The Monster's Children

by Dragomemoirs

Alex Mercer, a viral weapon of mass destruction, has taken down many problems and obstacles but how will he fare in being a father. Sorry if the summary sucks, I still need to work on making summaries. I am ignoring how things went down in prototype 2 and I do not care what anyone argues, but you are welcome to try if you wish.

2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

An: I am sorry if anyone was confused with the time skip that I did, or well the flashback scene that was the first part of the story. I felt I had to show off Alex and how he wasn't that much of an ass anymore, I hope that you guys enjoy what I'm doing. I wrote this as more of a family, fun and cute story, but there will be action and fighting in this as well because Alex just has bad luck in general. I am now going to wrap up what the f-ing heck Blackwatch did. This is going to be a whopper please bare with it.

Answers to reviews— FuN HooRAyyYY!

Dragon Bone Z: All right, I never said I was ignoring the game only the ending. I just happen to have a hard time believing that heller won that fight with barely a week or so of having his powers. I do agree that the tendrils power was super fun, I loved using them myself. I would string up cars and use them as hammocks it was super amusing. I will try my best not to have him too OP since a story with no conflict or difficulties wouldn't really be a story, would it? I hope that I can do my favorite Character Justice in regards to his character. I tried my hand at a practical approach I hope it fits, and if his character does change remember I have the flashback stuff (dealing With Blackwatch) taking place sometime after the outbreaks. I know what you mean about my grammar none of my schools really went over it in great detail and just went like, "eh they'll be fine, grammar is easy."

P.s: that's okay I understand XD. I want to try learning how to fix my own stuff for now then I'll look for a beta.

Guest: thanks for saying it was cool. I am still worried about people disliking this story. I hope you stick around to keep reading it.

Saul'keth: Thanks, I thought of this when I was driving to work one day. I thought it was a good idea so I couldn't wait until I typed it up. I'm glad I can still convey the story even with run-on sentences. I hope that you like what you see enough to keep watching...

Dur'id the Druid: I am glad you find it interesting and as for updating well here, you go.

Tuiop: Thanks! I am glad to hear that from you man. I remember how much we talked about the prototype and you suggested me some good stuff to read as well. I hope you are doing OK. I hope you continue to enjoy and if you have any suggestions please make them!

Boblets: Why do combined worlds suck? I am not really upset at this, I'm just curious as to why they suck? I find that being able to combine a world and make it work is really impressive. I am not saying mine is good since I am still learning the ropes to writing, but I hope that this can change your mind and if not, I hope you can understand my point? Thank you for your time.

Guest: I hope I cleared up that confusion. I hope you like it.

WARNING, THOSE WITH STRONG IMAGINATION AND WEAK STOMACHS YOU MIGHT WANT TO SKIP THIS FIRST PARAGRAPH OR SO. (just skim if you have too)

On with the bloodshed and Blackwatch slaying. I also feel like this is a bit rushed of a chapter and I apologize. I wasn't prepared with a backstory and I should have been. I now have most of what I want to do with this story planned out, I'll try not to write without a plan which is how I get a lot of my work done.

-MC-

The soldier knew about a new operation, designated The Purging Flame. That was all he knew was a name and that it would be used to kill him. Alex frowned, Blackwatch thought these things were with him and they have a viral signature that is closely related to the Blacklight virus. Alex snarled at the thought of someone messing with his virus, especially after he went through the trouble of tracking down every last speck of it and consuming it. These creatures were created from him, but they were different, they didn't spread disease or take a new body, they had original bodies. These things were dangerous, they could easily kill people and shrug off hits that would kill a normal person, but they were not a match for him. The soldier's next objective was to apprehend Dana and take her hostage to ensure his cooperation until they killed him. That was all the knowledge he had, Alex sighed, 'of course things can't be easy.'

Alex raised his feet and went back to Dana. He would need her help on this one, she could always find things out just as fast as him and he would prefer to not add any more new voices to his head that he needed too. Alex observed the damage caused by the things, buildings were torn up, streets closed off, and something that remained Alex too much of himself, there were numerous amounts of bodies lying on the ground. Their entrails trailing out of their stomachs, half eaten and left to waste, Limbs were strewn about chewed and torn, their eyes were glazed over in the moment of death with their faces stuck twisted in horror of being devoured. Alex grimaced, he regretted all the civilians that he killed or consumed when he just born. He would get so many people killed in the crossfire or using them as living torpedoes, sling them at helicopters or soldiers, he sighed so much wasted life.

