The rest of the night passed without incident—just food, conversation, and laughter.
There was definitely sothing going on between M'gann and Conner, and Joseph noticed the subtle tension between Wally and Artemis too.
Wally, in particular, had changed—for the better. Normally, he'd be awkwardly trying to flirt with M'gann, oblivious to her obvious crush on Conner. Maybe getting faster had smoothed out so of his insecurities. He wasn't flirting with every girl in the room anymore.
Joseph was curious when Wally and Artemis grew interested in each other; perhaps it was when the Team found themselves lost and amnesiac in the Bialyan desert a few days ago.
Enough about them. Joseph turned his attention to his girlfriend.
Kori was chatting with Rachel. The younger girl was still reserved—antisocial even—but was offering Kori a few quiet responses. It made sense. She'd only known everyone for a few days. Hopefully, being around other powered kids would help draw her out of her shell in ti.
anwhile, Kaldur kept throwing him the occasional glance. Joseph wasn't sure what it ant. He'd ask him later.
Strangely, no one had asked about what he'd been doing in the Gobi Desert or where he'd been the past two weeks. Whether they assud he'd been working with the League or were consciously avoiding the topic, he didn't know.
Not that he planned on telling them.
Letting them know about his brief stint as a thief was one thing. What he'd done recently? That was different. Aside from Kori—and maybe Wally, who had confided in him before—he wasn't particularly close to the others.
They struck him as the type who'd fixate on the fact that he'd killed soone. If it ca up, he'd just say he'd been working with a U.S. agency—ARGUS—and that everything else was classified.
"Wanna try my chicken parsan?" Kori asked, holding out a forkful of pasta near his face.
He smiled and took the bite.
It was good to be back.
**
| Gotham City - September 10
Everyone had parted ways and Joseph had returned to his apartnt where he changed into his pyjamas before sleeping.
He'd found that he didn't need to sleep necessarily but doing so always rested his mind. Maybe the human mind was not ant to be constantly active.
He slept like a stone.
Until a voice spoke in his head in the morning.
//I have completed the adaptation process, sir.//
Joseph's eyes snapped open. He could already feel it—his body felt denser, stronger, like every cell was humming.
'Give the rundown.'
//I have bypassed the previous nanite generation's limit on quantity. You may now will nanites to generate outside your body at will. Unlike Silver Swan's system, which relied on tabolic ATP, yours draws energy from the Nova Force. Given your physiology's unique ability to tabolize Nova Force, you can produce unlimited nanites—so long as you have energy to sustain it.
I can now regenerate any of your body parts, should they be lost.
Additionally, your base strength and durability have doubled. You now possess a sonic scream capable of shattering steel. I have also gained chanokinesis.//
Nice.
As he suspected—he'd gained everything Silver Swan had, and then so.
Joseph flexed his hand, concentrating. The nanites responded imdiately. Before, they'd felt like a second skin. Now, they were practically a part of his nervous system. Not ntal like the Nth tal—this was biological. Reflexive.
He commanded the nanites outward.
They poured from his pores like liquid rcury, swiftly coating his body in seamless armor. A full-body second skin.
He chuckled. "If I make a silver surfboard, Marvel might sue."
Silver didn't feel like his color. He willed the nanites black.
Joseph walked to the bathroom door and turned the knob—only for it to co off in his hand like a toy. Too much strength. And the door was poor quality.
"Gotta work on that," he muttered. "Might be ti for a new place."
He tossed the knob and entered the bathroom again, now fully encased in living armor. Even his eyelids were covered but with a white film, yet he could see clearly.
He looked like a walking shadow.
"Nice work, Nova."
//My pleasure, sir.
There is one further improvent I can make. If the Nth tal can be broken into particles each a nanoter in size, I could bond the Nth tal with the nanites. This would significantly enhance your durability—and allow you to internalize the Nth tal into your body. Unfortunately, I currently lack the capability to manipulate the nanites into particles that small.//
Joseph's gaze drifted to the gold, 3-cubic-foot block of Nth tal resting in the corner of his living room. He could shape it like liquid, yes, but breaking it down into nanoparticles? That was beyond him.
On his own.
But not impossible. He knew soone who could do it.
His ntor—Captain Atom.
"Guess it's ti to pay the guy a visit. But first…"
He walked into his bedroom and picked up his LexCorp laptop. Black nanites crawled out from his fingertips, enveloping the device. When they withdrew, the laptop felt noticeably lighter.
He repeated the process with his phone and Justice League communicator. Once done, he tossed all three into the trash. He wouldn't need them anymore.
"Nova, give a heads-up display—include a minimap with a compass. I want the ability to see and hear comms, and text or call with my mind."
He couldn't stop the giddy smile that stretched across his face as the HUD flickered into existence. A translucent minimap appeared in the top-left of his vision, while a panel of communication options expanded in the top-right when focused on.
Good.
Joseph scrolled through a flood of missed calls and unread emails—from friends, Selina, and Mr. Jack at Bell Studios. He'd get back to them all soon.
But first, Joseph focused his mind on the comm panel and sent a ssage to Captain Atom.
"Nova, play Teenage Dream."
//Playing Teenage Dream by Katy Perry from LexCorp Music.//
Perfect.
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