2023-10-23 Author: Rowing Without Oars 233
Chapter 12: Stirring Up a Hornet's Nest
Underground, Private Laboratory.
Drawing on his many years of study in the Land of Light, Orin Vale had used the limited resources he could get his hands on to build a simple laboratory in the basement. This was his primary research facility.
He was currently tweaking a recently completed design blueprint displayed on a projection screen, making final adjustments before running a simulation on his computer.
This was a project he had started working on a month ago. He had named it "Mobile Ultraman."
That's right, it shared the same name as the famous spin-off anime from the Ultraman series, and the concept was similar.
Simply put, the goal was to create an exoskeleton suit, much like Iron Man's armor from a neighboring universe. It was a life-sized armor in the shape of Ultraman, powered by the technology of Light, possessing strength and performance that far surpassed conventional Earth technology, and could even be equipped with a Specium weapon.
The design of the blueprints and the programming of the internal systems were mostly complete. Orin Vale ran the simulation twice, but then found himself hesitating over the choice of materials for the weapon.
The DC Earth certainly had plenty of Black Technology. For instance, the materials Batman and Lex Luthor used to build their armor surely had outrageously powerful properties. But it was uncertain if such Black Technology even existed yet in the DC Universe, and besides, Orin Vale currently had no way of getting his hands on it.
However, a thought suddenly struck him, and he quickly came up with a potential way to obtain top-tier materials.
It was right inside the kitchen of his own coffee shop.
At that moment, the great Wizard Shazam was struggling with a newly purchased electric oven in the kitchen.
Perhaps finding the device too slow or the heat too difficult to control, the Old Wizard glanced around furtively. Seeing that no one seemed to be watching, he silently muttered a spell and stealthily cast an Acceleration Charm on the oven.
Under the spell's influence, the roasting chicken immediately sped up... turning into a dark brown, charred bird with cracked skin.
Realizing he had overdone the acceleration, the Wizard's pupils constricted. He hastily flipped his hand and cast a Reversal Charm. It was as if time reversed for the blackened chicken, which rapidly returned to its pre-charred state...
A plump, white-shelled egg?
Damn, he'd reversed it too much.
Just then, he suddenly heard footsteps from outside the kitchen door, followed by the young owner's voice, "Senior Wizard?"
The Old Wizard's heart skipped a beat. Thinking fast, he silently recited the Levitation Charm. With a flick of his fingertip, the poor egg was launched out of the open window.
And so, when Orin Vale walked in, he saw the Old Wizard standing in the middle of the kitchen, staring into space.
"Uh, what are you doing?"
The Old Wizard cleared his throat and calmly stroked his great beard. "A wise wizard must set aside a little time each day to contemplate life."
"Uh, alright then. I hope I'm not disturbing your thoughts... I have a question."
"Mm, speak," the Wizard said, stroking his beard and maintaining his image as a Master.
So, Orin Vale briefly explained his purpose and his ideas.
The Old Wizard pondered for a moment, stroking his beard. "Materials, you say... Speaking of which, there might be a small amount of Nth Metal left in the Sanctuary..."
Orin Vale's spirits lifted upon hearing this.
Nth Metal? Could he mean the legendary Nth Metal?
That was one of the most top-tier materials you could acquire in the DC Universe. It was described as a metal that possessed "the potential to subvert all the rules of physics and magic," and it had all sorts of extraordinary properties even without any processing.
For example, anti-gravity; a person wearing Nth Metal could fly freely. It also enhanced the user's strength, granted the ability of Super Self-Healing, and possessed top-tier resistance to magic. The higher its purity, the greater its power. Though extremely rare, the purest Nth Metal could grant Immortality and even bring the dead back to life.
Then again, while the substance was rare, it wasn't *that* rare. On the Thanagarian Empire, the homeworld of the DC Comics Superhero Hawkman, it was practically everywhere—similar to Vibranium in Wakanda from the Marvel Universe.
"There isn't much left, just a little," the Old Wizard said, shaking his head. "I came across it by chance many years ago. I've already used most of it. The small amount remaining has been sitting around for several thousand years and is of no use to me. If you want it, you can take it."
Orin Vale thanked him. Even a tiny amount of a god-level material like Nth Metal would have extraordinary effects. Besides, few people were wealthy enough to forge weapons from pure Nth Metal; it was almost always alloyed with other materials.
Just then, a commotion broke out in the coffee shop outside.
"Don't be so cold."
A young-looking hoodlum stood by a dining table in the coffee shop, leering at a pretty girl.
Three of his companions surrounded him, each wearing a malicious grin. They were dressed in casual attire—mostly ripped, saggy jeans and short-sleeved T-shirts with prints or lettering, looking grimy and exuding a wild, degenerate air.
The girl clearly didn't want any trouble and just shifted her seat away from him.
"Don't be so cold. I just want to be friends."
"Yeah, we just want to chat," his companions jeered from the side.
"It gets a lot less fun when you won't accept a kindness."
The young man slammed his hand on the table, and the silver skeleton hanging around his neck rattled.
The girl's face turned pale with fright, and she shrank back again. "I'm sorry, but I'm really busy..."
"Is that so? Then let me help you make some time—"
The young man grunted, actually raising his fist as if to strike. The frightened girl covered her head.
But he swung with all his might... and found he couldn't bring his fist down.
The young man turned his head in astonishment and saw Orin Vale, who had appeared beside him at some unknown moment. Orin Vale was holding his wrist, a gentle smile on his face.
"Excuse me, sir, but violence is forbidden in our establishment."
The young man narrowed his eyes. "You the owner? This is none of your business. We're from the Cross Gang. If you know what's good for you, get out of our way."
"Cross Gang?" Orin Vale thought hard for a moment.
The name didn't ring a bell.
It was mainly because there were just too many gangs of all sizes in Gotham. He couldn't even remember all the major ones, let alone the small, unheard-of ones.
"We operate around Nineteenth Street. Today, we're here on business for our boss, Elliot... That's right, the Elliot they call 'Mad Elliot'!"
"Oh, I see," Orin Vale said with dawning realization.
No wonder. It explained why some clueless fools would still dare to cause trouble in his shop at a time like this; they were from another neighborhood.
It was normal for outsiders not to know the situation.
His look of realization was apparently misinterpreted by the young man as a sign that he had heard of their boss's notorious reputation, which only made him more arrogant.
"So let go of my hand right now, apologize, and you can continue running your little shop here. I can pretend none of this ever happened..."
Thud, thud, thud, thud.
A series of four dull thuds.
The four hoodlums fell flat on their backs, blood streaming from their noses. The pain of the blows only registered after they hit the ground.
It was too fast.
The young man, who had been acting so arrogantly just a second before, still hadn't processed what had happened even as he lay on the cold floor.
Did I just... get floored?
How?
Still bewildered, he watched from the floor as the young owner casually dragged a chair over and sat down beside him.
"Now, about this... 'Mad Elliot'?" Orin Vale smiled. "Tell me everything."
The young thugs trembled.
They vaguely began to realize that this time, they might have stirred up a hornet's nest.
(end of chapter)