Chapter 13: Warm Bodies

It had taken awhile but it seemed like Wesker could finally start to do something besides sitting around the villains' base of operations and rattling his brain trying to remember the right amount of ingredients necessary to create Uroboros. Whatever M.O.D.O.K had procured from Stark Tower absorbed all of the tin tyrant's attention to the point where they rarely saw him anymore aside from when he called meetings to discuss the encroachment of phase three of their plan. Two weeks after M.O.D.O.K's mission, the killing machine and Wesker felt confident they could continue their activities once again without fear of Doom finding out. "Here's the modified recipe" Wesker said handing the memory stick back to M.O.D.O.K "A few of the items there I remember concretely but the others with asterisks marking them may not be correct in a number of ways." They stood in the mad computer's science lab in the base amidst a number of tubes containing B. . "Hmmm, let's hope we have more success with this batch then" M.O.D.O.K commented, placing the memory stick in a compartment of his chair "By the way, I have a present for you" Whipping out a brightly colored box which he thrust into Wesker's hands "Happy two month anniversary"

The Tricell agent took off his glasses to glare balefully at the robot "What the hell is this?" M.O.D.O.K cackled "I believe you flesh things disprove of someone telling you what's inside a present, just open it and see." Nonplussed Wesker's carefully undid the wrapping so it fell off without a rip or wrinkle on it revealing a nondescript cardboard box. Undoing the unsealed lid he pulled out a small card which was plastered with flower print and on it was inscribed:

Look behind you, nimrod.

Pivoting behind him, ready to flashstep out of the way of some sort of backstab from M.O.D.O.K, he relaxed when he saw the B.O.W triad assembled in their tubes behind him. The first on he recognized instantly, it brought back some fairly unpleasant memories; a new Nemesis was lying suspended in mysterious blue liquid ready to hunt some S.T.A.R.S. The second one was a bit nostalgic, a Tyrant lay to the right of the Nemesis, and while not as persistent as the S.T.A.R.S terminating machine it made up for it with a highly unstable genetic code allowing for mutation on the fly. The last one was a bit surprising, it was small and easily dwarfed by its two older brothers but it's potential past both of them exponentially. "Is that a cyber Plagas" Wesker asked stepping up to the glass so he could observe the parasitic B.O.W better "I don't recall mentioning that strain to you." "Oh, it's already been created" M.O.D.O.K commented, a bit bitter he hadn't been the first to discover the mind controlling larva "It wasn't very hard to make in retrospect, I merely fortified a manmade Plagas with the G-Virus then stimulated it in the egg with alternating shots of blood and brain tissue before adding some techno virus I stole off a very unruly mutant."

It wasn't like it hadn't occurred to him before but Wesker couldn't help but rethink his decision to give M.O.D.O.K the recipe for the T and G virus as well as the biological make up of Las Plagas. Clearly it had sped up his total global saturation plan but now the killing machine had the capacity to turn on him and use the recipes however he saw fit. Wesker mentally resolved to take M.O.D.O.K's potential more seriously from now on while at the same time repressed a tingle of glee that zapped itself through his veins. If the computer could whip up a cyber Las Plagas from scratch then what other possible abominations could it craft that could exceed the years of research that Umbrella had slaved over? "Are they done" he asked turning back to his partner in crime who grinned widely "Naturally but as you know Las Plagas can only exist without a host for ten minutes at best before it dies of starvation, quite the voracious little gluttons. While I've managed to tweak the newest batches endurance up to fifteen minutes you'd best not put it in your pocket and forget about it." Nodding Wesker tapped the control panel in front of the tube that held the Nemesis, the fluid drained out and within a few seconds the profane creation opened its eyes to behold the world it had been born into. "S.T.A.R.S" it murmured, it's voice dulled by the glass, which it promptly shattered with a blow. Stepping out of its containment unit it stood before its creators and bowed in subservience. "I presume this one had also been given a dose of Virus X as well?" Wesker asked gesturing to a nearby wall where a boiler coat and rocket launcher was waiting. While the monster equipped itself M.O.D.O.K giggled "Of course and the result was even better this time, I imagine its potential had risen from 20% to 35%, a small but respectable difference than the last one you let get destroyed."

A frown appeared on Wesker's face, the memory of that beat down still managed to rankle him each time he thought about. "What do you think the odds are that Doom will notice if I go have some fun" he asked pushing his sunglasses higher up his nose. "Ohohohoho, I'd bet my micro-processors that poor old Dr. Doom wouldn't even notice if you reenacted Hamlet in his room with the Nemesis, he's so drawn into whatever I yanked from my mission. Too bad I have no idea what that machine was or else we might have some idea of what he's trying to do, hehehehehe." Rolling his eyes Wesker dismissed M.O.D.O.K's comments, he too was curious about the thing the killing machine had retrieved but didn't care about it. His plan was flawless and no amount of stolen tech would be able to stop him. On a whim he grabbed a small vial from one of the tables scattered about the lab and stuck it in a small outlet in the middle of the tube that held the evolved Las Plagas. Lightly pressing a button he activated the release which sucked the parasite as well as some of the life sustaining fluid it required into the vial and pocketed it. "Going to test it out" M.O.D.O.K asked gleefully "I'm guessing g that since you know of it you'll be able to use it properly then?" "I've had a lot of fun with this particular B.O.W before" the Tricell agent replied "I'll be gone all night, try to be productive in the mean time." M.O.D.O.K humphed in offense at the biting remark but before he could shout a comeback the leather clad blond was out the door followed by the Nemesis.

