The Legendary Junkmaster

Jason hesitated for a moment. Of course, he wanted to find out more about himself, but at the same time, he would exposing everything about his Power to the top Guardian in the process. That was an uncomfortable position to be in when he was technically a wanted criminal.

'It's too much to just hope that they never find out. I should take what I can for now and plan a way out in case I ever need it.' Jason glanced at Syssie to see if she agreed with his thoughts. Her eyes moved between him and Sentinel before landing on Friday. Syssie slowly nodded to show that she thought it was the best idea for now.

"I agree," Jason replied with confidence in his tone. "Where should we start?"

"Excellent!" Sentinel looked delighted as Friday's hologram disappeared. "First, I think we should start with your story. Tell me everything about your Power…."

It took Jason a few hours to gloss over everything as he explained all that he knew to Sentinel. Including how Syssie was a system that was currently limiting his Power, so it did not kill him. Sentinel's expression changed many times during Jason's ramble, but it finally settled on being mildly confused.

"That's interesting…." Sentinel stroked his chin as he glanced at his apprentice. "May I see the implant?"

Jason did not hesitate to turn around and show Syssie's real body to the Guardian. Sentinel curiously studied it before using his Power to communicate with the technology housed inside. After a few minutes, he finally broke contact.

"I see, some things inside of it are beyond my Power, but I get the general gist of it. It's degrading quickly. I could fix it with my Power, but that won't be of anyone to you. I'd have to be with you at all times just to keep it stable. However, we'll resort to that if you can't find an answer before your time runs out." Sentinel flashed Jason a sympathetic smile. 

"So, what can we do just now then?"

"Simple, we just have to throw you into the deep end!"Sentinel chuckled, leaving Jason confused. "If you want to fix your problem, you need more knowledge, right?"

Jason nodded his head slowly.

"And to get that knowledge, you need to create new things. Well, what better place is there for you than right here?" Sentinel waved at the mountains of junk lying around everywhere. "Whatever you need, let me know! I'll have the Colonel send the necessary materials. Right, you should get some sleep first, and I'll arrange for you to join the Guardians basic training once you get a few useful things under your belt." 

"Wouldn't that be cheating?" Jason chuckled at the last bit, although he was grateful that Sentinel was willing to fund his crafting habit.

"Kid, this is the Guardians. Using your Power to overcome hardships is what we're all about." Sentinel laughed quite heartily at that comment. "Though, I expect you to thoroughly thrash the others whenever you get a chance."

Jason grinned at Sentinel's attitude. He had to admit, he was not half as scary as he first thought him to be. Well, at least not for him. Jason had a feeling that Sentinel was hoping to understand something more about his own Power by taking Jason under his wing. 

However, that did not bother Jason in the slightest. In the end, he was confident that he would gain the most out of their relationship. Hell, he had already achieved significant insight into his Power due to Sentinel's explanation. Plus, he now had a fallback plan if his implant began to fail him before he could upgrade it!

Sentinel ushered Jason into a private room attached to the work area. This room would be his own as long as he stayed here, but he was honestly shocked by it. He had his own fully working bathroom. The most oversized bed he had ever seen, with a proper comfortable mattress, and thick sheets to keep him warm. A desk for if he happened to get any ideas during the night or to work on his own stuff in private.

However, it was the view that really left Jason dumbstruck. He had an entire glass wall that looked out over the river below. Rust's Jellyfish that she used for transport was currently sitting in the water with only the dome end of it being visible. It was still the middle of the day, but with him not sleeping the day before, he felt drowsy now that things had settled down.

It did not take long for Jason to fall asleep when his head hit the pillows. The soft sounds of him snoring soon filled the room. 

"Sir, the apprentice, is asleep according to my sensors," Friday stated as his hologram appeared next to Sentinel, who was staring at the covers of a few books.

"Good, let me know when he wakes up." Sentinel hummed as he chose one with a blank, dark brown leather cover.

"Should I interrupt your sleep cycle if he wakes up during it?" Friday sounded concerned as he spoke.

"Yes, we don't have the time to waste. Who knows how long it will take for him to develop to a point where he can help us." Sentinel sighed as he flicked through the pages. The handwriting on them was his own. The results of years of research and studies were recorded on them.

"I need to remind you that interrupting your cycle at this stage will have adverse effects on your projected life expectancy." Friday hummed as he scanned the condition of Sentinel's body.

"I know, even if he can't help us. Then hopefully we'll have left someone behind who can finish what we started…."

"Hm, maybe…" Friday hummed. "Oh, and sir, I have a new report that just came in for you. It seems that the team out patrolling the wetlands have discovered something interesting. From the details in the report, I believe that they may have found another NEST structure…."