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nasa · 10 months ago

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25 Years of Exploring the Universe with NASA's Chandra Xray Observatory

Illustration of the Chandra telescope in orbit around Earth. Credit: NASA/CXC & J. Vaughan

On July 23, 1999, the space shuttle Columbia launched into orbit carrying NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. August 26 marked 25 years since Chandra released its first images.

These were the first of more than 25,000 observations Chandra has taken. This year, as NASA celebrates the 25th anniversary of this telescope and the incredible data it has provided, we’re taking a peek at some of its most memorable moments.

About the Spacecraft

The Chandra telescope system uses four specialized mirrors to observe X-ray emissions across the universe. X-rays that strike a “regular” mirror head on will be absorbed, so Chandra’s mirrors are shaped like barrels and precisely constructed. The rest of the spacecraft system provides the support structure and environment necessary for the telescope and the science instruments to work as an observatory. To provide motion to the observatory, Chandra has two different sets of thrusters. To control the temperatures of critical components, Chandra's thermal control system consists of a cooling radiator, insulators, heaters, and thermostats. Chandra's electrical power comes from its solar arrays.

Learn more about the spacecraft's components that were developed and tested at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Fun fact: If the state of Colorado were as smooth as the surface of the Chandra X-ray Observatory mirrors, Pike's Peak would be less than an inch tall.

Engineers in the X-ray Calibration Facility at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, integrating the Chandra X-ray Observatory’s High-Resolution Camera with the mirror assembly, in this photo taken March 16, 1997. Credit: NASA

Launch

When space shuttle Columbia launched on July 23, 1999, Chandra was the heaviest and largest payload ever launched by the shuttle. Under the command of Col. Eileen Collins, Columbia lifted off the launch pad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Chandra was deployed on the mission’s first day.

Reflected in the waters, space shuttle Columbia rockets into the night sky from Launch Pad 39-B on mission STS-93 from Kennedy Space Center. Credit: NASA

First Light Images

Just 34 days after launch, extraordinary first images from our Chandra X-ray Observatory were released. The image of supernova remnant Cassiopeia A traces the aftermath of a gigantic stellar explosion in such captivating detail that scientists can see evidence of what is likely the neutron star.

“We see the collision of the debris from the exploded star with the matter around it, we see shock waves rushing into interstellar space at millions of miles per hour,” said Harvey Tananbaum, founding Director of the Chandra X-ray Center at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.

Cassiopeia A is the remnant of a star that exploded about 300 years ago. The X-ray image shows an expanding shell of hot gas produced by the explosion colored in bright orange and yellows. Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO

A New Look at the Universe

NASA released 25 never-before-seen views to celebrate the telescopes 25th anniversary. This collection contains different types of objects in space and includes a new look at Cassiopeia A. Here the supernova remnant is seen with a quarter-century worth of Chandra observations (blue) plus recent views from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (grey and gold).

This image features deep data of the Cassiopeia A supernova, an expanding ball of matter and energy ejected from an exploding star in blues, greys and golds. The Cassiopeia A supernova remnant has been observed for over 2 million seconds since the start of Chandra’s mission in 1999 and has also recently been viewed by the James Webb Space Telescope. Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO

Can You Hear Me Now?

In 2020, experts at the Chandra X-ray Center/Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) and SYSTEM Sounds began the first ongoing, sustained effort at NASA to “sonify” (turn into sound) astronomical data. Data from NASA observatories such as Chandra, the Hubble Space Telescope, and the James Webb Space Telescope, has been translated into frequencies that can be heard by the human ear.

SAO Research shows that sonifications help many types of learners – especially those who are low-vision or blind -- engage with and enjoy astronomical data more.

Click to watch the “Listen to the Universe” documentary on NASA+ that explores our sonification work: Listen to the Universe | NASA+

An image of the striking croissant-shaped planetary nebula called the Cat’s Eye, with data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope. NASA’s Data sonification from Chandra, Hubble and/or Webb telecopes allows us to hear data of cosmic objects. Credit: NASA/CXO/SAO

Celebrate With Us!

Dedicated teams of engineers, designers, test technicians, and analysts at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, are celebrating with partners at the Chandra X-ray Center and elsewhere outside and across the agency for the 25th anniversary of the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Their hard work keeps the spacecraft flying, enabling Chandra’s ongoing studies of black holes, supernovae, dark matter, and more.

Chandra will continue its mission to deepen our understanding of the origin and evolution of the cosmos, helping all of us explore the Universe.

