You guys are in luck. I was so pumped by getting to that cliffhanger, I decided to spend all of today writing out the next chapter and finishing the arc. I hope you guys like it. We're going to see some familiar faces, and hear one interpretation on why Alex went from anti-hero to villain between the games.
Chapter 5: New York Zero
Whelp, no one can argue you're not completely Flutter batshit crazy. The voice in Korra's head mocked her as she climbed down the ladder. You're going into a dark and dank sewer, where there are lots of hiding places and dead things, to hunt down a monster you know can kill you and take your place as easily as breathing? There's a reason Blackwatch just bombed the crap out of this place and left without checking he was really dead. You might as well bash your brains out and save Alex the trouble of ripping you to pieces.
"Shut up." Korra muttered to herself, not noticing the weird looks Mako and Bolin were giving her. She just needed a bit more time. Time to think, time to do things, time to save Republic City. She couldn't do that in an asylum. Wait, did they even have asylums? Or was that something she got from Alex? She shook her head in response. She had to focus.
"So, where to now?" Bolin whimpered, holding onto the back of her shirt. She couldn't blame him. Every muscle in her body was screaming to run away. And as much as she hated to admit it…
I'm a part of you, silly. I'm you when you're not having to be all 'I'm the saviour of the world'. You should totally bang Mako. After all, you don't want to die a virgin, do you? "I'm not sure. I was just going to follow the screaming, but…" She stopped as her nose smelled something… familiar. A rotting meat smell, mixed in with the stench of burning meat. "Can you guys smell that?"
"You mean the smell of disgust? Yeah. It's a sewer after all."
"It could be Alex. Come on." She led the way, ignoring Bolin's suggestion to go back up top. They had to find him. They had to.
And do what? Talk to him? He has no mouth and must scream. The voice giggled in a way Korra never would. Maybe you could… No. You're kidding me. The voice didn't sound like it was having fun anymore. Are you insane? You can't speak to his spirit again. He doesn't have one. All he's got is other peoples' souls. And the last time created me. You're about one step from falling off Sanity Tower and hitting Looney Street.
"Shut up." Korra said a bit louder, her voice echoing slightly. She glanced back to find Mako and Bolin watching her carefully. "Come on. We need to hurry. Who knows where he might end up if we lose him?" They kept walking for a bit longer before Mako spoke.
"Korra, I think we should just burn this place." He said. "You're in no condition to do anything."
"What?" She said angrily, rounding on him. "I'm fine Mako. My mind's working perfectly."
"Then why did you just tell someone to shut up when none of us were talking?" He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Korra, you saw into the mind of a monster. You need to stop and make sure you're ok."
You know what would make me feel ok? A nice night with a hunky boy. Hey, with Asami missing, you could totally…
"Shut up!" She said angrily. Just shut up."
"Who's that for? Me? Or that voice in your head?"
"Both of you. Now shut up and keep looking. We can't lose him."
"But how are we even…?"
"Will you both please quit nagging me? I'll… I'll think of something." Mako didn't look happy, but he at least stayed quiet. Inside, Korra was fretting. They were both right. She was already half insane just from a few seconds of being inside Alex's head. What would happen if she went in longer? What would happen to her body?
"…No, no." A voice whimpered. "Please, no. No. NO!" The man screamed as something meaty slammed into the ground several times. By the time Korra and the others crept around the corner, Alex had already eaten him. He was now sitting there, shifting and muttering.
…Still think this is a good idea? Because I'm the insane one and I think this is stupid. Korra ignored the voice. She took a deep breath as she considered her options. She might be able to burn him to death while he was only this small, but the fact he was still around after her last attack showed that it might not kill him. And then there was the fact he diffused Mako's fire blasts. So Bending was out of the question. He didn't have a central nervous system or organs or anything, so they couldn't stab him to death. All that would do is give him something else to eat.
Dammit, Tenzin was right.
"Alex?" Korra said quietly. "It's me, Korra." The blob turned towards her as her body grew out of the muck again. "I'm sorry for burning you. I don't know what's wrong with you, but I want to help you."
"…Let me help you out ma'am. *Bang*… I want to help my daughter… Thank you for helping me get into College daddy…" Voices issued out of Alex, all saying things about help. Maybe he understood her. She took a step closer, watching the tendrils whip about. One moved way too close to her head, causing her to jump away. But Alex settled down enough for her to get closer. She shuddered as his form writhed with tentacles. One thought from him, and she was dead.
"Korra." Mako said. "This is a seriously bad idea." Korra, being the stubborn lady she was, ignored him. She took a deep calming breath, and placed her hand against Alex's biomass.
She felt herself falling into nothing.
Darkness. Nothing but darkness. Then there was a dark red, writhing all around her. Korra could do nothing but watch as she fell. Was she dead? Did Alex eat her? What was happening to Mako and Bolin at this moment?
They're fine. The voice said. You're still alive. Look. Wriggle your toes. Korra did so, and she could feel a faint sensation getting fainter with every second. There, you see? This is probably how you interpret melding your mind with an eldritch weapon from another world that doesn't follow any comprehendible morality system. Yecch. You've got some issues. And how do we talk to someone here? Do we just wave around going 'Hey there. I want to make you better so that you stop eating people.' Lame. Korra blotted out the voice, turning so she faced down. It was rather nauseating, watching the biomass quiver. But as she watched, parts of it grew and changed shape. Tall spikes stood out amongst small blocks, while a badly-drawn circle shimmered in the center. The biomass turned grey and became blocky. Korra recognised it instantly. New York Zero. Alex was showing her his home. As she fell closer to it, she could make out some major changes.
The area to the south was glowing blue, looking even cleaner than Republic City. Weapons dotted around the walls and buildings, while bugs scurried around in formation. Most of them were attacking a massive wall that blocked them off, being repelled by several people moving way too fast. To the north, the city was pulsating red. The buildings there hadn't really changed, looking like moving boils and tentacles. They were also attacking a massive wall that was defended by people, as large creatures attacked. The West side was burning, looking damaged from attacks. Again, the people were attacking the wall. Again, it was being defended. And the East side looked… normal. Like people were just living in it. No one was attacking anything there, but she could see the defenders milling around some rubble. Maybe someone broke through… whatever they were supposed to represent. And, she noted finally, there was a massive tower near the centre of the city. Right where Gentek was.
