Dropping from the interdimensional portal, Robert stayed motionless for some time, ignoring the already-heard comments from the scientists in the awfully familiar laboratory. Looking at his now clean hands, which were a moment later covered with filth from the crushed skull, Rob closed his eyes. The scenes from the multiple intensive fights were unfolding in his memory, showing the gore and death in all their unpleasant light. It wasn’t his first or even the second return to this point in time, despite all his efforts to break the cycle.
It's like a broken time loop… Or, better to say, a bloody time loop. Yeah…
His very first epic fight against the group of superheroes had ended with a sudden earthquake. Shaking the building where he had just finished off the last enemy, Robert managed to see through the huge hole in the wall how the nearest skyscraper started to fall down as if the ground beneath him had disappeared. It wasn’t just a random building, but exactly where he came from. Collapsing under the huge weight, it quickly turned into an enormous mass of rubble, burying the underground laboratories with everyone, who was unlucky to stay inside. Simultaneously, a huge cloud of dust rose into the air, hiding the aftermath.
Maybe it was because Robert tried to see what the cause of the destruction was, his strained eyes caught a glimpse of the barely visible wall, coming from the ruins. Spreading like a fast-growing sphere, it was transparent and ethereal, as even the dust wasn’t moved by it. However, the moment it reached Rob, he felt the pull. The whole world went black for a second as if deciding suddenly to turn itself off. The end of the darkness was his fall from the portal, putting him once again at the exact same moment when Robert entered this realm.
Did everything reset? I need to test it…
Repeating his actions with a single change in sparing the life of the guard near the stairs, who shot several bullets in the face, Rob attempted to negotiate but met with a demand to surrender and go to prison willingly. This time the reason was different – a trespassing in a restricted area and a possible cooperation with another villain. His outburst with calling this accusation “a fucking bullshit” was treated as an aggression, resulting in repentance of the bloodbath. Knowing what to expect, Robert killed the supers much faster, but it still led to the same reset when the skyscraper collapsed.
Okay, got it. So, the destruction of the whole facility leads to the restart of the loop… but doesn’t influence my state at all. Is it because I am Transcendent? Maybe… But it seems if I die, there will be no return to me. Hmm… Wait, maybe the reason is not the destruction of the whole laboratory but that equipment that I crashed into when that stupid kid blew up everyone. But first I need to find a way to avoid fighting. Why the hell are they constantly attacking me? And they call me a villain, those retards!
The next attempt to find another wording instantly went wrong, when he refused the ultimatum to surrender. The immediate response in the form of a bullet storm led to the repentance of the outcome. In the following cycle, Robert tried his idea from Fantasy City to take hostages. The negotiations failed miserably as even before he opened his mouth to speak, the multiple projectiles were landing on his body, not sparing the scientists. A few minutes later the fallen skyscraper pushed the whole time back to the beginning.
Therefore, when Robert appeared through the portal once again and noted how the brick he was holding had vanished from his closed palm, confirming that he couldn’t take anything with him, he decided to change the approach, albeit slightly. Focusing on the scientists who were discussing his human-like appearance, Rob slowly stood up before stepping toward the invisible force shield. Readying his stance, he ignored the explosion and followed trembling with a primal cry from that demonical retard, inwardly counting time.
When it reached zero, Rob’s body shot forward, following the escaping scientists. His target was the last man to run. With a messy appearance because of visible exhaustion, crumpled coat, and noticeable bristle, the scientist differed from his colleagues. It wasn’t how he looked, but how he behaved, observing the ongoing experiment as if he was just an interested onlooker, but not part of the team. According to Robert’s understanding, such a situation could be only if the man’s status was high enough to get a fitting level of access. That meant information.
