"Motherfucking aliens, really, Mercer?" Heller nearly missed the one black thing lunging for his head, and he had to sidestep to grab its shoulder spikes and crash it into a wall to splatter it.
The catatonia these things had fallen into when their mother died had lasted just long enough for him to drag the team to the surface to get them medical attention and head back down to finish his job taking down any viable animal. Blackwatch and the Marines were going to follow at a slower pace and torch the nest.
Mercer did something similar, though he focused his attention on the surrounding area of Asheville, to find and destroy those that managed to escape the Hive.
"Cross reacted the same way." Mercer didn't even sound distracted, even though Heller could feel him destroy more of the Bugs. Could feel it from both ends, actually- he knew how Blacklight ripped through these things, but he also heard them scream for protection inside his head. He couldn't help but feel a tiny sliver of sympathy. He knew how fucking terrifying being stalked by Blacklight was. "He's sworn more, though."
"Yeah, just gimme a moment-" Heller spun on his heel and delivered a scythe-like kick that took off the head of another drone. "Still working on believing."
He wasn't sure whether he should have expected something of the sort. He knew Mercer did not, and even if he was being nonchalant about it now, it still threw him out of the loop.
"Believing what? That there is intelligent life in space?"
The Evolved waved him off, knowing fully well the other wouldn't be able to see the gesture. "Nah. It was only a matter of time before we got visit from another world." After all, with Billions of stars out there, and millions of planets, there was no way in Hell there was only one speck of dirt with life forms that wondered whether they were the only ones. "I don't get why the first thing alien visitors do is drop a biological weapon on our home."
Mercer snorted amused. "Assholery is an universal constant, I'm afraid."
"Well, then let's show these guys how we deal with assholes if they ever set foot on our dirt ball." He paused briefly to grab a brown Bug and crush its skull between his armored paws.
"But given that we don't have the technology to go there and fuck them up, it's more of a reactive thing." He found and cracked a few eggs, watching them splatter under his heel. He scoffed. "So we can only tidy up the mess others make."
"Being a glorified janitor. Feels like I've done nothing else since I woke up in that morgue."
"Don't forget, janitors are about the most important persons in every place. Even if it is the most thankless job."
"Then it's a good thing I'm not doing it for praise."
Yeah. He did it because he loved killing things, and he loved killing assholes, and this was basically both. Mercer snorted amused, and Heller cleared his throat. "And speaking of assholes, you do know where the Bears are, right?"
"I do. The main problem is that it is not just the Bears or Weyland-Yutani- there are so many corporations that had knowingly contact with Eisenberg or Rykov. Once I kill the Bears, I'll have to keep looking for whoever is behind those, and whoever is behind those, and so on." He sighed briefly. "It is a fucking big tangle to uncover-"
"Yeah, how about you focus on the most immediate concern?"
"...Which is erasing the Bugs." He grunted, and Heller heard more voices fade. "But it'll still be a full-time job, and I just left Dana like that. Now I can't even go and check up on her because if we don't hurry, we'll have Hives all over the place."
"She'll be fine on her own though."
"Of course she will" Mercer actually sounded offended. "I taught her some tricks"
Half of those were probably Blackwatch techniques, Heller figured. Didn't need to say that one out loud, because the Runner scoffed. "Focus on wiping out these things instead of asking stupid questions" Then, after a short pause, "And it's closer to forty-two percent, actually."
Heller snorted startled, and shook his head- catching a glimpse of red.
"Hold that thought." He slowed his steps and softened his motion as he slid around a corner to find some crawlspace. The walls were uneven, so they were likely Bug-made- which didn't made things anywhere near good in his opinion. Because it could mean they were going to ambush him, and immunity to acid or not- claws to the face still hurt. Because his shell only covered his body and skull and limbs, but not his face. (He'd like to know whether that had been Mercer's intention, or whether it was accidental)
In the end, he didn't need to have made such a big production out of it, because the Bug he's seen was alone.
And immobile, attached to the Hive walls by the same dark resin that made up the rest of the nest.
"Okay, nothing too serious, thing's stuck to the walls."
