Chapter 90:

Upgrading the Disciple and a Heavenly Switch

DC: The Infinite Villain

Chapter update is here.

Find a quiet spot, turn the page, and let’s see what this story has been hiding 🌙

✦

Mount Etna, home of Hephaestus.

As one of the Twelve Olympians, Hephaestus was both the god of fire and a son of Zeus and Hera, making him Diana's half-brother. When Diana was born, he forged several pieces of equipment for her, including the God Killer sword.

When it came to forging equipment, Hephaestus was unquestionably first-rate.

His appearance, however, could not merely be called plain. He was ugly, almost like a dwarf from countless old stories, with very little of the usual air of a god. When Damon met him, Hephaestus was wearing an apron and hammering some piece of equipment with red-hot hands.

"You are Damon Keller?"

Hephaestus looked at the Disciple after it smashed directly down through the space above him, then looked at Damon as he came down from the ship. He asked the question calmly.

"Can you work on this time ship?"

Damon got straight to the point.

"Olympus is in chaos," Hephaestus said slowly. "Gods and humans are no different. In fact, gods can be worse. I have never participated in these power struggles, but I hope this all ends quickly and calm returns. I can help you modify your ship, but you must help end this chaos. I know you can do it. I also know you could kill me easily."

His tone was calm, yet resolute.

"Sure," Damon said indifferently.

"You may look around."

After speaking, Hephaestus called his workers over and had them move the Disciple for repair and modification. Damon had originally wanted to see how Hephaestus did it, but he could not understand the process. It did not look technical at all. It was more like using the power of a divine office to perform an impossible, unscientific transformation.

So Damon simply wandered around.

There were many finished pieces of equipment, all kinds of them, though most were cold weapons. The materials were ordinary enough, but since Hephaestus had made them, their quality was much higher than normal.

Damon looked here and there. After about an hour, Hephaestus called him over.

"Punch it."

From the outside, the Disciple looked unchanged. Only the previously damaged places had been repaired.

"How hard?" Damon asked.

"As hard as you like."

Hephaestus sounded confident.

Damon raised his fist with Diana's demigod strength and punched.

Bang.

The force shook the area. Hephaestus's workers staggered backward, but the Disciple remained undamaged.

"Impressive."

Damon praised it, then stacked Diana's demigod strength four times and punched again.

This time, there was only a slight dent.

"Excellent."

Damon gave a thumbs-up.

Without any visible technical process, Hephaestus had raised the Disciple's defenses by that much. That last punch was equivalent to four demigod-stage Dianas attacking with full strength, and the result was only a dent. Even the First Born's strength should be blocked multiple times.

If the ship were attacked the way it had been last time, even if the defensive barrier broke, the hull itself would probably remain intact.

"This is for Diana."

Tired, Hephaestus had someone bring out a sword.

"Hephaestus's sword?"

Damon accepted it with a smile.

"Can it cut through my ship?"

Hephaestus said nothing.

"So it can? That is blatant favoritism. But you are family, so I suppose it makes sense. Of all the Olympians I have met so far, you leave the best impression. Keep that up. If you run into trouble, you can come find me, though I cannot exactly give you contact information."

Damon chuckled and boarded the Disciple to leave.

The ship had been upgraded by Hephaestus. Later, Damon would add artificial intelligence, then find Ray Palmer and study nanotech shrinking. Perfect.

Boom.

The Disciple shot into the sky and flew out, moving several times faster than before.

Hephaestus watched the ship depart, then collapsed weakly to the ground. He had not cut corners at all while upgrading the Disciple. The ship's internal structure was especially fine and complex, and it had consumed a great deal of his energy and divine power.

When Damon piloted the Disciple back to Themyscira, the trip took less than half the time it had taken to leave.

Defense and speed had both improved dramatically. Damon could not have been more satisfied.

Seeing Diana approaching from a distance, Damon smiled, rushed forward in a quick burst, hugged her, and kissed her.

Diana was caught off guard and instinctively responded a little.

After a moment, Damon released her with a smile.

"That brother of yours is not bad."

"It is not easy to make you say someone is not bad."

Diana paused and smiled.

"It seems you are very satisfied with the Disciple after his modifications."

"Very."

Damon casually handed her Hephaestus's sword.

"This is from him."

Diana happily accepted it. She could feel the power contained in the sword.

"What about my Lasso of Truth?" she asked, turning to him.

"About that."

Damon thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"It is too useful, so..."

"Hmph."

Diana gave a displeased little snort. That slightly proud expression made Damon reach out and hold her, leaning close to her ear.

"The ship, or your room."

"Did we not already... before returning to Themyscira? Why again..."

Diana froze and spoke by reflex.

Damon grinned.

"I am learning from that old lecher Zeus. Besides, once Olympus is settled, I will be leaving. The next time we meet, you may have to wait decades. Perhaps a century."

"You are going to look for that Flash?" Diana asked.

"Yes."

Damon smiled brightly and pulled Diana toward the Disciple.

After a few steps, Diana slowly pulled free.

"I... I am the only pillar my sisters have right now. I still need to arrange the defenses. And do not forget, we are still enemies. Next time, I will defeat you."

"Even if you are stronger than a god."

Damon paused, then pointed at the stars overhead.

"Do you want the stars in the sky? I can steal them down for you."

"What?"

Diana looked up at the stars.

"Steal the stars for me? What are you planning now?"

Diana felt helpless. Sometimes she truly did not know what Damon was thinking or what he intended to do.

"I want to pull a little heavenly bait-and-switch."

Damon looked at Diana and smiled brightly.

"A bait-and-switch with the heavens? You mean hiding the truth by changing what everyone thinks they are seeing? What are you going to do?"

Diana stared at Damon in confusion.

Damon only laughed, waved his hand, and turned back into the Disciple, leaving Diana to wonder what he meant.