We ARE the Virus

by dzha4225

After Second Son, "Plague turn into new Conduit gene" theory. [PROTOTYPE] crossover. The RFI may have erased the normal Conduit gene from the Human gene pool. But after the destruction of the DUP and the freeing of the remaining "Conduits" that somehow stayed alive... It was discovered that the power wielded by the Second Sons are in fact, Contagious. Rated M just to be sure.

2. Chapter 2

Episode 1: Blackwatch, the Outbreaks, and a time of turmoil

"Just within two weeks." General Randall initiated his briefing.

"Three Outbreaks have happened. First in Seattle, then in Los Santos. Now it's within New Marais again. Each time the outbreak let loose another swarm of Bioterrorists escaping from the half-eaten ruins of the former cities. With our cover operation the DUP now downed we could do nothing to stop the outbreak!"

"One Hundred percent infectivity. Infected eventually turn into super-powered elemental embodiments that feeds on the same sort of matter they are seen using in their powers. And they are known to eat and use EVERYTHING. Every substance that was known in our databases seems to be able to become the element of one of the Bioterrorists' powers. Electricity. Paper. Concrete. Dirt. Metal. Rocks. Sand. Neon Signs. Shadows. Video signals. Light itself. Embers and smoke. Reports said that there were certain breed of Bioterrorists are seen absorbing, and using, Flesh itself as the element of their power. If the virus is allowed to get out-of-control there will soon be no Civilization left. The entire earth could be eaten by the infection. And we would lose all of our political powers ever and forever if these super-powered viral beings are allowed to take over the world." A scientist-looking person delivered his briefing- and to everyone's surprise, the figure was Joseph Bertrand III- the Swamp Monster Conduit that should have died during the RFI event 8 years ago.

"Luckily. The Infected and the Runners are still considered Conduits- they reacted to Blast Shards just like the Conduits used to before the RFI went off. I managed to survive because the Blast Shard I kept on myself. And they are now preaching the Un-godly doctrine that the Viral infected was the new direction of Human Evolution! Bull s**t! Conduits, or Bioterrorists, or Runners, can only cause Chaos!"

General Randall replied: "Could the Ray Field Inhibitor still work on them? We still had that technology. And since they are Conduits in nature-"

Joseph Bertrand III: "No- I have tried. The energy of the Blast Shards and the blast Shards themselves are immune to the RFI's effects. I had taken a sample of their virus and tested it before- and it reacted to the RFI's energy exactly like a Blast Shard- which meant that it did nothing. They have evolved resistance to the weapon that nearly wiped out their kind."

Robert Cross: "Then it's time for Plan B."

Joseph Bertrand III: "What's Plan B."

Robert Cross took out another Blast Shard, and produced a diagram of some form of devices- a device that resembled superficially to that of the Power Transfer Device that was used by the DUP Brooke Augustine. "We use this." answered Robert Cross. "You Joseph Bertrand III had an ability of mutating Conduit-positive civilians into Corrupted that works under your will- aren't you?"

Joseph Bertrand III: "Yes, but I have never used this ability any more. Isn't this Conduit madness over yet?"

Robert Cross: "The Virus, when during it's early incubation stages- when it have yet to turn it's host into a type II Conduit, could be subverted- the DUP have proven that during their rule under Brooke Augustine, which subverted the Virus as Forced Conduits that worked as enforcers. As the total concentration of the Virus (and dormant type II Conduits) have reached more then 10 percent in the general populace of the East Coast, You could just use the Power Transfer Device to mutate as many of the population into Corrupted under your control- fighting the Virus with the Virus."

"When we hunt, we kill! No one is safe! Nothing is sacred! We are Blackwatch! We are the last line of defense! We will burn our own to hold the red line, it is the last line to ever hold!"

As the Blast Shard is inserted into the Power transfer Device, and the ominous machine starts to power up with a mild hum, "Test Subjects", which were captured Conduit-Positive people of the East Coast that were put in cages in the range of the devices, start to mutate- first grow in size, then spikes come out of their bodies, and finally become nothing more than violent, mutated monsters. The Corrupted have been reborn.

"Stop!"

