Me: Yo. I'm finally done with my second chap, and I'm hoping its better than before.

Cro: Pfft… doubt it.

Me: Well…on that note…read on…

Cro: R&R please.

Prototype

Chapter Two

Dana?

I broke into a run, dodging their bullets with little effort, and sliced through a grunt's bulletproof vest, into his flesh. And all without even breaking stride.

That's when I realized, there were red dots all over me. Snipers, I thought. But , naturally, I was able to dodge most of the bullets with ease, a few grazed my skin, nothing major.

Unfortunately, I did the idiotic thing and toyed with the rest of the soldiers. Some cut to pieces, others smashed to bits. In hindsight, I often wonder where that insanity came from, and I hope to God that it was from the virus.

As soon as the last soldier was good and dead, I heard the whirring of a very large vehicle…a tank to be exact…not only that but a chopper was right behind it.

"Crap…" I smacked my forehead with my now normal hand. "How could I be such a moron…"

I braced myself, stimulating the virus in me, a shield forming on my left elbow.

The tank did just what tanks do: shoot giant freaking balls of metal or whatever ,at me. Just as it hit I flicked the shield of biomass towards the building on the tank's right. Thankfully, my plan succeeded…the building crashed down on the tanked, trapping it under a load of rubble.

Thinking fast, I dashed at the tank before the impact of the giant rocks and steel rods, and jumped, directly onto the soon to be pile of debris, and used the force of the impact to my advantage. I landed directly on the choppers landing gear, and used my shield to crash through the glass.

"Aaaaaugh!!!" The pilot screamed, letting go of the controls in terror.

I willed the shield to become a claw and so it did. Quick as a flash, I ripped through the man…right at that moment, something unexpected happened. I felt my body absorbing this man, changing. I could feel my bones, my muscle, my innards, all rearranging themselves. For less than half a second I felt pain…not horrible pain…but pain is pain, isn't it? In my minds eye I saw rows of soldiers, a picture of me, heard the barking voice of a drill sergeant.

His…memories?

I chuckled…I still can't decide…is this virus a curse? Or a blessing?...

I snapped back to reality, feeling very sleepy all of a sudden. A voice in the back of my head told me to jump off the helicopter as soon as possible, but for some reason I decided to look around the copter and guess what I found?

I looked through the folder in my hands…and I slowly realized, it was about the virus, and most importantly…about me…

Subject NO. 11

Alex Mercer

Race: Caucasian

Sex: M

Age: 29

Height: 6' 2"

Known Living Relatives: Sister-Dana Mercer

People Connected to Subject: Karen Parker

Subject Information: Ale- Me---r. Infe-t--. Pre—ous-- a sc---i-- -- GENTEK.

…GENTEK? Damn…the letters are smudged… And who is this, Karen Parker…and my sister… Dana?...It has an address…hm.

But the folder had another file.

Subject NO. 10

Elizabeth Greene

Race: Caucasian

Sex: F

Age: Unknown

Height: 5' 3"

Known Living Relatives: None.

People Connected to Subject: None.

Subject Information: Inf—t-d. S—i-y in qu-sti--.

Elizabeth Greene… maybe there's another of me?

Still deep in thought, I leaped from the plane and headed off to Dana's address.

Dana's home was in one of the few safe places in the city…a relatively small noninfected and heavily militarized zone. I went under the cloak of night, and knocked on the door. The wood splintered slightly and I could hear footsteps, not to mention the clatter of something made of metal.

"Who is it and what do you want?" A harsh voice from behind the door said.

"Dana Mercer?" I asked, assuming the form (and voice) of the pilot I'd killed only a matter of hours ago.

There was no reply. I knocked again, a bit more forceful than I'd intended. Three things happened at once. First, the door was knocked of its hinges. Second, I found myself looking into the angry eyes of my younger sister, a gun pressed to my chest. And third, the event made me lose my concentration, causing me to revert to my own body.

"A-a… Alex!?" The girl, obviously Dana, exclaimed. "But they told me you were dead, or infected!"

"Well I am infected…" I showed her a finger, turning it into a smaller than normal claw. "And I may as well be dead…"

For a moment she couldn't speak, her face giving away her thoughts. I saw fear, awe and relief, all at once.

"Wait…what do you mean by "you may as well be dead?" She asked with shock n her voice.

I chuckled with no real humor. This'll take a while…

"I lost my memories, Dana." I said bitterly. "I woke up, about a month ago, on an operating board or whatever they're called. I was about to get sliced open, and when the doctors saw I was alive they ran like they'd seen the devil."

They may as well have…

"So I guess this isn't our happy family reunion, huh?" She said sadly.

"No. Not yet."

"I expect you want information then."

"It would be nice to know what's going on here, so yes."

She pointed towards a back room. "Follow me."

As we entered the room, I saw some very high-tech equipment strewn about the floors.

"Wow. Nice stuff."

"It's pretty old by comparison of what the government guys have, but it gets the job done." She shrugged.

She flipped a switch on the monitor, and the machine whirred to life.

She questioned me for a while, getting the stuff around the room to start up as well. I told her everything I could, leaving out the gory bits.

"Alright then bro, what do ya' need?" She sat down on a swivel chair, facing me, curiosity shining in her dark eyes.

"Well, for starters I want to know about the virus. What it does exactly, where it came from, and whatever else you've got." I sat down on a four legged stool and looked to the computer, as if staring at it would help me get my answers quicker.

Dana began typing a bunch of numbers and letters into the screen. I understood nothing of it, but, apparently it worked. I saw her eyes widen in confusion. It was a while before she spoke, her voice suddenly quieter.

"This virus has been released before, and it took a while to clean up…"

I stood up, surprised to hear this.

"Where?" I asked, my voice not nearly as serious as I felt at the moment.

"Well, in 1969 the government tested this virus, "Blacklight". It took place in… Hope, Idaho."

"So it was the government's fault… hmph… can't say I expected that, but that really is typical." I said, disgusted.

"Well, it doesn't stop there. The only survivor of the virus, Elizabeth Greene, was being held not too far from here. She escaped only about a week ago. And I bet she'll be looking for you, Alex."

Great…juuuust great. I've got the government, the infected and now some other superhuman freak on my ass…

A short distance away, a woman smiled to herself.

"I found you… Alex…"