*New York City - Earth*
"Well, it's not much, but given your criteria, we believe this residence should be more than adequate for your needs." Donald stated, the pudgy, glasses-wearing agent gestured to the old-timey home he and Lyon were at. "This used to be one of our old listening posts, back during the seventies. It hasn't seen much usage, but it's got what you need right here. Two-story, kitchen, underground garage, laboratory, pretty much anything a freelance agent or hero could need." He concluded, finishing the door as he glanced over towards Lyon. "So, any questions before we welcome you into your new home?" Donald asked.
"Yeah, one question: why are you the one giving me the tour and not Cecil? Just kinda curious." Lyon asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Because Cecil has far more important things to worry about than some house tour." Donald easily responded with a flat look. "Consider this an investment from the agency. Cecil is putting a lot of trust into you, so it would be best if you did not misplace it." The spectacled assistant declared, lifting up his glasses with a finger up his nose. "We've already began furnishing the place with more modern sensibilities. Removing the asbestos from the walls and insulation, should take two more days of work." Donald concluded.
"Helluva construction job, that's for sure." Lyon idly commented, his shoes stepping into the greenish carpet. "Shag carpeting, not my kinda thing. Who knows what sorta shit's hiding in there. Wouldn't've been my first choice." He said with slight discomfort, clearing his throat and exhaling. "Alright, then. Guess I can't complain much. Just hope this place won't get destroyed in some big. nasty superhero fight or something. That'd be bad." Lyon silently muttered.
"Not to worry, the building could easily be rebuilt if need be. Our damage control department is quite good at what it does." Donald assured with a bemused look crossing his face. His gaze then shifted down towards the Omnitrix on Lyon's wrist, and gave an impressed whistle. "So, ten different aliens, huh? Sounds interesting. Quite the technological jackpot there." He noted.
"Plus millions more, potentially." Lyon added, scratching at his wrist. "Feels... kinda weird, to be totally honest with you. Honestly not too sure how to handle this sorta thing. But it could be worse." He muttered, offering Donald a slight shrug. "So, is there anything you want me to do or anything like that?" Lyon asked earnestly.
"Hm? No, nothing as of yet. We've got other heroes busy dealing with other threats. Nothing that needs to be done as of yet." Donald responded, dismissively waving his hand as he glanced at the clipboard in his hands. "Feel free to use the lab at the bottom level if you want. Also, everything up here we're going to be renovating. Just don't go causing any trouble with that... watch of yours." He finished, his gaze shifting towards the Omnitrix once again.
"Omnitrix." Lyon helpfully corrected, nodding at Donald. "Fine. I guess I'll just... try and relax, I guess. Gives me an excuse to use Grey Matter again." He begrudgingly accepted, releasing a small sigh and slumping his shoulders. "Well, if you need me, I'll be getting some of the shit I left behind. Dunno what I'll do after that. Probably find a cure for cancer or somethin'." Lyon grumbled, activating the Omnitrix as he began selecting his alien.
"Sure, go ahead. But don't forget to be back at noon. We've still got other documents and forms to fill out." Donald nodded, waving off Lyon as he began flipping through the clipboard's notes. "Oh, and before I forget, here's the key fob to the garage. Just don't break anything in there." He said, handing Lyon a set of keys.
"Thanks. Don't worry, I'll be quick." Lyon nodded in thanks, flashing Donald a grin as he took a step out. His eyes then glanced at the Omnitrix, checking the location of the drone sent with him on its GPS. Memorizing its location, Lyon then slammed his hand onto the Omnitrix, his body transforming in a flash of green light. "Jetray!" He called out with a wide grin on his alien face.
Extending out his wings, Lyon then took to the skies, soaring higher above the clouds as he made his way to his destination. No matter how many times he transformed, he still couldn't believe what power he felt in his hands. The adrenaline rush of excitement he felt only added to the thrill of doing things a normal person could not. Even if the Omnitrix was barely understood with his limited knowledge of it, it still proved that he had yet to fully master its control and functions. Nevertheless, Lyon had years to learn and grow with the Omnitrix, he could afford to be patient.
After all, if it took just one weird smack of the Omnitrix or a dangerous situation to unlock himself a new alien, then Lyon was willing to let Lady Luck do her thing. Obviously, there were ones Lyon wanted more than others, but he didn't have the room to complain what he got. Though he just needed to get a damn handle on the getting the right alien he wanted. Oh, a tale as old as time. Something he and Ben at least had in common, apart from the Omnitrix and both of them being brunets.
Speaking of aliens, Lyon hoped he would potentially unlock Upgrade later down the line. With all of the technological shenanigans happening in the future, having the ability to essentially be an off switch would be pretty damn handy. Plus taking over pieces of alien technology, never know when he was going to need that in the future. Especially with the Coalition, Viltrumites, Martians, Flaxans, and other races waiting to kick Earth's shit in on the regular. Heck, even Allen was willing to drop an alien virus on Earth if it meant killing all the Viltrumites in the process.
Fortunately, Lyon was determined to make sure none of that stupid shit happened when it did. It take roughly another three-ish years before it did, but he was prepared to take every precaution to reach that point. That is, if he didn't screw up in the process.
Lyon always did fancy himself a gamblin' man.
"Hmmm... still not quite sure what to make of this thing." Lyon declared with a higher-pitched voice, his small body on a stainless steel table as he examined the hovering, egg-shaped drone in front of him. With his frog-like hands, he rubbed his hands against the drone's smooth surface, trying to find any buttons or switches on it, but was ultimately disappointed when he did not find a thing.
