Dr. Atomic congratulated the captains with a recorded fanfare of trumpets and bugles.

“Wonderfully done, team! You managed to complete every task I assigned you. You lost two members, but overall, a good learning experience.”

“That was bull! You sent us in there to die!” Crocodile roared in frustration.

Dr. Atomic shook his head. “I did warn you, didn’t I?”

Mystery spoke up next. “With all due respect, sir, that was too much.”

“Exactly, the whole point of this exercise was to teach you when enough is enough.”

“If you don’t mind my asking, Doctor, what exactly was that simulation? It wasn’t any scenario I would have expected to encounter.” Gabriel asked.

Dr. Atomic grinned. “That’s because it’s top-secret! What you just experienced was a replica of a mission we ran near the end of the first Blitz. We kept it away from the public, but the Ruchin invaded the North American Continent while the MechaBlitz were tearing us to shreds.”

“What? That’s crazy! Why would they do that instead of fighting the Blitz off?” Rey exclaimed.

“They were fighting the Blitz, but they decided it would be a good opportunity to claim new territory. They invaded the Canadian wilderness with warbots and set up housing depots to amass a mechanical army. We started running routine missions to destroy them. Things were going well when a team ended up inside the Ruchin’s camouflaged base of operations on one particular run. They were given up by an inside informant, and Red Global intercepted them inside.”

“Did they die?” Mystery asked.

Dr. Atomic looked at her sadly. “Some, yes.”

“Who were they?” Gabriel asked next.

“The Strike Force on that mission was made up of Zero, Myself, Calamity, and… Aphrodite,” Dr. Atomic said the last name in a whisper.

The silence stretched on for what seemed like minutes before Dr. Atomic spoke again, this time in a more solid tone. “We fought our way to the last pillar as you did, but when Red Global appeared, we were arrogant enough to fight. In the end, we were forced to leave Calamity and Aphrodite behind, much like your team was forced to leave you, Gabriel. They didn’t make it out.”

“How is she so strong? Drugs?” Crocodile asked finally.

Dr. Atomic seemed to get knocked out of a memory. “Ah, unfortunately, no. Red Global is one of the few leaders of the Ruchin who reject such enhancements. Her power is natural.”

Crocodile growled. “How is that possible?!”

“Her peculiar mutation allows him to absorb energy in any form for storage and later use. She discovered - long ago - that by storing more and more power, her physical abilities would be enhanced.

Storing such vast amounts of power has also kept her alive for over five hundred years. Only Gilgamesh, the leader of the Persian Dawn, can claim something like that. Also, judging from his most recent sightings, she may be aging backward. To be frank, it would take most of the Shield to take down Red Global.” Dr. Atomic said bluntly.

Mystery was pale. “You mean you’re going to send us on those kinds of missions?” She asked, frightened.

Dr. Atomic looked taken aback. “Why… yes. Seldom do we encounter such powerful opposition, mind you. This was a very significant building to the Ruchin war effort - led by Global herself. Take this as a lesson of what the worst possible circumstances could look like.”

Mystery nodded her head and gulped, uneasy.

The doctor furrowed his brow. “Now, where was I. Ah yes! You all did admirably. Rey, good job as Captain. Global caught you by surprise; no need to beat yourself up. Mystery, I do have to say you could have been a bit more active on support. Crocodile, well done in that hallway. Gabriel, I enjoyed watching you work. You hurt Global. Not many people can say that.

Final words of advice: If you ever go into a situation knowing things might go south, be quicker to escape once they do. You may all go. Gabriel, please stay for a chat.”

Crocodile walked away and out of the room without another word, while Mystery and Rey lingered a few steps away. Gabriel overheard their conversation.

“Hey… Rey?” She asked.

“Yes?” He responded seriously.

“I’m… sorry about earlier, with Red Global. I’m… I’m sorry I couldn’t help you. I mean… I-I tried to move, but I was just so scared and-”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m just happy that you weren’t injured. I’m not mad at all.” Rey interrupted with a smile.

Mystery perked up. “Really?”

He nodded. “Of course. Oh, I was thinking of heading down to a training room; if you want to join me, we could eat after.”

Mystery smiled shyly. “That… actually sounds great! I won’t let that happen again. Let’s go!”

Gabriel smiled as he watched them leave, walking much closer than before.

Dr. Atomic cleared his throat.

“We could continue this conversation in my private labs if you so wish. Otherwise, we can stay in the lounge.” He said.

“Well, I wouldn’t pass up a chance to see your lab, Doctor,” Gabe said agreeably.

“Perfect, with haste then.” He grabbed Gabe’s arm and pulled something from his pocket.

It looked like a detonator.

The doctor pressed the button, and all Gabriel’s senses turned to static.

His eyes cleared, and he saw they stood on a platform in a horrendously messy lab similar to his own but with a more extensive console system. Dr. Atomic walked off the platform and onto a small trail in the clutter - to the table. He sat down and pointed at the chair across from him.

“Sit, please.” He said.

Gabriel asked, “Teleportation?”