As Joseph Bertrand III Commanded, the Corrupted suddenly stopped their violent activities, and rested down within their cages.

"Leave! Find and catch as many Conduits as you can and bring them to me!"

The doors of the cages opened. And the Corrupted monstrosities, barely Humanoid in their forms, marched out, silently, from their cages, up the staircase, and out of the secret Blackwatch base.

In Seattle.

It have been two weeks after the Delsin Rowe- Orchestrated Seattle Outbreak converted every inhabitant of the city into a Type II Conduit. After an initial Rampancy that consumed nearly 2 3rd of the city's building materials and an efflux event that sent thousands of active Conduits roaming away from the city, the population, now well-fed, have started to rebuild. Abigail "Trace" Walker, while performing her usual daily routine in decorating the city with Neon-colored art, met one of the new Type II Conduits, a cheesy youngster named Steve "Pariah" Nivens. Who was a geneticist... and got "Computer" power instead. Literally. Steve "Pariah" Nivens' power was the ability to absorb and control data from computers. He did develop hacking as a mutation power, and gained the ability to travel through internet wiring as a stream of data. Otherwise... Steve Nivens is no more different from another reskinned knockoff that was basically every one of the Type II Conduits that now inhabits the half-eaten half-rebuilt city. Seeing him forming a speech bubble above his head sending her a request, Abigail "Trace" Walker changed her path, and a bent trail of neon gas went straight toward the data-juggling biology nerd himself.

Within the secluded, rebuilt lab that was created by Steve "Pariah" Nivens with the help of a certain tall black man (Falcon from the Marvel Cinematic Universe) who had "Glass" powers, Abigail "Trace" Walker met one of her old friends down here. Richard "Illumination" Lawson, one of Delsin's squad members and an old friend of Walker when he joined the team after the defeat of the DUP in the quest of spreading the Type II Conduit powers to all of Humanity, was right here.

Steve Nivens: "We need to collaborate on something."

Abigail Walker: "What?"

Steve Nivens: "A week ago, After plowing through the Internet using my powers, Richard and me found out the fact that, ever since the Outbreaks, none of us Type II Conduits have ever became pregnant. Or given any births. We suspect that Type II Conduits are sterile, most likely due to our Viral nature making traditional forms of reproduction impossible."

Richard Lawson: "Which is really bad if we were to continue reproducing as an independent species if all Humans are converted or killed. Upon realizing this fact, we founded this laboratory in an attempt to find a solution to this problem if we wish to reproduce."

Steve Nivens: "I am actually a geneticist- though the Virus don't have any sort of preference-based-on-knowledge, and wound up giving me Computer related powers instead. We are currently conducting certain genetic tests on the virus- and we need a female Type II Conduit to actually conduct ... reproduction-related tests themselves. It's all voluntary- If you don't want to collaborate, we could just tell others the truth and find someone else that is willing to conduct the tests with us."

Abigail Walker: "Since we are friends and teammates... I would collaborate on this one. Just be Gentle right?"

5 days later

Steve Nivens have assembled a device of sorts. Which have been seen sitting in the center of the laboratory. "This is a Ray Field Manipulator- After a detailed research on our Healing Factor, we believe that the Virus' healing process could be Subverted. This prototype tilts the energy field of a Type II Conduit so that the viral Healing process is shifted toward a location that is outside of the Conduit's body- effectively creating a clone of the original Conduit at the altered location. What's the element you recharge on?"

Abigail Walker: "Neon gas. Specifically Ionized neon gas like what is found in Neon Signs. Why?"

Steve Nivens: "The process that creates a clone is identical to the innate healing process of the Type II Conduit himself/herself- and recreating an entire body would require a lot of elemental energy."

"I would tell him to get some."

Steve Nivens took out his phone and called Falcon. 5 minutes later, a tall black man came gliding down using a pare of transparent, glass-like wings. Which quickly retracted and dissipated as he lands on the balcony in front of the lab.

Steve "Pariah" Nivens: "Did you get the material I needed?"

Thomas "Falcon" Wilson produced a large flask filled with what seems like a glowing, gaseous substance. "Right out of the source. Be careful- it's till hot."

