The Viral Avenger

by ppg1998

With the greatest threat of Earth banished to the Negative Zone, the Avengers find a crime has come to a near halt following the defeat of Galactus. A full year passes with no major events, leading some to believe this will be the norm. But when a violent plague overwhelms New York in mere hours, the Avenger will learn that to combat this crisis, a new breed of hero is needed...

6. Chapter 5: Better Yet Worse

Taking defensive stances, the Avengers formed a circle to cover their flanks as the hordes of weak, zombie-like infected shambled towards the tightly-woven team, and the larger, less humanoid infected in the background circled the group, searching for the Avenger's weakest teammates. Choosing Hawkeye and Black Panther as the weakest of the team, the methodical monsters lunged at them, initiating the siege and onslaught between Avengers and abominations. Iron Man flew into the air and fired both of his Repulsor hand beams, scattering the first wave of infected and giving everyone else ample opportunity to dish out some damage of their own.

"Hold the perimeter!", Captain America declared as he threw his shield and had it violently rebound off several infected. "If they pierce our armor, we're as good as dead!"

Thor whirled his hammer and tossed it into a crowd of infected, electrocuting all of them with lethal bolts of lightning before Mjolnir returned to his hand. With the Hulk close enough to him, he commented, "You and I should be fine- mortal science means nothing to me, and the worst it has to offer does almost nothing to you. I ponder why we even donned these suits in the first place."

One of the heavily mutated infected rushed towards the God of Thunder and leapt at him, but before it could make contact and knock him over, the Hulk grabbed its head and held it in one hand. He answered Thor's question with, "Aesthetic", before he applied a great deal of pressure to the creature's skull, crushing it in moments. Before it died it desperately scratched at the Hulk's arm but ultimately failed, and he hurled the body at more infected and moved on to the next mindless monsters that attacked him.

Though it appeared at first glance that the Avengers were holding their own well enough, they experienced an increasing number of close calls- one brute quickly pinned Hawkeye to the ground and tried to tear his head off, but an arrow of high density foam through its gaping maw for a mouth suffocated it, giving him a short reprieve. Panther's usual tactics of agile leaping and vibranium daggers ended up forcing him right into the fray, fending off the advancing hordes by combining two daggers into a full staff. As the fight continued, it became clear that the Avengers needed the help of the Blackwatch soldiers to turn the tide.

Captain America broke off from the rest of the group after recovering his shield and sprinted across the battlefield, dodging both regular and enhanced infected until he came close to where Cross and the soldiers were just barely holding their own against Greene's hordes. Accelerating his sprint into a full-on charge with his shield raised, Cap bashed himself into one of the larger infected that went right for Cross. Once he came close enough to the man, Cap explained, "We need to fall back and regroup at some place defensible- we're all too exposed out here in the parking lot!"

Over the rattle of bullets his subordinates fired off, Cross replied, "Got it! Let's move, men!"

The solder slowly worked their way backwards towards the buildings behind them, forming two rows that faced towards the buildings and those facing the horde, and each provided cover fire for the other so neither side could be flanked. As they retreated to better defenses, Cap contacted the Avengers through his ID card and directed them to the rendezvous point. The heroes who could fly gave crucial air support for their ground allies down below, and they too retreated to their leader's chosen safe zone.

Captain America moved over to his own team as Blackwatch and the Avengers converged on the parking lot entrance, still inching their way across the battlefield and to the building not far behind them. Cross followed Cap's movements when the teams drew near enough, resulting in them double-teaming a horde of regular infected among a single large one. Both men moved in ways that could almost be described as graceful, skillfully ducking and dodging the lumbering and fumbling infected, Cap knocking them down with his shield while Cross brandished a stun baton and a gun.

While Cap took down his opponents with sheer lethal force, Cross quickly moved around his foes and zapped them in place with his stun baton, using the opportunity to shoot them point blank in the head and kill them that way. When the last of the normal monsters were dealt with, the two soldiers focused on the big brute before them. Taking another running start, Cap knocked the monster straight into Cross's direction, which he used to jab the beast in the stomach with his baton before firing several rounds into its head, wounding but not killing it. Using the opportunity, Cap charged once again with his shield and swung the edge at the creature's throat, slicing it open and taking it down for good.

Going back-to-back when more infected shambled over to them, Cap took a moment to comment, "You move pretty quick, even for a trained soldier, I mean."

Cross smirked and countered, "You move pretty quick too, for an old war vet, I mean."

When the two converging teams came close enough together and reached the buildings, Cap called out to Thor, "Destroy all the side alley and openings! We need a choke-point to funnel the infected; make them come to us on our terms!"

Thor raised up his hammer and summoned several bolts of lighting, each one of them hitting the paths between the buildings with precision- that caused enough rubble to form and make traversing them incredibly difficult, if not impossible for the average infected. After he finished with that, he showered the main road with even more bolts of lightning, annihilating swaths of infected. Right as the Thunder God completed his task, Cap turned to Iron Man and the Hulk to order them, "Pile up these abandoned cars and turn them into barricades for the soldiers! It'll give us some better defense while the infected advance!"

