“Ah, well, it’s not what it does, per se,” Robert replied with a grin. “But rather what it does to you. It makes you invisible.”
“It does what?” Zach asked in surprise, his eyes starting to gleam. “You’re serious? This will make a person invisible?”
“Well, not just any person,” Robert admitted. “An augment—one who’s been trained how to use it. You see, calcite is birefringent, meaning that it is double refractive—it bends light.”
“So?” Zach asked.
“So,” Robert replied. “When the powdered crystals are aligned correctly and connected via the nano-transmitters, and when it’s being worn by someone who can correctly control them, it will bend light in a specific path around the wearer’s body, thus making them invisible,” he concluded with a grin.
“Robert,” Zach said, shaking his head in amazement. “That is awesome.”
Robert beamed at Zach’s praise. “Well, yes, it is pretty awesome,” he agreed modestly. “My team has been wanting to do something along these lines for years now, but it wasn’t until we figured out how to get the nano-transmitters to work in harmony that we could even think about achieving something like this.”
Zach was still looking at the powder in wonder. “How long have you been working on it?”
“Oh, only for the last ten years now,” Robert replied with a laugh. “On and off, of course,” he continued in reply to Zach’s look of disbelief. “And it didn’t really take off until I had my own team. Even now, it’s far from perfect,” he continued. “It’ll only work for augments and, like I said, you guys will have to have some pretty comprehensive training on how to orient the transmitters—they all have to be precisely positioned for the light refraction to work correctly and then repositioned whenever you move.”
“But this sample?” Zach asked, tapping at the vial with a finger. “Is it ready for testing?”
Robert grinned. “Maybe,” he said. “Are you volunteering?”
“You’re kidding, right?” Zach asked. “This stuff will make me invisible—you bet your ass I’m volunteering. What do I have to do?”
“Okay, okay, come here,” Robert said, feeling the thrill of discovery start to flood through him, and he couldn’t stop himself from grinning in anticipation. “Now, this might take a while to work—I’ve got to check the nano-transmitters once we’ve got the powder on you, and then you’ll have to work at controlling the calcite crystals’ orientation.”
Zach nodded, a matching grin on his face. “Got it,” he said. “We’ll take it slow—I do have some experience with prototype testing, you know.”
“Yes, well, there’ll be no explosions this time, I can assure you,” Robert replied. “In fact, the worst that can happen with this prototype is that nothing will happen.”
“But that won’t happen ’cause you’re awesome, Robert,” Zach said with a grin.
Robert felt his face heat with the praise, but was able to hide his pleasure at the comment by sending a mock scowl Zach’s way and saying, “Now you’re just trying to butter me up so you get to be the one who tests it.”
“Well, yes,” Zach agreed. “But it’s also true. Come on, I can try it now, can’t I? I mean, we’re talking about invisibility here, Robert, you gotta let me have a turn.”
“All right, fine,” Robert conceded, curious himself to see if the changes he’d made to the distribution matrix and the nano-transmitters’ information relays would actually work. “But don’t expect it to work immediately.”
“No, of course not, Robert,” Zach replied meekly, but there was an infectious light of excitement in his eyes that belied his calm words.
“Okay, then,” Robert said, plucking the vial out of Zach’s hands and carefully opening the lid. “We’ll just start with a small area—a section of your forearm should do for starters. I’m going to spread a thin coating of the powder over the entire area, all the way around, and then run a few tests to make sure the distribution of calcite to transmitters is okay. Then we can start working on the orientation and see if we can get a patch of invisibility working for a specific viewing angle.”
Nodding in agreement, Zach held up his arm to allow Robert to apply some of the powder to his skin using the plush, full-bristled make-up brush Stephanie had adapted for the process. Zach’s skin was hot and smooth under Robert’s steadying hand, with only a hint of the powerful muscle that lay just beneath it.
“You’re going to have to work out something better for the field, you know,” Zach said as he watched Robert carefully stroke the brush over his skin. “We can’t exactly go around painting each other in the middle of an ambush.”
