Testing #261

I took a deep breath, bringing my fist back before burying it into the small sheet of metal in front of me. I instantly sighed in relief as I watched the sheet's unscathed appearance with no dents and holes.

"Durability test, pass..." I said, nodding as I picked up the metal sheet and turned it in my hands, trying and failing to find any scratches, much to my satisfaction.

"Now for energy channeling efficiency..." I muttered to no one in particular as I retrieved Richard's Jade amulet from my inventory and held it in my hand. I channeled my energy into it and the alloy metal sheet and frowned as I found a bit more resistance in the latter.

"Damn..." I cursed, sighing as I put away the jade amulet and held the metal sheet with both hands, channeling energy into it and tearing it in half.

I nodded at the two pieces of metal as I watched them slowly turn gold and silver before heading back to the forge. I had spent the past two days inside my workroom, testing different combinations of Nth metal and Marvelium, and the results were less than satisfactory.

The resulting alloy metal from combining the two super ores would either be too brittle, too malleable, too heavy, or inefficient at channeling energy. The latest failure was the closest I've gotten so far.

Luckily, my chemistry skill had reached a high enough level, meaning I could use my living catalyst power alongside my metallurgy intuition to separate the two super metals from the resulting alloy.

Still, I knew it would be possible to create the perfect alloy for the job. I only had to figure out the correct ratio, which would only take more time and effort on my part.

"I wonder..." I muttered as I watched the two metals melting in the forge, getting an idea. "Might as well..." I sighed as I put my hands into the fire and began channeling pure energy into the molten metal.

I frowned in concentration, activating my living catalyst power as I began molding the slowly liquifying metal, searching for any flaws in its structure and imbuing it with my energy.

"Huh..." I intoned, raising an eyebrow as I ended up with a gray metal sheet in my hands. "I like the color, at least..." I said with a chuckle as I took it out and measured its weight.

"Light enough... good..." I nodded as I headed for the testing area and mounted the metal sheet on a holder before stepping back and punching at its center.

I couldn't help but sigh as I watched the new alloy metal sheet dent as I prepared to remove it, but I instantly stopped as I watched it suddenly snap back into shape as if the indentation was never there.

"Interesting..." My eyes instantly lit up as I picked up the metal sheet and channeled my energy into it, comparing it to Richard's jade amulet, and the results certainly didn't disappoint me.

"Fucking finally..." I said, sighing in relief as I gave the metal sheet an appraising look. I still needed to run a few more tests and work out any kinks in the final product, but the process was a success for now.

"Might as well give it a name..." I muttered, tilting my head as I gave the metal a once over, searching for any distinctive feature. I found none that stood out individually from Nth Metal and Marvelium other than its ability to reshape and color.

"Gray Matter, it is then..." I nodded with a chuckle at my lack of imagination, heading deeper into my workroom to perform the remaining tests on the new alloy metal.

...

Several hours later

"That's that..." I muttered as I finished the last test, which was gravity negation, as I put away the Gray Matter sheet into my inventory and headed for my desk.

The test results weren't perfect, but promising nonetheless. I only needed to spend a couple of hours at the forge experimenting with the percentages and ratios to perfect the alloy metal.

That said, I was in no rush to start since I had yet to create a design for a prosthetic arm, not to mention working out the technologies needed to implement it into Richard's body without side effects.

"I could modify the Sentry Drones' mechanical limbs and upgrade them to create the joints..." I muttered as I retrieved a pen and a piece of paper and began scribbling a basic design for the joints.

However, I stopped after only three strokes with the pen as my phone vibrated. "Shit..." I said, my expression turning weird as I retrieved my cell phone and noticed a text from Kara.

"Hey! Are you alright? I'm still waiting for that text, you know..."

I sighed, scratching my head as I read through the text. "Sorry about that. I got a bit too invested in a project of mine and zoned out for the past two days..."

"But it's about time I took a break. I'd be happy to give you that grand tour if you're interested..." I added after a brief pause.

"Sure. I'll fly to Gotham in a minute. Meet me at the top of the Wayne Tower." Kara replied, and I instantly sighed as I got off the chair and headed for the shower.

"Alright. I'll see you there." I concluded, putting the phone away as I stepped into the bathroom and took a quick shower before putting on a decent change of clothes.

I refilled Little Soot's water and food bowls and quickly headed for the exit.

...

Several minutes later

I smiled, waving my hands as I watched Kara flying toward me in casual clothes, to which she returned the gesture as she landed on top of the Wayne Tower.

"Welcome to Gotham. It's not much, but it's home," I said, chuckling as I grandly gestured to the dark cityscape, earning a smile from the blonde Kryptonian.

"Well, it's no Metropolis, to be sure, but I'm sure it's not that bad," Kara said, nodding her head as she looked around. "So what's this project of yours that got so distracted, if you don't mind me asking," She asked as she turned back to me, tilting her head.

"Nothing much, just creating a new metal alloy and a prosthetic limp that would turn the average joe into a budget Kryptonian," I replied with a shrug, causing Kara to raise an eyebrow at my words.

"Do I even want to know...?" Kara asked, giving me a blank stare, much to my amusement, as I shrugged. "Anyway, I'm here now, so what's our first stop...?" She asked, dropping the subject as she smiled.

"Well, Gotham doesn't offer much in the sightseeing department, but I know a spot or two..." I added as I floated into the air, gesturing for Kara to follow me.

"And I know this restaurant that serves the best..."

...

The Batcave

"Are you certain this is wise, master Bruce...?" Alfred asked with a fed-up expression as he watched Bruce fiddling with a spherical, metallic machine that resembled an eye.

"In the first place, aren't you supposed to be retired...? Why not leave this stuff for youngsters and relax for once..." He added and continued to nag Bruce as the latter didn't reply and kept working.

"I may have retired Batman, but that doesn't mean Bruce Wayne can't do any good, Alfred..." Bruce said, raising as he raised his head and turned to the butler, wiping the sweat off his brow.

"Still, there are other ways for Bruce Wayne to contribute and do good..." Alfred said, clearly unconvinced. "Ways that don't involve creating a heavily armed satellite powered by possibly homicidal artificial intelligence..." He added, his expression twisting into displeasure.

"Surely you realize the countless ways this little project of yours could go wrong..." Alfred asked as he tried to stare Bruce down, but the latter didn't seem overly concerned.

"This will be my legacy, Alfred. I understand the consequences should my project fall into the wrong hands," Bruce replied, sighing as he resumed working, much to Alfred's exasperation.

"However, that will not happen. I will develop it slowly and teach it right from wrong myself," Bruce added as he slowly fiddled with the sphere's inner components.

"And if something went wrong, I still have an ace up my sleeve," Bruce said as he stopped working and gave the butler a brief, confident smile before he buried his head back into his work.

"Brother Eye will be an asset to humanity..." He concluded, and Alfred could do nothing but shake his head as he left his master to his own devices.