The two Avengers overturned several cars and gave the Blackwatch soldiers a height advantage, allowing them to spray the infected in the front rows and back rows with a hailstorm of bullets. Once the barricades were fully formed, Cap went over to the Hulk and asked him to do one last thing before he went back into the fray- "Tear up the main road; it'll slow down the infected even more! But don't end up making a hole into the sewers, or they might end up in uninfected parts of the city."

Moving in front of certain groupings of soldiers, the Hulk put his foot down- quite literally- and caused the asphalt to break apart, making it incredibly uneven and almost impossible for the infected to traverse. But despite all of Captain America's planning, it hardly halted the ranks of the abnormal infected Greene controlled. She marched right along with her troops and raised her hand, telepathically telling the less humanoid ones to scale the sides of the buildings and overcome the obstacles put in place.

The Avengers who were airborne redirected their focus on the special infected, but even then a few managed to pass them and reach the ground troop near the back. Tag-teaming once more, Cap and Cross held the line and took down whatever managed to get through. After another intense encounter with a big infected, the former inspected the carcass and stated, "All my years serving in World War 2, and the only freaks that even come close to what I'm seeing now were Arnim Zola's creations… but never on a scale like this before. Is there even a name for monsters like these?"

Cross replied, "General Randall had a name for them- Hunters. He fought them back and some other freaks in '64, during an unfortunate operation in Hope, Idaho."

Surprised and rather unhappy to hear about more secrets Blackwatch kept from the team, Cap asked him, "Care to elaborate?"

"Not until the mission's over, sir", Cross bluntly stated, shocking another Hunter to the ground before slamming a round right into its skull. Leaping beside the two men, an irate Hawkeye fired an ice arrow at another Hunter currently jumping through the air and caused it to land like an iceberg against the jagged road, splattering blood-soaked chunks of ice and infected goo across the battlefield. Having jumped into the soldiers' conversation as well, the archer quipped, "If you don't mind, Cross, I'd like to know at least where all of these freaks are coming from! How can this lady have gotten this many bodies to throw at us before the city was evacuated?"

Cross only admitted, "It's Redlight- the precursor to Blacklight, and a whole lot worse than what came after. Let's just say Greene is good at growing… and recycling."

Hawkeye thought for a moment and then shuddered. "Actually… forget I asked."

"I've got another thing to ask myself", Cap continued. "If we take down Greene, will her army fall apart?"

Cross did not answer for a moment, contemplating the idea and weighing the consequences, but he ultimately agreed- "I don't think there's anything else we can do, so I say go for it. Someone needs to get past her army and take her out immediately."

Cap nodded. "I know just the man to do it."

Contacting Iron Man above him and the Hulk some ways away from him, he told them, "Hulk's been authorized to use lethal force against Greene. Tony, mind clearing a path for him?"

"On it!", Iron Man responded, pointing his arm in the general direction of the main street. He fired a missile carrying a dozen or so smart bombs, breaking off to target the Hunters clinging to the sides of buildings. When they all fell back to ground level, Iron Man called Hulk and told him, "Skies are clear- get Greene and just end this al- wait!"

A moment later Iron Man contacted everyone and relayed, "I see Alex Mercer; he's getting passed the infected and going right for Greene herself. He's gunning for her, he's leaping at her, and he's… being held up in the air by his throat. Now Greene's tossing him away… again. Not one of Alex's brightest moves, honestly, but it's still nice to see him getting his comeuppance."

Alex bellowed, "NOT AGAIN!", and sailed all the way over the Avengers and Blackwatch, landing somewhere beyond them. Hawkeye whistled at the sight before joking to the Hulk, "She's strong."

Hulk retorted, "Maybe… but Hulk is strongest there is!"

He took a running leap and went right over the army of infected and Hunters, landing only a few meters shy from Greene's position. Despite several Hunters turning to fend off the Hulk's advance, he tore them apart without slowing down an inch, and he arrived right before their leader moments later. And even when Greene went toe-to-toe with the Not-So-Jolly-Green-Giant himself, his unyielding strength inevitably triumphed over hers; he smashed her against the pavement, nearby cars, and even through her own minions in a grand display of gore and carnage.

Applying as much strength as he could to crush her skull like the way he did with her Hunters, Hulk eventually let go of her- only to put her body with as much force as he could muster a split second later, careening her straight into the side of a building. With the battle seemingly won, Hulk wickedly smirked and walked away with no small degree of satisfaction… until Iron Man called him through the former's ID card. When the Hulk pulled it out, Iron Man stated, "I don't think it's over; still reading a life sign where you left Greene."

True to Iron Man's word, when the Hulk turned around and looked at the pile of rubble he left Greene in, the debris started to move and reveal the woman seemingly buried underneath to still be alive. Even after crushing her head, twisting and mangling her body and bones, Greene pushed away the crumbling concrete and pulled herself out of the mess. The Redlight virus coursing through her body immediately began to repair the damage inflicted on her, fitting bones together, stitching sinew together and even turning her head a full 360 degrees back the way it used to be moments ago.

