Mechanical Minds

Element-ary, My Dear Meta

Meta put down his pen, hissing after another excruciating cramp took hold. He sat hunched over the holo-screen, a sizable pile of papers and diagrams scattered on either side. He'd gleaned vast amounts of knowledge, but it was debatable whether or not it was of any use. The blueprints contained within were indeed detailed instructions on building the near impenetrable armor that had composed many of Haltmann's powerful machines. But the materials were almost entirely foreign to him, and one popped up more than others. In fact, it appeared to be the main component.

"Haltonium..." he muttered, tapping his fingers on his desk. No doubt a code name for some excruciatingly rare material. Meta sighed, and looked at his door with no small amount of trepidation. There was only one person to ask about this strange material, and he really didn't care for her. Maybe that was an understatement. He'd rather use a Gordo as a sofa than be forced to interact with that creepy woman again. Meta stood from his desk after a moment, curiosity over the mystery metal winning out over his leeriness of Susie.

As Meta entered the room, Mace hurried out before he could even dismiss him. He could tell even with the man's skull-like mask that he was deeply unnerved. Susie only smiled at him, tenting her hands beneath her chin.

"Hello" she greeted. Meta stared back coldly.

"Tormenting my crew again?" he growled. Susie feigned an innocent look, shaking her head in an obviously exaggerated fashion.

"Of course not! Me?" she quipped, faking offense. "We were just having a chat. You are an interesting man, Meta Knight" she continued. Meta narrowed his eyes to near slits. So she was prying his crew for information on him, was she?

"Intrigue is often generated by mystery, so let us keep it that way" he huffed. An uncomfortable silence fell before he spoke again. "What is Haltonium?" he asked.

"A rare metal" Susie answered, giving Meta a look that indicated she was about to make things difficult. She giggled at his irritated look. "Intrigue, remember?" Susie snickered. She gave the masked man a long and piercing look, and an idea lit up her otherwise blank eyes. "Tell me about yourself, and I will tell you about Haltonium" she offered. Meta mulled over his options with great care.

"It depends entirely on what information you hope to glean" he said stiffly. Susie gestured at the long, flowing fabric that shrouded him.

"Your cape. Dimensional Cape, that is. How did you acquire such an artifact?" she asked.

"Acquire it? It is an extension of my own power" he clarified. He lifted a portion of the fabric, revealing a subtle scattering of stars and swirling galaxies embedded within. So Mace had been telling her the truth after all. Meta just as quickly let it drape back down around him, seemingly ashamed of being at all indulgent.

"Amazing" she said softly, before catching herself and returning to her jovial façade. "What are you, anyway? You seem to be a rarity even on this strange planet."

"My species is nearly extinct" he said nonchalantly. Susie figured as such. The tissue samples she had tested from him had matched no known living species, and only slightly resembled an ancient and presumably dead race with only a smattering of information remaining of them. He didn't seem altogether bothered by it, though it could have been him hiding his emotions. "What are y-"he stopped mid question. "What is Haltonium?" he reiterated.

"Like I said, it's an extremely rare metal. It is- er, was created by synthetic means by crushing many differing elements together under great force. Unfortunately that wonderful machine responsible for creating Haltonium was both incredibly complex, and is now incredibly destroyed" she said. Meta gazed upward for a moment, thoughtful.

"Are you aware of what elements are required?" he queried. Susie laughed.

"I doesn't matter that I do, they're so exceedingly rare. And the force needed to create Haltonium is so far beyond your pathetic technology that it's laughable" she drawled.

"What are they?" he urged.

"There's your basic, everyday materials, like platinum, steel, and iron. Then some more exotic stuff, Stellarum and Pitchnium" she began. Stellarum and Pitchnium, huh? The first was abundant in the rings surrounding Popstar, but the second could prove problematic. It was a strange, ethereal substance only found in materials with prolonged exposure to Dark Matter. "The rarest component is a material discovered by Haltmann himself: Susa-"she paused for a second, then continued "-Susanum. It is a material with extreme durability, but it is too malleable to be used on its own."

"Susanum?" Meta quipped.

"It isn't named after me. The noble Haltmann would never dare bestow such an honor upon his lowly secretary" she laughed. The sound was unmistakably forced and hollow.

"Where is it found?" Susie silenced her forced giggle, and shrugged.

"Some distant planet. We entirely depleted those resources though" she said. Meta chose to ignore the heavy implications of that last sentence.

"That is... unfortunate" he conceded. A spark quickly lit his eyes as an idea formed. "Perhaps analysis of Haltonium itself could yield some answers..."

"And you intend to find it where?" Susie started as Meta fixed her with a look that was both malicious and strangely mischievous.

"The armor plating on your helmet is composed of Haltonium, correct?" he asked. Susie bristled, and put her hands to the side of said helmet.

"You wouldn't dare-"

"I was only joking" Meta deadpanned. Susie's sigh of relief was cut off by his next sentence, however. "Your Mech is plated with the same material, after all."

"As if you could hope to penetrate that armor with your pathetic tech" she spat. Meta only crossed his arms, and shook his head.

"When did I say that I intended to use technology?" he said ominously.

Susie's already pale skin grew paler.