(A/N): First and foremost, I feel I need to apologize. This chapter took so long to write and I hardly feel like it's good enough for the patience. I've been so focused on my SAO story and was having a hard time writing for this. I'll try to be better with it, I'm just currently slow since I'm coming up with a introduction/slight world building arc before getting into the canon of DxD. And that often kills me for other stories. But I promise to do better, and I should since the main heavy lifting is thought through. I hope you enjoy and once again sorry for the wait.
"But seriously, that guy has to be some kind of mutant." Matsuda said, walking next to Motohama, Issei and Alex as they were heading out for their free period. "He caught a train car that weighed several tons, he's got to have super strength."
"No way man, it has to be the suit." Motohama countered. "There's no way he could both have super strength and such a high intelligence to make that suit."
It's only been a week since Sam caught the runaway train, and since then all of Kuoh and even Japan have been trying to figure out who was under the suit. There have been at least a dozen theories on the subject, from Metal Knight being a mutant, a government project and someone went so far as to say he was an alien.
It was the least to say that Sam and Issei have been having a hard time from laughing their asses off at all of the ridiculous claims. But Sam had made it clear to Issei that it was best to keep his identity a secret, knowing that in the wrong hands the suit could become a dangerous weapon.
"Either way, he seems like quite the thinker." Sam spoke, holding his phone and typing in it. "Making technology that advanced isn't something you can do with just raw talent. You need a lot of experience and trial and error to figure everything out."
"Talking like he could make one."
"Hey, I was just saying." Sam responded. "Intelligence can only be increased through continuous work. It's like a muscle, the more you work it the stronger it becomes."
"Don't bore us with that crap."
"Seriously, you're putting way too much thought into it." All four boys jumped in confusion as they turned, seeing Kiryuu standing behind them. "The suit's clearly a government experiment, and the whole thing was a set up to make it look good."
"Then how would you explain that foreigner, Cletus Kasady?" Motohama questioned. "There's no way they'd get an actual criminal in on such a dangerous setup. Hell, someone actually died!"
"Controlled simulation." Aika responded. "They let him set everything up, stop the train, catch the bad guy and make the suit look like a tool for a hero. It's all pretty simple when you think about it. Publicity like that would be a killing for a preparation for unveiling the new weapon."
"It isn't a weapon." Sam stated, biting his tongue as he got everyone's attention. "IIIII mean… how could it be? The suit didn't seem capable of anything more than flying and enhancing strength. If it could do anything actually damaging wouldn't it of just destroyed the tracks and derail the train?"
"I mean, he has a point." Issei added, trying to help get attention off Sam. "If Metal Knight had anything resembling a weapon and was military trained, wouldn't he have killed Kasady after stopping him?"
"The guy flies around in a suit of metal and can stop a train, even without something like a gun or sword he's able to kill them easily." Matsuda countered. "The suit itself is a weapon, why would it even be questioned that it isn't?"
"Because unlike all of you, Metal Knight has something called discipline." Haia said as she came across the five, catching them off guard and scaring four of them. Sam was the only one not visibly nervous with the girl, his attention drawn to the box in her arms. "Since he has the self control to not kill, his suit becomes a tool of protection, rather than a weapon that kills."
"Rather high praise from you Disciplinary Chair." Sam commented. "I guess that makes some sense, didn't Metal Knight save you and that kid from getting crushed?" When Haia refused to comment, Sam simply hummed before noticing several beakers and glass jars in the box. "What ya carrying? Chemistry supplies?"
"Yes, I've been working in the lab and am bringing the supplies I bought from the school to my locker." The girl responded, glaring at Sam as she felt an implication in his words.
Sam simply raised his hands in mock surrender, rolling his eyes at the glare. "Just checking. Never know when the up-tight rule follower will suddenly become the rebellious rule breaker."
"I'm not as unruly as you." The Disciplinary Chair said before walking past them, Sam taking note of a few bandages wrapped around her hands. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get this put away before my next class starts. Make use of your free class, I expect you at your next class early since you have plenty of time."