Dana told him that she needs at least a day to find out anything about this new project. He already provided what he knew, which wasn't much at all. Alex, due to boredom, was outside on the streets checking the creatures bodies. They were strange, the fur was matted, the bonelike protrusions were actual growth, the eyes still glowed blood red after death. He took a closer look at one and decided the fastest way to know what it is was to eat it. He grasped the thing and let his tendrils go to work, breaking down the body and analyzing what it was. It had a viral signature, which was similar to his strain yet changed in ways it shouldn't be, as well as naturally occurring elements inside of it, the biological structure still resembled a wolf which would mean that these things were actually animals that were twisted. He didn't get any kind of memories or emotions from it since it was dead for too long. Alex observed other bodies, they were starting to fade into the air almost like smoke and ash in the wind.

'Well ain't this a bitch,' Alex huffed, 'I'm going to kill whoever did this painfully. I do not like the idea of someone out there using my virus to create things. If anyone will be doing that it will be me!'

Alex looked over the streets of New York, he still had a long time to go until Dana was ready with his information.

-MC-

Inside of Blackwatch HQ

The commander William H. Kirby stared at the proposal for a new weapon against Zeus. It detailed using a hyperaggressive viral strain created from the creatures, the benefits of the project were promising but-

"Why the hell would I trust scientists to create a new Bio-weapon, especially if the last one went berserk and developed its own personality." Commander Kirby asked with steel tracing his voice, being sure not to betray his already growing annoyance.

"Sir, this will grant us the edge over Zeus, he has gone for too long without capture. My plan is to use his sister as bait and when he comes to rescue her we release it, then we will be rid of Zeus for good." The soldier explained with slight jubilation in his voice.

"Do you forget the deal I made with Zeus, I promised him that his sister would have free range without us making her life difficult. He didn't care for his own well-being and while some think this arrogant of him, I see it as self-sacrifice. Zeus is not an enemy to us and if I find out anyone has tried to attack him without direct orders there will be hell to pay! I will not go back on my word, Goddamn it!" Commander Kirby sighed as he turned away from his soldier, "if that was all you had to report, you may be dismissed."

"I understand commander," while the commander was still turned away from him, the soldier pulled his pistol from the holster. He aimed it at the commanders head, hoping for a quick kill. The soldier pulled the trigger painting the wall with the commander's brain matter.

"I just happen to disagree with the way you run things, but I already control the rest of Blackwatch. I commend you for your service, sir." The soldier saluted his still warm corpse, his plan was already in motion.

-MC-

Alex sat on the edge of a building contemplating how long he had left in the world. He was theoretically immortal, he can't be killed by disease, old age, or weapons and if he was hurt all he had to do was consume living biomass in order to get back in top performance. Dana was human, she was currently dying and she was going to leave this world soon. Alex may have been upset but he still thought that death would be more appealing than living forever. The boredom would slowly drive a person insane, and he was already starting to grow tired of it as well. He could heal the sick and try to help, but more people would need the same help, later on, making it all repetitive. He didn't want to be all alone in a world that would always change, there would be nothing that would be fixed. He would be an anomaly in a changing world, but he didn't want to die. He knew how it felt to die, especially from the memories of others. He felt his claws, hammerfists, whipfist, blade, musclemass, and his bare hands tear into so many people. He understood the fear they felt when they were faced with death, people clammed up and felt unable to understand anything. Alex looked up at the moonlit sky, he couldn't see the stars due to the light pollution that cities had.

How long would he still have to fight Blackwatch, they kept trying to hunt and capture him all to make a weapon out of him. They didn't care that he was alive, to them he was a mistake, an irregularity.

'They are up to something though. The plan seemed to call for a new weapon, one that could kill him.' Alex contemplated this information, he would be lying to say that the idea didn't intrigue him. The thought of something that could kill him, it was an exciting opportunity. Alex was able to adapt to anything they threw at him and come out even stronger than before.

He felt his cellphone vibrate, he pulled it out.

It was from Dana, she had the information for him.

"Hey Dana," Alex said, "what have you found for me?"

"Greeting Zeus."

Alex's eyes narrowed at the man's voice. He was young by the sound of it, at least twenty-six or so.

"Who the hell are you? Where's Dana?"

"Huh, you actually do sound human and here I thought the commander Kirby was blowing smoke up my ass. Your 'sister' is fine, Zeus. I am a reasonable man and even I wouldn't kill an old woman. My name is Henry Smith and I can't wait to see you in person, Zeus." Henry hung up immediately after saying his piece.

