Bit by Bit Kai

Episode 11 What Lies at the End of That Road

Orion grunted as he swung his mallet down, slamming it down onto the metal plate and making a loud, satisfying clang that rang out in the small lab. He repeated the action many times, raising and slamming the mallet down as he shaped the metal into what he wanted.

Orion was exhausted. They had been working for nearly a day straight now, but it was worth it. They were so close to something workable. Orion couldn't stop now. He wouldn't stop.

With each strike, Orion thought about everything that had happened to him. From the moment he entered this world, he'd been thrown into trials by fire without rest: isolation, terror, weakness, abuse, and being forced to submit to the man who indirectly caused all of it. Each memory was just a log that fueled the pier of vengeance inside him.

It was a flame that he and those monsters nurtured, allowing it to grow and fester into something more. It was the source of his drive, the thing that pushed him to keep living—to live long enough to punish those who dared hurt him, those who dared cast him aside for something as meaningless as a number.

What even were power levels? A joke. That's what. They had no meaning other than to let those with power underestimate those they believed had none. But he'd show them. He show them just how wrong they were. He would show them that he indeed had the power. The power to destroy them just as they tried to destroy him.

He'd break his chains, and he would be free.

And as he delivered a final strike to the metal, Orion panted as he examined the metal plate he held against the anvil. He lifted it up carefully, making sure to put on gloves before he touched the still-hot metal.

A smile crept its way onto his lips. It was a crooked smile, yet one that seemed to shine with a brilliant, dark light.

Orion turned to look at the other's progress, nodding when he saw they were on track too. Turles put his muscles to good use by working on the armor's frame while Paragus finished up the programming side of things. While he wasn't a programmer himself, he could at least follow the orders Orion wrote down for him. As he typed away the final lines of code, his son, Broly, finished up with some of the wiring with a gentler hand than even Orion's.

Yeah. This was good.

Orion picked up his original visor-scouter and put it on. He clicked the button on the side, and the heads-up display popped up in front of his eyes. He immediately looked at the clock on it. He had less than an hour before the fight.

Looks like this will have to do.

"Turles, Broly, Paragus," Orion called out, his voice making all of them pause as they turned to him. "Finish up. We're suiting up in a minute."

None of them argued as they immediately finished their jobs. They all know what was on the line here. Oddly enough, that seemed to unite them all under a common enemy. It was hilarious to Orion, or at least it would be if things were so dire.

The process of getting him suited up was long but necessary. Orion wrapped his hands in tight bandages, making sure to wrap his knuckles especially well. After he put on the white gloves that were a part of his typical uniform, Paragus tossed a padded leather vest over to Orion for him to put on as extra padding, all while Turles and Broly moved the parts of the armor over to be put on.

Orion wrapped a leather brace around his neck before moving over to have the armor put on him. He stood still with his arms raised as Turles helped push the metal plates into the right positions. First, the back, and then the front, and then they screwed them together. Broly and Turles then began to help Orion put on the armored parts for his arms, hands, legs, and feet.