Chapter 8
I own nothing
Ichigo and his friends stood in front of the Senkaimon where members of the kido corps stood side by side chanting to open it. Before they left Kisuke had come to give them so last minute information.
"I was just taking a look through black watch's files. Seems they managed to recover someone who was infected by mercer himself. I couldn't get his name but I got a picture. We want you to eliminate him if he proves to be a threat. Also just in case you need to get in undetected and not use your Gigai I brought you some gikongan."
He handed Ichigo Rukia and Renji the gikongan while giving Ichigo the picture. He took a look at it. It showed a man with dark brown skin, a bald head, and a scar running down his left eye, causing a slight depression. His brown eyes were what caught his attention. They were full of pain, anger, and something deeper that he couldn't put a name. But it almost reminded him of himself.
"Okay. Do you know where he's being kept?"
Kisuke nodded. "They're keeping him in a secret base where they run infected experiments. Here take this phone and I can guide you and contact you if I find any new information."
He handed Ichigo a plain phone. It was white with a small screen and the typical key layout. Nothing of the kido corps members spoke up.
"Sir. The Senkaimon is ready. We can transfer you at any time."
Ichigo and his friends stood in front of the Senkaimon as it opened looking like a white light was pouring through it.
Ichigo turned to Kisuke as he stood behind him and gave a nod. Kisuke returned the nod and said "good luck and be safe."
And with that Ichigo plunged through the door way as his friends followed behind him.
Human world in the yellow zone
An alley between two buildings was dark and dank with the only thing moving was the wind and the rats. Then a round doorway appeared and the doors slide sideways to let Ichigo and his friends walk through. The second the last person passed the threshold the door closed and disappeared. The 6 friends took a look around where they had been transported to get their bearings.
Ichigo spoke up first as he pulled out the phone Kisuke had given him.
"Well, not the cleanest place to be transported to, but probably one of the better places. Less likely to find people seeing us arrive."
He navigated through the phones options and pulled up the map Kisuke had sent them. He took a look at it. It showed them that they were about 10 blocks away from where the man who had been taken by Black Watch was.
"Okay we're about 10 blocks away from our destination. Rukia lets take those soul pills and sneak in. we need to figure out what's going on before we make a move."
She nodded as they both took the pills and swallowed them. They were both pushed out of their Gigai as the artificial souls took over.
"Okay, everyone else, stay here and stay out of trouble. We'll be back as soon as possible."
Orihime quickly went to hug Ichigo. He was surprised as she did but gently returned the hug.
"Be careful Ichigo. And come back safe."
He nodded as he pulled back and said "I will. Rukia lets go. Just follow my lead."
She nodded then they both blurred as they used flash step.
15 seconds later
They both appeared on top of an apartment building as they looked on at the base.
They saw a good number of troops all carrying a number of machine guns and grenades on belts around their waists while wearing helmets that had a gas mask and eye holes that glowed blue, with one of the lens looking like a scope. They could see several tanks equipped with rocket launchers and sub machine guns along with the main barrel. And they saw a hand scanner was needed to enter but that wouldn't bother them. Since they were in the soul reaper forms they could pass through solid buildings with being hindered if they wanted. They both looked at each other then turned back to the building as they flashed stepped into the building. Because the map Kisuke had involved floor plans they went right to the room highlighted.
They appeared in a room with several compute banks covering the walls except for one where there was floor to ceiling windows that showed some sort of testing area. Three people were standing there. On was an older looking man with white hair and a full beard that merged with his mustache. He was wearing a white coat, light brown pants and a white shirt with a pocket over his left chest and a black wool vest over that. The next was all bald and younger looking but not much. He was completely bald, and had a hard face that looked like it was carved from stone. He had a blue tooth head phone bud in his left ear and was dressed like an elite commander, with bullet prove vest covering his upper torso and had several pockets along the sides with the black watch logo on his right shoulder. He wore a wrist computer on his left arm and had a 9mm hand gun hanging from a holster on his right waist. He was also wearing black pants and steel toed combat boots. The last man looked to be around 30-35 with military cut brown hair and a scar running down the left side of his face from his hair line to the middle of his left cheek. He was dressed the same as the older man but he had thick shoulder pads on his uniform, as well as lacked the computer and ear bud.
They were all looking down at a slab similar to those used in morgues where the man they had been sent to see was strapped down and beginning to wake up. He was shirtless, allowing them to see he was very fit, yet covered in white bandages covered in blood like he had been operated on, while he wore camouflaged pants and black leather boots. They saw he was stirring as the doctor like man began to speak over the speakers in the room before them.
"Ah it appears the subject is awake. Well then shall we begin?"
The man in the table rose up until the table he was on became vertical, then had his restraints remotely released and fell to the ground and slowly got to his knees as he looked up.
"What's going on? What the fuck is this?"
He was ignored as the doctor began tapping at the key board.
"We'll start simple. A mere survival stimuli's."
Ichigo and Rukia quickly looked at each other. Survival? That didn't sound good.
The thick steel door that had been across from the table rose up revealing a sight worthy of a hollow. It had several creatures that a generally humanoid appearance but nobody could mistake them for human. They were all deformed with several different skin colors and they were dressed in cloths that were tattered or torn barely hanging on their frames. They had several growths on their skins and looked strong despite differing frames of fat and thin with some having crooked limbs. They almost resembled zombies for lack of a better word.
Ichigo looked at Rukia and saw she looked pale. He couldn't blame her as he felt sick himself. What kind of virus could make something like that?
