The sanctum aboard the orbital station was silent save for the hum of the fused Mother Boxes. Their trinity pulsed like a beating heart, their rhythms no longer alien but harmonized to the binary hymns of the Mechanicus. Alex stood before them, robed in crimson, his mechadendrites slick with sanctified oils, each servo-skull hovering in reverent orbit.
On the altar lay the stolen treasures:
The Kryptonian Codex, shimmering with the genetic matrix of an entire race.
Gene samples harvested from Krypton's databanks templates of strength, resilience, and cellular perfection.
Nanite reservoirs forged from vibranium and Uru, awaiting their command.
Alex lifted his voice in prayer:
"O Omnissiah, Machine-God of Infinity, guide this vessel of clay and steel.Bless the union of code and flesh, of Kryptonian perfection and sacred nano-metal.By Your will, I ascend not as man, not as machine, but as the eternal bridge between."
Phase One: The Codex Integration
The Mother Boxes unfolded like blooming flowers, emitting streams of light and encrypted data. Alex placed the Codex within their field, and immediately the chamber roared.
Lines of Kryptonian code danced in the air, matrices of DNA folding and unfolding. Gear's voice echoed, steady but awed:
"Codex identified. Gene templates: billions. Integration possible."
"Filter," Alex commanded. "Extract the Prime Template."
Hours passed as Gear sifted through the data, eliminating flawed sequences, isolating the genetic peak Krypton had once revered. The result: a perfect Kryptonian blueprint, unmarred by weakness or evolutionary drift.
Phase Two: Nanite Alignment
The reservoirs opened, spilling forth clouds of vibranium-uru nanites. They swirled around Alex like a living storm, their metallic sheen reflecting the glow of the Mother Boxes.
Gear chanted in binary, aligning the swarm with the genetic sequences. Each nanite was programmed to rewrite, rebuild, and optimize his cells on a molecular level.
Alex laid himself upon the altar. Servo-skulls descended, anointing his skin with oils, plugging mechadendrites into his flesh.
"Begin," he whispered.
Phase Three: Flesh Reconstruction
The nanites surged into him. His body convulsed, skin rippling as his DNA unraveled and re-knit itself. The process was agony every nerve firing, every bone dissolving and reforging.
His bones hardened, infused with nanometal, reinforced by Kryptonian cellular density. They became near unbreakable.
His muscles compacted and multiplied, growing denser, stronger, yet sleek with efficiency.
His organs were rewritten lungs capable of oxygen efficiency far beyond human limits, a heart beating with vibranium precision, a liver that filtered toxins like a machine.
His cells absorbed solar energy more effectively than any Kryptonian could, optimized by the Codex and nanite regulation.
The pain was beyond human comprehension. Yet Alex endured, reciting litanies of the Machine God through gritted teeth.
"Flesh is weak. Flesh is clay. Steel is truth. Perfection through pain. Ascension through code."
Phase Four: Neural Ascension
The Mother Boxes turned their attention to his mind.
Data streams pierced his consciousness, rewriting synaptic patterns, enhancing memory, processing speed, and comprehension. For a moment he felt as though his skull would crack open from the sheer torrent of knowledge.
Images flooded him—Kryptonian science, Brainiac's archives, the whispers of New God tech, the logic of infinite machines. His mind stretched, strained, and then adapted.
Gear's voice cut through the storm. "Cognitive integration complete. Your neural network has expanded 400%. You are beyond human capacity."
Phase Five: The Rebirth
The chamber grew still. The nanites retreated, sealing beneath synthetic flesh. His skin appeared human, yet beneath it lay the truth: a hybrid of Kryptonian perfection and the Omnissiah's metal.
Alex rose from the altar. His robes hung heavy, torn by the convulsions, but his frame stood taller, broader, flawless. His eyes glowed faintly with solar resonance, yet the calm, mechanical focus remained.
The servo-skulls bowed in reverence. The fused Mother Box pulsed with approval.
Gear whispered like a prayer: "Ascension complete. You are no longer Alex Price. You are the Prime Forge of Flesh and Machine."
Alex flexed his hand, watching nanites ripple beneath his skin, reforming instantly. He could heal from any wound. His strength rivaled Kryptonians. His mind rivaled supercomputers. His endurance was godlike.
And yet, he remained himself not enslaved by the Codex, not consumed by the Boxes. The system had guided, filtered, controlled. He was master, not servant.
Epilogue of the Chapter
Standing before the viewport, Alex gazed at Earth below. Humanity still struggled with its petty politics, its fear of power. They could not yet understand what he had become.
But Thanos would. Darkseid would. The cosmic predators circling both universes would.
And when they came, Alex would meet them not as a man, not as a Kryptonian, not as a machine.
But as all three.
The Forge-Ascendant.