Suit

"Todays the big day! Why you ask? Well of course it's because it's the day the ceph is ready for harvest!"

"I didn't say anything?"

"I know, right? This is gonna be amazing!"

"...Right"

I was standing near the growth pod, it was a hodgepodge of all the best parts from several different universes… Mimir even suggested one from a universe I barely had any recollection on- something about cloning humans to use their organs or something? Anyway it was done! I carefully released it into a sealed container made of tough plexiglass and reinforced with another layer of space age glass used in Alien. I don't want to accidentally release this into the wild after all.

There were 3 slots in the container which had rubber (actually nanofiber titanium weave) gloves permanently set in place so the observer could interact with whatever was inside and 1 other slot with a tube leading to a multitool of sorts. As the ceph started activating I slotted my hands in and grabbed the multitool- I had to make this quick before it started trying to eat its surroundings.

I jabbed a sci fi looking syringe from the needle into the ceph, gimme some cells tiny! It began wriggling around and screeching… I think (can't hear through the glass) and began dissolving the surfaces it was in contact with. Anticipating such a thing I gave it a speedster bar (Super high energy bar used in both DC and Marvel for their super speedsters energy needs), hopefully when it realized it had a viable source of protein to use as energy it'd leave the rest of the container alone long enough for the tool to work.

Now creating something akin to a living extinction level event waiting to happen may not be very smart… and I agree, however that's only under normal circumstances… Right now I have like a million different ways to erase this thing or send it out of universe. Currently if I couldn't extract and contain the cells the entire container would be flooded with Mr. Freeze's ice and teleported into the sun.

The little bugger had calmed down a bit now and completely swallowed the bar, its size started increasing and its 'skin' began hardening… Oh yeah, I forgot to mention but the nanosuit does need ceph cells… but it never specified which type of ceph. The ones from the games may as well be an ant in comparison to a bear when next to the actual ones. So of course I'd gone ahead and created a Queen or central version, if it had as long as the ones from its reality had to grow, adapt and absorb then it'd be able to just think me out of existence… but this one was a newborn, all the same potential but none of the time or experience.

And yes I did realize the potential cruelty of my actions, I'd already taken it into account before getting to this stage. The ceph were a heavily interconnected species, without those connections they'd revert into their more animalistic nature, their bodies running through routines to stay alive but realistically having no higher thought behind the process, this is what happened to the Queen, yes she was still alive but only had the ability to think on the same level of any normal animal… and just like I'd butcher a cow to eat, I'd give a quick death to the Queen for her cells.

Cruel? Sure. But that's how the world worked, and I sure as hell wasn't a shining beacon of humanity… I mean I used to build weapons of mass destruction for chrissake!

Still… I wasn't vegatarian or anything but I wasn't planning on going the route of animal testing anytime soon, using a creature for proper reason was fine (so long as you treated that life with a degree of respect) like if you hunted for food or something, but using that life for a beauty product or entertainment? Just didn't feel right to me…

"Are you alright Sam? If you stay frozen like that the ceph may attempt to breach containment"

I refocused back in front of me, the cells had been collected successfully but I'd zoned out and the ceph had started morphing into something similar to a big worm with a large toothy maw to match, I quickly retracted my hands just as the ceph tried to swallow the gloves. I flipped a switch and the tank was flooded with the icy brew a moment before it teleported away with a 'pop'.

"Phew, thanks buddy, I might've broken a finger or lost it if you weren't here"

"Always here to help"

"Lucky me". The cells were isolated into a small tube. I took this tube and immediately slotted it into the foundry along with all the materials for the suit… I'd made some… slight modifications however, The nanosuit was part of a 2 step plan and I had to make sure the second part would have room to work with. So while the suit would bond with me it wouldn't remove certain parts of my biology… still heavily modify them but I just needed to still be able to have some form of blood and a functioning heart. Other than that I'd made some slight material and hardware upgrades using what I'd learnt from other super-suits from other worlds.

Better filters from the forerunners of Halo (really the only part of their tech I could understand), slightly better EMP shielding from Metal gear, higher energy absorption and transportation systems from star wars and better biological integration from warframe. All that plus the higher base cells of the ceph ought to make this a few steps above the original… that or I just wasted a lot of materials and fucked up the blueprint… One way to find out! I started the building process, it would originally take about 3 days… that'd been bumped up to just under a month.

…Well now I feel a bit silly for being that excited.

28 Days Later

Come to mama! It was finally done! My eyes were bloodshot and I vibrated on the spot (Note to self - Hyperactivity in children still currently applies to me… so no more coffee). Over the foundry was a floating version of the nanosuit, looking no different from the rest (other than being smol) but no doubt a completely different beast under the hood. "Mimir! Can you go tell Dad that I'm gonna be busy making a cure for cancer and to not be disturbed for a few days?"

"Sure… though will you actually?"

"Of course! Cancer is seen in the same light as a common cold in several different worlds! I've got it cooking in the foundry currently".

"Right, and I assume you'll use this time to bond to the suit? I want to ask what you'll do if it takes longer than you thought?"

"It should only take a week at max with my current age and its upgrades… though knowing my propensity to be wrong… If it comes down to it we'll say I've succeeded but it led me to another cure in the process which can't be interrupted, rinse and repeat till success I guess"

"I guess so, good luck by the way"

"Thanks, though-"

"Luck is for suckers, yes I know"

"....I was gonna say something about me needing more luck than the lady herself would be willing to spare but that works too".