Alex's phone was sent a message with a location attached. He was to go to the docks and go to warehouse one.

"Damnit!" Alex snarled, his armor forming around his body. It was time for Zeus to cut a bloody path, through their ranks.

Alex took a deep breath and dissolved his armor, this would call for a stealth approach. He remembered that the soldier still had an extraction waiting for him. He pulled up his Blackwatch soldier disguise and hopped down. He headed towards the extraction point. He was going to dismantle Blackwatch from the inside out. They still had their viral detectors, but he had long since learned how to trick them. He wondered if they still fell for the trick of pointing at someone and screaming his name. He brought a small smile to his face as he walked to the point.

-MC-

Henry Smith sat in a chair waiting for Zeus to arrive. It was a large space, mostly dominated by large wooden crates. He looked over at his prisoner, she was strapped to a chair with two soldiers standing guard right next to her, each with a gun trained to her head. He smiled his plan was coming together, soon he would be rid of Zeus, who more than likely created those creatures.

"You do realize that Alex is going to kill you. He doesn't like dipshits who kidnap me. You also messed with his virus, the thing that makes up his being. I still have to give you credit though, for being a dumbass you sure have a real original plan."

"Thank you, I planned this for years." He stood up and walked over to his captive.

"I hope you realize that was sarcasm, asshole." Dana spat on his shoes, "I hope he fucking guts you like the pig you are."

Henry backhanded Dana with enough force for blood to trickle out her mouth. "You are lucky that my plan requires you to be here, alive. I could have killed you and still got the same result, which is Zeus coming to me." He gestured to a soldier, who handed him a large syringe full of a black tar-like substance. "This is why I needed you, I don't know how this will turn out but you would make one hell of a test subject! This little baby right here is a new creation whipped up by the boys at R&D. They created it using those creatures, we may not know where they originated but the structure of their DNA is strange. They are like Zeus, except they are full of aggression and hunt humans down solely, even if they look like if they aren't truly living creatures. They don't have organs or a brain, they only move by instinct but the weird thing is they do have blood, only small amounts of it though. It made creating this a bitch and a half since we had to track so many down but it helped us find where they are born. We found a large tar-like pit, now that isn't the annoying part it was in fucking California. I love the state but the cost of transporting a liquid that could spawn monstrous creatures is a huge drain on funds." He walked around the warehouse and gestured all around. "This warehouse was created to house it," he made a call over the radio. The floor slowly started to open up, revealing a pit full of the black liquid, it bubbled and writhed around.

Dana's skin lost all color at the sight. "What exactly are you going to do to me?"

Henry turned to face her, "I am going to inject this stuff into your body and throw you into the pit. I just wanted to inject you but these two brother researchers, suggested you enter the liquid as well as being injected, something or other about the liquid accelerating the process. I won't even pretend to understand the concept, all I know is that with the addition of you more and more creatures will be created from the liquid. The liquid itself can create more of itself, it would be able to grow at an alarming rate by itself but with this new strain. It will increase even more exponentially until we decide to stop the growth rate of it. They would be changed forever, they would be controlled by Blackwatch."

"Really that's your brilliant plan, in case you didn't notice you failed to control Blacklight. He became his own person and you made yourselves an enemy. I doubt that whatever you do can be a good thing for yourselves."

He approached Dana, who was struggling to escape the confines of the chair. He gripped the top of Dana's head and held her to the side.

"If it makes you feel any better," he plunged the syringe into her neck, "I was going to kill you anyway, so at least this way you can be useful."

Dana convulsed and thrashed in her chair before her body went limp. Henry nodded to the two soldiers, they picked Dana's chair up and carried her over to the pit and tossed her into it. She hit the liquid and slowly sunk in, chair and all.

The results were instantaneous, the creatures were starting to spawn. There were different kinds of them, the normal wolf looking ones were still present but they seemed larger and stronger. Henry saw one push itself out of the liquid, it looked like a bear.

"I think the plan is coming together very well, but it's always a good idea to have a failsafe." Henry pulled his radio out, "prepare the bomb. When Zeus enters this building he won't be leaving it."

-MC-

Alex flew the helicopter to the warehouse. The extraction team only knew they were to go straight there in order to guard Dana and wait for his arrival. They knew who Henry was, he wasn't right in the head, yet he now had full control of the organization. The man believed that Alex was the cause of the creatures and thought the best way to deal with him was to create a weapon out of them.