The Chandra Xray Observatory, the longest cargo ever carried to space aboard the space shuttle, is shown in Columbia’s payload bay. This photo of the payload bay with its doors open was taken just before Chandra was tilted upward for release and deployed on July 23, 1999. Credit: NASA

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#nasa #space #astronomy #telescope #chandra #chandra25 #universe

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nnctales · 2 years ago

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Space Concrete: Paving the Way for Extraterrestrial Construction

Introduction As the prospects of space exploration and colonization continue to grow, the need for innovative materials and construction techniques becomes paramount. One such groundbreaking development is “space concrete” – a remarkable blend of traditional concrete and advanced materials designed to withstand the harsh conditions of outer space. In this article, we will delve into the…

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greenfutures · 2 years ago

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youtube

They’re finally doing it: Space-based solar arrays can transmit microwave energy back to Earth, ensuring solar energy access 24/7.

#space based solar arrays #SCIENCE!#Youtube

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lets-try-some-writing · 4 months ago

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https://www.tumblr.com/lets-try-some-writing/768522286265417728/have-you-seen-the-humans-are-space-cats-tag-i

Just saw this post; how many times do you think a human snuck aboard a cybertronian ship simply because they diddnt have anything to lose on earth or just wanted to start a new life.

How would the cybertronians react to their stowaway?

You know what? I love this prompt so take a lil fic thing to go with it. Partially inspired by @nova--spark's Earth101 writing.

Human Stowaway

Report from: OSCD (Organic Study and Comprehension Division) - Expeditionary crew of The Illuminator.

━━━━━━ ⊙ ❖ ⊙ ━━━━━━━━━━━━

During out last scientific expedition to the planet Earth, we followed proper procedure and the tests we ran went as they were meant to. However, it was only once we were already en-route to Cybertron that we discovered a little... souvenir from our planetary assessment.

An organic, a human specimen that calls itself Mah-Ark Hah-Rt, snuck aboard our vessel. We were aware of the phenomenon of humans abandoning their world in favor of sneaking onto Cybertronian vessels. But we did not anticipate a human deciding to take up residence on our ship. We are just a science vessel after all, and more often than not, reports of human stowaways come from private ships and small visiting groups of younglings attending tours of Earth for educational purposes. Those humans are usually returned or taken in by the vessels they board. But in both cases, there are certain contingencies already in place for such an event.

We do not have any such contingencies. And so as soon as we discovered Mah-Ark, we opted to take care of it until we arrived on Cybertron and could send it to Captain Bumblebee, the designated liaison to Earth. With all that said, our interactions with Mah-Ark have been interesting to say the least.

Scans and close assessments using our knowledge of humanity have indicated Mah-Ark is a human male. It, (or as Mah-Ark prefers to be addressed) he appears to not be much older than two stellar cycles of age, nineteen by Earth solar standards. Despite our studies of human languages, communication has been difficult. Mah-Ark speaks only a little of Earth's major language of trade and instead primarily speaks the Earth dialect of 'Russian'. We have no idea what he is saying most of the time, but we've learned to largely read him.

So far, we've managed to figure out why he's here based on a few scattered 'memes', various pop culture references, and through having him draw things. He used quite a few English curses along with the name of several planetary leaders on his homeworld, so we assume he has been dissatisfied and tried to escape elsewhere. He also drew a rather devastating scene of several human shaped figures being hit by a vehicle, so we've come to believe he may be without a clan to lean on. With that in mind, his abandonment of his planet makes more sense.

After we pulled Mah-Ark out of the vent he was hiding in, we discovered quite quickly that humans have needs that must be met. After his internals made very concerning sounds and he proceeded to pull out a can of mushed... stuff, we concluded that we needed to get supplies. Mah-Ark needed to fuel first and foremost, and we lacked the necessary resources. Mah-Ark brought enough supplies to fuel himself for roughly an Earth week, but we had to take a detour to try and find alternative fuel for his organic frame. We would have returned to Earth, but by that point the effort would have been wasted due to travel constraints. In the end, we took a path past a techno-organic world where we used some excess funding to purchase an array of fuels.

