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Prototype: Rebirth

Chapter 6: The Limits Of Evolution and Morality

Summary:

After many lies and revelations, Zander must finally decide what to do with his emotions and who he can trust.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

This time, he couldn't sleep.

 

Although well, it's not that he was trying with effort, or even interested in doing it, not when he still had in his head everything that happened before, lying on the couch and silent while looking at the ceiling, or pretending to do it if his eyes were exposed and not under the skin. His thoughts focused on many things, the Soldier, that "Hunter" who according to Alex must have been "extinct", the mere fact that under him there could be hundreds of infected, waiting for the right moment to go out and devour everything in his path.

 

But what I thought most about was having consumed a man.

 

Until now he had only consumed Blackwatch Soldiers, and to a lesser extent Infected, but thinking that he killed someone who had nothing to do with it caused an intense pain in his head and his stomach turning, of guilt. A guilt that only increased when he was forced to relive some of his memories, his story; a man who, incredibly, survived like Manhattan, but with nothing to live for after that terrible experience, being one more on the streets of the city and who for some reason could not leave there no matter how much he wanted to.

 

Only so that later he would come and end his life.

 

Having seen a fraction of his life, a part of him tried to convince himself that perhaps that had been the best, as that annoying voice in his head told him, it had only taken him out of his suffering, and he would stop thinking about it if he did not ask himself the following.

 

Did he have the right to decide who lives and who dies with his unnatural power?

 

Those doubts only made him remember Alex's most recent words engraved in his memory.

 

"Listen to me well boy, being weak will not help you to move forward and know what you want, you must finish off your enemies without mercy!"

 

That had only made his doubts rise about him, since all he could know about what was happening and what happened was because of Alex.

 

But now the question was... Could I really trust him?

 

"¿Do you really think that if Alex wasn't trustworthy, he wouldn't have saved you in the first place?"

 

And as if there were not enough problems, the insensitive voice inside him came to cause me more doubts than calm.

 

"I believe it considering that he is not telling me everything and that it seems to be too much... Off so to speak"

 

"¿I mean, do you think that telling you things little by little because you're not ready yet, along with being someone determined, insensitive and direct with things is a bad thing?"

 

"... That's not the point, you tell me that I can't trust others because they are very reserved with me and they don't tell me much either ¿But Alex does something similar but do you want me to continue to trust him?"

 

His answer only caused a deep silence that lasted a couple of seconds, which was only broken by a loud growl that made him cover his ears by instinct, which was of little use because it came inside his head.

 

"You know what? Do what you want, I try to help you the best I can, but you make it very difficult for me with your childish attitude"

 

And only after those words, he only felt a strange emptiness in his head, which seemed to indicate that for now he was not there, but it did not take away that it felt quite strange.

 

"At least warn in advance before," The boy replied, even knowing that he would not get any answer, and then continued lying on the couch.

 

The point reached when he lost track of the time in which he had stayed there without further ado, only moving from one side to the other slightly until he decided to sit in his place, with his body "asleep" in a certain way, something that only softened when he felt how the light outside gave his body, indicating that the light was already coming out outside again. Even so, he stayed in his place for a long time, until suddenly, and leaving what was his room, Tadeo appeared, who noticed him immediately, letting out a sigh while running his hand over his face as a reaction.

 

"Agh...¿Where had you been?" I asked the Boy with some tiredness, but wanting the answer now.

 

Something that for the first time, Zander hesitated to give.

 

From his current perspective, if almost all the people he knew did not tell him the truth or hid certain things from him to a certain extent, what prevented him from doing it too?

 

"Well... Over there" Hercules replied simply, something that dismayed the boy who processed it for several seconds, to which he put his hand back on his forehead.

 

"Seriously, you were outside for a whole day, not knowing anything about yourself. And you only answer that there?" He questioned Tadeo with annoyance, which unexpectedly brought out the worst side of the superhuman.

 

"And what does it matter to you?" Zander said out loud, something that made Tadeo startled by his state, along with a brief silence that only continued with the infected "Look, maybe I only have in a few days of what they call... Life, but do you think I'm ignorant enough to know how uncomfortable this is being?"

 

Those words only made the boy's mind collapse, trying to say something about it by opening his mouth several times, only so that nothing came out and it only seemed that he had been mute. He was taken out of his state when he heard a sound behind him, that it was enough for him to turn around to see that it was Paul, wearing a grayish long-sleeved shirt, watching both of them in silence before speaking.

