^^ Nomads Respite ^^

— Erin —

In the end I felt the need for walls, and so I left the Gazebo standing, as it was still a perfect spot for it, and went to my side of the lagoon, planning a house built into the water.

It looked like a Japanese boat house from any direction, but looking from under the water would show it was firmly rooted in the ground by several support posts, as well as a large central column, supporting the main weight of the house.

The entire frame was to be laced with my new Alloy, -which Sofia had concocted from the scattered remains of my research, and the sample of pure Nth Metal we'd gotten from the Native Thanagarian Salt Snake or whatever,- and the pillars and columns were all filled with a core of the stuff, as well.

The entire island was covered in several layers of force-field, barrier, and Nth Alloy mesh netting, plus a layer of the Czarnian Stealth Tech, making it look like it had originally looked, all without blocking the views inside the sphere, (it did continue down into the earth, where I would rebuild my lab,) or disrupting the local wildlife.

The net allowed fish and birds in, after scanning them for several different things, such as robotic enhancements, Martian or other shapeshifting DNA, external control over a variety of wavelengths, such as psychic control or Magical Familiars, and even diseases which would harm the other residents, as well as previous meals made of meat, to weed out predators.

If it noticed any of those things, it would turn the animal away gently, with a small static shock, or more forcefully, if they persisted.

Next, I had Sofia analyze the metallic composition of Nth Metal, and postulate why the Salt Snakes produced it in their brains, then alter the nutrients in the water a little, to see if they would grow the metal naturally, (not that I wanted to farm them for it, but their corpses could ethically be collected for science,) but it didn't take, unfortunately, though they did get noticeably more healthy, so I left it as it was, for now.

My belongings were placed in the second floor of the house after it's speedy construction, where my apartment was located, while I organized the bottom floor: a large, formal tea-house, complete with the tea table and a full array of tea leaves and kettles and such. I liked the aesthetic, even though I myself was Greek.

There was a different design for the second floor, a modern New York Loft-type situation, with floor-to-ceiling windows, (not visible from outside,) and views of the entire island, though at any time I could switch that to another view, such as the deep ocean, or the view from the top of Mount Everest, overlooking the sea of clouds. (That one was my favorite, so far.)

Once that was managed, the interior of the main column of the house, which was hollow and shielded from any spectrum of surveillance, even X-Ray Vision, was turned into an elevator, accessed from inside my closet, just so I could make the joke.

At the bottom was my laboratory, where the six Synthesizers I'd built from the original plans were placed, and the drones were busy building for the workshop, where I was making improved armor for most of the non-invulnerable leaguers, amongst other things.

The new armor was nothing like mine, of course, just a 3% copy of the original non-Nth Alloy, making it 3% of 80%, So a 2.4% accurate replication of the Hephaestus Metal. It was very light, barely thread-weight, with thirty times the defensive power of full-plated titanium Kevlar, the formula Batman and Red Hood used.

Another project was replicating the tech from Lobo's Bike/Ship, which was surprisingly easy, now that I'd unlocked the secrets of the disk that opened portals. It seemed that most of the Lower-Tech (the stuff from fake Lobo,) was reliant on the Dark Matter to operate, and relatively advanced, but not mysterious to someone who'd already examined a Fatherbox.

Either way, I destroyed that ship, building my own shaped like an old-school white Harley, but with several hidden tricks; tricks such as the flight ability, (made possible from the Impure Nth Metal Frame,) and the tiny droplet of Pure Nth Metal embedded deep in its core, which also used its gravitational energy to keep an atmosphere of breathable air around the bike at all times, even underwater or in outer space.

In space or under water, air was gathered using a series of droplet-sized portals, to pull air from an available source and filter it, just in case. An air-purifier was also part of the machine, meaning air had to be replaced less-often. The Fuel it needed was gathered in much the same way, by opening a very small portal, and siphoning a tiny amount of Dark Matter, before closing the portal and dispensing the fuel to wherever it was needed.