Outside in the hallway Wesker did nothing to try and conceal the Nemesis which was dutifully following behind him. They passed Dr. Doom's quarters nonchalantly unafraid that the good doctor would exit and find treachery going on behind his back. Oddly enough they did pass Magneto who had been roaming about the hallways with that grumpy little frown that was a constant on his facial features. "Odd" the elder remarked eyeing the Nemesis "I seem to recall our esteemed leader clarifying that you couldn't continue creating those sins against nature." "Are you going to do something about it" Wesker asked confident that if the metal master was intent in stopping his fun that he could be dealt with in the blink of an eye. Luckily it wouldn't come to blows "Make no mistake human, I am no lap dog of Doom's or an ally of yours" the mutant sneered before brushing past the pair. Rolling his eyes Wesker got on the freight elevator that would send them topside 'You'll get yours someday mutant' he thought spitefully as the elevator rose up. Once they were outside in the midnight air Wesker took to the rooftops with the Nemesis following him, his heavy frame smashing the concrete on the roof with each leap he took.

From prior knowledge of the biology of the parasite which created the Nemesis Wesker took the abomination to Central Park, the last place he had seen that loathsome Chris Redfield. The Nemesis was fully equipped to track down the S.T.A.R.S members thanks to the process by which it had been built. Each of its five senses had been honed in such a way that revolved around its duty to exterminate those poor unfortunate souls. Upon arrival at one of the edges of the Central Park the Tricell gent found a cadre of policemen wandering about the site, he recalled their being some type of lunatic on the loose who had beaten back one of the city's Avengers. Within minutes this small police force was dead without even a chance to request back up on their radio, this mysterious slaughter would make the six o'clock news that morning. Satisfied that all pests had been extinguished he summoned the Nemesis down from its perch allowing it to pick up the trail of Chris Redfield. Bending down on all fours it began to sniff the ground like a dog while Wesker leaned up against the tree waiting for the monster to find the scent. They crossed about the park unmolested by any other interlopers; apparently the media had done a good job at scaring off the populace. Wesker hadn't been a part of the Nemesis' creation so at times the zombie could surprise him at the actions it sometimes took. Case in point: at one point it seemed like Nemesis had gotten the trail, it began to hiss and groan like a predator while standing back up and hurrying off in a certain direction. Wesker had followed hot on its footsteps but before they managed to even get halfway across the park the creature had stopped and bent down again sniffing about the clearing.

At first Wesker assumed it was regaining the scent, perhaps Redfield had crossed through a puddle of water or some dumb shit like that, but after about ten minutes the monster sat on its haunches. Incredibly the thing seemed to be deliberating, Wesker couldn't be sure of course but he could find no explanation why the typically blood hungry beast was now contemplating where to go. Angrily he prodded it with the toe of his boot "This thing better not have broken" he stated, promising himself he would smash M.O.D.O.K to pieces if this pile of crap proved to be defective. "S.T.A.R.S" it murmured once before dashing off to the left at an amazing rate. The pair zigzagged through the city occasionally stopping to let the Nemesis pick up the scent but as they drew closer the monster became more and more confident of the direction in which it was headed and an unholy cacophony of grunts and roars began to emanate from its mouth. It led Wesker to an apartment complex on the outskirts of the heart of the city, a bit rundown for a place like New York. Using one hand to keep the Nemesis from charging in Wesker scoped out the premises as best he could. Even with his virus enhanced eyesight he couldn't be sure which one of the rooms held Redfield, it was well past midnight and most of the windows were dark with their occupants snoozing away unaware of his presence. He debated the merit of simply letting the Nemesis go ape shit on the entire building until Redfield wormed his way out of the rubble but there was that pesky little promise he made to Doom where he swore he would keep his activities secret until the proper phase of their plan.

'A little casual destruction won't bring me any unwanted attention' he thought with a shrug 'I am far too close to my prey to let them go.' With that thought he released his grip on the abomination and with an earth-shattering roar it leapt at the building's wall punching a hole through the cement and concrete materials like they were no more than glass. From his spot on the roof Wesker could hear the instant effect the monster had on the occupants, screams of all sorts lacerated the air along with wet thumps as their lives were reduced to assorted bloody smears on the floor courtesy of the Nemesis. He waited for a few minutes at best but for the soon to be god it just wasn't fast enough, he wanted to cut to the part where his creation crushed Redfield's head like a swallow's egg. Finally a series of gunshots caught his attention causing him to grin in anticipation, the Nemesis roared in pain but he fought through it. A body was tossed out the window and for a second Wesker thought it to be the corpse of Redfield. Disappearing from the rooftop he landed down below on the streets next to where the body had impacted the earth. Upon closer inspection Wesker's initial joy soured into annoyance, while this man was built like that steroid sucking Redfield he was a blond and wore a ludicrous looking mask.

Deciding that the possibility of Chris dyeing his hair blond in order to better emulate Wesker, after all who didn't want to pursue perfection, was slim to none he turned his attention back up to the perch he had been on before. He wanted a better look at the carnage going on within the apartment building but, luckily for him, the destruction was coming his way. In a fit of déjà vu the Nemesis fell down onto his face a few feet away from Wesker while a blond woman landed next to the unmoving abomination. This time around it wasn't that accursed angel who had halted his attempts at revenge; instead it was his favorite servant. "My, my, this is a surprise" he commented pushing his sunglasses farther up his nose "I wasn't expecting to see you around here my dear." Mentally he promised himself to hold off on killing Doom for a bit so he could subject him to the best torture he knew, how dare that Latverian half-wit forget to inform him Jill Valentinewas skulking around in this world. For her part Jill just eyed him for a tick with those virus imbued yellow eyes of hers, she had always been somewhat slow after he had implanted the parasite on her chest. "Jill…do you know this guy" the man whom the Nemesis had defenestrated stood up slowly "Is this that Redfield guy you were looking for?" Cruelly, Wesker smashed his foot into the calf of the injured man sending back onto the ground with a thump "Don't you dare talk about that damn Redfield in my presence. I am Wesker, this woman's master as well as the new god of this world." While finding Chris would have been fun locating Jill was a boon in and of itself, this was merely conjecture but in hindsight perhaps the reason the Nemesis had decided to hunt down Jill was because the beast remembered the hunt for her in Raccoon City. They had recycled tissue from both the Nemesis in that world as well as the one M.O.D.O.K had built for him in this world so it was possible some sort of genetic memory transfer had occurred between the three of them each time they were pseudo revived by Wesker.

