*Overly dramatic sigh*

Honestly the lack of hindsight and foresight among some of you people is staggering. Now I don't mean to offend everyone, just the people throwing a fit over Alex talking to Shiala about what he is.

Okay so maybe that was a bit overeacting lol considering there were only 3 people with complaints about the last chapter lol But to put those fragile souls to rest i shall explain

Lord Sigfry: That hurts bro lol, he wasnt really going all slit wrist emo he is just pissed because just about every person that knows anything about what he did bitches at him for it. So consider it to be less self pity and more like his patience for these ignorant pricks is wearing thin.

Trondason and MECHANICALCHEESE: Okay okay, here is where the lack of hindsight and foresight are getting in the way lol. I have already mentioned throughout the story several other times that Alex needs allies. The main reason why is because he "died" as a man that was currently listed as the most dangerous terrorist in human history. When the war finally comes people are going to find out about his return whether he likes it or not. Now, before I go further with this I hope we can all agree that Alex Mercer evolved as a "Man" of plans and strategy during his war to infect the world, you could say he is a general of sorts.

And what is a general without an army?

Anyways, back to my point. Alex NEEDS cooperation if he wants to be apart of this war without being called out as some kind of traitor or liar or whatever could be used by Blackwatch to turn the masses against him. I dont plan on him telling every person he comes across but to those that know what he is and what he can do he just wants to make sure his side of the story is heard. Hell the only reason he told Shiala is because she already saw what he could do so there was no point trying to lie. But rest assured after these next few chapters he isn't going to be in contact with anyone that he would have to tell.

And as for the part about Shiala running off and Telling quote "CNN this "juicy" tidbit of knowledge"...

Really?

Really?

You do know this is Shiala we're talking about right? The same introverted green asari that got socially awkward around Shepard after he/she helped deal with that Bitch of an asari. You really think she'd go straight to the press with this kind of stuff? And aside from that, who in gods name would believe her?

And another thing Mr. Cheese if that is your real name XD

Alex Mercer and Shiala are both currently working for the Shadow Broker. You understand what this implies right? If Shiala were to turn over one of her fellow agents or betray their trust she would be dead within the hour regardless of how good C-Sec thinks they are, especially since Liara and Alex are friends (and I use that term incredibly lightly).

AND ANOTHER THING! (Last one I promise lmao)

Shiala was under the control of Sovereign at one point, she is very well aware of the threat the Reapers propose to everyone in the galaxy. If she were to let loose any kind of information that incriminated the Alliance and sparked controversy among the Council it would weaken everyone when the Reapers arrive.

And that would be a very very bad thing. Something Shiala understands.

Glad I got that off my chest lol. Sorry if that sounded mean I just want to defend my decisions with my story. If you have found any of these answers to be unsatisfactory feel free to unfollow and unfavorite.

Now then, one final thing to address before the story continues.

Since starting this story roughly 3 months ago I have gotten something that I thought I'd never get on this site.

Explosive feedback.

Honestly I've worked stories on other profiles that have 50 chapters and only get like 100 reviews (And most not positive). But for whatever reason you wacky little shits love what I'm doing here XD. I mean seriously even I don't think this story is worth 200 (mostly) positive reviews (Yet).

So before I begin Chapter 14 I just want to say thank you to everyone that has Favorited and followed and reviewed this story. You guys make writing the next chapter fun and I always love hearing what you think whether it is good, bad, or nitpicky *Cough* Trondason *Cough cough* lmao jk you know I love your input XD

So for some assurance that this story is going to be completed (Unlike so many other ME/Prototype Crossovers) I'd like you all to know that the time in between chapters has not been wasted, when I'm not working I'm planning. And have already got the rest of the story entirely planned out including a new ending to fix what Bioware beat with a hammer lol

Anyways, ON WITH THE STORY!

