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SM/DC Chapter 26 : Lex’s Uninvited Guest
🕑 Added 2025-02-10 21:11:20 +0000 UTCThe air was thick with madness in that asylum.
Long shadows danced along the cracked walls, cast by the flickering bulbs overhead-twisting and distorting, like the grasping hands of the damned. as soon as Arthur took a step forward a guttural scream tore through the silence.
There came a sudden crashing open of the door to his right, a wild-eyed lunatic with eyes wide with manic smile hunched over himself and flung at him, his tattered straitjacket flapping open, words carved into his chest in huge, jagged, self-inflicted wounds read, "SMILE! HE'S ALWAYS WATCHING".
Arthur didn't hesitate.
His sword cleaved through flesh like paper, his cut severing the man's upper half from his legs in one stroke; blood sprayed on the walls as the deranged laughter of the dying man bubbled up and he collapsed in a heap.
The others allowed Arthur barely a moment to breathe before three more came barreling toward him-one wielding a rusted pipe, another gnawing on a severed hand, and the last shrieking incomprehensible gibberish.
"HE KNOWS WHAT YOU ARE!"
Arthur ducked under the first swing, pivoted, and rammed his blade through the lunatic's gut. A wet gasp escaped the man's lips before Arthur yanked his sword free, spinning around just in time to decapitate the second. The third leaped at him, clawed fingers reaching for his face-only for Arthur to sidestep and drive his elbow into the man's throat. The lunatic gagged, stumbling back, only for Arthur to step forward and impale him through the heart.
"You all die too easy." He exhaled, flicking the blood off his sword.
The asylum wasn't relenting. Creaking doors groaned open; footsteps echoed, and hallways were alive with whispers. In this place, madness itself seemed to breathe.
Then he heard it.
A laugh.
Not just any laugh. A slow, crawling chuckle that seeped into his bones, bounced off the walls, growing louder and louder until it was all he could hear.
"Ahahaha… ha… HAHAHAHAHA!"
Arthur clenched his jaw. "Fucking clown."
He shook his head, forging ahead. The laughter continued, a mocking, unseen presence that set his skin crawling. It wasn't mere illusion-the asylum was trying to break him, burrow into his mind.
Too bad for it, it lasted for a couple hours but-Arthur Blackwynd didn't break.
Then, without warning, something big burst through a steel enforcement door ahead, sending debris flying. Arthur instinctively raised his sword, his glowing blue eyes narrowing as a massive, deformed figure lumbered forward, wheezing with every breath. "You. don't belong here."
Before him stood the hulking form of Bane, veins bulging with raw power, his mask hissing as venom pumped through his body. His knuckles cracked as he stepped over the wreckage of the door, his red eyes locking onto Arthur.
Arthur tilted his head, smirking. "Yeah you could say that, i missed my daily quest you see."
Bane did not tarry; he let out a roar and plunged, his fist falling with a lot of force.
Arthur dodged aside with barely enough time for the spot where he was standing to cave in under the weight of the blow. A column of dust and debris erupted into the air, but Arthur was already running-his instincts honed, his sword swimming with lethal precision.
One brutal, hacking slash, and Arthur cut through Bane's arm at the shoulder.
The huge limb hit the earth with a bloody splat, blood spurting wildly as from a fire hydrant as Bane let out a guttural roar of agony. Yet, instead of faltering, instead of collapsing in pain-he kept coming.
Arthur barely had time to wrap his head around it before the fist Bane had left swung with monstrous force, catching him right in the chest.
CRACK.
The force of the blow sent Arthur flying across the room like a human cannonball, crashing him through a rusted cell door. Metal creaked, walls cracked, and he tumbled across the floor until he finally came to a stop, flipping back onto his feet.
Arthur exhaled sharply, his body screaming from the outright power. "The hell…?"
Bane staggered, his breath ragged, blood gushing from the stump where his arm once was—but his eyes? They were still burning with rage.
"Weak." Bane growled, venom still coursing through his veins.
Arthur clicked his tongue, gripping his sword tighter. "Dude, you’ve got one arm left. Don’t start talking shit."
His sword shone with dark energy as he sprang forward, closing the distance in an instant. His blade cut through the air, forcing Bane to block, but Arthur used the momentum to leap over him, twisting mid-air, his greatsword materialized out of nothingness and brought it down—CRACK!
Bane grunted, stumbling forward as blood dripped from his shoulder. Arthur landed behind him, rolling his neck.
"I could keep doing this all day."
Bane growled. His hand reached for the tubes on his back—aiming to shoot in a bigger dose of venom.
There was no way Arthur was going to let him do that.
He disappeared in a flash, shadow-stepped behind Bane, and before he reappeared, his sword had already ripped through the tubes of venom.
SHRRRKKK!
With a hiss, the gas that escaped was trailed by Bane's agonizing roar. Muscles somewhat flattened, his actions became sluggish now.
Arthur wasted no time.
A roundhouse kick to his face sent Bane reeling backward. Arthur took immediate advantage, launching into attack after attack until his sword deeply bit into the flesh and shredded through weak defense after weak defense, until the final slash threw Bane down onto the ground, unmoving.
Arthur stood over him, breathing while catching his breath.
The laughter-whispers danced along his mind once again.
Gazing slowly back down the corridor, he let out a gasp.
Bodies lay in heaps, faces twisted and grinning grotesquely into eternity, their clown masks still worn.
Arthur whistled sharply and hopped onto the pile, plopping himself down and laying his sword over his shoulder.
"That clown had better pray to God I never find him in real life."
[System Notification
❰ Penalty Zone Time Remaining: 5… 4… 3… ❱]
Arthur sighed, gripping his sword tighter. "About damn time."
****
Metropolis-LexCorp :
Outside its glass walls, the conference room overlooked the city, its skyline aglow with the neon lights of the metropolis. Inside, the tension was palpable as Lex Luthor sat at the head of a long, sleek table, his fingers steepled together, his face a mask of thinly veiled irritation.
Across the table, Adam Blackwynd shifted slightly and began very precisely to pick and choose each and every word carefully.
"Mr. Luthor, I insisted on this urgent meeting because I believe the projected logistics of our partnership need… fine-tuning. There have been unexpected delays in resource acquisition, and if we—"
Lex blew out sharply through his nose, already bored. "Adam you came all this way for this?, I don't need excuses. I need results. I trust you wouldn't waste my time with something so-" He gestured vaguely, "-trivial, considering what's at stake."
Adam forced a polite chuckle. "Of course, Mr. Luthor. I just thought it would be best to personally make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible."
Lex's lips curled in displeasure. "This was a waste of time." He stood, buttoning his suit jacket in one smooth motion. "If that's all, I have more important matters to attend to."
He turned to leave.
And then—
"Would you take me to your lab if I asked you nicely?"
Lex froze mid-step.
Something felt wrong.
It sounded. similar, but not quite. It had a weight to it, a depth that Adam's never did. Something unnatural.
Lex turned slowly, expecting to see the man he was talking to seconds ago.
Except it wasn't Adam.
his sharp gaze locking onto the man sitting beside Adam.
The air in the room was off-darker, heavier. The lights of the city outside cast long, unnatural shadows, like the things moved of their own accord.
And at the center of it sat a figure wreathed in writhing darkness, an aura of pure menace rolling off him in waves.
Lex's eyes narrowed. "Who… are you?"
The figure smiled, his glowing blue eyes standing out amidst the swirling abyss around him.
"Now, now, Mr. Luthor… Let's not waste time with introductions."
The shadows around him deepened, pulsing like a living entity, tendrils of darkness creeping along the table.
"We both know you and I have somewhere important to be."
