Fusion: Metroid IV
Chapter Nine: The X Parasites
Making her way out of the Quarantine Facility, and back toward the Systems Station where Adam was currently uplinked, Samus had some time to think about what she had seen so far onboard the station. Yes, it was unsettling that some of the X Parasites had escaped captivity during whatever happened there, and seeing one of them up close again made her feel sick to her stomach, but those things couldn't have been the main cause of the problem.
Obviously someone onboard, most like a disgruntled or simply greedy member of the staff, had attempted to steal the latest specimens from SR388, probably to sell them to a collector or something. He… or maybe she… had clearly been desperate as well, which would explain why they blasted their way into the Quarantine Bay and shot their way out again, instead of simply waiting for a better time and then sneaking in. Well, whatever their motivations had been, they were now a criminal, and since there was no evidence of other ships leaving the station… they had to still be around somewhere.
"Welcome back, Samus." Adam's voice said when she entered the Systems Station. "While you were investigating the Quarantine Bay, I managed to recover some of the central computer's corrupted data, including an entry that you should find interesting. Watch the monitor, please."
"Hello, I'm Dr. Ricard Dolan." Dr. Dolan said as his black and white image appeared on the flickering monitor. "This is X Parasite Intensive Research log number one, and since they're going to have me out here doing this for the rest of my life, I figure that I might as well get started."
Samus smiled a little when she saw him on the recording, and hoped that he had been in another part of the station when the shooting started. Anyway, the recording went on to describe what the X were, with detailed scans and images of the gelatinous creatures being shown along with his words. Most of what he was saying, she already knew. Like, for example how they entered their targets and then multiplied, consuming the host in the process, and he also gave demonstration on how useless weapons and extreme temperatures were against them.
"The X Parasites are incredibly adaptive." Dr. Dolan continued. "However, during my attempts to save the life of Samus Aran, I discovered that they have a weakness. You see, they are immediately destroyed upon contact with Metroid cell cultures, which leads me to believe that the Metroids on SR388 were the primary predators of the X… yeah… maybe we shouldn't have had Ms. Aran wipe them all out."
"This revelation explains why you never encountered an X before, Samus." Adam added. "And since your body was fundamentally changed and repaired by Dr. Dolan's Metroid Vaccine, this would explain what happened when that X touched you in the Quarantine Bay. Your pseudo-Metroid DNA must have attacked it upon contact, and the good news is that you will never be infected by an X Parasite again."
This was certainly good news, since she was still having nightmares about the last infection, but it also made her feel bad at the same time. If the Metroids had been the X's predator, and she had wiped out all the Metroids, what was to stop the parasites from multiplying unchecked? That, and each time she had encountered the parasites, they had been disguised as something else… so, how did they do that?
"When an X Parasite enters a host." Dr. Dolan continued. "It begins to feed on that host, using the energy to multiply, which results in even more parasites feeding on the host. The result is an empty husk that can barely be identified as a body, but that isn't the interesting part. The interesting part is what happens next."
The image changed to another one of those frog-like creatures, and it didn't appear to be doing so well. The little creature was hobbling around like it was drunk or injured, while a familiar gelatinous substance was starting to leak out. It felt like a knot was forming in Samus' stomach as she remembered being in the same position as the creature, and once it finally lost consciousness, everything sped up to show the progression of several hours in less than a minute.
The creature's body was quickly covered by the gelatinous substance, and then it slowly began to shrink down. Four or five X Parasites then exited the remains, revealing it to be little more than bone fragments, and then one of the parasites changed. Its body distorted like she had seen them do before, but this time when it refocused, the parasite had become an exact copy of the frog-like creature. It hopped around, made the same noises, and was otherwise indistinguishable from the original, at least as far as Samus could see.
"During the feeding process, the X absorbs the host's DNA." Dr. Dolan continued. "It then uses its unique cellular structure to mimic the host, most likely as a kind of camouflage, but in this state is cannot simply be destroyed by contact with a Metroid cell. However, the X's disguise is vulnerable to conventional weapons in this state, as well as anything else that would kill the host."
