Alright, here's that new Alex Mercer fic I promised. I'm taking some time off from my novel right now, and, to be perfectly frank, I'm getting kind of bored with my other projects. Don't worry- that's strictly temporary. I'll be back to updating them soon. But I really wanted to write for everybody's favorite sociopathic, shapeshifting ball of "Oh FUCK!" for a little while, so I decided to do this. Originally, it was going to be a Mass Effect xover, with just a few short chapters as a prologue. It will still get into Mass Effect territory eventually, but this has evolved into a story in its own right. A big thanks to Silverlineage for helping me flesh it out. Go read her fics- they're fantastic. Also, nag her into making a sequel to Viral Mates.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Reporters and cameramen crowded around the platform, talking loudly and fighting to get a better shot. Dennis Schultz, the reclusive leader of the organization known to the world as Whitelight, was, for the first time since his mysterious appearance in 2012, giving an official press release. A press release, he claimed, which would change the world. Given the secret and enigmatic nature of Whitelight, and it's significant political and economic power, reporters had flown in from all over the nation (and the world) to learn why the group was finally breaking it's isolationist policies.
Little was known about Whitelight, and even less was known about its leader. Whitelight was, they claimed, an organization of humanity's best and brightest, gathered together for the purpose of propelling humanity into a new age. The group had scientists, writers, artists, engineers, architects, musicians- members from all walks of life. The one thing that the members all had in common was that they were among the very best at what they did. Joining the organization was by invitation only, and there was no way of knowing whether or not one would be invited. Geniuses such as Sally Palmer, widely regarded as being the leading expert in the field of theoretical physics, were passed over, while men such as Mike Mullins, a brilliant but utterly inexperienced student of biology, had been invited before he had even earned his Master's Degree. Whitelight ignored the outrage this had caused, with a spokesperson saying that Mullins had the potential Whitelight looked for in recruits, but people like Palmer lacked certain qualities the organization required.
Concerning Dennis Schultz, there was plenty of information, all of it trivial. Oh, his public records were easily accessed- born in 1983 to Larry and Susan Schultz in New Haven, Connecticut, graduated high school at fifteen, graduated from Harvard three years later with a degree in microbiology, so on, so on. His father had been interviewed, as had a few childhood friends, all of whom said the same thing- Dennis was a brilliant, driven individual, with a mind like few others, but he was somewhat distant, preferring his solitude over the company of others. But for all his genius, Dennis Schultz had been, apparently, unnoticed for much of his life. Few of his professors at Harvard remembered him specifically, although Professor Becky Hicks, of the biology department, remembered him clearly. She described him as a tall boy, big enough to fit in with the older students, but not the type one would notice. He'd tended to sit in the back of the classroom, she said, and avoided being called on. His work was above average, but only just- not what one would expect from a genius who left Harvard University at the age of eighteen. It was widely speculated that, due to his reclusiveness, the young genius had decided to underachieve, so as to avoid undue attention.
Yes, the man's trail in his early life was clear enough. It was in the later years that the questions rose. After gaining his doctorate at Columbia University, he seemed to have vanished entirely until the year 2012, when he announced to the world that he was going to form an organization of "humanity's greatest and brightest minds, collaborating and working together toward a single goal." The few individuals who even noticed the announcement smiled to themselves at the young man's naivety, and turned the page to look at the article about a revolutionary new toilet design that used thirty percent less water. It wasn't until three years later that anybody took the declaration seriously, when somebody published an article on a newly arisen organization called Whitelight, with over a hundred and fifty world renowned scientists, musicians, artists, and so on, professing membership. Even then, few knew of the organization, but they followed its rise to prominence in the following years. When Whitelight purchased the Gentek Corporation, a moderately well-known biological research firm, in 2017, the group finally became known to the world.
Since that momentous day, Whitelight had grown in power, wealth, and fame, all while remaining shrouded in mystery. Most of its members maintained their own activities, lobbying or giving speeches or leading rallies if they had done so before, but never on behalf of the organization, and the different members were often opposed politically or ideologically. Many people wondered about the "single goal" Schultz had mentioned in his initial declaration, but Whitelight remained silent. In fact, Whitelight remained silent about most things, even as it bought up technological and research firms with an astonishing pace. New members joined, corporations were purchased, and nothing else happened.
Conspiracy theories regarding the organization abounded. Some claimed that Whitelight was planning to usher the world into a new age of technological progress, pointing to the companies the group bought as evidence. Others claimed that they were buying the companies so that they could control the market on new tech, and plunge the world into a dark age. One popular theory was that this organization was secretly sponsored by some government, in an attempt to influence the worldwide infrastructure. Then there were, of course, the groups who claimed that Whitelight was a front for the Illuminati, or a group that had rebelled against the Illuminati, or some similar nonsense.
Then, one week ago, Whitelight's leader had made an announcement. Whitelight was ready. It was time for the organization to take its place, starting with a declaration that would change the future of the human race.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
A hush fell over the room as the man walked onto the platform calmly, then turned to face the gathered reporters, celebrities, politicians, and other significant people. He smiled at the press and VIPs as he approached the microphone.
