"Eighteen dead. Five injured", Sheriff Moore's expression was dark. "Without your men, Colonel, we would have no survivors at all."

"Including ourselves", Cross confirmed. His posture was more tense than it usually was, Heller noticed, his eyes narrow and constantly checking the surrounding area. He didn't wonder about that one- the attack had caught them with their figurative pants down, and that was something the Specialist didn't like.

Question is, what triggered it?

Heller threw a glance over to the Runner, who was currently collecting the dead animals' remains under the watchful eyes of the Wisemen. Of course, he got to do the dirty work, since he was the only one who could casually grow back any limbs the acid ate away. Also, probably because he was an asshole around them, as usual.

Mercer glanced at him, eyebrows furrowing. What triggered the attack?

The answer to that was simple. Heller turned around and walked into the remains of the tent that used to house the bodies. More cops, and EMTs were now swarming the place, with soldiers positioned around them to keep watch. This time, they were carrying heavy gear, and the Wisemen nearby had been joined by a fresh squad of Blackwatch not even three minutes ago.

Neither of them paid him much attention though, too focused on the surrounding woods. No wonder, Heller thought, with the flood lights installed around and the night creeping in, every shadow was magnified to look like chitinous black armor.
Fucking things, it was good Mercer showed up- even if he wasn't as acid resistant as he needed to be, he was still the most efficient weapon they had against these things.

The Evolved snorted and started digging through the remains, careful to not disturb any of the medic professionals that were collecting body parts, until he found what he was looking for: A silvery metal tube, the thermos can he'd seen before everything went to shit.

He peered inside, noticing the waxy remains clinging to the bottom. He also noticed how his blood started pulsing, scales starting to creep up his arms and his fingers twitching, yearning to turn into talons. His body was readying itself for fight- despite the complete lack of reason to become aggressive.

Well, not really. Heller scoffed and stood up, to march towards the Wisemen. "Hey, Big Guy!"
The D-Code turned and glanced at him. Heller thrust the Thermos towards his face. "Take a whiff and tell me what you're feeling."

The Supersoldier complied, likely out of confusion- before he froze and grimaced, stepping back while his fists curled. "Okay, now I feel like punching somebody."

"Isn't that what you normally feel?" One of the others questioned.

"Yeah. But this is...shit." He glared at the Evolved. "You trying to roofie me?"

"Nope. Just testing a theory", Heller replied. His hands twisted into claws without his active say-so. "Think this shit is what caused these things to attack. Obviously works on us too, if not as much."

"What?" Colonel Cross closed in on them. "Say that again."

Mercer also approached, and cleared his throat. "He thinks it is some kind of trigger scent." He jabbed his hand towards the carcasses he's collected. "And look at these things. No eyes. I'm not sure they have ears, yet they are capable of working together. How do they communicate, then?" He cocked his head. "The data I found mentioned pheromones. Maybe combined with, or formed into some form of Hive Mind."

"Pheromones? Like insects?" Cross's eyes narrowed. "Pheromones that can be created artificially, in order to lure them closer." He inhaled slowly. "It was a trap."

"Somebody didn't want us to work the bodies", Heller pointed out. He furrowed his brows. "No. Actually...They wanted to prevent people from checking up on the bodies. We were just collateral." He turned the Thermos over in his hands, trying to pick up any lingering scent on it.

No such luck. He would bet that there weren't any fingerprints either. Still, they had something. He eyed Cross. "How fast can your people analyze this stuff?"

"Some hours", the Specialist replied simply. Then added, "We don't have any tech at the moment."

"Might still be worth a shot" The Evolved handed the can over.

"Will do. Mercer", Cross wasn't even looking at the Runner when he handed the thermos to a subordinate. "Mind telling us why you didn't pursue these things? I was under the impression you would be capable to do so."

