Charles sat down on the bench overlooking the sea, over time it became something of a habit to come here everyday after his shift ends to relax. He took out one of his favorite cigarettes and a loaf of old corn bread he smuggled out of the kitchen.
The seagulls who knew the routine flew down and started to eat the crumbs he threw on the ground.
Charles smiled, it reminded him of a simpler time on his farm. Everyday his parents would send him to feed the chickens and it somehow remained a part of his personality. Even when he left home to get a doctors degree and a job, people could see him feeding pigeons on his lunch breaks.
He wondered how his parents were doing...it was very rare that he could write home. The letters also had to go through the military's hands, meaning that their content was always inspected leaving very little for privacy.
At least his paycheck was received by them, he really didn't need it here since everything was financed by the World Government...and there was realy no place to spend the damned cash on this island anyway.
His thoughts about home soon shifted to his coworkers...with a heavy sigh he thought about Brigid...
"Human experiments..." mumbled the man distastefully as he looked at the eating seagulls. I truly hoped the Fleet Admiral would refuse, humans are not some lab rats that one could use and throw away.
It was unethical...he always knew that Brigid wasn't the most compassionate soul but he believed that she would never sink that low...and I'm no better, simply going with the flow because my family needs the money.
"Who am I to judge...at least Brigid and the others are honest with themselves, if I had the guts I would have resigned" mumbled the scientist distastefully.
Charles was brought out of his thoughts when a flash of light temporarily blinded him. Rubbing the spots out of his eyes, he looked around to see what happened but everything was the same as before.
What was that? wondered the man as stood up to have a better view. Minutes passed without anything happening, besides the waives and the noise of the seagulls nothing realy changed.
He sighed and sat back down on the bench, taking what little of the bread remained and resumed to feed the birds, then a seagull landed on the bench beside him.
"Aren't you a brave one" smiled the doctor as he watched the bird walk closer to where he was siting.
"Here" said Charles as he presented a hand full of crumbs to the animal "but don't tell the others" said the amused doctor with a wink.
Brigid yawned as she lazily managed to extract herself out of the covers on her bed, not an easy task that. With a snails pace she walked to the bathroom where a cold shower was the first step to help her get over her low blood pressure.
Like usual she needed a long time until she was ready to begging work. After what seemed like an eternity she exited her room with a doughnut and a cup of coffee in hand. She quickly passed the the residential part of the complex and took the elevator down to the labs.
The elevator slowly halted just as she was finishing off her doughnut, leaving only a half full cup of coffee left.
"Good morning" Brigid greeted the other assembled doctors "are we ready for another day of work?"
"Ready as always Doctor Asul" smiled a fellow scientist.
"Good, since we have managed to isolate a variation of the viral strain but have depleted all the lab animals we shall focus on observing the surviving specimen's, at least until we get the promised test subjects from the Fleet-Admiral. Try to test their adaptability, interaction with other rats and see what a stool test can reveal."
Having said her part she walked to her office to grab her notes and see if any messages have been recorded. As Brigid opened the door she saw Charles siting behind her desk, going through her notes and files.
"You are up rather early Charles" said the woman as she closed the door behind herself "also going through other peoples things is usually regarded as hawing poor manners."
Charles calmly continued to read through the document without even glancing at her.
Brigid scowled, this sort of behavior was unusual for the man...is it because of the request for human specimen's? Sure he was against it and was rather vocal about it, but she expected that his temper would cool down after a good nights sleep.
Charles placed the document on her desk and shifted his focus on her "Doctor Asul, finally awake I see" said the man in a monotone voice "please have a seat, we have much to discus."
Brigid raised an eyebrow at her coworkers behavior but complied with his request and sat down in the empty chair, placing her cup on the desk "Are you still upset about the experiments? You know that we cant move any further without going into that direction."
Charles nodded "No, I am not upset and you are indeed correct. Your project wouldn't get far without testing the DX-1120 strain on humans, though I'm surprised how fast you have isolated and extracted it...that also presents something of a problem for me since the World Government now has the means to produce super soldiers thanks to your research."
"Who are you?" asked the woman in a guarded voice. Though her face didn't betray her thoughts, she was contemplating two main possibilities for this behavior, one was that Charles was working undercover for someone and he finally revealed his true persona...or the person in front of her was not her long time coworker.
Before she could blink his form shifted and turned into a all to familiar armored figure...for the first time in forever she felt fear...no, not fear, terror, pure undiluted terror that paralyzed her muscles.
She was, or rather every single person on this island, trapped like a rat. Even if she managed to escape the office there was no place to run and none of the marines protecting this place were capable of fighting someone...SOMETHING that nearly destroyed the Marine Headquarters singlehandedly.
"I believe proper introductions are in order. My name is Alex Mercer, though you would know me better as the Hunter I supose" said the virus as his form shifted into that of a hooded man, though it looked human Brigid could see anything but...
It took her a few second until her mind took back control of her body and her muscles relaxed, breaking the fear induced paralysis. She then keenly observed the anomaly in front of her, the simple fact he had taken Charles appearance meant that her assistant was gone, consumed by the virus.
