Well, here we go. Another chapter. And this is where the Krew realise Alex is definitely not normal. Korra's going to get a freak-out, we see a more human side to Blackwatch, and we get to see Alex be the terrifying monster he really is. This chapter goes to TuxedoGreymon, who is desperate to see the next chapter before he goes for his kidney transplant. I hope you enjoy this TuxedoGreymon, and you get better soon.

Chapter 4: My Name Is Legion and I Must Scream

Daniels was glad his helmet covered his face, or else everyone would see him smiling. Hiroshi Sato was livid after his tanks failed so completely, most of them barely salvageable. They were both at a meeting with their leaders, General Redcliffe and Amon. They were trying to figure out what to do now. Well, they were. Sato was too busy shifting the blame and worrying about his daughter.

"…Completely in the dark." Sato was saying angrily. "If it wasn't for the team of Blackwatch soldiers you assigned me without my permission, I would've died. This failure is your fault."

Redcliffe looked at him for a while before speaking. "According to Corporal Daniels, he told you many times to be wary of Zeus. But you just saw him as a mere man, as just another Avatar. Zeus is far more than that, and must be treated like you'd treat a natural disaster."

"Well I know that now. And my little girl is with him. Maybe if you lot explained how dangerous he was, I could've made some contingencies. We have to save her."

"Out of the question. I will not risk another team in a suicidal mission to save one person, no matter how important they are to you." Sato looked like he was going to explode until Amon raised a hand.

"Gentlemen, this is not the time to argue." He said, his expression hidden behind his mask. "According to the General, Mercer's normal behaviour would be to just kill everything in sight, including you. The fact that he isn't could mean he wishes to keep a low profile, to make us seem like the villains. I imagine that as long as someone else is with her at all times, he won't make a move against her. But still, he can't be with her at all times. As soon as he isn't around, we should have a team rescue her. In the meantime, let's rework the mecha-tanks. Redcliffe, do you have any suggestions?"

"I assigned Corporal Daniels to that task. He was an engineer before we recruited him." Daniels nearly sighed in exasperation as everyone turned to him.

"Sir, permission to speak through you so I don't sound like a complete idiot?" The General looked at him before nodding. At least he could speak in English now. "Despite their dismal performance, I believe we should keep focusing on them. While the heavier armour of our tanks back home made them capable of handling most Infected, Zeus and Heller have merely used them as punching bags over and over again, when they don't just hijack them for fun. Perhaps we should focus on manoeuvrability and speed instead of armour. We'll also need to equip heavy and lethal weaponry to them."

"Hardly." Sato argued once Redcliffe finished translating. "We need the support of the public. Non-benders outnumber benders by about 3 to 1. With such large numbers, we can overwhelm the bending oppressors. But if we start using lethal weapons, then people will stop supporting us."

"Permission to call him a fat idiot?"

"Denied. Either you be tactful, or I will." Redcliffe responded.

"Certainly sir. Then tell Mr Sato that as he likes to keep pointing out, the electrified weapons he used were useless against Zeus. We have spent years training to combat threats like him. If we recommend our weapons, then perhaps he should consider them. Zeus can only fight for as long as he has biomass. If we inflict enough damage, then he will be forced to run for safety. Even if we can't kill him, it should give us enough time to achieve our goals." He unfurled the blueprints he had been carrying, showing the redesigns he made for the mecha-tanks. "With Zeus, you can't pussyfoot around. You need to hit him hard and fast. You give him a moment to re-orientate himself, and he'll slaughter you. Of course, such an important decision surely belongs with your leader." Amon just stood there, his thoughts unknowable to anyone else.

"Proceed." He said. "But make sure to avoid casualties. While I accept that your mission against Mercer comes first, we still need public approval."

"Of course."

Daniels was glad that the meeting was now over. Now the problems were left to his team and Sato. They can work out all the kinks from now on. Right now though, he had to figure out how to watch Asami Sato without Zeus or the Metalbending police spotting him.

"Hey, Jackie." His best friend David shouted as he slapped him on the shoulder. The sandy-haired man was completely out of place in Blackwatch, and Daniels was glad for that. They needed a few laughs. "This place is getting way too crowded ever since we let the Equalists in. One of them shouted at me for a bit until I realised he thought my bed was his. We had to come to a little 'agreement' over whose bed belongs to whom. We gotta get out of here, catch some local tastes."

"We kind of stand out David. I haven't seen anything except dark hair since we got here. Besides, I need to figure out a mission for the General."

