Mercy worked in silence, cleaning the burns on my arms with antiseptic that stung like hell. I didn't flinch. Couldn't afford to show weakness, even now.
"You're lucky," she said, wrapping gauze around my forearm. "Second-degree burns, nothing third. The explosion could have been worse."
"Feels worse."
"It will for a few days." She moved to the cut on my forehead, wiping away dried blood. Her touch was surprisingly gentle for someone who'd just beaten two armed mercenaries unconscious. "You need rest. Real rest. Your body is running on adrenaline and spite."
"I'll rest when I'm not dead."
She almost smiled. "Very Luthor of you."
"Is that a compliment?"
"An observation." She finished the bandage, started packing away the med kit. "Your father once worked for seventy-two hours straight building the first Kryptonite weapon prototype. Didn't sleep, barely ate. I had to physically drag him away from the workbench."
I looked at her, genuinely curious. "You were there?"
"I've been with your father for eight years, Ralph. I've seen him at his worst and his best." She met my eyes. "Right now, you remind me more of him than I expected."
Something warm flickered in my chest. Not attraction. Respect. Recognition.
"Thank you," I said quietly.
"For what?"
"For your kindness. For helping me when you didn't have to. For not writing me off as the disappointment."
She was quiet for a moment, studying my face like she was seeing me for the first time. "Don't thank me yet. We still have to finish this thing. And survive what comes after."
She stood, started examining the Kryptonian battery we'd hauled back to the lab. It sat on a specialized mounting frame, still glowing yellow-gold through the cracks in its crystal matrix.
"We should interrogate them," she said, nodding toward the storage room where we'd locked Plastique and the two mercenaries. I could hear muffled voices through the reinforced door. Angry voices. "They might know something about who hired them."
"Waste of time," I said, pushing myself to my feet. Everything hurt. "They won't tell us anything useful."
"You can't know that."
"I can deduce it." I moved to the workstation where the suit's schematics were displayed. "Think about it. Whoever hired Deadshot is smart enough to compartmentalize. Plastique gets a target, a timeframe, and payment. That's it. The mercs? Even less. They got system access codes and a vault location. Nobody knows the full picture except him."
"Him?" Mercy raised an eyebrow. "You're sure it's a man?"
"Plastique said 'he.' Specifically used male pronouns when talking about her employer." I pulled up the data we'd gathered so far. "At first I thought it might be Amanda Waller. She has the resources, the connections, the ruthlessness. But Plastique worked for Waller before. If it was her, Plastique would've said so or stayed quiet. She had no reason to gender the employer unless it was true."
Mercy considered this. "What if she was lying? Misdirection?"
"What if she wasn't?" I met her eyes. "This is my best bet. A man, wealthy, connected, with access to metahumans and LexCorp's security systems. That narrows the field considerably."
"To about fifty people in Metropolis alone."
"Better than everyone." I turned back to the suit. "We're wasting time we don't have. You want to interrogate them? Go ahead. I need to install this battery before it loses more power."
She studied me for a long moment. Finally nodded. "Later. If we have time. Right now, you're right. The suit is priority one."
She moved to the other side of the mounting frame, pulling up technical specifications. "Your father's notes say the battery outputs at 2.4 gigawatts at full capacity. The suit's systems are designed to handle that load, but with the crystal matrix damaged..."
"We're looking at maybe 1.5 gigawatts. Sixty percent capacity." I examined the power couplings. "The real problem is the frequency mismatch."
"Explain."
"Kryptonian solar energy operates on a different wavelength than human engineering. It's like trying to plug a European device into an American outlet. Wrong voltage, wrong frequency, everything's incompatible." I pointed at the coupling interface. "We need adapters. Frequency modulators to translate the energy output into something the suit can actually use."
```
[>> SKILL ACTIVATED <<]
Analysis Level 2
Scanning battery integration...
IDENTIFIED ISSUES:
- Frequency mismatch (Kryptonian vs Human tech)
- Power coupling incompatibility
- Damaged crystal matrix (unstable output)
- Heat dissipation insufficient
REQUIRED SOLUTIONS:
1. Build frequency modulation array
2. Redesign power coupling interface
3. Install surge protection systems
4. Add cooling mechanism
ESTIMATED TIME: 6-8 hours
DIFFICULTY: EXTREME
```
"How long to build the modulators?" Mercy asked.
"Three hours. Maybe four if we hit problems."
"We don't have four hours to spare."
"Then I'll do it in three."
___
I'd lost track of time.
My hands moved on autopilot, connecting circuits, calibrating frequency arrays, testing power flows. The work required absolute precision. One wrong connection and the battery could overload, explode, take out half the sub-level.
No pressure.
The battery's crystal matrix pulsed like a heartbeat, yellow-gold light washing across my workstation. Beautiful and terrifying in equal measure.
"Hand me the quantum coupling," I said.