"Jill, I have big plans for you." Wesker said as he began to think about which of his lairs he should stash his servant in, after all he wanted to hide this from Dr. Doom. "She ain't your servant, shithead" the man shouted as he struggled back to his feet. Angrily he stomped his foot onto the back of the man sending him face down onto the trash strewn alley way "How impertinent, is that any way to speak to a god. She is mine, for I created her." He pulled out his gun preparing to end the squirming insect once and for all but just as he was about to pull the trigger a bullet blew the weapon out of his fingers. Wesker stared balefully at Jill who stood there silently with the smoking gun in both of her hands. Sighing he rubbed his temples "I see, that bastard Redfield has been meddling with my work once again." Strolling forward towards his defective servant he pulled out the vial that held the evolved Las Plagas within its confines "This'll hurt, but it's for the best I assure you." With a whimper she shuffled away, her usually stoic eyes began to quiver as nasty memories began to force their way into the crevices of her battered brain. As Wesker drew near something grabbed his foot making him stumble and sending the vial tumbling from his grasp. With a grunt he swooped down to catch it before it hit the floor, as he began to stand back up a powerful straight from the masked man sent his head jerking hard to the right. "Do you insist on being a nuisance" Wesker growled as he straightened up pocketing the vial in his coat "Its men like you that are always thorns in my side."

The Nemesis rose up when Wesker snapped his fingers, its hideous visage visible in the orange glow of the street lights. "If one of my servants won't off you then the other will" Wesker commented as the great flesh beast passed its master and hauled the man into the air by the neck. Dangling helplessly all the stranger could spew were flecks of drool as the monster slowly began to squeeze his neck with increasing force; its master wanted it to be painful after all. Jill aroused from her stupor cocking her gun once more but with a flashstep Wesker was at her side forcing the barrel of the weapon up. "Emotional codependence is such a pain." He commented as he watched her struggle to free her weapon from his grip "Even the most hardened subjects can show some sort of bond to even the most superficial of things. Watch closely, me peche, as you see the fruit you bear when you choose to oppose my divine will." Absentmindedly he stroked her hair with his free hand noting that the blond dye was beginning to fade leaving streaks of unsightly brown in its wake. "We'll have to fix that once you're back under control, the superior race had no need for brunettes." He bent down and whispered into her ear "And after all you know I only like to fuck blonds."

"Why don't you give us red heads a try you little shit" a high squeaky voice called out from somewhere. Something smashed into his face from above then sprung off his godly face onto the Nemesis where it pounded the monster's back with a combination making it release his grip on the man it had been choking. Dodging the monster's grasping mitts the miniature man jumped up and heel dropped the beast three times in oddly synched succession. The Nemesis staggered away with a scream allowing the midget to help the assaulted man to his feet "Henshin a go go baby!" Pissed Wesker darted forward to deal with this newest distraction but Jill intercepted him forcing him onto the ground where she grabbed his left leg and tried to break it with a twist. "Both of you have to run away quickly" she shouted as she wrestled with her former master, her voice carrying a tone Wesker hadn't heard since before he subjected her to the mind controlling Las Plagas. Kicking away his defective servant Wesker stood up and motioned to the girl "Deal with her, I'll handle these two." Rushing low the Nemesis grabbed Jill by her waist and tossed her up into the night air before bounding after her. Tumbling through the air Jill managed to right herself just in time to land safely in the street several blocks away from where her allies were facing down Wesker. Before she could move to join them the Nemesis impacted the earth right in front of her "S.T.A.R.S" it murmured with a gurgle as it readied it's rocket launcher.

With a keening sound it launched a missile forward right at the blond which, in the past, would have dictated her ducking or side stepping in some frenetic manner in order to get away from the beast an its arsenal. But this wasn't the old Jill, this one had been upgraded a while ago, and instead of running the new Jill jumped forward at the last second letting the heel of her stilettos tap the volatile projectile lightly. The ensuing blast launched her higher into the air allowing her to spin horizontally like a diver as she descended. With a huge amount of force she scissor kicked the Nemesis in the head digging one of her heels deeply into its cranium to steady her as she jerkily bent backwards and unloaded her entire clip into the mutant's face. It howled with anger as the searing hot bullets tore into its face but before it could grab the former slave, she pushed her heel out of the monster's head and landed on her hands allowing her to back flip several feet away from her opponent.

Straightening up she opened the chamber of her gun releasing the spent shells inside while restocking with new ones. As she felt around her skin tight suit for a box of bullets she noted she only had a select few left, perhaps no more than a dozen or so before her weapon became obsolete. As she reloaded she glanced at the monster, it was still squirming in pain but something in the back of her mind told her that this was one opponent that couldn't go down without a fight. Unfortunately for Jill that voice turned out to be true, once it ripped its hands away from its godforsaken face Jill noted robotically that despite her assault the beast had not been as affected by it as she had hoped. It's already melted skin seemed to re-patch itself quickly and efficiently making it uglier but effectively stopping whatever ichors the thing had been spouting from its wounds. Roaring, it lunged forward sending out a purple tentacle to try and ensnare Jill like it had done many times in the past. She blocked it, allowing it to lash weakly against her upraised arm before stepping closer. Lowering its bulk the creature rushed forward in a shoulder tackle that Jill hopped over giving her access to its unguarded back.

Latching on with one hand she brought the gun to the back of its head before shooting three of her precious bullets into its brain which didn't even phase it. It stopped standstill before trembling with a screech, several more tentacles wiggled out of its back ensnaring the surprised woman. Like a series of arms the tentacles maneuvered her entire form about the back into the waiting arms of the Nemesis who grinned as it watched her squirm. Kicking the gun out of her grip it proceeded to use two tentacles on its back to keep her aloft in the air while it hammered her torso and face with a series of haymakers. Screaming under its administrations Jill waited for his attack to cease for a split second before flipping backwards allowing one of her heels to puncture its one good eye. The abomination roared angrily returning its tentacles to its body allowing the woman to go free as it began to redirect the fluids in its virus spawned body to make it a new eye.

