After my conversation with Grace, she excused herself to handle some of her Toybox work, leaving me to my lonesome.
Unfortunately.
Luckily, I really had no lack of things to do. Mainly, I was starting work on all the programming stuff that was required in all my projects. Mainly the Hat which required an entirely custom made program to handle movement, activation and deactivation, blah blah blah, and also the actual program to control said hat as it moved around. Plus there was the code and kernel for my phone sensor to enable Machine Madness.
I started working on the hat first since that was going to be done tomorrow at the latest and I kinda want to run around in a superhero costume for the first time in… four days. And the first day really didn't count since that attack was more… fostered upon me rather than running around.
As shit as Worm was… it was still a superhero world and I wanna have my superhero debut dammit!
Hammer Jammer's specialty with gadgets wasn't really helping a lot with coding the program. It did smooth over a lot of the rougher patches of code, but I still had to mostly rely on my previous understanding on programming to actually get the bulk of it completed. At the very least, Worm did have the usual languages I was familiar with so I didn't have to learn an entirely new programming language.
With Slacking Off, I did slowly finish up with the program for the phone sensor. It wasn't done but it shouldn't take more than an hour to complete. As for the hat program… there wasn't anything to really test it on. Without the actual physical mechanisms, the most I could do was look through the code I had written and ensure nothing would crash the program.
Letting out a sigh, I put it out of my head. I would need to test it anyway tomorrow when I uploaded it to the Hat. If that was the case, there was no point in bashing my head into the wall.
Heading back to my secret base, I walked past Amaya who was sleeping at her desk in her room. Notes and sketches filled the available space on the desk's top, making it hard to move without disturbing something as I moved by. The blueprints I provided for her sat in front, displayed prominently over everything.
At just a glance, I could feel a slight headache coming on as Savant's Understanding tried to parse the densely-packed information displayed before me. It wasn't impossible but this was definitely a half-day dedicated task rather than a brief skim.
Hooking my arms underneath the sleeping scientist, I carried her over to the rather sparse bed and set her down on it. Throwing the blanket over her, I decided against packing up her notes and left for my own bed. No point pissing her off by sorting her notes wrong or something I'm sure.
The next morning, I woke up before Amaya and finally had the time to prepare a decent breakfast. This time opting for some french toast and black pepper ham. Honestly, Inspirational Pull was doing pretty well in the kitchen, allowing me to pick up ingredients that I wouldn't think to go together.
Of course actually cooking it was another thing entirely. It just provided what ingredients should go together and the cooking method… but not the actual cooking skill. But Savant made up for that along with some precision Googling. Though I did have to throw some portions out in the process.
Ah well. Can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs, Jack.
The Celestial Forge spun up, once again latching onto the Lewd Magic Constellation. This Perk was called Master of Rituals and it… felt like it was doing quite a number of things all at once.
The first was a simple improvement to the rituals I was performing. Simple rituals became basically trivial while the larger and more complex rituals became more likely to succeed. The second was a resource conserver, allowing me to get away with using less ritual offerings when summoning supernatural beings and/or replacing it with other offerings. Like blood or virginity. Though I will still need a life sacrifice when summoning greater demons.
The last and final boost was a time saving boost not unlike Slacking Off. Instead of allowing me to cram more into the same amount of time, it just straight up shortened the time it took for rituals to complete. Rituals that usually would take days would be shortened to hours and hours to minutes.
An entirely comprehensive boost that was comparable in energy to awaken to other Stars like Reclaimer and Loremaster. Which felt… off. Like the power of these things was way off.
Also unfortunately, I didn't exactly have any summoning rituals or rituals in general to use this on. I technically had Notes of Thoth but I hadn't gotten around to look at them so…. Womp womp.
Though… I do remember that one magician from the Index series. She used her own act of casting spells to empower the spell she was casting, basically stacking the power with the power of every single one of her previous attempts. Could I do something similar? Do a simple task as a 'ritual' of sorts until Master of Ritual activated and allowed me to do it in a blink?
Probably not but it was an interesting thought.
