෴Raz෴

෴Brock෴

෴෴෴ ෴෴෴ ෴෴෴

Mad Science

෴෴෴ ෴෴෴ ෴෴෴

At the end of the hall, opposite the staircase to the roof, the door back into the main room of the building beckoned. As he crept closer, the sound of ringing metal and talking grew louder. The door creaking open was far too loud to Raz, but the ringing sounds of metalwork and shouted conversation didn’t miss a beat.

A lively, borderline combative discussion was happening on the far end of the room around the corner from the door he’d come out. Raz could hear two people talking. One of them was clearly Brock, the other a voice he hadn't heard before.

“—no no! Now get me the Hassium.” Brock shouted.

“It’s in your hand idiot, put it into the forge before it decays!’ the other voice called out.

“No, I said Hassium, not Halfnium.” A short pause along with something clanking against a wall. “No, you’re a Halfnium-wit! Stop being a lazy old fool and give me what I asked for!”

A sound like a distant tolling bell erupted from the room.

“Gah, damn it Brock! Another horsefly! You’re making tools and weapons that bend the rules of space, time, and reality, but you can’t keep the blighted bugs out of the workshop?!”

A loud slapping sound echoed in the shop.

“Alright, I got it. Now shut up about the damn bug already! Get me the Meitnerium and Darmstadtium before we lose phase!”

I can’t believe there’s nothing in here that’s mirrorable. What kind of low rent high tech workshop is this?

Raz wavered between peeking around the corner and listening to them work. He decided on a compromise. He peeked around the corner for an instant and then pulled back.

In the center of the room he spotted some kind of device that had not been there earlier. A blob of bluish shiny material floated above it wreathed in a bright halo of light. The metal flexed and flowed as though it were a living thing. Brock stood near it making hand gestures and passing solid objects into the halo. Objects that entered the halo of light didn’t come out. The writhing blob seemed to be getting larger very slowly. Raz didn’t manage to spot the other speaker before he ducked back around the corner.

Brock’s voice clamored over the din. “Adding Osmium now. Uh oh, a little help here Eight? I’m losing it! If it loses phase now there won’t be room in the molecular matrix to finish. It’s going to stabilize too soon if we don’t—”

Eight interrupted him. “Soon!? You want to talk about soon? Those things are coming open soon! Nothing we’ve done has more than slowed them down.”

Brock coughed. “Well we have to try! I for one, don’t want to find out what comes through those doors when they get to be whatever size they’re trying to be.”

Eight laughed in a way that caused Raz to doubt his sanity. The laugh went on just a little too long before he replied to Brock. “Bah. Stop lying to yourself. You care more about your chance to be this legendary armorer than anything that might happen from those things.”

“Hey! I care. I just also want to be a legend in my own time. Are you going to help me stabilize this or not? I need more—”

The other voice cut him off. “Relax. Here’s the neutrite and two parts Tantalum carbide! Put it in your piece of junk forge!”

“This is the most advanced piece of metallurgical equipment on the planet! You should know, you helped make it!” Brock bellowed.

Eight snorted, “Sure, and at one time a particularly round rock was the best wheel in the world. No one cares. This pile of junk can't even work directly with degenerate matter without risking a runaway gravity implosion event. So it’s crap!”

“It’s not crap! This forge does almost everything I need!” Brock shouted with anger in his voice.

Eight made a disgusted sound. “Sure, when you had a high power metalopath working with you, it was great. Of course, with his level of metal control, a campfire and some oxyfuel would have been enough.”

“What of it? We made some true works of art with him.”

Eight sounded angry now. “Sure. He came and knew just what to say to sweet talk you into working for him. Then we made him a weapon like nothing we’ve made before or since. And for what?! He never even uses it!”

Brock grumbled incoherently for a few moments. “You don’t know that. We’ve never seen him using it! That’s not the same. We know what it was for, so he’ll use it when he needs it.”

