Persona: Hero x Villain System

Chapter 4: Midtown School of

Science & Technology  

Midtown Manhattan, New York 

Volume 1: Origin

Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings. He stared at the state of art school before him. Reinforced walls surrounded it. He was sure that information was left out, he placed his palm on the wall in wonderment. Jason Todd had grown up being exposed to advanced technology. His favorite was the advanced experimental polymers. Todd took his armor seriously and had some of the best gear out of the bat family. 

Cole paused for several seconds, finalizing his decision. It wouldn’t be hard for him to correct Jeremy's grades. He entered the school and stood in line. The school was state of the art and had billions of dollars of equipment installed. Formerly known as Midtown High, the school was rebuilt by funding from Baxter Labs and Stark enterprises. 

He spied the man in suits standing behind the security. Is Fury active already? He knew the school was made to foster the extremely curious, advanced, and extraordinary. York's reason for attending was that his mother, a scientist, secured him a place here from her impeccable work. He wasn't expelled because York Industries still sponsored the school amongst other enterprising industries worldwide.

He went through the metal detector without an alarm sounding but his acute senses spiked. This machine is way more than a metal detector. He pushed the thought away and continued onward. He would revisit it when he had more information. 

Before he could take another step a voice called out. "Hold up a second," a man in the school security uniform approaches him, causing students to whisper and point. 

He motioned me to stand to the side not to hold up the land and removed a wand. "Hold your arms out and spread your legs, buddy," I complied, but I wondered what caused this response. 

"Did I do something?" I asked, curious to the reason for the extra attention. 

"Anything you want to declare? If you are not aware, there is a no repercussion system. So no cops. No punishment, I'll need a signature from you, just for the records," he smiled knowingly after ignoring my question.

"Eh. No, I don't have anything on me besides my cell and keys, maybe it was the spare change in my backpack?" I said conversationally. The wand immediately caused my senses to spike. 

He turned to the man in the suit. "Alright, kid, it's the hard way," he motioned for an additional security guard to come over, a younger woman. The students were standing around gawking now. 

This school is more than meets the eye. It has some form of detection system. I suspected I could be a mutant because of the System but I was sure it would have been in my status, or is the equipment able to decipher my internals? 

He led me away into the administration office. My bookbag, its contents were separated in front of me, and I was made to undress, embarrassingly examined, and handed sweats and a shirt with the Baxter logo on it. They even took the paper cup that had my DNA from the table. They're definitely going through all the motions just to pry. I was positive my x-gene was still unawakened. More than 80% of the world population had a dominant mutant gene, merely half actually awakened, and a major portion had abilities that could be detected by eye alone.

The door opened, and Mr. Moria entered with the man in the suit Cole saw earlier. He regarded me and motioned for the man to take a seat as he took the other nearer me. 

Moira started, reading from a single sheet of paper. "Jeremy York, absent more than twenty-three days this semester alone." He removed a tablet from his inner coat and continued. "You're also failing. Everything." He said flatly. 

He continued explaining my prior disciplinary actions, my only reason for still being enrolled here, and the residue on my bookbag. Residue? Technology. I lowered my head and seriously thought about my next steps. Admitting to addiction is out of the picture; drug screen would be inconclusive due to my healing factor. 

I raised my head and regarded the two. The suit didn't say anything, and I wondered why he was even present—time for an act. I took a deep breath and ran my hand through my hair, and exhaled. 

I closed the door behind me. That was hard. I explained that my bookbag wasn't in my presence at the orphanage and implied that I couldn't be sure what the older kids may or may not do. Longshot as it was, I’m almost sure they knew I was a dealer. In the end, I shrugged it off as a string of events out of my control. The grades issue was harder to get out of, so I'm now on academic probation. No doubt the check from my parents' company was the deciding reason. 

|Moira & the Agent|

Moira was deeply troubled about Jeremy. After all, he knew his mother and saw their son turn into this. Sometimes he wondered why he accepted this job. He can write his salary anywhere in the world. Sure he gets to be the steward to some of the best and brightest of the upcoming generation. He rubbed his temple, sensing a stress headache baring its fangs. 

"What did you learn?" He finally asked. He wanted to believe him, but he was confident Jeremy was dealing inside the school, and the read from the machine was alarming. 

The man rubbed the bridge of his nose. "His physical scans are unique, almost too unique, muscle, bone, tissue, it's all near perfect. I doubt there are Olympic athletes with physiques like his. Comparing the two scans from previous he has definitely undergone some form of metamorphosis. I'm curious. But, proper protocols will be adhered to." 

"Did you know he's Samantha's son?" Moira asked the Agent, changing the subject as he hated that part of the job the most.

"So, that's the York heir? Interesting. His mother worked in R & D when I was a career man, military, human application and all that." 

"Heir no more. His uncle and aunt are boxing him out. Nothing overtly illegal. 

“Your stance?” The agent asked.

“We can't do anything about that, and it's a family matter.” Replied Moira.

"If his scans are conclusive to what we're now learning, we may choose to intervene." Admitted the Agent.

"The civilian board won't anger his uncle or his sycophants. It’ll be your side alone intervening. As you said, the kids' prospects aren't looking great. It's unfortunate, losing a parent and especially in that way." He sighed.  

"Quid pro quo," the Agent said tartly. He stood from the table and reached over to shake Moira's offered hand. "I sent the relevant data to The Baxter Building for more expert analysis."

"Before I forget, regarding the expulsion, use it as a threat only; if he can't or won't comply, threaten him some more. I don't care what you use. At this stage, the agency will back you. Keep him enrolled. Have a good day."

Moira was about to respond in protest, but the man raised his hand. "He's a potential, and the government is still funding all of this on top of everyone's salaries. This operation is contingent on results, and at this moment, the results are on par with the bill." 

With his hand on the door handle, he turned toward a visibly agitated Principal.

“The world is changing, and so will we.”