Alex Mercer (Earth-1118)

## ZEUS

*"My name is Alex Mercer. I'm the reason for all of this. They call me a killer, a monster, a terrorist... I'm all of these things."*
―Alex Mercer
**Alex Mercer**, designated **ZEUS** or **Weapon XI** by the military, was the name adopted by the Blacklight virus released by a scientist of the same name while defecting from Gentek.

Having entered its creator's bloodstream after he was executed by Blackwatch operatives, the virus recreated Mercer's body down to the cellular level, and initially believed it *was* Mercer.

He fought both the military and the infected during the outbreak in 2008, and saved New York City from a nuclear blast during Operation: Firebreak.

## Personality

*"I looked for the truth. Found it. Didn't like it. Wish to hell I could forget it. Alex Mercer... This city suffered for his mistakes, for what he did at Penn Station. And whoever he was - that's a part of me. When I close my eyes, I see the memories of a thousand dead men, screaming as I take their lives. Moments I'll relive forever. What have I become? Something less than human. But also something more."*
―Alex Mercer
Initially, Alex Mercer felt very little remorse for his actions, mass murdering US Marines and Blackwatch soldiers by the hundreds, as well as consuming civilians whenever it convenienced him. However, as he consumed more and more people, he unconsciously absorbed their personality traits and values into his own. For instance, he regretted murdering the soldiers evacuating out of New York City on Ian Taggart's orders, due to a sense of honor instilled by consuming Marines. He eventually developed a strong sense of compassion, acting to protect innocents from both the infected and the military alike, and later saved New York City from being destroyed by a nuclear bomb.

When he first awoke, Mercer was obsessed with both discovering the truth about his past and taking revenge on the people who created him. However, by the time he learned the original Alex Mercer was his creator, he was more interested in stopping the outbreak and discovering the truth about Hope, Idaho than selfishly pursuing revenge. Ironically, the virus began to hate his namesake for needlessly starting the outbreak out of petty revenge.

Alex was not a very sociable person, and often unintentionally came off as abrasive, due to his lack of understanding of human emotions and social etiquette.

While he did commonly use masculine pronouns, Alex did not fully understand the human concept of gender, and did not consider himself male. It did occasionally refer to its "Zeus" identity and nature as a virus with it/its/itself pronouns.

## Relationships

### Dana Mercer

*"My only concern right now is Dana."*
―Alex Mercer to Bradley Ragland
Although he initially rescued Dana for information about his past, Alex quickly grew extremely protective over who he thought was his biological sister, to the point of being fiercely determined to rescue her from Elizabeth Greene after Dana was kidnapped by a Leader Hunter.

Dana continued to care for Mercer, even after learning he was a virus copying her deceased brother's body, considering him both a better brother and a better person than the original Alex Mercer ever was.

## Powers and Abilities

### Powers

*"Because everyone I've killed -- they're in me. They are me."*
―Alex Mercer on consumption