"What?!" Mercer's tone was sharp, alarmed. "You have to kill it. Right now"
The Evolved blinked. Was that...concern? No. Not concern, it felt like real worry instead.
His response was, admittedly, a little slow. "...I was going to do that, but it's not-"
"It's fucking molting!"
Oh. Oh. Shit.
Heller grit his teeth and shifted his arm into the Blade as he approached the immobile creature.
It didn't stay immobile.
The very second he crossed some threshold, the thing's head snapped up and it bared its teeth. In one swift motion, it snapped through the binds holding it and lunged at the Evolved. Heller, surprised by the sudden burst of speed, barely managed to roll out of its way so it crashed into the wall behind him. It took him just as long to find his footing as it took the thing to free itself and spin around to face him.
He glared back, silently daring it to attack again- it didn't, likely expecting him to make the first move. Heller took another moment to study it. Bigger than a normal Praetorian, with a Queen's crest; but not with her size and only one set of arms.
Still, this thing was fast when it decided it had waited long enough.
The Evolved dodged several swipes, to get a feeling for the thing's speed and power. Sure, he had the Hivemind's memories of the fight against the Queen, but those didn't translate too well to this body. (he was going to avoid getting impaled like that, if he could help it)
The Bug shrieked and lunged at him again, and Heller decided he'd had enough warming up. He planted his feet, threw his hand to the front- and seized the thing's wrist. Using its own momentum, he pivoted on his heel and smashed it into the ground. It thrashed and screeched, flailing its legs and tail as it fought back to its feet, just as the Evolved kicked off and slammed himself into it again to keep it off balance.
Heller thrust his bladed arm to the front, just barely scratching the thing's armor as it sidestepped. The same second, he had to jump upwards to avoid a swipe of its tail.
It twisted, trying to pounce at him as long he was in mid-air, but he easily rolled to the side and kicked against the empty space to hurl his body forwards.
He impacted into the Bug with the power of a pickup truck, sending it tumbling back to the ground.
It wouldn't get back up again, because Heller jabbed the Blade down and right through its chest. It screamed and flailed, then fell abruptly silent when he yanked the weapon upwards and split its upper body in halves.
He huffed out and scanned the room one last time to make sure he didn't forgot anything, then returned to the tunnel he came from originally. "Okay. So that's one that won't turn into a new Queen."
Mercer's reply was a snort. "One down, hundreds left to go."
In the end, it took them three consecutive days to eradicate any and all Bugs in and around Asheville. Being the only one that could operate completely without rest, Mercer had done most of the hunting- some had managed to get all the way to Swannanoa before he caught up to them and ripped them apart.
Heller had overseen the dispatch of the eggs down in the sewers and tunnels, and those areas that had been cleared were taken on by Blackwatch-Marine teams working shifts to destroy any lingering Hive material. It was growing brittle with the Bugs gone, but it was still hard work.
Especially since they more often than not uncovered bodies, hidden deep within the nest. They had taken on strange qualities, being more like brittle rock than actual flesh. Mercer suspected the Hive's substance had permeated the corpses, and replaced natural organics for the Bug's alien matter.
Heller didn't envy the sheriff's men who had to recover and identify them. Alone the corpses from the Bears' dumping points were going to take weeks to process. Down here? They assumed that there were about five hundred bodies, probably more.
It was the morning of the fourth day after the death of the Queen, and Heller was in one of the makeshift command centers that had been assembled in a parking lot. There were several workers around, all looking worn. He shook his head with a scowl, noticing the Marine approaching him. "Sarge, care to share what's on your mind?" Harrison asked, looking just as exhausted as Heller felt.
The Evolved glanced at him. "I was wondering how nobody ever came to realize that so many people went missing."
The Marine's shoulders slumped. "Think Sheriff Moore could explain it better, but I think a lot of the victims had been displaced by the Beast. No families left to speak of, no friends; guess most of them simply fell through. Everybody else that went missing wasn't payed enough attention to because the government's been struggling trying to establish order. There aren't enough people left that are supposed to look after those cases."
Heller scoffed. "Which explains why shit like this happens now."
Harrison made a confused noise, eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?"
