Before You Read:

~This is post prototype 2, canon divergence AU where Heller doesn't consume Alex
~Alex and the blacklight virus are separate characters.
~Alex in this story is the actual original Dr. Alex J. Mercer
~The blacklight virus will be referred to as simply "Zeus" (when he finally gives himself that title)

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Dana had never slammed a door shut so fast in her life. She didn't get many visitors this time of night, especially unannounced ones. And those visitors especially were not that monster that masqueraded as her dead brother. Nope. Diiiidn't get that very often.

The doorbell rang again, and she jumped. No, please, no, don't, it couldn't be, there was no way-

"Dana," his gruff voice called through the oak that separated them. "Open. The. Fucking. Door."

She was dreaming, it had to be a dream, there was no this was actually happening. The last time Dana saw him was back in New York, the last thing she said to him, denouncing him as her brother, because Alex was dead and this thing, this murderous, genocidal thing, was trying to get her on his side. And now he was here?

He was going to kill her. That must be why. After five years, he finally found her and came back to kill her out of revenge for her backstabbing him. That had to be it. There was nothing she could do. There was no Blackwatch, no Heller, nothing between her and him. This was the end.

"Dana," he said again through the door. "Dana, please, come on, this kid needs a real bed, open the hell up."

Ki-….Kid? Dana hesitated, not sure if she heard him right. He could be bluffing, trying to lure her outside so he could grab her better. But then again, if he really wanted to kill her, he would have done so. He wouldn't have come to the door at all. Dana tiptoed closer to peer out the peephole. He was standing there, an imposing figure half-covered in shadows, illuminated in the porch light. And yet, she could see in his arms, a small bundle with a tiny, pale hand clinging to his chest…

God, help her.

Slowly and carefully, Dana grabbed the door handle, and eased the door back open, poking her head out cautiously as she did. His face was passive, the half she could see from under that hood. But cradled in his arms was the unmistakable form of a small child.

"Can we come in now?" he asked her gruffly. With the feeling of dread still in the pit of her stomach, Dana opened the door all the way to allow him inside. She waited for the ruse to life, for him to come flying at her, to be lifted by her neck as he as he consumed her in outrage-

But it never happened. Instead, he just walked in through the doorway, and he shut the door behind him, the child easily balanced in one arm as he did. Dana backed away until her butt hit the back of the couch, unsure of where to go, what to do, and what to expect. He stared back at her, unmoving, unflinching, completely silent. The silence reigned between them until the child in his arms stirred with a small whimper. He moved and looked down at the child, and spoke to it with a surprisingly gentle voice.

"Hey kiddo, we're here. At your sister's, like I promised."

Uh…what? What?!

He shifted the child in his arms until it sat at his hip, its head wearily lifting off his shoulder. Dana's heart froze solid seeing the dark, curly mane atop its head, and the big, sky blue eyes that blinked sleepily. She had seen those before. That face especially. Only in a few, scant pictures that were up in her mother's attic, but she knew them. The child looked from its holder, to her, and they held contact with one another for what felt like an impossibly long time.

Those little blue eyes widened, that tiny mouth dropping open in surprise. The child looked up to its guradian, as if to ask, "is this real?"

"Yeah buddy," he nodded in confirmation. "That's your sis."

The child whipped its gaze back to her, and to Dana's surprise, its thin arms reached out for her, hands opening and closing in the air. Dana remained rooted to her spot, equally part shocked, equally part fearful. But the child looked so desperate to get to her. Taking a deep breath, Dana pushed herself away from the back of the couch and approached the two. Her skin crawled when he handed the child to her and their hands briefly slipped past each other.

But she had the child now, and it wrapped its skinny arms around her neck and and buried its face into her shoulder. Dana lifted a hand to pat the back of its head, her fingers tangling in its curls. She looked up to him helplessly, tears starting to prick at the corners of her eyes as she awaited some sort of answer.

He didn't give her one. Just stared at her, ever impassive, until finally he said, "It's way past his bedtime, you should go put him down."

"Y-Yeah," Dana replied. "Sure."

"Yeah," he echoed back with a nod. "Take care of him, Dana."

He turned his back on them, his hand hand on the doorknob, and the door cracked open an inch when the child in Dana's eyes squirmed, and let out a loud whimper.

"Alex," he sighed. "I told you, I'm not saying."

The child lifted its head up to fix him with a unnaturally piecing gaze.

"Alex, please, you don't need me anymore," he said, looking to meet the child's eyes. Dana didn't know what happened from there, but moments later, he grumbled and shut the door. "Fine," he sighed in defeat.

"What the hell just happened?" Dana asked. "What the fuck is going on?"

"Look it's…It's complicated. Just…put him to bed, and I'll explain when you come back. Please, Dana?"

"Yeah, whatever," Dana huffed. "If you try to pull anything-"

"Dana"

"Okay okaaaaay, god."

She finally turned around and carried the child down the hall to her room.


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any burning questions you might have will be answered next chapter. seeeeeee you soon!