"Ben, I'm not mistaken, this is your battle suit! Hurry up and press the reactor to your chest!" Asher urged, his voice crackling with barely restrained excitement.
"Huh? Oh, alright!"
Ben snapped out of his daze, as if waking from a dream. He reached out with both palms to accept the surprisingly heavy reactor, lifting his coat and pressing the circular device firmly against his chest.
Click!
The reactor automatically released a specialized bonding agent with unique viscosity. Though not comparable to the Omnitrix's bio-mechanical adhesion, the substance felt almost organic as it secured itself to Ben's body, hanging firmly against his chest as if it were a natural part of him.
And then,
After identifying Ben's biological signature, the reactor's light slowly flickered to life, emitting a soft blue glow.
An energy response!
"Ben, because Earth's energy resources are limited, I designed two absorption methods for this reactor," Asher explained, speaking quickly but clearly. "The first is solar energy, as the name suggests, during daylight hours, the reactor will automatically absorb sunlight and convert it into usable power. The downside is it's slow."
He paused, making sure Ben was following. "The second method is electric energy, but not ordinary electricity. It requires the electronic energy components from those robots that Vilgax uses!"
Asher gave Ben a condensed overview of both charging methods, making it clear that the steel suit had a limitation similar to the Omnitrix, a time constraint. When the energy depleted, Ben would need to recharge before activating the armor again.
"So... can I try it now?"
There was a tremor in Ben's voice. Even as he tried his best to restrain himself, he couldn't contain the excitement building in his chest.
"Of course! The energy you're using now came from Kraab. It should be enough for you to stay transformed for quite a while." Asher nodded and pointed to the reactor on Ben's chest. "Press the center button and try it out."
Hearing this, Ben placed his palm on the reactor and pressed lightly.
Whirr!
The reactor instantly transformed, extending countless silver armor plates that covered Ben's entire body. His torso, limbs, and even his head were all wrapped in gleaming silver armor. After the plates finished conforming to his body, the suit's mechanical systems extended his limbs slightly, bringing him to roughly the height of an adult.
"Yes! Very similar to Iron Man's suit!"
(TN: You guys can post images of what you think it looks like)
Asher looked at the steel armor before him with deep satisfaction. The suit he'd created was even more technologically advanced than Tony Stark's original design.
"I feel... my strength is incredible!"
Ben's voice emerged from the suit's mask, processed through a voice modulator that made him sound deeper and stronger, like an adult's voice.
"Ben, let's go outside and test your combat capabilities. You need to get used to this suit."
Asher pushed open the warehouse door and walked out, while Ben followed behind, carefully bending to exit through the doorway of the old building.
"Asher, stand back a little, I'm going to test my strength!"
Ben, standing beside the Rust Bucket, called out with unmistakable pride in his voice.
"Okay, I'll give you some space." Asher cooperated, taking several steps backward to put a few meters of distance between them.
Thoom!
Ben slowly crouched down, gripping the bottom end of the Rust Bucket. Then, his armored arms suddenly exerted force, and he lifted the entire RV above his head in one smooth motion!
His arms were completely straight, his legs unbent, it looked almost effortless!
Powerful!
Incredible!
He carefully set the Rust Bucket back down, then raised his feet one at a time, discovering holes built into the soles.
His palms, too, were equipped with circular apertures, palm cannons!
"The thrusters under your feet are self-contained rocket boosters," Asher explained patiently from the sidelines. "They can shoot flames from your feet to keep you airborne. The ones in your hands are repulsor cannons."
"Awesome! My favorite cannons are ready too! I wonder what effect this armor will have in a real fight." Ben raised his palm eagerly, the cannon in his hand aimed at the sky, clearly tempted to test the palm cannon's power.
"Ben, you can't just fire that randomly! Your repulsor cannon is extremely powerful, it could cause unnecessary disturbances and draw attention we don't want right now." Asher couldn't let him continue and quickly discouraged Ben's impulse.
"Okay, okay. I'll test the overall capabilities of this steel suit first!"
This became Ben's adaptation training session.
He jumped with full force, soaring several meters into the air!
When he ran at full speed, he could complete a lap around the 100-meter parking lot in just seconds!
As for strength, it could be described as a youth version of Four Arms, or perhaps more accurately, Four Arms was the deluxe plus edition of this suit!
After practicing for a while, Ben's stamina began to flag. Panting heavily, he asked, "Asher, how do I remove the steel suit?"
"It's very simple, just press hard on the reactor on your chest. By the way, to prevent accidental deactivation, the pressure required after transformation is different from before. That way you won't accidentally trigger the reactor during combat."
Asher had thought through every detail carefully.
It would be more accurate to say that after transforming into Grey Matter, his mind had become extraordinarily meticulous about these technical details.
Ben pressed the reactor on his chest firmly, and the steel suit began to retract quickly. In just a few seconds, all the armor had withdrawn back into the compact reactor on his body, leaving him standing there drenched in sweat.
This time, the physical exertion had been entirely his own.
"Asher, I think I've got the hang of it. Can we go now?" Ben clenched his fists expectantly.
"Not yet."
Asher's deep eyes gazed at the gradually darkening sky, as if being swallowed by some vast shadowy beast.
"We wait. When you put on your jacket to cover the reactor at night, no one will be able to see it. Kevin and his gang will definitely underestimate you."
He'd come up with a simple but effective strategy.
Together with Ben, he carefully discussed the plan to rescue Max and Gwen. After all, Max and Gwen were still being held captive inside Times Square. Kevin and Vilgax had grabbed the two of them, presumably to use as blackmail against Asher and Ben.
They needed to think this through carefully before making their move.
They waited until sunset gave way to the rising moon.
Asher and Ben both put on their jackets, zipping them up to conceal the reactor. Then they walked out of the warehouse with deliberately blank expressions on their faces, heading in the direction of the TV station.
"Ben, have you memorized the rescue plan?" Asher asked with extreme caution.
"Yeah, I remember every word. If I used this kind of focus on my studies, I might actually get better grades than that nerd." Ben was obviously being serious, but his words still carried that characteristic humor.
"When you get to Times Square next to the TV station, the performance is all yours. Remember, you can pretend to be frightened and show fear, but you absolutely cannot overact, or they'll see through it."
After patting Ben on the shoulder encouragingly, Asher emphasized the point one more time.
The two of them embarked on their journey to Times Square.
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