r3ii

Dr Mercer didn't show any reaction to the outfit Alex had put together, walking swiftly over the New York pavements and roads, fueled by the growing dread twisting in his stomach at the thought of how his colleagues were reacting- especially how the Intern's tended to arrive just slightly after him. And he'd experienced quite the delay. He kept looking back at Alex over his shoulders, something seemed wrong with their attitude. "Hey, what's the issue?" He half growled out at his doppelganger.

Alex lumbered behind Dr. Mercer at an uncharacteristically slow pace, glowering at him past the hood of the raincoat. The armor beneath the raincoat hid the way his biomass shuddered and thrashed, his whole body practically screaming that they were suffocating. He coughed and shuddered, but pressed forward, keeping quiet and firmly determined. He wouldn't let it get the better of him. He focused on Dana, on getting her out of this time loop or whatever, and that was enough to spur him forward.

It was not enough to make him tolerant of Dr. Mercer's bullshit. When the man growled his way, Alex bared his teeth, his tone coming out as a deadly hiss rather than the naturally quiet and vaguely confused one he so often held.

"There's not a fucking issue." Again, he had to fight his own body to keep himself under control, like the armor was a cage and his biomass was some kind of animal trying to break out. He just had to keep his cool. He didn't need oxygen badly enough for the suffocating feeling to do too much damage. Probably. "How much farther?"

He turned to face Alex more closely, eyes scanning him carefully. Despite Alex's attempts to look normal, some stray tendrils escaped. Dr Mercer's eyes narrowed. "You didn't put the clothes on, did you Alex?" He didn't wait for a response, and instead took the topmost jacket off and rushed the virus, pulling it on and zipping it up before he could wriggle out of his grasp, before jerking his head towards central park- the nearest true place with cover. "That should hold you if you run till you reach the trees. Don't eat it this time, you fucking goat. If you do I will find a way to cram your 300lbs of stupidity into a chinese takeout box."

Alex let out an odd mix between a growl and a yelp of surprise as Dr. Mercer came at him, the clothes layer of his form unravelling into tendrils to both reveal the armor and to try and squirm out of his creator's grip. The second it clicked that he couldn't feel the water through the jacket, however, he stopped dead in his tracks. Instead of trying to escape the clothes, he shifted most of his extra biomass to his center, therefore concealing them from the rain with the coat. Much better. Rather than react to the insult, he just shrugged off the scientist's grip, breaking into a full force sprint across the street and toward the park. Most of the cars came to a frantic halt as he passed, one unlucky person managing to hit him and completely dent the front of their vehicle.

He skidded to a halt once he was beneath the familiar trees, and without much fanfare, he slumped to the ground in front of one and pulled the coat tighter to himself. He was relieved and frustrated all the same. Frustrated by how much water hurt, by how little he knew about anything. He pushed as much of his body to his center as he could, until he was just a lump of coat beneath a tree.

In another part of New York, not far from the disguised viral coat blob, Dr. Mercer leaned on a wall, waiting for Gentek to pick up the phone. When he finally got through to the reception staff, his voice was a seething pot of irritation. He'd have to make this up quick. ""Dr Alex Mercer speaking- yes, I know I'm running late- no. send them home. I've got the only key. I can't show up today- what do you mean why? My fucking son just showed up, his mother- yes. Good. I don't care."

He hung the phone up abruptly once the idiots let him take 'sick leave' for the day, and immediately dialed a number he didn't expect to use anytime soon. "Dana." It was curt, to the point. Her sigh through the phone and the irritated tone of her voice didn't surprise him, and he explained the situation quickly, before hanging up. While she was going to investigate central park, he was going to snoop around Penn station. Alone.

Leave it to her brother to take the hydrophobic virus out for a walk in the fucking rain.

The shift from trying to eat an absolute abomination of food to waking up in her own apartment was… something, to say the least. But it confirmed the theory that this was some kind of sci-fi bullshit time loop. The fact there wasn't a massive hole in her wall anymore said

that much, as well as the notable lack of both her brothers. She'd spent her morning prying for answers, digging through news articles, a bunch of science jargon that would make Bitch swoon, whatever she could find that put an explanation to it all. The thought of Alex being alone with Bitch made her want to drag a hand down her face, but she held onto a tiny fraction of hope that he would know not to be as much of a dick to the guy.

