This was written as a backstory piece for a character account I have for Delta over on livejournal, but I liked it enough to put it here. Whether I'll do anything else with it remains to be seen.

-Nir

"Back again so soon, Delta?"

The modified turret hovered in front of him, its violent running lights making dizzy patterns in the air. Alex had certainly wasted no time constructing another after Delta had destroyed the first.

"No, no, don't bother explaining. I heard the announcement. We all did. Shame you're out of the job, now, but that's the way things work sometimes."

Delta could only gaze dolefully at the single bloodshot eye on the turret's screen. Alex was insane, but he was clever. Maybe he had already worked out what Delta was here for. Returning to Fontaine Futuristics had not presented as much of a challenge as it had the first time. The Family no longer had any reason to attack him. Their savior had come, and her protector was powerless to reverse her awakening. He was dying, slowly, and with the knowledge that he'd failed. Just as Lamb would have it.

"Say, you don't look quite as perky as I remember. Broken bond getting you down?" The tone was facetious, almost singsong. Delta growled, but any weight the threat might've held was negated by the fact that he could only stand with the support of the wall next to him. Alex tsked. "Epsilon! Theta!" He shrieked suddenly, the turret whirling away from Delta. "I know you're nearby! I have trackers installed in all your suits! Stop lollygagging and come assist your coworker!"

Two pairs of hands took Delta by the arms. His fellow defunct Alphas. Only a handful of them must remain after the carnage of several hours earlier. How long would it be before he was like them? Just a few miles further down the road to madness. The one on his right stood lopsided, hunched from the weight of its suit, its breath gurgling wetly in its chest. Its grip on Deltas' arm was tight, but its fingers trembled. Somehow this same dying shell had once run at him, frenzied and full of bloodlust that it couldn't comprehend.

"Well, well, well…" The huge water tank cast a bloodred glow over the tarnished machinery. Alex pressed his face to the glass, peering down at the trio of Alphas. "I certainly hope you aren't expecting any sort of praise, laddo. You let me live when you could have cooked me like a strip of bacon, yes, but you've destroyed thousands of dollars worth of equipment and slaughtered a good portion of my workforce. Now you find yourself strapped to the electric chair, this time at my mercy…" He trailed his fingers down the glass, carving a line into the reddish algae that coated the inside of the tank. "But you were always such a good employee, and you'd be no use to me dead. What do you say to a massive injection of little Eleanor's pheromones? We could whip up such a thing, if we really had to, but it might do little more than buy you time. You're already a hopeless addict. It would only be adding more on top of the ADAM you already need to function. Do you wish to live like that, Delta?"

Delta pulled away from the other Alphas' grip, managing to stand under his own power long enough to bow his head in the mutant's direction. It would be difficult, he knew, and he would most likely never see Eleanor again, but as long as he was living, he still had a chance.

Behind the glass, Alex grinned, baring his jagged teeth. "Well then, Delta, I do believe we have a deal."