"Yeah, yeah I get it. Top secret. Sick a D-Code on me if I keep digging, yadda-yadda-yadda. But even you need some downtime." David changed tactic when he saw he wasn't getting to him. "You know, I was thinking of inviting Williams along."

That did it. Daniels had a bit of a crush on Williams. She was a very beautiful woman, even in the baggy uniforms they had. She actually looked better in the black skin-tight uniform some of the newer members wore. Right now she was talking to another soldier, her helmet off to reveal short, no-nonsense black hair. Rumours were that she was meant to be another improved soldier, just as strong as the Orions by being closer to a Runner.

Guess Daniels had a thing for strong, beautiful women.

As he wondered how he could pass his mission over and go with them without Redcliffe cutting him down, a brilliant idea came to him. "Alright then. Go and get her for us. I need to requisition some specialised gear."

"Boo." David said as he walked over to her. He could hear them chatting as he weaved through the large crowd of milling people. Even without the uniforms, it was easy to tell between Equalists and Blackwatch. The former just didn't act like soldiers. They wore their inexperience on their sleeves. If they ever went up against Zeus, they would be animals heading to the slaughter.

And if he screwed up, so would he and his friends.

Korra smiled as she watched the Air Acolyte boat approach, carrying her friends over. Mako, Bolin, and Asami had all taken the fact that Sato was now on the run to quickly grab anything they needed. Hopefully, staying away from Sato mansion would keep them safe. And help Asami handle the fact that her kind, caring father was an Equalist. She shuddered as she thought of how easily she could've become an orphan. Alex had his hands around Sato's throat, wearing that creepy armour that came from nowhere, and the only thing that stopped him was the offer of ignoring his murder. What would've happened if he just didn't care?

"You're finally here!" Ikki shouted excitedly, rushing over to meet them. "Welcome to Air Temple Island. Your brand new home!"

"Yes. Welcome to my domain." Meelo added.

Bolin laughed as he came down the ramp with Pabu on his shoulder. "Well, aren't you sweet, little monk child." He bowed to them, as Pabu ran over to greet Naga.

"What's that?" Meelo asked, as he looked between his legs as Pabu went past.

"That is a Fire Ferret." Jinora explained. "An arboreal mammal common to the bamboo forest of the central Earth Kingdom."

"He's cute!" Ikki shouted right next to her sister's ear. Jinora started rubbing it as Ikki and Meelo ran around, chasing poor Pabu.

"Thanks for sending the Air Acolytes over to help." Mako said as he and Asami stepped off the boat. "They've been a great help."

"I know." Korra replied, eyes widening as she saw the massive pile of bags the Acolytes were carrying. "But I was kinda expecting you to bring only a few things. When I got here, I only had a change of clothes on me."

"Trust me, things could've been worse."

Yes, they could've." Tenzin said as he came down the stairs to the dock. "I remember when Pema moved in. I think my father and I nearly broke our backs carrying everything." He bowed to Asami. "Welcome. I hope you find your stay here pleasant."

"I think I will, Councilman Tenzin." Asami replied, curtsying back. Tenzin took a long look at her pile of bags before turning to Korra.

"Korra, I know things have been awkward around here lately, but could you please ask Alex to help carry Asami's bags for her? It might be a bit much for the Acolytes alone."

Korra sighed, making a face at having to see Alex again. "Fine. It might give him some humility, being delegated to a pack mule." She rushed up the steps, wanting to get Alex working quickly so she could show Asami to her quarters. And so she wouldn't have to spend longer in his presence than she had to.

"Alex!" She shouted, banging on his door. "Wake up, you lazy moron. We need you to carry Asami's bags for her." She waited for an answer, but nothing came. "Hey! Wake up already!" She banged louder, then placed her ear against the door. It was so quiet, but she thought she could hear whispering. Lots of whispering. Did he have a party in there or something? "If you don't get out here by the count of 3, I'm going to bust this door wide open! 1…2…" She went to rip the door open, but was surprised as it moved smoothly. "3-wahh!" She fell down, grunting as she hit the hard floor. She looked up to find the room dark except for the opening. She looked at the door to find the lock was broken into tiny pieces. Quick movement made her look back at the bed, where something was hidden under the covers. Now she was inside, she could hear the whispering better. It was in some strange language, but she could've sworn it was the same as what Alex said to that 'D-Code' from the arena. "Alex? Are you ok?" She was starting to get scared now. But Korra never backed down. She tried to face her fears head-on. She stepped closer and closer, now seeing long strands extending from under the covers. She nearly touched Alex until one side of the covers lifted, revealing a young boy's face. The rest of him was hidden in shadows, with only red lines pulsating behind him.