Manhattan had changed immensely since James' departure from Earth. After the second outbreak people were concerned that it might very well happen again. The mounds of dead infected and viral structures created by Mercer's plague had left the city a hazardous place. Many buildings were in ruins, mostly around Time Square. In fact the Empire State building had ended up coming down and leveling a large chunk of the island through the subsequent collapses that followed.

Buildings were crumbling and rusted, Central Park was damn near a forest by now from being left unattended for so long.

Nowadays it was more akin to a ghost town than the vibrant city he remembered before the virus. The only residence were homeless that lived near the coast, too afraid of the old horror stories that came with this place. Because now that's what it was, a scary place where explainable things could happen. All revolving around the virus but also having nothing to do with it.

The infection was totally wiped out by James and Blackwatch, the latter cleaning up the zombies while James took care of the evolved. Toxicity levels were near zero last time anyone checked according to Office Midori's information. She sent it to James' omni-tool shortly after departure from Omega. No infected remained according to them.

But then how was it that the rest of the evolved lived here?

It didn't make sense to James, but as their their shuttle descended towards an old metro tunnel entrance he knew his answers would be coming along soon. He stepped out as the door opened, Alana following behind him silently. They'd landed somewhere near the northern part of the island, a place James had never gone before because of the Blackwatch quarantine.

"So is this where I meet your Prophet?" He asked cautiously as they approached the tunnels entrance.

"That is correct," She nodded simply, "We must travel deeper underground however."

"Lead the way then, I ain't got all day." James grunted as they began the descent.

"Patience Heller," She replied calmly, "The Prophet can answer all your questions if you listen."

"Tch, if he knows how to find Mercer I'm all ears." James rolled his eyes. Darkness slowly surrounding them as they passed deeper into the ruined tunnels.

"You seem quite obsessed with finding him," Alana sighed as they walked, "Tell me, what are you intentions for him?"

"I'm gonna put that emo fuck back in the ground where he belongs." His voice filled with a sudden rage, a rage he hadn't felt in so long.

"And you believe he deserves to die?" She questioned curiously.

"Damn right he does," James scoffed, "Fucker needs to be put down like the dog he is."

"Why?"

James almost stumbled at the sudden question, looking at her with wide eyes that immediately filled with anger, "That son of a bitch killed millions with his virus! He killed people I know he killed my wife!" His voice sharp, but remaining at a relatively low volume, "He made me into this thing..."

"And you assume the two of you are any different?" This time to question wasn't from Alana, it came from somewhere in the darkness around them. It was only know James realized they had reached a massive chamber underground after passing down into the sewer system.

Heller immediately readied himself to fight, jagged claws forming out of his hands, "Who the fuck-"

"Relax Mr. Heller," The voice said again, "We have no intention of harming you."

James winced as lights suddenly burst to life around them. Turning his head James saw that Alana had disappeared, the chamber was fully illuminated and he was surrounded. There must have been hundreds of them, all watching him with glowing eyes and pale faces. The same black markings covered their skin and each wore a dark hooded jacket that wasn't too different from Mercer's, just missing the white bands and red symbol on the back.

And standing out of the crowd directly across from James was a man that looked to be in his late forties, possibly early fifties. He had long pale white hair and red tattoos across his face, his body was covered by a raggedy set of clothes consisting of a brown leather jacket and cut up jeans topped off with a thick gray winter scarf.

"So I take it you're the prophet?" James replied as his hands returned to normal, though his guard did not lower.

"Yes that is what they like to call me." He chuckled, "But you may call me John Smith."

Heller raised an eyebrow, "Quite the unoriginal name you've chosen for yourself, Mr. Smith." He slowly began to pace back and forth before the old man.

"I suppose you're right," He laughed lightly, "But what I used to be called doesn't matter much now, what matters is you." He pointed one think finger at James, "So ask your questions before you learn your purpose here."

James narrowed his eyes, "I'm not here to find out a purpose I came to find Mercer, so tell me where he is."

"Somewhere out in space, on a ship most likely," John shrugged, "Exactly where I cannot say."

"How can you tell that much?" James demanded, "You got some kind of long distance hunter vision?"

