Hey guys, 123GOHANZ here with a new chapter. I will say this right now, this chapter is very short (1.7 k, excluding ANs). I just feel drained. Doing all nighters for homework is not fun. So yeah….I'm just sluggish right now. If the chapter seems dull, then you can attribute it to that. I may just return and redo this entire chapter if this get's reviews complaining about length and content.

Anyone got tips to increase writing stamina? I've noticed that most of my works tend to only be 2k long. I want to be able to write 5 k updates! That way the wait feels worth it.

darkfinder: SPECTREs are the Council's special forces. And since Shepard has been the only human in ME history to achieve that status, I doubt a SPECTRE would go to Earth. Especially since Mercer's a "humans only" problem….for now.

Dur'id the Druid: I think they still do. IDK. I'm not forcing you to do the petition. It's all up to you.

DecrepitSoul: You read my mind…. as for why he randomly sneezed, it was because of mutations. I was gonna try to explain it during the chapter but I felt like it would have been forced in. So I just left it out and am telling you this now. Also, you didn't come off as rude. The point of Constructive Criticism is to criticize faults in a story like plot holes or grammar issues. You were doing what I asked of you. So thumbs up!

LordGhostStriker: Yup pretty much.

Vorax: Jack is still a girl. Shepard just believes her to be a guy cuz of her name. Jack is more commonly used as a man's name.

If you're a guest, please use a name(doesn't mean you have to create an account)so I can address you if you have questions.

"Awwww shit..." Alex cursed. Air whipped against his form as he grew closer to the ground. The people below haven't noticed him just yet, but he had a feeling lady-luck was bound to screw with him.

*Thud*

And that would appear to be lady-luck. How "fortunate" that a flying car had just intercepted him...if 'intercepted' meant getting hit by a speeding vehicle. There was a surprised screech and silver-blue eyes looked up to see brown ones filled with panic. A slew of curses left the driver's lips and all the while Alex sighed; getting hit with a car was not fixing his already not so stellar day. At least it couldn't get any worse, right?

As if fate disagreed, the driver, unable to see due to Alex, accidentally rammed into another vehicle. The sudden change in momentum threw the Blacklight avatar off and towards a glass paned window. Alex easily had one of the brightest minds that had ever graced the surface of the Earth, dare he say he was the brightest, so it didn't require much thought for him to figure out a high density object traversing at moderate speeds would easily shatter glass.

As predicted he tore through the window, sending fragments everywhere. He didn't even grunt, he was used to high speed impacts, so crashing into a delicate material such as glass wasn't even so much a bother. What was a bother though was the people crowding around him.

"Oh my god! Is he okay?"

"I'll get the med kit!"

"I think he's dead. He's not breathing!"

"Oh shit!"

"Wait his hand just twitched!"

Alex groaned. Not out of pain but one of annoyance.

"HE'S ALIVE!"

"The fuck?!"

"Someone do something!"

"Hold up, I'm calling the paramedics—"

Paramedics? Yeah, no. Medicine and Alex do not mix. Alex's body bolted upward startling the group that surrounded him. Some cursed in surprise, some jumped backed, and one person's eyes lulled back before she fell to the floor, fainting. Slowly he got to his feet. He stood as if he wasn't just struck by a 'car' during a free fall before being abruptly thrown into a building. The group, completely dumbfounded, had no idea what to do. Unfortunately for them Alex did. He couldn't afford any witnesses.

His hands began to reform, the digits elongating and hardening, turning into blades. The black leather jacket replaced by black tendrils with pulsating red veins. All froze at the sight except for one.

"Oh my god! He's real!" A man screamed in horror. He wanted to make a break for it, to run away from the monster that stood in front of him. But that was not to be as the man felt a piercing feeling at his abdomen. Looking down, he noticed the blood gushing out of a wound. He couldn't even let out a scream before being sliced in half, the assimilation process beginning soon after.

Claws brandished, Alex let himself loose on the small group. One tried to fight him, but lacking the speed of a Hunter or D-code, the man's attempt was for naught. He was torn to pieces before he could even launch his first punch, which Alex doubted would even harm him in anyway. The rest however were smarter than their violent companion and tried to flee. But no one could run from the him. In a matter of minutes the place became disheveled, it being the only sign of attack.

Having done the deed, Alex sighed. "I hate civilians casualties..."

"Who the hell are you?!"

Alex looked up to see a pair of security guards. One was older, roughly in his late 40s or early 50s if the grey streaks in his hair and small number of wrinkles he had were any indications. The other was far younger, easily in his early 20s. Alex saw their eyes trace over to the fallen woman; let it be known that Alex can be merciful. Next he saw their eyes gaze on his deformed arms. A mix of horror and hatred flashed in their eyes. Drawing their weapons they aimed at him.

"FREEZE!" the younger man shouted.

"Great….just my luck."