Amaya crawled out of bed, still a bit tired as she fought back a yawn. Sitting down at the table, I set her plate down as her head bounced on the table. Letting out a long groan, she tucked her hair back as she looked at my chest. "Machine Madness is dumb."
"Care to elaborate?" I replied as I started working on my meal.
"The contraption that you had… devised is working at an extremely high complexity but also it entirely because it is uncreative in its application." Amaya started. "It works because it is only using the information you had given me before, altering physical properties to alter the transmission of force. Think of it as trying to create an elevator but only using slopes. You could make it work but the resulting creation is awfully complex, with several design solutions and jury-rigs entirely made to make the slope do a thing that it wasn't meant to do."
"In order to slim it down into something that could actually be moved around, I need some more time to figure out what can and should be removed and what I can add. The best I can reasonably come up with is using the projection to alter and create moments within the material, making them veer off course. However, that's not exactly sending attacks back at the opponent is it? Personally, it would honestly be better if you just had something that could act on energy or vectors themselves to replicate Accelerator's vector shield." Amaya sighed as she started working on her breakfast.
"Throwing in the towel?" I remarked as I raised an eyebrow.
Cursing under her breath, Amaya leveled a fork at me. "Who do you think you're talking to, Master? If such a small thing could stump me, I wouldn't be called a genius, would I? I'll definitely get it working by the end of the week."
After a bit of conversation, the two of us went our separate ways. Amaya continued work on the kinetic shield and I headed into the workshop to start on my final piece of my costume. The components for the hat had arrived. Several motors to drive the crawling legs, the computer circuitry, transmitters and receivers, cameras, etc. Hauling it to the workshop, I started pulling them out and working on making the final piece to my costume.
The hat was my infiltrator/databank. It would sneak into enemy hideouts, be able to take pictures, survey the scene, and perhaps connect to computers or servers to grab information. After all, I couldn't all be 'guns blazing, Russian stealth'. As such, it did need to be somewhat stealthy.
Hammer Jammer did have some ideas for a sort of 'attention obfuscator'. Something that makes a person's attention simply glaze over when staring at an object. However, the power draw would be pretty substantial without a proper power source. With a usual high capacity lithium battery, we were talking for about half an hour or so of movement.
So instead, I just went for the tried and true method of simply staying out of people's sight. Black and dark grays to blend into the shadows, along with some fabric along the outside to make sure that it didn't make any noise when bumping into things and to muffle the sound of the internals. The six prong sharp legs should be able to grip onto most surfaces and, if the need arose, be stabbed straight into the skull.
Though I hoped that it wouldn't come to that.
The main body was made of metal to give it a form of rigidity and some resistance to getting knocked around. However, since this was going onto my head, it also couldn't be too heavy or my neck would be protesting before long. Plus, it should prevent the jostling of the more delicate components inside.
For the cooling system, I opted for a liquid-cooled version coupled with Hammer Jammer to decrease noise. I didn't need a sound-based homing beacon on my hat as it ran around trying to surveil the scene. Coupled with a cooling tower and it should keep things from burning up, assuming I didn't overuse it.
The camera was of course stylishly placed at the center of the top hat. And by stylishly I mean carefully incorporated so it blended with the mishmash of crudeness that was the Hammer Jammer stylistic choices. It, at the very least, didn't obscure anything so I guess that was a good point.
After making sure that yes I could receive camera feeds, I plugged into the inboard CPU and started installing all the software that should make it work. The ability to move around, activate and deactivate, blah blah blah, all things that any good robot should have. It also used the same encryption as Toybox's phones so it should be pretty difficult to intercept.
Qu-it It was also applied to the entire construction so pretty much any part you look at could be disabled with just a thought. And you couldn't even salvage it without my failsafes infiltrating your work. Honestly out of all the things I had, this hat and the kinetic redirectors probably were the most important thing to blackbox here.
All in all, the entire construction from start to finish took around 3 and a half hours. Plus using Slacking Off, I managed to get some extra time to finish up the programs for the phone sensor. Brilliant. I love it when everything comes together just right.