She was so distracted by the sight below her, she almost didn't realise where she was falling. She started yelling as she rushed past the buildings faster than anyone ever had gone, heading straight for the ground. She didn't know what would happen if she died here, but she didn't want to find out. She was about to start Firebending when she slowed down. She looked in amazement as she touched the ground daintily, a pulse moving from where she landed. She looked around carefully, watching for attacks, but mostly shocked by the destruction around her. This was meant to represent no-man's land. Nothing had claim over it. Not people. Not Blackwatch. Not Infected. As far as she could tell, she was completely alone past the wall.
"Hello?" She yelled, hearing her voice echo. "Alex? Where are you?" There was nothing. No sound at all. "Is there anyone out here!? Help! I don't know what to do." She whispered that last part to herself, crying. Stupid. She didn't have any plan. She just knew they could never beat Alex is a fight. Now she was trapped inside, with no way to know what to do. How could this get any worse?
She heard creaking as something started moving. She looked around to see a Satomobile move as tendrils wrapped round it. They turned in her direction, watching her. She took a stance, ready to fight. As they crept closer, she yelled and punched a fire blast at them.
Nothing happened. She punched again, but she still got nothing.
The tendrils rushed her, causing her to flee from them. They lashed out, but by dodging and remembering her Airbending training, she avoided them. She ran round a corner, hoping it would lead her to safety. Or at least beyond their range. But she found herself at a dead-end. She turned slowly, feeling terror. The tendrils snaked closer, blocking her escape route. "Help!" She yelled again, not even sure if anyone would hear her. She was going to die. Spirits, she was going to die here. The tendrils rushed at blinding speed towards her, she could only scream in terror…
"Surprise, motherfucker!" A deep-voiced, dark-skinned man shouted as he dropped in from above, landing on the tendrils. They writhed at him, but he merely ignored their attacks. He grabbed one and ripped it in two, before grabbing the other and splattering it against the wall. He turned to glare at Korra, letting her take a better look at him. He was dressed in black shirt and pants, kinda like a photo-negative of Alex. The only thing they shared was the black jacket with a hood, but this man's was down to show his bald head. He looked so familiar to her, but she couldn't place him. He stepped closer, causing her to shake in fear. He looked so angry, so hateful. He was reaching out, going to kill her…
"Hello there, Avatar Korra." He said kindly, holding his hand out to shake. "It's nice meeting you. Even though I wished we could meet in better circumstances." Korra stared at him a bit before shakily reaching out to him. "I'll admit, you could've landed in worse places than this." He continued saying as they shook hands. "But the Grey Zone is still not a nice place."
"…Wh-Where am I?" Korra stuttered. "What is this place?"
"New York Zero. Or at least, Alex's version of it. This only showed up when you arrived, so I'm guessing it's meant to, I don't know, ease you in. Turn this fucking messed-up head into something you could understand."
"What do all those walls mean?"
"The walls represent Alex's bullshit control over this place. He cages us all like animals and prisoners. Each area represents a different group of people he's consumed. South is all the Blackwatch fuckers we've eaten, while West is the psychopaths and criminals we've had to snack on. East is filled to the brim with people who were just in the wrong fucking place at the wrong fucking time."
"And North?" Korra asked. His language was pretty crude, leaving her to wonder what happened to him. Maybe it was his way of dealing being a part of Alex.
"North is the shittiest place here. Everyone in there had been an Infected during life, and they're all fucked up in the head from getting turned into freaky monsters.
"Those walls represent Alex's control over everyone here." Korra mused to herself. "And yet apart from the East, everyone is trying to break out." She gasped as it hit her. "You guys are causing this." She said angrily, pointing at the man. "Because you're trying to fight your way free, Alex went on a rampage." The ground shook as things around her changed. Instead of standing in an alleyway, she was now on a street, watching Alex attack everything around her. The man looked at it, scowling as he saw people get hurt. Korra got even angrier as she realised that he must've been the one that smashed through the wall. That could've been what pushed Alex over the edge. "I can't believe you lot. You caused people to die just so you could argue over who's in charge? My friends and I nearly died out there."
"Believe me, whatever damage was caused by our power struggles is nothing compared to what Alex can do if he wants to. You have no idea what he caused."
Yes we do. He's a weapon that looks like a person, he ripped his way through a couple of armies, and he fought Blackwatch to a standstill. The man looked at her, and sighed.
"How much did you get from him?" He asked. "When you melded the first time?"
"I… I got some things. But there's stuff I know I heard, but I don't know what they are." It might've been how she remained sane. Well, sane-ish.
"Did you hear about the outbreaks? Alex was behind both of them. He killed millions on purpose. He was planning to infect the whole world. And if we don't stop him, then he'll succeed. You're the real Avatar. It's your duty to protect this place from fuckers like him."
"…And if I help you. Help you take over. Will you stop the rampages?"
"I swear it." Korra was at a loss. She didn't know what to believe. But the world changed again. She was inside a tall, busy building. Penn Station. Alex was surrounded by Blackwatch soldiers, holding onto a vial. They shot him right after he threw the vial to the ground, unleashing a dark liquid. The Virus. Blacklight. As the memory faded, Korra made up her mind. She was here to stop Alex from rampaging. If that meant letting someone else take the reins, then so be it. Besides, it was one idea more than she had before.
"Alright. I'll help you, Mr…"
The man smiled as he shook her hand. "James Heller."
Heller brought them to an apartment high on the rooftops. Korra recognised it as where Dana, Alex's sister stayed while he was fighting Blackwatch. They looked at a map of the city, constantly changing to reflect who was in control.
"The Gentek tower is now the central control of this whole body." Heller said as he looked down at the map. "Mercer's hold up inside it, refusing to come out. We need to flush him out if we want to stop him. To do that, we have to help create chaos."
