Didn't expect me to update so quickly did ya? Well, since it's the school year and I still have homework to do(which I'll start….eventually.), my family got wifi since some of my homework is done online/requires me to be connected. All though the connection is rather shitty.
Anyways, I'm happy for all the positive feed back that Unchained God has received. Seriously, in less than a week this got over 100 followers and 60+ favs! That's nearly half of A Demi-Saiyan for a Familiar (Followers wise. ADSFAF has 194 favorites. Let's beat that number shall we?) and that's my oldest and so far largest work!
Now to answer some questions
AeroSpeedNinja/Guess: Cant wait— Mass Effect weaponry will not change for this fic. I've already altered the history of ME by making the Outbreak part of it so I'm not gonna BS and give humans OP weapons even though we totally have the capacity to develop better ones. Also I'm not a gun nut so I'm not too great at describing weapons.
Sociopathic-Antichrist— My interpretation of Mercer is different because not only did he stay on Earth, he stayed at a hell hole. What my Alex saw in NYZ influenced him, just like how the canon Mercer was influenced by his world travels(and the same for Hyliian's Mercer). But instead of seeing selfish people, my Mercer saw mankind kind at its worst; struggling people helping out each other out just to survive. My Mercer saw despair and suffering, but also hope. Hope for a better tomorrow and hope that the children growing up there would have a meaningful future(Shepard, I'm looking at you!). Different from the canon Mercer who saw egotistical people with trust issues. Also he doesn't see himself as a predator. Just a creature who has the right to live.
Pedrofaria339—Here ya go! :D
Anyways, on with the fic!
The Normandy tore through the vacuum of space in speeds surpassing that of light; the stealth vessel's current destination being Earth, humanities home planet. The Cerberus crew worked with much fervor to reach their destination as quickly as possible. Most were born on colonies so to visit the place of mankind's birth had much of the crew in an animated mood. However, one lone member was not in a such a similar state.
Shepard paced back and forth in her cabin, slightly worried about her current recruiting mission. After all she was chasing after a man with barely any intel. She didn't even know what ZEUS looked like!
She tried looking up any and all information about such a man who resided in NYZ on the extranet, but all she found were ancient forums about a random guy who fought the creatures of the Mercer Virus. The feats posted on the conspiracy forums were outright impossible. No one could lift a broken tank chassis and throw it with enough force to make it an impromptu ground-to-air missile. The authors of the posts even claimed that the guy could fight a Hunter with his bare hands! The very notion was completely absurd! Worst of all was the claim that he had tentacles and how he'd drag girls back to infected areas and rape them, turning them to monsters. Dear god the amount of hentai shown after the mere mentioning of tentacles was almost enough to make the battle hardened woman puke.
"Ugh! There must be some info in this guy! I mean, who could take on soldiers with tanks for support and win? Surely that person should've received some attention!" she raged screamed.
Alex stood on top of a large steel structure as he was prone to do. The on coming drivers(Pilots?) of flying vehicles that passed by him thought he was being crazy standing so close to the edge, as if he was going to perform suicide by jumping off such a great high. Now Alex could do that and not get hurt at all, but that'd bring way too much unneeded, and mostly unwanted, attention if he were to attempt it. Besides, he had a perfect sense of motor control so he couldn't possibly fall—
"Achoo!" Alex sneezed.
Wait a minute? Could he even sneeze? He didn't have any organs or muscle tissue to cause a sporadic thing such as a sneeze.
He noticed that the streets were slowly getting larger and felt the rush of air.
"Awwwww shit..."
Shepard sat back on her chair in front of the captain's terminal. She had to find something about ZEUS. She wasn't quite in the mood for searching for one man in a city of 2 million without any sort of info. So deciding to venture back into the horror that was the Extranet, the determined woman continued searching. She saw the same old forums and was apprehensive to click on the links, for fear of finding lewd images. She may be an adult, but damn….WTF 21st century Japan?! Things don't go in there!
Shepard shook her heads to rid herself of those thoughts. She can't get sidetracked, especially when Earth was only an hour away.
"Why is it always the same thing…..? Is ZEUS connected to the Mercer Virus outbreak?" She clicked on a link.
