The sight of the familiar laboratory was long imprinted in Rob’s mind. Maybe at this point, he knew it even better than the scientists who worked inside, trying to tear the fabric of space and open the passage into another realm. And, despite Robert’s appearance, they failed, almost repeating the scenario of his own life. To achieve something and still to lose in the end. Robert Flop was true to his nature. And that was what might have been waiting for him in the near future, once again confirming his family name. However, for now, Robert looked again at the faces of the scientists. He knew their personas, their stories, their reactions to the fear of death, and much more. But for the first time, he was happy that soon this knowledge would become pointless.
“I think it copied our appearance,” one of the junior scientists suggested, who had the same name as Robert. The young man was first to greet the loop prisoner in each of the resets, hastily jumping to conclusions. It never mattered how Rob looked like as the scientist always had his own assumptions to share with others.
“You are mistaken,” Robert spoke, interrupting an attempt of the leading scientist to teach his subordinate, “I am a villain, who used your portal to get inside. There will be an attack on the Facility in a few seconds, so better run,” Finishing his speech, Rob widely smiled, simultaneously preparing his body. The pitch-black armor already covered him, adding a light glow on top. The next moment, even before the men managed to process his words, Robert launched forward.
The force shield cracked at once, failing to stop his accelerating body. Then the sonic boom came, shocking the scientists and finally sending everyone in motion. Especially, when a loud explosion shook the underground laboratory. The following trembles and the roar of a primordial predator that penetrated the thick concrete only added more fuel to the overwhelming fear that washed over their minds, wiping all previous training and leaving only a single desire – to live. However, Rob never saw it, focusing on his planned actions.
Smashing the corners of wide corridors as if he were an angry bull in chase after an annoying human in the middle of narrow streets, Robert quickly got to the laboratory’s door. Not halting his motion, he simply ran through the obstacle. The bulletproof door, made from thick metal, melted from a mere moment of contact, leaving a human-like hole in the center. The groups of CSA agents were already inside, trying to get the futuristic-looking device from the container.
Dressed in formal dark suits, equipped with automatic rifles, there were five of them. The bigger guy was exactly in the moment of taking the result of long and expensive research, which had the look of a self-made gun with all exposed wires and a visible battery that barely fit the frame. The other three looked the same, almost as if they were chosen to create a feeling of cloned CSA agents. The dark glasses that covered the third part of their faces only helped to achieve this odd goal. Led by a tall woman with a cold expression, they reacted immediately. But so did Robert, instantly jumping into action.
The light slap shattered the jaw of the nearest agent, sending him flying into the wall. Two more lightning-fast strikes knocked two others before Rob paused in front of a big guy. The latter was already trying to charge the Broom, making it glow with sinister light. However, Rob was faster. Gently gripping the forearm, he squeezed, breaking it at once and making him release the weapon. An additional slap sent the big guy unconscious. This was the moment when Sarah decided to remind him about her existence. Sprinting from her spot, she sent a flying kick toward Robert’s back of the head.
He had to react fast to nullify the effect of a destructive layer while increasing his weight so as not to be thrown away. The Broom was in his hands, and he wanted to avoid damaging it. Sarah still tried to continue with follow-up attack, but Robert had no wish, no time to waste. Turning around, he caught the flying leg before shooting forward with his fist, piercing the air mere centimeters from her face, causing a wave of fear. The latter intensified when a sonic boom followed, hitting her ear with a sudden sound and disorientating her for a second. Then the pain came, waking her at once. Looking at her leg with horror, she found that her knee was bent in an unnatural way. Then the pain came.
“CSA has supers that can heal it, but for now I need you, Sarah, to be quiet and listen. A lot depends on you…”
“Release her! Now!” It seemed the women’s scream and commotion caused Demonologist to rush to the laboratory faster than was expected. Glancing through the melted hole, the demonic-looking super immediately ripped the metal apart, exposing his towering figure with a bone crown on the reptilian-like head with only traces of resemblance to humans. A thin torso with visible ribs under the dark red skin. Multiple bone spikes were protruding across the spine, which ended with a short tail that had an improvised natural mace on its tip. Massive muscular limbs with claws. Glowing yellow snake eyes, a huge toothy maw, and a hole instead of the nose made the awful appearance of Hell’s descendant even scarier, especially when the owner of it barely held the hatred inside. It was burning strong that Demonologist was on the verge of lunging forward, and only the weapon directed at lying Sarah stopped him.
