Allen walked to the next containment cell. Upon opening the door, he was met by a bald and robust man, he was sitting on the ground.
"..."
The man had a vacant look as he held a metal bucket or what remained of it.
The man looked at Allen with a resigned expression, thinking he would be subjected to more experiments. His power was a torment, he could vomit acid—no, he must vomit corrosive acid, or he would die.
Having acquired his power as an adult, his body hadn't mutated enough, meaning that only his mouth, stomach, and throat were immune to his own acid. So, if he made a mistake, like vomiting while lying in bed, he would face a horrible death.
Allen approached, and the man, feeling a surge of resentment, wanted to make these bastards pay for everything they had done to him.
Acid built up in his throat, and his eyes turned bloodshot. Allen placed a hand on his shoulder, catching him off guard.
"Are you alright, Andrew?"
The man froze at Allen's sincere gaze. He hadn't expected someone to treat him kindly, let alone not fear him. Andrew knew that the doctors here were false; they weren't helping them control their powers but were observing how much they could endure without falling into madness. What he couldn't bear most was being seen as a monster.
"I was just a truck driver until a few months ago..." Andrew felt compelled to talk about his past to the young man before him. "I had a wife and a daughter, but then a medical checkup revealed an anomaly. Without knowing why, I was brought to this hell. They told me nothing, didn't let me contact a lawyer, not even call... *Vomiting*"
Allen stepped back, and acid spilled onto the floor, soon melting part of the surface.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't worry, Andrew. It's alright now... I'll remove that curse."
Allen's eyes lit up.
[Skill Acquired: Acid Vomit]
Andrew felt his throat; he had lost that constant urge to vomit.
"I... Me!... I can!"
"Yes, you can go back to your family now..."
Andrew began to cry and was soon escorted outside by Cate. Allen spat on the ground, and his saliva was not acidic.
[Don't worry, there will be no physical mutations as the powers are stolen in the form of an ability]
Allen tried using the power as if it were a skill, then spat on the ground, and it started to melt.
"I see."
...
The next cell was not as friendly. Allen opened the door and was attacked by a man who screamed while running.
Kimiko stepped in front of Allen and received the attacker with a kick to his chin, causing him to crash against the wall. However, the man got up, his skin seemingly covered in a type of granite.
"RAAAAHHHH!!"
Allen used his newly acquired telekinesis to lift him off the ground, and the man continued screaming.
Harleen – It's a shame, but this man shows no signs of lucidity.
Artemis (Goddess) – He's like an empty shell filled with rage and resentment.
Allen agreed with Artemis and Harleen's assessments, so he first removed his power.
[Skill Acquired: Stone Skin]
Allen looked at the man...
'System?'
[Host, this man's brain has suffered multiple strokes and injuries.]
Not surprising, given that he enjoyed banging his head against the wall in his spare time. Allen took out the Neuralyzer.
For a long time, Allen had not needed to use dark glasses to avoid being affected by the Neuralyzer's light. However, Kimiko was still behind him, watching with curiosity.
Allen smiled and extended his arms to draw Kimiko in. She did not refuse. Once in his arms, Allen spoke softly, "Don't look at this light."
Kimiko clung to Allen's neck and kissed him while closing her eyes. Allen nearly laughed at how Kimiko took advantage of the situation.
Allen used the Neuralyzer, and while holding Kimiko, the man's mind was reset.
Kimiko refused to let go of Allen until Annie appeared and pulled her away.
"Kimiko, think about the place and time?"
Kimiko squinted and pulled out her phone, 'You're just jealous, admit it.'
Annie forced a smile, "I liked you better when you were the Aro girl..."
*Cough*
"Annie, Kimiko, I know much of this problem is my fault, but even I think it's not the time to fight."
Annie gave Allen a disdainful look and then pointed to the confused man, "Hey you, follow me!"
The man had no memory but had common sense. However, the palpable anger from the blonde girl made him fearful, and he followed her without protest.
PercyJ – Popular men have different problems lol
McDragon – I want to have those kinds of problems!! :(
Allen tried to ignore the chat's jabs as he moved to another containment cell. Upon opening the cell, he saw a thin young man with a beard and a frightened expression.
"Who are you guys?"
Allen immediately noticed the young man's condition and removed his powers without hesitation.
[Skill Acquired: Shockwave Creation]
Gwen – If I remember correctly, this guy is the one who nearly killed Hughie.
Felicia – Yes, and then Butcher shot him and killed him.
"We'll get you out of here. Now follow us, and don't worry, we're not from Vought."
"Does that mean I can leave?" The young man felt frightened but noticed that his powers were not activating. "What?"
Allen gave Kimiko a meaningful glance. She approached and placed her hand with the Vibranium claws on his neck.
"Wait! I just don't want to get hurt again!"
