Arrowverse: I'm a Hero

Chapter 23: Star City Connections & The Green Arrow's Shadow

[ SYSTEM MESSAGE: Objective: Establish initial connection with Team Arrow. Sub-objective: Hint at Adam's deeper knowledge of the Arrowverse. Emotional Triggers: Intrigue, Problem-Solving, Calculated Risk. ]

Days turned into a blur of meta-human incidents, S.T.A.R. Labs breakthroughs, and Adam's increasingly seamless integration into Team Flash. His powers were growing by leaps and bounds with constant practice and real-world application. He could now breach (Vibrational Manipulation, 70% proficiency) small, controlled portals for quick escapes or surprise flanking maneuvers, and his Super-Speed (45% proficiency) was nearing the point where he could comfortably outrun a speeding train. He was also getting disturbingly good at Cryokinesis (75%), capable of creating intricate ice constructs or pinpointing sub-zero bursts with chilling accuracy.

One afternoon, the comms at S.T.A.R. Labs blared to life with a frantic, familiar voice. "Barry! Cisco! Get your genius brains over here, stat! Star City has a problem, and it's less 'speedy bad guy' and more 'mysterious tech gone rogue and possibly sentient'!"

It was Felicity Smoak, her voice a rapid-fire cascade of technical jargon and barely contained panic. Adam leaned over Cisco's shoulder, a grin playing on his lips. "Ah, Star City. The city that always smells faintly of desperation and over-caffeinated vigilantes. What fresh horrors has Mayor Queen unleashed upon his unsuspecting populace this time, Felicity?"

"Adam?!" Felicity's voice squawked through the speakers. "What are you doing there? And how do you know what Star City smells like?"

"My 'network' has very sensitive atmospheric sensors," Adam deadpanned. "And I'm currently providing 'strategic consulting services' to Team Flash. Apparently, they're having trouble with their coffee machine. Now, about this 'rogue sentient tech' problem?"

Felicity sighed, clearly exasperated but also, subtly, intrigued. "We had a highly sensitive, experimental quantum encryption device stolen from Palmer Tech. It's designed to be untraceable. But now... it's not just untraceable, it's broadcasting a jamming signal that's shutting down half the city's communications, and it's adapting to every counter-measure we throw at it. It's like it's learning!"

Cisco, eyes wide, started typing. "Whoa, a quantum encryption device that learns? That's next level! What's the frequency signature?"

"That's the problem!" Felicity wailed. "It's constantly shifting! It's like it's dancing through the spectrum! I've never seen anything like it!"

Adam, however, felt a familiar hum of his Hacking/Tech Savvy (now 40% proficiency) activating. He had seen something similar, theoretically, within the Kryptonian Data Crystal's vast archives – advanced alien cloaking technology that utilized dynamic frequency shifting.

"Felicity," Adam said calmly, taking over the comms, much to Cisco's bewildered amusement. "Forget the external frequency. It's a smokescreen. What you need to look for is the harmonic residue of the initial quantum entanglement. It won't be in the active broadcast spectrum. It'll be a ghost signal, a sub-frequency echo in the temporal-spatial matrix. Think of it as the device's signature afterimage, not its current broadcast." He paused, a thoughtful expression on his face. "And if I had to hazard a guess, based on the adaptability you're describing, it's not just learning. It's mimicking. It's predicting your next move. You need to hit it with a frequency that doesn't exist yet."

There was a stunned silence on the other end of the line. Then, Felicity's voice, hushed with disbelief. "A... a frequency that doesn't exist? What are you talking about?"

"My 'network' calls it 'pre-emptive frequency nullification'," Adam explained. "It's highly theoretical, of course. Requires predicting a future state of the device's algorithm, then broadcasting a counter-frequency into the very near future, so it's there before the device even generates its next shift. It's like playing chess, but with radio waves and a very good crystal ball." He looked at Cisco. "Cisco, you can probably adapt your vibro-scanner to predict its next shift, then modulate a counter-frequency."

Cisco, his eyes gleaming with a manic excitement that only another genius could appreciate, was already typing furiously. "A pre-emptive frequency! That's... that's insane! But it might just work!"

[ SYSTEM MESSAGE: Emotion Spike Detected: Intrigue/Intellectual Stimulus (Felicity Smoak). Proficiency Upgrade: Hacking/Tech Savvy (45%). Your unconventional genius is making waves. Keep challenging the status quo. ]

[ SYSTEM MESSAGE: Emotion Spike Detected: Admiration/Collaboration (Cisco Ramon). Proficiency Upgrade: Hacking/Tech Savvy (50% - Threshold Reached!). He's thoroughly impressed. You're officially his new favorite brain-twin. Mostly. ]

Adam felt the satisfying surge as his hacking skills truly cemented. He could now intuitively understand and manipulate complex systems with remarkable ease. He could probably build his own A.I. with a few lines of code and a sarcastic comment.

"Oliver's going to freak out about this," Felicity muttered, more to herself than to them. "He hates anything he can't shoot with an arrow or interrogate personally."

Adam chuckled. "Ah, the Green Arrow. A man of simple tastes, then. Direct. Brutish. Probably wears a lot of dark leather. My 'network' has some interesting data on his particular brand of vigilantism. Very... angsty. But effective, I suppose. Just make sure he doesn't try to punch the encryption device. That rarely ends well for either party." He was subtly assessing the emotional resonance for Oliver Queen (Determination/Willpower), preparing for a future encounter.

Barry, who had been listening in, looked at Adam with renewed awe. "Adam, you never cease to amaze me. You just... you just know things. Things that nobody else even conceives of."

"It's the burden of brilliance, Barry," Adam sighed dramatically. "My brain is a very crowded place. Full of quantum mechanics, bad puns, and highly accurate predictions of future global crises. Speaking of which, Cisco, when you finally crack that quantum device, try to get a temporal reading. My 'network' is detecting some very faint, very old, and very confused temporal ripples coming from your general direction. Might just be a faulty coffee machine, but it could also be... a very disgruntled time traveler trying to steal your socks. You never know." He nudged Cisco with his elbow, hinting at the upcoming Legends call.

Cisco, already lost in the code, simply grunted in agreement. "Temporal ripples, socks, whatever. As long as I can get this thing offline before Star City has to communicate via smoke signals again."

Adam knew he had planted the seeds. Felicity was intrigued. Cisco was more reliant on him than ever. And the faint, distant Time Travel Awareness (now at 60%) hum in his mind was growing stronger, hinting at something truly ancient, truly significant, stirring in the timeline. The Green Arrow would come calling eventually. And so, too, would a certain time-traveling rogue.

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