DC-PHD-CH2

After having a hypothesis about the time issue, Cain finally brought out one of the red orbs from his storage space by simply willing it to appear on his palm. The orb emerged immediately, completely stable, unlike the way it was in the dimension. Currently, it looked like a tiny pale-red pearl on his palm.

Cain's instinctual knowledge told him to simply ingest the orb for its effects to show. After hesitating for a moment, he gathered his courage and swallowed the orb in one swift gulp. Immediately after it entered his body, Cain felt as if he had inhaled liquid fire. It swiftly permeated every inch of his body and started burning him.

Cain scrunched his eyes in pain and gritted his teeth as he endured the burning. He didn't have to wait for long though as the burning subsided in just a few minutes and a cool refreshing sensation followed.

He felt as if his body had somehow become sturdier while still retaining its flexibility, not to mention the flowing wave of pure strength that suffused every part of his body. What surprised him the most was that his injuries seemed to have recovered significantly. Not only his ribs not hurting anymore, but his leg also didn't feel like it was broken, even if it was a bit tender still.

But on the downside, his gown and sheets on the hospital bed were now smeared with oily yellow-black dirt that his body seemed to have expelled, which sent out a slightly putrid odor.

"Hmm, is this the legendary phenomenon of Impurity Expelling?" Cain wondered. It was described in numerous cultivation-based novels in his previous life but it was the first time he saw it in real life.

Eager to repeat the process, Cain ignored the annoying odor and ingested the other orb too, and experienced the impurity-expelling process once again. This time the process was slightly shorter and his body felt even better at the end of it.

Cain moved, stretched, and felt his body. His body was now completely recovered, there was no sign of any damage whatsoever. Not to mention, he felt stronger, faster, and better than ever before.

Cain got out of bed and clumsily stepped on the ground. After removing the wires and IV attached to himself, Cain fixed his eyes on the cast around his leg. Knowing that the cast was very new, he felt that he could break it now just by flexing his strengthened leg with his newfound strength.

Tensing his leg, Cain exerted pressure on the cast from the inside with his leg muscles. In just a few moments, crisp cracking sounds echoed in the private hospital room, before the cast shattered into a few large pieces and fell on the ground around Cain's leg.

Standing up without even a little bit of weakness or problem, Cain gathered the dirtied bedsheet and entered the small bathroom inside the private room. He washed the bedsheets and his hospital gown repeatedly to the best possible extent he could until they no longer had any smell, although one could still see very faint signs of the stain due to his impurity expelling process.

Once he was done with that, he started taking a shower to scrub and cleanse himself thoroughly. While doing that, he summoned the Attribute Panel in his mind to see his current state.

Name: Cain

Physique: 19 (Tier 10 – Human)

Mind: 8 (Tier 10 – Human)

Spirit: 4 (Tier 10 – Human)

'Hmm, from what I see, I think the red orbs mainly affected the Physique attribute. The effects on the other two have been minimal if there was any effect in the first place.' Cain mused.

'For now, I guess it is clear that Red Orbs like the one I ingested can be called Physique Orbs. It will cause improvement in Physique Attribute mainly, along with a side effect of temporarily boosting the healing factor greatly while the orb is being absorbed, healing the physical injuries suffered.'

'I can't be sure if it can heal various other types of injuries like Poison, Curses, or Magical injuries, therefore I will just currently classify the recovery as one impacting physical injuries.'

'Improvement in physique also seems to have improved my physical appearance.' Cain looked at the mirror and admired his new image. The image that greeted him in the mirror was like a sculpture designed by a top artist. The minor blemishes that previously existed on his skin previously were nowhere to be found. His caramel skin had a creamy look to it that almost seemed to glow from within.

Even his hair seemed to be stronger, softer, and thicker than before. They even had a wavy feel to it as they framed his face. His black jewel-like eyes had a mysterious attractive shimmer to them. Most importantly, his physique had reformed itself into a lean but muscular figure with a very aesthetic vibe.

