Getting a clearly overpowered perk for its price is great but having technology that can cross into other dimensions, especially ones like Hell, in a Marvel and DC crossover scenario? That's basically suicide. Even just one of those universes has terrifying dimensional realms but both combined? That's nightmare fuel.
I'd hate to finish building a portal, only for Mephisto or some other devil to suddenly step through like, "Thanks for the open door, this reality is mine now, no more barriers, no more limits." That would be horrible.
Still, despite the risk, there's serious potential. A device specifically designed to explore hell-like realms could double as a foundation for advanced space tech. Whether it's for creating a dimension, accessing one, or even teleportation, the principles behind it could become a valuable reference point for other applications. High risk, sure but maybe high reward too, if you're careful.
These were all valid concerns, but now he had a meeting with an impatient and clearly enraged General Ross, which meant one thing he needed to bring results. Fast.
Exhausted, he packed everything he needed to present to the general as quickly as his worn-out body allowed. Then he jumped into his reinforced, modified car and drove off.
Just like last time, the road was quiet and empty until he reached the highway. That's when it began: a slow build-up of black cars and unmarked SUVs tailing him each one belonging to a different government agency, no doubt. By the time he reached the military base, he was already under watch.
At the gate, the guards gave him only the quickest inspection before waving him through. Even they seemed tense another clear sign that General Ross was in one of those moods. When even the gatekeepers feel the storm coming, you know it's serious.
Clutching the suitcase that held his research results, he followed his escort through the sterile corridors until they reached General Ross's office. The door opened, revealing the general sitting behind a massive oak desk. The walls were lined with military awards, medals, commendations a personal museum of service and authority. Ross didn't strike him as the bragging type, but maybe it was just military tradition to display such things.
Despite the general's emotionless, stone-cold expression, it was obvious he was furious. The veins on his forehead looked ready to burst, and his left hand was clenched into a white-knuckled fist so tight it looked painful. When he stood to greet Alex, his handshake was so crushing it almost fractured a few bones.
"Good afternoon, General. It's great to see you. Your office is... majestic."
Ross didn't even blink.
"Don't waste my time with flattery. Do you have results or not?"
"Yes, sir. I have everything in my suitcase."
"Then what the hell are you waiting for? Show me."
Alex opened the specially designed suitcase, its biometric locks responding to both his fingerprint and DNA. With a soft hiss, the lid released, and he carefully pulled out the results a compact package of hardware prototypes and the accompanying files explaining each component in detail.
Before he could even begin his briefing, General Ross, already radiating impatience, snatched the files straight out of Alex's hands and started flipping through them. His eyes skimmed the documents with sharp, almost aggressive focus.
Without looking up, Ross barked,
"Explain your creations. Now."
Alex gave a curt nod and began.
"The first item is a specialized bullet designed using an alloy of my own creation. Its penetration capability is... extreme. Based on the target parameters you provided it's capable of piercing materials far tougher than conventional body armor. It should be able to penetrate a target of that... density."
Alex was, of course, playing dumb. He wasn't supposed to know the target was the Hulk, and frankly, he doubted any bullet could pierce even one of his bones. But the fiction had to hold.
"There are two variants. The first is a solid-core round, designed strictly for raw damage. It's intended for use with sniper rifles ideal for long-range engagements, perhaps even capable of neutralizing something like the subject mentioned in your files... from a distance."
He let that statement hang, hoping it sounded convincing.
"The second variant is hollow-point. It can be filled with a toxin, a tracker, or any other chemical payload you need to deploy. It's more tactical in nature less about stopping power, more about utility or tracking."
He paused, watching Ross's reaction carefully. The general's face remained unreadable, but his fingers tightened slightly around the edge of the file a subtle sign that something in the report had caught his interest.
Without looking up, Ross asked,
"What kind of chemical cocktail do you think could bring down something with that level of regeneration?"
Alex kept his tone calm, even though the tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife.
"You're right there's no known poison that can permanently affect the kind of target you described. But I've developed a custom neurotoxin blend. It's designed not to kill, but to temporarily shut down motor functions and induce unconsciousness. Think of it as forced hibernation."
Ross finally looked up from the file, his eyes hard and skeptical.
"So it's possible it works. Or it doesn't. And you want me to plan an operation based on possibilities? Do you have any idea how many soldiers could die if you're wrong?"
Alex didn't flinch.
"I admit without field testing, it's difficult to prove. But I stand by what's in those files. If the operation fails, it won't be because the design is flawed. It'll be because the parameters you gave me were inaccurate."
There was a long pause. Ross stared at him in silence, then slowly leaned back in his chair. His voice dropped a level quieter, colder.
"I hope for your sake you're right. Because if I find out you lied to me..."He let the sentence hang for just a moment too long."...the consequences will be something you're not prepered to survive."
At that moment, Alex began to feel the familiar, slowly building energy of the Forge starting to activate deep within his soul, just like it had in times before.