"Sowing." Aika spoke when Haia was out of sight, getting everyone's attention. "Those bandages on her hands, I have no doubt they come from failures in sowing."
"How'd you know-?"
"Boys look at anything if it isn't normal on a girl." Aika interrupted Sam, lowering her glasses as she stared at him. "And you were looking at that box the whole time, so I figured you saw her hands as well. Or perhaps, you were trying to get a glimpse of her breasts while she had her hands full?"
"Nope." Sam simply hummed. "Now, back to the ridiculousness of Metal Knight being a military experiment…"
"Oh man, I almost lost it!" Sam laughed out as he and Issei took the elevator down to Sam's lab, entering in when they arrived.
"It was killing me that I couldn't tell them how stupid half of their plans were!" Issei added in, holding his gut as the two sat down on lounge chairs, a table between them with a hologram over it. "I mean seriously? A military experiment? There's no way anyone else could even come close to making a suit like yours!"
"No kidding." Sam chuckled as he wiped a tear from his eye, looking over to the suit. After the whole train incident, Sam had noticed a severe flaw in his design. The power transfer was extremely slow and insufficient. So he's had to leave it on stand by while it was updated and fixed. He kept the model the same, changing little than just covering the hints of bolts with plating. He also had to buff out some of the scratches from the train, so that was also a pain.
"But you know what the real trick is?" Sam asked as he pressed on the hologram, getting a capsule with two sodas to pop up from the table. "The reason I know no one will be able to make anything close to this is ironically my handicap."
"Right, only you and your dad know how to make an arc reactor." Issei remembered, him and Sam grabbing a soda before they started to drink. "So what now? You've tested the suit and updated it, there anything else to do?"
"Progress is never ending." Sam responded. "I've kept it on lockdown for a bit, but I was thinking of taking it for another ride. Who knows what possible upgrades I could have for it when I get back."
"Dude, is there anything else you could actually get added in?" Issei asked. "Even then, do you think something could happen again? I'm not sure about you, but a train crash is about the furthest proof of a working project."
"Well, you never know."
"I do sir." AVON spoke up, her hologram appearing over the table. "For example, a silent alarm in Kuoh's bank has been tripped." Both Issei and Sam sat straight up at the news, staring at the A.I. with shock. "Authorities are moving in, and without direct access to the cameras, I can not tell how many there are."
Sam then looked to Issei, smirking as he put his soda down. "I'd say this is a good moment for Metal Knight to show up, wouldn't you?"
"Just go put the suit on man, this could be bad."
"It's just a few guys with guns, how bad could it be?"
By the time Sam had the suit on, he had already lost close to five minutes before he made it into the air, flying high as he moved for the bank. "Anything else coming up about this robbery? Possible suspects?"
"Nothing so far sir. The police have arrived and have quarantined the area. The reports show that they'll likely move in in approximately ten minutes." AVON answered, the data going by the HUD. "Although there is a lot of collateral damage on the bank, spreading from the doors to parts of the wall."
"Sam do you see that?" Issei asked, both seeing the picture of the entrance. The doors were completely gone, shattered into nothing with the hinges also blown apart. At least three feet of the surrounding walls were also decimated, the rubble all over the place. "Whoever's in there, they must have heavy weapons."
"And that means they'll take a few of the enforcement with them." Sam continued, narrowing his eyes at the thought. Increasing his speed, Sam descended down to in between the buildings, narrowly navigating each turn as he had AVON assist the flight. "How much longer?"
"Thirty seconds, sir."
After two more turns, Sam could see the bank just a block away, surrounded by police and emergency services alike. When he was just over them he faced his hands put and used his repulsors to stop himself. He then landed on the road, catching both the enforcement and medical personnel alike. "How many people are in there?"
"Metal Knight?" One of the officers questioned, confused to see him here.
"I need to know how many people are stuck in there." Sam said again, turning to the bank.
