Chapitre 16: Part 15
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I got to my workshop pretty damn quickly and finally found myself in front of my customised suit. Having got rid of all the superfluous rhino paraphernalia and repainted the whole thing in radical black, as well as slightly reinforced servos and motors, I was satisfied. After looking at the monster for a few more seconds, I grinned and pulled the arc reactor out of the container and started the thing up. After checking all the systems and completing a quick analysis of the machine's technical condition, I opened the gate that led directly into the city. Using the reactor at twenty per cent of its capacity, I tried to squeeze the most out of my toy.
The suit's artificial muscles and servos were working almost at their limit, but it was not critical, because the reliability of this huge machine had been improved by me during one sleepless night. The reactor was doing its job properly. When I got out of the underground, I immediately activated the jetpack on my back, which allowed me to use the repulsor technology. Even though I was just trying it out, I could already accelerate my suit by means of powerful jumps. And then, it won't be long before I'm flying.
In a couple of jumps I was in Manhattan, and I checked the satellite and maps, so that I could immediately follow the brazen thief and return the gold to honest people. Or just keep it, because why would those fellows want such a noble metal? And I will always find a use for it, and new projects require a lot of financial injections. So a couple of tonnes of gold will not hurt my business. And what's left over can be used for charity. But who am I kidding, because it is clear that nothing will remain, especially with all this crisis of semiconductors and such terrible prices for materials.
When I got to the warehouse somewhere in Hell's Kitchen, I spotted the tyre treads of a familiar truck. Or was it more like a full-blown lorry? Without a moment's hesitation, as well as a knock, I simply broke through the warehouse's lift gate. Surprised, two dozen or so criminal-looking workers, who, apparently, were going to unload stolen gold, stared at me.
A man with a military appearance and a peach-yellow suit that apparently protected him from electricity stood out among them. The perpetrator's head was wrapped in a tactical helmet that partially resembled a Stark creation, but the face of the helmet was slightly different. The robber's ammunition was of the same unitary colour, except for a pair of tasers that were carelessly mounted on both arms of this Kulibin.
- Shaise, how did we get burned? Eddie might be upset. Boys, deal with that bastard in the suit,' said the man with the military bearing.
So cheeky. They don't even seem to mind the size of my toy. Well, they asked for it. I redirected a couple of per cent more of the arc reactor's power into synthetic muscles and servos, and flattened the man with the crowbar. The bloody mess and the remnants of his brain reached the man in the insulation suit, and all the other workers were immediately taken aback by my drastic measures.
- What the fuck are you doing? - Kulibin came to his senses. - Hans, get the machine gun, - he shouted to some big guy and began to concentrate all available power in his shockers. - And I'll hold our 'guest' for the time being. - he said predatorily through his helmet's vocoder.
Grinning, I didn't even bother him, because I was also wondering whether the defence of my car could withstand his current. What if I had spent so long setting up the electrical protection and all sorts of insulation in my armoured suit for nothing? The enemy didn't wait long and, like a Sith, fired a couple of lightning bolts at me, but it didn't affect my armour. So, I'd really gone to a lot of trouble with the insulation for a reason. Grinning mentally, I continued my offensive and scattered a couple more people.
- Shaize. - Kulibin swore again.
Soon Hans showed up with an MG-3, a drum-fed 7.62 calibre. After taking a very generous line directly into the hull, I calmly continued my steady advance. As expected, the armour held. It's even scary to imagine what would have happened if I had decided to climb on the Rhino 'in full parade'. Still, it's not a bad toy I got, so I guess I'll just have to modify the costume a bit, and it'll be good.
- What are you doing? - The man with the military bearing said in disbelief. - As if Stark wasn't enough, we got another nutcase in a super suit. Shit. - The robber swore again and took the machine gun from Hans.
He tried to find the suit's vulnerabilities, but I kept getting rid of his friends in a radical but effective way. Soon we were alone.
- Shaize. - He said again and threw out the machine gun, slowly retreating, while checking the miniature comlink on his arm, which, apparently, replaced his watch or PDA. - I'm not going to let you get away with this,' the robber said nervously, glancing at the comlink again. - Sayonara, you bastard. - Kulibin grinned and pulled a detonator out of his pocket, and a moment later a massive figure with wings pierced the roof of the warehouse. After grabbing a couple of ingots and throwing away the activated detonator, our electrician simply slipped through the air.
