64
The S.H.I.E.L.D. Base greeted us with its familiar, sterile silence and cleanliness. If someone had told me a couple of days ago that I'd be glad to return here, to this Hydra lair and this potential haven for space chameleons, I would have called them crazy. As it turned out, the outside world was more dangerous for me than a cage full of lions.
I materialized Elena's body from my inventory. The medics accepted it with silent professionalism. I followed the escort agent while Gwen walked beside me, lost in thought.
"Convenient," I admitted when I realized Fury had ordered Gwen placed in the room next to mine.
"True, I don't quite understand why I need to be here at all," Gwen commented when the agent left us alone in the corridor. "That same Peter is in far greater danger than I am."
"Peter is under watch for now, but we'll bring him in too." I nodded. "As for you, the question isn't so much about protection as it is about having a relatively safe place where you can catch your breath."
"Yeah, 'safe'." She snorted. "It's a place where every step is controlled and where my sense constantly hums from all these secrets. It's terribly annoying."
"It's the price of convenience. Apparently, for the next week, I'll be stuck here without being able to leave. So if anything, you'll know where to find me. For now, you can explore the Base, the open civilian part of it. I need a couple of hours to think everything through."
I left Gwen alone and entered my room. My magic ore box was already waiting for me. With a single motion, I removed it and stashed it in my inventory. Without undressing, I collapsed onto the bed and stared at the blank white ceiling. I kept returning to the same thought that had occupied my mind for the past few hours. The outside world was off-limits.
Did this mean that I shouldn't stick my head out at all now? That was nonsense. But Hydra and the CIA had demonstrated that, however nonsensical it might seem, it was safer to be within S.H.I.E.L.D.'s walls. Especially now that a new, unknown variable had appeared. There was the mysterious sniper. Someone had ruthlessly and efficiently liquidated Belova. It was unlikely to have been S.H.I.E.L.D.; Natasha wouldn't have approved of that. Was it Hydra, making a twisted show of force? Or was it the Soviets, cleaning up loose ends?
There were many options, and each one of them was logical. Why couldn't everything be as simple as it was in the comics, where a throwaway villain is really just a throwaway villain, and the mysterious sniper simply wants to help? By that logic, Frank Castle could have been on that roof. By the way, my conversation with him would have to be postponed. I wondered how he was doing.
As for what I would do when I could freely leave the Base, I would think about that when I was outside its walls. Right now, a far more important question was looming. It was the question of mind protection.
The lesson from Kilgrave had been brutal. Mind control is terrifying. Armor, strength, and skills all become useless if my brain can be turned into a weapon and used against me. But there was a problem. Mind control is flexible.
There is the telepathy of someone like Emma Frost or Xavier. There is Kilgrave's pheromonal control. There is classical hypnosis and mind-control magic. There are technological artifacts, truth serums, and dozens of other exotic methods. I can't create universal protection from everything all at once. Perhaps I should focus on protecting the brain as a physical object. In some variations of the story, Magneto proved that a helmet could be effective protection against mind-breakers.
So, I would create a helmet. But I wouldn't make it from metal. I would create a Spiritual Helmet.
The theory was elegant. A dense, structured array of spiritual particles could serve as an effective barrier against external energy influences, including psionic ones. If I surrounded my brain with a permanent, stable field of Reishi, any directed psi-stream would be either absorbed or scattered and distorted beyond recognition. This would be a suppressor.
The task was clear. I needed to create an invisible, intangible, yet spiritually dense construct that would passively surround my brain. This promised to be simpler than creating the Spiritual Sonar had been. That had been a complex, active construct. This would be a passive, structural modification requiring concentration and Reishi manipulation.
I entered a meditative state, concentrating my spiritual perception around my head. I spent several minutes creating an ideal three-dimensional mental model, sensing the boundaries of my skull. Any mistake here could be fatal.
