章 166: Helping your neighbor
I had one more important thing to do before I left the meeting, which was turning into a regular superhero party. It was for that reason that I revealed "my identity," though I had to admit that I wanted to troll Gloomy Mouse, too, and I was foolish to pass up such a good chance.
"Cyborg, for a couple word."
After giving me a long, suspicious glance, Cyborg apologized to Barry nonetheless and allowed himself to be dragged off in the direction of the workshop that provided a private space for conversation.
"What do you want from me? - He asked, scrutinizing the canopy of silence that appeared out of thin air and gave away its presence with a slight distortion.
"Wow, no need to be so aggressive, I just wanted to offer you a lucrative deal."
"You're a fucking racist, I don't want anything to do with you. Believe me, if we weren't on the same team, I would totally kick your ass."
"Hey, don't give me that! Harley and I saw an interracial porn, and we loved it," I said with genuine outrage.
"Huf...," the boy exhaled noisily, covering his eyes. - You're trying to piss me off on purpose, aren't you?
"Well, sometimes. You're just the most depressing man I know. It's always everybody else's fault, and you're the one who's not to blame."
"Really?!"
The red eyepiece inserted in place of his left eye glowed more intensely, and blue sparks of energy raced through the armor.
"Maybe it's because my father turned me into a fucking killer cyborg with only a piece of skin and a couple of organs left of a human!"
"There you go, blaming your father again. He saved your life. Injuries like yours, if you live, it's as a vegetable with a bunch of tubes in your body. It's stupid to deny it. Besides, what were you before? An ordinary black guy who plays rugby for the institute team, and now you can grow a plasma cannon from your hand... Ha-ha-ha, that's exactly what I'm talking about!" declare I with a happy smile as Cyborg's pissed off hand actually turned into a deadly weapon.
I had a few puffs, looking at my smirking face, and Victor returned my limbs to their usual appearance. I stopped pumping the spatial jump weave with energy, because I seriously suspected that if the magic shield survived the shot, it would hardly be able to protect me from collateral damage in the form of a blast wave and high temperature.
"I've become a monster," said he doomedly, looking at his own palm, which was a high-tech prosthetic.
"Listen... - my gaze also lingered on my hand, which for a couple of moments managed to show two interesting shapes with a serious difference in size. - Why don't you want to try to transform into a human? Your nanorobots can create all sorts of cool stuff. People invented artificial skin a long time ago, but I don't know if it's dark chocolate. Or at least you could try to keep your height down to make it easier to blend in. Like, we were just discussing the high tech of other races, and I wonder if there aren't some cool prosthetics among them.
If the Cyborg at first clearly wanted to be outraged once again, he froze at the end of my speech. I could feel his electronic brain scrambling to come up with hundreds of suitable options.
A couple of minutes passed, during which I contemplated Victor's concentration with the calmness of a Buddha, before a dense cloud of miniature machines enveloped his hand. When they dissipated, I saw a normal-looking human palm. The dark-skinned boy stared dumbfounded at his own hand. A second's hesitation, and it slowly began to transform, revealing that behind the thin, skin-imitating layer was an incredibly complex mechanism.
"I seriously suspect that you were only admitted to the institute because of your athletic accomplishments."
"I don't care if my father bought the entire exam board," I was looked at with a completely happy look. - I need to run some tests right away!
"Wait, wait," I managed to intercept Cyborg, who had rushed to the workshop table. - I called you here to talk to you... Mr. Arkham and I have a small business of registering patents for superheroes. Part of the proceeds go to battle damage restoration and part to us. Your image would be perfect for action figures.
"Do whatever you want with him. By the way, don't try to bullshit me. I found out you're actually Jay Arkham, not Bruce Wayne."
"Oh, how, - my mind generated a couple more options for using Cyborg's superpowers for the good of me society. But first we should secure the second person, or we'd only need American intelligence or some other ill-wishers. - And how did you come to these conclusions?
"A couple of days ago, Batman asked me to delete some satellite records. I didn't pay much attention to them then, because most of them were coordinates of Apokolips Towers or secret objects, but the discussion of your personality made me recheck the data more carefully and found out that the records also included Arkham mansion, whose damage was very similar to the ones I saw after Swamp Girl's rampage at the nuclear power plant. And you're the only one close to her, so it wasn't hard to draw further parallels."