The techno-organics inhabiting the world were kind enough to offer suggestions, but presenting the fuel to Mah-Ark was informative and annoying in equal measure. Mah-Ark was unable to use his mouth bones to pierce the thick shell of many of the nuts we purchased, and even when broken, he was still incapable of digesting many. The few that we concluded were soft enough to be consumed did not often appeal to him. He purged them from his systems soon after or otherwise was unable to keep them in his frame. We attempted to offer fruits from the techno-organics as well as a few of their other organic crops, but most were rejected by our stowaway. We checked everything and confirmed it to be close enough to Earth plant life to be consumed safely, but Mah-Ark had opinions and flat out refused a great deal of it.

Analysis of human customs, specifically 'Russia' and its surrounding territory revealed a more meat and carbohydrate based diet. Once we discovered this, we made another detour to a similar planet and spoke to the organics there for guidance. With their aid, and after confirming Mah-Ark would be safe to wander, we had our human properly outfitted for long term space travel and gathered supplies suitable for him. He greatly enjoys meats rich in fats along with various baked goods. The organics we took him to found him quite endearing and supplied us with enough to make it to Cybertron and longer, just in case. We considered purchasing H2O, but thankfully, as a science vessel, we have machinery to gather 'water' and produce it for Mah-Ark.

With his fueling and hydration concerns addressed, housing Mah-Ark was a whole other affair. Humans are complicated creatures. The mutterings from other crews with humans make it seem as though their humans are totally comfortable anywhere. While this is partially true, Mah-Ark did not enjoy many of the places we put him. The vents were too dark for his liking and we often found him crying when left alone there for long. The loss of water from his system was concerning, so we moved him to other various alcoves. He was not found of high places for fear of falling while in recharge (we were unaware humans moved so much while recharging). He disliked the space beneath the command console where there was a heater. He muttered something about 'boiling' and we quickly got the picture after assessing his liquid loss.

Even when we found a place in our Captain's quarters for Mah-Ark to reside, the human was not happy being so far from the crew. Humans are also social creatures, and thus we devised a system to keep Mah-Ark from losing too many fluids to stress. Every time Mah-Ark had to recharge, he warned us with a 'yawn' and one of the crew would hold him in their arms. Or if the crew was also set to recharge, one of us (usually decided by a randomizer), would take him to berth with them. Each of us created a small makeshift location near our berths for Mah-Ark. He liked being able to see us.

We also found that soft things were greatly appreciated by our resident human. Mah-Ark hoards things that are soft, and so we ended up shredding one of our emergency thermoplastic sheets for him to use as bedding. He seemed to appreciate it, especially once one of the crew carefully fluffed up the torn substance into a nesting material. Mah-Ark was surprisingly resourceful and wove the provided material into a surprisingly solid berth in each of the crew's quarters. Since his various berths have been created, Mah-Ark has been noted being exceptionally cheerful, at least based on body language and the abundance of 'laughter'. It was a bit difficult to adjust to Mah-Ark's frequent need to recharge, but we have learned to adjust.

By the time we had all of this figured out, Mah-Ark had been with us for almost two Earth weeks. Around the third Earth week, Mah-Ark expressed a severe amount of restlessness. Observation led us to believe he lacked enrichment. And it was through our attempts to handle his needs that we discovered just why other crews enjoy having humans around.

Mah-Ark brought various devices that were rendered useless in deep space, and so we devised a few new things for him to watch media on. Most of it was in Cybertronian, but Mah-Ark began to learn through watching out media. Before we knew it, Mah-Ark was making noises akin to glyphs. It was incredibly slurred and almost indecipherable due to his organic biology, but he learned some of the easiest terms and we soon found ourselves watching him speak like a sparkling. He learned to point out energon, various parts of the frame, and several important parts around the ship. Once we confirmed he was able to comprehend pieces of our language, we began to guide him.

Humans are quick learners.

After almost two Earth months with us, Mah-Ark spoke enough broken base Cybertronian to be understood. We learned that he enjoyed engineering, specifically working with heavy machinery. Our resident medic took the chance to see if it was possible to train a human in a useful Cybertronian skill, and to our surprise, Mah-Ark learned and became a very useful tool to scan to for micro fissures and other small issues in our frames. Mah-Ark, so long as he was properly guarded in armor and body suites, was quickly able to figure out where small errors were located and even begin helping to weld and stitch things into place.

He has made a useful medical aid indeed. Additionally, he learned to help maintain our ship and, after a few close calls with pipes, became proficient in assessing the internal wiring of the command console. His small size has made him beyond useful in many regards.

