Corrosion
ur lite fades awey
ALEX MERCER
"Same," Mercer said, reading the contents of the letter. "From the looks of it, it looks like an address." He spared a glance at each of his group's letters, and found that they all contained the same thing. He frowned. "It can't be a coincidence. First we all wake up on that train, then we get letters all addressed to us, and now, we all get the same address." Alex put the letter in his back pocket, which in actuality was simply a hole opened up in his biomass.
"I don't like this, but it may be the only way for us to get some answers." Alex glanced around and found a holder containing several of those fold-out maps meant for tourists to navigate cities with. He made his way over it and grabbed one, opening it and taking a look. The city was unfamiliar, but at least he had some way of navigating this so-called 'Millennium City'. He motioned his 'companions' to come over and pointed to a spot located just outside the city. "Here's where we're supposed to go," He turned to the group. "I am experienced in pathfinding and navigation. I'll lead, you follow."
And so, the lost group of antiheroes stepped out of the bustling train station into the even more bustling and lively city. Mercer took a second to look around, his expression neutral, although there was a small hint that he was rather impressed with the sights and sounds. While the sights of the city wasn't anything Alex hadn't seen before, and he had plenty of time to get used to familiar sights of various cities around the world, both from his own memories and those he had consumed, this city appeared to be far livelier and brighter than those he knew.
He gazed at the towering skyscrapers, wishing he could run up the side of the tallest one and see the city from a birds-eye perspective and take in every single minute detail, but he swallowed the desire and decided that he had more pressing matters to worry about. "Let's get moving." He said, not turning as he began to walk forward.
The journey took around an hour, the group travelling a fairly long way. Despite this, Alex hardly looked tired at all. In fact, it seemed like the journey had no effect on him. Mercer had been studying the various routes of the city along the way, forming a map in his head that he had combined with the one printed on the paper he had taken.
Eventually, the group found themselves in the more shadier parts of the city, the more abandoned parts where the unsavoury members of society worked. The streets and sidewalks were cracked, the back alleys littered with decomposing waste, the streetlights broken and flickering, and the buildings rotting and dilapidated. This was the kind of place Mercer would often go to to clean up the trash, and to fetch a meal when he was hungry. Drug dealers, rapists, armed gangs, human traffickers, cartel members, all slaughtered when night fell and Blacklight hunted.
"This is the place," Mercer said, stopping in front of a warehouse that looked beyond disrepair. The exterior was covered in layers of dirt and grime, graffiti scrawled all over the walls, and the paint had been chipped off in several areas. Yet, a certain light was shining through the cracked and broken windows. "Be prepared for anything." He warned and began to make his way towards it.
He cautiously stepped through its rusted doors and noted that there was already a collection of various characters inside, some of which weren't even human. At this point, however, Mercer was hardly surprised. He'd already seen non-humans in the city, so it was very likely a common sight around these parts. Alex frowned and switched on his thermal vision, looking for any possible ambushes.
He had only just detected a signature lurking below the tiles when the sound of gunfire ripped through the air and dozens of bullets shredded the walls. On instinct, Alex rolled and activated his Claws, only for them to fail to appear. Alex stared at his hands, confused, and tried again. His Claws just failed to deploy. Alex growled and switched to a more regular unarmed combat stance instead.
So he was in an unfamiliar city surrounded by unfamiliar people with at least someone wanting him dead with no weapons of his own. This was a situation he was familiar with, yet it still felt so foreign.
When the hail of bullets ended and the smoke cleared, the sight of a man with a ridiculous hairdo wearing an equally ridiculous monocle (who even wore those things anymore?) and a uniform that vaguely resembled a World War II-era Nazi uniform was clear. There was also a massive shiny golden gun sticking out of his torso, but at this point, Alex was beginning to grow numb to the utter bizarreness of the things around him.
The man declared that he was the one who had lured all of them to this place, and that he was the 'culmination of the finest of German war machines’ in a ridiculously stereotypical German accent. Mercer quickly checked, and found that he was, indeed, a cyborg. Mercer scoffed at that.
As if fighting Project D-Codes was annoying enough.
The cannon retracted into the man's torso, and an odd, bubble-like orb emerged in its place. The man then informed them that they 'shall regain a fraction of your former might, weaponry and abilities' for the duration of their conflict. The orb was then passed around, and the ones who came into contact with it suddenly began to display unnatural powers.
When it was Alex's turn, he cautiously accepted it. Something was absorbed into him, he he could feel his genetic code rewriting itself. He could feel his power coming back, if only a fraction of it. With a growl, Alex deployed his claws.
Red and black tendrils rapidly swirled around his arms for a split second, before his limbs morphed and transformed into a pair of spiked appendages. His hands had been transformed into wickedly sharp three-fingered and one-thumbed knife-like talons the length of machetes. His Claws were one of his many offensive powers, though it was his go-to weapon for close range encounters.
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