Persona: Hero x Villain System

New York City, New York 

Unbeknownst to Cole, his actions or, better yet, the events spiraling around him had redefined the universe with his adornment of the Red Lanter Ring, undoubtedly changing the continuity he had been attempting to piece together. 

Cole was solving a pressing personal dilemma while the universe upheaval occurred. He needed a location, Not any place but a physical address for his emancipation to work. 

He had the redoubt, kind of. Angelica could be sent packing. He had paid her a large sum, and he didn't recall including room and board in the contract, but the idea of displacing the girl didn’t sit right with him; even if he brought the girl on a whim, he already knew where she would eventually end, her and the group would be leading causing registration act. 

 It looked like he had vanished to the others; in actuality, he had just used simple shadow-obscuring tactics that Batman utilized to disappear when a person's eyes left him. 

Cole had used his grappling gun to escape to the orphanage's roof; below, Ms. Carmichael roared her displeasure. The sons had shown up promising to find him soon, knowing that they had once before.

He tapped away at his phone, his legs dangling from the protruding section of his old room window, which happened to be in the attic. He glanced back up, watching the Carmichael boys depart, hoping to catch him. 

His lawyer had emailed the emancipation documents, and the judge had signed off on it with some cash prodding. 

The lawyer he hired would be the same lawyer that would have worked for Wilson Fisk and given Jenifer Walters's problems in the comics.  His moniker was Legal. He operated underground, helping criminals and mobsters; whatever the Punisher did with the four families had dried up his income. Legal was a criminally inclined law savant. 

Legal was good at what he did. He was a criminally inclined law savant. He originally wanted Matt Murdock, but after the system unlocked some of Jeremy's memories, he changed his mind. Jeremy wouldn't ever allow him to work with Matt Murdock. 

He hadn't directed the man to do anything other than ensure his business venture was in good order. He would soon be cleared to hire by the state of New York. It was unfortunate his abilities didn’t help him in the legal department. Hopefully, his new persona would grow upon the foundation set. His already numerous skills had a lot of room to grow. 

He didn't need the Carmichaels to do anything drastic. His hand tapped at the phone screen. The floating keyboard he had designed worked quite well with the unreleased Wayne device in his hand. 

He had considered naming the phone in his hand something from his old world but hadn’t done so. He would go with a simple theme, and the phone would be a suitable flagship device for Wayne Industries. 

At sixteen, he could legally fend for himself. The only problem was he needed a job. The system money was clean; the money wouldn’t get him into trouble. But his inheritance, a whopping multimillion-dollar fund, was what his company needed. 

His inheritance happened to be under the thumb of one of the most prominent firms, Goldman, Leiber Kurtzberg & Halloway, which would someday soon start representing the supernatural world Marvel; his legal battle would undoubtedly be outside of the courtroom. 

“I need a place,” Cole said, walking down a barely lit sidewalk; maybe he needed to do a Batman and invest in the neighborhood. This place could do with some money. He wanted to do what Batman had achieved. He wanted his hands in many areas. 

“If it's not my young client.” Legal joked.

“Lee, please save the banter.” He unraveled his ability, hoping it worked through the phone. “I pay you to execute my wishes, not to joke around. 

On the other end, Cole was smiling. He needed to create a new mask, a brainiac hardened by the street and having an almost generic disposition to business.

“Fifty-thousand retainer,” the lawyer answered back. “It's fortuitous that you called me tonight. Have you seen the news? Tony Stark is back, and I've been waiting for the company to call.” 

The man would also later work for Stark Industries and facilitate a lot of business for Stark before falling back under the wing of Wilson Fisk again. Fortunately, his earlier capture had forestalled that path, but now.

‘I groaned,’ silencing him. ‘Fucking lawyers, especially the ones like him. Legal was a fixer, or he would be; I hoped to capture him early, but it seems the man has lofty aspirations.’

“Another Fifty-thousand, you only work for me and my start-ups; hire whoever you want for your team. I don't care as long as they stay in line. I need someone like you, and I'm not amiss to say it,” Cole replied purposely. 

“Seventy-five, and I'm your guy, boss.” He countered.

