Daedalus' New World

Two men sat on the rooftop railing of a multistory building, crumbling concrete reinforced by sickly orange viral tendrils. All around them, the once great city of Manhattan was reduced to broken, living ruins. Monsters roamed the streets six stories below, flickered through the air hundreds of feet above, and trampled through the ruined buildings searching for anyone who shouldn't be there. The men themselves seemed unaffected by the monsters around them. One was a younger man, seemingly in his mid twenties and clad in a black jacket over a white shirt, with blue jeans covering his legs. The other was older, late thirties, and adorned in black clothing head to toe. The younger man's deep, raspy voice broke the silence, easily heard despite the occasional growl from far below, or the far off gunshots. "Head to the City of Sin in Nevada and begin the outbreak on the 19th, Daedalus. Start in the Bellagio and take Mason and Hannah with you. Kill everyone you see that isn't Blacklight or tries to stop you. If you happen to find anything interesting, consume it. Otherwise, actually taking the city will be your responsibility, understand?

"Of course, Mercer." The older man, now identified as Daedalus, responded with a surprisingly young voice, marred by a deep-seated exhaustion. "It's nothing new, even if it is a change of scenery."

"Good. Forcing the Viral Response Force to set up a second quarantine to the far west will take some pressure off of us here in New York. The VRF doesn't have the resources necessary to manage two full-blown outbreaks. You have the templates, correct?" Mercer asked, glancing at his subordinate.

"All of the first and second gens, and two of the third gen. I don't have the behemoth or gladiator." Daedalus answered. Within a moment, Daedalus nodded in understanding as a presence touched his mind, imprints of knowledge passing him the genetic templates of the third generation of viral monsters the Evolved used.

"The behemoth will be especially useful, make sure to create three or four. It'll make the infected mostly self sufficient once you've set it up and given directions. Gladiators are the best, but make sure you don't skimp on warpers, air will be the first threat to reach you and you'll need to be prepared for it. And remember..." Mercer trailed off, waiting for Daedalus to finish.

"The behemoth can only reanimate a body that's been dead less than an hour." Daedalus finished with Mercer giving a satisfied nod.

"It's best to have gladiators bringing freshly deceased to the behemoth, though living people are better. If you don't have any questions, collect your Lessers and get going. You know your mission, the timetable, and the price for failure. You have two weeks."

"Yes sir." Daedalus responded, pushing himself forward and off the building to plummet six stories below."

Daedalus let out a tired sigh as he thought of the events that were soon to come, and his complete inability to resist them. Since Heller's defeat two years ago, Mercer had become acutely aware of the danger with garrisoning his army with psychopaths practically pulled from the streets and set to fixing the issue. Unfortunately, it hadn't taken him long. Building off of the innate connection to infected Mercer already had after consuming Greene, Mercer's improvements to the hivemind allowed him to influence the thoughts and actions of anyone he infected. With this created, he had far less reason to fear a second betrayal and expanded his efforts to grow his Evolved army, now quite literally ripping men and women off the streets and infecting them with the improved strain.

However, it wasn't quite cut and dry. He didn't have complete authority over those he infected. The level of control he had over people varied person to person, and soon a clear divide existed in those that served under him. The Greater Evolved, like Daedalus, were those who were a little more firmly under Mercer's control. Still retaining some autonomy, he could act on his own but was completely unable to ignore direct orders or anything he knew Mercer wouldn't allow. As such, he was 'rewarded' with an improved strain of Blacklight, giving him access to a wider range of armaments, genetic templates allowing him to create infected in an instant, as well as the genetic control to create his own changes to his biology when he desired though he was unable to affect the pseudo-hivemind. On the other end were the Lesser Evolved, like Mason and Hannah. To these people, the hivemind was less of a 'rule' and more of a 'suggestion,' making them desire to serve Mercer but ultimately able to turn against him. Most Lessers were just killed on the spot but the few who were controllable through fear, whether for themselves or for their family, had their viral strain altered to be far less potent and unable to develop on it's own. Unable to consume or affect their genetics at will, they were given a prepared imprint of disguises to use and templates to change their limbs into for weaponry. In the end, the Lessers were really just cannon fodder and laborers for the Greaters.