Using my Reiryoku as an anchor, I collected free Reishi particles from the atmosphere. I drew them into myself and directed them toward my head. I started weaving a fine, spherical shell that precisely followed the contours of my skull, both inside and out. This created a multi-layered, weightless cocoon around my brain. The next stage was densification. With an enormous effort of will, I compressed these particles until they formed a unified, stable, spiritually dense crystalline lattice. If someone were to observe with spiritual vision, they would see a thin, translucent, vibrating mesh resembling a helmet sitting directly on my brain.
This protection needed one basic property. I decided to make my mental shield unbearably noisy. I poured a microscopic amount of my Reiatsu into the structure, forcing the particles in the lattice to vibrate constantly and chaotically. This created a continuous spiritual white noise. For a telepath attempting to read my thoughts, it would now be the equivalent of trying to hear a whisper next to a working fighter jet engine. As for biological control, like Kilgrave's, this protection was unlikely to help. But Kilgrave was dead, and there were many telepaths in this world.
[Personal spiritual artifact "Anti-Psionic Helmet" created. Complexity: Simple. Received +200 OP!]
A spiritual artifact created using the art of spiritual energy manipulation. It was capable of protecting against low-level and partially medium-level psionic influence, and could also warn the user about a stronger intrusion.
"Warning," yes. The helmet would dissipate if a telepathy titan like Xavier applied enough effort. But that dissipation would become an instant alarm signal for me. It would be a sign that it was time to stop holding back. For now, I couldn't oppose someone like Emma Frost or Xavier. Telepathy is unbalanced. I wanted it too. For now, I could only imagine it.
I noted a slight sluggishness in my thoughts. It wasn't critical, but it was noticeable, especially compared to my usual intelligence buff. The cause was a constant, light pressure in my head. It felt like wearing a hat that was too tight. It was a side effect of the Anti-Psionic Helmet. It was livable. It would just require a couple of days for my brain to adapt. More importantly, with this helmet, I felt more confident.
I decided to spin the Forge of Creation. My account currently held 950 OP. I spent eight hundred of them on one roll.
It was an information package. It was Rare.
My heart skipped a beat. This was my first Rare drop from the Forge. With incredible enthusiasm, I read the description.
[Received information package (Rare) - From Trinitite to Power Stones (GURPS Technomancer). (Information package unlock cost: 4000 OP)]
It was a complete academic course that opened access to a new scientific paradigm, one where magic and its manifestations are considered measurable, controllable, and reproducible metaphysical processes. I would receive fundamental knowledge upon which technomancy is based. It was a discipline that allowed the application of strict scientific methods to the study and reproduction of magical phenomena.
This package introduced the three pillars of applied thaumaturgy.
Observation: This was the systematic collection of empirical data regarding magical phenomena. I would learn to record, measure, and catalog parameters, from an energy signature to the effects on matter and spirit.
Deconstruction: This was the analysis of the collected data to derive the fundamental metaphysical laws underlying the observed effect. I would learn to hack magic, decomposing a miracle into a sequence of logical principles.
Synthesis: This was the creation of a structured spell. It was a reproducible algorithm, made from mental commands and energy manipulations, that could recreate the studied phenomenon.
Metaphysical Empirics: The Science of Miracles.
This was a research discipline focused on the study and cataloging of metaphysical phenomena. I would receive a theoretical basis for it.
Phenomenology: This was the classification of metaphysical effects by their source, power, and operating principle.
Signature Analysis: This was the recognition of the unique fingerprints of magical traditions.
Reverse Engineering: This was a methodology for breaking down magical effects in order to understand their internal structure.
Applied Thaumaturgy: Spell Engineering.
This was an engineering discipline that treated spell creation as a high-precision technological process. Over time, I would master it.
For some time, I simply lay there, not breathing. In my consciousness, there unfolded not just a text, but a whole manifesto of a new reality.
Holy shit.
This wasn't just an information package. This was the reverse engineering of all the magic in this world. It was a cheat that surpassed an Infinity Stone just lying on the street. A Stone was a tool. This was the assembly instructions for the Universe itself.
So, I already had engineering skills that could potentially surpass Stark's. Soon, thanks to this package, I would have magical knowledge more fundamental than Strange's. The System, or the Universe, seemed to be pushing me onto the path of a technomage. I was a kind of Doctor Doom at bare-bones settings.
