Chapter 28: Alpha Armour

Ever since Cerion got his hands on Wakandan Vibranium from Klaue, he has been experimenting on it nonstop. He wanted to know what made it tick and his constant experimentation yielded some incredible results.

One of the most significant findings was the energy absorption and subsequent distribution capability of Wakandan Vibranium. He'd describe the molecular structure of Wakandan Vibranium as chaotic. It was constantly in flux and it was this flux that allowed the metal to exhibit wondrous properties. A gram of Vibranium could disperse energy on a scale that could power a nuclear submarine, depending on the metallurgy used of course.

Vibranium in its raw form was only good in absorbing energy. It'd take an alloy made of Vibranium to enhance most of the energy dispersion properties that are seen in Wakandan Vibranium. One of the first discoveries Cerion made with the Vibranium he possessed was a safe way to store the energy that he was drawing from the Light Dimension.

He has been studying this energy for a time and he was struggling to design a perfect container for this energy. It sounds silly considering he managed to design an engine that is powering the entire city of Koron based on one of the high-density energy producing ores in the Universe. It should have been a walk in the park to construct a vessel that can hold the energy from the Light Dimension. Except that he made a startling discovery through rigorous experimentation. Only something with sentience can interact with his brand of energy properly. This finding was a downer for many of his plans.

That was until he made a major breakthrough with the Wakandan Vibranium. Even in raw form, Vibranium was not able to hold the White Light within for long but Cerion managed to do so. After mapping out the molecular structure of Wakandan Vibranium, he used ion-implantation to create a superconducting alloy that not only managed to absorb energy in obscene quantities but essentially create a pseudo-sentience within the element. Cerion achieved this feat by carefully embedding coded smart materials into the molecular structure of Vibranium coincidently stabilizing the chaos within. It constituted a significant progress in the field of nanotechnology.

The result of this breakthrough in nanotechnology was a new Vibranium alloy that responded only to his unique energy signature. It was a find that suited Cerion just fine because of the advantage it gave him in controlling the White Light coursing through his body. The White Light primarily has only one property. It can heal anything animate or inanimate and restore it to its prime form. While this ability was indeed quaint he was interested in using his access to the Light Dimension for other purposes. The Light Dimension held infinite amounts of energy and the energy was dense enough to power a spaceship capable of traversing deep space.

But, what if that same infinite source of energy could be used to reinforce his body or weapons? Perhaps, the energy could even be used offensively and that's where his newfound Vibranium alloy played its crucial role. By making his new Vibranium alloy somewhat sentient he not only managed to store the White Light within the Vibranium but also managed to find a way to use the energy defensively and on offence if need be.

"Ion modification completed. Alpha armour has accepted the modification." Optima reported after several molecular scans on the innocent looking bracelet sitting inconspicuously in a magnetic suspension.

The Alpha armour was the first armour he made with Vibranium-Titanium alloy. It was a good piece of armour but it was not going to help him against magic wielders. The moment he decided to let Bruce Banner access to Kamar Taj he was preparing for contingencies against a sorcerer Hulk. At the moment, Hulk remained the only creature on planet Earth strong enough to physically challenge him. Adding magic to the mix is a dangerous combination as Cerion knew his weakness lies in magic. So, it became necessary to find a way to use the White Light somehow to his advantage, especially with his commitments to Earth holding him back from seeking out the Light Elves of Alfheim. He was working on a way to cut the travel time but progress has been slow on the front.

"Run simulation Scorch." Cerion ordered.

Optima used a drone to pick the bracelet and powered up the suit. The suit converged over the small drone, covering it in a protective cocoon of the strongest metal on planet Earth. That was not the interesting part. The interesting part was when Cerion trained his eyes on the drone and blasted it with a small stream of a red-hot laser. The suit lit up with a white energy bubble and easily fended off his laser attack.

"Shield holding at 100%." Optima reported.

"That's impressive. How about now?" Cerion asked, increasing the intensity of his laser beam steadily.