He opened his mouth, but only more gibberish came out. Korra nearly asked who he was, until she remembered Alex disguising himself as her. "Very funny Alex. Pretending to be a kid isn't going to get you out of work. Now get out from under…" As she spoke, she pulled the cover off and grabbed his jacket. Only, she didn't touch a jacket. She touched something slimy, something sticky, something… alive. And she could hear a symphony of screams. She felt herself getting pulled into a dream. But it was clearly a nightmare. Images after images assaulted her, most of them red with blood and gore. Words she could understand pierced her ears until she thought they were bleeding. And she saw the same thing, over and over again. A man in creepy armour, killing her again and again.

And then it all blurred into one continuous horror.

"Once Korra gets Alex to finally wake up, your possessions will be moved into your quarters." Tenzin was saying to Asami, Mako, and Bolin. "In the meantime, Meelo can show Mako and Bolin to the men's dormitory. Meanwhile Ikki will…"

They never learnt what Ikki would be doing, as they were interrupted by piercing screaming. Korra. Mako recognised her voice anywhere. They all ran as fast as they could. This wasn't 'I saw a mouse and I'm scared' sort of scream. This wasn't even possibly an 'I had a nightmare about Amon taking my bending' scream. It was like Korra had run into something that was tearing her apart, ripping her to shreds, and she couldn't do anything but let it. If Alex was hurting her, he was going to give him a scar that'll make Lord Zuko's look pleasant. They rounded the last tree to see Korra standing outside a lone room, shaking in terror. And she was burning the room with the longest fire stream Mako had ever seen. As they watched, she stopped screaming just long enough to take a breath, before screaming just as loud again, the fire still blazing away.

"Korra! What are you doing!" Tenzin shouted as monks came running over with buckets of water. "Alex is in there!" But if she could hear him, she gave no sign. She just kept screaming and burning the room down to the ground. Mako moved in and used his own Firebending to try and stop her attack, grabbing her by the arms. As soon as they touched, she stopped moving and slumped into his arms, taking deep breaths. He held her close, keeping her arms pinned to stop her from doing more bending. As the monks threw some water onto the fire, a high-pitched monstrous shriek came from the burning building. It exploded as something came shooting out of it. It lashed out at the buckets with black tendrils, splintering them into fragments. As the monks ran screaming, Mako got a better look at the thing.

It was a writhing mass of shadows, limbs sprouting everywhere as it changed shape. More screams echoed from it as it stretched and contracted, getting taller before shrinking to the size of Pabu. And the faces. By the spirits, the faces. Dozens of people oozing out of the shadows, some of them deformed, others were glaring in hatred, but all of them screaming at them. This must've been what Korra was trying to burn. It scuttled in their direction before it nearly split in two, the other half going towards the city. It shrieked one more time as tendrils exploded upwards, bonding and fusing together to make four giant wings. They all nearly got blown away as a massive gust lifted the creature high into the air, before it flew away from them. Towards Republic City.

"What the flameo was that thing?" Bolin asked. Mako just looked down at Korra, who had fainted from a lack of energy.

"I don't know Bolin." He replied, carrying her inside. "But whatever that thing was, Korra thought it would be best to destroy it." But inside, he was asking the same questions too.

What could've scared Korra so much?

"…I thought you were dead… When we hunt, we kill… Nothing, her brain was fried by the virus… we wanted to track it in the population. Harmless stuff… unless you want to pull shit patrol until your momma forgets what you look like… the changes are instantaneous…When it does manifest, it makes the Idaho strain look like the common cold…" Korra was trapped. Trapped in her own mind, her nightmare. Skulls, skulls everywhere. Pain, suffering. It hurts. It hurts so much. Wake up, wake up, wake up…

"AAAHHHH!" She screamed as she struggled free of whatever was wrapped around her. It was Blacklight. It was the Infected. They found her, they followed her. Voices echoed in her head, but she couldn't understand them. She had to get free, she had to get free, SHE HAD TO GET FREE!

"Korra!" Mako shouted at her, pulling the sheet off her. "It's ok. You're safe. That thing's gone now." He gently pushed her back down to the bed. Bed. That's what it was. Not slab. Not morgue. She… who was she?

Um, hello. A voice in her head said. You're Korra, the Avatar of the whole world? The only person that can bend all four elements that isn't a freaky monster from another world? How can you forget all that stuff? It's all you really know.

"Korra." Tenzin said calmly to her. "What happened? You went to get Alex, and the next thing we know you're burning his room down."