Eight responded, “You’re right. It could be worse. It could be the other monstrosity. The one time we succeeded in making the neutrite ourselves, and you messed up the proportions because you ran out of material too soon. We nearly killed ourselves making it, and you measured wrong! Too long a handle for it to be a tool, too short to be a weapon. Brilliant work that day, Doctor Dumbass. Thanks for reminding me of our worthless magnum opus. Let’s not even talk about the problem of no one being able to even use it! One more thing in a long list of failures that we don't know what they’re for.”

Raz snuck another peek just in time to see Brock toss in a shiny brick of something bluish gray into the halo with a bright green flash.

The light from the ‘forge’ grew brighter. It cast the room into stark areas of bright light and deep shadows. Brock’s shadow was a dark giant on the wall, marching back and forth on the wall, waving his hands and tools about, gesticulating wildly along with his words.

When he started to argue with Eight about the best way to make degenerate neutronium without access to a controlled collapsar, Raz let out a yawn.

He realized he truly didn’t care about the merits of synthetic vs naturally occurring short half life isotopes, and slipped back down the hallway to his room.

When he crawled into bed, Hex rolled over and threw her leg over his without waking up. He tried to roll over himself, but she clutched at him when he moved.

*** *** ***

Raz found himself in some kind of structure in the process of rising and forming out of the ground. The walls rose around him, dropping him into a rough stone and metal seat. The resulting shape was reminiscent of an old Roman colosseum. A wave of silver green light cut across the sky above him. A dome of sorts was forming and enclosing the stadium.

He used his lithokinesis and metalopathy to reshape the seats under and around him into something more comfortable. Sia settled down into a seat next to him. Dara settled down into the seat on his other side. Tris took a seat behind him and rested her hands on his shoulders.

A few seats down, Doktor Midnight sat on a similarly reshaped stone and metal seat. In his glittering black and charcoal pinstripe suit and short salt and pepper hair, he had the look of an aging but distinguished Hollywood leading man, cast as a CEO or politician. Ivy, Nona, and Octavia sat clustered around him, fawning all over him. Midnight was returning their affection and then some. Midnight met his gaze and winked before turning his leering attention back on the girls. Raz forced his gaze away from the appalling spectacle of Midnight making out with the three of them, disgusted that she would have anything to do with him like that.

A booming voice spoke out to the crown in a foreign language Raz didn’t recognize. A moment later he could hear multiple other languages, presumably repeating the message. He tuned in on the English.

“—first fight will begin soon.Do the humans present a champion or accept a forfeit?”

Midnight stood up. The Hex aspects around him cried out and held each other with a forlorn expression on their faces.

The loud alien voice spoke again. “It’s likely that the humans will field the one known as Midnight. Our scouts have been able to confirm a reasonably impressive control of metals, personal durability, and light based energy. He’s going to need it.” the announcer laughed, “Megiror, humans, I present to you our champion. Rakkor the Iron Gate. Known across all the worlds that actually matter, as The Iron Gate, Rakkor possesses metal control abilities second to none. Best known for single handedly winning the war against the by simultaneously causing every enemy weapon on the field to slay its wielder, the only thing his enemies fear more than his shaping power, is his command of the primordial darkness of space. I give you, ‘Rakkor the Iron Gate!’ With any luck, he’ll draw this fight out long enough for us to actually see some fighting!”

A vast, glistening sphere of dark hued metal drifted out into the center of the arena. Raz’s HUD instantly measured the sphere and informed him that the sphere was ten meters across, and if solid, would easily weigh 33 million kilograms. He instantly compared it to the 1700-1800kg of armor Midnight typically used and realized that if there was any relation to the relative power involved, this wasn’t going to be a contest, but a slaughter.

Nona and Octavia vanished, leaving Ivy speaking urgently to Midnight. He shook his head sadly, and rose into the air, his suit forming around him. In the instant before his armor covered him over, Raz saw on his face a terrible truth.

He knows he’s not going to win. He knows he’s got no chance, but he’s still going to fight. That’s crazy. This Rakkor is a perfect counter and overpower to his abilities. We need to send someone who has something that counters metalo—

The announcer spoke again. “Esteemed Megiror and worthless sons and daughters of man, it appears I spoke too soon. The cowardly Midnight has been replaced. We’re graced by a new contender. Our new participant has declined a listing of accolades.”

