The materials started fairly normal, if rare and valuable.
Dense.
Energy resistant. Energy reflective. Energy absorbent.
Impact mitigation, vibration redirection, sound dampening.
They absorbed light or even had a
negative index of refraction for specific energy ranges… Completely redirecting any incoming beams of light along the surface instead of reflecting as expected.
Many layers, multiple stacks thick and coating the Shard.
Resources gathered, constructed, or designed and developed over multiple Jumps…
It was insufficient.
Adam shifted focus.
Energy itself was used as a material.
Complex paths for Potential energy to gather, flows for Psionic power, channels for Magic itself.
'Research' reshaped and rebuilt the laws and guidelines that formed these forces as they interacted… And further developed the concept.
Some materials from different realities reacted differently with specific energy types and ratios.
The differences could be exploited.
Odd loops of power impacting layers of odd material before clashing with other energies, creating cycles and circuits and new interactions to study.
Not even slightly enough.
Energies and exotic materials began being combined.
Tainting material mixtures of various metals, influencing fibers of plant life with powers beyond, more and more Da̤̜̥ta̖̻̫̦ was gathered.
The raw power involved caused the materials to S͍̞h͔̱͚͎͍̰i̩̦̺f̥̗̟̜̘̤t̻̙̭ͅ.
Good.
More Da̤̜̥ta̖̻̫̦.
Materials gathered under fields of influence, forged through streams of energy, solidified in beams of power, hardened in rivers of potential.
.
This was where things s̠l͍̞̞ͅo͚̖̰̟w̝̟͇͇͔̥l̼̦̪̻̟̻̟y̭͕̺̦͙̫̦̳̻ g͔̮̮̞̰̖̺͓̠͈̭r̠͈̠̪̮͔̣̳͖̥̤̺͖e̮̗͉͇̳̝͕̺̲͙͉̯̗̪w͕̗̮̬͔̼̟̦̪͈̣̤̺͍̟̣͕̜̦ Ṣ̼͔̗̣͕͍̩̹̱̺̯̳͈̤̆̆̔ͫ͐̈̓ͣt͉̦̜͇̻̰̺͓̙̉͆͋͒͑̄͂̓̊r̦̲͚̙̠̘̫͉̮͇̬̣͎̹̙̦̮̎͑̿̍͗͆a͔̞̯̗͙͊͋̏͗͑ͭ̾ͤ̆̔n͕̹͍̩̫̖̟̱̘̥̱̹̰̺̖̾͂ͨͭg̻̩͖͇̫̼̠̘̠̠͓͇ͭ̑͊́̇̆ͅē̪̲̘̩̣̠̪̫̣͔̠͙̺͇͒͌ͩ.̫͓̣͉̰̙͚̲̥̹͈ͪ̽̿̑̏ͩ̿ͧ͐̚
.
.
.
Substances that shouldn't exist stabilized here, outside of any Jump.
Things appearing so unstable they couldn't even decay began to develop.
Materials in motion while still.
Energies that only theoretically existed.
Objects without mass.
Sounds colored with flavors.
And Adam collected this Da̤̜̥ta̖̻̫̦ and 'Research' further focused on his works.
For this… Even this…
It failed to suppress the Shard's growing H̩̮̤͎u͍̠ͅn̘g̪̜̯e̼͖͔͔r̻.
But… Every step did have benefits.
If nothing else, Adam was ever so slowly developing the materials and energies and patterns and schematics needed to mute the presence of the D̜̭̦e̞̜̟̜͈̮̜s͙̭̫͎ͅi̙͇̝̩͕̭̮r̟̜̺͎e.
The trick, he found, was to imbue the materials with feelings.
Apathy. Boredom. Lethargy. Weariness. Downtrodden.
Feelings of the lost and the despairing were cautiously [[
Harvested]] and fused with strange materials that never existed, empowered by energies undiscovered, and coated in potential eventually forgotten.
It created a strange flavor to the nothingness the Warehouse slept in.