"There are about five men in there, all armed. And all of the bank staff are being held hostage. We're moving in once we get the clear."
"Stay here and stall that order." Sam ordered, starting to walk towards the entrance. "These guys clearly are heavily armed, you'll lose men if you go in after them." Not even waiting for a response, Sam approached the opening in the bank, his fingers tightening into a fist before relaxing. "Issei, what am I dealing with?"
"AVON's scanning the building now." Issei responded, looking at the list and images that appeared in front of him. "It looks like four of them have a mostly fully automatic rifles, one of them having a shotgun as well. The fifth one seems to have some weird energy reading to it."
"Strange energy reading?"
"Sir, the suspect appears to have a low powered core connected to an advanced exoskeleton." AVON explained. "There also appears to be some kind of seismic pulse coming from his arms. Some of this tech is reminiscing of Ddeallus tech."
"My dad's tech?" Sam thought out loud as he flew in, immediately getting shot at by three of the gunman. He instinctively held his arms in front of his face, but as he landed near them he lowered them, knowing that they couldn't even dent the armor. "Hello gentleman, fancy meeting you here."
"Metal Knight? He's real?" One of the men gasped, immediately getting punched in the gut and sent into the wall. The reaction from the two rifleman were to shoot at him again, only were cut off as Sam grabbed both of their rifles, ripping them out of their grasp before throwing them to the ground, breaking both of them on the ground.
Before he was about to reach for the gunmen, he was shot in the side of his head by a shotgun, taking two steps to the side from the impact. The bullets however simply fell from his armor, not coming close to breaking the metal plating. When he turned to the crook with the shotgun, he could see the fear in his eyes before he flew at him and grabbed him by his shoulders. Using the momentum, he threw him down and slid him across the floor, hitting the wall with enough force to knock him out.
"Alright, hands up or you're-" When his boots hit the ground again, he turned to both the riflemen, seeing them with their hands already up. "Oh… you're both quick."
"Boss said it was just going to be a quick cash and grab, he didn't say anything about fighting a flying man in armor." One of the two responded, watching as Sam started to walk towards the counters to look for the workers.
"Hey, is anyone here?" He asked as he looked over the wooden counter, getting surprised as a fist came out of nowhere and punched his faceplate. A large amount of force had impacted him just after, sending him crashing into one of the walls, disorienting him from the crash.
"Well, well. So the Inventor shows himself once more." A man said as he jumped over the counter, revealing himself. He stood at an imposing 6'5, the same height as Sam with the suit on. But the man had that height naturally, and a large build, appearing that he could have been a professional boxer. "I wasn't expecting you to show, thought your train save was a one time thing."
Sam groaned as he got back up, his vision clearing as the man approached him. When he could finally see, he stared in surprise when he saw the exoskeleton suit around him, and the gauntlets that he had put on. He's seen them in his father's prototype database. "That equipment…"
"Like it?" The man smirked as he clenched his right hand into a fist. "A little "retirement" present I got for myself. And it is rather fair, I did help design it after all."
"That technology… belongs to Ddeallus Corp. Not some criminal like-" Before Same could finish, the man punched him in the stomach, the shockwave going off again and sending him through the wall, landing on a police car.
"The fools at Ddeallus Corp had no idea what I had given them!" The man shouted from the new hole in the building.
"AVON, search through the database." Sam ordered his AI, slowly getting up from the hood of the car. His gut felt like it was shaking, the impact having some kind of lasting effect.
"I had already found everything sir." AVON responded, all of the data appearing on Sam's screen. "Lancaster Sneed was a chief engineer in Ddeallus' weapon's division for almost twenty years, serving as a close partner to your father before they parted ways over the use of Sneed's new weapon. Seismic sonic shifters, relays that have such a high frequency they cause a shockwave of kinetic force."
"I think I remember him talking about that." Sam groaned as he got to his feet, his armor keeping his shaking from showing. "So, you didn't like how Ddeallus was handling your tool so you took it for yourself?"
