"Number One's back."
Someone let out a startled shriek, and all the Brads in the laboratory scattered, clearing out in an instant.
When Number One Brad learned from Skynet that the other Brads had shown some restraint and had not monitored the embarrassing fight that followed, he merely snorted.
He had no intention of going after them over it.
Research at Base One then returned to normal.
Number One Brad underwent detailed scans and analysis, which revealed that his rapid breakthrough to five hundred thousand horsepower of Magnetic Field Rotation had not been solely because he had encountered an evenly matched opponent. During the battle, he had also received quantum entanglement feedback from the Primordial Body.
After obtaining the Magnetic Field Rotation system, Primordial Brad had worked out his own path to five hundred thousand horsepower. Thus, for any Brad who practiced Magnetic Field Rotation, reaching five hundred thousand horsepower was merely a matter of time, provided he could get started.
But this also made it far more difficult for Number One Brad to reach a higher level.
They reviewed the footage of his earlier battle with Carol, along with the data the nanomachines had recorded inside Brad's body at the time.
Number One Brad's actual progression should have stopped at one hundred thousand horsepower.
For Number One, the levels beyond that could not truly be considered natural breakthroughs.
Instead, quantum entanglement with the Primordial Body, the pressure of a powerful opponent, and Carol's subsequent, unwitting enhancement of his body with cosmic energy had allowed him to smash through every barrier and reach five hundred thousand horsepower.
Those later levels lacked a solid foundation. Without steady, grounded training, Number One Brad had ended up awkwardly stuck at five hundred thousand horsepower. From a scientific standpoint, he might never make further