"Oh no nothing like that," he waved James off in a friendly manner, "But you could say that we are all linked to our maker, I am just more so than others."

James let his eyes slowly wander over the crowd, "So Mercers plan to create some kind of hive mind didn't fail afterall..."

"Not exactly, you see we were not all directly afflicted by the virus and changed the way you were." He explained, "We can feel each others presence when we are close to one another, but only I could sense it when Alex returned to the world of the living."

Heller nodded slowly in understanding, he may not be able to track down Mercer directly from here but he could get answers, "So... What is all this exactly?" He asked motioning towards all the others around them watching silently.

"They aren't what you think James." John said simply with a smile.

"Really?" He scoffed, "Because it looks like I'm surrounded by a bunch of fucking Evolved mother fuckers."

"And that isn't correct," John shrugged casually, "The Evolved were pawns, evil men convinced to work for Mercer out of their desire for power or revenge, these people surrounding you are not human nor are they evolved."

James turned his gaze back on the old man, "Then what the fuck are you?"

"We prefer, The Protomorphs."

Ever since returning from the mission to Feros, Alex had been occupying himself with looking through the reports that Theus was sending in about Alex's private army. So far they had roughly five hundred soldiers ready to go and three ships, two turian cruisers and one old model Alliance Dreadnought. Not much to work with but better than nothing. And with the Broker funding him he could only gain more.

The training regiments that Theus was putting them through in separate fields was beginning to pay off as well. He had a full crew for all three ships and nearly one hundred fighter pilots fully trained and ready for war while the rest were being prepared for ground operations of any kind. They might not be a very large fighting force but they would be a formidable one.

Alex had also started going over the details of all major colonies in every sector of space from the Attican Traverse to the Council Worlds. He was trying to find out where they were going to hit the hardest and what to expect if fighting in those areas. None of it mattered much to him but his forces would need this intel if they wanted an advantage.

Even now he was going over a few holograms that showed the layouts of Thessia's largest cities. Finding out which buildings would fall first based on structural weaknesses and which would be the best to defend from in the case of a siege.

His thoughts were interrupted however, when the door slid open behind him.

"I'm busy Liara, I'll read the new dossiers later." He grunted not taking his eyes off the city.

"Pardon my intrusion," Alex cocked an eyebrow, that was not Liara, "But I was unsure of when you'd be free to talk."

Turning his head slightly to look back at Shiala he replied, "What do you want?"

Shiala shifted uneasily beneath his gaze and roughly cleared her throat, "Well I... I wanted to apologize for my prior remarks, I spoke with Liara... About you and I-"

"I don't want you're apology," He waved her off and went back to looking at the table, "There's a difference between ignorance and stupidity, fortunately you weren't the latter, else I'd have to kill you." His tone was a bit more amused, clearly enjoying her awkwardness.

Shiala blinked, not sure if he was joking or not, "Very well... If you will not accept the apology, than at least except my thanks for saving my life."

"Broker would've been pissed if I let one of his agents die there." He shrugged casually.

"And somehow I don't think you'd really care if he was." Shiala retorted crossing her arms.

Alex chuckled, "Smart girl, but I meant what I said," He lied, "I'm not a good person, I saved you because it was convenient."

"Well either way I appreciate it, and as of now the Broker has placed me under your command."

Shit.

"So I am to help you with assembly of your forces and whatever other mission the Broker assigns you."

Alex sighed and banged his head against the holo-projector looming over the table, leaving a sizable dent, "Great... If you'll excuse me I need to go have a word with the boss." He grunted and turned towards her, storming past and heading for the Broker's command center.

"The fuck kinda stupid ass name is Protomorph?"

And with eight words the so far silent chamber was filled with explosive laughter. Even the old man was holding his side. James looked around confused at the hooded idiots as the laughter echoed into the darkness. It wasn't any kind of maniacal psychotic laughter he had come to expect from Evolved... It sounded surprisingly human.

