~Main Battery: 7.0% Remaining~
The green light on my ring pulsated with a weak, uneven rhythm barely containing the blue Reach energy stored inside. I tried to manifest a simple barrier, but the light flickered and died as soon as my focus wavered. The Ring felt unresponsive to my mental commands.
Red light flooded my vision as the Sharingan took over. Every crack in the bunker's concrete walls became sharp and distinct. Earlier, I had watched Canary pivot her weight onto the ball of her heel to generate power for a strike.
I stood in the middle of a mat and tried to replicate the arc of her leg. My hip joint stalled halfway through the rotation, sending a sharp ache through my lower back. I tripped and hit the floor. The technique was perfect in my head, but my muscles moved too slowly to carry it out fully. Until I had more body strength and flexibility, I couldn't access every move my Sharingan copied.
Frustration sat heavy in my chest. I spent the next hour pressed against the cold floor tiles, forcing my limbs into deep holds. Sweat pooled on the floor. My hamstrings burned, then went numb, and finally loosened. I stayed there until my heart rate slowed and the shaking in my arms stopped.
I pushed myself up from the floor, my legs feeling heavy and stiff. I wiped the sweat from my eyes with the back of my hand and walked to the desk. My body was still limited, but the ring was something I could alter. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the shard of Amazo's armor. The gray metal felt cold against my damp palm.
"Ring, prepare to accept an external hardware patch," I commanded.
"Warning," the ring responded. "Unauthorized modifications to Oan technology may result in system instability or total power failure. Protocol 12-B prohibits—"
"Override protocol 12-B." I interrupted. I pulled out a thin blade to force the ring's housing open, exposing the silver-and-green circuitry inside and a small emerald crystal in its center. "Accept the integration and optimize the energy flow."
"Acknowledged. Monitoring energy conduits."
My hand remained steady as I guided a sliver of the gray nanotech into the regulator.
The reaction was immediate. A sharp, electric hum filled the room. The ring's temperature spiked until it burned my skin, leaving a red mark across my finger, but I didn't let go. Through the Sharingan, I watched the gray matter fuse with the wires. The jagged energy flow smoothed out. The heat eventually receded, replaced by a low, consistent vibration. At 7%, the crystal in its center was still a dull green, but the glow was much steadier.
It flashed a bright green twice in succession. I recognized the alert I had set early. It was a signal that someone was approaching my room. I had implemented it because I'd been caught off guard by Batman and Robin's silent footsteps one too many times. Snapping back on my rings hud, I put the shard in the drawer and wiped a streak of gray grease onto my trousers. Quickly, I get back to my exercises, fanning ignorance of their arrival.
The door slid open. Batman stopped in the entryway and looked at the sweat on my forehead, then at the ring on my finger. The silence lasted long enough for me to hear the clicking of the overhead lights.
"The debrief is in the mission room," he said.
"I'm ready," I replied.
I walked past him. My stride felt balanced and deliberate. Robin watched me with a frown as I headed for the main computer. The gap between what I could see and what I could do remained, but I had more control over the tools I carried.