Under Marcus's overwhelming force, the alien insect tide was rapidly burned away and completely eliminated.
Now every single human in the base fully understood just how powerful Marcus truly was.
Originally, they'd assumed that Zod and the other Kryptonians possessed some kind of advanced psionic abilities—impressive but theoretically explainable. But after witnessing what Marcus could do, it became clear this couldn't be categorized as simple psionics anymore.
They'd never heard of anything remotely like this scene before. Even humanity's most powerful nuclear weapons couldn't cause such absolutely devastating destruction across such a wide area, let alone completely stop an alien insect tide in its tracks.
"With these collaborators backing us up, our safety margin has improved dramatically," one maintenance worker said while piloting his SCV mining vehicle, staring at the projection screen with genuine awe.
Marcus's power gave them something they'd desperately needed: hope. Hope of successfully fighting against the alien insect threats, and hope of eventually finding their way back to the Koprulu Sector.
As the massive sea of fire that had incinerated the alien insect tide finally extinguished itself, the projection screens throughout the base were cut off as well—the surveillance systems had been overloaded by the sheer energy output.
However, people no longer cared about the technical failures. They remained completely absorbed in the shock that Marcus had delivered to their worldview.
"It seems my power control still has room for improvement!" Marcus said to himself, looking at the extinguished sea of fire with satisfaction. His face showed a pleased smile.
This time around, his mastery over the flame-based powers of this particular Warframe had improved substantially. He'd managed to prevent the flames from spreading uncontrollably—they'd only destroyed the alien insect tide itself without scorching the surrounding landscape.
This represented significant progress for Marcus. Although he could fully unleash the raw power of this upgraded armor, exercising such meticulous control over that power was still somewhat challenging for him.
After all, this was a Warframe that had integrated an entire flame dimension into its structure. Controlling this armor's abilities was effectively equivalent to controlling an entire dimension of fire to fight alongside him.
Simply unleashing the power in one massive explosion was relatively straightforward. But if he wanted to release this violent dimensional energy according to his precise specifications and intentions, that required considerably more practice and refinement.
The situation was made even more difficult because after he'd upgraded the armor to its current state, he hadn't spent much time practicing control—which made Marcus even less capable of wielding the armor's power with true precision.
There was a very good reason for this lack of practice.
He hadn't yet completely mastered controlling this particular armor's capabilities. If he'd rashly used it back on Earth in the DC universe, forget about helping Bruce and the others solve their demon problem—it would've taken his absolute maximum control just to avoid accidentally transforming Earth into a molten lava planet.
But things were different here in this universe. This planet was merely a temporary landing location. There was no need to worry excessively about what problems might arise from using that kind of overwhelming power on this relatively barren world.
That's precisely why he'd transformed into Ember Prime [Sacred Eternal Flame]. While destroying the Zerg, he could simultaneously practice controlling such immense power without catastrophic consequences.
Now, he could properly control the firepower output of this armor. After using it a few more times in combat situations, he'd be able to restore the armor to completely normal operational status.
As Marcus slowly descended from the air, his body radiated brilliant light. When he finally touched down on the ground, he'd already returned to his original human appearance.
"So, what did you think of my mechanical hound?" Marcus asked Captain Locke with genuine curiosity.
"Extremely capable!" Captain Locke nodded enthusiastically. The plasma flame shock ability the mechanical hound possessed had genuinely amazed him.
"Excellent. This mechanical hound will be on loan to your forces," Marcus said decisively. "If you need to send out exploration teams, remember to bring it along. It'll serve as your best possible asset in the field."
As he spoke, Marcus handed the controller device for the mechanical hound directly to Locke. He wasn't remotely worried that Captain Locke might use the construct to do something harmful or treacherous.
The controller was simply a tool that allowed Locke to direct the mechanical hound's movements and activate its functions. The true core control systems of the construct remained firmly in Marcus's own possession and under his direct authority.