Taking a deep but unnecessary breath, Daedalus approached the Bellagio casino, passed the myriad of expensive sports cars and rushing valets, quickly confirmed his age via his pre-infection ID, and easily gained entrance. His two subordinates were already inside, having arrived separately roughly an hour ago. Weaving his way through the bright building surrounded by hundreds of guests and the ringing and music of hundreds more machines, he scanned the crowd before his enhanced eyes locking onto Mason in the disguise of an old, well dressed man moving slowly with the flow of the crowd and using his walking cane quite convincingly. Weaving through the throng of people, he pressed a gentle hand against Mason's back as he squeezed past, a mental acknowledgement flowing to him from the link as the genetic code for viral gas was implemented into Mason's strain, temporarily allowing him to recreate his weakened strain of the virus. Unseen, but known to Daedalus, was that Mason would now be heading for the third floor, where he would release the spores when he received the signal.

Ten minutes later and Hannah likewise arrived on the sixth floor, ready to release the virus on his command. Daedalus, now alone on the ground floor, maneuvered himself near the slot machines with the high foot traffic before he paused and closed his eyes. Deep in his viral body, concealed cavities began to pulse, a dark red gas filling the slots rapidly as he prepared to release the Blacklight virus on the other side of the world, two and a half thousand miles from the original outbreak. Straining the Viral Response Force into splitting their resources between New York and Las Vegas could be the step that ensured Mercer's eventual destruction of the United States. And Daedalus, through a poorly suppressed pang of grief, knew he would be the one to cause it. A moment later, he began to reach through the viral link to the two Lessers before something impacted his side incredibly hard. It took a solid second before Daedalus realized he had been struck, the force of the kick launching him twenty feet across the room and toppling three slot machines and crushing some poor lady who had just been in the wrong place.

Screams rose up from around him as he snapped to the mental link, giving the command and calling the two Lessers to his side, noxious red gas filling the air around him as he released the virus. The element of surprise had been lost and the area around him already devoid of people as he rose to his feet, though he knew that the third and sixth floors were likely already filling with bodies. His main goal already done, he turned to the man who had struck him, slight apprehension rising in him as he studied the clearly viral being for no one other than an Evolved could have struck him with that much force, not even the genetically augmented super soldiers the VRF fielded could pull that off. Standing merely ten feet away was a tall man, his skin discolored into a dark, muddy brown that didn't quite match any natural ethnicity. His body was clearly mutated, one arm slightly longer than the other as his body seemed to undulate beneath the flesh, his multicolored crimson and gold eyes staring at Daedalus with slight amusement.

The man's body seemed to pulse once before the viral gas rapidly permeating the air seemed to vanish. A moment later, twin spikes of foreign panic shot through his mind before fading instantly, his mental connection to his subordinates gone. Only two things could remove the connection the Evolved shared with each other, being death and Mercer. With the death of two Lessers in a split second, it became clear that this man was a significant threat and stopping him from completing his mission. Mercer's orders shooting through his mind, Daedalus lunged toward the viral man, covering the twenty feet in a single step as he threw his fist forward, his momentum and weight adding to his already monumental strength. The punch never hit.

The man seemed to flow out of the way of the strike, his boneless body morphing out of the way of his fist and to the side, giving a contemptuous smirk as his foot arched up, striking Daedalus' side again. Packed viral flesh, harder than steel and denser than gold, crumpled and shattered underneath the strike, viral biomass spraying against the floor and slot machines as he was launched backwards, flipping end over end for another ten feet before he caught himself, the wound had healed before his feet hit the ground. A near-silent growl left Daedalus' mouth, the flesh on his arms turning black and writhing as they restructured themselves into wicked, serrated blades whose black flesh gleamed with unnatural bioluminescence. Unlike the original arm blade used by Mercer, which was a single arm shifting into a razor sharp, curved blade long enough to extend from his knees to a foot above his head, Daedalus' blades were a twin set, both of his arms shifting into long, straight blades. His arms transitioned into black, viral 'metal' just below his elbows, the wicked looking flesh extending two feet passed where his arms originally ended. With his new weapons at the ready, Daedalus lunged toward his opponent again as his viral strength cracked the floor beneath him, moving fast enough that any human would be unable to track his movements.

It was useless against his foe who caught his left blade with ease and ripped it clean from his body as he flowed underneath the right one at the same time. Daedalus felt his frustration grow, tainted by a layer of fear underneath as he realized that his strength and skill meant nothing to this Evolved. He wasn't the strongest or most skilled of the Greater Evolved, staying out of fights by remaining in New York and securing their foothold without expanding the area they had claimed, but no mortal or Lesser would be able to match him in the slightest, not even the augmented super soldiers. With fear slowly but surely mounting, he whispered to himself as he jumped back from the mismatched infected, his missing arm rapidly regenerating. "Who are you?"

