– ???'s POV –
Log Entry Initiated – Subject 27
Sedated male, 205 cm (6'7"), weighing 190 kg (418 lb). Six men were required to move him. He suffered a spinal fracture caused by the Supreme.
He was captured while attempting to infiltrate ArkM. Preliminary evaluations indicate a promising physique.
Removing his "suit" triggered traps, causing severe injuries to the team.
Once fully "unstitched," he revealed a lot of contraband hidden within his body. After multiple surgeries, the medical team is confident that they have removed all items.
Confiscated items included tear gas balls, acid bombs, explosives, hallucinogens, sedatives, a set of lockpicks, explosive darts, finger knives, toe knives, knuckle blades, a trench dagger, several shurikens, and a long spiked macuahuitl.
The subject 27 was expected to remain sedated for 48 hours but regained consciousness prematurely.
End of log.
….
Log Entry Initiated – Subject 28
Unconscious male, 183 cm (6'0"), weighing 130 kg (286 lb). His weight does not match his athletic and defined build, which normally corresponds to 80–90 kg (176–198 lb). The abnormal weight is attributed to high muscle density.
He was found on level 79 with no clue of his origin. Three men were required to move him.
Subject 28 carried some strange objects we couldn't identify, but the most remarkable was a trench coat currently under investigation.
Despite remaining unconscious, his body resisted intervention, severely injuring the assigned medical team.
Lacking further data, Subject 28 was classified as a metahuman and placed under observation with Subject 27, pending further tests.
End of log.
– End of POV –
With the cold detachment of a scientist watching rats run through a maze, a woman observed Allen and Batman's escape via surveillance scanners.
Far from panicking, she studied their actions with interest.
"Log entry: Subject 28 escaped his cell, exhibiting superhuman strength. Subject 27, despite multiple surgeries, retained concealed tools."
"Initial images show them in the southeastern complex, possibly heading toward biome K.L.A.Y… end of log."
....
Bruce and Allen ran through a massive corridor lined with pipes, its metal walls, roof, and floor echoing with eerie sounds, as if the facility were alive
Allen frowned. He could smell a faint stench of blood. The walls groaned, as if remembering the pain of countless people who had died there.
"What is this place?" Allen asked, but Bruce didn't respond. He was in survival mode, every sense focused on escaping.
Allen didn't press further when he saw Bruce's condition. His body bore multiple stitch marks—signs of recent operations. His face was pale, with dark circles under his eyes. He had clearly been tortured.
….
Batman – This is bad…
Hestia – Bat-boy, something wrong?
Superman – Bruce?
Since the system wasn't broadcasting to the entire DC world, they were less cautious with secret identities. After all, Allen had revealed them long ago—what was the point in hiding anymore? Of course, the system wasn't careless either. If the DC world of Diana, Kara, Raven, and the others were ever added to the Chat, it would censor any information that could endanger them.
Batman – My suit shouldn't have been breached this easily… and besides…
Batman hesitated, but decided there was no point hiding what everyone would soon realize by watching the stream.
Batman – I hide different useful tools inside my body, in case I ever end up without my suit…
Kara – Wait, inside your body? You mean literally inside?!
Barbara – That's…
Not even Barbara knew. Doing something to that level wasn't ordinary—it required a will of iron to implant potentially lethal weapons under your skin.
Everyone also noticed two things: first, Bruce had small marks across his skin; and second, he was naked.
Allen didn't offer him clothes; they were certain they were being watched. Drawing items from his system's inventory would alert their enemies. Of course, the system censored Bruce's crotch.
Minutes passed, and no guards or personnel came to stop them. That was not a good sign.
Wednesday – Most likely they're setting up an ambush.
Allen – Possible. But at this point, I'll use their ignorance of my powers to clear us a path…
Allen and Bruce kept running through enormous corridors and complexes. They knew little of the place, but one thing was clear: it was monstrously gigantic.
After several minutes, they passed by a sealed room with reinforced glass. A sign was posted at the entrance:
Level 249 – Experiment HELFERN
Inside sat a giant egg, connected to tubes feeding its contents. With his sharp vision, Allen realized two things immediately: someone inside had died, and they had died in agony.
"What the hell kind of place is this?" Allen growled, angered. He felt they had stumbled into the den of a mad scientist.