 

"Guys, it's a little early to argue, luckily for you, I see that John still has the sleep of a bear thanks to stress" commented the black-haired man, ending with a sarcastic tone and a slight laugh, but when he saw that it had no effect on both, to which he coughed slightly "Look, you should mainly rest, for your part Zander, better follow me"

 

"But-"

 

"Let's not start Tad, unless they want John to join us in the conversation," Paul added categorically, with another brief thoughtful silence in the place.

 

"In that case, I have no objection" Hercules admitted without problems, getting up from his place and walking towards the door, being followed shortly after by Paul, who gave Tadeo a light slap on the shoulder, who stood still in his place before letting out a sigh and sitting in the nearest chair there was, rubbing his forehead frustrated.



 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

At this point, Rooks' patience was filling up more than usual.

 

By the time the outbreak was happening in Manhattan, he was assigned to Fort Kendrick, not knowing much about what happened due to the "secrecy" around the situation, it was not until he learned of the nuclear explosion in the ocean that he discovered that the situation was more serious than what he had been told. Shortly after, and under the command of the new General, he was one of the many assigned to lead a counteroffensive in New York, settling discreetly to ensure the eradication of all traces of the virus, and also the search for the number one enemy of the Blackwatch.

 

Alex Mercer, or "Zeus" as its name.

 

Since he had been informed of its existence, he only had to read his file and the reports given during the outbreak, and on the one hand, an experienced virologist, the leader of Blacklight at that time with a complicated past according to some sources, and on the other hand... A monster, who killed both soldiers and infected people equally during the Manhattan outbreak. There was never anything that assured Alex's "death" during the nuclear explosion, but what he did know was that it was the only recorded case of a human subject who had perfectly adapted to the so-called "Blacklight Virus".

 

Which with the existence of Hercules, turned out to be a lie.

 

And that's why now since that day he had tried to contact the General directly to ask for explanations about it, which were either ignored or he was very busy, although the last thing he knew could perfectly be one more lie in the chain. And after what had been several vain attempts to contact him, finally the screen of his computer lit up saying "video call", to which I immediately const.

 

"Colonel Rooks, I imagine that your insistence is due to recent events" The man on the screen said calmly, with much of his face crossed out in black, due to the "security" measures that were implemented from Manhattan.

 

"As far as I knew, the priority was to exterminate Zeus and the other supposed even worse cases, and now I find out that all this time they have been trying to replicate something like them, along with the fact that he has escaped and it is another problem" The Colonel said with annoyance, to which he only received a brief sigh as an answer initially.

 

"You know perfectly well that everyone has their priorities Rooks; yours is to keep the infection at bay in New York, and Gentek's is to study the virus for the benefits of our country, believe me that in my experience it is normal that these... Accidents occur" admitted the General maintaining his tone, ending with some sorrow in his voice, but that was not enough for the opposite.

 

"I understand my directives perfectly, sir. But how can I comply with them if I don't have the means, and it is added that those little brains make it even more difficult because of their strange science experiments?" He seriously questioned Rooks, something that took time again to get an answer.

 

"Colonel, I don't need you to get in the way of my work, just do yours, when the time comes, you will get what you need to exterminate most of the infection, without it ending like the other time and thanks to our "brains" ¿Do you understand?" The man from the screen said flatly, to which finally the opposite agreed with a nod "Well, for now just take care of everything keep working for now, and as much as you don't want to, I need Dr. Fento and Dr. Koenig to stay alive with extreme importance"

 

And after that last order, the call was cut off, leaving the Colonel again with his thoughts now with the conversation in mind, more specifically with the last one. He always tried to stay away from the "scientific" part of the association between Blackwatch and Gentek, yes, I knew that Fento was not a big problem beyond his paranoid delusions that gave more alarm since the escape of the new subject.

 

But Dr. Koenig, it was a very different case.



 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

"No, no, please, no!"

 

"¿Hey, is something wrong with you?" Paul asked curiously, sitting on the edge of the roof of the building drinking an energy drink, taking the boy out of the memory that tormented him and he just shook his head "You know, although it hasn't been long since we met, you seem... Quieter than usual"

 

"Just... I'm trying to get used to this, it's not serious" Zander replied with relucence, something the opposite thought of while taking a slight sip of his drink.

