Chapter 29 – That Meeting and a new friend

Finally, it was time.

James Heller stood atop a complex made out of several buildings, small apartments and shops attached to them. He stood there, overlooking a small military Command Centre. His eyes were sharp, like a blade's, as he scoured the surroundings, identifying what he could down to the last detail. There was a large, 12 feet tall wall surrounding the complex, and if one were to look at it from a bird's eye view they would see it as shaped with a Vertical rectangle, an arch and a larger rectangle. Floating about the airspace above the Command Centre were UAV Drones, ones meant to detect any sign of the infection attacking. They'd done a better job than the Viral Scanners in detecting infected threats, thus Rooks favoured those UAV's more than the Viral Scanners, hence why they were more numerous.

There was a single checkpoint that lead inside the Command Centre, guarded by Marine soldiers. They each held the standard equipment for their Corp: an M16A4 Rifle, with their attires being light green camo uniforms, with tactical Kevlar armoured vests and black facemasks to protect them from the elements. On top of their heads were hard black Kevlar helmets, held onto their heads by black straps. Some wore gloves, others didn't. Seeing them again brought waves of nostalgia through the man, memories of his time in the Military. He may not have been the most sociable of Marines after what happened, but the US Marines still had a big impact on his life. They were scattered through the Compound, all the way to the Checkpoint. 'Probably in the interest of co-operation… though those poor bastards don't look too pleased about it.' James thought to himself, noticing the irritation flashing through the eyes of several Marines.

The tell-tale ringing of a Phone call sounded from within his jacket, though James knew who it was before he even looked at the screen. His internal clock had told him that Guerra would be calling at this time, something they had discussed over the phone before him coming here. Putting the Phone to his ear, James pressed the answer button while the call connected. Once it did, Guerra's voice promptly cut through the line.

"James, according to that personnel database, Rooks is holding a private briefing in his command centre in a few minutes."

"Good." James responded, rolling his eyes as he kneeled over the ledge. He surveyed the area intently, eyeing the Marines and the few Blackwatch troops mixed in with the defences. He even eyed several UAVs that flew over the checkpoint. "Getting tired of running after this guy."

"Listen to me. Those bases are on high alert. Ever since that Infected Lair skyrocketed in activity, a whole lot more was detected in the others. Its got them spooked, so they're more paranoid than usual. You're going to need a Military disguise to get inside unnoticed."

A wry smirk just refused to stay contained as it spread across his lips. Really, it was almost funny that Guerra thought that this would be difficult. While those UAVs would likely be a small hindrance, that would be all they were. He'd get in easy. "Shouldn't be a problem." The way he said that before ending the call sounded so much like a Predator about to capture his prey, a trait that he'd gained from his Infection. He'd briefly noted how the Priest shuddered on the other end, his Blacklight senses picking up slight rattling sounds on the other end.

Pocketing his Phone back into his Jacket, James resumed his scouting if the perimeter. Just as he did that, James glanced to the side and noticed a Blackwatch soldier conversing with a Marine around a corner, away from most of the prying eyes, or rather the two seemed to be arguing about something. 'That'd be plenty… now to wait till they have finished arguing and break off…' the man thought, a flash of annoyance pulsing through his chest at the thought of having to wait. Though, he pushed it down since he was used to waiting at this point.

While he was waiting, James' mind wandered back to what happened that lead to this point. The last few days that passed till this meeting would be held were… interesting, to say the least. After the little spat Sophie and the kid had, they had been working overtime to try and develop a sizable force that could help protect their Lairs when the time come. They would work together to come up with some ideas for their forces, Sophie even going as far as to grab reference material from the internet, something that drew the kid's attention like a moth to a flame. These things would be happening within their Lairs, hopefully that would dissuade the others from waging war on their asses for a while longer, at least.

Yep, that's right, THEIR Lairs.

Apparently, the kid felt that it would be best for that crazy woman to have a Lair of her own, since he wanted to get used to these commanding abilities first. He didn't have the confidence that he could control multiple Lairs yet, and Sophie once compared it to a beginning Gamer on a RTS Game. How they would hesitate a lot before making their moves. James honestly dreaded what kind of creatures she may end up making, as even with the fact that thanks to the Blacklight Virus, each of them had a strong degree of biological understanding. Probably a mutation that happened during their infection, as despite its workings, the fact of the matter was Blacklight is Redlight's successor, so it had to inherit some of its traits. One such trait: making infected.

