New Dream Adventures of Raven Knight

12/16/13

A Fool and His Grenade Launcher
It is dark outside. I am leaning up against an old broken down car. I realize I have fallen asleep. That's not good since I am supposed to be on watch. The city we're in is teaming with zombies and strange mutant creatures that would kill us without hesitation. My boyfriend Josh is lying in a sleeping bag right near me sleeping peacefully. I am completely non-lucid and unaware of my waking life. My name is Isabell. I watch Josh as he sleeps. I wonder if I should tell him the full truth about what I am, what is inside of me. No. I can't. He would leave me alone. Alone and cold, I can't face the idea of being left alone.

I hear a sound from the other side of the car. I peek out of our hiding place. The moonlight is enough to reveal there is a man standing in the street beyond our hiding place. I am even able to identify who it is. It's Alex Mercer. Josh and I have actually been making a point of staying in the relative vicinity of Alex Mercer. He tends to keep the number of zombies and mutants in the area to a minimum, and if he has noticed us staying near him, he has ignored us. I sit back down, I figure this doesn't require me to bother Josh. Alex will surely continue to not notice us or ignore us. But it seems my movements have awakened Josh anyhow. He sits up and looks at me he asks what is up. I tell him it's nothing. I just heard something and it is Alex Mercer. He still has two more hours before his turn. He lies back down and I lean back against the wrecked car, gazing at the stars. The sky is clear, the only sounds are the quiet movements of Alex out in the street.

I jump a little when Josh suddenly sits up. He says he has it! I ask what. I don't really want to hear his answer. Usually when he says that when he has a notably stupid idea. Of course I can't really complain since it was one of these stupid ideas for him to come with me when the Outsiders had started hunting me. I wish he was back home and safe, though that would mean I would be alone now and I desperately need Josh to keep my heart safe. Without Josh I would be nothing more than a... no... I'm not going to think about that. Josh says he has a great idea. I ask what. He says we'll get rich and then get some really secluded place to stay hidden, a safe and comfortable place. I tell him good luck with that. He looks through the window of the wrecked car towards where I saw Alex. He says Alex will make us rich. I tell him to go back to sleep... he's clearly not thinking straight. He says Blackwatch has offered a huge reward to whoever can kill Alex Mercer. I face palm. I tell him sure, just sit there and give Alex a dirty look for a while until Alex dies of boredom. Now go back to sleep.

I look back to the stars again, not paying attention to Josh rummaging in a pile of stuff we've collected. He pulls out a grenade launcher. He says he has this covered. Get the reward, set up a defendable hideaway with everything we could need. He says he will be able to provide a better life for me then, when we don't have to keep moving and running from the Outsiders. Now I'm a bit alarmed. I tell him to put that thing down, adding that he must be crazy. He says no, I saw what it did to that mutant... the grenade penetrated the mutant's armor and exploded on the inside, tearing the thing apart. I tell him to put that thing away now, I'll not have him running off on some suicide mission. Besides, it's safer with Alex around... as long as no one does something stupid and pisses him off. Something stupid like firing a grenade at him. Josh says it will work. He starts to go around the car and into the open. I grab him and pull him back. I tell him to not try it. Seriously. Don't do it. He looks into my eye for a bit and then goes back to his sleeping bag. He says if I feel that strongly, he'll think of something else. He sets the weapon on the pile of stuff and lies back down. I watch him for a bit longer. He shifts uneasily and then gets up again. He says he has to take a piss. He sounds annoyed at me. Oh, well. Better he be annoyed than have him run off and get killed by Alex Mercer. He disappears between two buildings to do his business behind a dumpster.

I look back to the sky. All is quiet. But Josh is taking too long... could something have happened? Zombies or mutants this close to Alex? It would be unexpected, but not impossible. I am about to follow him into the alley. I ready my energy. I am loathe to use it, dark energy. I hate the way it makes me feel, and it adversely affects the area. But if Josh needs me to use it to save him, I will. I start towards the alley when there is an explosion behind me, out in the street where I saw Alex. A Blackwatch attack? They're always trying to blow Alex up, always failing. I peek out into the street. Now it is silent. Blackwatch has never tried just one attack... Something inside of me feels cold, it's dread.

I look from my hiding place and see what I feared. Josh is out in the street waving at me. He yells at me that I should have believed in him. Alex Mercer is history. He comes towards me slowly. The moonlight reveals his I-told-you-so grin. There is movement behind him. I look beyond Josh and I see something surprising. Alex Mercer is in two pieces! His top half is about three feet from his bottom half. Then there's more movement. The two halves are moving, coming slowly together. I motion to Josh to hurry. He goes even slower, spreading his arms out like he's some kind of victorious hero. I point at Alex, who is now merging back into one piece. He looks and seems to freeze for a bit, unable to believe what he's seeing. I motion to him to hurry. He starts running towards me. He's too far away! He circled around a building to sneak past me and my objections. But he is almost here! He has almost reached our hiding place when a taloned tendril pierces his chest. I have a split second to see the stunned look on his face before he gets pulled back the other direction. Pulled back to a seriously pissed off Alex Mercer. I have no choice but to use the dark energy to get him back. I call on the energy, I feel it rising inside me. I stand up to get Josh back... but he's already gone. Alex has already consumed him. But so fast?

I drop back out of sight, collapsing to the ground beside the wrecked car. The dark energy subsides, replaced by an icy coldness. It's so cold. Josh is gone... why did he have to be such a fucking idiot?! Why couldn't he have just listened to me?! What the fuck was he thinking?! Blackwatch has hit Alex with volleys of missiles and grenades and rockets and it has done nothing! What is one stupid explosive going to do?! I'll tell you what it'll do! It'll PISS HIM OFF! It'll just piss him off... Damn it, Josh... you IDIOT! I'm not really angry at Alex... what else would be expected after Josh... that damn idiot... had literally blasted Alex into two pieces? Of course Alex is going to fight back. Nothing else would be logical. Why did Josh have to be so stupid? I am angry at Josh for leaving me to go on what he should've known was a suicide mission. He was really all I had. What would I do without him? My mind continues like that, I find I am crying. I am relieved that I still can cry. The darkness wouldn't take over immediately. Maybe it won't. Maybe I can resist it. Maybe I can...

I am distracted from my thoughts by movement right in front of me. I look up and see Alex is standing right in front of me, looking down at me. Shit... I curse at myself. I was so caught up with Josh being gone that I had forgotten something really important. When Alex consumes someone he gets the memories of the person he consumed. Josh knew where I was hiding... so of course Alex would know that now. I had needed to depart from the hiding place immediately and disappear into the night. Easily done in the night, but I hadn't moved an inch. And now it's too late. Well, at least I don't have to worry about the darkness consuming me, Alex will take care of that... I just lean back against the wrecked car, close my eyes, and wait. I don't really care what happens. Not a good sign. I find myself hoping Alex will hurry up and kill me before darkness fills my heart. Then I will never have to feel the cold. But nothing happens. I open my eyes and he is still there looking at me. Um... what happened? Is the darkness somehow visible and making me look like an oddity? Now I am just staring back at him. The moonlight is reflecting off of his eyes in a hypnotic way. Just look at those eyes... I shake my head quickly... what the fuck am I thinking?!