That hope crumbled up and died when the caller ID "Bitch-ass Brother" showed up on her phone. Once upon a time, seeing him call her would have made her ecstatic. Now, though, she was ready to bitch-slap the dumbass into using some common sense. With an umbrella over her head and a frustrated look on her face, Dana arrived at Central Park. The rain had lessened to a drizzle, but most people were hanging out on the sidewalks rather than the muddy park. She trudged through the dirt, skimming the trees before she could finally catch sight of a heap of coat, pressed against one of the trees.

"Alex?" No response. Shit. Dana picked up the pace, positioning her umbrella over the weird blob-in-a-coat mass that was apparently Alex. She at least had her hood on. "Alex- Hey. It's Dana. You alright?"

The coat seemed to shudder, before a single tendril snaked out from the coat, testing the air above him for the rain. Even in his currently formless state, he could still hear the rain, but not as clearly as he could hear his sister. The heap of viral biomass made a low, rumbling noise, but as he attempted to reform, the wet grass made him jolt and sink back into the coat. He wanted to talk to his sister, to hear her out and offer what he could, but water just had to be fucking everywhere. How was he supposed to protect her if he couldn't even reform?

Dana gave a small sigh of relief when the tendril showed itself, and Alex sort of- rumbled- it was pretty surreal. A few weeks ago this sight would have left her a trembling mess, but now that she knew the truth- it was understandable. Still pretty odd to think of a writhing blob of tendrils as family, but it was what it was. She crouched down, propping the umbrella up by the tree, and pulled a small piece of tarp from her coat pocket, gently slipping it under the ridiculously heavy blob so that the damp grass didn't soak the dry jacket cave he'd managed to find refuge in.

"Sorry that bitch dragged you out into the rain. He never thinks about what might happen to others..." She sat down next to him, tugging her raincoat underneath her as she looked at what Alex had become. "I'll keep you company until the weather dries off, even if you can't exactly talk." Dana's tone became dark quite sharply, "Then I'm going to find that bitch and make him suffer."

Given how she'd reacted to his other nonhuman activities, he listened to her every movement, worrying in silence about how she'd react. It was an utter relief when she merely crouched near him (he could hear the rustling of the grass), and he did what he could to let her slide something beneath him. Whatever it was, it was probably helpful, if Dana had put it there.

She sat down beside him, and some of his form slipped out from the tight coil he'd forced himself into as he relaxed. Dana was here, and sorting shit out-knowing things-was kind of her thing. He had no complaints with her keeping him company, though her anger towards Dr. Mercer when this was technically Alex's fault would have made him frown if he had the features to do so. The guy was a bastard, one hundred percent. He just didn't want a fight where one wasn't necessary. Not that he could tell Dana that at the moment, though he did make a mental note to do so when he could.

Several other tendrils slipped out from the coat, merely hanging in the air and investigating the environment as he waited for the chance to reform. One brushed by Dana, if briefly, before returning to the "coat-cave" with the others to wait out the rain. It felt like quite a long time, filled only with the occasional idle words and the sound of rain hitting leaves and the grassy ground. But like all things, it did come to an end and Dana was greeted to the horrifying sight of a human body being reconstructed before her eyes.

Alex was on his feet the second he had legs to do so, tendrils snapping into place and shifting colors to give him skin, clothes, and all the necessary pieces for a human appearance. He had returned to his default outfit, the hoodie and leather jacket, though the one Dr. Mercer had given him remained in place. It was still… strange to have on, restricting his movements but comfortable at the same time. Didn't matter. Dana was here. He offered a hand to help her up, his perpetual scowl relaxing into something far more gentle, as it often did when he was around her. She was his sister, after all.

"It's not Bitch's fault." Nothing remained of the aggression he'd given his creator, his voice quiet but earnest and determined in nature. "I… think we should find him, but don't give him too much shit. He gave me a raincoat, I just didn't know what to do with it." He concluded with a small, awkward shrug. A pause, followed by a quick, "Thanks. For the company."

Dana shook off the surprise she'd felt at the reforming process after a long moment, when Alex's face relaxed and he started his quiet, careful mumbling observations once more. "It was no problem," She smiled at him, "Do you want to go rest at the apartment while I find him? It shouldn't take me too long- I've known him for my whole life after all."

