Author's Note: Happy holidays, everyone! Happy Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice, Festivus, Toyotathon, or whatever else you are celebrating this month!

Things have been kind of crazy lately, but they are slowing down now. Thankfully. Hopefully it stays like that. I like being able to find time to write everyday. It's weird to think at the end of the month it will be a year since I posted the first chapter of "Human". I honestly never expected to still be writing this series a year later, let alone that I would make it past the first three chapters of that story. If I have some time, I do want to go back and edit the early chapters of that story since the writing is so inconsistent with the rest of the series, but oh well. With this chapter, this story officially exceeds "Human" in length making it my longest story on here.

Anyway, you're probably more interested in what Samus is doing on LV-426 than what I'm doing to celebrate the end of 2016, so I'll let you get back to the story.

Chapter 24: Inhuman

Samus gently lowered her ship to the ground, hovering it just above the debris-laden streets in the ruins of the colony. She was just glad she was able to find a spot big enough to land it so close to the entrance to the elevator shaft that led down to the bunker where the others were hiding. That would make rescuing them far simpler, and they would be able to pile into her ship and get the hell off LV-426 before anything else had the chance to attack them. Hopefully.

As she landed and put the ship into its docking mode, she stared out at the world through the forward window for a while. She knew it would not take long to get down to the bunker and back, but it still concerned her. There was no telling where the xenomorphs were now, and the fact that it was still light out did not really protect her. It would have been a good time for the powersuit to still be alive and functioning, but unless she could figure out what was wrong with it, that might never be the case again.

Though she did not say anything aloud to Adam, she had some theories about why the suit had stopped functioning and how she might go about fixing that. It made sense when she thought about it, especially in light of the new information about her genetic code. When she had been outfitted with the powersuit, she had been a human-Chozo hybrid. Any other changes to her DNA had occurred while the suit was still part of her body, and they were assimilated into it as well. The moment she had died, however, it had snapped off of her neck, and her body had not incorporated the xenomorph genes until after she and the suit were separated. There was a chance that, like her ship, her suit simply no longer recognized her genetic code.

At least, that was what she hoped. She had no way of knowing. She was not a scientist, and she did not understand Chozo technology much better than the Federation did. But there was someone who did.

Her mind raced back to her encounter with Silver Wing after she had woken up from her death-sleep. She had known the old Chozo back on Zebes, although he was not one of the Zebesian Chozo. He came and went from time to time, bringing goods and information from the other settlements. She had not paid him much mind then. He was one of the more standoffish birds in the flock, and he had never seemed quite comfortable with a human girl living amongst them. If she could have found any of her ancestors living on this moon, he would not have been the one she picked. But he was the one who was here, and he had implied there were others living down in the ruins with him. Samus might not have been an expert on Chozo technology, but she knew Silver was. After all, his visits to Zebes usually meant there was some new test Grey Voice and the others would end up running on her. Or some new battle tactic she would have to learn. Or some new technology they would install on her. Silver's presence always meant an "update" was coming. If there were anyone in the galaxy who would know how to fix her suit, he would be the one.

Once Ripley and the others were safely on board her ship, she would have to go back down into the mines to find him. That was the plan, anyway, even if she wasn't telling Adam about it. She knew he would object, especially to her going down into the mines alone without her powersuit, but she knew she had to do it anyway. When she had first awoken to find Adam and the Chozo staring at her, she had been dead set on simply getting out of there as quickly as possible. Naked and barely able to stand, she had not felt comfortable in the Chozo's presence, especially after realizing her son shared some of her abnormalities and that if Silver had learned of the boy's presence, he might have decided he wanted a new weapon. And Samus knew she had not had the strength to oppose him then.

But now the boy was safe aboard her ship, and even if she didn't have her suit, she was still armed to the teeth with some of the most advanced weaponry to ever come out of Federation territory. She might have still been fighting off the malingering effects of the feeling of betrayal she had felt upon encountering the Chozo again, but she was sure of one thing. She wanted her powersuit back. It may have come from them originally, but it had been hers for three decades, and even if the Space Pirate War was over, she still had work to do. They had built her to become the "Protector of the Galaxy", and even in spite of them, she intended to continue that job.

Figuring out that there were officials in the government actively making attempts on Adam's life and willing to sacrifice sentient beings for bioweapons research did not sit right with her. And if her new enemies were those within the Federation, then so be it. She was getting her suit back and making sure she had every advantage possible before going into that battle. But first, she needed to rescue Ripley's group.