I am clearing my head when Alex finally does something. He puts his arms around me and lifts me up. I wonder what he is doing. I keep my eyes closed, but I feel us moving quickly, sometimes it feels like flying. This goes on for a short while and then it seems we are inside someplace. We go through a couple more doors and then Alex carefully lies me down on what feels like a bed. This is very confusing. He would know I was with Josh, so why am I still alive? I hear Alex speaking. He says since Josh isn't here to watch me he had brought me someplace that should be safe from the infected. Infected? Does he mean zombies and mutants? They had seemed like monsters. I'd never considered maybe they were sick or infected with something... Alex says he knows I tried to keep Josh from attacking, and he had assumed Josh was Blackwatch. Josh wasn't Blackwatch... though he had been dumb enough to think they would honor their reward even if he had succeeded. So Alex doesn't plan on killing me after all. It's cold, and I shiver. My sleeping bag is back at the hiding place. I feel Alex lie down beside me, close to me. Close enough that I feel his body heat. I feel him put his arms around me... all six of them?! No... four of those "arms" are tendrils, but those are warm, too. I am feeling warmer. I want to ask Alex why he seems to be helping me after what happened with Josh. But I am also very tired. Before I can manage to ask I fall asleep, a nice and peaceful sleep, and wake up in bed.

12/11/13

A Father's Death
I wake up lying in a comfortable bed that I know right away is not my own. I am Amelia. The first thought that returns to my mind is my father turning his back on me, not caring if I live or die. I bury my head in the pillow wishing I could just fall back asleep and maybe next time I wake up all of this will be just a bad dream. I am getting close to falling asleep when I hear someone enter the room with me. A man beside the bed whispers my name quietly. "Amelia? Amelia, wake up… we have to go." Go? Go where? And who was in my room? I open my eyes and look at the man beside my bed. It's Alex Mercer. Alex Mercer! For just an instant I am alarmed and I sit up quickly, wondering if there is any quick path to escape. But then the sleep clears out of my mind. I have nothing to fear from Alex. He has made it very clear he has no interest in hurting me. And he certainly wouldn't hurt me after I helped him get the formula for the serum he needed to cure his sister Dana. He steps back a bit and says he's sorry he startled me. He says Dana is awake, so he wants to go to the hospital and see her. He says it's not safe for me to stay here alone, there has been too much activity among the infected here recently. So he wants to take me with him. For some reason his show of concern for my safety makes me want to go give him a big hug. It's not really something I am accustomed to… my sorry excuse for a father sure hadn't showed any concern for my safety…

I get out of bed and follow Alex back into the room with the computers. I ask if the infected would really come into the apartment. He points at the hole and says that's where a supreme hunter grabbed Dana right out of her computer chair and took her to Elizabeth Greene for who-knows-what malevolent purpose. He'd gotten Dana back before Greene had finished what she was doing, but that was why Dana had needed the serum. He crouches down so I can get on his back and ride piggy-back again. This time I hold on as tight as I can without him saying anything. And then he is off like a flash, into the air, over buildings, up walls, then he glides in for a landing in an alley behind a hospital. He sets me down and motions for me to follow him inside. I look around. I don't see any sign of infected around there, but I follow Alex anyway. I follow him through several halls and we finally get to a room. The room looks disturbingly like a morgue… I see a sign on the door that says that's exactly what it is. For an instant I am afraid Dana died after all, but no… Alex had said she is awake. I follow Alex into the room and close the door behind me.

In the morgue I see there are a couple dead bodies on tables. I make a point of ignoring those. Alex is with two other people talking. One of the two people is a black man in doctor's garb, and the other is a red-haired woman dressed casually, though her clothes are a bit dirty and ripped. That must be Dana. Alex motions to me to come over where he introduces me to the other two. The doctor is Dr. Ragland, one of the few people Alex feels he can trust, and the woman is Dana Mercer, which I had already guessed. Alex introduces me to them as Amelia, and says I'm the one that managed to get the formula for the serum. Dr. Ragland tells me I did a great thing, that formula saved Dana's life. I force a smile at them, though I don't feel like smiling. I can still hear my father's voice in my mind saying I am of no use to him. Kill her, eat her, fuck her… I don't care… I try to push the voice from my mind before I start crying. Alex asks if I am ok. I lie to him and say I am fine. I'm sure he doesn't want to hear about my problems.

As Alex, Dana, and Dr. Ragland are talking I just kind of move away from them. I feel uncomfortable and out of place. I feel like I don't belong there. So since no one has noticed me move away from the group I continue and leave the morgue. I find my way to the front of the hospital and look outside. There are people out there, regular people, uninfected people. None of them seem alarmed about anything, so I reason it must be relatively safe here. I go outside into the sun. It feels nice. I look around at the people walking and talking and I realize I have never felt so alone. I just walk to the stairs that lead to the front door of the hospital where I sit down, not sure where to go, not sure what to do. I spend a short time crying silently, which no one seems to notice. Or maybe just no one cares. My tears finally dry up but I still don't know where to go so I stay there.

I am still sitting there when a uniformed soldier approaches me, looking at me like he is seeing a ghost. He asks if I am Amelia. I say yes. He is stunned beyond belief. He says everyone at the base is certain I must be dead. He helps me to my feet. He continues talking. He asks how I managed to get away from Mercer. He says that ever since Mercer broke his end of the deal by refusing to release me, everyone had assumed he had probably consumed me to see if I knew anything about… I interrupt him. I ask him exactly what he thinks happened that night. He says an arrangement was made to trade some serum to Mercer for my safe return. The serum had been delivered, but Mercer had refused to let me go, and had instead taken me with him when he left. He said people had searched… I interrupt him again. The serum was delivered? No way! That bastard that calls himself my father had flat out refused to hand over the serum, he'd flat out refused to even consider it! I am so upset that I am on the verge of tears again, but this time there is a fair amount of anger mixed with my grief. That bastard is making himself out to be a victim! I tell the soldier that Alex never did anything to hurt me, in fact he had let me go. My story is not quite true, rather I snuck away while Alex had been talking to Dana and Dr. Ragland, but I have no doubt in my mind he would have let me go even if he had seen me leaving. The soldier doesn't seem to know what to say. He asks if Mercer really let me go, but doesn't wait for an answer. He said we should get back to the base, then leads me to his vehicle and we leave.

