Chapter 8 - Joining the Scarlet Canary Team (2)

Chapter 8 - Joining the Scarlet Canary Team (2) 

"Hunter, I have considered what you mentioned and would like to ask you a question. If you answer it correctly, then I will go right ahead to fulfill your wish. But if you answer it wrongly, well, I will still fulfill your wish, but that will be at a later time in the future." Alexander said with a serious look in his face. While Hunter upon hearing that, prepared to answer the question with his power of intelligence beginning to operate at full power.

Alexander saw the gravely serious look in Hunter's face and smiled, "Son, relax. It's not a question that has anything to do with intelligence or intellectual skills. Just patiently think about the answer to the question and tell me when you are ready, okay?"

"Okay dad." Hunter smilingly said with the nod of his head.

"Good." Alexander uttered.

Then he proceeded to ask, "Hunter, why did I send you to study at an institute, despite you knowing much more than your instructors? 

"You know, you are fully capable of teaching them many more things that are dozens of millennia more advanced than what they currently know. So, what exactly was the reason that I sent you there to study? Tell me the correct answer, and I will instantly grant your request to join any of my numerous clandestine-operation teams."

"Take your time, don't rush and give me the wrong answer." Alexander said and leaned back on his swiveling executive chair, before looking at his son who had a look of difficulty in his face.

"Haha. First time my super-intelligent son has trouble coming up with an answer instantly." He said and cackled, seemingly enjoying the difficult position that Hunter was in.

10 seconds later, Hunter said with a smile in his face, "Dad, I have thought of the answer."

"Alright, tell me. Let's hear it."

"Although your organization has more technology-building resources than the institute, and have lots of Grand Researchers that help create highly-sophisticated, useful specialized instruments, tools and apparatuses, you still chose to send me to an institute instead of making me learn from the older experienced ones in here and creatively assist them with their numerous inventions and innovations." 

"The reason, after much thought about it, is fundamentally because you want me to meet new people. You want me to make friends. Enter into relationships. Generally live my life since I am still young and exuberant, instead of staying in your underground organization and have zero socialization skills with people out there." Hunter said, hoping with a rapidly thumping heart that he was correct.

"Correct!" Alexander said while Hunter heaved a sigh of relief.

"So, dad. Which team do I join?" Hunter directly said with a bright look of eagerness in his face, while Alexander simply shook his head at him.

"Hunter, put a chill on that. Or do you want me to change my mind again?" Alexander asked with a serious look in his face.

"Sorry dad. Sorry for being eager and forward." Hunter said, immediately swallowing in his eagerness.

"It's okay." Alexander said with a smile in his face.

"So, as for the team that you would be joining, I have made up my mind to make you join the Scarlet Canary Team. They are a C-Class team that are tasked with decently dangerous operations. We can start from there, see your performances, and then work you up to the level of an A-Tier team. Once you are able to impress me, you will get your own team that you can lead and make independent decisions for." He spoke further. 

"Oh really? Thank you dad." Hunter said happily while Alexander nodded his head, glad that he was able to cause Hunter delight.

"You can go back to your room, when they are back from the mission that they went out for, you will be called to introduce yourself to them as a new addition to the team. Okay?" Alexander mentioned. 

"Okay dad. Thank you so much." Hunter said once again and excitedly returned to his room.

Immediately Hunter left, the bright smile on Alexander's face instantly wore off. While a grave look replaced the bright cordial smile that was previously present in his face, "I hope I am not making a huge mistake. Anyway, mistake or not, I can't allow him to go out there without concealed protection accompanying him from afar. Let me call Twinblade and task him to look after my son whenever he goes out on a mission with his Scarlet Canary team."

When Hunter arrived in his workroom at the Forge, with a newfound sense of purpose renewing his mind and energy, he immediately resumed his work on the pieces of technological marvel that he had in mind.

He had completed the nanotech helmet which he called Black Helm, and then the spatial storing device which had a storage space of 1,000 cubic meters, therefore giving it the ability to store large amounts of items that Hunter could produce at a moment's notice.

The two items that were remaining for him to build, were the Nanoparticle Supply Backpack and an AI-controlled, heavy-defense body armor with quick auto-donning system that he chose to name 'Crimson Tyrant Blast Armor'.

Apart from wanting to build a more powerful armor later in the future because of lack of certain resources that he needed, why he chose to build a heavy-defense armor was because he knew the kind of danger and peril that he would be exposing himself to. So, he tried to come up with a powerful defensive armor that could withstand numerous destructive attacks that would be focused at him, such as concentrated, rapid-succession barrages of devastating, large-caliber cannon shots, energy-burst missiles, rocket-propelled ionic plasma and electric storm-discharge grenades, converging high-powered annihilative multi-laser rays, intense-powered scorching plasmic beams and so on.

'Although the Crimson Tyrant Blast Armor will focus more on only defense and would lack any attacking power, I still have to give it some offensive abilities. I can't be a recipient of targeted attacks, I have to possess the ability to dish out a couple of my own and obliterate groups of enemy targets in the process.' Hunter thought within himself. 

As he contemplated on the type of weaponization enhancements that he would like to give the armor, he suddenly had an idea. 

"I will need Photonwarp's help in entering my institute. I will retrieve the mechanical power arm that I designed, as well as the magnetic repulsion chest armor and my beastly, Ten-Fanged Lightning Dragon assault rifle." 