Mercer shrugged. "What you said. I know where they are, I can follow any time I wish. Right now, however, I want to check the carcasses. Confirm an idea I had. After that", his lips quirked up into a wicked grin. "I pay a visit to the thing's hideout."
The grin turned sharper, eyes flashing. "Nothing is more satisfactory than blowing somebody's hope that they escaped out of the water." Heller had the feeling he was going to add to it, but he obviously decided against it. Still, his eyes lingered on the Sheriff, before he picked up his voice. "Doc, you mind helping me with these things?"

If Doctor Moore had been jumpy with him, then she was nearly leaping out of her skin to run for the hills now. Heck, it's been that way ever since Mercer showed up to eradicate the black things. She was deathly terrified, and that had nothing to do with how he dispatched the attackers.

But then again, it was understandable. Pretty much every one of the others looked seriously shaken up. There was only so much a human brain could endure before it shut down, and some reached this point faster than others.

Heller sighed and decided to intervene. "In case you haven't noticed, she does mind. Do your stuff on your own, but let her sit down for a bit."

Mercer eyed him briefly, then exhaled once. "Fine. Fine. I would have valued a second opinion, but it's not really necessary."

"So, I can take my wife home, then?" The Sheriff asked carefully.

At that, the Runner shook his head. "I'm afraid that won't be an option."

"What? Why?"

"Because somebody planted this trigger stuff here. Somebody wanted you to become exposed to it. Somebody who got access to highly lethal and nearly non-traceable animals that laugh off small arm fire." He crossed his arms and cocked his head. "Do you really want to split up and risk those things getting to your wife without anybody there capable of protecting her?"

Heller winced. Ouch, harsh but true. The Sheriff cringed too, as did the doctor.

Mercer scoffed. "Thought so." He turned to the butchered animals, effectively dismissing the situation. The Moores both headed to the emergency tent the EMTs set up, leaving them. Cross scowled at the Runner as he started to break open the carcasses. "I assume this stuff is still lingering?"

"Most likely", Mercer confirmed. "It must be long-lasting and highly potent." He stopped briefly, glancing at the Specialist. "You try to figure out what's inside the trigger, and how to reverse it."

Cross cocked an eyebrow. "You don't want us out in the field, locating the nesting grounds."

"We can't be there", Heller realized, clarity smacking him across the face. "Because we've been exposed to this stuff. If we go to their nesting ground, all of them are going to charge at us. It would be suicide."

"Exactly. You can go once you figured out that this stuff is no longer active. Otherwise, you'd be a liability." Mercer paused and lifted his head. "Huh. They stopped moving. Oh well." He finished gutting another thing. "Once I'm done here, I'll be off."

He didn't know which way these things have taken, but he knew where they were now, and that the one he tagged wasn't moving anymore. He hoped it had managed to get back to its nest and not die on the way there- the air strike Blackwatch executed certainly burned a lot of ground.

But it seemed he was lucky this time: He could sense the piece of him calling out to him from the edges of the city. A water cistern, maybe, he figured when he approached the grass-covered mound with the steel door. Derelict and no longer used by people, but not abandoned.

The door was hanging open, broken at the hinges, but the smell that drafted outside wasn't that of dusty old concrete.

Alex smelled decay, clearly on the humid air that wafted towards him.

Humid. Not stale and cold, as was to be expected. He cocked his head, furrowing his brows. Should he really go in? After all, even he couldn't weather acid endlessly.

On the other claw, he had consumed a lot the days before Heller's demise summoned him, and he still had a comfortable amount left. And, unlike others, he could simply cut off the affected parts and absorb those still useable to reduce the damage taken. So even if it was uncomfortable, acid wouldn't really slow him down.

Convinced in his decision, the Runner pushed the rest of the way into the old cistern, scanning the area. Cracked concrete, disturbed dust and spiderwebs. But no- Hold that thought.
His eyes narrowed on the gap in the far wall, hidden behind a jutting concrete beam. It seemed deliberate and angling downwards, likely a drain to channel potential overflow into the sewage system.

