Kaleb finished the last rune on the plate armor for his new armor and sighed. He flexed out his aching fingers and put down his tools. Stretching out his back, he looked along his workstation to Daivor. The gnome was finishing up his own set of runes, his pipe clamped between his teeth as he concentrated. Kaleb placed the thick metal plating into a bin below his station and rolled his shoulders.

The work had been long and tedious, but he was finally done inscribing what he could on the inside of the armor plates. Along with the runes they placed on the frame, his new arm would be tougher and lighter than anyone would expect. Now they just needed to complete the internals and various power supplies. But there was still the problem of not having an adequate delivery system for the Weikacol solution. That was going to require some testing and some creative work with alien alloys. But for now, Kaleb was taking a break.

The workshop was still a hive of motion and noise. NPCs still came and went as Roy and Marie filled orders and handled repair jobs. Clara was still with D34d-I, working out the terms of Kaleb's new deal. Apparently, the TekNik company had tried to slip a non-compete clause and the end of the contract. But D34d-I caught it and he was livid. The terms of the deal stated Kaleb could quit the arrangement at any point, but he would have a five-year period where he couldn't compete with TekNik in the field of robotics. Funny enough, Clara also flew off the handle as well when she learned of the stipulation.

Either the severe bird-woman was a talented actress or she really was unaware of the clause. Now she was tag-teaming her own company's legal team with D34d-I. Kaleb wasn't really sure what they were arguing about, but he was sure it would benefit him. If not, the whole Super Group. He had stuck his head out of the shop a few plates ago and found her and the duck still yelling at the TekNik corpo rep over the terminal's phone. They even drew a few eyes from Farrah's section of the hangar.

But Clara's absence also meant they were down a set of hands to help out. Not to mention Terrance was still out hunting. Kaleb looked around for an errant job to do when he spotted Daivor looking up at him. The gnome had a serious look on his face, and he was glancing between Kaleb's current robotic arm and the new one. He did the same, trying to parse whatever the gnome was thinking. But nothing stood out to him. The frame and metal plates were primed and ready, and they didn't need anything new.

"The forearm is longer." Daivor mentioned.

Kaleb twisted his head in confusion before he looked down at his arm. Daivor was right. The new arm was slightly longer.

"Shit. That's going to take a bit of getting used to."

"Or you could cut the wrist down on the new one's frame."

Kaleb shook his head. "It's not that big of a deal. Besides, its bulkiness does a good job of masking the discrepancy."

Daivor nodded and lit his pipe again. He took a long drag as a pair of Brute clan lizards marched out of their workshop. They were carrying new weapons as they went through the door. Not for the first time, Kaleb thought about creating a second floor for his shop. The first floor would be a place to work on orders while topside would be for experiments.

"So what now?" Daivor asked, drawing Kaleb out of his thoughts.

Kaleb shrugged his shoulders and stood up from his chair. "I don't know. We are pretty much stuck on a holding pattern until we can get the Trucium in, right? So I guess it's back to personal projects for now."

Behind him, Roy gave a loud cheer. "That's great! Then, Doc, do you mind helping Marie out with the rest of these orders? I want to upgrade my stun batons."

"What's wrong with them?"

"Nothing. But one of the aliens last night was a little more resistant to them than I would like. I want to increase the power output."

Kaleb grinned as he walked over toward Marie's station and swapped places with the young teen. Roy took off toward his side of the shop as Marie handed Kaleb a spearhead. He picked up a metal shaft and screwed the tip on before handing the spear to the Brute clan who wanted it fixed. Thankfully, the brute lizards were mildly happy with their more primitive weapons. Kaleb had offered to provide guns, but most turned them down. The hunters were the same way. Most preferred their weapons to be made out of animal carcasses. They were into swords and bows, not energy blades and energy rifles.

A big lizard walked up to Marie and handed over a metal mace. The young girl got to work as Kaleb watched Roy working across the shop. The boy was already nose-down in his work and Kaleb shook his head.

"Make sure the charge won't fry them. You know how the police hate corpses!"

"I know! Are we going out again tonight?"

"Probably sooner. So make sure you have all your gear and it's in good condition." Kaleb called back.

"Will you be taking me and Terrance out at any point?"

"I figured neither of y'all were interested. You are both Hunters and this is Super work. But I'm sure we could get a permit or something."

Marie shook her head as her rock-encrusted arms hammered the lizard's weapon back into shape. The force of her blows made everyone watching wince slightly.

"Absolutely not. I mean, Terrance might have some interest. But you can keep leaving me in the lab, please."

"Workshop." Kaleb said automatically as he handed a fresh sword to an excited-looking lizard.

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Thankfully, they had a decent surplus of standard swords. Combined with a surplus of a few other weapons, Kaleb's job quickly devolved into passing out new weapons for old. A short amount of time later, their shop cleared out and the four of them heaved a sigh of relief. Kaleb grinned as he looked at everyone's faces. They all had the same look that said 'good, now let me get back to important business.'

Clapping his hands together, Kaleb got the shop's attention. "Okay, everyone. Take a quick stretch and drink break. We'll be on it again soon."

Marie looked surly, but she nodded agreement as Daivor swung over to Kaleb's shoulder. Roy gave his newly calibrated weapon a few test swings before he collapsed the thing and stood up. All four of them stretched, and Marie and Roy left the shop to go get some food. When they were gone, Kaleb looked around at his messy shop and smiled.

Daivor must have seen his goofy grin from his shoulder, cause the gnome grumped. "Yes, it ain't the Gnome Workshops of old. But it's a good start."

"How the hell would I make this a Gnome Workshop?"

Daivor scratched his beard. "It would take a lot more wood and you'd have to get an elder gnome to bless everything. But it's something to shoot for."