Samus stood up from her seat and looked around the cockpit. She was alone for the moment. Adam had gone to brief Hector on the situation while she flew the ship. She was not sure how much he was telling the boy about what had happened and her new condition, and she was not sure she wanted to know just yet. One thing at a time. At the moment, it was not important whether or not her son knew she had been raised from the dead by alien bird men and now had acid for blood.

As she stepped out of the cockpit and into her living area, she saw Adam and Hector look over at her from the couch. Words could not express how relieving it felt to see them, the two most important people in her life, safely aboard the ship. She walked over and sat on top of the small coffee table that faced the couch.

"We're at the bunker," she said, looking between her son and the General. Adam stared back at her with concern in his gray eyes but otherwise stoic and understanding. Hector looked up at her nervously, fear in his wide eyes. "I'm going to head down there, get Ripley and the others, and bring them back onto this ship. Then we're gonna get out of here."

"Lady…" Adam began, not sure how to continue with what he intended to say. "Are you sure it's wise to go out there… as you are?"

Samus gave him a look that was not quite a glare. "I've recovered. I'm sore still, but I'm fine. I feel strong, and this isn't an errand that's going to take long."

The General nodded, still clearly trying to figure out the best way to broach the topic. "I know you've more or less healed from your injuries. I just don't think it's a good idea for you to go out there alone without the powersuit."

The bounty hunter's look turned into a full glare as she stared at her friend. She knew he would make a fuss over the loss of the armor, but she was prepared. "Adam Malkovich," she began firmly, "I may not have the powersuit anymore, but I am still a well-trained, highly experienced mercenary with the genetic modifications of a super soldier. I've been through eleven years of intense training with the Chozo, time in the Federation Army, and fifteen years working as a mercenary. And for eight of those years I single-handedly took the most extremely dangerous missions the Federation needed completed. And I delivered on every single one of those. I took point during the Phazon Crisis, and I ended the Space Pirate War. I've been through Hell and back… literally. I may not have the powersuit anymore, but I am still Samus Aran. I am more than just a suit of armor."

As she finished speaking, Adam looked at her quietly, his mind still trying to formulate a response. "I know you are more than just the powersuit," he said softly but purposefully. "I've always asserted that you are more than just a weapon, Samus. You know that. But it doesn't change the fact that you are at something of a disadvantage now, and you are more vulnerable to attack if you encounter one of those aliens. Not to mention whatever Portia's up to… I'm not suggesting you stay on the ship. I know I couldn't stop you from going out there even if I wanted to. But please, consider letting me join you. So you have someone watching your back. Hector can stay on the ship and fly it away if need be. But Lady… please consider letting me come with you in case something goes wrong."

Samus stared at Adam for a long moment. "I just got you on this ship. I'm not risking losing you again."

"And I can say the same to you," he replied. "But I'm a General, Samus. I would never order one of my soldiers to go out alone for this kind of thing, and I feel the same about you going out there. I know you're used to working alone, but there is another option right now."

"You have a family, Adam."

The General raised an eyebrow and gestured to her son sitting next to him.

"Um," Hector muttered as he stared at the mercenary. "I'm right here, you know… I'm still a thing…"

Adam nodded. "And what about Morrigan? And your… um, relationship? With Officer Rodriguez?"

"I don't think 'relationship' is the right word," Samus replied. "It's more like an 'it's complicated'. And okay, yeah, I see your point."

"So let me go down with you to the bunker," Adam said.

Samus rolled her eyes and grunted. "Fine. Go in my room and grab some guns. Whichever you want, I don't really care. They seem to dislike heat and fire so I'd recommend something based on that."

Adam smiled as he stood up. "Thank you, Lady."

Samus made a noise and shook her head, but she also stood up and followed him into the bedroom. She already had five handguns on her belt and holsters. She turned to the three rifles she had laid out on her bed earlier.

"Pick one of those," she said to Adam, gesturing to the rifles. "Those are the three I think would be best."

The General nodded and surveyed the rifles. He selected one and strapped it to his back. Samus took the other two and waited as he outfitted himself with some backup firearms. She still didn't approve of him coming with her, but she knew he had a point. If there was the option to have someone watching her back, she should take it, same as she would do for him. It was a pretty standard protocol.

