NYZ was restored to it's former glory, and it's three zones are once again reconnected. The red zone, along with it's nightmarish creatures are gone. The virus was extinguished besides Heller..Or so he thinks. But the legend of his creator, his essence, will never be destroyed. That was the second time that a viral outbreak happened in Manhattan, and still there were loopholes for the virus to continue existing. For two years now, Heller had been living with his daughter, and Dana. And for those two years, he has endured the voice. The voice of his maker, Alex Mercer.
'Heller..' That haunting and taunting tone started again, and Heller knew who it was.
'I fuckin' ate you..You're dead. You're not fuckin' real.'
'Keep deluding yourself, Heller. I am the virus itself. You have been briefed on who I am before you even met me, right? You should know that even with everything I gave you, I am still stronger than you. I simply let you win.'
'Yeah? I heard that so many times before, motherfucker.'
The voice in his head laughed, mischievously. Mockingly. Then, the voice went away.
Heller might be stubborn, but he isn't completely dumb. He knew that Mercer wasn't joking about still existing. But he didn't expect it. The real Alex Mercer died long ago. What he faced two years ago, was the reincarnation of the Blacklight virus in the visage of the scientist. Yet Heller had considered him to be something killable, a man. Was it pride over the newfound powers? He had failed to account that Mercer has been playing this game far longer than he has. He was consumed by killing intent that he ignored the statistics. Grunting in frustration and utter annoyance, he shook his head at the infinite loop of questions that sprung up in his thoughts.
-Dream Sequence.-
'Where's Maya?'Heller demanded.
'Safe; For the moment.'
'You're gonna tell me! Either on your own, or after I skull fuck you, and drain your memories out the hole!'
'Huh, scary. You just don't get it do you, I gave you everything. And this is how you come to me. Can't you understand what I'm doing? Humanity is stagnant, dying! I would give it one body, one mind. Think about it! No more conflict, no more disease, no more suffering. Don't you see? I'm giving it a second chance!'
'Enough, of your fuckin' weird, fuckin' rambling shit! Give me my daughter!'
'No, no. I don't think so. It's time you gave me something! You see, young Amaya shares your brand of annoyingly resilient DNA. And when she's ready, your daughter will become the mother of the new world! So now the only thing standing between me, and Earth's true destiny..is you.'
Writhing, black and red mass extended from Mercer's arms, impaling the Evolved that have gathered in a line behind him. He absorbed their essence, becoming more powerful than he already was at base. Giving a devilish smirk, he looked at Heller, his eyes glowing crimson red. His right arm shifted, turning into his favoured blade. Alex scraped it along the ground as he walked towards Heller, seemingly carefree and adamantly sure that his opponent has no chance in hell of beating him.
'Oh, shit..'
This feels like De Ja vu.. His opponent didn't speak, but he heard Mercer's voice in his head. A guarantee. That this time, it will be different.
Charging, Heller chose the claw mutation for this bout. Alex swung the blade vertically, but Heller blocked just in time. Grabbing the blade by his right hand, he attempted to dismember and disarm Mercer. Alex laughed in a sinister tone as he sidestepped to avoid the claw slash, and he shook off Heller's grip on him. Mercer drived his blade into Heller who was wide open for attack, cutting from the right shoulder diagonally going down to the stomach. 'So disappointing.' The original prototype said, as he dislodged his opponent off his blade with a powerful kick that sent Heller hurtling. He wasn't done, not just yet. Not giving Heller time to recover or to catch his breath, Mercer stomped, sending groundspikes to erupt from the ground around Heller's radius. But Heller was quick to adapt to situations in battle, and managed to jump away just in time to avoid being impaled by the groundspikes. He pounced at Mercer from mid-air, catching his opponent by the head. With Heller's grip on Mercer's face, he slammed him on the floor with an earth shattering impact, and then proceeded to throw his body in the air. Heller changed his mutation, and as gravity brought Mercer back, he met an impactful punch from Heller's hammerfists. This time, it was Alex who was in his knees.
'Impressive..Now let's see how well you can adapt! Here..Catch!'
Mercer's blade transformed into the whipfist, and he whipped his arm skywards and the bladed-tip of the limb hooked to a helicopter above. Dragging it down with ease, he sent the aerial military vehicle hurtling at Heller's direction. But Heller was prepared. Snapping out his shield mutation, he held his arms in front of him to block the helicopter, and the metal plates broke agaisnt the spiked biomass; The helicopter shattered in two. However, that was merely a diversion. While Heller was preparing defense, Alex had already jumped and positioned himself behind him. When Heller turned around, the first thing he saw was the whipfist impaling his chest and blood and biomass splattering from his body. The whipfist stretched back and took Heller into Mercer's close range. Before Heller could react, Mercer changed his spare arm into the musclemass mutation. A godly punch met with Heller's face, and his lower jaw was literally knocked off his head. Blood spilled in inhuman proportions, and Heller laid in a pool of crimson red.
