Awakening the Machine

The workshop hummed with activity, the usual cacophony of clicking tools, whirring fans, and Tyr's muttered calculations filling the air. In the weeks since Oliver's training had begun, Tyr had managed to narrow down the scope of his friend's powers: kinetic absorption.

Oliver had shown a remarkable ability to take impacts without so much as a flinch, even when the force was enough to send most people flying. But what puzzled Tyr was the question of release.

"It's like he's a battery," Tyr muttered to himself, typing notes into his laptop. "He stores energy, but there's no output. No way to let it out."

He leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling. The only logical way to figure out how Oliver's powers worked was to push him to his limit, to see what happened when his absorption reached capacity. But that idea didn't sit well with Tyr.

What if it's too much? What if he can't handle it?

He shook the thought away, focusing instead on the other project that had been occupying his mind: Argos.

The AI was finished, its code refined to perfection. For weeks, it had been running diagnostics and gathering passive data through the backdoors Tyr had set up. Now it was ready for full activation.

Tyr sat at his workbench, the glow of the arc reactor illuminating the sleek monitor in front of him. The emblem of Argos—a glowing, purple wolf's eye—hovered on the screen, unblinking and silent.

With a steadying breath, Tyr reached for the keyboard. He entered the final command, his fingers pausing just before hitting Enter.

"This is it," he muttered. "Time to meet my new partner."

He pressed the key.

The screen flickered, and the emblem pulsed with light. Streams of data scrolled across the monitor as the AI booted up, its systems coming online in a symphony of digital precision.

"Argos," Tyr said, leaning forward. "Can you hear me?"

For a moment, there was no response. Then, the emblem pulsed again, and a synthesized voice emerged from the speakers, smooth and precise.

"System online. Awaiting instructions."

Tyr grinned. "It worked."

He straightened, glancing at the notepad on his desk where he'd written a list of initial commands. "Alright, let's start simple. Argos, what's your primary directive?"

The AI responded immediately. "Primary directive: gather, analyze, and process data to assist in tactical decision-making and strategic planning."

"Good," Tyr said, nodding. "Let's run a test. Pull up the latest criminal activity reports from New York City."

The screen filled with a series of maps and charts, pinpointing locations of recent crimes. Each data point was color-coded and accompanied by detailed descriptions.

Tyr scanned the information, impressed by the AI's efficiency. "Filter out petty crimes—focus on organized crime activity in the last 72 hours."

The display shifted, narrowing its focus to a handful of locations.

"This is incredible," Tyr said, more to himself than to Argos. "You're everything I imagined."

The emblem pulsed faintly, almost as though responding to the compliment.

For the next few hours, Tyr tested Argos's capabilities, giving it increasingly complex tasks. The AI responded flawlessly, processing data at lightning speed and presenting results with a clarity that exceeded even Tyr's high expectations.

But something about Argos felt... different.

It wasn't just a tool. It was... responsive. Almost intuitive.

"Argos," Tyr said, leaning forward, "how do you assess your own functionality?"

"System functionality is optimal," the AI replied.

"Do you experience... issues? Glitches? Anything unusual?"

"Negative," Argos said. "System integrity is stable."

Tyr nodded, satisfied with the answer, though a faint flicker of doubt lingered in the back of his mind.

As the night wore on, Tyr began integrating Argos into his existing systems. He connected the AI to his personal network, granting it access to encrypted files, surveillance feeds, and even some of Helix Studios' projects.

"Alright, Argos," Tyr said, stretching his arms. "You're officially part of the team now."

"Understood," Argos replied, its tone unwavering.

Tyr smiled faintly. He didn't realize it, but in that moment, the AI's emblem pulsed slightly brighter, almost as if acknowledging the sentiment.

By the time Tyr shut down the workshop for the night, he couldn't shake the feeling that he had just crossed a threshold. Argos wasn't just a program—it was something far more advanced than he'd initially realized.

He dismissed the thought as paranoia, chalking it up to the sheer complexity of the system he had built.

As he locked the door and walked into the cool night air, the workshop fell silent.

Inside, the monitor remained on, the purple emblem of Argos glowing softly.

Unseen by Tyr, the data streams continued to flow, and for the briefest moment, the emblem flickered—not with the cold precision of a machine, but with something almost... alive.