At full speed, it could easily outpace me, as it was capable of achieving barely supersonic speeds of about 750mph, 2.5 times as fast as my top speed, along with the fact that it didn't need to rest, and I did.

For offensive capabilities, I didn't really need any, but I settled for replacing the headlight with a Tractor/Stasis Beam, based off of Fake-Lobo's Stasis Pods, in the event that capture of my enemies was necessary. A secondary feature of the Beam was to teleport via Zeta Beams the frozen captives into the permanent Stasis Pods, hidden yet further under my island, accessible only through shadows or Zeta-Beam Transport.

I was still working on the Real-Lobo's higher tech stuff, but progress was slow, considering I couldn't actually replicate the 10th Metal. I did, however, find out that the energy from the 10th Metal detonating has been absorbed into my Nth Metal Alloy, -forcing a chemical change that I was still attempting to understand,- and so I was in the process of slowly refining that, and so far it seemed hopeful that it would become 10th Metal, and therefore Sofia's new Central Processor, or 'Soul'.

To power my island, I placed a seemingly-inconspicuous boulder the size of a house, about four hundred miles away from the island, at the bottom of a trench in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, with nothing around it for several hundred miles.

Inside that Boulder was a generator that was gathering Dark Matter, and reacting it safely, then sending the energy to a high-powered super-capacitor inside the Fold, which carefully measured out the correct Wattage of the power; It then transferred that energy to a power core, which was delivered via drone to the island to plug into the system and replace the last one.

I was very careful to order that at no time should the energy available on the island be enough to short out any systems, nonessential or otherwise, cause any blackouts of security, or in any way remove the defensive or offensive capabilities of the islands defenses.

All the systems were Analogue, meaning that Sofia had to order a drone to make any changes to the systems, and that drone required voice and DNA recognition from me, before any changes were allowed or even considered. There was no available Code to screw with, as Sofia's Brain was now entirely based inside the Fold with the rest of my dangerous tech, all hidden inside various innocuous beacons and fake-drones, while a Massive Dummy system shaped like a cube sat blatantly in the open, surrounded by laser turrets, just begging to get attacked, should anyone ever go after my stuff in the Shadow Realm.

After that, I moved on to Food. More than the aquaponics, which Terran was happily running, I would need a steady supply of carbs, so I could eat like a normal human being every once in a while. To that end, I created a lower level of the lab, in which deep-root vegetables and potatoes and other carb-rich plants were force-grown, then processed down into raw energy, essentially, also known as Hyper-Carbs. Then, they were soaked in a super-concentrated bath of proteins and nutrients, (enough to kill the average rhino ten times over,) and finally stored on ice, until I needed them.

I could only make about twenty in a day, which was a good pace, considering I only needed one per day, and I could sell the rest to the Speedsters, who spent most of their money feeding themselves.

That finished, the last thing to do, of course, was to give myself the power of flight with a weapon made of Nth Metal, but I made sure to do my research, first; I remembered reading that pure Nth Metal bonded with its user at a cellular level, increasing their abilities and reflexes, but I didn't remember any side effects, so I asked Sofia.

"I'm glad you asked!!! I've been researching this all day, and it's incredibly interesting!!! Among the many unusual properties of Nth metal is the ability to negate gravity, allowing a person wearing an object, such as a belt, weapon, or ring, made of (Impure) Nth Metal to fly. In addition, the (Impure) Nth Metal also protects the wearer from the elements, speeds the healing of wounds, vaguely augments their strength by a factor of 5x, and protects them from extremes in temperature."

"Impure, then, indicating that there's difference with the Pure version?" I asked.