The virus didn't like losing its Biomass for any purpose, the way that Adam struggled to transfer his own power to his big sister figure was proof enough. But, it seemed to tolerate it better if the Biomass was used to create more vessels to spread its taint across open space. Though the kid had planned to have only the Lairs make their Broods, using the Biomass they seemed to accumulate over time. Through some examination via consumption, the kid had discovered its potential in creating powerful creatures for them to use.

Their plan was to have Lairs to call their own, yet would answer to the kid above all else as he was the Kéntro of their Hivemind. It was like a tree, the kid was a trunk, him and Sophie the branches, while their Broods were the leaves that spawned from said branches. Yep, that was what Sophie decided to call their own batch of creations, 'Broods'. Each of them would have a Brood of creatures to command at their leisure, though they each had to have a Lair first. Lairs WERE the generals that issued commands to the infected according to Próta after all. While it would be possible for them to control their creations through their own doing, that would take no small amount of evolution to achieve.

'Ugh, all this science malarkey's really fucking annoying…' James snarled, shaking his head to stop those thoughts from continuing. He had then decided to focus on getting inside the facility, something that would be easy for him to do considering what he was. He'd just have to be a bit more careful than before. James didn't show it, but apprehension filled his gut about having to fight his former US Marine comrades. They were innocent in all this, Blackwatch he could handle since they were cold assholes, but the Marines did their best to be good peacekeepers. They didn't deserve to die the way he planned for the Blackwatch troops.

It had been delved into by Sophie ands the kid, but apparently the ascension into a Prototype changed not just their bodies, but their minds as well. They still retained their original selves, memories etc (thank god for that, James had to remark when he found out) but the virus had implanted its own influences, making parts of them think more like a virus would than a human's. Nothing like 'I must infect everything in sight like the disease I am' like Mercer and Redlight though, more like a scientific standpoint, and the level of influence it had varied from person to person. Proof was found in how the kid seemed to sometimes go off into his own little world while designing his Brood's creatures. On the other hand, Sophie wouldn't think about it so hard, but she did put significant thought that she adopted a glazed over expression when she lost herself, though she snapped out of it much easier than the kid did.

Before he could ponder any more, James saw that the argument seemed to be over. The Marine turned on his boots and began stomping his way back around to his post at the Checkpoint, while the Blackwatch soldier just huffed while shrugging his shoulders. His Blacklight senses could have picked up their argument so he knew wat the fuck they were going on about, but A: James honestly didn't give a shit about that, and B: he'd been too focused on reminiscing to notice and even if he wasn't, the man probably wouldn't have followed the argument at this point anyways. Tendrils rippled over him at the thought as he stood from the ledge and turned to the left.

Hopping off the ledge, the man landed on the ground below with a loud THUD. Fortunately, there were no soldiers within the vicinity that would have heard something like that, so James managed to duck behind a few backward paths without being detected. He made his way through the streets, going around till he was directly opposite the Command Centre's flank before he made his way over.

His target, the Blackwatch Soldier, was facing a different direction, unaware of the fat soon to befall him. Thanks to skilled Biomass manipulation, James made no sound in his movements as he closed the distance between them. Soon enough though, that changed once he spotted a large shadow looming above him from behind, and when he turned around to identify the source, expecting it to be just another Marine…

All he saw was a single flurry of Tendrils before he knew no more


After consuming that Soldier, relieving his memories as a child murderer but got into Blackwatch to get away from the Law, James made his way inside the base, consumed the Base's commander to get access inside, and entered the main facility. There was little lighting save for some rectangular shaped lights located on the ceiling, with some alarms faintly glowing red. There were fire escapes and other exits marked by glowing signs, but James didn't pay too much attention, as the Base Commander's memories would keep that information locked inside for later use. Through those memories though, James managed to navigate through the building till he was walking behind squad of other soldiers, each of them looking exactly like clones of his current disguise. 'Heh, cute…' James mentally remarked with a sarcastic scoff.

