The deep surface of the Apocalypse Star is made up of layers upon layers of laboratories and factories which serve as a massive assembly line for the mass production of biochemically and mechanically enhanced beings. It is also the powerhouse of the practical scientific achievements of Apocalypse Star due to its near infinite experimental materials.
Apocalypse Star can be considered the most profound civilization in researching sentient life in this cosmos. Unlike other planets that plunder wealth and resources in war, the sinister New Gods are constantly seeking ways to control the entire universe.
Note that it's about controlling, not ruling. New Gods don't trust in ruling; they believe that only when everything is utterly under their control is it the perfect form of ruling. Everything Darkseid has done on Apocalypse Star is for understanding the true essence of life in the universe.
Darkseid has an unexplainable history with the Anti-Life Equation. Despite not having the power of Omega currently, in the comic setting, there is a certain magical sense of fate between Darkseid and this power. Before he fully holds this power, nobody can kill him.
The vast majority of experiments on the deep surface focus on sentient life, so some of these are incredibly cruel and evil, and the most notable ones are body modification and mind control.
When Big Barda and her Revenge Goddess Team arrived in the peculiar region of the deep surface, she realized that this incident would not be simple because it had been raining constantly in this entire area.
The Apocalypse Star does not undergo any climate changes because it is entirely unnecessary. This is not a naturally formed planet, it stands alone like an orphan abandoned by the cosmos. The beings born on this planet do not even know what rain is.
However, the members of the Revenge Goddess Team know this because they come from places other than Apocalypse Star. The Kindly Granny has established orphanages on various planets throughout the cosmos, and she selects gifted children from these orphanages for training. The members of the Revenge Goddess Team hail from all around the cosmos.
Big Barda, a robust woman who wears a bull-horned samurai helmet, stood on the outskirts of this dark region. Clenching her weapon, she peered down and spotted wet marks at the bottom of the decayed entrance to the ruined experimental garden.
She strode forward and knelt down, extending her gloved hand to touch the unidentified mucus. Narrowing her eyes slightly, she stood back up and announced to her teammates in a husky voice, "Be careful, something's not right here."
"Is Rashina dead?" A colder voice echoed. Big Bardaturned around to spot a member of the Revenge Goddess Team known as Heavy Step, whose eyes held a naked, cold-blooded intent to kill.
Most members of the Revenge Goddess Team are like that, being completely brainwashed into killing machines. However, Big Barda, the most conscious among them, had a bad feeling about the strange events occurring in the area ahead, because she didn't believe that brute force could resolve them.
Upon walking past the gateway into the garden and further inside, much to Big Barda's surprise, they swiftly encountered a living creature. It was an alien with dark brown skin. He originally had four arms, but now, countless tendrils stretching from his abdominal cavity replaced his limbs, quickly carrying off his upper body along the wall.
A swooshing sound of a slashing blade rang out as Gilotina, a Goddess of Revenge who wielded twin-blades, stepped forward. The aberration that had scurried across the wall was shattered to pieces by her attack.
"Weak, should die," Gilotina uttered these two words.
Big Barda stepped forward once again to inspect. Shaking her head, she commented, "It was once a researcher. There may have been some problem with an experiment."
As they advanced deeper into the dark laboratory, they encountered many more similar creatures. But these weak and bizarre creatures didn't pose much of a threat to them. Despite this, a sense of foreboding slowly spread among the Revenge Goddess team.
When they took a step into the main hall of the laboratory, an ungraspably strange sight appeared before them. Instead of the laboratory hall with all its lights extinguished, there was a small town being blown upon by a gust of pitch-black wind.
In the distance, the light from the lighthouse in the fishing harbor was obscured amidst the heavy fog. The silhouettes of sailors swayed in the fog, whilst distant sounds of lament echoed the prayers of people mourning the sunken ship.
"Damn it, it looks like we're late," said Harley, observing the empty houses. "According to the information we just gathered, this should be the usual training place for the Mantis. Where is he?"
Spiderman inspected the area and commented, "I don't sense any danger. It seems Darkseid reacted faster than us; he must've already sent his men out."
Harley stomped her foot in frustration and exclaimed, "I was hoping to test if Batman could control them. These would have been great fighters. Forget it, if this is the case, it shows that the enemy's defenses are weak. Let's head to the lab!"
Everyone understood Harley's intent. Originally, they were hoping to protect the people, assets, and data altogether. Now, though the people are gone, this does come with a silver lining: Unattended assets and data are easier to protect. There's no better time to move them than now.
The group stole a small transport vehicle from a nearby vehicle depot adjacent to the training field and rushed toward the closest research building with all speed. Though the core area was saturated with countless guards, without the mighty New Gods present, the leftover goons were no match for the group.