The workshop was alive with noise.
Not moody noise. Not messy noise.
Working noise.
Tiny sparks shot from a welding tool. Loose wires clung to the backs of half-built machines. A screen on the far wall played lines of data for Viper in the center of the room. Metal rings spun around a glowing sphere in front of the workbench, and its high mechanical hum echoed all through the room like a second heartbeat.
Viper stood over it with goggles pushed over his eyes.
There it was. His hands moved quickly.
A wrench tightened one bolt. His other hand tuned a cable. Then he reached over and pressed something on a small control panel next to the machine.
The glowing sphere in the middle of the device pulsed brighter.
The outer rings spun faster.
It looked stable for a second.
Then a burst of sparks erupted from the whole thing.
BZZT.
Viper flinched back.
The glow weakened again.
He stared at it in silence.
"...Still unstable."
He pulled the goggles up onto his forehead and rubbed one eye.
The machine on the bench was round, dense and made of many heavy layers of reinforced metal. Thick cables fed from its lower edge straight into a nearby power unit. At the center was a small artificial core, supposed to be the heart of the gravity chamber.
If he could get it working.
"And if all that output happens without the shell balancing it, this thing's just gonna fry itself," Viper sighed.
He leaned closer and typed a few numbers into the side monitor.
The data shifted.
Containment pressure. Energy load. Rotational stress. Internal density.
Viper frowned.
"The power's there. The control isn't."
The workshop door opened behind him.
It was not kicked open.
It was not blasted off its hinges.
It just opened.
Viper did not turn around.
"Door still works, huh? That's nice."
Another familiar voice answered back.
"Wow. You really do live in a pile of junk."
Viper glanced over his shoulder.
Chica stood in the doorway, her wings folded behind her. She looked around the workshop with disbelief, her eyes running across the wires, scrap metal, tools, glowing monitors and unfinished gadgets covering almost every flat surface.
"It is not junk," Viper said. "It's equipment."
Chica raised an eyebrow.
"Then why does it look like a tiny explosion happened in here?"
"Because I'm busy."
She stepped inside and nudged a loose metal part out of the way with her foot.
"Where's Nico?"
Viper turned back to the gravity core.
"No clue."
Chica stopped.
"You don't know where Nico is?"
"He was training with Rex last I saw."
"...Of course he was."
Viper made a small adjustment to the core housing.
For a moment the machine hummed louder.
Then it settled back down.
Chica looked at the thing on the bench.
"So that's part of the gravity chamber?"
"The gravity core," Viper said. "Still unfinished."
"It looks dangerous."
"It is dangerous."
"And you're just standing next to it."
"Yes."
Chica stared at him for a second.
"You know, I can't tell if you're smart or insane half the time."
"I'm both."
That got the smallest reaction out of her.
Then her expression shifted.
The joking mood faltered.
At least this time she crossed her arms and looked at him properly.
"...I heard what happened."
Viper's hands slowed down.
He already knew what she meant.
"The incident?" he asked.
Chica nodded.
"Yeah. The one with Dr. E. And then that other guy."
Viper did not answer right away.
Chica continued.
"The black one."
Viper's eyes narrowed slightly.
"...Noir."
"Yeah."
The room felt quieter, even with the machines still running.
Chica looked again at the gravity core.
"I heard Dr. E wasn't even the real problem."
"He wasn't," Viper said.
"And I heard things were already bad, then Noir showed up and made it worse."
Viper gave a short nod.
"That's accurate."
Chica's tone lowered.
"I also heard Metal Nico was there."
This time Viper completely stopped what he had been doing.
His hand came off the machine.
"...Yeah."
Chica watched him.
"So it's true."
"Yes."
"The fake Nico thing."
"Yes."
Chica exhaled slowly.
"...That's stupid."
"It was."
"I heard that whole place turned into a disaster."
"It did."
She took a few more steps into the room.
"What actually happened?"
Viper looked down at the workbench.
For a moment, he seemed to be thinking about how much he should say.
Then he spoke.