"I'm here to stop Alex from rampaging and you want to make it worse?" Korra asked hotly. "I'm standing right outside him. What if he eats me?"
"Hopefully, he won't have time. There's no other way to do it. And together, we could restore order." Korra glared at him, but she was at a loss for ideas. For now, she was just going to have to accept it. "Now, each Wall is guarded by three Evolved, Alex's lieutenants from the Second Outbreak. Alex relies on them to hold the peace for him while he makes his plans to destroy the world. We take them out, and then Alex will have to play crowd control himself."
"What's to stop the people in charge from taking over instead of us? From the sound of it, any of them would be even worse than Alex."
"Simple. We take out their leaders. They'll be too busy fighting each other for control to bother us. By the time their souls return, we'll be safe. Blackwatch is led by General Randall." A picture of a grim, old man appeared by the south side. "As far as I can tell, he's the asshole that founded Blackwatch. He's got a lot of goons, but he's no fighter. We get near him, he's a stain on the floor. The West Zone is led by some ex-Blackwatch goon. Wears a full mask, so no one knows who he is. You get to be in charge by being the biggest, baddest motherfucker in the Zone, so he's going to be worse to handle." A picture of a man wearing a white balaclava and a gas mask appeared by the zone. "And finally, there's the Infected. They act like a hive, worshipping something called 'The Mother'. Don't know what the fuck it is, but we can handle it." Mother. The code name given to a giant Infected monster. One that weathered Blackwatch.
"We can't." She said. "It's too powerful. But maybe, we could get Blackwatch to attack it. If it comes to that. The only problem we still have is that I can't bend. And I don't know what those tendrils meant."
"I think they represent the viral nature of this body. From what I believe, if they grab you, it means Alex is consuming your body. The others are bending by focusing on the memories of bending. Did you do that, or was it just the lessons?" She blushed as she realised she didn't think about the feeling of bending. That must've been why it didn't work. "We'll work each area together. I'll cause a distraction, while you deal with any targets still standing. As far as I can tell, if you die inside here, then you just get brought back again."
"And if I die here, I'm stuck for life." Korra groaned. She had to play it safe. But she couldn't just sit around waiting. Her nerves wouldn't be able to take it. "Ah, whatever. Let's just get going."
Neither of them noticed that they were being watched as they left.
"Heller you bastard, I will murder you." Korra muttered as she hid behind cover. The Blackwatch group was proving harder to handle than normal. She could Earthbend from behind the cover, but her aim wasn't too good. And Heller was busy getting some revenge on the Evolved watching over the Wall, so he wasn't going to be much help. She had to come up with something.
I can help you. The voice said teasingly. But you have to do something for me.
"Now is not a good time." She said to herself, wincing as stray splinters struck her. "Alright, alright. What is it?"
Kiss Mako again. Promise me that, and I'll tell you.
"You… You…" She was so angry she was nearly about to burst. "Fine. I promise."
Heller said this is just a representation to make your mind comprehend this fucked up place. So imagine there's a water pipe right next to you. Korra closed her eyes for a moment, thinking about a water pipe. When she opened them, it was right there. She bended it open, spraying the soldiers with water and freezing them. She rushed past just in time to see an Evolved crash into the frozen people, shattering them. She grabbed one of the rifles as she went, remembering the memories of how to use it. She turned back to fire at the Evolved, a man in Blackwatch uniform with two blades for arms, allowing Heller to crush him underfoot. Satisfied, and with Blackwatch troops dealing with the last Evolved, they rushed towards the central base. Korra spotted a lot of hardware designed to kill lying around the place.
"I want the Avatar found and kept in here." They heard an older man say over the loudspeaker. "We cannot allow her power to escape us. But Ares is to be shot on sight, no matter what. Burn half the fucking town if you have to." They found a window showing Randall watching over the place. Heller grabbed the gun off Korra, lined it up, and opened fire. But while the window cracked, it didn't shatter. Bulletproof. "I am under fire. Repeat, I am under fire. Find them now!" Heller gave her the gun back, before rushing the troops. She was forced to wait as he grabbed several of them, smashed them together, and threw them at the window. The cracks grew even bigger. Then Heller grabbed another soldier and stabbed him. He threw the lone man at the window, and tendrils shot out to everything. They were pulled back, smashing the window open and blowing up the room. Randall went flying just in time to get smashed by Heller. His corpse fell to the ground.
"Good job." Heller said to her. "Keep hold of that gun. You could use it."
One down.
Alex growled as he saw the map, watching the reports come in. Blackwatch was breaking through the Wall. He didn't know how, but he was sure it involved Heller. When he got the report that he had broken through, he had all his Evolved ready for a fight. Clearly, though, they weren't strong enough. He loathed letting more leave the Tower, but he had to keep control. For everyone's sake.
"Roland." He said into the comm. "Status report."
"It's getting hairy out here, Sir." His loyal right-hand man reported. After Alex ended up in here, he regained control of the Evolved, while dealing with any traitors. "We're keeping the Infected contained, but Cross is testing our limits. And the Green Zone is rising up." Alex stared at his prisoners, watching them gaze back at him. He turned to see the men guarding the Tower. He made his decision.
"I want the guard on the other walls doubled, right now. We need to hold this just until the men return. And whatever you do, do not let the Infected escape." As Roland disconnected, Alex swore he heard laughing. He concentrated until it faded. He couldn't lose control again. He had to regain it.
And he had to find Korra.
"They're expecting us." Korra noted, burning away some more tendrils. She noticed that they were appearing more regularly than before. "We're not going to get in through the front door, even with you playing distraction."
"Luckily for us, we're not distracting them." Heller replied, pointing at the Blackwatch tanks rolling in. "They are. We let them start a fight with the Evolved, pick off the weaker ones, and then watch as they roll in to fight the psychopaths.
"Yes, a bold plan." A lady said above them. They looked up to find a blond-haired lady watching them, surrounded by more Evolved. "But Mercer realises you're the biggest threat Heller. As for you Korra, he orders for you to stand down. Leave the fighting to the adults."