Aside from his useful application, Mah-Ark has... endeared himself to us. He has interesting insights and takes such joy in things we know to be commonplace. His short life means he had seen next to nothing of what we have. It brightens our cycles to show him all that we have discovered and learned and watch him awe over it. In turn, he tells us of his life on his homeworld, at least as much as he can. His existence is simple, but his descriptions and illustrations of his life have made him more than interesting. He's a companion. He is, despite being so much smaller and far more fragile than us, a thoughtful member of our crew.

Every day he learns more and speaks more of our language, albeit a version we have dumbed down for his benefit. He has even begun trying to create various tools to travel around the ship faster, in order to match the speed of the rest of us of course. He loves to watch and ask question. He enjoys being held in our servos. He is... more than a pet. He is a friend.

In light of all of this, the crew of the Illuminator would like to make a formal request to keep Mah-Ark Hah-Rt as part of our team. We would also like to request permission to correspond with other vessels with human crew members to learn of their ways and possibly get Mah-Ark a few of his own kind to associate with. We lack information on medical care for humans along with various other niche subject matters regarding his care. It would be amazing to have access to further resources, or even a call with Captain Bumblebee or others who are familiar with Earth.

We care for our human. No matter how small he is or how short his time with us will be. No matter how complicated it is to learn of his needs. We want to keep him. The crew of the Illuminator make this request fully acknowledging the difficulties ahead, but this stowaway is ours, and we intend to keep him if possible.

#transformers #maccadam #bumblebee #cybertronians #cybertronian culture #cybertronian worldbuilding #humans are weird

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michaelgabrill · 4 months ago

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Engineers Install Orion Solar Array Wings for Artemis II

Technicians with ESA (European Space Agency) and Airbus installed the four solar array wings on NASA’s Orion spacecraft for Artemis II on March 3. The solar array wings, attached to the service module, deploy after Orion reaches space to power the spacecraft. Orion’s service module provides propulsion, thermal control, and electrical power, as well as […] from NASA https://ift.tt/vEZ270h

#NASA #space #Engineers Install Orion Solar Array Wings for Artemis II #Michael Gabrill

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ghrgrsfdesfrfg · 14 days ago

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Part 3 is here and with it the final training of the Slayer, his meeting with samuell hayden and more !

You guys voted in a poll to have pictures, there's also one hyperlink for Hayden's appearance because i didn't know where to put it.

Not proofread, Word count: 4559

Huge credits to @baldieboi for many of the ideas present in this story and some paragraph are completely thanks to them.

Taglist : @baldieboi, @fantasticarcadefan , @fallen-angel2470 , @feral-childs-word, @bbmgirll, @hai-there-how-are-you

Masterlist, Part 1, Part 2

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Gotham’s judge, jury and executioner, part 3.

The scientist and the exiled son :

After Siberia, China and Thailand it was time for your final destination : Switzerland. After some research on which European country to visit to train yourself in the usage of guns, you found out Switzerland had very little in the way of restrictions. Perfect for a vigilante in training but Fate had other ideas in mind.

You still needed to design your suit and choose your arsenal for your war against crime yet this was a problem you were ill-prepared for, you didn’t have the resources nor the installations for such an undertaking. You decided to put this problem on hold for now and start your training at a shooting range.

You made quick progress and was called a natural at using guns, much to the surprise and slight worry of the range owner. You tried a lot of different weapons but it seems you had an affinity for shotguns and assault rifle, it was a necessity and an advantage to use such weapons in Gotham’s open streets or closed alleyways.

You will remember this day forever, it was snowing lightly and it covered the city in a snow blanket. You were absentmindedly walking when you stumbled upon a newspaper talking about a renowned scientist making a conference this very day.

‘Doctor and world renowned genius Samuel Hayden is in town for a conference about the future of energy processing and consumption. Possibility of a new and improved energy harvesting structure in the talk.’

You kept reading the article and there was a strange feeling in your body, you had to go there. Curiosity, fate or mere chance, you couldn’t tell but this conference would forever change your life and you thanked your instincts for going there.

Once there you felt a bit odd, you obviously weren’t a scientist but more like a child sneaking into a party. Most people were better dressed and looked the part while you were in your everyday clothe with your coat still full of snow, it was almost funny when looking back on this moment.

A quick look around and you saw many known researcher present in the room, you jokingly wondered how many were here for the conference and how many were here for the free drinks. Pushing that thought aside you sat down next to an older researcher and waited for the conference to start.

