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Just for the heads up, this is going to be a big a CRT.
Anyways, here's what this CRT is going to be about.
Firstly, there is the self-sustenance capabilities of certain characters in [PROTOTYPE].
Elizabeth Greene:
Here, we have Elizabeth Greene, who was within the custody of Gentec and Blackwatch before she escaped. You see, after lashing out at General Randall (at a time period before he was a General) the moment he took her baby (PARIAH) away from her by scratching his arm with her hand and caused it to become infected to the extent that General Randall had to chop it off with a cleaver to avoid turning into an Infected, Greene was implied to have undergone a state similar to brain death after that incident, which was stated when “nothing goes on in her head” as her brain was supposedly “fried by the virus” – obviously, we know that definitely isn’t the case as she escaped later on… So, her brain is definitely not “fried by the virus” in the least.
As for where I’m going with this? Well, you see… She wasn’t “asleep” or “unconscious” at all for around 39 to 40 years.
You see, she was not at all in a brain death-like state or probably even being in an unconscious/asleep state, which was heavily implied from the visuals when she was looking through the peephole of the prison door to stare at the direction of the Blackwatch soldiers outside of her containment to the extent that one of the Blackwatch soldiers noticed that and suspected that she seems like she’s “waiting for something” (which also implies that she was at a conscious enough state that they’ve noticed her subtle actions, such as her staring) – this is directly confirmed by Elizabeth Greene herself, where she stated that “the time for waiting is over”… Which entails that she definitely doesn’t have her brain “fried by the virus”, and this also means that she isn’t unconscious or asleep either.
On top of her being confirmed to be “waiting” to the extent that even certain people around her noticed that she, the further confirmation for her not being braindead/unconscious/asleep is directly confirmed by the visuals of the game itself, where she is incarcerated for thirty-nine years, and during those times… She stayed in exactly the same spot in the exact same position she was sitting at, remaining as still as a statue despite the evident changes in her environment (possibly due to transporting her in various locations, possibly including the room she’s in as well) and the changes in her clothing and hair that indicates that the scientists have been doing experiments on her as the timeframes were speeding up in the thirty-nine years… And she did all that with her eyes open, with her eyes staring in the same direction from where she was sitting at despite the aforementioned changes!
Now, we know the timeframe between the outbreak that occurred in Hope, Idaho and the first outbreak in [PROTOTYPE] is 40 years whereas Elizabeth Greene only waited for 39 years; however, Elizabeth Greene has also been moved to different places in insolation (with them most likely transporting the very rooms she’s staying still in to various locations for their experiments, where they purposely tried to isolate her), along with the fact that the experiments they did on her were on the more recent years of the 39 years rather than the earlier ones (as evident by Greene being in her bodysuit, with a breathing apparatus being placed on her mouth inside the container she was experimented at, heavily implying that the experiments on her was done in the more later parts of the years), so it is also possible that around 1 year worth of timeframe wasn’t taken into consideration due to her being relocated and experimented on in the more recent parts of the timeline while being transported to various locations.
With the confirmation that she was waiting, with her being at an aware enough state that she is deliberately “waiting” and “looking at people” (implying that she is at least conscious to be able to perform such actions), combined with the visual evidence that she stayed in the exact same position with her eyes remaining open until 39 years that implies that she has at least not moved at all (as, to be able to remain in the exact same position and looking at the exact same direction, she most likely has to remain in the exact same spot and didn’t move at all; especially when moving tends to cause different changes in position that a typical individual would be hard-pressed to move to the exact same position in the exact same spot again)… This is basically sufficient evidence of Self-Sustenance Type 3, as she has been implied by both character statements (including her own words to confirm it) and the visuals to have remained conscious for 39 years.
Now, where does Self-Sustenance Type 2 come in?
Well, here’s the thing… There is no indication, either by character statements or by explicit visual showings, that Elizabeth Greene required food to sustain herself during the 39 years of her staying completely still; and considering how Blackwatch treats even their fellow humans that are even suspected of being infected (as well as non-infected people on an airplane who were all shot down merely for trespassing Blackwatch’s areas), there are no reasons to assume that they would waste essentials such as food on Elizabeth Greene if it isn’t needed to keep her alive, and considering Greene was able to remain in the exact same spot for many years based on the scans I’ve provided above... I doubt they even gave her water either, with her being in such an absent state that they assumed her brain to be “fried by the virus” (based on the Redlight Virus driving others to madness and the virus causing structural changes in the brain), it is likely neither food, water or even IV drips was provided to her in order for her to remain in the exact same position of sitting (and it would be quite scary for the scientists to try to physically get close and awkwardly open the mouth of a woman to give her food and water when that same woman had caused the Blackwatch General’s arm to become infected with just a mere scratch of her hand and forced him to amputate it… And considering this was when she was first brought to Gentek, it is unlikely they would want to give her food or water and have experimented on her at safe distances).
The closest thing I can find to even remotely hint at anything close to the possibility of the usage of IV drips is the slots on the back of the suit that allows for direct spinal injections and various feeds all over her body to distribute the drugs… But even then, that isn’t enough to simply that Intravenous therapy was utilised on her, as IV therapy tends to not be done through direct spinal injections and the “drugs” is a broad term that refers to any other substances with physiological effects on the body that are medicinal; and considering that Blackwatch supersoldiers also have breathing apparatus on their backs that injects chemicals that allow them to be more receptive to control by other Blackwatch Troopers, it is very unlikely those drugs are meant to sustain or help her in any way and would most likely be attempts to control her like with the Blackwatch supersoldiers (especially since they both have breathing apparatuses attached to them or their clothing that indicates similarities in treatment).
Without any true indications of food or water being provided to her, this would be Self-Sustenance Type 2.
However, considering Elizabeth Greene needs a breathing apparatus while she is being experimented on, this implies that Blackwatch and the scientists consider her as still requiring to breathe in order to survive… And with oxygen being required, Elizabeth Greene would unfortunately not be able to get Type 1 Self-Sustenance.
However, while Elizabeth Greene being a mere host of the virus that is still possible restricted by her biological human limitations (however loose those human limitations are), this doesn’t necessarily mean that it is impossible for a certain non-human character such as Alex Mercer the Blacklight Virus to be able to achieve Self-Sustenance Type 1 considering he is not human and is the Blacklight Virus itself and he is described as "the virus itself taking the shape of a man" and that "materials like skin and clothing were all a part of the facade" with an example being that his arm is akin to "the virus shifting from a human arm shape to that of a claw or blade" such as for his Offensive Powers, and real life viruses technically doesn’t require oxygen for survival… But I have not been able to find any feats or explicit statements/descriptions that indicates that Alex Mercer could sustain himself without oxygen; so, while it might be possible for a literal colony of viruses like Alex Mercer to survive without oxygen, I am unable to find any scans that could outright grant Alex Self-Sustenance Type 1 (feel free to provide any such scans if any of you were to find such).
The best I can think of is the Redlight Virus being inside water tanks, and the player as Alex Mercer is able to jump in water and switch disguises underwater to successfully stay underwater and hide (probably for an indefinite period of time?), but I’m not sure that might be enough to grant Self-Sustenance Type 1 – I’ll just leave it for others to decide if that is even enough to cover Self-Sustenance Type 1.
At the very least, Self-Sustenance Type 2 and 3 should be covered for Elizabeth Greene and those comparable to her (e.g. Alex Mercer, James Heller, Supreme Hunter, the Evolved, etc. Basically, all the characters infected with the Blacklight Virus that have shapeshifting capabilities, since Shapeshifters are essentially among the strongest and most biologically resilient in the Prototype-universe (with the Evolved being the type only Blacklight Shapeshifters which Elizabeth Greene surpasses in strength in her Mother form) with the capabilities the Blacklight Virus that Mercer embodies has access to and has granted to others such as James Heller, the Supreme Hunter and the Evolved, along with the Blacklight Virus is considered as a variant of the Mother Virus, which is another name for the Redlight Virus (along with the Blacklight Virus being the offshoot of the Redlight Virus, the same virus that infected Hope, Idaho). Mercer being considered as “more like Greene than not”, or basically him being more similar to Elizabeth Greene than he is different from her, combined with the Blacklight Virus being created as a more dangerous and superior version of the Redlight Virus, should be more than enough for Alex Mercer and other Blacklight shapeshifters to scale to her capabilities), with Hunters, Leader Hunters, Brawlers, or other non-human Infected that isn’t the Supreme Hunter not being among those comparable to her as there is nothing indicating that the viruses within their bodies allows them to have capabilities comparable to Greene, especially with mere Infected citizens being considered as “failed or imperfect versions of the virus” while other stronger infected such as Hunters are not implied to be versions comparable enough in capabilities to Elizabeth Greene or the Blacklight Shapeshifters anywhere in the canon.
