MUTANT sidepiece: project divinity (Patreon)

aka project divinum malum.

shortened story. this is off the designs of adi and damien, who i loved so much that i made an offshoot.

the government found a mysterious but limited substance that have the potential to bring life, a life stronger than any other. they created project divinum malus, latin for divine evil. evil due to the acts against humanity they were about to commit.

000-007 are all the creations of the project. made in a far off laboratory away from both people and places. zero was the stitched up scraps of the 'trials' . whatever remnants of the beings they created before being reused. zero was sentient and alive, so they made great use of zero, while finally having enough research to actually make the perfect specimens. zero was slowly deteriorating, always in pain, and needing support at any given moment, only worsening due to the abuse and neglect by the researchers. one was created soon. 001 was perfect. however, what the researchers didnt know, is that 000 has telepathy, the only ability that even the later numbers don't have. 000 being lonely, depressed, and in heaps of pain, found solace in 001, who was confused by their newly appointed existence and sentience. they bonded and communicated through their thoughts and if possible, even in dreams. however soon after 001, 000 was set to be dismembered, finally be turned into scraps as they were meant to be. the stitches on their body is marked by the procedure. even before, zero was hardly given sedation, nor when they prodded zero during their more healthier times, they only saw zero as a means of research, the last bit of the trials still kicking around. alive and sentient with some form of 'intelligence', but it wasn't good enough for them, since zero wasnt sporting the traits they desired. as zero became increasingly costly to keep alive, and the advent of the success of 001 and more to come, they finally went ahead to scrap zero.

however 001 knew, and 000 was begging to live, since they finally have a friend. 001 against all orders attacked the researchers, finding zero and threatened to kill them all and if that wasn't successful one would kill themselves, a perfect specimen they spent millions to make. so zero was stitched back together, unable to heal the parts, but at-leastt they are functional and whole again. then one started to care for zero, finally having a warm place to sleep in. the other numbers soon began to be created, and while not all instantly warmed up to zero, they all had a sense of connection/kinship with each other, and all took turns caring for zero. (the one who was marred by the scientists the most. the one who remembers how zero themself was created, even before then, how it felt and how they were abused after.

soon enough, the numbers were put on missions and tests, even undergoing some experiments to understand the effects of (the divine material) on living beings such as themselves. nothing to the same degree zero went through, since these numbers are the perfect precious specimens.  however, the researchers that were their from the very beginning, especially when zero was made, couldn't handle the guilt and heavy conscience, so they blew the whistle.  they brought papers, tapes, and even stories of the project. mentioning their humanity and care for each other. the worst aspect of this to some of the researchers is the fact the numbered beings acted more human, more empathetic, even under hellish conditions. how they cared for zero, so deeply and so kindly, unlike the cruelty the researchers and humans that were there. even when zero, the first, was harmless, weak, and in fact need of assistance, the humans showed neither humanity, nor a speck of empathy in zero' obvious pain and isolation.  the government at first tried to cover it up, but swiftly realized that the information is out and they have a slew of human rights violations on an international scale to deal with.

now the project was scrapped albeit being a successful one. zero for years was being cared for by the other numbers, but before then, had years of mistreatment. there's too much evidence of that, and all the other failed beings that were then scrapped or made into zero itself.  as well as the divine material they had was all gone, in the making of the numbered. so it wasn't that practical to continue a dead project.

the government had a few options. one, may need to kill all the project's beings, even though it will be hard, since they are superhumans with high levels of regeneration, skill, and violence. two, how to ease the public sentiment, even after they can no longer deny their involvement of this. and 3, the other countries, seeing this project, being threatened by a possible humanoid superpower that can lead in warfare, and also possibly on the verge of attacking them.

solution? make 'amends, instead of killing what was a billion dollar project, they kept them alive, and two used this as a possible opportunity to keep face in the public and offer reparations. give them some 'freedoms' like a home, money, and a few other things, given the limitations they'll still have (so how free are they really)

and 3- because the government is keeping them, they can still use the numbered aliens for militaristic warfare as well as other jobs. they are now public faces, the world knows of how they look like, and how many they are. even with all the attempts, there are still pictures and videos of the numbers faces, bodies, and what they generally look like. there's no turning back,.

so all this leads to present day. zero is being cared for and the numbered are taking turns managing their new home. they are now given the concept of 'freetime'. they still do jobs and are still living what they used to live like to a degree. doing missions, trekking, hunting, and protection. in this case just more publicly. as they are seen protecting people of interest after the publication of their existence.  in return for cooperation, they will gain even more freedoms. all the numbered know full well of the hypocrisy and are in no way loyal. they are all finding ways to usurp the government's control, and assert themselves as an authority in their own right. already finding means to do so. the plan is to eventually become and independent contractor, with the only stipulation of doing business of the country of origin. for now... the next goal is to make themselves international so that no country will have stake in them, and no monopoly therefore a Power imbalance on a world scale will never happen again. this is all jargon.  the actual kinks of the story is not fully fleshed out.

in present day, the all live together like roomies, all doing missions but able to keep in contact through the aid of zero, who no matter how far one is, can keep communication with all the numbered. one had the bright idea of getting a public social media, much to the government's chagrin. this culminates in livestreams and home life to the human public, who are seeing a snapshot of the aliens and how they live just like the humans. eat, sleep, play games, fight and argue, and enjoy the same hobbies. just that they are also killing machines by their very design.

all the numbered finding joys in the world despite the cruelty of their past, and the obvious human avoidance due to their alien existence. however it all, they are happy to live somewhat like a person. especially,, zero, who enjoys sleeping, eating, and doing absolutely nothing, as they deserve. they like watching paint making videos and speedruns. they have the most common sense, but also heartless to their abusers, who zero took an almost sadistic pleasure in their demise. most of the story revolved on the care and protection of zero, their banter as roomates, and the casual missions before going home. the typical livestream or social media posts much to the government's displeasure, the deed was done, and as long the numbered don't expose secrets they are allowed to have this right, since the gov is on thin ice from the public, who has and will cause riots. (this is france level of public outcry,  you know is serious)

in another interpretation, the humans somewhat idolize the aliens, as they are viewed as some form of supernatural superheroes, especially to the younger population. and to capitalize on their existence, lots of movies and media was made with their stories, even if it wasn't the best recreation or the most accurate, whatever documents that were found were used as a basis for fictional retellings of a terrible event, even if the alien's found this quite a daring act of assholeness to profit off of their misery and creation.  it did do numbers on their image, making it so that they were wanted and invited to public events.

is the government realistic? idk, do the numbered have that much freedom? idk, but imma believe so. can they get invited to such public events? i want to so i shall will it. do they live happily ever after? ofcourse. the best even. they shall be the superheroes but aliens.  the divine material is thought to be the remnants of god, or atleast an angel. if they were going to go the religious route, since the material that was used to create these alien like life, have interested looks and markings on their bodies. if not religious, it was just straight up alien theories and the conspiracists ate that shit up.

why do i make the saddest stories for what would be the most arbitrary setting of an unrelated storilines (like" mans aliens living as roomies having a social media? damn hella cool, how they goonna act????) (or " aliens are cool celebrities, but have a terrible past cus im a sad dreamer and i hate the government.)