Prototype
A/N: Back to life, get out my knife! Ladies and gentlemen, I do offer up my most sincerest apologies for my tardiness in delivering this chapter, but somehow this ended up being my longest chapter yet! Weighing in at almost 3,000 more words than the HALO chapter, this one is approximately 13,000 words! That's longer than most of my STORIES are! That being said, that is still no excuse for not delivering it in a timely fashion, so I am still extremely sorry for that. But enough talk! Let's read! Enjoy and remember that I own nothing!
Alex Mercer gazed down at the inconspicuously constructed facility in the valley below. From his position up the mountain, he could see it sitting there as though it was the most natural thing in the world. To the public eye, the facility looked like it could be a power station or even a weather lab, but Alex knew better. He knew because he had been watching that building for two days now, and he could see that there was nothing natural about what was going on within those walls. Above all else, one specific tell stood in stark contrast to the others, and it was the one that told Alex everything he needed to know about that place: the facility was owned by Gentek.
The name alone was enough to cause Alex to clench his fists angrily at his sides. In another life, Alex had been under their employ, playing God with something beyond his understanding in order to build the perfect bioweapon. The old Alex Mercer had been eager to meddle in such dangerous ventures, and his natural intellect had served him well with the creation of the Blacklight Virus. One small strand of his creation had nearly been potent enough to consume all of New York, and the old Alex might have felt pride in that fact. The new Alex did not find it so. Blacklight had killed thousands of people when it had been unleashed, and it was also the reason why Alex was the way he was now. It was why he wasn't dead, but it was also why he wasn't really alive either. He was somewhere in between.
Alex raised his hand and examined it, musing on just how different his appendage was compared to any other human's. Both had the capacity to create and destroy, but Alex's was capable of so much more. With a thought, Alex willed the biomass in his hand to transform, and the appendage responded immediately, morphing into a dark and sinister version of itself. The fingers hardening and elongating into claws that were sharp enough to cut through metal, the arm morphing into a clustered mix of tendrils and ligaments that were strong enough to lift a bus, and the skin…well, the skin disappeared. In a way, it was never really there to begin with, as every part of Alex's appearance was a façade, a fabrication. His body allowed him to morph into any shape or look that he saw fit, making no one appearance more authentic than the rest.
And yet, he always seemed to be the most comfortable in the form that he used now: the form of Alex Mercer. Perhaps it was due to the lingering memories of the dead man whose body had become his, or perhaps it was the comfort offered by familiarity. Whatever the reason, Alex felt best like this. It just felt right somehow. Willing the hand back to its original form, Alex turned his attention back down to the facility. He remembered once more why he had come all the way out to the middle of nowhere to this particular place.
After saving New York from nuclear annihilation, Alex realized that even after everything he'd been through…even after everything he'd done to uncover the truth behind Blacklight and what had happened to him, there was still one missing piece of the puzzle. There was one more mystery that had to be solved.
Elizabeth Greene.
She had been Alex's progenitor…his mother, in a way. After what had happened in Hope, Idaho, Blackwatch had isolated her virus and had given it to Gentek to experiment on. But in all their excitement about how perfectly her DNA blended with the virus, they had been even more so excited to learn that she had been pregnant at the time of her infection.
The perfect specimen giving birth to the perfect baby? Alex had no doubt that Gentek had been ecstatic to delve deeper. After Greene had given birth, she had been transported to New York and away from her child. Alex knew what had happened to her after that, as he had been the one to kill and consume her. Bits and fragments of her memories still flashed through his mind every time he closed his eyes. He had seen how the experiments in Hope had been conducted, he had seen how malicious Gentek had been with their methods, and he had seen how Greene's newborn child had been taken away from her moments after it had been born. Greene had lashed out and tried to stop them, but her struggles had been in vain. The child was gone.
At first, Alex thought that General Randall had killed it back in Hope, but he quickly realized that Blackwatch would never let something so valuable slip through their fingers. The kid had to still be out there, likely still subject to whatever twisted experiments Gentek could think of. And ever since the events that had occurred in New York, questions had been burning in Alex's mind about the child. Was it dangerous like Greene had been? Was it infected with the virus like him? Did it not age like a regular human?
Where was it?
What was it?!
Slowly, Alex had uncovered a trail. Consuming a few select scientists had earned him a lead on where he could find the child. PARIAH, as it was apparently codenamed, was held in a location that was beyond top secret. Everything about it was classified so highly that the trail had gone cold a few times before Alex had been able to find any useful information.
Eventually, after consuming one of Gentek's top leaders from within the Pentagon, Alex had found the location he was looking for: a small facility located in the Rocky Mountains. Alex had wasted no time getting there as soon as he could.
Looking down at the facility now, Alex could see that the word "small" could only be used to describe the facility in terms of size. Operationally, it was massive. The security measures present were tighter than anything he had ever seen in New York: turrets placed almost every few feet, guards crawling everywhere, barbed wire and ten-foot tall fence surrounding the compound… This had to be it. Gentek had very few precious assets left to merit such security, and PARIAH was likely the most precious of them all.
Seeing movement, Alex watched closely as a convoy of trucks approached the front gate. The cargo the trucks contained seemed to vary from boxes to personnel, some consisting of scientists while others consisted of Blackwatch agents, all armed to the teeth. Alex frowned at the size of the convoy, as something wasn't quite adding up. The size of the caravan was huge, carrying enough cargo and personnel to supply a facility that was three times the size of this one. Even with PARIAH inside, there just wasn't enough room to house that many soldiers and doctors.
It was then that Alex realized as the convoy pulled inside the gate. What he was seeing wasn't the facility. It was the front door. The small complex of buildings was nothing more than a decoy. The compound itself likely extended into a massive base that was built underground. And from his conclusion earlier, Alex knew that it was not some small subterranean research lab. Whatever sprawled beneath the surface compound, it was big.
PARIAH had to be down there, and Alex had no intention of leaving until he knew the truth.
Willing his body to morph once more, Alex's appearance took on that of a Blackwatch soldier, the camouflage fatigues and mask covering him completely. With a leap, Alex shot into the air and began to glide towards the facility by projecting some biomass behind him. Keeping low to the tree line, Alex swooped down low toward the last truck in the convoy, which hadn't passed through the gate yet. Coming down low to ground level, Alex dropped low and decreased his speed. Making contact with the dirt beneath him, Alex tucked into a roll and landed perfectly under the truck. Grabbing the undercarriage, Alex held on tightly as the truck rumbled through the gate. He was in.
The truck parked shortly afterward, and Alex made sure that the coast was clear before rolling out from underneath. Standing up, Alex fell in line with the other soldiers as they unloaded the cargo from the trucks, his uniform completely identical to theirs. Taking a look at each of the boxes, Alex saw that the contents ranged anywhere from food to medical supplies to weapons and ammunition. It was enough to support a small army…or an underground facility that housed Gentek's most well-kept secret. Following the line, Alex entered one of the buildings and was greeted by a row of massive cargo elevators, each one no doubt leading into the facility below. Alex took his place onboard one of the elevators as the doors closed, enclosing him with about eleven other soldiers. Nobody said anything for a bit, then one of the soldiers spoke up as the elevator began to descend.
"Heard about New York? Shit's fucked up there, brah! That Alex Mercer guy really tore the whole city apart!"
The soldier's voice was muffled with static through his mask, but Alex could see him looking around and gesturing while he spoke.
"I know shit's fucked up in New York, moron. I was there!" another soldier replied angrily. "The damn virus nearly consumed the entire island! Turned the whole population into a bunch of ugly fucking freakbag zombies!"
Alex saw the enraged soldier and noted an officer's rank on his shoulder. He appeared to be the ranking individual in the elevator.