The black material sticking to the walls next to it was a recent addition, however. And familiar- he'd seen the same stuff in the WY holding pen.
Alex touched it carefully, finding it firm and elastic. Kind of spongy in thicker layers, too, and emitting a slight warmth.

The stuff surrounded an opening barely big enough for a man to duck through. Alex cocked an eyebrow. "Well, this is either a sign, or a trap."

"And you are the dumbass marching right in without knowing what to expect."

The Runner grinned. It would only be a trap if it actually worked against me. But you know me, I literally can't die. He cracked his knuckles and ducked through the entrance. So whatever is going to happen, we will learn some valuable things.

Heller groaned. "Yeah, well. Don't make me eat people if you do get your ass kicked down there."

I promise this won't happen.

"You making me eat people?"

Nope. Me getting my ass kicked.

Alex could feel the sigh he heard through the Hive Mind, and grinned to himself.

The tunnels quickly grew in size, so he didn't need to half-crouch anymore and still had space to stretch his claws from one side to the other without touching either wall. The resin on any surface also became thicker, and more structured: Tubes and flat planes formed an intricate pattern, opening up to more side tunnels on the upper sides. Crawlspace, Alex figured, for the black things to move through.

He didn't see much, because there was absolutely no light in these tunnels, rendering his night vision completely obsolete. His Thermal Vision didn't work either, because the surface gave off some heat itself, which would mask any creature hiding nearby. Infrared, a newly developed ability of his, helped a little more, though it was lacking in distance, allowing him only a clear view of maybe the first ten feet.

Which was why he nearly missed the first black thing in his path.

Alex stopped all motion instantly, knowing full well it must have noticed him, and he was going to see how well he would be able to fight an enemy with barely any room to maneuver and rendered nearly blind-

The thing didn't budge.

The Runner allowed himself to move again, slightly at first like tilting his head and shifting his weight, but the thing still didn't react. He approached it then, hesitantly taking a step and watching it for any sign of aggression, though it didn't do anything. It was sitting on its haunches, arms wrapped around its knees, head between its legs and its tail wrapped around its ankles, obviously asleep.

Where they feeling so secure inside their nest that they neglected to react to the outside world? Not unheard of in apex predators, after all. Alex furrowed his brows and approached the thing more confidently now, until he was standing right in front of it. When it still didn't move, he reached out and touched its hard cold shell.

Other animals would have reacted by now, this thing continued to ignore him.

Maybe it was dead?

Alex pushed it a bit harder to topple it- the thing instantly flailed and uncurled its body in an attempt to keep its balance. Its head swiveled from side to side, its teeth bared and a low hiss working out of its throat. The Runner's talons snapped outwards, flashing in his Infrared Vision- and the thing hesitated. It circled its original position and the Runner, then tilted its head and went right back to sleep a few steps away from its previous spot.

Huh

Alex blinked, and crouched down in front of it, fanning his claws in front of its face- and like before it didn't react.

He got up and huffed out. "Weird" Well, he had been hoping the sound of a human voice would rouse this lazy bastard, but apparently, it didn't react more than twitching slightly. The Runner furrowed his brows once more, before he suddenly snatched his paws out and wrenched the thing's head around with a resounding crack.

Its body fell limp, which finally stirred the rest of the nest. Several of these things rushed in, snarling and hissing- and still ignoring Alex as they went on to investigate their nest mate's demise.

No. They didn't ignore him.

They didn't even realize his presence.

The Runner stepped back against the wall with a huff. Of course they didn't realize he was there. He wasn't human, or technically speaking alive, and as such, neither a potential host nor prey. He was, strictly speaking, a piece of furniture in their eyes. (or lack of)

But...they must be reacting towards threats, no? They were still looking for the reason their buddy reeled over, so they had to have at least some way to gauge a threat- they ran away from being fire bombed, after all.

And the only reason they weren't jumping him right now was probably because they didn't realize that it was him who killed the other one.