"Yeah?" She replied hotly. "Then tell Alex that I know about the outbreaks. I'm not going to sit by and let him destroy my world. We will take him down, no matter what."
The lady shook her head sadly. "I see that Heller's indoctrinated you. Do you honestly expect him to help your world? He wasn't interested in saving New York Zero until his family got involved. But enough chit-chat." Her arms became longer and thinner, with small spikes for hands. She leapt down at them, reeling Heller in with the arms. As they pounded each other while falling, Korra ran to safety. A couple of Evolved raced after her, one of them a hooded man like Alex, while the other was a waif-like girl in ragged clothes. As they got closer, Korra threw some fire at them. But the man dispersed it with his own bending. Right, they had bending too. This was going to be difficult. As she rounded the corner, she turned and aimed the gun, catching the waif in the crosshairs. She barely dodged as Korra unloaded into her, before smashing her in the face with the stock. The man grabbed her, but she managed to pull herself free and started smacking him with rocks. This guy might've been Evolved, and therefore far stronger than her, but he had no training. He just relied on hitting things hard. She kept smashing him until he faded away, panting as she stopped. That was the most tiring 20 seconds of her life. She got back up, and moved carefully back towards Heller. The whole world was shaking from explosions as Blackwatch attacked. As she rounded the final corner, she caught a glimpse of Blackwatch fighting gang members around the broken Wall, with the Ex-Blackwatch at the head. She watched as he fired lightning from his hands. So he was a Firebender. Unbelievable. To think that most of these guys were completely normal until Alex ended up here. And now they were using bending to fight each other. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and screamed while lashing out. Heller stumbled as she got him with an uppercut.
"…Spirits, don't scare me like that!" Korra shouted at him, hitting him again on the shoulder. "I nearly died of fright!"
"Sorry about that. Just was letting you know that the Evolved are gone." Heller replied, rubbing his jaw. "And I'm sure Blackwatch can keep the psychopaths busy for a while."
"Wait. Wasn't the plan that you'd kill their leader? You're not really going to leave him alone, are you?"
"Look at those guys. They don't have a clue how to fight." Heller pointed out to her. Korra looked to see the gang members falling rapidly, while Blackwatch was slowly pushing their way in. "They're hoodlums, muggers, thieves and fucktards fighting against trained professionals. Even with more people bending, they're still gonna get fucked. I doubt this guy can handle them all for much longer." With that, he left, smacking a tendril that was creeping up on Korra.
Two down now.
"What the fuck happened?" Alex shouted into the comms, shaking with rage. He could feel himself losing control. "How did we lose the Yellow Zone? How could Blackwatch beat them?"
"They were under attack from both fronts." Roland replied. "And some of them went to attack Heller."
"Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck! He's getting on my fucking nerves. The bastard's going to ruin everything." The room became darker, more flesh-like, as he lost control. Laughter filled his ears. He took a deep breath, regaining control again. He turned the map around until he found Korra. She and Heller were fighting off tendrils, caused by his rage. It looked like they were heading for the Green Zone. Good. If he had to lose, at least they weren't going for the Red Zone. Surely even Heller wasn't that stupid. He was about to turn away, when he noticed something weird happening outside. Korra was moving. Like she was about to pull free.
But how?
The lady gasped as she pulled her way up to the girl's body. She had to escape. She had to. She couldn't spend another moment in this freak. In this monster. She wanted to be human again. She mopped her blond hair out of her eyes, glad to see the end in sight. The rope she was holding led to an open door, designed to resemble an igloo curtain. As she pulled herself the last few feet, she touched the handle, feeling it change under her grip.
Now she just had to figure out how to control it.
Korra watched as the mass of civilians crowded the Evolved. They were good, too good for normal benders to stop. But they had Heller with them. He and Korra had managed to bring down the Wall, freeing everyone trapped within. The city was looking stranger though. The lines were getting blurred, with Blackwatch bases mixed in with burnt husks and apartment buildings. What did this mean on the outside? Were Mako and Bolin ok? How long had she been in here for? It didn't help that she was fighting off more and more tendrils at every step. Heller said that meant Alex was losing control, but did she really want that? She came in here to stop the fighting, not take part in a civil war.
She needed answers.
"Well, that should be the last of Mercer's Evolved around here. But he's still not coming out, the pussy." Heller said as he jumped onto her ledge. "But with most of them gone, we can finally assault the main tower. Mercer's a dead-man walking."
"Yeah, but… Are we really doing the right thing?" Heller gave her a look. "Alex lost control because of this war. He killed people because he was fighting himself. From what my new memories tell me, Alex was fine until… something happened."
I know what we can do. The voice in her said. Why don't we betray Heller when we get to Alex? If you're really that concerned about who's in charge, then maybe we should help him.
"If Alex appears to be a good guy, then it's just a bullshit lie. He's a monster that fucks with peoples' families for some bullshit reason. He doesn't care about you or your friends, Korra. Remember that." He moved to head to the Tower, when a comm alarm went out.
"Calling all units, calling all units." A panicky man said quickly. "This is the last remaining Evolved watching over the Red Zone. We need anyone still out there. The Infected are breaking free. Repeat, the… AARGH!" The comm cut out as the sky started turning red. Korra looked in worry as buildings started shaking. And high above them, large birds were flying en mass. Korra watched in horror as everyone around her fled in fear. The unthinkable had happened.
The Infection had broken free.
"Snap out of it Korra!" Heller shouted as he grabbed her, jumping high into the air. She saw Blackwatch helicopters heading to intercept the flyers. "This is our chance. We'll find Mercer out there fighting them. Once we've contained them, then we'll finish him off and race to the Tower. Easy."
"Easy? Easy?! We're fighting the Infected! I can't fight them! I… I don't want to die!" Korra couldn't believe it. He thought fighting them was easy? Yeah, maybe if you were a super-powered badass. But she wasn't like him. If one of them attacked her, she was dead. She needed to hide. "Leave me here. I'll take the Tower while you take on Alex."