[I swear to you guys, I saw him. I saw the Monster of Manhattan! He jumped off the hood of my car while I was driving on my way to work! Then I heard thumping and saw attack choppers chasing him! But this guy was fast, he was outpacing the choppers!] —TheChinksThatRages, 5/12/2008, 3:32 PM.
[What'd he look like?]—RadiatedSwine, 5/12/2008, 3:35 PM.
[IDK. Didn't get a good look. But I know he was wearing a black jacket and blue jeans. That's all I got. Seriously swine, when I say fast, I mean HE. IS. FAST. so I didn't really had much time to look at him.]—TheChinksThatRages, 5/12/1, 3:37 PM.
[Really? I saw someone like that walk around my neighborhood on multiple occasions. Funny thing is he doesn't seem to have any change of clothes. Always wearing a button up shirt under a white jacket(I swear it changes to brown sometimes!) and black leather jacket. But I won't blame a guy if he wore clothes like that. It's pretty damn stylish if you ask me.]—TheKillerElite, 5/12/2008, 3:40 PM.
[Why does everyone call him 'Monster of Manhattan'? Every time the military got into an engagement with him, I always heard the marines and those blackguys scream out "IT'S ZEUS!"(Note to self: do that around a marine and see the reaction) so I just call him ZEUS.]—KILLERWasp087, 5/12/2008, 3:46 PM.
"Well that's interesting…so ZEUS is the Monster of Manhattan?" She asked herself. She heard of it, the 'Monster or Manhattan', everyone who lived on New York Zero did. But he, like ZEUS, was an urban myth. The idea that they were the same person was amusing to her. She scrolled down to continue reading.
[I think the MOM is really Alex Mercer. I mean he's the guy who started the whole thing.] —Tyrannical, 6/12/2005, 3:50 PM.
[Mercer can't be the Monster of Manhattan. He fought against Mercer's creatures.] — TheChinksThatRages, 6/12/2008, 3:51 PM.
[Wonder if ZEUS is actually a super hero. I mean who fights those things and doesn't want credit?]— KILLERWasp087, 6/12/2008, 3:56 PM.
[Oh yeah, killing marines is totally super hero like(sarcasm). I mean really, I've seen MOM fight on multiple occasions and every time it was against the military it'd never let a single person survive. That thing is a phycopath! Bet it's the one who set off that nuke a couple weeks back, not Mercer.]—SuperSoldier117, 6/12/2008, 3:59 PM.
[Then MOM saved all of us. If the bomb went off near Manhattan, I'm pretty sure no one would be alive afterwards.] RadiatedSwine, 6/12/2008, 4:00 PM.
[It was all I ploy I tell you. It snuck on the Reagan and stole a nuke!] SuperSoldier117, 6/12/2008, 4:01 PM.
The forum ended there.
While was certainly interesting to know that the myths she grew up hearing were indeed true, or at least had witnesses to claim it was, it didn't help Shepard much in her predicament. Unless the ZEUS she was searching for was really the Monster of Manhattan. But that didn't make any sense…..
"Wait a minute…." Shepard muttered out loud. She began thinking of the dossier the Illusive Man gave her. "'Has been known to combat entire squads of special forces accompanied by heavy armor/air support on his lonesome'. These forums say the same thing…..but if ZEUS is really him…..no that's impossible. Those events were over 200 hundred years ago. No human could live that long."
"What if ZEUS isn't human." a small part of her mind whispered. If ZEUS wasn't human, then everything would make sense. After all some Citadel species lived far longer than humans, namely the asari. But she doubted ZEUS was an alien. He was living on Earth, mankind's home world. Any alien would stick out like a sore thumb if they lived there. Also, the Mercer Virus Outbreak occurred a little over two hundred years ago, when humanities space programs were still in its infancy. No way alien contact could've happened then. Then that brought up a question.
"What are you, ZEUS?"