Uploading the software into it, I booted it up and waited for a moment as the hat came to life. The six legs extended out before clinking on the metal table top. Waiting for a moment, I was half-expecting it to suddenly tear itself apart as a fatal error suddenly cropped up. However… My worries were unfounded.
"Great. Let's start the testing…" I started commanding it around using my phone. The little hatbot scurried off the table and started running around all over the place like a drugged-up rat. Little tinks echoed through the workshop as it ran around across the floors and up the walls. It was light enough that its legs could provide a good grip on the walls but climbing on the ceiling proved a little too much for the little guy.
Its jump height was also a bit low… It was honestly easier for it to climb up the side rather than jump anywhere. It could barely clear half a foot off the ground with all of its legs. The camera stabilizer also worked just fine and its legs were stable enough to allow it to lean and look around without toppling over.
Running through a full check, I couldn't really see anything that was horribly horribly wrong with my code… Which probably meant that there was something horribly horribly wrong that I didn't see. Checking through it, I did find a few small errors throughout the program. Nothing too big but would definitely cause problems if left unaddressed.
Squinting, I tried to look for more errors but couldn't find much of anything else.
"Great, it's done then." I clapped my hands together as I deactivated it.
Hat? Check.
Clothes? Check.
Visor? Check.
Taser and laser gloves? Check.
Shield? Check.
Everything I wanted for my first real outing was done. Holy shit. It was over.
A sense of pride and accomplishment built in my chest as I looked over the table carrying all my stuff. And I couldn't go out right now because I had to come in at the DWU in the afternoon. My lips pressed into a thin line as I contemplated the fact that I had to spend another four goddamn hours doing nothing! Curse you past me for getting a job!
Deep breaths. Deep breaths.
There was always something to do with the Forge… Perhaps… I could play around with Cult of the Gun a bit more? I mean research. Research. Definitely not playing around with a magic that turns everything into a bang bang gun. Nope.
I tried using Cult of the Gun on smaller objects for the most part, but there really wasn't much in terms of a size limit when it came to Cult of the Gun. At least, I didn't think so anyway. I could do my job and then 'slack' with power testing for the rest of the day I suppose. I had a few hours left until lunchtime. I guess I could head off and do something.
Leaning back against my chair, I thought about what I wanted to do. Lisa was an option. Though I would rather not meet up with her, as she had shown, she could find me anyway using her power. I basically had to throw her a bone occasionally or she would meet me on her terms. The second option was heading to Brockton Bay University and starting to chat with Crystal. My face heated up a bit as I remembered how my previous interaction ended…
But the phone sensor was coming along nicely, needing to fix a few more problems that I was going to put off due to the alarming rate of my funds dropping. I mean I could still do it… just that it would empty out all my cash in doing so.
Until then, I could start working to get a sensor close to Eric and the other members of New Wave.
The last option was working on my Toybox products. I mean… they aren't particularly complex. And like two of them were pretty much done… The vision obfuscator was… hm. Hammer Jammer brought up a decent design, using the principle that light was somehow both a photon and wave to create 'interference fields' that blur light in a given area.
It was on the more expensive side… but that just meant I could sell it for a higher price. And Toybox wasn't exactly the 'bargain bin, dollar store for all your tinkertech needs'. Plus, since it's a product I was planning on selling, it was reimbursed! Hallelujah!
As for the alarm system disabler… that one was a bit more complex. Hammer Jammer… did provide some plans but those were usually specific to the type of system you were disabling. The camera disabler won't affect the tripwires, the tripwire disabler won't affect the pressure sensors, so on and so forth. There were ways to shut down portions of the system all at once but that would often trip the alarm anyway since… y'know the security guard would notice half the security system suddenly failing.
The Celestial Forge awakened again and I hoped it was something actually useful. It was also excluding the Lewd Constellations which was a plus. The tendril attached to a rather low Star on the Small Scale Magical Supplies Constellation, like Fairy Dust.
