Do you know what it's like to drown?
Never experienced it myself. I have read reports from those who have been resuscitated.
Right. Then you know about the desperation in trying to break the surface to get precious air. The horror when you realize you can't make it and the burning sensation as the water fills your lungs. It's a horrible experience, but the worst part for me wasn't any of that. It was how I ended up getting into that little predicament in the first place.
You mean the attempt on your life?
Yes. Somebody wanted me dead, and I wasn't entirely sure why. Whatever the reason, they kidnapped me, brought me to a lake, and intended on drowning me in it. The burning sensation filling my lungs, how heavy I felt from the added weight of water collecting in my body, and the abyss swallowing me as the lights go out. The strangest part is I know I died. Out of body experience, floating above myself, watching as my once flailing limbs just hovered in the water, and the group responsible standing over me. Then Blacklight showed up.
Is this the iteration known as Alex Mercer?
Yeah. Thing is, Mercer died in Penn Station. The virus took his body and became sentient a few hours later. It had none of his memories, and it didn't know what or who it was, or what was going on. Believed it had amnesia due to the change it went through. It wasn't until a week later that it finally figured out that Mercer died, and it was just wearing him like a skin suit to blend in. Makes sense why they called him Zeus. The Greek God known for taking the form of others in order to trick them. Though, I'm pretty sure his brothers could do that to if the need arised.
Why did they call you Poseidon?
Well, to answer that I suppose I should just continue my story.
June 20th 2009 Lake Ontario, Canada
Watching myself drown was the first of many things I never expected to see in my life. Out of all that has happened however, it was the most believable. Countless reports of out of body experiences during near death experiences make it feasible that your brain does something to you that changes your perception of reality when in your final moments. I even half expected to float off somewhere, drifting away from my mortal bonds and winding up... well I was never quite sure where. Not that religious. Not to say I'm not spiritual in anyway, but I don't worship anything, but hey, after what I've seen, I can tell you either God or the gods or whatever you believe, is/are pieces of shit or they don't exist. Either way, I'd rather not focus on it too much given my circumstances.
As I was saying, I wasn't expecting to see myself drown, but what Mercer did when it showed up was... well I don't know that you can say it saved my life. He tried though. I watched him come in, knock out the people that killed me from an eagle eye view. It made it so that I didn't see a man come flying in to help me, but just a hooded figure with uncanny and unnatural movement and agility. It was so fast. At first I wasn't sure why he was getting involved, but then he pulled my naked body out of the water. He left my left arm and leg somewhat submerged, and I only found out this was done on purpose afterwards.
It then proceeded to shift it's form. I was understandably at a loss about what I was seeing. I mean, I had just been drowned for unclear reasons, I ended up floating above my murder scene watching it all go down, and now I was seeing this guy I thought was trying to save my life, shape shift his arm into some mass of black tendrils that dug into my body, which I could still feel by the way. Needless to say it wasn't pleasant. Clinically I was dead, but my will refused to let go and some how, my body was registering the pain, the sensation, of worms burrowing into my carcass. Mercer theorizes that I wasn't actually feeling those sensations as they were happening, but I was on some kind of delay, and what I was experiencing was a memory before gaining consciousness. Either way, I felt my body shift and change, the water that was inside of me merging with whatever he was doing to me, and as it turned out, that would have an effect on how I differed from Mercer and the others. But that comes after I wake up.
I felt my body get pulled, like I had rope tied around me, and it yanked me in a direction I wasn't expecting. I was being pulled away from myself, and this is why I think I'm dead, and not really here, because I was sent to space, I saw the Earth, the Sun, the entirety of the Sol system, the Milky Way, and sent to the edge of the galaxy before snapping to the centre. Utter darkness, then blinding light. That's when I woke up.
My eyes opened to a sunrise. Dawn had approached, hours had passed, and I was awake. That weird burning sensation from when I drowned was still lingering, but not overwhelming like it was in the moment. I briefly wondered if I was going to live that reminder of what happened forever, before my thoughts were interrupted by my "Saviour".
"You're finally awake." Strange, his voice was low, calm, and yet still intense. It was the first thing I heard. Not birds, nor any other animal or person, it was him... it.
For a second I forgot where I was and how I got there, but then my memories flooded back to me in a panic I leapt to my feet. Not realizing I just obtained enhanced physical abilities, I launch myself into the air about five feet from my prone position lakeside, and nearly propel myself into a tree. I miss the oak, and land hard... but it doesn't hurt. I was bewildered, and nearly forgot that somebody had just addressed my return to consciousness.