Besides, this mechanical hound had been specifically prepared by Marcus for the human exploration teams in the first place. He didn't want to be constantly interrupted by encountering more alien insect swarms while he was focused on crafting Warframes—situations where humans and Kryptonians would feel compelled to ask for his direct help.
After saying farewell to Captain Locke, Marcus completely vanished within swirling thick fog. Next on his agenda was beginning the Warframe crafting process. The more than seventy Aya Essence samples he'd extracted from various types of Kryptonite were enough to keep him excited and occupied for quite a while.
Returning to his personal spacecraft, Marcus glanced briefly at the bustling human base visible through the viewports, then turned and walked into a specially prepared quiet room designed for deep meditation and crafting work.
He already possessed quite a substantial collection of Warframes. The armor he'd be crafting now was essentially about expanding his overall capabilities and filling in remaining gaps in his arsenal.
"Which frames should I prioritize crafting first?" Marcus muttered to himself, sitting cross-legged on the floor with his eyes closed in deep concentration.
He'd already crafted the majority of available Warframe designs. The number of frames remaining for him to choose from was actually quite limited now. With seventy-six Aya Essence samples at his disposal, he could craft nineteen complete Warframes.
It could be said that what he genuinely needed to consider at this point wasn't which frames to craft—but rather selecting a few specific frames to deliberately not craft temporarily, then creating all the remaining designs.
After thinking carefully for several minutes, Marcus finally settled on his decision about which frames to save for later.
"Lavos, Oberon, Gyre, Yareli, and Voruna," he said aloud, committing the list to memory.
These five Warframes would be the ones he'd leave for next time. Right now, he didn't particularly need to supplement any remaining combat shortcomings—his arsenal was already incredibly diverse. So he'd save all these frames and prepare to craft them during his next major crafting session.
"Then let's begin!" Marcus declared.
As he spoke, a large number of glowing Aya Essence orbs materialized around him. These essence samples were like stars orbiting a sun, surrounding Marcus in a complex pattern as they rose and fell, rotating continuously in intricate paths.
Marcus himself released concentrated void power, pulling four Aya Essence orbs inward toward his core. They merged and transformed, finally forming an energy cocoon that would facilitate the Warframe crafting process.
Because there were so many frames to craft in succession, Marcus chose not to select them randomly. Instead, he began systematically crafting Warframes in a deliberate order.
The first Warframe he chose was Banshee. As Marcus began the crafting process, the surrounding environmental sounds grew progressively quieter and more muffled. Eventually, no sound could be heard at all—everything had fallen into absolute silence.
As a sonic-manipulation Warframe, Banshee possessed remarkably special abilities.
She could manipulate sound waves at will with extraordinary precision. She could make all sounds condense and concentrate into devastating weapons. She could release overwhelming sonic booms capable of paralyzing or even outright killing enemies. She could also completely erase all ambient sounds, making it impossible for anyone to detect abnormal noises—or she could directly detect and expose an enemy's fatal weaknesses through acoustic analysis.
If these abilities were used cleverly and strategically, they could accomplish incredible things.
Just imagine: if a battle occurred in a location with unclear visibility and poor visual conditions, a raiding team could act completely openly and obviously—yet the defenders wouldn't notice anything wrong at all. The psychological impact would be devastating.
As time passed, the objects throughout the room began trembling slightly, producing a resonant buzzing sound.
Countless instruments and pieces of equipment began vibrating in sympathetic resonance. The energy cocoon where Marcus sat suddenly exploded outward, and a Warframe featuring prominent sound-drum components appeared in the center of the room.
"As a sonic-type Warframe, this armor has genuinely impressive capabilities," Marcus observed with satisfaction. "And it shares the same codename as Sean from the mutant world—how fitting."
Marcus chuckled at the coincidence. Sean's codename back in the X-Men universe had been Banshee, but the name was actually identical to this Warframe's designation. Both were banshees who brought the sound of death to their enemies.
However, Sean's sound wave abilities had been relatively straightforward and limited. What kind of power he could exert depended entirely on how long his vocal cords could physically endure the strain.