A taste of neglect, sprinkled with age and toasted through trials and tribulation.
It was… better.
But not good enough.
For within this 'Fragile Victim' Adam could still taste the bitter fever of eagerness.
His Shard was trying to hold back, and 'Research' was advancing the process by leaping forward dozens of steps in the journey to success… Would it be enough?
If nothing else, it was teaching Adam how to operate here, outside of any Jump, directly.
Something very fundamental, Data that he absently shared with Sarah's systems for optimization and future development. Secrets sought by civilizations were casually discovered and tossed into a file like trash as Adam redefined the limits of possibility…
He was unhappy with his progress.
But there was yet time.
A spirit in the machine, Adam hummed a pirate song as he prepared for snacks/tasty treats/delicious idiots/enemy action.
It was unfortunate that there were no witnesses nearby or peers in communication range to inform him of the numerous ideas and creations he formed and adjusted. Even the most bitter and unhelpful of observers would have stepped in by this point to stop all the upcoming existence ending disasters about to form and inform him of the impossible actions he was attempting to do right now.
Sadly, Adam was unaware of the futile nature of his work.
So, like usual, he accomplished these 'impossible actions' anyway while annoyed… Barely marking down his many successes in the logs without concern or interest so he could get away from this boring stuff and get back onto more fun personal projects.
For example, Adam West had contacted them about producing an animated musical opera movie thing using the Batman characters from the cartoon show. An opera in SPACE!
That should be interesting!
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Sarah absently chewed on another hard candy.
For some reason, she was just famished recently. Like there was some sort of delicious dish being prepared in a nearby room, and they could just faintly smell the amazing flavors and aroma waiting around the bend.
It was more than a little distracting, honestly.
Oh wait! She was waking up. Good. "Careful there, keep your eye's closed."
Oracle groaned. "I… My Queen? What? No, hang on… I don't remember doing any Dom play recently… Oh, my head."
Heh. "Shh, keep calm. There was a bit of an accident with Dr. Isley's powers, and you got a bit of a dose. Let it wear off and stay relaxed, it won't last long."
She mumbled. "Uh… Right, the blue hot silver lady with the sexy eyes and… Models? No, I remember now, we were… Schematics of… Then a F̲̬͈͓o̮̺͚̱͖ͅr̼͔e̞͙̝ș̠t͖̟͔ arrived and I wanted to worship it? Or something?"
Sarah carefully felt the ambient wall moss used as lighting and adjusted the output to something a bit brighter. Hopefully it would help her wake up faster without giving her a headache. "You are safe, we are safe, but you are still waking up. Just stay calm and think back to what you remember."
Oh. "And you don't have to say it out loud, just think about it to yourself."
No reason to give the poor girl MORE embarrassing memories after all. Some of the things she sleep murmured had been fascinating. And familiar. Reminded her of Elizabeth's more adventurous 'experiments'... Good times.
The woman on the bed shifted, a blanket still covering her despite her full costume. Wouldn't do for her to feel a chill, after all. "I remember you, then the Boss, then… Everything goes a bit wonky."
Not bad. Another hour or so and she should be fully recovered. "Dr. Isley had a powerful ability that I happened to be immune to and Batman accidentally had counters for. None of us realized the issue because she has been spending her time here helping me set up the place and look after the girls… Thankfully we haven't visited anywhere public yet."
The mental image of a bustling mall suddenly freezing to turn and stare at Pamela was a bit humorous and horrifying. Fastest way to start a cult, period!
Thankfully the minor Moss alteration would easily keep that skill locked down unless actually desired. Mind control/Mind lockdown was a powerful ability after all, and could save her life one day… Assuming Pamela didn't accidentally set it off when she was trying to make a good impression, like she did today.
Hopefully the doctor will ALSO calm down soon… She hadn't taken the incident as well as Batman had or Oracle probably would. Losing control of her iron will was a big deal to the woman, and taking away other people's agency… Well, it was a bit of a traumatic event.
