12 Prepping Before Entering A Den Of Vipers

Entry 12:

Linus POV:

You may wonder why I asked the Director to meet me within three days. That is because I desire a third tech tree to have access to before meeting the protectorate.

Because with the technologies from DC Comics, with my limited resources, and from the universe of Detroit: Become Human, I would eventually be able to use pure technology to uplift humanity.

But you see, I am limited public relations of all things limit me because if I appear out of nowhere promising to fix everything with no backing and no reputation, people will laugh. They will believe me to be a hoax or something too good to be true.

Let me give you a possible scenario. Imagine you have terminal cancer. You have just exited the hospital after your diagnosis. Then you live with that knowledge for weeks, knowing your end is coming.

But then, out of nowhere, a man approaches you and says he can cure you without questions. They would most likely get angry or laugh in your face because, without reputation without backing, you are invisible, simply another face in the crowd.

To put it simply, I desire a relationship with the protectorate so that they could put their stamp on approval for anything I create, and people would know that they tested it.

Also, I wanted to avoid being seen as a tinker because people see tinkers as devils, walking time bombs, or controllable assets.

In addition, I seek the protectorate stamp of approval to assure my future investors that they are investing in something that works, something that can make a change.

Brockton Bay is rotting quite literally within the city. You can see why as not only has the environment been polluted but the general atmosphere, you can see it in their eyes.

Fear

Resignation

Apathy

Despair

And with my enhanced hearing, I hear it all the time when I decide to turn it on to keep me grounded and to remind me that I am pretty lucky even if I am stuck in this hell world.

It'll be slow going, but soon enough, I will make things better, if not for myself, then for others, so that I don't have to wake up every day breathing a sigh of relief that I'm still living.

I have nightmares, you know, I wake up in my nightmares getting shot or stabbed or set on fire or made insane by that giant flying angel in space or being visited by a woman in a fedora.

It's funny. Most typical overpowered protagonists would have already rolled over this setting by now. Still, here I am, afraid to step outside my house. It's pathetic.

As I wake up a day before the meeting with the PRT, I look in the mirror in my bathroom. While my new body doesn't show exhaustion physically, I can see it in my eyes. I'm tired, but I have to keep moving.

I practice my martial arts, invent, practice my magic, eat, and sleep. That has been my routine. Most people would say it's unhealthy, and they're right, but they're not here right now.

This quest is my journey, and at the end, I don't know what I'll find at the end of it, but I know one thing I will not go down without a fight.

"Dread status report on arms manufacturing," I ask my AI after washing myself.

[ Shock Prods, Cold Guns, Flame Guns, Upgraded Containment Foam Rifles, Completed Awaiting Usage]

I smile as each one of these weapons will be instrumental in helping the regular police as well as the non-cape members of the PRT in stopping crime.

The weapons have been toned down as, at their highest power, a cold gun could freeze the flash, and the flame guns were able to burn superhuman-level beings to ashes.

Even the shock prods alone could incapacitate new gods, so they have been toned down a bit, but enough to make a difference.

But then I hear you ask Linus how will you stop people from stealing the weapons and using them against the police or PRT.

It's simple: I have applied an aspect to all of my technology so that any non-member of the protectorate cannot harm those with registered positions.

If any random crook managed to pick up one of these weapons and tried to use them against someone else, the weapon would deactivate and shock the person trying to use it.

The addiction cures are already completed, and the administration methods have been tested and proved successful. The protectorate will also use these to help with the drug pandemic. And they will be purchased by those that seek them.

And to those who believe I'm doing this for purely selfless reasons, you would be wrong as I'm using these to sell my brand and make money to produce them.

But I will admit that in terms of the medical sector, I will not be a complete monster as while most will have to pay unless they have insurance, they will not have ridiculous costs. (looking at you insulin costs.)

Honestly, I feel like Tony Stark before the beginning of his character arc without the man's natural charisma and knack for comedy.

At least in terms of his movie outings, the comic book Tony Stark is just an idiot, but I will leave that rant for later.

Tomorrow I will be having a meeting with the Director of the Protectorate as well as gaining a new tech tree for future use, and I am praying to any random omnipotent being out there for it to be useful

Because, in all honesty, even with all of the tech I have access to, I can barely make any of the more advanced tech.

In all honesty, I want tech from the Fate universe to understand digital lifeforms because that is literally what those end-bringers are living computers.

I then turned to Chloe, who had been dutifully waiting in the lab for me to give her status report of the base of operations for my business in Brockton Bay.

"Good afternoon, sir. I have good news to report as our base of operations within the commercial district has been finalized." Chloe says with that practiced smile.

"Good," I respond. We are going to need that building in order to get a foothold within the city. Well done, Chloe."

I can feel the vibrancy from that compliment from here as I wonder where they get their reverence from. Then I return to my current project, which will be instrumental in helping clear out the rats.

Simply put, it's the thinker's cap in the form of an earpiece which allows him limited telepathy, but it also doubles as a Bluetooth headpiece. That's a disguise, of course.

The limitation is that I can only use it for a short time, or else it will overload my brain. Even with me being boosted, I could only use it for a couple hours at most.

Using this device, I'm going to read the minds of everyone in that building that doesn't have mental defenses, which is everyone. At the same time, Dread scans every single one of their digital footprints.

Once that is done and the information is collected, I can learn which members are corrupt more efficiently. It won't reveal who is a member of each gang as they'll probably have covered their tracks.

But I am also doing this for another reason: to see if Thomas Calvert is a part of the PRT and has access to his powers.

Because while I may not be a saint, I will not knowingly allow someone to use a child for their own ends unless it is beneficial for them because if I do this, I don't wanna be a hypocrite about it.

Luckily I was able to finish the cap before I went to sleep. As the clock struck midnight, I felt the sensation of new information being downloaded into my brain.

And I laugh because I was thinking about Robert Downey Junior's Tony Stark, and I get the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

I could see it now. With access to not only extremis and badassium, but I could also create functioning power cores that produce limitless energy cleanly, in addition to knowledge of vibranium and adamantium.

Although, unluckily, this is only the cinematic universe and not the ridiculous balls-to-the-walls comics universe. Then I'd create the sentry serum and inject that **** immediately because even if I'd have to deal with a void, the risks would be worth it.

But the best part of the haul would be the enhanced Super Soldier Serum from the most recent Marvel television show, the Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

As not only did that serum create more enhanced super soldiers as not only that serum makes better super soldiers, it allowed them to keep their shape and not become muscle bounded behemoths, nor did it affect their personalities.

All I have to say to this is I smile " While I may be in this universe of terrors, at least I'll have marvels to keep me straight nuff said."