For Elizabeth Greene, her profile should be:
Self-Sustenance (Types 2 and 3; Is able to wait by staying in the exact same position for thirty-nine to forty years and being consciously aware of her surroundings while deceiving other Blackwatch soldiers by having a “fried brain” with no indication that water, food or other nutrients was provided to her while she was waiting)
For the others comparable to her, their profile should be:
Self-Sustenance (Types 2 and 3; Should be comparable to Elizabeth Greene, who is able to wait by staying in the exact same position for thirty-nine to forty years and being consciously aware of her surroundings while deceiving other Blackwatch soldiers by having a “fried brain” with no indication that water, food or other nutrients was provided to her while she was waiting)
Now, there are common misinterpretations that [PROTOTYPE] characters such as Alex Mercer would need to “weaken” or “heavily batter” his targets in order to absorb them, since he needs to do that for powerful Infected in the game (especially in the gameplay), thus his Absorption is “reliant on his target’s strength”… But that’s not entirely true at all.
You see, the reason for why Alex the Blacklight Virus needed to “weaken” or “heavily batter” Infected creatures (specifically those infected with the Redlight Virus, or the Blacklight Virus for James Heller in the second game) is because they have resistance to Absorption abilities like his.
As we know, Leader Hunters are resistant to Alex’s assimilation abilities, to the extent that they need to be weakened first by destroying both their backs (or spinal columns) in order for Alex to be able to successfully absorb them. Considering the Blacklight Virus is capable of mimicking and storing genetic information from infected organisms and more, and can duplicate copies of its infected host’s genetic structure, absorbing the Leader Hunter should already be enough to grant Alex resistance to Absorption abilities (that works at Alex’s caliber) alone – after all, just by absorbing a regular Hunter’s brain without needing to absorb the rest of its body, Alex was able to attain an improved versions of a Hunter’s claws by gaining his Claws Offensive Power (and we know for the fact that he absorbed that regular Hunter’s brain, considering he gained the mind and memories of a Leader Hunter when he absorbed it, which heavily implies Alex can partially absorb his targets such as absorbing their brains and leave their bodies behind without needing to absorb such), so he would only need to absorb parts of their bodies in order to gain all their genetic abilities such as their resistance to his Absorption.
However, these resistance to Alex’s Absorption abilities doesn’t just apply to Leader Hunters… It should apply to even regular Hunters as well (and possibly other Infected creatures with greater capabilities than Infected Citizens and Walkers), especially regular Hunters with compatible DNA to the Parasite.
This was shown when the Redlight version of the Parasite (there’s actually two versions of the Parasite. There’s the Parasite that are comprised of the Redlight Virus, and there’s the other Parasite that are comprised of the Blacklight Virus. I’ll explain about that later) was eating Alex Mercer from the inside out. At first, I didn’t really pay much mind to what it means by “eating him from the inside out”… Until this statement was further elaborated on by the Prima Guide.
This statement was further elaborated upon the Prototype (or Alex Mercer the Blacklight Virus, as the term “the Prototype” was only used to describe Blacklight Alex in the Prima Guide and not anywhere in the game or comics) being infected by the Parasite via injection, the Parasite began to Consume him right after.
Now, the term “Consume” was used (and it was used with the “C” capital letter, implying the name of a technique or ability was referenced) – in the [PROTOTYPE] universe, “Consume” are basically an ability that is synonymous with “Absorption” or “Assimilation”.
This basically means the Parasite isn’t just wreaking havoc inside its target’s body… It is absorbing the target from the inside out the moment it infects the target.
Now, as mentioned above, there’s two versions of the Parasite. There’s the version of the Parasite created from the Redlight Virus, using the material of the Redlight Virus at the center of a Hive… And then there’s the Parasite created from the Blacklight Virus where Ragland is getting the samples from the Penn Station corpses – and as we both know, the corpses from Penn Station are the people who got infected by the Blacklight Virus; you know, the same Blacklight Virus which the original Alexander J. Mercer has smashed the vial full of it onto the ground with and caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people with the brief Blacklight Virus outbreak starting from Penn Station(what a prick).
The Redlight Parasite was what has infected Mercer and caused him to lose the ability to transform, while the Blacklight Parasite was created from the viral information Ragland used from the Penn Station corpses (which are infected by the same Blacklight Virus that the original Alexander J. Mercer has unleashed on Penn Station) – the Blacklight Parasite was then created by Ragland, and it is contained in the syringe that Ragland was holding that he then gave to Alex – even though the two respective versions of the Parasite are created from different viral sources, they should have identical functionality (because the Blacklight Parasite infecting a regular Hunter for Alex to absorb was what cured him of the Redlight Parasite).
Now, here’s the thing… Resistance to Absorption capabilities at Alex’s calibre is not at all purely restricted to Leader Hunters, as even regular Hunters are capable of this… And in this case, the Hunter with compatible DNA with the Blacklight Parasite was injected (thus is then infected by the Blacklight Parasite); and the moment it got infected, it then immediately starting the process of adapting and building antibodies against the Blacklight Parasite… And as the Parasite functions by beginning to absorb its host right after the injection from the inside out, this means that it should’ve started absorbing the regular Hunter from the inside out as well… And yet, that regular Hunter with compatible DNA later adapted against the Blacklight Parasite, which is a feat that showcases resistance to Absorption abilities at Alex’s scale (since the Blacklight Parasite should have similar assimilation abilities to Alex’s) and that newly gained resistance was what led to Alex being cured of the Redlight Parasite after he has absorbed that regular Hunter infected with the Blacklight Parasite (with the Redlight Parasite having disappeared, implying it either got destroyed or dropped off somewhere, who knows) – so the fact that Alex absorbing the regular Hunter and its adaptation to the Blacklight Parasite’s Absorption cured him of the Redlight Parasite plaguing him also proves that both the Redlight Parasite and the Blacklight Parasite have similar functionality, with resistances/adaptations/antibodies against the Blacklight Parasite also working against the Redlight Parasite.
And considering Ragland mentioned that the Leader Hunters’ resistance to Alex’s Absorption abilities could be an “adaptation” to his methods (heavily implying that the resistance to Absorption is achieved either by Adaptation or Reactive Evolution), and considering a regular Hunter with compatible DNA to the Parasite could adapt against the Parasite… It follows regular Hunters of such calibre should also have resistance to Absorption abilities as well, considering such resistances are likely achieved as “adaptations” like how the Leader Hunters’ resistance to Alex’s Absorption was achieved.
But wait, Alex has the ability to mimic genetic information, duplicate the target’s genetic structure and gain all their genetic abilities; and he has absorbed regular Hunters before and should’ve gained all their abilities (including their possible resistances and adaptation abilities), and yet he still got successfully infected by the Redlight Parasite and wasn’t able to resist it until he absorbed that other regular Hunter that adapted to the Blacklight Parasite, so how the heck did that one regular Hunter’s genetic abilities allow Alex to resist the Redlight Parasite when the abilities of the previous Hunters Alex has absorbed should’ve allowed him to resist that Redlight Parasite?
Well, you see, there’s actually a simple yet insightful answer to that… And that answer is that not all regular Hunters are equal.
You see, the developer notes of the Prima Guide mentions that some Hunters can assume human (or human-like) form but most lack the ability to Consume and become human targets, and the Hunters are inferior to “the Prototype” (Alex Mercer the Blacklight Virus)… And most importantly, they will kill and Consume one another to grow in power and ability if possible.
The statement “If possible, they will kill and Consume one another to grow in power and ability” is important here – this means that regular Hunters aren’t all equal, as there can be some that have grown in power and ability that sets them apart from the others.
At first, I didn’t pay much mind to this part of the developer notes of the Prima Guide because it mentioned that Hunters are “modified versions of the Blacklight virus”, and Hunters are creatures formed from the Redlight Virus, NOT the Blacklight Virus… But then it was brought into my attention that “BLACKLIGHT” (or “Blacklight”) not only refers to the Redlight Virus in Prototype 2 (because the Redlight Virus is the same virus that destroyed Hope, Idaho, not the Blacklight Virus which only got created by Alexander J. Mercer later on), but Bloodtox being stated to only being able to affect the Blacklight Virus in the first [PROTOTYPE] game and yet Bloodtox also affected Elizabeth Greene as well (who is a host of the Redlight Virus, not the Blacklight Virus) and forced her to avoid it such as by hiding deeper underground (implying Bloodtox could harm her as well, as she was purposely hiding away from it)… So, because of such, “BLACKLIGHT” (or “Blacklight”) could refer to either the Redlight Virus or Alexander J. Mercer’s Blacklight Virus completely depending on the context.
So, based on that, the Hunters are basically modified versions of the Redlight Virus (but are called “BLACKLIGHT” because of a name with a different context).
And it’s not just the developer notes of the Prima Guide indicating that regular Hunters can differ in capabilities as well, this was indicated in both the comics and even the first game as well.