While the zombie recovered Jill looked about the area she was in seeing if she couldn't find some sort of element that would allow her to overcome the monster. Clearly her puny handgun was not going to be powerful enough for her to simply blast it away requiring either more firepower or a different strategy. Noting a set of fire stairs attached to the sides of the building Jill broke to her left heading for the confined space with the Nemesis hot on her heels trying to line up a second shot with its rocket launcher. Just as it was about to send her to kingdom come Jill reached to first set of stairs and began to climb them leaving the Nemesis to reacquire his target down below. Hastily lining up the shot it pulled the trigger once again hoping to end Jill's gymnastic antics with a missile to the face. Twisting her body about Jill crossed under one of the flights of stairs fluidly before dropping down onto a lower set which kept her just out of the blast radius. Once the tremors from the explosion ceased she continued to vault her way up and down the fire ladders with all the grace of a rhythmic gymnast. She slid her way underneath one set of stairs before gripping the steel holes the floor was made up of and crawling her way to the next portion where she jumped off and landed in a tuck and roll directly over the Nemesis. With two powerful kicks she severed the chain holding that flight of stairs up sending the entire structure as well as herself onto the beast's unguarded head. It fell to its knees allowing Jill to assault its unprotected cranium with a barrage of stiletto heel kicks. With one last smash she sent it to the floor where she stepped over to it and dug her heel deep into its skull. Fighting for balance she twisted her shoe turning its brains to mush which stopped any muscle tension. Satisfied she had sent it back to the hell from which it had spawned she began to climb back up the fire ladders hoping to make it back to Hawkeye and Viewtiful Joe fast enough before Wesker could finish them.

A low moan triggered a memory in her head:

Panting hard Jill waited for a second to make sure the thing was dead, the past five times she had done this it always managed to stand back onto its feet within minutes of being put down. Hastily she tiptoed forward and yanked the pouch from its belt hoping that it, like the others she had taken from it's not quite so dead corpse, would prove to hold some invaluable item that would help her in her escape from the infested Raccoon City. Her suspicions were proven correct, inside were a bundle of First Aid Sprays which had proven to be a scarcity within this hell town. Pocketing them in her pouch she turned to flee and not six steps had been taken when a guttural growl warned her that despite all the lead she had pumped into it, the Nemesis was resurrecting itself once again. "Quit following me" she yelled back to its prone corpse as she began to weave in and out of the alleys of Raccoon City, once again trying to put as much distance between herself and the monster as she could. It never seemed to matter though, no matter how fast she ran the thing would find her again, somehow.

Hastening her speed Jill clambered up the rest of the stairs, raced across the building, then parkoured her way down onto the street below. Not to be left behind, the Nemesis used two powerful jumps to vault itself onto the building then to the street below right in front of Jill. Ignoring its rocket launcher for now the zombie chose to stick with its tentacles which wormed out of its body in spades giving him a passing resemblance to a sea urchin. Hunkering down on all fours the monster released an assault on its fellow experiment but instead of merely flailing them about like before it lashed them with well synchronized strokes. The attack was so well coordinated that poor Jill Valentine was helpless to defend against it; even with her incredible speed there were too many tentacles to track. In seconds the former S.T.A.R.S member was lifted into the air and smashed into the asphalt street multiple times. Groaning in pain the blond valiantly tried to aim her gun in such a way as to severe the abnormal phalanges but they had her wrapped up so tight she couldn't even move her wrist. Hungrily it moved forward, its hand reaching out to snap her neck and complete the mission its original had failed so many years ago. "S.T.A.R.S" it murmured happily as its hand began to squeeze her throat allowing her to only get out a few meager gurgles as she put all her energy into one last desperate escape.

While this was going on Player One and Player Two were observing it all within their indefinable room. "Seems like I finally get to remove one of your precious pawns off the board" Player One remarked as he reached down to grasp the black pawn that occupied the same space as his white pawn but his attempt was thwarted. With admirable reflexes Player Two smacked his fingers making him release the pawn "The battle has not been won yet, she is still in play" which only made Player One roll his eyes in response "You're such a hardass, look at the life bars. It's clear to me that there's no way to reverse this unless you're going to pull something out of your ass." "As a matter of fact, I am" Player Two replied curtly before handing over the rule book pointing to a specific section. "Article 25, section 4, line seventeen states that a player may special summon a pawn immediately if they so choose." Glaring at the rule book Player One acknowledged his opponent's argument "But you have to sacrifice quadruple the points you would have normally used to summon. Is one pawn really worth 36 points, that's a serious investment you know?" Ignoring the logic Player One presented, Player Two summoned an opulent computer screen in mid air where he promptly scrolled through the menus till he found the command he deposited the appropriate points necessary to break the turn order temporarily. Once the game deemed this as an appropriate action Player Two stuck a hand through the cosmic portal till he drew forth a new pawn. Placing it between his index finger and thumb he flicked it with his middle finger, the pawn rocketed through the air smashing into the white pawn that was assaulting his black one. With incredible precision the new pawn forced the white pawn back a space allowing it to inhabit the same square as its beleaguered ally.

"Odd" Player One commented rubbing his chin as he gazed at his opponent in an analytical fashion "I never would have suspected you do something so admirable, and so stupid. I was under the impression that you didn't care about these little game pieces we've been fooling around with. After all, you can't afford to get attached, especially with what's at stake here." Giving him a pointed look Player Two shook off his comment "Do not mistake this action for compassion. I understand what I will lose if I let you win and the collateral I have given is far too valuable for me to simply give up because these poor souls are suffering. Why don't you stop this pointless observation and focus on the game at hand, you might be surprised how one pawn turns the favor of a battle." 'Or perhaps a whole game' Player One thought smugly as he sat back in his seat. The chips had continued to fall nicely in his favor and so far not a single fuck up had materialized that could jeopardize his plans for the future. Let the little pawn get away, after all no one could escape the destruction of what was to come.