When they had finished arming themselves and bid goodbye to Hector, Samus led the way to the hatch so they could exit the ship. While she did not want to say anything, it did make her feel better to know the General would be watching her back. Even if she was a very experienced mercenary, she still felt naked without her powersuit. She may not have needed it for every mission, but she would not have tried to navigate LV-426 without it. After all, she had managed to get herself killed even with the armor. Going back into battle without it seemed like a spectacularly bad idea, but she didn't have a choice, and hopefully it would not take long to rescue Ripley's group.

As they stood atop the ship, she surveyed the desolate colony before her. Burned down buildings and gray ash littered the landscape, and the sun cast a sickly orange light over everything that made it seem as if it were still slowly smoldering away. The wind blew through her hair, even as it was tied back, and she could feel it on her face. The air smelled of sulfur and decay, and it was cold and raw. It felt strange to be suddenly so exposed to the elements after spending so much of her time here in the protection of the powersuit.

Samus took her plasma rifle in her hands, locked and loaded. It was hardly a substitute for her usual firepower, but having it made her feel more secure nonetheless. Its metallic finish felt familiar in her hands. She had used this piece in combat before, on missions when she had elected not to use her armor and give away her identity. It was a sturdy, reliable gun, and it had served her well over the years, even if it could not compare to the suit.

"You ready?" she asked Adam as she stared at the building that housed the elevator shaft down to the bunker.

"Whenever you are," he replied.

Samus nodded and used her watch to interface with the ship and summon a light platform similar to the one they had ridden up on. She felt fine to jump off the ship, but she knew Adam's body could not handle that impact. As they rode to the ground together on the light platform, neither one said anything. Samus's senses were on high alert and sharply in tune with the world around her. Since incorporating the xenomorph genes, her hearing had taken on a much higher definition and had gained a phenomenal three-dimensional quality. She could hear everything around her and pinpoint the origins of the sounds like never before, even small sounds she had never heard before. Every rattling pebble and drop of moisture became part of a three-dimensional landscape that she could almost see as clearly as if she were using her eyes.

Nothing stirred around them as Samus and Adam stepped off of the platform and walked toward the building, guns at the ready. The General stayed a few steps behind the mercenary, letting her take the lead as they entered. Samus moved slowly, diligently checking her blind spots as she rounded every corner and keeping her weapon at optimal accessibility. She moved with the intense level of caution of someone all too aware of their own mortality. But as they entered the building, she knew the lobby was empty. She could neither see nor hear any sign of alien life, and she led Adam to the elevator. Once more, she was silent as they traveled down the shaft, thinking to herself of the long elevator rides she had taken on her solo missions and how they were times she used to quietly reflect on her situation.

Once they reached the bottom, she stepped purposefully in front of Adam as the doors opened to reveal the base of the shaft and the hatch down to the bunker. As they walked out of the elevator, she put an arm out in front of the General and froze.

"There was a xenomorph here," she said quietly, focusing on taking in every aspect of her surroundings. "I can smell it."

"You can… smell it?"

Samus nodded. There was obviously nothing in the tiny chamber now, but she could detect signs of what had happened in there previously. "And there was a firefight. I can smell the gunfire… At least two types."

Adam stared expectantly at the mercenary. "Is that… normal?"

She shook her head. "Not at all. This is definitely part of the upgrade." As the General continued to stare at her, the mercenary turned to the hatch in the ground. "Guess it's time to get them out of there."

As the two of them walked over to the hatch and Samus knelt to open it, they realized that it was locked from the outside. Samus's heart rate sped up as she wondered what had happened. Her mind immediately jumped to Portia as she tried to sort out what motivation the doctor would have to lock them down there. She wondered if Portia had brought eggs down there and had trapped the others so they would be impregnated, and if that were the case, what she would find.

Without hesitation, the mercenary opened the hatch and shined her rifle's light inside the bunker. For a moment, nothing moved, but she could hear the quiet sounds of hushed breathing coming from within.

"Ripley?" she called. "Newt? Vasquez? Who's down there?"

No one responded, but the quiet sound of slow breathing continued, and she wondered if whoever was down there had lost consciousness. Not wasting a second, Samus climbed down the ladder into the bunker, searching for the source of the breathing as she stepped inside the dark steel room.

"Ripley?"

