Prototype : A New Start

Living with the Devil

"Please tell me you didn't ate the estate agent."

"Real Funny," Mercer deadpanned, "I should be the one asking you that."

"Bitch."

The mansion he bought at Palmer Woods was surprisingly cheap. Thanks to its declining environment issues, the prices were low, and there's at least twenty vacant houses all over the district. Mercer is content with the information Damian gathered, further convincing the former that he could actually reach his dream of a quiet life in these parts. Of course, he paid by installment, although some cash upfront was enough to ensure the agent and owner that they are really intending to buy the place.

The mansion is surrounded by tall stone fences with an empyreal double-gate with another regular gate a couple meters away from it. The place has definitely aged and could use some touch, there were hints of ivy and ferns on the walls, and the old, chiseled stone path looks like it needs to be replaced, if those crevices are any indication... Surprisingly, the lush greeneries were okay, they didn't really overgrown so it was actually a pretty beautiful sight.

The Blonde Evolved and the Moody Virus were impressed by the mansion's exterior architecture. And the teenager was pretty hyped to see what's inside.

As both of them stepped inside the beautifully carved mansion door (Mercer first, since Damian was so insistant on 'ladies first', earning him a tentacle slap to the face), they were greeted with the sight of a luxurious chandelier with multiple windows by the ceiling giving the mansion a gentle, natural lighting. The floor is clean marble; with the stairs leading to the second floor of the property itself are marble slabs, beautifully chiseled in place.

They wordlessly parted ways to check on the whole mansion by themselves. Mercer went to the Formal living room while Damian heads toward the other way, AKA the hallway.

Mercer whistled with an impressed look, the living room is very grand and spacious, not mentioning the level of subtle detail of the place. The floor-to-ceiling curved glass windows gave him a clear look to his garden... and it was majestic, by all means. But we'll get to that later! There's also a fireplace, beautifully clad in stones... and did he mention there's even more chandeliers in the room? Talk about luxury!

The pocketing doors leads to terrace outside, covered patio for the room. But again, that's unimportant for now, there's a mini-bar of all things in the corner of the room with its own fridge and floating shelves. If he wants to get drunk, this is the place... if he were a human, anyway. He had never tried to drink after being turned into Blacklight, until now. Hopefully Blacklight can't adapt from being drunk.

Damian, on the other hand, is taking his time. He walked pretty slowly, brushing the wooden paneling and stonework that he would only see from movies and the internet if Mercer didn't turn him into his servant. He found another set of corridors, with the one by his right leading to the office room that none of them would be really using, but by the end of said corridor, there's the first bedroom.

He opened the pocket door after entering inside, revealing an empty closet that he'd probably be filling with useless stuffs later. The single-bedroom is a front-facing one, and the level of comfort it provides already made him at complete ease. The bathroom is majestic, with floating double vanities, clean soaker tub, marble floor, and even the tub is clad with stone troughout!

The agent mentioned that the place has at least eight bedrooms....

Seriously? There's no need to describe the place in detail anymore, its just grand, and that's the end of it. Apollo and Zeus explored the mansion in silent astonishment, sometimes bumping into one another without even noticing. Damian discovered the massive pool by the backyard, while Alex found the dining room that color him impressed.

Both virus are now resting by the stone benches in the courtyard, surrounded by colorful bushes and trees with a little fountain in the middle. Its not even evening and the day already went so well. For Zeus, its nice to finally settle down without a worry to the world. For Apollo.... its a new start of his life. Well, Un-Life.

"I'm claiming the master suite." Says the blonde evolved with a cheeky grin.

"Over my dead body."

They shared a light, heartful chuckle. Mercer's mood is certainly much better lately.

By night, both of them finally realized just how big the place really is. Gym, lounge, you name it. Despite all the guest suites, there's even a residential house for the guests not too far in their backyard.

"How many people can we store in this place?" Mumble the blonde, he has changed his appearance, wearing only a white shirt and a brown shorts. Although, his red baggy hat is still there. "I think we can have a around ten or twenty people crashing together here..."

"None, I don't want any visitors." Mercer grunted, washing the shot glasses in the sink with several layers of rubber gloves. Again, Blacklight and water does not mix well (for now), and it's going to be a pretty long time until he or Damian adapts to it.

"Okay, how about... How many corpses can we store in this place?"

"A hundred at most, more, if you are not afraid of getting discovered." Replies Zeus casually with a completely bored look.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Silence.

"We could use some refurnishing, maybe slap a piano on the living room."

"That would be great. Add in some statues or something that gives you the rich douche vibes?"

"Not a bad idea."

Even more silence.

"So....  Alex." The shorter evolved coughed, "About that whole school thing..."

Mercer turned off the sink, and sets down the glasses in his hand. He turns toward Damian with a raised eyebrow beneath the darkness of his hood.

"What about it?"

".....Do you really don't mind if you became my guardian, at least on paper?"

Mercer didn't flinch, it's not that he didn't expected this, but hearing that directly was much tougher than he liked. He never had the thought of marrying someone, or even having kids from the first place. Sure, he loved Karen, but he wasn't even sure if he wanted to go further than being a couple.

They have talked about this before at the hotel, but they were both still putting this into consideration. By accepting, He is unofficially- and officially, adopting this idiot of a teenager with so much mess on his life and emotion. Wait, even before he turned into an evolved, he was pretty sure that his life is already a mess.

Just like Alex Mercer. He grunted. Great.

He actually planned to live alone and just waste his days away. But with the addition of this minion... ex-minion of his... Plans are changing.

Well, he could only hope that he will make life interesting more to him. It'll be sad if he dies of boredom.

"Don't think too much about it, kid. Find the best school around here, and we'll flow with it."

The blonde beamed up, and if the blonde kid could have glowed, he probably would have.

"Thanks, dad!"

"The best, you hear me? None of that public school shit. We have to keep up appearance and I'm not going to let your first year filled with complains of you beating up 80s Hollywood bullies."

"Wow, you're already taking the dad role so seriously..."

Mercer groaned. Oh, how he's already regretting his decision, now all he can do is prepare himself for the inevitable teenager angst and dad jokes that will storm his viral life.

But thinking about it.... It couldn't be so bad, could it?

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Author's Note : Sussy baka.