He considered it for a moment. If he was in Dana's apartment, he'd be out of the rain. But what if something happened to her? He didn't exactly trust Dr. Mercer to be able to provide the necessary help if Blackwatch came for her. Even though there… wasn't any Blackwatch around. Maybe he'd rest for a few minutes, then take to the rooftops once the rain was assured to be gone. Keep an eye on the area for her. Yeah, that worked. After a long moment of pondering, he nodded.

"As long as you're careful."

Dana nodded, and after making sure he got inside safely, set off for Penn Station. She had a brother to find, and when she did… He would have hell to pay, especially if he didn't realise what he'd done.

Dr Mercer, unaware of his vengeful sibling, was taking a break leaning by the entrance to Penn Station, illegible notebook scribbles occupying his attention fully. Not even the eb and flow of the rapid crowds mere feet from him could distract him, he was so deeply engrossed in his thoughts. Thoughts of the nature of time travel, of the sentience of Blacklight, of all the little curiosities he'd encountered and of course, of who could be looking over his hunched shoulders at these ideas laid out in his scientific scrawl onto sheets after sheets of damp paper in his small spiral notebook.

For once, however, Dr. Mercer's fear that his shoulder was being looked over was justified. Only the person eyeing him had absolutely zero interest in any of his illegible scrawlings. She watched, waiting for him to realize she was there, eyeing the movements of his pencil across the notebook. And when his writing came to a pause, Dana took her closed umbrella and whacked her stupid brother upside the head. She backed away before he could retaliate-not that she couldn't kick his ass, really-greeting him with crossed arms and a glare that could cut metal.

"Hey, asshole." She snapped, raising an eyebrow as she looked over her disaster of a brother. "How about I realize you have an obvious fear of something, and then drag your ass into the middle of it because my head's too far up my ass to consider it. Are you fucking kidding me, Alex?"

The umbrella was very effective at smacking him out of his reverie, and he jolted back with a curse, hooded head smacking against the wall. He rubbed his jaw, glaring down at his sister. Figures she'd be the one to try and hold him accountable for something like that. He was already on edge waiting for Blackwatch to show up and come after him for the missing virus, and she comes and assaults him with an umbrella? Did she have any idea what was going on here? "Fuck you." He muttered lowly, not able to think up a suitable response while he was still dazed.

She rolled her eyes. It'd be a good few minutes before the bastard actually got his shit together, knowing him-she'd interrupted his train of thought. The thing that could get him so deeply buried in whatever the hell he was up to that he'd forget to eat. Or sleep. Or, y'know, most of the things necessary for basic survival. When she was younger, she'd hold off until he was back together. But right now she was cold, damp, and pissed, so patience wasn't really her strongest virtue. She stepped closer, brows creased in furious determination. God. She'd gotten so used to Alex, she'd forgotten how much of a bitch her real brother was. She wanted to be happy he was alright, but then he goes and pulls this fucking shit. Classic Alex.

"That all you have to say for yourself? Because that's a pretty shitty excuse." Dana drummed her fingers against her arm, casting him a dark glare. "Would it kill you not to be a dick to someone? Because honestly, I'm not really sure at this point." Something shifted in her expression at her own words, however-a flicker of sadness in her eyes that was obscured as she glanced away.

He straightened up, used to these sorts of insults from everyone, and crushed beneath his mental heel the small part of him that was hurt by it coming from Dana, face twisting to his usual dark look. "I did try to help him," he hissed out, "But is this really the place you want to talk about such matters?" His eyes were focused not on her but on the members of the crowd just past their little alcove. Who could be listening to this? Was Blackwatch here already? He couldn't tell. The security guards clearly hadn't seen Dana attack him, so they were hidden, but this was still dangerously public.

"Yeah, you tried to help him. Believe me, it's the first thing he said after he stopped hiding." She made sure there was extra venom in that final word. "And you didn't bother thinking that, I don't know, he might actually not know what the fuck you were talking about? Jesus Christ, Alex." She ran a hand down her face, but the mention of this not being the place was like gasoline over the fire of how angry she was.

"Because THAT'S your focus right now! God, I forgot how much of a SHITHEAD you are!" She snarled, backing away to stay out of his face-she didn't want to be near him right now. Five years worth of frustration came pouring out before she could stop it, fists clenched at her sides and blue eyes blazing. "What's the right place, then, Alex?! When's the right time, another five years?! It's now or never with you, and most of the fucking time, it's NEVER. It's until you end up dead on the goddamn streets because you can't be assed to let ANYONE in!"