[PROTOTYPE comics]
In the comics:
1) A regular Hunter could bisect a man in half with a claw swipe, yet dies to shots from an assault rifle to the head (9-B AP feat while dying to 9-C shots to the head).
2) A regular Hunter could endure shots from Glock Pistols, yet die from a speeding Fire truck crashing into it (Could endure some lower-end 9-C shots but died to a 9-B AP from a Fire truck crashing into at best).
3) One other regular Hunter also got electrocuted and exploded from stepping on wires or power lines on Railway tracks.
In the [PROTOTYPE] games:
1) One of the regular Hunters had pounced at Alex and successfully knocked him out of the building.
2) The regular Hunters falling on the APCs (or M1 Abrams?) caused them to explode
3) Could endure missile shots without receiving significant damage, and doing so multiple times. These “Missile Launchers” are actually FGM-148 Javelins (which is a 9-A feat). The Prima Guide considers Assault rifles to be very ineffective against even regular Hunters that is pursuing/fighting (contrasting against the regular Hunters being killed by assault rifle shots to the head in the comics).
4) Regular Hunters being able to survive attacks from Alex unless he decides to absorb them while they’re weakened, with one even landing an attack on Alex.
Not only that, to prove that there is actually a variety of regular Hunters with differing ability and power… There is actually a green, lizard-like regular Hunter with a tail! And its appearance resembles other regular Hunters in the comics despite its green-coloured skin and tail!
Seriously, there is a Hunter with a tail, something which other regular Hunters lacks… Thus, all this subsequently proves that there is actually notable variance in capabilities between regular Hunters, which could also mean notable gaps in adaptive abilities between them as well.
So, the regular Hunters from the [PROTOTYPE] comics are overall tier 9-B in AP while the regular Hunters pursuing and fighting Alex in the game is tier 9-A in AP – and the regular Hunters that Alex absorbed before wasn’t able to grant him any resistances or adaptative abilities to help fight against the Redlight version of the Parasite, while the regular Hunter with compatible DNA to the Blacklight version of the Parasite (which this regular Hunter was able to adapt to the Blacklight Parasite and adapt antibodies against it with, thus able to successfully fight off the Blacklight Parasite absorbing it from the inside out) granted Alex the resistances (as well as antibodies) and adaptive abilities needed to fight off the Redlight Parasite plaguing him.
As Leader Hunters only got introduced after Alex absorbed the regular Hunter with compatible DNA with the Blacklight Parasite, and that the Leader Hunters’ resistance to Alex’s Absorption is mentioned as a form of “adaptation”, the Leader Hunters should have resistance to Absorption comparable to certain Hunters with compatible DNA with the Parasite – and unlike regular Hunters, there seems to be no notable discrepancies in power or abilities between Leader Hunters, so it is safe to assume that all Leader Hunters should have the same abilities and resistances throughout the game.
However, while regular Hunters that Alex has previously absorbed before the Parasite would not have the adaptive capabilities needed to resist the Parasite’s infection and Absorption without outside help (because Alex needed some outside help to be able to resist the Parasite, which implies the previous Hunters wouldn’t have been able to resist the Parasite either because the abilities Alex gained from them isn’t enough to fend off the Parasite), that does not necessarily mean that they themselves aren’t resistant to Alex’s Absorption abilities – remember, the Redlight Virus itself kept changing (and the Redlight Virus in Greene’s body had her producing hundreds of unique strains daily, having her body evolve at a rapid pace and war-dialing at the genetic level to become something else) to the extent that its changing behaviour is noticed and the Redlight Virus in the 21st century is not following the pathology of the virus that the scientists have learnt about in the Idaho, Hope outbreak, so the Redlight Virus within the regular Hunters bodies should’ve still been capable possessing adaptive capabilities… Adaptive abilities which should’ve been able to resist Alex’s Absorption abilities (which also helps that resistances against Alex’s Absorption is mentioned as an “adaptation”), and this was implied when Alex is unable to absorb even regular Hunters until he has stunned them first (which makes him able to absorb them), so they should have a form of resistance to Absorption as well.
Also, given that Elizabeth Greene resisted the Blacklight Parasite injected into her and expelled it out as the Supreme Hunter, she should also have similar resistance to the Blacklight Parasite and its Absorption abilities (as she was able to prevent it from absorbing her from the inside out).
So, in terms of Adaptation and/or Reactive Evolution capabilities and resistance to Absorption abilities:
Regular Hunters < Regular Hunters with compatible DNA (or correct genetic type) = Leader Hunters (although regular Hunters with compatible DNA < Leader Hunters for AP) = Elizabeth Greene.
Although Hydras are also a “gigantic strain” of the Redlight Virus, they have not been absorbed in the first [PROTOTYPE] game… However, there are Hydras that are present in Prototype 2 (which are Blacklight Hydras rather than Redlight Hydras), and Blacklight Hydras should also at least have similar resistance to Absorption abilities as regular Hunters with compatible DNA and the Leader Hunters as the Redlight Virus is what provides such adaptations (including the resistances to Absorption) in the first place, and the Blacklight Virus should have mimicked and stored the genetic information of the Redlight Virus due to Alex absorbing Elizabeth Greene (which means the Blacklight Virus should have all the genetic abilities that the Redlight Virus has as of the end of the first [PROTOTYPE] game and all of Prototype 2 via assimilating the Redlight Virus in Elizabeth Greene’s body)… So Brawlers, Blacklight Hydras, Spiked Brawlers, Juggernauts… Or basically every other Infected that isn’t Infected Citizens or Walkers should have resistance to Alex’s Absorption abilities.
Thus, with the Blacklight Virus having assimilated Hunters, Hunters with compatible DNA (or correct genetic type), Leader Hunters and Elizabeth Greene as of the end of [PROTOTYPE] and all of Prototype 2, the Blacklight Virus should have all of the Redlight Virus’ abilities and the resistances to Absorption that comes with it (which means all the Blacklight infected that isn’t Infected Citizens or Walkers should have such resistances).
Given Infected Citizens (and Walkers by extension) are described as failed or imperfect versions of the virus (compared to more powerful infected such as regular Hunters and others where they are described as “modified versions” of the virus), and since I doubt the Blacklight Infected Citizens are any different in Prototype 2, these Infected Citizens and Walkers obviously do not scale to these resistances to Alex’s Absorption abilities like the others do as they are essentially at the bottom of the Infected hierarchy.
However, given that these Resistances to Absorption can get overpowered the moment the aforementioned Infected beings are weakened or heavily battered (all of them, even the strongest among them such as Alex Mercer, James Heller, the Evolved, etc. And even then, the Evolved, Alex Mercer and other Blacklight Infected that isn’t Infected Citizens or Walkers requires being weakened or heavily battered before James Heller could absorb them in the second game), it should be listed as Limited in the character profiles. This was proven when Alex resorted to beating Elizabeth Greene to a pulp in order to be able to absorb her.