But this Banshee Warframe was fundamentally different. This armor could channel and guide sound waves directly into the earth itself, then use ultrasonic vibrations to shake the very ground and cause absolutely massive structural damage.
The main limitation was that because it relied on sound waves, the destructive power varied significantly with distance from the sound source. The closer to the origin point, the more devastating the power became.
Snap~
Marcus raised his hand and snapped his fingers once. The crisp sound echoed throughout the room, and all the vibrating objects immediately ceased their resonance in response to that sharp snap.
"Just as expected—complete sound wave manipulation," Marcus noted with approval. "But sound is fundamentally just vibration, and this Warframe demonstrates that principle thoroughly."
Marcus smiled and waved his hand dismissively, then deactivated the transformation and immediately began crafting the next Warframe on his list.
The next frame had already been determined: Baruuk [Sacred Fist Monk], the patient warrior who upheld peace above all else.
Marcus watched as countless streams of energy condensed around the crafting cocoon, wrapping around him like the petals of a blooming lotus flower.
As time progressed, the lotus petals began tilting upward gracefully, radiating power sufficient to calm turbulent hearts and ease troubled minds.
Soon Marcus emerged from the green lotus formation, exuding an aura of profound calm and peaceful serenity. He looked like a determined pilgrim who'd achieved enlightenment.
"Restraint? Why does this feel somewhat like practicing Zen meditation?" Marcus murmured, sensing the unique nature of this Warframe's power.
The capabilities of this armor were remarkably special and unconventional. Most of the time, this Warframe's offensive power wasn't particularly overwhelming or devastating.
Much like monks practicing silent Zen meditation—who must refrain from making any sound whatsoever until they successfully complete their spiritual practice—this Warframe required patience and self-control.
It demanded restraining one's inner emotions completely, keeping one's heart at absolute peace and maintaining perfect equilibrium.
Of course, once that restraint could no longer be maintained and finally broke, this armor would demonstrate to all enemies exactly how terrible and devastating the accumulated anger within could truly be.
Marcus gently raised his hand, and green energy was released in a calming wave. The green lotus beneath his feet tilted upward slightly, then dissipated along with the pacifying power it had been radiating.
"Not bad at all, though it's somewhat unfortunate that you still need to practice patience and restraint to release the true power contained within," Marcus observed. "This armor's design philosophy is genuinely fascinating."
While speaking, Marcus once again deactivated the transformation and continued immersing himself deeply in the crafting process, moving on to the next Warframe.
Compared to Marcus's continuous crafting marathon, the people outside his quarters were becoming increasingly confused and concerned by the various energy signatures constantly escaping from his room.
The energy detection systems throughout the base kept sounding alarms repeatedly. The human monitoring teams kept detecting powerful energy fluctuations emanating from Marcus's location.
But after they arrived at the target coordinates to investigate, they found themselves completely helpless and uncertain what to do.
This was Marcus's personal quarters. If there were actually hostile enemies present in this location, the entire human base would already have been completely captured or destroyed.
Feeling helpless but still intensely curious, everyone remained deeply interested in the various forms of power emanating from Marcus's room.
After all, Marcus was the first such overwhelmingly powerful existence they'd encountered personally. They desperately wanted to understand what these different power signatures actually meant and what Marcus was doing.
"High thermal energy detected—personnel are advised to maintain safe distance," the automated detector announced in a synthesized voice.
This warning made all the observers even more curious about what was happening inside.
According to the detector's technical readouts, they could reasonably conclude that Marcus wasn't using the same devastating flame power he'd employed to incinerate the insect tide. Instead, he was utilizing a different form of high thermal energy.
The reason for this speculation was simple: when Marcus had used those overwhelming flames during the battle, their detection equipment hadn't been able to register any useful information at all. The sensors had only been capable of constantly alarming and desperately requesting immediate evacuation.
"So what do you think this high thermal energy signature means?" one technician asked his colleague.
"My guess is it's still related to fire somehow, but with temperatures this elevated, what could he possibly be doing in there?" another responded thoughtfully.
