A/N: Yay, the fun stuff begins. The real antagonist?... still unclear, though you might be able to guess.

References again. w00t. I just had to reference Mordecai from Borderlands, since his lines are just so funny.

"Boom!"

Don't complain about 10.5, it's all for a reason. *grins*

...And I'm changing my upload day to Saturday. School's started where I live, so I don't want to be posting on a weeknight and letting it get in the way of my schoolwork.

[10]

Dana... quivered. The convulsions ended a short second later. I looked around for a Blackwatch uniform, the glint of a hand carrying an M16 I could ask for help. If only I had gone back to the safe house and brought Nathan and Cross along, maybe I wouldn't be in such a bind now.

From the looks of it, though, Dana's body was becoming infected again with the virus, but remained unconscious. From the looks of it, she was recovering just like Cross earlier. I headed back to the computer.

"Mercer, did you stop it?"

"I don't think I did, but Dana's still unconscious."

"Then I will send some people from Battery Park to ensure she cannot escape."

"I think I'll stay here until then. Unless you want me to take more drastic measures..."

"I do not think your 'more drastic measures' will be necessary, not unless your sister wakes up before the soldiers arrive."

"Then I'll remain here just in case."

"Where are Corporal Charus and Captain Cross?"

"Left them at the safe house."

"Safe house?"

"One of Dana's friend's apartments. It just so happens that her friend is gone for the whole year."

"That is awfully convenient."

"Yeah. I'm not yet willing to reveal the location of the safe house, though, just as you apparently don't feel comfortable revealing your face to me."

"My face is not known to anyone outside the highest levels of Blackwatch. It makes it easier for me to walk around amongst any of our many divisions unnoticed."

"I see. Now, as I'm sure you're wondering, you want a cure."

"Of course."

"Then I'm willing to work on one."

"Using samples of your particular strain of the virus?"

"No, by risking my ass and retrieving samples from underground personally. I want to work on the cure myself. At least I'll be practicing a useful skill for the future. Of course, I don't want any funny business being done to the cure, so by working on it myself, I'll also know exactly what's going into it."

"So the virus does have a sense of self-preservation... the scientists have told me otherwise."

"No, the self-preservation part is the other personas I've consumed telling me to be careful."

"Ah, well, then the scientists were right anyways. If you are going to work on the cure, then you will need a team of people to work with you."

"My old team from before Penn Station. They'll know what to do, and I've consumed enough people to know how to make a cure. Besides that, I want a counter-cure to administer to myself and to offer to Nathan and Cross."

"Why is that?"

"I've already died once. I don't want to risk it again, and I rather like my abilities. There isn't much of a drawback to superhuman strength and the ability to turn my body into a weapon, except for being hunted by a force devoted to defeating biological threats. And hopefully from now on, I can be on good terms with that organization."

"As long as you make a cure for New York City, I will make sure your case is pardoned."

"Awfully generous of you, sir."

"As far as I know, it will not be a simple task."

"I am already aware of that. I'm prepared to give up killing infected for a while."

The soldiers arrived rather quickly. I helped them move equipment out of the glass-walled holding room. One of them tapped my shoulder. "You should get going, ZEUS. I'm sure there are better things for you to do than help us unpack."

"I'm at my old workplace. I want to say hi to someone who won't scream and run the other way."

"Whatever, mister. Just stay out of our way."

I turned around and looked at Dana's rigid body. I wasn't sure if she was simply biding her time or actually recovering. I didn't want to find out.

On my way back to the safe house, Nathan contacted me over the Hive Mind.

Alex, are you there?

Yeah. I just went to see Dana. Blackwatch already moved her to the GENTEK building.

So... she's cured?

Probably. I was worried for a moment, though. The Director called personally and told me that she might become another Runner if it goes through. He wanted a little more time to get the GENTEK facility ready, but some genius scientist already started the IV before I had a chance to stop him.

That's almost the opposite of what those Blackwatch scientists would do, but whatever.

Something doesn't feel right, though.

Like what?

I understand that Dana is weak, but she seemed to move a lot more than Cross did when my blood got through the needle.

So? She's a lot lighter. She can probably recover a lot faster.

But I don't want her to live the same way I do. The best thing I could do for her is make sure she has her old life back.

