“It’s bigger than I expected…” Hal shook his head at the crystalline tower that now dominated the shoreline. Its base stretched for several miles, an elongated mountain that drank in the light of the sun. “But that means more space for me to put to use!”
“Most of the interior is industrial and production equipment, but there are quarters for ten-thousand and a good number of spaces that can be modified for countless uses,” Jor-EL’s voice carried from the small com on his belt, where Hal had inserted his crystal-core. “Once I’ve been installed, we can begin the growth of new Kryptonians as soon as we extrapolate the codex from your genetic code.”
Hal nodded and floated towards the massive gate. It was seamless, carved from the structure and engraved with the sigil of the house of EL. He withdrew Jor-EL’s crystal and socketed it into the centre of the massive ‘S,’ an action that caused the entire fortress to glow.
“I have interfaced with the central core… power is well over the necessary levels thanks to the high energy of this sun,” the gates opened as Jor-EL’s hologram projected itself from the wall. He waved to the brightly light entrance hall and bowed. “Welcome home, Hal-EL!”
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“So, this is SCP-914…” Hal walked around the clockwork machine, a frown on his face. His Kryptonian eyes couldn’t pierce the sealed casing, even the cogs and gears that were visible blocked his sight. “I wonder what I should test first?”
Lined up on a work surface were a collection of objects that he hoped to refine. Senzu beans, his vials of Ultra Divine Water, the bloodline pill containing his chance to gain Saiyan genetics. He’d even piled a small group of the Tree of Might's fruit and one of its three seeds, alongside his teleportation ring.
“The fruit is the most plentiful…” Hal snatched one of the Tree’s fruit and set it inside the intake door of SCP-914. The door slid shut soundlessly as he moved to the control panel. “I’ll set it to the ‘Fine’ setting first… from what I remember and the system’s warning, ‘Very Fine’ can have some pretty weird effects.”
Steam billowed as he pressed the activation switch, fanned away by the spin and whir of the clockworks gears. The machine ran for several seconds, before the outtake door slid open with a gush of fog. The fruit had been transformed, its red skin now a translucent blue.
Hal scooped it up and inspected its spiked surface. The flesh at its core glowed with a pale light, flecked with hints of red and white. A glance at his future confirmed the success and he took a bit of the luminous morsel.
Power rushed under his skin, less than the first fruit he’d eaten but it contained a greater purity. His body rejoiced as the energy mingled with his cells, a minor evolution that changed the nature of his ki.
“I’m a bit more than twice as strong, but my energy is so much more responsive…” Hal’s eyes widened as he waved his hand. The pile of fruit on the table floated up, held by the grasp of his biofield without any mental effort at all. “It really is like a second set of arms now, and my ki is the same.”
It flowed through his body, merged with the field and smooth as silk. Unlike the last increase, there was no trace of rebellion from it as he learned to manage the increase in power. He smiled and levitated a new fruit into the intake. This time he switched the machine to ‘Very Fine’ before he pressed the switch.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Steam and clockwork spun, before the outtake slipped open once more. Iridescent light bloomed from within, a golden fruit in the place of the red. It thrumbed with power, a steady rhythm that matched the beat of his heart.
“Hmmm…” Hal squinted into the future, hand suspended just above the fruit’s surface. In most of the possibilities he experienced a significant increase in power, but it came with an unstable change in the elemental nature of his ki. “There’s even a few times where I explode…”
The golden fruit levitated to the side, untouched for now. The next into the machine were the senzu beans. They returned a translucent white after the ‘Fine’ setting, but he wasn’t sure how they’d been improved. ‘Very Fine’ produced a different coloured bean with every attempt, a rainbow of little oddities.
Some of them caused instant death, while others seemed to impart a small but permanent increase to his healing factor. The rest seemed to have no effect, at least on the healthy versions of himself within the three-minute-sight.
“I’ll experiment with them later,” Hal put the beans aside and picked up his ring. It was valuable, but even if the machine destroyed it, he could replace it with the dragonballs. “Let’s see what ‘Very Fine’ does to you…”
The Clockworks spun and the outtake opened, this time with a significant change to the object. What had once been a ring was now a simple, silver key. Hal glanced into the future before he snatched up the unassuming piece of metal.
“Definitely an improvement…” key in hand, he reached out and socketed it directly into the air. A twist and a doorway formed from the void, a simple, wooden affair that had a number of scuffs and scrapes. “I can visit any place I’ve ever been with the turn of a key!”
The door opened to reveal a surprised Kami, who stood on the other side. Hal waved and levitated a handful of fruit through the door, enough for Goku and any others that climbed the Lookout.
“Hey, Kami, long time no see!” Hal smiled at the startled Namekian and motioned to the Tree of Might’s fruit. “Give anyone who’s worthy to help defend the Earth one of these, it will grant them a real boost in power… I’ll be back on Earth in a few years, make sure you’ve gotten as many fighters trained and ready as you can!”
Hal let the door swing shut and it vanished as it appeared, lost to the void that birthed it. He returned to the machine, the vials of Ultra Divine Water in hand. The first went through on ‘Fine’ and came out as silver toned liquid. The future showed no danger, but he waited. You could only consume this item a single time, so if ‘Very Fine’ went well, he would rather use the more powerful version.
This time the Clockwork took slightly longer, a pause that led Hal to enter his three-minute-sight. In all the possible futures, as soon as the door opened a hyperspeed figure rushed from the outtake and around the room.
“What is that…” Hal combed forward, until the formless mass calmed enough for him to get a clear view. Colourless and undefined around the edges, it seemed to be a living being. “It’s too late now, but I should really use my future sight before I flip the switch…”
Time returned to normal and the door opened. Hal waited for the figure to slow its high speed exploration of his lab and wrapped it up inside his biofield’s grasp. The living water resolved into a miniature woman, a pixy complete with four tiny wings. She was carved from countless currents, microscopic waves that crafted her details down to the pores.
“Let me go, you big meany!” The little elemental vibrated in his grasp, cheeks puffed out as she gawked about the room. “I want to go explore!”
“I’ll let you go in a minute…” Hal frowned as a quick check showed a scene of chaos. If released this little nymph would wreak havoc with his lab, before she escaped into the fortress propper. “Why don’t we get to know each other first?”
“I’m the beautiful ocean goddess Ran!” She swept her tiny hand across her childish form and struck a pose. “Now bow down and worship me, Mortal, or face the stormy wrath of the sea!”
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“That foolish Namekian has vanished…” a sigh slipped past his lips as he read his men’s report. They had travelled to the location of a mysterious Tree, only to find the planet destroyed. “His ship was reduced to scrap, so either he found another way off that world…”
Or, the self titled ‘Lord,’ last of the Super Namekians, was finally dead. Cooler scoffed as he tossed aside the tablet in his hand. If the ancient old leach hadn’t had a good relationship with his father, he would have exterminated him long ago.
“Still, whoever killed the slug took something of mine,” his tail slapped against the ground in frustration, the image of the massive tree in his mind’s eye. “If that truly was the Tree of Might, then every one of its fruits is a resource I can’t ignore…”
***Power Levels and other notes***
Hal: 2,130,000 ( Max kio-ken: 50x)