So, for Hunters, they should have this in their profile:
Limited Resistance to Absorption (Hunters are unable to be Consumed unless they are stunned or otherwise weakened. Hunters with compatible DNA are able to adapt to the Parasite and build antibodies against it, with the Parasite beginning to Consume its targets after the initial infection. Leader Hunters are resistant to Alex Mercer’s assimilation abilities, and needs to be weakened to be vulnerable to being Consumed. Being infected by the Blacklight Virus that has assimilated Hunters and Elizabeth Greene, Brawlers should be similarly resistant to being consumed unless weakened or heavily battered)
For characters that scale to Hunters’ resistances to Absorption (it should be all Blacklight Infected if they aren’t Hunters and aren’t Infected Citizens or Walkers. These include Goliaths and even Super Soldiers, with the latter even being infected by a strain of the Blacklight Virus), they should have this in their profile:
Limited Resistance to Absorption (Should be comparable to Hunters, who are unable to be Consumed unless they are stunned or otherwise weakened. Hunters with compatible DNA are able to adapt to the Parasite and build antibodies against it without being eaten from the inside out, with the Parasite beginning to Consume its targets after the initial infection. Should be comparable to Leader Hunters, who are resistant to Alex Mercer’s assimilation abilities, and needs to be weakened to be vulnerable to being Consumed. Is infected by the Blacklight Virus that has assimilated Hunters and Elizabeth Greene, who resisted the Parasite and expelled it out without any indication that she got affected by the Parasite consuming her from the inside out)
For Elizabeth Greene, her profile should have it listed as:
Limited Resistance to Absorption (Should be comparable to Hunters, who are unable to be Consumed unless they are stunned or otherwise weakened. Hunters with compatible DNA are able to adapt to the Parasite and build antibodies against it without being eaten from the inside out, with the Parasite beginning to Consume its targets after the initial infection. Should be comparable to Leader Hunters, who are resistant to Alex Mercer’s assimilation abilities, and needs to be weakened to be vulnerable to being Consumed. Has resisted the Parasite and expelled it out without any indication that she got affected by the Parasite consuming her from the inside out)
For Alex Mercer, his profile should have it listed as:
Limited Resistance to Absorption (Has absorbed Hunters, who are unable to be Consumed unless they are stunned or otherwise weakened. Hunters with compatible DNA are able to adapt to the Parasite and build antibodies against it without being eaten from the inside out, with the Parasite beginning to Consume its targets after the initial infection. Has absorbed Leader Hunters, which are resistant to Alex Mercer’s assimilation abilities, and needs to be weakened to be vulnerable to being Consumed. Has absorbed Elizabeth Greene, who resisted the Parasite and expelled it out without any indication that she got affected by the Parasite consuming her from the inside out)
For characters comparable to Alex Mercer (e.g. Supreme Hunter, James Heller, the Evolved via being granted by Mercer’s Blacklight Virus, etc.), they should have this listed in their profiles:
Limited Resistance to Absorption (Should be comparable to Alex Mercer, who has absorbed Hunters, Leader Hunters and Elizabeth Greene; thus, should have similar resistances to assimilation abilities unless weakened or heavily battered)
Additionally, the new Tiers and AP for the Hunter profile should be:
“Tier: Varies, from 9-B to 9-A”
“Attack Potency: Varies from Wall level (A weaker Hunter should be superior to Infected Citizens, who could split a soldier with body armor in half with a punch. A weaker Hunter can bisect a man in half with a claw swipe) to Small Building level (A stronger Hunter can obliterate helicopters and APCs by jumping onto them, could match early-game Alex Mercer) | Small Building level (Are a lot tougher than most other infected, can combat mid-game Alex, it's roar can destroy the floor below it. Should be much stronger than their lesser counterparts)”
“Speed: Varies from Athletic Human (A weaker Hunter could keep up with cops on foot) to Subsonic travel speed, with at least Hypersonic reactions and combat speed (A stronger Hunter can keep up with Prototype 1 early-game Alex Mercer) | Subsonic travel speed, with at least Hypersonic reactions and combat speed (Managed to stay on the run from Prototype 1 mid-game Alex Mercer)”
“Lifting Strength: Varies from Superhuman (A weaker Hunter should be superior to Infected Citizens, which are failed or imperfect versions of the virus that are capable of superhuman feats of strength beyond that of ordinary humans) to Class M (A stronger Hunter can throw trucks and the haul of APCs long distances. Should be comparable to early-game Alex Mercer) | Class M (Comparable to mid-game Alex Mercer. Should be much stronger than their lesser counterparts. Can lift and throw M1 Abrams Tank Hauls and are a lot stronger than the other infected)”
“Durability: Varies from Wall level (A weaker Hunter can endure bullets shot from Glock Pistols and has only died from either assault rifle shots to the head or a speeding Fire truck crashing into them) to Small Building level (A stronger Hunter could take hits from early-game Alex Mercer, endure FGM-148 Javelins without receiving significant damage multiple times and survive a single tank shell) | Small Building level (Much tougher than other infected, can take blows from mid-game Alex Mercer and it takes a well-focused strike from Blackwatch to take one down)”
Despite how it seems, the Absorption abilities of the shapeshifters of the Blacklight Virus are capable of assimilating inorganic matter and mimicking all their properties and functions with the same efficacy as they do with organic matter; being able to absorb and mimic clothing, Radio transceivers, LED masks, Hazmat suits and many more by converting these inorganic matter into biomass (as demonstrated by Alex Mercer's first ever Absorption in the first game, which is visually shown when both the entire body and clothing that also includes electronic equipment such as the Radio Transceivers being shown as piles of black tendrils travelling to Alex Mercer's body) and replicate these same inorganic materials to the extent that the functionality and design of the clothing and even electronic equipment are no different from the original's.
To prove this, there is a Word of God statement from Dennis Detwiller himself that clarified this mechanic of Alex Mercer’s Absorption, where he stated that the Blacklight Virus within those shapeshifters' bodies can assimilate ANYTHING, including metal, and so the inorganic materials are absorbed.
Editing Rules page for this site:
Brief or vague answers to fan-questions via social media are also generally disregarded, whereas more elaborate explanations in serious interviews are usually considered more reliable.
This Word of God statement is not vague, and it is not that brief as it seems to perfectly answer the question about the clarification of Alex Mercer's Absorption abilities in a concise manner with sufficient amount of text. And since the Word of God statement only clarifies what is already shown/imply in the series itself, and is a clarification for an ability that was already established in the franchise, along the [PROTOTYPE] series itself actually supporting that Word of God statement as Alex Mercer's first ever Absorption scene has all of the target (including their clothing and even electronic equipment) being assimilated... It should be accepted since nothing appears to be contradicted by that Word of God statement.
Anyways, what happens to the targets and the inorganic materials in their possession after they get assimilated?
Well, if we combine that Word of God statement with the developer notes' implication on how Alex Mercer's entire body is comprised of the Blacklight Virus, and that materials like "skin" and "clothing" were "all a part of the facade", and that he's "the virus shifting from a human arm shape to that of a claw or blade", and we then knew what occurs when the inorganic matter is absorbed… And the fact that it was stated that the clothing is “imitated” (as in, something is imitating the clothing and not actually the clothing), and NOT transferred/stolen… Which is to say they are no longer inorganic materials anymore, they got transmuted to Blacklight viruses - the implication that Alex Mercer's body is made up of the Blacklight Virus is surprisingly important, because Alex Mercer didn't even get the Claws Offensive Power until he consumed Hunters (and he has absorbed several Blackwatch soldiers with their inorganic equipment and materials on their clothing before gaining his Claws power) and later on his Blade Offensive Power from recovering from the Parasite, and he is considered as "the virus" with his skin and clothing being facades that imply that his skin and clothing are composed of the Blacklight Virus even after he got his Claws and Blade... That implication, combined with the Word of God statement and the visuals we see from Alex Mercer's Absorption such as Alex Mercer's first ever Absorption, means that even all the inorganic matter that comprises the gas masks and Radio Transceivers of Blackwatch soldiers are transmuted into nothing but the Blacklight Virus, and that these viral biomasses (that's made up of nothing but the Blacklight Virus) are then absorbed into Alex Mercer's body.
So, based on all this, the shapeshifters of the Blacklight Virus such as Alex Mercer, James Heller and the Evolved can indeed consume even inorganic matter with similar effectiveness as organic matter, and that those same inorganic matter are transmuted to viral matter that are then absorbed into them and that they can mimic the functionality and design of those inorganic matter even to the extent that it is indistinguishable from the original's (notice how, after Alex Mercer absorbed a Blackwatch Soldier, other Blackwatch soldiers and similar faculty can still communicate with that biomass mimicking a Radio Transceiver from Alex Mercer's body as if he was that same Blackwatch soldier they're talking to? That means he not only converted and absorbed such inorganic matter, but even electronic data such as from Radio Transceivers are mimicked and retained even to the extent that other Blackwatch soldiers can still contact that same Radio Transceiver Alex Mercer has absorbed and mimicked).
However, while Alex Mercer (and the other Blacklight Shapeshifters) can transmute even living targets into Blacklight Viruses, they tend to not need to do that for living beings and likely only need to do that for inanimate objects. We can see, Blacklight Viruses (which Alex Mercer is completely comprised of) are virions, and when it enters a cell, it can replicate itself and convert those cells into Blacklight Viruses themselves as an innate mechanic – this mechanic is important because it’s demonstrated when Alex has absorbed a Janitor with just his touch, where the Janitor’s flesh is all peeled away and transferred to Alex while the clothing weren’t converted, which shows that Alex isn’t converting that Janitor into Blacklight tendrils for this process of absorption like he did for the others (but it ultimately led to Alex wearing the janitor’s clothing and shapeshifted to the Janitor anyways).
Basically, while Alex can indeed transmute living targets into Blacklight Viruses if he wishes to like he does here, he doesn’t need to transmute them to be able to absorb them like he did to the Janitor (who he was able to absorb without needing to transmute them).
But wait, if all these radio transceivers and other electronic equipment are now nothing but Blacklight Viruses, then how the heck can the biomasses shaped as radio transceivers even being able to communicate with other electronic radio transceivers when there’s nothing but flesh and virions rather than wires and metals (and other components) to allow for wireless communication between electronic devices to be possible? It should be impossible!
… Well, that’s the Blacklight Virus for you, being able to perform various feats impossible for any viruses (or even any organisms for that matter) to achieve in real life like it was nothing special. ^_^;
I mean, the Blacklight Virus blatantly defy the laws of real life physics and biology on many levels based on its feats, such as being able to essentially defy gravity by running up walls at relatively low speeds for Alex Mercer, being able to glide in the air (implying that density and mass are altered to be lower somehow), being able to infect and manipulate molecules (despite the fact that molecules are significantly smaller than viruses in real life, to the point that virions look like giants compared to molecules, and that real life viruses has only ever dealt with cells and not molecules), being able to communicate with others infected by the viruses through a psychic link called the "Hive Mind" even though that's not how real life Hive Mind works like for real life bees, being able to transmute inorganic matter into viral matter (made of nothing but Blacklight Viruses) and absorb such, being able to mimic the functionality of electronic devices it has absorbed despite the fact that the mimics are not made of the same inorganic materials as those electronic devices that made such functions become possible in real life in the first place, and more...