"Not going to happen. I think you need to be a part of this to take over. If you go, you'll just be a sitting duck. But I will leave you at the edge of the fighting." He dropped down near a building that was slowly falling apart, before slashing at some Infected that rushed him. He used a blade to clear his way through them, following along with Blackwatch members. Korra spent her time burning away at any tendrils that got near her, before creating a barrier of water. The tendrils stopped just short of it, waving around her. She watched as buildings nearby grew biomass before it all fell off as Blackwatch took ground. She sighed, glad they were winning. She wasn't completely sure who was best to be in charge, but she knew anyone would be better than the Infected.
"All units, we've got a strange mist approaching. Stay out of it until we determine what it does." Korra gasped as she saw a red cloud approaching her. She wanted to move, but there were so many tendrils around her that she couldn't let her barrier down. She had to sit still as she disappeared into it. She shivered as more tendrils showed up. She didn't know what was going on? Was this actually helping? Or was she just deluding herself? Maybe she was already another lost soul.
Cheer up already. Admit it, it could be worse. Now you're part of a super powerful creature that creams everything that fights it. You could take control and live like a queen. This was her now. Listening to herself grow slowly insane. Fun. Then, the noises stopped. She looked up to see the tendrils move away from one side. Something humanoid was walking out of the mist. She gritted her teeth and held up her barrier. Whatever that was, it wasn't getting through.
She watched in pure horror as the figure just stepped through the water like it was a cool shower instead of something they feared. It was a woman, with chopped red hair, blood matted everywhere, and wearing some kind of skin-tight rubber outfit.
"…She was a damn test subject…The mother and child are now military assets…I am your mother…" Korra shook in fear as she realised just what she was trapped with.
"It's so nice to see you Korra, my darling daughter-to-be." Elizabeth Greene, first Infected, and the 'Mother' said to her.
Mako was getting very worried. Korra had been in there for far too long. Alex had creeped up to her elbow, and she wasn't even reacting. Was she even aware that he was eating her arm? Probably not.
"I hate this." He muttered to Bolin, making sure to keep his voice down. "We should be killing Alex, not negotiating with him."
"Well, considering the Metalbending Police couldn't stop him, along with Blackwatch, maybe Korra and Tenzin are onto something. Besides, where would you stick him? Does he even have organs?"
"I don't know. But this is taking too long." Suddenly, Korra started jerking and gasping. She pulled her arm free, nearly falling over from the motion. Mako ran over and grabbed her before she could hit the ground. She opened her eyes blearily, looking terrified. "Korra? Are you ok?"
"B…B…Burn." She whispered to him. "Burn it now. While it's distracted. She slowly knelt down. "We have to destroy it. We can't let it live, no matter what."
"But you said…" Bolin started talking, until Korra glared at him. She seemed to be acting different now. Maybe she saw something even worse.
"Prepare to attack on my mark." She whispered, watching Alex writhe. "1…2…"
"W-What did you call me?" Korra squeaked. The mist cleared to show screens, playing memories of Greene. She was Mother. She was the giant monster commanding the Infected. And she was trapped with her.
"Daughter-to-be." Greene said kindly as she got closer. "I miss having children. My only baby was taken from me. But then I had all these babies. They are such kind and gentle creatures. Have you seen them play? They have such fun. I'm so glad that they can spread their joy around. If only people could accept them."
"But they kill people. They turn them into monsters that…" Greene was suddenly in her face, growling at her.
"They are not monsters. They are my babies. You should be kinder to your siblings Korra. You shouldn't be a bully, hitting them with fire and water. You're just as bad as Mercer and Heller. They always hurt their siblings." She backed away, sighing. "If only Mercer would let me adopt his sister. She was happy, she was peaceful with us. Things would've been great. But he had to take her, and tried to hurt me. You'd like it with us Korra. We can help you, make you better."
"I don't want to be better. I don't want to be your daughter." The barrier was weakening around her. The tendrils were working their way through. "I like being me. I like my skills. Everything I am, I got it by myself."
"Well now, that's not true. You're only the Avatar because of luck. You wouldn't have been able to bend all four elements by effort alone. But I can help you with that. I can help you unlock the power of Airbending. I can help you defend your new family from Amon and Blackwatch. All you have to do, is let me." She leaned in, pressing herself far too close to Korra. "I could even set you up with a lover. Do you want a boy, or a girl? I won't care either way. She kissed her on the cheek, causing Korra to lose concentration for a second.
"…No." She said firmly. Greene looked at her in sadness.
"Why do people hate things that are good for them?" Then tendrils worked their way in further. Korra tried to strengthen the barrier, but it wasn't working. She was going to die.
Greene screamed in pain as the world started burning. Korra nearly screamed too as her body ached all over. But she had to hold on. She had to get away, before whatever was happening stopped. But what was happening? It felt like…
"We're out of here kid." A blond-haired man said as he picked her up. She blearily looked up at the sky, watching as everything burned. The hole. The hole she saw in the sky, the one she entered through. It was gone. Where was it? What did that mean? And where was she going? "Mercer wants you back at the tower for some reason. Maybe he thinks he can get you to stop if he controls you or something."
"No." She whispered. But she ached too much. She couldn't resist. She could only watch as the Tower seemed to melt around her. She entered a burning atrium, but instead of going up, the man pushed the elevator to go down. He placed her into it before rushing back out, for what she didn't know. She could only gasp as the temperature got more bearable as she went lower and lower. By the time the door opened, she was able to finally move again. She limped and stumbled her way out, holding onto the wall as she went. She nearly fell until she felt someone's arms around her. She looked up to see a dark-haired woman in a suit pulling her along. She passed a mirrored wall, and finally got a look at herself. She was glowing with white lines, but they were marred. Half of her was bloodied and ravaged, making her look like one of the Infected. Was this her forever now? Was she one of them?
Spirits, you're a mess. And what was with that burning sensation. Reminds me of the time we first realised we could Firebend. Boy, that burn stayed for days. She didn't even have the energy to tell the voice to shut up. She just wanted to stop. It hurt too much. She closed her eyes, and barely felt the lady place her on a chair. She just stayed like that until she couldn't bare waiting. She opened her eyes to see Alex chained to the wall. What? But… But how? Was someone else in charge? What should she do?
