Chapter 11: Physical Testing
In the secret laboratory at the top of Wayne Enterprises, cold white light shone evenly on the smooth metal floor, and dozens of precision instruments emitted a soft hum.
Bruce Wayne, having shed his previous affable demeanor, donned a white lab coat, his face now displaying a more composed and sharp expression.
This was the Batman Luka had always imagined.
"First test: basic strength assessment."
Bruce pressed a button on the control panel, and a heavy-duty target plate slowly rose from the center of the lab. Behind it loomed a massive shock-absorbing structure, its hundreds of interlocking piston-like metal tubes resembling a monstrous, mechanical beast.
The initial parameters displayed on the screen.
"Strike the plate with full force. Hold nothing back."
Luka frowned slightly. Though the metal behemoth looked intimidating, he had dismantled far more terrifying contraptions during his combat career.
"Are you sure?"
Bruce chuckled. "This is specially designed. Even Superman has tested it."
That single sentence instantly dispelled all of Luka's doubts, categorizing it as incomprehensible black technology.
He nodded and walked to the plate.
He took a deep breath. The dormant power within his body slowly awakened. The muscles in his right arm tightened instantly, his originally well-proportioned forearm visibly swelling.
In the next instant, his fist tore through the air and slammed into the alloy plate. The impact boomed, a dull thunderclap reverberating through the sealed chamber.
Behind the plate, machinery whirred to life. Pistons and levers began moving in synchronized motion, distributing the force evenly.
Boom!
The readings on the control panel screen fluctuated wildly before settling on a terrifyingly high number.
Bruce's pupils constricted sharply as his fingers flew across the screen, repeatedly verifying the data.
"A single impact force of 127,000 tons..." he murmured, disbelief threading through his voice. "Converted, the static load-bearing limit must be at least 800 million tons."
"That's enough to lift a medium-sized island plate. For reference, even the smallest satellite islands of Australia weigh only around six hundred million tons. And you mentioned you still haven't fully adapted to your current strength."
"Yeah," Luka replied, rolling his shoulder. "Before I escaped, I went through a battle harsher than anything I've ever experienced. Viltrumites gain power through combat, but it's a very rational, incremental process."
Luka wasn't surprised. The Viltrumite physiques were naturally strength-oriented, but even he hadn't anticipated such a dramatic surge in strength after recovering from his near-fatal injuries.
He flexed his wrist, feeling the surging power within him.
"I can sense this isn't even my true limit yet."
Next came the speed and neural reaction tests.
A track on one side of the laboratory instantly lit up, and high-speed targets zipped through the air at several times the speed of sound, leaving trails of afterimages.
Luka moved, transforming into a blurred black streak as he gave chase. But his strikes consistently lagged by a fraction of a second, and once, his excessive speed caused him to smash through several targets.
Fortunately, the Viltrumites' flight capabilities were exceptional, allowing them to execute complex, curved maneuvers even in extremely confined spaces.
This prevented him from losing control and crashing into the walls at full velocity.
It also highlighted a key difference between Viltrumite flight and Superman's. Superman's flight couldn't achieve such agile, curved redirections in extremely tight spaces.
That guy typically relied on broad, sweeping movements for flight and landings.
Luka, by contrast, snapped into a near-instant stop after smashing the targets, rebounding along a curved trajectory measured in fractions of a millimeter. The motion looked less like brute force and more like something nimble, almost elfin.
"Speed test results: peak instantaneous velocity of Mach 5.7, far exceeding ordinary metahumans. However, your neural reaction speed only reliably supports movement up to Mach 3.8."
Bruce stared at the dynamic trajectory analysis on the screen.
"Your neural reaction speed can't keep up with the sudden bursts of speed. There's a clear disconnect between your physical capabilities and your reflexes."
Before he could finish speaking, Luka had already adjusted his stance and launched himself forward again.
This time, he deliberately slowed his initial acceleration, gradually adapting to his body's limits.
As the test progressed, the deviation values on the screen grew smaller and smaller. In just ten minutes, he could accurately capture all targets moving at Mach 5. However, every time he struck, the target was utterly destroyed.
The surprise in Bruce's eyes deepened.
"Your adaptive growth rate is astonishingly rapid, far surpassing that of any known metahuman race. Is this a natural talent of the Viltrumites?"
Luka didn't answer, simply halting his movements and waiting for the next test.
He knew full well that this rapid adaptation had been forged in the life-or-death trials of Viltrum. Those who couldn't keep up with their enemies' speed had long since become corpses.
For the defense test, after Luka removed his shirt, Bruce first activated a high-pressure energy cannon.
The concentrated energy beam struck Luka's chest, making a hissing sound, but it didn't even leave a scorch mark.
Next, Bruce brought out an alloy case filled with various weapons.
"Now we'll test penetration resistance. All these weapons are alloyed with Nth Metal."
Seeing Luka's puzzled expression, Bruce explained:
"Nth Metal originates from Thanagar, Hawkman's home planet. This metal possesses anti-gravity, energy conduction, and enhanced penetration properties. It can disrupt most metahuman bio-force fields and even damage divine bodies, making it one of the rarest armor-piercing materials in the universe."
A mechanical arm rose from the ground, gripping a long blade infused with Nth Metal. It swung the blade with full force at Luka's arm.
The instant the blade touched his skin, a piercing metallic screech filled the air. A shallow, bloody scratch appeared on Luka's arm, only to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"The blade can pierce his defenses," Bruce noted, recording the data. He then manipulated the mechanical arm to switch to a specially designed handgun.
"Now testing Nth Metal bullets."
Bang!
The gunshot echoed as the Nth Metal bullet hurtled toward Luka's shoulder.
Upon impact, the bullet ricocheted off, leaving a small dent in the wall. On Luka's shoulder, only a faint red mark appeared, vanishing almost instantly.
"Strange," Bruce muttered, his brow furrowed as he tapped his fingers against the console. "The blade pierced your defenses, but the bullets didn't? Both contain the same amount of N-Metal. The only difference is the contact area and impact method."
After a moment of contemplation, a flash of insight lit his eyes.
"Your superpower's core might be linked to the unique microscopic structure of Viltrumite bodies. This structure can disperse point-like impacts but struggles to resist linear cutting forces."
This discovery made Bruce even more wary. The Viltrumite physiology was far more complex than he had imagined.
He didn't delve further into the matter, instead producing a sterile syringe and addressing Luka.
"I need to draw a small blood sample for basic analysis. It won't harm you."
Luka extended his arm without resistance.
The specially designed needle tip began vibrating at an imperceptible frequency as a switch was activated, then pierced Luka's skin with some effort.
The subsequent blood extraction proceeded smoothly.
After the blood was drawn, Luka suddenly spoke.
"The Viltrumites have a known weakness: sonic weapons."
Bruce paused for a moment.
Luka continued, "Excessive sonic energy can disrupt and overstimulate our eardrums and brains. In severe cases, it can cause loss of bodily control and combat effectiveness."
Bruce remained silent for a moment before looking up at him.
"I understand you want to test your limits, but the blade and ballistic tests were conducted within a safe range calculated from your strength data. Their purpose is to define your capability boundaries, not to injure you."
"Sonic weapons would cause direct, severe harm. That goes beyond the intent of these tests."
"I need to know where my limits lie," Luka insisted, his voice firm. "On Viltrum, those who don't know their weaknesses won't survive their first trial."
Bruce shook his head.
"I don't have any sonic weapons readily available here. Such weapons are developed and stored in Batman's secret base. If you insist, I can arrange for it later, but not now."
Seeing Bruce's resolute stance, Luka didn't press the matter further.