September 16, 2008, 3 months after the outbreak
Mercer. The very name filled every one in Blackwatch with dread. He could cut swaths out of entire task forces and come out without a scratch to show for it. Armor groups obliterated and strike teams gone from simply engaging him. Even the famed D-Code soldiers didn't want to encounter ZEUS. They've learned early in their deployment that despite their immense strength they didn't even hold a candle against the Monster of Manhattan. They were strong, he was stronger. They were fast, he was faster. They were hard to kill…..ZEUS survived a nuclear explosion. Everything they could do, he could do so much better. It appeared like nothing in Blackwatch's arsenal could harm him; not even Bloodtox slowed him down anymore...
It was this fact that finally drove the newly appointed Colonel Rooks to seek new ways to contain ZEUS. He tried Blackwatch's tried and true doctrine of "shooting the fuck out of the target till it's dead" and all he got was stacking US debt in return. Throwing men at ZEUS was a waste of precious resources and if anything, his attempts to capture ZEUS was causing more damage than the Outbreak as a whole ever did.
"God damnit..." He cursed in frustration. Nothing seemed to work. He was losing men left and right and still hasn't even came close to capturing him. "At this rate we'll have to start hiring grunts who can't even hold a gun to replace our losses..."
"Sir, this week's report is ready." Lieutenant Clint Riley said as he entered his officer's office with a folder in hand. The Colonel looked up and chuckled solemnly.
"Thank you lieutenant, place it on top of my desk."
Riley nodded and placed the folder on top of Rooks' table. He did a quick salute before doing a perfect about face thus leaving the officer alone. Rooks sighed, he was weary already and reading reports was not what he needed right now. He eyed the slim folder that laid on top of his desk. Strange? Usually there were at least dozens of papers about military expenditure and causalities list.
"Well if it's so small I guess I could read it." Rooks reached out slightly to grab the thin folder. As expected its contents was scarce, the complete opposite of last's weeks report. Military expenditure was a whopping 980,000 US dollars, most of which were spent on fuel and ammo. To most that may have seem a lot, but to Blackwatch that was not even a drop of the bucket that was the USA's resources. Causalities were surprisingly low as well, only about 4 men injured, and the reports states it was all from violent survivors. A far cry from the usual 500 million spent and hundreds dead.
What was different about this week? He scanned through all the papers once again. There had to be a trend somewhere and he was determined to find the pattern. After shifting through the reports multiple times, the only thing they held in common with each other was the lack ZEUS.
"Riley, get in here. I have have some questions." the Colonel waited for a few moments before the lieutenant appeared.
"Sir, you have some questions for me?"
"Yes….tell me, how many operations did we have to capture ZEUS?"
"None this week, Colonel. Our forces has been tasked with protecting Gentek scientist and stoping the civilian scourge that get in our way."
Rooks hummed. It appeared that ZEUS was rather docile unless provoked. He could use this. While stopping any and all biological threats to the US and its assets were Blackwatch's mission, if ZEUS wasn't a threat, he technically didn't have to kill him. And seeing how he was given full reign of all Blackwatch forces in the area, he could always force soldiers to not attack unless attacked first….
"Riley, do we have a fix of ZEUS's location?"
"No, sir. Although we have some suspected areas. One is Saint John's Medical Center and an apartment complex on the south-west side of Manhattan near Times Square."
Rooks stayed silent for a moment. "I want two teams prepped and ready to move. I want you to find ZEUS. But do not engage. If he attacks you have my permission to, but outside of that, don't. I need to talk to him."
"Sir?"
"Just do what you're told Lieutenant. If my gamble pays off, then we'll have eliminated ZEUS as a threat."
Three long months. He has been in this city for three months and already the apex predator was starting to get bored. The barren streets below were littered with abandoned vehicles, probably from panicking citizens as they fled from Hunters or other evolutions of the infected, and the corpses that previously lined the sidewalk were all but taken and burned. The once filled city, with its teeming masses, was now empty save for the occasional military patrol that ventured into the island. Speaking of which…..
"Huh. That squad is getting awfully close to Dana's safe house…." The entity that was Alex told himself. Despite the calmness of his voice the near unshakeable being felt a small pang of fear. "No...They couldn't have found her…."