When the bones in her jaw settled back in place, Greene scowled at the Hulk, calmly declaring, "My turn…"

Raising both of her hands, she concentrated and unleashed a massive cloud of Redlight from every orifice on her body, generating a rapidly expanding viral fog which actively engulfed the battlefield and blinded everyone. With the Hulk in particular cut off from his allies, he nevertheless stood his ground and waited for whatever trick Greene had next up her sleeve. To his surprise however, the very ground beneath him began breaking apart, revealing a repulsive red growth under the asphalt which momentarily expanded upwards.

Iron Man and the other flying Avengers nervously hovered above the red fog, unable to see the carnage presumably happening down below. Switching to infrared vision, Iron Man ordered JARVIS, "Scan for all lifesigns and prepare to fire at almost everything, but filter out anyone emanating an Avengers ID frequency or Blackwatch radio signal."

"Very well, sir", JARVIS replied. Iron Man prepared another round of smart-bomb clusters and fired well away from the barricade, decimating more of Greene's forces and clearing away a small portion of the Redlight fog. Despite his efforts to stem the flow of monsters, it became increasingly obvious that the fog presented the greatest challenge, so Thor flew over to Iron Man and asked him, "Shall I whip up a whirlwind to remove this blight from the battlefield? It would not be the first time I've done something similar."

"That's only a temporary solution", Iron Man explained. "Greene is continuously producing more of this Redlight to blanket the area. The best you could do is knock her out for a few moments and take the fog away from here- that should buy everyone else enough time to get to higher ground."
He activated his comm-link and relayed his idea to Captain America, and the latter accepted it- "We're sitting ducks out here as it is. But Hulk's still out there on his own; we need to get him over here as soon as-"

As if on cue, the Hulk flew through the fog and crashed against the side of a building, pulling himself out moments later. Cap updated Iron Man with, "Nevermind- something just threw the Hulk back over to our side. I didn't think Greene was that strong, so what could've…?"

Suddenly the ground beneath everyone violently shook, crumbling the already destroyed street even further and revealing something pulsing underneath their feet… something alive. Cross's eyes widened and he immediately shouted, "HYDRAS!"

Cap initially confused what Cross said with his old enemies from WW2, but right when a massive organic limb burst from the ground and tossed around nearby vehicles, he understood the man meant something far different. Looking at what he could make out in the red fog and not liking it, Cap decided his team and Blackwatch had no other choice but to reach higher ground. Thus he contacted Thor to order him, "Go for it!"

Thor flew higher into the air and swung his hammer around, blurring at blinding speeds until the vortex it produced began siphoning away the Redlight from the area, condensing it into a cloud he carried off beyond the atmosphere of the Earth. Moments afterwards, he divebombed right for Greene and stopped in mid-air, throwing down his hammer, having charged it with electricity on the trip back down. When it struck Greene and impacted the ground, it unleashed an enormous burst of lightning that blew away a good portion of her remaining forces.

When Thor held out his hand to make Mjolnir return to him, however, it carried an uninvited guest on it; a Hunter hitchhiked on the weapon and slammed into the Thunder God moments later. He grappled with the beast before tossing it a few meters right over him and taking a heavy swing with his hammer, which immediately splattered chunks of Hunter remains all over his faceplate. With a great deal of disgust, Thor wiped the gore from his mask and muttered, "Now I'm actually glad I wore the armor."

With Greene down for the count at the moment, Cap used the opportunity to tell everyone, "Head for the nearby buildings and get to the rooftops as fast as possible! And destroy the elevators and stairs so the infected can't follow you!"

Hawkeye snarked, "Do you really think those freaks actually know how to use elevators?"

Cap humorlessly answered, "No, but those Hunters can certainly climb. Now let's move, people!"
With little precious time to spare, the airborne Avengers carried whomever they could to the rooftops while everyone else sprinted up the stairwells, destroying them so the infected could not follow them easily. Right before the first people reached the doors to the rooftops, they took a moment to destroy the elevators as well, then arrived at the top of the buildings to continue defending against the Redlight siege. The altitude and terrain advantages the Avengers and Blackwatch soldiers now seriously hampered the waves of infected, limiting them to just the Hunters scrambling up the windows to reach them, but nevertheless, the monsters continued their siege...

Meanwhile…

Deep in a rubble pile, not far from where the Avengers and Blackwatch soldiers held their "last stand" against the infected, Alex struggled to push the debris out of his way and reach the surface. Still somewhat disoriented by his contact with Redlight and more than drained after Greene's curbstomp battle with him, Alex nevertheless pulled himself from the wreckage and managed to tumble back to the street. He remained dazed and confused until a familiar voice mocked him, I told you it wouldn't work.

Shut up, Alex responded, feeling his strength barely peter back into existence. I thought I could take her; now I know I can't.

