Page 32 of Swamp Kings 1

“Seeing as we can use all the bullshit we can get, to meet the other bullshit incoming,” the leader said, holding his hand out to Handy. “I shook your better half’s hand already. Name’s Bishop.”

Handy shook it, delving carefully into his gaze with their power to see what they could see. The man’s mocha eyes held Handy’s with an intensity of heavy, unspoken thoughts. They drew forth the man’s biosignature within his kinetic energy, bringing a tingling sensation racing up their arm then settled behind Handy’s eyes, pulsing with its own life force.

Handy delved further into Bishop's gaze, the world around him blurring with shooting colors as the man’s innate ability manifested itself and amazed them. Without any help from technological advancements, he was able to construct intricate designs in his mind with incredible precision. He could mentally draft complex blueprints, understand every detail of his creations and was limited only by the conventional means of material and construction methods available to him.

Handy’s backlash power activated, bouncing the man’s gifts through a layered interface that allowed him to envision what upgrades might look like should he get the Bat King’s bite and the Quantum King’s integrations. The astonishing five second revelation ended exactly at the moment their handshake did.

He doesn’t know his own gifts,Kaphas marveled.

Should we tell him?

Handy regarded their alchemist. “Did you know your leader is a Quantum Architect?”

They regarded Bishop and Handy elaborated at seeing their curiosity.

“He has the ability to design and construct intricate structures, blending advanced scientific understanding with creative engineering. A master over the manipulation of matter and energy. Which reflects his specialized skill set in transforming complex ideas into physical reality. Aka, Quantum Architectonics.” He chuckled at their astonished looks. “If your Bat Man here were to bite him and our boss gave him advanced upgrades, well… he’d be one hell of a force of nature.”

This got their hungry attention, even their leader. “What could he do?” Lesion asked.

“More like what couldn’t he do,” Handy said. “With the right enhancements, he could revolutionize how we handle materials. He'd have the precision to engineer specialized tools and components, tailoring them down to the molecular level. He could generate and control electromagnetic fields, giving him the ability to interface with or even disrupt electronic systems—think jamming signals or hacking on the fly. His knack for rapid prototyping would be on steroids, allowing him to whip up new tech and devices from available resources in record time.” His own excitement grew as he eyed them. “I mean… imagine adaptive systems that change with theenvironment, like automated response mechanisms or advanced sensors. He'd master energy conversion andstorage, efficiently harnessing everything from solar power to kinetic energy. And that's not even touching on his potential with nanotechnology, crafting nanoscale structures for cutting-edge medical or electronic applications. His cognitive abilities would skyrocket, making him a strategic genius and a data-analysis powerhouse. He could directly interface with digital systems, boosting cybersecurity or optimizing operations in real-time. Plus, he’d have the skills to modify environments—optimizing buildings, creating temporary shelters, whatever's needed. And let’s not forget defensive tech; he could design non-lethal deterrents or emergency response tools with ease. In short, he would be a true technological virtuoso.”

“Whooooo!” The Bat King grabbed his leader’s shoulder, shaking it. “That’s what I’m talking about,” he muttered next to his ear. “Our Eveque would be one terrifying fucking leader.” He snapped his teeth at him and the man shoved his face away with a shake of his head. And maybe a tiny bit of masked awe.

“How did you do that?” Lesion asked.

You want to answer?he asked Kaphas.

No.

Thehell noin his tone tickled his funny bone. “We have the ability to read the powers of others. And then turn it against them.” He smiled as they made the relevant oh shit connections.

“What about me?” Lesion asked, holding his hand out for a shake.

Handy regarded the hand and the snake tattoo in a strangulation coil around his muscular arm. No gifts were needed to see he was obsessed with his hermetic passions judging by the vast amount of numbers and symbols decorating the snakeskin but he surely was just as eager to see where an upgrade would take him. He locked gazes with him and with every passing second, a giddy excitement filled them at what they found. “Well, your natural gift allows you to manipulate and transform natural elements into potent mixtures for healing, harming, and enhancing.” Handy crossed his arms, looking at their leader now. “With upgrades, he’d be able to manipulate matter at the molecular level and create substances withentirelynew catalyzing reactions that would defythefuckout of conventional chemistry.” He smiled at the alchemist. “And with an enhanced bioelectromagnetic field, you’d be able to blend alchemy with advanced science, create life-altering substances while pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.” He paused in awe at his possibilities. “Yourcraftwould evolve to where the distinction between magic and science blursentirely,monfrere.”

The man stared at him, his hand slowly lowering. “You can see this without even touching?”

He gave a slight nod. “We can.”

The alchemist’s expression had Handy grinning. “Cool as fuck,” he agreed. “I’ll take you on my team.” He regarded the bat dude. “And you.”

“I’ll be on whatever team my Eveque wants me on,” he said, happily laying himself on the superpower alter.

“There’s only one team in this swamp,” the leader said, regarding all of them for a few seconds. “And for something like this… we’d let the Fate Dice decide power dynamics.”

“TheFateDice,” Handy said, feeling the energy of their collective excitement crackling the air between them.

“It’s how we decide the things we feel men are bestnotto decide.”

“Sounds like a lot of fun,” Kult said dryly, bringing Handy’s laugh.

“He doesn’t like giving over that kind of control.”

Their leader regarded him. “None of us do. But we do it. This is how it’s done in our swamp.”

Ownership defined. “My balls are your balls. MyEveque. My future balls,” Handy clarified.

Bishop eyed him. “Your balls would belong to the one who owns these swamps.”

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