"Well Mr. Heller I think it's safe to assume you share a common opinion with many of our kind," Smith chuckled, the laughs dying down, "It sounds bad at first but trust me the name grows on you."

"Right..." James deadpanned as he turned his attention back to John, "So, you mind telling how all this shit happened? Where all you fuckers came from?"

"I would love to, but I would ask that you refrain from such foul language we have children here." He replied, catching James attention once more.

"Hmm, fine, just get on with it."

"Very well," John Smith nodded with a smile, "Follow me and I'll take you to our records room." He turned and started walking, a path clearing as the crowd of "Protomorphs" slowly disbanded and went back to their daily routines.

"Where's Alana?" Heller asked curiously.

"She's on her way back to Omega, her job was just to bring you here."

"Hmm... And why exactly are you so set on having me here?" James questioned suspiciously.

"Because I know why you seek Alex Mercer," John said simply as they entered a separate chamber filled with old filing cabinets and book shelves. Several lights were set up so it was easy enough to see if you placed what you needed on the tables in the center, "And I'm hoping to talk you out of it."

"Fuck no," James said immediately, clenching his fists tightly, "You people may worship that ground that son of a bitch walks on but I know what he's done and I will not let him start another outbreak!"

"Mr. Heller I would ask that you do not raise your voice," John replied calmly as he went to the shelves, "Maybe if you stop yelling and just listen for once you'll understand the truth."

James narrowed his eyes, "Fine, I'll listen to what you have to say..."

"Thank you." He grabbed a file and placed it on the table, "Please have a seat," And James begrudgingly did so, "You know Dana Mercer correct? Alex's sister?"

"Yeah she's the one that helped me bring him down." Heller nodded crossing his arms.

"I am aware," John replied and opened the file, "And did she ever tell you about Alex?"

"She told me they were siblings once, but Alex was crazy and she just didn't know who or what he was anymore."

"But did she tell you about what he used to be?"

And then James hesitated, "..." Unable to remember if he knew anything else about Alex, "No... At the time it didn't matter."

No at the time I just didn't care...

"But now it means everything," John grinned, "You see you are not the only one that knew Dana Mercer, I met her some time before she passed away and surprisingly enough she trusted me despite what I was."

"Okay old man, what did she tell you?"

"That Alex Mercer was a man of many burdens."

"The fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"Let me start from the beginning," He grabbed a few more files and spread them out, "I have had all that we know of our abilities and former lives documented." He added as he found Alex's, "You remember the first outbreak correct? When Blackwatch originally quarantined the city along with the help of the US Army?"

"Yeah I remember," James scoffed, "And I know Alex started that outbreak too."

"But do you know how or why?"

"... No..." And it wasn't like he hadn't tried to find out. After consuming Alex and finding out where his daughter was he'd been unable to get anything else out of his memories that wasn't mashed together with those of other people.

"Well Mr. Heller to put it simply it was an act of exposure," He answered with a smile, "Alex Mercer was fleeing Blackwatch with a sample of the virus, he got cornered in Penn Station and unleashed it in his final moments before being shot down, because he needed the world to see what Blackwatch and Gentek were capable of."

Heller narrowed his eyes as he thought, looking down at the morgue reports and pictures of Alex's hole filled body.

"You were a soldier once Heller so I assume you understand what a weapon like this could have done if it had been allowed to be deployed anywhere else in the world." John continued, "Here however, on an island, it was a perfectly easy to contain."

"So you're saying what Alex did to this place was a good thing?" James demanded.

"Of course not, but it was the lesser of two evils," John scoffed, "You know the beginning now James, are you willing to hear the rest?"

James looked down at the files, eyes flitting between them as his curiosity raised to new heights, "Fine, tell me everything."

Alright next chapter is gonna be a long one so it may take some time. But it will be the ending of this Arc so I hope you're all ready :3 and you might be happy to know that the final chapter is going to revolve entirely around Alex. You wont be seeing any of James until the next arc

On a side note, I recently got a new computer and keyboard and am still adapting so I may have made some worse errors than usual sorry DX