Forcing himself onto his knees, then to his feet, Alex took a moment to bend and twist his body around- a few times in rather unnatural directions- to get his senses back in working order. He experienced a severe shiver of revulsion ripple all throughout his Biomass and remind him of just how primal and alien the Redlight virus felt to his own altered physiology. Taking a few steps forward and surveying the carnage around him, Alex questioned Blacklight, Alright- attacking Greene head-on isn't working and I'm too drained to try another way, so should we just get the Hell out of here and go back to the safe house?

His question got answered almost immediately- not by Blacklight itself, but by the sudden appearance of several Hunters who braved the broken streets and came to the other side. They turned to him and growled, and when Alex took a step back, they took a step forward. A split second later Alex broke off into a full sprint away from the Hunter pack and hissed through his teeth, "Shit- shit- shit- shit!", as the Hunters roared before racing after him.

Head for the rooftops!, Blacklight urged him, causing Alex to head for the first building he came to and ran directly upwards, hoping the Hunters would not be able to catch up to him. To his dismay after arriving at the top, they were still on his trail and not giving up, which forced him to continue running and vault over to the next rooftop. Even as the Hunters followed suit, Alex never gave up… though he did quickly question the viral voice in his head, What am I supposed to do now? These things aren't letting up and I got no way to shake them!

There's only one solution I see, Blacklight explained, but it's bold enough to save our hide and quite possibly stupid enough that you might just like it.

I'm all ears, Alex replied. After Blacklight quickly but carefully detailed his idea and presented it in a way that made it sound almost survivable, Alex bluntly told him, That's totally gonna get us killed… let's do it.

Searching for the tallest building in his immediate area, Alex leapt from the edge of the roof from which he currently remained on and reached the taller one, just barely escaping the clutches of the Hunters gaining on him. Once he reached the very top of the building he quickly but methodically scanned the area below him and around him, and just as the Hunters reached the top as well, Alex leapt off to reach his destination. Going down into the streets now, Alex sprinted as fast as his legs would allow, though now he ensured the Hunters could follow him, ultimately leading them into Blacklight's trap.

He got deep into the nearest Blue Zone and headed for the heart of the area- the Blackwatch outpost. Reaching the area just before the outpost itself, Alex stopped and disguised himself in a standard Blackwatch uniform, then resumed his run for the area, though now at a "normal" pace. Once he reached the wall and gate that lead into the outpost proper, he shouted, "Hey- someone let me in!"

"Wait…", a soldier on the other side questioned. "Who the Hell are you and what are you doing out there? I thought the rest of the soldiers in the area got relocated to our post. Where've you been?"

"I was in the Gentek building when Greene got out", Alex answered, merging his actual experiences in the research facility with the perspective of a Blackwatch soldier. "I got separated from the rest of my unit before I could leave with them, so I had to get here just on foot. Look, there's a bunch of super freaks after me and I need them dead before they kill me and us all. So you mind letting me in before I get eaten?"

The soldier hesitated, but ultimately relented. "Alright, alright…"

He radioed someone else to automatically open the gate, allowing Alex to walk in without issue, and he immediately headed for the warehouse portion of the base. Going inside, Alex slowed his walk into a calm but stern march, telling himself, OK, I just gotta remember- if I act like I'm supposed to be here, no one will question it. I just hope I have enough time to find a good hiding spot when those freaks show up and shit hits the fan.

Alex continued wandering around the base, careful to avoid coming into proximity of anyone else, in case someone wanted to speak with him. Fortunately everyone used their time to prepare for the impending arrival of the Hunters, putting every soldier in the building on edge. By the time Alex found himself hovering around the army trucks, all of the soldiers heard gunfire and shouting on the rooftops, and moments later the Hunters burst through the glass ceiling… and the chaos began.

While Alex would have normally leapt into the thick of it and battled both Hunters and soldiers, gathering strength and Biomass in the frenzy, his weakened state meant even a few stray bullets could severely weaken him. So as much as he disliked it, Alex hid away underneath one of the trucks and waited for most of the carnage to subside. He did not have to wait too long though- the soldier's coordinated efforts managed to cripple a Hunter enough for its demise to near, though before it could completely die, Blacklight insisted its host charge in and finish the job himself.

You want me to Consume that mess?, Alex mentally exclaimed, incredulous at the idea. I have enough trouble stomaching regular soldiers; no way in Hell I'm eating that thing.

Blacklight insisted, Its inhumanity is precisely why you should Consume it. It's not a person anymore, so there's no need to feel guilty about eating it. And besides, it's got much more 'meat on its bones' than the soldiers do, and we could really use that extra Biomass.

It added, And if you're worried about us ingesting the residual Redlight in the beast's DNA, I think we've been exposed to the older virus long enough that it's unlikely to do anything harmful.

Define "harmful", Alex questioned. Blacklight insisted, Just tear that freak a new one already.