It did not take her long to hear the sudden shift in the breathing, and it was only by grace of her new senses that she was able to dodge out of the way in time as a fully-grown xenomorph lunged toward her. Samus jumped back into the bunker, barely avoiding the alien's claws as she opened fire on it.

"Adam, run!" she called up, hoping the General could hear her.

The creature screamed in its shrill double-mouthed way, and the cacophony of shrieks bounced off of the walls, creating a painful echo chamber.

Samus ignored the sounds as best she could while trying to aim at the alien, but it was fast, and her plasma rifle was nowhere near as fast as the plasma beam had been. For a creature so large and skeletal, the xenomorph could move preternaturally fast, and the mercenary found herself having to take more time to dodge its oncoming attacks than she could spend shooting at it as they began a sort of deadly dance through the deserted bunker. Every time Samus was able to fire off a shot, the creature had already changed directions, and its shiny black exoskeleton blended into the darkness.

As Samus's shots missed the xenomorph, most flew straight into the steel walls, superheating the metal room, and the bounty hunter could feel sweat running down her face. Without the varia suit, she had no protection from the heat. When she realized there was no way the battle in the small space could end well for her, she made a dash for the hatch, but her arm was met with a painful cut from the xenomorph's tail, forcing her backward as the alien rounded in on her and charged.

But Samus barely reacted to the pain, and as it rushed toward her, she took the opportunity to fire a burst of plasma straight into its face. The creature reared up and screamed, but it moved before the rifle could get out another shot. As Samus barely dodged the alien's next strike, her shot completely missed the creature, hitting a bunch of crates in the far corner and setting them on fire. As the crates and other supplies in the small room began going up in flames, the bunker filled with a thick, dark smoke.

Samus knew she would not survive long as the flames ate through the oxygen of the superheated room, but she could not see through the smoke where her enemy was. As the bounty hunter made another attempt for the hatch, she collided full force with one of the xenomorph's long, back arms. It easily threw her back into the burning bunker as though she were a toy, and the bounty hunter landed hard on her rifle.

Taking the opportunity, the xenomorph scrambled out of the hatch, leaving the hunter behind. It may not have needed oxygen the same way she did, but it could not take the rising temperature either. It had planned to run up the elevator shaft, but something caught its attention as it made its way out of the bunker.

"Lady?" a man's voice called out as it approached the opening in the ground.

Knowing the human male would not be able to see it through the billows of smoke rising through the opening, the creature rushed forward and swiped him hard across his midsection.

Adam did not have time to dodge the oncoming blow completey, and by the time he realized what was happening, he only had time to jump back as the creature threw him clear across the little room toward the base of the elevator. As pain shot through his body, the General tried to get up, propping himself up on one arm and scrambling to ready his rifle as the alien came toward him to deliver the death strike.

But the strike never came. From behind the xenomorph, he could hear a primal scream, and a small blur rushed out from behind it, planting itself firmly between the General and the charging xenomorph. As soon as he realized this new combatant was Samus, he saw her lunge forward into the charging xenomorph and make contact. With a scream of rage, the bounty hunter punched the alien across its hard, eyeless face, and the creature flew backward into a wall. As it was momentarily stunned, Samus responded by opening a shower of rapid-fire plasma shots into its body.

As it backed off and wailed in pain at the barrage of superheated blasts, Samus charged forward, forcing it back down toward the hatch. When it was standing close enough to the edge, the bounty hunter ceased her fire and simply whacked it as hard as she could with the butt of her rifle, throwing it back down into the bunker and sending a barrage of plasma down with it. Without hesitation, she slammed the hatch closed and locked it, trapping the creature within. She could hear its tortured screams as it burned to death in the inferno below.

As soon as she was finished with that, she turned her attention back to Adam. The General still lay on the ground, coughing at the smoke filling the room. He seemed stunned, but not badly hurt, and there was no visible blood. Samus did not even have time to think before he was in her arms and she carried him quickly into the elevator and hit the hologram to bring them back to the surface.

Once the doors of the elevator were closed, it was much less smoky than it had been at the base of the shaft, and she slowly let the General down and helped him to stand.

"Are you all right, Lady?" He asked as he leaned on her shoulder and tried to stabilize himself.

Samus didn't answer. She just looked at him and made a barely audible noise.

It was not until they were back up to the surface and standing in the lobby of the building that he attempted to speak to her again.