"What the fuck is happening to me!" I was scared, in the middle of nowhere having allegedly survived an attempt on my life and now I was capable of moving in ways normal people couldn't.
"Relax. Everything will be okay." I spin on my heel and standing ten feet from me is the hooded figure I remember seeing from the night before. The rising sun was behind him, slightly obscured by trees, the sky painted an orange tinge, but still dark, or rather, normally dark for normal people. For now I was capable of seeing pretty well in that dim light. In fact, I felt my eyes adjusting continuously to make up for the lack of luminescence, and then adjust more as it got brighter out.
I couldn't make out his face that well, but I could see the bottom of his mouth and his chin. He was in a black leather jacket with white stripes, a dark grey hoodie, white dress shirt with the collar popped, dark blue jeans and dark brown loafers. I remember thinking that if he thought he was being inconspicuous he was fooling himself.
"Who... or, what are you? What... what did you do to me?" Though I couldn't clearly see his face I could tell by his body language that he went from being somewhat relaxed to slightly tense.
"Interesting. You were dead, but somehow you remember. Tell me, who are you?" The man had his hands in his jacket pockets for the entire exchange until this moment. He pulled them out and I could see he had them clenched.
"I asked you first, bud." I take a step back, placing myself in a stance familiar from kickboxing. I didn't want to fight, but I was unsure about what was going to happen next. I didn't lift my hands, and I tried to make it look like I was just shifting weight casually, but he seemed to notice.
"No need to be hostile..." He took a moment to contemplate something before speaking again. "... My name is... Alex. As for your question about what I am, definitely not human. I'll elaborate on that further after you've answered my question. Who are you? Do you remember?" I seemed to be more urgent about the matter now. I wasn't sure why, but he clearly had a vested interest in my memories. Understandable given what I was about to find out about him.
"I'm Derek, and yeah, I remember who I am. Not particularly interested in giving you my life story however. What are you? What did you do to me?" He didn't react to my answer or my questions. He simply just stood there, staring at me. Seconds felt like hours under his gaze. I would have just run for the hills, but I knew I wouldn't get any real answers for a long while if I did. Besides, despite how unnerving his was, my instincts told me he wasn't posing a threat, though I could tell he was dangerous.
"That's complicated. Short answer, science experiment gone wrong. As for what I did to you. Well, I decided to give you a second chance."
"You mind elaborating? I feel like I've got the time to hear the long complicated answer." He chuckles a bit at this, first sign of being capable of something other than stoic resolve.
"Sure, but why don't I show you what you can do before I get into the story of how I came to be this way." I wasn't sure what his game plan was at this point, but I decided to play along if it meant I could figure out what I had become, and why he decided to get involved.
"Okay."
"Excellent. First, let me show you how to gather information from people trying to kill you."
"What? Like torture?" He shook his head, his obscured face only revealing the frown his mouth had shaped into.
"No. Unfortunately, it's less pleasant than that." I was taken aback slightly by his remark, figuring him now to be some kind of psychopath that enjoys inflicting pain on others. Though, somehow, I had this feeling it was something else. "Here, let's grab this asshole."
Mercer beckoned me over to where the unconscious group was, grabbing the man that had watched from behind them as I was held underwater. I felt a flair of rage enter my body and I had this desire to kill... consume. I was frightened however, for I had just imagined eating a person, wishing to destroy them entirely as payback for what they did to me.
"Don't be afraid. Just, try to keep your anger in check. Also, don't freak out, but I'm about to show you how to assimilate the biomass and memories of a person."
"I'm sorry. WHAT did you just say?" He sighed, as he lifted the unconscious bastard with one arm fully outstretched. He didn't show any signs of struggling with his weight. To Mercer, this guy may as well have been a rag doll that he could throw around. I was amazed at his strength, and wondered if I was capable of the same, or if I was weaker.
I didn't get a chance to ask the question however before the black sleeve of Mercer's jacket start to writhe and shimmer. I watched as black veins... or tendrils, of fleshy consistency began to glide over his form, until his arm was covered entirely in it, and then they solidified into an arm that looked completely alien, inhuman, that had itself wrapped around the man. He lifted his left arm and waved his hand, encouraging me to come closer.
"We have the unique ability to manipulate our cells on the molecular level. Honestly, the only limit you really have is imagination. That, and it's easier to take the form of somebody you consume than it is to make up your own."