Thankfully the other Sarah was keeping her company with the four slumbering beauties. And all that juicy biological and genetic Data was acting as a lovely distraction to keep her from falling into a depressive spiral or something… Combining four women with unrelated backgrounds and ethnicity into a quartet of exotic beauties with near alien perfection was an unusual circumstance, after all.
Oracle suddenly tensed. "Oh shit. I didn't tell anyone about how hot they were, did I? I just remember never ending obsessions about your tight bum and her amazing chest and all that… Oh damn it, PLEASE don't let me have spouted that mess everywhere when I was out of it!"
Uh… Did right now count? Quick, say something! "Technically, no you didn't." Was that a lie? Maybe? Crud. You can do this, Sarah: Just be very precise. "While you were sleeptalking and all that, you were mostly mumbling sentence fragments at best."
She relaxed. "Oh thank goodness, I was so close to trying to nuzzle your neck I was SURE I would say something about how seductive your silver eyes were or that tight hip sway thing you got going on. And if I managed to not say anything about Sexy McDoctorPants then I basically used up my miracle points for the whole year!"
Oracle gave a satisfied nod. "Thankfully my new costume makes it a lot harder for anyone to notice how aroused I have been for most of this visit. It is REALLY unfair that most of the women in this city tends to hit a 11/10 on the hotness scale. Still, I better keep quiet about all this so you don't suspect anything."
Sarah blinked.
Ah.
She quickly made a short note to Batman and Pamela. Apparently, a mild dose of Poison Ivy's pheromones would cause a bit of confusion and disorientation. And uh… Interactive inner monologue and all that.
The woman on the medical table stretched. "Holy shit though, I'm going to remember both you girls later tonight for SURE. A broken spine does NOT help with your love life, I can tell you that much. Makes dating a bitch too…"
Best add in a few details. 'High value when used for interrogation, intentionally or otherwise.' Good grief.
Oops, her hand was starting to reach for places. Best keep her distracted until the last of this stuff wears off. "Could you check your costume's diagnostic displays and tips?"
She thankfully didn't do anything awkward and huffed. "I keep getting these error messages. Saying stuff like 'User may be compromised' and 'User should refrain from this topic' and 'User is unlikely to appreciate these comments at a later time.' It is freaking annoying and they keep popping up telling me not to do things or touch places and stuff! I'm a grown woman, after all! I do what I want!"
Oh dear.
At least the user profiling systems seemed accurate, if the alert system was operating that well. "Do you see the option that says 'Soothing Slumber' on the menu over to the right, below 'Off Hours' and under 'Utility'?" Come on, follow instructions.
Oracle blinked. "Uh… Yeah. Yeah I see it. Ooh… Pretty colors!"
Hopefully this works. "Just mentally choose that option and…"
Suddenly the superheroine's outfit shifted into something that looked FAR more soft, and quiet soothing sounds were being fed into her audio channels while calming dim lights shifted over her eyes.
The poor girl was out like a light instantly.
Sheesh. "Hey, SMS!"
[[
Tasking: Could you let Batman and Pamela know that extreme fatigue and lack of sleep combined with the recovery period of Dr. Isley's pheromones can cause something similar to temporary narcolepsy? Stream them the medical data and the video feed of this situation. But uh… No audio or subtitles, please.]]
{{SMS: Acknowledged.}}
Batman could probably read lips or something, but there was no reason to TRY and make this more awkward than it already was. Not to mention that this was important stuff to know, and potentially valuable data for the future.
Poison Ivy combined with a weak sleeping gas could apparently take down an entire ballroom of people abusing this combination, potentially. That would probably be far more acceptable to her morally than forcing men and women to sexually salivate uncontrollably for the chance to be stepped on or something.
Sarah blinked… And gave a sly grin.
Unless… Unless Pamela was INTO that kind of thing.
The green skinned red haired Goddess would make a pretty impressive Dominatrix, now that Sarah thought about it.
Mmm. Thoughts for later.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
They, the slum of the City, had been demoted.