"That idiot wanted to waste it on construction work." Sneed glared. "Said it would be better used to clear rubble or be focused to cut through stone. That way excavations would be more precise and less of the digs would damage what they were looking for."
"Sounds reasonable to me."
"This equipment can flip tanks with a strong enough frequency, and he thinks it'd be better used moving pebbles!" The engineer scoffed, his gauntlets glowing as he increased the frequency. "Maybe if he sees a little demonstration on a walking tin can, Alexander will see just the mistake he made."
"Oh you did not just call me a tin can." Sam smirked as he activated his thrusters, flying right at Sneed. He expected that a direct charge would surprise the man, but was proven wrong as he was hit in the side of his head, sending him off course and crashing into the bank.
"What you made is nothing more than a glorified F-22 in the shape of a man." Sneed responded, turning to where Sam was currently laying at. "What I invented is a revolutionary tool that creates enough kinetic force to knock away multi-ton objects with just a single punch. Imagine how devastating this technology could be when applied to a bomb. The amplification of a stronger power source, all the potential such a simple idea could have."
"All the lives you'd be ending." Sam growled as he stood back up, several dents in his armor from the latest punch. "AVON, update me."
"Suit integrity is at 96%." The AI answered. "I'd advice avoiding any more blows to the head. You'll suffer a concussion and be unable to take in the HUD data."
"No more head injuries, got it." He'd respond before using his thrusters to send himself forward, rearing his right fist back as he approached. When Sneed went to throw his own punch, Sam landed and ducked under, landing a blow to the man's chest before raising an arm to block Sneed's follow up. The impact caused his bones to rattle, but he was able to swat the gauntlet away and land a punch to Sneed's face, causing the man to take several steps back in recoil.
"Guess it wasn't smart fighting a guy in full body armor without a helmet, huh?" Sam snarked at the man as he steadied himself, blood coming down the side of his face where Sam hit. In response, a full plated mask slide across Sneed's face, optics glowing to life as he now had better protection. "Oh… never mind."
Sneed then hit both of his wrists together as he walked towards Sam, the light of his gauntlets brightening while a faint buzzing was heard. "Sir, he increased the frequency by 50%."
"Oh terrific!" Sam groaned to himself as Sneed ran at him, blocking a punch with both his arms. He was able to bear most of the impact, but had to move his head back to avoid a swift punch to his chin. He'd use his thrusters to flip back, kicking Sneed as he did. Before he finished though, Sneed grabbed his ankle, keeping him in place as he flew.
"You're not getting away that easy!" He grinned as he pulled Sam closer, his own suit offering a decent strength increase before punching next to Sam's reactor. The punch left a massive dent in his chest plate, his chest tightening in pain as he used his free leg to kick Sneed across his face. The man went flying to the side, landing on his side while Sam landed down on his hands and knees.
"AVON… status?"
"The last punch caused your reactor to pause for a second, almost giving you a heart attack from the sudden loss of charge." AVON detailed, his heart rate having spiked from the pressure.
"I don't get it, why is his punches doing that much more?" Sam questioned to himself, getting up slowly along with Sneed.
"The frequency in which his gauntlets are striking has a temporary pass through solid objects." The AI noticed, causing Sam's eyes to widen. "It's likely the damage you personally are taking comes from the frequency passing through your body, rather than the attacks themselves."
"What's the matter Metal Knight, not feeling so good in there?" Sneed asked mockingly, noting that he was moving better than him armored opponent. "Don't tell me that a little sonic frequency passing through you hurts that much. It's nothing more than a small little jolt."
"To you maybe." Sam muttered under his breath, getting into a basic stance as Sneed ran after him. Flying over him, Sam did a flip before blocking a punch with his elbow, quickly swiping it away and landing his own punch on him. Sneed would return his own punch to Sam's gut, followed by a kick to his side. Each strike the two would wince, but surprisingly they stayed fighting, trading blows in front of the spectators.