 

"I would swallow it... If it weren't for the fact that I'm not the average fool and you disappeared for almost a whole day ¿So will you say it or will I have to insist?" He calmly insisted as he took another energy drink out of his backpack and approached Zander, who resisted answering by biting his lips, or trying to do it because of how he looked. "Do you want? Helps maintain energy”

 

Hercules thought about it for a few moments, since he had barely drunk, if he counted the rancid water that he had swallowed several times by accident, even so... Trust was faltering the truth. But even with that, he preferred to take it, and after opening it unexpectedly without much effort opening it completely, then he began to take it with extreme care, to prevent everything from being wasted in the can.

 

"You know, I think it would make you better get some rest, you seem to have been through too many things" Paul commented while watching him from top to bottom of how he was.

 

"No, no... I can't stop now, it will be for another time" Hercules protested immediately, while suddenly drinking all the drink in one gulp and throwing it away without hesitation" Has something else interesting happened?"

 

"Since that mess you made that night, as I heard they prefer to stay still until I know what their next step will be, but there is something else that can help you with your... Skills" The boy answered as he approached the thrown can and took it to put it away, something that the opposite looked at with strangeness "Hey, let it be the Apocalypse is not an excuse to throw things around, except my house but that's... Another story"

 

"Okay... What I have to do would involve... pretending to be someone else?" Zander questioned with some doubts about it.

 

"More or less, the Blackwatch has some trucks out there that have Blacknet servers, there the Father and his friends used to steal information for the cause, if there is any place where you can get more, you will find it in one of them" Paul explained delicately so that the opposite could understand without problem.

 

"Oh, I didn't know that the Father used to participate in that. Is that normal?" Zander inquired to the surprise of the opposite who looked at him strangely "It's just that... It seems to be of... Advanced age as they say? As if to be able to do that kind of thing"

 

"It's... a complicated story, the best thing will be that he tells it to you but let's say I had to remove... a couple of tattoos and scars" I answer vaguely with a last sip of his drink and then put it away and then take out a small device that extended to Hercules "Put it in your ear, so we can be in touch without resorting so much to cell phones"

 

"Uhhh... If you say so, I can accept it for now" I accept Zander with some reluctance, giving him a slight look at the device and then putting it on, which took him several seconds, and after remembering something, he took out the book from under his jacket to extend it to Paul "By the way, I want to return this to the Father ¿Can you give it to him?"

 

"I would, but I think the best thing would be if it were you personally, maybe I can help you with your problems, believe me, he can give you more help than me or John" Paul said, rejecting him, ending with a somewhat sarcastic tone. "But anyway, I'd better leave you alone, good luck and be careful, if they are calm it's better not to get involved, rhetorically"

 

"I don't understand what you mean by that, but I don't have any problem" Said the boy with some confusion regarding the last part, limiting himself to seeing how the opposite went through the door that was on the ceiling, leaving him alone once again "If they stop lying to me every now and then"

 

After that, he began to jump from building to another, in search of the supposed truck that Paul had mentioned to him, "supposed" because for now he only had to see it to believe it, because at this point, he could not help but question how true what they told him was. It ended up taking what was a long time, although it was more unconscious and distracted, observing from the heights how all people continued with theirs despite what they were living, but with that they had something that he did not despite being powerful; a normal life.

 

Until finally, he managed to locate the truck.

 

This was in the middle of what he knew they called "parking lots", guarded only by a couple of soldiers watching while people passed by as if nothing, they really seemed that they had gotten used to the long. He disguised himself as a Blackwatch soldier and cautiously approached the truck, avoiding as much as possible those who watched him so as not to raise suspicions, and when he reached what was a blue screen on the side of the vehicle, he began to look cautiously, pressing buttons for several seconds.

 

<Blacknet Terminal 017>

 

<Blackwatch Database>

 

<Dr. Samuel Billinglsey>

 

<Accessing Records...>

 

<User Login Required>

 

"Agh, well, I guess one more at the moment won't hurt me" Zander replied with a slight blow to the truck of disgust, and then walked away slowly while retouching the device he had in his ear while whispering "Do you hear me? For now I only have one name; Dr. Samuel Billin-glsey"

 

"Ugh, it sounds familiar to me, he is a Chief of Investigation at Gentek, if you manage to find him maybe you know more about what they do, or also about Rooks" Paul clarified through the device, which surprised at the beginning on the contrary because of how strange it was.