As they watched, they saw the walkers hobble towards the man as he got into a fighting stance. As the first walker came within range he swung back his right leg and then swung it forward while sliding on his other leg. The force that it hit the walker caused it to develop a dent in its stomach area and go flying back ward knocking away the others. He then dove in and began delivering punches left and right that were knocking infected away left and right. As one that had gotten behind him began to strike with its claw like nails, the man turned his head and saw the attack coming. Instead of blocking it he jumped up and did a flip over the infected. He landed in a kneel and delivered a devastating right hook to the infected creatures back killing it as it flew forward and burst against the wall in a shower of blood and gore.
In seconds, all the creatures were dead or down for the count. And in less than 5 minutes, despite there being more than 20 of them.
Ichigo and Rukia were shocked. They had never seen anyone, much less a human, fight with that much strength, speed, and agility. He could fight hand to hand with a low level hollow and not break a sweat.
The man turned back to the windows with a frown and anger on his face and yelled "HEY! LET ME OUT OF HERE!"
The doctor ignored him as he looked over the data from the fight.
"Unbelievable. The raw data is unlike anything I've ever seen before."
The bald military man turned to the doctor and said "got everything that you need doctor Koenig?"
"Colonel please, we must learn all we can about the subject."
The man didn't look pleased they were talking like he wasn't there.
"HEY! I CAN HEAR YOU!"
He was ignored as 3 more doors opened to allow more infected in.
The man looked around horrified.
"My god. What is this place? Who the fuck are you people?"
He didn't get an answer as the walkers moved quickly and he had to go on the offensive. He was easily holding his own despite there being more than 60 infected there as he delivered punches and kicks all around, all while dodging with incredible speed and grace.
The older military man, who seemed to be in charge, banged his fist on the computer bank while looking at the fight.
"DAMMIT! HE'S TOO DANGEROUS! RILEY, BURN HIM!"
The doctor looked shocked.
"ROOKS YOU CANT, HES FAR TOO VALUABLE!"
"SHUT IT DOC, YOUR WAY OUT OF LINE. RILEY, PUSH THE BUTTON!"
Riley looked happy to do so and said "with pleasure sir." As he lifted the plastic cover of a red button with a flame outline on it and pushed the button. The next thing anyone knew was the room was filled with flames. It lasted for thirty seconds then shut off, revealing all the infected to be dead. The man had his skin burned off in several places, including on his chest and face, and they saw something underneath glowing a red gold and pulsing, almost like a heart.
Rooks nodded with approval.
"He's dead. Send in two soldiers to make sure."
Koenig looked like he had been robbed of a great treat and looked furious because of it.
"Dammit colonel, this is no place for you brand of barbarism."
Rooks looked at Koenig angrily as two soldiers dressed like those they had seen outside early cautiously enter the room through a side entrance.
"Save it you fucking ghoul. I've read your experiment reports."
The two in the room kicked at the man's corpse and got nothing in response.
One looked up and said "no signs of life sir."
Rooks turned back to the window. "Make sure. I don't need another mercer running around."
With a nod and a "yes sir" three rounds were shot into the corpse.
Then something impossible happened. The man's corpse opened its eyes and reached up and grabbed the man who shot him. Then corpse got up then threw down the man and stomped with all its might on his head. With that done, several red and black tendrils came out of the man's body and broke down the newly killed soldiers body then pulled it into the corpse. They swirled for a second and pulled back to reveal a newly revived and healed body.
The remaining solider yelled "OH MY GOD!" as he turned and ran through the door, slamming and locking it.
Koenig said "Incredible. It healed him."
The man looked at his hands in shock. "Holy shit. What the fuck did he do to me?"
Rooks quickly said "DAMMIT! RELEASE ALL SPECIEMIES, RELEASE ALL SPECIEMIES NOW! RIELY, KEEP BURNING HIM!"
"With pleasure sir."
Koenig grabbed the mike and yelled over the alarms and the sound of the metal doors opening "HELLER. CONSUME THE INFECTED TO SURRVIE!"
Rooks shoved him away and said "Shut up doc."
Heller looked around and quickly grabbed an infected. This one he slammed down and broke its neck before consuming it. He did all manners of this while fighting the others. Then the flames came back through the floor. But unlike before, Heller's body stood up immediately and healed right away as he looked up and said "you're going to pay when I get out of here"
Riley pushed the button again several times but nothing happened.
"SHIT! SHIT! THE BURN CONTROLS ARE JAMMED!"
Rooks ran off to get reinforcements as he yelled over his shoulder "Lieutenant, don't you dare let him get out of that room."
"Don't worry he's not getting out this way."
Heller grinned evilly before he went to the table in the center where he was held in before. He got a good grip on it then pulled it, ripping it out of the floor.
Riley only had time to say "SHIT!" before Heller threw the table at the window as hard as he could. It shattered, leaving a hole while it flew and crashed into the bank of computers, causing the room to be filled with the smell of smoke as they were destroyed. Heller crouched down then jumped, easily getting up to the window over 10 feet up. He crashed through head first and rolled into a crouch. Before he took off running, he looked up and seemed to look right at Ichigo and Rukia. There was a moment of confusion in his eyes before Riley opened fire and forced him to go running, bullets flying around him. Rukia and Ichigo followed as he ran through and finally found a door at roof level. He stopped and looked around as a helicopter rose up and opened fire, forcing him to run. Rukia and Ichigo followed but not to close as he seemed to somehow be spiritually aware enough to see them. They watched as he jumped of the roof to the street 4 stories below and take of running. They followed him till he stopped between some apartments 2 blocks away. He was bent over panting while they watched from the roofs above.