[Swordsmith (Fate/Legends Japan Land of the Rising Sun) (400CP)
What else shows the spirit of the Japanese but the famed katana blade? Such a central part of their mythos as to have the most famous craftsmen become like heroes themselves. No matter how great, they do not remember the makers of armor or shields like they do artisans of the blade. On the level of legends like Masamune and Muramasa, you are one of these legendary swordsmiths. Even in an ordinary forge with ordinary metals, you can smith katana of a supernatural quality. Edges that split magical steel and blades that don't shatter after a thousand strikes on rock. Often, these even have magical effects if you intend them, such as sharpening as they drink more blood or cutting at a much greater distance than just the physical blade. Should you have access to tools, materials and even magic of a greater level, you will be able to create far greater weapons. Weapons that bring ruin to armies, that cut castles in two with a single slash, fiery tools that send billowing tides of flame to swallow whole forests. When truly inspired, you can even create things on a divine level, the stuff of legends that only a divinity could normally craft. A sword that splits the fabric of reality itself in two, perhaps. With time, your talents may be able to be applied to any form of blade, not just Japanese swords. Should you gain magic of your own, you will see that imbuing those effects into your weapons is effortless, even magnifying the potency of your spells greatly beyond what you would normally be able to cast if you place them into the form of a sword.]
Not enough CP to purchase.
100 CP banked.
Okay, this perk is definitely not something I'd want to buy even if I had the CP for it, thought Alex as the information about the perk filtered through his mind. Almost instantly, he shook off the thought and refocused his attention on the meeting in front of him.
"These are all the things I was able to prepare in such a short time, General," Alex said, setting the final document on the desk. "But I also brought something extra something I'd like to offer for sale. And I was hoping to get your support."
Ross narrowed his eyes.
"This better not be some minor invention just meant to waste my time."
Alex shook his head.
"No, sir. This is something that could help doctors in the field, and possibly save thousands of lives. I'm proud to present the first drug capable of rapidly triggering blood clotting to stop bleeding almost instantly. It's completely safe designed to activate only when it comes into contact with air, which means it won't cause internal clots. If it accidentally enters the bloodstream while intact, it reverts to a liquid form and simply passes through the system, drastically reducing the risk of thrombosis."
He placed a vial on the table, letting the light reflect off the deep red fluid inside.
"It can be mass produced. I've already tested it on animals with both gunshot and laceration wounds. As long as the wound isn't too large, or doesn't have foreign objects like a bullet still embedded, it works flawlessly. The clotting is fast, efficient, and safe."
He paused for breath, then continued with quiet determination.
"I've already applied for approval to begin human trials. But this is a major breakthrough in battlefield and emergency medicine. Without proper protection and funding, big pharma companies will try to steal or bury it. That's why I haven't released it yet. I need your backing to keep it secure and make sure it gets into the right hands."
"I can help you resist the pressure," Ross said, his tone leveling out just slightly, "and I can push it through the FDA if it really works as you claim. But I want something in return: fixed shares in your company. Not a favor, not a handshake deal ownership."
Alex gave a tired but respectful nod.
"I'm open to negotiation. My assistant will contact your office with the details percentages, timelines, and legal structure. But right now, General... I'm exhausted. I've been awake for two days straight. I need to go home and sleep before I collapse on your floor."
Without waiting for a response, he turned toward the door.
"Goodbye, General," Alex said simply, his voice calm as he stepped out of the room and let the door shut behind him.
As he walked down the hallway, boots echoing against the polished floor, he suddenly felt it that subtle but unmistakable sensation.
The Forge's presence, warm and powerful, began to stir within him once more. Not loud, not violent just a quiet surge of energy, rising in his chest like a distant engine coming online. Familiar, and steady.
[Timespinner Blueprints (Timespinner) (600CP)
The blueprints and schematics for the device known as the Timespinner. It is a form of temporal gateway that is capable of precisely sending a user through time into the past or future. The ordinary version has several limitations, the most important of which is that travelling through it is a one-way trip, and results in the removal of the traveller from history, leaving them as a person without a history on the other side. Similarly, until upgraded by Lachiemi science, the portal only allowed for travel through time, not space, and would deposit the user at the same point, relative to the planet they are on, in whatever era they targeted.
This version has altered those restrictions. Firstly, it is capable of travelling through both space and time. Secondly, it has a recall function, which allows a user who has travelled through it to 'snap back' to the device the moment after they went through, re-entering their old timeline at that point.
The device does still retain the restriction that the timeline being travelled to will be one where the user never existed, but the recall function means that they can travel between that timeline and this one as they please. The third restriction is related to that, namely that this device can only target a single 'new' timeline per person per Jump, and thus that as they travel around in the new timeline and make changes, they will be making changes to the same timeline, even when they shift back and forth between the old and new timelines.
It is possible to bring back objects from the new timeline into the old timeline, or vice versa, but not people. Finally, this Timespinner has safeguards to ensure that no matter how much you mess with time, it will not cause an existential breakdown or destroy the universe (which could be a danger with the normal Timespinner, or that might just be a lie told by the Sandman). This purchase does come with the necessary materials to make a single Timespinner, which will replenish at the beginning of each new Jump. A Timespinner can only target times and spaces within the current Jump.
* Worse than the tardis but the protection feature is unique]
Not enough CP to purchase.
200 CP banked.