He stuck to the back of the group as they made their way along a dark corridor, where up ahead they could see a bunch of monitors showing various sizes of some Blackwatch symbols, and a large table in the centre, showing a large-scale map of NYZ. The monitors lighting illuminated the briefing room, and James almost salivated at the anticipation of finally getting some of his own back against the fucker that tried to have him killed so long ago. Tendrils even rippled across his back from the excitement, forcing the man to calm himself down lest he be discovered. As the Tendrils settled, James and the unsuspecting Blackwatch troops stopped before the Table, waiting for the briefing to start.

To his fortune, it didn't take very long to start, barley a second before the man himself, Colonel Douglas Rooks who had been at one od the monsters, noticed them approaching and immediately began the briefing. "Alright, listen up. We have a new mission." He began, walking away from the monitor over to the large table till he was right in the middle of it. He faced his men with eyes as cold and indifferent as when he was watching infected tear apart test subjects during experiments.

James mentally forced himself to keep calm and not shoot the man on the spot. He had the Base Commander's rifle, having kept it on his person to avoid suspicion. Though he honestly didn't feel…. Right, holding a manmade weapon when he could just morph a weapon far superior to it. Though, it helped that he too wondered what this new mission of these guys could be. The possibility that he could fuck up more of their shit helped mitigate his desire to end the man right this minute.

All the while, Rooks had no clue of James' thoughts or presence as he made his way across the other side of the briefing room. "Gentek's planning some new high-risk field tests in response to te erratic behaviour from the Lairs. They've modified their protocol's on infected vs civilians." He paused in his pacing after saying that, turning fully to face them while holding his hands like he was holding a chopped log by both its ends. "Expect a body count increase."

'Looks like the kid was spot on…' James thought, frowning. Before he had come here, the kid had talked to him and suggested that the meeting may be about something to do with the Lairs. It was stupid of them to think that Blackwatch wouldn't notice, as even if they were incompetent and weak in comparison to the Infected (something that both him and Sophie agreed with) they still held control over the Yellow Zone for a reason. His theory was supported by quips from Próta, and even now he could sense the kid and Sophie's mental presence through their Hivemind. Odds were, they were looking through his senses to see what the meeting was about as well, a skill that Próta informed them that they could do since they were all to be controllers of their own broods.

Like the kid suspected, these guys had indeed picked up the signs of Lair activity coming from the ones not under the kid's thumb and were quickly set too paranoid. His mind briefly wondered how, and James glanced about to see several Monitors showing sonar screens. They must have either scanned the Lairs through electronics or had research teams there but pulled them out before the Lairs could trap them like the second kid-controlled one did. The result: They were changing their tactics, or at least doing their experiments with extra caution than before. Not that it would matter in the end, since they now knew what these guys would be up to.

Unaware of his thoughts, Rooks continued on with his briefing while the soldiers silently listened. "This is a high clearance detail. You are to report ASAP to Doctor Shaffeld. He'll give you the test site location. Dismissed." In the end, Rooks finished with a salute as the Soldiers all nodded, saluting him before they all turned to head off on their assignment. James however, remained put as he wanted to get a shot off on the man that tried to kill him.

'Wait, James, don't kill him yet!'

The kid's voice however, stopped him and made James lower his rifle in surprise. Another perk to being part of this kid's Hivemind, their ability to communicate telepathically. 'What are you talking about kid, we have a shot at killing that motherfucker, don't tell me you're getting cold feet!' he shouted mentally. Good thing his disguise came with a gas mask, otherwise he'd look real stupid right now, looking like he was having a moment of constipation.

'Simple, he's of more use to us alive. As long as we have him keeping Blackwatch busy, we can fuck up their experiments and expose them to some god old fashioned royal beatdowns in the future. We don't need to sever this beast's head just yet, not when the main enemy, the Lairs, are close to deciding whether or not to wage war on our asses. Fighting two wars at once will greatly tax us. Also, if he dies, then his Lieutenant Riley will take position as leader since he's Rooks' second-in-command according to these Blackwatch goons' memories. That guy is WAY crueller than Rooks by a wide margin, even you should know that. Believe me though, if this were different I'd gladly want to rip him apart myself.'