No. I corrected myself. This was only a Rare position. I was afraid to even imagine what was hidden at the Epic or Legendary level. Compared to me, a cheater with such a toolset, Doom would look like a child in a sandbox. He would be a child who had learned a couple of tricks without understanding their essence. I would gain access to the fundamental laws that underlie all the magic in this world.
I began feverishly sorting through the possibilities in my head. There was classical magic. Divine magic. Demonic magic. And the cherry on top was chaos magic, which was Wanda's power. If I remembered correctly, that was connected to an ancient entity named Chthon. In theory, I could study reality-warping effects.
It was reality sculpting. So close, yet infinitely far away. This information package was the key. I knew exactly what I'd be spending my next 4000 OP on.
It was enough to float around in the clouds, but it was time to get to work. Time for some OP farming. It was a shame I couldn't really accelerate things in the S.H.I.E.L.D. labs, but I could implement a number of safe, non-suspicious projects. I'd also close a couple of gestalts. First, there was the suit for Gwen. Without any complex tech to integrate, this would be a foundation for a future masterpiece.
I approached the door of the neighboring room, pinging it with my spiritual sonar to make sure the girl was inside. She barely flinched during the scan. I knocked, keeping it simple when I spoke.
"Let's go," I said when she opened the door. "We're going to create a suit for you."
"This isn't a date, but in some ways, it's even better," Gwen smiled as she entered the corridor.
"Oh, the spider's chelicerae have finally cut through? And here I thought I was the only one allowed to joke about our bright, romantic future."
We reached my assigned laboratory complex. After explaining the basic safety protocols, I entered first. While waiting for her inside, I considered the ideal approach. From a scientific standpoint, I should conduct a thorough physiological study on her, subjecting her to the same comprehensive analysis I'd performed on Kraven. I needed to determine the nature of her powers and assess compatibility with Peter. But handing that data over to S.H.I.E.L.D., and potentially to Hydra, was out of the question.
"Any ideas for the new design?" I asked as Gwen entered the engineering lab.
"I like my current suit."
"Yeah, the white and black are classic. Nothing's stopping us from making it slightly more functional and a little prettier, though. You're still a girl, after all."
"I'll trust your taste." She shrugged. "The main thing is that it doesn't restrict my movement, isn't heavy, and doesn't look repulsive."
"Noted. Let's begin."
We started by creating an ideal digital model. Gwen underwent a full 3D scanning process. The equipment recorded her static measurements and biomechanics in motion. I loaded all the data into the holographic workstation and, after applying a virtual base layer of Proteus fabric to her virtual model, I began designing a suit that would fit like a second skin.
Over the base layer, I placed segmented armor plates made from carbon fiber-reinforced polymer with ceramic inserts to protect her vital areas. Each plate was segmented to allow for flexibility. I ran thousands of simulations of her most complex movements. I integrated web-shooters into the armored glove-bracers.
The laser cutting station sliced the suit components from Proteus fabric. The industrial 3D printer printed the armor plates from composite powder. The robotic assembly station stitched the base layer with high-strength aramid thread. All seams were bonded and sealed. The armor attached via magnetic-mechanical locks, allowing the plates to float on the fabric while enabling modularity. In the lining, I left channels for future electronic routing.
The result was a full combat suit that offered serious protection without limiting her agility. It even looked cute. My XCOM design philosophy wouldn't let me make something ugly.
[Light armor "Proteus Suit S" created. Complexity: Normal. Received +400 OP!]
It was a lightweight, modular suit made from Proteus fabric and reinforced with composite plates. It provided full joint mobility and serious protection.
Not bad. Six hours of work for 400 OP. It wasn't the most efficient farming method, but the gestalt of Gwen's enhancement was partially complete. At the very least, I could now focus on routine tasks. I sent the satisfied, tired girl off to sleep, then returned to the laboratory. I started creating simple modular devices that wouldn't attract any attention from S.H.I.E.L.D., but would still earn me OP.
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