Just as he increased the energy density of his attack the Alpha armour met his challenge by expanding the scope of the energy shield it was projecting.

"Not bad." Cerion muttered.

He experimented with the armour for another half-hour before dialling down the intensity of his probing. A full half-hour fluctuating energy assault ought to give optimal data for making an informed analysis of the armour's functioning.

"Microstructure analysis reveals 30 per cent damage." Optima reported after a brief scanning.

"Where's the regeneration stats at?" Cerion asked, not too bothered by the performance of the suit. It was, after all, expected as the armour was just the first attempt.

"2 per cent and climbing."

"Good. Optima, I want you to use every permutation and combination of platinum alloys bonded to Unobtanium."

"Are you looking for an element capable of maximum superconductivity, sir?" asked Optima.

"Yes." Cerion replied while taking the bracelet handed over by the drone. "But, hold back on synthesising the element. I want more tests conducted before synthesis."

"As you say, sir."

Placing the Alpha armour bracelet on his wrist he pressed on the small silver dial. The metal flowed over his body essentially dissolving his clothes on the go. Unlike the Black Panther armour, he opted for a more medieval style armour. The intricate plates woven around the outer layer gave the armour more visual authenticity than the plain Black Panther armour.

Putting aside his self-admiration for designing a more traditional badass armour Cerion channelled the White Light into the armour. The Alpha armour was quick to absorb the energy and he could see the scanners in the lab recording the energy signature of the suit. Raising his left hand he concentrated a bit of energy in his hand. The silver metallic surface of his hand glowed with a bright white aura.

"Spear." Cerion uttered.

He could feel the metal shift on his palm. Under his scrutinizing eyes, the Vibranium metal folded together bit by bit to form into a spear. A shiny silver spear now sat comfortably in his open palm. The white aura slowly dissipated but his enhanced vision could pick out blue coloured veins on the spear's surface pulsing with energy. He twirled the spear in his palm and his enhanced hearing could hear the thrum of power amassed within the weapon.

"Open the roof panels."

Optima acquiesced and the panels opened exposing them to the bright warmth of the pacific sun.

Cerion floated gracefully to the skies while taking several experimental swings with the spear now that he was in no danger of trashing his lab. Channelling more energy into the spear he jabbed it at a group of rocks far away from any animal habitat in Koron. A bright white beam of energy blasted out of the spear's tip and turned the collection of rocks into dust. The explosion shook the island causing birds to take to the sky in the nearby area.

He hummed appreciatively while observing the spear keenly. It was not much in his opinion. He was an effing Kryptonian powered by the bright yellow star radiation of Earth's sun. Blasting a couple of rocks into dust was the easiest thing he could do and he could probably accomplish that with his pinkie. However, it has to be noted that the White Light was never about destruction. It has always been used to mend things in the universe. So, the fact that he used the White Light to destroy a bunch of rocks was indeed a serious achievement.

It was a major step in extracting and using an infinite source of energy that primarily was only capable of healing. However, this doesn't mean he found no value in the inherent properties of the White Light.

Quiet the opposite.

"Healing bead." Cerion uttered, concentrating the White Light in his right hand.

A single silver ingot pulsing with white veins of energy fashioned itself out from the Alpha armour.

Looks like President Thicket's miracle is ready to be delivered, he thought.

XXXXXX

The relative peace in the room was occasionally disturbed by the changing channels on the TV. Almost all major news channels were running the same story. The Saudi embassy in the US was accusing the US government of kidnapping one of their embassy staff. The US government was of course categorically denying any involvement. The incident has sparked a row between the two nations and most people who had an inkling of recent geopolitics could read the writing on the wall.

After the September 11 attacks, the US government launched an all-out assault into Afghanistan which toppled the Taliban friendly government within weeks. The US troops were running around the mountainous terrain of the Central Asian nation hunting for the mastermind behind the terror attacks. It was also noted that the US has been quietly dialling down on their rhetoric against some of its usual local adversaries in the Middle East.

However, this was not the news that was currently taking much of the world by storm. It was the miraculous survival and total recovery of some of the injured people of the September 11 attacks.