His talons were still out. He clicked them together briefly, trying to figure out whether to test this theory. On one claw, he could probably trigger their fighting instincts. On the other...why should he?

Right now he was inside their nest, and they didn't know he was there. It was perfect.

Still didn't mean he wouldn't wipe these guys out here. They were a threat, after all.
So Alex walked several steps away from the group, and knelt down to jab one claw into the soft ground, wrenching a cluster of groundspikes from the floor just beneath the pack.

They died instantly, incapable of betraying his position to any other that could have been nearby. Still, he waited another minute, but didn't hear any more hissing or scrabbling of claws on walls. Confident that his cover was still intact, Alex slinked further into the dark tunnels.

He didn't exactly know where he was going, but if he had to hazard a guess then the most frequented tunnels should be the largest ones, right? It was some kind of highway. And highways go somewhere.

Usually somewhere important.

So Alex followed the way, still careful and still keeping his senses peeled for any stray black creature. So far, he didn't see any, and the rubbery walls swallowed sound so good, he could only hear them approach once they were basically right on top of him- which luckily didn't happen so far.

Still, he felt he shouldn't push his luck and hurried further down the tunnels.

Then he stopped, eyes narrowing. The scent of decay was only increasing in potency. He thought it originated from the walls, but upon closer inspection he realized that the material, like the black things, didn't have an own scent at all.

No, this stench came from somewhere else, and he subconsciously started moving a little bit faster, until he barreled into a larger chamber, stopping dead in his tracks.

The Egg Pit, he figured, if mostly from the massive, three-foot-large bulbous things scattered around the floor, closest to the walls.

And on the walls- people.

Dozens. Men. Women. Elderly. Children.

All long dead by the looks of it, with gaping holes in their sternums.

Alex's lips peeled away from his teeth in a snarl. His claws were forming at his sides, yearning to rend flesh and bone-
He forced them back and took a step into the opposite direction, tentacles twisting across his torso in agitation. "No", he growled, more to himself than anybody in particular. Damnit, when had he gotten that soft? It wasn't like he was a rookie when facing death like this, Hell, he'd been born when things had been way worse.

And still...apparently spending years with Dana and Heller and the others had made him go soft. So soft, in fact, that he started losing his shit inside an enemy position.
He grit his teeth. "Not yet." He couldn't jeopardize his position here- they didn't know he was present, and he needed it to stay that way. And ravaging the nursery?

Would likely put a huge bull's eye on his back.
Besides, the people were dead already. He couldn't help them anymore.

His body stopped quivering, and he was holding the small GPS tracker in one hand. With a scowl, he switched it on and dropped it into a corner, where it would be disturbed least. Blackwatch would follow the tracker once Cross gave the order, and they would find and torch this place here.

Alex only needed to collect intel so they wouldn't run into unforeseen problems, and not kick the hornet's nest. No matter how hard it was to just leave the eggs in one piece. Just allowing another generation of predators to invade his territory sat very wrong in his stomach, and it took his entire amount of willpower to walk past these things.

He gnashed his teeth. He was going to enjoy destroying this nest once he got the All-Clear.

"Hurry up"

He stopped dead in his tracks, eyes narrowing. Voices. People? Down here?

"Uh-huh. You know we have a time limit of an hour. We haven't even spend twenty minutes down here."

The nest wasn't stirring, and it took him a moment to realize that he couldn't even smell them.

...The voices hadn't sounded robotic, either, so there wasn't a speaker or something.

"We still have to haul everything back up. And I'd rather not do it with the Bugs breathing down my back."

Alex clicked his teeth together, sending out a weak electrical discharge. It bounced off walls to map his surroundings (thank you, Cole, for teaching that one) and came back positive- with several life forms just around the bend of the room. Human life forms.

"The motion detectors aren't picking up anything nearby. We're in the clear."

Infrared bled back into normal vision, and that was when he realized that there was light in the Egg Pit.