Charging through the fallen debris of a collapsing ceiling, Rob broke through the obstacle only to collide with surprisingly closed doors that had this state for the first time as if his changed behavior caused to view him as a threat from the beginning. Still, his reactor was already on full power, momentarily increasing his weight to the maximum. That appeared to be enough to smash the thick metal, giving a way for Robert. The cracks were already covering the walls of the long corridor, indicating the nearest destruction of the place. Still, there was not even a glint of worry in Rob’s eyes as he was watching how the figure in white clothes was rushing into the small door to the side. Looking like a hatch, it had a sign that spoke about the emergency exit.
His loud approach was immediately noticed, terrifying the running scientists and increasing their pace. Their hastened attempt to close the door had failed, as Rob’s hand shot forward, preventing the process. The mechanism tried to fight against Robert’s inhuman strength only to fail after he simply squeezed the steel before stepping inside. The tiny room with an emergency ladder could barely fit his large frame. Quite a few scientists were in the process of moving upward, being pushed from beneath. Only three were left behind, with his target being one of them. Measuring the escape route with his gaze, Robert sighed with disappointment as there was no chance that the ladder could handle his weight. Moreover, it seemed to go only a few levels up, not reaching the ground.
“I will kindly ask you all to stay… We’ll have a short chat,” turning his attention to scared men, Rob simply sat on the floor, covering the damaged entrance with his back. The following collapse raised a cloud of dust, but his skin withstood the hits of concrete fragments.
“And please, pull out your palm from the pocket – I can see a shining screen of your communication device… You do something stupid again – you die. And this is not a threat, just a friendly warning. Got it?” Seeing three simultaneous cautious nods, Robert lightly smiled, causing a wave of trembling from the fear, “Okay, now to my questions. Is there any automatic system to track my presence? To know my exact location?”
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“No, sir… There are cameras everywhere, but I believe during the attack all guard’s attention is directed toward the main source of danger. Plus, with the collapse, part of the system might be out of order,” one of the younger scientists answered immediately, obviously willing to show his usefulness. A moment later Robert recognized him as the man had the same name and was the one to comment on his appearance.
So, it seems this group is responsible for warning others about me… Hmm, I can use it later.
“Why does everyone attack me at once, barely giving me any ability to explain myself? You brought me here, not that it was my decision to come,” Rob continued, glancing at the messy man. As if feeling that the was no way out of the situation, the scientist gave up any idea of resistance or keeping the silence.
“I can answer that… Dr. Borston Green Junior, the head of the Augmentation project… It just started but has a lot of potential… Sorry… Today I’ve met the group of the agents from CSA that told me that there was a possibility of the attack, so they were preparing…”
“The fuck, man!”
“Why haven’t you warned us?”
Both shouts were cut off by a single cough from Robert, giving a time to the man to gather his thoughts before continuing.
“I was forbidden to disclose this information, but it seemed the threat was real. Considering the importance of the Facility, it’s not a surprise that CSA tries to prevent any stealing of valuable information on the research. They might think that you act together with the attacker, using him as a distraction,” Borston finished, wiping the sweat from his forehead with his own dirty coat and leaving an even bigger mark, “If you are willing to spare our lives, please don’t use us as hostages – CSA might see as a ploy, even going so far to imagine that it was we who brought you inside through the teleport.”
This explains why they killed the hostages… Too ruthless… Too cautious…
“And, if I may ask, are you? If you are not, then our experiment was successful and we indeed made not another teleport, but pierced the veil between dimensions… But how do you know the language? Was it a completely different realm? Or just a twisted mirror reflection?” Slowly turning the torrent of questions into mumbling, the third scientist fell into deep thought, forgetting his own circumstances. This was the moment when Rob acknowledged that all of them gave out the vibes of mad scientists. Maybe, only with such a state of mind, could they sit in the underground facilities for long, deprived of the happiness of an ordinary life.
Not that you any better, Rob…
“You are surprisingly eager to speak… Are these all reasons?” Robert asked, returning his heavy gaze to Borston. Instead, it was the younger scientist who answered him.