"Whoa! You were there, sir?" the first soldier said in awe. "What was it like? I just joined up about a month ago, so I missed all the action out there, brah!"
"It fucking sucked, what the hell do you think it was like?! The city was shit, the command climate was shit, and trying to get laid is next to impossible unless you're queer, necrophiliac, or a fucking psycho!"
"You know…" another one of the soldiers said from the back. "I was there too, and I gotta say, some of those infected chicks are still pretty hot if you put a bag on their heads!"
"God…fucking…dammit!" the officer said, turning around in the elevator to look at who had just spoken. "Is that you, Starnes?! I swear to God, why did they have to transfer you here? I was looking forward to getting away from your loony bullshit back in New York, now I gotta put up with it all over again!"
The first soldier chuckled through his mask. "Looks like we know what kind that guy is, huh brah? Wait, actually I dunno…" the solider looked over his shoulder at the one called Starnes. "You're kinda like a cross between necrophiliac and pyscho depending on how you look at it, brah…"
"Nah I ain't a necro," the one called Starnes replied. "As for the psycho part…maybe."
"Both of you, shut it!" the officer snapped. "If I have to put up with this for my entire assignment, I'm going to put a fucking bullet in my head!"
Alex found himself agreeing with the enraged officer as he quietly shifted the cargo in his hands. His own patience had been wearing thin as well, and he had already briefly considered slaughtering everyone in this damn elevator numerous times. He couldn't do that though. Not yet. He needed to find out where they were keeping PARIAH first. If he raised the alarm too quickly, they might have time to escape with the child in tow. That could not be allowed to happen.
Finally, the elevator doors slid open, revealing a massive storage hangar of sorts that was stacked high with pallets of supplies similar to the ones that Alex and the rest of the soldiers were carrying. An officer directed them to the location that they should drop the cargo, and as soon as they deposited it, Alex used the opportunity to slip away into one of the hallways that branched out from the main chamber.
Now he needed to find one of the many scientists that he had seen entering the facility. If he could consume one, he should be able to gain access to…
"Hey! Just what do you think you're doing here?"
Alex turned around to see an angry man in a lab coat approaching.
Jackpot.
"This area is restricted to research personnel only! You 'soldier boys' are supposed to be guarding—"
The man's reprimand was cut off as Alex impaled him with several tendrils extending from his own body. Immediately, Alex began to absorb the man's biomass into his own, the scientist's form already deconstructing and merging with the tendrils that Alex had extended.
As usual, Alex's mind suddenly shifted as fragments of the man's memories became his own. It was like watching a tape that had multiple scenes cut from it. Short images flashed through Alex's mind, and after very brief moments regarding graduation from some prestigious medical school and receiving some sort of clearance or another, Alex got to the information he desired. He could hear the scientist's voice in his head as more recent memories were uncovered.
…
"Doctor Grayson, I'd like to welcome you aboard Project Crusade, one of Gentek's longest standing projects to date."
"The pleasure is mine, Doctor Hadley."
"I'm sure you don't need to be told just how confidential this project is, or what exactly it concerns."
"Of course. Though I have only heard rumors of subject PARIAH before, I am eager to begin work in this particular field..."
…
The rest of the conversation was cut out as the scene changed again.
…
"Doctor Grayson, right? Your quarters are 136-B, located in the western section of the facility. I'll mark down where all the important locations are. If you need any more information about the facility, just ask.
"Thank you, lieutenant. Tell me, just how big is this complex?"
"The underground facility is roughly a cubic mile in size, obviously home to Project Crusade as well as a large number of smaller projects as well. As a member of Project Crusade, you'll have access to most areas down here, but keep in mind that some places may still be off limits to you.
If I am a part of the most top-secret project in this base, then why do I not possess clearance to those areas, lieutenant?
Apart from an emergency, only a select few personnel are allowed access near PARIAH. I don't make the rules, Doc. Just stay to your spaces and we won't have any issues.
…
Alex felt himself grunt as he surfaced from within his subconscious. He had hoped to be used to the experience of absorbing someone's memories by now, but the human side of him still felt a twinge of regret for what he was doing. Killing morally corrupt, mad scientists was by no means a problem for him, but stealing their memories had always left him with a bad taste in his mouth.
Shifting his appearance once again, Alex took on the form of the scientist he had just absorbed. The camouflage fatigues and mask disappeared, replaced by a white lab coat and pocket protectors. Alex took a brief look at his new form once before moving on down the hallway. Dr. Grayson's memories had given him the layout of the compound, including the places he wasn't allowed access to. That left only a few places for PARIAH to be. With that in mind, Alex continued to walk through the halls, encountering no resistance from soldiers or scientists. A perk of assuming someone else's appearance was that Alex also could copy their fingerprints as well, and after a passing through a few biometric checkpoints, he knew he was getting closer. Once he reached a place he couldn't access, he'd either consume someone who could, or he'd bulldoze his way through. The only downside to the latter option was that the entire facility would go on alert as soon as he did so. He'd have to make sure that he was close to PARIAH by the time that happened, or he might not get another chance.
At the same time, Alex was also curious as to what other experiments were being conducted down here. He then realized that if these experiments had anything to do with the virus, then he should be able to see it. Back in New York, he had been able to tap into the hive mind of those infected with the virus after he'd absorbed the leader of a Hunter pack. It had given him the ability to see the infected through walls and over long distances. Even if the leader of the hivemind, Elizabeth Greene, was dead, they were all still connected to each other.
Quickly, Alex sidestepped into an empty laboratory and activated his ability. Immediately, his vision became darker as anything that did not contain the virus began to be filtered out from his sight. After taking a moment to adjust, Alex saw specks of light appear in his vision. At first, it was only a few, then more started appearing. Some larger than others, the signatures of the infected began to fill his vision, indicating that there was an incredible amount of them within the facility. Over a hundred of them began to appear, and Alex saw that among them were quite a few Hunters as well as ordinary infected. How had Blackwatch been able to transport so many out here? Had they all come from New York, or were these new specimens that they'd grown?
Whatever the case, it was bad. Having these many specimens in one place could lead to nothing short of a nation-wide outbreak if they were to get out. They were only able to contain it in New York because the virus couldn't be transferred by water, so they had only needed to close off all of the exits to the city. But out here was a different story. If those infected got out, there was little to prevent them from reaching a majorly populated area and completely leveling the city. And from there, they would spread even faster. Blacklight had the potential to engulf the entire world, and Alex had to ensure that did not happen.
Unfortunately for him, that meant rethinking his plan. There was no way that he could kill all of the infected without drawing attention, and he had no idea what his plans were for PARIAH. He had only come here for answers, but what happened when he actually got to the kid? Was he going to take it? Leave it? Consume it, maybe?
Unfortunately, Alex had little time to think, as an alarm immediately began blaring throughout the facility. Immediately, Alex heard a voice over some sort of intercom system:
"Attention, all personnel: there has been an intruder on the surface level of the facility. All personnel are to report to general quarters and remain there until further notice. As of this moment, the entire facility is on lockdown."
At first, Alex thought he had been discovered, but the intercom had said that the suspect was on the surface level of the facility. That meant that Blackwatch still didn't know he was here. The information did little to reassure him however, as the entire facility was now on lockdown, which was about to make his job increasingly more difficult.
Alex quickly morphed back into the form of a Blackwatch soldier and accessed their radio net. Static came through as well as a hurried voice.
"Warden Actual, we've got some kind of super soldier variant going rogue up here! It's trying to reach the elevators!"
"Say again, Whiskey-Five. You say that's one of our guys?"
"Dammit, I don't know! He's wearing some kind of suit that I ain't ever seen before, and he's tearing us apart up here! Request reinforcements immediately or he's going to be down our throat!"
