264 Power Source #264
The Theatre
As he sneaked into the hallway in the dead of night, Alpha couldn't help but frown, getting second thoughts about the operation. He was David Cane's right-hand man and the closest thing he had to a friend.
What's more, David Cane charged Alpha with training his daughter at a young age, and the latter couldn't help but grow attached to the mute girl, even if he kept said attachment to himself.
Though Alpha never had a daughter, he imagined he'd feel the same way about her as he felt about Cassandra. Hence his hesitance to execute David Cane's orders as the latter instructed him to kidnap one of the girl's friends to force her into doing the League's bidding.
He didn't wish to disappoint his mentor and friend but couldn't bring himself to harm Cassandra, leaving him in conflict, not knowing what to do even as he gained entry to the theatre.
Little did he know his conflicts were meaningless as he was doomed to fail, but that's neither here nor there.
Alpha suddenly froze as he heard someone clearing their throat. He slowly turned around, and his eyes widened as he spotted a deathly pale girl with a mohawk haircut holding a bowl of cereal as she glared at him in confusion.
"Who the fuck are you supposed to be, fucker?" The girl casually asked, and Alpha's instincts and training instantly kicked in as he reached behind his back for his gun.
By the time he retrieved his pistol and raised it, the girl was already in front of him, still holding on to her cereal as she gripped his wrist with her free hand.
"I said, who the fuck are you fucker?" The girl asked as she put more strength into her grip, causing Alpha to grunt in pain, but he held his ground and refused to speak.
"I guess we'll have to do this the hard way..."
...
Gray's Hideout
"Who the fuck is this guy...?" I muttered, stopping my work as I activated my Personal Computer power when I received a notification that someone had triggered a silent alarm in the theatre.
I accessed the live video feed, and my frown deepened as I noticed some guy in a tight-fitting black suit sneaking around the theatre. 'Whatever, if Cassandra and Crush don't take of him, my machines will...' I mused, shaking my head as I resumed work.
I had already built the arm's skeleton, and I used one of the failed alloys I'd made before creating Gray Matter as it was more flexible and would allow for more natural and agile movements in the joints.
'Let's see...' I levitated the metallic hand skeleton in front of my face and infused my energy into its joints, pausing as I tested the fingers, wrist, and elbow movements.
'Looks good...' I nodded as I lowered the skeleton and put it back on my work table before retrieving several tools and devices from my inventory as I resumed my work.
'Now I need to create an outer shell and work on the power supply and the remaining inner components...'
...
Crime Alley
Benjamin raised an eyebrow as he watched Richard stand still, taking several knives to the chest and the back without flinching before transmitting an energy shockwave that sent his attackers flying.
"So you've learned to channel your energy without a conduit..." Benjamin said, giving Richard a weird look. "Then why did you ask the kid to create one for you..." He asked with a frown.
"That day when I lost my arm, I finally completed the puzzle I'd been trying to solve my entire life..." Richard said with a calm smile as he walked to the unconscious assassins, finishing them off without batting an eye.
"I experienced many cosmic forces and energies, and my body adapted to them..." Richard said as he got up and turned to Benjamin. "But to answer your question..." He added, trailing at the end of his sentence.
"Gray's greatest enemy was and will always be himself," Richard said as he shook his head. "His guilt over the incident would have led him to a path that would only end in isolation and self-destruction," He added as he started walking away.
"Unless he could atone for his mistake, and I gave him a way to do it..." Richard went on with a shrug, gesturing for Benjamin to follow as he headed for their next target.
"Besides, my control over energy is flawed compared to the kid..." Richard added as he briefly turned to Benjamin, giving him a strange smile. "If Gray could create a better conduit than the dragon amulet, it would help me immensely..." He concluded with a shrug.
"You know you're starting to sound more and more like O-Sensei... no wonder you were his favorite..." Benjamin said, clearly exasperated as he followed behind Richard, getting a smug smirk from his friend.
...
Gray's Hideout
"Easy does it..." I muttered as I inserted the tiny piece of Kryptonite into the small lead container and closed it. I paused as I searched for any signs of leaking radiation before heaving a sigh of relief as I found none.
I quickly connected the lead container to the arm's skeleton and tried moving it remotely through my Personal Computer power, smiling as the fingers began twitching.
I debated the prosthetic arm's energy source long and hard. However, I couldn't think of anything that would serve that purpose better than good old Kryptonite.
It was the closest thing to Iron Man's Arc Reactor in the DC comics, as it could safely store obscene amounts of energy without the risk of triggering a chain reaction capable of destroying an entire city.
Though Kryptonite came with the same risks as Arc Reactors due to its radioactive properties, I could easily contain the radiation and health hazards that came with it inside a secure lead container.
With a bit of fiddling and putting my Metallurgy Intuition to good use, I had created a way to recharge Kryptonite through an intricate device (which I've been working on for a while now) that would absorb sunlight and feed it into the green rock as time went on.
It used a combination of Gray Matter's energy-absorbing properties as the metal would absorb the heat and light energy from the sun, turning it into pure power, which the device would transfer to the Kryptonite core.
Kryptonite had an insane amount of energy and would likely last decades before depleting, but I didn't want Richard to worry about batteries like some console peasant.
Designing and creating the Kryptonite power source was likely the second most complicated process, second only to creating forging Gray Matter. But I luckily had time to work on it beforehand.
'Now I need to create a neuro-link and some extra toys for versatility before I forge the arm's shell...'
...
The Theatre
Cassandra yawned, lazily rubbing her eyes as she woke up to loud noises from the theatre's reception area. Her gaze instantly turned sharp, and she jumped off her bed as she realized something was wrong.
She quickly picked up her tonfa from a table inside her room and ran toward the reception area, only to freeze as she got there upon finding Crush beating the living hell out of a familiar face.
Cassandra grunted loudly in protest as she threw herself at Crush, clinging to her arm as the latter raised her fist with the intention of burying it into the man's already bloody face.
"What's the matter with you, short stuff...?" Crush asked, frowning as she turned to Cassandra, who kept grunting insistently. "I don't know what you want, but I caught this guy sneaking into the theatre, clearly up to no good..." She added, her confusion only turning more visible as Cassandra kept grunting in protest.
Luckily, Patrick came in just in time as he also rose from his bed to investigate the noise. "The lass says he's a friend of hers..." He said, alternating his gaze between the man and Cassandra.
"Well, this fucker ugly mug doesn't seem too friendly to me..." Crush said with a scowl as she looked at Alpha, clearly unconvinced. However, she lowered her fist when she noticed the latter's expression turn uncomfortable at Cassandra's actions and Patrick's words.
"Listen, pal. Short stuff here might have vouched for you, but I ain't buying it..." Crush said as she glared at Alpha. "I'll give you one chance to talk before I break your face, so you better start chirping away if you know what's good for you..." She added, menacingly cracking her knuckles.
"I... who am I fooling...? I can't do it anyway..." Alpha said with a bitter sigh as he looked at Cassandra.
"I'll talk..."
...
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