"Korra…I-I had…Alex…" "…As of last night, Alex Mercer is the number one terrorist threat in the United States… The target exhibits a classic low-affect personality…I need to know what you know…I wasn't paid to feel…"

"Breathe Korra." She was now lying on her side, her throat burning and a puddle of vomit on the floor. "Just breathe. And take your time."

"Korra… didn't know." She cried. "Alex…not human. Not human at all. Lied about everything. Always lies. Always must lie. Monster is Alex. Alex is Monster. One and the same."

But which one's worse? Her inner self giggled. Alex is mean, he doesn't like people. But monster acts without thinking. Just following orders. At least Alex likes Korra. Korra got Alex to be gentle, to be nice. Korra and Alex, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G.

"I knew that freak was still lying to us." Mako said angrily. "When I get my hands on him…"

"NO! Bad! Bad! Alex too strong. Alex weapon. Made Alex. Pain, so much pain."

"…can manipulate his body on a genetic level…She was a damn test subject…The square root of this number is…"

Boy, you really need help. You're not going to talk to them when you can't even get your brain to work properly. Still, you'd look cute in white. But the long sleeves aren't really you. She brushed it aside as best as she could. This 'other' was right. She had to get a grip on herself.

"Alex… he was a mistake. He worked for Blackwatch, studying a monster. Alex got bitten by it, and changed. He stopped being human and…"

"…We have no clue what it is capable of… It's a security nightmare… You're not my brother…Oh God, he's found me…He's in the building…"

"I know."

"Hold her steady." Tenzin was shouting when she came back up. They were all holding her down by her limbs, with Ikki having her hand down Korra's throat. Korra gagged as she relaxed, causing them all to back away slightly. She spat out goblets of blood. She must've bitten herself. "Korra, you don't need to talk if you don't want to. I've already called Lin about that… monster. She and the police can handle him."

"No they can't." She said darkly. They didn't know. They couldn't know. They hadn't seen what she had. Hundreds and thousands of souls all screaming. All in pain. Most had gone against Alex. And lost.

So then tell them. But try and use your words this time. While you going crazy is funny, it doesn't leave the impression of someone that knows what they're talking about.

"Blackwatch had been made to fight things like him, and he just tore them apart. They knew everything, and they kept losing. The Metalbenders aren't going to do any better."

"Korra, I know you're scared. But Lin knows what she's doing."

"No, she doesn't. Why is this so hard to explain?" She was nearly tearing her hair out in frustration. "Alex is unlike anything we know. He's too strong."

"Maybe we could try reasoning with the spirit." Pema suggested. Korra stopped as she tried to understand her logic. Spirit? They thought Alex was a spirit? No, no. Wrong. Not a spirit. Something more.

"I'm not too sure." Tenzin replied. "My father always warned me to be careful with face-stealers."

"Face-stealer. Body-stealer. Mind-stealer. Soul-stealer. All those things. But not." Korra looked up from her mumblings to see everyone looking at her like she was crazy. Which you are. You looked into the mind of a god-like monster, and you clearly haven't come out in one piece. She cleared her throat, and tried to talk normally again. "Alex can become other people completely by eating them. He would know everything they'd know, everything they learnt. In a sense, he is them."

Tenzin now looked a bit worried. Korra must've finally gotten through to him. "Alright. I'll give Lin another call; tell her to be more careful around Alex. But the police can still hand him." At that moment, something in Republic City exploded, startling them. Korra looked at it in horror. It was starting. Alex was attacking, killing, devouring.

"I have to go and help." She said firmly, moving to get out of bed. But Mako and Bolin stopped her, pushing down on her shoulders.

"You're not going anywhere Korra." Mako said firmly. "You're still weak after your panic attack."

"That wasn't a panic attack." Korra denied hotly. "I'm feverish because I looked into Alex's soul. That's why I have to go. I know Alex better than anyone else. Without me, you'll never be able to figure out what attack he's going to use." She glared at them all, making it very clear they weren't leaving without her.

Alex had to be stopped.

"Man, that brothel was bullshit." David moaned as they walked down the streets, keeping Air Temple Island in view. "I've been on active duty for 14 months, and the bastard wouldn't even use my Yuans. We should burn the place down."

"Starnes, you offered the guy dollars. Of course he refused. And how exactly is burning down a brothel 'winning the public' or 'keeping a low profile'?" Daniels asked, amused by the whining. It felt good to go out and act like a civilian.

