Chapter 48 - The Talk - Part 4

Wayne Manor-Living Room

As evening approached, both Bruce and Lucius arrived at Wayne Manor, welcomed by Alfred. Alfred guided Lucius to the living room for their discussion, while Bruce went to invite Orach from his room.

Later, Orach joined Bruce and they proceeded downstairs. Bruce introduced Orach to Lucius. After exchanging greetings, Orach presented his ideas. His plan was to initiate three projects, a med pod, a native Saiyan armor equivalent for League members, and a space station to serve as the League's base. He gave priority to the med pod project, believing its success could generate funds to expedite the other two projects.

Lucius was intrigued by the ideas presented, yet remained skeptical since they were only plans. However, Orach anticipating Lucius's questions, had already prepared the schematics for his projects. He included Mother Empress in the meeting, asking her to display the schematics they had prepared after his training session specifically for this meeting.

Lucius was both surprised and amazed by the advanced AI and holographic technology. He requested to study it, but Orach refused, his expression turning blank. Bruce noticed the change in Orach's demeanor and quickly redirected Lucius's attention to the schematics floating in mid-air.

Bruce was expecting Orach to put something together to show Lucius for the Med Pod, but the basic outline of the armor and the detailed schematics of the future space station, which would serve as the Justice League's base of operations, left him astonished and speechless. Just from the designs, Bruce could sense the imposing nature of the station. Despite his vast wealth, he wondered if they could finance such a project on his own.

Orach presented the basic schematic of the med pod, describing it as an osmosis device. While the mechanical aspect posed no issues, the regeneration liquid proved challenging. In Orach's homeland, the liquid combined diluted Saiyan God blood essence with Sanjeevani herb extract. However, for humans in this world, the liquid must consist of stem cells from a healthy specimen and an equivalent to Sanjeevani found on this planet. Since Sanjeevani was not available, finding a suitable substitute herb was essential for the project's success. Orach decided to study the properties of available herbs and run models to find the best match, requesting samples of all medicinal herbs for review.

Upon understanding the schematics and function, Lucius had no issue with the work distribution. With the schematics at hand, he could build the device while Orach researched the regeneration liquid. Although initially skeptical, Lucius became more excited as he learned more. He initially wanted to create a lesser version of the armor to sell to the military. However, Orach vetoed this idea, stating his distrust for the world's military.

When Lucius and Bruce expressed surprise at this claim, Orach decided to show them what Mother Empress discovered about the military's projects. Once they learned about the Metagene experimentation and CADMUS's cloning trial, they were both appalled and angry. Bruce's expression turned serious, although he wasn't surprised that Mother Empress was able to infiltrate the secure networks and retrieve these files, given her past feats. Bruce requested the data to provide a summary to the League members.

Orach, after conveying his findings, made it clear that he didn't want any involvement with this world's military. Lucius, understanding his reasons, didn't oppose his requests. He agreed to the profit split structure that Bruce had proposed and accepted Orach's demand for the final decision-making power on his projects. Lucius recognized that Orach's input was fundamental to the projects and that these projects would bring clear benefits once successful.

At the end of the meeting, Lucius and Orach shook hands, having reached an agreement for a fruitful collaboration. Lucius then took the schematics, and Alfred escorted him home. Orach and Bruce, satisfied with the productive meeting, nodded at each other before heading to the bat cave.

Upon arriving at the cave, Orach expected to be questioned by Bruce about why he had Mother Empress infiltrate Earth's military networks. However, Bruce seemed indifferent, which caught Orach off guard. Regardless, Orach didn't raise the subject. Having reviewed the character profiles Mother Empress created for the League members, he understood that Bruce was cautious and likely had similar profile to anticipate his moves.

As they were heading in separate directions within the cave, Bruce towards his main computer system and Orach towards his ship, Bruce turned to Orach and said "Orach, based on what I've come to understand about you, I want to believe that you won't misuse Mother Empress to harm our civilization. However, her ability to easily access secured networks without leaving a trace demonstrates a level of capability beyond my understanding. So, I ask you to exercise caution and responsibility with that power."

When Bruce began speaking, Orach paused and listened without turning around. After Bruce's final words, he simply turned and nodded in acknowledgment. Seeing this, Bruce resumed his work, he had to schedule a video conference with all members of the League. For men like them, gestures could often speak volumes. They understood and respected each other's suggestions and viewpoints.

Orach made his way to his ship, opened the hatch, and hopped inside. The pod activated as soon as he was seated, and the hatch automatically closed. Mother Empress then appeared in her Super Saiyan god form, with red hair and eyes, seated on her virtual throne. She chose to appear via the onboard terminal rather than Orach's portable wrist terminal. This was because they were about to run tests on the ship to troubleshoot the problem with the space law drive that had caused them to crash land on this planet.

Orach commanded, "Let's begin the diagnostics. Start with the overall structural integrity and then make your way to the space law drive."

Upon hearing this, Mother Empress nodded and said, "Command acknowledged. Initiating diagnostics. Checking structural integrity...PASS. Moving to Ki Conversion Core...Requesting host to supply initiating Ki." Orach then released his Ki in a small, concentrated form inside the ship. His Ki was quickly absorbed, and the core, as if receiving new life, became active. The previously dormant core spun furiously, taking in Ki from the outside and fully activating the ship.

Inside the ship, Mother Empress continued, "Core fully engaged...Energy levels now climbing from 20%...to 30%...to 40%...halting process. I suggest moving outside the cave before proceeding with further energy absorption." Orach nodded in agreement. Mother Empress then proceeded, "Moving to Energy Shield system...PASS. Moving to Navigation Systems...PASS. Moving to Life Systems...PASS. Moving to Data Banks...10%...30%...50%...70%...90%...PASS. Moving to Propulsion System...Accessing Thrusters...Initiating Lift."

While Mother Empress ran diagnostics, the ship's movements caught Bruce's attention. Seated, Bruce observed the Orach's ship as it stirred, producing a noise similar to a beast waking from a long sleep. He watched as the thrusters engaged, and the ship gradually ascended until it nearly touched the cave's ceiling, where it remained hovering.

Back inside the ship, Mother Empress announced, "Thrusters...PASS and holding. Moving to SPACE LAW DRIVE." Orach became serious at this point. He was the creator of this technology and it was this very technology that brought him to this world rather forcefully. According to Mother Empress's accounts, she couldn't course correct or do anything. He was eager to understand what was happening with his creation. However, contrary to his expectations, he didn't hear what he anticipated. Mother Empress's confused announcement followed, "...PASS?"