Oh my god, I'm so sorry about that huge delay. Life has a tendency to get hectic. Also, I got nervous since people really like this, and I start to freak out about if my chapters will be good or not; I don't want to disappoint you guys, but when I worry that much, my writing goes down sometimes.

If anyone wants to Beta this for me, please, please let me know. I'd really appreciate it.

Sorry, one last thing. There's two of you who favorited the story that almost gave me a heart attack. I'm talking to you Dimension Distorter (love A Shocking Experience) and YahBoyParagon (love A Light After The Dark) :D Do you know how cool it is to see two of my favorite authors favorite my story?

Sorry, on to the story now.

On the roof of a six story building, Alex dangled his legs off the edge, watching the fight ensue below. That kid, Delsin, was duking it out with a ton of D.U.P after he destroyed a mobile communication center and absorbed a blue energy from the wreckage. Alex yawned at the unspectacular battle. Hardly any explosions, no choppers, no tanks, no anything that the virus could deem exciting. The only slightly interesting thing was when a heavy soldier came with a minigun that Alex was slightly envious of.

Maybe he could steal it later...

Bzzzt! Bzzzt! Bzz- Alex fished the smartphone from his pocket and brought it to his ear to be greeted happily by Dana. "Hey Alex! I want to let you know that I've sent you the updated GPS to your phone. All of the camera locations and D.U.P comm. centers. But some of the cameras I couldn't get the exact location for, just the general. I've sent you a hack that'll let you hack into the cameras so you can see out of them, hopefully that'll be enough."

Alex looked on his screen and sure enough, there was a notification that he received something. "Thanks Dana. Also, I think you should know that I've found a free conduit."

"A free conduit?"

Alex saw Delsin running down the road, a horde of D.U.P chasing him. "Yeah, I'm looking at him right now. The kid's being chased by at least fifty D.U.P."

"What has he done?"

"He destroyed a D.U.P communication center; took down a considerably large amount of D.U.P in the process." The conduit in question dashed through an air vent, appearing on a roof a far ways away from the D.U.P and Alex.

"How did he take out the D.U.P?"

Alex quirked a brow. "How? Well, I saw him kill a lot, but he did comply to surrenders."

Dana hummed in thought. "Keep an eye on him to be safe. I hate saying this, but if he turns out to be a problem...he'll be have to be... you know."

"I had the same thought. He starts to become counter productive, I'll kill him."

Dana was quiet. "Just... Stay safe Alex," she murmured. "Bye."

"Wait! Dana, I-" The call ending cut him off. Alex sighed, dropping his phone into his lap.

Perhaps he shouldn't have outright and crudely voiced what she was implying. Pretty much, he threw it right in her face. He knew that she didn't like ordering the death of a person, most normal people wouldn't. But he wasn't normal, far from it and he was fine with death.

Great job, Alex. You're a fantastic brother.

And now he made his only family mad at him. Or was it disappointment? Sadness?

He was never that good at reading feelings, or socializing or anything that included interacting with humans.

He'll make it up to her, but maybe he should give her space; things between them have been strained for awhile. When Dana had awakened from her coma three months ago, she instantly started shooting him with questions, wanting desperately to know what happened. She pressured him so much that he had no choice but to tell her the real story. To say the least, she was scared of the fact that her sociopath brother has been dead the whole time and has been replaced by a virus who thinks of her as a sister. Learning about his habits and needsdidn't help much either.

Just recently she was able to be in the same room with him without being all twitchy and nervous.

Didn't she know that it hurt him to see her like that? The accusing, scared look cast at him was the only thing in the world that could wound him.

Alex shook his head, keeping himself from going down that road. She just needs more time to deal with her problems, and while he waited for her to do so, he would get to work. Maybe getting good, positive results would make her feel better.

There is one thing that he must do first though. "I need my hood back," he muttered. Wearing just a button up shirt with dress pants wasn't what he liked, there was no hood to help him block out the rest of the world, and they weren't intimidating enough to let people know that he didn't want anything to do with them.

It's time to change his wardrobe, but of course he couldn't go back to his original outfit, there was always the chance someone might recognize the leather jacket, hood and four collars. But the hood stays.

He placed his phone on the cement roof so it wouldn't be damaged as he changed form. He stood, thinking of what he should make. What would go with a hood that's more intimidating than a leather jacket? After some time of thinking, he let the tendrils of his body writhe (he made sure no cameras were around) forming into different shapes, colors and textures. Less than a second later his Seattle apparel appeared.

A dark gray hoodie appeared, the large hood shadowing his face. Over it formed a pitch black trench coat that swayed lightly in the wind; he kept it open with a popped collar and the tribal design on the back changed for red, bone like wings and the white bands on his arms were the same, except they didn't reach all the way around the arms. A red scarf coiled around his neck, taking the place of his collars. Black fingerless gloves encased his hands. Dark blue jeans and red running shoes formed, and to finish it off, he reformed his original face, Alex Mercer. He felt that no other face should bear his title as a monster, for he was the true one and wasn't going to hide behind someone else.

