Amunet Black was a survivor.

 

In a world ruled by the rich and full of peasants, she had learned to survive. She knew when to push, when to back out, and when to strike. She knew who to smile toward, when to accept a little 'pat', and when to catch the hand that knew nothing better.

 

Amunet Black was a survivor, and she survived a plane crash and came back stronger. Power that would have been unimaginable and something straight out of a fantasy, now at her fingertips, literally.

 

Amunet Black had climbed the evolutionary ladder and come out on top. Now she was a businesswoman.

 

She watched as the snake ushered the man inside. He was young, that she could discern from what little skin he showed around his eyes; the rest was concealed beneath his mask. He wore a black hoodie and jeans, and because of his hood, she only saw a couple of blonde locks.

 

"Well, hello, is this our esteemed guest?" She smiled brightly at the man, and he stared back impassively. She couldn't see the judgment of her status as a woman or a criminal, but she also failed to see any nervous intention. He was confident.

 

"I heard you traded in black market tech." His voice was calm and somewhat hoarse, a deliberate attempt at masking his voice. "If you can provide a photonic processor, I can consider engaging in a fair trade."

 

Amunet paused and assessed. He was confident because he had something up his sleeve. What it was, she could probably find out with enough force, but force was not the option here.

 

"Darling, would you go fetch our guest's merchandise?" She waved her hand at one of the men, and he turned and disappeared in the tunnel. Then she turned back to look at the man. Still calm and confident.

 

"And what will our guest be willing to pay for the goods?" She asked and leaned back. He looked to his left and then to his right; if Amunet didn't know better, she would've thought that he was planning on running.

 

It was after some time that he slipped a hand in his pocket and fished out a small glass cylinder. It was tapered by steel on two ends, and within it was liquid. It was a magical sight to behold as the brown liquid sloshed within, with occasional green in the middle. It released an opalescent hue that seemed to calm her down.

 

She glanced back at the man and asked, "And what would this be, my dear?"

 

"Cure." He said. "A one-time cure for almost all diseases, even cancer, A health potion, if you will."

 

Silence permeated the atmosphere as she looked back at the 'Cure'. The world had changed, and she understood that more than many. A single individual with unrestrained power. Now there lay the proof.

 

"It's hard to trust the words at face value." She wrapped her fingers around it and brought it closer. "It would require proof."

 

The man nodded. "It can also heal from almost all injuries. But it can't regenerate a limb or anything."

 

Amunet nodded back and slid the cylinder back onto the table. "But this can't be all that you have. Our products are not cheap."

 

Silence once again. The man narrowed his eyes, and for a brief moment, she wondered if this was all he had. Then he relaxed and took out a package that consisted of the two cylinders wrapped in plastic.

 

"This is all I have, for the time being." He said that and put the two beside the first. "I believe a woman of your acumen should understand better than anyone the value these would fetch. You don't get a second chance at life for cheap."

 

He was right about that, but how true his claims were—she would find out soon. "Is there a limit on the amount, based on the injury or severity of the disease?"

 

"Generally, you would want to down the whole thing for better chances. But if the injury is small and not life-threatening, then you can take it based on that."

 

It was good to know.

 

"Bring our good friend Fredrick here." She looked at one of her subordinates, and he nodded and left. In a few minutes, he was back, dragging a man behind him. The man in question had his hands bound. His face was purple-black, and his lips were swollen. He dropped in front of her like a bag of potatoes.

 

"I heard you have been feeling sorry for your conduct, Fredrick." She smiled. "So, I have decided to give you a second chance."

 

She took one of the cylinders and was about to open it when a syringe was laid before her. She looked up in puzzlement.

 

"It works better with injection rather than ingestion."

 

She nodded and took the given tool. About 2 ml would do, she thought, and she looked at Fredrick. "Give me your hand, Fredrick."

 

Fredrick looked at her, then at his bound hands, and looked back up. She knew what he was thinking, and she didn't care. She snatched his wrist and inserted the needle. Even though the whole process looked crude from the outside, the truth was that she had precisely injected the vein.

 

In a matter of seconds, the man doubled over and groaned. She raised an eyebrow at that and watched with stunned amazement as the bruises disappeared. His color was restored, and she could even see his back growing straighter.

 

"Well, that confirms it." She put the needle back on the table and looked at one of her subordinates. He was carrying a small silver case, which he laid on the table. She opened the clasps and swung them open.

 

"One Nano Photonic Processor and One Photonic Tensor Core."

 

The man looked down for a brief moment and then nodded. He closed the case and picked it up. "I guess that concludes our deal."

 

"I would be more than happy to continue our collaboration if you could supply me with this magical cure." Three cylinders might seem like a lot, but in truth, it wasn't. It would fetch an astronomical price once the news got out, but the supply would really impact her if it remained so low.

