Artemis made his way towards the tall white building and realized there were fewer and fewer people as he got closer to the building. Standing outside, he watched as a group of people in all white walked in and out of the building.
He patiently waited until a researcher came out. Once he turned the corner, Artemis immediately knocked him out and dragged him into a corner. Exchanging clothes, he took a deep breath and walked into the white building.
Stepping in, he immediately noticed that it was eerily quiet. The guards standing there didn't even seem to react as he walked in. He cautiously walked through the building and looked at the different rooms.
It didn't take long for him to realize that this "lab" was experimenting on infected -- both Reapers and Variants alike. Some of the infected were still alive and seemed to be writhing in pain. He wrinkled his nose in disgust as he continued to explore the place. It seemed oddly unguarded for a lab of this caliber.
He wasn't born with any particular sense of justice, so didn't feel compelled to save everyone. Rather, his focus was to save Aida's companion who seemed strong, only he could help them at this point.
At that time, he heard a loud roar of anger. Curious, Artemis walked towards the noise and saw Lucifer tied on a bed in an isolation chamber. He was talking to a lady in heels and a white lab suit.
Lucifer seemed to be extremely emphatic about his statements as he tried to wriggle out of his restraints and attack the lady. The lady simply watched him with intrigue as she continued to look at his vital signs.
Realizing that he was in the right place, Artemis stood outside and watched. Right then, Noah looked out and stared directly at him before signalling him to come in.
Startled, Artemis froze for a second, thinking he had been caught, before quickly realizing that he was in a scientist's uniform. He adapted and shuffled into the room.
Not realizing his stiffness, Noah casually signalled to him. "Draw some of this specimen's blood and bring it down to lab A. I was to test his cell's metabolic rates, he woke up unusually early."
Lowering his head, he nodded silently. Obediently grabbing a nearby syringe, he slowly walked towards Lucifer. As he stood before Lucifer, he suddenly realized he didn't know how to draw blood.
Taking the syringe, he stabbed it into Lucifer's struggling arm and tried to retrieve blood with no success. He tried a few more times before Noah got impatient. She glared at him and slapped him aside. "Who sent you? How can you be so incompetent?!"
Taking in a deep breath, she then said, "Forget it, I'll let it go this time since I'm in a pretty good mood. Stay here and watch him while I go process this sample myself."
She then walked out the room, but not before waving coyly to the bounded Lucifer. "I'll be back soon~ We have a lot more experiments to do on you."
Lucifer shouted in anger as he tried to escape his restraints as he watched Noah leave. Artemis stayed on the ground until he was certain she left before scrambling to get up.
He began untying Lucifer's restraints as he said in a hurried tone, "Are you Aida's companion? I can let you go and help you escape right now. She's been caught and we need to help her!"
Lucifer turned towards him and glared with alert eyes. "Who are you?" Having been freed on one hand, he immediately reacted and gripped Artemis' neck.
Raising his hands in surrender, he said, "Hey hey, I am from Green Base. Aida and Xiao Ai were caught by these mysterious people after we entered the city and killed her former master. I need your help. Will you help me?"
Pausing, Lucifer digested the information and nodded. He released Artemis' neck as he continued to work at the restraints. "How did you get in here?"
"I stole a researcher's outfit and walked in. Security seems pretty lax."
Finally freeing Lucifer from the restraints, Lucifer flexed his arms and realized he still couldn't seem to access his powers. Confused, he focused himself and quickly realized that it was due to the residual effects of the knock out drug. Searching around, he found an adrenaline shot and directly stabbed the needle into his thigh.
Inhaling deeply as he felt the adrenaline pulse through his system, he could feel his powers returning as well. He inwardly gave a sigh of relief. Artemis stood impatiently on the side, "We have to leave. Now."
Lucifer didn't agree. "Wait. We need to free the others too."
"What? We don't have time to do that. Aida needs to be rescued now. I took a risk getting here and getting you out. There's no time to play hero," Artemis responded angrily.
Seeming to have regained his calm, Lucifer explained, "Getting into the building is easy but leaving is hard. Believe me, I tried, that's how I got caught. There are other Variants here who can help us break out. We need their help."
"Fine, let's get going." Artemis acquiesced after realizing he had less knowledge of the situation.
The two quietly snuck through the halls and found the other Reapers who were also restrained but not unconscious. It seems Noah had a habit of keeping her specimens awake to experience everything she wanted to put them through. The lab experiments they had planned ranged from amputations to gene modifications to injections of various strains of viruses. She was truly a sadist.
They methodically freed 10 Reapers and knocked out every scientist they encountered before the alarm from before finally sounded.