The officers on sight remained in place with their weapons down, not taking the risk of hitting Metal Knight among the chaos. Although they had no reason to listen to the vigilante, they were trying to avoid any potential misfire from Sneed's gauntlets. Not to mention they weren't aware if Sam had any ordinance in his armor.
Despite the seemingly equal fight from both Sneed and Sam, the younger boy was clearly at a disadvantage. More of Sneed's attacks were connecting, the vibrations in his bones slowly building up to affect him until Sneed landed another punch to Sam's chest. The punch caused his reactor to pause once more, his body tensing and leaving himself open to the next punch, sending him crashing onto his back several meters away.
The boy would groan heavily as he got back up to a single knee, placing a hand on his chest as his heart stung. He couldn't risk taking another punch to his chest, otherwise he'd go into cardiac arrest. But without any weapons, he would be forced to go back into trading punches with the man. "AVON… got any ideas?"
"None that wouldn't risk severely injuring Mr. Sneed, sir." AVON informed. "The best I can say is take to the air and try to find a way to distract him."
'Distract him? What can I do to distract him?' Sam thought, activating his thrusters as he was about to take to the air. But before he could Sneed ran forward and punched his leg, flipping him over and causing him to crash face first into the concrete. He was then flipped over as Sneed stood over him, rearing his fist back as his gauntlet increased in frequency again.
"Sir, the frequency has been increased to 100% higher than the initial frequency!" AVON warned, leading to Sam to cross his arms over his face when he threw the punch.
"Good night Metal Knight!" Sneed shouted as he was about to punch Sam, his gauntlets producing a faint hum from the frequency being broadcasted. But before it landed, however, he was caught by surprised as a strange substance caught his hand, stopping him just inches from hitting Sam. "What the? What is this?"
"Back up buddy!" Sneed was then pulled right off of Sam, surprising both him and the man as he was then kicked in the side, hitting against the bank wall. As Sam uncrossed his arms, he looked over to see someone running over to him. They were dressed head to toe in ragged looking clothes, a strange mix of brown and pale yellow, not a single part of their body was visible. They didn't stand too imposing, by Sam's guess they seemed no bigger than an average woman in Japan, and their voice would point to that as well. Although the mask and outfit certainly did a good job at making it difficult to make out her features.
"Are you alright Metal Knight, sir?" The person asked as they reached him, holding their hand down to him. Sam accepted the hand without thinking, caught off guard as she easily pulled him up to his feet.
"Who're you?" Sam asked.
"Oh, right well I'm…" She started to say, pausing as she came to a realization. "I haven't quite figured that part out."
"Got it, newbie." Sam responded, turning to see Sneed getting back up. "Well while I got you here, think you can lend a hand without getting in the way."
"I'll try." She responded, getting into a lowered stance as Sneed stood. "Do you have an idea in taking him down? It's just, I saw how things were going and I sort of figured… I-I don't mean to be rude but you were struggling a lot!"
"Lose the stutter newbie." Sam sighed as he shook his head. "I have something in the works, but I need him still if it's going to work. Think you can handle that?"
"Roger that Metal Knight sir!" She responded, saluting before running towards Sneed. "One still bad guy coming up!"
"AVON, start transferring power to my repulsors." Sam ordered.
"Sir, the repulsor tech hasn't been cleared for fire testing yet. At its current state, the power required will be twice the projected amount for safe-"
"I understand that AVON, now make it happen." Sam interrupted, having already seen the data for himself. "We're just going without the training wheels, nothing too dangerous. Besides we need to be quick for the newbie, so cut the chatter and set it up."
"Understood sir."
"Who are you?" Sneed questioned the woman, seeing her run at him in her makeshift suit. "You know what, doesn't matter. Just another freak to test my work on!" Throwing a punch, Sneed activated his seismic sensor halfway through to cause a wave of kinetic energy right at her.
However, she seemed to easily predict the attack, falling back and sliding on her back towards him. "Not happening big guy!" As she reached him, she pushed off the ground and flipped over him, avoiding a downward punch that cracked the ground underneath him. When he turned to find her, he looked up to stare in confusion as she stuck to the wall, crawling on her hands and feet. "What is that stuff, sonic dischargers?"