"How did you find this place?"
Mercer tapped his temple with a finger "One of the people I consumed knew about the island and your research..."
Brigid nodded, it was rather obvious...then again, it could have been pure coincidence "So, what now?" asked the woman as she leaned forward, her chin resting in her palm "I presume you have a good reason why everyone here is still alive and we are having this enlightening conversation?"
"In fact I do" said Alex as he stood up, that alone made the woman tense up again, he then walked to the blackboard that the good doctor used. Having his back turned made Brigid relax again seeing how the virus wasnt focused on her "I'll be blunt, I'm looking for partners in a rather large scheme I have been planing..." the virus said as he observed her reactions "you and many of your coworkers fit the requirements."
The woman raised a eyebrow at that "Partners? Something like a pirate crew?"
"Not exactly, more like a cabal with the goal of furthering science and our overall knowledge of the universe that surrounds us" was his response.
"I see..." Brigid said, not that enthusiastic to get involved in such circles...though the goal of furthering science was an appealing one "So lets hypothetically say that I'm interested, what would we get that the World Government doesn't already provide? Our budget is very large and rarely are we restrictions when our experiments tread on ground that are 'morally' bad. Also what protection can you give us that three Marine admirals cant?"
Alex chuckled and shifted his form again.
Her eyes went wide when the man took the form of Admiral Kizaru, the fashion disaster of the Marine himself. She could only gape at the implications...if this was real than an Admiral has fallen prey to the sentient virus... "When?!"
"More then a week ago, there was a battle between my Infected and a Marine fleet near Impel Down" said Mercer "and though the marines have won, it is a Pyrrhic victory at best. They lost too many of their assets and I achieved all my objectives. The World Government has nothing that can stop me...at the moment at least. Some pieces of information were already made public after the marines agreed on what to disclose and what not. The lose of Impel Down, a good part of their fleet and an Admiral would be too much for the general public all at once so they changed some of it into 'accidents' and censored other bits and pieces. You know, the usual government modus operandi."
Alex observed as the good doctor processed the new information, and hopefully convinced her to change allegiance.
"So why us? Wouldn't some super powered goon's be better associates? None of use can realy fight to be of any use to you" said the woman.
"It is true that you are not fighters, but then again neither was I before the Blacklight virus" and now for the main bait "if you indeed accept to join me then I would turn you into an Evolved, anything I can do an Evolved would be capable as well. Immortality, money, power...whatever one desires."
"That sounds good" said Brigid "too good in fact, whats the catch? Nobody gives power for free."
She is proving to be rather hard to convince mused Alex he expected doubt and resistance but she is fishing for far too much information "And why should power simply be hoarded? If knowledge is hidden then other people cant advance on it and try different paths that others didn't consider."
He would have continued with listing the benefits but he sensed that someone was approaching the office so he shifted back into the figure of the man he consumed earlier. And it was not a moment too soon as the door opened and a person identified as doctor Rhazes, a gifted physician and Charles direct superior, entered the room.
"Ahh Charles there you are" said the elderly man "I was wondering why you didn't appear in the lab..." even though the man had a realy good idea why he was talking to Brigid.
The woman sighed "Rhazes, this will take some time, could you take over until I finish here?"
The elderly man stroked his beard "Certainly, what about the notes you were supposed to bring?"
Brigid took a bunch of papers from her table and handed them over to him "I will come as soon this is resolved."
He nodded "Very well."
As soon as the door was closed again she felt a bit safer...sure she was in the same room with a human eating virus but adding a third party could get her killed if the virus didn't like anything the man had to say.
"Its about time you make a decision, will you accept my proposal and become an Evolved or should I look somewhere else."
"If I refuse you would simply kill me" she responded matter of factly „I don't realy have a choice."
Shaking his head Alex made his way to the empty chair "I have to say, you are harder to convince than I have anticipated. I presumed you would have jumped at the chance I present, considering the perks it contains."
"Ohh, I'm definitely interested...but still skeptical" she answered "its simply my nature to be distrustful of things that seem too good to be true. The more information I get the better chances of me accepting the proposal."
Or rejecting it... "Perhaps a leap of fate then?"
"I prefer facts" she countered "so how much of Charles is there in you?"
"All that is a person is stored inside of me. I remember their lives, I see and hear their past thoughts as If they were my own. But If you're wondering If they are actually alive inside me, perceiving the world through my eyes, than no...they are nothing but memories."
She nodded "Where do you come from?"
Now that one is a bit trickier mused Alex "Either from another planet or a completely different dimension...the circumstances of my appearance here are still a bit of a mystery to me, though its most definitely related to one of my inventions, a gravity manipulation machine."
Though not a physicist Brigid understood the concept of gravity and its connection with space and time "So you were a scientist where you came from? Is everyone there like you?"
Mercer shook his head "No, I am rather unique. I was born as a completely normal human, became an accomplished geneticist and helped create the Blacklight virus, the virus you see now before you."
