A short while later, Marcus approached Bruce and Selina carrying two weapons. They examined the rapier and short staff in his hands with puzzled expressions.
It seemed obvious that the rapier was meant for Bruce and the short staff for Selina.
But these weapons looked remarkably ordinary—not even as eye-catching as the daggers they already carried.
"Teacher, what are those weapons you're holding?" Bruce asked curiously, wondering if these unremarkable items were truly their gifts—a plain-looking rapier and an even more mundane short staff.
"Yes, these are your gifts!"
Seeing their incredulous expressions, Marcus smiled. Their faces clearly conveyed their thoughts: The teacher spent all this time preparing... and he's just giving us these?
"You seem a little disappointed," Marcus observed with amusement.
He raised the two weapons, and energy flickered around his hands. Suddenly, both weapons underwent a remarkable transformation.
An energy whip materialized from the short staff. When Marcus waved it through the air, it made no sound at all—a perfect tool for Selina to enhance her combat abilities.
Bruce found himself drawn to the rapier in Marcus's hand. Though its appearance remained unchanged, blue sparks occasionally erupted from its blade, catching his attention.
He noticed that the space around the rapier seemed to distort, similar to how extreme heat can warp the air. Yet he could clearly see the weapon wasn't emitting any heat—those blue sparks were somehow warping space itself.
"Teacher, this sword..." Bruce began, wondering if this was the weapon's true nature.
"This sword, like the short staff, needs to be powered by energy," Marcus explained. "Without energy to drive them, they're no different from ordinary weapons. But with a suitable energy source, they transform—the staff becomes an energy whip, and this rapier gains the special ability to cut through space itself."
Marcus led them to the garden.
"Stand back. I'll demonstrate the true capabilities of these weapons."
After ensuring everyone was at a safe distance, Marcus moved to an open area. He swung the energy whip toward a nearby flower bed.
Being composed of pure energy, and with Marcus not intending to merely capture the flower bed, the whip sliced cleanly through it, splitting it in two.
The energy whip cut like a razor-sharp blade, piercing through the stone and soil in an instant. Marcus then raised the rapier in his other hand.
After leaving a trail of energy sparks in the air, everyone was astonished to see a strange distortion appear in the area surrounded by the sparks—a glimpse of a place that didn't exist in Wayne Manor.
"Well? Impressive, isn't it?" Marcus asked with a smile.
Though these weapons were fused with experimental amplitude crystals, that didn't mean they were inferior products.
The fusion of two different amplitude crystals had granted these weapons unique powers. One could extend an energy whip at will, while the other could open spatial rifts, even launching attacks with space-altering properties.
Looking at the weapons in Marcus's hands, Bruce and Selina could barely contain their excitement. Such weapons were perfect for them.
As vigilantes, they needed signature weapons of their own.
"Alright, these weapons are now yours," Marcus said, handing them over. "But remember—unleashing their power depends entirely on your own abilities."
Initially, Bruce and Selina didn't understand Marcus's meaning. They assumed he was simply encouraging them to continue training and improving their combat skills.
But after receiving the weapons, they discovered the problem—they couldn't activate the weapons' special properties at all.
Neither the rapier nor the short staff changed in their hands. The impressive display they'd witnessed moments ago might as well have been an illusion.
No matter how they swung their new weapons, they couldn't replicate the transformations Marcus had demonstrated.
"I told you—if you want to unlock their strength, you can only rely on your own abilities," Marcus laughed, watching their attempts. "I'll give you a hint: don't forget anything you saw just now."
With that cryptic reminder, Marcus left them to figure it out. He had many other matters to attend to, and this would serve as a small test of their observation and analytical skills.
Bruce and Selina didn't struggle for long. They quickly recalled what they'd observed—both the energy whip extending from the staff and the space-distorting blue sparks from the rapier were manifestations of pure energy.
Perhaps the "ability" Marcus had mentioned referred to powering these weapons. If they could find a way to charge them, they might be able to replicate the effects Marcus had demonstrated.
This realization excited them both. Once they mastered how to energize their weapons, they could split stone with a whip strike or open spatial portals with a sword thrust.
"If I remember correctly, the battle suits contain energy. Couldn't we..." Bruce began.
The two exchanged glances, both arriving at the same conclusion—they could use their battle suits' energy to power their weapons.
Their only concern now was how to replenish the battle suits' energy once it was depleted.
Alfred, however, already knew the answer. This was a question he'd asked Marcus after first receiving the suits.
"Don't worry, Master Bruce," Alfred reassured them. "The battle suits can be recharged in various ways, including simple electrical connections."
As he spoke, Alfred removed a cable from his pocket and connected it to a module on his arm. The display immediately showed it was charging.
Seeing this demonstration, Bruce and Selina exchanged relieved glances and nodded.
As long as recharging was possible, they could use the battle suits and their special weapons indefinitely. They wouldn't need to worry about energy depletion rendering their equipment useless.
With this reassurance, both began channeling energy from their battle suits into their weapons. An energy whip extended from Selina's short staff, while the air around Bruce's rapier began to shimmer with spatial distortion.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Support me at [email protected]/goldengaruda and check out more chapter of this or more early access chapter of my other fanfic translation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~