I actually have thoughts that I don't want to go back to the base. There's nothing there for me. But I don't say anything, and we drive in through the heavy gates that protect the entrance. I get out of the vehicle and walk towards the residence section. And there he is. The bastard that claims to be my father. The bastard that refused to trade a failed experiment for my safe return. That bastard… He comes over to me with his arms spread wide, saying over and over how happy he is to see that I am ok. He says he's been afraid he would never see me again. He keeps talking and I walk right over to him. Without a moment's hesitation I pull my right fist back and punch him in the face as hard as I can. SMACK! I hurt my hand when I do that. I also feel my father's nose bend unnaturally to the side. Blood spurts from the nose and all over my hand. I start yelling at him, letting the anger out. "A failed experiment? You were willing to give me up for a FAILED EXPERIMENT?! YOU ASSHOLE! YOU ROTTEN PIECE OF SHIT!"

My father takes a towel from a man who hands it to him. He holds the towel to his nose to stem the bleeding. He has the nerve to be getting mad at me. He says I shouldn't talk about what I don't understand. He says he had everything under control until Mercer grabbed me and left. I ask what part of his plan involved riddling my body with bullets as his thugs tried to shoot Alex. He says they are good enough with their weapons, they weren't going to hit me. He hesitates, then asks me how I know what serum Mercer had been after. I tell him Alex pointed out which one he needed… when I hacked into his computer. I speak plenty loud enough so anyone in the area can hear that he has what is no doubt an unauthorized copy of classified information on his personal computer. He asks if I want to get him in trouble. I say the answer is the same as his answer to, "Do you want to watch your daughter die?" He repeats that he had everything under control. He asks how I could hand classified information over to Mercer. I ask him how he was so willing to turn ME over to Alex? He says I shouldn't talk to my father like that. I tell him I'm not. My father is dead. He hesitates, not seeming to know what to say. Neither does anyone else. The room is dead silent. I tell the man who once was my father that he is nothing to me now. He is shit.

I turn and walk away from the asshole. He grabs my arm. I feel like kicking him in the balls. He says I can't just walk away, I aided and abetted the enemy. He wants to know where Mercer is right now, what he is up to, where he took me, how I managed to escape. I tell him I have no idea where Alex is right now, I can't say where he took me because it was not through a route I am used to traveling, and I didn't escape… he let me go. He asks where I last saw Mercer. I tell him I wouldn't tell him where Alex was if Alex was sneaking up right behind him! He glares at me and then speaks to a man beside him. He says I was picked up by the hospital, and that is too far away for me to have gotten on foot. So Mercer must have taken me there. Go there and make sure Mercer doesn't leave there alive! Level the entire area if you have to, but don't let Mercer escape! Someone asks what about the civilians seeking medical help there. The asshole says they don't matter, all of them are infected and just haven't shown symptoms yet. They're already dead! I tell the thing that claims to be my father that he is the absolute lowest form of life I have ever seen. The reports are all right… there is a monster running around the city. But it's not Alex, it's him. He tells one of the soldiers to escort me to my quarters and make sure I stay there. In my current state of mind I might run off and warn Mercer.

One of the soldiers takes my arm gently and uncertainly. He is clearly not comfortable with the situation. He leads me from the room. He stops once we're out of sight. His name is Steve. He says I know my father better than he does… would he really kill everyone in that hospital just on the slim chance they might be able to take Mercer with it? I tell him I would have said 'no' just last week, but now I would have to say 'yes' definitely. He says someone has to warn the hospital so they can evacuate the patients. We go into a room with some computers. He tries to open communications to the hospital but all communications are shut down. He curses, then says all the computers are on lock down since a hacker was detected… He says he will have to go to the hospital. He says I should go to my quarters where it's safe. I tell him I don't think that's safe considering how crazy my father is acting and that he seems to think I have teamed up with Alex.

Steve hesitates, then says I can go with him. We hurry to the area where the vehicles are parked and get into a Jeep and take off out the door. Speeding down the empty streets makes the trip go pretty fast, but it still seems to take forever. Questions go through my mind. How long will it take to organize a massive attack on the hospital? Is Alex still there? How about Dana? Dr. Ragland is surely still there… We finally arrive at the hospital and Steve jumps right out and runs inside. I am right behind him. While he heads for security, however, I head for the morgue. I run all the way there and I am rather winded when I get there. I go inside and find it is empty. No one is there. I'm not sure if that's good or bad. I go into the next room, which is a lab. Dana is in there sleeping on a couch. Dr. Ragland and Alex are facing the other way and talking. I am trying to catch my breath. Alex looks over and sees me there. He asks where I went off to. I tell him that's a long story, but Blackwatch is attacking the hospital any minute now, so he'll want to get Dana and Dr. Ragland out of there. Alex changes form into a soldier and leaves the room.

I follow Alex back to the front of the hospital. I can already hear helicopters in the distance approaching. And the engines of tanks. It's too late to evacuate… Alex asks Steve what is going on. Steve says the commander has gone mad… he's going to bomb the shit out of the hospital. He said we need to get as many people out as possible. Alex says there isn't time. He runs out towards the approaching enemies. I see several helicopters in the air, but I can't see the ground forces yet. Then I see Alex launch into the sky right in the middle of the group of helicopters. He explodes in a huge mass of what look like tendrils (tendril barrage devastator) that punch right through the choppers as if they are paper. The choppers explode and Alex drops back to the ground. Steve looks at me in shock… he says that other soldier was Alex Mercer! He looks around and exclaims that he was face-to-face with Alex Mercer and he's still alive! I am too far away to see any details, but I hear a lot of explosions and I can tell there is a big fight going on out there. That goes on for a while longer and then everything goes silent. Smoke is rising out there, everyone waits to see if anyone emerges.

A single soldier finally emerges from the smoke and destruction. A single soldier that does not even look injured. He gets a bit closer and looks around the area. Everyone has stopped whatever they were doing to watch what was happening. Some civilians are coming from the general direction of the smoke. They all have different descriptions of what they saw. There is only one thing that everyone agrees on. A huge Blackwatch attack force had been closing in on the hospital for unknown reasons when Alex Mercer had single handedly put a stop to the attack. The single soldier comes over near me. Steve backs away from the single soldier, who I have no doubt is Alex. The conversations around me are all about Blackwatch attacking a civilian hospital and Alex Mercer defending it, it seems a lot of people are expressing disbelief about that happening but none are really denying it. The conversation shifts to Blackwatch lying and Blackwatch cover-ups. Alex asks if I am ok. I say I am fine.