Dr. Atomic smiled. “Yep. I haven’t quite worked out the kinks to do it without the platform, but we’re on our way. Speaking of we. Gabriel, allow me to introduce you to my AI companion, Rosslyn. I call her Roz.”

He extended his arm, and a holographic head projected from his wrist pad. The image had long brown hair and almond-shaped eyes.

“Hello Gabriel, Alfred. I am happy to meet you both and eager to be of assistance.” The floating head said in a melodic voice.

“Hello.” Said Alfred and Gabe in unison.

“Gabriel, I brought you here to speak openly about our mutual condition of AI Hosts.”

“What kind of conversation did you have in mind?” Gabe asked, curious.

“The conversation I would like to have today is twofold, and the first part involves your mechanical abilities.” Dr. Atomic responded.

“And the second part?”

“We will get there shortly. May I proceed?” Dr. Atomic asked.

“Please, I didn’t mean to interrupt,”

Dr. Atomic smiled. “How to begin… Alright, as you know, the capabilities of an unfettered AI are great. I would consider my greatest achievement to be the successful integration of Roz. My circumstances were very different from yours when I embarked on the process. Would you like to hear my story?”

Gabe nodded, quite interested. Not much of Atomic’s past was public information.

Dr. Atomic nodded, then pursed his lips. After a moment, he simply introduced himself, “My name is Othelius James Tyr. I was born going on three hundred and fifty years ago in New York City.”

Dr. Atomic was much older than he looked.

“My parents were James Marcus Tyr and Othelia Diane Drakus. I do not expect you to recognize their names, suffice to say they were high-ranking Supers.

I grew up wanting nothing but lacking everything. I had inherited my parent’s brains, but not their strength. Sadly, their mental mutations were only Class 1 - mine was Class 2. Without strength and speed, I would be limited to whatever armor I could build, and in the 2200s, resources were much scarcer.” Dr. Atomic said sadly.

Class 2?! How could Dr. Atomic be a Class 2 Mind? That was far too low to have built what he had. How had Atomic done it?

“During my adolescence, I fell into a deep depression. Each day my fate as a low-tier Hero was made more evident. I contemplated suicide briefly, but I pushed on. Soon, I found what I needed. I saved up money and bought components for a decade, all the while designing my escape from weakness. With an old friend, I underwent surgery that replaced half my brain with a machine of my design.

I boosted my mental capacity to Class 4 and began my career using power armor. My first moniker was IronClad.” Dr. Atomic’s eyes drifted.

“I made a name for myself relatively quickly and spent the next few decades patrolling New York - occasionally responding to regional missions. I developed Roz slowly over that time.

It wasn’t until about a hundred years ago when I began to notice my body and mind slowing down as I aged. Unable to cope with a future as a geriatric, I replaced most of my body with mechanical polymers.

You can’t tell because I’ve upgraded my body multiple times to appear more human, but my true goal when I did this was to integrate Roz. She had evolved to a point where I felt she could assist my cognitive processes.” He smiled and let out a chuckle.

“That transformation left me comatose for two weeks while my mind adjusted to the constant stream of information. From then on, I became Dr. Atomic. Roz has aided my designs ever since.”

He looked at Gabriel seriously. “That is my story and how I came to be what I am today. I share this with you because I trust you, Gabriel. Would you care to tell me your own experience? Zero only told me that you were a Host - that his name was Alfred.”

Gabriel recounted his story as he had for Zero and Falco. Dr. Atomic’s face darkened when he revealed the cause of Alfred’s demise, but he broke into a grin as Gabriel explained his quick decision and the process that followed.

“I had expected your transformation to have been less recent, given the quality of your designs I have seen.”

“Any designs you’ve had access to I created without Alfred’s assistance; all my newest work is stored right here.” He tapped his forehead.

Dr. Atomic laughed. “You truly are a gifted Mind. I can’t begin to fathom what you could accomplish with an AI.” He said, losing focus.

“Ahem. Othelius, the offer.” Roz’s voice said from Dr. Atomic’s wrist.

“Ah yes! My apologies, I lose track of… things… sometimes.”

Gabriel inclined his head. “I know the exact feeling.”

“Well to get on with my first point. I’d ask that you frequent my labs and assist me in developing some… experimental technologies. I’ve already spoken to Zero, and he does not object.”

Gabriel felt like his brain imploded. He would get to work with Dr. Atomic. He quickly nodded his head. “Of course! I would love to.” He stopped suddenly. “… as long as Alfred is willing.”

“I would also be amenable to this idea; I feel we could learn much,” Alfred said.

Dr. Atomic stood up and clapped his hands. “That settles it! Come, come, I have to show you what we’ve been working on.”

The Doctor led Gabriel around the lab to show him each device. They had to tiptoe around many components and gizmos, but for the most part, Dr. Atomic had made enough trails through the mess.

“Time runs short; I do believe I must run. We shall speak again soon. Sooner than you think, actually.” He said with a mischievous smile.

The two men walked out of the lab and through an automated security hall before reaching the common hallway. They took separate elevators, and Gabriel decided to call it a night. In the morning, he would meet Rosenquartz and Lilith with their new equipment.