Prototype 1 the Quest

Well, I was not expecting the first nat 100 this early. So this is when you get the first Critical Evolution and what makes natural 100s super useful. With a natural 100 whatever plan you have succeeds beyond all reasonable metrics, just as a nat 1 is a fail beyond any reasonable metric. Furthermore both nat 1s and 100s grant Critical Evolutions.

Both of them are useful but nat 1s grant counteracting Critical Evolutions for whatever you are trying to do, so its useful but just not right then. Nat 100s however mean that Blacklight/Alex breaks past several limits and simply gains something to become greater than before. These evolutions are very powerful which is why they are so rare, on top of this these evolutions are only the base state when gained and follow all normal rules beyond how they are gained.

Note that I would count Glide as a critical Evolution due to its simply telling physics to get drunk. Basically, normal evolutions work within the laws of reality to some degree, Critical Evolutions drag the laws of reality out for a beating.

I am finding this rather hard to write from a third person limited style and over the next few updates will probably try other styles in order to see which one fits the best in my opinion. Sorry for the inconvenience, but its a slog to write in this style and it feels very dry and robotic to me.

The world seemed to still for a moment as time expanded, the wandering soldiers sliding to a stop even as they carried barricades into position. Cars rumbled to a stop and everything in sight froze in place. Distance seemed to become fluid as if it was there and not there as Alex focused his senses to their fullest extent.

Sound and sight sharpened to a degree that surpassed human limits many times over. From this state time itself served Alex for he could plan and prepare for the incursion to come. The thud of boots yet to be silent spoke to him of where all were within the building, the lighter taps indicative of others within. A smirk grew upon his face as he narrowed the search down to the proper location as he used the locations of the soldiers within to triangulate the position of the target.

Fifteen troopers outside of the building, five of the fifteen moving barricades into position. Seven of the fifteen redirecting threw traffic both pedestrian and vehicular and the last were on patrol or overwatch with two upon the roof of the nearby buildings. From within the building ten boot steps told of the location of the ten within as easily as the fifteen without were found so were they.

They were in five groups of two each, moving in a pattern that was quickly understood to be meant to seal off access to a single room. All points of easy access restricted with a pair of men ready to pounce upon any that tried to slip on past. Alex's eyes roved over the building as the creaks in the metal and the cracks in the building showed where stress was and the floor plan. Within moments he knew where the target was located and more than that he knew the layout of the building or at least a rough outline thereof.

The thirteen on the ground were simply inconsequential, they were too few to pose a large risk as he could simply bypass them in a fraction of a moment. The two on the roofs were a bit more of a hassle as due to their positions of overwatch, they were well poised to notice him when he was leaving with the target in tow. As for the ten inside, they would also be easy enough to simply dodge around, so it all came down to the two in overwatch.

'Overwatch positions must be eliminated to allow for egress with target, without alerting the others. Any method that results in damage to soldiers results in alert being sounded.

Fact 1 - overwatch personal alone
Fact 2 - overwatch positions directly across from other
Fact 3 - overwatch positions cover all access points to Target and Overwatch points
Fact 4 - overwatch must be eliminated in order to acquire Target
Fact 5 - overwatch must be removed without any chance of alert being sounded
Fact 6 - must assume that I am Primary Target
Fact 7 - from fact 6 can't leave behind anything that might lead to me

Facts 1 through 7, indicate that I can not make use of possible coma inducement, as such an action would trigger the alarm the moment they are found. Any form of attack upon Overwatch would result in similar results, thus alternative method must be found.

Fact 8 - human nature is error prone
Fact 9 - humans get bored
Fact 10 - bored humans try to entertain themselves
Fact 11 - Overwatch constantly moving, in erratic patterns
Supposition 1 - Overwatch personal indicating borden via constant movement of feet
Fact 12 - humans are beings of habit
Supposition 2 - random patterns are not random, pattern to be found
Supposition 3 - pattern possible exploit

Facts 8 through 12 and Suppositions 1 through 3 state that the best possible solution is either to entice the overwatch soldiers into forming a pattern or waiting to learn of their current pattern of movement. Then exploiting that pattern by moving where they are not.

Problems numerous with solution. Bored humans seek anything to divert from their boredom, thus they might be more willing to trust peripheral vision than normal. Counter argument, masks being worn limit peripheral vision to near zero. Counter to counter, sensors possibly incorporated into masks to provide complete view. Impossible to determine with current information.

Chance of integrated sensors, low. Monetary cost extreme for one set, twenty five men here, all wearing same model of mask. Cost of proposed mask tens of thousands of dollars, analyst low chance, work on assumption that they have restricted peripheral vision. Be prepared to change course if evidence appears.

Closest Overwatch soldier currently facing away from Target building at greater than seventy five percent, based on the way that his boot had fallen with the tip pointing away from said building. Furthest Overwatch currently off center for similar reason, but still in sight of building.

Internal teams surrounding Target floor, entry point decided. Exit point undecided.' Time returned to normal as Alex relaxed as he completed his pondering and planning, now with a grin splitting his face in half it was time to see if his planning would pay off.