Glad to have something to concentrate on other than the fact that he now had free rein to touch Zach, Robert latched on to the question eagerly. “I know,” he replied. “Eli and Stephanie have both got about a dozen different application devices planned out. I did tell you we weren’t at prototype stage yet.” He then thought about the changes he’d made to the nano-transmitter strength and clarified. “Although, having said that, once an augment has got the hang of orienting the crystals, and the transmitters are active, simply dousing yourself with the powder should be enough.”
“So we will be able to deploy it in the field?” Zach asked.
“You’ll have to,” Robert replied, dipping the brush back into the vial and spreading more of the fine, white powder over Zach’s forearm. “Once I have the code finalized, the nano-transmitters should adjust themselves to the correct alignment, so you’ll be able to apply it anywhere. You won’t be able to pre-apply it though. Too much movement will displace the calcite crystal, leaving insufficient numbers to properly refract the amount of light needed to retain invisibility.”
“And we apply it everywhere?” Zach asked, his gaze intent on Robert’s hands as he worked.
Robert nodded. “Yes, it’ll help to have as much actual skin contact as possible, and you’ll need to be sure you have complete coverage around your body, front and back. That way you’ll have more control over the precise orientation of the crystals and it will also ensure that there’s a clear pathway for the light refraction around you entirely. We may have to look at adapting your uniforms for this, but for the initial tests, at any rate, clearing clothing away from a part of your body should be sufficient.”
Zach grinned at that. “So, it won’t be so good for using in a blizzard?” he joked.
Robert shot him a look. “No,” he replied. “Although quite why you’d need to be invisible in a blizzard is anyone’s guess. And, anyway, shouldn’t you augments be able to withstand going topless in a blizzard?”
“Oh, we can withstand it just fine,” Zach replied with a laugh. “It’s just that it’s not all that pleasant. Oh, and you can be the one who tells Allison she’ll have to go topless.”
“Oh for heaven’s sake,” Robert replied with a roll of his eyes as he paused in his brushing to glance up at Zach. “She won’t have to go completely topless.”
“And you said we’d have to learn how to orient the powder?” Zach asked, getting serious again, his gaze flicking between the brush in Robert’s hand and Robert’s face. “How do we do that?”
Robert grinned. “That’s the really cool part,” he confided. “It’s the thing that makes invisibility possible, for augments at any rate. You see, the calcite’s birefringence means that we can refract the light and that, relayed and oriented correctly by the nano-transmitters, will bend the incoming photons around you, rather than off you. Someone looking at you will therefore see the refracted light from what’s on the other side of you, rather than the reflected light from your body—instant invisibility.”
“But it all depends on the angles, right?” Zach said.
“Right,” Robert replied, finishing the application with a final brush stroke before closing the vial and turning back to the bench computer. “If the angle’s wrong, the light won’t refract smoothly enough and the perception of invisibility won’t be complete.”
“So what do I do now?” Zach asked, his tone excited.
“Hang on a minute,” Robert replied, calling up the orientation program and then activating the nano-transmitters. “I’ve got to check that my code works first.” Frowning in concentration, Robert watched as the program ran its course, flicking through the readouts from the nano-transmitters before nodding to himself with satisfaction. “Well, it looks good from this end,” he said, turning back to Zach. “Let’s see if we can get it to work from your end. Can you feel the powder on your skin?”
Robert watched as Zach’s eyes went vague for a moment, knowing that the augment was concentrating on his sense of touch, analyzing the millions of tiny cellular impulses that a regular human had no sense of whatsoever. “Yes,” he said at last. “And I think I even differentiate between the calcite and the transmitters—I can feel the electrical current.”
“Excellent, that’s just perfect,” Robert said, relieved to be proven right about using the augment’s abilities in this way. “Now, see if you can adjust how the crystals are lying. You should be able to use the arrector pili muscles in your skin. Just try a few different ways for now—it should be obvious when you hit the right angle.”
“’Cause I’ll disappear,” Zach said with a grin. “Or at least part of me will.” He took a deep breath and then closed his eyes. “I gotta concentrate,” he explained. “I’ve never had to use my senses quite like this before. You’ll let me know if anything exciting happens.”