A jeep drives up to the front of the hospital. I see the asshole who was once my father in it. He gets out and glares right at me. He says he should have known. He looks at Steve and says he is in a lot of trouble. Because of him I got out and warned Mercer, and now Mercer has disappeared again. Steve glances over at Alex but says nothing. My former father turns to me and says even Steve isn't in as much trouble as I am. He says he has never been so ashamed of his own daughter. I remind him that my father is dead, I am no daughter of his. He says I am under arrest. Alex comes over beside me and tells my former father to leave me alone. My former father looks at Alex's name tag and refers to him as Brandon, telling him to mind his own business. Steve asks if my former father really ordered an attack on a civilian hospital. He says this was a rare chance to eliminate Alex Mercer, but thanks to me, the bastard got away. Steve glances at Alex again but still says nothing. Alex walks right up to my former father and says again to leave me alone. My former father says maybe he should take "Brandon" in with me, and Steve, too, if we all insist on siding with Mercer. Steve says he's not siding with anyone. Alex says my former father won't be ordering any more attacks on civilian targets. The asshole tells Alex he'll order whatever attacks he wants whenever he… Alex interrupts him by consuming him right on the spot.

Alex takes the form of my former father. Steve moves farther away, he pretends to have not noticed anything out of the ordinary. It seems no one else noticed at all, everyone is too occupied by talking amongst themselves. I am just staring. I was so very angry at that asshole who called himself my father… but I'm still not sure what to think of the fact Alex just killed him. In fact, I feel rather light headed. Maybe too much has happened just recently. Too much stress. The world is spinning. There are now three Steves and three Alexes looking at me. I feel like I am falling over. Alex gets closer and catches me before I can fall to the ground. Steve is just watching as Alex catches me before I can fall. He also seems unsure of what to say or do, and he ends up saying and doing nothing. Alex looks around, then back at me… all five of him. Alex says he will get me someplace safe. He says he won't let anything happen to me. He lies me on the back seat of the Jeep and drives away from the hospital, probably to avoid attracting any attention. We are driving along when everything fades to black and I wake up in my own bed.

11/26/13

Consuming Power
I am in a city I don't recognize. It is night time, and it is quite dark. Even darker than it usually is at night in a city. None of the lights seem to be on. I wonder why I might be here. I start looking around until I hear some people talking. I come around a corner and I see a man moving towards me. I realize the sky is beginning to lighten and I can make out that the man is some kind of military soldier. He has an assault rifle of some kind aimed at me.

He sounds very unfriendly as he tells me to freeze and not move. He demands to know who I am and what I'm doing there. I cooperate, not sure if he is friend or foe, ally or enemy. I give him the name Raven Knight and I say I am not there to cause any trouble. He says I already am causing trouble. I wonder how I am causing a problem, but he doesn't bother with any more questions. He opens fire on me. A spray of bullets hit my upper torso and cause a small tingling sensation. "Oh, shit! You're HIM!" the soldier says before firing a couple grenades and then turning and making a run for it. The grenades explode in my face, but I don't really notice any effect beyond a flash of light and a slight warmth. I see the soldier about to go around a corner and I think it will be bad if he gets a chance to alert the others. I use a tendril to pull him back over. I have the guy right in front of me and he is just begging me to let him go, he is also calling me Mercer… as in Alex Mercer? I don't really want to kill a guy who is begging for his life, so I am about to let go of him when I realize he has been maneuvering his right hand with some kind of gun in it… to fire a large blast right at my chest. The blast punches a hole right through me, but I don't feel a thing. I look down at the hole in my chest just in time to see it seal itself up, completely mending the Assassin's robes I am wearing, leaving no trace I have ever been shot. The man has a look of sheer terror on it now, though he has gone silent. He then starts yelling in my face, calling me a monster and saying there is no way I'm going to get out of this one alive! He thinks they really have a way to kill Alex? I have to know for sure… he already thinks I'm Alex Mercer so I just consume him and then I know everything he knows. They do have a plan to kill Alex, though this guy didn't know what it is, just to meet his commander at a certain time and place. So I'll attend that meeting in his place.

There are four other guys at the meeting and the commander. I know all of the guys as the other people in my squad. The commander holds up a large syringe of some yellow fluid that looks like piss. He says that is the answer to all of our problems. A virus that will completely destroy Alex Mercer. He laughs like he is a bit crazy. From the guy I consumed I know he has been more than a bit obsessed with Alex. He says the virus in the syringe will make the fucker consume himself. He laughs again and then gets serious. He says we only get one chance. If Mercer survives being dosed with this stuff he'll most likely be immune to it. He says someone has to dose Mercer, then when the virus has him weakened, hit the shit with everything we got until there's nothing left! Now… the plan is to distract Mercer, but someone will have to sneak in and dose him. He says the odds are against that person escaping alive, so first he's looking for volunteers. Josh says he is definitely the one. Blake says Josh is about as stealthy as a freight train. I don't say a word. I step out of sight and become invisible. I sneak behind the commander and relieve him of his gun, his backup gun, and his combat knife, using telekinesis to aid me in remaining undetected. I return to the group, becoming visible and saying I should be the one to deliver the virus. The commander asks why it should be me. I show him his guns and his knife, asking if he has lost something. He calls me Barnes and says he never realized I had it in me… the job is mine. He said to go in quickly and try to get out quickly if I can, but if I don't make it, I'll die a hero.

So then we play the waiting game. Waiting for Alex to show himself. This almost bores me into waking up. But then we get notice and depart at once. Alex is facing off against a large number of Blackwatch forces that include tanks and people. He seems pissed about something. He is asking "Where is she?" The commander tells me to do my thing and hands me the syringe of toxin.

I get out of sight and turn invisible. I get closer to Alex without any problem, thinking about the situation. The commander said if he recovers from the toxin he will be immune. That seems like a good idea. And I can make sure it doesn't kill him one way or another. Healing him… letting him consume me… so I get right behind him and drop my invisibility before completing my assigned mission by giving him the toxin. Of course that doesn't go unnoticed. Alex turns and sees me, grabbing me by the neck as quick as a blink. Then the toxin starts having its effect. Alex looks like he is in considerable pain and drops to his knees, though his grip on me doesn't lessen any. I hear what sounds like the commander yelling to fire, hit him with everything! Alex is glaring at me with more hate than I have ever seen in him, he asks what I did to him… but doesn't wait for an answer. I smile and tell him it's show time just before he consumes me. I am familiar with the process of being consumed, though this time it proves to be significantly more uncomfortable, though still not painful since I don't feel pain in dreams. A sensation of something being drained out of me, very uncomfortable. I figure that's because the Alex I know is more careful when he does it, this Alex was pissed. As I become conscious again, now fused with Alex, I hear explosions all around us. I look through Alex's eyes and see there is an energy field around us that is blocking all of the explosions safely away.