An entire hospital full of September 11 victims were healed in the blink of an eye. The interesting bit is that the US president had only just finished his visit to that particular hospital. In his visit, the US president had shared his hope that God would save the innocent and those in need with the media gathered around him at the venue. The very next day all those who were physically impaired by the terror attack was miraculously healed. Some of the patients were also insisting that they were healed by an angel bathed in God's light, or along those lines. Truly, the recounts of the patients were too fantastical to be true but with what happened in Pennsylvania and now this, people were ready to believe anything.

"Do you think it's Ajak?" asked Thena as she arranged a sofa in their living room.

"She wouldn't expose herself to humanity like that after all these years. No, I think it's your guy." said Gilgamesh, focusing on the milkshake he was making.

"It's strange." Thena muttered thoughtfully.

"What?"

"I was not affected by Mahd Wy'ry despite facing a stressful situation. Maybe, I am recovering somehow." said Thena, frowning at her hands.

Gilgamesh hummed while looking at the TV in their home.

"Perhaps this Kryptonian has powers similar to Ajak. If he has powers of healing then maybe that's why your Mahd Wy'ry did not act up. Just to be safe maybe we should pay a visit to Druig." Gilgamesh suggested.

"Not right away. We have only just moved into our new home. Let's see how long I can last without Mahd Wy'ry gripping me." said Thena.

Gilgamesh thought about that for a minute before agreeing with Thena. They had only just moved into their new home in Australia and as Thena said he was also curious to see whether she was cured of the Mahd Wy'ry.

XXXXXXX

Cerion looked upon the empty wooden house with a frown. He should have realized the Eternals would take their chance to slip away. They had lived on the planet staying far away from public exposure for quite a while. So, he should not have expected Thena to have stayed in the house after getting exposed.

It was by quite sheer dumb luck that he stumbled into an Eternal in Louisiana. And now, she was nowhere to be seen and he feared she might have warned off other Eternals. Even so, he drifted around in the sky looking for any signs of Thena. He was hoping she would have just moved over to a different house. He had his senses expanded over the whole state of Louisiana but there was no luck.

Feeling a bit disappointed he decided to call off the search and he found himself back at Thena's home. He hoped the Eternal was just going out for a vacation or something and would return home. Although, that's highly unlikely seeing as he could see there was almost no furniture or other gadgets left in the wooden home. Shaking his head he was about to take his leave when all of a sudden his ears picked up on a strange sound.

Time began to crawl as he took a good look at what appeared to be a molten globe of lava and rocks seemed to fly out from behind a line of trees. Cerion gracefully let the molten globe pass as he could feel not just heat but an eerie energy signature that set him on edge for some odd reason. Because he decided to not interfere the globe of molten rocks and lava struck Thena's home head-on consuming the Eternal's house in a raging fire.

The intensity of the flame took him back. The flames raged across Thena's home as if it was hungry and began spreading wherever it could. Cerion put a little bit more distance from the flame while looking for the source of the attack. His enhanced vision picked up on a square red glow on the ground shielded by the tree lines. With an unholy roar, a man wearing a red coat jumped out of the red square door. The man looked human in appearance sans for the metallic claws for hands and left eye with creepy white irises. The right eye was covered by a red eyepatch that glowed eerily in the darkness of the night. The man was almost bald with small patches of dark hair along the fringes. The skin on the man's face was hugging too close to the skull as if the man had never had a decent meal in decades.

Even if outwardly the man looked part human Cerion gleaned that this was anything but a human. Mostly cause he could hear no heartbeat from the creature and when he used his enhanced vision he found no heart or other vital organs for that matter. All he saw was molten lava running inside the creature's body.

"What the fuck are you?"

Cerion snapped as he readied himself to face this new strange threat.

"I am the scourge of the seven seas and I have come here on the behest of the Great Corrupter. The Lord of Darkness sends his regards."

The ground rumbled and the air became dead with the creature's declaration. It was as if a terrible curse of death and decay weighed heavily in the air.