 

"Well, I have something in mind that can serve, I'll be back in a while" Hercules said before "cutting" the call, and without anyone seeing him, he went up to the top of the building, and once up there, he activated his "hunting instinct", which bore fruit after a few seconds" Well, I guess I'll have to pay a visit to that Billin-gluey"

 

"Puff, if I were you, I would add the practice of words to the list"

 

"...¿Did you really just show up to make fun of my way of speaking?"

 

"Yes"

 

"Agh, you had better keep quiet"

 

Preferring not to waste more time on his "mental chats", he took a big leap to move again through the air and between the buildings, following the trail of his target. The trail leads him to what seemed to be another urban area fenced and guarded by the Blackwatch, which he avoided between the buildings, and giving a look at the place with his instinct, he located his "prey" wearing a suit similar to the ones he had seen on his first day, blue and covering it completely, in front of a table while doing something.

 

"Well, let's see if we can do this without killing anyone else" He whispers to himself, descending cautiously from where he was and walking slowly around the site, avoiding direct contact with the soldiers as much as possible, until he falls behind his goal and coughing briefly before speaking "Excuse me, Dr. Samuel?"

 

"Eh-don't show up like that out of nowhere. What's going on? I'm busy with... my work" Samuel questioned doubtfully, although not for him, but for what he was doing.

 

"Me... They ordered to take him to a safe place by Dr. Koenig, he has seen... Hercules near the air" Zander reported with his best tone, who still hesitated at times, it seemed that the Doctor managed to swallow him.

 

"Oh God, then my work can wait, let's go" The Doctor concluded sounding desperate, starting to walk quickly, and as soon as he realized, he immediately returned with the "Guide me please"

 

Without showing opposition to the petition, he began to walk while the scientist followed him behind him, but what he did not know is that instead of guiding him to an exit, he took him to a place where they did not see him, specifically to an alley between the urban structures built in a hurry. When no one was looking at them, he turned in a jiffy towards the scientist, with one of his hands going towards his face to cover his mouth to prevent him from screaming, and the other towards his neck, which broke him effortlessly to kill him quickly, and as soon as he did, his body instantly consumed the opposite in just an instant, just as it was the nature of a virus and with it soon the memories came.

 

He slowly entered those memories, giving slight glances at some kinds of papers accompanied by the sound of a door opening, visualizing the body of a woman in an elegant suit, and then a kind of identification card with the face that he assumed was the same woman.

 

"Sabrina, I didn't expect to see you today," Samuel pointed out in a spressive way, while images were viewed from other angles of the so-called "Sabrina"

 

"I haven't come to chat, I should have delivered your status report 24 hours ago," he declared in a condescending and clear annoyed manner.

 

"Didn't you get my message? I'm waiting to see the final effects on the Suárez Family" I remarked Billingsley while rummaging through his papers "The parents are terminally ill, but the children demonstrated fascinating viral abilities"

 

"Aja, children with advanced stages of Cancer?" Sabrína asked curiously.

 

"Yes, why do you ask?" Samuel questioned doubtfully, but did not receive any answer, only seeing how apparently the woman walked away at the end, while being taken out of that memory.

 

But the first thing he managed to do as soon as he managed to do, was to stagger leaning against a wall and holding back the urge to... spit too much out of his mouth when processing the information.

 

"God... ¿ Were they really so crazy as to... Do all that?" Zander questioned in clear shock at what he had just heard.

 

"If that's enough for you to stop questioning what Alex does, then yes"

 

"¿Hey, did you manage to find something of interest?" He interrupted Paul suddenly through the device, and after several seconds of regaining his balance, he managed to respond.

 

"More or less, nothing about Rooks or about me, But... Yes about a place in Gentek where they experiment with people" Zander said with some reluctance, preferring to keep the subject of... the Children for the moment.

 

"Well, as far as Rooks usually supervises some capture tests and Gentek's test, maybe you'll find something else there, and by the way you destroy all their work," the boy suggested to see where to continue.

 

"Huh, this seems to be more complicated than it seemed" Hercules questioned with some doubts, but without other options, he began to mobilize.

 

Once again, he went over more buildings while being guided by Billinglsey's memories, in addition to continuing to avoid the Blackwatch checkpoints as much as possible. Without much problem, he positioned himself on a building in front of what was the large facility of Gentek, with a fence around him and the name of the company itself on what was the entrance door, which was opened by a soldier with a kind of device next to it.

