Chapter 89: Chapter 89: Spencer Industries
[Spencer Industries, Executive Office]
I leaned my head back, closing my eyes. The phantom sensation of the nuclear detonation, the final act of my Soldier Boy clone... faded from my synaptic network.
Clone was vaporized in his own glorious inferno, taking the vast majority of Vought’s premiere assets and the military’s rogue command structure with him.
I opened my eyes and called up the interface.
A blue holographic screen materialized in the air above my mahogany desk. The notifications were already queuing, a cascade of digital confirmation for the carnage I had orchestrated.
[PLUNDER QUEUE: PROCESSING MULTIPLE HIGH TIER TARGETS...]
[Supe Neutralized: Queen Maeve (Tier 2).]
[Powers Detected: Super Strength, Super Defence, Super Speed, Enhanced Senses, Regeneration.]
[Supe Neutralized: Starlight (Tier 2).]
[Powers Detected: Electricity Absorption, Photokinesis, Super Strength, Super Defence, Enhanced Senses, Regeneration.]
[Supe Neutralized: A-Train (Tier 2).]
[Powers Detected: Super Speed, Super Strength, Super Defence, Accelerated Metabolism, Enhanced Senses, Regeneration.]
[Supe Neutralized: The Deep (Tier 3).]
[Powers Detected: Aquatic Respiration, Marine Life Communication, Super Strength, Super Defence, Enhanced Senses, Regeneration.]
Vought’s primary defense force was little more than a collection of heavily armored bruisers with a few elemental parlor tricks mixed in.
I already possessed Tier 1 iterations of every physical enhancement listed. And I had no need for aquatic respiration or the ability to glow in the dark.
’Convert all to Experience Points.’
[Processing Tier 2 Conversions (Queen Maeve): 5 Powers x 3,000 XP = 15,000 XP]
[Processing Tier 2 Conversions (Starlight): 6 Powers x 3,000 XP = 18,000 XP]
[Processing Tier 2 Conversions (A-Train): 6 Powers x 3,000 XP = 18,000 XP]
[Processing Tier 3 Conversions (The Deep): 6 Powers x 1,500 XP = 9,000 XP]
[TOTAL XP GAINED: 60,000 XP]
[PREVIOUS BALANCE: 80,600 XP]
[CURRENT TOTAL XP: 140,600 XP]
I stared at the final number. One hundred and forty thousand, six hundred experience points. It was an astronomical sum.
"Initiate upgrade protocols," I commanded the silent interface. "Sequential progression to Tier 1 for all remaining abilities."
[Acknowledged. Commencing sequential upgrades.]
[Power Selected: Flight (Tier 2)]
[Upgrade to Tier 1 Cost: 5,000 XP. Proceed?]
’Execute.’
[Deducting 5,000 XP... Upgrade Complete.]
[Flight (Tier 1): Aerial velocity now matches terrestrial Super Speed (Mach 30). Complete disregard for atmospheric friction and gravitational pull.]
The sensation was a sudden unmooring of my internal compass. I could breach the stratosphere in seconds.
[Power Selected: Cloning (Tier 2)]
[Upgrade to Tier 1 Cost: 5,000 XP. Proceed?]
’Execute.’
[Deducting 5,000 XP... Upgrade Complete.]
[Cloning (Tier 1): Maximum simultaneous clone manifestation increased to 100. All clones possess 100% of the original host’s Tier 1 abilities. Hive mind cognitive bandwidth optimized for absolute synchronization.]
A profound vastness opened within my consciousness. It was as if my mind had suddenly expanded into a grand cathedral, waiting to be filled.
One hundred iterations of myself, each wielding the power to tear a city apart, all functioning under a single will.
[Power Selected: Telekinesis (Tier 2)]
[Upgrade to Tier 1 Cost: 5,000 XP. Proceed?]
’Execute.’
[Deducting 5,000 XP... Upgrade Complete.]
[Telekinesis (Tier 1): Lifting and manipulation capacity increased to 1,000 tons. Molecular level fine motor control enabled.]
The phantom muscles in my mind flexed with world breaking tension. A thousand tons.
I could lift a naval destroyer from the harbor. I could halt a plummeting commercial airliner.