James barely restrained himself from snarling in anger and frustration, cause despite the man's urges to rip Rooks limb from limb, he could still see how the kid had a point. Or rather, points, and good ones. It would be better if they didn't have to deal with a headless Blackwatch for the time being. A crazy Blackwatch, or crazier than normal, would be unpredictable. Too unpredictable, not to mention their situation was still quite delicate, they couldn't afford any unforeseen problems when their forces were still being developed to combat the other Lairs. Under normal circumstances, they'd be able to beat those asses head on, but with two separate enemies to worry about it changed things a little. It would be best for them to play it safe for the time being.

Besides, getting the chance to screw them over constantly never hurt anyone, did it?

His thoughts got broken when he felt a hand tap on the armour plate that resided over his right shoulder. H mentally forced himself not to shudder as it felt more like his bare shoulder was being touched, thanks to his form being artificially made from his own Biomass. It was essentially another layer of skin, he could feel everything on it as if it were his base skin, if that made any sense. Looking to the source of the (un) welcome intrusion, James saw that one of their soldiers had returned to get him, for what reason James didn't know or care about. "Come on, lets go." The Soldier urged him, before walking back to the others.

In the end, James released a huff as he begrudgingly decided against killing Rooks right now. Though, in his mind he mentally vowed that one day, Rooks would hopefully outlive his usefulness, so he could gut him on the business end of his claws.


Back in the Lair, Adam gave a sigh as he sensed the irritated James Heller making to leave the Blackwatch Commander of NYZ alone for the time being. It had been a hard decision for him too, and he got the feeling that James knew this too. Goddamn, it took all his willpower to interrupt the man before he could kill that son of a bitch, but like he said to Rooks, if Blackwatch became too unpredictable, it would impede their efforts to combat the REAL enemy that is the other infected Lairs. Próta had been listening on their communications, and told him how they were getting close to a decision…. Not a good one form them, unfortunately.

"Hey…" Adam's brow rose as he pulled himself from his thoughts, turning to look over to Sophie who put a supportive hand on his shoulder. The teen leaned into it, the contact being like a sweet relief to him. If this were any other person, then Adam could see himself severing that person's limb off their body the spearing them, consuming them right after. Just went to showcase just how much Adam was valuing Sophie as his big sister figure, huh? "You alright?"

A slow, heavy sigh escaped Adam's lips as he regarded the woman wearily. "Yeah… I'll be fine. Just made a hard decision, that's all." He told her, and that was all she needed it figure out what was going on. Hell, he didn't even need to tell her that, since she was doing the same thing he had been just a few seconds ago and had heard the entire conversation.

"Yeah, I get that." She admitted with an understanding frown. "It was a hard call, one that if I were in your shoes, I probably wouldn't have been able to make." Yeah, that was also a stinger to admit, but it was no less the truth. Sophie didn't see herself as leadership material. That was why she never raised above anything beyond a Corporal, and even then, it was mostly circumstance that got her promoted then at all. She was fine with that, honestly, but still she could understand what it was like for the leaders who made tough calls on the battlefield. They were people she could respect for having the guts to do something like that, to decide on the more practical solution rather than the one that benefited them personally. It showed a lack of selfishness, as well as the ability to see the bigger picture, something that her little brother apparently seemed to have.

Made sense, considering he had to do stuff like this to survive for the first two months. The last few days, he had been slightly more open t her, not telling her his name unfortunately, but he did talk to Sophie about what happened before they met. How he had to force himself to make tough decisions, plan things out to keep himself out of Blackwatch's spotlight while avoiding Mercer. Though, that last bit usually ended up I failure every time, something that frustrated the male to no end. It forced him a set of skills that normally, kids his age wouldn't even dream of having.

In a sense, she could relate to that, as she remembered a time when she had to understand those skills herself. Though, she didn't like thinking about it, to be honest.

After a few moments, Adam took a few deep breaths while his big sister stayed beside him, calming down after what he had to do for the sake of their ongoing preparations. Afterwards, the male gave a hopeful, if slightly weak, smirk to the woman. "Looking on the bright side though, now James gets a chance to royally screw Blackwatch and Gentek over like they were nothing but dirty, useless underwear."

Sophie let out a bark of laughter at that, holding her stomach with her hands, before she stopped after a few seconds and gave him an amused grin. "Yep, true that. Now then, I believe we were finishing up your first beast's form?"