Alex frowned in response to the message. It was just one guy? Excluding himself, Alex didn't know of anyone that was capable of such a feat. Was this another one of Gentek's experiments gone wrong? One of their super soldiers had decided to go rouge against them?
If this super soldier was anything like the ones that Alex had gone up against in the past, then he needed to be on his guard. Physically, they weren't stronger than him, but that was only because Alex could lift a bus with one hand. These super soldiers were strong, fast, and almost indestructible. Even with his claws and sword, Alex still had trouble cutting through their genetically enhanced skin. Not enough to be a serious threat, but still enough to cause a problem if he was caught off guard. Luckily, there only seemed to be one.
Thinking quickly, Alex decided that since the facility was now on lockdown, he would eliminate the infected first. With the base buttoned up tight, PARIAH wasn't going anywhere. For now, Alex could focus on killing off the virus before it spread. There would be time to find PARIAH later.
Quickly leaving the lab, Alex sprinted down the halls, quickly drawing closer to the infected signatures. Scientists and soldiers ran this way and that around him to either secure their work or report to their commanders, none of them giving Alex a second glance with his soldier's appearance. He just hoped that this super soldier thing would distract Blackwatch long enough for him to see this through. He hadn't come this far just to fail on a quick detour from his mission.
In his ear, voices were shouting across all frequencies. Alex paid close attention as a status report was issued.
"Warden Actual, suspect has breached the lockdown! He's headed down the elevator shaft! He'll be inside the facility in a few seconds!"
"Copy that, Whiskey-Five. All units link up with your squads and cut off the suspect before it gets too far. Whiskey-Two is ordered to form a blockade at the entrance to the elevator shafts and cut off any escape attempts. No one is allowed in or out of the facility until further notice."
"Warden Actual!" came a frightened voice over the radio. "The suspect must NOT be allowed to reach PARIAH! Years of research and development will be all for naught if we lose this specimen!"
"Noted, Dr. Hadley."
"Don't you 'noted, Dr. Hadley' me, you mongrel! Just because you're too stupid to see how dangerous this situation is does not make it any less so!"
Alex let the radio noise fall into the background as he put on a burst of speed, running faster than any human was capable of. If the super soldier was now inside the facility, then that put the two of them inside a closed box with over one hundred infected and the child of Elizabeth Greene. The super solider had muscled his way down here for a reason, and Alex knew chances were slim to none that their interests were aligned.
Looking through his infected vision, Alex saw that he was almost to the infected containment area. Bursting through the last door, Alex found himself inside a massive chamber, only this time, it was lined with pens upon pens of infected. Both former humans and Hunters alike sat behind reinforced steel enclosures, and with the alarm blaring, the feral creatures had grown restless, now they were banging on the walls and boundaries of their cages with ferocity.
Dropping his soldier's disguise, Alex once again fell into that comfortable hooded form that he knew so well, and at his transformation, the infected in the nearby cages all began to grow more feral at the sight of him. They could see him just like he could see them, but that did not make them allies. The strand of Blacklight he carried was different, and it marked him as an enemy rather than a friend. Up ahead, Alex caught sight of a scientist running frantically towards him, the doctor's eyes darting back and forth across the rabid creatures in their cages. His eyes finally turned forward and noticed Alex for the first time, and relief spread across his features.
"Thank goodness! We must seal this area off before…"
The scientist's features suddenly morphed into an expression of horror, and he skidded to a stop and fell backward onto the floor, his now fearful gaze glued to Alex as he desperately tried to crawl backward and away from him.
"N-no, it can't be! You're…you're Alex Mercer!"
The mention of Alex's name seemed to stir the scientist into action again, and he quickly scrambled onto his feet and made to run away, but Alex was faster. Morphing his left arm into the weapon he commonly called his 'whipfist'. Alex shot a long and hardened tendril after the fleeing doctor. The tip of the tendril impaled the human through the chest, and he abruptly came to a stop and looked down in shock as the tentacle pierced through the other side. He began choking on his shredded lungs, and Alex was about to reel him back to consume him when the rear wall of the chamber exploded inward.
Alex paused and frowned at the sudden commotion as concrete and dust flew in every direction, the scientist's form momentarily forgotten, the body twitching twitching slightly as his life expired. Slowly the dust settled, and from the cloud emerged a figure covered from head to toe in a dark green suit of armor. The gear was nothing like the kind that Blackwatch wore, as its design was completely different. The figure's face was concealed behind an opaque visor, so Alex couldn't read whatever expression it was making behind its mask as they both sized each other up. For a moment, neither of them moved. Then the figure seemed to take note of Alex's extended whipfist and the now dead scientist at the end of it. Unbidden, Alex felt a chill down his spine, almost like an instinctual response that he was in danger.
The feeling proved to be warranted in the next second, as the figure suddenly produced an automatic rifle and opened fire on Alex. Bullets tore through his biomass, and Alex grunted in annoyance as he retracted his whipfist and dove out of the way. Standard weapons fire did hurt him, but the figure was going to need a lot more than that to take him down.
Falling into a roll from his dive, Alex jumped back to his feet and thrust his whipfist towards the figure, the barbed tip shooting forward at a near blinding speed to impale the figure through the chest. Maybe it had drawn first blood, but Alex knew that there was only one way that this was going to end. It would die like every other foolish Blackwatch soldier that tried to kill him. This one would be no different.
The whipfist passed by the figure by no more than a few inches.
Alex's eyes widened in shock. It had dodged? How was that possible? The only thing that could have been fast enough was Hunters and…super soldiers.
That was it. This must have been the same super soldier that had triggered the alarm, but that answer only raised more questions. This one looked nothing like the super soldiers Alex had fought before. The ones he'd encountered in New York were much larger than this one, and they were geared up much differently. Perhaps this was some sort of new breed that he had never seen before.
Alex didn't have time to ponder much longer however, as the figure reached out and grabbed hold of the whipfist and wrenched backward, pulling Alex towards it with a strength that was far greater than any super soldier was capable of. Surprised, Alex was lifted from his feet as the stranger wrenched him forward. Whatever this guy was, might actually be as strong as Alex.
Narrowing his eyes, Alex decided it was time to test that theory. Morphing his other hand into his heavy hammerfist, Alex twirled with the momentum of the blow and swung the hardened limb to strike the figure on the side of his head. The figure raised its hand in response to block, and there was a loud crack as Alex's hardened punch clashed with the armor on the figure's arm. The force of the blow carried through, and though the figure stayed on his feet, the punch caused him to jolt sideways across the smooth floor and crash into the side of the containment chamber with a loud boom. Dust and debris flew everywhere from the impact, and Alex smirked. He had just hit that guy with enough force to destroy a tank, but his satisfied smile immediately dropped as he saw the figure emerge…completely unscathed. Its armor showed no signs of damage, and the figure itself did not appear to be injured in any way. Slowly, the figure lowered its raised block and tilted its visor downward towards Alex, who suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of rage emanating from within the armor. This was no super solider. Whatever this thing was, it was strong and durable…
…and now very angry.
Alex narrowed his eyes and morphed his arm into a long and curved blade, one of his most powerful transformations. Things just got interesting.
…
Starnes sprinted down the hallway, alarms blaring through his helmet combining with the crackling voices screaming in his ear to make a chorus that really made his head hurt. How the hell did you turn down the volume on these things? Starnes kept running. He had orders to secure the infected specimens to make sure that they didn't breach containment, moving him up to first on the list of 'People Most Likely to Die Today'.
"Ah shit…"
As Starnes rounded another corner, he heard another Blackwatch soldier run up beside him.
"Hey brah!" came a semi-familiar voice from the new soldier. "You assigned to corral the infected, too?"
