Chapter 153: Ultraman Undercover
2023-10-23 Author: Rowing Without Oars 233
Inside the mental space the Blood Cultists used for communication.
"Everyone present is a survivor of the Central City incident. I am the Commander assigned by the Organization to oversee your next operation. This incident was a massive blow to us Blood Cultists. It was not easy for you to escape with your lives, and the Archbishop is very pleased."
"I would give my life for the Organization without hesitation!" The one who said this was Orin Vale.
"It's a shame my abilities were limited, and I couldn't do anything during that incident." The one who said this was a shadow in another corner of the space. It was still Orin Vale.
"Just give us your orders. To be able to contribute to our supreme Lord, I would gladly give my life!" A third figure spoke, and yet again, it was Orin Vale.
That's right. After the battle in Central City, not only was the Blood Cultists' branch severely damaged, but Orin Vale had also managed to pick up a few more of the magic stones, similar to the one he'd confiscated from that Deacon last time.
It seemed that only those at the rank of Deacon or higher within the Blood Cultists were qualified to possess such stones. Of the several stones Orin Vale now held, two were stripped from two Bishops, and the rest came from the local Deacons in Central City.
With the findings from his research on the first stone, it wasn't difficult to simulate Trigon's magic power and activate the remaining ones.
Normally, a single person's consciousness could only connect to this Magic Conference Room through one stone at a time, but Orin Vale was different. Every clone created by the Ultraman Race's cloning technique could be driven by an independent consciousness. Creating split consciousnesses was the very foundation of the cloning ability.
Now, without needing to expend energy to create a physical clone, he simply splintered his thoughts, using each one to connect to a stone and slip into the conference room. He tried it once and got in smoothly.
The Blood Cultists seemed to think that after the Central City incident, high-ranking cadres like the Bishops and Deacons had at least managed to escape. Little did they know that not a single one of them got away.
At this moment, what looked like a multi-person conference in this space was, in reality, just two people. One was the Commander, and the other few were all Orin Vale's aliases.
To put it another way, it was like a group chat with only one victim, and all the rest were scammers.
"The Central City district has suffered severe damage. After an organizational assessment, it will be difficult for you to maintain daily activities there," the Commander said. "And to rebuild from scratch would take far too long. It is our God's will that we must accelerate our actions. Preparations for the Ultimate Ritual are about to begin. There is no more time to take things slowly."
Hearing this, Orin Vale paid closer attention.
The Ultimate Ritual? Did he mean Trigon's arrival?
"As long as it contributes to our Lord's arrival, no sacrifice is too great!" Orin Vale continued to express his loyalty.
"Excellent. Your dedication is commendable," the Commander said with a smile. "But don't worry, the Archbishop has other arrangements for you. This will be an incredibly arduous mission, a hundred times more difficult than your previous daily activities. But the Organization has faith in you, and the Archbishop personally believes you have the ability and the spirit to handle this mission."
"No matter the hardship!" another Deacon declared.
"Very good," the Commander said in a deep voice. "The Organization has received your reports. It seems our main enemy this time comes from that 'A.R.G.U.S.' This failure is a wake-up call, a reminder that this organization deserves our attention. So, this is the mission that will be assigned to you..."
The Commander's voice grew grim.
"...Infiltrate A.R.G.U.S."
Orin Vale: "?"
Orin Vale had never expected this. He was just an undercover agent who had accidentally stumbled into the Blood Cultists' group chat. Who would have thought that one day he'd be sent by the organization he was infiltrating to become an undercover agent in another organization.
Honestly, before this Central City operation, he was already thinking of just abandoning this alias if it got exposed. Who could have imagined this? Not only was he not exposed, but he got in deeper and deeper. He was practically becoming a double agent.
But since there was no pressure, he went ahead and agreed. The Blood Cultists immediately began making arrangements for the spy plan, which would likely require some preparation time.
The Commander simply told them to stay put and wait for orders, then went about his business.
With time on his hands, Orin Vale called Kara to the Laboratory to prepare for an experiment he had been considering for a while.
"...Huh!?"
When Orin Vale stated his intention, Kara's expression changed, and she looked away awkwardly.