"Yep, we were."


By the time that they arrived, James was one second away from going on a bloodlust-filled rampage.

As if the annoyance caused by not being able to kill Rooks wasn't enough (even worse, he couldn't keep being angry at the kid thanks to the points he made), these Blackwatch fuckers just LOVED to talk about women they've screwed over, either with permission or without. They had first exited the building into the main yard, where one of Blackwatch's APC's were waiting for them to take the soldiers to Dr Sheffeld's location. Said location apparently was a secured area called 'Camp Julia' about 30 minutes' drive in the APC in the northern section of Fairview.

The trip, that would have lasted 30 minutes, was also extended when they were repeatedly forced to halt to collect additional troops from various field ops being conducted around areas that were once hot spots for infected. James mentally made notes of where these Ops were so that he could return to rip them apart later.

Still, the journey's annoyances didn't end there, there were some of these guys who liked targeting underage girls, as young as 12 for their desires. He was forced to keep character while listening to them go on and on about their 'activities', even forced to fake laughter when they remarked about it like it was a joke. To him, the end of this little road trip couldn't come fast enough, and once it did… oh, how heads would roll, and blood would be shed. He swore he could feel his claws beginning to morph into existence from his arms.

Currently, James stood in his Blackwatch disguise at the Camp's entrance. Camp Julia looked to be pretty spacious, like a back-alley yard walled off from the public. Crates filled with explosives dotted the area, likely so charges could be used for any of the bigger infected that might show up. There were steel cages lined up along the sides of the walls, filled with Gentek's 'Subjects'. The sounds of rattling filled the air as some of the trapped civilians tried to cause a ruckus, only for soldier nearby to shoot the ground near them as a warning to shut the fuck up.

After dropping off the troops, of which a couple were still standing beside him, the APC had departed back to Rooks' Command Centre, the lucky prick. That bastard had unknowingly escaped the slaughter that would be taking place. No matter, James would be fine dining on their flesh today, but for now he had a couple things to do.

Taking out his phone (while making sure that the volume was low enough that the soldiers wouldn't hear) James pressed the call button for Guerra, putting the Phone to his ear. Soon enough, the call connected, and the man gave a curt, but neutral, greeting. His tone was hushed though. "Father."

"James! Did you… do what you need to, to Rooks?"

Oh, how he wished. However, the kid was right, he could admit that. Now that he wasn't near any of those assholes on the APC, James felt much calmer than he did before. Not saying that he was going to change his plans, oh hell no, but he could somewhat think clearer now. Since he could do that, he felt a little better with the alternative. "I'm thinking that he'd be of more use to us alive. Right now, I'm looking for this Gentek Doctor named Shaffeld. He's doing tests on civilians."

"I know this man. He's working with Doctor Bellamy, injecting civilians with infected DNA."

Almost as if those words were triggers, James suddenly went wide-eyed as images flashed through his mind. Images showing various syringes injecting some liquid into the arms of unwilling civilians strapped down on tables. They'd then scream, writhe and thrash against their restraint as the virus began to work on their bodies, mutating them till they resembled nothing more than their former selves.

'Whoops! Sorry about that!'

The frantic message from te kid came to him with heavy undertones of panic. The man felt the images retreat through the link seconds later though, nearly causing him to growl at the displeasure of seeing something like that. 'Any reason WHY you saw fit to show me that, kid?' he asked through clenched teeth.

'S-Sorry, uh, when Guerra said that stuff about infected DNA, I kinda flipped my lid and accidentally sent those to you.'

James would have scolded him more for that, but instead, he chose to sigh and let it go. He couldn't blame the kid for being angry, it still pissed him off to no end what those fuckers did, and BOTH of them could see those memories as clear as crystal. Only thing was, the kid was a teenager while James was a seasoned war veteran. One of them had better control over the other. Even if one had to mature over 2 months of survival.

Soon enough though, his mind returned to Guerra as he continued speaking, likely having tried to regain his composure after some memories of seeing such shit.

"You need to stop those Tests, James. Anyone who is involved with this research needs to be… how you say – dealt with."

