Chapter 7: Projects
"Smart atoms as complex as they come. At this rate, I won't make any progress," Rex sighed. After a week of studying Mark's blood, he hadn't gained much knowledge about its capabilities and usage.
They only granted improvement in healing and stamina, which heavily explained why Mark hadn't gained any powers early on like other Viltrumites. Perhaps it was because his smart atoms were dormant.
Delving deeper, Rex recognized the true potential of the smart atoms in Viltrumite physiology. Their inability to exercise their full potential left him a bit relieved. Any more power, and they would have been too overpowered, and his chances of survival would likely dwindle.
"With smart atoms, energy manipulation should be possible, but not one Viltrumite can do it," Rex pondered. "Why?"
"I guess that's all for today," Rex said aloud. "Helix, how is the miniature arc matrix coming?" he inquired, glancing at the almost finished laser gun that gave him unexplained excitement, making him chuckle lightly.
"Everything's going accordingly, Maker. You requested I inform you when it's 7 PM for the project you planned to work on," Helix responded.
"Oh right, it's time already." With that, Rex exited the bio lab and headed to the central lab, where an array of machines stood. At the center, a platform six meters wide on each side—the interactive holographic platform Helix had built with a robotic arm to aid in its construction. Completed in three days and powered by arc energy, it was ready to go.
"Helix, upload the prototypes of the battle suits," he requested. The hologram came to life, displaying several suits from worst to best. Rex had been making constant changes and improvements to his original design to eliminate errors.
"Helix, let's rework what we already have."
"Of course. The outer layer is made of a graphene-coated titanium alloy, providing high strength and lightweight protection. The middle layer is composed of a self-healing polymer composite with embedded microcapsules. The inner layer is made of boron nitride nanotubes for thermal management and additional structural integrity," Helix explained.
Instructing Helix to end the description, Rex swiped through the hologram, ensuring he didn't miss any mistakes. With the errors edited out, he uploaded the prototype of the laser gun he had made, erasing the other holographic prototypes of the battle suits, leaving the main one and the laser gun on display.
Although the laser gun's actual production was incomplete due to a week of studying dormant Viltrumite blood, Rex had managed to make a workable prototype, planning to integrate it into the suit.
With a flick, the arm section of the suit came apart, revealing its layers. He did the same with the laser gun, dismantling it and separating the wavelength controller. "This makes my work a lot easier," he thought joyfully.
Glancing at the laser gun, now without the photon crystal, he sighed. Without it, the laser gun could only be called a plasma gun due to its heat production mechanism, but its effect was still powerful.
He moved the wavelength controller into both arms, making the plasma lenses appear at the exterior of the arm, glowing blue, before creating a retractable layer over it.
"Now, how should flight be achieved?" Rex pondered all possible methods: jet propulsion, electromagnetic propulsion, winged flight.
In reality, none of it interested him except levitation devices like hoverboards; it was because he didn't want to add more things to the battle suit to avoid bulkiness.
He knew that, in time, he wouldn't need external factors to thrive, thanks to his upcoming Project 'Project Kryptonian' involving Viltrumite blood and multiple other aliens and monsters. But for now, he had to rely on a crutch, which was the battle suit.
The project could have been completed sooner if he had the blood of a full-fledged Viltrumite or one with active powers. Since Mark's powers were still dormant, right now his blood was not more than a tonic. "Put a surfboard made of metal on display," he commanded, swiftly moving his hands to holo the metallic board made of lightweight metal.
After some twists and turns, he created a three-way hybrid propulsion system consisting of superconducting magnets, electromagnetic parts, and an induction coil at the bottom for lifting propulsion, fused with a plasma emitter at the rear for forward propulsion.
It took an extra hour to ensure its size was appropriate and that it could be easily piloted, preventing the possibility of slipping off after adjusting the electromagnetic function.
"Maker, it's time for the practical exercise," Helix informed on schedule while Rex simply sighed at having to leave the tech lab.
He exited the main lab connecting to all other lab branches and facilities, entering the renovated room that seemed empty at first. However, as he stepped in, a section of the floor rose up, revealing an arrangement of cold weapons. Selecting a curved dagger, the section quickly retracted into the floor.
With that, the room was suddenly plunged into darkness. Grabbing a blindfold made from fabric colored with the blackest of paints, he called out, "Helix, I'm ready."
And with that, an unsettling silence descended upon the room. With eerie silence and darkness, a normal human would be rendered blind, but for Rex, this was an ordinary training he performed in the league of assassins.
Their senses were forcefully trained to adapt to darkness, boosting their sensitivity and reaction to danger so as not to be caught off guard.
In his past life, when he was still in his prime, he remembered how casually he dodged bullets—or essentially, he dodged before the trigger was pulled.
Being the best of the best of the trained assassins, he easily got the right to pick a codename for himself: 'X.' A name that resounded through the underground like an earth-shattering tsunami, eventually even his friend became fearful of him.
He never missed a target, he never lost a contract; he was an absolute killing machine. However, his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by an object whistling through the air, and instinctively, his body reacted.
The dagger in his hands flashed with cold light as the object was split in two. Rex, however, did not have time to revel in his achievements as hundreds more left their cannons, flying at him at hundreds of kilometers per hour.
He dodged, he weaved, he was untouched. His acute senses boosted his skills by leaps and bounds, surpassing the limits of his previous life many times over. As he continued, his altered genes and DNA went to work, developing a new sense that didn't require the eye nor the ear, a sense that could pinpoint the direction of the attacks: the danger sense.
This went on for hours, and it only continued to get easier. Even the fatigue that had been creeping up on him was no longer an obstacle.
He made small movements, the projectiles grazing his shirt and hair but never touching his body. Eventually, he even began to catch the high-speed projectiles.
At this moment, he felt like he no longer needed his vision; his danger sense had reached the point where he no longer possessed a blind spot, and with that, a smirk was ingrained on his face.
"Helix, proceed further," he commanded.
"But Maker, it's..." Helix hesitated.
"Helix, I said proceed further," Rex directed, too focused on his training to realize Helix had, for the first time ever, questioned his commands.
With that, the cannons were replaced, and the next moment, the first projectile was released. An invisible cold hint shone as a short handless knife was shot toward Rex at speeds comparable to, if not surpassing, a bullet.
However, before the projectile even left its host, Rex had dived out of the way. But to his dismay, tens more followed, bombarding him from all sides.
With a sweaty palm, he knew he couldn't dodge them all perfectly, which led him to shift his position slightly, allowing the knives to graze his body, leaving his clothes tattered and his skin cut.
"This body is not reacting fast enough," he thought, wondering why his body still reacted so slowly even when his brain was sending signals at an unprecedented rate.
As the barrage continued, he began to adjust to the rhythm, catching the projectiles before throwing them at the incoming ones. Slowly, he began to gain ground, using the caught projectiles to block the launchers, clogging them, which resulted in explosions.
Finally, he leaped into the air, dodging the knife that almost collided with his forehead, before throwing the one in his hand at the launcher, causing the final launcher to explode.
As he did, fatigue finally enveloped his body, and he collided with the floor with a resounding thud, passing out due to exhaustion.
(A/N)Superhero name needed, and remember the combat suit is only temporary.
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
-- Power
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