However, they didn't manage to obtain any genuinely useful information. After all, nobody dared to actually knock on Marcus's door to ask—and besides, the energy signature within the room underwent another massive change, shifting from that intense heat to an entirely different form of power.
Sniff...
One observer's nose twitched repeatedly. He seemed to be detecting the distinctive smell of blood in the air.
Yes, as a veteran crew member who'd served aboard the transport ship for many years, he'd experienced numerous wars alongside the captain. He was extremely familiar with the metallic scent of blood.
The old crew member continued sniffing, his expression growing increasingly concerned. Finally, he looked toward Marcus's room with obvious surprise and worry.
"The blood smell is definitely coming from inside there!" he announced.
He had absolutely no idea what Marcus was doing behind that door, but the powerfully strong scent of blood made him genuinely worried about the situation.
Dong dong dong
The veteran crew member knocked firmly on Marcus's door. At that precise moment inside, Marcus was excitedly experiencing and testing the unique abilities of Garuda.
This Warframe fought using blood as both weapon and power source. It could absorb the blood of enemies to restore its own vitality and enhance its strength. The wickedly sharp talons mounted on the armor's arms provided clear evidence to everyone that this Warframe was absolutely not something to be trifled with.
"What's the matter?" Marcus called out, somewhat annoyed at being interrupted.
Hearing a response from within the room, the old crew member breathed a heavy sigh of relief before shouting his explanation.
"I detected unusual readings around your quarters! Is there anything we can help you with?"
"...No, everything's fine," Marcus replied after a brief pause.
Marcus felt genuinely helpless about the situation. He genuinely hadn't expected that the blood-scent emanating from this particular Warframe would be so overwhelmingly strong that people outside would assume he needed medical assistance.
Shaking his head in mild exasperation, Marcus canceled the Garuda transformation and called out toward the door.
"Thank you very much for your concern, but I'm perfectly fine right now. No assistance needed!"
After delivering that reassurance, Marcus immediately began crafting yet another Warframe from his list.
Very quickly, the people observing outside his door heard the alarm systems activating once again.
Almost like clockwork, occurring at regular intervals, they could hear different warnings from the detection equipment. But the specific nature of each alarm kept changing dramatically, which made everyone increasingly curious about what exactly Marcus was doing in there.
After all, they were hearing far too many varied alarms from the detector systems. Beyond alerts for extreme heat and intense cold, there were also warnings about massive energy surges and severe magnetic field disturbances.
This constant variety left everyone thoroughly confused. Why did the alarm signatures keep changing so dramatically? Sometimes scorching hot, sometimes freezing cold, and occasionally the systems even warned them about dangerously strong radiation levels.
Meanwhile, Marcus inside the room was becoming progressively more excited and energized. He was systematically crafting numerous different Warframes in rapid succession.
This experience felt infinitely better than the careful, cautious selection process he'd gone through when crafting frames previously. He was essentially just creating everything he thought of in the moment. Except for those five specific frames he'd deliberately set aside, he could craft all the other remaining Warframes however he wanted.
"This feeling is absolutely incredible!" Marcus exclaimed joyfully.
He canceled his current transformation and fell backward, landing comfortably on his bed with a satisfied sigh.
Crafting Warframes one after another in rapid succession made him feel genuinely euphoric. The ability to create without constantly second-guessing his selections made him feel far less cautious and restricted.
"I've even crafted Zephyr now," Marcus observed, staring contentedly at the ceiling. "The Warframe collection is finally almost complete."
Looking upward, Marcus smiled with deep satisfaction. As long as he crafted those remaining five frames during his next session, he would have successfully collected every single Warframe design.
Once he'd collected all available frames, he could focus entirely on upgrading them to Prime variants and beyond. After creating so many different Warframes through this extended process, Marcus had developed some interesting new ideas and theories.
If his concepts proved successful, he might even be able to create his own completely original Warframe—custom armor that he'd designed and built from the absolute ground up, incorporating everything he'd learned.
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