Super Science
Ch 64: Final Product
"Ladies and gentlemen! Animals of all ages! Welcome to the-.", Hankoyō began until he was cut off.
"Stop with the theatrics and get on with it!", Cluck yelled at him, pecking at a bran muffin.
Hankoyō glared at the bird and went back to his theatrics, exclaiming as he pulled a sheet of an object, "May I present to you the world's first teleportation device? I call it the Warp Pad!"
With one swift pull, he revealed what looked like a small raised stage made of a clear crystal with a unique cut at the sides and a flat smooth fish at the top, made into a circle and very large in width. Everyone ogled at this and clapped for him.
When the applause died down, he finished up by saying, "With this device, you can travel to any point in the world in a flash!"
"What's the downside?", Cluck interjected with a skeptical stare.
"There has to be another Warp Pad in the spot you want to go to, and you have to know where you want to go.", Hankoyō admitted.
"So all we have to do is place these everywhere.", Cluck continued to vex him.
"For now, I was hoping just here, the new facility, and Pacifica.", Hankoyō inferred.
"Hoping to see your pet more often?", Cluck said in a knowing tone.
"Don't mock me! And besides, she's my friend.", Hankoyō defended himself with his arms crossed, refusing to look at the bird.
"Be nice, Cluck. Despite the intention behind the creation, Hankoyō should be credited for actually creating the very first teleporter.", Egon told them both as he clapped Hankoyō on the shoulder in praise.
Feeling more comfortable and less embarrassed, Hankoyō explained in detail. "The Wrap Pads also use a harmonic frequency to determine where one needs to go. Hook a frequency to a Pad, and it will take you there and only there."
"Then wouldn't that mean you'd need several of them just to get to different places? Just for where we'd need to go, we'd need at least three per area.", Izuku asks him, doing the math in his head.
Hankoyō gives a knowing look and explains, "That's why I have separated them into two separate kinds of Wrap Pads. The Warp Pad Hub and the Regular Warp Pads. The Hub is synchronized with many harmonic frequencies to take you to any place that has a Pad, and the regular Pads act as receivers and can only send you to the Hub."
"And if two people try to use the Hub Pad to go to two different places?", Cluck asks.
"They'll cancel out.", Hankoyo answers.
"And if someone tries to use a Hub Pad and a Receiver at the same time."
"Again, they'll cancel out, and I made this device that allows you to see who's trying to use what if they do."
"You've really thought of everything, haven't you?" Izuku said in praise, making the man smile and his head tubes wiggle.
"I like to cover all my bases.", the man stated with a proud look.
"And the downside to these Warp Pads?", Cluck interjected.
"They're delicate. If they break, then I put in a fail-safe so they won't work.", Hankoyō explained, leading to a sigh of relief from everyone present.
Then, a thought crossed Izuku's mind, and he questioned, "What happens if you use them while they are broken?"
Hankoyō looks off to the side and sucks air between his teeth as he tells him, "You don't want to know. Trust me.", thus sensing a wave of discomfort from everyone hearing this.
Before the already thick and heavy atmosphere could get any worse, Egon's phone rang. Looking at the caller ID, he excused himself, saying, "Once sec. Hello?"
Egon quickly walked out of the room for several minutes, leaving the scientist to converse and ask more questions about the invention. When he came back, Egon told his crew, "So the principal of UA wants us to help in the making of the Sports Festival."
"That's incredible!", Hatsume exclaimed in excitement, and everyone else agreed.
"And I got a call from I-Island. One of the head scientists, a guy named David Shields, wants his daughter to intern with us," Egon casually added.
"I….I-Island?", Honey Lemon babbled with surprise before she passed out on the floor.
Eri looked at the downed woman and asked, "Should we get the defibrillator for her?"
"I don't think so, that's just a me thing.", Egon assured her before going into serious leader mode and telling them, "Okay, the first order of action: someone wakes her up. Second order: Hankoyō and Cluck will travel to Pacifica to set up a Warp Pad there and connect it to the one here. Use the robots to construct a defensive perimeter so any villains on the Island can't easily escape."
"Why do I have to go?", Cluck complained.
"Because you seemed to be the one most interested in this project besides its maker." Egon shot back at her with a sleazy look, making the chicken grumble to herself. And third order: I will see what exactly the Principal needs from us, and from there, I will task every one of you with something." he told them.
"Yes, sir.", they all spoke in unison.
"Then let's move!", he exclaimed as everyone diverted to their divisions and jobs. Egon looked around the room and caught sight of Izuku staring blankly outside the window. He stood next to the boy and, breaking the silence, told him, "You know, Izuku, if you don't want to be a part of the Sports Festival, you don't have to. I understand you're still not 100% on heroes, even if you do want to help make their jobs easier."
Izuku sighs deeply and then tells him dismissively, "It's fine, it's fine. Really. I need to do this so I can prove to myself I'm past it. My therapist said I needed to do something like this anyway. She said I'm progressing nicely, so this is the next step."
"If you're okay with it, then I'll believe you. Just let me know if it becomes too much.", Egon says with a small inward sigh while patting his shoulder. He stumbles for a moment and finally tells the boy, "Just to let you know, they also offered us VIP seating for the event."
"Of course they did.", Izuku deadpans.
"Do you want to come?", Egon offers as kindly as he can.
Izuku takes a more assured sigh and position as he states, "You know what? Screw it, why not. It'll be a good opportunity to scope out future employees."