Allen sneered, "You act innocent but immediately activate your power. I don't care if you're scared... Now follow Kimiko..."
The frightened young man did as Allen ordered. The most dangerous people aren't always the most intimidating.
*Boom*
An explosion was heard in the building, leaving Allen startled and unsure of what had happened. He had Rebecca and 2B outside in case something went wrong then the explosion must have been inside.
"What's going on?"
Allen immediately thought of "The Boys".
...
Butcher continued down the corridors, marveling at how easy it was when you were immune to bullets.
Hughie hit a female doctor, mistaking her for a guard.
"Oh shit, I'm sorry!"
MM shook his head at this and smacked Hughie on the head. "What are you doing, Hughie?! They're one of the bad guys too!"
"I'm sorry..."
Two guards with submachine guns appeared. Frenchie rushed toward them, with Popclaw following behind him. The guards fired a hail of bullets that hit Frenchie's body. When they got close, Popclaw, using her agility, leaped over Frenchie and landed with a kick on one of them. Before the second guard could aim, she kicked him too. (Recall that Popclaw is a parody of Catwoman.)
"Wow~ that was amazing~," Frenchie said.
"I couldn't have done it without you stopping the bullets," Popclaw fell silent for a moment.
"What's wrong?" Frenchie asked, approaching her.
"I spent over a decade pretending to be a superhero. Even when I occasionally saved someone, my first thought wasn't about the victims but rather how this feat would affect my popularity and whether I looked good on camera."
Frenchie lowered his head. "I'm nobody to judge you chery. I've done many terrible things in my life... but I like to think that even people like me can do something good. At least, once..."
Charlotte looked at Frenchie in silence. "Tell me the whole story. You said you let Grace Mallory's grandchildren die, but you didn't explain why."
"I..."
Butcher noticed that Frenchie and Popclaw had fallen behind and frowned. He didn't want to say anything but hoped Frenchie wouldn't forget that Popclaw was also a criminal. Butcher thought of Rebecca and pushed those thoughts aside. He was no one to talk to, having done horrible things purely out of revenge.
MM, Kenji, Frenchie, and Popclaw entered a room where a middle-aged man in a lab coat was hiding under a desk.
"Hey, what are you doing there, buddy?" MM pulled him out.
"He must be important in this institution..." said Kenji coolly.
"Don't hurt me. I'm just doing my job. I didn't want to do this!!"
Butcher walked towards the man with his crowbar.
Hughie stayed outside the office, keeping watch. 'We look like the bad guys...' Hughie thought, observing Butcher and Frenchie. He could understand Butcher's ruthlessness since he had been that way from the start, but Frenchie was someone who preferred indirect conflict.
Hughie sighed, holding his head. At that moment, he caught a glimpse of someone in the corridor out of the corner of his eye. The person had a lighter in hand, which he ignited, and before Hughie could react, he was engulfed in flames.
Everyone turned to the corridor to see Hughie being consumed by the fire.
"Hughie!" Butcher yelled and ran.
Everyone quickly followed, spotting a man who was Caucasian with blonde hair. Butcher didn't recognize him at first, but Frenchie did and felt his blood boil.
"Lamplighter!!"
Frenchie ran toward him with clenched fists and eyes full of rage. In response, Lamplighter ignited his lighter, and the flames grew, filling the corridor like a flamethrower.
Frenchie didn't care about the hellish heat and crossed through the sea of flames. His clothes burned, and the heat felt like a furnace, but compared to Golden Boy's fire, this was nothing.
Frenchie reached Lamplighter. This surprised the former member of the Seven, as his fire was usually capable of melting metal instantly. Yet someone took the hit without injuries.
Frenchie didn't give him any time and struck him with his bat, causing him to fall to the ground. "Ahhh!" Lamplighter screamed as he clutched his bleeding head.
"You're lucky I promised Madame Mallory to bring you to her, or I'd have smashed your skull right here!" Frenchie kicked him again and then turned away to avoid the urge to kill him.
Hughie got up, removing his burning clothes. He was fine but had been severely frightened.
Everyone's attention was on Lamplighter. Hughie felt someone watching him and turned to see a girl with cold eyes emerging from one of the cells Lamplighter had opened.
"No... Cindy..." Lamplighter murmured.
...
Allen identified the explosion as being where Butcher and The Boys had gone.
He began heading in that direction, encountering several scientists running towards him, their faces filled with terror.
"Ahhh!!"
"Help!!"
Allen stood in the corridor, staring intently at the corner while the panicked scientists rushed past him.
Allen squinted as a human figure flickered like a glitch in a video game.
Allen remained unfazed and raised his hand, grabbing the culprit by the neck. It was a fairly young guy with blood-covered hands, who looked at Allen in terror. Allen's eyes glowed.
