123Yo! 123GOHANZ here with another fic. This time it's a full fledge crossover between Prototype and Mass Effect. I got not much words to say, so let's do this!
Alex rushed as he tried to attach the nuclear device on the transport chopper. He cursed upon realizing he had less than a few minutes to get the nuke as far from Manhattan as possible. Fortunately for him the Reagan was already abandoned so there was no marine or Blackwatch left to hinder him. Not like they'd be stupid enough to shoot him while he was holding a bomb that could wipe them all out and the island.
Finally attaching the bomb, he quickly climbed into the cockpit. After doing a quick pre-flight check, Mercer was ready to operate the vehicle. Rotors spun rapidly and the helicopter rose. Pushing the pilot stick forward, the machine rode off towards the ocean, the darkness shrouding the transport vehicle. Mercer could practically hear every single tick the clock made despite the loud hum of the rotors and it made him more in a hurry to drop the bomb off a soon as possible.
"This is as good of a place as any." Alex thought to himself, believing he was sufficiently far away from the city. He released the chain that was holding the nuke thus dropping it into the ocean. He reared his helicopter back and flew as fast as possible from drop point.
Suddenly he felt his helicopter lurch violently and could hear the roar of the bomb.
"SHIT!" Alex cursed, realizing he was caught in the explosion.
Suddenly there was pain. Excruciating pain. Nothing could compare to what he was currently feeling, regardless of how brief it was. He FELT his body was being reduced to ashes. He let out a scream but he could not hear it, the roar of the nuke drowning out everything.
There was nothingness. He couldn't see, couldn't hear, hell he couldn't even feel anything. Was he dead? Did he finally meet his end in a form of humanity's greatest weapon? He should've been worried, after all, every single organism feared death. Yet here he was strangely relieved. As if a great weight, like a few Tanks worth, was lifted off his shoulders. Was it because he's been fighting for so long? It may have only been two weeks, but almost every second of his considerably short life was either spent stopping the infection or hunting down Blackwatch officers in hopes of finding the truth. Or was it because it required a freaking nuke to kill him that made him relieved? If there was anything more impressive than needing a nuke to kill you, then Alex didn't know what that was.
He would've contemplated more about his life until he felt a nudge. Something was pulling at him. And that something brought out a strange need to consume. He tried to ignore it. Another nudge and the need grew stronger. Then another. And another.
Primal instinct took over as he finally lashed out. He could feel himself being rebuilt. Every tendril that danced around his body, all of biomass that shifted to recreate his form. It was a feeling all to familiar to Alex. It was a feeling that was usually associated to when he assimilated biomass. The darkness faded, his reconstructed eyes now allowing him to see the world once more. He didn't even need to think to understand what happened. The nuke failed to kill him. That brought out a snort from the shape shifting virus.
"Looks like I was wrong. Surviving a nuke far more impressive than dying from it." He told himself as he stuffed his hands into his pocket. He looked around and noticed the dozens of infected and non-infected corpses. The distant sound of gunfire and occasional roar of a HUNTER brought his thoughts back to his task at hand. "I may have broken the infection's back, but it appears my work isn't done."
With a weary sigh, he walked off towards the ruined city to end all the chaos he and his creator began.
It's been almost two weeks since Operation Firebreak and the infection was all but destroyed. Despite his obvious attempts to help the marines, and by extension Blackwatch(the thought nearly made him gag), American forces were still persistent in their attempts to kill him. However that didn't damper the psychopathic virus' mood. His work was finally done. A feeling of contentedness washed over him. After almost a month of constant fighting, it was over. His mission was complete.
He looked at the ruined New York Skyline. The hazy red that occurred during the infection was nowhere insight instead a clear blue sky was all that could be seen. Few of the towering skyscrapers had some holes in them, probably from when helicopters shot at him while he ran up their sides, and the occasional plume of smoke could be seen far off in the distance. If one were to disregard those two, most would've never thought that the city underwent a viral outbreak from hell. But any New Yorker would've noticed the change. The streets were virtually empty save for the brave few who ventured out from their home(which was now safe, Alex saw to destruction of every infected in the city) and the previously roaring nightlife became eerily silent. The city was dead...but he still lives.
A petite young girl huddled herself closer to her makeshift fire more as the cold hard breeze of winter brushed by. She shivered violently when the fires faded from the wind. Despite her young age the girl cursed.
"Damn it..." she muttered between her teeth. She looked around. There were a few people walking the empty streets, although most were of the lower class of society. "Fuck...no one will help me..."
She paused when she felt a hand gently rest on her head. She looked up to see a weirdly dressed man. His dark leather jacket covering another one which was brown in color, both of which layered on top of his partially unbuttoned shirt. The slightly ruined hood's shadow obscured her view of his face although she could make out the cool silvery blue eyes. They radiated a certainty of death, to the point the small girl almost thought she was looking at death itself. Yet it had a warm look to them.