"Test 1 initiated- Walker, keep absorbing as much of the neon gas as you can as I point the business end of the device toward you- you may feel something weird, or nothing at all, but it's OK- just keep absorbing and maintain your energy level at full until I tell you to stop right?"

Steve Nivens points the device toward Abigail Walker, as pink, neon-colored energy start to come out from the flask, into Abigail's body, and then come out toward a specific location. A shape of something started to form, and keeps becoming more and more solid as the pink-colored energy keep pumping into itself.

"60%. 70%. 80%. It's working- 85%. it's Close- 90%. Come on-"

The energy suddenly stopped entering the location, the shape of energy exploded into a brilliant burst of pink-colored Neon before being reabsorbed into the body of Abigail Walker. The device is knocked over and was smashed on the ground by the powerful explosion, while everyone inside the lab is violently thrown onto the walls of the small room.

Steve lost a bunch of energy, but quickly came back up. Falcon hit the window of the lab and promptly absorbed some of the shattered glass. "Abigail Walker, Are you OK?"

At the center of the blast, Abigail Walker stumbled a little, before turning her face toward the two dazzled males. "I'm fine. In fact, I feel more powerful than ever before!" Abigail thought of rising up, and pink colored energy thrusts out from beneath her arms propelling herself upward- before she suddenly hit the roof of the lab, and left a Walker-shaped hole in it.

Steve "Pariah" Nivens took a quick note: "Initial attempt at reproduction through relocated healing failed- however, the excessive Ray Field Energy that was generated during the initial energy conversion process seems to have strengthened the Conduit that was being tested."

"Oh. It's back to the drawing board."

The Monster of New York Zone

Alex Mercer was one of the plague victims that nearly died during the Plague's near total holocaust of the New York City. However, in his dying thralls, a wave of Blue energy swept across the dead city, and Alex "Zeus" Mercer found himself to be able to control living matter at will. A Plague mutation, one in 5 million in chance, have struck Alex Mercer- the specific element of the Virus that infected him was Biomass- living materials, like flesh and plant matter. And the Virus had the mutation that isolated the converted parts of his body from the Human part of his body. The former means that he got to live until the RFI went off as Biomass don't reject Biomass, and the latter allows him to become a Type II Conduit by granting resistance to RFI energy and awakening his powers as the extreme surge of energy from the RFI detonation finished the conversion process.

Waking up from the mass grave that used to be the Plague Ward of New York City after unknowingly absorbing a few dead bodies in his way, Alex was confronted with an apocalyptic scene. Dead bodies- millions of them. All fell victim to the plague before the RFI could cure them. And all of which contained a shard of Raycite- a Blast Shard that was the crystallized remains of the Deactivated Plague Virus inside the dead bodies.

Roaming the ruins of New York City, now designated New York Zone, Alex "Zeus" Mercer soon found himself being able to absorb the Blast Shard-bearing bodies to maintain his energy and become stronger.

This continued for 7 years and 10 months. Until the Corrupted came.

Alex "Zeus" Mercer almost thought that he have been transported into another Video Game.

Using the Biomass melee attack- a massive, 5 feet razor-sharp Clawed hand which he could summon from his right hand, Alex "Zeus" Mercer tore through a Corrupted Worker with ease, absorbing it's Biomass to fill up his energy reserve.

And there are hundreds more Workers, "Hunters", and even a Hive Lord coming to him.

Alex "Zeus" Mercer grinned. And barrages of tendrils and flashes of blades tore through the horde of Corrupted that tried to hunt for and catch him..

Seattle.

Steve "Pariah" Nivens: "If my knowledge and power could not solve this problem... Then I knew someone who can DEFINITELY solve it." Calling someone named "Zeus" on his contacts, Steve "Pariah" Nivens started to prepare the lab for the arrival of a literal sentient Biological Virus that were also known as the Monster of the New York Zone.

A mass of tendrils that was barely humanoid in form crept through Interstate 55 at a speed faster than a passenger jet, as the Monster of New York Zone held onto the sign of civilization and moved toward Seattle.

"So I'm not transported into the other Game is I thought was. Then."

About 3 hours later.