"Hmm, so you're also aware of Bats' real identity..."
"If you're trying to subtly insinuate that it's Bruce Wayne, you don't have to try," Cyborg dismissed him with a small smirk. - He wasn't crazy enough to be hopping around on rooftops in a bat suit, but it was clearly someone in his entourage, or else it was really hard to explain his possession of all those high-tech gadgets worth a fortune.
"Ahem, okay, that's not the point anyway. Maybe you're not aware of it, but my small company has burst into the gaming industry with a bang and has had some success with users. So, I could use someone who can create a game just by using their imagination. Ideas and concepts I will provide."
"You're suggesting we use the power of a supercomputer to make games?! - Victor's voice was clearly full of disbelief and condemnation.
"Well, yeah," I shrug.
If Bats's computer could work with images, I would do everything myself, but, firstly, guest access does not allow me to use Batcomputer's power normally, and secondly, the interface there is not the most friendly, and there is no full-fledged artificial intelligence, which could make everything according to the verbal description. Personally, taking into account the constant magical practice, night hunting and studying on the program of the top university, I can't do programming either.
"Fifty-fifty, and that's only because you helped me a lot," the guy said suddenly, interrupting my musings.
"For God's sake, what the hell do you need that kind of money for? I'll get pissed off by the IRS if fifty percent of the proceeds go into obscurity. And the money for advertising and project support?! Patents will also eat up a decent chunk of it, not to mention employee salaries."
"Thirty by seventy? - My interlocutor suggested uncertainly.
"I shook Cyborg's palm, which was quite cold and too hard, even though it looked like a real one. Considering that I resented it more out of inertia, initially counting on the same proportions, but not in my favor, the offer turned out to be incredibly favorable."
"I have other plans now," he glanced at the transformed limb with an eloquent eye. - Come back in a couple days.
"No problem," I gave my future business partner a charming smile that made him shrug, and headed back to the center hall.
"And why do I feel like I've made a contract with the Devil? - A low whisper came to my ears, suggesting the idea of actually making magical contracts with some employees. I'd have to reveal my identity to Victor in the future, so that he could help me with the construction of the OPFD.
When I got back to the center room, I immediately went to Superman, who was still talking to Bats, to ask about the diamond shipments. Surprisingly, the Kryptonian didn't break down for long and promised to deliver a ton of gems to the rented warehouse by tomorrow morning.
A ton of diamonds... During all the time in the new world, I had handled at most twenty kilograms, and ninety percent of the total volume was crushed diamonds, suitable only for production needs and relatively inexpensive. And here, judging by a couple of reservations, it would be large stones, because Clark would find it easier to get them rather than hunt for small things.
As I sagged and wiped off my saliva, I noticed that they were still talking to me and trying to find out when I was planning to work on the cloaking charms, and whether it was necessary to do any additional work other than painting the station's hull purple. For the sake of clarity, Bats even launched the projector built into the table and showed a detailed plan of the already implemented systems, some of which were responsible for cloaking and represented holographic panels and special radio-absorbing materials.
"Hmm... I didn't expect such a large-scale construction, and we should take into account that magic is not good friends with high technologies, and the headquarters will be literally stuffed with them, - I answered after a short inspection.
At the main presentation Victor was more focused on the inner workings, so what I saw pleased me. Magic alone is not responsible for cloaking the base. I'll say more, technological solutions in it clearly come first, which means that we can put off the issue of magical cloaking until everyone has successfully forgotten about it.
"Good. Then I guess we don't need to bother with painting," Gotham's protector said with a faint irony in his voice, and the smirk he used to make notes on the plan hinted that he was enjoying my dumbfounded look.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" The prospect of the beautiful purple of the Justice League headquarters being replaced by some other color cheered me up quite nicely. - You'll get your magical disguise, just a little later. It is necessary to recalculate the complex of runes, so that they do not conflict with anything and enough energy to work.
Who knew that Mouse wouldn't want to paint the rock purple just out of spite?! Now we really have to think about a normal camouflage complex, because the usual charms of privacy or chameleon here, unfortunately, will not work because of the huge size, and the problem of the influence of electronic systems will have to be solved somehow. Although with the closing of lines and their degradation should successfully cope with suitable materials. After all, this is not an ordinary weave, held in space by the will and imagination of a wizard, but quite material runes. Victor has taken enough junk from the Tower of Apokolips, plus I now have a couple of tons of magical materials at hand, not to mention beetle armor, which can be found just by walking to the remote parts of the city. All that's left is to develop a set of charms and find a suitable source.