"Wait, we're trying to keep a low profile? We just declared war on the city. We should be blowing shit up for the sake of it."

"And that's exactly why we need to keep a low profile." Williams added, keeping an eye out for police. "Besides, how do you think General Redcliffe would react if he knew you were disobeying orders?"

"Yeah, yeah, alright. But I'm still going to tag the front door of that place the first chance I get."

"Duly noted." She smirked back at him. Then she turned to Daniels. "So what's the mission exactly? Besides, just getting some leave?"

"Sato wants us to go and get his daughter back from Zeus as soon as possible." He replied. Williams just stared at him in horror.

"Fuck. That. I am not going up against Zeus just to grab some girl. Tell Sato that he can go and fuck himself."

""I dunno." David mused. "Is she pretty? I'm willing to piss Zeus off if she's a fine piece of ass."

"Really? You're willing to go up against the thing that nearly wiped out Blackwatch and survived everything we threw at it, all for a girl?"

"None of us are going up against Zeus." Daniels interrupted firmly. "The plan is to grab her when she's nowhere near Zeus. We wait for either of them to leave Air Temple Island, we go and rescue her, we make our benefactor happy, everyone's happy. Got it?" They both nodded, Williams looking relieved. After the mess of New York Zero, they've all learnt how dangerous Zeus can get. "Good. Now we'll just wait around here for any activity. Hopefully, nothing goes wrong."

He barely finished saying that when an explosion happened not too far from their location. As David started laughing, Daniels sighed and got out his radio. They had it tuned to police scanners to help learn anything useful over the airwaves.

"This is police unit 4 18, we have an attack on the docks. Not too sure what it is, but I'm thinking it might be a spirit of some kind." The radio squawked.

"Roger that, 4 18. What does it look like?" Police Command asked.

"I'm… not really sure. It keeps changing shape. It's large, black, with some fire billowing inside… Spirits! It just ate a guy. Grabbed it with tentacles and pulled him in. And now that guy's face is dancing around with all the other faces.

"Multiple faces? Chief Beifong gave out a bulletin for a creature matching that description. We're sending any available units to help you."

"Thanks. Wait. It's saying something. I can't understand it though."

"Put it on speaker, and we'll see if we can make some headway." The radio squealed as the officer moved closer. Now they could all hear the words.

"When we hunt, we kill!" A thousand voices said at once. "No one is safe! Nothing is sacred! We are Blackwatch! We are the last line of defence! We will burn our own to hold the red line! It is the last line to ever hold!" They all looked at each other in pure horror. Daniels fumbled with the radio.

"Red Crown, this is Corporal Daniels!" He shouted into it. "Zeus is on a rampage! I repeat, Zeus is on a rampage!"

"Oh shit!"

Korra thought things would be pretty bad when they got to Republic City on Oogi, Tenzin's Flying Bison. She thought the brief glimpses she got into Alex's head would prepare her for the damage. But she was wrong.

It was much worse than she could imagine.

Alex was much bigger now, easily bigger than even the tower at Air Temple Island. Tendrils lashed out at everything while limbs grew and shrank like crazy. Metalbenders surrounded him, lashing out with their whiplines to slice through Alex. But he just healed it over as soon as they passed through, if they even managed to break through at all. As they watched, one line was stuck and pulled in, dragging an officer screaming after him. He tried to detach his cable, but was moving too slow. Only a whip from another officer slicing through the trapped cable saved him from dying. They quickly landed and jumped off, while Oogi took to the skies again. They found Lin not too far away.

"Keep an eye on your squadmates at all times!" She was shouting while throwing boulders at Alex. "Keep your distance, and get any civilians out of here!" She turned to see their group approaching. "That includes you and your friends, Korra. Though since you're here, perhaps you could tell me WHAT THE FLAMEO IS THAT THING!?"

"That's Alex." Korra said, breathing hard as things she saw threatened to overwhelm her. But she wasn't going to panic. The city needed her and her knowledge. "He's actually a weapon, made by Blackwatch by accident. He's meant to be completely unstoppable.

"I'm starting to see that." Lin said, watching as Alex healed from another slash. But as they watched, he just stopped moving. "He's not doing anything! Hit him with as many boulders as you can." Everyone immediately started Earthbending boulders twice their size at Alex, with Bolin and Korra joining in. They pounded him with them, but Alex just healed over them, as though they weren't there. Korra could now feel the air push against them, heading inwards towards Alex. A niggling feeling kept breaking her concentration, stopping her from bending. Tenzin helped her move away. Air rushing in. Air rushing in. Air rushing…

It hurt so much. Her whole body ached as a wave of force pushed against her. She could hear everything around her shake and fly. A tank bashed into her, and she slammed into a building with all the glass shattering. A monstrous roar echoed in her head as her ears bled…

"Everyone! Move! He's about to roar!" She screamed as she realised what was happening. She led everyone near her behind a building, while she saw out of the corner of her eye the other officers hiding behind another building. She got them moving just in time. The air stopped moving, leaving only silence.