You didn’t give much thought about Dr. Hayden's appearance but you weren’t ready for that, he was a robot. Easily standing over 2,30M he easily captivated the crowd from the moment he appeared, after a few greetings and mundane accolades he started speaking about the current energies present on earth such as renewable energies or fossil fuels and more importantly how fast humanity was using both of them.

He spoke about using geothermal power plants or even harvesting the heat produced by volcanoes using special infrastructures, he moved on to more impressive (and fantastical) projects like drilling to the Earth’s core to use it’s near limitless supplies of lava to create massive heat converters or creating solar panels arrays in space and use the constant light emitted by the Sun to always have a steady supply of energy.

You lost him when he was speaking of using solar rays as a possible power source, the man always had an idea ! When he spoke, two project of his peaked your interest : powered armor and teleportation technology.

“Power armor as is it jokingly called by some of my esteemed colleagues is a type of armor powered by an energy source allowing it’s user to carry more equipment, take more blows without fear or use weapons too heavy for a regular human.” he started as he showed some prototypes on the screen behind him.

The screen then showed a video of a laboratory where the armors were being tested and one soldier was carrying one machine gun in it’s hand, another carried blocks of concrete as if they were feathers.

“While the military applications are more than obvious it can be adapted for worker’s use, deep-sea welding is one of them, high-risk construction become a problem of the past if you cannot be harmed by anything. This armor could revolutionize many areas like explorations or rescue missions and-”

On and on he went about the near-limitless potential of his colleague's findings, he explained it with such confidence and assurance that you were sure the future he spoke about was going to happen soon. He stopped after 2 hours of speeches and question-answering. The crowd dispersed a bit and you left for a secluded spot near a window.

You thought about leaving since the conference seemed to have come to a halt without more speeches from anyone else. You didn’t expect Hayden to come seek you in particular, he stood over you, a rare sight since you were used to the opposite.

“Out of all the guests and visitor I didn’t expect a Wayne to be here, I hope this was to your liking.” He extended a hand to you and you shook it, although he didn’t miss the way your body stiffened at the mention of the Wayne name.

“It is a pleasure to meet you Mr Hayden but I am not here as a Wayne, only as a regular citizen. The Wayne name is not for me anymore.” you told him calmly, you didn’t want to appear rude or ungrateful after his warm welcome.

“My apologies, I did not realize but if you can excuse my curiosity, why are you here ? I was mostly expecting scientists but you are not one, you are special.” your eyes narrowed at word special and you were now on edge.

“I was curious about you and your conference, the newspaper talked about your findings and development in various field. But now is my turn for a question, how am I ‘special’ ? I hope it does not mean what I think it does.” You warned him, if he wanted to try anything because you were a Wayne, you were ready for a fight.

Hayden realized his mistake and his poor choice of word, he quickly reassured you “I mean no harm to you, that I promise. We should speak of this another time, maybe at my laboratory ? There are many things we could talk about, away from prying eyes.”

You could tell he was sincere, it was not ulterior motives but pure curiosity, he truly was a model scientist. You relaxed and decided to joke with him to lighten the mood. “How many of them are actually here for the drinks in your opinion ? I’ll bet on more than half”.

Despite being a robot with no human features you could tell he was smiling at this, “hmm my estimates follow yours although I’d say they were all here for the conference and slowly started switching for the drink.” He put his hand under his head, as if he was thinking hard about this.

“As I said earlier, we need to talk about this in another place, I would like to invite you to my house or laboratory, whichever is more convenient for you. I will be honest now, there is something unique about you and I am curious to find out why but more importantly I would like to know you if possible, do not think that I see you as a test subject.”

It was funny how he was panicking to make sure he didn’t call you a lab rat or anything, you pat his shoulder and smiled at him “I understand what you mean, do not be alarmed Mr Hayden, in two days at your laboratory then ?”

Hayden brightened at this, he was used to scientific interaction, it was refreshing to be treated normally. He offered to shake your hand “Call me Samuel, no need for the mister.”

This meeting would be the start of something great, something you wanted your whole life: a genuine connection with someone.

A scientist, a friend and a father :

Hayden was nothing short of welcoming and an interesting character, his laboratory was filled with various blueprints posted on the wall and numerous machines at every corner, shelves full of batteries of some kind and even miniatures of the structures he spoke about at the conference.

“Forgive the chaos in the room but sometime I work on multiple experiment at the same time and time to clean is sparse, however feel free to take a look and ask about anything that catch your eye, be mindful of the batteries however, they are unstable.” Hayden said as he showed his lab to you, it was the movie cliché of a laboratory.