He flexed his arms and hands, feeling how well the 'clothes' fit. They felt fine, and they definitely fit with the cold and dreary Seattle.

He picked up his phone, opening the GPS, and stepped to the edge of the roof. A small hop left him plummeting down to the alley below; his coat fanned out as it caught air. With a change of mass, he hit the pavement gracefully with only the sound of rustling clothing.

A quick glance at the screen told him where the nearest camera was and he set out.

…

Withing the hour, Alex had most of the cameras destroyed in a few neighboring districts. Currently, he was searching for something else to do, since he wasn't one to stay idle for long.

As he had been traversing the city, Alex noted that it wasn't as big as Manhattan, which meant that it was harder to lose enemies in.

But he didn't let that stop him; he was built to adapt. Running through most of the districts had given him the chance to commit most of the areas to memory.

Alex stopped running along the rooftops when the acrid smell of smoke assaulted his nostrils. Noticing that it was coming from an alley, Alex decided for once to check on one of the scenes. He peered down from the roof, his keen eyes taking in every detail.

Along the walls and ground were scorch marks and a smoky haze still wafted through the air. A destroyed communication center sat at the end. Next to the smoking machine lay a single D.U.P who had smoke swirling around him, keeping him pinned face first to the cold cement. He was still alive, and Alex could hear him muttering very colorful profanity towards a certain smoke conduit.

A cruel smile formed on Alex's face, knowing a good opportunity when he sees it.

He vaulted over the roof's edge and landed next to the destroyed communication center. A quick glance at the alley's opening told him that no one was going to see the events that were going to transpire next. He sauntered over to the subdued D.U.P, who didn't notice the virus's presence until he was almost right next to him.

"So you came to finish me off," said the D.U.P, his voice muffled by the ground. Alex's grin only grew wider in response. "Is this why you subdue us? Just so you can come back later to kill us slowly?"

Alex's cold laugh drifted through the smokey alley. "Sorry, but I'm not Mr. Goody Goody." Transforming his arm into his blade, he flipped the agent over using the flat end. Now they faced each other and the D.U.P came to realize that this wasn't the conduit he was cursing earlier.

Even though he couldn't see his eyes through his mask, Alex could feel him staring at the blade resting by his side. "Another conduit is loose?" said the agent incredulously.

Alex put a foot on the agent's armored chest, and with little effort started to cave it in slowly. "Don't rope me in with them."

The man started to gasp for oxygen as his lungs were being slowly compressed. "But, y-youre-

Alex thwacked him upside the head with his blade. "You know what? I have no idea why I've let you live this long." Alex knew though. Having not seem much action in a long time had really started to build up a thirst for destruction inside him. And now, it has started to leak out in the form of toying with his prey.

"W-wait! You want something, right?"

"I need information."

The agent let out a sigh of relief, thinking for some reason that he was off the hook. "If you let up, I'll tell you as much as I can. Was never a big fan of this job anyway."

Alex slightly lessened the weight on the agent's chest, whom which took in a large gulp of air.

"Mind if I validate your information?"

"What do you m- Oh God wai-

'Squelch!'

Alex's blade sunk into the man's chest, easily gliding through armor, bone and organs; blood spurted out like a fountain, coating Alex's black coat in a red sheen. Tendrils spewed from the blade, eagerly plunging through flesh as Alex's grin only grew wider.

Oh how long it's been...

The agent let out one final cry before he was consumed and cast into oblivion; just like all the others unfortunate enough to meet the virus.

Alex transformed his arm back, as well as absorbing the blood off his coat, and made sure that no trace of the event was left behind. Not a bloodstain, nor any article of clothing to mark the death of the man. Alex turned away and jumped gracefully onto the roof again, a smirk replacing his grin.

And no one will ever know.

Alex traveled around the rooftops until he found a rather quiet part of Seattle. He sat, perched on a ten story building. He closed his eyes, shifting through his newly acquired memories.

Skipping through the uninteresting life of the man who Alex didn't bother to learn the name of, he came across a few juicy bits of information. First off, the agent, seconds prior to his death, was going to lie to him about the information. Alex had guessed at the time that this would happen. The dumb D.U.P thought he could lure him to a D.U.P filled area where they knew they could detain him.

Pfft, yeah right.

Looking passed that, Alex wasn't able to find much that he wanted. Apparently, the D.U.P grunts don't know too much; all he was able to gather was that the Space Needle was a major communications center. Alex wasn't too disappointed about the lack of knowledge; this one bit of info will enable him to deal a major blow to the D.U.P.

Something wet landed on his nose. Cracking open an eye, Alex found the sky darkening and the smell of cold rain on the wind. He grunted and stood up, retreating under a nearby canopy.

He had time to go the Space Needle later...

Sorry it it's not as good. Again, I got very nervous about the story...

Betas?