Two days later, Bruce sat in the medical chair in Lab 3 again. Different chair than the last time. This one had been modified specifically for what came next, softer restraints, more advanced monitoring, a design built around staged treatment rather than a single overwhelming dose.
"ARIA," he said, using the old designation out of habit before catching himself.
"I believe you mean NEXUS," the AI corrected gently.
"Right. Force of habit." Bruce settled into the chair and began attaching the monitoring leads himself, hands steady despite what was coming. "Status on Enhancement Protocol, Phase One."
"All components synthesized. This treatment differs fundamentally from the Breakthrough Formula. Rather than forcing your body to its natural genetic ceiling in a single session, Phase One targets four biological systems individually across a staged administration."
"Myosin heavy chain modification for strength beyond natural human limits. Controlled osteoblast stimulation for bone density beyond the human ceiling. Synaptic optimization for processing speed. Cellular regeneration enhancement through telomere stabilization."
"How many sessions?"
"Four primary injections, one for each system, administered across the coming days with recovery periods between each."
"Pain index for each individual session is estimated at sixty percent of what you experienced during the Breakthrough Formula. Cumulative effect across all four sessions will exceed your prior transformation in total physiological change, but distributed rather than concentrated."
"Meaning I get hurt four separate times instead of once."
"An accurate if somewhat grim summary, yes."
Bruce almost laughed. NEXUS had picked up a dry sense of humor somewhere in the six years since he'd first activated her, or maybe he'd just started noticing it more.
"Begin with the myosin modification. Strength first."
"Administering now."
The needle found his arm. The formula entered his bloodstream. This time the burn started slower, a warm spreading heat through his shoulders and chest rather than the instant inferno the Breakthrough Formula had unleashed. Still painful. Still enough to make his jaw clench and his hands grip the armrests hard enough to leave marks.
But manageable. Survivable in a way that let him keep his thoughts clear even as his muscles began to reorganize at the cellular level.
"Vitals elevated but stable," NEXUS reported. "Heart rate 145. Blood pressure 155 over 92. This is within the projected range."
Bruce breathed through it, using the same discipline he'd built over nine years of pushing past pain in the pocket dimension. Twenty minutes of steadily building heat and pressure in his muscle fibers, and then it began to recede, leaving behind a dull ache and a strange new awareness of his own body.
He flexed his hand. The movement felt different. Heavier somehow, in a way that suggested more mass packed into the same space rather than actual weight gain.
*[PHYSIQUE: 100/100 (NATURAL CEILING)]*
*[ENHANCEMENT LAYER: STAGE 1 - MYOSIN MODIFICATION COMPLETE]*
*[EFFECTIVE STRENGTH OUTPUT: +14% ABOVE NATURAL PEAK]*
Fourteen percent. Not massive. Not the kind of jump that would let him trade blows with Superman. But real, measurable, and permanent.
Bruce used the pocket dimension to recover, entering for what felt like a full day of rest while zero time passed in reality. He emerged the next morning at school feeling stronger than he had the night before, and nobody noticed a thing.
During lunch, his phone buzzed. Selina.
"You survived the formal apology tour. Congrats. Lunch today or are you off whatever project you're working on again?"
Bruce smiled at the phone.
"Lunch. I promise to actually be present this time."
"We'll see."
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