The walls were white, so much so that the light were nearly blinding in the reflection. You approached a nearby table and looked at a device, “what is this ?” you asked him as he dimmed the light a little.

“A device made to absorb shock and re-distribute it evenly throughout it’s anchor point, be it a building or a vehicle. I believe it is possible for it to even keep the energy of the shock and spend it in one blow, a kinetic weapon if you will. It will revolutionize the way architect and engineers will fight earthquakes.”

You saw the potential of such a thing, no need for specialized infrastructures anymore, you were glad that he was focused on the betterment of Mankind. You were worried he only wanted to make weapons at first but you were sorely mistaken, everything inside was meant to help people one way or another.

A new power source, better and more secure ways of working or entire tools rebuilt from the ground up to ensure easy use. You saw a round pad at the end of the room and Hayden followed your gaze, “I see you noticed it, my magnum opus.” Hayden said proudly.

“It is a teleporter, a prototype at least but just imagine the possibilities, instant trading for example ! A country experiencing disasters ? The people can be moved directly to a safer place, food sent to the needy instantly ! Isn’t this exciting ?” Hayden explained, he pointed to various buttons and even gave you a demonstration.

You put a pencil on the pad and after a bright glow it was sent to a smaller pad a few meters away from it, “this is wonderful” you couldn’t believe it ! “Just… how is it possible ?” you were clearly shocked by such technology.

Hayden beamed, pleased that someone had such interest in his inventions. “Science, trials and errors as well as determination, I strive to push the boundaries of Science for the betterment of humanity.”

“As for your question, it deconstruct the target on a molecular level then ‘store’ them and send them to the chosen pad, for now I only tried it with object since the slightest error could result in unforeseen consequences for the user” Hayden explained, he showed you various fruit and vegetables that came out burned or split in half after a failed teleportation.

The two of you discussed about various experiment until you asked to begin the tests he mentioned at the conference, eager to discover things you didn’t know about yourself and your biology? According to Hayden, you were unique and it was time to discover why.

You sometime wondered about it, what was so special about you ? You tried to ask Bruce about it only to be ignored or given vague answer. You wanted to know since childhood and you finally have the opportunity to get long-awaited answers.

It started with physical exercises where you surpassed his expectations, he analyzed it all and started creating some hypothesis. At first they centered around gene-tailoring : multiple genes artificially implanted in an embryo to guide the specimen’s evolution.

He tested your body’s limit next, rigorous and downright impossible task were used such as lifting weight any humans would struggle with and carry them for as long as possible, he also tested your regeneration as such a trait could come in multiple versions.

You told him about the wound Ursa Major gave you on the chest and shoulder, how you felt the pain disappear very shortly after and he proposed some blood test to figure out what you were exactly.

“I am looking at something incredible Reader, something unique and safe to say, never-seen before genetic traits. For lack of a better word, you are part human, part alien. I cannot completely pinpoint your heritage but you are something closer to a being like Wonder-woman or Superman.”

You couldn’t believe your ears, Bruce himself had some suspicion but now you knew. You were different, alien. “what do you mean ? Am I a kryptonian or have an Amazon ancestor ?”.

Hayden looked at the results, then you and the results again. “I cannot say, I would qualify you as Homo-superior in this case. Most of your genes are human but your father or mother gave you unique genetic traits such as your endurance or regeneration. You probably cannot fly or hear for kilometers away like Superman but… You are a new category of hybrid, I have never seen this before.”

Homo-superior, a new hybrid. You had the answers you wanted but more question, who and what was your mother ? Did you unlock your full potential ? What are you capable of exactly ?

Power and family :

Over the next few months Hayden kept testing various formulas and regimes on you to try and figure out how your biology worked, what exactly you were and especially how to fully awake your powers.

While you were training with your guns in various exercises he approached you and told you a fantastic news: he built a machine calibrated specifically to your body and he was confident in it’s ability to help you.

As you both stood near the machine he placed a hand on your shoulder and told you “The choice is yours, it will work and unlock the rest of your abilities or you can also choose to not do it. When we met I expressed curiosity to know more about you but I refuse to force you into such a dilemma, this is your destiny and I will not rob you of that.”

You were touched by his words, when you first met him you thought he would use you as a lab rat and dispose of you when he knew what he wanted to get out of you but it was clear Samuel Hayden was an honorable and kind man.