Alex thought the man was a fool, while the creatures were strange. They were still organic in nature, they weren't created in a test tube. They were naturally occurring creatures, a new species, and their first idea was to create a weapon out of them.

He was within view of the warehouse, Alex spotted an empty parking lot that was to be used as a landing zone. Alex evened out the helicopter as he went in to land in the empty parking lot. There was a platoon of soldiers who were standing guard outside the warehouse doors.

Alex landed the helicopter and exited while dropping his disguise.

At the sight of him, the ly immediately opened fire.

Alex's armor quickly formed around his body, his armor was better than a tank. The bullets didn't pierce and just bounced off him. He flexed his arms, musclemass quickly covering both. He rushed the closest one and placed a hard punch to the stomach, quickly destroying his ribcage and turning the man into a bunch of chunks. His hand lashed out and grabbed another by the throat, he charged up his throw and launched him into his fellows, instantly killing them all from the force. The last one pulled the pin on a grenade and tossed it at him. Alex caught the grenade in his hand, he moved fast grabbing the man. He forced the grenade into his mouth and watched as the explosion tore the man's head apart. Alex felt the blast roll over him painlessly, he had no organs to rupture at the moment. He didn't even have lungs or a voice box, everything was replaced by a purely armored and defensive form. They kidnapped Dana and no one was going to receive any mercy, not while she was in danger.

Alex approached the metal doors of the warehouse, he punched his hands through and pulled the metal open. The metal screeched in protest as it was forcibly moved to create a hole. Alex entered the hole, immediately enhancing his viral senses in order to see into the darkened area. There wasn't any sign of Dana or Henry. He went deeper into the warehouse searching for any sign of Dana.

He cracked open crate after crate, he was frantic in his search so much so that he didn't hear the floor opening up behind him. He ripped the top off of another crate and peered inside at the contents, it was chock-full of guns and uniforms. Alex turned on his heel and saw the opening of the floor leading to a pit filled with a black liquid that writhed around. He peered over the edge at the liquid spying the creatures from earlier pulling themselves up, they were originating from the liquid. Alex narrowed his eyes and prepared for a fight, his signature claws forming. He was going to tear these things into little pieces.

The first one reached the ledge and Alex removed its head from its shoulders. He formed the whipfist, launching it at the climbing creatures cutting them down before they could even reach the top. They were falling back to the Liquid, but more were spawning. They were spawning faster than he could kill them, he thought about what he could do.

He didn't have a chance to do anything as the entire warehouse was engulfed in a large explosion. It was forceful enough to blow him to pieces. Alex wasn't able to remain aware as he was reduced to a puddle, the last thing he was aware of was falling into the pit directly into the liquid.

-MC-(A summary of what happened to Alex and how he arrived in the future.)

Alex's virus was spread around the liquid and couldn't conjoin again with the rest. The viral pieces were unable to force themselves back together. They struggled to reconjoin with one another, Alex wasn't able to make a conscious effort to help. There was too little of him to be aware of anything, he was stretched too thin. He slowly reformed back together, he wasn't able to tell how much time had past since he was in the liquid. He could feel his biomass getting farther and farther away from one another, they were mobile. They would eventually meet one another and rejoin, adding more to his awareness with each new addition. The only thing he could conclude was that the liquid he fell in, it kept spawning more creatures and sometimes they would take a piece of himself with them. His virus would call out to other mobile pieces and they could steer what they were inside of towards one another.

The largest piece was the home of Alex's consciousness, Alex was on the track to regain his body. He mentally sighed some living biomass would help a lot to him, especially when some of the mobile pieces would just stop and end back up in the liquid pit he was in. He hopes a larger creature would form, that way more of his pieces would get taken away giving him a larger chance to pull himself together. He felt himself getting pulled into a large creature, it pulled a lot of him into it. He could only tell that this creature was a lot larger than normal.

His body pulled itself together and he cut himself out of the creature, his sword arm cutting through the creatures inside with ease. He fell into from the sky, the creature was already starting to dissolve behind him. He flipped himself over to see the ground, it was a large desert that stretched for miles on end. Alex hit the ground creating a small crater in the ground. He flexed his biomass, checking on all his weapons and abilities. He pulled his claws, hammerfists, whipfist, musclemass, sword, armor, shield and disguise still worked. That was a relief, everything was in working order.

Alex stretched his senses as far as he could, listening for the slightest noise. He heard gunfire and headed straight towards it, he was closer to people than he thought, the noise wasn't that far. People would provide a necessary test, as well as a wealth of information about where he is. However, He needed to stretch his claws, especially after being stuck in a puddle of goo for who knows how long. Alex was grateful that he wasn't aware of the time passing and now the best thing to do is to make sure he hadn't lost his touch.