Then, he roared.

The noise was deafening. Korra screamed in pain as it became a literal wave of force, sending satomobiles and mason flying. The boulders they had thrown thundered into the building, causing dust to fall on them as cracks formed. The building shuddered, threatening to collapse on top of them. The officers bended pillars of rock to hold the building up. As Alex finished roaring, the silence was almost as overwhelming as the roar had been. Lin led her officers back out, leaving the others gasping for breath.

"Ok Korra." Mako said to her. "You said you knew how to beat him. So help us beat him."

"I said I knew his powers. That's not the same as beating him. If I hadn't come along, you'd all have been killed by that attack."

"Well then, what's he weak against?" She tried to remember if any mention of his weaknesses came up in the memories she saw. It was… difficult.

"Water." She replied. "Whatever he's made of is adverse to water. It scares him. And fire. Lots and lots of fire." Mako nodded, before running back out into the fight. He unleashed a solid stream of fire, filling the air with the smell of burnt meat. Korra meanwhile, was driving Alex back with water pulled from broken pipes. But after a few passes of their attacks, their bending went strange. Mako's fires fizzled out, while the water went shooting back at Korra as ice. She looked up to see Alex's body growing small hands that used standard bending motions. She groaned. Great. Alex can still bend in this form. Now what were they going to do? As she was almost hypnotised by the pulsating biomass, a memory came to mind…

Alex was standing in the middle of a massive battle. He had just eaten a Blackwatch commander, and was now shaking like he was cold. He pushed his arms out to the sides, and…

"Create walls! He's going to unleash a Devastator." No one questioned her, working as fast as they could to make the biggest walls they could. And just in time, as the sound of dozens of tendrils smacking into them filled the air. But Korra had underestimated the mass behind the tendrils. Several of them broke through, punching through several officers. They yelled in pain as others pulled them away, but the walls fell apart from the attacks. Korra was ready to try again, when she saw herself. A tendril had gotten shorter and thicker until it appeared as a demented version of herself. The other her screamed in a mixture of fury and pain, her mouth stretching unnaturally wide. Razor-sharp teeth filled her mouth as small tendrils pockmarked her skin. And she was topless, growing at least three breasts.

"So not how I wanted to see you." Bolin said, bending a rock at the other her. She merely grabbed it and threw it back. Korra slumped as they duck the attack. This was hopeless. They were never going to beat Alex. It was all they could do to avoid getting eaten. How could they stop him?

Then, a familiar sound reached her ears. The sound of wind hitting a rotor blade. The grinding of tank tracks against the road. She looked over the barricade to see helicopters buzzing around in the sky, and tanks driving up the roads.

Blackwatch had arrived.

"This is 4 Niner Echo." The pilot said into the comms. "All units have Zeus in sight, and are awaiting further orders."

"Roger that, 4 Niner." General Redcliffe responded. "Daniels, what's your position?"

"Just outside Suki's tea house on third." Daniels said into the radio. "I have a clear sight on all targets. VIP is with the Avatar. What do we do?"

"Zeus' destruction takes top priority. All other objectives are secondary until we either confirm his demise or blow enough shit out of him. 4 Niner, you are clear to engage. Light that fucker up."

"Understood. Lighting him up." All the helicopters fired off missiles, blowing away at Zeus. But while it caused him to react and suffer damage, it just wasn't enough. "Target still standing. Beginning evasive maneuverer. Look sharp people." The Helicopters all banked away, dodging tendrils reaching out for them. While Zeus was distracted by them, the tanks rolled closer and started blasting too. A leg was blown out from under him, but he grew another to take over. The Helicopters fired again as the tanks backed off. They only had a few brought over with them, and they wanted to make them last. Daniels quickly had a look at his team. Starnes was looking like he was having the time of his life, while Williams was freaking out. Understandable really. The last Orions were taken out completely by Ares. Zeus was now just as strong, maybe even stronger. He looked back just in time to spot something growing on Zeus' back. "Heads up, we got something." He said into the radio."