Moving in a burst of speed from where he currently was to a building right next to the target one. This building by some fortunate chance had a external staircase right next to the target floor of the building, now for a normal human this would be useless without equipment to use, but Alex knew that he was no longer fully human, even if the mere thought of that caused something to tinge within him.

Time slowed once more as he calculated the trajectory and speed of the jump to reach the perfect location, knowledge of physics sliding back into place seamlessly as he derived equations left and right in order to complete the task set before him, feeding into recovering ever more knowledge of science and reality. However, Alex was not happy at all for he had no idea of how strong he had become, except that it was probably best described by the word ludicrous, which made all of the equations near impossible to truly use as he had the proper speed to reach, but no idea if he could reach it.

Yet, in the end he had to do what he could. Irritated, did not begin to describe just how unhappy Alex was as he made the jump and promptly shoot past his point of aiming, only to slam into the lip of the roof. For a brief second he thought that he would simply stop and fall down, only instead he shattered the part of the roof he hit and ended up at least twenty feet above the roof of the building.

'Overwatch out of sight, alarm still untriggered, still able to complete mission. Target location impractical due to increased strength, unable to control properly to allow for precision.

Alternative method must be found to reach entry point. Blacklight brand exhibited unusual behavior, lack of any form of muscle or nervous system yet responded to my touch via movement. Indication points towards Blacklight being able to emulate muscular contractions, to facilitate movement.

Body most likely nearly fully infused with Blacklight, allows for chance of manipulation of pseudo muscles, excretion of Blacklight biomass proven with brand. Combination, Spiderman potential. Problem, no known method of control over Blacklight reactions, brand result of intention, rather than plan.

Current weight, human norm, within error margin, brick and mortar strength sufficient to hold human at four contact points. Plan decided, try to force Blacklight to extrude tendrils from fingers/hands to help grab onto surface of wall, use increased strength to dig out small toe holes to further anchor self to wall.'

Just as Alex finished reorienting himself with a new plan, he began to fall and frankly the sight of the ground moving towards him was not doing his already poor mental state any wonders. In the back of his mind he wondered if this was what it was like to be completely done with life, for he had nothing left to feel. Terror was gone, confusion was so overused that it was currently sulking somewhere and other emotions had apparently decided to take a vacation somewhere else, so as he fell all he felt was empty.

Reaching out just as he came into contact with the wall, his fingers grabbing for hold points and found them as he heard the brick simply break as microfilaments of Blacklight emerged from the tips of his fingers to dig into the surface of the wall, just as he had hoped to have happen. Grimly, smiling now he slowly moved over towards the window that entered into what was a room either not in use or who's owner was currently outside of the building.

With deft movements the window was freed of its locking mechanism as Alex simply applied a gentle pressure to it and silently popped it off the its frame. With entry secured and an exit similar secured to some degree it was time to execute the second phase of the plan, snatch and run.

In a blur of motion Alex raced in through the window finding the motion of the air against his skin, somehow pleasing as he opened the door of the room and high tailed it to the room in which the second target was located. He heard the troopers on other floors reacting to his noise but it was too late for them to stop him as he had reached the door before they had taken a single step.

Then he was through the door and into the room in which a woman was pacing in fear, without spending any time Alex simply reacted. Laptop computer from the table disconnected and placed in a bag, food gathered and also placed into bag. All done before the woman was even able to move a single step. The moment his arm touched her skin, something reacted, he could feel something changing within his body as everything shifted in some unknown way.

Yet, all of that was secondary to the simple fact that they needed to leave now. Picking her up in his arms, Alex raced through the building feeling the air rush against him and knew that even outside he would be unable to move as fast as he could due to the fragility of the woman in his arms. The moment that thought came into his mind, pain lashed throughout his body as something reacted to his will and desire. Flickers of black and red threads danced along his skin even as he jumped down from the window he had entered from and began to run towards the nearest bridge.

Then everything froze for a moment, then everything was back yet this time it was different. Alex could feel the woman in his arms, her clothes and body as if he had encapsulated her somehow, and the wind had changed no longer did he feel its touch upon his skin, instead it felt as if it was touching him meters away.

Before he could truly come to grips with yet another change, he found himself running, faster than ever before, the cars standing still like blocks on a set as he raced past them heading towards a large populated area that was far enough to be safe for a time. Then everything came to a sudden halt, as he found himself at the destination almost faster than he could perceive the travel.

The woman, by some miracle was still in one piece although visibly confused. "Okay, what the fuck is going on? I saw the fucking troopers surrounding my home, trying to capture or kill me for some fucking reason. Now who the fuck are you?"

Alex stepped back as he let her go from his arms,


[] The Full Truth - reveal everything to her, she has no reason to go to them after all
[] Partial truth - perhaps hide the fact that you have unknown abilities and instead pretend to be a simple super soldier
[] Write in


AN: I really really dislike this update, but I frankly don't think I could do it better without restarting and the idea of that just kills me on the inside. Which is why I am going to be experimenting with different writing styles for the next few updates.