"With these powerful weapon enhancements, I will give my Crimson Tyrant Blast Armor the ability to go on the offensive in battles. Besides, with more materials to upgrade them, they will become more powerful, intimidating and devastating."

Once Hunter thought up to here, he immediately left his workroom in the Forge to search for someone called Photonwarp.

...

After coming across Photonwarp in a Stealth and Rapid Infiltration training room, which was a massive battle-room that had elements of surprise and was frequently visited by her for long sweaty hours of intense and rigorous training on just stealth and infiltration, Hunter beamed a smile in his face and said, "Pearl Dane, I will need your help in entering my temporarily-closed institute. I would like to retrieve some items that I built and hid at its old tech junkyard." 

Pearl Dane, also called Photonwarp because of her ability to bend light around her and around objects to turn them totally invisible, said with a certain look in her face, "First time that the great inventor son of the Great Alexander comes to find me. Haha." 

"What did you say you want my help for again?" Pearl Dane asked, not sparing Hunter even a look as she tapped on some buttons on a projected holographic screen. 

Pearl Dane was a 23-year old, tall beautiful mixed-alien race female that was over 5 feet tall. She had gorgeous eyes, bright green hair that reached her waist and could actually change from its green color to hundred other colors. She had a round face that added to her attraction charm, snow-white dentitions that added brilliance to her smile, and a well-shaped admirable figure that however radiated strength and power, making her seem like someone that could beat up a group of adult men without breaking a sweat. 

She possessed the ability of light manipulation which allowed her to bend light around herself and around numerous other objects, turning them invisible. With her ability to control light, she could create solid constructs with different shapes out of light. She was really skilled in using her light-control powers. And because of her light-bending power and the ability to change her hair color, length, texture and so on, she was the leader of a secret team called Bright Shadow; a team created solely for the purpose of stealth and infiltration. They could however engage in large-scale factional combats too, making them battle-deployable. 

Hunter looked at her and said, "I need your help in retrieving certain items from my institution."

"Okay, I heard you the first time you said that." Pearl Dane said with a smile in her face, while Hunter resisted the urge of shaking his head at her, since he needed her help.

"How much?" Pearl Dane directly asked.

"Huh?" Hunter questioned with a puzzled look appearing in his face.

"I know that you know what I am talking about, Hunter. So, quit the pretense that you are holding up." Pearl Dane stated as she gazed at Hunter, while Hunter who was gazed upon, didn't know what to say or how to react to what she said.

"I don't have much funds in my account at the moment. But tell me your price, I will pay you once I have gathered some amounts of money." Hunter said shamelessly.

"Wonderful. The inventor son of our great leader is seriously lacking in funds. Simply wonderful. Well, it's understandable. You aren't working. And you aren't being paid wages by your father. Anyway, that's none of my concern." 

"So, for my assistance to bend light around you as you reach for the furthest depth of your institute, I will charge you ten thousand Global Earth Dollars. What do you say?" Pearl Dane asked.

"W-What?!!" Hunter loudly asked in a stuttering manner, and with an absolutely shocked expression written all over his face.

"What? Don't give me that look." Pearl Dane said with a smile in her face.

"That's too much! Like, way too much. Why are you being wicked, Pearl? That's extortion-level charging for a simple assistance." Hunter said with a deeply unsatisfied look in his face.

"It is? I didn't know. Okay, let's do it this way. If you won't be able to provide the amount that I charged you for, why don't you build me a weapon, machinery, instruments or apparatus that's worth that amount. What do you think?" Pearl Dane asked with a sly smile manifesting in her face.

Hunter looked at her with a certain expression in his face before exhaling heavily. 

"I see that you want me to invent stuffs for you, right?" 

"Hunter, come on. Don't put it that way." Pearl Dane said. 

Hunter looked at her with a smirk expression in his face and said within himself, 'If it isn't that there is a severe lack of optic-based, camouflage-purpose modular units that I can assemble and couple into a photo-camouflaging device, I definitely wouldn't request for your help.' 

"Actually, I have always wanted to ask for your help in inventing some stuffs that will amplify my power and largely enhance my combat prowess. But I didn't know how to approach you to ask you that. Besides, I was being wary of your dad. Not that he is frightening, he may not like it if he comes to hear that I came to meet you for stuffs, despite being provided with tons of high-tech equipments for my personal usages and as the leader of a team." 

"However, out of the divine provisional luck that follows me around like my shadow, it brought you to me to ask for my help. Tell me, on a scale of one to hundred, how much would you rate my luck? Ten thousand, right? Hehe." 

Hunter looked at her and said with a smile in his face after shaking his head, "Well, just take pity on this guy and reduce the amount you are charging." 

"Okay, I will. So, when do you we set out?" Pearl Dane asked. 

"Will now be a good time for you?" Hunter immediately questioned with the flame of eagerness beginning to burn at the far depth of his brightly-glowing crimson eyes. 

"I am okay with anytime you give, Hunter." Pearl Dane replied while Hunter excitedly nodded his head. 

"You can leave now. Let me go shower so that I can smell good to your nose. I am totally covered in sweat and bad smell that I find myself repulsing." Pearl said further.

"Alright." Hunter said and immediately left the Stealth and Infiltration training room. 

20 mins later, around 4:28pm, a male and female dressed in blue and black outfits respectively, could be seen in a sleek and aesthetically designed, flight-capable, solar-powered silver automobile that drove at a high speed to where the Paul Mackinson Institute of Research and Technology was located.