He strolled over to them, unintimidated by the drawn weapons. The younger guard shouted "I SAID FREEZE!", but Alex cared not. If they shoot, he'd eliminate them with extreme prejudice. Although he'd prefer things to not go violent.

"Look I—" a gunshot rang. A small hole was now present on his left knee. The younger man shot him. Tendrils netted themselves over the injury and in seconds the hole was no more. "Alright then…"

Grain sized metal flew out of the muzzles and struck the Monster of Manhattan.

Jane walked through the bustling streets of Manhattan. People of all races(technically just one race: Homo Sapien) walked down the sidewalks of the great city. It was a far cry to the desolate, dead place it was just barely two centuries ago.

Moving through the crowds was a rather difficult affair for the former orphan. She may have grown up here, but it was mostly in the ghettos and poorer sections of the city she spent her Manhattanite life in. Still, at least she was able to move in relative peace. No one bothered her for being the "Legendary Shepard".

She continued to walk until she stumbled into a peculiar sight. NYPD cars were parked in front of the middle of the street, blocking entrance to a 'small' 8 story building. Curious, she walked up to the line of officers.

"What's going on?" she asked as she approached a line of officers.

"Sorry ma'am but I can't disclose that information. Please step back." a female cop told her.

"What? Why not? What's going o—" she was interrupted by the echoes of gunshots. Some people screamed and the officer whipped her head to face to the building. Shepard had to fight the need to instinctively duck behind cover.

"What's going on in there?!" another officer shouted to his ear piece. "Hello? Hello?!"

Suddenly the doors burst open. Two men came rushing out of the door which was being held open by what Shepard assumed to be the squad leader.

"Get out! Get out! Hurry the hell up!" an armored man ordered a small group of men, a twinge of panic in his voice. Some blood, fresh blood, adorned his armor.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Oh fuck, it's him!" one of the men cried.

That single word caused a everyone to freeze. Shepard gave a worried glance to the group. Who was 'him' and why did they just become nervous? Suddenly everyone began to move once again, but this time with different intentions; leave the premisses immediately.

"Dispatch, target has been identified as ZEUS. I repeat, target is—" however the man stopped once he noticed Jane sprinting for the entrance. "Hey! Get back here! IT'S NOT SAFE! Shit! Someone stop her!"

Shepard made no attempt to stop her sprint. This was her chance. A cop decided to intercept her…nothing a body tackle can't fix. Throwing the man to the ground, she quickly got up and ran into the building. The men stayed silent.

"What should be do…?" one of them said, breaking the silence.

"…..Leave her be. We follow protocol. No one enters this building, you understand? If you spot ZEUS leaving, leave it him be. We don't need a repeat of what happened 7 years ago…"

"You sure Sarge? I mean the woman—"

"Do as you're told. If you follow the orders the letter and he may just not kill all of us."

September 16, 2008, 3 months after the Outbreak.

[I have a proposition for you] The voiced crackled a bit, but was clear nonetheless.

Alex held the walkie talkie to his ear but refrained from talking. However after a few moments, he figured that the man speaking to him was expecting an answer.

"What do you want?" the reply sounded cold and filled with malice.

[I see you want to get to the point. Fine by me. I want you to stop attacking Blackwatch assets: Gentek scientist, Blackwatch troopers, and marines. Go crazy on the civvies, but not on my guys.]

Alex scoffed. Was he serious? "And why should I?"

[Because I'm tired of wasting men and resources trying to capture you, "Mercer". Blackwatch's mandate is to capture/eliminate biological threats to the US. You've shown me that you're capable of not being the threat General Randal made us believe you were…]

"Why should I ever trust Blackwatch? You all try to kill me."

There was a laugh. It was dark yet filled with amusement. [That's the beauty of this deal, "Mercer". You stop attacking us, we stop harassing you. Hell I'll even let you leave Manhattan.]

Alex paused. If this was true, then he could almost all of his problems solved. Except for one.

"I'll stop…..but I want something else in return."

[If it's in my power then fine, shoot.]

"Dana Mercer. I want her to have access to leave the city."

[What?]

"You heard me. I want her to leave this city."

There was a pause.

[Easy enough. Although I must ask why you'd want….your "family" to leave.] Rooks inquired. He was certainly not expecting this.

"This place has turned into hell, Colonel Rooks. The outbreak may be over but that doesn't mean there's no danger. You've seen the survivors. They've become violent, killing innocent to ensure that they get the supply drops. They're desperate and I fear for Dana's safety. Get her out of this city and you could consider me done attacking Blackwatch."

[Very well. I'm a man of my words, "Mercer" and I'll see to it your "sister" gets out of here…Now that you've agreed, let's talk into detail about our "deal"….]

I was going to keep going but I'm just tuckered out…if you want to know the details of the deal I'm willing to tell you, but it may contain spoilers. Review/follow/fav for faster updates….

Stay awake in school, 123...gohanz….*yawns* out….