Jessica knew that saying it like this out of nowhere would probably not convince Drex Valen. So she hurriedly added, "It's true, Mr. Hiss. I can prove it to you!"
Drex gave a small nod and led Jessica to the testing equipnt hidden inside the secret room.
This was where he usually trained, so it was the perfect place to test her abilities.
After the assessnt, Drex obtained Jessica's full data.
Her strength reached twenty-five tons. That was still below Spider-Man's level, but it was already extrely impressive.
Her top speed could reach seven hundred miles per hour, though her physical defense was weaker. She could not stop bullets, but her recovery ability was quite good.
Jessica stared at the numbers in disbelief.
Was she really this powerful now?
"Congratulations," Drex said with a faint smile. "You're officially a superhuman."
Of course, Jessica probably could not even beat one of his beast soldiers.
Compared to the first generation, the second-generation beast soldiers that had now been completely upgraded were superior across the board.
Drex had not followed Kronos's multi-form beast soldier path. The ones he developed were specialized for close combat.
Their strength was usually stable at around fifty tons. Their bodies could withstand most physical attacks, and even a tank cannon would only leave light injuries. On top of that, they had the sa absurd regenerative ability as Doctor Lizard.
They could also use the Extremis Virus within their bodies to create liquid explosive charges, then pack those charges into launched fragntation rounds mounted in the expanded sections on both shoulders. When they fired guided bombs, their brainwaves allowed a certain degree of remote control. The sa payload could also be launched from the firing tubes in both arms.
Their mouths were fitted with a bio-laser heat beam, fired using the Extremis Virus and the heat generated inside their bodies. The temperature was terrifyingly high.
In short, the Extremis Virus and the tardigrade genes had taken the beast soldiers' combat power and thrown it straight into a higher dinsion.
If unleashed on Earth, those thousand-plus beast soldiers would be enough to sweep through almost anything.
But for the kind of space warfare Drex needed, they were still far from enough.
And that was before even considering Hulk.
For the Green Giant, they were far too fragile. Even those superheroes who operated on roughly the sa tier as Hulk would probably be able to deal with them.
Not to ntion Tony Stark, that unpredictable variable.
"Then, Mr. Hiss," Jessica asked quickly, a little nervous, "can I beco a superhero with you?"
Superhero Black Knight Drex Valen had already beco an idol to a great many young people and adults alike.
Compared to Steve Rogers, who was still locked away in a museum, the stylish Black Knight Drex, with his high-tech armor, drew far more attention. His Dark Knight suit, which could take him anywhere and let him strike anywhere, had especially inspired countless people to apply for War Machine pilot qualifications in the United States, even though many of them might not get a turn for another ten years.
Jessica was no exception. She was the sort of teenager who loved fantasy and also happened to feel a deep distrust and dissatisfaction toward the Arican governnt.
Becoming a superhero like Black Knight Drex, fighting cri and defending justice, was exactly the kind of dream that lit her eyes on fire.
"Of course," Drex said. "But you'll need to go through superhero training first."
He did not reject her outright, and he did not use the usual excuse that she should focus on school instead of fighting cri.
At her age, that kind of answer would probably only stir up resentnt. She would feel dismissed, as though no one trusted her ability or her resolve. It was better to start from training and let reality teach her a lesson. And if she actually made it through the training, that was fine too. With Drex watching over her, even if she died... as long as her brainwaves could be activated with electromagnetic force, he could bring her back.
As the saying went, it was better to guide a flood than block it.
Jessica left happily to begin the training plan Black Queen would arrange for her the next day.
She would have to get up at six in the morning, run one hundred kiloters on an empty stomach while carrying weights, and only eat after finishing. Then ca a whole series of physical conditioning drills. Being a superhuman did not an there was no room for growth.
Jessica would definitely be thrilled tomorrow. After all, this was the superhero path she loved most. Drex planned to let her take a break from school for a while and undergo superhero training for six months.
He just hoped that by then she would not be crying and begging to go back to class.
anwhile, he had made a new breakthrough in the electromagnetic field.
A twisted magnetic field ford in his palm, condensing matter out of the air. Hydrogen atoms were drawn together first, then oxygen atoms. A spark of electromagnetic fire flickered, and flas rose in Drex's hand, the blaze trapped inside the field and bent to his will.
In his other hand, lightning danced between his fingers. As his hand flexed, the current shifted forms again and again, transforming from electrical state to photon state, from radiation state to electromagnetic wave state. His control over energy was effortless.
The powerful magnetic field accelerated molecular motion in the surrounding air, and the superheated plasma shot from his fingertips, destroying the molecular structure of everything in its path.
"Accelerate molecular motion," Drex said quietly, "and the target turns to vapor."
He had recreated the molecular accelerator cannon through the force of magnetism. It was an extrely effective thod against both matter and energy. Whether for offense or defense, it was terrifyingly efficient. After all, everything in the universe was made of molecules, and molecules were made of smaller atoms and subatomic particles.
"Temperature is just a manifestation of molecular motion," he murmured. "Use motion and heat, and you can destroy anything. Use tal and current, and you can create anything."
Among atoms, magnetic force was unquestionably the strongest influence.
Stronger even than the strong nuclear force by a factor of ten thousand.
Gravity was the weakest of all, weaker than the weak force by another factor of ten thousand.
Drex laughed aloud.
The electromagnetic force unified the three fundantal forces, making it the absolute ruler of the microscopic world, with the strongest possible control over atoms.
At this point, even Black Phoenix, who wielded the Phoenix Force, would be crushed without effort.
That was the movie version, of course. If the comic version of Black Phoenix did not possess the complete Phoenix Force, Drex would still have a real chance against her.
At the sa ti, brainwaves were also a kind of electromagnetic wave. Aside from mysterious psychic powers from the supernatural side, even telepaths on the level of Professor X would no longer be able to influence Drex.
If anything, they might be the ones getting counterattacked.
"Knowledge only makes you realize how much you do not know," Drex said, not sounding arrogant in the slightest. "Science is a three-dinsional and complicated system."
He did not feel superior at all.
Right now, he had rely grasped electromagnetic control at the atomic level. The deeper levels beneath that, the subatomic realm, the world of elentary particles, quarks, and Planck-scale structures, were still far beyond him.
And then there were whatever lay beneath even the Planck scale.
The horizon only kept going.
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