 

"Well, here I am, I just hope this is worth it" Hercules replied while carefully observing the place.

 

"Okay, first listen to me, both the Blackwatch centers have a very strict and specific security, I would explain it to you but in short... You will need a very specific person to be able to access" Paul warned from the other side of the headset.

 

"Well... As long as I don't end up bathed in blood, it works for me" He added as a complaint and with a sigh, he transformed into the appearance of his last victim and went down an alley to not be seen.

 

He walked as normally as he could from one side of the street towards the entrance of the facility, avoiding eye contact with the two guards who were there and approached that yellow device, which after several seconds of thinking, put his hand inside it.

 

"Access Granted" She once said robotic but feminine as the metal door opened.

 

"Oh Woah, ok, that was unexpected" Hercules whispered somewhat dismayed about it, but leaving him aside, he cautiously entered the place.

 

Entering, he began to take a look at the place: a couple of buildings around him, with large metal doors or a couple small ones like a house. In turn, there were some kind of red and white circular structures, a couple of trucks that also carried something similar but smaller and soldiers prowling around, but one called his sentence quite a bit, which by its red marks on his clothes, he managed to recognize.

 

The Commander.

 

More than anything he managed to recognize it by the amalgam of memories he was forming, which as he consumed it became stronger, and with the last thing he had obtained from Dr. Samuel, he had recognized it as the one indicated to be able to enter the base. On this occasion, he approached him more discreetly while continuing to avoid the other soldiers, and once he managed to get behind him, he proceeded to consume him with a single silent movement.

 

"Well, I think that would fall into the category of viral robbery"

 

"You have too much sense of humor... Weird to be a subconscious"

 

After that and looking a little more through the area, he saw a yellow door with the same device on one side, and without thinking much about it, he approached it to do the same as before and enter without much problem. The place was a little smaller, with a few more devices and a couple of people walking around, but he still couldn't help but feel a little stressed by the familiar and overwhelming feeling that that place caused him.

 

It reminded him of his first moments of life.

 

"Access Granted, Chief Scientist Doctor Genovese" announced a voice through the loudspeaker, which took the boy out of his thoughts, who observed the origin of the sound.

 

"I guess that's where I'll find some information" Zander murmured while watching in the distance the aforementioned doctor enter a room with the same device next to him "I just have to find the right one"

 

He began to walk while continuing to look around, and at the same time he continued to avoid direct contact, or also touch something he should not so as not to attract attention. He advanced for several seconds until he noticed an open entrance that would lead to another room, and having no other options, he proceeded to approach this one to enter.

 

Although when he did, he felt how his blood boiled before what his eyes saw.

 

The room had several small cages as such, but not for infected or creatures; they were people, or at least the vast majority, because he directly saw some without moving inside the cell while the soldiers looked as if nothing had happened. That sensation only activated his hunting instincts, showing some soldiers of a yellow tone as if marking them, but one in particular did it in the classic reddish, while wearing that special suit that differentiated him from the rest of the soldiers, so on that side he would not have to look further.

 

Cautiously, he made a slight turn in the room, trying to ignore as much as possible the agony of the people who were there, until he managed to position himself behind the soldier who accompanied the lieutenant, who discreetly proceeded to consume him. After that, he just approached the lieutenant and did the same, to which after processing his brief memories, he could not help but feel uncomfortable with all the frightened looks of the people in the cages, who had been watching him all that time.

 

He couldn't help but feel guilty, stirring his stomach.

 

"Doctor Genovese here Command, get ready for another pass, change"

 

"Understood Command, could you commission the request to capture more Brawlers alive? We need them after the failed testing test"

 

"Received Doctor, we will be with it. Standard Dispersion?

 

"Yes, please, as much as possible, they just didn't bring an Alpha, the Containers we have are not suitable for them"

 

"So this is where those things came from..." He murmurs with difficulty having heard the intercepted conversation, which also took him out of his regrets, but he still took one last look at the people locked up "I'll have to see if I can do something later"

 

Now having what was necessary, he turned back and walked his steps, but now climbing the large number of stairs with caution, since at times he felt that if he did not manage it he would collapse them all. After that, he just positioned himself in front of the door and put his hand back on the device for a few seconds.

