Rage Against The Machine 4

The air crackled with tension as I peeled myself off the crumbled concrete, feeling the weight of the Hunter's snarl before I even saw it. Eight feet tall, rippling with muscle, and skin that seemed to shimmer with disease, it charged with no hesitation.

"Alright, big guy," I muttered, wiping dust from my jacket. "Let's make this quick."

It swung first, claws swiping wide. I ducked effortlessly, my reflexes far sharper than its lumbering attacks. I wasn't here for a brawl, but I needed to stretch my new abilities. That, and I couldn't help finding this more and more fun.

As the next swipe came, I shifted, my arm morphing into a tendril whip that lashed out and sliced through its thick flesh. A sickening hiss escaped it, but it didn't slow down. These things were durable, I'll give them that.

The Hunter slammed into the building again, shaking the structure as debris rained down. I felt the tremor in my bones as I slid to the ground, grinning.

"Okay, maybe you do want to make this a little more interesting."

The thing charged me again, its massive claws gouging the pavement as it lunged forward. I sidestepped at the last moment, feeling the wind rush from its missed swipe. Its momentum carried it forward, giving me a perfect opening.

I crouched low, my arms transforming into wicked, serrated tendrils, and lashed out, slicing deep into the back of its legs. The tendons snapped like overcooked spaghetti.

The Hunter roared, stumbling but catching itself on all fours, snarling as it whipped its head back toward me.

"Still standing? Impressive."

Without missing a beat, it leapt forward, clearing the space between us in a blur of motion. It swung a claw down, faster than I expected, forcing me to bring up my shield at the last second.

The impact sent shockwaves through my arm, knocking me backward across the street and into the side of a parked car. The sound of bending metal screamed in my ears.

I spat out some blood, grinning through the pain. "Guess I should take you a little more seriously."

It came at me again, but this time I was ready. As it closed in, I used my own momentum to spring off the car, diving forward to meet it head-on. In mid-air, my body shifted, biomass rippling as my arms transformed into colossal hammer fists. I slammed both down on its head as we collided.

The force of the blow cratered the street beneath us, cracking the asphalt and sending a shockwave through the area.

The Hunter reeled, stumbling from the impact but still on its feet. Tough bastard. It slashed wildly, and I barely dodged in time, the edge of its claws catching my shoulder, tearing through flesh and muscle.

I hissed in annoyance, but it was a temporary distraction. My body was already repairing the damage, stitching itself back together almost as fast as it was ripped apart.

"You hit harder than you look," I muttered, cracking my neck as I circled the beast. "But not hard enough."

It lunged again, but this time I met it with raw strength. I grabbed its extended arm, planting my feet into the ground as I stopped its charge cold. For a moment, it struggled, trying to overpower me, but I wasn't budging. With a feral grin, I twisted, using the Hunter's own weight and momentum against it, flipping it over my shoulder and slamming it headfirst into the pavement.

Before it could recover, I morphed my arm into a massive blade and drove it down into its back, pinning it to the ground like a skewered insect. The Hunter screeched, thrashing wildly, but it was stuck.

"Let's see how you like this," I snarled, tightening my grip as the biomass in my arm surged, sending tendrils deep into the creature's body. I began to consume it, pulling in its strength, its memories, everything. The more I drained, the weaker its struggles became, the roaring gradually turning into a pitiful whine.

Just as I was about to finish it, the Hunter mustered one final burst of energy, snapping its head back and ramming into my torso. The blow sent me skidding across the asphalt, but I barely lost my footing.

"You're persistent, I'll give you that," I muttered, wiping blood from my lip.

It staggered to its feet, barely holding itself together, but I could see the fight leaving its body. It was desperate, cornered. I admired its will to survive, but there was only one way this was going to end.

I dashed forward, faster than the creature could react. This time, I didn't hold back. My body morphed mid-run, arms becoming massive claws, sharp and deadly.

I pounced on it, tearing into its flesh, ripping chunks off with each swipe, faster than it could regenerate. It tried to fight back, but every hit it landed was weaker than the last.

Finally, with one decisive motion, I grabbed it by the throat and hoisted it into the air, squeezing as I watched the life drain from its eyes.

"This is how it ends for you," I whispered, before crushing its windpipe.

The body went limp, and with a final pulse of biomass, I absorbed the remains, feeling its strength flow into me, its memories melding with my own. For a brief second, I saw flashes of GENTEK labs, a glimpse of the experiments they were running, the horrors they unleashed.

After consuming the lifeless husk, I stood there for a moment, feeling the quiet settle over the street.

