Prototype : A New Start

In a Pickle, also the Calm

Pathologist Bradley Ragland made a mental promise to deck Alex Mercer in the crotch once he had the chance, which seems pretty unlikely considering his particular situation.

Before Alex' second stunt in Manhattan, he had long left New York Zero after treating Dana from her infection. Trying to get as far as possible from both Gentek and Blackwatch. He was still in contact with both Mercer siblings ever since then, though it grew less and less as Alex started avoiding them both for unknown reasons.

Then, the second outbreak started in Penn Station by no other than the man he had assisted not so long ago. Mercer made Greene looks like a goddamn saint with all the things he had done, and those monsters he created certainly didn't help much.

In a way, he felt indirectly responsible for all those deaths, knowing that Mercer is only standing on top of the food chain thanks for his assistance in curing him from the parasite and taking care of his sister while he was busy confronting Blackwatch. The organization mentioned had finally jammed most of the city save for Green Zone, and they are heavily monitored so that's a big no-no. With him prevented from contacting them. He had no idea what had really happened, But he honestly doubted that things would change even if he gets involved again.

Then, someone leaked the files, and shit hits the fan. While he was not even halfway done with reading half of the files which reached terabytes, the FBI suddenly burst into his apartment and captured him on the spot with an arrest warrant that had so many charges he doesn't even know whether some of those charges really exist or not.

Time flies fast in his cell. The FBI interrogated him mercilessly for months over two things; His involvement with Gentek, and Mercer. The first one was easier as his words were backed up with Blackwatch files which confirmed he resigned early and kept him under surveillance, although he almost got into troubled waters about his closeness with the late McMullen, who were his close colleague.

The second one was much more complicated, it was at this time he learned that all those things he had watched about interrogation scenes in movies really happens. Good cop, bad cop. Carrot and stick. You name it. They wanted to know everything that Mercer knows, and he told them everything. Supreme Hunter, Dana Mercer, whatever they wanted to hear.

And the more he speaks, the more displeased and uncomfortable his interrogators become as the horrifying truth of Alexander J. Mercer brings not only a walking corpse, but an unstoppable, sapient bioweapon with enough power to wipe out humanity or the planet as a whole. As Ragland likes to put it, an End-Of-The-World class scenario.

They dug harder, trying to find any sort of weakness or advantages which they could use against Zeus. Much to their dismay, the only solid lead they have were Mercer's only sibling, Dana. The information of how Zeus had made antibodies to survive and adapt to any possible cancerous parasite he contracted after Karen's betrayal was disastrous. That was possibly a one-time thing that could only be executed by Blacklight experts... which is either dead, or consumed by Zeus.

They weren't pretty happy with the fact he saved him. Or the fact he keeps referring to Mercer as a person, instead of 'it'.

Fire is no longer a viable option, they were understandably skeptical as Zeus had survived a direct nuclear blast; He had survived from a ball of plasma hotter than the sun and its aftermath blast that ravaged parts of New York, what to say that a flamethrower or napalm will actually do any sort of damages at this point?

But water might be their greatest weapon against him, and from the look of their faces. It might be just something which they will actually go with. Ragland had limited knowledge like everyone else, so he didn't have much to say, despite their constant pressure to keep him talking.

In the end, though. He was offered a job. A high-ranking position in the newly-formed Bureau of Biological Alleviation, or BBA for short. He will be assisting them in studying and understanding Blacklight. That, or face charges for being an accessory to the crime of a sapient bioweapon which led to millions of deaths.

He knows that they are just trying to scare him off into working with them, because they are probably desperate at this point. Zeus- Mercer, could be anyone at this point, and they needed to find him as soon as possible to curb the ongoing paranoia that has boiled over for quite some time, both internally, and externally.

Blacklight is already hard to study thanks to its volatile nature, and with Mercer actually going around evolving or mutating like its a cakewalk, they can't just pinpoint his strain using NYZ's leftovers.

Basically, They needed a Mercer to kill Mercer. They just haven't realized it yet.

He accepted, knowing there's no other way out from this mess. He wasn't sure about this entire BBA thing, but somehow, it feels like he's just returning back to Gentek. A more 'transparent' one. There's no doubt they will try to study and weaponize Blacklight. Just like every other country in the world out there...

His first request after finally being 'freed' of all charges? A damn good drink.

[------------------------]

Heller was pissed.

Exactly the day he left Manhattan with Amaya and Dana, someone leaked all those classified files from Blacknet and unleashed pure hell on all across the states. He might be more of brawns than brains, but it didn't take long for him to figure out who did.

Mercer was alive. Despite his effort to consume and kill his maker, the emo murderer survived againts all odds. Oh, he was pissed alright, and would had devoted himself to finding the man who had killed his wife and separated him from his daughter for so long; But alas, he can't just leave Amaya.

Dana, too. She might have been related to Alex, but that's the end of things. She helped Father Guerra and the others hold resistance against Blackwatch tyranny, and assisted him greatly in his short journey, saving countless lives in the process. He would damn himself to hell if he were to lay harm on her just because her brother is a fucking psychopath.

They have been moving around from state to state, trying to lay low somewhere quiet. But it's easier said than done as Dana's face was plastered all over the news and the entire north america is on high alert. They never stayed in one place for too long, a week at most. Renting hotels and apartments, also relying on the multitude of bank accounts of his victims which he had emptied down to fund Dana's and Amaya's needs, including their travels.

It's been six months since then, and things haven't exactly changed. The west coast is much more relaxed and isn't really on their guard just yet while their east neighbors are declaring curfews and health checks on their citizens. They managed to hide longer before being forced to move again.

They can't even move to Canada or Mexico, specifically the latter. Sure, Latin America might be a good option, but even he was sure that the craziest illegal immigrant shepherds from Mexico would even want to be on the same planet as them upon recognizing who Dana is.

So here they are, in a nice little cottage he bought deep in Oregon. The locals were nice and all, and the place is actually pretty nice. Despite the modernity of the place, the town seems to be a little... out of touch. But they could finally find a place to lay low. Amaya had made friends with the local childrens while Dana took a job in the local newspaper after changing her appearance significantly, such as that hairstyle of hers, alongside its color. She no longer wore dark-coloured clothes like her brother does, a refreshing sight.

As for him? He works as a lumberjack now, and he's damn good at it.

He can't help but wonder, though. Why would anyone pick a name as weird as Gravity Falls for their town.... He's missing something here....

"Amaya? Open the door! It's Mabel!"

Oh, well. Nothing which he needs to be worried of, surely.

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Author's Note : Welcome to Gravity Falls, Heller.

I hope you like magic.