Alex's eyes turned dark, not even the white of them being seen as they had turned real dark to the point anyone could have said that there was no eyeballs in his eyesockets.
He however did not stand up or do anything to confront Havoc as Alex did the hard thing he had to do.
Lucy had suffered a terrible strike. He had nothing to heal such an injury. Not with all the knowledge of the world could he saved her without the needed materials or resources. Even less in a battlefield.
As she squirmed in pain but with no energy to fuel such efforts, Lucy simply moved in a way that told him... She would die.
He thought about the solution again and this time in a truly worried fashion, conflicted to be brought to this extreme.
He could never do that...
'I shouldn't... No matter...' one part of his mind fought the idea
'she will die-! Stop thinking and do something-!' he yelled to his other half.
'I will literally ruin her life if she-!?'
'You will never see her if you let the grim reaper take her-!!! Stop thinking and save her-! SAVE HER DUMBASS-!!!'
With that, his mind was made up.
'yeah... You're right... She will not die-! I will not let her-! SHE WILL NOT DIE-! NO MATTER WHAT-!!!' Alex flexed his fists and gleamed a perilous grin, peeling his teeth as he salivated with anger and glared at the thing behind Lucy. His arms still retained the musclemass and flexed them as he choose to do the impossible.
It was a hard shot and a miracle he was asking... But at this moment he was praying for one as by consuming those evolved beings he focused the RNA of the blacklight and all the other genes of those he had consumed alongside what he had inside to unify it into one strand type in his right arm. Slowly the entire arm liquified and like an oil vat churned black blood as well as stained the ground below as he aimed to Lucy.
"I'm sorry-! But I will try everything to have you here with me-! Now-!" He yelled and aimed to Lucy's abdomen.
He then fired his arm and went through her body the opposite way of how the viral weapon rod had pierced her. This of course made Lucy cough up blood as his arm stained her wound and slowly ebbed that black liquid into the injury.
His hand almost came out through the hole of her left kidney but what came out was that black tar like substance that burst out and covers the hole. Alex emotionally hurt removed his arm with tears in his eyes as he took out his arm and saw the liquid parch the wound up with that black substance as well as Lucy retched blood to the sky, before falling down and going unconscious.
Alex stood over her and saw that her bleeding has stopped and her wound was sealed by that ability he had done.
This was uncertain to Alex as he has never tried this... But hoped with all his heart that it will do what he planned...
The wound of hers ebbed, even glowed with that orange hue of viral presence as it began to recede to the insides of her body. He hoped with everything he had that it will work.
Havoc observed this and he was shocked to see that "eeeh?? So you put her out of that misery? Well can't say that was peaceful but I guess killing someone isn't clean no matter how you do it. Don't worry. I'll bury what remains of your bodies together... In a desolate place."
Alex walked to Havoc as he saw that he was no longer tall. He possessed his giant tentacle but something told him that he was at his limit. He bet he couldn't even use those tendril things.
At the same time, Mercer coughed and felt so weak as he could no longer activate his viral vision, incapable to sense anything else but what he saw and at close proximity. He could see that Havoc's heartbeat had slowed to a uncommon pace and that his blood was not circulating as it should as he too was bleeding out. With his eyes alone he could see this guy was leaking everywhere even as his flesh tried to mend the broken and torn flesh.
He no longer had the Blackwatch armor at all and has his entire upper torso exposed to reveal the malformed skin scabs that burst ever so often. His eyes also told the story that this was the last battle he would be in. They were red in the irises... Yet rh sclera was grey mixed with the white by now, fighting to keep the ability of his going.
"I'm going to murder you... Like I have never done any other. Havoc." Alex said as he was beat and had a miniscule reserver but a megaton of rage within him as he formed his claws. This was his most trusted power and even if it used more than musclemass to keep up, he will output everything to keep his claws as he was proven wrong by Havoc.
The bastard pulled back his right giant arm tentacle and now both arms were tendrils, as he shot a mass of flesh his way as he jumped out of reach to be behind him as Havoc twisted around.
"You better... Because I will do the same. You will wish you never had dropped that vial to steal the virus of so much hard earned work. Work we sacrificed plenty to obtain." Havoc spat back, actually spitting to the side a red glob that had fragments and uprooted teeth.
The two stared each other down and posed the best they could even as it hurt to do even that, shaking in place as Alex swung his claws to the side and Havoc aimed his tendrils in front of him with one arm restrained back as the other was pushed forward in an offense stance as the prototype looked to the eyes of Havoc.