"We went in expecting a fight."
"With Dr. E?" Chica asked.
"Yeah. We got that."
Viper adjusted one of the spinning outer rings with his fingers.
"But Dr. E stopped being the main concern very quickly."
Chica stayed quiet.
Viper continued.
"Noir came out. Metal Nico was there. The whole thing shifted."
His voice remained calm, though there was more hardness in it now.
"Rex and I attacked Noir together."
Chica's eyes stayed on him.
"And?"
Viper gave a dry laugh with no humor in it.
"And he embarrassed us."
Silence.
"He slipped past everything," Viper said. "Every punch. Every angle. Every swing. It didn't matter."
He looked off to the side, seeing it again.
"Rex and I attacked him together for three full seconds. Fists. Shoulder checks. Baton swings from opposite sides. He avoided all of it with tiny movements."
Chica said nothing.
"He barely moved."
The machines hummed.
A screen flickered.
Viper's jaw tightened just a little.
"Then Rex threw one last heavy swing. Noir caught his wrist. I came in at the same time with a punch aimed at his head. Noir stepped aside, pulled Rex backward by the arm, then yanked Rex toward me."
Chica blinked.
"Seriously?"
"Yes."
Viper looked at her.
"He crossed his arms after that and called us pathetic."
Chica frowned.
"And the thing about Rex?"
Viper already knew which line she meant.
"He looked Rex over and asked what good all his bulky muscles were if he was five times weaker than him."
Chica stared at him.
"He actually said that?"
"Word for word."
The room fell silent for a few seconds.
Then Chica looked back at the core.
"So that's why you're making this."
Viper turned to the machine again.
"Partly."
He reached into a small drawer beside the bench and pulled out a small transparent container. Inside were thousands of microscopic metal specks that squirmed in light silver waves.
Chica leaned in.
"What is that?"
"Nanobots."
She looked from the container to him.
"Why do you have a jar of tiny robots?"
"Training."
She frowned.
"What do you mean, training?"
Viper opened the lid and looked down at them.
"That I've been sending thousands of them into my body."
Chica stared at him.
"...What?"
"They tear up my muscles from the inside."
The silence that followed was deep enough to hear a cooling machine ticking in the corner.
Chica blinked once.
Then again.
"I'm sorry," she said slowly. "They do what?"
"They rip apart the fibers," Viper said, sounding like he was describing basic math. "Small controlled damage. Then my body repairs the damage with muscle protein cells."
Chica's mouth opened.
Then closed.
Then opened again.
"...You're insane."
"It works."
"That is not a normal answer."
Viper shrugged.
"I've been doing it for a few weeks now."
Chica looked him up and down.
That explained some things.
His frame was still a bit smaller than Nico's or Rex's, but he was more solid than before. His arms had more depth to them. His shoulders were fuller. The growth was visible now.
Her eyes narrowed.
"...So you've actually been getting stronger from that."
"Yes."
"And it doesn't kill you?"
"Not yet."
"Stop saying that like it's soothing."
Viper placed the container down.
"The nanobots are programmed carefully. They know how much damage to do."
"And you trust them?"
"No," Viper said. "I built them."
Chica rubbed her forehead.
"That somehow sounds worse."
The workshop door burst open.
A rush of wind poured through the room, rattled papers out of the way and made one hanging wire swing a few inches.
Nico walked in first.
Rex followed right behind him.
Both looked like they had just come from hell and enjoyed it.
Sweat clung to their bodies. Dirt covered their arms and torsos. Rex had a fresh scrape across one shoulder. Nico had a bruise near his ribs. Both were breathing heavier than usual.
Both were smiling.
"Yo," Nico said.
Rex rolled one shoulder and winced.
"...That session sucked."
Viper looked up.
"Took you long enough."
Nico stretched his arms.
"We were busy beating the hell out of each other."
Rex snorted.
"He means I was being hit more."
"And it is not my fault that you're slow."
"I hit you in the ribs."
"You did," Nico admitted. "Once."