* Shapeshifting: Mercer could manipulate his body's biomass to changing shape at will, creating weapons and disguises as needed. In fact, even his own clothing was made out of his own biomass and thus an extension of his body.
* Consumption: Mercer could "consume" both organic and inorganic matter, absorbing the biomass of living entities and the items on their person into himself to inherit the entity's genetic memories and the ability to mimic their physical appearance.
* Offensive Powers
	+ Claws: Mercer could transform his fingers into razor sharp knife-like talons, allowing him to easily dismember weaker foes in close quarters. The claws could also elongate themselves, giving them a much greater reach.
	+ Hammerfist: By shifting biomass to his forearms, Mercer could turn his hands into massive hammer-like growths, perfect for clearing large groups of enemies or shattering armored vehicles.
	+ Musclemass: Mercer could "harden" his biomass, greatly increasing his physical strength to the point of causing non-powered humans to explode on contact, as well as being able to destroy tanks with a few punches.
	+ Whipfist: A speared, barbed appendage that could be extended and elongated at will. Mercer frequently used it to grab objects, foes or vehicles from a distance and reel them towards him (or the other way around, when it came to hijacking helicopters or tanks). It was just as useful in combat, bisecting multiple foes with ease or picking off enemies at a distance. He also used it to swing across New York City by burrowing the spear-like end into buildings, a technique inspired by Spider-Man.
	+ Blade: Mercer's strongest offensive weapon, this sharp double-ended blade was powerful enough to tear through armored vehicles with ease and make quick work of Hunters and D-Code Super Soldiers. Mercer often reserved it for exceptionally durable enemies or structures, though it could easily slaughter large groups of normal humans in close quarters.
* Defensive Powers
	+ Shield
	+ Armor
* Sensory Powers
	+ Thermal Vision: Mercer could perceive infrared light, and could use this to his advantage by detecting enemies and seeing through debris and smoke.
	+ Infected Vision: Upon consuming a Leader Hunter, Mercer gained the ability to tap into Elizabeth Greene's hive mind, perceiving the world as her infected did. He continued to make use of this power even after killing Greene, as he assimilated her hive mind upon consuming her.
* Redlight: Upon consuming Elizabeth Greene, Mercer inherited the countless viral strains inside of her, alongside her ability to infect others and create hunters out of biomass, and control infected via a hive mind.
* Wall-Crawling: Mercer could manipulate surfaces with his biomass, allowing him to slowly crawl on walls. By directing biomass into his legs, he could effortlessly run along walls, at the same superhuman speed he normally went.
* Gliding: At will, Mercer was able to glide by manipulating his own weight to make himself lighter.
* Superhuman Strength: Mercer was absurdly powerful in terms of raw strength, thanks to his body's density. He could kill the average non-powered human being in a single strike, smash through a two feet thick reinforced steel door, crack concrete by landing on it, and effortlessly lift cars and even armored vehicles.
* Superhuman Durability:
* Superhuman Speed: By shifting biomass into his legs to strengthen his leg musculature, Mercer could run at superhuman speeds, outrunning even military helicopters with ease. He eventually grew fast enough to cross the entirety of Manhattan in a few minutes tops.
* Superhuman Agility: Despite his weight and density, Alex was incredibly agile. He could twist his body in midair to recover from falls and land square on his feet, dodge missiles and thrown debris, and perform freerunning feats that would be impossible for an un-enhanced human being to pull off.

* Superhuman Senses: Mercer had senses superior to that of humans, or even most prey animals. As his body was a shapeshifting mass in the shape of a human, Mercer could perceive all of his senses with every part of his body, essentially granting him 360 degree vision among other things.
* Regeneration, Endurance and Healing Factor:
* Adaptation: As the Blacklight virus was known for constantly changing and mutating, Mercer's biology was never weak to something for long. For instance, he quickly grew an immunity to Bloodtox after being exposed to it several times.

### Weaknesses

* Electricity: Mercer was harmed by Robert Cross's stun baton. Much like how human muscles reacted when tasered, Alex's biomass would tighten and constrict when in contact with electricity, briefly preventing him from shapeshifting. He eventually grew an immunity to this element, but high enough voltages could still harm him.
* Water: Mercer's density meant he could not swim without sinking, preventing him from passing large bodies of water. However, he later learned to manipulate his biomass enough to make himself light, thus allowing him to swim.

### Abilities

* Genius Level Intellect: Not only was Mercer's namesake a highly intelligent Gentek head researcher, Mercer also assimilated the memories of everyone he consumed, granting him multiple lifetimes worth of knowledge and experiences. He could be considered one of the smartest beings on Earth.
* Military Training: Mercer possessed the combined training and experiences of hundreds of Marines, SWAT officers, and Blackwatch soldiers, granting him expertise in marksmanship and martial arts, as well as the ability to operate military vehicles such as tanks and helicopters. He also possessed the knowledge of numerous Marine and Blackwatch officers, granting him expertise with military protocol and tactical analysis.
* Marksmanship: Mercer was incredibly proficient with firearms, which, combined with his superhuman speed and reaction times, allowed him to easily clear a room of targets within seconds.