Alex pushed off the ground and into the air. It felt good to be able to launch himself into the air again. He spread his arms and legs out, gliding in the direction of the gunfire.

It took Alex all of thirty seconds to reach his target. There were people fighting those creatures, using strange weapons that used a mixture of gunplay and swords. Alex dropped to the ground and watched from a distance for a moment, he needed to have a better grasp of the situation before he did anything.

He dropped to the ground and lowered himself into the sand, changed his clothing to look like the sand. He observed them from afar, there were three people and five of those creatures. The first four of the creatures were the same wolf-like ones, the last one was bigger than the others and seemed to possess a numerous amount of scars.

The people were strange, they wore masks and had duffel bags slung over their shoulders. They hefted their weapons towards the creatures, shooting with not too great accuracy. The creatures moved towards them with an agility that would have been impressive to normal people. The group killed two of the creatures with their shooting and made to face the rest. One of the people lunged for a monster aiming to cleave its head from its shoulder, he hit his mark easily cutting through its flesh. Alex narrowed his eyes as he saw the handcuffs that hung loosely from his wrist, as well as the blood that covered the handcuffs.

Alex formed a loose theory about these individuals, they could be criminals on the run from the authorities. One of their buddies got cornered and captured and they went back and rescued him, hence the blood on the handcuffs they more than likely cut the officers handoff and slipped it through the opening. It may have been a rookie cop who thought that the best way to apprehend the perp was to cuff himself to the guy. Alex clamped down on unnecessary thoughts, all that mattered was that these people would be a source of answers he was looking for.

Alex settled in wait, deciding to wait for them to tire themselves out. The creatures were weak, but they tired out the three humans with ease.

The fight took less than ten minutes to finish and Alex found himself slightly impressed by their ability to fight. He thought at least one of them would be dead after the fight but they all survived, without any injuries at all either. Alex pushed himself off the ground and started heading towards his unsuspecting lunch.

The group didn't last long against Alex, they did put up a fight but nothing can stop Alex Mercer from getting his target.

-MC-(OK quick summary, Alex found out where he was with no one knowing anything about new york or America. The entire world was different and Alex found out here, you can guess the rest. I didn't have a lot of time to create a backstory and I rushed through this a lot and I may go back and revise this to feel better later. Now we are moving into the present.)

Alex sat back in the sofa, his leg crossed over the other. He was reading the newspaper, which was detailing the Faunus organization leader that stepped down. Alex felt that he made a poor decision, whenever a position of power is left available it always leads to a power hungry individual willing to do anything to acquire the said position. The man who stepped down was a big believer in peaceful protesting and non-violence, it would be an easy way for a violent leader to rise to power and convince the followers that his/her way was the best way for the White Fang to get the equality they desire. Alex sighed, he had seen peaceful organizations turn violent they would start small, a fist fight here, a vandalized store there before turning to assassinations and burning down stores. It may not end that way, but with the humans mistreating the Faunus this situation will only get worse as time goes on. Alex frowned, it will take time for this organization to turn from peaceful to violent and there was a chance that it wouldn't happen. If it did the White Fang has no reason to attach the island of patch, it was off the mainland of Vale and there wasn't anything that would help there cause here. Alex frowned, he would still be prepared for the chance of them causing trouble, he wasn't going to let any harm come to his family.

Thinking about harm to his family, he remembered his former employer's offer for him. The man wanted him to investigate signs of terrorism in Atlas, the man was overly cautionary and knew things that other people shouldn't. His former employer was the current headmaster at Beacon, the school of teaching children to become huntsmen. Alex was disgusted with the idea of teaching children to fight, especially at so young an age. He had his own children if you could call it that, filled with so much blood and death it turned him into an even bigger monster. He knew that Ozpin would jump at the opportunity to have either of his children enroll at Beacon, his reasoning being that he was already a strong individual and having more like him in the world would be a welcome boon to the world. Alex didn't want Ruby or Yang to become like him, but he wouldn't take the decision from them. The best thing he could do is train them, give them the tools they need so they would be ready when the decision came.

The sound of feet smacking the wooden floor tore Alex from his thoughts. His head snapped up in the direction of the noise, leading to him seeing Summer launch herself off the floor towards him. Alex could have dodged it but he let her tackle him, pushing him further into the chair. Summer was pushing both of them into the sofa, which was surprisingly well made due to the fact that it could hold his weight. He was more used to spreading out his biomass as much as he could so he wouldn't break any furniture, he had gotten very adept at this practice.