Heller ran his hand down his face, sighing. "Think of it- the whole fifty years this thing had been in WY's hands, and basically nothing happened. Then Manhattan went down the drain, and stuff like this starts cropping up everywhere." He glanced at the Marine, but also through him when he tone dropped into a more somber one. "When Manhattan happened, everybody in the world started looking there. Nobody paid any attention to what was right under their noses, and I guess people like Weyland, or Yutani, or Bertrand, or Eisenberg, they started getting bolder."
"Because nobody was going to look at them anymore." Harrison cocked his head. "And they got careless along the way."
"And shit hits the fan", Heller finished with a huff. He was exhausted, hadn't slept at all for three days straight, and spent those days down in an alien-infested pit full of bodies. Some of the bodies had been children, but he just couldn't work himself up into a rage anymore. "Can you imagine what Asheville would have looked like if those things hadn't jumped Chris?" Or if Hetty hadn't sent him.
Harrison grimaced and shook his head. "City would be wiped off the maps."
"From what I understood, that would have been the least of our problems. Fuck it, you've seen the problems a rather small Hive caused? Imagine this with millions of drones."
Judging Frosty's expression, he was currently doing that, and didn't like what he imagined. Heller didn't like the idea either, though it was familiar territory to him. The drones looked different and had different abilities, but at their core they were just like the Infected he'd faced down in Manhattan, like the Corrupted he'd faced down in New Marais.
He hated it. Hated that he knew this whole mess could have been a lot worse, hated that he already experienced worse.
He also hated the news anchor's voice he could hear from a nearby emergency tent.
"...an estimated number of five hundred and forty-three bodies have been discovered so far after an attack of unknown biological weapon in Asheville-"
"Unknown biological weapon, my ass", Frosty growled. "We just waded through this shit and cleared up cadavers for three days straight."
"-at the same time, evidence begins pointing towards alleged Bio-Terrorist Alex Mercer, main suspect in both Manhattan outbreaks, to be in Asheville at the time of the-"
Heller's eyes narrowed and he pushed into the tent, which was currently occupied by several men (and women) who were having a break. They jumped a little when he made his entrance, but relaxed somewhat once they realized his ire was on the television.
He wasn't paying attention to what was being said, because he knew exactly what these idiots were doing. They weren't outright blaming the wrong guy, but they were heavily implying it. And who was a better scapegoat than the one that always appeared right in the thick of the latest mess? And people were going to believe the implications rather than looking for another explanation.
But. But. Back then they put the blame on Gentek too, because he'd worked there, and Gentek took a heavy hit it didn't recover from. And about everybody here knew that Eisenberg had his fingers in this. Surely Weyland-Yutani couldn't just duck out of responsibility-
"-Weyland-Yutani CEO Doctor Bishop debunked all rumors about the involvement of his company in the events. Doctor Eisenberg senior, who lost his son during the incident, is willing to lend all necessary information and tools in order to find those responsible-"
His fist collided with the wall of the garage the tent was standing besides, turning concrete into rubble, and a snarl ripped from his throat. "Fuck!"
Harrison and the present crowd jerked back, though it was only Harrison who immediately started checking for threats. "Sarge-?"
"Are you hearing this shit?" The Evolved snarled, eyes narrow and teeth bared. Scales were starting to cover his skin, and his claws broke his human facade. "There were children down there, Frosty. Children younger than my daughter!" Cases like that always got him. And right now, he wanted to do nothing more than turn whoever released these things into a bloody stain on the floor. Only, the ones responsible already were, and he hadn't had much of a say in this, and it pissed him off.
His claws dug into the concrete like it was soft butter. "It was fucking Weyland-Yutani that brought these things here- with the plan to turn them into weapons." And they had evidence too. Data that told its own story, that Eisenberg had been put in charge of this whole experiment by Bishop himself.
"But now these fucks are washing their hands of this whole mess by pretending they were just as surprised as we were, and will erase all traces behind our backs!" He stopped mid-rant, and his voice lowered. "At the same time, we got all the fucking evidence to nail these bastards, and can't use it."