Tears had begun to form in her eyes, but she wiped them away with the sleeve of her hoodie. Another step back, before she wrapped herself in a hug, squeezing her eyes shut.

"...It's whatever. Not like you're even listening, right?"

He grit his teeth, fingers digging into his palms hard enough to draw blood as his idiot sister ranted, loud and clear. He could see some dark uniformed figures moving to talk to the security guards, he had only moments. His arm shot out, half picking Dana up and he shoved her deeper into the small darkness behind him, stepping out slightly to give her some space.

"The right time," He muttered, meeting her gaze fully despite the threat he could practically feel taking aim at him, "Is when we're not in the middle of thousands of spectators. They're always watching."

He stepped back, and the thin line of his mouth matched with the faintest dampness to his eyes told more than his tone ever could. Then he turned fully around, breaking into a dead sprint. He barely made it out of the crowd before gunfire sprayed out, loud and abrasive. Within moments, his chest was emptied of everything it should have, and he fell down, light fading from his eyes as red carpeted the ground.

One moment, she was clawing at her brother's arm, hissing swears and demanding he put her the fuck down. When he did, she only glared, her expression a clear display of, 'what the fuck are you talking about?'

The next, her brother was dead.

She had run after him when he sprinted off; of course she had, she wasn't letting him run off and leave her alone again. She barely managed to skid to a halt as the guns raised, ducking for cover behind a wall. And then he was gone. He dropped to the concrete, his own blood painting the area around him. Someone screamed-was it her? Blood, Jesus fucking Christ there was so much blood. The screaming ceased, and she was running, running with every ounce of adrenaline she had. The world was a blur of motion and noise, shouts and cars and flesh being torn all becoming a cacophony of nonsense as she sprinted down the sidewalk. Alex was dead. Alex was dead. No, no, fuck no, this wasn't happening, this-

A massive claw scooped her up from the ground. She swore aloud (was it her? Was it someone else? Everything was so fucking blurry), bashing her fists against biomass over and over with frantic, anguished cries. She didn't stop her assault even as the world stopped rushing by them, nor when she was in the safehouse, being pried off her captor and set on the couch with an impossible degree of gentleness. Then the captor was pulling her close, as though she was made of glass and could shatter at any moment. The scent of leather, long since faded coffee, and decay hit her, just as a quiet and frightened voice broke through the nonsense pounding in her head.

"Dana? Dana, it's okay. You're safe. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you."

Alex. A moment of childish hope flared up in her, but it dropped as quickly as her brother had on the street. Alex, but not the one she'd known all her life. Her brother, but not her brother. Alex J. Mercer was dead. She just wanted to understand. She just wanted the Alex she knew back. She hadn't meant for him to die.

Twice. This was the second time her brother had been shot dead.

"GOD FUCKING DAMMIT!"

Dana buried her face in the virus' chest, and began to sob.

Dana didn't know how long it'd been. Minutes? Hours? Maybe days? She didn't give a shit. She'd eventually run out of tears to cry, and told Alex to leave her alone for a moment. A blanket had been pulled over her-probably his doing. A plate of food, no, several plates of food were set at the foot of the couch, untouched and undoubtedly cold by now. Each one was as much an abomination as the Nutella spaghetti, but even that couldn't make her smile now.

She rolled over, exhaling slowly as she pulled the blanket closer. Every time she blinked, she could see him. His body shredded like paper. Most of his torso gone. His blood painting the sidewalk. Her brother, the bastard who'd practically raised her, who'd been her role model and entire world when she was a kid.

"Fuck," she muttered, resting a hand over her eyes to avoid looking at her apartment. Alex was probably standing nearby, watching, waiting to see if she was alright. She didn't want to see him. She couldn't see him without seeing her brother. Maybe she'd told him that at some point-god, she hoped not. Alex took everything she said to heart. She thought about picking at the food he'd made her, but the thought of eating anything made her nauseous.

She glanced up at the clock on tewall. Alex hadn't bothered turning the lights off. 11:57.

This wasn't what she'd wanted. She wanted to help him.

11:58.

Fuck Blackwatch. Fuck everything they stood for.

11:59.

She'd make those fuckers pay.

00:00.

And she had all the time in the world. As darkness smothered the world, a grim smile crossed her lips.