Samael was in the cave's lab, hunched over the desk. It's been over a week since he's been working on this, and finally, he finished today. The lab's light was dim, and in front of him were circuits, spare lenses, and tangled micro-wires.
He'd been thinking about what to build and decided to build a mask. But not just any simple mask heroes like Robin wore, but something even better.
And if this worked, then he could make some for his teammates as well. But for now, he wanted to build one for himself, and if it worked, then he could start building ones for his teammates. With their style in mind, of course.
Inside the mask was a wafer-thin processor chip—provided by the Justice League—and it was stronger than almost any in the world, save for perhaps LexCorp. It was embedded it inside the mask, giving it the computing power of a full-sized desktop in something slightly thicker than a piece of paper.
For vision, he slid in twin micro-lenses. Each lens could switch between modes: infrared for tracking heat signatures, low-light amplification for pitch darkness, and a telescopic zoom for reading a license plate from rooftops away. Although he didn't need this, he left it just in case.
After that was communication. Samael installed a miniature transceiver module in the right temple, paired with a directional mic so precise it could isolate voices in a noisy street. This would let him tap into police radio, secure channels, or even place encrypted calls without ever touching a phone.
Then came his favorite part: the neural interface lattice. A filament-thin weave of bio-synthetic circuitry ran along the inside rim of the mask, invisible to the naked eye. Once it touched his skin, it synced instantly with his brain's bioelectric field, responding to his thoughts as naturally as moving a finger.
Samael didn't need gestures or voice commands; the mask simply obeyed his thoughts. Everything from maps, comms, surveillance feeds, and even complex decryption tasks appeared and disappeared the moment he thought of them. If he wanted to trace a call, reroute a drone, or type an entire report, he could do it without saying a word.
He didn't stop there. A micro-projector in the left lens would overlay augmented reality data: street maps, building schematics, even live social media feeds if needed. He also added a feature that was inspired by the Arkham games, Detective Mode. It helped him analyse a crime scene and help him piece together what happened.
Nobody is able to use the mask besides him, and he made sure it couldn't get hacked. Although there are a few people on Earth who can, it would take them time to do so, and he would notice by that point and kick them out. Well, that's what he hoped.
One feature that he liked about this was that it would render him invisible to any camera and other things that could detect him.
Samael leaned back into the chair with a sigh, and with a smile on his face, he ran a systems check. Everything came back successful, and Samael grinned. He placed the mask on his face. Everything booted up and multiple tabs popped up, and the system was up and running.
"I fucking did it." Samael muttered in disbelief and amazement. " I can't believe I actually built something! Hahaha!" He laughed out loud. "This is amazing! This is just unbelievable! I'm a fucking genius! Fuck you, Mr Morgan!" He yelled out in happiness, and also cursed out his old teacher who said he was a bad student just because he was a little slow.
Samael quickly started using the mask, his excitement palpable. The interface quickly popped up, and he looked at it in awe. This was even better than the Vision Pro his old world had.
He opened up the CCTV, hacking into the cameras around Happy Harbor. Instantly, he saw people walking down the street, entering shops, etc. He switched over to a clothing store and moved the camera around.
Switching over to a bank, he saw people withdrawing or depositing money. Right now, he can hack into people's accounts and steal or give them money.
Samael quit the CCTV feed and entered the internet. Google was running, and he searched for anything he wanted. He made nothing could be traced to him, and even if someone did, he set up safety measures in case anyone tried anything.
He took off the mask and sighed, rubbing his face. He was tired and right now just wanted to relax. He took the mask and placed it into a secure box and left the lab.
Entering his room, he placed the box inside his wardrobe. He changed into a pair of shorts and a shirt, and sighed when he noticed the shirt got smaller on him. The workouts he's been doing have helped him big time, increasing his strength and speed massively. Unfortunately, that seemed to be coming to an end.
The machine had a limit, and the only way it looked like he'd get stronger was to fight more powerful enemies. He looked at himself in the mirror and took in the sight of himself.
Even though it was odd at first, being in a different body, Samael came to accept it quickly. Almost unnaturally so. So far, his muscles have gotten bigger and are no longer lean. He even noted that his height increased, making him stand at 6'2. If he went to Clark's workplace, he would guarantee that they would mistake him for the man.
Samael hadn't bothered to cut his hair ever since he left Cadmus, and now it reached his neck. All in all, he was popular with the ladies, that was for sure. He left his room and walked to the living room.
He heard the sound of fighting coming from the TV. Walking over, he saw Megan in the kitchen, most likely looking to cook something new. Walking in, he saw Wally and Robin playing Mortal Kombat, with Wally button-mashing the controls, while Robin played casually. Looking around, he didn't see Kaldur anywhere.