"Why's that?" I step closer to him and his left arm shifts as well, making the same tentacle looking arm with an alien hand at the end. I had half a mind to step away, but I could see his eyes now, they were almost too blue to be natural. Pale blue specifically. He puts his hand on my shoulder as he continues to explain.
"Basically, consuming somebody isn't just eating them. You are taking their genetic make up and re-writing it so you can repurpose it for future use. When you consume them, you become them. You get their memories, their mannerisms, their skills, muscle memory, you name it. You aren't limited by height or weight, sex, none of it. You can make yourself a perfect replica, and even live their lives if you wished. Though, I'd question why you would if you chose to." I look at my hands, before looking to the guy he is holding up with his hand. He starts to come to and looks around.
I can see the fear enter his eyes, and as he tries to scream, without looking, Alex clenches tight on his throat. Silencing the man, more of the writhing mass is produced from his arm and it started to burrow into him the same way it did me. The only difference is I could see the horrified look of anguish on the man's face. Good.
"How does this work exactly?" Alex sighs. The same black tendrils leaves the arm that's holding my shoulder and enters my body. There is a slight pinching feeling, but it dissipates almost immediately. I can feel my form shifting to make way for the worms that are digging through me. Suddenly, from my chest, I see and feel the same tendrils pop out and begin making their way to the older man. Alex speaks as my appendages makes contact, describing the process that I can feel happening.
"This power was achieved through becoming infected with the Blacklight Virus. After infection, the virus "plugs in" and activates the 'junk' DNA in its victim, resulting in several biological changes that create (and recreate) sentience within the infected creature's cellular makeup. It acts by affecting the protein encoding regions of the promoter introns in each cell. As a retrovirus, it contains both RNA and the reverse transcriptase enzyme, allowing it to insert its own genetic codes into the host's cells. It enters, re-purposes and changes the cell, replicating previously dormant non-coding segments of the organism's DNA." Given that I wasn't a scientist, I barely understood anything Alex said.
"I'm sorry, can you pretend I'm dumb as bricks when explaining this stuff?" He smiled and nodded his head at my bewilderment.
"Basically, recessive genes, or traits that you could have had but don't, get activated. You are about to experience something impossible. It's jarring, and can be a lot to take in, and definitely isn't that pleasant." The black arms that sprouted from my chest and were infecting the man in front of me were now pulling him towards me. If I understood anything Alex said, it was that I was basically infecting this guy to make him malleable to my needs.
"Wait, what's the worst thing about this?" Right before the man is fully pulled into my body, the horror on his face, the flesh being split and more and more tendrils forming around him as he is assimilated, Alex gives me a sorrowful look.
"Every time I close my eyes, I see the memories of a thousand men screaming as I take their lives. Moments I, and now you, will relive forever." Dread filled my heart, if I still had one at this point, as I anxiously waited for the process to finish.
The mans body, or what was left of it, was pulled into my form, and when he was fully submerged into my body, I surprisingly didn't grow in size or get wider. I could feel that somehow my cells, his now being included as my cells, were somehow condensing themselves, to allow me to remain relatively the same size. The only difference was I seemed to shrink a bit, and my body was now forming the clothes he was wearing, and I could see my skin go from slightly pale and youthful, to a bit saggy and pallid. I was literally becoming him. I took his shape... and then his memories flooded my mind.
There was a dull pain, like blunt flat object was slammed against my head, and my hands flew up to hold my skull, as if I was going to alleviate the pressure I was feeling while watching the bastard live his life, from childhood to adulthood.
Everything, conscious memory, repressed memories, anything he experienced I could see. From birth to death. He liked hockey as a kid, was going to get a scholarship but messed up his knee, so he turned to his cousin's. They got him an in with the family, and he quickly rose in ranks to becoming a captain, running things for his Uncle. Salvatore Estacado. Head of the Giovanni Family in Toronto. His name was Georgie Giordano. Cunning bastard, smart, tactical, knew how people ticked. The scrawny puke made up for his lack of brawn with his wit, and despite only being 5'6 with virtually no muscle, he was still a deadly shot, and ruthless.