At this point, the Blacklight Virus clearly follows their own rules that does not correlate with the laws of real-life physics and biology, and thus should be treated as the magical virus it actually is by us instead of the games portraying the Blacklight Virus' abilities as "scientific". ^^;
As for why guns weren’t directly observed to have been absorbed by Alex Mercer or James Heller… It’s because they don’t need to use such guns, as they aren’t particularly useful at being a part of their disguises – in fact, the entire point of why Alex Mercer is going around and absorbing people is because he wants their memories in order to restore his own memories – and considering the guns logically does not provide memories for him… Well, that is another reason why guns aren’t necessary for them to absorb.
However, just because we don't outright see Alex Mercer or James Heller absorbing guns doesn't mean they can't. See that grenade launcher on Robert Cross’ arm? That is attached to his arm, and it was used to shoot rocket-propelled grenades out of it – and considering the Supreme Hunter has absorbed Robert Cross and disguised himself as Robert Cross (including the grenade launcher on his arm), that would also mean the Supreme Hunter has absorbed that grenade launcher on Robert Cross’ arm as well. And the Supreme Hunter is explicitly stated to be a duplicate of Alex Mercer, so Alex would scale to the Supreme Hunter (with James Heller and the Evolved scaling to Alex Mercer).
That is also not the only time a firearm was absorbed. When attacked rather than grabbed, the assault rifle disappeared from the Bio-Bomber Evolved’s hands when he revealed his true form… And for that to happen, either two things must have happened: 1) The assault rifle was absorbed and transmuted. 2) The assault rifle was a part of the Bio-Bomber’s disguise all along.
Or, it could be both – and when grabbed rather than attacked, the Bio-Bomber Evolved dropped the assault rifle instead (and with it flashing “white” occasionally on the ground to indicate that it can be picked up and used to shoot bullets like the other guns in the game, even when that same assault rifle has also disappeared when the Bio-Bomber reveals his true form from being attacked rather than grabbed… It is likely that even firearms such as an assault rifle could be absorbed and perhaps even mimicked as well, with it being comprised of Blacklight viruses, which shouldn’t be that outlandish when even electronic equipment such as Radios could be absorbed and mimicked as well) - and considering the Supreme Hunter mimicking Robert Cross' form (including the grenade launcher) was already shown in the cutscene, absorbing firearms should not be an outlier for this Bio-Bomber Evolved's feat.
Therefore, firearms tend to be not absorbed in the games because they aren’t necessary as a part of the disguises (and doesn’t grant memories or provide increases in power like absorbing living beings do), but they could still be absorbed and mimicked by the Blacklight shapeshifters if they wished to.
Anyways, this basically means that shapeshifters infected with the Blacklight Virus should have Transmutation via Absorption (because such transmutation effects tend to occur most commonly in their Consume ability).
Based on this, Alex Mercer and those that scale to him (e.g. James Heller, Supreme Hunter and the Evolved) should have this listed in their “Powers and Abilities” profile:
Power Mimicry, Transmutation and Absorption (Absorbs the powers, abilities, memories, skills, and experiences of any living thing, with any part of his biomass via his Consume ability without the need to weaken or batter them. This also allows him to negate his target's regeneration capabilities. Every living being that he absorbs makes him stronger. The Blacklight Virus is capable of mimicking and storing genetic information from infected organisms and more, and can duplicate copies of its infected host’s genetic structure, and is able to copy and combine genetic traits to the extent that it results in him being a repository of genetic ability, where he can mix the best version of any creature into a single, super-effective form. Can absorb even inorganic materials such as Radio transceivers and clothing, to the extent that both the radio transceivers and clothing are “imitated” and that the inorganic materials comprising them become “a part of the facade” as a result of being transmuted into viruses)
As mentioned, Alex has absorbed Leader Hunters, who has resistance to his assimilation abilities.
Now the particular wording “abilities” is important here – as Ragland said “abilities” (plural) rather than something like "ability" (singular), this means that he isn’t just referring to one aspect of Alex’s Absorption, but all aspects of his Absorption with “abilities” being mentioned in plural… This would mean that the Transmutation aspect of Alex’s Consume ability should also be included.
Considering the scans provided for the Transmutation aspect of his Consume ability, and that Alex is unable to absorb Leader Hunters (along with regular Hunters, with or without compatible DNA) without weakening or heavily battering them first, should imply a form of resistance to Transmutation as well – albeit, the resistance to Transmutation should be Limited to the same degree as the resistance to Absorption, in that the resistance to the Transmutation could be overpowered if the Hunters (and all other aforementioned characters that scale to the resistances those Hunters possesses) gets weakened or heavily battered to the extent that such abilities would work on them.
It is especially evident that Transmutation is one of the aspects of the Consume ability, since it is shown by Alex when, upon first touching and throwing that Blackwatch soldier, the Blackwatch soldier’s body got converted into tendrils in Alex’s first ever Absorption.
Now, if you were to set the playback speed to 0.25, you would notice that the Blackwatch soldier’s body was already transmuted into black-coloured tendrils with red tints (the same colour as Alex’s own tendrils) BEFORE any of Alex’s four tendrils managed to reach the Blackwatch soldier, much less touch his body. So, the fact that Blackwatch soldier’s body was converted into dark tendrils even before Alex’s tendrils made contact with his body after Alex first touched him demonstrates that there is a transmutation aspect to the Consume ability of Blacklight shapeshifters… So the fact that Blacklight characters such Alex is unable to Consume powerful Infected such as Hunters, Leader Hunters and Elizabeth Greene (and James Heller being unable to Consume any of the powerful Blacklight Infected that isn’t the Infected Citizens) at all unless he was to weaken or heavily batter them first (especially since we don’t see their bodies being converted into tendrils until such aforementioned condition occurs) heavily implies that resisting the Transmutation aspect of the Consume ability of Blacklight shapeshifters is an actual thing for such characters.
Now, there should also be a resistances to Power Mimicry for Blacklight Infected (that isn’t one of the Infected Citizens, Evolved Infected or Walkers) as well, While the Power Mimicry occurs even when a target is infected by the Blacklight Virus (where the virus itself mimics the target’s genetic information and duplicates their entire genetic structure) without needing to be absorbed as a result of the Blacklight Virus having already mimicked everything in their body, it could also occur when the target is absorbed as well, so resisting the Blacklight Virus’ Absorption process could also lead to resisting its Power Mimicry process as well. A good example of resistance to the Power Mimicry process was when James Heller absorbed Alex Mercer’s hand.
Despite absorbing Mercer’s hand, Heller was NOT able gain any new abilities from that… Despite the fact that the Blacklight Virus is capable of mimicking and storing genetic information, as well as duplicating copies of a target’s genetic structure – and we know Alex Mercer is capable of absorbing a piece of the target, such as the regular Hunter’s brain without needing to absorb the rest of its body, for Alex to be able to attain an improved versions of a Hunter’s claws by gaining his Claws Offensive Power (sure, Alex was able to absorb that regular Hunter’s brain, so he has the benefits of gaining its mind, memories and possible skills it has… But a Hunter’s claws is nowhere near the length of Alex’s own claws, it does not have the metallic appearance that Alex’s own claws has, and it is constantly present and certainly does not appear from shapeshifting via alteration of molecular structure like Alex’s own claws do… So, any of the Hunter’s skills and memories are completely irrelevant for how Alex was able to gain and use his Claws power, because Alex’s Claws power is logically just too different from the Hunter’s claws for the Hunter’s memories and skills to effectively carry over to Alex’s skill in utilising his Claws power, so Alex might as well had used his Claws power instinctively the moment he first gained it).
And Alex’s body is comprised of nothing but Blacklight Viruses, so absorbing his hand should effectively be not much different from absorbing his brain (because they are both comprised of Blacklight Viruses anyways)… And yet, James Heller still has not gained any new abilities from such an Absorption. The only time Heller was able to gain any new abilities from Mercer was the Tendril Barrage Devastator ability (along with also absorbing the rest of Prototype 2 Alex Mercer’s body after Mercer lost the power-up he gained from absorbing 8 Evolved, to gain the biomass necessary to be able to unleash such a large scale Devastator in the first place), and Heller was only able to gain such ability after weakening and heavily battering Mercer in order to fully absorb him.
