Aleister looked over the code in front of him, exhaustion creeping into his body, he'd been working on the Faustian Bargain AI (Although perhaps it'd be better to call it a VI at the moment) for hours now and hadn't gotten much sleep last night.
FB was focused on travelling the Dark Web, transactions and internet security. Not that he'd risk unleashing it onto the internet yet, even he couldn't force it to evolve that quickly, unless he wanted to risk an unstable asset. He may be a genius when it came to science, but even so having FB evolve naturally was better.
Aleister leaned back into his chair, giving a quick check to ensure the laptop he was using had no connections to the Internet or a way for FB to get out if something went... Wrong. Once this was done, he left the laptop open for FB to keep evolving, and went to bed.
Mad Science project created!
- Faustian Bargain (Or FB).
A simple VI, likely to evolve into an AI at some point. It specializes in Dark Web transactions and Internet security.
While Aleister COULD instantly make FB an AI, its far safer for him to let it evolve by itself with him controlling its growth. Also, yea he's not letting it onto the Internet until its evolved a decent bit.
Aleister was willing to admit despite all the biological knowledge in his head, he wasn't exactly a doctor. So performing surgery to make Cyber's appearance different from what it originally was? It was nerve wracking, but it needed to be done.
Whoever Cyber was originally, her face and body was in the Government's system, and that was not something he could allow. While the chance of them linking her to him was low, if a former Merchant showed up fighting on... Whatever he decided to have her do? Most would realize something more was going on.
However, he still wasn't sure on what his end design would be for Cyber. He had a few ideas however...
Aleister frowned, he already knew it was bad that Dragon was coming to Brockton Bay, but he hadn't realized just how bad it'd be. She seemed to have a new suit every time she appeared, and had access to vast resources.
Many even considered her the strongest Parahuman on Earth Bet, although it was usually agreed Eidolon was stronger. The exact details of how her power worked was unknown, nor was her Tinker specialization, but she was capable of copying and understanding other's Tinkertech, even improving it.
She was also likely a Noctis cape, as she never seemed to sleep or rest, constantly working to improve her technology, watch over the Birdcage, and help with Endbringer efforts.
There were theories that Dragon may have modified her body with cybernetics in order to increase her ability to save lives, add in the fact none of her suits were actually piloted by her and remote controlled? Any attempt to control her with a curse or some other spell was incredibly likely to fail.
Aleister rubbed his forehead, trying to fight off a headache. Perhaps he should have waited to use the Holy Grail War? With how things were rapidly getting worst, he was starting to worry what else could go wrong.
The look Medea was giving Aleister told him all he needed to know of her current opinion of him.
"So let me get this right... You tried using this Mystic Code and the mana reactor". Medea pointed towards the burned out wooden board, still occasionally setting itself ablaze that was quickly put out by the Caster. "To create this... Vibranium? An alien metal?".
"Well it depends on what version of Vibranium I'm creating, sometimes its alien but most of the time its... I'll shut up now". He also didn't mention he planned to create some Senzu Beans.
"...So you used a basic Mystic Code, to try and create alien metal, when you know aliens and magecraft don't mix?". Caster glared, the wooden board setting itself ablaze again, the annoyed witch conjuring an orb of darkness that consumed the board and the ground around it.
"In my defense, I thought the Mystic Code would be a lot better then it was".
"...Your cleaning up everything, and I expect payment for all of the figurines you destroyed during this experiment".
Owch, critical failure!
Two things here, remember that Aleister can't use his Magecraft till his circuits recover in Chapter 20 (Literally next chapter), so he'd be forced to use the Transmutation Ritual Board that was made a while ago and the Mana Reactor to supply the mana... And while Aleister himself can perform Ultimate Transmutation spell required to make Vibranium or Senzu, the Ritual Board could not and ended up destroyed.
Leonardo sighed, looking across the city from his vantage point. Nothing had happened, not a single encounter with another Cape, but perhaps that was a good thing?
The Faust Mystic Code could only have so much mana pushed into it, and without access to his Magic Circuits at the moment, he was relying completely on the mana he'd taken from the Mana Reactor which was starting to run low.
Honestly he was wondering what he had been thinking, by tomorrow he'd have access to his Magic Circuits again, so why did he have to patrol today? It was foolishness, and his pride hurt to admit that.
Quickly finding an area to deactivate the Mystic Code and return to his ordinary appearance, Aleister emerged from an alleyway and began walking home.
No encounter... But honestly that was, a really good thing. Aleister can't use his Magic Circuits till next chapter, if he got in a fight here, he'd have to retreat or get hurt badly.