As the mass of tendrils re-materialized into the figure wearing a black jacket and hood renown as the Monster of New York Zone in front of the laboratory, Alex "Zeus" Mercer was greeted by Steve "Pariah" Nivens, Abigail "Trace" Walker and the other members of the Team. "Is this your power? Like. Tentacles?"

Alex Mercer replied: "I'm what you actually wanted to be as a geneticist- My power was Biomass. The control over all materials of biological origin, live or dead."

Steve Nivens: "I called you for a reason that matters the future of all Conduits like you and us. You see, about two weeks ago we discovered that among all Type II Conduits, none have ever became pregnant nor have delivered birth. Which means that we are likely naturally Sterile. We believe that, by manipulating our healing factor, we could achieve a form of reproduction- Especially since we can neither mate with Humans nor getting their trust, which means that we would likely go extinct if this issue is not corrected."

"And you are a geneticist- actually, a better geneticist than me, which have also been given powers over biological matter. So i think that you may be able to help us."

Alex Mercer: "And I have a even worse news to deliver for you. We suspect that Joseph Bertrand III was not quite dead, and/or that Type I Conduits were not quite as extinct as we thought they were.- I fought my way out of New York Zone against mutated monstrosities that were superficially similar to Bertrand's Corrupted that plagued the East Coast before the RFI went off. And they are now coming back to get each and every one of us."

Steve Nivens: "And that is why we are a Team- With enough brilliant minds nothing is impossible. And... I also need to contact Delsin Rowe first- He had the best knowledge about the Virus in every and all of us."

Delsin Rowe, from the other side of the phone call: "What? You had an idea about the fertility issue?"

Steve Nivens transformed into a blur of noisy data and disappeared into his phone. 2 minutes later, Both Steve and Delsin have reappeared in front of Alex Mercer and Abigail Walker in the lab, materializing from streams of noise and data that came out of the Phone.

Alex Mercer: "Is Delsin the same as you?"

Delsin Rowe: "No. I can absorb and copy anyone else' power- so technically yes for this moment. It also allow me to Fast Travel together with anyone if needed."

1 week later

"This, is what I called, the Conjugation Method." Alex "Zeus" Mercer held up a small vial of something in front of the team's eyes.

"After our collaborative research, and quite a few explosions, we discovered that it's not the idea that cloning a Type II Conduit by subverting and tilting the viral healing process toward a location outside of their bodies didn't work- It was just that this process could not be accomplished just by one Conduit himself/herself. It turned out, due to a certain limit in reproduction by assembly- the same sort of limit that was imposed in Quines of computer programming. In order to reproduce a Conduit from scratch, at least Two Conduits have to work together so that each one of them will not need to reproduce 100% of the offspring's body structure. Each of the parents would need to just reproduce a part of the Offspring's physical structure, which is possible. And by letting each parent produce a different part of the offspring's physiology, it's now possible to reproduce the complete physiology of a Clone Type II Conduit through combined effort."

"This vial contains a retroviral agent that modifies the genetic structure of the mutated Ray Field Plague Virus, or the Conduit Virus as we call it. It allows the Type II Conduit healing process to be temporarily tilted toward a location outside of the body of a Type II Conduit affected by it with minimal training- Once released, it's function will appear as a mutation power of any Type II Conduit that is being affected by it. You should be able to use this function once I open this vial. Make sure you are fully charged when you do it- Although it's now physically possible, this process will still require a lot of energy to actually perform." Alex "Zeus" Mercer opened the vial, and the contents seems to evaporate- diffusing the retroviral agent through the air in the lab, and soon be outside. "Once released, this modification would spread across the entire globe within 2 weeks. And hopefully, our kind will be able to reproduce soon after."

Steve Nivens: "Test 65 initiated. Materials- set. Delsin Rowe, you stand on this platform. Abigail Walker, you stand on this platform. Activate your newest mutation power and focus on the third platform- and make sure to recharge using the prepared materials as the process unfolds."

Just like the original tests with the Ray Field Manipulator, Neon gas started to be absorbed into Abigail Walker's body from the large flask, while streams of data starts to come out of the console behind Delsin Rowe and enter his body as well. The elements then comes out from the bodies both of the couple, and as the elements focused onto and condensed in the space above the platform between them- a Humanoid shape start to appear from inside the whirlpool of the mixed elements.