As a result, resistance to Power Mimicry should also be present for all Blacklight creatures that isn’t Infected Citizens, Evolved Infected or Walkers (just to play it safe, as the inability to gain new abilities even from absorbing a portion of a body from a non-weakened Blacklight character is only displayed by Blacklight characters such as Alex Mercer, so only such aforementioned Blacklight creatures should scale).
Based on all this, for Hunters, they should have this in their profile (Resistance to Power Mimicry only applies for Brawlers and Spiked Brawlers):
Limited Resistance to Power Mimicry, Transmutation and Absorption (Hunters are unable to be Consumed unless they are stunned or otherwise weakened. Hunters with compatible DNA are able to adapt to the Parasite and build antibodies against it, with the Parasite beginning to Consume its targets after the initial infection. Leader Hunters are resistant to Alex Mercer’s assimilation abilities, and needs to be weakened to be vulnerable to being Consumed, and such assimilation abilities also include being able to transmute targets into tendrils comprised of Blacklight Viruses even Alex’s own tendrils made contact with their bodies after the first touch with the targets. Being infected by the Blacklight Virus that has assimilated Hunters and Elizabeth Greene, Brawlers should be similarly resistant to being consumed unless weakened or heavily battered; similarly, Brawlers should also be resistant to having their genetic abilities mimicked with their Blacklight Virus, as James Heller was unable to gain new abilities after absorbing Alex Mercer’s hand even with the Blacklight Virus’ mimicking capabilities until he has weakened and heavily battered Alex Mercer before fully absorbing him)
For characters that scale to Hunters’ resistances to Absorption (it should be all Blacklight Infected if they aren’t Hunters and aren’t Infected Citizens or Walkers), they should have this in their profile:
Limited Resistance to Power Mimicry, Transmutation and Absorption (Should be comparable to Hunters, who are unable to be Consumed unless they are stunned or otherwise weakened. Hunters with compatible DNA are able to adapt to the Parasite and build antibodies against it without being eaten from the inside out, with the Parasite beginning to Consume its targets after the initial infection. Should be comparable to Leader Hunters, who are resistant to Alex Mercer’s assimilation abilities, and needs to be weakened to be vulnerable to being Consumed, and such assimilation abilities also include being able to transmute targets into tendrils comprised of Blacklight Viruses even Alex’s own tendrils made contact with their bodies after the first touch with the targets. Is infected by the Blacklight Virus that has assimilated Hunters and Elizabeth Greene, who resisted the Parasite and expelled it out without any indication that she got affected by the Parasite consuming her from the inside out; should also be similarly resistant to having their genetic abilities mimicked with their Blacklight Virus, as James Heller was unable to gain new abilities after absorbing Alex Mercer’s hand even with the Blacklight Virus’ mimicking capabilities until he has weakened and heavily battered Alex Mercer before fully absorbing him)
For Elizabeth Greene, her profile should have it listed as:
Limited Resistance to Transmutation and Absorption (Should be comparable to Hunters, who are unable to be Consumed unless they are stunned or otherwise weakened. Hunters with compatible DNA are able to adapt to the Parasite and build antibodies against it without being eaten from the inside out, with the Parasite beginning to Consume its targets after the initial infection. Should be comparable to Leader Hunters, who are resistant to Alex Mercer’s assimilation abilities, and needs to be weakened to be vulnerable to being Consumed, and such assimilation abilities also include being able to transmute targets into tendrils comprised of Blacklight Viruses even Alex’s own tendrils made contact with their bodies after the first touch with the targets. Has resisted the Parasite and expelled it out without any indication that she got affected by the Parasite consuming her from the inside out)
For Alex Mercer, his profile should have it listed as:
Limited Resistance to Power Mimicry, Transmutation and Absorption (Has absorbed Hunters, who are unable to be Consumed unless they are stunned or otherwise weakened. Hunters with compatible DNA are able to adapt to the Parasite and build antibodies against it without being eaten from the inside out, with the Parasite beginning to Consume its targets after the initial infection. Has absorbed Leader Hunters, which are resistant to Alex Mercer’s own assimilation abilities, and needs to be weakened to be vulnerable to being Consumed, and such assimilation abilities also include being able to transmute targets into tendrils comprised of Blacklight Viruses even Alex’s own tendrils made contact with their bodies after the first touch with the targets. Has absorbed Elizabeth Greene, who resisted the Parasite and expelled it out without any indication that she got affected by the Parasite consuming her from the inside out. Is able to resist having his genetic abilities mimicked, as James Heller was unable to gain new abilities after absorbing Alex Mercer’s hand even with the Blacklight Virus’ own mimicking capabilities until James Heller has weakened and heavily battered Alex Mercer before fully absorbing him)
For characters comparable to Alex Mercer (e.g. Supreme Hunter, James Heller, the Evolved via being granted by Mercer’s Blacklight Virus, etc.), they should have this listed in their profiles:
Limited Resistance to Power Mimicry, Transmutation and Absorption (Should be comparable to Alex Mercer, who has absorbed Hunters, Leader Hunters and Elizabeth Greene, as well as resisting the mimicking capabilities of James Heller’s Blacklight Virus; thus, should have similar resistances to the assimilation and mimicking abilities of the Blacklight Virus unless weakened or heavily battered)
Now, there are certain powerful Infected with Immortality Type 2. These should include Hunters (and by extension, Elizabeth Greene via scaling to those Hunters as her virus was what granted them their abilities in the first place), Alex Mercer, the Supreme Hunter and all other beings infected with the Blacklight Virus (that aren’t Infected Citizens or Walkers).
Even for regular Hunters, they themselves should have a form of Immortality Type 2 (that can only be bypassed if they have received sufficient enough damage to their bodies).
For example, there’s this newly turned regular Hunter, which was able to survive and operate even with its brain completely destroyed from a M16 shot to the head. Its Immortality Type 2 is further evidenced when it was able to stand up even without a brain, and it only died after being disemboweled by M16 shots towards its torso – all other weaker regular Hunters died from either being hit by a speeding Fire truck, being electrocuted by power lines over Railway tracks, and dying to gunshots to the head only after being damaged by assault rifle shots beforehand… Which showcases that they have a limited form of Immortality Type 2 that could only be circumvented by having their brain destroyed after receiving sufficient damage beforehand or one-shotting them with powerful impacts towards their entire body such as being hit by a speeding Fire truck (else, if their head is destroyed without receiving sufficient damage prior, they can operate without a brain until they receive sufficient damage such as having their brainless body’s torso being disemboweled).
Elizabeth Greene, considering the Redlight Virus within her body (which she endured, absorbed and changed with her unique biology) was what infected the city and created the Hunters in the first place, along with the Redlight Virus being capable of mimicking and storing genetic information (although not being able to duplicate copies of organisms’ genetic structures, as that is implied to be an ability of the Blacklight Virus created by the original Alexander J. Mercer as an implied form improvement of the Redlight Virus’ ability to mimic and store genetic information with the feat of duplicating copies of an organism’s genetic structure), she would at the very least scale to the Immortality Type 2 of the Hunters as the Hunters’ Redlight Virus was granted to them by Elizabeth Greene’s Redlight Virus within her body in the first place.
Now, Alex himself should have a superior form of such Type 2 Immortality compared to the Hunters. Not only could he walk around with a large hole in his head while in disguise, but, after being exposed to the nuclear fireball… While he is in the middle of regenerating, he was able to sit up with his regenerating hand on the ground and was able to keep his upper body and neck in an upright position even before the mimicked calvaria of his mimicked skull (or the top half of his mimicked skull, and thus his entire mimicked brain as well) was even formed. Based on these feats, combined with the scaling to the Hunters (especially considering he has absorbed them and all), Alex should not need a brain to operate at all, and would only ever need a brain to process the mind and memories of his absorbed targets… So, outside of processing the mind and memories of his absorbed targets, he would not need internal organs such as his brain (which is also made of nothing but Blacklight Viruses anyways, so he would not need it to operate in the first place as well).
Alex should also have comparable Type 2 Immortality to the Supreme Hunter as well, which is a duplicate of him that is able to move his fingers and hand even as a puddle and still in the middle of regenerating, which further emphasises for their capabilities of operating even with lethal injuries with missing internal organs or even a completely liquefied body.
