“Centerpoint station…” Dan’s heart bottomed to his feet. “What did you do?”
“Nothing,” Ultron flapped his hands defensively. “I have simply begun diagnostics and testing, the technology is astonishing!”
“I know that,” Dan snapped. Venom, connected to his master’s emotions, snarled as Ultron was hefted into the air by his neck. “It’s the lock on a very important cage… If you’ve opened it early we might be extremely screwed!”
“Calm down,” May put her hand on Dan’s arm, face stern. “We can’t change the past, so what can we do?”
“I’m not sure,” Dan ground his jaw and returned the A.I. to the deck. “Sorry… I’m just pissed that I let this happen.” He ran his hands over his face and paced back and forth. “We need to change how we’ve been doing things…”
He’d been stuck in a kind of vacation mindset, lost in the fandom of his childhood. This wasn’t a movie, no well timed script direction would save him from his own mistakes. He stopped in the centre of the bridge, mind calmed.
“We’re going to go over everything else you’ve done, and then we’re getting Merlyn,” Dan manipulated the star map to display a darkened cluster of black holes. “We need to make sure the Maw is stable, and I’m not going near that thing without him.”
----------------------------------------
“We should not get closer to that… thing,” Merlyn squinted through the viewport of Ultron’s drone carrier, locked onto a black smudge in the night sky. “I hear a siren’s song, stronger than any I’ve encountered before.”
“What about the black holes?” Dan glared at Ultron. “Are their orbits still locked?”
Cenerpoint held this impossible system in a delicate balance, with the help of two other stations in the galaxy. If Ultron’s investigations changed anything about the station's directives, Dan had to come up with a whole new plan, maybe even flee the galaxy for one of the small satellite galaxies that orbited this one.
“They are… somewhat locked?” The A.I. tilted his head, Dan’s glare ignored. “A single black hole is stuck in a cycle. It shifts by point zero-zero-one degrees and then returns to its impractical orbit.”
“Thank god… take us out of here, I don’t want her to notice us, even if she’s trapped.”
“What is that place?” Merlyn turned serious eyes to Dan as Ultron engaged the phantom drive. “You should have told us about such a danger!”
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“You’re right,” Dan bowed his head. “None of this would have happened if I’d just taken the time to fill you both in on everything I know…”
“Then do it now,” Merlyn’s tone held regret. “I’ve been remiss as well, I’m supposed to be your teacher, but I let you play around without complaint.”
“Well, I did nothing wrong,” Ultron shrugged. “I merely acted within the information I received. You claimed dangers, but the networks of this galaxy show no signs of a relevant threat.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Dan rolled his eyes. “I definitely FORCED you to act behind my back… NEVERMIND,” Dan took a deep breath, a dull throb behind his temples. “Now that this is done, let’s go over your solution to slavery again.”
“Ah yes!” The A.I. snapped his fingers and the display shifted to the image of a humanoid robot. “I have designed these units to replace the need for slaves within the galaxy, I intend to put one in every home.” The image zoomed in on the personable face of the projected drone. “A cheap, reliable machine worker that never requires long term rest, far better than the sad droids on the current market.”
“And what about the slave cartels,” Dan shook his head. “How will this get people already enslaved out of their bonds?”
“You gave me an impossible task!” Ultron threw his hands in the air. “Free the slaves of the galaxy, because your heart bleeds for them, but also, kill no one!” Ultron’s eyes glowed bright, a crimson that filled the room. “I cannot do what isn’t possible, people must die if you wish to set free the slaves of the outer rim.”
“You should also consider, where are these slaves going to go?” Merlyn rapped his staff onto the ground. “To Garnib? We’ve drawn enough eyes there already!”
“Exactly,” Ultron waved to the Wizard. “Even the elderly conjurer understands!”
“I understand more than you, vile machine,” Merlyn snorted. “I would suggest relocating them to a world unreachable by the starships of this galaxy. If no one can find them, no one can link their disappearance to us.”
Dan rubbed his temples. Merlyn was right, there were dozens, if not hundreds of worlds that he could use. Freed slaves would make for grateful citizens. He could offer a life of freedom, alongside a government that actually did something for its people.
“Alright,” Dan nodded. “Ultron, do some recon and find a suitable world. Also, locate a system with a blue star that’s separated from the hyperlanes.” A light of inspiration flashed in his head. “ Zonama Sekot can move. If we construct a large enough phantom drive on her surface, she can make the jump to a place better suited for kryptonians.”
“Very well,” Ultron sighed. “Must I still refrain from killing slavers?”
“No,” Dan shook his head. “Just make sure the drones you’re using have a different design, maybe create yourself a personal vessel that can carry the blame for us.”
“FINALLY,” Ultron stretched his metal spine, arms pointed to the sides. “I get to do something MY way, no more serving the masses to free the slaves!”
“Actually…” Dan rubbed the back of his head, half a smile on his face. “I kind of liked that plan… if you’re in every home, we’ll have the strongest intelligence network in the galaxy.”
Droids were used for all kinds of labour, especially if you needed to keep a secret. They worked hard, didn’t complain, and told no tales if you wiped their memories. Ultron’s drones would do the first two things for anyone who bought them, but no technology could wipe Ultron from their code.
“Must I…”
“You must,” Dan nodded sagely. “It can serve as a punishment for all your sneaking around.”
A mechanical groan echoed throughout the bridge, shadowed by Merlyn’s laughter. Dan ignored them both, focused on the future. He wasn’t perfect, but he needed to do better. Half the time he couldn’t even focus on the tasks of the day.
Maybe my body is affecting my mind…
He was over thirty before he died, but this new form was only five years old. It wasn’t even human. Who knew what kind of hormones were in his system? Superman had seemed well adjusted, but Dan had a lot more baggage in his brain than the hero he admired.
It’s time to buckle down, I need to get stronger and stop poking at my enemies before I’m ready to handle them!