The other present soldiers grumbled their acknowledgment, all of them looking to same parts exhausted and livid. They knew what had went down, of course, mostly through contact with Blackwatch. And, of course, they knew nobody was ever going to persecute WY, since all evidence they had was, technically, obtained illegally. And by the time somebody thought about checking things out, the labs and sub-levels were going to be cleaned out.
More even, several lawyers had already arrived, to work out silence agreements. Heller figured that he was more or less untouchable, being an Evolved and a pretty public figure, but a lot of men and women here were going to go for those agreements instead of reaping legal repercussions that could very well spell the end of their careers.
...But they had other ways to get even. The biggest security leak to ever exist- Blacklight itself. Mercer had already started gathering knowledge. While it wasn't as elegant as damning these guys in public and was just going to serve to demonize the Runner even more, the result was going to be the same: the assholes were going to get dead. And he wasn't going to stop until he had found and killed all of those assholes, and that wasn't just wishful thinking, that was a fact.
This was as good as this entire shit situation could get anyways, and Frosty relaxed visibly when Heller released the mangled construction and dropped his claws with an exhausted huff.
He was tired of being angry, tired of constantly finding reasons to be angry.
Sometimes he found himself thinking that Pariah has been right about wanting to erase humanity.
With a shake of his head, he turned away from the tent. "I'll check whether I can't find anything to eat", he grumbled, "Then I'll call my boss. Tell her it's safe to send someone over." That was all that remained to do. Everything else was out of his hands, and to be honest, he really just wanted to go home to his daughter and forget about all those dead children.
And if he ever saw one of those assholes prancing around in L.A., he was definitely going to cripple them and leave them maimed for Mercer to consume.
It was a nice mental image, but the promise to return home was an even better one. Heller hated having to spend such large amounts of time away from his daughter. And after this entire shit show this had been- which including actual fucking dying- he was goddamn ready for a little break.
Maybe he'd invite Frosty and the old squad over, too, once they all recovered from their foray into the nest. Lord knew they needed some off-time, too. And, besides, he was pretty sure he still owed them an explanation about his sudden super powers. (That was going to be a fun minefield to navigate, because he sure as fuck couldn't tell them too much about the whole infection thing. Better leave that one out then.)
But yeah, having a little get-together with the old team sounded good. Besides, he could combine that one with an office barbecue they were going to have in the summer anyways, have both teams meet up. Just a little off time to think of something else other than bodies of children in the dark.
...Great. He thought about the case, about Weyland-Yutani, and the Bugs they released into Asheville, and it pissed him off. As much as he wanted to be with Maya, he knew he wouldn't know peace when he wasn't physically present when Bishop died the most horrifying death imaginable.
Maybe he could talk Mercer into sharing that particular hunt- he'd even apply for vacation, just to be there when that asshole was torn apart.
He had the feeling the other wouldn't be too opposed to it either.
"As of now, the Hive beneath Asheville has been burnt to roughly fifty percent. The local Bugs are eradicated, and all viable eggs are destroyed. Any stragglers have been dealt with."
"What about the specimens that had been removed from your vicinity?"
Cross's frown deepened. "Mercer is positive he can track them down. The main problem is, however, that most of them are no longer in the states."
Rooks' face on the screen was blank, except for the furrow in his brows. "And since we don't have jurisdiction it is going to be a fucking pain in the ass. It'll take forever to work out an agreement with the local governments."
The Specialist inclined his head. "Sir, I wasn't aware we were playing by the rules."
The General smirked. "We aren't. But after Manhattan we can't afford to make too obvious mistakes." He scoffed briefly, "Though I am certain ZEUS doesn't have any objections if we send him off on his own without Blackwatch on his tail."
"No question , we still need to work this out carefully." He couldn't just...disappear like he did last year. Because as much as Cross trusted the Runner to keep his word, he was also a lethal Bioweapon with a questionable sanity. And last year in October he and Dana had disappeared from their supposed vacation in Italy, re-appeared a few times all over Europe and the States and disappeared around Christmas completely. If he hadn't shown up in Asheville now, Blackwatch wouldn't have known where he was and would have assumed he'd gone rogue. Opinions definitely weren't in his favor since mutilated bodies and missing report cases had started piling up from the second he'd went AWOL.