The physical world around me felt suddenly malleable, like wet clay waiting to be shaped by my thoughts.
[Power Selected: Immortality (Tier 2)]
[Upgrade to Tier 1 Cost: 5,000 XP. Proceed?]
’Execute.’
[Deducting 5,000 XP... Upgrade Complete.]
[Immortality (Tier 1): Cellular senescence halted entirely. Maximum functional lifespan expanded to 10,000 years in absolute prime physical condition.]
A resonant calm washed over my biology. The ticking clock that hounded every living creature simply stopped. Ten millennia. Empires would rise and fall, oceans would dry and I would remain unchanged by the ravages of time.
[Power Selected: Electrokinesis (Tier 2)]
[Upgrade to Tier 1 Cost: 5,000 XP. Proceed?]
’Execute.’
[Deducting 5,000 XP... Upgrade Complete.]
[Electrokinesis (Tier 1): Omega level output. Capable of generating localized thunderstorms, global EMPs and plasma generation equivalent to the core of a star.]
My nervous system lit up like a fiber optic network. The static electricity in the air bowed toward me. I was capable of plunging continents into darkness or incinerating a mountain range with a thought.
[Power Selected: Enhanced Senses (Tier 2)]
[Upgrade to Tier 1 Cost: 5,000 XP. Proceed?]
’Execute.’
[Deducting 5,000 XP... Upgrade Complete.]
[Enhanced Senses (Tier 1): Auditory, olfactory, optical and tactile reception maximized to Homelander equivalent baselines. X Ray, macroscopic and microscopic vision enabled.]
The world snapped into overwhelming focus. I could hear the microscopic mites crawling through the fibers of my carpet. I could smell the distinct chemical composition of the ink on the documents sitting in the office three floors below me.
I blinked and the opaque drywall of my office faded, revealing the structural steel, the copper wiring and the bustling city miles away, all with absolute clarity.
I quickly dialed the sensory input back, filtering the noise to maintain my sanity.
[Power Selected: Shapeshifting (Tier 3)]
[Upgrade to Tier 2 Cost: 3,000 XP.]
[Upgrade to Tier 1 Cost: 5,000 XP.]
[Total Cost: 8,000 XP. Proceed?]
’Execute.’
[Deducting 8,000 XP... Upgrades Complete.]
[Shapeshifting (Tier 1): Instantaneous transition. Complete DNA, vocal and fingerprint replication. Capable of perfectly mimicking any human form, including their currently worn non organic clothing/attire.]
My physical form felt utterly fluid like a canvas waiting to be painted. I could become anyone, perfectly, down to their genetic code.
[Power Selected: Size Alteration (Tier 3)]
[Upgrade to Tier 2 Cost: 3,000 XP.]
[Upgrade to Tier 1 Cost: 5,000 XP.]
[Total Cost: 8,000 XP. Proceed?]
’Execute.’
[Deducting 8,000 XP... Upgrades Complete.]
[Size Alteration (Tier 1): Dimensional parameters expanded. Minimum scale: 1 micrometer. Maximum scale: 1 kilometer. Mass conservation optimized for both extremes.]
One micrometer. I could exist on the cellular level. One kilometer. I could step over skyscrapers.
I let out a long breath. The transformation was complete.
"System," I whispered into the quiet room. "Final status."
The blue interface flashed one last time, displaying the absolute summit of evolution.
[FINAL STATUS]
[HOST: Aryan Spencer]
[REMAINING XP: 94,600]
[POWERS:]
Flight (Tier 1)
Cloning (Tier 1)
Telepathy (Tier 1)
Biokinesis (Tier 1)
Telekinesis (Tier 1)
Immortality (Tier 1)
Cryokinesis (Tier 1)
Super Speed (Tier 1)
Resurrection (Tier 1)
Teleportation (Tier 1)
Regeneration (Tier 1)
Shapeshifting (Tier 1)
Electrokinesis (Tier 1)
Size Alteration (Tier 1)
Super Stamina (Tier 1)
Super Defence (Tier 1)
Super Strength (Tier 1)
Radiation Blast (Tier 1)
Disempowerment (Tier 1)
Enhanced Senses (Tier 1)