This one was Noh Masks. A set of masks (duh) depicting a good selection of people of different ages, and backgrounds. Put them on and suddenly people would believe that I was the person being depicted on the mask. It wouldn't even matter that I wore it right in front of everyone. Though it said that 'people with paranormal capabilities may see through it', so I don't think it would work on Thinkers.
The last bit also seemed to make me believe that I could alter the mask as well. I would imagine if I could do so, I may be able to take the place of specific people. Like taking over Thomas Calvert, or Alexandria… Hm.
Of course there were small problems I could think of. Firstly, do the masks work through things like cameras? I would think so but I wouldn't want to try my luck infiltrating the PRT HQ or something. Secondly, does the mask make people… skim over certain behavioral quirks? If I wore an old man mask and started doing backflips and breaking steel, would it force people to still believe that I was a frail old man anyway? Or will their perception change to take it into account?
It was useful for infiltration for sure but definitely not something to be relied on…
Putting the masks out of my mind, I made a note to do some testing with Amaya later on in the day. Back to my alarm deactivator, combining all of them was possible as well but made it far too unwieldy and complex to use. I needed a more general disabler for all different types of security systems without somehow tripping the alarms or easily detected. With that, Hammer Jammer did provide something but also not precisely what I wanted.
Working on similar principles to my signal jammer and taser, I was provided a 'signal looper' of sorts. Once attached to a security system's network, it effectively played the same information over and over again. Cameras would play back the same minute or so, pressure pads would feed the same readings, so on and so forth. Of course activating it at the incorrect time would cause a mess of problems, like seeing the same person round the corner over and over, but it would work.
I drew up a simple design. It was a pack of sorts, strapped to your waist and hooked up to the system. Once in, it would 'scan' incoming information and copy it before looping it. Obviously, I needed to add something to allow someone to alter what was looping… I sighed as I realised I would need to program something again….
Ah well…
Hopping up, I shot a glance at the time. It was about 11… I wonder if Amaya was done with her research…
As I was about to leave, a knock came from my workshop door. "Come in!" I called out.
Grace poked her head through the door, her platinum hair trailing down behind her. "Do you want some cake?"
I needed a moment to register her words. "Ah. Um… Sure?"
Narrowing her eyes slightly at me, she tilted her head a little more, making it parallel to the ground. "Is that a question?"
"Nono. Yea, sure. I'll have some cake." I forced a smile onto my face and nodded. There goes my normal lunch…
Grace broke into a smile. "Great! Come out and I'll cut you a slice." She quickly ducked back behind the door. Frowning, I walked out and saw that Claire, Jamie, and Maverick were already happily eating away. Glancing to the side, I saw that a slice was already cut out and laying by the side.
Skipping over, Grace grabbed it and handed it to me. "Here, this's yours."
Jamie waved me over as I found a place to sit down. Leaning over, he pointed his fork at me. "If it isn't Nathan! You've been pretty busy, huh?"
A confused smile appeared on my face as I sat down. "Umm… I guess so?"
"You don't sound very sure of yourself." Jamie laughed. "But I guess it's what happens when you suddenly get a windfall of fifty grand, huh?"
I blinked before I realised what he was talking about. "Yea. Yeah. I guess so?"
Jamie nodded. "Yup. I remember when I first joined Toybox. Getting my own workshop… I think I had to be dragged out by Logistician." I remember seeing that name when I was browsing around in Toybox's archives. Seeing my confused face, Jamie clarified. "As right, Logistician was one of our founding members. Had a specialty in mass rapid transportation."
"Anyway, just be sure to pace yourself." He patted me on the shoulder. "Tinkering is fun and all but if you rush too much, you still can burn yourself out. And trust me, you don't want to tinker while burnt out." He suppressed a shudder.
Maverick piped up in between mouthfuls of cake. "What are you working on anyway? You've pretty much been ordering stuff since you've arrived."
"Ah…" I thought about how to answer for a moment. "The usual stuff for a tinker. Costume, equipment, and the like. Plus some stuff to sell in Toybox. Nothing too special." I shrugged.
Maverick sat up, wide-eyed as he stared at me. "Can I see?"