"Alex!" She exclaimed happily at having caught her significant other. They weren't exactly married, but they loved each other. Ruby was given Summer's last name, while he gave Yang a suitable one Xio Long while it wasn't his real last name he would rather leave that name in the past. He was now Alex Xio Long, it sounded weird to him but he didn't really use his last name anyway.

"What's up Summer?" Alex asked cautiously, she sounded excited and surprised. He couldn't remember doing anything to warrant such a reaction.

"I found tickets to Atlas in the mailbox, why didn't you tell me we were going on a family trip?" Summer asked, her silver eyes sparkling with excitement. "I already went and told Yang and Ruby about it. They are getting their bags packed now."

Alex cursed internally, damn Ozpin the man wouldn't quit and he would definitely resort to underhanded methods such as this. Alex could have denied it and not have to deal with Ozpin and his bullshit job, but that would mean disappointing Summer and the kids. Alex groaned internally while making sure to keep a smile on his face on the outside, he was going to get Ozpin back for this.

"Well, I wanted it to be a surprise for you and the girls, but you went and found out on your own." Alex smiled down at Summer who still had her arms wrapped around his neck. "So do you like it?"

"Of course I do! I love it since it's been so long since our last trip."

"We went to Vale just last week." Alex offered with a smile.

"That doesn't count at all, we have to go to Vale in order to maintain my weapon. I don't have the ability to create weapons out of my body like a few certain somebody's." Summer said with a deadpanned expression, she started poking him where his ribs were.

"Hey, it's not my fault that your just a normal person. I know it sucks not being as cool as Yang, Ruby, and I. If it makes you feel any better we still love you." Alex added that last part with a smirk, especially after Summer started pouting. "You are an amazing mom though."

"You bet I am! I am the best mom in the world after all and I know that's true especially since you said so." Summer said with a pleased smile, she pushed herself up off him and was sitting in his lap. Summer swooped in and placed a small kiss on his lips, after which she sprang off him and rushed in the direction of the stairs. "I'll go ahead and get our stuff packed, anything you want to bring along?"

"No, I already have everything remember." Alex went ahead and shifted his clothing into his normal leather jacket, he left the hood down, and jeans, along with the shoes.

"Show off!" Summer stuck her tongue out at him and ran off to their room.

"When do the tickets say we leave?"

"Three days from now, why?"

"No reason, I just think I need to teach Ruby and Yang some things before we leave."

"All right then, don't be too hard on them."

"Don't worry," Alex called back up to her, Alex already knew what he wanted to teach them. It was how to use the hive mind in order to communicate with him whenever they need him. Alex remembered doing this with Heller back in the day. Alex now had to teach his own children how to actually use it. This was going to be easy.

—-MC—-(the next day, two days until the trip to Atlas)

Alex sat in the living room on the floor with both Yang and Ruby sitting next to him. They both had different aspects of his virus, probably due to actually being human and virus at the same time. They each had strengths and weaknesses in what they could do, but he hadn't trained them for combat yet. The first thing he did was teach them how to control the urge to consume living biomass. It was met with relative success, Yang and Ruby were able to gain actual substance from normal food as well. He planned on taking them on a hunting trip after this, there were wild animals on patch, but no creatures of Grimm. Alex made sure of that fact.

Alex reached out in the hive mind and projected his thoughts into the space. The hive mind was empty due to the fact of the virus being gone, except for him. Alex was trying to help coax Ruby and Yang into using the hive mind. Ruby showed a reaction to it immediately to his forced presence while Yang barely noticed anything. Ruby showed a reaction due to how old she was probably, she was only three years old while Yang was five years old.

'Cookies!' Ruby mentally yelled through the hive mind. 'Reward.'

'Yes, yes sweetheart. I will make you some cookies later, OK?' Alex responded a smile adorned on his face. 'First, I have to help Yang use the hive mind. Then you'll get your cookies later.'

"Yang, I want you to focus. You have to focus on your thoughts and project them, it's like speaking in your head."

"That is a crappy explanation," Yang said while scrunching her eyes closed. Yang grimaced as she kept on focusing on actually conveying her thoughts across to her dad.

'Easy.' Ruby-toned in verbally and mentally. She was bragging a small bit. Ruby was enjoying herself with the training. Now she had a way to contact her sister and father whenever she wanted.