"Here, take this." He tossed a chip at her. She barely caught the item due to fatigue. She was able to catch what he tossed and examined it. In her small palm laid an Alliance System chip. It was worth 1000 credits, enough for a month's worth of food.
"Thanks mister...?" She looked up to find that he was gone.
Jane M. Shepard woke up from her slumber. Heavy eyes made returning sleep oh so tempting, but the Captain of the Normandy had other duties to attend to; particularly the one about saving the Galaxy. The slightly stressed woman shuffled slowly towards the cabin's restroom.
A splash of cold water brought her senses back. She stared at her reflection. A crop of messy crimon hair rested on her head. She had a slightly angular face with a fairly small nose but having lush lips. Sapphire eyes met sapphire eyes as she continued to look at her reflection. Another splash.
"Come on Jane. Stop thinking about the past. You don't even know the guy's name..." She muttered to herself.
Wiping away the excess water with a towel she made her way to her console. Upon activation multiple alerts went off to catch her attention, most of which were from The Illusive Man. Messages from the Illusive Man meant dossiers. Dossiers meant more people for the mission.
Archangel didn't gather her attention and so did Solus. Not much use for a biotech weapons expert for now and a mercenary, greatly skilled or not, was not what she needed either. Jack and Okeer were clearly the best people to go to first. Jack would be simple enough, after all he's in captivity and The Illusive Man essentially "bailed" him out. Okeer was certainly different. Having a number of Blue Sun mercenaries as protection would definitely be troublesome to deal with...but he was a Krogan. A skilled and smart one too, unlike the majority of it's breed.
Another alert. A new dossier.
"Huh? A new one? Let's see here..."
[Classified Information]
ZEUS
-Stealth specialist
-Explosive Weapons expert
-Weapons expert
-Combat Armor operator
-Air craft operator
Small amounts of information available about subject. Resides in New York Zero, USA, Earth. Has been known to combat entire squads of special forces accompanied by heavy armor/air support on his lonesome. Extremely dangerous, but acquiring ZEUS would certainly be an aid in the fight against the Collectors.
Well that got her attention. She could handle a few guys on her own, but entire squads? Of special forces nonetheless? And with heavy armor? Who the hell takes armor head on? That were far cry from the mercenaries or slavers she was accustomed to fighting. And the name ZEUS...it resinated in her mind. She'd heard it before, not about the Greek god mind you, but an urban myth she heard during her days at Earth as an orphan. They say ZEUS was a monster who'd eat bad kids, but she never believed those stories.
Jane hummed as she thought of her next plans. She stared deeply at the monitor infront of her as if her next decision would very well end the galaxy.
"Time to see if the ZEUS fellow is real." Having made her mind, the formerly dead Allaince soldier commed her pilot. "Joker, set course for Earth."
[Copy that commander...may I ask why?] came the voice of 'Joker'.
"We're going to recruit someone. Goes by the name ZEUS."
[Like the God or the monster?]
"...I hope it's the God..."
Done! Yes, I know this is short as hell and it pretty much copies the basic idea of Hyliian's Consuming Direct Control but there are obvious differences.
1) Mercer is joining right after the 2nd mission of the game of ME2
2) He stayed on Earth.
3) People don't know exactly what/who he is, but stories of demented creatures haven't left the ruined city of New York. And he's the most reknown one. So info about him won't always be true until he makes himself known.
Now to point out things that'll make this different: my interpretation of Alex and the history of Prototype.
My Alex isn't a gun-ho psychopath who kills people just because. That's something Mercer from the Manhattan Outbreak would do, but 200+ year old Mercer who's been stuck on Manhattan on his own accord? No. Doesn't mean he's not scary as hell. Piss him off and I guarantee you everything within his field of vision is gonna die(unless you're an ally...maybe). We can't have him not be intimidating, right? That's part of his charm!
Also the Mass Effect universe is going to be slightly affected by the events of Prototype. You may have noticed I said "New York Zero" instead of "New York City". That's one of the few subtle changes I plan to add.
Review/follow this and please provide support! Prototype was a fun game with a background that was truly interestng. Too bad interest in it declined after the second failed to provide the same sense of mystery of the first and out right butchered a character with so much potential. So I'm doing my best to keep that interest alive by providing a fic that you may just like :D
Ask any question if you have any!
Have a great day, 123GOHANZ OUT!
Ps: If you're having a hard time picturing FEM! Shep, look up Dana Mercer from Prototype 2(search for the colored version of the picture!) and just imagine the hair red...if you know anything about Prototype fanon, Alex cares about his sister greatly...