"Seismic sonic shifters, not that you would understand what that means." Raising his fist up, he planned to fire another kinetic wave when she shot her wrist out and fired the same substance as before, enclosing his entire hand with it.
"Actually, I know a thing or two about that." She would respond, firing two more shots of the substance at his other hand and chest, stopping all of his fire options. "Guessing by how you used them, they fire a sort of shockwave of force to amplify your attacks or even create a projectile. Kinda basic, don't you think?"
"Basic? Basic!?"
"Uh oh." Sneed was visibly enraged at the insult of his life's work being basic, resulting in him setting his gauntlets to max, blasting the strange sticky substance off of his weapons. Jumping down, she'd avoid a kinetic blast that took a chunk of the wall before kicking at him, hitting his chest and knocking him back.
Flipping back, he'd grip into the concrete and stop himself from going too far back. But before he could get up, the woman shot two ropes of the substance at the two sides of him. She'd grip onto the ropes and pulled herself, crossing the distance in almost a second to kick him in the face with both her feet. Knocking him into the air, she shot two more ropes onto his chest, sticking to him and slamming him back to the ground.
Sneed was now showing signs of taking damage, taking longer to get up from his dazed head. When he was back to his feet, he would be surprised as his feet were shot by the substance and stuck to the ground, keeping him in place. "He's open Metal Knight!"
"Hand repulsor at 100%" AVON informed, getting a smirk from Sam.
"You're going down, Sneed!" Aiming his right hand out, the repulsor on his palm glowed yellow before firing an energy projectile. A small beam that instantly hit Sneed in the back, and with it ripped him off of the ground and back into the wall.
"Whoa!" The woman jumped away from Sneed when he flew past her, looking back to Metal Knight. "You can shoot lasers? When could you shoot laser!?"
"Well it isn't exactly a laser, just charged and uncharged particles forming into a semi-solid projectile beam." Sam explained, the light dying down as he closed his hand. Sneed then fell to the ground from the wall, Sam soon walking up to him. He would look down at the stunned man, scanning across his armor before detecting the power source's energy level.
"You don't deserve this tech." Sam spat as he reached down, grabbing the reactor and yanking it out, ripping it from the wires and metal that held it. Looking at it, Sam could easily recognize the design as one of the dozen prototypes for his own arc reactor. The thought of a similar model powering a weapon angered him, leading him to crushing it without a second thought.
Tossing it, he'd turn as he heard the police start to approach, looking over to his savior. "You have a way of getting out of here?"
"Huh? Oh yeah, yeah! I can move on my own." She answered nodding.
"Meet me two blocks north from here, I want to talk." He ordered, taking off and flying away shortly after.
The woman couldn't help but smile under her mask, her feet jumping in excitement as she could barely contain herself. "Metal Knight wants to talk to me!"
"Stay where you are!" One of the officers ordered, snapping out of her excitement.
"Oh, right, authorities." She said to herself. "Sorry officers, but I have a meeting to get to!" She would apologize, quickly running past them and surprising them with her speed. Just as she stepped onto the street, she aimed her right wrist up and fired a rope of her substance, hitting the side of a building and pulling herself up.
"Dude, did you see her figure?" Issei asked over the comms, calling in after letting Sam fight without a backseat driver. "That girl is definitely a 8/10 at worst!"
"Seriously, that's what you noticed?" Sam asked, rolling his eyes as he landed on a building roof. "Not the impressive strength, incredible acrobatics, blinding speed or the weird stuff coming out of her wrists? All while in a quickly thrown together costume that probably limits all of her movements?"
"Well yeah, of course I did." Issei responded. "But come on man! You can't deny that she's probably a beauty underneath that ridiculous costume! Maybe not the biggest breasts, but those hips and figure man!"