"60%... 70%... 80%... 85%... Common!"

"90%... 95%... 97.5%... 99%..."

The shape become more and more solid, until a burst of elements suddenly exploded from the central platform, and condensed into a fully clothed, 21-year-old girl that appeared out of nowhere and landed onto the central platform- Confused, but definitely live and well.

"It Worked!" The Conjugation process worked!

The 21-year-old-looking girl suddenly spoke: "My name is Abigail F. Shepard, nice to meet you my friends."

As a test to ensure that the process does not just transported someone else here instead of creating a new Individual, Steve "Pariah" Nivens asked cautiously: "So where did you come from? Who is your family?"

"Abigail F. Shepard" answered: "I am Akhomish, and my father is Richard D Rowe, my mother is Dana M Walker..."

Steve "Pariah" Nivens: "It looked like the memories of the result is all jumbled up- she had the memories of Delsin, and the personality of Abigail, and a copy of Delsin's and Walker's experience in the Team... It looked like that the mixture of duplicated memories have created a new personality in the resulting Individual. And it looked like that the result included subconscious personality traits of the parents as well. Gender selection is random- not an Androgynous mixture of parental traits as I expected. The Cerebral Homunculus theory was correct in this way... I have to test her for powers- the viral nature of such reproduction process and offspring should make her an active Type II Conduit at birth."

Steve "Pariah" Nivens asked the result: "By the way, why Shepard?"

5 Days later

Delsin Rowe: "No powers? Why?"

Steve "Pariah" Nivens: "It looked like that the virus inside her body is jumbled up- It may take time for her mixed viral strain to adjust. But she is definitely Conduit Positive. It may take some time for she to awaken her powers. Not sure what it will be though. Nearly a month of research on the Conduit Virus and still no idea how the virus chooses the element of it's powers when a Type II Conduit awakens."

Nearly 2 months later

Alex "Zeus" Mercer have went back to New York Zone to hunt Corrupted and collect Blast Shards. Steve Nivens have sided with Richard Lawson and Thomas "Falcon" Wilson to uncover more secrets on Blackwatch, the origins of the Conduit Virus and the reemergence of the Corrupted. (Thomas's Glass powers prove incredibly useful when lenses are needed for more thorough examinations on the various traces the team of three have collected. So does Steve's powers over Light.)

There have been "births" (or rather creation of new Individuals) within the three major Conduit Cities- It looks like that Alex Mercer's solution- the Conjugation process, have worked. However, the general populace of these three cities are still quite worried, as all the new Individuals are born without powers. Until now.

Alex's phone rang.

Delsin Rowe: "I think she had powers!"

Alex "Zeus" Mercer: "Did she awaken as usual? Or the viral strains have stabilized?"

Delsin Rowe: "I think it was a new Awakening... Her powers are unlike anything we have ever seen. You may have to see it yourself."

Abigail F. Shepard can be seen jumping up and down across the top of Seattle's buildings- and trailing behind her was a literal mix of elements: Whirls of Wind carrying pieces of Concrete, with points of Light and Pixels dotting in between. Shepard landed on a rooftop for a break- before she put her hands onto the metal railing on top of the building, and the metal could be seen Melting down and being absorbed into herself. Shepard jumped off the roof, a liquid-like Streak of stainless steel raising from under her feet propelling herself into the air, before she came down to a graceful landing on the ground with a roll- which happen to put her right in front of Delsin and Alex which have barely made here in time.

Alex "Zeus" Mercer: "It looks like her power was the ability to absorb and control EVERYTHING... What kind of monster we have created..."

Delsin Rowe: "No, I think that she is just an exception- half of her Viral Strain and memories came from me after all. Mine which is the ability to absorb and copy the powers of any other Conduit on touch. A power over everything... It looks just like a logical next step from mine."

Alex Mercer: "Any way, how about the other Created Individuals? Did they have strange powers? Or how their powers are related to their parents?"