Just as Jill was about to lose consciousness due to asphyxiation something caused the Nemesis to reel back in great pain. There was the whoosh sound that accompanied the vacuum of air before something really hot washed over Jill, not bad enough to burn but easily in the uncomfortable range. Luckily for her, whatever had passed by her had struck the Nemesis dead on, making scream as it lost control of its body for a second. For a brief moment the tentacles involuntary retracted in order to shield the host body from the damaging effects of whatever had attacked it so brazenly, sending Jill down to take a mini dirt nap on the street below. Her inaction was a brief one, something scooped her up the minute the tentacles had retracted fully and flew off into the night sky. Trying her best to refill her lungs with the air it so desperately needed Jill's efforts were stone walled by something hot and moist attaching itself into her mouth. 'A kiss' she wondered vaguely remembering how one worked 'Can't…breath.' With the precious few drops of stamina left in her she pushed away from her mouth molester filling her lungs with the sweet night air. "Aha, so sleeping sexy finally awakens, huh" a strange male voice commented "Unless milady wishes for me to head down south for something a little more titillating?" Once her head stopped spinning Jill opened her eyes to see who her mysterious, and lustful, savior was. The first thing she noted was the ridiculous helmet he wore a top his head, it looked like someone was trying to craft a futuristic space shogun helm using tacky gold foil. Aside from that the helmet covered his eyes with some sort of built in sunglasses preventing her from taking notice of anything particular about his facial features.

"I know you're speechless from how incredibly hot I am" he stated winking at her "But would you mind filling me in on the big bad flash sack who was about to go XXX Japan tentacles all over your very fine ass?" It took her awhile to process which words she understood, this man seemed to spew a lot of lingo that garbled what he was trying to ask her. "That was the Nemesis" she replied before realizing the man was not merely standing a few feet away from the Nemesis, he was actually hovering in the air with the aid of some foot rockets. Below them was a blazing pile that had completely consumed the abomination, he had saved her from becoming its victim. Unabashed he began to slid the front zipper of her suit down allowing him a look at her sweaty, heaving boobs. "I request that you stop doing that" she reprimanded him monotonously zipping her clothes back on but the weird man took no offense to her actions. "I can take a hint sugar tits, you want to at least get to know me a bit better before I introduce you to the most mind blowing night of your life." He grinned at her in a debonair fashion "I'm Nova, leader of the Nova Corps and the best damn super hero in the galaxy." "I am Jill Valentine and I would like to land, I must return to my friends before they-" Nova placed a gloved hand over her mouth to stop her "Ain't no thang sweet bottom, I'll take you to the moon and back if that's what you want. But this ride ain't free, no tickets needed to ride the Nova, all it takes is a little tit for tat."

He flipped over so he lay on his back in mid air with Jill straddling his waist with her legs dangling aimlessly. Before she could question exactly what tit for tat implied and what country used it as currency a small glint caught her eye making her disembark him as quickly as she could. "Wait, baby what's the hold…" something sleek and black smashed into the black and gold hero before exploding in a mass of blazing doom. While Nova had been gunning for some nooky the Nemesis had pulled through the clutches of imminent death once again with nothing to show for it save clothing damage to the top half of its coat along with some superficial third degree burns. Unfortunately for the zombie it was not the only one who had invested in surviving death by fire explosion, Nova had cloaked himself in a high powered flame sphere which had stopped the shrapnel from entering his body, he absorbed the intense heat from the blast leaving only the blast of the weapon which sent him hurtling into the street leaving a large trail of upturned asphalt in his wake. Standing up he glared at the monster "Cockblocker" he accused as he tossed several more fireballs at the offensive flesh sack. Blocking each of them with one arm thrown up to its face the Nemesis charged the hero's position. When he drew close enough he sent one tentacle out to grip the hero's throwing arm and force it aside allowing a small volley of flaming projectiles to drop harmlessly to the ground. A second tentacle began to brow beat the hero stopping him from simply frying the offensive organs off with his hands. Racing up to his side Jill smashed a kick into the monster's knee making it fumble forward allowing her to unload two bullets into its brain from her kneeling position. The tentacles slackened allowing Nova to move once again "Stand back babe" he yelled as he began to craft a giant flaming sphere in his hands.

Hastily scrambling back several yards Jill took cover behind the corner of the street, even that wasn't enough to stave off the ridiculous amount of heat Nova tossed at the zombie giant in the form of a human sized flame ball. Instead of merely impacting the giant an exploding like fire balls are apt to do, this one went for style by launching into a shrieking fire pillar when it hit the Nemesis. Satisfied that the monster had been put down Nova wheeled around the bend, plucked Jill up from her cover, and placed her back on his hips like he had before the Nemesis had so rudely interrupted their titty negotiations. "Alright so, tit for tat" he said with a huge grin plastering his face "Are you in or are you in?" "I cannot understand what is coming out of your mouth, so I will be forced to commandeer you in order to expedite my friends' safety." She felt him shiver beneath her loins "Kinky" he commented unable to fully grasp what she was actually telling him. Instead of a bitching sexual position Nova took an elbow to the face stunning him long enough for Jill to flip him over onto his back. Straddling him like a horse she grabbed a hold of the horns on his helmet and smashed the heel of her stiletto into his side. With a cry he shot forward involuntarily and almost hit a wall of a nearby building if it hadn't been for Jill tugging his helmet up. The hero just managed to clear the rooftop and with some practice Jill found what sort of jerk to his horns would allow her to maneuver left, right, up and down as well as perform a barrel roll. Hastened by the amount of time that had passed dealing with the Nemesis Jill and Nova rocketed back to help Viewtiful Joe and Hawkeye.