I watch his memories as Sal gives the order to take me out. Apparently, the two men I took out at the bar two nights ago were higher up enforcers for Estacado's part of the criminal organization, one of them even being a childhood friend. I put the one they call Bruno The Bear into a coma with a bar stool after he put hands on a girl, too which his friend, Tommy The Ear, didn't like. He tried to take hit me with a haymaker sucker punch but I weaved out of the way, and the girl was standing right behind me. He ended up knocking some teeth out, and I lost it. Crippling the guy. All of it was reported by that snot nosed Jackie Barone. Too much of a coward to fight me so he started throwing around Estacado's name like we were in a fucking movie.
Needless to say, Estacado and Georgie weren't happy.
"I want this mother fucker dead. You hear me! Nobody does that to our boys and gets away with it!" A resounding roar of agreement from his men rang out as Estacado finished his speech. They all started filing out of the room, looking to be the first to find me, and Georgie was told to stay behind for a moment.
"Georgie. I need you to make an example of this fucker. After you kill him, take something of his, and leave it on that bitches doorstep. Let her know that this is what happens to those that think they can fuck with the Giovanni."
"Yeah, you got it Boss."
"I mean it Georgie. We've spent too long building this business of ours. My father and my grandfather would disown me if we don't do something about this." Georgie looks at Sal, seeing for the first time a hint of desperation in his eyes. Rival families and the Russians were trying to move in on his territory, so looking weak now is a death sentence.
"Boss, I'll make him scream for mercy, cry for his mother, and make sure he's found in that river. Offically, drowned while skinny dipping, but everybody who witnessed that fight will know it was us, and they won't fuck with us again." Sal gave an approving nod, thanking his nephew, before sending him off.
They were ordered to make me suffer, and use Lake Ontario to make it look like I went skinny dipping and drowned by accident. So, they put drugs in my system, stripped me down, and took me to the lake and held me under. Of course, breaking his promise about making me scream, due to the fact they wanted to leave as little evidence as possible of foul play. Me being drugged kept me from fighting back too much, but I still flailed a bit, and felt the pain.
I watched through his eyes as his men held me under. He was smoking a cigarette the entire time. He didn't take any pleasure in my death, but he felt a sense of pride in accomplishing what he was set out to do. Ruthless, calculated. The next thing he sees is Alex come out of the treeline, pummelling him and his men, before blacking out. Then he comes to, and he sees himself being held aloft by Alex. His arm is warped and strange, he thinks he's seeing things at first, but then he sees my naked form standing there, with my long curly black hair, hazel eyes, and full short beard, looking at him, and back to Alex, asking questions. He hears us talking about what we can do as he sees Alex's arm shift and change, which makes him want to scream. I can feel Alex's hand, smooth, but not slimey like I expected, and definitely warmer then I would have believed. This is where I want to stop, but can't.
I watch as the tendrils go into my body, and I then produce tentacles from my chest, that plunge into Georgie. Unlike how it was only a slight pinch for me, it was painful beyond measure for Georgie. It felt like he was being stabbed through with something thick, and as the virus began to flood his body, everything started to feel like he was being immolated from the inside out. It also started to feel like he was being torn a part on such a miniscule level that he couldn't really register it correctly, and at a some point the pain became to much, making him lose all sense of feeling, or maybe that was the virus. Then, all he saw at the end, while begging to die or lose consciousness before making contact with me, was my mixed expression of horror and rage. Then everything went dark, and my vision blurs as light returns to my eyes and I shake my head of the experience I just had.
I nearly collapsed, but kept my footing through sheer will. Alex had let go of me at some point, and I noticed that I was wearing the guys clothes, and could swear I was shorter then before. Then, without even trying to, my body shifted, that black mass with red flecks dotted along each writhing appendage shifts from my body, covering me for a mere moment before they retreat to reveal my naked form once again. I definitely grew back to my normal height of 5'10.
"What the fuck! I... I just watched myself eat me, I mean him... That... that was a nightmare." Alex nodded his head in understanding.
"You don't know the half of it." He gestured to the rest of the people lying unconscious still. "We should clean up here. If you wish, you can take that guys form, pretend that you are him, now that you know everything he does and can act like him perfectly, use it as a way to get into their ranks unnoticed, and destroy them from the inside, or, just kill them. Consume them or don't it doesn't matter, but if you don't consume them, understand you're leaving a trail of bodies that can be used to track you."
"Can we slow down for a second. This is a lot..." Alex nodded again, indicating he understood.
"Take you time." I did. I was taking in the fact that even though I should have been hyperventilating over how overwhelmed I just was by all of this, I no longer needed to breathe. Testing this out I "held" my breath to see how long I could go without air. Turned out I didn't need it anymore at all.