“Samuel… I do not know what to say, you’ve already done so much for me and you keep on giving, how can I ever repay you ?” you didn’t know what else to say, what could you say to the man who gave so much of his time and resources to help someone he met at a conference ?

Hayden looked away for a second then turned back to you.

“I had a son once and you remind me of him, such a passion for everything he did. You once told me you wanted to bring justice to your city, to get rid of the problem at the root, it involves killing but I can tell you will not do it recklessly.”

“I know you will do everything in your power to protect those who cannot protect themselves, I know you will have to kill one soul to save another but you will do it without joy or pleasure and for that, I choose to help you. I choose to help the one willing to choose the difficult option so others can live a better life.”

When Hayden finished he placed a hand on your shoulder and you hugged him instantly, it felt natural now and almost… familiar.

“You understand me, you know of my choices and instead of telling me to change my path you debated it with me and showed me why it had to be done. I want to save these people and I will honor your work.”

“Hayden” you started with confidence “power the machine, I am going in.” Hayden nodded and gave you a serious look. “Whenever you are ready, reader.”

You sat down and in the machine and listened to Hayden’s instructions, “it is important of you to tell me what you feel during the entire operation, the slightest feeling can be important as this is an extremely experimental procedure meant to quickly evolve your body with small doses of radiation and electric shock. Am I understood ?”

“Yes, I am ready” you told him and with a final nod he powered up the machine, you felt like you were surrounded by light. Nothing really hurt inside, it’s as if you were numb or dreaming for a few second/minutes.

You told him what you felt and slowly the power increased until a surge of electricity surged through your body and you felt the sudden change.

You felt your body becoming stronger, something better.

Slowly the power lessened until it was completely gone and he released you from the machine.

“How do you feel ? Are you injured in any way ?” he checked you for anything but to his surprise you felt better than you ever did before, as if you could take on the world ! “I feel… incredible, Hayden thank you !” you jumped and hugged him with joy.

The machine did more than awaken your genes, it unshackled you. You learned things faster, felt stronger to the point you managed to push a car with your arms without much issue.

Hayden approached you and smiled internally. He gave you some blueprints and told you it was time to work on your armor and gadget, something you were excited to do.

“Let me tell you what I will need Hayden, an armor capable of movement while offering protection, guns strong enough to punch through armor easily and gadgets to adapt to the situation at hand.”

He took notes and gave you blueprints as you listed each tools in your future arsenal and had to account for your shield, the final list was narrowed down to : two melee weapons, two shotguns, two energy weapons and an assault rifle.

The gadgets were more difficult to narrow down but at the time he proposed a lot of different grenade like energy grenades or high-voltages grenades.

The first weapon to be upgraded was the double-shotgun you got in Siberia as a reward for killing Ursa Major, he added a hook to it much to your confusion but you soon realized the advantage it could bring since it could act as an improvised grapple or bring someone to you via it’s hook.

It can shoot most shotgun shell without issue but consume more ammo than your second shotgun however it excel at dealing extreme damage to a large group of target thank to it’s increased spread

Your other shotgun was created from scratch and is one handed like most of your other weapons, this was a necessary outcome since you were wielding a shield in your other hands, this shotgun also possess a bladed cross in case you ever needed to hit someone with it.

It’s a combat shotgun using normal rounds and sometime Dragon’s Breath round to set the target on fire. It possess a much stronger impact than most shotgun as it designed to quickly kill targets.

Next came your shield, it was gifted to you in Thailand and you were reluctant to upgrade it, fearing it would dishonor the previous owner but Hayden reassured you that whoever held it in the past would be honored to see it used instead of being forgotten on a shelf, hence it became the Chainsaw-shield or Chain-shield as Hayden jokingly called it.

It was upgraded to include a round chainsaw frame and a magnetic lock linked to your gauntlet, meaning you could send the shield away and call it back to you, it also gave you another lethal weapon to use in close quarter combat in case you ever needed to saw someone.

Next came the flail but no upgrade could be done to it, Hayden simply provided you with a holster on your belt to better hold it.

You were confused when Hayden wrote “energy weapons” on the list, he surprised you by opening two cases on a table and giving you two experimental weapons: the plasma rifle and the Accelerator.

The plasma rifle run on battery power placed in the middle of the weapon and has different upgrade, one were the shot are more powerful the longer the gun shoots and the other where the battery can be thrown as a grenade it overheats.

This weapon is useful against any type of enemy since the burns inflicted by the plasma cauterize the wound instantly which is useful to interrogate anyone unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of it’s barrel.