For almost an hour, nothing happened. Zach remained lost in silent concentration, the small furrow between his brows the only visible indication that he was working hard. Robert knew that the level of control needed to orient the tiny crystals was immense, especially on this first occasion. And, as Zach had pointed out, it was not something any of the augments had ever done before. Nevertheless, as time passed, Robert started to see tiny ripples of light dance over the surface of Zach’s skin as he started to successfully move the crystals.
“It’s working,” he breathed in amazement. “Keep going, just slowly adjust the angles now—that’s all it will take.”
A few more moments passed and then, to Robert’s delight, the part of Zach’s forearm he had coated in the powder shimmered a final time before disappearing completely. All of a sudden, it appeared as if Robert could see straight through his arm to the desk behind it.
“That’s it!” he proclaimed, practically vibrating with excitement. “You’ve done it—look!”
At Robert’s words, Zach’s eyes flew open and then he too was staring down in amazement at his arm. “Fucking hell, Robert,” he said, his tone full of wonder. “That’s awesome beyond belief.”
Robert grinned. “It is pretty damn cool, isn’t it?”
“I… it’s… you know, I don’t even have the words,” Zach said. He looked up from his arm to gaze straight into Robert’s eyes, his expression one of utter seriousness. “Robert, you have no idea. This is really going to change things—make it so much easier for us out in the field. I mean, think about it—we won’t have to worry about being targets anymore. We can just get on and do our jobs—help people.” He shook his head, his mind obviously whirling with the possibilities. “I can think of about a dozen situations right off the bat where I’d have given anything to have something like this. I mean, if I work on getting the angles right and get the light to curve around an area larger than just my own body, it’ll give me some way of hiding victims from the people I was trying to protect them from, rather than having to engage the enemy directly and risk losing people in the crossfire. Not to mention the fact that I’ll be able to infiltrate mercenary groups and disarm them before they can attack.” He paused then, looking back down to his arm before locking his gaze with Robert’s once more. “Seriously, Robert, this is amazing. You are amazing.”
Humbled by this reminder of the very real purpose of his work, Robert could only gaze helplessly back at Zach, the sound of Zach’s praise warming something deep down inside his chest. For endless moments they simply stared into each other’s eyes, Robert feeling his self-control slip further away with every passing second. Zach was so close, it would be so easy just to lean forward and press their mouths together.
“Robert,” Zach said softly, his tone low and thick as his gaze darted down toward Robert’s mouth.
“Yes,” Robert replied softly, practically breathless with anticipation. The word had only just left his mouth when it was all but swallowed by Zach, who suddenly leaned forward to close the small distance between them.
Any feelings of shock or surprise Robert may have had disappeared immediately, vaporized instantly by the heat of Zach’s kiss. Zach’s mouth was hot and firm, his lips moving with resolve as he licked his way across Robert’s lips, searching for a deeper kiss. Robert’s mouth fell open immediately and Zach’s tongue was soon thrusting inside, twining wetly around Robert’s own tongue and drawing a moan of pure pleasure from his throat. Desire and lust rocked through him as the kiss continued, every fantasy he had ever had about Zach suddenly shockingly within his reach.
Just then the world tilted around him as Zach moved, his big, hard body twisting as he turned and pressed Robert up against the wall to the side of the work bench. The move meant that their bodies were now plastered together and Robert could feel every hard, muscled plane of Zach, from his rock-hard chest right down to the steel-like length of his cock. With this move, it was as if a dam had burst and Zach’s passion was suddenly let loose. Robert could feel his muscles bunch together as he moved forward, pressing himself, hot and hard, against Robert. He knew that Zach had to keep a tight rein on his strength so as not to hurt him and that knowledge only served to make everything even hotter.
Zach’s tongue was thrusting wetly into Robert’s mouth now, his cock grinding against Robert’s groin with the same steady rhythm. Zach easily held him pinned against the wall, as if he weighed nothing at all, one hand cupped around his jaw, holding his head in place so Zach could continue to kiss his mouth. Zach’s other hand moved from its position on his shoulder to trace a scorching path to the center of Robert’s chest, the heat of his palm seeping through the layers of Robert’s shirt to where Robert’s heart felt like it was racing out of control.
