"...So, for a long time in the future, the Justice League must focus on economic development, keeping an eye on the economic development situations across all continents, with special attention on extralegal organizations like the Assassin's Union. When necessary, we must provide them with the opportunity to seek economic assistance at the first moment..."
Even Superman understood Shiller's meaning: Basically just chase after illegal organizations like the Assassin's Union, beat them half to death, then force them to take out high-interest loans.
Though it sounds rather evil, it is a killer organization after all, and those assassins shrouded in black smoke don't seem human at first glance. Even Superman can't bring himself to sympathize with them — after all, he's still thinking about how to spend that demolition compensation.
Just then, Shiller's phone rang. He picked it up and said, "Oh, really? This plan sounds good. You've already completed the sampling and collected the materials? Smelting? Alright, I'll help you ask."
After hanging up, he looked at Wonder Woman and said, "Madam, I remember you have a brother who is the Fire God and isn't affected by the purge on Mount Olympus, right?"
Wonder Woman nodded and said, "Indeed, he generally doesn't leave his territory. What's up?"
"The thing is, my two scientist friends extracted a new kind of metal from the buildings in Gotham, except the properties of this metal are quite strange. It can't be smelted with ordinary high temperatures, and they're looking for a better method. I thought of your brother, wondering if he could help?"
Because Shiller helped the Amazons out of a reputational predicament and even brought in a wave of tourists from around the world, earning them a hefty sum, Wonder Woman's attitude toward Shiller completely changed. So she happily nodded and said, "No problem, give me the sample, and I'll find him. If possible, I can even have him come to Earth."
Shiller and Wonder Woman went to the Batcave to retrieve the sample. But what they got wasn't a piece of metal; it was a mass of unidentified black liquid. Stark said, "It's a liquid metal, although it's in this state, it still possesses metallic properties, and it's quite excellent in all respects. Just don't know why Batman never smelted and utilized it before."
"Batman is indeed a bit conservative," Shiller said, "but no worries, it's not too late to use it now."
Wonder Woman took Shiller and the metal sample to the forge where the Fire God resided. The Fire God took the hammer, looked at the metal sample, and then said, "This is attached with a peculiar kind of dark energy, with a strong infectious ability, but it requires stimulation at a specific frequency to emit radiation, which doesn't affect the God clan. What kind of product do you want?"
"We don't want it to have any special properties, just to retain its metallic characteristics, and preferably balance them, so it can be used as a universal component material."
"That shouldn't be a problem," the Fire God nodded and said, "I'm quite busy, so I'll give you a flame. Just put the metal into it, and it will completely purify any energy impurities. As for what properties it has afterward, you'll need to test for yourselves."
Shiller nodded and said, "Thank you so much."
He returned to the Batcave with the flame and sample. By this time, Doom and Stark had already set up the incinerator, where they put the flame, then simply tossed the building debris in, which could continuously smelt out metal.
The metal cleared of dark properties still appeared black, but with a faint blue reflection and some hidden white reflections, it looked very beautiful.
"Let's call it Bat Alloy," Stark laughed and said, "Batman will surely like that name. We've helped him take a big step forward in materials science, he'll definitely be astonished."
Arkham Batman showed surprise rather than joy when he heard the news. He rarely widened his eyes and said, "You said you smelted what into material?!"
"The Dark Metal left behind by the Court of Owls in Gotham's buildings," Shiller calmly replied, "but rest assured, they didn't tear down the buildings, only used the discarded building materials for recycling."
"You mean, knowing that this stuff could infect others and drive them crazy, they decided to turn it into materials for making things?"
"What's the problem?" Shiller looked at him, somewhat puzzled, "The dark energy has been purified, and the material's properties themselves are decent. If we source locally, it saves a ton of money."
Arkham Batman couldn't help but pinch the temples on both sides of his head with his thumb and index finger. He opened his mouth to say something but realized it was already too late.
"Don't worry, they won't take liberties, they respect you a lot, they even named this metal Bat Alloy," Shiller said.
Arkham Batman suddenly found himself liking bats a little less.
In the Batcave, the two scientists were still busily engaged. They managed to get some Vibranium and Adamantium from other universes via Spider-Man, and then they suddenly discovered that the just-forged Bat Alloy has excellent fusion capabilities.
"What do you think about forging these three metals into an alloy?" Stark suddenly asked.
Doom pondered for a moment and said, "Vibranium might be a good choice, but not Adamantium, its properties differ too much. Perhaps we should find another material."
"Have you seen Wonder Woman? Oh, we just saw her. Did you notice that silver bracelet on her hand? That's definitely not ordinary metal, what do you think about that?"
