The Legendary Junkmaster

"What happened?" Jason asked as he woke up in his bed to see Syssie standing over him.

"You've been in and out of consciousness for a few days. So I've only been able to get information when you were awake." Syssie sighed with relief when she saw he was able to hold a conversation. "From what I gathered, it sounds like you stretched your brain too far too fast."

"How can I stretch my brain?" Jason asked with evident confusion.

"Not physically, you idiot!" Syssie chuckled. "You stretched what is beyond your capabilities. It caused some bleeding, but the doc fixed you up."

"Hm, So in other words, we need to take it more slowly? That's no use to us, though." Jason groaned.

"Well, you don't have a choice. We just have to find a good balance." Syssie let out a sad smile. It seemed to her that death was trying its best to claim them no matter what they did. 

"Ok, I'm not confined to more bed rest, am I?" Jason had a pleading sound to his voice, and Syssie giggled.

"No, you're not. The doc said you'd be fully recovered by the time you could talk cohesively. I guess it was your lucky day." Syssie kept an eye on him as he slid out of bed.

"Good, I've got too much to do." Jason's mind was full of all the things he could do to upgrade the Infinity. 

It was making him restless. Desperate even. As if there was nothing else that mattered. He felt a drive infecting him. A drive to create and progress. 

Jason immediately set about gathering junk from the piles that had been restocked while he was out. His vision flashed with the lights that pointed to what he needed as he activated his Scanner. A broad grin swept across his face while Syssie wore a concerned expression. 

She could not put her finger on it, but Jason seemed different. Still, all she could do was keep an eye on him.

"Friday!" Jason shouted frantically, the hologram appeared in short order in response.

"Ah! You're finally…" Friday began to say before he was cut off.

"Cut the crap talk. I'm going to give you a list. Are you ready? Good, here goes." Jason immediately rattled off a bunch of things that he needed. Some of the items caused Friday to frown, but it should not be a problem to acquire them with Sentinel's support.

"I'll pass this along. I'll make sure they know it's a top priority." Friday bowed before disappearing in his usual manner.

Jason rushed towards the workbench that he had set up with the Chemistry equipment. 'I can't believe this is possible! It's like my eyes have finally been opened!'

Jason scanned through the different chemical formulae that were available to him now with an excited expression. He began to set up what he needed and had on hand just now before putting certain flowers through specific processes.

While that was going on, Jason began stripping some heavy metal from the scrap lying around. With his new increased knowledge, his mind already had a complete and cohesive new version of the Infinity in mind. It would still look the same, just with a few modifications.

While Jason waited on his new materials, he started off by creating small metal cylinders. These were going to be the ammunition for one of the new mods that he had in mind. Except they would be filled with a new chemical formula.

It was needless to say that Jason was getting excited just by thinking of completing this project. He felt confident that he would be able to perform much better in the next exercise. 

Once he completed these cylinders, he moved on to shaping the new armour plates. This time he planned to cover his waist in the heavy armour as well. The only weak points of the new Infinity would be its joints. Or so his opponent's would think. One of the new chemicals was a formula to greatly strengthen the materials he would use for those points.

It would make the medium grade armour stronger than before. But it still would not match up to the armour plates he was making right now. 'Ok, these should deal with Dani and Michelle if I come up against them next time. Gerald isn't much of a problem if I keep him at a distance.'

'What about Adam? He won't fall for the same trick again. I need something that can restrain him. What about a new ranged weapon? Though it would have to be different from the Arbalest.'

Jason's mind then wandered to external items. He became excited as his mind fixated on a shotgun that used air pressure to fire small projectiles that would shatter and become shrapnel.

'That seems to be good. I haven't exactly had much training. I've just forced my way through with my creations. Since it's working, why should I change it?'

Jason started shaping the metal for his new weapon while checking on the progress of the chemicals on the side. He was basically just trying to keep himself busy until the exciting stuff arrived.

Hours passed as a new exoskeleton that looked far stronger than the old one began to take shape. The chains and pistons used to give it a stronger momentum were reinforced. While the entire frame was made of much tougher materials. He modified the rear end so that the luges and arms could be opened too. That way, he could access it more easily.

He had to tweak a few things to easily control the new weapon modules that he was going to install. Jason got stuck in to inserting the wires in and around the frame while working out how to fit it all in. As he completed each part, he started fixing the interior panels that he had created. 

There was no way that he wanted to risk pulling out the wires next time. Plus, it would give him an extra layer of protection. 'Maybe I should add some padding for when I get knocked around?' It sounded like a pretty good idea to him, so naturally, he went with it. 

Now the new Infinity looked pretty good internally, but the externals looked like crap. Jason compared the schematics in his mind to the new frame and was happy with its progress. It was at this time that the Guardians finally arrived to deliver the materials that he asked for. 

Jason happily searched through the various crates until he found the flowers that he was looking for. These were the most critical items for creating the filler for his cylindrical ammo. 'Sorry, Amy, but you won't be the only one using ice the next time.'

Jason chuckled at his own thoughts. Of course, it would not be as versatile as Amy's Power, but it would still be helpful. The green flowers were added to one of the mixtures he already had boiling on a workbench. It would take some time to make a large batch of them. 

'Maybe I should create some that use the flamethrowers ammo? Oh, actually. How about I rig the flamethrower to be able to take this fuel too?' Jason was surprised that the schematic did not include this function, but perhaps that was because he did not have a clear idea of it when he generated it.

'Let's see what else I can mess with.' Jason started trying to figure out how to protect his fuel supplies for his boots and the built-in weaponry. He gradually dispersed the containers away from his chest area. Hiding them in the gauntlets and boots themselves to remove the excess piping from his central location. 

The air tanks were still a must, and he had no way yet to reduce their impact on the frame. However, he made a fun modification where he could fill the tanks with one of the many chemicals he carried in the armour. The tanks could then be ejected to create something of a close proximity chemical bomb!

Jason cut into many armour areas to insert nozzles that could be used to spray a gas that would neutralise anyone who was too close. This would be his answer to people like Dani. Making them useless against him as long as he had enough chemicals to fuel them. 

The next problem he wanted to solve was his narrow vision. But the visor was also one of the weakest points in the Infinity. 'What can I do to fix that?' Jason needed ten minutes to come up with a reasonable solution. He added layered domes to his helmet that extended forward for the forehead of the helmet.

The visor itself was made to be larger and broader. So that it covered the entire face area. Now, he would have to angle his head downwards to intercept any blows aimed at his head. The domes would deflect the blow while also giving him a better field of vision.

'It's not a permanent fix, but it will do for now….'