Weak and faltering in health he was, but not in resolve. This crazy bastard would prefer to die before being killed by him and end his mission. He wanted... No... He believed that killing them and ushering a new age of humanity is the answer. Alex knew he must not fall here or ever. Not until Blackwatch and Gentek are stopped. He will defend what he has and never run away again.
"This is the end" Mercer said, his last words before going to fight till one of them dies.
"... Yeah. I agree in that sentiment. Now what remains is... Who is the 'end' for-?" Havoc said as both, without holding back, jumped to meet each other in the air.
Alex dived arms first in a claw pounce lunge as Havoc swung his arms back and slammed his tendrils to the ground to propel himself into Mercer as he opted to give one hell of a headbutt.
Both struck each other as Alex cut his chest with a double swipe as he got head struck right in the forehead, throwing Alex back as he caught himself before bouncing off the burned road. He stuck his claws in the road and was pushed with such force he cracked the ground, the uneven rubble raised itself and formed a platform for Alex as he jumped with a twirl. He crouched as his viral vision sparked for a second to show a momentary view of what was around him.
He looked up in a flash and slashed upwards as he saw tendrils come his way, catching them and cutting the limbs that almost slammed into him. The cut tendrils and parried parts however did hit around him and activate to form those ghastly connections, pulling rubble into Alex's direction as he jumped high.
However as he did Havoc shot his left hand to wrap his reforming tendrils into him and swung him down to slam the prototype hard as then he landed on him with a swift jump slide, riding Alex like a snowboard and down the road across to even destroy a small building.
They came out the back as Havoc flipped, hooking his foot to Alex's skull as he sent him upwards to then land below in a squat.
Mercer rerouted himself in the air and glided away as he felt pieces of his skin had been ripped off. His claws became chipped and broke off in places as he fixed himself, seething in smoke as he knew this won't keep up. Certain parts of his body were okay as well some of the abilities he possessed but he knew this was going to curtail on him.
He looked behind him, doing a backwards gaze as he saw Havoc had opted to swing from the nearby burning or smoking structures, arm by arm coming closer as he noticed that even though this was showing his strength, at the same time it was causing him to bleed from his mouth, eyes, and tendrils that exuded the white and red blood to stain the ground below.
"GHUAAAH-! MEEERRRCERRRRRR-!!!" he roared as Alex dived down a heavy thick smoke that was from burning things that still did not smother.
Havoc was blind as he stopped short, not foolish enough to go in were he knew Alex could gain an advantage.
The smoke blew towards his way regardless as shifts and movements swirled the already opaque scenery to be a dreadful opportunity to strike Havoc.
Havoc knew this could be his end so he quickly opted to clear everything now. He spun around, waving his giant tentacle arm as he made a powerful cyclone and did not stop as he saw the smoke curling away and upwards. Alex kept running around and began to claw his enemy in hidden intervals, aiming to that tentacle as the risk of doing that move became apparent.
Mercer would cut or outright remove pieces off that tentacle which would spill blood and damage the enemy. Havoc roared and swung faster in an attempt to get rid of Alex but the prototype kept on coming. He dashed and jumped to be near the tentacle even if the speed of said appendage was enough to knock him to the walls of nearby buildings or across the streets as he no longer cared.
He could hang on enough. What he was doing against him however Alex bet Havoc could not withstand for long. This was his end.
Alex set out his assault, going all out.
"I WILL NEVER LET YOU LIVE AFTER WHAT YOU HAVE DONE-! DIIIIEEEEE-!!!" Mercer yelled as he began to increase his speed.
Havoc then felt a massive cut as Alex stacked both hands over each other and made five deep cuts that began to cleave that limb off. The tentacle almost fell off as he spun one more time and he could hear the squelching muscles and tissue as well as the sparking of blood showered off the wounds.
"TCCHHH-! WHAT I HAVE DONE IS NECESSARY AND I WILL SEE IT THROUGH MERCER-!!" Havoc spat blood as he detransformed his tentacle and now formed both hands into tendrils. Alex felt his claws whine in a metallic clang after that attack but still they held on tight. The sergeant then swung his arms and unleashed the flesh that stretched far and wide.