Even with Grey Matter's advanced intelligence, he still had trouble understanding the thing. From what he could gather, the drone was a combination repair-bench, communications transceiver, and a link to the Codon Stream. Beyond that, however, he did not have any luck accessing the machine, save for the one time it opened up for him to repair Albedo's red Omnitrix. So on the inside, it possibly held spare parts to fix up the Omnitrix, or other such equipment.
Seemed Azmuth didn't want anyone to be messing with this thing. And judging by its material composition and Galvanic Mechamorph-like circuitry, it was built to definitely take punishment if the need would arise. Apart from the Omnitrix, this thing was by far the most advanced piece of technology on Earth right now. Because something made to fix the Omnitrix would definitely need to be as durable if nor more so. Something which made Lyon's brain buzz with curiosity.
"Fascinating. Truly fascinating." Lyon hummed in deep contemplation, continuing to examine the object. "If I could somehow open this repair bench, I should be able to get the tools and hardware necessary to jailbreak the Omnitrix. That is, if Azmuth did not put any safeguards for such an occasion. Which he most likely would do." He said to himself, stroking his alien chin. "Still, I suppose there are other things that I could do to occupy my time. Best to make the most out of the aliens I transform into." Lyon declared, nodding to himself.
Thinking as a Galvan was... strange. He couldn't describe it. His intelligence and intellect did increase, but it was far more than that. He saw things in such a way that seemed to make his human mind meager by comparison. As if being Grey Matter created an overall pseudo-personality layer over his own to help him accomplish his tasks. No doubt a combination of the Galvan dual-brain biology as well as certain protocols from the Omnitrix. Similar to how Rath or other aliens messed with Ben's mind. Even Azmuth was under the effects of Rath's personality that one time.
Would Brainstorm been a similar situation as Grey Matter? Or perhaps it was based on the individual and their own overall knowledge? Lyon had several hypothesis on how the process worked, but chose not to dwell on that fact while he could. There was plenty of time to figure that stuff out later. For now, though, Lyon wanted to mess around with his unparalleled genius for a while longer.
"Oh, where to start, where to start." Lyon began, a small smile crossing his frog-like face as he rubbed his hands in excitement. "And with all of this stupendous equipment on hand... I could definitely make a few things that could benefit others. A spaceship should be on the top of my list for that. Already got plans on what to draw up." He said, making his way to a set of equipment, easily picking it apart with his deft hands.
However, his thoughts were interrupted when he heard a faint chime from the elevator behind him. Lyon turned around to face the noise, watching as none other than Cecil stepped out from it. The scarred-face leader of the GDA shot Lyon a strange look, once which he returned with complete blankness as he returned to dismantling the tool.
"This is your 'smart alien'?" Cecil asked, his eyes narrowed. "Doesn't seem all that impressive." He said.
"Don't let Grey Matter's appearance fool you. His species, the Galvan, are the ones who created the Omnitrix. And even their dumbest would make people like Einstein and Hawking seem to look like nothing more than cavemen." Lyon declared, surprising himself with the amount of heat in his own voice. "Azmuth, the one who actually made the Omnitrix, also made a sword capable of harnessing the very power of the universe itself - Ascalon. But we're getting off topic. What do you want, Cecil?" He asked bluntly, not even bothering to turn around.
"Just wanting to see how things are doing. And I see you're already making progress with things." Cecil coolly answered, shooting a glance at the floating egg-shaped drone. "That the thing the... Omnitrix came in?" He asked.
"Yes. It also acts as a sort of repair bench and communications anchor for the Omnitrix itself." Lyon affirmed, fiddling with the new tool he held in his amphibian hands. "Also, if I may be curious, what manner of teleportation do you use? Particle displacement? Matter transfer?" He questioned, finally turning towards Cecil with a curious look on his frog-like face.
"That's classified, I'm afraid." Cecil responded as he crossed his arms. "Why? Is there something I should know?" He asked with a raised brow.
"Oh, nothing. Just curious. Though, you might want to be aware of the health risks involved with using participle displacement. It's prone to causing diseases and cancers, I'm afraid." Lyon answered with a casual wave of his hands. "Nothing I can't cure, of course. But I believe I may be able to improve upon it. Each teleport costs the taxpayers about... five-million dollars? If my math is correct. Not the most reliable thing." He stated, a smile spreading across his face. "But that's if you want. I may as well do a little good while I'm here. Besides curing all of Earth's diseases and the like. To dumb it down: Grey Matter is just stupidly broken in what he could do." Lyon concluded as he slid another part onto the device in his hands.
"Hm, I'll have think about it. But the thought is appreciated." Cecil nodded his head. "Anyways, I'm here to drop this off. Feel free to look through it when you can. Once you do, feel free to contact me when you're ready for your first assignment." He said, pulling out a cellphone and vanilla folder from his suit, tossing it onto the steel work surface. "Also, you're going to need a codename once you're out there. And a proper outfit, too. But we'll talk about that once you're ready to call. Other than that, I hope you adjust well. Be seeing you." Cecil finished, waving goodbye to Lyon as he then disappeared in a flash of yellow light.
Lyon glanced at the light for a couple seconds more, then towards the folder and cellphone in front of him. He let out a tired sigh, and rubbed his palm on his face, massaging his eye-stalks.
"Yeah, definitely particle displacement."Last edited: Dec 27, 2023483