Adrian's body felt like a bag of broken glass as the elevator hummed its descent into the depths of Cadmus. The 52nd floor. He had heard whispers from other subjects about what lay below—the monsters, the ones they called genomorphs. Cadmus' artificial lifeforms.
Artificial my ass, Adrian thought, his eyelids heavy from the sedatives. He'd seen enough in his two years here to know the truth. The genomorphs weren't created; they were forged. Broken people, failed experiments like him, twisted into something grotesque. Those who didn't survive were reduced to raw material for Cadmus' projects—spliced, restructured, stripped of their humanity. Adrian remembered them all: the screams, the gurgling cries as they were dragged away, the bodies that disappeared into the shadows.
And now, here he was, being taken even deeper.
When the elevator doors slid open with a hiss, the sight almost made him vomit. The walls weren't metal anymore. They pulsed, slick with organic tissue, intertwined with machinery. Cables coiled like veins across the floor, glowing faintly with some kind of sickly bioluminescence. Control panels jutted from the fleshy walls, their blinking lights embedded in raw, twitching tissue. The air was damp and humid, heavy with the smell of rot and antiseptic.
The floor wasn't just alive. It was growing.
Adrian tried to keep his head up as the guards dragged him down the hall, but the sedatives pulled at him like an anchor. His mind clung to every detail, etching it into his eidetic memory. He couldn't stop himself—his cursed mind remembered everything. Every sound. Every smell. Every squelch of the organic floor beneath their boots.
----
When they reached the lab, they didn't throw him onto a table like usual. This time, it was worse.
The chamber was enormous, its walls covered in massive, fleshy tubes pumping a glowing purple substance through glass veins. In the center of the room stood a cylindrical tank filled with swirling, iridescent liquid. It pulsed faintly, like it was alive. Adrian didn't like the way the liquid moved. It wasn't water. It wasn't anything natural.
He didn't want to think about what they were going to do to him this time.
"Strap him down," ordered Dr. Emil Hamilton, his calm voice cutting through the room like a scalpel.
Adrian flinched as the guards hoisted him onto the table, locking his wrists and ankles into cold, unyielding restraints. Even sedated, his instincts screamed at him to fight. But he couldn't. Not yet.
Hamilton leaned over him, adjusting his glasses. His face, with its perfectly combed salt-and-pepper hair and sharp, calculating eyes, was the face Adrian hated most in the world.
"You've made it further than anyone else, Adrian," Hamilton said, his voice almost warm. "Two years, and here you are. The only subject to survive the process. You should feel proud. You're not just a survivor. You're proof that our work is possible."
Adrian tried to spit at him, but his mouth was too dry. "Go…to hell," he croaked, his voice hoarse.
Hamilton smiled faintly, unbothered. "I've heard that before." He gestured to the tank in the center of the room. "Do you know what this is, Adrian? Of course, you don't. But you will."
Adrian's eyes flickered toward the tank. His gut churned.
Hamilton continued, pacing slowly around the table. "That substance in the tank—it's not from this world. We call it the Artifact. Alien, ancient, and entirely unique. We found it during an excavation near Themiscyra—yes, that's Wonder Woman's turf. But this? This is far older than her gods."
One of the scientists—Dr. Desmond—cut in, adjusting the settings on a monitor. "It's a crystalline lifeform, self-replicating, biomechanical in nature. We've spent decades trying to unlock its potential, but it's incomplete without a host."
"Until now," Hamilton said, gesturing toward Adrian. "Your body is special, Adrian. Resilient. Adaptive. The liquid crystal we've infused into your veins was a prototype—a way to prepare your physiology for this moment. And it worked. You've already surpassed human limits. At this point, you could outpace an Olympic gold medalist in any discipline. But this…"
He leaned closer, lowering his voice like he was telling Adrian a secret.
"This will make you more than human. It will make you a weapon."
The scientists worked methodically, speaking in clipped tones as they prepared the tank. Adrian caught fragments of their conversation, his mind struggling to stay coherent through the haze of sedatives.
"Subject is stable," Lin said, her voice cautious. "Heart rate is holding, but his neural activity is spiking."
"That's expected," Desmond replied, not looking up from his tablet. "The Artifact's integration will stimulate every system in his body, especially the brain. His crystal lattice will adapt as the bonding progresses."
"We're essentially growing a weaponized exoskeleton from the inside out," Hamilton added, his tone brisk. "The Artifact's crystals will respond to his neurological impulses. He'll be able to grow and shape crystals at will."
Lin hesitated. "What about rejection?"
Hamilton turned to her, his expression cool. "There will be no rejection. Adrian's physiology is uniquely suited to this process. His survival instinct alone is enough to drive the integration. Haven't you noticed? He doesn't just endure. He remembers. Every trauma. Every experiment. His mind won't let him die."
"Resilience or rage?" Desmond muttered, smirking.
Hamilton's eyes gleamed. "Both. That's what makes him perfect."
Adrian's head lolled to the side, his breathing shallow. The words swirled in his mind—weapon, crystal, integration. His chest burned with fury, but his body refused to move.
"You're preparing him for Project Kr," Lin said quietly, breaking the tension.
Hamilton nodded. "Yes. Superman is a god among men, and gods need their titans. That's where Adrian comes in. He's our Prometheus—the one who will bring fire to the mortals. He'll be our leash on Project Kr, and when the time comes, he'll be the blade at Superman's throat."
Adrian's heart pounded, even through the sedatives. Superman? Leash? They were planning to pit him against the greatest hero the world had ever known.
"Enough talk," Hamilton said, waving the others aside. "Let's begin."
The restraints released, and Adrian was slid into the tank. The purplish liquid swallowed him, thick and cold, filling his lungs and veins. He didn't drown. He absorbed. His body screamed, crystals expanding inside him, searing every nerve as the Artifact merged with his flesh.
"Integration is accelerating," Desmond said, awe in his voice. "The Artifact is responding. It's…growing."
Hamilton smiled, watching Adrian convulse. "Humanity's weapon," he murmured. "Our titan."
Adrian's vision flickered, his mind tearing at the seams. The last thing he thought before the darkness took him was a single word.
No.
----
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