'Get up Heller, your suffering is just beginning.' Alex mocked. He knew Heller was still capable of regenerating and continue fighting.
'You keep this up, I'm gonna rip your spine out of your mouth. 'Heller retorted, after his lower jaw regenerated.
'You really are a very crude person, aren't you?'
Taking advantage of the conversation, Heller suddenly went to attack instead of responding to Mercer's taunt. Changing his hammerfist to the single blade, Heller went swinging in skilful arcs of circles. Mercer had little time to use a defensive mutation, and he took a big slash to the torso, blood spilling out as if he was a walking fountain. But Mercer merely stumbled back and didn't go down. It would take far more to defeat him. Alex performed skilful back flips as he backed away to get some range. The original prototype raised his arms into the air, calling to the hive mind. The swarms of the infected eagle that populated the skies of the red zone immediately came to the aid of their master. But really, all they did was mass suicide. Heller had not forgotten that Alex could use the hive mind to control the infected. Grunting, he smashed his fists onto the floor before spreading his arms wide. He unleashed a devastator, and tendrils of biomass erupted from his body, impaling and killing the infected swarms. The result was a grotesque explosion of blood, flesh, bones, and biomass followed by a momentary rain of red. Heller wasted no time. He charged at Mercer with hammerfists, knowing that Mercer won't be able to use the whipfist to defend himself against such a heavy attack easily. As Mercer sent the spear-like limb extending straight towards Heller, the evolved underdog side stepped after anticipating the attack. With little time for the whipfist to extend back so that Mercer could continue the assault, Heller took advantage. He smashed his back with his left hammerfist, and then his right, literally hammering him down onto the floor and making a crater below them as he did. Heller delivered a kick to the face to end it, and Mercer went flying backwards.
'Now you just pissed me off.' Alex said, as he got up. He was as equally drenched in crimson as Heller was. Mercer groaned as his whole body mutated, a power that Heller haven't seen before, nor possess. His body's outer layer shapeshifted into an plated agile armor, and the offensive power he chose for this third bout was the hammerfists. With the capabilities of the armor mutation unknown to James, he equipped himself with the Tendrils on the right, and whipfist on the left. After all, he was sure that the Tendrils were something unique to him, and if Mercer suddenly shows that he can use them..Well, he would just be doubly screwed. Mercer was the one charging this time, and Heller sprung out his right arm to attack with the Tendrils. Instead of penetrating through the flesh, the plates deflected the viral muscles. Panicking now, Heller lashed out his whipfist in desperation but Mercer deflected it with one of his hammerfists. Now wide open, Alex wasted no time and delivered a fatal punch to Heller's torso, leaving a massive hole in his wake, as if he was shot clean through with a cannonball. Bits and pieces of biomass bursted backwards along with a spray of blood.
'P-piece of shit..'
'Such a shame. Goodbye, Heller.' Alex shifted to the single blade and sliced the bald head clean off, and then turned both limbs into claws as he proceeded to shred apart the remains of the body, consuming James Heller in the process.
'NO!' Heller sat up, awaking from the nightmare. Mercer's words haunted him. That he simply let him win. But for what reason, what does Mercer have to gain from losing his physical body? As Heller started to calm down, something pulsated within. Akin to the tendril devastator of the evolved and prototypes, biomass in the form of tentacles and tendrils burst forth from Heller's chest. But instead of spreading apart in the confined area, the biomass started to mould into a form. A figure that was all too familiar.
'Missed me?' The voice was distorted, but it slowly turned into that haunting familiar voice as Mercer began to assume that hooded, normal form.
'What the fuck, how did yo-
Mercer interrupted his question, grabbing the weakened evolved by the throat and holding him up. 'I am the virus itself, Heller. You can't kill me. The top of the food chain is a spot that is permanently reserved for me.' Alex started to absorb the strain of the virus, to take back what was his to begin with. But when the process was done, Heller was alive and spared. Again. Before Heller could ask, Mercer answered already. 'I still have plans for you, Heller.' - Was the last thing James heard before he fell into an unconscious state.
But Heller wasn't human again, and he wasn't completely powerless. Alex can take away his mutations, but once a man survives the transformation of being infected with the blacklight virus, the viral strain is permanently bonded into their bloodstream. Consumption and Shape shifting still remained in Heller's arsenal of abilities, but all the others are gone.
Alex was gone again, his intentions, and his plans unknown.
As his mind entered the realm of dreams again, it wasn't a nightmare this time.
It echoed. The cries of newborn twins.