Delsin Rowe: "Not yet. None of the other Created Individuals have awakened yet. So we still have no way of knowing how they would develop."

Feb 17th 2020

Fourth and Fifth Outbreak happens in the city of Oklahoma and the city of Dallas as the concentration of Conduit-positive individuals in the U.S. reaches over 17 percent. As nascent Type II Conduits traveled out from the Los Santos and New Marais to tour the continental United States using their new-found powers, Type II Conduits, or "Runners" as called by Blackwatch, reached critical concentration within the state of Texas and the state of Oklahoma, causing the same sort of runaway Ray Field Reaction as happened in the previous three outbreaks, triggering the Oklahoma and Dallas Outbreaks that turned every inhabitant within the two cities into a Type II Conduit.

As the Conduit Virus spreads through the Continental U.S. in an atomic chain reaction, causing Rampancy and remodeling politics and technology everywhere it spread to, Blackwatch forces made the decision to isolate and quarantine the 13 Founding States of the United States- the entire East Coast, from the rest of the U.S.

Within the thirteen isolated states, or the so-called Blue Zone, Conduit-Positive Individuals are ruthlessly captured and converted into Corrupted monsters by Joseph Bertrand III using the Power Transfer Device, which are then sent to the central United States- "Yellow Zones", in an effort to stop, or at least slow, the advancement of Type II Conduits and the inevitable demise and replacement of "Pure Humans" to the ever growing population of "Bioterrorists".

Mar 1st 2020

Joseph Bertrand III rises to power in the Blue Zone as he mastered the Corrupted power of Shapeshifting- and replaced the current president of the United States with one of the Corrupted agents of his own.

The Conduit Rights Association was formed by newly awakened Type II Conduits within the city of New Vegas in the Blue Zone, which questions the Bertrand Government's and Blackwatch's negative perception of the emerging Type II Conduits, citing the successful reproduction of Type II Conduits within Seattle and Los Santos through the use of a unlockable "Mutation Power" as being the evidence that Type II Conduits are in deed the next Evolution of Humanity. Graffiti with wording like "The RFI is a total failure" and "Your Kesseler's and Joseph Bertrand III's efforts only delayed the inevitable" have popped up in the city of New Vegas.

Blackwatch released files about their research on the Viral nature of Type II Conduits in the Blue Zone to instill fear upon the public. The Conduit Rights Association cites the technological advancements and medical benefits this alleged "Virus" could bring to society as a counter-argument to the Blackwatch file releases. Propaganda posters and billboards with the face of the current U.S. President are defaced to reveal the hidden connection of Joseph Bertrand III to the Corrupted.

Apr 2nd 2020

Second Created Individual, Elamo "Tommy" Puerto awakens his powers over Machinery and moving things in the city of Los Santos. It have been confirmed that a Created Individual awaken their powers just like a Converted Individual- the element of their powers are chosen randomly, chances of which is related to the total concentration of different possible elements surrounding the Individual during his/her creation. Just like the Converted Individuals. However, the element of choice awakened in Created Individuals appear to be also influenced quite strongly by their parents- there is significant chance that the Offspring's element of power would be related to the Parent's element of power, in addition to the process of selection-by-concentration innate to all Type II Conduits.

Certain Created Individuals have been confirmed to be manifestations of Subconscious personalities of their parents, explaining the apparent "Genetic Discrepancy" of certain Created Individuals to their parents.

The Majestic Twelve was formed by twelve former University of Washington PHDs who each had the power over a specific chemical typically found in University labs. It have been discovered that the Viral particles that forms the powers of Type II Conduits reacted similar chemically to the element they manifest as the Conduit's powers- potentially allowing chemical reactions to be used both as a powerful tool for technology development of the Conduitkind and a deadly weapon in the fight against Joseph Bertrand III and his Corrupted.

Alex "Zeus" Mercer, the Monster of New York Zone, who hunted down Corrupted within the city ruthlessly and ate their essence to become stronger and stronger, have turned his focus into exposing the connection between the Corrupted and Joseph Bertrand III that currently rules the Government of the Blue Zone. In response, the Bertrand Government labeled Alex Mercer as a member of the Corrupted, almost nullifying his efforts in exposing them.