 

“Access Granted”

 

After entering through the door, he took a look at the reduced room, with some devices or tables out there and a couple of soldiers or scientists, in suits or those white robes, but one in a yellow suit managed to get his attention when he recognized him; Dr. Genovese. Continuing to avoid the conflict, he approached a soldier who seemed to be watching the Doctor, and taking advantage of the fact that no one was watching him, he immediately consumed him.

 

He took another look at the room, noticing another soldier watching the Doctor, to which he turned around to position himself behind the man and kill him quickly. Now with the clear way, he only approached Genovese, and by covering his face to prevent him from screaming, he killed him while consuming him in a jiffy and trying to access his memories.

 

But when he tried, he only felt a loud sound of a device inside his head that ended up causing him pain for a few seconds, and for some strange reason, he could not access his memories.

 

"Agh... I couldn't find out anything about him" Zander complained with annoyance, even processing that strange event.

 

"Have, don't despair, try one of those computers have if there is something useful, a database at best" Paul suggested from the device, to which the boy listened and discreetly approached one of the many that were in the room, and trying to apply what he knew, find out what he was looking for.

 

"Okay, I'm facing the computer. What do I do now?"

 

"First you have to-"

 

"Haber, let's try this... Hell!, the screen is now between black and white"

 

"Look, press the Alt key, it must be around-"

 

"There is no Alt, there are only a lot of worn letters and some that are not even understood. Can I know who created these things?"

 

"It's a long story to tell it now... But let's concentrate, press a small button at the top left, that should make it work"

 

"Okay, it's better now"

 

<Accessing the Database...>

 

<Welcome Dr. Genovese>

 

<Harp Section;[BLOCKED]>

 

<Ambrosia Section;[BLOCKED]>

 

<Hope Section:[BLOCKED]>

 

<Experiments Section:[BLOCKED]>

 

<Personnel Section:[AVAILABLE]>

 

"Well, I guess the rest will be left for later, I'll stay with the Personal to know more about Rooks or Koenig" Zander commented after several failed attempts to access the other files without success.

 

"Very well, remember to log out at the end" Paul warned while downloading the files, although leaving him dismayed about it.

 

"Oh yes, of course..." Hercules added as if he knew what he was talking about, and once he got the files, he tried to "log out," which didn't work for him after several attempts "Agh, I don't have much time for this"

 

Without further ado, he withdrew trying to be as normal as possible from there, although for the moment he had managed to avoid some conflict at the base, now he had one last personal goal; free all those people. Using the knowledge he had recently obtained, he managed to locate what was called a "fuse box", which for some reason if it was cut off the energy left in much of the base, and with it, of the cells.

 

"Terminal 4 is connected but there is no operator present, go back to your post and complete the logout procedure" He announced the voice through the speakers of the base, briefly sturning the boy's ears.

 

"Huh, well, if you insist" Zander said sarcastically and then cut the power throughout the base, which darkened so soon as he did it, and then turned on that alarm beeping door that deafened him for a few moments next to the red lights, and the next thing he heard was screams and shots from a distance "Very good... Maybe it wasn't the best idea to do that"

 

"That happens to you for denying to do it by your own hands, coward"

 

Leaving aside the sarcastic comment, the first thing he did was see what was happening, seeing the soldiers shooting at the runaway civilians, struggling with some of them and what made him realize that he screwed up; some biting everything they saw. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, his first thought was to open the door outside, to which avoiding all the chaos that climbs to major, once he reached the entrance he opened it with a kick that knocked it down.

 

But he realized that outside was worse.

 

Apparently, the power cut had also meant that the Brawlers present at the base were also released and that now they were walking around destroying the place. One of these managed to notice his presence, to which he instinctively threw himself towards him, barely cornering him while the creature entered the base itself, only hearing more screams after that and only one thing came to his mind.

 

Run away.

 

So taking advantage of all the disaster that he had indirectly caused, he left the base through his big jumps. After that, he could only look from a distance at all the disaster he had caused, preferring to return to normal before continuing to see how fire now began to come out of the place along with some explosions, but it did not help that some screams and roars of creatures were still heard.

 

"¡¿What the hell was that?! ¡¿Can I know who was the inept who cut all the wiring and-?!"

 

That intercepted scream was interrupted by a brief static, which he was grateful for since he was about to go deaf.

 

"Well... ¿Can I know what happened there?" Paul's voice inquired from the earpiece, to which the boy after a few seconds of silence and a sigh, spoke.