I smile, sensing my ability take effect, the words pouring out my mouth whimsically. “Deals have consequences, Lee. I hope you will think before any eventful betrayal.” 

“I wouldn’t think of it, boss.” He countered.

“Excellent,” I replied, a smile stretching across my face. “You have a deal. I would shake your hand, but I'm currently outside in the cold, needing a place to stay. 

He hung up the phone. His ability had an almost demonic aspect to it. Deals with him meant something. The consequences of breaking them were vague to him now. He would have to ‘level up’ the ability, but he felt the contract breaker wouldn't like the outcome. 

He started Into the cold darkness of night, his mind working on countless problems and application of his newfound knowledge. 

He sent ‘Legal’ after a particular person, Jenifer Walter, cousin of Bruce Banner. She had the same gene makeup as Bruce, and exposure to gamma radiation would turn her into a green hulk. He didn't need her Hulk abilities, but the fact he could trigger that early wasn't off the table. He needed her legal mind; he needed someone to oversee the HR of his company, and she was ideal for the job.

Legal said it'll take days before he could secure housing. The man had explained how emancipation worked. He needed a job. He texted the Doctor, asking the man to hire him. That part made him laugh. What job could he do, lab assistant? He would find something to put his name on. He also told him a new layer would be coming aboard to assist the man in employees. 

York Enterprises had a lot of apartment buildings and corporate housing locations. Unfortunately, he couldn’t get access to them. Whatever he did now wouldn’t call him the company. He knew that intricately, it was a reward once he finished the mission: Jeremy Legacy, whatever power the system held, would see him at the helm regardless of what any mortal thought. 

Iceberg Lounge was his only recourse. It had apartments above. He recalled three. He could rent two out or remodel the floor space into one big penthouse. 

He pulled up the system interface. He had searched Hell's kitchen for an abandoned place and found a spot. One that used to belong to Kingpen. The man was still in jail. His escape arc hadn't occurred. 

Blood Rose is a nightclub in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The backroom of the locale holds Kingpin's warehouse, where Doctor Octopus operates. He laughed before hitting yes on the prompt. The scene wasn't something he expected. The old abandoned club, seized by the state, had phased in and out before disappearing, and new information appeared in his head. 

He had new information in his head. Wayne Industries' subsidiaries and some new shell companies that the system had thrown his way purchased the old club. Instead of reopening the old club, the owner had decided to rebrand. Cole didn't need to alert Legal or Mishimoto. They had long known about the club being under construction.

His first target was the orphanage dealing and his uncle and aunt's wire fraud, bank fraud, identity theft, and corporate espionage. He had so much dirt on everyone that he could upload it to Facebook and watch everything they had a burn, but he wouldn’t. He wanted them impoverished and destroyed. 

The youngest was the one who had beaten him so severely he was bedridden. Not only did they neglect him, but the abuse afterward was criminal to the point that the brothers would be locked up for life if it got out. 

“The law is on no one's side. It can be used to support any position if the attorney making the relevant arguments is sufficiently skilled. The law is an abstraction. A tool. Nay, an instrument to be played.” Legal said unabashedly once Cole had revealed his plans. 

Two hours later, he found himself on a bus. He was headed to Harlem and was long overdue to check on the scientist; he wondered how far along they get with super soldier serum. He turned over his hand; a translucent syringe appeared in his hand, and a [Super Soldier Serum] indicator flashed before his eyes. 

He wondered if he handed this over, could the scientists manage to discover [Extremis]? He even had ideas on taking the shot, but the system explained it'd be wasted on him, plus it cost him a couple thousand, and the trade discount was granted because he had a canister of [Defective Centipede Serum].

His phone vibrated, and two files appeared on his screen. 'Finally,' he thought inwardly. The first file was for one called Maya Hansen, and the second was for Aldrich Killian; both were undoubtedly critical in discovering Extremis. Fortunately for them, they were still alive, but they would die soon, so he decided to stop their deaths and recruit them personally. 

He was jerked from his musing as the bus abruptly stopped. A large group of gangbangers entered. He sighed and lowered his head as the bus riders all slunk into their seats and made themselves smaller