[Skill Acquired: Short-Range Teleportation]
Allen dropped the guy and blocked a spear of ice aimed at his heart. He clenched his hand and shattered it. In front of him was a woman biting her nails, looking disheveled.
"You're one of those damn Seraphim!!" The woman tore at her hair while the ground around her froze. "WE WON'T BE CONDEMNED!!"
Allen teleported, leaving her stunned. Allen's eyes were golden, and she had lost her power.
[Skill Acquired: Freezing]
However, the woman didn't give up. She screamed and spun around, only to be met by the light of the Neuralyzer.
Allen watched as the light of sanity returned to the woman's eyes. But Allen did not have time to rejoice as his spidey sense was activated. On the floor where Allen was standing, a spike appeared that seemed to be formed by the floor itself.
Allen disappeared and reappeared further back, holding the woman, who now had a confused expression.
"Excuse me, is this a dream?" she asked. "because I can't understand how such a handsome gentleman is carrying me."
Allen smiled and set her down. "No, don't worry... Walk down this corridor, and you'll find my companions. They'll get you to safety."
"What is your name?"
"I am Allen haha."
"Allen... I like your name hee hee~"
"Thank you... now go, it's dangerous here"
Gwen – ...
Felicia – ...
Diana – ...
MJ – ...
...
[It probably won't be fatal but someone will definitely stab Allen in the future.]
Allen frowned as he saw a spike protruding from the ground, which quickly transformed into a child. A girl with glowing eyes and a huge man with bones protruding from his body approached from behind.
"Three vs one?" Allen exhaled deeply. He didn't need much thought to figure out what had happened.
The Chat also thought the same, Lamplighter had released a powerful supe who released the others.
Felicia – "I think her name was Cindy. She has something similar to powerful telekinesis."
Cindy had escaped and freed many more Supes.
MJ – "Allen, be careful. I've been researching, and there are many Supes I can't identify."
Raven – "Then it's simple: assume this institution has far more artificial metahumans than it should."
Allen's eyes carried a trace of bitterness. Fighting evil people was one thing, but fighting people who had simply had bad luck was another.
"I'm sorry... I know you've suffered a lot here, but I can't let you become monsters. I promise that the responsible parties will pay, but it won't be in a massacre."
The girl growled and fired white laser eyes at Allen. He received the attack unscathed and continued forward. This shocked the three Supes. The fighter-like man covered his hand with a bone shield and attacked Allen.
"Die!"
Allen took the hit casually, grabbed the man's fist, shattered his bone shield, and struck him in the chest. The man didn't fly but fell to the ground.
Allen vanished and reappeared behind the girl, striking her on the neck and knocking her out.
Finally, Allen sighed. "There are no children here..."
Allen activated his eye power.
[Skill Acquired: Laser Eyes]
[Skill Acquired: Extreme Bone Growth]
[Skill Acquired: Three Wishes]
In front of Allen, the muscular man over two meters tall became someone with a malnourished appearance. The girl lost the shine in her eyes, and the child became an old man.
"G... Thank you..." said the old man as he sat on the ground. "Now I remember everything... I was an elderly man confined to a nursing home because of Alzheimer's. I had forgotten who I was. One day, one of the nurse assistants was looking for patients for an experimental drug... I remember wishing to be young... and then I forgot everything again..."
"I see." Allen smiled and extended his hand, placing it on the old man's forehead. "I'm sorry for what happened. At least, I'll make sure Alzheimer's doesn't come back."
Allen used a fragment of fate.
The old man smiled. "Why are you apologizing? You saved me... You're a kind young man, unlike my children who put me in a nursing home... It's not too late to change my will, hahaha."
Allen and Chat laughed, thinking that the old man's children would soon regret their actions.
...
Allen continued walking down the corridor, surrounded by screams, curses, and sounds of powers being used.
Not everyone was kind, and not everyone was without sin. Within this institution, there were all kinds of people.
Allen witnessed a horrific scene where the patients were taking revenge. They had that right, but Allen didn't like seeing a massacre.
"Hey...." Allen said, sending chills down several people's spines. He saw people split in half and body parts everywhere. "That's enough blood for today..."
Several Supes attacked. Seeing various powers directed at him, Allen sighed.
[Skill Acquired: Boiling]
[Skill Acquired: Low Intangibility]
[Skill Acquired: Air Cuts]
[Skill Acquired: Steel Bones]
[Skill Acquired: Vacuum Cannon]
[Skill Acquired: Energy Compression]
[Skill Acquired: Size Reduction]
[Skill Acquired: Beast Assimilation]
[Skill Acquired: Tactile Corrosion]
[Skill Acquired: Low Force Field Generation]
[Skill Acquired: Low regeneration]
[Skill Acquired: Tactile Detonation]
===
A/N: As if Allen needs to be more OP 🍷🗿
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