"Isn't... isn't this a bad idea?"
"It's fine, it won't hurt."
"But... but it'll probably be uncomfortable?"
"It might be a little at first. But in theory, you'll be fine once you get used to it," Orin Vale said seriously.
Kara was still a bit hesitant, but after looking at him, she bit her lip and nodded firmly.
Then she closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. "Then make it quick..."
"I can't guarantee that. I need to observe the data and see what the change curve looks like..."
"Aiya, just get started already."
"Alright."
Orin Vale agreed and pulled out an item from under the desk.
A small lead box. He opened the lid, and nestled quietly inside was a tiny green crystal he had carefully cut.
Kryptonite.
"Mmm... mgh..."
As the green light hit her face, Kara was already starting to feel unwell.
"Very uncomfortable?" Orin Vale asked.
"A little... but it's okay, I can take it for now." She shook her somewhat dizzy head.
Orin Vale quickly recorded the readings from the various devices connected to her.
Such a small piece of Kryptonite should have almost no effect on a fully developed Superman from the later stages of the comics.
In fact, it was shown in many places in the source material that tolerance for Kryptonite varied. An early-career Superman nearly passed out upon his first encounter with a small piece of Kryptonite, but the later he was in his career, the smaller its effect became. He even had an increasing number of victories where he pushed through the effects of Kryptonite to take down Kryptonite-powered villains like Metallo.
So, in theory, if one were to conduct targeted training, it should be possible to accelerate a Kryptonian's resistance to Kryptonite.
Of course, this was just a conjecture, and Orin Vale would never draw any conclusions without experimental data to back it up. That's why he needed to use Kara's body for testing, to observe the changes in her organs and cells under Kryptonite radiation.
If the experimental results proved his hypothesis reliable, then the next step was to put Kara on a daily Kryptonite endurance training regimen. Of course, this would require comprehensive daily physical examinations to ensure there were no adverse effects. There would also be an artificial sunbath to help her accelerate her energy recovery after training.
He would start with very small Kryptonite fragments, and once she adapted, slowly increase the dosage. This could effectively help her overcome the Kryptonians' greatest natural enemy.
Oh, there was just one small problem.
The training process might not be very comfortable.
Sure enough, the moment he finished explaining the plan, the little girl's eyes went wide.
"I have to do this every day?"
The Kryptonian's head immediately shook like a rattle drum.
"I don't want to!"
Orin Vale thought for a moment and said, "The new handheld console being released by Queen Industries next quarter."
Kara's eyes lit up, but then she glanced at the Kryptonite that had been put back in the box. After a moment of hesitation, she still shook her head.
"No deal."
"Plus their launch game gift pack."
"...Deal."
The ahoge on the little girl's head drooped.
It couldn't be helped. He was offering too much.
Sweating profusely, Kara went upstairs after the Kryptonite test, wiping her face with a tissue as she walked. As she passed the Kitchen, the Wizard and Raven, who were engrossed in their culinary studies, caught a glimpse of her.
Raven was surprised. "What was she doing down there to get this tired?"
"Oh, probably testing some new equipment again," the Old Wizard said, completely unfazed.
"New equipment?" Raven had a strange expression. "That must have been some intense new equipment."
"..."
Orin Vale recorded the research data and saved it in a newly created project file. Before he could analyze it further, a call came in.
It was Barry Allen.
Orin Vale had agreed to help Barry familiarize himself with and develop his superpowers when he had time. After all, considering he wanted to study the Speed Force and the laws of time and space, there was no more direct way in this universe than to use the father of the Speed Force himself as a research subject.
So, to make contact easier, he had given Barry an emergency encrypted number.
"Oh my god, you actually answered!" Barry's voice sounded out of breath. "Honestly, I had no idea if this number would even work, but I really have no one else I can talk to..."
"Calm down, Barry," Orin Vale asked. "What happened?"
Barry gasped for a moment, trying to steady his emotions before speaking.
"I think... I think I might have just traveled through time."
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*Author's Note: Continuing with three chapters today, and asking for a monthly vote while I'm at it~*
(end of chapter)