The man's arrogant smirk grew as he relaxed his stance and let out a soft chuckle, his voice carrying a strange ring as he answered. "Call me Division if you'd like, Daedalus."

Wary though he may be, Daedalus knew he needed to get what information he could- he likely couldn't beat 'Division' in a fight, and it was clear that Division had no issue beating the hell outta him. "Why are you here, Division? You aren't any Greater I know of, but you're clearly viral yet not under Mercer."

"Why, I think it's quite obvious." Division said with a knowing smirk, winking conspiratorially. "I'm here for you, Daedalus."

Here, Division's smirk changed into a true smile, all trace of arrogance gone as he slowly approached Daedalus. Shifting his left arm into a claw to support his right blade, Daedalus fell into a combat stance as he prepared for Division's move, yet the strange viral had no interest in fighting. Instead, he stopped a mere five feet from Daedalus, his smile widening. "Yes, you'll do quite nicely, Daedalus. I'll see you on the other side, in time."

"Wha-" Daedalus began to speak, only for his voice to vanish as his sight faded to nothingness, the sense gone. He fell to his knees as his balance was erased, the feeling of the floor beneath him fading soon after. Rushing wind filled his ears, before his hearing faded, and he was left with nothing but the void embracing him.

﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

Princess Twilight Sparkle was not a happy alicorn. She had been woken up at the unnatural hour of 3am by Discord of all beings, only to have the incredible news that something had come through a multi-dimensional portal in the old castle in the Everfree Forest, and that she needed the Elements because it was most certainly an enemy and they would need them. And to add to all of it, the Everfree was acting unnaturally, even by Everfree standards. Whereas the forest was normally full of sounds of life, from chattering squirrels to singing birds, and even the occasional predatory roar in the distance, it was now eerily silent. It was as if the forest itself was afraid of whatever they were here for.

"I don't like this." Rainbow huffed, followed by a yawn, from her place above them, her slow wing beats a constant reminder of her presence. "It feels like a trap. How do ya think Discord knew that this thing was a villain?"

"I'm not completely sure myself." Twilight admitted reluctantly, her wings twitching nervously on her back. "Maybe he saw the creature do something bad, or it attacked him when he investigated the portal."

"Or maybe Discord knows because he's the one who brought the creature here and we're supposed to use the Elements on him so that we can redeem him like we did Princess Luna!" Pinkie exclaimed, hopping along as she gave Twilight a bright smile. "Or maybe none of the above!"

"That's certainly possible, Pinkie." Rarity said, giving her friend a small smile. "Maybe the Elements will redeem it, not banish it."

"Discord's reformed now, and he hasn't even done a mean prank in a long time. I think he's earned a little trust." Fluttershy said with a shy smile, willing to trust in her friend. Ever since Discord had been released by Princess Celestia and placed into her care, she had come to enjoy his company and the little splash of chaos that he brought to her home on Tuesday when he visited for tea.

"Ah may not trust Discord much further than I could buck 'im, but I trust mah friends and I trust the Princesses. If they said he was right, then he was right." Applejack replied honestly, giving a resolute nod as she trod along with her friends, the iron horseshoes she wore trampling the sticks beneath her hooves. If she was coming, she was coming a bit more prepared than last time she came to the old castle.

"I'll be glad to be home after this so I can take a hot bath and wash off all the dirt on my poor hooves." Rarity said with a longing sigh, her tail swishing softly to dislodge a stick stuck in the purple hair. As she spoke, the girls giggled quietly with soft smiles. It was a massive contrast to the first time they came to the old castle just a few years ago, worried out of their minds with Princess Celestia missing and Nightmare Moon threatening eternal night. It spoke of their experiences, their friendship, and their trust in each other.

Only two hours later found the girls standing at the foot of the bridge that, so long ago, had been Rainbow's test of loyalty with the Shadow Bolts. Though with Twilight's frequent trips to the castle library, the old rope and plank bridge was in much better condition now, repaired and reinforced with magic to ensure it wouldn't collapse so easily. Crossing the bridge with ease and entering the old throne room, her eyes nervously darted across the room, taking in the broken, crumbling stones and faded tapestries, all illuminated by a gaping hole in the roof where a magical fight had broken out a thousand years before. Part of her had been hoping that the creature would be nowhere to be found, and seemingly their hopes came true as Discord had said the creature would be in the throne room, yet it remained empty. That hope was ruined when it stepped out from behind one of the cracked thrones and into a beam of light from the broken roof, the girls crouching down and readying themselves in response.

