"Boom!"
A deafening noise echoed as the truck compartments were forcefully broken open. Figures began stepping out one by one, each resembling an ordinary human, yet their eyes gleamed with a distinct madness.
This wasn't the unhinged madness of a villain; it was the desperation of those long oppressed, now tasting freedom for the first time and preparing to unleash their fury.
These individuals were failed experiments of Vought International. They had undergone the same brutal procedures as the Black Cape Watchmen but with far worse outcomes.
Unlike the Watchmen, who had at least achieved a semblance of stability, these experiments were incomplete, defective, and discarded—used only when their torment and despair could serve a purpose.
"Is this it? New York City is even more disappointing than I thought," a man with streaks of white in his hair muttered, scanning the sparse streets and watching the fleeing civilians.
"Then again, with all the disasters these years, it's no wonder the population has dwindled. If it weren't for those calamities scaring me, I wouldn't have been tricked into becoming one of Vought's experiments," he mused, his breath forming a visible mist as the temperature around him plummeted.
"Hey, Frostbite, keep your distance!" Fire Guy growled, visibly annoyed as the chill in the air dampened his flames. As opposites, their powers clashed, making them natural irritants to one another.
Having been the first to escape the truck and free the others, Fire Guy carried a sense of authority and acted as though he had earned the right to be cocky.
"Relax. At this rate, they'll all be gone before we even start," Frostbite replied, grinning as his breath condensed into an icy mist that crept toward the scorched remains of Fire Guy's earlier attack.
The mist spread quickly, cooling and solidifying into frost. It encased nearby pedestrians, freezing them in place, while forming slippery ice beneath the feet of those farther away, causing a chain reaction of people falling and trampling one another.
"Wait! The road ahead is frozen! Stop running and head to the next shelter!"
"People are falling! Stop pushing, or we'll all die here!"
"Calm down! If we panic, none of us will survive. Spread out and leave in small groups; it's our best chance!"
The crowd's reaction demonstrated their hard-earned survival instincts. These were people who had endured countless disasters, and despite their fear, they knew that order and calm were their only hope.
"Not bad," Fire Guy admitted grudgingly, watching the chaos unfold. "Your frost is more effective than my flames at keeping them from escaping."
"They're still trying to run," Frostbite replied with a smirk. "But I'll admit, people these days are a lot more organized than I remember. Back then, they'd have been too panicked to think straight."
"Too bad they're just ordinary humans. If we can't live, why should they?"
"Exactly!" a hulking man chimed in, his muscles bulging grotesquely. "We've suffered so much for our powers, only to be discarded like trash. If Vought wants chaos, let's give them chaos!"
"Right! If we're dying anyway, let's make it count!" another experiment shouted, his voice tinged with madness.
Their words revealed the depths of their twisted psyches. Given their experiences, it wasn't surprising they had turned into broken individuals. Yet the blame lay squarely on Vought for molding them into tools of destruction.
Even so, their targets weren't Vought's executives or laboratories. They lacked the courage or means to strike back at their oppressors. Instead, their fury was directed at the helpless civilians before them—a testament to their moral decay and cowardice.
"Move aside! I've got a gun; I'll break through this ice wall!" a voice shouted from the crowd. It was the same middle-aged man who had been watching earlier. His weapon wasn't a conventional firearm but a small energy gun, a product of the black market.
"Me too! A damn ice wall won't stop me!" another man yelled, drawing a similarly advanced weapon and firing before the first man could act.
Zap!
The ice wall shattered under the energy blast, allowing a group of people to rush into a nearby shelter. The treacherous footing didn't deter them, as desperation propelled them forward.
"They're breaking through! What are you waiting for? Go after them!" the hulking man barked at Frostbite.
"Patience. They've just corralled themselves," an experiment nicknamed Scout interjected. He adjusted his glasses, the only one among them with such an accessory. "That's a safety shelter. Once they're all inside, they'll be like fish in a barrel."
"A safety shelter? Hah, seems humanity's learned a few tricks after all," Frostbite muttered, glancing at Scout.
"Of course. With danger everywhere, who'd risk going out without proper precautions? But shelters are limited—just enough to keep the economy running without undermining the system," Scout explained, his tone cynical.
"Do you hear that?" someone inside the shelter whispered, panic creeping into their voice. "They're coming! Where's the Black Cape Watchmen? Why haven't they shown up yet?"
"Will the shelter keep them out? What if the system lets them in as 'refugees'?"
"Superman is back, isn't he? People say he's saved others—why isn't he here now?"
The once-reassuring atmosphere inside the shelter turned to chaos as fear spread like wildfire.
Outside, Scout smirked. "Looks like their shelter has its flaws. Let's play along, act like refugees ourselves…"
"An act, huh? I've never tried that," the hulking man said, feigning terror with surprising ease. The experiments fell into their roles naturally, drawing on memories of their own suffering to mimic frightened civilians.
Ding!
A mechanical voice announced from the shelter entrance: "This shelter is full. Please proceed to the next nearest location. If unable to evacuate, activate the secondary entry protocol by shouting for assistance."
Scout's smirk faltered. "Secondary protocol?"
The sound of heavy machinery echoed as the entrance sealed shut. A new barrier rose behind the experiments, trapping them between the shelter and the street.
"Looks like your plan didn't work, Scout," the hulking man growled, clapping Scout on the shoulder. "Guess we'll have to smash our way in!"
His muscles swelled grotesquely as he approached the shelter door, preparing to break through with brute force.
Inside the shelter, the terrified occupants could hear the experiments approaching. Whispers turned to screams, their desperate calls for help filling the air:
"They're coming! Someone, please save us!"
"Where are the heroes? Why hasn't anyone come yet?"
"Superman! Please!"
As panic engulfed the shelter and the experiments prepared to strike, a shadow streaked across the sky, unnoticed by all but the most observant.
Help was finally on its way.
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