23 The Hive 2
Matt made his way back to his room since he would need time to think about a way make clothes and weapons that could withstand his transformation into energy. All of the weapons and armor that he had previously created couldn't hold up the intense energy and burned up. The new weapons and armor that he would created would have to be able to channel his energy the same way his body could.
Drawing a blank, he decided to draw inspiration from the shows that he had watched before. The first thing he had to think about was the armor. With that thought, he began to imagine an armor that would grow and self repair. He began with a necklace with a pendant on it. He used his energy to make it so that the pendant would be attracted to his skin since it always coursed with energy. Then he infused the pendant with a large amount of energy while condensing that power into a substance similar to mercury. This new metal that he had created would spread like liquid to where he wanted it to on command and harden up with a look similar to plate armor so that it would be durable but still cover his joints properly.
Now that the armor was complete, it was time for his new weapons. The first thing he wanted to make was something to focus his energy into a blade. This would make it so that he wouldn't have to use his energy on the field that he usually created. The field was energy deficient since the majority of its energy would just dissipate. The blade he wanted would be able to extend and shorten depending on the amount of energy he wanted to expend instead of a constant burn off of it.
After a few tries, he finally found an idea that would work. He created a cylinder from the same material as the pendant first, then added a simple hand guard formed of two half circles. One end of the cylinder was open at the guard while the other end was sealed a few inches from the end with the inside being treaded like a bottle cap. He then tested the mechanism that he had created inside by closing the half circles together causing the threaded need to open. Nodding in satisfaction, he moved on to his long ranged weapon.
He created a rifle that was oddly shaped for a short barreled weapon. It used the same principal as his previous one for the ammunition since it was cost efficient in terms of energy. The end of the barrel was threaded so that his sword could be attached. This would make it so that the barrel was longer and thus, increased its range since the ammunition would have further distance to charge up.
Nodding in satisfaction, he left his room to meet up with his group to go over plans with them. He found his group eating together in the common area while laughing and smiling, almost like a family. Matt smiled as he pulled up a chair to enjoy the atmosphere with them. After about twenty minutes of chatting and throwing jokes at each other, it was time to get down to business.
"What's the plan boss?" James and Kate said at the exact same moment causing them both to stare at the other for a moment before turning their attention back to Matt.
"You all are going to gather the supplies that the military is preparing for us. Chris, you are going to go back and retrieve the passenger van that we left behind. Jess and Morgan, meet me in my room when this meeting is over with. When all of the assigned tasks are completed, meet up near the gate. I'm going to fix the walls of this settlement and then we are heading out to take care of the hive that is a few blocks away. You are all dismissed." Matt said after an annoyed sigh after hearing James and Kate speak at the same time.
With their tasks handed out, everyone began to move except for Circi. She continued to sit at the table staring at Matt.
"Is there something you need little one?" Matt asked her in a gentle tone.
"Sir, why are you all cloudy?" She asked.
"What do you mean cloudy?" he asked in return.
"Everyone else I can see what happens to them, but you are cloudy. I can't see what will happen next." She said.
"You mean you can see the future?" he asked
"I can only see the path that will happen to people that I know. However, paths can change and it's not very far. Also, you change things when you make decisions. Like when you saved Mom, I saw her path coming to an end, but when you showed up her path became bright again. All the people around you have bright paths and the more they're around you the brighter they become." she said.
"Lets keep this between you and me ok? It'll be our little secret for now. Don't even tell your mother, ok?" Matt said.
The little girl nodded and then skipped off to play with other children in the building. Matt stood up while shaking his head at the whole encounter. It seemed that he would have to adjust his plans around this powerful girl. Another thing to think about would be why she couldn't see his path. Did it mean that he didn't have one or was it that he was too strong for her power to cope with? The more questions he asked himself, the less answers he found. Putting the matter aside for now, he made his way back to the room.
Both women were sitting patiently at the end of his bed. They both looked nervous like they were preparing their hearts for something.
"Get your minds out of the gutter you too. Jess, I'm going to give you power to protect this group. Should you ever abuse this power, it will give me a proper reason to test if it can be removed without turning you inside out." Matt said very frankly as he wanted her to know the weight of the responsibility that he was going to place on her.
She immediately broke out into a cold sweat hearing what he said, but nodded all the same as she was prepared to do anything for the man that had saved the life of herself and her child.
"You have shown a strong will and determination. By doing so, you have earned my trust and a place among our group. I will give you a very special ability." Matt said.
He pulled a crystal from his pocket that he had condensed last night. He had actually fused two abilities to make this one since he needed to lessen the burden on his body and make his members as strong as possible for the coming future. The two abilities were to turn someones body in to a living metal, which is where he had gotten the idea for his armor and weapons, and to produce bone growths. These don't sound like much by themselves, but together it created a person whose skin, bones, and organs could turn into metal while also being able to make bone growths into weapons or shields.
"All you have to do is bite into this crystal and the power contained within will fuse with your body. It also contains a bit of my power so that it will fuse as smoothly as possible without your body falling apart." Matt said as he placed the crystal in her hand.
"You will stay here to watch after her and her child until she wakes up. If she wakes up before we make our move on the hive, bring them both along. They are safer with the rest of the group around anyway instead of in this settlement." Matt said to Morgan who nodded at his orders.
It was already close to noon when he exited the building they were staying in. He made his way over to the section of wall that he had indicated this morning for the meet up with the group commanding this post. When he arrived, the people who had been working on the walls had all been told to go home and rest already. Nodding at the group that was waiting form, he made his up to the wall and placed his hand on it. Using the same method as the last settlement he did this to, he spread out his energy and began to reshape the entire structure all at once.
His powers had improved tremendously as of late with all of the zombies and hybrids that he had absorbed. Now it wasn't a difficult task at all to spread his energy through the walls that surrounded the settlement and it took barely five minutes for the task to be complete.
Finished with his task, he simply nodded at the dumbfounded command group and jumped over the walls to deal with the infected and clear the route that they would take to the hive.