 

The man stopped, thought, and then nodded. "I will think about it."

 

And he was gone. Amunet picked one of the cylinders and smiled.

 

...

 

Nathan ran, and in minutes he was home. He put the case on his table and sat on the couch. It was a hectic night for him, but he had managed to get what he wanted.

 

He looked at the case before him and smiled. It was a rare find, and with it, he could build himself a rather good computer. Not on the level of a quantum computer, as that still required time crystals, but for the time being, this was enough. At least better than what they had at the S.T.A.R. Labs.

 

For the past few days, Nathan has gathered information. He had come to know of the meta-human known as Amunet Black. She was a criminal, what with her involvement in all black market-related stuff, but Nathan didn't care. He found out that she had some rare tech on her hand, and when he got to know that it was actually a photonic processor, he couldn't sit still.

 

This thing wasn't cheap, and Nathan wasn't rich. At first, he thought of joining her cliche to earn some off-the-books money, but the idea lost its appeal when he realized that it simply wasn't worth the trouble. So the question was, how would he pay for her merchandise?

 

The answer came easy when he thought back to the little experiment they had done in the lab. The dark matter that was collected actually had the properties of the dark matter that Barry had. Meaning it could, in theory, give someone temporary speed. If so, Nathan wondered about his other power that gave him regeneration abilities.

 

At this time, the molecular replication of Danton came in handy. Nathan was not able to create a replica of himself due to his rather pitiful ability, but he could recreate matter in small amounts. Thanks to which he was able to get his hands on enhanced polymer glass and steel alloy. This allowed him to create the cylinders that Cisco used to store his dark matter. The design wasn't really confidential, so it was an easy task.

 

With the help of the conductor rod, again a creation of Cisco, he was able to transfer bits of dark matter that contained the abilities of his dark matter with healing properties. In theory, it could temporarily give the injected person the same amount of regeneration power as him.

 

Testing the part was easy, and manufacturing a few cylinders took only a few days. He didn't mention this to anyone, as he had no way to explain how he got his healing powers without exposing himself. Then there was Harrison Wells as well; the guy simply worried him.

 

All of this was just so he could build a better computer. Honestly, Barry's power was a major cheat. Many others, and even Barry himself, considered his specialty to be a speedster. He could run absurdly fast, and that was what made him a hero. But it was far from the limitation that this power had.

 

This power didn't just grant the ability to run, but to do everything fast. You want to eat, drink, or bathe; a minute is taking it easy. Nathan considered this part to be the major potential that this ability had.

 

The difference between a genius and a normal person was that the former could grasp concepts easily and come up with new ideas and innovations. While the later required time, which they didn't have most of the time.

 

While Nathan wouldn't call himself a dud, he wasn't anywhere near the level of Harrison Wells or Cisco. Even Barry was leagues above him. But what he had was the drive to reach further than most. The powers might have been a novelty to most, but to him, it was a chance to get to know the world better, to lift himself higher, and to reach for those distant stars that he could only watch from afar.

 

Being able to run fast allowed him to read a multitude of books, learn, and practice, making months of progress in a matter of hours. It helped that, unlike Barry, he didn't suffer from exhaustion due to consuming high calories. According to Cisco, he simply didn't draw from his bodily reserves but from his esoteric energy.

 

Nathan put the thought aside and focused. Now that he had this chip, he could create a sufficiently advanced algorithm to track and understand the meta-humans a bit better.

 

It was all so he could siphon their dark matter and develop their abilities. He might not have the sheer power, but his versatility would more than make up for it.

 

As he had already collected the parts required for the computer, Nathan went to work. It wasn't easy to build a computer by hand, but he was fast enough that it took only a matter of a few hours before he saw the circuit board finally look complete. The components radiated a silver metallic luster, and the sleek design was a sight to behold.

 

Nathan brought his laptop and connected the power cord to the newly created device. He then connected it to his laptop and began the transfer. Currently it was a dud without a single line of code in, so the first thing came the BIOS/UEFI settings and then the OS.

 

It took some time, but the previously customized OS that Nathan had tinkered with a few days prior finally loaded up.

 

Nathan decided to give it a test by performing some simple benchmarking tests. It worked like a charm, and he smiled in contentment. The development of an algorithm that could track and assess the abilities of the meta-humans would take time, so he put that aside for now and decided to go to sleep.

 

...

 

The next day, Nathan arrived at the lab in a good mood. It was also when he saw someone else standing there. He had seen her a few times, so it didn't come as a surprise to him. He smiled and greeted the woman in glasses.

 

"Good morning, Miss Smoak."

 

The woman turned and smiled at him. "Good morning, Nathan, and you are being too stiff; just Felicity is fine."

 

"Then Felicity it is."