For Hunters, they should have this in their profile:
Immortality (Types 1, 2 and 3; Can survive and operate without a brain unless sufficiently damaged such as being disembowelled by M16 shots to the torso, being struck across the entire body by a powerful impact such as a speeding Fire truck, and dying to gunshots to the head only after being damaged by assault rifle shots beforehand. Brawlers should have comparable capabilities to Hunters)
For Elizabeth Greene, she should have this in her profile:
Immortality (Types 1, 2 and 3; Is un-aging. Should be comparable to Hunters, which can survive and operate without a brain unless sufficiently damaged such as being disembowelled by M16 shots to the torso, being struck across the entire body by a powerful impact such as a speeding Fire truck, and dying to gunshots to the head only after being damaged by assault rifle shots beforehand)
For Alex Mercer, he should have this in his profile:
Immortality (Types 1, 2, 3, 6, 7; Is “effectively immortal”. Should be comparable to Elizabeth Greene, who is un-aging. Can operate without needing the brain or other internal organs, such as operating with a large hole in his head and being able to sit up with a regenerating hand on the ground and with upper body and neck in upright position even before the top half of his skull and brain was reformed. Should be comparable to the Supreme Hunter, who is “immortal” and can move his fingers and hand even as a puddle that is still in the middle of regenerating. Is the same Blacklight Virus that infected and mimicked the corpse of the original Alexander J. Mercer as it infected him as he died, thus should have similar bodily functionality to a dead human corpse)
For the Supreme Hunter, he should have this in his profile:
Immortality (Types 1, 2, 3, 6; Is “immortal”. Can move his fingers and hand even as a puddle that is still in the middle of regenerating. Should be comparable to Elizabeth Greene, who is un-aging. Should be comparable to Alex Mercer, who is “effectively immortal” and can operate without needing the brain or other internal organs, such as operating with a large hole in his head and being able to sit up with a regenerating hand on the ground and with upper body and neck in upright position even before the top half of his skull and brain was reformed. Is the same Parasite that previously infected Alex Mercer that got refashioned into the Supreme Hunter, thus it can live off its host’s body as the Parasite)
All other characters that scale to Alex Mercer that isn’t the Supreme Hunter (which should only be those that can shapeshift with the Blacklight Virus, such as James Heller and the Evolved):
Immortality (Types 1, 2, 3; Should be comparable to Alex Mercer, who is “effectively immortal” and can operate without needing the brain or other internal organs, such as operating with a large hole in his head and being able to sit up with a regenerating hand on the ground and with upper body and neck in upright position even before the top half of his skull and brain was reformed. Should be comparable to the Supreme Hunter, who is “immortal” and can move his fingers and hand even as a puddle that is still in the middle of regenerating)
With Absorption, characters such as Alex Mercer and all other Blacklight Shapeshifters (including the Supreme Hunter, James Heller and the Evolved) should have Immortality Negation Type 2 and 3 (Mid-High for Type 3).
With even regular Hunters possessing Immortality Type 2 (capable of operating even with a missing brain) that can only be circumvented if they receive sufficient damage such as weaker Hunters either being shot by assault rifles beforehand and then getting shot in the head, being disemboweled with M16 shots to its torso with its brain being destroyed or being hit across all of their body by a powerful impact such as a speeding Fire truck, they should not die even with their brain being destroyed or missing… But Alex is able to circumvent that, where just by absorbing a regular Hunter’s brain without needing to absorb the rest of its body, he effectively killed that Hunter as shown when it collapsed to the ground – and considering Hunters can be consumed in the game without needing to shoot them with assault rifles, such as in this case where a Hunter was absorbed without one-shotting them across their entire body or being disemboweled after they were worn down enough, this should be a Immortality Negation Type 2 feat.
Though even without the regular Hunters, Alex was able to absorb the Evolved (who should be among the other beings that scale to Immortality Type 2 and 3 above) and they have not appeared or reformed again, which appears to be an Immortality Negation Type 2 feat – this should also be Immortality Negation Type 3 feat (up to Mid-High) with the Evolved having comparable regeneration to Alex, as well as James Heller being able to absorb Alex Mercer after heavily battering him, and Mercer not appearing or reforming again after Heller has absorbed him being an example of such Immortality Negation Type 2 and 3.
For Alex Mercer, he should have this in his profile:
Immortality Negation via Absorption (Types 2 and 3 – Up to Mid-High; Could kill a Hunter just by absorbing its brain, despite a Hunter being able to survive and operate without a brain unless sufficiently damaged. Is able to to absorb the Evolved, who should have comparable regenerative abilities to his own. Should be comparable to James Heller, who was able to absorb him after heavily battering him with the same Blacklight Virus that he has granted to James Heller)
For others that scales to Alex Mercer (Supreme Hunter, James Heller and the Evolved), they should have this in their profile:
Immortality Negation via Absorption (Types 2 and 3 – Up to Mid-High; Should be comparable to Alex Mercer, who could kill a Hunter just by absorbing its brain, despite a Hunter being able to survive and operate without a brain unless sufficiently damaged, along with Alex Mercer being able to absorb the Evolved, who should have comparable regenerative abilities and immortality to his own. Should be comparable to James Heller, who was able to absorb him after heavily battering him with the same Blacklight Virus that he has granted to James Heller)
You see, resistance to Biological Manipulation (Molecular level) should not just be something possessed only by James Heller, but it should be something possessed by other Blacklight shapeshifters such as Alex Mercer, Supreme Hunter and the Evolved as well.
You see, the Blacklight Viruses that comprises Alex’s body are able to reconfigure their own molecular structure to become “something else” – which is a feat of molecular level shapeshifting or Body Control… And the Parasite injected into Alex’s body could hamper that, to the extent that all of Alex’s Offensive Powers, Defensive Powers, Devastators… And basically everything that isn’t his physical stats, regeneration, Consume (or Absorption) or Disguise ability (which are a part of his ability to “transform”) are essentially nullified for him as it “rendered his powers useless” – this nullification includes his Offensive Powers such as his Claws and Blade that involves the Blacklight Viruses altering their own molecular structure, which are a part of his “transform” abilities (so his other abilities that are nullified should be a part of the mechanic of the Blacklight Viruses altering its own molecular structure).
And considering Alex’s body is comprised of nothing but Blacklight Viruses as the developer notes of the Prima Guide has described, it basically confirms that the nullification of his “transform” abilities aren’t due to “cells” (which Alex doesn’t actually have, because his body is comprised of viruses with even visual evidence showcasing Blacklight Virus also being virions) or anything to do with the “nervous system” (which Alex also should technically not have, since the Blacklight Viruses merely mimics the human brain of its dead creator… And it doesn’t even need it to operate from the previous scans mentioned above), so the mechanic of nullifying his molecular-level abilities shouldn’t be a part of some obscure parts of the human biology being affected due to Alex lacking any actual human biology in the first place – and so, that should mean that the Parasite was actually affecting the Blacklight Viruses comprising Alex’s body themselves rather than some cells (since while virions aren’t made of cells, basic knowledge stills says they’re made of molecules, so affecting the virions in Alex’s body should be closer to a molecular-level feat than a cellular-level one).
And since the Parasite is affecting the Blacklight Viruses comprising Alex’s body directly, to the extent that it restricts Alex from using his capability to reconfigure his own molecular structure, that’s essentially a Biological Manipulation feat at the molecular level.
Sure, McMullen said that Alex “rebuilds on the cellular level”… But he’s also the same person who doesn’t actually understand the full capabilities of the Blacklight Virus, and what he says was based on what he has observed what Alex has achieved in the cameras (which wouldn’t show the full inner mechanics of Alex’s own physiology, as it only shows what Alex is doing with his Shapeshifting from the outside perspective); this was confirmed when McMullen was described as an individual who is driven by an urge to understand the Blacklight Virus and that the virus was considered as a “mystery” to him, and that McMullen understands above all that there are things he does not understand (which was heavily implied that he doesn’t fully understand the Blacklight Virus) and has stated that he “need to know what makes it tick”, which proves that McMullen doesn’t actually understand the full capabilities of the Blacklight Virus and so what he says should be taken with a grain of salt in regards to describing specific mechanics involving the Blacklight Virus (so, while McMullen’s words should have more merit than any other character that isn’t the original Alexander J. Mercer in the [PROTOTYPE] universe, McMullen still doesn’t know the full picture behind the capabilities of the Blacklight Virus, so that should be kept in mind) – and since Alex is described as being comprised of nothing but viruses (which are also virions), with virions being smaller than cells, it also further demonstrates that, while McMullen’s words aren’t unreliable, it also comes from an individual with canonical gaps of knowledge at a specific subject they are studying about.
Plus, “cellular level” basically means operating at the level of cells, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it is the upper limit to a character’s capabilities – for example, a character that can manipulate molecules could easily achieve “cellular level” feats with Biological Manipulation as well, but that doesn’t necessarily their overall abilities are limited to cellular-level scale (since characters with molecular-level scale feats could easily achieve scales of manipulation feats “bigger” than molecules such as manipulating cells as well).
Also, this thread mentions that his “cellular abilities” were nullified but his physical attributes and regeneration remained functional because they are “integral to his DNA” – while this previous CRT is mostly correct, it isn’t entirely so because Alex’s capabilities operates more at the molecular level rather than the cellular level as I’ve mentioned above, and it’s arguable that Alex even has a DNA as his body are made up of nothing but Blacklight Viruses.