"You said it... It's hell," Bruce answered one of his questions for the first time. Perhaps out of spite, or because he shared Allen's fury upon seeing the experiment.
Neither spoke further as they ran, crossing through dimly lit darkness until reaching another entrance with a sign.
Level 247 – TRASMU AND PLASTIC
As soon as they entered, the system instantly censored the horrific sight before Allen. It was a vast space, an independent complex that seemed empty—yet something terrifying was there.
"Wait," Allen said, but Bruce didn't stop, and he stepped onto something… fleshy.
"...!" Looking down, Bruce froze momentarily. There was a grotesquely deformed human face. Worse, it was alive!
"That… hurts."
"It h-hurts so much!"
Hands burst from the ground—which wasn't ground at all, but a fleshy mass covered with dozens of human arms.
"Let go of me!" Bruce was caught.
"M-make it stop!"
"Kill me, p-please!"
This creature looked like something out of a nightmare, but the reality was crueler.
This wasn't a monster or a creature. They were humans—melted, mutated, and fused into a "thing" that, despite its nightmarish state, was still alive. Still in pain, every second of its existence.
In the Chat, many erupted in anger while others retched, unable to fathom the mind behind such horrors.
"Definitely hell…" Allen gritted his teeth. He extended his hand, using telekinesis to lift Bruce out of there.
Bruce was lifted by Allen's telekinesis while he was hesitating over whether he should end the suffering of these people.
"...!"
And in that exact moment…
A giant fist loomed in Allen's peripheral vision.
It's too late to dodge.
Allen raised his arm to block, but the force behind it was immense, sending him crashing against a metal wall.
"Damn it!" Bruce shouted. As Allen's telekinesis faded, he fell and rushed at the colossus, intent on fighting.
"Keep trying, 27…" Bane said before clenching his fist and striking Batman with enough force to shatter his jaw. Batman fell, ensnared by the flesh arms from the floor.
"It wasn't a coincidence…" Allen emerged from the metal wall, blood dripping from his mouth. He wiped it away. "Why didn't you attack earlier? Why wait until now? You knew—no matter how alert someone is, seeing that abomination would break their focus. But you didn't strike then. You waited until I helped him, ensuring there'd be an opening in my defense…"
"You're promising too, 28…" Bane said with interest.
Allen ignored his words.
Batman – This guy isn't just strong. He's incredibly smart. He's in a completely different league from the Bane I knew.
Allen analyzed Bane. The man was enormous—6 meters (20 ft) tall. Even so, his stance was that of a master, and his calmness that of a killer. At a glance, Allen could identify six martial arts styles in Bane. But perhaps that was only the tip of the iceberg. There was no comparison to the Bane who had been split in half by Steppenwolf.
'So what?' Allen thought.
He then faced the titan, who must have weighed as much as an elephant, with a half-rebellious grin.
"Interesting…" Bane took a step, crushing one of the many deformed heads on the ground. It seemed there was no mercy, not even for his own creations.
"What are you, some giant roid freak?" Allen mocked.
"That you still have that attitude given your situation… is very interesting."
"The only interesting thing here is that you think you can stop me…"
Of course, anyone else in this situation would be lost, desperate, and perhaps already dead. But not Allen. He kept a calm gaze. Of course, he didn't know if he was stronger than Bane at this moment, but that didn't matter—his pride wouldn't allow him to give in.
A white aura began to envelop him—it was his telekinesis. For some time now, Allen had developed a liking for that power, using it regularly. Pieces of metal and pipes around him began to tremble and creak, ready to be ripped apart and wielded as weapons at any moment.
But all of that had already been anticipated by Bane.
"…!" Allen froze mid-action.
Bane grabbed Bruce by the head and lifted him up. He didn't need to say a word—if Allen attacked, Bruce would be killed. Letting Bruce die was out of the question. Allen regretted giving in to greed for a moment, but he had already accepted the reward. With no other choice…
Allen's aura faded, and he raised his hands.
Allen and Bruce were captured. Due to his injuries, Bruce was taken for treatment before being returned to his cell.
Allen was dragged to an experimentation chamber…
The fate of both was anything but pleasant…
....
– ???'s POV –
Log Report, Subject 27, Day 31:
Subject 27 continued to show remarkable resilience during the first weeks. After his recovery, the first surgeries began.