"I'll put it on my list." Kaleb snorted as he looked around the shop.

Finding all his backup thermoses empty, Kaleb sighed. He'd have to return to D34d-I's office for more coffee grounds. He turned to Daivor to see if the gnome wanted to go with him, but the gnome was already swinging away. Daivor ducked into his little gnome home at the side of the shop as Kaleb shook his head.

"Traitor." Kaleb muttered as he turned and walked out of his shop.

Walking around his workshop, Kaleb kept his ears and eyes peeled. But it looked like another normal day in the hangar. The NPCs were moving about the place as a dull hum of noise echoed in the large space. He made note of the space they still had. Not only on the hangar floor, but even toward the ceiling. He figured he could get another floor or two on top of his shop. Making a mental note to bring it up to the others later, Kaleb walked over to D34d-I's office.

The yelling appeared to have calmed down as he quietly entered the oblong space. Clara and D34d-I turned to look at him as he came in. But they quickly returned their glares to the face hovering over the terminal station. He was careful not to be seen as he snuck over toward the cabinet beneath the coffee maker.

"… we've already made amends for the oversight in the contract." The face said. "At this point, you are just trying to strong-arm us."

"Oh please! Don't play the victim here, Nick. Also, we both know the anti-compete was hardly an oversight."

"Professor Strigian. I've already explained that the non-compete rider is something we place in all contracts when hiring on staff. Someone just picked up the wrong set of papers when you contacted us. Instead of the contractor contract, the Super Group got the standard employment one. It wasn't anything nefarious."

Clara looked ready to argue, but a sharp quack interrupted her.

*Quack*

"Either way, I feel an eighty-twenty split on all the Professor's invention is more than fair."

"You are not getting eighty if he keeps the rights to his inventions. You just aren't."

*Quack*

"He will not be giving up ownership on anything he creates. I can tell you that right now, and considering the amazing advancements you'll make with his work, eighty is more than fair."

"Not happening, Mr. I."

Kaleb quietly poured some of D34d-I's coffee into a nearby mug and took a sip as he watched the conversation. In truth, he was fine with a seventy-thirty split. But he knew better than to say that. This was D34d-I's field of expertise. He just needed to stay out of it. Which is exactly what he tried to do until Clara threw a wrench into things.

"Let's just ask the professor what he wants. They are his inventions, after all." The bird-lady said as she rushed to his side and dragged him toward the terminal.

Kaleb tried, unsuccessfully, to give her the evil eye. But it bounced off as she propped him up next to the floating head.

"Professor… Rat, this is the head of TekNik's legal department, Nicklaus Klaas." Clara introduced them as the holographic human head turned Kaleb's way.

Kaleb took a large swing of coffee as Clara finished speaking. Hoping that the coffee in his mouth would prevent him from having to talk. But it was not to be. As he nodded amicably at Mr. Klaas, the balding human put on a huge fake smile and stared at him.

"Ahhhhhhhhh, so good to see you, Professor. Most of the conversations around your group's deal with TekNik has been far too technical for me. But I understand that each of you will do great things for us."

Kaleb opened his mouth to respond, but Clara scoffed. "Pfft. Don't be so humble, Nick. Part of your time at the company was spent in R&D. I'm sure nothing was too technical for you."

Nick scowled as his head floated idly. "Maybe. But I wasn't much of a scientist. Which is why I moved into the legal department. Much more my speed."

"Uh-huh."

"Anyone, Professor. Like I was just explaining to your feisty fowl friend here, and 80/20 cut is far too much. Standard practice in these types of contracts is 60/40."

Kaleb nodded at the conversation before he waved a hand down at D34d-I. "Apologies Nick. But I'm just a crafter and inventor. You'll have to work out the details with my the Group's business manager. His good at what he does, though. So if D34d-I is asking for eighty, then there has to be a reason for it. I'm sure some of the more technically minded on your end can verify how beneficial this arrangement is for TekNik. Maybe you could ask them?"

Nick scowled again, as D34d-I shot Kaleb a sneaky thumbs up. Kaleb nodded at the three of them before he quickly excused himself. He had barely been in there for a two minutes and he was already deeply uncomfortable. Making a quick escape with his coffee and the grounds for his own coffee machine, Kaleb hurried back across the room.

"Professor!" Farrah's voice called out to him as he was walking around the northern side of his workshop.

Sighing to himself, Kaleb made a detour on to Farrah's platform and gave the rabbit-woman a curious look. The skinny Handler said nothing as she reached down to a nearby table and held out a stack of papers. Setting down his coffee grounds, Kaleb grabbed the papers and leafed through them. It didn't take long for him to realize they were the call-ins for Super help.

"Suspected gang activity?" Kaleb asked, reading the top page again.

"Just a few cars going missing. We suspect the local gangs are in on it. But we have no proof. There's also suspicious activity reported near the high school, Blue Bluff High."

"What kind of suspicious activity?"

"Reports of shadowy figures, lights and sounds coming from the school after hours, and sightings of gang colors."

Kaleb nodded as he read through things again. "Do you think this has anything to do with our mysterious kingpin?"

Farrah shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not. All I know is that we need to get out there today. The cops are already claiming we aren't pulling our weight tonight."

Kaleb rolled his eyes and picked up his coffee grounds. "This shit is getting old. Roy and I will head out soon. Do we have a car?"

"Not yet. But don't worry, Claire will be going out with you two tonight, so when Two Gun comes back from patrol, you can use their car again." Farrah explained.

"Copy." Kaleb nodded as he took the stack of papers with him and left.

He almost sighed with relief when he finally got back to his workshop. All he had wanted was some coffee. But that was how things went, wasn't it? Kaleb looked over at his still half-constructed new arm and sighed.

"Soon." He thought to himself. "Soon."

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