"Understood ground team." 4 Niner replied. "Got it on visual. Blowing them to hell." Missiles impacted again, but the growths were forming elsewhere. Eventually, they grew enough to take on a shape. They looked like even bigger tentacles, with a mouth that split into three parts. "Hydras confirmed. Repeat, Hydras confirmed. Moving into clearer airspace." The helicopters banked upwards, just in time to dodge a blast of fire. And Zeus could still bend. This was getting better and better. One of them fired a small ball of biomass that impacted against a helicopter. Tentacles fired out to grab things.

"This is 723 Delta! I've been hit with a bio bomb! I'm going…!" 723 was silenced as masonry was ripped away and smashed into him. The helicopter exploded and crashed into more buildings causing several to fall apart. Everyone started moving as masonry fell around them. But Daniels watched as a pillar fell in the middle of the Avatar's group. He could see Asami Sato and the Firebender Mako stuck on their side. They shouted at their friends, before heading straight towards them.

"Williams! Get your head together. Target is approaching with an enemy." Williams gave an audible gulp, but stood with a firm expression. As the two rounded the corner, Mako was blindsided by her punch. He smashed into the opposite wall hard enough to crack it. Asami screamed as she saw them. "Easy, Miss Sato. We're just going to get you back to your father." David poked the Firebender with his foot.

"This guy's out cold." David said gleefully. "But just to be sure…" He got out a pistol and pointed it at Mako.

"No!" Asami shouted, not understanding their conversation but getting the intent. "If… If you let him live, I'll come willingly."

That always made things easier. It would be better to have her cooperate. Less chance something could happen to her. David was waiting for his decision. "Starnes, put the gun down. He's not getting back up for a while." David grumbled, but he obeyed orders. Daniels got out his radio again. "This is Daniels. We have apprehended Asami Sato. Permission to move out with the package?"

"Negative." Redcliffe responded. "We need you to keep an eye on Zeus. He's getting more dangerous." Another explosion shook the block as something else was destroyed. "I'm sending Phillips over to collect her. Wait for him and then keep scouting."

"Understood." The pipes around them creaked ominously as water was drawn away. They didn't have to wait long for Phillips to arrive. He grabbed Asami gently in a bridal carry, before running off with her. He nearly made it to the end of the street when a tentacle blocked his path. Rather than risk his package getting harmed or killed, Phillips jumped into a nearby building. They heard panicked shouting as the occupants were startled, followed by smashing and gunfire. Daniels looked past the rubble to see that they weren't doing so well anymore. Half the helicopters were scrapped, while 3 of the 10 tanks were burnt husks.

"Whelp, we're fucked." David said calmly as a pulsating red orb flew through the air. The helicopter barely missed it as it slammed into a building.

He hoped that Phillips was having better luck than they were.

Coop Phillips growled as he jumped into a building that turned out to contain Metalbender police inside. They instantly reacted, throwing rocks at them. Phillips turned to shield his package with his mass. If she died, Sato was going to take all his funding away at best. He had to end this before she got hurt.

He pulled his service pistol from his side, now modified to suit his much larger hands. Instead of aiming for the obvious target of the chest, he lined up and got three officers in the head. Two more officers got him by the wrists with their cables, while another two used their Earthbending to make him sink into the ground. But he wasn't some low-bit crook. He was a D-Code, the first super soldier. He jumped out of the mud pit, pulling the officers after him and stomping on top of another. He then used his legs to smash a rock at the other, before pulling the last two officers close and crushing them. He went to grab Miss Sato again, when he felt himself getting covered with rocks. As he turned, a rock smashed into his helmet, covering it and making him blind. But he had other senses. He could feel the heat coming from the last survivor. He quickly pulled plates of earth off his body, throwing them at the officer. He dodged them, but it gave him a chance to get closer. One he was in range, he grabbed the man by the chest and legs, and twisted him in half. He then dropped the broken corpse at his feet, before approaching a frightened Miss Sato.

"This is Red Crown." Redcliffe said into the comms. "We're about to give Zeus a little surprise." Phillips looked up quickly as a tank drove by, only to do a double-take as he noticed the two extra turrets on the sides. The Thermobaric tank! Even Mother wasn't able to shrug that off. More importantly though, he needed to get out of the blast radius before it went off. He grabbed Miss Sato again, jumping through a broken window and hightailed it out of there just in time for the world to grow silent. Everything turned grey as the pressure affected his head, and then he felt the rush of displaced air hit him in the back. Zeus' scream of pain shook the few remaining window panes in their frames.

Zeus was finally going down.