The results are promising—Subject 27's body endured, surpassing the adaptability of the previous 26 subjects.
He is showing compatibility comparable to the "Supreme," which has the entire team on edge with anticipation.
During the last week, Subject 27's behavior changed. No signs of rebellion, he spends his time cleaning bat droppings from the floor and maintaining his environment.
Just like Subjects 4, 6, 10, 11, and 21—upon reaching thirty days, he submitted.
End of Report.
....
Log Report, Subject 28, Day 16:
The anomaly of Subject 28 goes far beyond being a metahuman.
Subject 28 resisted any kind of invasive procedure. Even though his invulnerability mysteriously disappeared, his body rejected all mutagenic agents.
A blood sample from Subject 28 was extracted at the cost of 23 sacrifices, of which 12 were declared permanently crippled and 7 were left gravely injured. The intervention of the Supreme himself was required to obtain that blood sample.
It was worth it…
Subject 28's blood resisted genetic alteration and withstood conditions lethal to life.
The limits were tested…
During the experiments, it was discovered that Subject 28 possessed immunity to all diseases. His immune system is adaptive—even new and artificially created diseases had no effect.
Poisons, toxins, even radiation—nothing worked. His body possesses regeneration fifteen times greater than a human's, and his digestive system adapts as needed. He can go months without food and weeks without water. His life expectancy is estimated at two to three times that of a normal human.
Subject 28 is the antithesis of the Supreme and 27, who both adapted marvelously to alterations. While 28 seems to cling to the purity of his blood.
Even though Subject 28 was determined to embody the denial of ArkM and its purpose, we couldn't help but consider his body something... beautiful.
A perfect human body—if such a thing is possible.
It was concluded that 28 is not a metahuman. He may be the first human beyond Homo sapiens.
End of Report.
– End of POV–
....
Allen had a serious look, showing no sign of exhaustion, suffering, or fatigue. That didn't mean he wasn't in pain—he had endured a lot during this time. But compared to being tortured by Sukuna, this was nothing. Besides, it wasn't like he was helpless—his body had begun to strengthen due to the treatment he received.
Even if he had limits at first, nothing prevented him from increasing his current powers. After being bathed in radiation, injected with a cocktail of half the world's poisons, and more, his super strength increased by 35%, and due to mental stress, his telekinesis rose by 25%.
However, Allen couldn't escape alone. Batman was essential to this world—he couldn't let him die. Unfortunately, these lunatics had realized that and used it against him.
Allen stood up and walked toward a wall. He bit his finger, letting blood spill, and began to draw on the walls. He had been doing this for two weeks, painting them with many animals—from lions, tigers, and bears to fantastic creatures like a dragon and a phoenix.
What was he doing?
Not even the Chat knew, since Allen had closed the stream after surrendering. The system had altered time so that these two weeks were mere seconds for them.
Allen heard footsteps in the distance and immediately restarted the transmission.
Gwen – Are you okay?!
Unohana – Darling, why did you surrender?! Do you know what they could've done to you?!
Annie – That was reckless! They could've killed you!
Eve – Allen, don't ever do something like that again!
Felicia – I nearly fell off a rooftop from worry!
Kara – You know you're not invulnerable because of Lucifer. Don't risk your life!
Barbara – Allen, Batman is my mentor and a father figure, but I would never want you to sacrifice yourself for anyone…
Allen – Don't worry, I calculated the risk. If I'd been in mortal danger, the girls would've helped me. As long as they hold back, there are no restrictions like in Fairy Tail preventing them from appearing.
Lucy – No excuses! That was stupid!
Allen – I'm sorry…
In this situation, the blame was his own, so he merely apologized.
....
The cell door next to his opened, and Bruce was thrown inside.
For two weeks, they had been kept apart, and with the immensity of this place, finding Bruce would've taken a long time. So Allen had waited for them to bring him instead.
An hour passed before anyone spoke…
"Allen Walker…"
"Bruce Wayne…"
A little late but finally a presentation.
They both walked to their doors.
Bruce's door opened with a boom, and Allen's burst open with a kick.
Both had grown stronger, ready to tear down this cursed Ark to escape.
....
Intense eyes and a twisted smile beneath a mask watched them through a monitor—the second escape of 27 and 28.
"Keep trying… maybe you'll succeed…"
====
A/N: Absolute is truly a cruel universe.
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