Jun 4th 2020

As the total concentration of active type II Conduits within North America reached critical concentration of over 4 percent, a chain reaction of accumulation-outbreak-dispersion converted nearly 97 percent of all individuals within the Red Zone of the West Coast into active type II Conduits, turning the rest of the population, which includes nearly the entirety of the Yellow Zone of the Central United States, into Conduit-Positive carriers of the Conduit Virus. the historical period, known as the Rampancy, have begun.

As majority of the ruling elites escaped the Rampancy into the Blue Zone under the rule of the Bertrand Government and Blackwatch, the intrinsic conflicts between the Ruling Class (which happen to also include the surviving population of Type I Conduits that only survived due to having a Blast Shard on their person when the RFI went off) and the now super-powered used-to-be Ruled Class is elevated into an all-out war between the power-hungry Old Elites trying desperately to hold onto their waning political powers and the freedom-loving New Conduitkind that wants their only ruler to be their own selves.

Non-Powered individuals start to become scarce in the Red Zone, and what used to be the Norm have become the freaks, while what used to be the Freaks have become the Norm.

Amid the chaos and the Rampancy, a conspiracy brews deep down the secret bases and hideouts of Blackwatch and the lairs of Joseph Bertrand III's Corrupted...

Nothing this old and established like the secret societies that was the hidden ruling elites of every established government in the entire world, will ever meet their end peacefully without a bang.

CODEX: Converted Individuals and Created Individuals

Due to the viral physiology of Type II Conduits, the traditional concept of Sexual Reproduction and Population Genetics is not applicable toward the emergent species known as Type II Conduits; Which forms the faction known today as the Conduit Nation and the majority of the West Coast/ Red Zone population.

Since the introduction of reproduction by conjugation into the Genome of the Conduit Virus, and by extension, the general population of Type II Conduits, members of this emergent species could be roughly classified into two categories: Converted Individuals and Created Individuals.

Converted Individuals are the Individuals that are created through Baseline Humans that are infected by the RFI-resistant Ray Field Plague Virus, better known as the Conduit Virus, and awakens as Type II Conduits either naturally, or as the result of prolonged exposure to the radiation generated by a large concentration of previously-active Type II Conduits during an Outbreak. Converted Individuals physically resembles the Baseline Humans before they are Infected and Awoken, with all physical features including clothing and accessories integrated directly into the resulting Viral entity- All Type II Conduits regenerates their clothing and non-biological components with an adequate supply of their corresponding elements as if they are part of their biological bodies. The element of Converted Individuals are largely dependent on the specific concentration of elements in the local environment where they are first infected- Generally, the higher the concentration an element/substance is around them during Infection, the higher the chance that the powers of a Converted Individual will be of that specific element.

Created Individuals, on the other hand, refers to the Individuals that are created through the duplication and mixing of Viral tissue and mental components (memories, personality, skills, etc.) by the use of a process known as the Conjugation Process. The Conjugation Process, initially developed as a mechanical device that tilts the natural healing process of Type II Conduits to a location that is outside of their own body in order to create clones of the Individual (which failed), but later integrated into the genome of the Conduit Virus itself as a Mutation Power that allows multiple Type II Conduits to work together in the creation of new Individuals (Which was successful), duplicates and mixes the genetic and mental signatures of the Parent Individuals to create a new Individual that possessed traits of the "Parents" that were involved in his/her creation. Despite generally being composed of a mix-match of appearance, memory, skill and personality traits that came from all the Type II Conduits that were involved in his/her creation, there is a small chance that a Created Individual will not resemble any of the Parents and takes on a completely different appearance and personality that was instead based on a subconscious/alternate personality of one of the Parents. Despite possessing the enhanced physiology and healing factor of a typical Type II Conduit due to being composed of the same viral structure as the Active ones, Created Individuals does not possess the equivalent Elemental powers at birth, and will have to awaken it months or even years after his/her creation, in a process that is identical to that of a Converted Individual. The element of a Created Individual is partially influenced by the "Parents" that are involved in his/her creation, but the parental influence is only partial and non-definite, with new, completely out-of-place mutated powers often appearing in them.