DC Technomancer: Chapter 13 Suit Up

The raw emotion in Stella’s voice tugged on Victor heart strings and the simmering fire in his gut exploded in a roaring inferno, “Stella I need you to listen to me, take your father and get to Wayne Towers go to my room and stay there until I call you again.” 

“Okay I’ll…fuck!” Stella cursed and Victor could almost picture her pacing back and forth trying to fit together the pieces of her life that hadn’t just been burned to a crisp, “Are you at the hotel?” 

Victor hesitated, “No and I won’t be back for sometime.” 

“What?! Victor they’re going to come after you too I just know it. Please just come back to the hotel and we can figure this all out!” Stella screamed into the phone making Victor’s hand ball into fists. 

“Fine, I’ll meet you at the hotel,” Victor answered, hoping his guilt didn’t leak through his voice. Hanging up before Stella could respond Victor let out a tense sigh, ‘Nex when they get to the room, lock the door behind them, and I want you actively surveying every entrance and exit into the building.’ 

[Understood, I would also like to inform you that I have taken the liberty of buying the property we talked about and I had your orders delivered. I believe they’re already there and waiting for you.]

Victor grinned, ‘Nex you beautiful bastard what would I do without you.’ 

[I believe you would survive though your life would become far more tedious] 

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Slamming on the breaks Victor came to a screeching halt in front of a chain link fence bolted shut with an electronic lock. Next to the gate a handful of duffle bags were piled high atop each other, that Victor hoped were loaded to the brim with ammunition, firearms and his other orders. 

Hoping off his bike Victor grabbed one of the bags at random and unzipped it revealing the neatly stacked boxes of ammunition, “Alright Nex let’s get to work.” 

With a purpose Victor went about setting up his new property, a ten thousand square foot abandoned warehouse on the very outskirts of gotham city with its own electrical grid and underground well. Both in need of heavy repair which was the first thing Victor fixed after dragging the duffel bags inside along with his bike. 

After tinkering with the generator for a few minutes Victor got it running, and a short second later the industrial lights hanging from the ceiling flickered to light bathing the inside of the warehouse with fluorescent white light. During his search for the warehouse’s electrical Victor had also stumbled across its supply room full of heavy machinery, and basic manufacturing components.

Identifying the parts that would be useful to him Victor moved the machines out to the main work floor which had been completely pitted granting him a wide open space for him to set up shop. 

Once everything was connected to the main power line, Victor went through every single duffle bag making sure he hadn’t been shorted while organizing his inventory. 

When everything was in its proper place Victor had already worked up a decent sweat and he shrugged off his shirt and threw it to the side exposing that his previous injuries were mostly healed. 

Reaching into his pocket Victor munched away at another calorie dense protein bar fueling his body, with Nex micromanaging his body Victor essentially had an enhanced healing factor, but he still needed to replace the nutrients and minerals used to create new cells. 

‘Nex I need to dial in.’ Victor muttered as his mind raced with countless plans and blueprints cluttering his train of thought. 

[Understood, adjusting mental parameters] 

By the time Victor exhaled his mind had gained a single track focus, cold and calculating, free from any distractions and almost unfeeling. With buttery smooth movements Victor raced around the warehouse grabbing the components he had missed previously in his almost panicked rush as a way forward started to solidify in his mind. 

Time passed in a blur for Victor as he moved from one project to the next without pause, he was hardly aware of his surroundings and sometimes he caught himself slipping in and out of consciousness as he took micro-naps to prevent his mind from burning out. 

But when Victor woke up for what seemed like the hundredth time he felt as if he was coming out of a deep sleep, completely rested and rejuvenated. His mind had reverted back to its original state and Victor was back in the driver's seat. 

‘Nex I need an update.’ 

[It’s been nearly three hours since your call with Ms. Rivera. She arrived at your apartment safely and I followed your directive upon her arrival. On another note you currently have fifteen missed calls and forty three unanswered text from Ms. Rivera]

Victor sighed, “She pissed and rightfully so. But I can’t afford to split my attention between her and what’s about to come next.” 

With that thought Victor eyes glanced over at the table to his right and the finished projects neatly arranged on its top, “I guess it’s time to suit up.” 

Standing up from his seat Victor walked over to the table and gazed down at what he had made. The most notable item on display was his body armor. Stripping down to his underwear Victor first put on a cut and pierce resistant body suit, skin tight as to not limit his movements. 

Then came the actual suit of armor, separated into a torso piece, greaves, boots and gauntlets, with carbon fiber plating and kevlar padding making it lightweight and impact resistant. The plating was somewhat overly large and bulky, which was by design to emphasize Victor’s massive frame. 

As Victor got dressed he started with the torso strapping it to his chest and back before pulling on the greaves which connected into the chest piece with a satisfying click held together by friction and powerful magnets. But still considering it a weak point Victor designed the individual armor pieces to overlap where they met hiding any chinks in his armor. 

In a matter of minutes Victor was covered from the next down in a menacing suit of body armor except his hands which he still needed full mobility to get the rest of his equipment in place. 

The next thing to go on was a utility belt, a bulky length of kevlar that held all of Victor’s ammo and tools weighing almost fifty pounds all in all. Strapping the belt in place Victor made sure everything was secure before he turned to the four weapons still resting on the table. 

The first were the most simple: a pair of razor sharp karambit knives that Victor slotted into  their magnetic holsters on his back near his waist. Testing he could pull out the knives in the blink of an eye Victor nodded satisfied before grabbing his next weapon pair. Going for reliability, Victor holstered his two colt 1911s one on each hip, both custom with flared magwells textured grips and carbon fiber bodies. 

The second to last gun in Victor's armada for long ranged and armored targets, was a modern bolt action rifle, sleek and dangerous with a metallic black finish and equipped with a seven round clip. Holstering the rifle over his left shoulder Victor reached down and picked up the showstopper. An automatic twelve gauge shotgun that went over Victor’s other shoulder. 

Armed to the teeth Victor pulled on his gauntlets before picking up the last piece of equipment on the table, a plain unadorned helmet that covered Victor’s entire face including his eyes behind two pitch black lenses. 

Pulling the mask on Victor let out a calming breathing before reaching out with his mind and summoning his motorcycle. The roar of the motor purred in the empty warehouse as the modified bike came to live, revving its engines before driving into view and stopping in front of Victor. 

The bike had gotten a complete overhaul and Victor wasn’t ashamed to admit a large portion of  his funds had gone to ordering parts for his bike. But the product was more than worth the expenditure. 

In addition to being completely electric meaning Victor could now control  it remotely, the bike was equipped with two large all terrain, airless, puncture resistant tires. In fact every piece of hardware had been upgraded, improving all aspects of performance. But the main thing of note was the armor plating around the bike’s vitals that resemble Victor’s own suit of protection. 

Getting on the motorcycle Victor grinned as the suspension barely flinched at his nearly five hundred pounds of weight and he felt the machine purr underneath him. 

With a vengeful fire in his eyes Victor revved the engine before peeling out of the warehouse going from zero to sixty in a matter of seconds and heading towards the city.