Admittedly, I didn't expect that, but I hurried out of the warehouse, or I wasn't ready to test the blast defences just yet. A couple of seconds later, the warehouse literally exploded. It seems that our Kulibin had made sure to clean up all traces beforehand. Having dismantled the rubble, I opened the melted lorry and shook my head unhappily - all the ingots that were outside the vehicle were melted or melted in places, mixed with all sorts of rubbish. It was especially noticeable in the epicentre of the explosion. So all the gold couldn't be carried away, but fuck it.
Separating the melted semi-trailer from the completely destroyed vehicle and throwing the new burden on my shoulder, I immediately added power to the servos and muscles and, periodically accelerating from repulsors, I left the city territory in a couple of jumps. Returning to my lair through the abandoned tunnels, I finally exhaled. All that was left was to sell the gold, and I could get back to my projects. But all that would have to wait, so I could rest for a while.
Leaving the guts of the armoured suit, I finally took a full breath. I wouldn't say that there were problems with air, but being inside was a bit stressful, and I wasn't a scuba diver to like the inside of a suit so much. Studying the slightly scratched hull of the machine and traces from machine-gun bursts, I came to the conclusion that the 'toy' had passed field tests, and if slightly modified and added some things, it would be quite useful in the economy.
Next, I checked the arc reactor, which was located in the most protected place of my monster. As expected, the reactor wasn't even scratched, so I could continue to use it. Although the armour should be reinforced, since the servos still allow it. And some weapons wouldn't hurt either, because crushing people is not the most pleasant thing, and it's a challenge to wash the suit now. You can't take this big thing to a car wash, can you? Should I get myself a kurcher? It won't be superfluous, because in my previous life I had their tools, and I didn't complain about the quality, so it's worth thinking about it. Or I could install a bigger weapon on my suit. Shaking my head tiredly and checking the defence system, I left my basement with a clear conscience.
This time I decided to take the underground home at a leisurely pace, so I put on some upbeat music in my headphones and, sinking a little into the realm of Morpheus and slumber, I reached my stop. Not paying attention to the total desertedness, I continued walking until I bumped into some stout guy in a dimensionless basketball jersey. Paying more attention to the stranger, I immediately noticed that instead of skin, he had jade-coloured scales, and for some reason his head looked like a giant lizard.
- Yo, nigga, look at the snowball that came to our fire. - the basketball lizard said predatorily to his mate.
- Johnny, for the last fucking time I'm telling you, don't call me that. - another lizard with a metal bat in his hands. Behind him were five more aggressive reptiles.
- Oh, come on, Gaby. You always don't like to have fun, so at least don't bother the others. - Johnny said and pulled out a transparent bag of white pills from his jeans pocket, followed by the others.
The thugs squeezed the pills into the toothy jaws of the gopniks and clenched their eyes in pleasure. A couple of seconds, and their fat layer began to melt practically before their eyes, and new muscles were clearly visible in the weak light of the underground. Is this some kind of doping? How curious. Putting away my headphones, I suddenly approached one of the lizards, who lazily held an old revolver in his hand. Deftly slipping behind its back, I snapped the creature's neck in one frugal movement and took possession of the weapon.
- Cabron. - Gaby said. - He killed Marcus. Go! - he roared, coming straight at me.
I took aim and fired a bullet straight into the creature's eye. I accelerated slightly and picked up the bat, striking the nearest lizard from the bottom up. The new shot went straight into the monster's mouth. Turning around, I hit it like we were taught in baseball, and the lizard's head twists unnaturally and the bat suddenly becomes unusable. Immediately, I throw it at the head of the mutant, who decides to escape.
- Under Your protection we come, Holy Mother of God, do not despise our prayers in our sorrows, but always deliver us from all dangers, O glorious and blessed Virgin! - The last lizard, who appeared to be a Catholic, suddenly began to pray. - Please don't kill...' he said, abruptly, and began to beg for his life. - I've got a mum and five brothers to look after. - this scumbag decided to put the squeeze on the family.
Without unnecessary haste, reaching the mutant that clutched a simple cross in his hands, I just shook my head reproachfully. Throwing a squeamish glance at the pissing monster, I shoved the barrel of my revolver down his throat.
- Well, that's one less freeloader in the family. - I said coldly into the begging eyes of the scum. - Now pray, and we'll play Russian roulette. If you pray hard enough, you might get lucky. - spinning the drum right in front of the mooing lizard's eyes, I repeated. - Pray! - and he started mooing something, but more diligently. After spinning the drum a couple more times, I pressed the trigger. - I guess God is not on your side today, or maybe you should have prayed harder. - I said glumly.
