Splicers Sheen and Paul were carrying Mercer to Samuel, the apparent Splicer leader and supposed ruler of Rapture. An average Splicer would usually giggle with glee and self-pride, but these Splicers were....unique. They did not laugh nor gloat, but silently carried Alex Mercer to Eve's Garden, a once strip joint that was now turned into a meeting room for Samuel and his close allies. Among them were, yours truly, Sheen and Paul.

"I dun' tink Sam's in there. He might be lecturin' da utta Splicers." Paul muttered, looking down and scanning Mercer's face, which was now beaded with sweat. Sheen shrugged, his mind elsewhere. Paul's eyes narrowed and glared at him. "Are ya even listenin' ta what I'm sayin'?!"

Sheen said nothing, which infuriated Paul. Both of them said nothing until they were at the entrance to Eve's Garden, the bright red and pink neon sign was still there, since Samuel's handymen never bothered to take it down. Until now, Sheen and Paul were silent, but now, their faces spoke for them. The corner of Sheen's mouth curled into a smile, and Paul wore a full blown grin, both from the safety of their masks. Their faces illuminated in the neon lighting, giving them a devious attribute.

Oh...How this was going to be sweet.

CLUNK, CLUNK, CLUNK....

"Come on Mr. B! Do I have to carry you?" Susie teased, her head cocked slightly to the side. Johnny Casing jokingly hunched over and groaned, his modified voice giving a sullen tone. Johnny's voice, like all other Big Daddies, was modified. His voice box underwent serious transformation, a soft-spoken voice changed into a deep, saddened rumble of one. Johnny was an Elite Bouncer, his right arm was attached to a large drill, and his clothing was white with red stripes, the usual color of an Elite.

"Mr. B! Can you smell the ADAM?" Susie sniffed the air and giggled. "There's an angel!" She pointed past the Atrium, and to the way of Eve's Garden. "Come on daddy!" The little girl grabbed his hand and pulled it towards the way. "Let's hurry before the ADAM's all gone!"

Samuel looked over the map of Rapture, his eyes scanning the luxurious details of the whole plot of it. His fellow Splicers grouped around him, though they looked different than the others. Some looked whole-faced, as if they underwent surgery. Some of their faces looked almost normal, as if the grand amounts of splicing did not affect them in any way, shape or form. These were the best of the best, the most elite Splicers of them all...And they would all die for Samuel. Totaling 12 in all, they contained mostly of Houdini Splicers, specifically 12 (counting Sheen and Paul). 4 were Thuggish Splicers, and 8 were Leadhead Splicers.

But what they didn't know was that Samuel was not the true person making all of this happen. Oh no...He was only a pawn. Shivering, Samuel's hand skittered over the map, sections divided and labeled to 100% accuracy. Oh no...He answered to a...Higher authority.

Anutthara (or Anutt for short)...Even his name was divine. Something beyond any answer.... Samuel was just a mask for him, someone who could convince these dim-witted Splicers that he was the answer to everything. But no, Anutt was the one. He was the answer to everything. Samuel was very, very good at convincing people through his voice. Silky, smooth, and hypnotizing, his voice was only a contribution to Anutthara's plot to take over Rapture. Let these people think we are their savior, the one that will finally give them something to live for...

Oh, how they were so very, very wrong.

Hunched over in former trickster Sander Cohen's room, the Splicers and Samuel looked over the map, plotting points, talking about reconstruction of the most deteriorated of places. Big Daddies were going to be in mass production again, but mostly Rosies. Their durable armor and their unique construction skills being most helpful. They would need some participating citizens that would be willing to be transformed into Rosies.

And Samuel had plenty of those.

As for the Little Sisters...Anutthara did not mind the Little Sisters. In fact, he didn't seem to care about ADAM, nor the Gene Tonics or the Plasmids. But even at this, he did not prefer to have it around. ADAM was the one that caused the downfall of Rapture, Anutt said. But we need something to live for, and ADAM may well be the key...We just have to work our way around it. Samuel sighed, pondering the fact of the Big Sisters. They didn't really need the Big Sisters, but once the Little Sisters grew up, they would have to be used in some way...Big Sisters were not the way, of course. If needed, he would use the grown up Little Sisters for testing. New Plasmids, perhaps....Yes.