Then Nico's eyes shifted.
He finally saw who else was in the room.
"...Oh."
Chica saw him.
Her eyes widened.
She gasped so loudly it was almost like she had practiced it.
"Nicooooooooooooooo!!!"
She sprinted toward him at full speed.
Nico barely had time to react before she threw herself at him, arms around one of his shoulders, her wings flaring slightly behind her.
"You're back! You're OK! You're alive!"
Nico blinked.
"...Yeah?"
Chica leaned back just enough to look at him.
"I heard about everything!"
"What part?" Nico asked.
"The incident! Dr. E! Noir! Metal Nico! All of it!"
Nico scratched the side of his head.
"...Oh. That."
"'That?'" Chica repeated. "You say that like it was just some random afternoon!"
Rex walked past them and dropped into a seat with a heavy exhale.
"It kinda was."
Chica completely ignored him.
She looked Nico up and down as if checking for missing limbs.
"I heard Noir showed up after Dr. E."
"Yeah."
"I heard Metal Nico was there too."
"Yeah."
"I heard the whole thing went insane."
"Also yeah."
Chica grabbed both of Nico's hands dramatically.
"And you still came back looking like that."
Nico tilted his head.
"Like what?"
"Cool."
Rex made a face.
Viper looked down at the gravity core again.
Neither of them wanted to be part of this conversation.
Chica kept going.
"You always do this! You run into some of the craziest stuff, fight the most dangerous people, and come back acting normal!"
Nico gave a small shrug.
"I mean... I am normal."
"No you are not!"
Rex leaned back in the chair.
"She has a point."
Nico pulled one hand free.
"Alright, chill."
"I am chill."
She was not chill.
Nico stepped over to the workbench.
Then he paused.
His eyes shifted around the room.
He got quiet.
Rex noticed.
"What?"
Nico's gaze moved from person to person.
The air in the room felt normal to everyone else.
To him, it didn't.
He could feel it.
Energy had weight. Shape. Presence. He didn't need a device to read it. He had done this enough times now to know where everyone stood.
He looked at Rex first.
"Huh."
Rex frowned.
"What huh?"
Nico pointed at him.
"You're at 850 now."
Rex's expression changed.
"...Seriously?"
"Yeah."
Rex sat up straighter.
A smile slowly spread across his face.
"I knew I was getting stronger."
"You are," Nico said. "Still not enough."
Rex clicked his tongue.
"Shut up."
Nico then looked at Viper.
The fox was quieter. Smaller presence than the others. But still denser than before.
"...You're at 500."
Viper crossed his arms.
"Thought so."
Chica blinked.
"...What are you doing?"
Nico looked at her.
"Reading power output levels."
"You can just do that?"
"Yeah."
Her eyes widened slightly.
"...Then what am I?"
Nico looked at her for another second.
"400."
Chica placed a hand on her chest.
"Wait, really?"
"Yeah."
"...Is that good?"
Rex answered before Nico could.
"It's not awful."
Chica turned and glared at him.
"I wasn't asking you."
Then Nico casually pointed at himself with his thumb.
"I'm at 1,175."
The room went quiet.
Chica's eyes widened so far they looked ready to fall out.
"...What?!"
Rex frowned.
"Yeah, that gap is still pissing me off."
Viper nodded once.
"Makes sense."
Chica looked at Nico like she was seeing him for the first time.
"You are actually ridiculous."
Nico shrugged.
"It is what it is."
Then his eyes shifted back to the container on the workbench.
He pointed at it.
"Oh yeah."
Viper already knew what was coming.
"Nah."
Nico frowned.
"I didn't even ask yet."
"You were about to."
"Yeah, because why won't you let the nanobots inside my body too?" Nico said. "I've asked like five times so far. I wanna get stronger too, so what's the hold up?"
Rex immediately laughed.
"There it is."
Nico looked at Viper.
"I'm serious."
"So am I," Viper replied.
Nico crossed his arms.
"Then answer me."
Viper tapped the side of the container.