Midnight spun in the air, Raz looked around as well. Who the hell would take this monster on?

A diminutive female form in dusty gray BDU’s appeared across the battle line from the vast metallic sphere.

No! Oh god no. She didn’t, she cant!

It was Hex. She stood like a frail flesh and blood David facing a metal Goliath with the mass of a skyscraper.

Raz glanced around him to see that Tris had vanished. Dara and Sia were quick to assure him.

“I got this. Even if he wins, it only costs us a victory, and not someone who can be a champion. We can't afford to lose Midnight against that monster.”

Raz nodded, numb with fear. Let’s not even mention that my metal and stone shaping powers aren’t even at Midnight’s level, let alone this guy. Another fight I can’t even meaningfully help with. No wonder she likes him.

A translucent barrier rose around the edge of the arena floor. It formed a solid cylinder several hundred feet tall, and as wide as the entire arena floor. The barrier was pale blue at the edges.

With little in the way of fanfare, the battle commenced. Spikes and blades erupted from the sphere in every direction. Every spike that got near Hex vanished, cut off by her proximal field and sent who knows where. Raz watched with jaws and fists clenched as Rakkor lost several tons of whatever exotic alloy he preferred in the opening clash, to the non physical force of her abilities.

Raz activated his scan, narrowed down to Hex.

She had a good energy supply across all the aspects that were present.

“Wow, you might be able to get him with attrition. You could actually win this!” He said to Sia with cautious optimism.

She turned to him, the flesh from her face had fallen away, leaving behind a bleached white skull. “I won’t win, I’m already dead. I just don’t know it yet.”

Raz turned back to the fight just in time to see a wave of some intangible distortion radiate outward from Rakkor the Iron Gate.

The announcer spoke up again. “Well my Megiror friends, and you other wastes of flesh, that’s going to be it. Rakkor has activated an Ultimate ability. Those of you who matter, already know. ‘Closed Gate’ will cause every ability that makes use of any form of extraplanar function to fail, often spectacularly.”

Raz looked back at Sia. She was dead. Falling to dust before his eyes like she’d instantly been dead for years. With a rising panic he looked at Dara just in time to see her collapse into a loose pile of glistening wet bones. Past the bones, Midnight clutched in vain at another aspect as she evaporated into component molecules in his hands.

Raz looked back to the arena. The battle had changed. Hex dodged and weaved, but every movement was just that, movement. Raz felt her mind and energy. She had lots of energy, but nothing to use it on. More importantly, he could tell she had been forcibly collapsed down to a single aspect.

“We’ve got to get her out!” he shouted at Midnight.

They charged the barrier together. Raz quickly burned through every trick he had, and suspected Midnight was doing the same. The barrier seemed to ignore every physical thing they could muster. Midnight’s light beams passed through it like it wasn’t there. In the midst of their efforts to break the shield, Hex ran up to the edge of the barrier where they were attacking it. She was out of breath, panting hard. Her left hand clutched at a bloody wound on the right side of her abdomen. Rakkor drifted in their direction. He moved with the leisurely slow pace of a powerful predator, confident in his meal, playing with it a little before consuming it.

Midnight targeted Rakkor with a brilliant beam of crimson light that passed through the barrier. Raz could feel the heat from where he stood. Rakkor took no notice of the attack.

The announcer laughed out loud at the sight of Rakkor bearing down on them, apparently oblivious to anything Midnight’s beam might be accomplishing. “Look at them go. They’re like stupid insects, trying to get through an impervious wall with mere physical force. If they weren’t so pathetic, I’d almost want them to succeed, just so they could share in her fate.”

Hex put her hands up to the barrier. Raz kept slamming his abilities against it, creating a metal and stone abrasive blaster. Trying to focus fire even a tiny gap in those defenses for her to slip through.

“Raz!, Raz, listen to me!” she was yelling over the din of the near constant stone and metal impacts on the barrier.

Raz stopped and leaned his head against the barrier where her face pressed against it. “I’m listening.” he said with growing dread.