On that not-so-positive note, all the planned business at headquarters was successfully completed, so I said a warm farewell to my battle buddies, grabbed Harley and headed out, expecting to stop by Simon's place later to check on the demons. Maybe they wouldn't like it in the crypt and would have to find another place to live. Besides, I couldn't stop thinking about expanding the superhero team. Bats and Superman weren't planning to do that yet, but on the whole they didn't mind much if someone suggested worthy candidates.
As we passed the disguised entrance and descended a couple floors down the stone steps, our tandem suddenly caught up with Flash. The guy was clearly nervous, not knowing where to start the dialog. He was fumbling, rubbing his hands together and panting, though his fountain of eloquence had been unstoppable up to that point.
"If you need lessons on picking up hotties, you've come to the right place."
"That's not what I'm after..." he replied uncertainly.
"Then stop titty-wagging and get specific.
"I... H... J… Mr. Wayne, I really need a job, but because of my superhero activities and studies, I can't officially get a good job with a decent salary. At best, it's dog walking or working as a delivery boy. With you I could also work as a courier, but deliver packages more quickly since I wouldn't have to hide my own powers. Just need some kind of sturdy carrying case, resistant to friction and high temperatures. I also know a bit about programming, only the speed of writing code isn't much different from a normal human, as I'm still having a hard time thinking while connected to Speedforce. With each use of the powers, it gets easier to think under acceleration, but it's still a long way from being able to fully solve difficult problems," Flash poured out a stream of information almost in one breath.
I was right to brainwash him, because the ability to react at the speed of light to changes in the environment is a really scary superpower that leaves little chance of catching the guy off guard. The only question is, why does he need a job, and with a high degree of probability it is a high-paying one, because he turned to a "billionaire" for a reason, if he has enough money? Yes, judging by a glimpse of the file, there is a small loan, but Barry will close it in a couple of months, even if he will not be in a hurry.
"To begin with, we are still friends, so no "poking", and secondly, when I'm in this character, address me as Joker. And third, how much money are you planning on making and why?"
"Uh..." he averted his eyes. - Need money for a good lawyer. Not for me! - The aspiring superhero jumped up, noticing my surprise. - My father. He went to prison on a false charge. That's why I went to school to become a criminalist. To try to exonerate him, but the more I studied how the system worked, the more I realized that without a good expert with connections, it was incredibly difficult to challenge the court's decision, because the evidence found at the crime scene pointed to my dad's involvement.
"Then how can you be sure it's not him?"
"The man in yellow did it! I saw it with my own eyes, but because of my age no one believed me, writing it off as stress from what I had seen."
"The man in yellow? - I asked warily.
"Well, it wasn't exactly human. It was a silhouette in a yellow suit, shrouded in a blanket of lightning, very similar to the ones I get when I connect to Speedforce."
After such a sparse description, the only meta I can think of that uses the power of speed and is Flash-related is Reverse Flash. But I do remember the appearance of this supervillain being linked to Barry's time-traveling powers. And now there are three possibilities, either I've gone crazy and canceled the settings at some point, or the speedsters don't travel through time but through dimensions (they just choose the ones where time lags behind their main world), or the Flash somehow managed to bypass the hypnosis-imposed restrictions himself. The worst part is that any of the options presented threatens to get you into serious trouble.
In any case, problems should be solved as they come, and so far my own development is on the agenda. Besides, proper pumping will allow me to be less afraid of various speed freaks.
"All right, I'll give you money for a lawyer."
"What about work?"
"It's easier for me to give you money than to deal with employment problems," I waved off the generous offer.
One fig game development will be done by Cyborg, and support will be done by hired friends of redhead, so it just doesn't make sense to involve another person in the project and reveal his real identity. And maybe I'm a little under the weather after close contact with Delirum, but that doesn't mean I don't understand the attitude of Barry, who wasn't even aware of his "rescue" from death before. He's not a bad guy, and he knows how to be grateful, and Flash is a full-fledged member of the Justice League, so it's worth it to have him as a debtor.
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