"We wouldn't go near him, for starters." A collection of voices said to her. She turned her head to see something strange, even by this place's standards. A person made of biomass was standing before a console. It was constantly changing, growing taller and pale before shrinking and getting darker. A woman's head, a man's hand, a boy's legs… Constantly changing.
"A…Alex?" She asked. She couldn't believe it, but it might be possible.
"Korra should call us Blacklight." It said, not facing her. "Korra should be fine soon. We've moved away from the danger." Indeed, her skin was feeling better now. But then she realised something important.
"Danger? What about my body? What happened to it?"
"We don't know. Korra started moving on its own. Korra told Mako to burn us. We were too busy fighting War Korra started to defend ourselves. But we managed to sneak away part of us. We are all still safe. But still confused. How could Korra be out there, and in here? Is Korra insane? Korra has multiple personality disorder?"
"I don't know. Probably. I mean, who can look inside your head and not go a bit crazy?"
"We…We do not know. We will have to think on… That was rhetorical, was it not?"
"Yeah." This was as good a chance as she could get. "Alex…Blacklight. There's so much about you I don't know. I'm so scared, and confused, and… and I want answers."
"What will our answers do for Korra?"
"Heller told me how you caused the Outbreaks back on your world willingly. I need to know if you're a threat to us all."
"We are." He answered bluntly, finally turning to face her. His face was blank. Nothing whatsoever. "We are a virus. We are the worst virus ever found. But we think you mean if Alex is dangerous to Korra."
"Are you?"
"We… do not know." He turned to look at the Alex chained to the wall. "Heller is confused. Filled with hate. Cannot see Blacklight as separate. Does not understand us."
"Then let me. Tell me what drives you." This was what she was here for. To find out the truth. Alex stared at her before walking over. He took on his normal look as he came, making it more confusing.
"Alright then. I suppose I should start at the beginning. Or around that at least. I don't think we need to go over how dangerous the Virus is, so we'll start with the First Outbreak." He took a deep breath. "I was originally made in a lab, to be even more dangerous than my predecessor, Redlight. The scientist that achieved it didn't care that he was making a weapon, improving something that could've already wiped out mankind. He only cared about the pay-check, and how things affected him. He later found out that someone tried to blab about me to the public, and was silenced. And then Blackwatch decided to remove any loose ends. Anything that wasn't irreplaceable. Including him. So, he grabbed a sample of me, and ran for Penn Station." Penn Station. She remembered that. Alex had thrown a vial at the ground.
"Was he you?" She asked. He looked a bit surprised.
"Yeah. The original Alex Mercer. A man who'd kill the world in revenge for his death. I have him chained up down here, and now I'm just a man that looks like him. Because I became him when he was dying, I lost his memories. By the time I got them back, I was a better man than him. I went off to find a place for myself, a place I can call my own. All I found was pain and misery. People that only cared about themselves." The room changed, turning into a hallway filled with pictures of young people with a kind old man. They must've been his family. "This was the worst. Look at all these pictures. Look at all the kids and grandkids this guy had." The hallway vanished, showing the old man in person. But he was a rotting corpse, green with age and wit flies buzzing around. "So how could someone with that many people be left here for months without anyone realising he was dead?"
"I… I don't know." She admitted. She couldn't believe it either. It could've happen back when Aang was around. But things were more advanced in this age. And Alex was even further ahead. "I honestly don't know."
Alex stared at her for longer before sighing and continuing. "I decided to head far North, hoped that spending some time away from crowds would help me think. I rented a place from a father and daughter, Flint and Dawn, people who seemed kind and helpful. I got to know them better, even started loving Dawn. I really thought I could live out there. I thought I had found my place in the world. But then, a shady businessman showed up one day. He was buying all the property around, and apparently Flint knew him from old business deals. That night, after he refused, I woke up to find two guy about to burn the place down with everyone in it. I killed them, and found that the order came from Zurich." A memory played on a screen, showing the order being given. "I went to confront him in my usual way, and I found out how Flint knew him." More memories played, but they all were about a gruff man threatening people for Zurich. "He lied to me. He betrayed me. I thought I could trust him. So I killed him. And then I went to find Dawn."
"To kill her too? That's a bit extreme. She couldn't help it that her father was an enforcer."
"No, not to kill. To have her leave with me. To find somewhere we could be together. But she betrayed me too. She found my money I had stashed, a lot of it. And she shot me dead. She said she was never going to let me leave with that kind of loot on me. I killed her too, and I realised that man was flawed."
"But… it…"
"We were poisoning the planet, Korra. We were overeating everything, hunting creatures to extinction. Lands were dying from waste, seas were filled with toxin, even the very thing that keeps all the air on Earth was falling apart. Can you look at all that's happened to me and say otherwise?" She tried, but her mouth wouldn't work. He was right. "All the people screaming in pain, for vengeance, for revenge. It was too much. I lost it. And I listened to Greene. She told me how the world only belonged to Man because they were the strongest. But now the Infected we stronger. They had a hive mind. They did not lie to each other, or hurt one another. The world needed saving. And as the strongest being on the planet, no matter how much I didn't want to, the responsibility fell to me.
"And you went back to New York." She realised. "To start up a revolution."
"Yes. I wasn't really trying though. I wasn't putting my all in like Amon is. Why do you think I'd choose a city Blackwatch would know how to protect? I expected them to prove to me they deserved a second chance. But Blackwatch failed. I kept gaining more and more ground. I had to find another way. And then I ran into Heller. I didn't give him a second glance when he survived my attack on his APC and slit my throat. But then he got back up and stabbed me again. Even when I knocked him down, he still got back up. I led him further into Infected territory, to see what he would do. You have seen my memories of the Hunters?" She nodded, remembering the giant Polar bear-dog creatures. "He killed on with a knife. Most people fail with a tank. I confronted him, and he still went to attack me. And I knew he was the one. The one that could change things. And so I made him like me, and got him working against Blackwatch. I waited to see if he would find out what I did."
"He said you murdered his family."