As a journalist, right?

With my help, she could get anywhere. Report any story.

Hah! With your help, she'd be a criminal.

True. But I feel like I owe her a lot more than I've been able to pay off so far. She found the safe house, researched all of my leads, took care of a lot of things, organized-

And she owes you big on saving her life.

...Right.

You sweat the small stuff. If anything, you owe me for cooking for you.

And you owe me for saving your life, too.

Touché.

Cross owes me some, too.

He's another story. Put his debts on my tab, I'll pay 'em off.

Some interference seemed to weave its way across the Hive Mind.

Did you just feel that?

Yeah... a mental wave, a push of some kind.

Can you tell where it came from?

From the same direction as where you're coming from.

And no infected knows how to-

Except the patient you just cured.

Fuck. Wake Cross up and get him to Times Square. I'll meet you there.

Times Square wasn't an ideal place to meet, but when I saw two men looking around in Blackwatch uniforms show up where few Blackwatch personnel went without a tank, I jumped down from the billboards and dropped down on top of a particularly grotesque infected person. Apparently once a businessman, from the looks of the tattered jacket.

"Bloody already, Alex."

"Nathan. And Cross."

"Mercer, what the hell is going on? I'm not that great with the Hive Mind, and even I could feel a disturbance. The infected all seem to have gone silent since then."

"... It's Dana. I woke her up, but she might have turned."

"Turned? What do you mean, Alex?"

"Turned into a Runner."

"Like us?"

"No. Like Greene."

With Cross on his mobile and Nathan shooting the signal flare he had left over in his uniform, we arrived at the Battery Park base.

Things did not look good. Hunters and Leader Hunters were swarming all over the makeshift buildings, and the Walkers had mobbed the surrounding skyscrapers. A Hive had apparently formed inside one of the steel buildings.

"So, Captain, you want to bet on how many buildings are infected?"

"Now isn't the time for gambling, Corporal."

"It looks like everyone's already evacuated."

"How would you know that, Mercer?"

"Infected vision. As it happens, the infected broadcast to each other who's an enemy and who's not. And we can pick up on it."

"Corporal, you never told me about this."

"Because it took me a while to understand it. Alex would be a better teacher for this than I would be."

"Then I'll teach you later, Cross. For now, you should be calling around to find out where the hell everyone's gone."

Cross held his phone to his ear. Apparently, his call connected.

"Hello? General? Yes, Cross here. ...No. We're at Battery Park. ...Where is everyone? What? No, you can't be! Which building?"

I looked at Nathan. "Stay put, Nathan. Not a good idea to go in there alone."

"No, General. You sure there's no way out? I'm not sure if the three of us can keep a clear path... Do you have ammo available in there? None?..."

"Cross, what else do they need?"

"Yes, that was Mercer. Anything else you need? Okay, good." Cross brought the phone away from his ear. "Nothing else, Mercer. They think it's best if we try to clear out the Hive first on our own. Then they'll have a chance to fight their way out of this mess."

"You have enough ammo, then? Just stay away from the Hive. I'm going to use a helicopter for this."

I snuck around to where I knew there was always a helicopter waiting, on the western side of Battery Park, leaving Cross and Nathan behind. For some odd reason, there was always a full cargo of rockets and shells loaded on the helicopter, and no matter how many times I abandoned the helicopter in mid-air, there would always be another one sitting at the same place within a few hours.

The infected had not yet destroyed the Apache. I got in and started the engine. The helicopter went aloft, and I turned it to face the infected buildings.

"Cross, Nathan, watch out. I'm starting my run."

"Roger that, Mercer."

Two figures on the ground moved behind a building. I armed the missiles and fired two. When they connected with the Hive, I couldn't resist making a comment.

"Boom!"

"Hey, Alex, I didn't know you were a pyromaniac."

"... I'm not."

I sent a few more rockets and watched as the Hive crumbled.

"What, you didn't like that?"

"Are you alright, Mercer?"

"I'm fine, Cross."

The fleeing Walkers and Hunters fell to the explosion of several rockets. "Done."

"Then land your bird and help us out."