He turned, and was about to approach, when he remembered them having mentioned a 'Motion Detector'. Something to pick up the enemy, then? Handy, but also made things a little harder for him to approach.

Still, they had his interest, and he wasn't going to leave until he knew what was going on. He shuffled one foot to the front and waited for them to notice anything. When they continued with their idle chatter, he took a slow step. Still nothing, even when his slow step was a little bit faster the next time. Figuring the speed was enough for his purposes, he carefully crept closer at a glacial pace, keeping an ear out for anything out of the ordinary.

They didn't seem to notice his presence the entire time, much like the black things, but unlike with those, he couldn't exactly step around the bend and pretend he was furniture.
Humans required a more careful approach.

He pressed his back flat against the soft wall and peeked around the bend, counting four men. Three were wearing what seemed like scientist's garbs, and the fourth was one of the Bears.

He was also standing closest, and with his back to him.

Tying a ribbon around that one and putting him on a silver platter couldn't have been a better invitation.

Alex slid closer, keeping an eye out for the other three- who were busy trying to extract one of the eggs from the floor. The Bear sneezed then, and the Runner froze, then surged to the front when the man wiped his nose the next second.

He never made a sound when Alex crushed his throat and dragged him in, stepping into his shape the same moment. Memories crashed into him, memories of a man who grew up to become a soldier, always following his General, following him to WY for quick cash.

As always, the memories left him with some headache, and as always, he managed to push it back in order to review the information he'd gotten.

So... He eyed the three men that were still busy trying to uproot the egg in order to place it inside a metal crate. They hadn't noticed a thing. Then he glanced over at the gas bottle constantly giving off spray.

The reason why he couldn't smell the people around here and why the Bugs didn't attack them either. The mist was hiding their presence. Alex cocked his head, glanced back at the scientists, and grew a slim tendril that snaked across the floor to reach the can. With a single flick, he toppled it and shattered it- and the clang of it drew attention. All three men froze at the sight of the broken dispenser.

Alex cleared his throat. "Better pack up. Now."

Swearing, the men jumped into action, grabbing whatever they could carry and hurrying towards the tunnel they originally came from- a large one that seemed to have been a storage hallway at some point. Alex followed after them, holding the rifle like Dimitri would have.

Grinning to himself all the way. There was no real threat- the gas that was still clinging to them would continue to work for the next time anyways before it was diluted enough for the black things to pick up their scents, but these guys needed the incentive. Especially if it meant that they would have to leave the egg behind.

At least one that WY wouldn't get into their hands.

Alex knew that since the Egg Pit appeared two and a half month back, the Bears had extracted far more eggs than had been stored in the bowels of the complex. A third of those things had been boxed up and distributed. Where to, Dimitri didn't know. Rykov would possibly know. Eisenberg would likely know.

And Alex was now in the perfect position to do a little snooping.

As he got into the van they used to get here, he let Dimitri's memories take over and get them back to base while he dived into the Hivemind.

I have managed to infiltrate the Bears.

Heller's confusion was palpable. "The Bears? Weren't you looking for the nest?"

And found it. Left Cross's tracker, to follow later. But Weyland-Yutani was here, too. Stopped them from extracting an egg, and am currently on the way back. He smirked. They're going to have a lot of excitement in the near future.

"Yeah. About that one", Heller snorted. "I'm on the way there, too. Thought I act like I'd take Eisenberg's offer. Snoop around."

And look how he reacts when he sees you still alive and realizes his trap hadn't worked.

"That too"

Alex let the Hive fade back into the background, still open but the connection weakened for now. No need for Heller to notice the memories he was going to consume now. From his experience, being assaulted with new minds wasn't something the Evolved enjoyed. Neither did he, for the matter, but he could file it away easier.

And besides, gaining knowledge was worth the price of snuffing out lives.

When they arrived at WY, the scientists walked off to work the data they gathered. Alex remained behind, still following Dimitri's memories. His shift would end soon, and that was when he would be able to take a closer look.