Apparently Alex already discovered one of my abilities to make an energy field. I can tell from Alex that the 'she' he had been looking for is Dana, apparently she has been kidnapped by Blackwatch. Kidnapped by the commander I'd been working for. The explosions around us finally subside. The entire area around Alex is now a huge crater with only the spot he is standing remaining unscathed. Alex stands up and looks at the Blackwatch forces all around us, I can tell he is now recovering nicely from the toxin I gave him. He beat it and will only get stronger from here. There had been people cheering all around us, but now they all fall silent. Aside from the sound of engines idling there is total silence. Alex scans the troops on the ground and spots the commander near the front of the group, apparently wanting a front row seat to watch Alex die. The commander is yelling at everyone to kill Alex, but no one seems too keen to try it after what they just witnessed. Some of them do attack, however. Alex makes a straight line for the commander, using his blade to slice through attackers as he goes. He grabs the commander by the neck and drags him up the nearest building and out of sight of the troops. The commander is trying to make a bargain with Alex to trade Dana's location for his own release, but Alex doesn't need him to tell where Dana is… Alex consumes him and immediately knows.

Alex is off like a shot, jumping off the building and gliding to the next one before sprinting along it and jumping again. Just a couple more jumps and glides and I see we are standing outside a large gate entering into a military base. It looks like a pretty strong gate, closed up tight. But apparently it's not strong enough for the new Alex Mercer… he uses another of my dream abilities and opens up with an energy blast like a Final Flash and blasts it right at the gate. The gate holds briefly and then practically vaporizes in a blast. Alex walks through the opening left by the decimated gate.

Most of the people inside are running around like they haven't got a clue what is going on. One man, however, is standing right in the middle of the main entry and facing Alex as if he thinks he might be invincible. The man says he had been hoping to see Alex here. He says he will get to kill both Mercers. Alex stops short… he already killed Dana? The man answers as if Alex had asked the question aloud. He says yes, he killed Dana… and if only Alex had been there to hear her scream. To hear her begging for mercy, to hear her calling out, "Alex! ALEX!" even though there was absolutely nothing Alex could have done to save her. He laughs. I can feel Alex getting very pissed off. I wonder if there is anything this guy can do to harm Alex. He is clearly trying to provoke Alex… And it works. Alex forms his claws and rushes at the guy with the intent to rip him limb from limb. The guy transforms into some weird tentacled thing… with lots of tentacles. Several of the tentacles wrap themselves around Alex, tightly holding him. The man laughs again and said Alex made that way too easy. Alex is the one laughing now, he says that the man should think again. He uses one of my song spells, Battery by Metallica, and hits the guy with a large bolt of lightning. The electricity flows through him, causing him to spaz out and release Alex. He is looking around with an expression that clearly says, "What the FUCK?!" Alex uses another song, Crush 'Em by Megadeth, and the force of a gravity bomb forces the man into the ground, creating a crater as it does so. The man is struggling to his feet when Alex reaches him. Alex says the man is going to wish he had never touched Dana. He consumes the guy, but the process seems to take forever and appears to be extremely painful. When it is finally done I see that he hasn't killed Dana after all, though he had been planning on it. Alex finds out Dana is still alive and heads straight for where they are holding her. An energy blast breaks through the door to the detainment area. He still has his claws formed and uses them to shred several guards into bloody ribbons. We reach the door to the cell Dana is in. Alex just rips it off its hinges and goes inside. Dana is in the back corner of the room, she backs away when she sees Alex with his claws formed. He changes back to his normal human form before approaching Dana. She seems almost unable to believe it's him. "Alex? It's really you? I knew you'd come! They kept saying they'd killed you, but I knew they had to be lying!" So with Dana on his back and holding on tightly Alex returns to the front entrance where there are numerous enemy soldiers aiming weapons at him. He doesn't even mess with them right now, it is more important to get Dana to safety. He launches into the air and flies over all of them, making it out of range before most of them can even fire. He continues running through the city towards a place he believes Dana will be safe in. I never find out where that is, however, I wake up.

09/26/13

Fusing a Broken Heart
I wake up in my bed, though I know right away it isn't my real bed. It is my bed in the dreamscape world inside my inner world. I am lying there pissed off, filled with anger, filled with hurt. I don't want to get up; I don't want to deal with the world right now. I finally sit up when it feels like someone is watching me. I'm not alone. I look around the room and I see Alex Mercer from Prototype is in the room with me. I wonder what he is doing there… I get out of bed and go closer to him. I am currently so filled with anger and hate that I'm not sure what I intend to do… I want to hug someone… I want to punch someone in the face. Um… not sure doing either of those things to Alex Mercer is a good idea… but then I'm not thinking much clearly at all. When I get close enough to Alex I guess I have decided I'd rather hug someone than punch them in the face, so I find myself hugging Alex Mercer. I am so upset that I am crying, I feel there is no one I can trust, no one I can count on. I find Alex is hugging me back now… holding me close… too close? I tingle all over… I feel a bit better. I go to pull away but I find I can't… because Alex isn't hugging me after all… he's consuming me! I try to pull away again, but then decide I don't really care. So I just sit there and let it happen. Everything fades to a comforting blackness.

But the dream continues. I am still there. Inside Alex? Fused with Alex? We are one. I actually find that a bit disappointing… but I realize I feel better than I did before. Not so alone. Still rather pissed off, but pissed off at someone specific. Pissed off at Templars. I hear Alex talking to me telepathically; he asks how I am feeling right now. I say I am feeling some better, but why did he do that? At least ask first… he says he had been hoping to help me feel better. Ok, now that makes absolutely no sense… so the next time I want someone to feel better I should go eat them?! He says I can be mad if I want to, but as long as it worked… but I'm not feeling mad at Alex. I am pissed, but it is at the Templars. I want to kill Templars. It feels like the Templars have taken away everything that matters in my life… There is a flat screen television in the room with Alex / me. We are still as one. The screen shows what looks like a lab of some kind. There are scientists all over the place, and cages. Cages with people, cages with other animals… test subjects. The scientists… all Gentek assholes. I have no doubt of that. So now I am pissed off at Gentek.

Alex / I go through the television into the lab on the other side, no doubt appearing out of nowhere as far as the scientists can see. One of them asks who the fuck I am… no doubt he sees only Alex… and Alex is the last thing he ever sees. Alex's / my arm forms into a blade that splits the shocked scientist in two. Of course the other scientists see that and freak out, running for the doors in a blind panic. I want to let the animals out of their cages. The people, too. Those stupid scientists should be in the cages instead. But the scientists are all gone now. So Alex / I start releasing the people and animals locked in cages. I'm not sure where everyone will go, or how to get out of there. Some of the people and animals are injured in various ways. I focus on healing their injuries. I wonder if there are injuries there that I can't heal. The doors to the lab burst open and now a bunch of Templar soldiers come in with guns blazing.

