'Target lost, repeat! Target lost!'

'Rodger that Alpha.'

The helicopters rotor blades beating had a job to keep up with the pace of the soldiers hearts. Explosions ripped through the air behind them, screams of the dying and the brave and the ravenous snarls of something unholy.

Realisation reared its ugly head, as a man's form rocketed through the debris and carnage around it, claws that looked of steel, flashing viciously in the glare of the sun.

'It's Zeus!'

The Blackwatch soldier could see the virus' face from where he sat in the copter. That last soldier had suggested this creature was deprived of emotion; bullshit.

Then something hit the aircraft, the force sent the passengers belting forward in the vehicle, no one made a sound. The only sound he could hear was his heart beating and the helicopters blades.

Then the window at the front shattered, wicked claws snatched the pilot's head and dragged him through, his body snagging on the jagged open.

The Blacklight virus climbed through, clawing at everything inside; its blue eyes burning through the helicopters flashing emergency lights.

Its lips parted into a snarl and it bellowed, "Where's Dana!"

The adrenaline took control of the men around him, but the Blackwatch soldier did not move. Soldiers grabbed guns that had fallen to the floor of the aircraft and without another thought, fired down upon Zeus. It made things worse; Zeus howled like a feral animal and threw himself forward like a hunting lion.

Blood coloured the helicopters walls, all the while the aircraft continued to send off alarms that it was losing altitude.

The Blackwatch soldier said nothing, the metallic liquid hit his form, covered him; he said nothing, did nothing, he only stood and watched.

Bodies fell in halves, quarters and lumps of meat. Splattered in red, Zeus looked up from the floor and studied him.

"You're infected." It concluded, licking away stray blood on its face.

The Blackwatch soldier didn't speak a word, just looked on and Zeus stepped closer, bringing a clawed hand against the man's left cheek and sniffed at his neck.

To the soldiers surprise the virus took a step back, its eyes softened into a confuse expression as it looked into his face and it shouted over the emergency alarms.

"Dana?"

Dana mercer watched, air borne; as the copter fell to the ground. The wind whipped around her, and the feeling made her smile.

"You are not Dana."

Over the howl of the wind as the glided down to Earth, she could hear him.

"From what I've heard, you are not Alex."

No real reaction came from the virus beside her, he continued to look at the floor they were descending upon; Central park.

"When you were chasing the helicopter", she paused and he looked her in the face, "I was scared." She looked him in the eye, he only blinked at her.

"When they talked about you, they said you had forgotten everything and that you were no longer Alex Mercer", he looked back down, "But a virus in his skin."

More of his face was showing due to the winds interference with his hood, "I am."

They landed and Dana began to stretch out, Zeus was immediately at her side, "You're Blacklight, but I can't figure out how."

She looked at him, expression unreadable, "They reported she died two days ago". There was silence between them, no one stayed out for too long anymore despite central park being clean from the infection; it just wasn't safe for people.

Zeus shifted his weight on his feet and looked down.

"So what about you?"

"What about me?"

A pause, "how did you copy Dana's image without consuming her?"

"I did." Zeus raised an eyebrow.

She fidgeted uncomfortably, looking around and then back at him, "I'm a sample of you, that's what they say." He tilted his head sideways, curious, "they combined it with a sort of cancer." She began to laugh and Zeus coughed into his hand, "they thought it was a cure, so they injected it into her." She frowned and looked him in the eye, "It killed her, she was already infected, but," she trailed off, "But the cancer finished her and."

"And you consumed her, yes?"

She swallowed a lump; the fear was back, eating at her, "Yes."

Zeus said nothing, but he hummed and coughed again into his hands.

"You're scared." It was more of a statement then a question. He walked up to her side, "Shouldn't I be?" He smiled at that, a little one, but it was there.

"Probably."

Tanks rumbled through the streets of New York, civilians had long ago grown use to the vehicles and went about there business of trying to obtain resources from a dead city.

"Targets lost, Eris and Zeus have escaped."

Watching from the rooftop of a three story building, she smiled ear to ear.

"Eris, eh? 'bout time." She chuckled standing full height from her crouching position and turned around grinning.

"Hey Zeus!"

The virus looked up at her from where he was sat, blood covered from his last consumption.

"Guess who got their codename, Eris." She stood posing, her thumbs pointing at her face.

"Got some blood on you're face." He replied and she vigorously rubbed her arm across it.

She walked the distance between them and sat down closely beside him. Black biomass uncurled from the both of them and curled around each other, shifting sizes and touching uncertainly; the viruses ignored it, they were used to the reactions after the first hour of study.

"Eris will be difficult for me to call you", she looked at him and then at the biomass, hers seemed a more watered down black compared to Zeus'.

"I understand it will take a while to get use to." He nodded. She took a deep breath and looked at his feet.

"Do you think I'm ready?" he peered at her from beneath his hood; he looked down at his hands and then got to his feet.

"Lets see."

Times Square South

Infected screeched at the intruder, Blackwatch weren't around this time. Zeus acted as a distraction, causing chaos and destruction to keep them preoccupied and away from Dana.

"Leaves more infected for me." With wild slashes her claws sliced easily through flesh, they weren't nearly as long as Zeus', but they weren't any duller and the mindless were easy pickings for a learner. The bodies of the fallen fused with hers and she was beginning to fill better, full maybe even happy. A smile spread across her face as she crushed a man's head with one hand.

Times Square North

'Damn it! Reply!'

How could he ever reply? Zeus thought when I have his head. With a flick of the wrist, the head went soaring through the air, who knew where it would land. He had cleared the area of near enough everything, the civilians had fled, the military had flooded in and had gotten slaughtered and consumed, they just made his energy levels sky rocket. He picked at the claws of his whipfist, looking in the direction where he had left Dana and contemplated whether or not she would be okay or in trouble. Tapping one claw against his nose, he took off to the skies and began to glide.

Dana was perched on the edge of an apartment building, legs hanging over the edge. She could see her 'brother' from where she was sat; gliding elegantly through the air before running up the side of the building she was on. She could hear the glass crunch under his feet and smiled contently when he reached her side.

"Better?" He questioned, eyeing her curiously.

"Much." Zeus plopped himself down next to her and looked on into the sunset, the biomass of them both linking together again, Dana's was an equal black now, it must have been the consumption.

"I take it you did well, there aren't many infected around here." Dana swelled with pride, if she were to take that comment as anything, it would be a compliment. They sat there the rest of the night, the air cooled around them and the city grew quiet.