Chapter 39 Cooperation? Genes.

Constantine had actually been in Brudhaven for a long time. The safe house he asked Robin One to prepare for him was filled with his personal trash and various magical items. He had set up several magic circles around Brudhaven to prepare for the impending crisis, but things didn't go as he expected, and none of his preparations were needed.

Only the things he did to Allen came in handy.

"So, you actually played a part in Alan Osborn's demise?" Tim gasped, his first thought being, "This is terrible! Dick absolutely cannot know this, or the Batcave and the Watchtower might be lost."

"Don't look at me like that. Magic always comes at a price. I just helped collect that price." Constantine had already finished his third cigarette and was now pulling out Scar's pack and waving it around, only to realize with regret that he had already finished his cigarette.

“What exactly is that so-called alien fragment?” Bruce asked.

“…Do you know S.H.I.E.L.D.?” Constantine said. “It’s an organization that claims to be an official agency but is actually full of spies and traitors, and it’s incredibly lucky—so lucky that it always manages to find something new. That alien fragment was obtained by them.”

Tim couldn't help but applaud Constantine's accurate description.

He just couldn't understand why S.H.I.E.L.D. always seemed to be the first to get their hands on good stuff like the Tesseract, alien fragments, and magical gadgets, and then before they could even do anything with it, those good things would be snatched away by the gods, aliens, or villains, as if S.H.I.E.L.D. were a fixed respawn point for the villains' gadgets.

"In short, early research showed that the substance could alter human genes. At one point, some officials wanted to use it to 'optimize human genes' and 'create super soldiers.' They said it was safe, had no side effects, and was much better than the super serum." Constantine struggled to resist the urge to 'ask Batman to go out and buy him a bag of Scars,' casually grabbing the tea Alfred had brought him and gulping down two mouthfuls before continuing, "But none of that matters. What matters is that before they could even implement their plan, the substance was lost."

“The Illuminati,” Bruce said. “If I remember correctly, Hydra is also a member of the Illuminati.”

“Bingo!” Constantine snapped his fingers. “But none of that matters. In short, that thing eventually ended up in old Osborn’s hands. You know, Osborn was obsessed with everything related to genes. In the end, with the help of technology and magic, he created Allen. The point is, Allen is half a magical creation.”

"It's obvious, magic combined with alien technology..." Tim covered his head, "Didn't the Nobel Prize committee consider giving Norman Osborn a Best Creative Award?"

“Old Osborn deserves a Best Tool Award,” Constantine continued. “He was used. In fact, someone just wanted that alien fragment to be resurrected through Allen. The goal… was terribly cliché—to create a so-called new world so that all of humanity could evolve further. As a result of the struggle between various forces, old Osborn inexplicably and foolishly rushed out first.”

“The Illuminati must be incredibly frustrated about this too. Old Osborn wasn’t part of their plans,” Constantine sighed. “I only stumbled upon them while searching for a lost Demon Mirror. You have to admit, sometimes even a fool can accomplish something big. Norman used that mirror to trap that alien fragment inside Allen’s body, from the moment Allen was born.”

So the facts are clear: Norman Sr.'s goal was to cure his genetic disease, and he eventually obtained alien fragments from S.H.I.E.L.D. in an attempt to alter his genes. The Parker couple were likely S.H.I.E.L.D. agents planted within the Osborn Corporation, and this was a remedial measure chosen by S.H.I.E.L.D. after realizing something was amiss.

However, the Parkers were also manipulated by someone with ulterior motives. The mysterious chemical formula that Allen obtained on their territory, besides temporarily curing the Osborn family's hereditary disease, likely had a greater purpose: to activate the alien fragment within Allen's body. Once Allen began injecting the drug derived from the formula, his connection to the alien fragment would become inseparable.

Thinking about this, Bruce couldn't help but frown. He wasn't sure if Dick knew about this.

"I bet you still have something to say?" Bruce looked at Constantine, who seemed a little guilty.

Hellscream, feeling a bit overwhelmed by Batman's serious gaze, raised his hands in surrender: "I thought that solving the mirror would take care of the time bomb inside Alan, but I misjudged the situation. All my efforts only caused Alan's genetic disease to flare up prematurely and strengthened his connection with the alien debris."

