Chapter Text
After the events on the Regan, Cross had managed to convince both Alex and Blackwatch that working together was better than trying to destroy each other. Blackwatch didn’t need too much convincing despite Zeus’ staggering body count. After all he had survived literally everything that had been thrown at him, up to and including a nuclear blast. On the other hand, the only reason Cross had been able to talk him into it was the promise of treating and protecting Dana. Alex hadn’t been thrilled when Cross came to him with the proposal, but it's not like he had a good alternative. Ragland had been trying his best but was making little to no progress; and Alex couldn’t always be present to protect the doctor and his sister. He had been expecting a betrayal, but so far Cross had shown to be a man of his word. Dana had even woken up recently, and was slowly regaining her health with each passing day.
When the virus had agreed to work with Blackwatch, and by extension Cross, he had expected many things. Constant annoying surveillance, uncomfortable questions, morally dubious decisions, even by his standards, and so on. He was not at all surprised or thrilled when the specialist informed him that he would be his handler. However, Alex didn’t know that meant the man was going to spend nearly every waking moment essentially babysitting him. Although the current moment was hardly a waking one for the specialist. In fact, Cross had been asleep for roughly two hours.
It still surprised him how quickly the man could fall asleep despite everything. Granted the little hotel room wasn’t necessarily uncomfortable; although it was a tad cold for the virus’ taste. But Cross had seen countless atrocities even before the outbreak in Manhattan. Hell, he had seen Alex kill and consume most of his team in an active hive; and yet the man was still able to sleep while Zeus was in the room. This utterly baffled Alex. He couldn’t figure out if Cross trusted him -which he seriously doubted- or if the specialist felt he had total control over the situation. After all, if anything happened to him Dana would ultimately pay the price.
Mercer scowled darkly at the bed from his corner in the far side of the room. The moonlight was faintly shining in through the windows washing the room in a peaceful pale light. It all felt so calm…and so wrong. He had spent the first moments of his life in fear and pain, being hunted by the very people who now claimed to be his begrudged allies. They all still very much feared him, and those that didn’t outright hate him at least found his very existence repugnant. Yet, Cross had the gall to completely drop his guard, the smug bastard.
He quashed the urge to yawn. Mercer didn’t know if it was his own or stemmed from the habits of the countless individuals he’d consumed. The action did however bring his attention to the fact that he was tired. Though unlike Cross he didn’t find rest to come easy.
He snorted in quiet amusement. The scientists at Blackwatch were all so certain he never needed to rest as they had never observed him doing so. The idiots argued that a virus didn't need sleep, or any form of rest for that matter. They were all so sure he only existed to consume, to spread, to kill. Which that thought in and of itself was highly insulting, seems he had literally been blown to high hell saving the fucking city! Not that he particularly cared about the opinion of Blackwatch scientists, and nevermind the fact he did it mostly for Dana. The fools never even considered the fact that he wasn’t a god damned single celled organism. Even jellyfish had been found to have sleep-like cycles and they didn’t even have brains, just primitive neural networks.
He bit back an agitated snarl. Those assholes might as well think that his neural network was less advanced than that of a brainless, spineless jellyfish! Although, he did nothing to dissuade them of this notion. If he was being honest with himself, he didn’t want Blackwatch to know he slept. The less potential vulnerabilities they knew of the better. Dealing with high voltage stun batons and Bloodtox was annoying enough as is. Cross may have trusted Alex not to kill him in his sleep, but the feeling was definitely not mutual.
Although, he was starting to feel the effects of his restlessness. While he could go much longer than a human without sleep, after a while he did begin to suffer somewhat. Turns out the consolidation of memory and general neural cleanup that played a role in sleep humans also applied to him. He had discovered this after an impromptu nap in a secluded skyscraper nook. He couldn’t have been asleep for more than forty-five minutes and the nightmares hadn’t been enjoyable, but afterwards the chaotic chorus in his head had died down somewhat. All he had to do to get relief from the screams was to sleep. As if it were a simple task.
He gently pushed off the wall and tried to resist the urge to pace the room. The first night he had done that, Cross launched a knife across the room at his face. Although, even if it had made contact it wouldn’t have inflicted any damage but, dealing with waking Cross wasn’t something he wanted at the moment. The man’s name was remarkably fitting, especially in the early hours. It would’ve been easier to stay still if the room wasn’t so damn cold. Another little secret he wanted to keep to himself. He despised the cold. It made him feel sluggish, stiff, and it was not helping him feel any less tired.
He frowned slightly as Cross began to snore, and moved to look out the window. What he’d give to go for a walk, a run, a climb, or do anything that required him to move and allow him to heat up and hopefully wake up a bit. There was no way he was leaving the room without disturbing the specialist though.
A quiet defeated sigh escaped him before he realized that in spite of his lack of movement he was slightly warmer. Looking down in confusion he spotted the reason why. The old, beat up radiator was actually still working but, despite the machine’s best efforts it could only produce a little bubble of heat in the otherwise chilled room.
He glanced over to Cross’ sleeping form and then back to the radiator.
“Screw it,” he thought. If he couldn’t leave, and he couldn’t pace, he could at least allow himself the indulgence of being marginally more comfortable. He slowly sat down and gingerly leaned up against the radiator. At this point in his relatively short life Mercer had learned not throw his considerable weight around if he didn’t want to break things, and that radiator looked ancient.
He sighed again but this time in relief. He didn’t know exactly how hot the radiator was to the touch; it was struggling to function and his “skin” was far more durable than a human’s. What Alex did know however was that the heat seeping into him felt incredible. He hadn’t even noticed the slight ache the cold had been causing until it was gone.
He would have never dropped his guard so drastically had Cross been awake. However, given the schedule the specialist stuck to he would still be out for another few hours. As Alex listened to the sounds of cars slowly driving by outside and Cross’ breathing he found his mind beginning to wander. The sensation wasn't unpleasant, and he leaned a little heavier into the radiator. Slowly his wandering thoughts became progressively more fuzzy and blurred; although he was confident in his ability to remain awake. After all, he had an iron will and…and… The rest of his thought trailed off as his eyes slid shut and he dozed off slumped under the window.