A quiet pop, and the lizard dropped like a sack of potatoes. Or whatever he was eating in his diner? Wiping the revolver on the unlucky gangster's clothes, I pulled out of his pocket a transparent bag with a couple of white pills. I thought it would be quite interesting to investigate this strange drug and its subsequent effects. With a hum, I plugged my headphones back in and headed home to the sound of good old-fashioned rock. If I hurried, I might even get some sleep.
The Lizard King
Is there a difference between an ordinary human and a monster? What makes us different? In my opinion, it's just a matter of perception. I was once human, or rather, part of me was. But like any self-respecting scientist, I wanted to bring something great to this world. And since all my research was so damn dangerous, I had to try everything practically on myself.
That's how the fundamental part of me came to be, which eventually came to dominate the old personality, locking it away in the recesses of my mind.
Just one experiment and your life is turned upside down.
Perception is an important part of making sense of the world. By becoming a monster, I saw all the imperfections and ugliness of our universe, which prevents our society from rising above human vices.
The funny thing is, if you slightly change the angle of perception, everyone else sees the same thing I do, but that's not the point. By becoming the first of my kind, I gained full control over all the 'children' I spawned after the epiphany. Unfortunately, many of them turned out to be incapable of anything, so not all of them should be given a second chance, and now I'll take that into account. The weak have no place in the new world, my world.
The first to go through the forced conversion and the accompanying 'epiphany' were my former colleagues and co-workers. Even if not all of them had been fully pumped with stimulants and then treated with the emitter, those who survived were only slightly inferior in strength and regeneration even to me. After some time, I did refine the formula and got a more compact and less conspicuous way to turn.
Unfortunately, this time I was let down by the original material, because what kind of soldiers or labourers are made of recent drug addicts? Let the new method brought the human body to the peak level for them and smoothly changed the psyche. But this method was also ineffective, so I started the third phase, and launched the 'best' painkillers on the market. And the difference with cheap drugs there was not too big, so it was not difficult to establish production.
This method was radically different from the previous two, and acted much milder, while activating the dormant X genes in people. But they still needed the treatment from my emitter to turn into a more perfect species, so now I myself select yesterday's people for elevation. Since they've all been pharma-treated through enhanced pills, they'll have a better chance of survival. All that remains is to decide what to do with the failed specimens, because they can't be flushed down the drain.
And unattended, they will only wreak havoc. However, what to take from yesterday's drug addicts, gangsters, various scum and other scum from the bottom of this marvellous city. Perhaps I should just gather them all in one place when I'm ready to clean them up as another failed experiment. And the loss to our society will not be so great, because we can always 'recruit' new 'children' into our huge 'family'.
- Father... - a slightly battered lizard in an oversized basketball jersey burst into my lab. - My name is Johnny Sink, and my brothers and I were attacked by some college kid. In the end, only me and Darius survived, and that was because he took us out with a bat. We took your gifts before the fight, but even that didn't save us. - Sink was practically panting. Behind him, apparently, Darius was also standing with a bandaged head.
- Johnny, Johnny. - I hissed irritably. - You remember the cardinal rule of our house, don't you? - I said calmly. - No? Well, I guess your brain's a little out of whack from all the drugs you've been taking all week. Or did you think your enhanced regeneration would save you? - I laughed ravenously and rose from my chair, instantly towering over Johnny by three heads. Grabbing the lizard by the throat, I raised him to my eye level and shook my index finger and claw reproachfully at his nose. - You can't just walk into my lab, interfere with my work, and get away with it alive! - I growled in Sink's face, for these lowlifes understand only force and nothing more. A second's hesitation. and my grip becomes ironclad, and the guy jerks violently. Having fixed his neck, I effortlessly added my other hand and simply tore off the bastard's head along with the entire spinal column.
With a fierce growl, I tossed Johnny's head right under the feet of a shocked Darius, who remained tactfully silent. Maybe something would come out of him. I'm going to lose the last shred of my humanity with all these lowlifes, and it won't be long before I'm a monster. But what if all this human stuff just limits our species? And if we strip away all the unnecessary stuff, we can become what we are. And does a predator care about the problems of herbivores?
