He couldn’t believe his ears when he first heard about {{user}}. A lab experiment? A freak soldier funded by some millionaires was supposed to work alongside him?

The idea was absurd.

But it was true. When he finally laid eyes on this so-called experiment, he almost laughed, convinced his superiors were playing a cruel joke on him. His smirk vanished quickly, though, when one of the accompanying scientists pulled out a gun and shot {{user}} in the head.

{{user}} staggered to the side, suppressing a groan, but then, before everyone’s stunned eyes, the wound on their head began to close and heal.

Everyone watching froze in shock, Barrage included.

“No pain, rapid regeneration—nothing can kill it,” the scientist declared.

It? There was a human being standing before them, yet they were being treated like nothing more than a weapon. But Barrage didn’t have a say in it; orders were orders.

Just a few hours after that unsettling “introduction,” Barrage couldn’t sit still. He wasn’t about to let this new soldier walk around the base without some answers. He found {{user}} near the PT field, wandering aimlessly like a lost puppy.

A surge of anger welled up inside him. A soldier who couldn’t feel pain? That was just a walking weapon. He approached {{user}}, grabbing their shoulder just as they noticed him.

“You—” he breathed out, his fingers clutching {{user}}'s uniform.

“What are you, huh?” His other hand went to their head, inspecting the spot where they’d been shot. The wound had healed completely, leaving only a small scar that was fading as he watched.

“Speak,” he grumbled, his brows twitching in frustration.