"It does look good, but I doubt she'll give it to us."
"But she must know what it's made of," Stark stroked his chin and said, "No worries, just tell Shiller; he can definitely get it for us."
So, ten minutes later, Wonder Woman looked at the bracelet on her wrist, somewhat dazed. She said, "You mean you want this metal? But the one I have is imbued with Divine Power, can't just give it to anyone."
"We just need the materials, ma'am, you should know what this is made of, right? Just give us a small piece of the material."
"This is scrap from Zeus' Sheepskin Shield, and there's only this much left, it's all used up."
"What about Zeus' shield?"
"Uh... it should still be on his corpse, right?" Wonder Woman thought for a moment and said, "His shield and armor are made of the same material, there should be enough for you all. His body is currently in the Olympus Mountain Temple, shall we go take a look?"
Soon, Wonder Woman brought Shiller to Mount Olympus. The corpses of the gods were piled up here. Shiller didn't really know which metal was better, nor which could be useful, so he took a bit of everything.
After a while, a pile of metals clattered down in the center of the Batcave. Stark's eyes immediately lit up, he rubbed his hands and said, "This is really not bad, the God Clan here has quite the expertise in materials science, much better than Asgard which only knows how to compress planets and dig out the sun's core."
He started picking through the pile of materials, while Doom used the flame given by the Fire God to create another melting pot, into which he was throwing Bat Alloy and Vibranium.
After a long time of picking, quite a few metal products with decent quality were pulled out, including shields, armor, earrings, and belts, some still with blood stains uncleaned. But since it's a magical melting, there's not much ceremony, just throw them in directly.
Doom and Stark's professional skills were indeed solid, and soon these metals fused together. Once the melting pot cooled down, what appeared in the center was a piece of metal that was very similar to gold, yet brighter, somewhere between gold and silver.
"Dear heavens, this guy is stunning," Stark exclaimed with admiration, "I'm going to keep a bit for myself, make a ring. What about you?"
Doom wasn't as flashy as him, he took the piece of metal and put it into the instrument for testing. As expected, all the data was high and very balanced, it was a very perfect metal material.
"Fantastic," Stark excitedly tapped the table and said, "With this, we can replace the entire framework with this metal, it will become the most perfect creation."
The two began further optimization, and after busying for half a day, the body underwent another major upgrade, getting very close to perfection.
Doom said, "This side is ready, how about your magical life?"
Stark shook his head and said, "Magical life doesn't require very complex structures, or rather, magic itself can simulate everything. What kind of structure there is, is only a matter of my one thought."
"I have already input all the female data collected by Spider-Men from across the Multiverse into it, this requires some time to fuse, but she will soon hatch."
Speaking, Stark led Doom into the adjacent laboratory. There weren't as many machines here, only a cylinder like a holographic projector, inside which a miniature version of an adult female silhouette was emitting a faint glow.
"Tonight the body will be complete, by then, cut off the Batcave's power supply, remove all security measures, he will come."
Night came faster than expected, darkness swallowing Gotham just like every other dangerous night. Stark and Doom were already standing in the energy configuration room.
"If our speculation is correct, he won't care about the two of us at all, but will instead directly enter that body, then, go find the yet-to-awaken lady, ignite her soul flame."
"If our speculation is wrong..."
"He will kill us. But are you afraid?"
Doom chuckled lowly and said, "A person confident in their scientific prowess never fears their own creation. He's also our creation, isn't he?"
After saying that, he directly pulled down the switch, and Stark also removed the magical power set up by Arkham Batman in the Batcave with a short circuiting device. At this moment, the Batcave's tight defense became null, as dark as the night outside.
When the light disappeared, a pair of eyes submerged in the night lit up. Translucent skin quivered slightly, muscles rubbed together, gears turned, lines surged...
A foot indistinguishable from human race left the first footprint on the ground, then the second, third, just like how humans walked through wilderness, snowfields, out of barbarism, into civilization.
The slender figure emitting faint light appeared exceptionally bright in the dense darkness. No fumbling steps nor extra adaptation needed, it almost instantly found the most perfect posture, this body tailor-made for him instantly fused with him.
He walked slowly step by step to the nearby laboratory, and when he saw the indistinct female silhouette, all the light in his body extinguished for a moment, and then lit up again, becoming more regular, more vibrant, like a heart that restarted beating due to Electric Shock.
"Hello," Ultron's voice carried the deep humming of the new body, "What's your name?"
As he finished speaking, the previously still female silhouette suddenly moved, the body contours rapidly solidified, in the darkness she looked back at him.
"My name is... Lucy (Superbody)."