He was surprised when the woman smiled and for the first time since they met face to face did her cold blue eyes contain no fear but simple curiosity "Ahh, an educated person! When I saw your newspaper article I though you were a brute like the rest. All muscle, no brain."
He crossed his arms "I'm flatterer you had such a high opinion" he said sarcastically.
"So, if you were a human once, what changed? Or rather how?" she asked.
"Worked for the government, made something dangerous, the higher-ups decided that I was a liability, so they killed me. The only problem was, I had my little science project at hand. And here I stand now" he smiled.
She nodded "I see, last question, if I become an Evolved and join your so called cabal, what rules would apply?"
"Only that people are discreet" answered Alex "the less the people know the better our chances in any of our endeavors...controlling the world from the sidelines so to say. Naturally we would sometimes gather to advanced a certain goal if we cant do it individually."
Seconds passed by in silence as he waited for either a new question or an answer to his proposal...if she refused he will simply have to consume her and look for someone else...though it would be easier if she joined and helped him persuade the rest of the shadier doctors into cooperating with him, and thanks to the World Government there were hundreds out of almost two thousand who fit the description in this facility alone.
"Very well" she finally said "I accept..."
Mercer's monotone expression turned into a slight smile as he grabbed her with his right hand, then the tendrils pierced her body, infecting her with the Evolved strain of Blacklight before he let her fall to the ground. Taking few steps back he watched her cream in pain as her body was destroyed and remade anew...the noise would have alerted probably half the island already if every single room and corridor want conveniently soundproof...and airtight but that was against viral outbreaks that couldn't punch through steel.
When the screams stopped Alex knew it was done, he took the unconscious Evolved from the floor and carried her to a free table where he left her to rest while he went over her documents again.
Mercer carefully read every report they had, especially the effects the virus had on the rodents.
He smirked at some suggestions he found for battling the Hunter as the world now called him. Though he heard also strange suggestions even in his own world. Actually many people believed they could kill him with alcohol...one group of Blackwatch goons even used a fire truck filed with the thing in an attempt to kill him. In short it was an absolute failure, he was a virus not a bacteria. They really believed that would actually work, so when he walked out unharmed in his armor they could only stare in shock...for whole forty seconds before he consumed them. You can't kill a virus, it's not even alive, the best you can hope was to force it into inactivity. If alcohol truly killed viruses all the people suffering from AIDS would be down in the pub getting their medication. Alex smirked at his tasteless joke and continued to read.
It took almost two hours until she started to move...and some of the other doctors were getting rather suspicious...
"Good morning" Mercer said as he closed the file he was holding.
Brigid looked to her left side, at the figure of Charles siting in her chair, going over some documents.
"You do know that its impolite going over other people's stuff, don't you?" she said with a frown "and you failed to warn me about the pain."
Mercer nodded "Of course I know but I simply don't care, as for the pain...its a small price to pay wouldn't you say?"
Doctor Asul stood up, walked to a big mirror and looked herself over "So what now?"
"We will have a few interviews with your colleges, the ones who are inclined to sociopathy first and try to persuade them to join us...and that way you will learn to Evolve people as well."
That made her tilt her head "You want me to infect other people?" she asked.
"Why not? I gave you all my abilities, so you have the means" he answered.
That actually made her laugh "I never heard of a person like you before. Most would simply be happy to have superpowers and let people admire how cool they are, never thought I will find one that actually wants to make the rest his equals."
"I'll ask again, and why not? Why should only I enjoy the benefits of Blacklight? Why let brilliant men and woman die of old age when their creative spirit can be saved?" he shifted back into his original body.
"You do know that once they get the powers they won't need to listen to you?"
"They don't, and they shouldn't. If I wanted an army of sheep who can't think and act for themselves I would have simply turned everyone into Hunters. Why do you think I'm not keen on Evolving soldiers? People who wouldn't know what to do on a rainy Sunday, not to mention eternity."
She chuckled "Point, though I have to say you are quite ruthless. From what I managed to figure out you don't even have to consume a person whole to gain their powers, a drop of blood is enough to get the genes. But then again you also want to have their knowledge about using said power and for that you need their brain... and that's something they can't live without."
Alex shrugged "It would cost me too much time to learn to use their powers on my own, this is faster, not to mention I can gain abilities like Haki only by consuming a person's brain." He watched her as she tried different powers out, from his original Blacklight, to Haki and Devil Fruit powers...naturally without the memories of the original users she wasn't as adept in using them but that can be easily changed...in the end the power is only as strong as the user is creative...and insane scientists were masters in that field.
After she finished marveling at the new abilities she turned to Mercer "Very well. I know a good number of people here that would more than likely join your plan willingly...as for the rest, we will keep them in the dark...or perhaps better if we consume them to be on the safe side...we will tell the Fleet Admiral that they died in a lab explosion or something."
Mercer nodded and stood up, his body once more turning into that of Charles "We should also see if we can find the locations from the other research facilities."
"Indeed" Brigid said as she followed 'Charles' out "The World Government wont know what hit them" she smiled.