"You're a one track mind Issei." Sam chuckled as he shook his head. "But that's what I like about you. You don't ever seem to change." He then saw a splatter of the woman's substance hit the edge of the roof, connected by a rope of the same material. "I'm cutting the comm for now, she's just about here."
"Get her number!" Issei would shout before the communication was turned off.
"The voice augmentator is still on, right AVON?" Sam would double check, getting confirmation immediately.
"It always is, sir."
The woman then swung and landed on the roof's edge, landing flawlessly as she turned to face Sam. "Man, that was a close one, huh?"
"Eh, it would've been pretty dicey but I could've handled it." Sam responded, walking towards her as he did. "But let's ignore me for now. I want to know who you are. And how you were able to shoot those weird ropes and sludge things at Sneed."
"Oh, right. I'm sure you have a lot of questions." She said, folding her hands together as she looked around.
"We're completely alone up here." Sam said, getting her attention. "We're high up enough that no one would hear unless you shouted. And none of the buildings around are housing so no one will be listening from a window."
That got her to sigh with relief. "That's good." Collecting herself, she'd hold her right hand out for a handshake. "I'm… well I still don't have a name for myself, but I can say that I'm like you. Or at least, I'm going to be trying to be like you."
"You can relax you know." Sam chuckled as he shook her hand. "And if you don't have a name for yourself, why don't with something simple. What's that weird white stuff you were shooting around?"
"Oh, that's my webbing!" She answered enthusiastically as she reached for her waist. Pulling out a small capsule, she handed it over to Sam, who looked at it while his suit began to scan it. "It's a chemical compound I invented with stuff I found lying around. You see it's meant to mimic the properties of a spider's silk, and I have these small gadgets on my wrists that let me shoot them." In response to her explanation, she twisted her arm so that he palm was facing up, revealing a small metal device that connected to her wrist.
Pressing down on a small button, the covering came up and revealed another one of the capsules she gave Sam. "See, I put them in here to be able to shoot small amounts of the webbing or a long rope to swing from."
After AVON had completed the scan, Sam held the capsule next to his head while looking to the woman, his shocked expression hidden by his helmet. "You made this stuff? All by yourself with a bunch of random chemicals?"
"Well they aren't "random" parse, but yeah. It took me months to figure out the right formula, I was actually making this stuff before you stopped that train even."
"This stuff is incredibly efficient, the Tensile strength is unreal. Most carbon ropes can't compare to this." He noted, seeing all the chemical compounds running across his HUD. "It's amazing, I didn't even know that all of these chemicals could go together in such a way."
"Of, please don't make it sound that special." She blushed, kicking her foot to distract herself. "I'm sure with your intellect you could have made this in a snap if you wanted to."
"No, I'm gonna be honest I wouldn't have ever been able to make this." Sam admitted, tossing the web fluid back to the woman. "I'm only decent with chemicals and elements, the only ones I'm an expert with are metals. But I'm sorry that I don't quite understand why you chose a synthetic web like a spider. Where'd that come from?"
"Oh, that's a bit of a story."
"I got time."
"O-Oh, really?" She asked, getting a nod from him. "Well… o-okay then. Mind if I get comfortable?"
"Help yourself." Sam waved.
Sighing, she would slowly climb down to where she was hanging on the side of the building, her feet and left hand sticking to the wall. "Okay, so it all started when I was born in Osaka." Sam then groaned, leading her to shake her hands as she turned to him. "No don't worry, it's not a life story thing! I was just going to bring up that when I was born, I didn't have my powers!"
"Oh, sorry." Sam apologized. "So I guess you aren't a Mutant then?"
"No, no, or at least I'm not a natural one." She answered, relaxing herself again. "See, that goes back to just a couple months ago, about ten when I went on a science trip. It was a long one, all the way to America for a science fair. I had a theory on chemical infusion that was surprised most of my teachers on how sound it was. So I was sent and got to go to the company Oscorp Industries."
"Oh yes, I know that company." Sam nodded, slightly frowning underneath his helmet. "They specialize in genetic mutation and engineering, correct?"