“Babe, I’m sorry.” she didn’t look scared, just sad. Her body language looked resigned to her fate.

“No! We’re going to get you out of there, just keep—”

She put her hand up against the barrier. “Stop, you talk too much. You’re going to have to go on. There’s too much at stake. You’ll have to win somehow. I know you will. I just wanted to make sure I got one more chance to tell you I lov—”

A vast mass of metal crashed against the barrier, cutting her words off with a crash like thunder, and instantly turning her into a white-flecked red paste that spread across the inside surface of the force barrier.

Raz woke up with a start, his heart racing, breathing in great heaving gasps. He didn’t start to calm down until he’d verified that she was still there beside him asleep.

What–the–hell was that?

[A bad dream?]

That did not feel like a dream. Even the really messed up stuff was internally consistent. It didn’t seem like a dream at all. It didn’t feel like dreaming. It felt way too real. Like I wasn’t so much dreaming as seeing a possibility.

[Unknown.]

[You’ve never slept in such a high ambient catalyst environment.]

You really think that could cause such a vivid dream? It even included some of the thoughts I’ve had about following in his footsteps to get a similar ability set. It felt very real.

[It was not real.]

I know. But it felt real, and it cannot be allowed to happen!

Bee didn’t seem to have a response to that.

Raz let out a jaw popping yawn. Tired as he was, he couldn’t relax until he slid his leg over and pressed it against her warm skin. Once he had tactile assurance she was still there he could relax, a feeling of calm suffusing him.

That is not going to happen. I won’t let it.

He was almost asleep when a thought strolled uninvited through his mind, like ice water on his face, returning him to full alertness.

Bee, are there abilities that could disrupt her—the way she is?

[Yes, many.]

Ok, so this white fire is the recommended attack ability, right?

[It is the recommended attack ability for you.]

Recommended for me?

A sudden certainty that Bee was hiding something came over Raz.

What do you mean by that, exactly?

[White Fire satisfies all the criteria you gave me.]

That’s not all though, is it. What aren’t you telling me?

Without any dialog or specific sensory input, Raz felt like Bee sighed.

[There is something I’ve found.]

[You are in control.]

[You can force me to tell you, but I urge you not to do so.]

What can you tell me then?

[I believe I can tell you, that if I pass this information to you too soon, bad things will happen.]

Bad compared to what just happened in my dream?

[Yes.]

Well this is some bullshit, but fine. Does it have anything specifically to do with her dying like that?

[Unknown.]

[I can reveal that this is information that is of no practical use to you at this time.]

Bah. Fine then. Keep the secret, but you damn well better tell me when it’s time. Anyway, before I got sidetracked, I was going to tell you to look for trees that deal with disrupting enemy abilities and check on the physical enhancement search.

[I have not seen any abilities that deal with this, but I haven’t been looking for them. Additionally, I have found the tree that meets most of your criteria for physical enhancements.]

Well, the energy to use abilities comes from somewhere. Siphon and Transfuse let me steal, and bestow that energy. That makes me think it’s worth looking into whether it can be stopped, or altered.

Anyway, lay it on me. What can you tell me about this other tree?

[It is called Might. It is a racially limited ability. It is worth noting that it shares the same short list of species as White Fire.]

Side thought. Are you able to search for trees based on the species limitations?

[Possible. It looks to be a very inefficient type of search.]

Well, let's work on that. Keep it at a low priority, but I can’t help but think there might be something worth knowing there. Anyway, what about Might?

[There are not many notes about it. Several imply that it is highly worth the investment. One cautions to be aware of the downsides.]

I don’t suppose it mentions what those downsides are?

[No. You should know that it is also classed as a general tree.]

What would a general tree even be? No wait, I want to know something. Why are they like that? Why is it always ‘implies this’ and ‘alludes to that’ with these notes?

[It appears that there are rules that govern how much information can be put into the ‘public’ notes. I have seen many, various ways that entities have attempted to circumvent these rules, and implying and saying without saying seems to be one of the more common methods.]

Raz yawned hugely. He thought about pursuing it, then fell asleep.