While Jill's battle hadn't exactly been piece of cake it was miles better than the beat down the duo were getting from the hands of Wesker. Without his bow Hawkeye was forced to rely on hand to hand combat, not difficult for him but not his strongest suit, which placed him at a disadvantage against the virus empowered Wesker. Like a game of sadistic cat and mouse the black clad villain continued to side step out of the hero's blows answering back with light taps of his own. Viewtiful Joe was more successful at landing blows, switching between VFX Slow and Fast to keep pace with the villain. Unfortunately while Joe was able to hit him his blows didn't have enough power to put Wesker down and soon the constant swapping between VFX was beginning to fatigue him. Panting hard, Joe dodged a gun shot back stepping to where Hawkeye was kneeling on the ground trying to regain his breath after a nasty kick to the abdomen. "Got any plans, bro" Viewtiful Joe asked watching cautiously as Wesker reloaded his weapon "Hope your manly ego doesn't mind a swift retreat." "Even if my balls were small enough to make that sound reasonable I highly doubt we can beat a guy who breaks the sound barrier in a foot race."

As if to cement this observation Wesker disappeared once again without a sound only to materialize behind the duo, With a kick he punted Viewtiful Joe down the alley making sure the only opposition was dealt with before turning to deal with the weaker of the two. Pivoting on a foot Hawkeye tried to punch the guy with a spectacular straight but Wesker blocked it effortlessly. Staggering back a few feet the hero's mind raced to try and find something, anything, that could stop this guy but before he could blink the blond grabbed him and lifted him up into the air by his neck. "This is the extent?" All that answered him was the weakening grunt of a man fighting to stay alive which was all the answer he needed. Before he could break the man's neck like a swallow's egg the whine of what sounded like a jet engine pierced the air. "What the hell" was all he got out before something gold and flame like smashed him in the side. Hawkeye's limp body was caught by Jill before he could hit the ground and she quickly spirited him away to far end of the alley. "Is he ok" Joe asked concerned at the battered state of his bro. "It hasn't helped the bruises he sustained a few days ago but he's breathing and nothing has been broken." Jill replied before propping Hawkeye on the alley's wall "Wesker will be difficult to subdue, it will require all our efforts to incapacitate him. Are you capable of aiding us further?"

The crimson clad hero nodded "Yeah babe, I think I have some more VFX meter left but it ain't going to last long, ya dig? We got finish this in a few blows." "Affirmative" she replied before glancing back down the alley "I believe I have managed to recruit an ally. Hopefully he has not been inflicted with a concussion." If on cue, Nova rose from the trash heap that had he had landed in after his erratic flight, his helmet had a huge dent in it that had probably stopped him from being knocked out cold. "Ow, shit" he screamed staggering around like a drunk "What the hell was that?" Before anyone could answer a black boot smashed into his side sending him tumbling towards Jill and Joe. "If there is one thing I despise-" Wesker said getting up out of the trash he had been slammed into "-it's when pesky bugs interrupt me at inopportune times." Helping Nova stand up Jill pulled him close to her "I am sorry about hijacking you but I request your aid. Wesker is far too powerful for me and Viewtiful Joe to handle. With your strength we may have a chance." "Baby, ya don't to fret anymore" Nova assured giving her boobs a small squeeze "The most powerful super hero is at your disposal but I'll be booking you overtime for this, if you catch my drift."

With a battle cry the space hero blasted forward flanked by Jill and Joe while Wesker disappeared again. Predicting his angle of attack Jill jumped forward in a surprising bound landing on Nova's back before vaulting forward catching Wesker in mid kick. Grabbing his calf she threw him down onto the ground where Nova began to lay into him with assaulted fire powered punches. "Midget guy" he shouted as he landed a particularly explosive punch that rocketed Wesker's body into the air. "It's Viewtiful Joe, bro. Get it tight, get it right" he shouted back but despite his argument he read into the space hero's plan perfectly. Grunting the Movieland hero activated VFX Slow which turned Wesker's ascension into the slo-mo version giving Jill and Nova an opening. The blond moved first, flipping forward she kneed the Tricells agent's back while Nova came from below with an uppercut to the breadbasket. Standing up onto his back Jill unloaded the rest of her clip into his back watching as small flecks of blood slowly ascend into the air. Meanwhile Nova had landed back on the ground but quickly rocketed back up grabbing Jill along the way. "Heads up" he shouted tossing Jill at the apex of his flight. She landed on Wesker's back digging her heels in as far she could before Nova swooped by to pluck her out. VFX Slow finally wore off releasing the blond from its grasp and letting him plop onto the ground in a bloody heap. "Booyah, talk about all bite and no bark" Nova shouted raising his fist "Victory kiss, babe!"

Viewtiful Joe watched aghast as the space hero effortlessly swept in for a kiss which stuck for a second before Jill pushed him off. "It's not over" she stated glaring down at the spot where the trench coat wearing man had fallen. He stood up, the brief flash of a syringe clueing Jill into his serum injection, and before their eyes his grievous wounds patched themselves up. "Aw shit, crappy healing factor" Nova groaned before enflaming his fists again "Aw well, I'm up for seconds." Before anyone could move a giant beehive barrier materialized between the two of them. "There you are pal" a voice called out from above "Hate to spoil your fun but we've got a meeting we need to attend to." "Tell him to go to hell, these worms have exceeded my patience and I will squash them beneath my boot while taking back what's mine." He replied glaring at Jill with his red virus eyes "I'm going to finish this." "That's what I thought you'd say" a menacing mess of machine and man replied as it floated into the heroes view. "M.O.D.O.K" Nova shouted crossing his arms "I thought I smelled an abnormal amount of artificial nerd on this planet" "Can it, can-head" the computer snapped back "I don't have time to play fire extinguisher with you. I've got a meeting I need to attend and the price for being late is being disintegrated." Pressing a button on his chair he grabbed Wesker in a tractor beam which lifted him into a giant violet bubble that contained an unconscious Nemesis as well as someone else.

"Oh no you don't" the space hero said blasting off after them but M.O.D.O.K merely giggled "Suck on this, Sam." Firing a psionic blast from his diadem the killing machine guffawed as the Nova clutched his head in pain. "Man wasn't meant to fly" was his finishing repartee as he blasted off with his giant wonderball filled with villains. Nova's rocket began to sputter and die as he experienced a bout of extreme vertigo "Aw shit" was all that came out of his mouth as he lost consciousness. Racing over piles of garbage Jill managed to catch him just in time and, after a quick check of his vitals to be assured that M.O.D.O.K's attack hadn't been lethal, she dragged his body back to where Joe was waiting.