Or...or he started chowing down now, and make these guys a little nervous. The Runner hesitated. He liked that idea, and Cross probably wouldn't make too much of a fuss. And anyways, what expected him if he kept up playing Dimitri? Shift change, filing reports,...

"Ah, you are back. So soon?"

He grimaced briefly. There was the other reason he didn't want to stay Dimitri for too long: The man's wife-to-be, Major Dunya. Rykov's right hand, feared and admired by all the other Bears.

He turned and put on his best impression of a dead man. "I'm afraid so, my buttercup. The extraction failed and we had to leave."

"Failed", she cocked her head. "Really."

"The camouflage scent", He didn't want to go into detail. "We had to leave."

Dunya clicked her tongue. "We'll need to have a few words with these men, my love, about endangering important personnel."

Well, technically, it was him who endangered personnel. She didn't need to know that. The bigger problem right now however was how to get her off his back. Well, not that it was a problem, not really- he could always consume her and be done with it. It was more that he really wanted to take a good look around before dropping his disguise, and consuming somebody right in the open with dozens of cameras around was just asking for misery.

He relaxed his posture. "I am aware. However, what about our little side project?"

She snorted and started walking while keeping him in her line of sight. He followed after her. "Not so good, I'm afraid. Eisenberg is starting to become a liability. He's losing his head. The fiasco proved it."

Ah, yes. 'Fiasco'. Eighteen people dead, and that was just a 'fiasco'. "He was too hasty."

"These Americans always are. But the doctor is one of the worst ones"

"We need to cut our losses", he pointed out.

Dunya nodded. "We need, my love. I already informed the General. He agrees, but is unwilling to do what is necessary."

"No?"

"You know why."
Yeah, he did. Eisenberg was the one to offer this work to the Bears, so Eisenberg had the power to point them out as targets, too, should they do anything to jeopardize him. And Rykov was too loyal to his soldiers to let them take the fall.

Very illuminating. Eisenberg was the main target, but attacking him would scatter the Bears, who were the bigger threat in his opinion- because he knew they already had access to equipment and specimens, possessed enough to sell to other companies.

Blackwatch would probably like to hear about that one. And with Cross- and Rooks, to an extent- they could stop this from growing worse.

Still, he needed more evidence, and he was trying to figure out how to deal with the Major when one of the other Bears arrived to collect her and take her to Rykov. She only arched one eyebrow. "It appears we have to postpone catching up, my love. Very well, we shall continue this later."

"I can hardly wait, my dear."
He waited until she walked off, before he marched into the opposite direction. Dimitri became too restricting, he needed a new disguise. Down here, he figured everybody was a viable option. Though he decided to start it off simple- he had spent some time with the three scientists inside a small room, so he could pick up their scents whenever he wanted. One wasn't too far, and a quick glance around told him the air was clear and there were no cameras nearby. He approached the man, snapped his neck like it was a dry twig, and stepped into his shape.

Oh. Hey. Nice.

That guy had access to the egg storage.

Alex grinned and cracked his knuckles. Time to cause some trouble, then.

Well, at least someone is having fun.
Here are some things I figure would actually happen when Alex meets Xenomorphs- he wouldn't be a host and as long he isn't actively hunting them down, I doubt they recognize him as enemy (until now, that is). You don't like it, you keep it to yourself, because this is my story.

Also, we might hit a problem: As part of carpenter school, I go to actual school one week, and two I go working at an actual carpenter (not allowed to use the big machines until now, though, just using handheld power tools and helping with heavy lifting). Next two weeks are those, actually, so I have to get up at 5 in the morning and am finished with everything at 5 in the evening, so I have only very little time to actually write. I try to get the next chapter finished by next week, but I promise nothing.
You might have to wait until the next chapter, but luckily I'll have three weeks vacation the week after next. Can get done more then.

Just that you know. So long, then.