"That's only one of the fields, but yeah they have a lot of resources in it." She explained. "While I was there, I got separated from my supervisor and walked into this weird room filled with spiders in webs." She then looked down to her right hand, rubbing over it in remembrance. "Then one of them bit me, and it was the most painful thing I ever felt. I nearly collapsed from the pain alone."
"But I was able to make it out and close it, didn't want anyone knowing what I was doing." She continued, looking up to Sam. "I was supposed to reveal my infusion theory, but after an hour I was beginning to feel sick to my stomach. When I was finally at the lab to discuss it, I passed out with a high fever."
"The doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong with me, and I was bedridden for a whole month. I missed my Taekwondo tournament because of it."
"You do martial arts? That explains the fighting skill."
"Yeah, so when I finally was able to move again, I was completely caught off guard when I noticed these… changes to me." She said, clenching her hand and releasing it. "I felt as light as a feather, and could lift way more than I ever could. Not to mention when I'd move, I felt like my senses were set up by almost ten times. I was expecting things coming without even knowing they were there. And then these weird… microscopic hairs formed on my hands and feet. I couldn't see them, but I knew they were there and they allowed me to stick to the wall."
"So some spider bit you and suddenly you gained powers?" Sam asked, looking down to the woman.
"Yeah, I think they were doing serious tests on those spiders. And when it bit me, it must have mutated my genes to enhance them. Kind of like that Super Soldier serum used to create Captain America."
"Genetic experimentation." Sam grunted as he looked away, confusing the woman as he did. When he noticed her confusion, he rubbed the back of his helmet. "Sorry, I'm just not a big fan of tampering with genes. It's a messy routine and it doesn't usually end well."
"Personal experience?"
"Something like that." Sam nodded, walking up to the edge. "But there's no need to talk about me. Why don't we try thinking of a name for you before the news makes one for you."
"Wait, you want to help with that!?"
"Of course, I love naming things. Kinda disappointed the news beat me to thinking of a name. I would've gone with Steel Legionnaire or something." He then cupped his chin with two fingers, rubbing the smooth metal as he thought. "Let's see, you swing on webs, so maybe the Slinger?"
"Nope, too dull."
"Web Shot?"
"Sounds more of a villain name."
"Fang?"
"Guy's name."
"The Human Spider?" The woman only looked up to him, getting him to shrug in agreement. "Yeah, that's only a name Tobey Maguire could come up with." He then scratched the top of his helmet. "What's a good name? One that's original and not to attention seeking but has meaning? Spiders have eight legs, putting them up as arachnids… arachnids." He then tried to snap his fingers, failing due to the metal layer. "I got it! How about Arachnid?"
"Arachnid?" She echoed.
"Yeah, it's short, to the point, and relates to spiders!" Sam then looked to his power, seeing that he was just below half from the repulsor blast. "Hey, I got a go. Sorry I can't stay, but my suit is probably going to need minor repairs and updates." He then activated his thrusters, hovering several feet above as he looked down to her. "But considering the crime wave that's going to be hitting Kuoh soon, we'll have plenty of work to get done."
"Wait, we?" She questioned.
"Well yeah, I can only assume you'll have my back when things go down. You can trust I'll have yours." He then turned up, taking off and flying into the air. "See ya around, Arachnid!"
As he flew away, the woman would watch him as he was quickly miles out. In an attempt to watch him for as long as she could, she took her mask off, revealing her brown hair and green eyes. Haia could only watch in wonder as who she saw as Metal Knight flew off, her now short cut hair blowing faintly in the wind. When her enhanced vision could no longer see him, she would look down to her mask. "Arachnid." She said quietly, smiling as she gripped it with both hands. "I like it."
Putting her mask back on, she looked out to Kuoh with hopeful eyes, seeing a new future in the works for her. She could only smile to herself as she now had a purpose for her powers. And could make use of it. It was a new chapter in her life, one she was glad to share it with a partner like Metal Knight.