Then, suddenly, as if a switch inside him had been flipped, Robert realized that he could move as well. He found himself returning Zach’s kiss hungrily, opening his mouth wider for Zach’s probing tongue and pushing his own into Zach’s mouth in return. He spread his legs apart to steady himself and finally worked up the courage to touch Zach’s body as Zach was touching his. He brought his hands up from where they had been flattened to the wall on either side of his body to rest them on Zach’s shoulders.
Zach’s breath seemed to catch as Robert touched him, and Robert could feel his body clenching and releasing under Robert’s hands. Zach pressed himself even closer to Robert, taking advantage of Robert’s spread legs, and kissed him even deeper, all long, lean, lithe muscles and hot, wet, hard mouth. Encouraged by this response, Robert moved his hands along the top of Zach’s shoulders, feeling the heat of his skin through his T-shirt, until his fingers brushed against the soft spiky hair at the nape of Zach’s neck. Zach gasped a little into Robert’s mouth as Robert dipped his fingers inside the collar of Zach’s shirt to stroke the sensitive skin underneath.
Robert was reluctant to move his hands from Zach’s bare skin, but Zach was still kissing him, his lips never leaving Robert’s and his tongue now thrusting into Robert’s mouth with obvious intent. All of it, the taste and touch and feel of Zach, in his mouth, under his hands, over his body, drove Robert on. He needed to feel more, to take more, to give more: he wanted it all. Driven to near desperation, Robert slid his hands all the way down the length of Zach’s back, his fingers spread wide so he could relish the feeling of Zach’s muscles as they tensed and flexed under his caressing palms. He cupped the cheeks of Zach’s ass. Now it was Zach’s turn to moan as Robert squeezed him tightly and pu
lled him even closer, aligning their bodies so their cocks were pressed together between their bodies.
Robert’s actions tipped them both over the edge. Zach growled long and low into Robert’s mouth before he pulled back a little to look into Robert’s face. “Robert,” he all but begged, sounding desperate, his voice cracking with desire.
Robert felt his cock pulse in response to the questions in Zach’s voice. He pulled Zach tighter to him, thrusting himself forward and pressing his erection even harder to Zach’s. “Nughh,” was all that came out as Zach’s hands moved so they were clutching Robert’s hips and bracing him even harder to the wall behind him. And then Zach started to thrust.
Zach was rough as he pumped himself forward, grinding his dick against Robert’s and all but fucking Robert into the wall through their clothes. Robert let his head fall back against the wall, half-formed words and groans of encouragement flowing uncontrolled from his lips, relishing every single bit of Zach’s power and strength. This was what he needed, what they both needed—it was mindless, desperate, and so damn good Robert knew it wasn’t going to be long before he was spewing his release into his pants. Zach’s head had dropped down into the hollow between Robert’s neck and shoulder. Robert could feel the heat of his breath and the wet, desperate kisses he was mouthing into Robert’s skin.
The scrape of the material of his clothes against the engorged head of his cock was just a touch shy of too much sensation, but the heat and pressure coming from Zach’s dick as it slid along Robert’s with each upward lunge of Zach’s hips blotted away the pain completely. Robert could feel himself leaking copiously, the moisture softening the cloth of his boxers and allowing his dick to slide more easily alongside Zach’s. Zach had Robert’s hips pinned almost completely to the wall and it was his thrusts alone which were controlling the pace of their fucking.
Zach suddenly threw his head back, the tendons of his neck standing out in sharp relief as he arched into his release. Robert could feel Zach’s cock pulse with his pleasure, and the wet heat of Zach’s come started to seep through their clothes to coat his own dick. Robert’s eyes snapped closed as he felt his own orgasm fast approaching. It slammed into him hard, bright pulses of pleasure coursing through his body, collecting heavily in his dick, and then spurting out in the uncontrolled jerks of his hips.
Men of Steel Page 35