"Yeah man, gotta say though, I am not looking forward to it. Mortality rate for these kinds of orders tends not to be very high."
"Yo, wait a minute…I know your voice. You're that Starnes guy, right? Good shit, brah! I honestly thought you'd be more into seeing the infected with your bag-over-the-head-fetish thing…"
Starnes chuckled as the two of them continued to run.
"Nah, I already seen what most of the infected down here look like. None of 'em are my type. Almost enough to give me a reverse-boner, man!"
The soldier, or 'Brah-guy' as Starnes was beginning to refer to him as, chuckled behind the mask.
"Well, no worries, brah! We come out of this mission alive, I'll make sure we both get some tonight!
Starnes smiled beneath his mask.
Oo-fucking-RAH to that brother! Let's contain some infected!"
With a whoop of excitement, the two of them burst through the final door and into the infected containment chamber, only to freeze immediately at the sight that lay in front of them.
The entire chamber looked like a bomb had gone off inside, or several maybe. Infected corpses were scattered everywhere while Hunters and former humans alike all screamed horrendously and tried to attack some guy that Starnes thought looked kinda familiar…
With a start, Starnes recognized the guy dressed in a leather jacket and hoodie. It was Alex Mercer, number one on Blackwatch's hitlist since New York and also the most powerful man on Earth. One of his arms was transformed into some kind of weird flesh-sword, and with a quick slash, Mercer decapitated a few of the infected before they got too close. Suddenly, another figure appeared from among the infected crowd donned in an armor that Starnes didn't recognize. As he watched dumbfoundedly, the figure pulled out a weapon that looked like it was from a sci-fi movie and pointed it at Alex Mercer, who had been momentarily distracted by the encroaching infected. The weapon spewed a stream of bright blue energy rounds from the end, and Starnes' eyes widened as the plasma burned through Mercer's flesh when it struck.
With a quick glance at each other, Starnes and Brah-guy slowly backed out of the chamber and back into the hallway they had just come from. The doors closed shut in front of them, but Starnes could still hear the enraged roars of infected and the clamor of carnage from beyond it.
"Maaaaaybe we could contain them from a little further down the hallway?" Starnes suggested.
"Sound good to me, brah!" the other soldier said hurriedly as they both turned on their heels and sprinted back the way they came.
…
Alex grit his teeth as he slashed through another infected. His ongoing battle with this strange super soldier had proven to be incredibly destructive to their environment, which had the effect of completely destroying the containment cages that the numerous infected were housed in. Those that weren't crushed by the heavy steel had thrown themselves at Alex in a desperate attempt to kill him. They knew he held a different strain of the same virus, but that had enraged them to the point of completely ignoring the super soldier to attack him. As if he didn't already have his hands full with the indestructible 'space marine' over there.
Alex dodged away as a Hunter swung at him with a massive claw, and he just barely had time to recover before he caught sight of the figure again. A new weapon was in his hands, and despite the intensity of the situation, Alex found himself perplexed. The weapon itself was rather small compared to the ones that this guy had already used on him, as it was only the size of a pistol, and was easily wielded by the super soldier as he brought it to bear on Alex. Catching a glimpse of the pistol's design, Alex saw that it looked very futuristic, similarly to that plasma rifle-thing that he had shot him with earlier, as it also glowed with a bright blue light. The plasma rifle had definitely hurt and burned when the soldier had fired it at Alex, but it hadn't been enough to bring him any serious injury. Sustained fire maybe could've caused concern, but the five-second burst had done nothing more than annoy Alex. His biomass was just too resilient to be brought down by something like that plasma rifle, and if this pistol was anything like that, then Alex foresaw no issue—
Alex was then momentarily blinded as a continuous beam of blazing blue light burst from the weapon. Squeezing his eyes shut, Alex had barely anytime to curse his temporary loss of eyesight before he felt an excruciating agony tear through his being. The pain spiderwebbed outward from his chest, and Alex cried out and crossed his arms in front of himself to help shield against the beam. Whatever that weapon was, it was powerful. In addition to an intense heat that was burning through his biomass much faster than the plasma weapon had, Alex could also feel something more, and it was far more potent than the heat from the beam. As Alex struggled against the force, his mind registered that whatever this weapon was, it wasn't just firing a superheated laser beam. There was something else it was doing to him, and for some reason, it made it feel like his body was ripping itself apart…
…
"By God's name, what is happening down there?" Doctor Hadley whispered, his face a mask of incredulousness as he gazed at the readings he was getting from the infected containment chamber. Temperatures were rising to levels too hot for most humans to withstand, and the radiation…what on Earth?
The Geiger counter had overloaded merely a second after the radiation had appeared, but Doctor Hadley had examined the small amount of info and had discovered that nearly every type of radiation was present. Neutron emission, alpha and beta particles, even gamma…
The chamber was shielded against all forms of radiation, of course, as some of the experiments performed on the infected were radioactive in nature. But this amount…this sheer extent…radiation levels were increasing drastically even in containment chambers nearby. Whatever the source, it was as though a small nuclear bomb had gone off but had confined all of its radiation into one single room. Typing a few commands, Doctor Hadley activated the emergency shielding measures, sealing off the contaminated area and sending orders to response teams to begin boron pumping. If this wasn't handled, then the facility would be lost.
PARIAH would be lost.
…
Alex struggled to come up with a solution as the beam continued to slowly deconstruct him. The beam was attacking the virus within him, killing off the cells at the smallest level. He could feel it. His DNA was collapsing, and his fear only grew as he saw biomass begin to melt off of him. Small globs of 'skin' began to dribble off his arms, and with a quick glance to his side, Alex saw similar reactions in the remaining infected, their skin blistering and reddening in response to the beam's intensity.
Alex's stomach clenched as he then realized it. He had felt this pain before. It had been back in New York, when he had flown the nuke out to sea to save the city. He hadn't been able to escape the blast radius completely, and when it had gone off…
Radiation.
That's what was killing him. That weapon was firing radiation as well as its laser. He was at ground zero, and that radiation was destroying the virus's DNA, his DNA. It was decimating it, annihilating it, even corrupting it. The virus was vulnerable, and Alex realized that if he was going to make it out alive, he had to act now.
With an enraged scream, Alex pressed his hands into the beam and willed his biomass to shoot forward in a concentrated blast. His weakening body complied only with a herculean amount of effort, and hardened tendrils burst from his skin and pushed through the beam at devastating speeds. The radiation burned and dismantled some of the biomass, but Alex yelled and pushed harder against it. After what seemed like an eternity, a loud boom resounded throughout the chamber, and the bright light abruptly faded as the beam died away.
Nearly falling down onto one knee as the pain receded slightly, Alex noted that even though the beam was gone, there was still residual radiation inside the chamber. Remembering something he had learned in his biology class in college, Alex willed his outer skin to harden and morph into a thick, armored carapace.
Almost miraculously, the pain receded by a significant amount, the armored shell offering some protection from the effects of the radiation around him. Glancing around, Alex saw that nearly all of the infected had been obliterated by the weapon. In addition to being torn apart by the fight itself, the radiation that had followed had mangled many beyond recognition. Burned and melting skin was falling off the bodies almost as though it didn't fit anymore. Among the gruesome scene, only a few Hunters had managed to barely survive, though it looked like they could expire at any second. Alex quickly lashed out and consumed them in an effort to replenish the substantial amount of biomass that he had lost, but their irradiated bodies provided only a small amount of nourishment to him. On top of that, his body almost refused to obey him. He was sending the signals for his muscles to move, but it was like the connection was weak. Delayed, even. That radiation had attacked the virus at the smallest level possible, and if Alex hadn't stopped the beam at the last second…he hesitated to even think about how much longer he would've lasted.