Yang grit her teeth, trying to force her thoughts across towards them. Yang let out a breath, she wasn't getting anywhere with projecting her thoughts to the both of them. Yang tried to focus instead on sending her thoughts to her dad.

'Like this,' Yang intoned and her eyes shot open wide. The feeling of the hive mind was like an empty room, it felt empty and echoed back her thoughts.

Alex smiled, they were learning quickly. 'Yup, that is exactly how you do it. Ruby, what do you think?'

'What?' Ruby tilted her head to the side confused.

'About Yang, she was able to use the hive mind.'

'I can't hear her.'

Alex looked from Ruby to Yang, his eyes narrowed. 'I want you to nod if you can hear me.'

Ruby and Yang both nodded immediately.

'Yang, give a command.'

'Raise your hand if you can hear me.' Yang intoned with a hint of amusement. This could be a fun way to cheat at cards.

Alex raised his hand while Ruby sat there with a confused expression. Alex sighed, he knew what was going on. Ruby and Yang didn't have a perfect connection to the hive mind, they were hybrids, not a complete virus organism. The two of them could only communicate with him or they could only talk to whoever they focus on. He would have to test that theory later.

"All right, that's it for training, for today." Alex pushed himself off the carpet and stretched out his arms. Yang got herself off the floor and reached her hand out to help Ruby up.

"What are we going to do now?" Yang asked while pulling Ruby off the floor.

"We are going to go on a hunting trip," Alex stated, while changing his clothes, he dressed in a pair of shorts and a black t-shirt, "I'm going to need something to eat and you girls are going to need a lesson in finding food."

"I thought you said, we were done training for today?" Yang asked, groaning about how it was already getting dark.

"We don't really need sunlight in order to see, besides I thought kids loved to go outside and play?" Alex crossed his arms over his chest, his voice taking on a teasing quality.

"Well we do, but not when its dark." Yang moved over to help Ruby, who was struggling to put on her sweater. "I don't think normal kids would be going outside at night. I don't want to think about what your childhood was like, dad."

Alex frowned, "Huh, I didn't think with Christmas right around the corner you wouldn't talk smack to your dad." Alex smirked, "well I can always return your gift."

Yang's face contorted with horror, she tackled Alex around the waist. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by it."

Alex patted her head, "I know, I know geez. You can be so sensitive, I wouldn't do that over a joke."

Ruby joined in on the hug because she didn't want to feel left out. Alex leaned down and placed both hands under Ruby's arms and lifted her up to place him on his shoulders. Ruby placed both her arms on top of his head.

"All right, you girls ready to go hunting!"

"YEAH!" Ruby and Yang pumped their arms into the air, they had gotten excited over the prospect of hunting. It wasn't because Alex had just threatened Christmas and they figured they better not test his patience.

—-MC—-

Alex placed Ruby onto the ground. He looked from Ruby to Yang, an idea forming in his head.

"OK, I want you two to go and find something. I'll be waiting right here for the both of you and if you need me, you can contact me through the hive mind. There are a couple of things to hunt around here, for example; foxes, wolves, boars, possum, squirrels, rabbits, and deer. I have complete confidence in your ability to find them." Alex looked at Ruby and Yang, whose faces were a mixture of excitement and nerves. "Well, what are you waiting for get a move on." Alex shooed them off gently with a confident smile on his face.

Yang leads Ruby in a direction, the two of them moving cautiously through the woods. Alex smiled to himself, they were in no danger at all. He leaned back against the tree and decided to wait for them. The sun would still be up for another two hours, at least giving them plenty of time to find something. This would be their first consumption of biomass, Alex wondered briefly what animal they would find. He had no doubts that they would be fine, their instincts wouldn't fail them.

Alex closed his eyes and formed his jacket over his skin. He was glad it wasn't too cold yet, the cold had an adverse effect on his body. It would take him longer to form his weapon or shift his body at all. Alex pulled himself up the tree and sat on a branch while leaning against the tree. He let his thoughts drift away from himself.

Alex groaned as he moved himself to a sitting position. "It wouldn't be fair if I just skipped out on hunting as well. I'll come back and wait after I grab some fresh bio-mass for myself." Alex dropped down from the tree, snapping a branch upon his landing.