Mercy passed it over. "You're mumbling."
"What?"
"You've been talking to yourself for the past twenty minutes. Technical jargon I barely understand."
I hadn't realized. Marcus Webb used to do that too, working through problems verbally when he was alone. Apparently the habit transferred.
"Sorry."
"Don't be. It's actually helping me follow your logic." She checked a readout. "Power flow is stabilizing. Whatever you're doing is working."
I finished connecting the final modulator, stepped back to examine the setup. The frequency array looked like something from a sci-fi movie. Crystal matrices, quantum processors, energy conduits all woven together in a complex web.
"Moment of truth," I said. "Activating battery integration in three... two... one."
I hit the switch.
The battery flared bright. Energy flooded through the modulators, transformed, channeled into the suit's power systems. The exoskeleton frame lit up, servos humming to life for the first time.
Then the power output spiked.
The battery's glow intensified, the crystal matrix flaring so bright I had to look away.
"Shut it down!" Mercy shouted.
I slammed the emergency cutoff. The glow dimmed. The lab's lights flickered. Smoke rose from one of the modulators.
```
[>> WARNING <<]
POWER SURGE DETECTED
Kryptonian energy output: 180% of expected
Cause: Frequency mismatch (harmonics not aligned)
Damage: Minor (modulator 3 burned out)
CRITICAL: Recalibration required
Failure to correct will result in
catastrophic overload
```
"What the hell was that?" Mercy asked, already checking the damaged systems.
"The harmonics are off. The modulator is translating the frequency, but not perfectly. We're getting interference waves that amplify the power output unpredictably." I pulled up the diagnostic data, mind racing through the problem. "We need to add harmonic dampeners. Something to smooth out the interference and regulate the flow."
"How long?"
"Two hours. Maybe three."
She checked her watch. Her expression darkened. "We don't have three hours."
"Then I'll do it in two."
"Ralph..."
"I'll do it in two, Mercy." I was already pulling components, designing the dampener array in my head. "I have to."
She didn't argue. Just moved to help me, passing tools and components before I asked for them. We fell into a rhythm. Her experience with Lex's projects and my desperate innovation combining into something that actually worked.
One hour passed. Then another.
The dampeners took shape. Not elegant, but functional. I installed them into the frequency array, connected them to the battery's output systems, triple-checked every connection.
"Ready?" I asked.
"As we'll ever be."
I activated the integration sequence again.
The battery pulsed. Energy flowed. Through the modulators. Through the dampeners. Into the suit.
Smooth. Stable. Perfect.
The exoskeleton frame hummed with power. Servos moved, responding to the energy flow. The chest plate glowed faintly with circuitry lighting up for the first time.
It was beautiful.
```
[>> BATTERY INSTALLATION: SUCCESS <<]
Power Output: 1.47 gigawatts (stable)
Efficiency: 61% of original capacity
Status: FUNCTIONAL
Runtime Estimate: 24 hours continuous use
Recharge Time: 8 hours (direct sunlight)
WARNING: Damaged crystal matrix may
degrade further - monitor output levels
```
I let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding. "It works."
"It works," Mercy confirmed, actually smiling. "Your father would be... impressed."
"Let's not tell him I almost blew up his lab."
"Deal."
From the storage room, shouting erupted. Plastique's voice, sharp and angry, hurling what sounded like French profanity. The mercs joined in, demanding release.
"They're getting loud," Mercy observed.
"Let them scream." I checked the time display. My stomach dropped.
```
[>> TIME CHECK <<]
Hours Elapsed: 8
Time Remaining: 28 hours
PROGRESS:
✓ Neural Calibration: 100%
✓ Battery Installation: 95%
⟳ AI Core Programming: 30%
✗ Weapons Integration: 15%
✗ Armor Assembly: 60%
✗ Flight Systems: 5%
OVERALL: 48%
STATUS: On schedule (barely)
Deadshot arrives in: 28 hours
```
"Twenty-eight hours left," I said. "We're not even halfway done."
"Then we keep working." Mercy moved to another workstation. "I'll start on the armor plating assembly. You focus on the AI core. That's where your real expertise is."
She was right. The AI programming was where INT 99 really mattered. Where Marcus's knowledge of computing and Ralph's access to LexCorp's quantum frameworks could merge into something neither could do alone.
I sat down at the AI development terminal, pulled up a fresh cup of coffee that had appeared at some point, and dove into the code.
This was going to be a long night.
But if I could pull this off? If I could build what Lex couldn't finish?
Maybe I'd prove I was more than the disappointment after all.
XP GAINED: +60
Total: 370/500
PROGRESS:
Skills Used: Analysis Lv.2
Allies: Mercy Graves (Loyalty: 35%)
Enemies: Deadshot (28 hours out), Unknown Employer, Plastique (locked up)
TIME REMAINING: 28 hours
CRITICAL MILESTONE: Battery installed
```
___