Looking at myself, I was still the same body shape, average really, nothing athletically to marvel at nor sculpted for modelling purposes. I was just an average Joe. Which I was fine with. Especially taking into account that my modest appearance can help me blend in. Slightly on the slimmer side nobody would assume that I could now pick up a man that weighed 150lbs with one fully outstretched arm like I was picking up a 30lb weight at the gym.
"I can manipulate the cells in my on the molecular level, even down to replicating clothes? That... is so strange."
"Yes, well, technically clothes are made of some organic material if not 100% organic. Your body can break down the non-organic stuff and disperse it whenever in small unnoticeable particles." I was stunned by the capabilities I've seen so far, and I wasn't even aware yet of just how much I was capable of.
"So, basically if his coat wasn't mostly cotton or linen or leather, or whatever, now that my body knows what those materials are like on the cellular level, I can make clothing out of that material on my person at will. Shift it as I see fit, changing it's texture and what have you." Alex smiled at me, seemingly enjoying the fact that I was catching on quickly.
"Basically. You're a fast learner." Amazingly, I wasn't, at least not when it came to the sitting still academic methods of teaching/learning. I had to read and physically get my hands on things to normally understand and learn. This transformation however, seemed to change more than just my body, but my mental faculties.
Deciding to test out my shape shifting abilities I begin to focus on shaping clothes on my body, and sure enough, the wriggling mass crawls over my body and forms clothes. I inspect how I'm dressed and pleased with the results.
Much like my viral mentor, I had shaped black, slim fit jeans, with side pockets on the thighs, a pair of black Bruno Marc's laced combat boots with a side zipper, a buttoned up solid black shirt with burgandy and black plaid edges, meaning the placket where the buttons sit, the inside of the edge of the sleeves, and the collar are plaid. Over top of that is a dark saddle brown, leather jacket with a zipper that goes all the way up to the collar, which would cover my mouth if closed, and a leather hoodie with draw strings around the outside of the collar. There was a breast pocket on each side, with a zipper over both. The standard jacket pockets at the bottom of the jacket were present as well. Felt my left ear, still feeling my small silver earring there, and left my hair loose for the time being. I did toy with the ability to shift it into any kind of ponytail as well as the various hair lengths at will, same with my beard. Clean shaven, stubble, long, and set it all back to what I had it to the day before.
I started to touch the material of my clothing to inspect if I can pass for wearing actual clothes. Feeling the material, I could tell that even though the texture is that of actual clothing made from similar materials, I could feel my hand rubbing my jacket like I was rubbing my skin. I was astonished to say the least.
"This is pretty cool. Never have to spend time going out to get clothes and picking what to wear again. I can change on the fly. Take that overpriced clothing brands." Alex seemed to just stand by and let me enjoy my new shape shifting abilities for the moment. I couldn't get a read on how he was feeling about this whole situation, and still wondered about why he seemed surprised that I could remember who I was. As interesting as that mystery is however, I needed to know more about what I am and what I am capable of.
"Am I immune to disease now? What about mental illness?" Alex crossed his arms at this query. He thought about it for a moment before answering.
"I can answer for certain that getting sick isn't really in our foreseeable future. I have been infected with a genetically engineered parasite before, but got a virologist to help me get rid of it. Outside of that, we won't contract human diseases, develop cancer, or catch a cold or flu. As for mental health? Well, we are commonly referred to as runners. There have been others before you and I that... well I would say went mad, but may have just been more natural instinct like an animal rather then actual insanity. So, I can't say for certain about mental health. I will say, that those memories can become a burden if you indulge too much, but you need to balance your need to consume with your mental stability. If you want to continue to survive, if you end up losing too much of your biomass, then you need to consume biological material to replace it. It's up to you how you manage that." That didn't sound too promising. His warning was delivered with an even stoicism, no real urgency in his words. He was so uncanny, it made me realize that his claim that he wasn't human was a drastic understatement. Maybe now was the time to question him about our existence, and why he thought I wouldn't remember who I was.
"So... am I really me? Or am I essentially just a Blacklight clone? A walking sentient virus? You seemed to be surprised by my recollection of last night." Alex looked away from me, hiding his eyes once more, his mouth fixed into a frown. I wasn't certain he even knew for sure.
"Let's move these people into their van if you aren't going to kill them, and I'll tell you a brief version of the outbreak that happened last month in New York."