Bruce rubs his palms against his aching eyes, leaning back from the glowing screen. He stifles a yawn as Alfred appears beside him, already proffering a steaming mug of coffee. Bruce accepts the drink with a small smile, his mouth turning downward again at the sight of the details on the monitor.
"Having trouble, sir?"
"It's this new railgun system. I've run all the tests, and there's a problem."
"Will the weapon not fire at the desired velocity?"
"No, that's not it. The problem is that, at the speeds necessary, no Earthly material would be of use."
He sips at his beverage before placing the cup dangerously close to the edge of his workstation. Alfred discretely slides the mug further onto the safety of the table.
"And what do you propose we do to solve this issue?"
"Honestly? I have no idea. Anything we fire out of this will have to be at such a low velocity that existing munitions would be more effective. The atmosphere would simply tear apart everything we shoot at full power, or even half power."
"So, will we be attempting to craft a new element this evening?"
Chuckling, Bruce closes the program before rising from his seat.
"I guess we'll just shelve it for now, until inspiration strikes."
"We can always hold out hope that master Kent will find something useful in his interstellar travels."
"You know how I feel about hope, Alfred."
"Indeed I do, sir."