Even Cross had never known what the Hell Mercer was doing there, because barely any of those he made disappear seemed to have had any connection to each other, and they've been big animals in the financial, cultural, or technical sector- not his usual targets for sure.
For a long time Blackwatch had been convinced that the Runner was picking off victims at random, suspected he finally went off into the deep end, and knew they had to react accordingly.
The whole mess was not something Cross particularly cared to repeat. Or anybody on Blackwatch who ever had contact with the Runner. Just a shame the upper echelons had no fucking clue about those unspoken rules and had been short before sending the men out into another suicide run.
"This needs to go by the book", Rooks reminded him. Then, after noticing the arched eyebrows on the Specialist, added: "Our book, anyways."
"Got it, Sir. How are we supposed to proceed then?"
"Have him root out the targets. He can do whatever he wants with them, as long we're getting some evidence about the shit they've been doing." Rooks shrugged, "I wouldn't give a fuck as long we're getting Bioweapons off the streets, but since New Marais the public's more attentive of Blackwatch. So we better make sure we got a good reason snuffing out a few assholes if we want to avoid idiots camping in our front yard."
Cross doubted he would need much to persuade the Runner to share some of his findings, even though he knew Mercer gave little to no shit about his public image.
"Agreed. What do we offer in return?"
"Well, for one, we won't hunt him or his family down. Second, Blackwatch will keep an eye out and wipe whatever evidence he wants us to wipe. Third, he'll gets whatever resources he'll request, unless it's unreasonable of course."
Cross couldn't help but snort amused. He was pretty sure giving the Runner a Thermobaric Tank was right out of the question, no matter how much he wanted one. "I'll talk to him about that."
"Good. Also, remind him that he can't just disappear again. I expect at least a postcard so I can tell my bosses that I still have the situation under control."
The Specialist ruthlessly murdered the small smile that tried to crawl on his face. "Understood." The screen went black, and he picked himself up from the chair he'd been in- no unnecessary standing around while his leg healed, the medics told him- and limped out. There were several Blackwatch units nearby, still busy with burning the Bugs' remains with the Wisemen supervising them to make sure nobody would sneak anything out of this fucking nest. They barely managed this outbreak, they didn't have the supplies to face down another too soon.
"God", He turned a little to face Major McCain, who was also watching the scene. "What a shitfest."
Cross's lips twitched. "I'm afraid He already left the building."
The other man eyed him warily, then swallowed briefly. "I guess. Parasites hatching from a man's chest, growing into seven-foot monsters that are way too smart- that ain't the work of a merciful God." He shook his head, and straightened his back, reassembling his professional exterior. "How much longer until we're done here?"
"Another two to three days maybe?" Cross didn't have a definite answer. "We don't know how deep this nest goes, and whether there are any more surprises."
"But the Bugs- they are gone?"
"As far as our specialist claimed, yes. Eggs and infants as well." Still, they needed to remain careful about everything until all remains of the Hive had been burnt.
McCain furrowed his brows. "But there are more of these things out there, right?"
The other man nodded. No need to beat around the bush anyways. "We're also tracking down the Iron Bears. They won't make it to next year", he added.
"Good", the Major snorted. "They shot and killed a very good man."
"Well, he got better"
"Doesn't matter. Alone the audacity", he paused, and added, "And of course the trafficking of those God-damned Bugs."
"These won't survive either", Cross declared. "Will be gone far sooner than the Bears, too."
"Good", McCain nodded. "You need anything, Colonel, let me know."
"If I think of anything, I will." Most likely their assistance if they found a nest too large for just Blackwatch to deal with. And knowing how fast these things bred, this was a very real possibility until they crushed every last of them.
He left him then, going to search for the Runner. He knew his chances were slim to actually discover him- he was more likely to have already split to either return to wherever his sister was, or gain a head start on the hunt- so he was mentally preparing himself for searching out the Evolved and have him act as a proxy while he conveyed Rooks' offer.
So he was surprised, at least a little bit, to find a Marine who'd actually seen him within the last hour, and who pointed him towards the Sheriff.
