Prototype : A New Start

Christmas-ing - END

New Year, New You.

Mercer holds a small party in his mansion to celebrate 2010, inviting the Rivera's and Spezaratura's over, alongside his friend from DC. Damian also invited his other friends; Namely Franklin and Lamar over with their respective families. Damian wasted no time to start doing what he loved the most amongst many other things; Cooking.

It's a good thing they had prepared everything. None of that last minute Black Friday shopping. Nothing was amiss, everything is perfect.

Maria was in the living room, talking over something important with Mercer. Whatever it was, it made the emo smile. The bastard refused to share with him over what they were discussing, so he had no idea.

Valeria had fully healed, which is nothing short but a miracle to her parents and friends. She knows the truth, though, and she doesn't knows what to do with it.

It was clear from her face, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. The blonde was always the emotional type... and the whole staring at his face isn't exactly helping her case.

"You know I'm not going to apologize for healing you." Damian playfully teased his best friend as he moved around the kitchen with his hands full; Not mentioning the tendrils sprouting from the back of his waist, which he used to multitask all over the kitchen in some extraordinary display of speed and coordination.

Not that it matters, since she already knows. So he had no problem about the whole thing. Plus, he has his thermal on, keeping an eye on everyone. Anyone approaches the kitchen, and he'll know. The advantage of having such a large mansion, he suppose.

Valeria didn't say anything, instead, she just stared, and stared. Still with that frown and her arms crossed, as she leans back on the glass panel.

"If there's anything in your mind, feel free to tell me about them." He continued, "I have all the time in the world for you."

"If you are not Damian," She finally opened her mouth, "Then, what happened to him?"

"Ah." The evolved visibly flinched at the question, but continued his work without further Ado. "Well, he's dead, or dying. Not even I exactly remember."

"Bullshit."

"I'm serious." He grins. "Zeus had a total memory loss when he turned, he thought that he was framed and that Gentek was trying to pin the blame on him, then he realizes that not only that he was actually the Blacklight inside the corpse of Mercer, they were not only right that Mercer started the outbreak, he invented Blacklight."

She remained silent afterward, he took this as his cue to continue.

"Mercer told me he found Damian dying," Damian let's out a wistful sigh, "He was a part of Dana Mercer's resistance against Blackwater Tyranny, none of that second-in-command bullshit or some super important member, mind you. He was, just like everyone else, just your regular guy, trying to survive the bleakful reality of NYZ."

"What happened?"

"One of the members was a turn-coat; Sold them out to Blacklight in exchange for comfort or whatever they promised to them." He rolls his eye, "Everyone was thrown to the firing squad, including him. There were no fighting whatsoever, just lined up, and they went full auto on them. Everyone was dead by the time Mercer arrived to kill some Blacklight goons not because of it; He was just simply nearby. That was when he found him, amidst a pile of corpses, breathing, but mortally wounded, barely clinging to life."

Damian... Or Apollo, went still for a moment.

"He was unconscious when that happens, I'm sure of it." He sighed, "The closest reminiscence of him at that moment that I remember was being lined up, before waking up between all that bodies with that damn emo."