Dr. Dolan then picked up a small container of a strange, bubbling liquid, and opened the containment pod just long enough to dump the contents onto the creature. The disguised X reacted just like the creature would, roaring and hopping around while the acid tore its body apart, before finally collapsing. The body then distorted, reverting to a floating X Parasite for several seconds… before once again turning itself into a fully restored version of the frog-like creature again. So he used the acid once again, and this time when the X reverted to its original form, the doctor pressed a button that released a small amount of gas into the pod.
"So far exposure to Metroid cells is the only way to kill them." He said as the parasite shrieked and disintegrated. "But this can only be done after the host disguise has been destroyed, and due to these recent discoveries, I am recalling all research teams on the planet, and placing SR388 under Medical Quarantine until further notice. End report."
"Smart." Samus commented as the report ended. "But if these things are so deadly and dangerous, then who would possibly want to steal them? Even the Space Pirates aren't dimwitted enough to mess with something like this."
"There are more records, Samus." Adam's voice explained. "However, the corruption level of the computer systems is substantial, but it would certainly help if we could get this station operational again. There is currently no way for you to restore main power, since the whole area is locked down beyond my access, but we may have another option. If you make your way up to the Control Deck, you could manually restart the auxiliary power systems, which would at least let us get a better look at the station's status."
The monitor once again flickered to life, showing the same map of the local area that she had used to find her way to both the Systems Station and the Quarantine Facility. Now a new route was marked, one that would make her retrace her steps to one of the nonfunctioning elevators that she had seen along the way. Since there was no power, it meant that Samus would have to climb her way up… not that such a thing was difficult, but it would have been a lot easier if she still had all of the upgrades installed in her suit.
"Hopefully restoring auxiliary power will give us access to the Reactor Silo." Adam continued. "If we are going to send an accurate report to Federation HQ, we will need the station's sensors to tell us how many of the X specimens have escaped… that, and I do not wish to have you blind to any approaching threats, Samus. Is your objective clear?"
"Yeah, I got it." She replied, turning toward the door. "I can't wait to get the damn lights back on in this place."
The darkened elevators were only a few meters back down the corridor after leaving the Systems Station, so in no time at all she was standing in front of one of the doors. If her Varia Suit was still intact, then blasting the doors apart, or simply ripping them off their hinges would have been easy, but now she didn't even know how much, if any, of her enhanced strength remained. The quickest way to find out was to try, so Samus grabbed onto the doors, and pulled. They shook a little, but ripping them off their hinges was apparently not an option, although she was able to pull them open quite easily.
Since there was still no power, she used her beam weapon to shoot the lock off of the maintenance hatch, and from there she climbed her way up into the elevator shaft. The Control Deck was only two levels above, and most maintenance personnel didn't have the abilities of her Varia Suit, so there was a conveniently placed service ladder built into the wall. The climb itself was uneventful, but when she reached the top and pulled open the doors, Samus stopped when her infrared scanner registered something.
It only picked up the signal for a couple seconds, but there was something big moving down the corridor up ahead. Not too big, only a little larger than a large, stocky man, probably wearing an EV Suit of some kind. For a moment she considered calling out to them, but then again it might have been the one responsible for what happened on the station, so it was best to observe them for the moment. The figure was slowly walking away from her, and Samus wished that she could see them more clearly, but without any lights she only had the heat signature to go on.
"Adam, I've got a contact." She whispered while silently climbing out of the elevator shaft. "Looks like they're wearing some kind of armored suit, but other than a high body temperature, I can't tell much more about them from here."
"I'm picking up your readings now, Samus." The computer's voice replied. "Hmmm… I will need time to analyze this… remember, Samus, that you are in no real condition for a fight, so try to stay out of sight until we know more."
Easy enough orders to follow, or at least they would have been easy to follow if the figure wasn't headed in the same direction that she needed to go. The good news was that they hadn't seemed to notice her yet, and the Control Deck was just ahead, which according to the map was a wide area where she would be able to sneak around more easily. A few moments later the figure passed through the doorway into the Control Deck, and Samus was creeping down the hallway in preparation to follow, when an alarm started blaring, making her jump.
The darkened station was suddenly brightly lit by spinning yellow lights on the walls and ceiling, forcing her to deactivate her infrared scanner as a security shutter slid into place in front of her. This prevented from entering the Control Deck, but for just a second while it was closing, the figure turned around. The spinning lights had illuminated that part of the station as well, and just for a second Samus was able to see the outline of a face behind a green visor… and a suit that looked almost… Chozo?