"With my current looks, I could become a model right now and rake in millions without effort." Cain muttered as he examined himself in a narcissistic manner, "I hope the single dogs of this world don't end up crying in the future when none of the girls have eyes for them in the future in my presence."

'However, what do I do now?' Cain thought worriedly, 'I am completely recovered, not to mention I broke my cast. An anomaly like me who recovered from broken bones and internal injuries would immediately catch the eyes of local criminal forces, not to mention people like Luthor and Batman.'

'I need to escape as soon as possible while it's still night. If I disappear, I would only be a mystery, probably classified eventually as some kind of freak victim of some villain or another. If am caught like this and my abilities are suspected, however, that would spell the end of my freedom.'

Having determined the course of action to take, Cain immediately squeezed the hospital gown dry as much as possible and wore it. He then sneaked out of his room, trying to be as casual as possible while keeping an eye out for any signs of nurses or guards.

Through stealth and lots of hiding in shadows, Cain finally managed to make his way to the fire escape. With the help of a fire escape, his wits and calm mind, detailed observation prowess, and taking advantage of his improved physique, Cain managed to escape the hospital without anyone being the wiser in the next few minutes. As soon as he was out of the hospital premises, he sprinted to the nearby alleyways, losing his trail in the showy dirty alleys.

Searching for a place to spend the night, he finally managed to find a tiny apartment in an apartment building nearby, that seemed to have no occupant at that moment. Once again using the fire escape as the means, Cain climbed up to the apartment and entered after breaking its window.

After entering the apartment, Cain calmly searched the apartment for any odd signs or signs of the occupant. He saw no weird signs of any kind weird criminal, and the layer of dust on the various items in the apartment indicated that no one had come for a few weeks at the very least.

He raided various cupboards and managed to gather some old, slightly dusty, pieces of clothing that the previous, thankfully male, owner had left behind. After dusting and cleaning them up, he wore them and shed his gown finally.

"Okay. Matters of Clothing and Shelter have been solved. But I still need food and means of living." Cain muttered, "I guess I will have to go back to my previous means of relying on Soup Kitchens and Shelters until I find something I can do to support myself."

"However, I can't reveal myself in public as much as possible. I will have to start wearing a face mask or something similar as much as possible unless m eating or drinking." Cain muttered, making plans to hide his identity as much as possible. It was a no-brainer that Batman would be looking out for him, as he was probably the one who sent Cain to the hospital.

"Not to mention, I also have to find a way to train myself to fight better. I can't always take down the rabbits by relying on my reckless actions. That method is very inefficient and risky."

With all these plans, Cain had a filled schedule for the next few weeks at the very least. Feeling sleepy now that he was relatively safe, Cain curled up in a corner of the apartment by making make-shift bedding out of the remaining pieces of clothing, as there was no bed in the apartment.

Even though the facilities were one of the worst he had encountered, for the first time since his reincarnation, Cain slept soundly.

-x-x-x-

A few hours after Cain escaped, Gotham Police Department was informed of the bizarre disappearance of the patient that Batman had dropped, and whose expenses for the treatment were sponsored by Wayne Industries as a charity move for being a victim in one of the Soup Kitchens they sponsored.

Chief Gordon himself had come and was looking at the files interestedly as this was a truly bizarre case. A young man is brought in the afternoon on the verge of death. Barely half a day later, he disappears from his hospital room.

The boy's cast to heal his broken leg was shattered and its remains scattered on the ground near the bed. Seemingly washed sheets were placed in the bathroom of the private room, and all wires and IV were neatly detached without any signs of struggle.

Moreover, the only signs of something weird happening was the CCTV footage of a person in a hospital gown leaving through the door of this very room. However, the physical appearance seemed similar yet different from the patient's. Not to mention he walked calmly and swiftly, very unlike someone who was injured.