Under Batman's increasingly serious gaze, Constantine shrank back and continued, "That magic mirror has completely merged with the alien fragment. Together with Allen... they possess abilities that amaze even me—in the past two weeks, I've dealt with two people who were cloned, and I almost got cloned myself. Allen is becoming increasingly uncontrollable, and I think our only option is to bury him along with the alien fragment."

"What do you think about me sending him to another dimension? Anyway, we can't let Allen stay in this world. Let him copy everyone in the world... I don't want to know what will happen to the copied 'original'."

**

In Brudhaven, in Allen's secret laboratory.

Once everything was ready, Allen fell asleep again. Dick stared intently at the brainwaves and heart rate on the screen, silently praying that nothing bad would happen.

Allen opened his eyes in complete darkness.

This time, his dream was no longer like the Brudhaven Emergency Room. Looking at the dense jungle around him and the bright sun overhead, Allen momentarily thought he had wandered into a primeval forest.

But this place is very different from a real primeval forest. Allen's fingertips landed on the large rock beside him and he was surprised to find that he could feel a warm, active pulse.

Bang—bang bang—

It's like a human heart beating rhythmically.

A deer darted out of the jungle, but it had the sharp teeth of a tiger and the bushy mane of a lion. If it weren't for the antlers on its head that identified it, Allen would have thought it was a lion.

Then, two dolphins emerged from the babbling brook at his feet. Allen saw the shape of a human face appear on the tree trunk beside him, and the roots of the tree were covered with dense, sharp teeth growing from the edges of the petals.

He smelled again a pungent, sweet odor mixed with formaldehyde and rotting lilies, the smell rushing into his lungs like dense fungi forcibly invading his body.

The scene before me was eerie yet peaceful, with all living things thriving in harmony and order, like the Garden of Eden.

He casually walked past the flowers with human faces and the moss that was wailing, and finally came to a tall stone statue.

The colossal stone statue is carved with mysterious and ancient patterns. The reversed triple helix seems to symbolize the endless path of cosmic exploration. The eye, encased in the spiral arms, slowly opens, just as Allen first dreamed of it. That eye stares intently at Allen, like a vulture eyeing its prey.

Allen just smiled casually and said, "Alright, stop pretending, let's talk about a deal."

The monster seemed intent on instilling fear in Allen and forcing him to submit. Its form grew even larger, and strange creatures poured forth from around it—common dinosaurs and crocodiles, but also the alien skeletons Allen had collected. Even more numerous were species that seemed to combine randomly: fish with hooves, sunflowers with horns—it was as if any gene could cross species boundaries and recombine to create new species. They all came to life, staring at Allen with the same gaze, silently watching him.

By threatening the other party with force before negotiations, Allen felt that this monster wasn't so stupid after all.

He waved his hand somewhat listlessly: "If you're not interested in continuing the conversation, then forget it. Don't put on this act in front of me; it's not like I absolutely have to live anyway."

“But… you’re different,” Allen said with a smug smile. “Have you noticed that the only person you can trust now is me? Lex Luthor isn’t genuinely helping you, is he? You know what he’s up to. You know he’s studying you, trying to control you. He’s the one who’s made your bond with me even stronger. You can’t leave me now. So what you need is my help.”

He lowered his voice like a siren tempting a ship, coaxing, "Just like you said, we are one. If you don't even believe me, then I can only take you with me to our deaths."

The monster finally hesitated. The air around it refracted strange, iridescent light, reflecting everything as if in a shattered mirror. The light shifted, and the misaligned creatures paused for a moment, then became even more distorted.

A dinosaur's head was grafted onto a cat's body, crocodile teeth grew all over the treetops, and a human head grew from the beak of a bird flying in the sky.

Allen observed all of this carefully and said, "I know you are very powerful; you can break down and recombine the genes of living beings... but you are still trapped inside my body, aren't you?"

The monster grew angrier, and Allen felt the surroundings becoming more unstable, but he remained unmoved and even turned and walked away while the monster remained silent.

Finally, the monster spoke: "Allen, you're right, we're the closest. What do you think... we should do?"

A slight smile appeared on Allen's lips.

They've finally taken the bait. Even a monster that's lived for who knows how many years still only has a brain that's that big. No matter how much a single-celled organism evolves, it's still a single-celled organism.

He turned to look at the monster and finally smiled: "It's time for you to show some sincerity, my lovely alien."