Alex audibly sighed and gave in; pulling himself from underneath the truck, he shed his disguise and sprinted into the madness, avoiding the other two Hunters and a hailstorm of bullets along the way. He arrived at the wounded Hunter while maintaining his speed, slamming right into the beast. With its reaction time seriously delayed, Alex managed to land a flurry of fists up and down its body, using its sheer girth as a shield against the continued onslaught of bullets fired at him from the Blackwatch soldiers.

Inevitably, Alex raised his fists and punched right through the Hunter's chest, tearing it apart and feeling his flesh turn to tendrils, Consuming the infected Biomass and adding it to his own. Once he finished, Alex stood right in the middle of the whole complex, feeling unusually sated… and feeling something else too. He did not exactly double over in pain, but it became clear something would happen in the next minute or so.

His hands and arms trembled, shaking uncontrollably as if something wanted to force its way out of them, and in a matter of seconds, it did. Finally his forelimbs burst apart, spilling out Biomass that shifted around into appendages that barely resembled his original arms and hands. Lost in the animal aggression born from the union of his mind and that of the Hunter's primal instincts, Alex barely noticed his elongated, razor sharp claws; his eyes were on the targets all around him.

Any compassion or restraint he used to have vanished in the wake of this new madness Alex became awash with, and he leapt at soldier nearest to him with a howl that mixed his own voice with that of the Hunter's roar. Everyone desperately turned their attention and rifles to the newest threat, though despite their bullets piercing his flesh and tearing bits of it away, Alex would not be deterred. His claws tore right into the first soldier and pulled him to pieces, rending his flesh to chunks that Alex automatically Consumed as he went for his next victim.

Leaping and running around the facility, neither the battalion of soldiers nor the remaining two Hunters could counteract the madman's speed or ferocity. He bathed in their spilt blood and coated the walls in it as well, laughing insanely all the while. Alex charged at one of the Hunters and bellowed, "YOU THINK YOU'RE A MONSTER? I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT A REAL MONSTER IS!"

Alex's mania reached an all-time high as his Claws dug into the Hunter's flesh and came back out again, producing a great deal of blood and viscera. Stabbing back into the beast and pulling out almost rhythmically to his own twisted beat, Alex quickly heaved the whole creature in the air and tossed it into a crowd of panicking soldiers. As the sounds of violence steadily subsided as the Blackwatch soldiers fell by the dozens, the last lone soldier backed up from the insanity and shakily held his assault rifle, but soon he eventually dropped it and fell to his knees.

The man could not even react as the emotionless voice behind him coldly commented, "Pray if you want to, but no one's gonna save you…"

With everything and everyone all dead and in pieces, Alex went in the center of the building and looked around, his bloodlust failing as a result of the lack of targets. He soon regained his sanity and composure, the drive to kill fading just like a bad memory- only to come back in full force once Alex realized what he just did. Staring aghast at his horrid handiwork- stains and chunks of body parts splattered against the walls, vehicles demolished after being tossed around, and ludicrous amounts of gibs scattered all over the place- Alex fell to his numbing knees, unable to process the slaughter he committed in his insane rampage; even Blacklight's voice sounded muffled to him.

He did not even notice the shadowy figure who crept into the building when the carnage ceased, peering down below and seeing the lonely monster down below. The figure stepped back into the darkness to answer his ally without possible interruptions, telling him, "Iron Man- I've located Alex Mercer."

"Good work, Panther", Iron Man earnestly replied, though his voice sounded a little tense as he continued to battle the advancing hordes of Hunters coming after him and the team. "What's he doing right now?"

Black Panther leaned in to look at Mercer again, though the hooded figure had not moved an inch from his current spot, so Panther commented, "He is… experiencing a great deal of regret at the moment. I'm unsure when his feeling will pass."

"I… OK. Any chance you could take him down for us?"

"Not without additional aid from the rest of our team", Panther answered. "Alex assimilated the Biomass of a Hunter moments ago- it appears he grew claws of his own because of it. And it's clear there were no survivors in this Blackwatch base."

Iron Man grew concerned and eventually sighed. "I… you know what? Forget about him for the moment- you're needed back at the warzone with the rest of us. It's getting more hectic here every minute."

Panther nodded. "On my way."

He took one last glance at Mercer, who by now had finally started to move again, albeit sluggishly, as the weight of the massacre he inflicted still bore down heavily upon him, and left the building. Once Alex himself solemnly walked out of the facility himself, Blacklight's voice finally go through to him- Can you hear me? Just say something!

I'll never really clear my name, will I?, Alex lamented. All this bloodshed, whether it's something I do because I had no other choice, or because I wasn't even in control of myself, it'll never be completely forgiven. I almost wish I was the monster that everyone thinks I am- at least then... I wouldn't be so burdened by my conscience.

You can't think like that, Blacklight insisted. You didn't ask to be a pawn in Gentek's plans. You didn't ask to do the right thing, risking your life by trying to smuggle that vial out of the city. And you didn't ask to become what you did after you and I… merged. There's been a great deal of unspeakable chaos going on for the past few weeks, but you have to remember that this all stemmed from Gentek.
And what about all of these lives I've taken?, Alex demanded. I've got at least a hundred dead to my name by now, maybe more. I killed at least a fourth of them with a goddamned tank! How the Hell am I supposed to justify so much mindless slaughter!?