And well, there Mercer was. He wouldn't have expected that. Neither his actual presence nor the fact he was currently deep in conversation with the doctor while her husband stood nearby.
He wouldn't have expected either would be fond of sticking around the other, because the last time they've met things had gone very ugly fast. (he'd lost several men and one helicopter back then, plus half a dozen scientists he was supposed to look after)
"-the nightmares have stopped, too." As Cross approached them, Sheriff Moore only glanced at his direction.
"I figured." Mercer inclined his head, barely acknowledging the Specialist. "It was the Hive."
The doctor frowned. "But we didn't know of the danger it represented- we didn't even knew it existed."
"That wasn't necessary. The Bugs have some form of telepathy." The Runner furrowed his brows slightly. "It's their Hive Mind, to be precise. From what I gathered, it is capable of influencing other species."
Cross cleared his throat to draw attention. "How?"
Mercer shrugged. "I think it's similar to how a mobile phone interferes with loud speakers. Overlap of the different frequencies. Think it becomes more potent depending on the life stage of the Bug. The Queen certainly was more skilled in it than the drones."
"Wonderful"
Doctor Moore grimaced. "And you're sure they are all gone?"
"From Asheville, yes. You're safe for now." Mercer snorted. "I know where the others are, too. Once I killed them, I will go and take down the Queen Mother." The one still trapped under Antarctica. "She's the last here", the Runner pointed out. "Only once she's dead, there won't be any more of these things."
The doctor scoffed. "Back to normalcy then, with lab-bred viral Bioweapons and superhumans, hm?"
Mercer grinned. "Exactly." He threw a glance at Cross, no doubt knowing exactly why the specialist came to look for him, and lifted a finger to acknowledge this before he turned his attention back to her. "And, for what it's worth, I never meant for us to break things up like we did."
Doctor Moore cleared her throat, taken by surprise. "I mean- yeah, you did scare me half to death, and I'm still having nightmares occasionally, but-" She grimaced, "You trusted me, tried to keep me safe, and I hurt you, Alex. I know I am to blame too."
"It still doesn't excuse the way I acted." He grit his teeth briefly. "I left you behind in a Biological exclusion zone, and killed all your guards." His shoulders fell. "I know it won't erase what I've done, but I'm so sorry I dragged you into all of this, Karen. I'm- I'm just glad you made it out of Manhattan. If you need anything- anything, don't hesitate to ask."
The doctor blinked in surprise. "That's- that's...a very kind thing to say. Thank you."
Mercer nodded and stepped back, turned to the Sheriff. "She never deserved all the crap that got flung her way. Take good care of her, or I will find out."
Moore inclined his head. "I will."
"I see you around then", he turned and marched right past Cross, forcing him to follow after him. Only once they were out of earshot, he slowed down somewhat. "Thank you for getting her out of Manhattan", he muttered.
"You're welcome." The truth was, Cross hated wasting potential allies. And Parker was the only one remaining with knowledge of the original Blacklight virus. So he'd arranged her disappearance and subsequent re-establishment in Asheville in order to hide her from Blackwatch. "I didn't do it for you, however."
"I know. She's an asset. Still. Thank you for looking out for her."
"Mhm", Cross cleared his throat. "I was looking for you."
"Let me guess", the other drawled, "Rooks wants me to clean house?"
"The Bugs, Weyland-Yutani, the Iron Bears, anybody else who had a finger in this pie. You can work this however you want, as long you give us something we can feed to the media."
"Want to play nice with the public?"
"Anything to keep angry mobs off our ass", the Specialist pointed out with a grimace. "As for you- full anonymity, information and resources as you want. Same goes for Dana."
The Runner inclined his head, eyes just narrow slits. "I can deal with those assholes any way I want?"
"And Blackwatch will make sure to wipe any and all evidence that you've been involved if you want to", Cross added. "Deal?"
Mercer's grin was a terrible sight to behold: All sharp teeth and far too wide to be human. "Deal"
Finished! I can't believe I actually managed this, because I originally aimed for 9 Chapters, and Work is not fun for my creativity.
But thank you for sticking around, and thank you for reading.
Until the next time,
DLRynn.