Unlike the far poorer people they oppressed, who got free jobs and housing and all that… They instead had past hidden crimes revealed, arrest warrants, found evidence, and all that.
The problem was… What could they DO about it?
The powerful and rich had ALWAYS been above them, it was the law of the world, but now the absolute bottom rung of the ladder had been removed entirely and redistributed elsewhere.
The insignificant heights they slaughtered each other to climb had all shifted downward a notch… And now they were lacking targets. No herd to cull, as it were.
More than that, the foulest and most malevolent of the shadow people and forgotten ones were off the street now. Just showing up in prison cells with proper paperwork and iron clad, watertight cases and recorded witness statements and the wrong (unbribed) judges.
Sure they got free medical care somehow and free legal representation… But they were guilty as hell.
They knew it, the cops knew it, their former victims CERTAINLY knew it, but that hadn't mattered much before now.
Suddenly, actions had consequences again.
Of course, the smart side of the wrong side of the fence had lay low long ago. Stayed quiet, didn't stick out, no grease or hammer needed for them, no sir!
But… Not even half of the underworld were all that clever.
So people who had impossibly high levels of optimism began to plan raids on the new 'Batman Village' that seemed to flaunt nothing but rare valuables and that sickly taste of untainted air.
It was too pure over there. Too clean.
They weren't used to it.
And unlike the slime they used to rule over with a grasping claw of a fist, these men and women responded to changing circumstances, confusion, saying hello, and basically anything and everything else that happens in their lives with one solution and one answer.
Violence.
Which was why there was a new warehouse sized prisoner lockup facility next to Gotham PD.
And why it seemed to constantly fill up.
Because these people just couldn't seem to connect the 'Do crazy shit' cause with the 'show up in custody' effect for some reason.
No real pattern matching going on here. Nope.
But this led to other strange issues.
The lowest of the low, the downtrodden, were being healed, a fresh start.
The idiots were basically getting themselves arrested trying to show how powerful they were.
And the number of nervous, incredibly polite villains and henchmen and henchwomen living in the formerly worst neighborhoods continued to swell.
Gotham City was dense with Crime after all.
Get rid of the lowest rung of poverty, hack off the mountain of idiots, and you STILL had an ocean of criminals that were rapidly learning to be polite at ALL TIMES.
And then… Someone found out that stopping low level crimes or helping the police in their duties would somehow have a check show up in the mail from Adam West as payment for enforcing the 'Spirit of Batman'.
HIdden away from the confusion outside, eyes of the former trash tier began to flare with greed and Righteous Justice.
As for reprisal from their former coworkers and detested bosses?
Well, Batman Village had a surprisingly wide range of costumes for sale with astounding quality and nearly negligible cost.
These odd factors sort of accidentally began to clash against each other.
The outcome was totally not Adam's fault.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Adam blinked as he turned his focus away from his work, ignoring the unmaking of reality in a small explosion due to the interruption. {{Sorry, what were you saying Sarah?}}
She grunted in frustration. "Can you PLEASE focus for a few minutes?" Another bite taken from her snack. Girl was fairly hungry recently for some reason.
No problem. {{Sure! What's the issue?}}
Sarah pulled up data. "The number of Batman and Robin 'heroes' has jumped again. Drastically. Nearly quadrupled once again since I last checked the numbers." Her attention flickered to her own data. "I would have missed it entirely if I wasn't checking so many logs investigating what happened to Oracle earlier."
Huh. {{Maybe it's the spirit of Gotham? Like how Wisconsin really REALLY
likes cheese?}}
She harrumphed. "No, something strange is going on here. When the stores were running low on Batman and Robin suits, people bought Batgirl suits instead… Without care or concern about if the thing fit or not or if they were crossdressing."
Adam paused. {{But my shops CAN'T run low on materials. Most are constructed on location underground, resupplying sold stock as it is needed."
Her hands pulled over more data. "Oh, our locations are fine. But these people are even buying off brand crap and low quality scam outfits off the street now."