Now THAT was something James wanted to hear all day, and it showed with how gleeful he sounded when he ended the call with one last parting one-liner. "That's my specialty." Pocketing his Phone, James looked up to the other soldiers, already deciding on which to attack first: All of them at once. The man instantly shifted his form into his true self, shifting his arms into his Riflefists. He would have gone with his claws, but he just felt the need to blast these fuckers' heads open. This wasn't just his virus instincts speaking, but his desires as a man, a man whom had… sorta alright morals, and a man who wanted vengeance with a passion.

A fierce storm was coming… for Blackwatch that is.

Quickly, James raised both Riflefists and began opening fire, shredding through the unsuspecting soldiers like they were nothing but pieces of cardboard. This alerted the rest of the soldiers to James' presence, and all hell broke loose. Sounds echoed through the Camp, but James was already on a roll.

"Red Crown, we have James Heller at Camp Julia, repeat: We have James Heller!" A soldier yelled in a panic as he reported into his intercom while trying not to get shredded by the barrage of Gunfire. He failed seconds later, as bullets tore through him like he was nothing but swiss cheese.

One Scientist, located by a cage filled with civilians, almost stumbled over as he tried to scramble away. "Oh my god, what do we do?!" he shrieked, almost losing control over his bladder.

Ew.

"We have a hostile! Guard the research team!"

Nothing of this registered in his mind as more than blabber, he would be showing zero mercy today. Not after all the shit he had heard about from these assholes. This would be karma paying them a visit and yelling 'Surprise, bitch! You thought you were rid of me?!' James darted about, forming his Armour in seconds as the rush of wind following his rapid movements would have impeded his vision otherwise. Tunnel Vision, basically. His form was like a blur as he jumped and darted about the camp, showering everything with organic rounds. He'd use the terrain to his advantage, jumping off crates, running along the walls, and generally being that annoying little bug that refused to stay down. Bullets flew by him, barely even denting his Armour while he repaid them in kind. His goal was to box the soldiers in, and by doing so containing his real prize: the research team of Doctor Shaffeld.

For that moment, James had never felt so glad to be ripping Blackwatch apart than right now.

His instincts told him there would be more to come as well.

A few moments filled with the blood and horrified screams of his victims later, James felt something within his gut as his senses alerted him to his Riflefists being too low on Biomass, evident by how much the sack-like parts were sagging horribly right now. The man scoffed, shifting them into his claws as he once again resumed the slaughter, bounding through the camp until he managed to snag his first Scientist by launching a feint to draw Blackwatch troops away from the cowering scientists.

"Please, don't kill me! I beg you, please lemme go!"

"I'll think about it… nope!"

With that pathetic plea from the scientist shot down like an airplane via anti air batteries, James snarled as he ripped the Scientist in half after plunging both claws into his chest. Tendrils lunged forth from him, pulling the pieces inside while he stored the man's memories away for later use. He could sense that the kid was looking through them via their shared mind link, same with Sophie, but he didn't pay that too much attention.

He was already gorging himself on some Soldiers who'd tried to take pot shots at him from behind in the next few seconds. All the while, James barely heard a Soldier touch his radio, speaking to someone he soon found was Doctor Shaffeld in an urgent manner. "Shaffeld, this is Viper Two-Three, James Heller is eating your scientists!'

Mentally, James rolled his eyes. 'Yeah, not like I'm not having your brains, asshole…' he thought a brief flash of annoyance spiking in his gut when one Soldier thought it'd be a SWELL idea to throw a grenade at his face. It exploded, and while James' Armour prevented a large portion of the damage, the helmet and part of his face didn't survive. This forced his Blacklight strain to fix the damage, and in the next second he was back to how he was before.

The one responsible got a claw to the face for his troubles.

"What?! Stop the hostile immediately! We need that Research Team!"

Awww, wasn't that a shame? Heller scowled to himself as he rolled to the side, grabbed a piece of broken debris from an earlier explosion and hurled it towards one of the defending soldiers. He heard the oh so satisfying sound of flesh being squished by concrete, indicating their deaths. Looking to confirm it, James saw how one soldier managed to roll out the way in time, while the other looked like he got crushed underneath the piece. Evidence came from the patch of blood that he could see beneath the debris. The sound of a Blackwatch APC Rolling in reached his ears before that of all the soldiers, the bald Prototype concluding that it was the same one that transported him here unknowingly. Likely got called in by one of these assholes before could get his hands on them.