Korra peeked round the side of the rubble, looking at awe at all the destruction. Having a memory of a Thermobaric tank was one thing, but it was something worse to see it in person. Everything within ten feet of Alex was scorched beyond repair. Burning piles of flesh littered the street. And as Korra watched, a small pile of biomass slithered its way down a manhole. A few Blackwatch members got out of tanks and dropped grenades down the manhole, causing covers to get fired into the air as the explosions tore things apart down in the sewers. They did this tree times before speaking into radios. They then ran back to their tanks, before driving away.

"Guess that means Alex is finally dead." Lin said as they crept out from behind the cover. "Good riddance. I nearly lost some good men to that thing." As she said that, Korra thought she could feel something. Pain washed over her, the pain and confusion of hundreds…

"He's not dead." She said. "I think they just realised it would be suicide to go down there with him. And they're right. We couldn't do anything."

"Korra, I know this will sound strange." Tenzin said quickly. "But perhaps we could try reasoning with Alex. Find out why he's doing this."

"Why? He's a weapon. This is what he's made for. To go to enemy cities and tear them apart. You can't reason with him."

"Actually, I think we can. He was going to hand Sato over when Lin offered to overlook his crime. And can you honestly think of anything better?" Korra glared at him, but realised he had a very good point. They didn't have anything else to go on. Maybe they could get through to Alex.

"Alright. We'll try it your way."

"Hold on, hold on." Bolin said quickly, holding his hands in the 'time-out' expression. "Are we really going to go down there? With Alex? As in the guy you mentioned eats people? Call me crazy, but that doesn't really seem that smart." He noticed Mako limping over to them. "Look! Mako's back. Maybe he's got a better idea."

"Asami's been taken." Mako said as soon as he got close to them. "I got sucker-punched by a Blackwatch lady, and when I woke up Asami was gone. We've got to go and get her."

"We can't." Korra explained. "We need to find Alex and stop him. And before you argue with me, you haven't seen the horrors of an outbreak. I have. If Alex starts one up, Republic City will fall. I'm sorry, but Asami's just going to have to handle things without us for a day or two. Besides, her father's there. He won't let anything happen to her." Korra wasn't sure who she was trying to convince. She knew that Blackwatch might kill Asami for being near Alex. It was their 'standard procedure'. She just had to hope she was right.

"…Fine." Mako gritted, clearly angry over it. Korra nodded, before turning to Tenzin.

"If we don't make it back by tomorrow, assume we're not coming back at all." And with that, she led the way into the sewers, Mako and Bolin right behind her. Lin and Tenzin kept watch over the wounded officers, the survivors scrounging the wreckage for others. All this, Alex did with so much ease. She doubted he was really aware of it.

It terrified her.

Woo. Sorry I'm leaving this on a cliffhanger. I honestly wanted to go a bit farther before I posted this, but I'm writing this at 2:30 at night, and I want to get this done before I go to bed. Next chapter will be a fun one, and one I've been planning for a while now. I hope you guys will enjoy it when I get it written.

So first off, the Blackwatch soldiers. I decided to write Daniels as being a perfectly normal guy who's willing to burn a city to the ground to stop the Blacklight virus. A Well-intentioned Extremist, if you will. If you met this guy, you'd never realise what a monster he could be. Starnes is, of course, the same Starnes from Prototype 2. For those of you that haven't played it, you do a couple of missions where you pretend to be a Blackwatch soldier and fight alongside others to get into a top-secret base. In both of them, Starnes is saying something crazy, like how female Infected look hot if you cover their heads (This got another soldier asking how he passed their psyche-evaluation test), or they saw an infected that looked like a celebrity. He's in this to blow things up, and hit on sexy women. And Williams (named for Mass Effect character Ashley Williams) is a next-generation Orion soldier. They used some leftover biomass from the second outbreak that Heller didn't absorb, and so she looks like a human while having the strength and durability of an Orion. That said, she's still easy pickings for a Runner, so you can understand her fear at fighting Alex, especially in his 'Father' form. Yes, I named it as a similarity to Greene's Mother form.

Next up, the Metalbenders are going to do much better against Blackwatch next time. They lost so easily because they were under fire from Alex, they weren't ready for bullets, and they weren't expecting to fight a super soldier. Even Blackwatch would have trouble in that scenario.

Finally, this fight is where I'm going to change a few things. Asami will have a talk with her father back at Blackwatch, while the others are going to have to rescue her later on. Incidentally, I realised pretty quickly that in order to make the bad guys a threat to the Krew, I'm going to have to have Alex busy killing other things. So we might see more villains as we go along.

Enjoy.