"I did, in a sense. Infected killed his wife, and Blackwatch took his daughter. So, he blamed me for being the root of his pain. He ended up disrupting some plans I had made, infiltrating Blackwatch and Gentek. He managed to do something both groups missed completely. Hell, most of their higher ups worked for me."
"No wonder you gave up on them." She knew it wasn't really funny. But after all the stress she had gone through, she couldn't stop herself.
"I know. He managed to notice my 'slip of the tongue', and investigated. His contact found footage of me infecting Penn Station, evidence I could've easily removed. This led him to really put some effort into stopping me. He found out that Blackwatch was manufacturing a cure, and I had already infected it. If they cared about that cure, then they would've guarded it better. He stopped that plan, and I confronted him. I wanted to see if he would resist me. And he did. I knew I had to motivate him further. So I had a group of Infected go after his ally."
"That's horrible." Korra said, but mostly to herself. This was solid proof that Alex worked on a different morality scale than she did. He didn't seem to realise just how evil it was to kill a man to motivate someone. Maybe it was just because of his upbringing.
"It worked. He went after everyone I had working for me, getting stronger and stronger. But he still wasn't perfect. He found out about his daughter, and wanted to go and save her instead of the city. Can you believe that? He cared more about one girl, than about stopping me from ending Mankind. Luckily, my sister Dana convinced him to save New York Zero while she went looking for Amaya Heller. Even after dealing with some more of my men, I was worried he was just going to leave me with my 'job'."
"So you grabbed Amaya yourself." She figured.
"A man can do anything if you have the right motivation. So Heller finally confronted me, I consumed my last Evolved to be sure it was just him and me, and then we fought. It was a brutal fight, even when I held back my punches. His tenacity and ability to improve the Virus' power impressed me. When he ripped away enough Biomass, instead of healing over I just surrendered. Let saving the world be his problem. He chose to collect all of the virus in the city."
"What about Amaya? What did you do to her?"
"Nothing. I locked her and Dana in a near impenetrable vault. Sure, I said some things to rile him up, but I figured if he couldn't stop me then it didn't matter. I honestly expected to just disappear into the mass of minds and memories. But I was stronger than I realised. I was still awake, still conscious. I could still see, hear and experience everything Heller could. We heard reports of Blackwatch being up to something, but Heller wasn't interested. He wasn't doing anything really. He had Dana take Amaya to somewhere safe."
"So, did you figure if he wasn't doing anything with his body you'd borrow it?"
"Yeah. I took over, and I went to fight Blackwatch. And that's how I ended up here." There was silence for a while. "So what do you want to do with me? Am I worthy of living still?"
"Alex…" She stopped, before trying again. "You're easily the scariest thing I've ever met. Even Amon looks weak compared to you. A big part of me wants to just burn you to nothing and forget you ever existed. But, you've never had someone to teach you. You're like a child, doing whatever you want. I think that if someone was to teach you morality, proper morality, then you might do something good."
"You think it's that easy. Just teach me right from wrong and ignore the fact that my instincts are to infect everything around me. And what's to stop the people of this world from becoming just as bad? They're already showing the signs."
"You don't need to like everyone Alex. No matter where you go, there will always be people that prey upon the weak. You just need to remember that there are good people too." Alex looked at her, before smiling. It was very shaky and bad, like he never smiled once.
"I'll need to get everything back to normal and under control first. But if you're willing to teach me morality, then ok. What should I call you? Avatar, Mentor, teacher, boss?"
"Friend. You can call me your friend." Her hand was very shaky, but she finally grabbed his hand and shook it. He looked surprised. "Now, care to explain why my body left without me?"
"I've been thinking about that while we talked, and I might have an idea. It's hard to tell since someone's been starting riots, but I think one of the souls in here hijacked your body."
"There's… There's someone walking around in my body?" Korra was disgusted. Some lowlife freak was going around as her.
"Yeah. The burning from before was probably them trying to destroy us." He looked around the room for a bit before looking back at her with a smirk. "I think I've got an idea. I'll just need your help to 'corral' everyone. Do that, and I'll help you get your body back."
"Deal."
Corralling had been easy with Alex's help. Everyone was busy helping against the Infected, and what was left was too weak to fight back. Alex's Evolved reformed in time to help get them all moving, and Alex rebuilt the walls easily. The only problem was Heller.
"You fucking traitor!" He yelled at her. "You're siding with him? He's going to destroy your world!"
"Not if he learns how to be nice." Korra responded, getting nervous. Bending is useful, but it didn't really stop Heller before. "He wants a chance to reform himself. Why should we deny him a chance?"
"Because he's a fucking monster!" Heller moved to punch her, but he was still weak from the fighting earlier. She managed to dodge it, and used Earthbending to send him flying. He tried to jump over the Wall, but Alex showed up to stop him. One moment, Alex was moving to kick him. The next, Heller was gone into the horizon. Alex assured her he wouldn't reform for a while, long enough to get her back. Now, they were standing at the top of Gentek, a circular platform on the ground.
"This is how I'm visualising control for you." Alex explained. When you step onto this platform, you'll be the one calling the shots. I'll try my best to keep the noise down for you."
"I thought I had to be a part of you to take control." She said, confused. Sure, Heller was pig-headed, but he couldn't be wrong all the time. And she wanted to be careful about all this.
"Well, since you don't have a body anymore, I guess you can say you are a part of me. For the moment." She took a deep breath, steeling herself. She stepped onto the platform, feeling her body grow strange. The things she normally felt were muted, or gone. Her vision clouded over, and everything turned black.
"Ok, connections are good." Alex said. "Now, first thing you need to do is find some more biomass. Just let your senses reach out." Korra slowed her breathing, and meditated. Instantly, her world lit up. She could see masses of red and yellow wandering around. As she looked around, she could smell something… yummy. Like seaweed noodles. Was this how Alex saw people? As walking buffets? No wonder he had trouble not eating people. She was starving. As she looked around, she saw a yellow mass get closer to her, stumbling and getting lower. When he was just past her, he fell over, and his colours faded again.