Images came up of thin people swamped in massive outfits, women wearing the cowl, men wearing the Batskirt, a few VERY large people wearing a VERY tiny amount of material clearly designed for a much smaller person. "These people are not treating this like a fun time or a special event, but as a deadly serious requirement."
Adam seemed… Well, confused. Very confused. {{But why though?}}
She grimly pulled up a web article. "Someone confirmed that dressing up in costume would boost the income earned from the 'Spirit of Batman' jobs and the whole thing exploded into chaos."
Wait, what now? {{The what job?}}
She glared at… Well, nothing. Adam wasn't physically there, after all. But she did glare pretty fiercely. "One of your automated tasks basically turned vigilante work into a paid profession and we missed it. Worse, it is somehow legal due to how odd private security legislation is in this town."
That didn't make sense. {{I don't think Batman needs the money, honestly.}}
Sarah snorted. "No, probably not. However…" A massive spreadsheet opened up. "Turns out there are like
thirty or so caped vigilantes in Gotham City officially… When counting the ones who are good samaritans or visiting or any of that? Far, far more."
She sighed. "And now, even the people with very few skills or opportunities can use the 'Spirit of Batman' funding to build teams and stuff. Hell, a good chunk of the remaining underworld is cannibalizing itself trying to snag such an 'easy' paycheck before 'anyone else' finds out."
How odd.
Meh. {{I'll be honest with you Sarah, I'm pretty much fine with this.}}
She waved a hand! "We disabled the automatic reporting and crime prevention systems to stop the idiots running Gotham from firing the Police Department entirely due to them 'not being needed'! Causing over half the criminal world to turn each other in for a bounty causes a similar issue!"
Where was she going with this? {{So what should I do? Boost the pay rates? Replace the weekly income with a per-incident bonus instead?}} Maybe that would make them retire?
Sarah grit her teeth. "No. That would make things worse." She forced herself to relax. Slightly. "We need to at LEAST have these people apply for membership to this stupid 'Spirit' paycheck thing. No more automatic paychecks being stacked up like a mountain! Otherwise you'll wreck the economy or something if anyone can get cash for punching a purse thief in the neck."
Huh. {{I'm sure it's not that bad…}}
She pulled up the logs. "These two idiots keep breaking the law to catch each other breaking the law. They've arrested each other thirty four times so far, and have been mostly released on bail each time with fines because the local cops are swamped with work and they are only causing minor problems between each other."
Sarah gnawed on a chicken leg before gesturing at the morons. "They can only afford the fines because of their income from arresting each other. It's ridiculous!"
Well shit. {{Alright, I uh… I see there are a few kinks to work out.}} Also Adam couldn't remember WHY he had decided to make the crime bounty system in the first place, but he refused to admit THAT level of stupidity. {{But isn't this better in the long run?}} Hopefully?
No, 'Research', we do NOT need evidence to show how stupid Adam was to do this without giving it due consideration or care. Also, don't send that data or similar stuff to Sarah unless she asks explicitly.
His Jumper sighed. "Why did you even put this in place?"
Adam had no idea. {{Oh, I had my reasons!}}
Sarah looked at him.
He, of course, was the picture of innocence itself.
A paragon of virtues.
The innocent son.
She glared at this youthful skull of a man, filled with the promise of a better tomorrow.
Which was fine.
Adam wasn't sweating.
Anyone who claimed otherwise was a liar.
A stupid liar idiot jerk.
Sarah raised an eyebrow…
And Adam cracked. {{I don't remember my reasons.}}
Damn it. Oh wait! {{Hang on, I think I have the original tasking here somewhere!}}
Which one was… Not this one… Ah! Here we go! {{Found it!}}
[[
Logged Tasking: Stop annoying me with all these alerts about the stupid Batman and Robin actors requesting pay raises and free parking and 'Batman Village Coupons' and stuff! Just give all the vigilantes a big weekly paycheck and turn off those noises!]]