"Hello, everybody!" he exclaimed happily. "My name is Francisco Alexander. Mister Schultz will be here momentarily, but before he arrives, I was asked to provide you with a warning. The things you will see and hear today will shock you. They will scare you. You will gasp, and possibly scream. We expect that. We are fully aware that today's revelation will be an utter shock to everybody not within the Whitelight Organization. However, we ask only this- please restrain yourselves. In a few minutes, many of you may wish to flee. I assure you, there is no danger. It is vitally important to us that you remain calm and quiet, and do not leave until you are dismissed. If you leave, you will not only be missing out on the story of a lifetime for no good reason, but you will also be endangering the mission of Whitelight, as well as your own lives. Thank you for your attention, and now, here he is- Mister Dennis Schultz!"
There was a round of applause as a man walked onto the stage. He was dressed casually, in jeans and a red polo shirt that showed his height and his large gut, but he held himself high, as if he were invincible, able to take on the world, and he knew it. The man, Dennis Schultz himself, shook Alexander's hand warmly, and turned to the gathered crowd with a smile.
"Thank you, Francisco, for buying me the time to get changed into something nice." There was a round of polite laughter, and the smiling Schultz waited for it to die down before continuing. "Some of you may remember when, fifteen years ago, I announced my intentions to create an organization of humanity's greatest and brightest minds, collaborating and working together toward a single goal. At the time, I was an unheard of, but brilliant, if I may be permitted to say so, researcher in the field of viral life. As such, my announcement garnered little to no attention, and the twelve people who actually heard of my announcement dismissed it as the naive fantasy of an inexperienced young man. Well I stand here you today, and I say to you that I have accomplished that naive fantasy. Whitelight now consists of seven hundred and twenty-three of the world's most brilliant, innovative, creative individuals, all working together for one goal- the advancement of mankind. Some of you are familiar with the technologies we have created, pioneered, expanded, or perfected. Mechanical prosthetics are no longer a thing for science fiction alone. A cure for cancer is well underway. Clean, renewable energy is now a viable power source. These and many others were made possible by the cooperative efforts of people within my, our, organization. But none of that compares to what I am about to tell you."
The crowd waited as Schultz took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment, the opened them again and took off his glasses.
"How many of you," he began, "remember an article written by the painter Sheila Brown four years ago?"
There was some muttering among the crowd at this strange topic for discussion, but nobody said anything. Outside, there was some sort of very faint commotion going on, almost as if a riot were taking place.
"For those of you who do not remember the event, as it was not widely circulated, I will recap. Mrs. Brown announced to the world that my organization had contacted her, and, in a private interview, invited her to become a member. During the course of this interview, the true nature of Whitelight, she said, was made plain to her. It was a secret group working for none other than the infamous Alex Mercer, the Monster of Manhattan. For the younger members of our audience, and those who have lived under a rock for the past twenty years, Alex Mercer is an internationally wanted terrorist, allegedly responsible for dozens of attacks across the world, many of them biological in nature. He introduced himself to the global community by releasing a deadly disease into Manhattan Island's Penn Station in the year 2009. In just three weeks, thousands were killed by the disease. At the end of the third week, when the government was just beginning to get a handle on the virus, Mercer detonated a nuclear bomb off of the coast of New York as a show of force. The attacks attributed to him since have been much smaller in scale, but no less dangerous to the global community. Well, in her article, Mrs. Brown stated that Alex Mercer was no ordinary terrorist. He was a monster. Literally. He was not a monster in the sense that Hitler was a monster, he was an actual, literal, otherworldly creature. Mister Mercer, she claimed, was a shapeshifter with tremendous strength and speed, who fed on the flesh of humans to survive. He was creating an army of these monsters, she said, in the guise of Whitelight. The reason Whitelight only invited certain individuals, she argued, was that they only invited people whom they were certain would agree to become one of these monsters, and who would swear his undying loyalty to the Monster of Manhattan. Well, naturally, this article was absurd, and led to an investigation into her mental health, whose results stated that she was secretly a schizophrenic, and had been hiding her affliction from the world for years."
"Before I continue, I would like to reiterate what Mr. Alexander said earlier. No matter what happens today, you are not in danger. Do you all understand me?"
The gathered crowd nodded, curious as to what was about to happen.
"Good. As I was saying, the investigation's results made it clear that Sheila Brown was a paranoid schizophrenic. These results were falsified, on my orders. I owe Mrs. Brown a tremendous apology for the damage I did to her reputation. I deeply regret that I hurt Mrs. Brown so badly, and have endeavored to help her where I could. However, I cannot say that I regret the actions I took, as they were necessary. You see, almost all of what she wrote in her article was true."
There was a chorus of nervous laughs from the gathered press members and VIPs, but many people were frowning, or had puzzled looks on their faces. What kind of joke was this? What happened to the world changing declaration that Schultz had promised?
Schultz shook his head at the laughter, and raised his hands for quiet.
"I promise you, I am not joking. You see, there never was a Dennis Schultz. He was an elaborately fabricated lie, produced through bribery, blackmail, and specially placed agents. My real name..."
Suddenly, black and red tendrils began to crawl across Schultz's body, squirming, moving, and flowing as they rearranged themselves. A few moments passed, and then, standing before the crowd, was a new man. He was shorter than Schultz, but much better built. While not overly muscled, there was a sturdy kind of visible strength to him. A black leather jacket was worn over a light gray hoodie, which was pulled over a dark, brooding face.
"...is Alex Mercer," finished the figure on the stage.