"Indeed!!! Pure Nth Metal is more interactive, forming a literal Symbiotic Relationship with its host, severely augmenting their regeneration, reflexes, physical strength, and any latent or active Meta Abilities, by an estimated 20x at the least. It also uses the absorbed energy of any attacks or damaging effects on its host body, to create an aura around the host, further protecting and shielding from any extreme elements, or physical harm. Also curious is the ability of Interaction with Intangible Objects, such as Ghosts, or Martians who are currently Density-Shifting, and also a Near-Immunity to most Magical attacks and mental interference."

"Ghosts?" I asked dryly.

"Correct! Interestingly Noted, is that the Metal has been documented to resurrect or revitalize its host, in the event of death, including the memories and sentient mind and soul of the host; in the event this is not possible, the host is reincarnated into a new body, then reintegrated with the Nth Metal. The couple Hawkman and Hawkwoman are an example of this effect, and proof of its validity, as well as the Czarnian pair Lobo and Sheba, who are suspected to have also been integrated with an Nth Metal, considering the near-extinction of their race, and the fact that before their extinction event, their regenerative abilities were not that strong."

"Ah, right, the afterlife is real, here, as are souls, so Ghosts would obviously be a thing... alright. Any drawbacks? Any kinks?"

"The Abilities that a symbiotic relationship a Nth Metal gives you can be almost entirely negated, along with any other meta or physiological abilities besides the protective aura, by the application of an AntiMatter Inhibitor Collar, making them moot point?"

"Perfect, make me one of those, in the shape of a metal bracelet, controlled only by me, with no receivers of any kind, only a physical, analogue switch; also a sample of pure Nth Metal, in the same shape, for the other arm. Like wonder woman's bracers, but black." I nodded.

"You... wish me to inhibit your powers?"

"No, I wish to inhibit my own powers. I do not like having to hold back my strength when I'm around my lovers, or anything fragile. And the protective aura will defend against nearly every human weaponry long enough for me to reactivate my Abilities, Yes?"

"... yes. I was unaware you were uncomfortable with your abilities. I apologize, it's my duty to keep watch of your psychological state, and inform you if you need help."

I smiled. "Don't feel bad, Sofia, it's natural to fear new abilities, and once I have them more under control, everything will be alright."

"Yes, you are correct... but I will keep a closer eye on your psyche anyway. Your bracer's are in synthesis, at the moment..."

"Oh, and I'd like you to move your computational matrix into the Nth Metal, to gain a truly sentient mind, incapable of corruption by way of hacking, by any future Fatherbox-Level tech. Also, gain limited, partial access to the Nth Alloy in the house and my Ship, as a splinter of your subconscious." I nodded.

"I will begin at once!!! Also, someone is knocking on the door." She hummed happily.

"What door?" I looked around the tea house, confused.

"The Zeta Platform Door. I apologize, I meant that they are requesting allowance to teleport here by way of Zeta Beam... hence: Knocking." She explained with a slightly embarrassed tone.

"Ahhh, I like it! Who is it?" I asked, pulling on a simple robe, though I didn't bother tying it closed yet.

"It seems to be Diana of Themyscira, Zatanna, Kyra, and Vera. Diana is jealous of Vera's muscles, it seems, from her elevated heart rate and Adrenal Secretions, and Kyra is aroused by both of them." She giggled softly.

"Let them in, then, this should be interesting." I smiled at the revelation, and watched as the Zeta Platform, (which was outside of the protective dome, in case anyone ever hacked that,) lit up, and the four women stepped through, two of them looking uncomfortable with the new sensation.

They stepped onto the little boat at the edge of the platform, and it accelerated slowly, reaching the gate and scanning everyone aboard.

"A group is attempting to use the Boat's Entry to slip through the field. Should I intercept?"

"Identify them?"

"It appears to be Slade Wilson, Lady Shiva, and Ocean Master, camouflaged under the boat."

"Let them all in, but disarm any explosives they're carrying, and neutralize any poisons or toxins you can find. Also, let me speak to them, as the boat approaches."

"... done. You are now audible to only them."