They clearly don't care who they hit, they start firing before they even get a visual lock on where Alex / I am. The people freed from the cages are running for the exits, some of them stopping to help animals and other people on the way. A few of them get shot. I see a specific kitty is running towards the exit and takes a bullet in the head… I see a cute little face explode and I am instantly unbelievably pissed off. Arm forms back into a blade and now Templar soldiers are the targets. They are aiming more accurately at me now, but I don't really seem to notice the bullets. Slight irritants. That's about all it is. My memory of the fight is a bit of a blur… cutting through body armor like it was made of tissue paper… a lot of blood, and Templar soldiers dying. I see the remaining Templar soldiers have decided to run for it after all, and I don't feel any urge to chase after them. I would rather tend to the injured people and animals in the lab. I gather the animals together to bring them back to my inner world, I know Angelina will be glad to take care of them. Alex / I am doing that when everything fades to black. Alex says not to worry about it, he will make sure the animals are safe. So I wake up.

07/09/13

Hug-a-Stranger Day
I am at a T intersection of an alley way. The passages extend to my left and right, and the passage in front of me leads to a street that appears deserted. I do not recognize where I am, though it never occurs to me that I might be dreaming. I am still there trying to figure out where I am when a man comes around the corner.

He pauses briefly and looks at me strangely. He seems somehow familiar, but I just can't think of his name or of where I might have seen him before. I notice that he doesn't look too good… he is moving like he has been badly injured and might collapse at any point. I find myself wishing I had my healing powers in my waking life. I feel I would really like to use my healing powers to heal this man even though I can't remember who he is. I hear someone on the main street approaching from the left. It sounds like a lot of someones. I wonder who that might be. Are they the ones responsible for this man's current condition? If so, they almost surely want to finish him off. I figure maybe I can't heal him, but maybe I can help him get to a place to hide until the enemies go away. The man is making his way towards me, so I go over to him and start helping him farther back into the alley. We get near the back of the alley; I stop to look around for someplace to get him out of sight. I hear the people chasing after him getting closer. The man is now standing behind me as I try a door that is partially hidden behind a dumpster. It is unlocked. I wonder if the people behind him could be dumb enough to miss the door. Maybe I could stay outside and misdirect them. I turn around to find the man right in front of me looking at me strangely. He says he really wishes he didn't have to do this but he can't let "them" have their way. I figure he means the people behind him. Then he hugs me. He gives me several firm squeezes and then lets me go. Now he looks puzzled and a bit alarmed. He says something didn't work, and it might be too late, could it be he's just not strong enough now? There's no time to find out what he's talking about or why he hugged me… is this some kind of Hug a Stranger Day? I tell him the door is unlocked, go in, and I'll try to misdirect his pursuers. He hesitates, looking at me strangely one more time before disappearing through the door. The door closes and I get out from behind the dumpster just as a couple men enter the alley. The man in front, who is clearly in charge, says it they almost have the bastard, don't let him get away!

Looking to delay them, I go over and hug the guy in charge. He pushes me away and asks what the fuck I am doing. I tell him I thought it was Hug a Stranger Day since that guy that just went by gave me a big hug. The man laughs, he says that guy wasn't giving me a hug… he was trying to consume me to make himself stronger… though he has no idea why it failed. Consume? My mind is starting to process slowly… The man identifies himself as being with Blackwatch and says it is important that I tell him which way this rogue hugger went. Blackwatch… consuming… wait… I'm dreaming! I do a reality check by pinching my nose and I can still breathe. I point to my right and say he went that way. I say I hope they get that asshole who tried to kill me. They head off in that direction. Of course I now realize the asshole who tried to hug me was Alex Mercer… But I don't feel angry at all, just glad that this means I can use my healing powers… and I love my Witchblade, which I am sure blocked Alex's attempt to consume me. I go to the door and go in, wondering how far Alex might have gotten… He hasn't gone very far. He is sitting on the ground a short ways inside. I wonder what Blackwatch could have done to get him in such a state. So I go over to him, he seems partly conscious and maybe resting, waiting to regenerate. I focus on the song Voices from Macross Plus, using the energy to speed up the healing process. He quickly heals and soon looks like his normal self. He asks what I just did… I tell him I'm a healer, so I used my healing energy. And Blackwatch is out chasing a wild goose… idiotic Templars… He starts to say something about what happened earlier, but I tell him I don't have time to stick around… I'm about to wake up. He looks puzzled at that statement and then I wake.
 
Poke… Poke…
I am walking down a city street in a city I don't recognize, though this doesn't seem strange to me. I am walking when I reach a spot where an alley branches off to the left. There is also a door to a business on each side of the alley. A large dumpster is sitting just inside the alley. For some reason I pause there for a few minutes. As I am trying to figure out where I am going I hear someone behind me yelling for help. I turn and look to see a normal looking man in black slacks and a blue shirt running down the sidewalk. He is pushing people out of his way and asking for help. Everyone he asks for help just turns away, however, clearly not wanting to get in on whatever trouble this man happens to be in. I think that is pretty pathetic, and when the man gets to me I ask what the problem is, is there someone chasing him? He says yes, there is someone chasing him… a mad man… he can't let that man catch him or he will be killed. The man says no, it's worse than being killed… he's heard that the man behind him will eat him alive. I am less inclined to take him seriously now that he's said the man chasing him is a psychopathic cannibal. He must notice the look on my face because he says he is being serious, there has to be somewhere to hide. He says he has to hide, all he needed was for me to not tell that monster behind him where he is hiding. He asks me for a promise, which I give. I promise I won't tell anyone where you hide. After a brief hesitation he says the hot air in the sun-warmed dumpster should help mask his body heat. So now he's also being chased by a predator?

I consider that this man might be on drugs… He goes right over to the dumpster and climbs in. I am standing there watching the dumpster, wondering how long that man intends to stay in the trash, when another man comes down the street in a big hurry. I can clearly see he is neither a monster nor a predator. Of course I can't tell if he might be a cannibal… He looks vaguely familiar but I can't place his name. He is wearing a brown hoodie under a black leather jacket.