Alex jumped out of the way as he saw that it hit some debris behind him and even extended well beyond what he thought was the limit as he ran in a down scale off a wall 'damn him-! This is it! Do not get hit and finish him!' Mercer told himself as his eyes shined red for a moment as he ran far away, doing a mad sprint essentially to look like a shadow crossing the sunlight. Havoc was confused at that but as he almost went to follow him, he stopped as he felt that something was awry. That's when he got an idea as he saw that even though there was clearly obstacles in the way and Alex would essentially have to run back to fight him, he saw that this was also a window of opportunity to strike him once and for all.
Alex hit a dead end of rubble to what seemed a mess of buildings and the last remnants of burning materials. He spun around as he slid to the ground to almost hit his body flat on the floor but hooked his hands and feet to the earth as he inhumanly stopped himself in a improvised pushup, pushing himself upwards as he skid awkwardly to fix himself and do a sprinter starting line stance.
Havoc saw this and recalled his arms to then fire the tendrils straight at him "You will NEVER beat me Mercer-!!! This is the end to you and that wench-! GRRHRRRAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!"
Alex flexed his back muscles to the greatest extent, running the risk of even outstretching them, as he kicked off. He broke the rubble and turned off any of the last remaining flames behind him that fluttered cold.
Mercer ran and fixed his claws as they shined with blood as well as showed cracks in them. He then began to cut what had been thrown his way.
He cut the first strand of tendrils then went for the next, slicing the extended flesh to ribbons as he dodged out of the way. He ran over a car, then an overturned piece of building, crossed over another rubble piece to break through the already shattered windows to finally end near a demolished tank.
He jumped dive over it as the tendrils laid waste, connecting to all the structures he had dodged to cause a pandemonium of damage as the tendrils caused the black hole like ability to drag everything to collided into itself. It was crazy and admiral to see how Alex would dodge as his eyes no longer resembled the ones Havoc saw in him in the beginning. No. These were the eyes of someone who saw somethng he had to kill.
Havoc was shocked but he did not falter as all he had to do was hit him once. So he launched a barrage of tendrils, not stopping even if he felt like he would burst blood from his body like some sack of flesh. Yet he knew that one more struggle against him would mean death. Failure. He would die trying to achieve the next evolution of humanity's progression to perfection.
His eyes shed blood as they healed, the pressure of his anger making him huff and exhaled in rage "DIE ALREAAADDDYYYYY! YOU TEDIOUS AND INSUFFERABLE BASTARD!!!" Havoc proclaimed and swung even faster. Alex took cover behind a good piece of rubble and felt the tendrils began to tie things up, explosions of the infected flesh blasting things through the forceful entanglements as he focused on the speed of those strikes.
Alex made a certain beat or pace from those strikes as he predicted that they would lessen more and more.
He heard the thrashing of those tendrils to them click to a pattern in mind. He heard the last of the rubble he was hiding in crumple like paper as he dashed out and ran a straight line to him.
Alex didn't ponder to dodge anymore and jumped, slashing the air to pose in the claw pounce all the way.
"HHHAAAAAAAAGHHHHHH!!!" Alex yelled with the upmost of his strengths as he feared that a tendril of his would deal the final blow but he gave it his all in this gamble as he hoped his claws would hold on for long and give him victory.
Havoc swung for the last time, sending both tendrils to hyper extend and hit the prototype mid-air. He was sure this was Alex's end as there was no way his tendrils would be cut in one move. All the injuries and weakness that he could see told him that he was going to win.
But wishing and predicting are always uncertain. Reality and action are the only things that are truly certain as those who do these decide what will happen.
The tendrils spread wide and we're about to snare the prototype but his disbelief came when Mercer swiped his claws as he poo usher the tendrils and was able to cut the viral weapons. Alex heard the whisp of the air flowing across his face as well as the liquifying sound of blood as he was tainted with it. Yet he was not stopped. Alex flew right through them and each passing moment, Havoc was forced to see the reality of this battle.
Had he use his mutated giant tentacle, he might have won. But he used his tendrils, cockily believing the threads of flesh would be able to kill him off. He was wrong.
Alex was now. A couple of feet from reaching him as Havoc had no other option but receive that attack. The last part however was unreal as Alex successfully destroyed the tendril attack and swiped past his body as his arms were both cut off with a clean massive cut that left him with stumps then had ten claw marks on his torso up to the neck but his face was left untouched.
It was like a slap of water, so quick and unnoticeable until one feels the liquid itself. In Havoc's case he felt that the liquid was his blood.
Soon enough he fell to his knees in a slow cringing manner as he could not stop his fall. He vomited the last of his biomass and blood that showed this was the end of his viral immortality.
