Alex Mercer presses herself up against Cross' back, hands upon his left shoulder. She peaks over Cross' shoulder at the strange anamoly before them. Her wide silver-blue eyes stare down at the small creature, unsure of how to proceed. Cross, his face unimpressed, turns to look at Alex over his shoulder. Alex, in turn, stares into Cross' green eyes, her face sheepish.

"Mercer, remember that little chat we had about 'personal space'?"

"Mhm..."

"Good. Now remove yourself from my person."

Alex looks like she wants to argue, but decides against it. She pulls herself away from him, her eyes flicking down to stare at the four legged creature with a mixture of curiosity, apprehension, and a hint of worry. Inside her mind, thousands of consciousnesses seemed to converge and let out a collective 'awe' at the creature. Said creature gets up on wobbly legs and stumbles over to her. She, in turn, practically jumps out of her skin, black and red biomass swirling around her arms and forming into deadly claws. The creature still stumbles towards her. Her eyes dart over to Cross who, by now, had an amused expression upon his face. The creature draws her attention once again as it reaches her claws. It was strange to feel a cold little nose against her claws, the biological metal twitching in response to the chill. Then, the creature takes it a step further and licks one of the deadly claws. She lets out a startled yelp, scrambling back to the edge of the rooftop. Now, Cross was in stitches- his soft chuckles echoing over to the surprised and embarassed Virus. After a short time, Cross composes himself and walks over to the creature, scooping it up into his arms. The wiggly thing wriggles against his hold, pink tongue lolling out.

"Relax, Mercer. It's just a puppy."

Alex stares at the creature in open distrust, even as her biomass reconfigures itself into her normal pale hands. Inside her mind, the voices were stronger than normal; giggling and all talking to her about 'puppies'. She shivers, her form wavering as a ripple of biomass spreads across her features.

"...I knew that."