- Add Johnny's head to the wall of the law,' I hissed more calmly. - Then go to Maria. She's good at drawing, so describe this 'student' to her. He might be useful to us, and you can be free. - Shivering like an aspen leaf in the wind, Darius hurried to do as he was told. He immediately picked his head up off the bloody floor and ran off in English. I only growled, noticing that I had stained another dressing gown with the blood of these lowlifes.
Without unnecessary haste, I took off my dressing gown and immediately sent it to the basket for washing, I hurried to leave the laboratory, because the mood is now lost, and all because of one idiot. And how to work with them, and whether it is worth it at all?
Walking around the territory of the abandoned bunker in case of nuclear war with the Soviets, I saw how my comrades were tidying up the place. Proven soldiers were hustling the slackers in the restoration work, and various specialists were checking the plans and tasks. Life was boiling in our 'anthill', so it was even pleasant to look at. When the bunker will be ready, we will finally get a full-fledged base, and we will no longer hide like rats or mutants.
When I got to the isolation room where the 'test subjects' were kept, I greeted the guards, and they hurriedly did not disturb me and left for a 'smoke break'. Initially I was too naive and foolish to try everything on my own skin, but now everything is different and I can make all my projects on a larger scale. The transparent bulletproof glass chambers contained various people, and now a curious pair of boyish eyes were looking at me.
Making a new test on different people, I gradually refined the formula and technology, because there is no limit to perfection. And so, in time, and to improve not far away. After all, you can add different templates for transformation, so that the new 'people' were stronger, faster or smarter, and if you can control the degree of transformation, it will be fantastic.
And after that, we can start running the clones. My resources will be free in about ten years. Assuming we get the technology up to speed, clones will be even easier. Perfect beings, planned from the ground up. The new top of the evolutionary chain. And then we'll be well on our way to colonisation, because there are so many uninhabited places on Earth just waiting to be developed.
Plus, it is always possible to refine the technologies that are secretly created for Martian expansion and bring all the deserted and no one needs land in a godly form. But now all that's needed is time and systematic development. Well, and that nobody interferes with my preparation, and then it will be extremely difficult to stop us, and we will get everything that is ours by the right of the strongest without delay.
- What a curious young man. Soon you will be a part of our huge family, so don't worry, kid. - I hissed through the ventilation slits to the shaken boy, who still kept his eyes on my scales, claws, and fangs.
- You're confused, Uncle. - said the boy confidently. - I already have a mum and dad, so we can't be a family. - The boy smiled victoriously. - Can your claws cut metal? - he asked with childlike directness.
- And not just metal,' my fangy smile didn't embarrass the boy. - To become part of a family, you don't always have to have a common dad and mum. - I said philosophically. - Family is more than that,' I said, tapping my claws on the glass and smiling again. - Plus, you'll keep the old dad and mum, but you'll get a lot of brothers and sisters, as well as strength, agility and these stylish claws. - Like a dashing trickster, I wink mischievously at him, seeing the childish delight in those burning eyes.
- Really? - with wide-open eyes of delight said the boy. - But then I'd be a monster...' he continued sadly. - Can I be a werewolf? When I wanted to, I became as fearsome and strong as you, and when I didn't need to, I went back to my old form. - The boy asked innocently again. - That's very convenient, isn't it? Once and you have a disguise or strength. - smiled the brat.
- This is available only to the best of us. - I smile back and gently touch my smartwatch. A couple of seconds, and the nanites in my body start rolling back all the changes in my body. - As you can see, I'm not just a monster. - With a wink to the curious boy and a couple of mental notes, I left the isolation room and headed to my private office. My holiday was coming to an end.
I went up a couple of levels and found myself in my office. Stepping into the wardrobe, I glanced at the vintage mirror where those familiar blue eyes were once again staring back at me. Grinning, I threw off the comfy clothes that weren't really suitable for negotiations and began to put on a strict, classic-looking suit. A snow-white shirt and shoes followed. Then I pulled out a metal container with a miniature injector and a couple of transparent cylinders with a substance that turns me into a Lizard almost instantly.
After all, I'm not willing to put up with body imperfections. And psychologically, I'd rather be in better shape than fear for my life like a mere human. Plus, this body reminds me of my weakness, my former naivety and other human flaws. I tucked the injector away in the inside pocket of my jacket, as I did with all the transmuter cylinders. I decided to ignore the tie today, and sat down gracefully at the ancient, century-old oak desk, and a moment later activated the holographic panel, calling my first interlocutor to dialogue.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone