New York, Outside the Red Zone 2pm

Alex ran as fast as he could across the rooftops. Whatever that man had injected him with was killing him. He could feel it worming its way through his body causing every step to feel heavy. His vision began to swim as he jumped from building to building and he spat more of the black liquid from his mouth. Somehow he managed to make it to Dana's safehouse and he threw the door open before collapsing to the ground.

"Alex!" both Karen and Dana yelled in unison.

"Bring him here quickly" Ragland said pushing everything off of the table. Dana and Karen lifted Alex onto the table and he lay there the black substance flowing out of his mouth and nose.

"What's wrong with him?" Dana asked looking at him worriedly.

"Alex can you hear me?" Ragland asked as he opened Alex's eyelids and shone the light to check his pupils. Alex managed to groan in response. "What happened?" the doctor asked but Alex's eyes fluttered shut and he went still. "Shit! Karen analyzes this and tell me what we are dealing with!" Ragland demanded taking a small blob of the black liquid and passing it to Karen who left the room to go to the makeshift lab she had set up.

"Is he going to be ok?" Dana asked tears starting to flow down her face.

"Go in the other room and try to remain calm we're going to do all we can" Ragland replied softly as he guided her out the door and closed it behind her. Ragland walked back over to the table and began pulling off Alex's shirt so he could measure his heart rate. As he did he found the vial of Zeus that Alex had managed to acquire during his trip to the Red Zone and placed it on a shelf for later.

Suddenly Alex began groaning again. Whatever was happening seemed to be tearing him apart. Bradley quickly picked up his stethoscope and placed it to Alex's chest pushing his friends flailing arms away as he did. He listened through the instrument for the familiar thumping noise of a heartbeat but to his surprise he heard nothing. "What the hell is going on?" he thought looking at Alex who was still moaning.

Opening his bag he pulled out a small black case and opened it to reveal a set of scalpels. "Sorry Alex this might hurt a bit" Ragland thought as he made a quick slice down Alex's chest. To his annoyance Alex's healing factor was still functioning and the wound sealed up almost instantaneously. "I've got to keep the wound open" the doctor thought as he looked round the room for something to use. Ragland picked up a book and when he made the new incision he quickly jammed it into the wound preventing it from closing. Alex lurched in pain as the objected hit his nerves. Ragland acted quickly, he knew he didn't have long before Alex's healing factor kicked in again and he needed to know what was going on inside him. When he opened the wound his eyes widened in shock.

"What the hell am I looking at?" he gasped.

A few minutes later Karen burst into the room. "Its some kind of anti-body that's attacking the cells the virus infects. Its going to kill Alex unless we come up with a way to neutralize the anti-bodies" she said looking worriedly at the man on the table.

"We need more of the virus. Blacklight or Zeus and we need a lot of it" Ragland replied as he washed his hands.

"What good will that do? It won't stop the anti-bodies they'll just keep attacking him" Karen said confused.

"We've got this!" Dana exclaimed bursting into the room. She'd been listening at the door the whole time and as soon as she'd heard them mention they needed Blacklight she instantly went to get the canister she and Alex had stolen from Blackwatch.

"Whats that?" Ragland asked, looking at the container curiously.

"It's Blacklight. We stole it a few days ago in case we needed it for something. Will it still work as it's not the Zeus strain Alex was infected with?" Dana asked anxiously, looking at her brother's immobile form.

"It shouldn't make a difference. He should be able to absorb any form just like Greene can" Ragland replied taking the canister off her.

"Wait giving him a dose that big could tear his cells apart" Karen said looking at Ragland nervously as he attached an airtight breathing mask to Alex's face and hooked it to the canister.

"It won't" Ragland insisted as he jammed a syringe into Alex's arm and injected him with the sample of Zeus Alex's had got from the Red Zone.

"What are you doing? That was supposed to be used for curing him!" Dana shouted as she tried to stop him.

"He can't be cured if he's dead" Ragland snapped back. "Not that I could cure him anyway" he thought darkly. He and Alex would need to talk when he came round.

H.A.M.M.E.R, New York, 2pm

Cross sat alone in his room turning his pistol over and over in his hands. For once in his life, he had absolutely no idea what to do. Was Alex lying? Could his rant have been the words of a madman trying to justify his actions? No it couldn't be. Everything Alex had said fitted perfectly and yet if what he said was true, it meant everything he'd fought for, everything he'd done was a lie. Getting to his feet he pushed the gun into his belt and stormed out of his room. It was time he had a few words with Taggart.

"Perhaps you should get some rest" Carol said looking worriedly at Spider-man as he worked franticly with the test tubes in front of him.

"I can't. I have to get this thing off" he replied as he added another chemical to his test tubes.

"Besides the quicker we get this done the better" Moonstone added from the other table.

Ms Marvel didn't respond. She knew he was right. The symbiote was changing him into something ugly as demonstrated when he threatened Wolverine. He was a lot less cheerful and his personality was a lot darker. What tore her up most was that she was powerless to do anything about it.

"How's Gargan holding up by the way?" Peter asked not turning away from his work.

"Osborn had some kind of cell set up to keep him alive if the alien ever left him. Mostly likely in case he wanted to run experiments on him" Carol replied in disgust.

Just then Johnny Blaze entered the room looking slightly perturbed.

"Are you ok?" Ms Marvel asked noticing his demeanor.

"Oh I'm just fine. Being stuck in a building full of evil people doesn't effect me at all" Jonathan replied sarcastically as he sat down and took a few deep breaths.

"The Rider's trying to come out?" Moonstone asked, looking a little worried now.

"Trying? The guy is going absolutely berserk in there" Blaze replied rubbing his temples.

"Well try and keep him locked up please Johnny-boy. The last thing we need is the Rider getting lose and toasting us" Spider-man replied as he changed slides on his microscope.

"Don't worry I'm fine when I'm with you guys. It's just around those 'other' Avenger's I get a little cranky. I should be fine as long as I'm not around more than one at a.." Blaze was cut off as Osborn walked into the lab.

"Oh" Carol began, turning to Osborn in horror.

"Shit" Spider-man said, finishing her sentence for her.

Blaze sped from his chair before any of them could react and slammed Osborn against the wall gripping his neck tightly.

"Guys, he's scratching at the door" Blaze growled through gritted teeth as fire began to erupt from his eyes.

"Get the hell off me" Osborn yelled, punching Johnny in the face. This was a bad move on his part as whatever resistance Jonathan had put up crumbled and he instantly took on his Rider form.

"Look into my eyes" it hissed, gripping Osborn by the chin and turning his eyes to face him. Osborn went ridged as the Ghost Rider's penance stare began to take effect. He spasmed in the Riders grip for a moment then went still.

"Blaze are you in there?" Ms Marvel asked looking at him worriedly and taking on an attack position. Moonstone also took on an attack stance as she knew that she would be the most likely next target. As the Rider turned to Carol he began to return to his human form.

"Sorry guys. Blacked out there for a moment. What did I miss?" he asked looking at the surprised group.

"Well you may have ermm…screwed up Osborn's head" Spider-man replied looking at his nemesis's limp form. Johnny turned and noticed the unconscious man.

"Well" Blaze breathed. "I don't know about you guys but I feel a lot better now!"

"You didn't kill him did you?" Carol asked, not that she would mind considering the pain he'd caused a lot of people in the past including Peter.

"I dunno. Generally it just deals them the same amount of pain they've given to others" Blaze replied giving Osborn's body a small kick. "Nah, he's breathing but the Rider really wanted a crack at him so I'm guessing he isn't going to feel too good when he wakes up" Johnny finished as he retook his seat.

"So long as you don't do it to me" Moonstone said, nervously returning to her work.

"I promise nothing! So how is the cure to this thing going?" he asked, answering Moonstone before turning to look at Spider-man curiously.

"I'm almost there. I just need to tone down the anti-gens a little and I should be able to make the cure" Spider-man replied.


"Where's Logan?" Iron Fist asked looking round the room. He and the rest of the Avengers where in the debriefing room, all waiting patiently for Spider-man to come up with the cure.

"I don't know. He was here just now" Cage replied, also noticing the mutant's absence.

"I'll go look for him" Danny continued, getting to his feet and leaving the room. He had a good idea of where he might be.

Iron Fist made his way down to the part of H.A.M.M.E.R that was used for holding prisoners and saw Wolverine standing in front of one of the doors, looking in intently.

"This isn't your fault you know" Danny said as he approached.

"Not my fault? The boy grew up without a father, became one of Osborn's dogs and now look at him" Logan replied, staring sorrowfully at Daken who was currently thrashing around snarling and struggling against his bonds.

"You didn't even know he existed before it was too late" Danny continued, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Whatever he's done he's still my kid. My responsibility. I can't stand to see him like this" the mutant replied turning away and walking towards the elevator.

"Peter is working on the cure, just give him a little more time and he'll fix it" Iron Fist replied as he got in the elevator with Logan.

"I hope your right kid" Logan replied as he pressed a button on the elevator control panel.

Taggarts Office, Unknown Location, New York, 3pm

"TAGGART!" Cross bellowed as he entered the Colonel's office.

"What can I do for you Captain?" Taggart asked not turning away from the article he was reading.

"Somethings going on here and I want to know damn well what it is?" Cross growled as he slammed both his hands on Taggart's desk, glaring at him angrily.

"I assure you I have no idea what you're talking about. Now why don't you get back to hunting Mercer?" the Colonel replied calmly.

"Mercer has been dealt with. If he isn't dead by now then he's not far off" Cross replied, thinking back to Spider-man injecting Alex with the anti-virus.

"This is great news Captain" Taggart said, finally diverting his attention away from what he was reading.

"Before he died he told me a few things. Things I don't want to believe" Cross began as he sat down.

"Mercer was insane. He was a rabid dog that needed putting down. He'd probably say anything" Taggart responded. "What I can't understand is why he didn't attack us sooner. He knew all the locations to our bases and facilities and yet he only broke into one" the Colonel mused.

"That's because he had amnesia" Cross replied "He didn't even know that he was the one who released the virus."

Taggart looked at him in surprise. "My, my, that does explain a lot" the Colonel replied thoughtfully.

"Mercer told me Hope wasn't an accident. That he knew about Pariah" Cross said looking Taggart in the eyes.

"He's lying. You were there, you even saw the files yourself" Taggart replied curtly.

"Ok then tell me this Colonel! How did Mercer know about Pariah? Why was Greene brought here early when the situation could have been contained? How the f*** did a rookie like you get put on my team in Idaho and get promoted to Colonel a few months later? Don't f***ing lie to me Taggart!" Cross yelled anger welling within him, this could have all been coincidental but Cross hoped his bluff might work.

Taggart looked at him anger, tightening his jaw. "Ok Captain you want the truth? No, Hope wasn't an accident. Redlight was released on purpose. Greene was our best shot at creating a true hybrid and when we found out she was pregnant we had to act. We never wanted you to find out because we knew about your feelings for Idaho and we thought it would divide your loyalties" Taggart replied getting up and looking out the window. "I was put on your team to report back to Randall and make sure that all went as planned but I was forced to pull out. I was promoted to Colonel for my services to Randall and you were never supposed to know about Pariah."

Cross sat in silence shocked at what he was hearing. His mind flashed back to that day. Randall had known all along. He had even tried to prevent Cross doing an examination on Greene to find out what she was. Randall knew that if she was examined Cross would have found out she was pregnant that was why he had glared at him.

"Why wasn't Greene killed after Pariah had been born? Why did you bring her here prematurely?" Cross asked quietly.

"I don't know. The order came from higher up" Taggart replied sitting back down.

"Who gave the f***ing order?" Cross snarled.

"Randall ok. Randall ordered Greene to be brought here" Taggart sighed.

"But why would he do that? He must have known it would only cause more problems?"

"I don't know and I don't care. I do what I'm ordered nothing more" Taggart said looking at the Captain.

"Just like you did in Idaho?" Cross snarled again.

"Please try to understand. It was all in the name of progress. The amount we've learnt from Pariah is incredible" Taggart replied trying to reason with him.

"PROGRESS?" Cross yelled getting to his feet. "All I see is that an entire town was slaughtered just to try and merge a child with Redlight. A child Taggart! A f***ing child."

"Think what you want Cross. Those where our orders you swore an oath to serve and obey remember?" Taggart replied sharply.

"Your right I did swear that oath" Cross said quietly, as he said this he was reminded of blond girl's face and the way it snapped back as he put the bullet into her. "but I also swore another. I promised myself if I ever found out someone was responsible for Idaho I would hunt them down and kill them."

Before Taggart could understand what was happening Cross drew his side arm and shot Taggart squarely in the head. The Colonel's body flew backwards off the chair and fell limply to the floor blood pouring from the bullet hole between his eyes.

"Sir are you alright? We heard a shot!"

Cross turned as two men burst into the room. Before the guards could react Cross flew at them. He drove his fist into the nearest one's stomach breaking multiple ribs. The other guard turned and tried to get off a shot from his gun but he was cut off as Cross's elbow collided with his face. The two men fell to the floor unconscious. Cross kicked Taggart's dead body over, pulled his cell phone from a pocket and dialed the last number called.

"What is it Taggart?"

He recognized Randall's voice instantly from the other end of the line.

"I know everything. I know what you did you sick son of a b****. I know what you made me do" Cross growled down the phone.

"Cross my boy. Believe me when I say, you know nothing" Randall replied calmly, obviously recognizing his voice.

"There isn't an army big enough or armor thick enough to protect you from me. Taggart's dead and you're next. I'm coming!" Cross snarled hanging up and crushing the phone in his hand.

Randall placed the phone back on the receiver when he heard the line go dead.

"You really have no idea what's going on here do you?" he murmured to himself smiling.

Cross couldn't go back to H.A.M.M.E.R they were probably under Blackwatch's payroll and even if they weren't he couldn't take that chance. There was only one person who could help him now. He just hoped to god he wasn't dead yet. Cross was about to leave the office when he saw an unopened document on Taggart's desk. He snatched it up and tore it open. What he saw shocked him.

"Dear god they're going to do what they did in Idaho" Cross thought as he saw what was written. A large nuclear device was being shipped from a Blackwatch facility. It would be arriving in two days time by boat to New York. Blackwatch where going to cleanse the Red Zone and half the city along with it.