Looking back to where the soldier had been, Alex saw no trace of him. Surely his concentrated tendril attack had torn him apart, right? Not even the Supreme Hunter had been able to survive that move without nearly being torn in half. And this super soldier certainly couldn't be as sturdy as—
A pile of rubble erupted from the far side of the chamber, and Alex stared incredulously as the figure emerged, almost unscathed.
Almost…
The green armor that the figure wore had finally yielded, as multiple dents and scratches peppered the chest plate and arms. On top of that, some of the dark green finish had been sheered away, giving the armor a now well-used look. And the visor…
The visor was cracked.
As the figure faced Alex once more, he was able to see that one long crack ran from the top to the bottom of the visor, giving a noticeable blemish to the once unmarred surface. The crack was slightly off-center, looking like it was directly over where one of the eyes would be.
Despite being able to tank one of his strongest attacks, Alex should have felt a sense of accomplishment at seeing the figure undergo damage like this. If it bled, then he could kill it. He should have been invigorated by seeing his opponent worn down.
So why did he feel like he had just made a huge mistake?
The figure's fists clenched once more at his sides, and Alex narrowed his gaze as the figure slowly reached behind himself, likely for another weapon. If the figure chose to fire that radiation gun again, Alex could at least defend now, as his carapace armor protected him from the radiation, and it would be enough for him to land another blow if he needed it. Despite the sluggishness of his body, Alex still could move at least. Even if he couldn't transform as easily now, he still had his armor, which was strong enough to survive tank rounds, missile blasts, gunfire, nearly everything. And unlike the figure's, it wasn't already damaged. The question was, whose was going to give out first?
The figure brought his hand back, and Alex frowned in confusion once more as he stared at what seemed to be a red ball of flaming energy clenched tightly in his fist. It looked like a palm-sized fireball sitting in the figure's gauntleted hand, and before Alex could speculate further, the figure crushed the ball completely.
Despite the blazing temperatures already inside the containment chamber, it suddenly seemed to grow even hotter as the red flaming energy surged across the figure's armor until he was completely coated in it. Suddenly, the mood shifted, and Alex became eerily aware of the fact that this new heat was emanating from the armored figure himself. The heat wasn't just intense, it was forceful, like a strong wind was pushing Alex backward at the same time. In spite of the heat, Alex almost shivered.
For a moment, everything was still, and then the figure erupted, charging at Alex at a speed that was almost too fast to follow. No weapon was in his hands, but that did little to make him less intimidating as Alex's eyes widened in shock. There was no time to react before the figure was upon him, and the next thing Alex registered was the sound of his armor groaning as the figure punched him with enough force to shatter several feet of concrete. Alex's armor held against the blow, but it was only thanks to the immense weight of his biomass that he didn't go sailing through the opposite wall of the containment chamber. Instead, he skidded backward a few yards, and he only just had time to recover before the figure was upon him again.
Alex threw his arm forward in a punch of his own to intercept, but the figure batted it away as though it was an insect and delivered an uppercut directly under Alex's chin. Alex staggered backward from the sheer power of the blow and grunted as the figure swung for him again.
How had he become so overwhelmingly strong all of a sudden? What did that red orb do to him?
'Damnit!' Alex thought as he struggled to defend against the barrage of punches that came his way. If he had been at full strength, he might have been able to defend and even counter against this sudden juggernaut-like power, but that radioactive beam had hurt him more than he had previously thought. He felt sluggish from the residual radiation, on top of his damaged transformation power, his stamina was fading. On top of that, his mobility was limited even further by his armored carapace. He needed time to regroup, to recover, but the figure obviously had no intention of giving him it. He found himself overtly reliant on his nigh impenetrable armor, and that should have been enough. He had withstood thousands of impacts in this armor before, so he should've been able to shrug off the fists of an average height human. Unfortunately for him, Alex was learning all to quickly that whatever was under that armor was anything but human. Each blow that it threw against him rattled his armor to the core, and its speed was on par if not slightly faster than Alex's after he'd absorbed that red ball. Alex was successfully able to dodge some of the blindingly fast punches that he threw, but more and more glancing blows landed against his armor, and he could feel the impacts wearing him down faster than anything else had before.
His mind racing, Alex realized that if he dropped his armor now, he could trade the protection for speed, and he might have been able to retreat a certain distance and regroup, but he ran the risk of getting punched without the added protection, which was a scenario that Alex was not entirely sure he would walk away from. But if he continued to just stand there and hold his ground, that might just happen anyway. He had to try something.
Alex quickly reached his decision and was just about to make his move when the figure suddenly kicked his legs out from beneath him, toppling his carapaced form hard into the floor below. Alex immediately moved to get away, but the figure was too fast. Straddling him, the figure began raining blow after devastating blow down onto Alex's prone form, this time leaving him no room to dodge as the blows pounded upon him like a meteor shower. Each hit felt like like an earthquake through his body, and Alex grunted in pain as the impacts resounded throughout his form. Alex heard a loud crack, and he became horrifically aware that his armor was now compromised. He tried to refresh it once more, but the figure had other plans. Grabbing him by his neck and holding him against the floor, the figure thrust his other gauntleted hand forward and grabbed the 'face plate' of Alex's chitinous form. Alex grabbed at both of the figure's wrists and struggled to pry them away, but the stranger's intense grip held him like a vise. Slowly, the figure began to crush Alex's faceplate with his fingers, and he saw a spiderweb of cracks appear in his faceplate as the chitin yielded to the armored figure's grip strength. The cracks propagated even further and further, more light spilling into his helmet, until finally, Alex's faceplate shattered, exposing him to the stranger and the radiation once more.
Alex desperately tried to do something…anything…but his body refused to listen. The virus inside him was not responding, and all he could do was helplessly watch as the figure drew his arm back into a tightly closed fist with the other still holding him by the neck against the floor.
This was it.
Only now did Alex realize that he was going to die here. The punch itself wouldn't kill him, of course, as he was capable of surviving even if his head came off, but the figure would no doubt realize that as well. And with a punch like what he had dished out so far, there was no doubt that he'd do enough damage incapacitate Alex until he could finish him off. Any way Alex tried to spin this, each outcome was the same. His retribution had arrived at last, both for his sins and the sins of his past life.
Briefly, his mind flitted to Dana, his sister, who was still back in New York. When she had learned that he was going to search for more answers, she had told him to be careful, and to his credit, he thought he had been. He'd thought he had anticipated every possible contingency and could find a way out of it, but who could anticipate this? This…monster.
Whatever, it didn't matter now. None of it did. Not in a few seconds anyway.
To Alex's surprise, the figure suddenly turned his head slightly, as though he was listening to something. Alex tried to find the energy to be confused but couldn't. He couldn't even see straight at the moment. For a few seconds, the figure listened to whatever he was hearing, then he looked back down at Alex as though he was examining him. There was a brief moment of tense silence, then the figure almost begrudgingly stood up, releasing Alex as he did so. His movements seemed hesitant, as though he wanted nothing more to pummel Alex into a pulp at the moment. Then the red aura weaving through his armor faded, and the temperature in the chamber cooled slightly.
Alex eyed the stranger wearily, then remembered that the radiation was still prevalent in this room. Focusing hard, Alex remorphed his face plate over his features, and immediately he felt relief once more as the radiation was held at bay.
Above him, the figure stepped back to allow Alex a chance to stand, and after gazing warily at him for a moment, Alex slowly got to his feet. Meeting the gaze of the cracked visor, the two of them stared at each other for a long moment, then Alex heard a voice emerge from within the suit.
"Alex Mercer," the voice said in a tone that was way too polite for the given situation. "I believe that we may be able to resolve this conflict in a way that benefits us both."