However the self reassurance did not prevent the feeling of dread that washed over him. The ever so slightly paranoid viral entity eyed the squad of Blackwatch troopers with much scrutiny. Every move they made he took note of. They walked through the streets single file, riflemen up front and covering the back and officer in the middle. The white wash clothes made discerning commanders and officers from grunts so easy that even Alex questioned the efficiency of such a system. Not that he'd complain. Knowing exactly who he wanted to consume without the need to consuming everyone first made combating the military much easier for him.
"CHECKMATE, this is CASTLE, we've reached the designated area. No sign of ZEUS anywhere." The officer talked to the walkie talkie strapped onto his vest. He stood still for a moment before replying. "Copy that, CHECKMATE."
"Sir? Permission to speak freely?" The Blackwatch trooper, Alex knew his name was Jefrey or 'Jeff' as a large number of Blackwatch soldiers inside of his mind told him, behind the officer asked. His voice was gruff and sounded filtered.
"Granted." came a curt reply. Alex couldn't help but notice the amount of distain in his voice.
"Why are we patrolling this specific section of the city? The Red Zone is in a completely different area. This place is very close to a green zone after all."
The officer stayed quiet as if struggling to find the right words. He came out with a bitter sounding reply. "Because this is the place where ZEUS has been spotted on multiple occasions. Command believes its base of operations is nearby…."
For the briefest of moments the entire squad, with the exception of the CO, stopped. It required the hundreds of Blackwatch personnel inside of Alex to even notice the fault in their steps. However, years of discipline instilled within each trooper allowed them to quickly return to their original pace.
Alex tensed slightly from his perch. If what the man said was true then they knew Dana was within the area. He contemplated on his next actions. He could just kill them but that would probably alert nearby units. They were spaced out so they definitely had the opportunity to call in a strike team if he didn't end them fast enough. Another con would be the confirmation of Dana's safe house location. A squad suddenly goes missing in the same area where ZEUS is suspected to be at? Very suspicious if you asked him. On the other tentacle, he could not attack them. But they were actively seeking out Dana and that was something Alex did not like….AT ALL. However before he could make up his mind, the officer continued to speak.
"We've reached the suspected apartment complex. I want a sweep of the building. If you find ZEUS, do not engage. We're not here to capture ZEUS."
The soldiers looked at each other, rather confused by the command. They weren't trying to kill the person they were literally trained to kill?
"That's new…" mused Alex. They always tried to capture him before. Why not now?
He took notice of how they were about to enter the building. Deciding to throw caution to wind he leapt from his skyscraper he stood on and pulmetted to the Earth below. The air brushed by him, his form accelerating from the high drop. He landed on the pavement with enough force to create a small crater, sending pieces of debris flying and a couple of nearby cars pushed back by the sheer power of the shockwave produced. Slowly getting up from his fall he eyed the soldiers that were searching for him. The Blactwatch troopers aim their rifles at him, clearly caught by surprise by the Monster of Manhattan's sudden appearance. It took every ounce of Alex's will to fight the urge to jump at them, claws brandished and digging into their flesh. However, unlike Alex, the soldiers couldn't help but act on instinct and opened fired.
A dark ooze not unlike tar danced on Alex's skin. The first few rounds ripped right through his body causing Alex to jerk. However it didn't matter to him. His armored form was nearly complete. 5.56 rounds bounced harmlessly off the armor(skin?) once he was fully covered in the hardened biomass.
"HOLD YOUR FIRE! I SAID. HOLD. YOUR. FIRE!" the officer ordered his men. Realization came upon the soldiers that Alex wasn't bothering to attack and slowly the lowered their rifles.
The CO reached for his walkie talkie, however he never let Alex out of his sight. "CHECKMATE, we've targeted ZEUS…..he's standing right in front of us, orders?"
Alex could sense the panic in the man's voice. He couldn't blame him. They just witness him be torn apart with dozens of bullets yet he was still standing, not damaged in the slightest. The officer undid the straps of the walkie talkie and tossed it to the viral monster. Alex caught without even looking, eyes on the soldiers in front of him as well.
Raising it to where his ears were and he spoke, his voice sounding rather warped, "Hello?"
[This is Colonel Rooks of the USA's First Biological Warfare Command. I have a proposition for you.]
Please write a review if you liked this or not. I always welcome constructive criticism, it's what helps me become a better writer.
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