"The nanobots simply aren't strong enough to pierce your muscles."
Silence.
Nico blinked.
"...What?"
"They can't break through," Viper said. "Your muscle density is too high. They physically cannot get in far enough to do the damage they're supposed to do."
Rex burst out laughing louder this time.
"That's the funniest thing I've heard all day."
Nico looked offended.
"How is that funny?"
"Because you got rejected by microscopic robots."
"That is not what happened."
"It literally is."
Nico looked back at Viper.
"So I'm just stuck?"
"For now."
"That's annoying."
Chica stepped closer, once again way too interested in everything Nico did and said.
"I mean... doesn't that just mean your body's already insanely tough?"
Nico scratched his cheek.
"...I guess."
Chica clasped her hands together.
"That is so cool."
Rex groaned.
"Please stop."
She ignored him and kept staring at Nico.
"You're already at 1,175, your muscles are too dense for nanobots, and you came back from that incident alive. That's actually crazy."
Nico looked away a little.
"It wasn't just me."
Chica smiled.
"Yeah, but you're still Nico."
That got a stronger reaction out of Rex than the number gap did.
He looked physically pained.
Viper stepped in before the situation got even worse.
"Once the gravity core is complete, nanobots won't matter."
Everyone's eyes returned to the machine.
The core in the center pulsed again.
The glow held a little longer.
The surrounding rings spun as if they were in the middle of something important.
For a moment it seemed like the air around it was heavier.
Nico stepped closer.
"...How long?"
Viper checked the readings.
"Not long if this version doesn't explode."
Chica folded her arms.
"That is a horrible sentence."
"It's a realistic sentence."
Rex sat back up and walked over to the bench.
His eyes were on the machine.
"So once this is done, the chamber works?"
"Assuming the shell holds and the gravity output stabilizes, yes."
Nico grinned.
"Good."
Rex cracked his knuckles.
"We need it."
That line killed off whatever was left of the lighter mood.
They all knew why.
Not just to get stronger in general.
Not just to train harder.
Because of what had happened.
Dr. E was one thing.
Loud, annoying and dangerous when prepared.
But Noir was different.
Metal Nico was different.
That incident had made one thing painfully clear.
Their current level was not enough.
Chica looked between the three of them.
Her voice softened.
"So you're all really doing this."
Nico looked at the gravity core.
"Yeah."
Rex stood beside him.
"Obviously."
Viper adjusted a dial on the side of the machine.
The hum deepened.
The center light brightened again.
"We don't have a choice."
No one argued with that.
For a moment, the only noise in the room was the steady thrum of the unfinished core and the quiet sound of machines running in the background.
Then Nico smirked.
"Still though."
Rex glanced at him.
"What."
"I think when this chamber's done, I'm getting even stronger."
Rex smirked back.
"So am I."
Viper kept his eyes on the monitor.
"Try not to break it on day one."
Chica looked at Nico again.
And that same stupid dreamy look came back.
"You are going to look even cooler after gravity training."
Rex dragged a hand down his face.
"Unbelievable."
Nico laughed.
The sound bounced lightly around the room.
For the first time since they walked in, the tension cracked just a little.
Not gone.
Just lighter.
Viper glanced at the readings one more time.
"Stable for now."
"Barely."
"Good enough."
He rested one hand on the side of the machine.
The gravity core pulsed again.
Slow.
Heavy.
Promising.
And in the middle of that noisy workshop, with bruises still fresh, power gaps still clear, and bigger threats already waiting somewhere ahead, the group gathered around the thing that might finally drag them to the next level.
"Oh, and uh, Chica?" Viper said.
"Hm? What is it, Viper?" she replied.
"The incident, it didn't take place in a lab..." he said awkwardly.
"What?! Where did it take place then? And why didn't you tell me earlier?!" she squirmed and pouted.
"It took place in a fortress in the middle of the ocean... And I didn't want to make the mood awkward earlier by telling you..." Viper said.
"Ugh! You're so annoying!" Chica said jokingly.