"We taking him with us" Joe asked disdainfully, he didn't particularly hate Nova but the fact that the hero was clearly gunning for Jill with all the subtlety of a bull in a china shop didn't endear him to the Movieland hero either. "Wesker knew what that M.O.D.O.K thing was, they looked like allies" Jill explained to him "Nova knew M.O.D.O.K so it's possible that he might know of a way to get back to the worlds where we belong." Joe nodded his head in agreement "Rad, so we're taking him back to the apartment then?" Jill glanced at Hawkeye who was still unconscious "It will be difficult to carry these two back but we must tend to their wounds." She looked up at the floor where their domicile was located, they had been lucky that the Nemesis had aimed too low in his attack; their floor had been untouched by his assault. Helping Jill shoulder her load as best he could Viewtiful Joe began to think about how he was going to tell Hawkeye about Nova? Nonetheless, things were going to get very interesting around here.

While the heroes retreated to lick their sizable wounds Wesker was still raging at M.O.D.O.K's untimely intrusion. "I had them on the ropes and then you had to interfere" the Tricell agent fumed "Should you attempt that again our partnership will be over and I shall kill you." M.O.D.O.K rolled his eyes "The thanks I get for saving your bacon, don't blame me for spoiling your fun thank your incredibly shitty luck. While you were out playing in the garbage with those pipsqueaks guess who finally emerged for his room and called for an emergency meeting?" Realizing the scope of what happened as well as the possibility of being terminated Wesker switched the safety on his handgun off "How bad is it?" "Cool your jets, Doom's mad but I managed to cover for you. Told him you were taking a lovely stroll topside and he sent me to fetch you. He's in a good mood so was more than willing to overlook this transgression." "How in the world do you know that guy's in a good mood, he's wearing a fucking metal mask over his face?" M.O.D.O.K waved his hand dismissively "You just have to know the guy like I do. When he's really happy everything makes him break into evil overlord laughter, it's great for internet videos."

While it sounded like M.O.D.O.K was lying, when Wesker got back to the base he found out that it was surprisingly true. A constant chuckle erupted from the tin tyrant's mouth at a near constant rate which sounded like a combination of a blender slicing a cheese grater along with two pennies being rubbed together. The pair seated themselves at the table before being accosted with a snappish Super Skrull "Where the hell were you twerps?" "Cruising for babes, where else?" M.O.D.O.K shot back "Keep you cabin fever blues to yourself." This only made the alien explode in a fiery rage that consumed his figure "Don't mess with me you virus laden machine. If the Fantastic Four don't arrive soon I'm going to show you why the galaxy fears me." "Calm yourselves, while I would typically never tolerate such banter within my domain I am feeling magnanimous today so I shall let you off with a warning." Their esteemed leader told them, slamming a fist down on the table "Along with my tolerance I shall gift you with another blessing." 'Joy' Wesker thought dryly as he watched Doom plop a small blue cube down onto the counter 'A Rubik Cube, how lovely.' Magneto shared his look of sudden disinterest in the gift while M.O.D.O.K and Super Skrull gasped at the Earthling object in front of them. "By the stars" Super Skrull exclaimed getting up so fast that he knocked over his chair "Is that what I think it is?" "Quite excellent Doom, quite excellent" M.O.D.O.K breathed trying his best not to drool coolant all over the table "This ups the ante by an exponential amount, no?"

"What is it" Wesker asked, annoyed that a god such as he was feeling out of the loop. Apparently this was no mere Rubik cube. "Yes my friends, this is the key to our victory" Doom crowed lifting the cube up while that it glowed brightly "Power so dearly sought that the gods themselves were burned by the glory this light shines outward." "Radiant cosmic power" M.O.D.O.K and Super Skrull said at the same time which prompted a flat "what" from Magneto and Wesker. "This is radiant cosmic energy, an extremely rare form of energy that is unbelievably difficult to gather and has limited potential."Doom explained letting a small portion of the energy flow through his body "Capable of damn near anything from creation to alteration to destruction. With this radiant cosmic energy we will rule the world." Reaching into a pouch attached to his belt he withdrew four more of the cubes "Phase three starts before the week is out, I suggest that you get used to this as quickly as possible. Drink in too much at once and death will be the least of your worries."

Three of the villains departed as they examined their cubes with varying levels of awe M.O.D.O.K saddled to Doom with a knowing look "I'm going to take a wild guess and assume that whatever I stole from Stark was what allowed you abstract this" He was lying through his teeth of course, he had the original in his hidden lab and would soon be implementing his own plan to stock extra radiant cosmic energy. "On one hand why did you steal this from Stark? You're better than he is with this kind of stuff" "Flattery will get you nowhere" Doom reprimanded him "Stark had access to material I could not obtain myself. No doubt my take on the machine you stole would have been vastly superior." "Of course, of course" the killing machine demurred "One last little food for thought, you do realize that if the World Eater notices this little…siphoning I doubt he'll take it well." Dr. Doom harrumphed "Does the ocean notice if you drink from its briny depths with a straw. This is the smallest drop we could possibly take and there will be buckets more where this came from and Galactus will be none the wiser." Nodding M.O.D.O.K floated away, his normally gleeful face had fallen into a rare look of deadly seriousness "I wonder, fool, if you believe for one moment you can wean yourself off of this as easily as you sup from it. Once a mortal tastes the mana of heaven it is difficult to stop. Galactus is infamously jealous of his power, even the radiant light that shines from his body is his to claim exclusively. Even the smallest of bug bites will draw the giant's attention."