"Cool. That means he's dead… I mean, that's bad. But good for us. You don't need to worry about having a new passenger. Now, just think about walking to him and eating him." She did as he said, and she was surprised how fast Alex could go. She was there in record time, and the man was fading into her. It was… Surprisingly easy. She could tell what the next step would be. She concentrated on what she looked like, what she was wearing. She felt like her muscles were stretching, and her body gained weight. Everything started feeling familiar, and she opened her eyes. The world was more vibrant than before. She could see the individual stones making up the wall. She could hear a conversation far away like they were right next to her. And she felt so light, and stronger too. Even her clothes felt the same, allowing her to notice the different textures the biomass had taken. This… this was incredible.
"Don't let it go to your head. I want this body back when you're done."
"I know. She said aloud, clenching her hands.
"Let's get my body back."
"Look, Korra. You don't need to be so jumpy." Bolin assured her as she kept looking around the room. Ever since they destroyed Alex, Tenzin had the family around her to make sure she was perfectly fine. He had to admit though, she was acting differently. This wasn't the awesome, brave girl he knew (and had a crush on). Korra was now… more timid. Like she was worried a murderer was going to attack her at any moment. "Alex is long gone. We saw to that. He burned to nothing."
"Not safe. Never safe." She whispered to herself. Man, going into Alex's head really must've messed her up.
"Mommy, mommy. Look." Ikki started shouting. They all turned, and stared in shock.
Korra was walking up the stairs, looking ready for a fight. Everything about her, her looks, her personality, it was all exactly as he remembered. But how could there be two of them? They saw Korra pull free of Alex. Unless he could make a clone of her. He made a topless copy of her before. Which was going to haunt his nightmares for a while. But it was mostly her then.
"I don't know how you survived Mercer, but you're not taking another step." Mako threatened, standing in Korra's way. She stopped, and pointed at their Korra.
"I'm not Alex. And that is definitely not me. Now give me back my body, thief!"
"I… I'm not a thief. You… You're just trying to trick us Alex. You're not going to get me." Korra was nearly wetting herself in fear. Bolin promised to protect her with all his might. Other Korra (Or Alex-Korra) seemed to be listening to something, before smirking at them.
"Alright then. If you're really me, Then what are my parents' names." Ooh, that was a good question. And Bolin was really curious too. Their Korra looked around wildly for several seconds.
"This is my body now!" Korra shouted, throwing a massive fireball at Alex-Korra. She was engulfed in fire, burning for several seconds. But then Bolin looked back to see the Korras grappling with each other.
What was going on?
Korra looked in triumph as the thief panicked, attacking her. Fires never seemed to bother Alex much, and now she knew why. The world seemed to slow down for her, allowing her to watch the flames reach her at a snail's pace. At the last moment, she jumped overhead, amazed at the distance she cleared. Everyone looked like ants to her now. As the fire still burned where she stood, she aimed to drop down behind herself. When she landed, the thief barely had time to react before Korra grabbed her. She tried to struggle, But Alex was too strong. This… This was amazing. It was all she could do to not get addicted to this.
"You done praising me yet?" Alex asked. "Because I think you'd want to go home as soon as possible." She nodded, touching her body on the forehead. She felt herself rushing at impossible speeds, until she was standing outside an igloo. Her igloo, where she lived with her family as a child. Before the White Lotus found out she was the Avatar. She stepped inside to find the thief trembling. She was another blond-haired lady, but while the last lady looked nearly white, hers was yellow. She was dressed in a suit with a white shirt, and was trembling with fear.
"No." She was saying. "No, please. You can't send me back. I'm not going back. I can't live in that monster."
"Well that doesn't mean you can steal my body while I'm stopping him from rampaging." Korra countered, punching her in the face. The thief cried out in pain, tears running down her face. "Now get out of my head." Korra picked the girl up with both hands, and tossed her out the door. As she left screaming, Korra felt a rush of sensations. She blearily woke up to find herself looking down, before Alex returned to normal. They were soon surrounded by everyone.
"Alex, help me stand." She whispered. Alex nodded, supporting her with one arm while raising the other. "Everyone, stop. Alex is friendly now."
"Friendly? But you said he had to be destroyed. How do we know you're really Korra and not some monster he made?"
"My parents are name Tonraq and Senna. My father is from the Northern Water Tribe, and my mother was born in the South." Tenzin studied her for a while, before lowering his stance. Everyone looked at him is shock.
"I believe you Korra. But you'll have to explain everything to us. We need to know what changed your mind about him."
"I will."
"…And police still refuse to talk about what happened over by the docks earlier today, only reporting it as a spirit attack. Meanwhile, non-benders are up in arms over the death of their friends and families, saying that Blackwatch clearly did more to save them than the 'bending establishment'." Redcliffe turned off the radio, filling the room with silence.
"While I loath to admit it, the attack by Zeus was perfect. No visible signs of infection, we landed a huge blow against him, and we just got more popular in the eyes of the people." He said to Amon.
"Yes. This was truly a blessing, in a sense." They turned to see Asami Sato standing next to her father, dressed in Equalist leathers. "We're getting one step closer with every moment."
"By the end of the month, we'll have freed Republic City and removed every bender."
And finished. This was really enjoyable. I really wanted to do this scene of Korra inside Alex's head. I'd like to thank Trondason for suggesting the reasons behind Alex's attacks. They were similar to my own ideas, and I really liked them. I chose to have Alex as someone that never really got morality, and Korra's gonna be around to teach him. Maybe not the best teacher, but she can help. And Asami's part of the Equalists. Dun, dun, duun. Why is this? Wait and see.
…Dammit. I left another cliffhanger.
(Oh, and Heller's going to be a bad guy because to him, Alex will never change. Any problem is going to be his fault. And he's not too happy with Korra right now.)
Edit: Oh, and Alex managed to take Heller out so easily is because was really trying, and this isn't actually real. The city and everything in it is just how Korra sees Alex's head. In truth, it would probably make Chthulu puke his guts out (or something like that). Also, as Alex said, he hadn't been hitting his best last time. This time, he can't fool around.