Humming, I thought about it for a moment. I guess it wouldn't be too much of a problem if I showed it off. "Sure. Give me a moment." Heading back to the workshop, I started pulling on each piece of my costume. It didn't matter if they were a little big, or flabby since Painted On could alter them to fit perfectly.
It could even alter specific parts of a piece of clothing, so I could alter the sleeve on my trench coat in such a way that the shield wouldn't chaff or wrinkle it. Slipping on the laser gloves, I pulled on the visor and hat and tried moving around in my full suit. The hat was a little heavy, and definitely weighed quite a bit but I was quickly getting used to keeping it balanced.
Hopping and jumping didn't feel terrible and I could reasonably run without feeling like my neck was about to tear wide open. Unfortunately there wasn't a mirror so I made do with a pane of clear plastic from my CNC machine to check my reflection.
Honestly… it looked pretty half-cobbled together. The obvious unifying idea was Hammer Jammer's crude design. Coupled with the clean and rather plain-looking clothes that made up the rest of my costume, it certainly looked like a mad inventor-esque. However it felt a little lacking in a way that I couldn't quite place my finger on.
Perhaps the others could shine a light on it.
Heading back out, I could see several eyes widen as I walked down the hallway. It kinda felt like I was walking down the runway of some sort of weird tinker fashion show. Tugging and straightening out the coat, I glanced between them. "So? Here it is."
Jamie nodded his head. "Not–"
Maverick leapt up, "That's so cool!" Almost dropping the cake that he fumbled and set on the table. He shot a sheepish smile at Grace before looking over at my costume. "This is so much better than my first costume."
Jamie, Claire and Grace all had wry smiles on their faces. "Isn't most first costumes just whatever clothes you have plus whatever tinkertech you could cobble together?" I asked as Maverick circled around me, particularly focusing on my gauntlets.
"Pretty much. But most of the time it's usually one or two pieces. For Toybox debuts… it's usually a full costume but often after a week or so of tinkering." Jamie confirmed. "But yours doesn't look too terrible for a first design. Certainly has that steampunk charm." He cracked a half-smile as he tapped the corner of his eye.
"Right right." I shrugged. "What about you two?" I looked over at Grace and Claire.
Claire nodded. "It… definitely would work as a first design. But the gloves look strikingly different compared to the rest of your look. Why is that?"
I shot a look at the gloves which were sleek and almost like knight's gauntlets in that sense. Compared to the brown and bronze of my other equipment, it was strikingly bright and clean which struck a contrast between it and the rest of my stuff. Right, Amaya was the one who designed and made this, obviously she wouldn't have the same design quirks as Hammer Jammer.
"Uh…" I tried to think of a good lie. "I haven't gotten around to making it match with the rest of this…" I gestured up and down my body. "I was thinking of a bronze coating over it? And perhaps a little extra pizazz across the length to make it match." I shrugged. "Not sure where to start really."
The four of them continued their critique of my costume for the most part, suggestions for certain improvements or equipment that might help. Bouncing a few ideas between us, I did get the idea to incorporate a form of hidden weapon somewhere in my costume. With the varied specialties, there were quite a number of suggestions that might be helpful somewhere down the line. Like Cranial's neurolink or Glace's emergency preservation system.
Eventually, it petered out and I could leave to change back to more normal clothes. Chatting for a while longer, we finished our cake and moved onto lunch. Which was some Mexican food that Jamie's portal was parked nearby. It was mostly small talk about fairly inane topics but it was quite enjoyable.
"Ah, I think it's time for me to head out now." I stood up as everyone bid their goodbyes. Bowing slightly, I responded in kind as I walked back to my workshop. Stepping through the portal back to my base, I spotted Amaya taking a nap on the sofa, her hair spilling across the cushions while more papers filled with notes were splayed over the table in front of her.
Sighing, I shook my head and tossed a blanket over and placed a paperweight over her notes. At the very least make sure your stuff doesn't get messed up when you rest. Grabbing my bag, I started heading to the Docks for my shift to start.
A/N: Debut SoonTM