Chaos VII
Jessica landed on top of the New York Stock Exchange building only to find her cousin waiting for her.
"Jessica," he said. "You surprise me. I thought I told you to meet me on the top of the Gentek building."
"Not happening," Jessica replied. "I know Mercer's plan and it isn't going to work."
Down below on the streets, Jessica could hear the noise of a mob of angry New Yorkers clashing with Blackwatch forces.
"I've got no quarrel with you, Brian," Jessica said. "I'm getting out of this city. If you were smart, you'd do the same."
Brian walked over to her. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that."
"You'll be afraid of a lot more if you don't get out of my face," Jessica told him.
"You are to be the mother of the future race of evolved," Brian said, exasperated. "What could possibly be so wrong with that?"
"Over the past two weeks I've been learning more and more about Mercer's plan," Jessica yelled. "I know what he plans to do to me, and I won't allow it. Revenge isn't worth it!"
"This is about more than your parents!" Brian shot back. "This is about the future! Evolution is about survival of the fittest."
Jessica didn't respond to his comment, but merely said, "It's over. I'm not going through with it."
Brian watched her for a second, and then he moved. Jessica barely had time to bring her blade up to block his. He forced his way past her guard and slammed her onto the roof of the NYSE building.
"We've both been evolving, Jess," he said viciously. "Let's see who's stronger."
Jessica rolled up and threw her whipfist at him, but he managed to dodge it by rolling to the side. He sprinted towards her, his hands shifting into hammerfists.
Jessica jumped as he landed with a loud crack. She slammed her feet down on top of him, picked him up, and hurled him into a nearby ventilation unit.
Brian launched himself back into her and they both went flying over the edge of the building and down to the street below. Blackwatch was still fighting the civilians, but the appearance of two evolved sent the New Yorkers running.
Ignoring the Blackwatch soldiers, Jessica formed her blade and slashed her way towards Brian. He used his claws to parry and counter her strikes, but Jessica was ready for everything he had.
Blackwatch soldiers were firing at her, but it didn't matter at that moment, as she was too busy keeping an eye on her fast moving cousin. When he did launch himself at her, she was ready.
This time, she used her claws to block his blade. Brian lashed out at her, but Jessica was able to dodge and counter all of his blows.
Eventually, she caught him off guard and overwhelmed him. Jessica took him to the ground and landed fist after fist into him, unaware that she was absorbing him at the same time.
Then his memories hit her.
"Your cousin is the key, Brian," Alex Mercer was saying. "I must have her. Her strength and resilience are extraordinary."
"I understand," Brian said in reply. "She appears to be resistant, though."
Mercer laughed. "They always are. The loss is regrettable, but her children will be the dawn of a new era. Few have the type of DNA that she does."
Brian sighed. "You should know that…Bulldog is missing."
"It's of little concern to me," Mercer replied. "The only thing I'll miss about him is that he had my attitude."
"He took a small sample of Whitelight…"
The memories went on in an echo, but Jessica chose not to hear the rest of them. She sliced her way through the remaining Blackwatch soldiers and sprinted off into the night.
# # #
"…And New York Zero is still a war zone," the news anchor was saying. "We've gotten startling reports that an ex-marine by the name of James Heller has been attacking Blackwatch and Gentek forces in the Yellow and Green zones of the city…"
Jessica was only half listening to the news report. It had been months since she had left NYZ behind and she had no intention of going back. The city was beyond help.
Alex Mercer was still at large, and apparently he was still using Whitelight to his advantage.
Her cell phone rang at that moment. "Hello?"
"Hey," said the voice of Dana Mercer.
"Dana?" Jessica asked. "What is it?"
"Thought I might check in," Dana replied. "It was actually pretty quiet here after your sudden drop off the radar. I heard Alex almost caught up with you on the Queens Bridge."
"Yeah," Jessica said, "but they destroyed it too quickly for him to keep up. Blackwatch actually helped me there."
"So," Dana went on, "You're safe?"
"Relatively," Jessica replied. "Who's this Heller guy?"
"Another evolved with the kind of DNA that you had…you know, resilient?"
"Your brother still hasn't given up his plans?"
Dana sighed. "No, and he's still determined to tear Gentek and Blackwatch apart. After you left, he started putting agents on the inside."
"Sounds pretty smart," Jessica replied.
"Anyway, I need to go," Dana said. "I just wanted to check in on you."
"Sure thing…later." She hung up the phone.
Everything was peaceful here, and she could finally try to be a normal human being again. It was a relatively quiet city and as she looked out the window, her eyes fell on the distant Washington Monument that rose high into the sky.
Yes, she thought, peaceful…