The second energy weapon was the accelerator, an energy pistol similar to the plasma rifle with a high rate of fire and two upgrades, more accuracy and damage when reaching a certain threshold or another upgrade which released an electrical shock to close targets when the gun overloaded.

Despite it’s low accuracy it was good to inflict burning wounds on any enemies with it or shock multiple of them.

The final weapon to be created was a compact assault rifle using tungsten-tipped round, this gave it a massive firepower as well as armor-piercing capabilities, Hayden scaled it down as much as he could but it remain the only weapon in your arsenal that needs to be used with two hands and as such it’s only upgrade is a sight or a larger magazine.

You weren’t ready for the day he gave you the armor schematics, it took a long time to develop and it felt like the two of you grew closer when designing it, staying up late and coming up with ideas was something you both enjoyed. You got to see Hayden in his environment, designing and creating to his heart’s content.

That day, the dynamic would change between you two, he handed you the schematics of the armor and said he had to leave for a while.

You opened the file and skimmed through the various paper when you found a folder, you opened it and it was adoption paper. You had to read it a second and third time.

Samuel Hayden wanted to adopt you, he wanted you as his son and you couldn’t be happier. You wanted him as your father.

Hayden was very nervous when he left the room, would you accept ? Deny it and leave ? All of the possibilities scared him but when he came back you instantly hugged him and cried that you accepted ! You both cried that day, tears of joy and happiness.

“The armor schematics was just an excuse for you to see the paper but I wanted to make it special, here is your armor… my son.” it felt so natural by now, as if he wanted to call you that from the day he met you.

After that touching moment he led you to another room and opened a container with your armor inside.

“Every inch of this armor is covered in reinforced plates with at least 4 different layers of protective material such as Kevlar to ensure maximum protection against any threat be they ballistic or physical. The boots and gauntlet are both equipped with the Kinetic-Shock-Absorption device or KSA, it will allow you to accumulate energy from any impact or shock to then use it for devastating ground slam, creating a shock-wave with a punch or kick and even jump from high heights without harm”

“The layers of armor are all interconnected but not rigid, this allow for better mobility while still giving ample amount of protection, the red dot on the armor is the battery for the various system in the armor like the integrated exoskeleton in the legs to help you move this armor without difficulties”

“Your arms aren’t as covered as the rest of your armor since it would limit your movement, however your shield will help with this, it can be mag-locked to the back of your armor or the arm of your choice, I also took the liberty to add the pelt of Ursa Major to your armor since you insisted to carry it with you. The shoulders are also covered with spikes to prevent someone jumping on you.”

“The gauntlets are heavy but come with spiked finger acting as a brass knuckles, the KSA and the mag-lock to recall your shield.”

He explained all of the various equipment in the armor and gave you the belt and helmet as he pointed to various parts of the armor.

“This belt will carry all the necessary tools you will need on missions such as grenades, your flail and any other devices you wish to bring with you. The helmet will hide your identity and provide you with a scanner, radio and map of the city, I can also help you if needed via the camera feed directly from the helmet.”

You tried the armor and it just felt… right. Unlike what Bruce gave you when you were still a Robin this armor felt like home, it was an extension of your being.

“Thank you isn’t good enough to show you how much I love it Hayden, you have given me everything once again and I cannot thank you enough for this wonderful gift.” you told him with tears in your eyes.

Hayden hugged you tightly and looked you in the eyes, “then bear this armor with pride son, you earned it through hard work and determination, I made it but you will be it’s true master. So please, use it to protect your city, use it to protect those who cannot and honor it’s purpose.” Hayden said, his voice full of pride.

United in purpose, bound by family :

After training some more with your armor it was time to head back to Gotham with your father. He insisted on coming with you since he didn’t want to leave you alone in “such a dangerous city” he said with a voice dripping of sarcasm but he also came with you to work on future experiment there and possibly meet your bio-dad, Bruce Wayne.

The ride to the airport was charged with emotions, you were finally coming back to Gotham after 5 years but instead of the grief you experienced last time, you were coming back stronger than ever with your father, your true father.

When boarding the plane, he asked “How do you feel ? Ready to come back to Gotham ?”. You looked at him with determination and told him “Ready, more than ready and this time I don’t intend to loose anyone to crime. I will protect those I love and punish those deserving of it.”

The criminals and villains of Gotham will soon be reminded that they should fear justice, feel the wrath of someone willing to hunt them and bring them a swift and decisive justice.

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