The creature, bipedal and obviously mammalian, was covered almost head to hoof in all black clothing that had helped it hide in the shadowed corners of the room. It's face was a peachy color with almost no fur to speak of, with small eyes, a small nose, and a small mouth, and two bright blue eyes looking at the six friends. Twilight broke the silence, a tentative question echoing softly through the air as she took a half step forward, her horn sparking to life from nervousness. "H-hello?"

To Twilight's confusion, the creature's gaze flickered between curiosity and confusion, before suddenly glancing at her glowing horn, eyes hardening into resolve. In her heart, she knew it was about to go south and opened her muzzle to call to the girls to use the Elements before it reacted. It moved with a speed entirely unnatural to it's size and structure, crossing the nearly hundred hoof distance from the thrones to Twilight with seemingly only two steps, hand squeezed tightly into a fist as it swung at her head. Her alicornhood was likely what saved her.

Twilight dropped down, her right wing flapping hard as she launched herself to the left to avoid what her instincts said was a blow that would have crippled her. Her horn flashed a brilliant purple, a concentrated wall of magic slamming into the creature and attempting to throw it backwards with all the force she could muster as Rainbow and Applejack rushed to her side. To her relief, it worked, launching it back into the far wall where the stonework buckled, leaving it embedded and giving her a momentary pang of fear as she worried she killed it. That fear was proven unfounded as it ripped itself out of the wall while shaking it's body to dislodge loose stones, speaking for the first time in a masculine voice. "Interesting..."

Before he could attack again, a rainbow after-trail darted towards him, the pegasus moving so fast that only her trail was seen. Kicking his jaw as she flew by, her speed allowed her to avoid his grasp as he tried to lash out at her, momentarily shocked by her speed. He turned to Rainbow, seemingly about to give chase before Applejack and Rarity leapt into action, a teal aura wrapping around his legs and halting him for just a moment, but a moment was all that was needed. Spinning on her front hooves, Applejack turned and gave a powerful buck, twin horseshoes impacting his chest as a double crack filled the air. Applejack shouted in pain and stumbled away, one of her shoes falling off her hoof, split in two. Fortunately, the hard kick was enough to stagger him with two clear indents in his chest, allowing Twilight to telekinetically slam an oblong slab of stone into the joint on his legs, causing him to tumble onto his back. Rainbow, coming in for a quick attack, veered off suddenly as his impact with the ground cracked it further, dust shooting up around him.

Leaping to his feet, another beam impacted his shoulder, the clothing scorched as an acrid smell filled the air. He turned to look at Twilight, stepping toward her as two more crackling beams impacted him, one on the other shoulder and a second on the knee, clearly aiming for non-lethal shots. He crouched a moment, about to leap toward Twilight as Rainbow suddenly darted forward again, ready to impact the back of his head and take his attention from the princess. Twilight only had a moment of sudden horror as his slight frown flickered into a small smirk, and his body twisted unnaturally as he turned on the spot, the back of his closed fist impacting Rainbow's jaw, sending her spiraling into the throne with a pained cry as she landed on one of her outstretched wings. Twilight, unsure if the crack she heard was from a broken wing, jaw, or stones, leaped toward the down pegasus. Her horn ignited in an aura of power and teleported Rainbow away just as Pinkie surprised the creature by leaping over the throne, a large, pink plastic hammer in her hooves. The weapon, or maybe toy, hit the top of his head, seemingly doing nothing as he caught it on the second swing, snapping it with ease as Pinkie jumped away, distraction accomplished.

An intense sense of urgency filled her as he turned and gave her a glare, his clothes seemingly writhing on his body as she realized that he may not have been truly fighting them. Around her, a soft glow filled the damaged room, the Elements seemingly activating on their own. Yanked into the air by her tiara, Twilight was forced to close her eyes as bright white light blinded her and her friends, quickly shifting to all of the hues of the rainbow as the Elements activated, the prismatic beam striking the creature as he leaped to the side uselessly, the beam turning sharply and impacting his side anyway. A moment later, she felt a powerful calm seemingly emanating from the Element as the light faded and her hooves touched the ground. Opening her eyes, she gazed upon what had become of the strange, violent creature.