Havoc was forced to stare catatonically at the space before him before he decided to look upwards.
"... Sir... I have failed you... Ccghh... Pllggaahhh!" Havoc spat again before Alex began to move again. He stood up and flex his body as he felt like he would die too. Never had he pushed himself so far to be this injured. He felt human even.
He however turned around as he felt the searing pain of his hands. He raised then with a painful tick as he looked that even though his claws had done their job, they all fell apart like rusted blades. Alex coughed black pleghm but did not give in to fall to his face. He walked to Havoc as he no longer had blood to let out.
The ground was covered in that white and red goo all around him as Alex now stood in front of him and both felt the cold air.
Alex said nothing at first as he opted to put on his last viral weapon, forming his fists normally to then reshaped them to make the musclemass fists.
His body cracked and Alex almost fell to one knee but he stopped his legs from mid curling to stand tall. His nose bled as Alex noticed he could barely see too. But he could see the face of defeat in Havoc as his eyes then showed the world in a fading grey color with red.
Havoc got out of the shock and gave his last words as Alex focused his last punch in him. His right fist formed a mass of a new strain as he was too angry that he could not form even his Whipfist or Hammerfists. Doing a Devastator was truly out of the question.
He hated this so he would try a last attack as he felt his body had changed and formed a new power... Even though small he hoped he would kill him as he deserves.
"... Damn you... Yet... You truly are the apex. In this vast and new food chain... You stand at it's top. Enjoy it while it lasts... Mercer..."
With that Havoc spaced out again as Alex hit him right in the face as his fist had changed from the black coloration of his musclemass to the red swirling veins that seemed to stick and enter the flesh of his face. Havoc almost fell over but like a ragdoll be stayed up as his spine swung his head back to stay in a weak balance.
Havoc did not scream or oppose it as he accepted his loss with bittersweet disdain as his face contorted by the fist, then had red veins cross or sprout from it then his whole body began to change as well. He then burst into a pile of tendrils as Alex did not expect that and was caught in the blast of this small detonation. A power that Alex had obtained but yet did no name here.
Tentacles sprouted much like how tendrils do and attached to random rubble around to then bring it back as Alex was not able to react as he sensed the danger. Havoc was essentially squished and detonated that knocked Alex backwards and high in the sky as he flapped without control to then fall face first.
Bloodied and broken, Alex fell hard and felt the last of his energies give out. He helplessly tried to keep his eyes open as his head was messed up, literally split in two like a watermelon and biomass plus blood leaking out. Alex tried to move but even flicking his eyes seemed to hurt his very soul.
"...n... No... no... B... Body... St-stand..." He commanded as he had nothing.
He tried to even stand up in a push up but no finger of his obeyed him. He tried to roar or do something to get him pumping but he realized that even pain was no longer with him. He however snapped his eyes open wide as he had one thought that truly worried him.
"... L... l... l... lucy... L-... love you..." He said with extreme lethargy and pain before he coughed and his mind just stopped working. He went limp and was out cold.
⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫
Colonel Braham saw that the chip in Havoc had gone dark and thus with that he also saw his hopes become dust as now from Satellite images he saw that Project Zeus and Project Athena might both be dead by the time he tried to get there.
He huffed in defeat but planned to pick up what was left of them. However he had to make sure every single one of them was dead. Then he would send a recovery team.
"Alas... Project Zeus. Aptly named after the god that rules all of the other gods, in our case infected beings, with his supreme and in undeniable power. Project Athena, named after the goddess that would give her knowledge to humanity to further them to become better... In her case what she was itself was the greatest gift. It showed the next evolutionary step for mankind from a more natural and less destructive or chaotic standpoint compared to the Prototype. Both are down. Well... Humanity will not fall like them. Thus... I order this."
From the chair he was and looked at all of this, he stared to the staff all around him awaiting for orders.
"I order an Airstrike on that site. Make everything into a parking lot, and make sure nothing is left. It does not matter if you destroy their bodies... Pick the remains. Our scientists will sort that out. Turn off all vigilance and await till we send out the crew to wipe them out. That is all." He commanded as his staff and machinery all responded and began to make the order
"Striker 1-1. Orders are set. Demolition set. All units fly with Striker 1-1 and clear the target, over." A speaker sounded as a lady made the call.
"Command, This is Striker 1-1. All units preparing to gear up and set out to give payload. One hour till sit-rep and becoming airborne, Over" The pilot said as from the other end of the given order his team was ready and at the base, getting all the preparations done.
☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️
Alex woke up as a cold wind woke him up. He had been out not for long.
His head was still split as he now had some more energy. Upon waking up, his body naturally reformed his head and now he stood up in his knees still feeling like shit.
He didn't say a thing as his vision was still in critical form and all he saw was the greyish tone across the landscape.
As if of miracle and chance that were too great to be true, Alex stood up and a couple of meters down he saw that Lucy was there.
Alex gave a sigh of relief and went to find her as he coughed blood but now was managing to take steps. The steps were fast as in a moment of panic, Alex gave it his best and was able to reach her even if he had to stretch over or weave from the retched battlefield as he then slumped down and fell to his left side to see Lucy.
He bled a bit and spat more blood as he smiled goofily.
"Lu... lu.. Lucy. I am here... See...?" He called to her as to his disbelief... He saw that now Lucy had a more lively tone of skin.
She was okay!
Alex cried in that moment. It was nothing like normal tears as he bled crimson with black and some specks of yellow. But he did as he raised an arm to brush her cheek and fix her hair to see her calm and at ease expression.
He was more uplifted as he saw that her eyes twitched even when still closed and she slightly moved her head.
She then smiled as Alex did so creepily, overjoyed and filled with high spirits.
"... Gha... Lucy... My... Lucy. You are fine... You will be... Always." He murmured as he wanted to see those eyes of hers open.
That's when he heard a wishing sound, high in the clouds. Something was flying in and by the sound alone, Alex felt the eyes of death staring him down.
He curled over and hugged his girlfriend, being together.
This was all he could do. He had nothing.
He bit his lip but hugged her as he did not want to leave her alone. He didn't want to nor would.
"It-... It's okay. Baby. I am... Here... They won't separate us. I will..." Alex said as the sounds of jets now was more hearable. It rocked the skies and removed all the peace that once was.
He cringed in pain and fear as he did not want anything else to hurt her.
He shed tears of shame and hatred to himself that he could do nothing more.
Then he heard a faint but strong whistle of the air.
A missile.
Alex closed his eyes and hugged her with the strength he had left.
He had nothing more to say as then Alex braced for the end.
However what shocked him was that an explosion did ring. But not in the land. In the very air.
He then heard more whistling then the sounds of more explosions. All in the air.
Alex opened his eyes and tried to look up but the flash of fire and his low visibility could not make anything out. Then again and again.
That's when he noticed that some jets may have remained but now the sound of their turbines was becoming farther away. They left!
Alex was as so astounded he stood up and then saw something over by a mile on this open plain. He saw a missile carrier that had activated and shot all the missiles. The Jets had been shot down. He thought that it was the end but it turned out that someone helped them!
That's when he heard all the former ruckus became nothing and then footsteps could be heard.
Very very close.
He stood very upright and tried to summon any of his powers but nothing worked. He raised his fist in futility as he saw the shape of a shadowy figure there. He couldn't make sense of it.
He let it get closer as the walk was slow but it was hurried to get to him. He saw no silhouette of a weapon in that figure so he suspected it might be coming close to fight him in close combat.
However he was cut off guard as the shadowy figure held a small square in its hand and threw it to him.
Alex was able to see this and caught the square before it hit him. He held it in his hand and saw that it was a remote controller of the missile carrier that had shot down the jets.
He looked from the object back to the figure and now it was so close he could clearly make it out.
"Sheesh. Those bastards really are annoying! Good thing that they can take care of their things and leave it all in the battlefield. On the other side of the nation you were huh? Well, you look like they dropped enough bombs on you to destroy Manhattan. But it's so good to see you again... Brother!"
The figure was a woman with short hair and ragged clothes. The face however was unmistakable.
Alex got sentimental and he fell to his knees as he recognized it in a flash.
"... D... D... Dana-!" He yelled, as then from the shock and weakness he again fell but this time unconscious as Diana caught him in her arms and looked at him then Lucy behind him.
"Aah brother! Dammit you need a whole army to heal this! Don't worry I will get you two out of here!" Dana Mercer said as she had a transport nearby. She also left the missile carrier active, to make those Blackwatch idiots think the carrier had more missiles to dispense and the risk of getting blown out of the sky would give her the time to save his injured brother and friend.
"Stay with me Alex! And you too, girl!" She yelled as she carried her brother and began to walk him over to her vehicle.