Adam and Sarah blinked at the wording. Oh. {{I guess it applied each sentence as a separate task.}} And uh... This also likely disabled other alerts too. Crud. {{I will fix that.}}
Sarah… Well, she just seemed confused. She swallowed another bite of perfectly roasted chicken and waved her food at the information. "What the heck were you doing back then that got you in such a snit? You are normally fairly easy going."
Not sure. Let's check the other time logs… Oh, THAT stupid thing! {{Turns out the critics and pre-show review crowds are FAR more picky when it comes to making an opera than a silly cartoon. Even with Adam West's support they were like "Why is there a love story between a moon and a planet?" and "How come Batman has asteroids sending him hate mail?" and "You can't marry a black hole." The issues never stopped!}}
How can you have a space opera if you can't get romantic with SPACE!? {{I was already giving them a lot of face by toning down the x rated stuff and cutting the run length down to four hours long. Some operas are 18 hours long, you know!? Sure the longest animated film was less than three hours or something, but my art has demands TOO!}}
Stupid critics, loud mouth jerks. {{Had to cut Robin's entire love triad between that Shooting Star and the Artificial Satellite, and the racial issues that crop up when one lover is mechanical and the other literally has a heart of stone, but nothing is good enough for those stuffy britches!}}
Something about the topic tickled his memory units… Oh. {{Dang it, I should have probably talked to Batman or Robin before finishing that movie and sending it to the studio. Dang it.}}
Sarah just… seemed overwhelmed. "You were… Making an animated film? Featuring the cartoon characters from the animated series that you personally created and which hasn't even officially aired on television yet?"
Well, yeah? Keep up, girl. {{I was making an animated masterpiece, thank you! A space opera, where Batman and Robin are thrust into a whirlwind of love and gravity and betrayal and conflict!
Adam West's singing voice is breathtaking!}}
Wasn't there something else? {{Oh, and I was developing some new materials and techniques to improve security for the Warehouse itself while it sits out here during your Jumps. But mostly the space opera thing.}}
Adam was really proud of this thing. It was the first creative work he had ever written with FOUR evil twins/clones/cyborg/half-planets! And one mildly disturbed cousin, just to round it out!
True art was coming, and it was coming from SPACE!
Sarah was staring at her food as if it might be dosed with something. "I see. That's… That's all great."
She carefully sent the remainder off via [[
Harvesting]] and summoned something new, a pasta dish freshly spawned into existence. "Right, well… All that aside for now."
His Jumper took another hungry bite. "Mmm, good. Right, about the random payments thing and all that mess: Let's limit future payments to vigilantes that do good deeds more than one time, if nothing else. And have a process to review this mess to detect people deliberately setting up fake crimes to get 'caught' and then 'escape' before capture over and over again."
Simple enough. {{Will do.}}
Sarah nodded. "And send me details about this movie thing so I can contact Batman and… I don't know, talk Robin down from potentially trying to stab me so hard YOU can feel it."
Her look that was a bit suspicious caught him off guard. "Like, between you and me… DO you have something against the guy? Because the poor dude seems to be getting a LOT of shit recently directly due to your actions."
No, of course not. {{The five Robins I know of are fine, although I think there is some sort of mystery about an original,
forgotten Robin long since twisted against Justice? I probably hate THAT guy, if any of them.}} That was an odd sort of memory, one of the segments that flittered around the edge of his consciousness.
Sarah raised an eyebrow. "The forgotten WHAT now!?"
Meh. {{Can't remember right, it is a fringe data fragment from the edge of this Jump. It is much easier collecting memory segments about
Owlman than recovering details about some of these other bits and pieces.}}
Adam blinked. Oh! Idea! {{Hey, as long as we have a moment anyway… Want to help me develop the plotline for Batman and Robin's sequel movie? I'm going for a '
Guy Noir' style thing where Robin might look cool enough to be less humiliated.}}
Sarah gave him a dry look. "Are you still going to make him say his catchphrase?"
Well, duh. That's why it's his catchphrase!