I'm gonna be honest, Blacklight admitted, this may just sound like me hoping to ease your mind, but I'm not completely sure those soldiers are entirely human.

What?, Alex questioned. And what proof do you have of that?

Blacklight continued, Nothing but speculation so far, but something just isn't right about them. We know for a fact that something is supposed to happen when they're injected with that Greylight fluid. There's a point in all of their lives that they don't remember- none of them every volunteered to be part of Blackwatch. They just… joined after that blank in their memories. And then afterwards, they become… the best word for it is "deranged". They have near-sociopathic ideas and thoughts after that injection; we've even heard them talk like bloodthirsty maniacs when we first went to rescue your sister in the tank.

What are you exactly suggesting?, Alex questioned. Blacklight simply replied, I just don't think these soldiers are quite what everyone's lead to believe. And that crying over their deaths won't do you or I any good.

But… Alex began, thought Blacklight cut him off almost immediately. Redlight makes monsters; I, Blacklight, also make monsters. So what the Hell do you think Greylight does to those soldiers?

Alex took a deep breath and exhaled. Alright, fine, I get your point. I'm still not feeling that great though. And why are you even trying to help me get over this?

Because if you give up and start brooding like some emo teen, I'm gonna have to listen to that crap all the time, Blacklight stated. And there's no way I'll let you put me through that if I can help it.

Alex snorted. Thanks for your sympathy.

(Author's Note: Holy god damn shit that is a lot of review's in just one week. I am so happy that this story is becoming so successful. With just a few chapters. Now Unfortunately this will be the last upload until we get chapter 6, 7, and 8 done before we start posting again, I know it will suck to wait, but that's only because me and BlitzKing want to give quality content for you to enjoy. Once they are done expect it on a Friday probably sometime next month. Anyway onto the reviews.)

(edboy4926: Awesome chapter.

Well, while kinda disappointed that Greene did not side with Alex, at least she is 'sane' and has legitimate reason to be angry. Any mother would be. Maybe later on, she might side with Alex.

Reading about Cross made me remember something. In this universe, is he Pariah? Let's face it, that was the original theory in the game until it was proven wrong (even though that right now it feels more valid since no new canon information has come out).

Also, after reading chapter I realized several things:

1. Both Redlight and Blacklight can only bond with certain people, talk to them in their heads, adapt to different things.

2. Mentioned of a Hivemind.

3. ''Checks the EMH wiki and Prototype wiki''...holy shit...

Redlight and Blacklight are not viruses...they are SpiderMan Symbiotes aren't they?

There is no canon origin for Redlight and in EMH Venom was not used, so he is a clean slate in this universe.)

(Response: Well there is no denying the similarities between the viruses and the symbiotes, They are however unrelated, this will be cleared up in the next chapter, but do rest assured that we do have a origin for redlight and by extension blacklight, and I can promise it will be doozy. Can't say anything more then that. Spoilers.)

(Leader: I have a hypothesis and a theory, that if the original body of the real Alex Mercer was used by the Blacklight Virus but after the nuke, it was straight up Blacklight Virus Biomass but considering your story after the nuke it will just bd Blacklight also its kinda like Venom so who knows maybe there is some synbiote dna in the virus which would be an awsome plot twist but now theory, I think after Mercer consumed Elizabeth Greene it took her way of thinking and insanity to take over which is why Mercer acts like he doe in Prototype 2 which could explain why he comes to that conclusion in the comics also I kinda put this other theory but basically comes from other fanfic of prototype which could be possible in-universe perspective though. But this question has been itching me since reading your fanfic story why is Karen Parker the CEO of Gentek when it was Mcmullian or however you spell, would that mean this Alex Mercer is Gaaaaaaayyyyy XD, but seriously why)

(Leader: Continue this, it intrigues me, but do remember what I said, and your thoughts about it, but would it be funny, yes or no.)

(Response: Before I answer this, please space out your review's next time. Anyway I can't give out any spoilers at this time but that is a interesting theory that consuming Greene is what turns Alex. Also there been a misunderstanding on our part, we will try to clear this up in the next chapter but simply put, McMullen is the CEO, Founder, and Head Researcher, Alex is top scientist in charge of Blacklight project, And Karen who is Alex's boss reports to McMullen as middle man or woman.)