“You look much nicer in this form,” Robert spoke, “drop the kid to the side and step in. I was waiting for you.”
“Don’t you dare do something with her,” the growling voice of the transformed super tried to threaten him with just a sheer sound. Deep, it had something truly demonic inside, pushing some spots in the soul and causing an instinctive reaction to forfeit any resistance in front of the true bringer of the destruction. At least, that was what Sarah felt, despite not being a target. However, it seemed there was no reaction from the villain.
“Do it,” Robert simply repeated his order, charging the Broom to hasten the super. The glowing violet light instantly increased the pace of the hero. Pulling the unconscious kid inside, Demonologist shoved him into the corner, not even bothering to be careful. All his attention was focused on Rob, clearly searching for the opportunity. And it was granted just a second later, when the barrel of the Broom moved from the woman only to aim at his demonic figure, “Let’s start then.”
The launch of the superhero was instantaneous. Leaving deep holes in the surface, Demonologist threw his body forward in a lunge, outstretching both his clawed paws in an attempt to grip the pitch-black villain. However, it appeared that the latter had an even better reaction, easily side-stepping. With one hand occupied with the Broom, the villain still managed to elbow the head of Demonologist, shattering the ugly skull in a single hit. Even before the transformed hero did anything, the world went black. His regeneration kicked in, quickly fixing the damage, but the villain made another punch. Enveloped in glowing light, his fist simply pulverized the head of the hero, once again darkening the surroundings for the unlucky guy.
Let’s finally end it…
There was no hesitation in Robert’s action. Moving like he trained everything despite doing it for the first time, Rob finished the charging of the Broom. The next moment the device was aimed at the body of the man, whose insane restoration ability made him unkillable. At least with the obvious measures. However, Robert once found a way to kill a similar, albeit weaker creature, who tried to speak about his invincibility.
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That vampire died, and so would Demonologist.
The wide arc of violet light enveloped the lying hero, who was in the process of reforming his head. The reaction after the hit was immediate. The superheroic body started to collapse from the inside. The process of rotting seized the whole demonical creature in a fraction of a second before turning into ash. Under the never-stopping light, the latter was wiped from existence a moment later. The mighty figure of Demonologist simply vanished, replaced by a tiny blob that was still connecting his beating heart and brain. Hovering in the air and creating a dreadful feeling, it attempted to restore the hero back.
Not going to happen!
Draining the battery of the Broom by overcharging the device and not stopping the wide beam, Robert stretched his hand forward. The violent and violet light didn't affect his metal limb, so within an instant, he was gripping the blob with his hand. There was a terrifying scream akin to a dying animal behind when Sarah tried to stop him, despite the stream of tears. Rob didn’t know where she got a gun, but several bullets hit his head in a row… only to melt from the contact with his defensive layer. He, on the other hand, was focused on creating multiple spikes that simultaneously penetrated the living organs.
Burning their way through surprisingly tough flesh, they pulled the brain and the heart together. Fighting for its existence, the central part of the superhero tried to envelop itself in the scarlet sphere, summoning the next transformation. However, Rob was faster. Abandoning the Broom as the weapon was on the verge of failing after overheating, he gripped the forming sphere with both his palms. Pulling his obsidian steel, he was a fraction of a second faster, enveloping both organs into a created prison. The destructive layer on the inner side was already trying to disintegrate the remnants of Demonologist. Then Robert squeezed with all his inhuman strength. Adding a mental command on top, he smashed the ball until it reached the size of a peanut.
“What have you done, bastard?” Sarah’s shout managed to get through his concentration. Looking at the crying woman, who was in search of the ammo, Robert sighed before answering.
“He isn’t dead… yet,” As if confirming his words, the ball shook, trying to return to its previous size. Robert felt like it was resisting being scorched, again and again regenerating with a stubborn persistence. Such dedication to survival pushed Rob’s thoughts in a strange direction. Demonologist appeared to be quite similar to Robert in terms of powers. Insane regeneration that came from his inner core and was fueled by the outside force that potentially came from Hell – the analogy with Rob’s situation was too telling.