…
Starnes tactically looked around the corner as him and Brah-guy made their way back to their regroup point. Whatever had happened inside that chamber, Starnes could be fairly certain that no infected had survived. Alex Mercer may have, but he wasn't really in the mission parameters, so they could call it a success.
"Sweetness, brah! Mission complete, right?" Brah-guy said from beside him.
"With you 100% there, dude. Now let's get the hell back to the regroup point. I'm definitely not sticking around to see if Mercer survived that."
"Whoa, brah…That was Alex Mercer? Holy fuck, what's he doing all the way out here?!"
"No idea, but the guy has always had beef with Gentek, so I guess it makes sense."
"Damn, we gotta get the hell away from here, brah. I don't think my insurance covers being torn apart by a virally-enhanced super human."
Starnes was about to say more when his radio flared to life again.
"Whiskey-Three, report in. This is Warden Actual."
That was for them. Starnes shared a quick glance with Brah-guy and activated his radio.
"Warden Actual, Whiskey-Three here. Whatcha' got?"
"Whiskey-Three, you are now assigned to link up with Whiskey-Two and Whiskey-Four and form a blockade around specimen PARIAH. Nothing is to get in or out, and lethal force is authorized."
Starnes saw Brah-guy slump his shoulders at the news.
"Shit, brah. Looks like we ain't outta the woods yet."
Starnes begrudgingly nodded.
…
Alex listened warily as the voice inside the suit explained what was happening. Apparently, the voice was called VEGA, but he was merely an A.I. that was housed inside the suit's systems. The entity actually standing before him was called the Doom Slayer. They had apparently come from an alternate reality, one where Gentek and the Blacklight Virus didn't exist, and had only arrived in this universe less than an hour ago. Apparently, they had been making random jumps across alternate realities in an attempt to return to their own. They had no control over which dimension they arrived in each time they jumped, so it remained a test of trial and error each time they did so.
Alex was quick to call bullshit on their claims, but VEGA's only response to his skepticism was that his belief or disbelief did not matter. As they had not come to this facility with the intention of convincing him of their origins. They had arrived in this reality at a point roughly three miles from the facility and had infiltrated it because VEGA had received some anomalous readings from within. Though Alex had been one of those readings, the two of them still needed to find another that was located within the heart of the complex.
'Likely PARIAH,' Alex thought. He didn't offer any information to the Slayer or VEGA, however, as he still had no way to know if they could be trusted. He supposed that the Doom Slayer had opted not to kill him just now…
"If I may be frank, Alex Mercer," VEGA said, the A.I.'s voice never straying from the calm tone he had used since starting the conversation. "Under different circumstances, I may not have deemed it necessary to request that the Doom Slayer spare you. Delving into numerous accounts of the events that transpired in New York, I have discovered that you often conduct yourself with little regard to possible collateral damage."
"Just what the hell are you accusing me of?" Alex challenged with a sneer.
"Though your agenda against the Gentek Corporation and Blackwatch is justified, your methods do not account for civilian casualties," VEGA replied calmly. "In numerous instances, I have noticed that you willingly sacrificed innocent lives to accomplish your goals."
"Yeah?" Alex countered, half-stepping forward with his chin raised. "Was that before or after I saved the whole damn city from nuclear annihilation?"
"The footage I have analyzed shows instances of negligent civilian casualties both before and after that event."
Alex's face contorted angrily at the A.I.'s words. Gentek and Blackwatch had been performing experiments on innocent people that were far worse than anything he'd done, and this glorified calculator was calling him out?
"So why not let your lapdog kill me then?" he spat in contempt towards the Doom Slayer. "If I'm really the bad guy here, why not just take me out? Make the world a better place? Get rid of the scum?"
The Doom Slayer eyed Alex angrily from behind his visor, the crack down the mask only making his appearance all the more intimidating. He seemed eager to hear VEGA's reasoning as well, as his body language still suggested that he wanted to rip Alex to pieces at the moment.
"Though you are not without your faults, Alex Mercer, you still possess a high degree of morality compared to that of Gentek and Blackwatch," VEGA replied. "Given your deeds in the past, I have concluded that you believe the ends justify the means. While this mindset is not ideal, it is enough to give us reason to be temporarily allied."
Alex glared back confusedly.
"Temporarily allied for what?"
…
Alex followed somewhat begrudgingly as the Doom Slayer led the way through the hallways and deeper into the facility, likely following the anomalous readings and leading them closer to where PARIAH was being held. VEGA had remotely hacked into the facility's security system, negating the need for force to pry open any restricted doors. For a while, neither of them spoke, but after a brief moment of consideration, Alex swallowed the foul taste in his mouth and addressed the two of them.
"What exactly do you two know about PARIAH?" he asked. If VEGA was really inside the systems on this base, then the A.I. had definitely come across something related to the kid.
"Records indicate that Subject PARIAH is a highly coveted asset to Gentek," VEGA replied from within the Slayer's armor. "It is the only child of Elizabeth Greene and was birthed shortly after her infection with the Redlight virus in 1969. After the mother and child were separated, PARIAH was initially transferred to Vandenberg, California for further testing, but was moved here after the risk of escape grew too great. Like Elizabeth Greene, Subject PARIAH appears to possess a decelerated aging process, its body retaining the appearance of an 8-year-old child despite its current age of forty years old."
Alex listened intently as VEGA continued. So far, the A.I. had only restated what he already knew, but it was not yet done talking.
"Further information proved relatively difficult to obtain during my scan of Blackwatch's database, but I have uncovered several experimental logs with PARIAH as the main test subject."
"What kind of experiments?"
"Most appear to be trials of physicality. Their likely goal was to discern more information about PARIAH's superhuman abilites."
"And…?"
"Cross-referencing the footage from New York with the results of these experimental logs, I conclude that PARIAH is on par with you in terms of strength, speed, and agility if not slightly superior. Its body also possesses all of the same transformative features that yours does, Alex Mercer."
Alex was stunned, and he nearly stopped walking in the middle of the hallway. PARIAH was…just like him? Did it carry the same strand of virus that he did? Questions swam through Alex's mind as he tried to make sense out of it all, but one stood out more than all the others.
"You told me that only most of the experiments were about that, VEGA. What about the others?"
"The other experiments conducted on PARIAH are to discern its genetic nature, as Gentek is still inconclusive in their findings to truly decipher it."
"What the hell does that mean?"
"Despite the similarities between you and PARIAH, Alex Mercer, there exist a few significant differences. Perhaps the most perplexing to Gentek is that PARIAH has tested negative for every strain of the Redlight virus that Elizabeth Greene was infected with at the time of birth. In fact, PARIAH has proven immune to every form of pathogen that has been introduced on it. The logs detail trials with each of the five main pathogenic types, but PARIAH's immune system has effectively neutralized them within hours of infection."
This time, Alex stopped walking out of sheer shock.
"You mean to tell me that this kid can do everything I can, and it doesn't even have the virus inside it?!"
"That is correct, Alex Mercer."
Alex stood stunned for a few moments in the hallway, digesting this information as best as he could. How was any of this even possible? Brief flashes of memory came into his mind from another life, and Alex remembered a small fragment of information that the old Alex had learned from studying the virus.
Human DNA could be split into two categories: coding and non-coding. Coding DNA was imperative, as it held the information necessary for synthesizing proteins within the human body. Non-coding DNA, which accounted for most of the DNA on within a human body, did not do that. For a long time, science had considered the non-coding portion of the human DNA to be worthless, or "junk" DNA. Of course, relatively recent discoveries had proven those claims to be false, but they had only just scratched the surface of what the non-coding DNA was capable of. With the creation of the Redlight virus, humanity had accidentally tapped into the potential of those strains with the successful genesis of Elizabeth Green.