Since most bystanders left when the first man was calling for help, I am the only one standing here now. The man who just arrived asks if I saw a man in a blue shirt and black pants come through here. I am not sure what to say. I don't feel at all certain what to do. The man in front of me says the one he's after couldn't have gotten out of sight yet, he wants me to tell him where the man is hiding… I must have seen. I make an effort not to look at the dumpster though I am still uncertain. I ask the man why he is searching for the man hiding. He says he just has a few questions to ask and he thinks that man has some answers. I tell him I can't say, I promised not to. I turn to walk away. When I turn the man grabs me from behind and covers my mouth with one hand and pokes me in my lower back with the other. WTF? So I elbow him in the crotch with my left elbow. That seems totally ineffective, and he pokes me a couple more times. His hold loosens and I use a move I learned in self defense class to spin around and kick him squarely in the crotch as hard as I can. He doesn't seem to care about that, though he does look very puzzled now. I ask what the fuck he's poking me for then I poke him twice in the chest… trying not to show my own bafflement at how the kick to the crotch did nothing. Maybe he doesn't even have balls? A somewhat fat and very smelly man comes out of one of the businesses. He says he can take me somewhere that lowlifes won't bother us. He lurches forward and grabs my breast. I kick him in the balls… he doubles over in pain and throws up. I comment mostly to myself that the technique still works… thus the man who poked me must have no balls. He doesn't seem to care about that statement; he grabs me by my collar and actually lifts me off my feet. I am looking directly in his eyes now, and I would not have any problem believing he is the psychopathic cannibal the first man said he was. I don't remember when I have ever seen someone with such lifeless empty eyes. It was like looking into an abyss, and the abyss was looking back at me. He asks again where the first man went. I tell him fuck off, you piece of trash. But this time I feel my gaze shift towards the dumpster briefly. He sets me down and heads over to the dumpster. I call him an asshole loudly enough for people on the other side of the street to hear. He doesn't even look back at me. He opens the dumpster and looks in, then drags the first man out by his neck. I wonder if I should try to intervene… I wonder if I could do any good, since I still don't realize I'm dreaming. The man in the blue shirt calls for help again, and then I hear him begging the asshole not to do it. I figure he means don't kill him. I head towards the two of them, thinking I can't just stand by if the asshole is going to kill the other man. I stop when the asshole throws the other man on the ground and literally beats him into a bloody pulp. Then the asshole actually absorbs the other man's body into his own body. It is truly disgusting. It looks like Alex Mercer consuming someone in Prototype… wait a minute… I do a reality check by pinching my nose, I can still breathe. It didn't just look like Alex Mercer consuming someone… that's exactly what it was! He takes off and runs up a tall building. I take flight and follow after him. I am already focusing on the song Touch My Heart from the Devil Hunter Yohko soundtrack. I fly up over the top of the building as the song is playing; Alex has stopped and is watching me. The song continues, golden energy surrounds and flows through Alex as usually happens. The song finishes. I want to see if it worked. I want to look at his eyes again and see if there's still nothing there… but I don't get a chance to before I wake.

Tigress then said there was more fun to be had, she said if these guys liked forced fighting so much, let's see how they do. She said she proposed a tournament, they would be fighting for their lives, and she chuckled evilly. I felt like I was losing the dream, I tried Allura's time dilation, and since it was technically a new dream I was able to stabilize the dream so it would continue…

Since Tigress seemed to know where she wanted to go, neither Nomad nor I interfered when she summoned up a stargate and used a small remote to dial up a destination. The stargate opened, I commented it was cool, and then we went through it. On the other side we were in a neighborhood that was actually rather nice. Tigress said there were still gangs in the area, just that these ones have more expensive toys… and purebred fighting dogs. That made me mad that they were using dogs like that, and it made me want to kick someone's ass. Tigress said she had other plans, though, it would start with the rescuing of the dogs and then continue to the fun part. The area was clearly divided by a river running through town, as were the territories of the two gangs.

The gang members weren't making any effort to keep a low profile, either. They displayed their colors proudly, driving through the street in tricked out cars blasting their music everywhere. I spotted one of them that looked like he was in charge, and went right up to him and asked if he was the one in charge around here. He asked what if he was, I said I had some product I was interested in unloading, but only to the guy in charge, I didn't want to deal with someone too low on the pecking order to make any decisions. He eyed me suspiciously, then apparently decided that he wasn't in any danger from a girl, and came with me. He said he would have to see my product first. I saw he had a gun tucked into his waistband of his jeans that he was fingering.

I led him back into an alley, he looked around and said the product had better be really impressive or he was going to put a slug in me right here. I said there was no product. He looked at me like he thought I was nuts, he called me a filthy cunt, and fired his gun at me. The bullet hit me right in the chest… and right in the Witchblade as it instantly formed, he did a double take at the fact the gun had proven useless. I walked right over to him and consumed him before he realized what was happening. Now having his form, I returned to the car and his buddies, I leaned on the door and peered inside, one of them, Johnny, asked what had just happened. I said that bitch had been playing games with me, so I'd plugged her. I told them to go ahead and go, I had to take care of things, make sure the right person was blamed for this killing. They drove off, though they looked a bit confused about the whole situation.

Tigress and Nomad came over to me, they both said they could recognize my energy, I said I wasn't hiding it. I said I knew where their kennel was, so we could go take their dogs. All three of us went to the kennel, there were a few gang members there but none of them questioned anything much since I looked like Marko and I said the others were new to the area, new initiates. One of them told me that the dogs for noobs were in the kennel on the right. Nomad said he wanted a really mean one. We went into the kennel, and while Tigress and Nomad teleported pit bulls and other assorted dogs back to my inner world I spray painted the tags of the opposing gang all over the kennel so it would look like their rivals had been there and taken the dogs. We even left a taunting note, issuing a challenge to take place on the main bridge between the two neighborhoods.

So now we just had to repeat that process on the other side of the river, and it went just as smoothly over there, even smoother… because when one of the higher ups of that gang saw me he came to challenge me himself, so it was easy to consume him. Finding their kennel and stealing their dogs went easily, and now we left another challenge letter and there was nothing to be done but wait at the bridge. I was scanning activity on both sides of the river, and soon some centralized movement formed. There was a growing group of people heading towards the bridge, the gangs were gathering together on both sides and approaching the meeting place, no doubt all very pissed off at the other gang and looking for some serious revenge. It wasn't long before they started arriving. I took my normal form, as I didn't want to be identified as being with either of the two gangs, and they met in the middle with murderous intent.

The one group, called themselves the Black Flames, asked the other group, calling themselves Blood Dragons, where their dogs were. The leader of the Black Flames, Jack, said he had no idea how they had gotten the dogs, but the Blood Dragons had better return them or it was going to get ugly. Stefan, the leader of the Blood Dragons, said they hadn't stolen the Black Flames' worthless mutts, and he wanted the Blood Dragons' dogs back immediately. Everyone there was getting both confused and angry, not sure who was telling the truth since both groups were adamantly denying involvement in the dog theft while just as adamantly accusing the other group. I stepped out between the groups, they looked at me as if I was mad, I asked if they had considered that neither of their gangs were responsible for the disappearance of the dogs. Jack asked what I was talking about, talk before dying, Stefan agreed, it was most likely the first time they had ever agreed on anything… Nomad said they were mistaken by blaming each other, Tigress said yeah, it was us who had stolen the dogs, and those dogs were now somewhere safe from the abuse they had been subjected to. Stefan said he knew an animal rights activist when he saw one, now we would be dog food for those poor innocent puppy dogs. Tigress said she had the perfect idea now, and we were all teleported…

To the middle of a Roman type coliseum where gladiators of old fought epic battles to prove who was the strongest and the most skilled in the land. Now the coliseum was full of assholes and the three of us, we teleported to the best seat in the place which would be reserved for royalty. All of the gangsters down below were really confused and disoriented, they were looking around. So now Tigress got up and told all of them the rules. They would fight to the death, and the one survivor would be allowed to leave the coliseum alive. They didn't have any problems fighting, so they fought. Black Flames vs. Blood Dragons, there was a lot of violence, knives cutting, guns shooting, fists flying, any weapons they had on them for the fight at the bridge were being used here. After a brief but brutal fight, there were seven Blood Dragons left, including Stefan.