(Guest: also to my previous question what do you mean by this " It's pretty much completely against the character to not have the powers he had in the first game" does that mean he will or not I mean really If Bloodclan come to this universe which has to do with my o, they would give the avengers a bad time you know what here is a description from another review from another fanfic

Leader of Bloodclan Dossier:

Name: He has never used his real name but that it was Christopher but instead he uses his codenames and his fake names

Fake Names: James Heller and Alex Mercer and Christopher Shepard

Codenames: Arbiter, Alcatraz, Prophet, Shadow, Scourge, Reaper, Death, War, Purple Guy, Springtrap but mainly Shadow or Prophet or Arbiter or Alcatraz

Sex: Male

Species: Mainly Human(Halo Spartan4 in Heiloskrill armor and Crysis Nanosuit 2.0) and Evolved(Causal but sometimes used in combat Outfits Alex Mercer and James Heller and mainly in combat (Prototype 1 and 2 Blackwatch Soldier and Commander(when Prototype 2 Commander with helmet), Sangheili(), but also Flood, Cybertronian(it looks like war for cybertron soundwave sometimes shockwave but red and grey) Locust, Swarm, DeeBee, Ink Demon(Bendy), Animatronic(Springtrap)

Hair color: black or brownish blonde(purple if in purple guy form, but in sangheili or cybertronian or DeeBee or locust form no hair) current hairstyle: military

Eye color: Varies(entire eye sometimes becomes full black with white dots for the center of the eye only when in purple guy form, during bloodlust red, normal eyes blue)none if in madness combat form but red if in auditor form

Personality: kind, caring, helpful, clever, funny, brotherly to female s only if he considers them like a sister, respectful, honorful, leading, commanding, strategically(to friends, allies, and comrades), charismatic, persuasive (if a situation requires it), will try to embarrass(Tatsumi to mainly Leone, Mine, and maybe Akame about about Tatsumi, to Leone "So why are you flirting with Blacklight Boy, to Mine: You're totally a tsuendare for Tatsumi".), helping those that are blinded by their beliefs of something or filled with lies and had their mind twisted by Honest(Seryu), trys to undo any kind of brainwashing or programming done to someone(Kurome)

Dark Personality(but still in control of himself:bloodlust, sadistic, smart, vengeful, rip and tear, brings fear, likes killing, toys with his prey, pissed off, reaping, killer, demonic( to enemies, killers, those that want to destroy innocences, those that hurt or trys to kill or anything to his friends or someone he cares for like a brother, those that try to take the lives of the innocent, any corrupted guards and officers, and Honest)

Background: Not much is known about him, the only things known is that he is human but is many other species in certain forms of his and his army is one not to triful with and has infinite resources and troops and ships and vehicles and consist of many different species and factions but all follow his commands and covenant, banished, unsc, promeathan, vex, fallen, hive, ceph, nanosuit soldiers(Crysis series), taken, cabal, autobot and decepticons(they can change to their regular size to human size)and guardians forces deal with enemies on the ground, air, sea and the might of his infinite army and ships with infinite ammo and they can't die but will respawn, and he will get all Sekirei to their chosen ashikabi but if he or one of his soldiers is their ashikabi then so be it but if a Sekirei is not in the hands of their ashikabi and was winged by the wrong one he will set them free and will stop any forced wingings with his soldiers and provide safetey towards the unwinged sekirei.

Powers: Blacklight virus (all powers upgraded), dark and regular energon, time abilities, TMD(look up singularity game and timeshift), dimension hopping ability, Sans powers(Error and Classic and Fresh Dust UnderFell and Gaster Sans from undertale and aus), fnaf abilities, forge mode, infinite ammo and grenades, typhon abilities(look up prey), convert halo universe people only to d, buffs to forces and allies and debuffs to the enemy, (all leader powers, units)(halo wars 1 and 2), and good with any weaponary and technology, teleportation, batim ink powers, Gravemind form, And also reaper from overwatch form and powers and personality all powers from hive vex and all guardian class powers and abilities( destiny 1 and 2) hunter form crotas end armor set with crotas end shader and sometimes taken king raid armor set with taken king raid shader and exotic armor and weapons and legendary weapons but mainly crotas end or taken king raid and doom slayer armor and doom 2016 weapons(fully upgraded), and Jedi and Sith force techniques and abilities and lightsaber attacks but he will mainly use the Blacklight Virus and his time and reality bending powers and Guardian class powers and abilities and Nanosuit, and force abilities and Zer0's abilities and sword and auditor and tricky and yeelon form and can us a improbability drive including a portable one and has forms of all mag agents but his main form is either mag hank or mag agent v5 but his main madness combat form has abilities and skills maxed out from project nexus which wears (links: . /revision/latest?cb20120418161458, . /revision/latest?cb20120415083406, ( . /revision/latest?cb20120418143603, . /revision/latest?cb20120425135741: this varies time to time), . /revision/latest?cb20120425135741)and two additional forms the riot guard and A.T.P. Engineer but his ATP Mask is only one of a kind (whose visors changes color: Yellow is a HUD display whidh displays the users weapons and ammo and health but for him is ammo counter displays infinite but still has to reload but if for example is a Minigun or anything that has a similar magazine like a m249 it is bottomless clip while he has a god mode for his health he can still be knock down and etc., Green has similar functions like Yellow but has night vision which can be turned on or off, Blue has both functions like green and Yellow but like yellow it display the enemys weapon and ammo and health and statistics and functions like its other blue visor brother from masness retaliationm Red has functions like Yellow but allows him to use the auditors and jesus powers including the improbability drive, White has functions like Yellow and Red but allows him to use his time and reality bending powers and healing and rezerecting powers, Purple Blackish has functions like Yellow bur allows him to use his yeelon powers annd abilities but unlike yeelon he has no connection to the being that controls yeelon and in place for that being is himself.)