She had been the first success of the virus, as only her DNA had been compatible with it. The virus itself targeted those non-coding sections of DNA and had unlocked the hidden potential that every human innately carried. It had given Greene superhuman abilities, made her resistant to other forms of disease and infection, and had virtually made her immortal. It had been perfect.
It had been almost poetic to the scientists studying its effects. The initial objective of the Redlight project was to design a bioweapon that could target specific racial types, but instead, they had stumbled upon a catalyst of human evolution on the grandest scale. No doubt they had been eager to continue on this new path they discovered.
But Greene had been a one in a million case, as any DNA that wasn't compatible was vilely corrupted by exposure to Redlight. It needed work. They needed a virus that could work on all humans, not just a very special case. So, they began the Blacklight project with the old Alex Mercer at the head, hoping to pioneer a new viral strain that could affect everyone the same way. With power like that in their hands, they'd be unstoppable. Imagine the power you could wield with ten Elizabeth Greenes...
And so, the old Alex Mercer had worked tirelessly to perfect the virus, devoting his entire life to it, even. And though Alex had never been able to perfect the consistency of the virus, he had been able to improve upon it. The original Redlight virus was potent, but it had only been able to partially tap into the potential of the non-coded DNA. Blacklight, on the other hand, had been able to completely open the floodgates, creating a much stronger and more resilient specimen. But the virus only artificially did such a thing, if something like that were to occur naturally…
The sudden realization wrenched Alex from the memory, bringing him back into the hallway with the Doom Slayer. He looked up at his former foe, then slowly nodded his head in understanding.
"PARIAH and I…we're so similar because the exact same thing happened to us. The non-coding regions of our genes, they've both been unleashed. For me, it was through Blacklight. For PARIAH it was through Elizabeth Greene…"
Alex trailed off.
"I have reached the same conclusion, Alex Mercer. While your evolution was artificially stimulated by the Blacklight virus, PARIAH's was naturally stimulated by the transference of the affected genes through Elizabeth Green's pregnancy. She did not transfer the virus, but rather, the results of the virus: the evolved human genome. Because it was introduced during pregnancy, the DNA strains were more impressionable, and the entirety of the non-coding portions were affected as a result."
"That's why PARIAH is so damn important to them," Alex growled. "It's the first instance of an evolved human without the use of the virus. If they can isolate the results, they can evolve anyone they want without worry of creating more infected. They could conquer the whole planet!"
He glanced over to the Doom Slayer as he said it, and Alex saw that the armored figure seemed to share in his anger.
"We have to get to PARIAH and put a stop to this," Alex growled. "How close are we?"
At the end of the hall, VEGA remotely opened another door in response, and Alex and the Doom Slayer hastened through, both moving quickly in response to the newfound gravity of the situation.
…
Starnes and Brah-guy stood idly, the massive reinforced door to PARIAH's containment chamber behind them. The alarms still blared throughout the facility, and if Starnes was being honest, he was almost becoming used to the rhythmic drone that sounded every second or so. In fact, he had just started tapping his foot and humming a tune along with the beat of the alarm when another Blackwatch soldier rounded the corner and made his way to them. Starnes immediately recognized the officer's rank on his shoulder, and both he and Brah-guy straightened a bit as the officer arrived.
"Afternoon, sir," Starnes said, adjusting the weight of his rifle. "They send you here to support?"
The officer glared at him before shaking his head angrily.
"Oh for the love of…you have got to be shitting me, Starnes!"
Brah-guy spoke up next to them.
"Oh shit, brah! You're the officer from the elevator! What are the odds we all get sent to the same guard point for PARIAH?"
"Oh, and you too?!" the officer said looking at Brah-guy. "You know what? Fuck this! You two, go find some other point. I am not gonna sit here until this lockdown shit is over with you two fuck faces!
Starnes wasn't really bothered by the officer's insults, as he had grown used to it in New York. Brah-guy spoke up again.
"You sure, brah? Guarding a point by yourself is not the best idea. Especially if Alex Mercer is running around down here!"
"Shut it! Fucking Godzilla could be down here, and I still wouldn't put up with you two. Now get out of my sight. That's an order!"
Starnes shared a glace with Brah-guy, then shrugged.
"Yes sir," he said, adjusting his rifle in his hands and starting back down the hallway. Brah-guy fell in beside him.
The officer watched the two of them disappear through the door at the end of the hallway, then shook his head angrily.
"Fucking morons…" he muttered.
He suddenly heard footsteps approaching, and he angrily snapped his head up.
"God damnit, Starnes! What did I just-?"
His angered voice suddenly became choked as Alex Mercer appeared in his vision stabbed him through the chest.
…
Alex felt a sense of relief as he began the process of consuming the soldier. So much of his biomass had been destroyed or irradiated during his fight with the Doom Slayer, and it felt good to finally consume something that wasn't leaking gamma rays. Alex's relief was short-lived however as he felt the soldier's memories flash from behind his eyelids. Alex shuddered for a brief second, then was brought back to the present. The Doom Slayer watched him for a moment, then approached the door without saying a word.
Alex watched him, then followed, the two of them coming to a stop in front of a massive reinforced door. There was a moment of silence.
PARIAH as just beyond. Alex could feel it. After everything that happened, they were finally here at last.
There was a deep rumble, then the heavy door slowly began to open under VEGA's command.
"Alex Mercer," the A.I. began. "I believe you will soon see why I felt it necessary to keep you alive."
Alex glanced over to the Slayer, then set his gaze on the door as it opened farther.
"Alright VEGA, let's see what you got."
On cue, the doors slid all the way open at last, and the two of them stepped forward into a circular chamber. The first thing Alex noticed was that the long circular wall was adorned with an army of machines, each one showcasing a myriad of dials and readouts that all conveyed some form of data. The machines were all state-of-the art, and Alex could see that Gentek had spared no expense in acquiring them.
As Alex took in the scene, his gaze then fell onto the center of the chamber, where a massive glass cylinder almost as tall as the ceiling sat.
Inside, Alex could see the form of a child suspended in some sort of orange fluid. The child was completely naked, and it seemed to be unconscious. A splay of wires and tubes were connected to the child's inert form as well, likely connecting it to the machines surrounding the container.
It was PARIAH.
It had to be.
Seeing it with his own eyes, Alex felt a sense of weightlessness for a moment. It was as though he was sleepwalking. He almost couldn't believe it. This child was evolved like him, but it didn't have any form of pathogen enhancing its DNA. It was doing it all naturally.
For a moment, Alex's mind flashed to the realization of what this meant for humanity. The DNA of this child was perfect: maximum physicality, able to rearrange its form on command, and nigh immortal. If this child were to produce offspring of its own, it would usher in a new era of superhumans, all immune to every known disease and pathogen on the planet. The perfect society…
And it all started here…
Alex was brought back from his thoughts as he focused on PARIAH again. The small child had its body curled into itself almost protectively, and in that moment, Alex suddenly felt something within his chest. The feeling was somewhat warm, but it was something that Alex himself had rarely felt before. Maybe there was a fragment of a memory somewhere of the old Alex's that explained what this feeling was, but the Alex of now didn't know. He briefly glanced over to see the Doom Slayer looking at him.
Shit, he'd noticed. Alex didn't know how the Slayer could 'see' his feelings, but he still did. And somehow, Alex knew that the Slayer knew that PARIAH was the source. The Doom Slayer then seemed to relax a small amount, his fists unclenching from his sides and his shoulders falling slightly. Alex had not expected such a sudden change of demeanor, prompting him to stare for a moment. The Slayer's incredibly damaged armor still made him look like a war machine, but for the briefest of moments, Alex considered that maybe there was a human under there and not some rage fueled revenant. It was…interesting to see. Alex shook his head. He knew what was coming next.