The smile returned on his face and he jettisoned over to Wesker's room, the blond was sitting with his feet up on his desk. Tossing the cube up and down in the air he looked at his partner with a piercing look from his red virus eyes "You brought me back from reclaiming my favorite servant so Doom could sell us some sort of sci-fi bullshit?" "Oh ye of little faith, I thought you were angling to be god? With that radiant energy in your hands you actually have a claim to the title." Ripping his gaze away from M.O.D.O.K Wesker looked at the object he was flinging up and down "I am a god" he stated "and I refuse to believe for a second some kind of energy could possibly be better than the virus that flows in my veins." The machine rolled its eyes "Silly organic being, why don't you take a sip and find out? I promise that a power hungry man like you will be able to appreciate the omnipotence that comes from but a single taste. Besides, unlike red wine or white wine, you can have it with any sort of meat." Cynical but mildly curious Wesker stopped his game of one handed catch with the cube and raised it into the air expecting the height to activate the energy like lightning striking a rod. "For the love of stars, that's not how you do it" M.O.D.O.K said before floating over to the blond "Hold on to your ass, this is going to be fun."

Reaching out with a mechanical arm he prodded the cube which exploded into a light show which blinded the both of them. Leaning back into his chair Wesker stared off into space while his eyes continued to widen and dilate at a speedy rate. It reminded him of the first time he implanted the Progenitor virus into his veins to give him his powers; this would have been after he had been "killed" by the tyrant in the laboratory in the Arklay Mountains. Feeling his DNA being improved upon to an impossible degree had always managed to stick in the back of his mind like a goal. It was like the first time you got high, you were always trying to regain that first experience that could never be matched. Using the power cosmic was like smoking something much more potent since it went above and beyond anything Wesker had ever felt before. Standing up, he lifted his hand in front of his face, it was glowing a pulsating blue. On whim he grabbed a nearby knife off one of the tables, primarily used for hacking open virus specimens with unusual mutations, and sliced the appendage off with one clean blow. The former hand had not even hit the floor before a new one had taken its place, identical to the first and it matched the severed one in strength.

"I don't usually say this but I was wrong and you were right" Wesker admitted as he flexed his new hand "This will assure my dominance of the new world order once we recreate Uroboros." "I'm glad you like it but there's also a multitude of ways to use radiant cosmic power than simply absorbing it" M.O.D.O.K said gesturing to the few B.O.W experiments Wesker had been conducting in his free time "All you need is a little creativity and you'll be blown away by the results of a little radiation." Plucking the cube from Wesker's hand M.O.D.O.K made sure the thing was off before floating over to a glass cage that held one of Wesker's favorite B. , a licker. Tapping the glass to get the grotesque creatures attention M.O.D.O.K attached in the cube to the cage and turned it on flooding the room in a weak blue light. The licker, being blind, didn't react at first more interested in the potential food that had alerted its presence to the B.O.W but after a few brief seconds it began to hiss and squirm like if it was on fire. The skin began to melt around its frame while the brain that took up 90% of its head retracted back into the body. For a brief second the beast was reduced to little more than a screaming pile of gelatinous flesh before new features began to emerge. An equine head surfaced from the mass, its mane was constructed of squirming parasites that lashed about in a frenzy while the eyes looked about world taking in the sight, the creature had lost when it had mutated into the higher tier zombie. It had the body of a man that lacked any sexual genitalia, the flesh was grey and saggy with the only other equine feature being a single foot, the left one to be precise, having rebelled against the direction of the rest of the body and taken the form of a horses leg complete with a cloven hoof for a foot.

"Fascinating" Wesker commented as he watched the new creation stumble about in the throes of rebirth "This has endless potential if it used properly. Think of the new line of tyrants we could reshape once they absorb a fragment of this power." "Pity we already grew a new Nemesis" M.O.D.O.K stated frowning "Had I known we were to gain such power I would have delayed the parasites' maturity until we imbued it with radiation. But science marches on." He swiveled in his chair to look at Wesker "So I have some good news, the Nemesis managed to survive it's meeting with your slave and that pitiful Nova. It's undergoing some minor recovery at my lab, the majority of the damage it sustained it had be reversed thanks to its healing factor. It should be ready by the time we start phase three. There's also, this" With a flourish he pressed a button which activated a tube in his lab, a transport system helped jettison the contents of the tube underneath the base into Wesker's room. Standing in front of it the blond eyed the thing critically; it was a human in an outlandish outfit made of purple and crimson with a ridiculously big scarf hiding the man's lower face.

Tapping a few keys on a nearby console Wesker brought up the occupant's vitals, they were flat "I fail to see how the corpse of some hero with bad fashion taste could capture my interest." "I know you want your dear Jill back but at this moment we need a temporary replacement and if the rumors I've intercepted are true this man would make a fine replacement" M.O.D.O.K explained rubbing the cube with his hand "This man is known as Strider Ryu, he hails from an elite government agency in Japan, he is capable of taking on entire platoons of soldiers and winning plus he's like us, having been drawn into this little conundrum by the powers that be. "Was" Wesker replied tsking at M.O.D.O.K's use of the present term "This man is dead, and while I would love to see him within the ranks of my army, both parasite and virus, ironically enough, need live bodies to infect."

"Do you still have that cyber Las Plagas I gave you" the killing machine asked "I want to get to the "show" part of show and tell" Idly Wesker reached into his back pocket and retrieved the vial containing the parasite, it had cracked during the battle with Jill leaking all of the life sustaining fluid its occupant had required leaving the cyber parasite dead. Unperturbed by this turn of events M.O.D.O.K tapped the mind controlling animal with the cube that sent a small spark of power into its decaying corpse. Immediately it began to flail about looking to latch on to a warm body which the killing machine obliged by resurrecting the ninja as well then placing the cyber Las Plagas onto his chest. The creature punctured the skin with its tentacles digging deeply into the veins around the heart which grew until they found the frontal lobe which was hijacked in the blink of an eye. Despite having just been returned from the clutches of death, Strider groaned as he tried to fight the creature's influence. "I trust you can take it from here" M.O.D.O.K asked as he floated out the door back to his apartment "Try not to have too much fun with that radiant cosmic energy now."