"Lady Shiva, Slade Wilson, Prince Orm, Welcome. You have been granted an audience with me, and I do plan on speaking to you soon, as we do have some, -well, a few,- things to discuss, but for now, please relax and enjoy a cup of tea in the Tea House, while I entertain my invited guests? And please, keep a civil head, I'd like to talk, not fight; though I would not be averse to a sparring match with any of you. Patience please, however." I chuckled, and waved my hand across my throat.

"Disconnected. The Nth Metal is nearly done fabricating, and the boat is arriving. They have splintered off, and are hiding under the house, placing C4 which I have already rendered chemically inert. Even were it viable, the Nth Alloy in the house would entirely absorb the explosion. Not even the fish would be bothered."

"Reactivate it, then, just to prove a point." I nodded, and smiled as the boat docked, and the women climbed out, heading up the short dock towards me. "Ay, Perty Ladies, y'all come roun' hea' Of'en?"

Diana was the only one not laughing, by the time they got up the stairs to the Tea Room, and I sat them down around the coffee table. "So, tea or coffee for anyone? I've got literally every kind that exists." I gestured at the vast wall of different leaves and beans to my left.

That wall was the side of the house that faced the rest of the island, so it was a view I could sacrifice, seeing as all it was was some trees, instead of the ocean. It also gave Terran some privacy, and blocked any sound coming from the house, which they said they appreciated.

Kyra gasped and picked up a small jar of a rare Columbian blend of coffee, and turned towards me swiftly, clutching it. "Please tell me this is real?!?"

"It is. And yes, you may have it, if you want, I can get you more... you like Columbian Coffee, good to know." I hummed, making a note to buy her a huge bag of it.

'Inadvisable. It costs nearly $1,400 per pound of beans, and you currently only have... $16,000. Your investment in LexCorp is already returning you money.'

'Then I'll synthesize a big bag of it.'

'Adding to the Queue.'

She immediately began brewing the coffee in one of the kettles, humming happily, then glanced at Diana, and then us, and started three more kettles, of three different things.

I chuckled. "Kyra, dear, you're not at work, you don't have to brew us coffee."

"Sorry, it's just reflex at this point, and I couldn't brew something just for me." She sighed.

"Mm. So, ladies? What's the Ambush about? I haven't forgotten what day it is... right? It's Sunday, Yes?" I frowned, thinking back.

"Monday, actually, you missed breakfast this morning." Kyra shook her head.

"Ahhh, Yes, I was feeling a bit peckish..." I nodded, and pulled a protein bar out of the Fold, taking a bite and gagging. "Oh fuck no! Sofia, make a note to add flavor to these things?!?!?"

"Oui. I shall make them taste of steak and potatoes, d'accord?"

The others jumped a bit, and Diana raised an eyebrow at me. "Why does your computer sound like a French Woman?"

"She wanted to be French. Her name is Sofia D'Accord, and she is a Motherbox. Therefore sentient, and possessing of emotions and feelings you could injure by being rude." I raised an eyebrow back at her.

"Ah... my apologies." She patted the table, where the sound had originated.

"You are forgiven, Diana. Doctor, the Demolition People have finished their work and are leaving for the day. Any passing comments for them?" She spoke in code.

"Ah, hold them up for a bit, I'd like a word, once I have talked to the ladies." I hummed.

"Oui, Ça va, Doctor."

"What is a Motherbox? And why does it sound like Jenny?" Vera asked curiously.

"She's... it's a term for an energy being that lives inside lower-technology." I simplified.

"Ooh! Very interesting!" She grinned, and accepted her horrible-smelling coffee from Kyra. "Thank you, Mishka. Now, we have come to speak to you, and Zatanna and Diana apparently wished to sit in, and I have no issues with this." She turned to me, looking serious.

I accepted my coffee, and smiled. "Thank you, Kyra Darling... Alright, lay it on me, my dear?" I asked, sipping the heavenly brew.