Gotchard in DC Ch 14

"X Wizard, could you demonstrate the Alchemy process first? I'd like to participate in the production myself. After all, the quantity is a bit large, and it would be too tiring for you to do it alone."

Isaac says, scratching his head. He feels like he needs to pull his weight around here.

"You're quite considerate. Alright, I'll demonstrate it first, watch carefully."

X Wizard smiles, placing the materials carefully on the workbench. "Alright, let's do this."

She starts explaining each step, pointing out the nuances of the incantations and gestures. Isaac listens intently, peppering her with questions like, "What happens if you add too much of this?" or "Is the order of the ingredients important?" X Wizard patiently answers each one, guiding him through the intricacies of Alchemy.

With a series of elegant gestures and a clear incantation, the materials before her begin to swirl and merge. There's a faint magical glow, and slowly, a small, delicate Alchemy sparrow takes shape. Its wings flutter slightly, as if eager to take flight.

"The Sun is the father, the Moon is the mother; nurtured by the wind, nourished by the earth."

As X Wizard finishes the last line, the sparrow's eyes flicker with a spark of life. It hops onto her shoulder, chirping softly.

"It's amazing, it feels like this Alchemy sparrow has truly come alive."

Isaac's eyes widen as he watches the sparrow. "That's so cool!" He's genuinely impressed by the skill and precision of X Wizard's Alchemy.

Inspired, Isaac steps up to the workbench, ready to try it himself. He gathers the materials, remembering X Wizard's instructions. At first, his movements are a bit clumsy, his incantation a little hesitant. But with X Wizard's steady guidance, he gradually finds his rhythm.

As he chants, the materials in his hands begin to respond, swirling and coalescing. It's not as smooth as X Wizard's, but slowly, a form emerges. Finally, a slightly plump Alchemy sparrow sits in his palm. It flutters its wings, circles him once, then lands on his shoulder.

"Yes, I succeeded."

Isaac pumps his fist in the air, a grin spreading across his face. He actually did it! "That's awesome!"

"Not bad. It seems you have quite a talent for Alchemy. Now, following this process, make all the remaining Alchemy animals."

X Wizard nods, clearly pleased with his progress. "Alright, time to get to work." She gestures to the pile of materials. "Let's get these little guys made."

Isaac, fueled by his initial success, dives into the task. He spends the rest of the day, pausing only for a quick meal, refining Alchemy animals. There's a lot of trial and error, but each attempt gets smoother, more efficient. He starts to feel a real connection to the process, understanding the flow of energy and the subtle changes in the materials.

Finally, as the sun begins to set, he completes the task. A small army of Alchemy creatures sits on the workbench: sparrows, locusts, rats, eels, spiders, and octopi, all waiting to be activated.

"So, the next step in the process requires..."

Isaac asks, wiping sweat from his brow.

X Wizard nods, glancing at Isaac, and then they both turn their attention to Smaphone Chemy, who's currently engrossed in a game with Hopper1 and the other Chemmies.

Wizard explains. "Now we need to connect them to a central system. They're just cute right now."

The Alchemy animals were now complete, but they still needed a way to relay the information they gathered. They couldn't exactly fly back to Isaac every time they spotted something interesting.

For Isaac and X Wizard, the obvious choice was Smaphone Chemy. He was always with Isaac, could communicate in real-time, and had the processing power to handle the data.

Noticing their gazes, a giant question mark pops up on Smaphone Chemy's screen. Then, as if remembering their earlier conversation, the question mark morphs into a smiling eye emoji.

Smaphone Chemy bounces over to the workbench, a determined look on his screen. Under Isaac's watchful eye, the smiling eye transforms into a serious expression, and a faint glow emanates from him.

The light coalesces above Smaphone Chemy's head, forming a blue app icon with an eye symbol. With a mighty leap, Smaphone Chemy slams his head into the icon, shattering it into streams of light that shower the Alchemy creatures.

"System connection successful, data interface complete."

Smaphone Chemy announces, his voice filled with pride. The eyes of the Alchemy creatures all light up blue, confirming the connection.

Now, Isaac can command the Alchemy creatures through Smaphone Chemy, seeing what they see, receiving real-time updates, and acting accordingly.

With the Alchemy creatures ready to go, Isaac assigns them patrol routes throughout the city, setting them loose to be his eyes and ears.

As the little creatures scatter into the city, Isaac returns to his Alchemy practice. His goal is to one day be able to use Alchemy as freely as that Gotchard from the Kamen Rider Geats movie, transforming matter with a snap of his fingers.

But for now, he has a long way to go.

"Hoo...hoo..."

Dick Grayson bolts upright in bed, sucking in air like he's been holding his breath for too long. Another dream about Rachel. Rachel with the purple-black hair. He'd only seen her in person once, a few days back, but she's been crashing his subconscious ever since.

This is the third time he's dreamed about her. The dream itself is always hazy, Rachel's features indistinct, yet her presence is strong, like she's trying to tell him something, anything.

He takes a deep breath, trying to slow his racing heart. What is it about this girl? He has no idea why Rachel keeps popping up in his dreams, but he feels, deep down, that finding her is the key to figuring it all out.

Gotta trust my gut, he thinks.

DING DONG 🔔

The sudden buzz of his phone cuts through his thoughts. Dick grabs it, sees a message from Oracle, aka Barbara Gordon, his old Batgirl partner and all-around tech genius.

The message reads: "Nightwing, about the girl you asked me to investigate. Someone snapped a pic of her boarding a long-haul truck two days ago. Destination: National City."

Dick's eyes narrow. Sleepiness vanishes, replaced by a laser focus. He's out of bed in a flash, pulling on clothes, grabbing his Nightwing gear. No time to waste. He's going to National City.

Something tells him Rachel is important, maybe even more important than he realizes. He needs to find her, and fast. He just can't shake the feeling that whatever's going on with her is about to become a whole lot bigger.