Weapons: Any that his army uses but mainly the energy sword called the Prophets Bane and storm rifle but will use Blacklight Virus powers.

Basically he would use his Alex Mercer form or his regular combat form he would use for when he uses the Blacklight Virus but his virus was modified where it produces Biomass itself to replace biomass if there is no biomass or the people he is around he doesn't wantto use them to replenish his but considering the universe he will consume infected, gentek, blackwatch personal that are not vital to Mercer like Karen Parker and where no other strains of Blacklight Virus depending on the multiverses and multiuniverses Bloodclan vist dominates his, now if he turns someone into a Evolved which he rarely does outside of Bloodclan and his strain can get memories without consuming which kills the person by going through the ears towards the persons brain which a tendril attaches to the brain and starts copying memories without infecting the person and a piece of biomass will move fast like a Lekghalo worm and reattach and dissolves and forms back into whatever was missing and as a preventive measure from infecting people it will only infect if he wants to and preventing anyone from studying or replicating his strain for example if a pieace of his biomass can't get to him it just terminates itself and dissolves even it atoms and molecules into nothing ,now he would be the only Bloodclan member in this universe kill only gentek, infected, and blackwatch but not anyone connected to the marvel universe like the avengers but for the avengers, he is just going to make them mad, embarrassed, insanely mad, and question logic of him for he is a Tier 0: Boundless

High Outerverse level

but he won't show it but he will make the avengers question Alex Mercer aka Zeus sightings and Mercer and him meet while the avengers are chasing him or Mercer and question which one is Mercer if my oc is in his alex mercer form but with gentek and blackwatch they will be like "fuck it take them both" until my oc displays his other powers and abilities.

(Response: Uh… While I appreciate the enthusiasm for the story and wanting to help with this OC I will have to decline as Me and BlitzKing already have a story planned out and I can't just rewrite the whole story just to put in a New OC in. I Apricate the offer and all, but I am sorry but to decline to put this offer. It sounds like it could be interesting, it just can't fit here. If anyone else is reading this please refrain from sending me requests to put OC's in the story. As to answer your original question, that was poorly phased on my part, every power form the first game will be in this story will be in here yes and there will be more powers to come. There is reason why McMullen doesn't want Alex to reach that threshold.)

(Gravemind: Unleash the Flood, and I feast.)

(Response: I believe your in the wrong universe. Go back and look under halo, that should get you back home.)

(Moclab: Very nice chapter like addition to Green and Alex's personality if you follow through the game and Dana gets nabbed like in the game would you be willing to have be a perfect host for redlight like Green?)

(Response: Please Clarify. I don't think I understood the question.)

(Primordial Inscriptor Z-09: The game was never clear on Greene it a lot of things, to be honest. I like your interpretations of how and why things went down as the story itself was confusing for me to digest fully. The integration of both series where it isn't just a cut and paste, but actual interaction and reaction according to character make this a very fun, multidimensional series to read. It makes me think whether this character had this personality to react and act that way or not, then a satisfaction when they do match. Maybe Alex will be cleared up soon, but then again, I really do want to see him surpass this threshold that Black watch speaks of, it sounds far more powerful than his P2 version that so easily lost against Heller... I'm still really disappointed at that, to be honest. The only saving grace for that game was mechanics, as the story utterly crushed P1's legacy.

I know both of you will produce amazing chapters that I can bury that horrible memory with!

(Response: I can't promise anything, but I can only hope me and BlitzKing can keep this bar up and hopefully keep rising it. And thank you especially for giving a well thought out analysis of our story and telling how to keep our story at the same if not higher quality then it already is. Really appreciate the review and glad to deliver the content you enjoy.)

(Paradox009: This is superb. Can't wait to see what you have planned for this story. I always enjoy Prototype stories with Alex as a main character. Alex retaining his memories and Blacklight being a voice in his head is a great twist to the normal formula. Looking forward to more, hope you update soon.)

(Response: Glad to see you enjoying it, we will be sure to keep going as long as we can.)

(Scout: Madness Combat Grunt with boombox and another Grunt appears near everyone at the Gentek building.

Grunt activates boombox

Boombox begins playing sparta remix

Grunts start dancing to the music

Everyone including infected are like WTF

XD)

(Response: … )

(Greer123: Fourth Wall breaking powers are strong in this one.)

(Greet123: I loved the way Thor showcased his hatred of mortal sience like he did in the show in this chapter.)

(Response: Glad to entertain, and I wonder if that mindset will comeback to bite him back one day…)

(Author's Note: That's everything, I hope you all liked the chapter and see you next month… probably. Later.)