"Training's over," I said to no one in particular, brushing the dust off my jacket. "Now for the real work."

With a quick glance at my surroundings, I resumed my walk toward the Upper East Side, a smirk playing on my lips. If that was just the warm-up, I couldn't wait for the main event. But I had to take care of someone else before heading to my apartment because unlike the original Alex, I know that place is set to blow.

Climbing to the top of a building that overlooked my apartment, I spread my new senses across the block. I could hear everything, smell everything. Soon enough, I picked up on a couple of men still awake in an abandoned apartment complex.

"Any signs of Subject Zeus?"

"Nothing on the monitors yet, sir. There was a call about some rabid infected, but nothing's showing up on nearby street cams."

"Keep looking. I'll take your place in another hour. I'm gonna go out for a smoke."

"Understood, sir."

What they didn't know was that I was already standing on the roof, overlooking the balcony where he watched my apartment. As the man walked out, I extended my whip fist, wrapping it around his neck.

I pulled him up, immediately covering his mouth with one of my tendrils.

"You know, I thought about doing one of those intimidation interrogation scenes, but then I remembered I don't need you alive to get your information. So I hope you enjoyed that last smoke. Take heart in knowing it wasn't cancer that got you, but me. Also, the fact that you didn't have to hear a cringe Batman voice."

He tried to scream, but I stabbed him through the chest with my other arm. As I consumed his memories, I found everything I needed: the location of the bombs in my apartment, and the fact that no reinforcements had been called yet.

Disguising myself as him, I dropped down and walked back into the room.

"Back already, sir? You usually take 15 minutes longer."

"I'm just gonna ignore the fact that you know how long my smoke breaks are. Any news on the infected zones?"

"Well, that's the weird thing, sir. Command has been on the fritz for a while. The infected are becoming more aggressive ever since Subject Zeus awakened. They keep trying to exit the zones, but we're holding them."

"Not good… anything on the cams yet?"

"Negative, sir. By the way, this may sound odd, but why don't you smell like cigarettes?"

"It's the new cologne I got, helps cover the smell."

"I find it hard to believe you use cologne, sir."

I walked over to him, seeing where all the cameras were pointed in the apartment, then gripped his neck and used a makeshift hidden blade to stab him through the brain.

"You were always so curious. Too bad curiosity can't save you from me."

After consuming him and disabling the bombs, I smashed all the hardware and jumped out the window towards my apartment.

Honestly, just being able to glide is amazing. I bobbed and weaved through the air like a rooster on speed, but I decided to experiment. Gliding is nice, but I needed more speed. I realized I could use the Blacklight virus to manipulate my breathing, pushing air into my legs for a burst of acceleration.

It worked. I was flying towards the building even faster, resisting the urge to scream in jubilation because, well, it'd be kind of cringe.

As I slammed into the concrete outside the apartment complex, I used my claws to dig into the wall and dropped down.

Inside, there was no one at the front desk, which made sense given the time. I reached the elevator and rode up to the penthouse suite. Thankfully, it was faster than the others I'd used, and thank God there wasn't any elevator music.

Soon enough, the door opened, and I walked down the hallway toward the penthouse. I didn't have a key, so I used one of my claws to manipulate the lock mechanism from the inside.

The door opened, and I was hit with a feeling of almost nostalgia. But I shook it off. This wasn't my apartment. Not anymore.

I headed to the computer and turned it on. Luckily, Alex had paid his electricity bill before becoming target practice for Blackwatch. And look at that—no password, just a DNA scan. Placing my thumb on the scanner, the screen changed to the default wallpaper.

Checking the drawers, I found an empty USB and began downloading all the files on the computer. Thankfully, there was just enough space for all the GENTEK and Blacklight data, along with some personal files. After that, I unplugged the computer and destroyed the tower.

Honestly, Alex should be thanking me. I was basically deleting his entire search history.

Satisfied, I walked to the safe in the wall. When it asked for a passcode, I gripped the handle and ripped the door off. Inside were a bunch of files, which I bundled together with some rubber bands I found. There was also a picture of Alex and Karen, along with an engagement ring. I was tempted to toss it out the window, but I kept it on me.

Before leaving, I took one last look around. Not much else of value, just some diplomas and books. I grabbed his ID and a few important papers, then decided to leave the fun way.

I ran toward the window and jumped out, gliding back toward Dana. But something about the infected becoming more aggressive gnawed at me. I had a feeling that dragon had something to do with it.

I could almost hear the laughter in the back of my mind.