“It’s because the superhumans with permanent physical traits, like your increased size, are often powerful villains, barely able to control their emotional outbursts. The omicron particles have different impacts on humans, and statistics say that there is a direct correlation between appearance and thirst for violence. So, we are all afraid to anger you in any way, but somehow you don’t look too crazy… I apologize for the last part,” hastily adding it, his namesake loudly swallowed the saliva, formed because of a nervous and life-threatening situation, “CSA in these cases don’t want to risk if they can’t stop the villain – too many accidents where whole blocks were flattered to achieve it with MINIMUM casualties. Therefore, they proceed with elimination.”
So, if that crazy bitch sees me as a strong villain, who refuses to surrender, she immediately orders to kill me. If they can’t catch me – again, an elimination at all costs. Simultaneously, any attempt to leave the place leads to an explosion that destroys everything inside this facility… They may think I am trying to escape after failing to steal something as I am empty-handed. Or, on the contrary, to prevent the appearance of the other villain. Or just don’t want to risk, ready to demolish the whole place, so it would be no use… It explains why previously they blew it up instantly after I broke through the police barriers – the rule to avoid any risk at all is a top priority… Well, I am screwed. Fuck!
“Last question for this cycle,” noting the increased trembling, Robert spoke, “Is there any research about time machines, time loops, or anything remotely similar?”
“The Clock – similar to our project, but instead of dimensions, they tried to pierce through the fabric of time… They started later and I don’t know what their current state of research is,” the third man answered, finally deciding to return to reality and show his worth. Still, Rob couldn’t miss how the scientist shot a quick glance toward his colleague with a “colorful” name.
“Dr. Brown?” Robert frowned, setting his eyes on the messy man, “Do you have anything to tell?”
“It’s Green, actually… This… I…,” The two-second pause for enough for Rob to lose his patience. He knew that he was on time limit, as the survivors most likely already told CSA about his presence. The more opportunity for them to prepare was granted, the more chances for him to die. Just those snipers were annoying enough to cause a lot of trouble, and he was sure that CSA had much powerful weaponry in their arsenal. Robert simply didn’t wish to test if this stupid time loop would be kind enough to resurrect him. Therefore, Rob instantly put his palm on the man’s shoulder before squeezing. Unfortunately, he underestimated his own strength while forgetting how fragile humans were. Especially after multiple fights against supers, where he had to put his all.
Crushing the bone, his fingers deeply dived into the flesh, momentarily turning the part of the body into a bloody mess. Hastily releasing the grip, he still was left with the scientist wailing from horrible pain and a half-torn arm of the hostage. Pausing his actions and trying to find a solution to this unfortunate mistake, while an important source of information was bleeding out, Rob missed the reaction of others. The younger one immediately tried to flee using the ladder. However, the third man pulled the odd electro-shocker out of his laboratory coat and struck Robert’s body a moment later.
Maybe if he had ordinary muscles, the effect of the clearly modified device might contract his muscles, turning him into a motionless statue. Or it would damage his brain, frying some nervous connections, and sending his heart into a drunkard dance. Rob might have blacked out, feeling with the last remnants of consciousness the burning smell of his flesh. At the bare minimum, he would sense something uncomfortable, but in this cruel reality, its effect was limited to the simple sense of touch. His metallic body even failed to register the attack at once, giving enough time for the scientist to realize the futility of the attempt. Then the horror came, but Robert was already putting his huge palm on the head of the screwed-up man before squeezing, this time without any restraints. It appeared the skull bones were not much tougher than others.
Okay, this loop is a failure. Let’s try again until I get all my answers… What was the fastest way to cause the destruction of the facility? Yeah, barriers… Still, I wonder how many do I need to kill in the end?
The following escape with breaking through the ambush that had APC parked right inside the hall was intense. Restoring tens of times from the damage, Robert still made his way to the police, literally stepping over the corpses of those who tried to stop him. The earthquake, the transparent sphere, and finally reset returned him at exactly this moment when he was looking at his now clean palm while ignoring the comments coming from the surroundings. Standing up, he readied himself, not even bothering to speak with temporary versions of living beings.
Two, one… Go!