 

"It's... Complicated... And I'm not good at this yet" Zander said in a sad tone, rubbing his forehead with one of his hands.

 

"Do you mean your powers... ¿Or something else?" The boy insisted, leaving Hercules thinking for a few moments what to say, but he simply didn't give more.

 

"To this... of emotions, of killing anyone, no matter how much I don't know him or try to kill you, I get to feel bad, and when I try to help someone... It only gets worse" Zander confessed saddened, feeling how the skin of his forehead began to get wet inside, something he preferred not to question "I'm a disaster, am I not?"

 

"Uh... Not as such, bone, it's natural that you feel like that and... Agh, look, the best thing will be that you talk to Tadeo, believe me, he's better at this than me, and also take some time of all this, it would be the best for you" Paul suggested wandering in some moments, taking a moment to continue "Do you promise?"

 

Zander silently thought about what he was proposing to him, since he was still not clear about everything that was happening, but what he said was... Recommended. And although he still didn't know for sure if what he said was true or not, he only knew that if he continued like this, he would end up losing his mind.

 

Or with his damn mental voice taking control and doing who knows what.

 

"Agh... Okay, I'll do it, I just need some time alone, if you allow me" Zander agreed after several seconds.

 

"It's okay, just keep in mind that... You're not the only one involved in all this" Paul pointed out and then cut the connection to leave him alone.

 

Which only looked for a few more moments towards the base, from which the screams and shots had already been stopped and only the fire remained, from which smoke kept coming out that reached the sky dispersing. After what was a long time looking at what he had provoked, he turned around and walked away from the place, to have his time alone.

 

He would take care of the rest later.

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

Well, that moment had arrived.

 

After what was a long time trying to clear his head of everything that happened, now he was in front of the door to the apartment of both brothers, although he would have to wear a "disguise" now he was not given his head for that. He was in conflict with everything that was happening, his strange origin, what was happening out there and how it seemed that they still didn't seem to want to tell him everything, even though they were helping him.

 

¿ it really worth it to keep doing all this?

 

A part of him could only think at this point the best thing he could do was disappear and find a way out of the city, try to have a normal life.

 

...

 

But I knew that if I did, I would be just as bad or worse than the others.

 

Running away from their problems.

 

And what it really is.

 

That wouldn't make him feel better.

 

He let out a long sigh to prepare himself emotionally, and after doing so, he put his hand on the doorknob to open it, which he could not do for a simple reason; it was locked. But since he didn't think about that now, he just tried to open it harder, and he did it by listening to the sound of something breaking, but he wasn't there to worry about that at the moment.

 

And when he opened the door, sitting on the sofa of the place, Tadeo was waiting for him.

 

"...Hello" The boy said vaguely, giving rise to an uncomfortable silence that the opposite did not dare to break, to which Tadeo continued "Are you... Are you going to sit down?"

 

Zander felt how he gave a light pat on one side of the sofa that was free for someone else, to which after several seconds, he only nodded and approached and then sat on that soft mattress, giving rise to another brief silence that the human had to break.

 

"Look, I know this has been very complicated... For both of us, and that I haven't been very honest with you, but it's... All this becomes too much sometimes..." Tadeo tried to explain himself, getting stuck in the middle of his words to make himself understood.

 

"¿But...?" Hercules inquired about what he was telling him.

 

"I can't help but think... I know it will sound ridiculous but... In those comics that I usually read about superheroes, and I just want to think that all this... It could be solved, and well... in a way together with Alex you are the closest thing to it" The boy remarked with some reluctance with his words.

 

Zander could not avoid fully questioning that topic he referred to as "superheroes", but even with that he questioned completely what he told him, he noticed his discomfort about what was happening, and still tried to hide it and move on.

 

"In that masochistic aspect he is not so different from you"

 

That offensive comment made him contextualize reality; he did exactly the same thing he had been doing since he had started everything. To which with a new question in mind, he spoke again.

 

"Tadeo, if you really want to help me, just tell me the truth. Why do you do all this, knowing what it entails?" Hercules questioned, leaving the boy looking away while he thought about what to answer, to which he continued "If you tell me...

I will also be honest with you"

 

With that last addition, there was only another brief silence of a few seconds until it broke.

 

"¿How much do you know... about the First Manhattan Outbreak?" I ask Tadeo with a soft tone and looking forward saddened.