"Where's Kaldur?" Samael asked, sitting on the nearby couch. "He's with Aquaman." Robin answered.
"Uh huh." Samael said, propping his legs on the couch. "So, who's winning?" He asked, looking at the screen with interest.
"I am. This loser said he was a pro, but turns out he just uses his powers to win. He bet that he could win against me even without his powers. Heh, look at him now?" Robin chuckled.
"Next rounds mine." Samael said. "Sure, dude, just don't come crying to me when I beat you up." Robin smirked arrogantly.
Samael didn't answer him and watched as the fight continued. On the screen, Sub-Zero was swaying, his health bar low. "K.O.," The announcer said. "Finish him." Sub-Zero was killed in a gruesome manner by his arch-nemesis, Scorpion.
"Hahaha, in your face." Robin laughed at Wally, who looked close to blowing a fuse. "Ughh, you're cheating! You have to be!" The redhead yelled in frustration and anger.
"No, I'm not. Just admit it. I'm better than you." Robin replied calmly.
Samael chuckled at Wally's defeated expression. "Sucks to be you, man. Now hand over the controller and move over." Wally got up and gave it to him. Wally walked over to the kitchen and started eating a box of cookies.
"Well, let's see how you play! This is your first time, right? " Robin asked him.
"No, I played before. Just not against someone else before." Samael muttered just loudly enough for Robin to hear.
"Alright, I'm going Sub-Zero." Samael said, choosing the character. "You too?" Robin said amused.
"I know how to use him. Better than Wally, that's for sure." Samael said, his head resting on the pillow. Robin cracked his knuckles as the match loaded. "Hope you've got more than beginner's luck."
Samael just smirked, looking at the screen as Robin clicked on Scorpion. "Sticking with my main. I know every combo." Robin said, his body visibly relaxed.
They were dropped in the pit and surrounding the characters was rocky arena, with torches flickering around the place.
"Fight!" The announcer said.
Robin went aggressive, Scorpion teleported to Sub-Zero and punched him in chin. Sub-Zero stumbled back but instantly retaliated with a Ice Beam, freezing Scorpion mid-strike and started attacking him.
"Crap." Robin muttered as Sub-Zero hit Scorpion with a jump kick, which Scorpion blocked. "Get over here!"Scorpion yelled and yanked Sub-Zero, attacking him.
Robin kept on the attack and knocked down his health consistently, even with him blocking. Samael froze Scorpion again and attacked him again, knocking down Scorpion's health down, and followed it up with a kick to the feet.
"I thought you were good." Samael taunted, leaning back with a smile on his face. Robin just clicked his tongue and focused on defeating him.
Robin dodged the next ice shot and kicked him from above, which he blocked. "Get over here!" Scorpion yanked Sub-Zero in, unleashing a crisp three-hit combo. Sub-Zero then attacked with a combo of his own, knocking out Scorpion's health down near the end
From the kitchen, Wally laughed with his mouth full. "Yes, avenge me!" Wally shouted, his mouth full with food.
He and Robin traded blows carefully, both of them always waiting for the other to make a move. Samael froze Scorpion and the screen flashed blue as Robin's character froze solid.
"I win." Samael said, launching Scorpion into the air with and uppercut ,and then a slide. Scorpion swayed, as the announcer voice rang out. "Finish him!"
"No,no, no!" Robin muttered, and the camera zoomed in on Sub-Zero as he gripped Scorpion's head, and yanked it. The spine was still attached to the head as blood sprayed out of Scorpion's head.
"Fatality!" The announcer roared out.
Robin stared at the screen, a defeated look on his face. "…That was round one, right?"
"Yup," Samael said, tossing the controller in one hand. "Best of three?"
From the counter, Wally yelled, "Forget him, fight me next!"
Samael turned behind him to look at Wally, a dead pan expression on his face. "Dude, you suck at this game." He told the speedster in a flat tone.
Wally shook his head. "No I'm not! Trust me, today was just a bad day." Wally said in denial. Samael looked at him skeptically and remembered something. "Don't you start school tomorrow?" He asked his friend.
Wally's eyes widened in horror, quickly checking his phone and Samael looked at him amusedly as Wally's face turned pale. "I uh, I gotta go. Bye!" He ran to the Zeta-tube, and left with a flash.
Samael turned to look at Robin and asked him the same question. "Don't you have school too?" Robin shook his head. "No, I start a day after him. You down for the beach party tomorrow?" Robin said.
"Yeah." And they resumed playing, the sounds of fighting coming from the TV.