Alex found himself a bear in five minutes, it really wasn't hard. The bear had left markings on the trees and it helped him find the bear, he wasn't really a hunter of animals. He had the unfair advantage of having higher senses than animals and humans. He morphed his arms into his hammerfists, the bear moved onto its hind legs making itself appear larger than him. Alex smirked, he stretched out his body increasing his size and pulled his armor over himself. The bear took it as a sign of aggression and made to attack him. The bear rushed him and raked its claws over his chest, the claws were not effective in the slightest breaking against his armor. Alex grabbed the bear by its head before it could even realize, Alex applied pressure and squished the bears head in his hands. He pulled the bear into himself, assimilating its biomass as his own. His body writhed with a red-black light that shimmered over himself.

Alex shifted himself back to normal, moving his biomass back into place and readjusting his body weight to accommodate for the new addition.

—-MC—-

"Dad! I have ears and a tail!" Ruby yelled excitedly, as they came back to the tree that served as Alex's resting spot.

Alex didn't expect to pull from his thought by his youngest daughter, who now had an extra pair of ears and a wolf's tail growing from her backside. He rubbed his eyes, trying to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Alex blinked and looked to Yang, who just shrugged and had a huge grin on her face.

"How?!" Alex choked out, his head whirling with thoughts. He figured it was possible to use an animal's genes and mix them into the base form, adding the animals' features. He hadn't really thought of doing something like that himself, he didn't see the need too but now with a world filled with individuals with animal features it would be a useful tool to use. He felt more than a little stupid over not thinking of that himself. Why was Ruby the only one of them who could do it, why could they not use the hive mind correctly? The questions came back to Alex and the answer came to him slowly.

They were hybrids, formed from the union of a living virus and a human. It would make sense if they had parts of his abilities that they inherited from him. They each would have their own abilities they could use, which would be unique to them. He didn't know whether they would be able to create their own new weapons or if they were stuck with what he could only do, this was uncertain territory for him. Alex frowned, would they even have Aura it would make sense for them to have one, due to their human biology. He himself didn't have an aura, but he didn't really need it anyway. Alex needed to know what they could do, but the only way Alex would be able to find out would be to train them, but they weren't old enough yet for that.

"I dunno, I ate one of the wolfies and I liked their ears and tails," Ruby told him, her voice going really fast. "Then poof, I have new ears and a tail. They work too," Ruby wiggled her tail to prove her point.

Yang shrugged, "I tried as well, but I couldn't grow a new pair of ears or a tail." She didn't seem to be too sad about that. Alex nodded numbly, this confirmed a piece of his theory, he didn't really think much about this when they were born, he had assumed that they would be able to do what he could do and more. That's what the virus did for him, but his body was completely remade by it.

Alex looked at Ruby and Yang for a moment. "Hey Ruby, can you try to remove them?"

"I wanna keep them though!" Ruby whined, wanting to keep her new appendages.

"I didn't say you couldn't use them again, I just want to see if you can control the changes. I want to see if you can do something like this." Alex shifted his clothing into his normal attire and changed his face, he had some of the bear DNA still around in his system. He concentrated and placed the bear's ears on top of his head, adding nerve endings and eardrums into them making fully functional. "See like this, remember?" Alex shifted back to normal afterward, the ears melting back inside of him. He should look into what exactly he could mix and match with his viral structure, it wouldn't do for the Blacklight virus to grow complacent.

"Oh yeah, like what daddy can do! Let me try," Ruby scrunched her face making a conscious effort to go back to normal. Alex observed how Ruby's wolf ears rippled and pulled back inside her body, slowly. The tail took a minute with both Alex and Yang watching her with obvious amazement. "Did it!" She exclaimed excitedly, but right when she yelled the tail and ears popped right back into existence. Alex and Yang dropped their heads at this, there was no way she didn't know what she was doing.

Alex sighed as he looked up at the sky, the sun was getting a bit to low for his liking. "All right girls lets get home before your mom goes on a warpath to find us."

Alex lead the girls back to the house without any incidents. Ruby and Yang rushed into the living room where Summer was waiting and tackled into her. Ruby showed Summer her new ears and tail, earning a surprised gasp from her. Alex stood by the doorframe with a smirk on his face. After the trip to Atlas, he would need to actually train them in some forms of combat, in order to see what they can actually do. He would have to gain some new weapons and tools for himself as well. Ruby is able to shift her DNA without even trying to, showed him that he can't afford to have new abilities in this world.

Alex hoped that this trip to Atlas would be a simple one.

—-MC—-

AN: All right I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. I really enjoy writing this and I hope that I fixed the whole confusion thing from the last chapter. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know. I am also open to any constructive criticism since I hope to improve what I can do and I wouldn't be able to do that without any feedback. Well, see everyone in the next one. Dragomemoirs out and on to the next one.