----
Wanda rose from her seated position, brushing a strand of crimson mist from her fingertips. Her eyes glittered with pride.
"See? I did it. That was pretty fast, right?"
Nolan barely glanced up from his notes. "I mastered it in three days. You took seven. And you already had Chaos Magic running through you. Took you forever just to memorize a few hand seals and chants."
Wanda scowled. "You really know how to kill a vibe."
He turned to Reed and Johnny. "Take a seat. Connors should be wrapping up the diagnostics soon."
Reed nodded, pulling up a holographic interface from his device. "Here's my compiled data on Susan's current energy field behavior."
Nolan didn't react. Virtual screens were commonplace among minds like theirs.
He began scanning through pages at speed, eyes darting with increasing pace.
Johnny blinked. "Uh… is he actually reading any of that?"
Reed nodded. "Yes. That's how we process data. The key is pattern recognition intro, framework, data set skip the filler."
Johnny slumped. "And here I thought I was smart…"
As they talked, Wanda returned with two mugs. "Latte. Sugar and cream are over there if you need it."
"Thanks, Mrs. Nolan," Reed said politely.
Wanda flushed. "You don't have to call me that…"
Nolan shot her a look but said nothing. Then, refocusing, he addressed Reed.
"Susan's ability to manipulate light for cloaking, yes. But she can only bend photons around herself. Not others?"
"Correct."
"That's not light manipulation then," Nolan said, eyes narrowing. "More likely a form of psionic projection. Let's call it psy-energy. It mimics light-bending but isn't bound by photonic physics."
Reed lit up. "Yes… that would explain the inconsistencies. And her instability using it around others."
"Which means her neural magnetic field doesn't fully align with her psionic signature. That's what's creating the flickering."
"Which means," Reed added, "If we stabilize her neurofield into sync with her ability frequency…"
"She'll gain full control." Nolan nodded. "Exactly."
"God, it's so refreshing to speak with someone who gets it."
Nolan smirked. "A.I., pull up the schematics for the Psionic Field Stabilizer."
"On it, sir."
A projection flared across the ceiling rotating circuitry and magnetic resonance maps.
"This is a rough draft. Think you can finish it?"
Reed's eyes gleamed. "In two days. But… you're just giving me this?"
Nolan shrugged. "You'll finish it for Susan. That's more than worth it. Consider it… mutual benefit."
Reed smiled. "I'll send the final schematics once it's done. And you have my word, I won't leak a thing."
Johnny leaned into Wanda. "Are they speaking English? Or some form of science-Elvish?"
Wanda just handed him her coffee.
Nolan glanced at the door. "Once Susan finishes her scan, we can proceed."
Right on cue, Connors returned with Susan.
He handed Nolan a folder. "A.I.'s calculated the optimal magnetic parameters. These figures should allow group-level cloaking as well."
Nolan passed the sheet to Reed. "There you go. But remember: the stabilizer is only a support. Mastery has to come from within."
Reed studied the paper. "Understood."
Susan raised a brow. "Wait, what? That's it? That solved my problem?"
Nolan stretched. "Yep. Give Reed two days. You'll be cloaking cities in no time."
He added casually, "You're welcome to tour the facility. If Reed's interested in joining Osborn, we'd be glad to have you."
Reed shook his head. "Next time. For now, I have work to do."
"Offer's open."
---
As they exited the meditation chamber, Susan rubbed her temple.
"I came in for a checkup and walked out with… what? A full diagnosis and power upgrade?"
Johnny sipped his coffee. "They started tossing around words like 'magnetic brain zones' and 'latent psionic fields' and I just mentally checked out."
Reed was staring at the schematics, eyes glowing like a man possessed. "He's a genius."
Johnny raised an eyebrow. "Jealous?"
Reed didn't answer. Instead, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"…What if we joined Osborn Industries?"
Susan blinked. "You're joking."
"I'm not. Working with Nolan could be revolutionary. For the world… and for us."
She stared at him, horrified. "Reed… you didn't look that serious when you proposed to me."
He looked her in the eyes. "Because this… this could change everything."
Susan wasn't sure if she wanted to laugh… or scream.
----
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