to the naquadah element.

Bullseye had done some things right and found some unsavory individuals that he got under his contract.

"A lot is going on," Angelica said when he walked into the Redoubt.

He thought too, pulling up a chair and staring at the reports, his hands tapping away at the computer as news reports think pieces and video capture played across the hundreds of screens.

One video, in particular, was of Tony Stark battling Iron Monger. The battle was close, unlike what he recalled; S.H.I.E.L.D. had intervened and saved the billionaire playboy. Iron Monger had escaped, whereabouts unknown, uncharted territory, but he was excited.

Another was Namor, off the coast of Mexico. At least he suspected the Atlantaian-mutant. A shipping boat had been utterly shredded. Ironically, Stark Industries International Holdings owned the deed, and the captain illegally dumped and polluted the water.

"Look at this," Angelica called. Klaue had succeeded in stealing from Wakanda. Cole leaned back, his hand on his chin.

Angelica's chair shot back, and she stood. He was brought from his musings. The worst was another video out of Mexico. The Brood had arrived, and at the moment, X-men were handling it, but it was getting to a point that they were breeding at a rapid pace.

Cole stared at the screens before closing his eyes.