Are you fucking Transcendent? Or what? But with looks, a girl, admiration from others, and even with a normal life… Doesn’t matter – time to die, fucker. You are too dangerous for this world. I only hope I won’t follow your example soon…
Gripping the ball with his hand, Robert ordered his obsidian steel to move, exposing his gray chest. Making an unneeded breath to firm his resolve, he used his other hand to cut through the metal flesh, simultaneously helping by dispersing the part of his body. Only by reaching his rector core, Rob paused once again. There was a short pause that was interrupted by Sarah, who started to use an automatic rifle in a futile attempt to shoot him. This fact made Rob quicken his actions as there wasn’t much time left. Therefore, he pushed the ball with Demonologist’s living remnants into his sphere.
For the moment there was a resistance, but it was Rob who was in control of his metal being. So, he lowered the shield. Instantly the chaotic stream of energy shot, disintegrating half of the corridor. More and more came, burning the concrete and ruining the laboratory in a matter of seconds. However, after several situations where Robert had to take control of his pierced core, he had enough understanding of how to do it. Especially when he initiated the event, ready to act and know how to do it. Fighting against his own unstable core, he spent only several seconds shoving the newly acquired ball inside before restoring the force shield.
Still, no matter how fast Rob tried to be, the process felt long, taking all his attention just not to fall apart during this self-surgery. His pitch-black armor dispersed, turning into formless constructs that seemed to act by their own will. His protective layer disappeared, exposing his metal body to Sarah’s bullets. Even some parts of his body were deformed, failing to keep their shape, or even completely disappearing without a trace during this process when the will's focus that controlled its existence waned. There was no pain, just a race against time. And Robert lost, as when he came back into consciousness, half of the Facility was destroyed by his energy streams. At least the view of upper levels with terrified scientists was too telling, explaining what had happened in a short time frame, when Rob focused on his task.
Turning around and finding Sarah in a state of cold hatred, Robert inwardly sighed. The odd sting of pain was burning inside, reminding him that there was a living being trapped, who never stopped trying to get out. Then there was a sight of the facility on the brink of collapsing with multiple dead, turned into ashes, or being killed by debris. Moreover, knowing Sarah and her methods, Robert could bet that there was a welcoming party waiting for him on top of the nuclear blasts. In this situation it was impossible to avoid new deaths, adding more to the final count of his attempt to be a hero.
“Listen carefully, Sarah. You can take any revenge you want for killing your lover but think about the casualties. You can’t kill me with anyone or anything you have prepared, so your best bet is a nuclear blast. Plasma missiles won’t work. TripleShot and her…or their bullets don’t have any effect on me… You can throw anything you want at me, but if the military strikes me before I leave the city, it will be on your conscience. All those deaths of civilians or supers will be the result of your decision. I warned you… After I leave the city, you can use whatever you want to kill me. Be my guest… But I ask you to be reasonable in the city borders. Decide right now, otherwise bear the consequences.”
Robert spoke calmly, looking at the senior agent, who was biting her lips, trying to suppress boiling emotions. The teary eyes were radiating hatred, but her cold mind was still holding her together from crumbling under the stress and sorrow of loss. Her indifferent cold mask broke, but Rob still saw her strong character. In the end, he failed to find a better solution for saving the city, obediently taking the role of the villain. However, now it was her turn to make a decision. Robert knew that he could fight his way through CSA, superheroes, and the military. The problem was in the latter as he had no idea how they would react and what they would use. And the woman, who had lost her lover because of his deeds, was the one to communicate with them, having at least some influence on their potential methods of dealing with the global threat to their authority.
“Why? Why did you do it?” Rob only started covering his body in pitch-black armor, but the sudden question halted his actions. Sarah’s voice was quite, weak, but he still heard the sincere desire to know the reason. To understand what had driven such ruthless actions out of nowhere.
“The kid fucked up badly with the serum, causing potentially a huge mess. Apocalyptical scale mess,” He pointed at the teenager, who never came back to sense up to this point,” And I decided to clean this mess, even with the price of turning into a villain… Farewell, Sarah. I hope we will never meet again… Make your decision. The clock is ticking,” Hiding his face under the black steel, Robert turned around and tensed his legs. His frame started to glow. In the next moment, he shot upward, penetrating the concrete and the earth in one motion, disappearing from Sarah’s sight.
The woman spent another second looking at the now empty spot before taking her communication device. She indeed had a decision to make. An immediate revenge with potential multiple deaths of innocents, who might be caught in action, or the risk of villain’s escape that would decrease the chance of a massive battle inside the city blocks but leave her lover’s death unavenged. Emotions or rationality. The choice was only hers at this exact moment.