Cross's mobile rang in my pocket. I was about to pick it up when I saw Cross also reaching for his phone. I decided to land the helicopter first. Voicemail could handle it, anyways.

Cross answered his phone.

"Hello? ... No, I haven't reached them yet. Of course! What? ...Got it." Cross flipped his phone closed.

"So? What does the Director want, Captain?" Nathan cocked his head to the side, then looked around.

"Brooklyn. And he said he doesn't want us to help out here anymore."

"I'll take a helicopter, then."

"Nathan told me that you used the subways to get across before. Let's ditch the helicopter and go underground."

"Fine. But we split up once we go underground."

"Sure." Cross apparently understood what I meant.

[/10]

A/N: This chapter was started during a family trip to Sonoma County. On the car, I had to put up with my sister's music (Taylor Swift, Lady GaGa, etc... She likes female vocalists.) and my dad's annoying habit of singing along. Off-tune.

At least he didn't try to sing in the same octave. Regardless of alto range vocals or not, I felt like shooting myself. Next road trip everyone's listening to my stuff. I'm fairly sure my dad can't copy Gildenlöw at 3:35 in "Reconciliation". That guy's got an awesome voice.

[10.5]

"Where's your cattle prod, Captain?" Cross turned around and glared at the unmasked young man.

"Must have left it at home, Corporal. I'll make do without it."

"Should I try and make one on the spot?"

"I'd rather you don't electrocute yourself, Corporal, seeing as I'm still mostly useless without grenades. Transformations don't come naturally for me."

The corporal slipped a tendril out the back of his uniform and poked at Cross with it. "And I mock your unwillingness to learn."

"I've seen plenty in my lifetime, Nate."

"Being the half-infected guy that beat the crap out of two Runners, I would expect that."

"And being fully infected now, I'm not going to die anytime soon from natural causes."

"The infection being natural. Hah."

Cross gave the corporal the middle finger. "Don't bring it up."

"...Tendrils."

"Fuck you."

From above, Mercer was piloting a helicopter. "Cross, Nathan, watch out. I'm starting my run."

"Roger that, Mercer." Cross clicked off his radio. "Let's get out of his way."

The two men ducked behind a building. Two rockets streaked across the air and blew two holes in the Hive.

"Boom!"

"Hey, Alex, I didn't know you were a pyromaniac."

Mercer sounded annoyed. "... I'm not."

He let loose a few more rockets. The Hive broke apart as the two men watched. Nathan looked up at the helicopter and saw the pilot inside mime shooting a pistol.

"What, you didn't like that?"

Cross became a little worried. "Are you alright, Mercer?"

"I'm fine, Cross." He sounded otherwise normal.

Several more rockets came, this time sending several infected corpses flying into the air.

"Thwack." Nathan timed his comment with the landing of a particularly grotesque Leader.

"Done."

Cross frowned. "Then land your bird and help us out."

Two mobiles started ringing at the same time. Cross's frown deepened and turned into a scowl when he realized they were both his.

"Okay, let's see. Who's playing around with my phones now?" Cross answered the phone he had stashed in a hidden pocket.

Mercer landed the helicopter and got out. He held up his mobile, taken from Cross's stash. It was ringing as well.

"Hello?"

"Captain. This is the Director. Have you reached the troops yet?"

"...No, I haven't made contact."

"Can you reach them?"

"Of course!"

"Then leave."

"What?"

"There are more pressing matters. I am more worried about the infection moving out of Manhattan. Make your way to Brooklyn and start eliminating the infection there. It seems it is setting up for a long stay, so strike while it cannot move."

"Got it." Cross flipped his phone closed.

"So? What does the Director want, Captain?" Nathan seemed unsure.

"Brooklyn. And he said he doesn't want us to help out here anymore."

"I'll take a helicopter, then."

"Nathan told me that you used the subways to get across before. Let's ditch the helicopter and go underground."

"Fine. But we split up once we go underground." If Mercer wanted to be alone, then it was better to let him be alone. Cross shrugged.

"Sure."

[/10.5]

A/N: Before you go off complaining about how 10.5 is basically a rehash of the latter half of 10, think this way: It's got a reason. I'm setting up for something... Note the different perspectives I wrote, contrasting Alex's POV in 10 with Cross's POV in 10.5.