 

"Enough to know that's where it all started. Why...?" He stayed halfway through the word when processing what he was referring to, reaching a disturbing conclusion that only seemed to be confirmed with the look that the boy gave him "¿You...?"

 

"Yes, I was in Manhattan when everything happened, together with my brother, we were... One of the few who managed to survive all that," He said with clear reluctance to what he said, giving rise to an uncomfortable environment in which Zander processed that fact.

 

"I... I didn't imagine you had been there... Sorry" He apologized regretfully about his attitude, only to be interrupted by the opposite.

 

"Don't apologize, it's just that... It's hard to talk about what happened, and then now this about the second outbreak... Well, it's impossible not to remember" Tadeo clarified with some digress from one moment to the next, noticing that he didn't know where to continue.

 

"I guess it makes some sense... But, it's not that I've been very helpful either" Zander said, taking a slight breath of several seconds to let out what he felt "This also becomes too much for me, having to go around, killing everything... Whoever gets in the way, see what they do... Is that weird?"

 

Tadeo could not help but give him a look that hinted at his consternation about it, and that after a brief silence, he dared to answer.

 

"The truth... It's the most normal thing that you feel like this, it seems that even with everything they did with you, well, in the end you end up looking more human than them, or I don't know, the truth John is more useful for this moral dilemma" He explained with the same feeling as before, concluding a slight laugh as if to try to relieve the whole moment, which obviously did not work "Look, I would say that we have not started with total sincerity Do you want to try again... this of being friends, or colleagues as you understand?"

 

Once again, Zander felt how their emotions were divided among themselves.

 

His most "closed" side told him that he had to refuse, that with Alex they already had a lot to move forward, and he would agree... If it weren't because Alex didn't seem to understand in the same way that he did all this of having powers. I was aware that I hadn't had the best start with Tadeo either, but... It seems that I really wanted to try, more now.

 

In his view, a second chance was not a bad thing, but rather to improve.

 

"Okay, let's try again" Hercules agreed trying to bring out his most optimistic side, extending one of his arms to tighten it, which after a few seconds, was reciprocated by the Tadeo "Anyway, I think I need some time to process all this"

 

"Well, I would tell you that we are two with that hehe, we better rest and tomorrow we will work with this. Is that okay with you?" I asked affability, to which the opposite nodded in response, and after that he gave him a light pat on the shoulder and got up to go to his room "Rest"

 

"Likewise" The boy reciprocated with gratitude, and once he left, he lay down on his sofa, resting his hands behind his head and "looked" up, feeling how the familiar voice began to question him.

 

"Puff, you're pathetic if you think all this sentimentality will work"

 

"As far as I'm concerned... I have nothing to lose by trying, it's not like you or Alex are the best companies for this either"

 

"Aha, as you say, but you'll see that this will end up harming you later, believe me"

 

And after that last warning, he once again felt the emptiness in his head, indicating that the voice had been "withdrawn" for the moment. To which, relieved, he only settled in his position so that he could try to sleep at once.

 

Something that would not be bad to be able to start coping with all this in a better way.

 

Notes:

Well, first of all I apologize for the delay, I was full of school stuff and all that, so I hope I can make it up to you with now that school is over, I can update this even faster.

Secondly, I probably won't feel very proud of this chapter like the previous ones, the truth is that the dialogue issue is complicated for me so it doesn't feel too monotonous.

So I'll ask this question for the few people who follow my workDo you like what you're reading at the moment or not?

I know that for now I've only taken a few differences and liberties from the original game, but the thing is that unlike what Prototype 2 did, I do want to give depth to the story, taking into account the previous game and make it feel satisfying, I really try to do that.

Any comments or criticisms are welcome, I hope you can enjoy it.

Other than that, this will probably be the last update for this year, I will see if at the last minute I can release the next chapter that would not be so complex, but if not I wish you all a good end of the year.

Notes:

Hello to Prototype fans still alive this 2024 and waiting for a reboot/remake.

The truth is that with only 2 video games with their problems and differences, it made me love Prototype, its lore, Alex and all the potential it could have had that they partly wasted in the sequel, to the point that the studio closed and since more than a decade ago there is nothing more of the saga.

And as such, and after a long time of inspiration and thinking, I start my own version of Prototype 2, rewritten in my own way and with my own ideas as you can see, some things will remain the same? More or less, but changing some things as you can see.

I accept your comments and so on.

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