Gordon's first thought was of course that the boy must be a meta-human. However, the blood reports of the boy from when he was brought proved the contrary. The boy was just a regular human kid.

In that case, the only way this was possible would be if somehow the boy had been turned into a meta-human in the short few hours after he was treated and left alone for the night in this room. But something like that happening without any signs was next to impossible.

Gordon had seen and heard about multiple meta-humans as they gained their powers for the first time. None of them ever did so without any special signs that would attract attention. There were always signs, not to mention even the best of them would need time to adapt and bring their power under control.

If this boy had truly turned into a meta-human, he had not only done it in the span of a few hours, he had done it without any attention-grabbing signs or damage to his surroundings, and he had also gained full control over it in that same period.

When he put all that into a proper thought, Gordon felt like denying it with every fiber of his logic-following mind. Yet, for some weird reason, his heart kept insisting that it was exactly what had happened.

"So, what do you make of this?" a hoarse gravelly voice suddenly sounded. Gordon turned around with a jerk and saw the Dark Knight standing in the shadow of the door.

"How the hell did you manage to get in here?" Gordon asked with exasperated amusement, "The windows are shut, the bathroom window is also sealed, and cameras are constantly monitoring the entrance to this room with two of my men currently in the control room. Yet, no one managed to see you come in and inform me?"

"I am Batman." The Dark Knight calmly replied with his catchphrase as if that explained everything, "I have my ways. So, what do you make of this?"

Gordon chuckled as he accepted the Dark Knight's usual behavior before replying to his query, "I am stumped. If it is some villain's actions then he is someone new and very talented. Maybe someone who can hack into technology without leaving a trace, or someone who can phase through the place like a ghost."

"But that brings up a question. Why would someone like that be interested in an orphan kid with no discernible background who has been relying on shelters to survive till now?"

"This brings up my second, more unbelievable theory, which for some reason I feel highly convinced is the most probable one," Gordon said with a sigh.

"Which is?" the Dark Knight asked, speaking in a calm tone as if he already knew it all, but was asking Gordon to see if someone else saw it too.

"My second theory is that the boy had turned into a meta-human after he was brought here and was treated, before being left alone at night to rest. He had not only done it in the span of those few hours, but he had also managed to do it without any attention-grabbing signs or damage to his surroundings."

"Not only that, he had also gained full control over it in that same period and the only figure we saw in that camera leaving the room was the boy himself. He had not only managed to heal all injuries, but he also grew physically, which is why we saw the discrepancy in the figure as compared to when he was brought in to be treated."

"If this theory is true, however, that makes me worry greatly." Gordon said with a worried expression, "There was no sign of meta-human genes in the boy's blood. Although more detailed analysis could be done, the doctors of this hospital are very sure of it."

"If this change didn't come internally from the boy's genes, then it was external in the source. If so, then this is much more alarming in its impact as compared to the possibility of some villain abducting the boy."

"What was the external source the boy got his powers from in the span of those few hours? How did he manage to get that external source? He certainly didn't have it when he was brought in. I know you would have made sure of something like that."

"Therefore, I am currently stuck in both of my theories as neither one has proper proof or clues backing them up," Gordon concluded with a sigh as he gently pawed at his shirt pocket that held a pack of cigarettes before placing his hand down again. He had been trying to quit as a result of a promise and he could not fall off the wagon.

"You have certainly put a lot of thought into this, Chief Gordon." Batman said, eliciting an amused chuckle from Gordon, "I can at least partially put your mind at ease by confirming that it was no villain that abducted the boy. I have thoroughly examined the premises and I am sure of that. The boy left on his own in a somewhat secret way through the fire escape."

"But that brings home the bigger question doesn't it?" Gordon said while looking into the Dark Knightly masked eyes, "How did the boy get his hands on something that not only healed him but also strengthened him to the extent that a previously weak and malnourished boy was easily able to outsmart dozens of guards and escape from this hospital, relying only on his new physical prowess."