"VEGA, just what are you planning for the kid?"
"I believe that we all know that it is not up to me, Alex Mercer."
Alex sighed, feeling a weight settle on himat VEGA's words. Alex couldn't tell if the weight was good or bad yet, but he'd likely know for sure within the next few minutes.
"You think I can look after it, don't you?"
"I am certain that you are the only one who can."
Alex shook his head. He wanted to step back, to deny the hesitant frightfully warm sensation he felt inside him when he looked at the kid, but he couldn't, and he knew he couldn't, and VEGA and the Doom Slayer both knew it too.
"I'm not a fucking babysitter," Alex said, morphing his arm into his sword with a small bit of effort and showing it to the them. "Not when every fucking thing I can do is geared towards destruction."
"I'm afraid your reasoning is flawed, Alex Mercer," VEGA replied politely. "Your biomass can alter itself into any form you see fit. It can offer great expediency in construction scenarios—"
"That's not what I meant," Alex growled forcefully, surprising himself with his sudden outburst. He glanced warily to see how the Slayer would respond, but to his surprise, the figure hadn't tensed up at all. He was just watching him, waiting for Alex to speak, his expression completely unreadable behind the cracked visor.
"Look," Alex said, taking a deep breath. "I'm no good with this kind of thing. I can't feed it, I can't teach it good manners, and I definitely can't protect it. Not from them…"
"You are again incorrect, Alex Mercer," was VEGA's response. "You are quite capable…"
The Doom Slayer immediately raised a hand, and VEGA suddenly stopped speaking. Alex was taken aback as the Slayer slowly lowered his hand as though he had something to say. Strolling over to one of the terminals, the armored man began typing out a few commands. Alex squinted and drew closer, and it looked like the Slayer was looking through the database for a specific file. Alex was about to ask what he was looking for when a sudden image appeared on the screen. Alex recognized it. It was a closeup of his sister's face, Dana Mercer. Alex recognized her shortly cropped hair and similar features, and he confusedly looked over at the Doom Slayer, who pointed to the screen, then to Alex and PARIAH.
Alex then understood.
"No way," he said with a shake of his head. "There's no way I'm involving her in this. We have no idea if this kid is even friendly or not, and bringing it to her would put them both in way too much danger."
Them both…?
Alex frowned. Why the hell did he suddenly care so much about this kid? Had the radiation screwed with him somehow?
Alex turned away from the Doom Slayer and shook his head, trying to gather his thoughts. There was no way in hell he wanted to take care of this kid. He couldn't protect this kid, fuck…he couldn't even protect himself! Alex thought back to how the Doom Slayer had wiped the floor with him not ten minutes ago. What if the kid couldn't be controlled? What if it wanted to hurt people? What if Alex accidentally made it want to hurt people? No. He couldn't do this. He couldn't allow himself to corrupt that kid. He couldn't be strong enough. He couldn't…
Alex jolted when he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking back, Alex saw the Doom Slayer looking at him as steadily as he always did. And yet, with the man's armored hand on his shoulder, Alex couldn't help but feel a small sense of calm come over him. It was almost as though the Doom Slayer's mere presence was enough to give him some reassurance.
"If I may," came VEGA's voice. "The Doom Slayer is not suggesting that you take PARIAH to sister, Alex Mercer. He is only suggesting that she would make a viable person to turn to for advice. Though the child is indeed much more than a human, it is still a child. Dana Mercer may be able to assist you in this regard."
Alex hesitated, still not entirely convinced.
"But it is as I said," VEGA continued. "This choice is not ours to make."
There was a beat of silence. Alex looked at the Doom Slayer, suddenly seeing the armored juggernaut in a whole new light. Whatever this guy was, it didn't matter now. Alex knew that the two of them were far more alike than they were different. For the longest time, they'd been trying to save lives that were endangered by those with power. In many cases, they'd been the only ones strong enough to undo the damage that had been done to their world. And every time they finally began to pick up the pieces, someone shattered everything all over again.
But this time…this time things had the chance to be different. This time Alex didn't have to erase Gentek's mistakes. Now, he had the chance to turn it into something better, a chance to flip the script, a chance to take what was corrupted and purify it. And maybe, just maybe, he could purify himself too.
Turning his head to the container and gazing at the child within, Alex let out a deep breath.
"You got a way to get this thing open?"
…
Starnes sighed and sat back against a large pallet of medical supplies, finally getting the chance to sit down at last after being on his feet for the last six hours straight. Brah-guy grunted as he sat down beside him, a few profanities escaping from the muffling of his mask.
After a moment, Brah-guy let out a tired chuckle.
"Damn, brah. I know I promised to get us laid tonight, but I don't I've even got the strength to get the little guy up after today."
Starnes laughed.
"Same story here, brother. People say I've got the lowest standards they've ever seen, but I'd turn down even the hottest of models right now."
"Really?"
"…nah."
The two of them grunted humorously, and Starnes thought back to everything that had happened that day. Both him and Brah-guy had been forced to remain on duty after the breach. Apparently, Alex Mercer had escaped the facility with PARIAH in tow, and now all of the Gentek eggheads were losing their minds. Now that their favorite lab rat was gone, they were all frantically trying to salvage what little research was left. Apparently when Alex Mercer had departed, he had also spared no expense in completely destroying all of their virus specimens and lab work. On top of that, some unknown entity had hacked into their databases and had wiped clean every single shred of research and data they had on the Blacklight virus.
Just like that, those nerds were back to square one. Starnes almost felt bad for them, but if he was being honest, he was a bit relieved. All of his time in Blackwatch had been spent looking after those pocket-protector-wearing losers, but now that all their research was gone, maybe he'd get transferred somewhere cool like North Korea or the Middle East…
"Yo, brah. Whatever happened to that super solider that broke in right after Mercer did?"
"You didn't hear?" Starnes said, looking over to his new partner-in-crime. "Him and Mercer were working together. Whiskey two said the two of them left the facility together. Apparently is was like a hurricane of destruction on their way out."
"Damn, first New York and now out here? Small world, huh brah?"
"Yeah," Starnes said, tilting his head back against the pallet with a sigh.
"Seems like it just keeps getting smaller…"
A/N: And scene! If any are confused about a few things, let me clear up a spot or two: the radioactive pistol is actually the starting plasma pistol from DOOM (2016), but those who have read the SCP chapter know that our beloved Doom Slayer popped it into SCP-914 and gave it a serious upgrade, giving it its intense heat and radioactivity! Speaking of the SCP chapter, I heard the link wasn't working anymore, so I changed the format a bit. Hopefully it works now! I apologize to any who couldn't access it!
As for the setting of this chapter, I thought long and hard about where in Prototype I wanted to put the Slayer, and at first, I thought Prototype 2 was the obvious choice. Having the Doom Slayer team up with James Heller to take down an evil Alex Mercer sounds awesome right? But then I realized that I didn't want that! I didn't want Heller (even though I like him a lot), I wanted Alex! (Prototype 1 Alex to be specific because there is a pretty big difference haha!) And then I realized that the Prototype series never really wrapped up the whole PARIAH story, so I figured I'd do it in my own way!
As always, make sure to let me know how much you loved/hated the chapter by leaving a review! I always love hearing from you guys! As of this chapter being posted, there is only one week left until the release of DOOM Eternal! Mad hype folks! See you all next time!
-ImpulsiveWeaver
P.S. I didn't realize until after the fact, but it's a bit ironic that I write about Prototype with its viruses and infected populations right in the midst of the Coronavirus in the real world. Pretty funny, huh?