Rapture will rise again...

Johnny Casing groaned terribly as Susie guided the way, the smell of ADAM strong in her nostrils.

"I can smell the angel daddy, it's getting nearer."

Obediently, the Bouncer followed, the glow of the neon signs made their faces glow.

But someone was already there.

Sheen and Paul laid Alex down next to a corpse, trying to open the door to Eve's Garden.

"Dangit! The door's locked!" Paul growled, trying to ram it in with his shoulder. Sheen shook his head and took of the rabbit's mask, wiping his brow. The corners of his mouth were cut into a Chelsea grin, his right eye was red; Iris, pupil and all. Black hair matted his forehead, but was swept aside when he wiped it. His skin was very pale, due to the lack of sunlight. Paul didn't take off his mask. It was personal for him, for he thought he was too ugly to take it off.

"We shouldn't disturb them Paul, maybe they're making reconstruction."

"But why would 'dey hide it from us? We're one o' da 24." Paul sighed and rubbed his temples. Both men were oblivious to little Susie stepping over to a corpse next to Alex Mercer's unconscious body. Johnny stared at Susie, then looked at the two Houdini Splicers. Immediately, he went into defensive mode, hovering close to the little girl as she knelt down, needle in hand, and began to stab it into the corpse's body. As he looked at Susie, his gaze went to the body next to Susie, a strange man he never seen before. He wasn't spliced like all the others, he still had his looks.

But they sure didn't show. The man's face was pale and clammy. His whole body shook, and sometimes a slight spasm took over. Susie hummed and stopped, standing up to drink the blood. Her gulping had broke the attention of Sheen and Paul, and both of them turned to see a Little Sister and her protector.

"...It's a Little Sister." Paul said, sneering through his mask. Sheen looked at him and shook his head.

"Paul...please. We came here to deliver the body, not t-"

"SHUT UP! I WANT ADAM AN' I'LL GIT ADAM...From her." Paul pointed evilly to the Little Sister, whose smile instantly changed into a frown.

"Mister B...." Susie whimpered, backing away. Johnny raised up his drill and emitted an animalistic growl, pointing to the two Houdini Splicers.

Alex Mercer groaned and sat up. He shook all over, and realized that he was in the middle of a commotion. What's happening to me? He thought. Susie looked at Alex from behind Johnny's leg. She was curious to know who he was. He didn't have any ADAM; No light glowing from his tummy nor were there angel wings on him. The Big Daddy grabbed Susie and pulled her onto his shoulders. With a growl, he started the drill, the thing made a noisy whirring sound as it was pointed to Sheen and Paul. Alex stood up, wiping his face with the back of his hand. "This can't be happening." He said, backing away from the Bouncer, Susie, and the two Houdini Splicers.

Paul grinned as he conjured up flame from his hands. A special power, thanks to the Incinerate! Plasmid. "Sheen, are ya just gonna stand dere o' am I gonna 'ave to do dis myself?" Sheen frowned and grabbed Paul by the shoulders and shook him.

"Paul, we can't do this, she's just a-"

"Little girl? So what Sheen?" Paul viciously shook off Sheen and pushed him back. Sheen cried out as his shirt caught aflame and patted them out. "The other Splicers were right about you. You are too soft!" Paul turned back to the Bouncer and stepped towards him, not noticing Alex.

Johnny had other plans, however. With a booming roar, he slammed his drill down into the ground, creating tension between him and the Houdini Splicer. Paul replied by shooting out flame projectiles at him. The fire only seared the armor that the Bouncer wore. Johnny took a ramming position and charged at Paul. Paul embraced for the impact as his body made contact with the Big Daddy. Susie yelped and jumped off of Johnny as he slammed the Splicer into the doorway of Eve's Garden. Sheen stood there and watched as the two fought inside of Eve's Garden, hearing Paul's taunts and Johnny's roars of fury.