Then, to make things better the man heard the sound of approaching Longbow Gunships, causing the man to grit his teeth in annoyance. Sure, he could use his Busters or Riflefists to blow those Gunships out of the skies, but that would just be an annoyance, and it'd waste valuable time he could be using to consume the rest of the Scientists. There were about 4 left right now, so he had to get something good done fast. Not only that, but if he got too distracted in his killing spree, then James would likely miss one of those asses and allow him to escape his sentence unharmed. Not something James liked to think about, seriously.

'Well, I may have the answer to that, James.'

'FUCK!' James nearly fell over when he heard the sudden call through the Hivemind from the kid. He barely kept his composure, hiding what happened by jumping towards a soldier who raised his rocket launcher, and sliced him to pieces before consuming him. Afterwards, James growled through the link. 'A bit of warning, next time, why don't ya!' Seriously, that was some timing!

'S-Sorry! I just wanted to say that I could help keep Blackwatch off your back while you do your thing.'

Growling under his breath, James tilted his head to avoid a rocket aimed towards his face, the sounds of Gunships getting closer. The APC was already parking up at the entrance, aiming its gun turret towards him with the intent to fire. 'Might wanna make it snappy then, kid! Got lotta flack sniffing my tail!'

'Would 'Now' suffice?'

Just when James made to retort, his eyes blinked when he noticed something, something that snapped him out of his combat induced haze. The way that kid said the word 'now' just then…. There just seemed to be something about that which the kid seemed to be trying to convey. Why? And, where did this rumbling come from? Wait, rumbling? A flash of realisation hit him, and James soon got a thought into his head from that. Did the kid mean what James thought he meant? 'Kid, do you mean…?'

The answer soon came into view, and in a rather… interesting manner at that. James Nearly stumbled when the rumbling increased in volume, to the point where the other soldiers were also beginning to notice it. Amidst all the stumbling around that is. From beneath the concrete behind the APC, a large form suddenly erupted forth, sending a bloodcurdling roar through the air. James glanced to the source, and saw how the figure apparently was strong enough to slam into the APC with enough force to send it tumbling across the entire Camp Julia. Any soldiers or scientists in its way had to either jump or roll to the side lest they wanted to get crushed. In the end, the APC crashed against a wall, looking like it had been the result of a massive hammer strike with the way its middle was dented downwards, making it look like a large V.

Stomping into the Camp, everyone could not witness the sight of the new arrival… and their blood went cold (save for James who raised a brow in surprise).

Their new arrival… it looked to be a mix of two creatures: A Scorpion and a Gorilla. It had the overall shape of a Gorilla, complete with arms, legs, bone structure, the works. There was a lack of fur though, instead the creature possessed a chitinous black body, with hollow, glowing green eyes shining within sunken sockets. The creature's mouth had four large fangs along with a row of smaller ones, each of them jagged and wicked. Its arms were equipped with humanoid fists, not unlike the Hammerfist of a certain teenage Prototype James knew, while its hands had additional dark green plated armour travelling up from the hands to the elbows. Then, the Scorpion traits took over, with two long, chitinous arms protruding out from its upper back that ended in large, bulbous pincers. Two mandibles grew from the sides of its jaw, looking like they were built more for stabbing than eating, while out its back protruded a Scorpion-like tail. A tail that ended in 4 long stingers, each aligned like a tilted square. In terms of size, James guessed it rivalled that of the Batonists.

Snarls and growls ripped through the creature's maw as it slowly stomped in, moving on all fours like a gorilla. Its Tail whipped away at the air behind it several times, before thwacking the ground instead. The man's eyes were drawn to where the Tail hit, noticing a sizable crater made in its wake. Behind THAT, was a massive hole in the ground, made from its earlier entrance no doubt. But, just looking at it made James gain a sense of familiarity with the creature, like he should know it from somewhere. Nobody had fired at it yet, something that partially relieved and confused him. Relieved cause it gave him a chance to think, while his confusion soon cleared up when he saw their cautious, wary postures. They didn't want to incite its wrath too soon, not without air support.

Shame for them, then, cause judging from what he was sensing, James KNEW that their fate was sealed.

'I present to you: The SCORPORILLA!'