"Thank you for protecting me, Samus." He watched her as she looked around the room and seemed to be listening for something.

"It wasn't a problem," she replied tersely as she led him out of the building and back toward her ship. As she looked up at the ship and back toward the General, she seemed to make up her mind about something very quickly. Not bothering with the light platform, she simply scooped the man back up into her arms again and jumped to the top of her ship, setting him down beside the entry hatch.

Adam stared at his friend in shock, and he was quiet for a long minute as he studied her. There was an absolutely wild look in her eyes, and her whole body seemed tense and rigid. There was something distinctly inhuman about the way the mercenary carried herself as they descended into the medical bay and walked out into her living cabin.

"Samus," he began, but she cut him off with a glare.

"Cockpit," she shot back, ignoring the curious looks of Hector and Archer from the couch.

The General followed her quietly into the cockpit, locking the door behind him. "What's wrong, Samus?"

She shook her head and closed her eyes for a moment. After a few seconds, her fist flew out and punched a dent into one of the walls. Her whole body trembled in rage, and she seemed to be struggling to control herself as she stood with her fist in the wall.

"I'm sorry," she said after a moment. "I'm just… I'm just really fucking angry."

"I can see that," he replied softly, but he did not approach her.

"I just punched a wall," she said in a dull monotone, more to herself than to him as she stared at her fist, still pressed into the dent.

"Yes," Adam said, slowly moving toward her and eventually placing a hand on her back. "You also punched a xenomorph earlier. It… certainly seems like your strength has returned."

Samus nodded slowly and closed her eyes as she felt his hand move gently across her back. "I wasn't expecting this rage… it just happened… It reminded me of when I was first corrupted by phazon and I had this… bloodlust developing."

"How are you doing now?"

Samus opened her eyes, assessing the damage to the wall and where blood from little cuts in her knuckles had started to eat away at the metal. It was not enough to do any real damage, but it was enough to catch her eye. "I don't know what's happening to me. I'm turning into one of those things… I screamed at one point and didn't even recognize the sound." She turned away from the wall, brushing Adam's hand off as she walked over to the pilot's chair and sat down. "Ripley and the others had already left the bunker. There's no telling where they are."

"Perhaps," Adam ventured slowly, unable to read his companion, "we should abort this mission and call in backup."

Samus shot him a glare. "From whom? For all we know, half the government is overrun with traitors who want you dead, and no other team has done well coming here. I'm finishing this mission. Period."

"And how do you propose we do that?"

"I find people. That's what I do. I'll find Ripley's group." She input a set of coordinates and put the ship in gear. "But first we're going back to the Chozo mines."

"What?" Adam looked genuinely surprised.

"I'm going to find Silver Wing and have him fix my powersuit. This is bullshit, and I'm not leaving this moon until I either find Ripley's group or I find their bodies. And I'm not leaving without finding out if I can restore my powersuit. It's bad enough I'm losing my humanity. I'm not losing that too!"

The General watched her quietly as the ship took off and began its flight over to the Chozo ruins. "Lady, is that something you actually feel is happening? That you're losing your humanity?"

Samus shrugged as she stared out the forward window. "I don't know. I just know the past couple of days have brought a lot of changes, and a lot of the things I believed in and took for granted just weren't real. And now my body is changing, so could this alien blood be affecting my mind too? Is that why I flew into such a rage down there and punched a fucking xenomorph?"

Adam knelt beside her seat and placed his hand on her forearm. "I don't think you're losing your humanity, Samus. I think you just have an awful temper, and you're extremely frustrated right now so it's being set off more easily. I've known you enough years to know that you flying into a rage and punching things is by no means out of the ordinary."

Samus snorted and smiled half-heartedly. "So that's all it is, eh? My personality has always been this shitty?"

Adam laughed and shook his head. "That's not the word I would use to describe it, but you get the general idea. I think you just need some answers, and if heading back to see Silver Wing is what you think will help with all this and that you could restore the powersuit, then that's what you should do."

The bounty hunter nodded as she watched the mines come into view from her front window. "Thank you, Adam. I know it probably doesn't seem like much but knowing that you don't think I'm turning into a monster means a lot to me."

He smiled as he stood. "Anytime, Lady."

As the ship set down in the mines, Samus scanned the area for any signs of hostile life. When it looked clear as far as she could see, she stood up and picked up her rifle. Turning to the General, she smirked. "Time to get those answers."