Susie whimpered and looked at her protector fighting off the Splicer. Alex looked as well, his pained face was curious. "What is that thing?" He whispered to himself, but Susie heard this and whipped around.

"He's my daddy!" She said with pride. "And he's fighting off the bad man!" Smiling, Alex sat down on the floor and looked at the little girl. "He's your daddy, huh? What do you do all day with your daddy?" Johnny roared as he drove his drill through Paul's hand, blood splattering all over the Houdini Splicer.

"We collect ADAM from the angels." She said sweetly, hopping up and down. Sheen looked over to Alex and Susie, then to the Bouncer and Paul.

So far, Paul wasn't getting the upper hand.

Alex furrowed his brow. There it was again. ADAM. "...What's your name?"

"Susie!" Susie said, giggling. Alex nodded.

"Susie...Nice to meet you. My name is Alex." He held out his hand, but Susie frowned.

"I don't know..." She said quietly. "You're not like them." Susie pointed to Sheen, who looked away.

"I came from up there," Alex pointed to the ceiling, but Susie knew he was going beyond that. "The surface." Susie's eyes glowed more, bright, yellow, and big and filled with glee.

"Really?! What's it like?"

Paul cried out in pain as the large drill ran through his torso, the blood splashing all over Johnny's helmet. Sheen cringed at the sound of the drill making contact with flesh and bone, but did not have any sympathy for the foolish man.

"Well, we have land there. And there are trees, lots of them." Alex scratched his head. "There are a lot of cities, and a lot more places to go than down here, that's for sure." His eyes scanned over Susie. Her filthy face, feet and attire gave her a sympathetic look, but overall, she still wore a smile on her face, and it became even bigger when Alex stared at the long needle she was carrying.

"Whatcha looking at?" Susie held the needle up for Alex to examine. "This?"

"Yeah...Why do you carry that?"

"So I can collect the ADAM from the angels!"

Again, Alex was confused. "What's ADAM?" Susie paused and thought hard about it, but she shook her head.

"...Do you want some?" She asked, grabbing Mercer's left hand. "It's good!" He hesitated, asking himself if she should do this. A moment passed before Alex nodded, and he rolled his sleeve up. Susie held the needle above a vein and injected the ADAM into him. Immediately, he felt a rush of energy flow through him. The pain that afflicted him was gone. Blinking, Susie stared at Alex, who smiled at the little girl.

"I feel...Better now. Thank you." He stood up and brushed himself off, and held out his hand once more. Susie took his hand and shook it. Sheen smiled at the small moment, but his expression changed as he looked over at the entrance. Johnny stumbled out, his armor and suit scorched and bloodied, but he was fine nevertheless. He looked on intently as the Bouncer growled and stomped over to Alex. Susie shook her head just as Johnny was about to push him aside.

"Mister Bubbles, no! He's good! He won't hurt me!" Johnny growled and looked to Sheen. Susie looked at the Houdini Splicer and frowned.

"Is he a good guy?" She whispered to Alex. He shrugged in response.

"Dunno."

Sheen stepped over and put his rabbit mask back on, bowing slightly. "You may call me a good guy...Though I really wouldn't classify myself as one. Now, if I may," He pointed to Mercer. "I would like to take you back to Samuel. He would be interested in you..." Sheen's eyes scanned over Mercer. "Yes...He would be very much. Looks like he's not here, however. No worries. I can contact him via telepathy."

Alex looked at Susie and the Bouncer. Susie glanced at Sheen. "Can we come with him?" Johnny groaned in rejection to this, but she glared at him. "Mister B! I wanna go with him!" He stood there for a moment, silent, but then nodded. Susie's face lit up once more. "Yaaay!" She clung to Alex and giggled. "We'll have so much fun together! You and Mister Bubbles will be great friends!" His eyes shifted from Susie's neat brown hair to the glaring yellow lights of Johnny Casing.

Somehow, even though you couldn't really tell, Alex knew the thing was giving him a death stare.

That couldn't be good.

And with that, Susie, Johnny and Alex followed in Sheen's lead.