Stefan said they had won, so let them out now. I said no, it wasn't over until there was only one survivor. They didn't want to fight each other. So we turned up the heat, literally. Now the Blood Dragons down there were bitching about the heat, about how it was unbearable, they were also getting cranky due to the heat. Really cranky… until a fight broke out, some of them still wanted to work together, others wanted to fight, a couple thought they were going to die due to the heat soon. Stefan tried to break up a fight between two of them, but was cranky himself… he got carried away and killed one of them, now they all got into a free-for-all, it ended when Stefan had the last of his pals pinned to the ground, he had a knife at the other guy's throat… The guy was pleading, "Don't do it, it's me, Richard, your brother!" Stefan said only one of them could leave, and he buried the knife in Richard's neck, Richard died with a last gurgling breath. Stefan stood up and looked at us, he was a bit cut and bruised, covered in blood that was mostly not his, and he said he was the winner, let him out. Tigress said of course. I didn't want to, Tigress said we had to keep our word… An exit opened and Stefan limped through it. All I heard was Stefan's screaming, and that was cut off by a bunch of barking and growling and snarling, I barely heard Tigress beside me, "Just beware of the dogs…" She laughed.

Back at the door Stefan had left through, several pit bulls came into the arena. Tigress said they had wanted a little payback. She said they were ready to go join all of the other dogs now. I wondered how many dogs total we had brought home tonight… it seemed like a lot of them. I was thinking that as everything faded and I woke.

Note: I found out from Tigress that there are some gangs that are running dog fighting rings, which involves all of the abuse, cruelty, and violence of any other dog fighting ring. The goal I had in mind was to kick their asses so they would never be able to abuse another dog again. I had this in mind as I slipped into a WILD.

I was in a city, it looked like the bad part of town, there was graffiti all over the walls and a lot of the buildings were in disrepair. I went looking around, I remembered why I was there. There must be some gang members somewhere in the area. I headed down an alley near my location, the alley seemed to be between two abandoned buildings. There was a door on the left, and a young man standing in front of the door. There was a pit bull dog sitting beside the man, the dog had a large chain around its neck. As soon as he heard me approaching, the dog started barking loudly and pulling at his chain, trying to get to me, the young man with him was urging him to attack me. He unchained the dog, and it came over and jumped on me, I telepathically spoke to the dog and told him I was a friend. The dog, though he looked like he was going to bite my face off, instead he licked my face in a big, sloppy dog kiss. I pushed the dog off of me, he sat there and looked at me with such a cute doggy look on his face… it made me want to pet him, which I did. I commented to the man there that he had such a cute dog. He was annoyed, though, he said his dog was supposed to be mean, he was supposed to be bad, strong! He came over and kicked the dog hard. That pissed me off. I told him he had just made a big mistake. He laughed at me, he said there was nothing I could do about it. I was about to zap him with a bolt of lightning, but I got an idea to find out where the others… and all the dogs… the method Alex Mercer used to find out something from his enemies… which is to consume them, so I absorbed the asshole completely, he barely got off a shocked scream before it was done.

Ok, so now I had the memories of the asshole, many of which made me rather nauseated, and I also knew where there were several more of the gang members, as well as where some of the dogs were locked in cages, cages much too small for that size a dog… I also had the form of the asshole I had just consumed, it was working just like it had in Prototype. I went into the abandoned building where there were three more dogs locked up in one room, and a couple more gang members there. One of them greeted me by the asshole's name, which was apparently Butch, and he gave me a high five, but then asked what was wrong with me… I said there was nothing wrong with me, but there was about to be something wrong with him… so I consumed him, and released the three dogs from their cages. With a total of four dogs, I found the third gang member in the building, he ended up facing the same fate as the other two assholes. From the third one I had discovered a valuable piece of information, the rest of the gang members were meeting in an abandoned lot to train their dogs… in other words, they were meeting there to force the dogs to fight. Well, it wasn't going to happen. I went directly to the site, where there were several more guys there and two girls, all of them had dogs and were near a fighting ring. There was a lot of talk about whose dog was stronger, who would win, bets being placed.

One of them looked over at me, called me Markus, and asked me what I was doing with Butch's and Craig's dogs? I said Butch and Craig didn't mind me taking them. He looked at me suspiciously, I glanced around to be sure no one was looking, and consumed him. One of the girls looked over at me, did a quick double take, and then came over. She asked what Wyatt had been doing with those extra dogs, she asked where Wyatt had gone without the dogs… well, never mind. She always had thought Wyatt was rather creepy. She was apparently this asshole's girlfriend, she got close and tried to kiss me, so I consumed her, and no one seemed to notice. One of the other guys came over and looked puzzled, he asked where Chris had gone. I told him Chris had gone to find Wyatt, who had shown up with like four dogs… The guy said he had never trusted that Wyatt… He told me we had better go find Wyatt before he did something stupid. I followed this guy around a corner… consumed him. Then the others in the group there, although it didn't go entirely unnoticed, the last two guys tried to escape and I had to pull them back with tendrils… from what these people knew, there were two more left who were selling drugs on the corner of fifth and main. I went directly there, there was one of them on the corner in a large coat, he told me to hold on, he was selling as well as he could. I told him I wasn't going to complain about that… after dealing with him, I found the last member of the gang in the alley nearby, he had a knife at the neck of a young woman and his pants down, he was in the middle of raping her! He never even saw me before I consumed him… the woman he was attacking was staring at me with wide eyes, then she ran down the alley as if I was about to attack her.

I was now in the alley, looking like an asshole, surrounded by a total of 11 dogs, most of them were pit bulls, though there were a couple of mutts that I didn't recognize the breed. I had telepathically spoken with all of them, and they were all looking at me with the tails wagging… I spent some time petting each dog, healing the ones who had injuries, but I was sure I would wake up soon. I wasn't ready, so I used Allura's time dilation method, there was still more to do here, but I will continue that in the next dream…