While it is possible that the Blacklight Virus might be a type of DNA virus, it might also be a RNA virus as well (though I have yet to find any explicit statement or scan that suggests that the Blacklight Virus is a retrovirus or otherwise a type of RNA virus) – however, even assuming it is more of a DNA virus, his regeneration, Consume and Disguise abilities are unaffected due to them being integral to the Blacklight Viruses themselves rather than anything to do with cells (which Alex should not have in the first place) or alteration of molecular structure.
You see, Word of God clarifies that the Blacklight Virus can assimilate ANYTHING, including metals – now, it is mentioned that “the virus can assimilates ANYTHING” rather than “Alex Mercer can assimilate ANYTHING”; this may seem redundant as Alex himself is the Blacklight Virus rather than a mere host of the virus, but it is still an important distinction as it is NOT Alex himself as an individual that does the Absorption… But rather, it is the Blacklight Viruses themselves that does it. This means even for other shapeshifters such as James Heller and the Evolved (who does not have explicit statements of being comprised of Blacklight Viruses like Alex does), it is NOT their bodies that performs the process of Absorption, but it is in fact the Blacklight Viruses infecting their bodies that actually does so.
This means that the Consume ability is in fact an innate ability of the Blacklight Virus itself, and it has nothing to do with abilities achieved by alteration of molecular structure (such as the Offensive Powers, Defensive Powers, Devastators, etc.) – and considering that the Blacklight Virus can mimic and store genetic information from infected organisms and more, and can duplicate copies of its infected host’s genetic structure, and having such mimicking capabilities that it could mimic the functionality of even electronics such as Radios or the filtering capabilities of gas masks from Hazmat Suits, the Disguise ability (which allows Alex to become a perfect copy of the target) should also similarly be an innate ability of the Blacklight Virus with its mimicking capabilities.
There’s also the fact that every living thing a Blacklight shapeshifter absorbs makes them stronger (it increases their physical attributes among others – this is heavily implied when Mid-Game James Heller went from being completely overpowered by Prototype 2 Alex Mercer, to being able to trade blows with Prototype 2 End Game Alex Mercer after absorbing 8 Evolved at the end of the second game), and how it does that is through “genetic advancement” with the Consume ability – basically, every time a Blacklight shapeshifter absorbs a living target, it “advances” their “genetics” and causes them to become stronger – this basically means that the physical parameters of a Blacklight shapeshifter (such as Alex, Supreme Hunter, James Heller, the Evolved, etc.) such as their strength, speed, durability, etc. is tied to their genetics; so, while the Blacklight Viruses themselves are involved in the process of making Blacklight shapeshifters stronger through enhancing their genetics, it’s their entire genetics themselves that grants them their superhuman physical stats like how brown bears in real life are physically very strong and fast (because evolution made their genetics to become that strong and fast) rather than the Blacklight Viruses themselves directly.
And Regeneration from Blacklight shapeshifters, while it should indeed come from the self-replication nature of viruses from infecting cells and using cells to duplicate viruses, possessing cells (or absorbing them) are NOT an absolute requirement for Regeneration due to the Blacklight Viruses’ capability of mimicking should allow it to mimic the functionality of cells to the extent that it can self-replicate on its own without the need of external sources of biomasses or cells (and considering Blacklight Viruses can reconfigure their own molecular structure, and that even cells are made of molecules, it should not be outlandish for Blacklight Viruses to be capable of having its own viruses/virions mimic cells or convert themselves into cells to self-replicate. Although, with the Parasite nullifying “transform” abilities while Regeneration abilities are kept, it’s more likely to be the Blacklight Viruses/Virions mimicking cells to self-replicate rather than converting themselves into cells via altering their own molecular structure to do so) – the Supreme Hunter regenerating from a puddle without needing to absorb any biomass or cells is clear evidence of that (as the Supreme Hunter is also made of the same Blacklight Viruses that comprises the Blacklight version of the Parasite that was injected into Elizabeth Greene and expelled out), where the viruses within them are capable of self-replicating (thus Regenerating) without the need for external sources of biomass – so, while absorbing external biomasses or cells does speed up the Regeneration capabilities of Blacklight shapeshifters, they ultimately don’t actually need to absorb external biomasses or cells to continue to regenerate. And the reason the Blacklight Virus did nothing inside the vial that the original Alexander J. Mercer was holding (before he smashed it) was simply because it has yet to absorb or mimic anything that has sentience until it found the corpse of Alexander J. Mercer, so it was reduced to the basic functionality and behaviours of a mere virus (which is to say that it only targets living beings, and doesn’t target inanimate objects such as the glasses of the vial even if Word of God states that it can assimilate even inorganic matter, because the basic nature of real life viruses lack sentience and they only targets living organisms… Until it found sentience and sapience from Alexander’s corpse that is).
So, the reason Alex can’t use his Offensive Powers (Claws, Blade, Hammerfist, Whipfist, etc.), Defensive Powers (Shield, etc.), Devastators, etc. are all due to the fact that they are all categorized as under his ability to “transform”, and his “transform” abilities involves altering his own molecular structure into something else in order to perform such abilities. In contrast, Alex’s Consume, Disguise and regenerative abilities are all due to them being integral to the innate nature of the Blacklight Viruses themselves (and not from alteration of molecular structure), so they exists separately from the “transform” abilities as such abilities are intrinsic to the viral nature of the Blacklight Virus rather than anything to do with reconfiguration of molecular structure (which is why they remained, while the “transform” abilities are rendered useless by the Parasite). Physical stats are also similar in that regard as they are directly inherent from the genetics of the Blacklight shapeshifters themselves, and aren’t directly linked to the alteration of molecular structure of Blacklight Viruses, so they remained even with the Parasite in Alex’s body.
Anyways, there’s also Bloodtox affecting Alex as well.
Sure, while Bloodtox is described as causing necrosis in any Infected tissue and affecting the Blacklight Virus… But necrosis by definition is about “the death of cells”, and considering Alex shouldn’t have cells in the first place as body is comprised of nothing but Blacklight Viruses (sure, there are antiviral medicine or drugs and Bloodtox are described as “anti-virus”, but antiviral drugs are mainly to help the body fight off certain viruses and don’t actually attack those viruses directly)… And yet Bloodtox was shown to affect Alex and caused harm to him and was stated in the Prima Guide to be able to kill him, which heavily implies a Biological Manipulation feat that should be comparable to Molecular-level (or at least close to it) as it could affect something smaller than cells (such as Blacklight Viruses, which are shown to be virions) – and this was further confirmed when it was outright stated that Bloodtox hampers the biological processes of the Infected, and considering that Alex was affected by Bloodtox even while he was in disguise with the mimicked gas mask (which has mimicked the functionality of actual gas masks such as from Hazmat Suits to such extent that it can filter gasses exactly like how actual gas masks does) and mimicked clothing even with his ability to alter his own molecular structure to become something else, with even McMullen confirming that Bloodtox being able to affect Alex, then it is likely that it is a Biological Manipulation (Molecular level) feat against Alex and other beings infected with the virus as it is capable of hampering even the biological processes of literal colonies of viruses that is Alex.
There's also the fact that it was stated that "Bloodtox breaks down anything infected with the virus"... The term "breaks down" heavily implies that Bloodtox is capable of Deconstruction for anything infected with the virus - and since Blacklight Viruses aren't made up of cells (but they are made up of molecules, as virions are made up of molecules), and that Alex got severely harmed by it on first exposure even when his body is comprised of nothing but Blacklight Viruses, this Deconstruction would likely be at the Molecular level... So him adapting to it and developing immunity to it would count as a Resistance to Deconstruction feat at the molecular level. NOTE: Since it was not stated anywhere that Elizabeth Greene, or the Redlight Infected such as Hunters or Hydras, were able to adapt or resist the Bloodtox... They obviously won't get any resistances to it like Alex does.
And so, resisting the Parasite for Hunters and Leader Hunters (which Alex has absorbed) and Bloodtox (which Alex adapted to) should be Resistance to Biological Manipulation at the Molecular level.
For Hunters, this should be listed in their profile:
Resistance to Biological Manipulation (Molecular level; Hunters with compatible DNA are capable of adapting to the Parasite, which are capable of suppressing the abilities of Alex Mercer, whose Blacklight Viruses within his body being capable of reconfiguring their own molecular structure, through affecting the Blacklight Viruses that comprises Alex’s body directly)
Elizabeth Greene’s profile should have this listed in her profile:
Resistance to Biological Manipulation (Molecular level; Should be comparable to Hunters with compatible DNA, who are capable of adapting to the Parasite, which are capable of suppressing the abilities of Alex Mercer, whose Blacklight Viruses comprising his body are capable of reconfiguring their own molecular structure to become something else, through affecting the Blacklight Viruses that comprises Alex’s body directly)
Alex Mercer himself should have this listed in his profile:
Resistance to Poison Manipulation, Deconstruction and Biological Manipulation (Molecular level; Has absorbed Hunters with compatible DNA that can adapt to the Parasite, which are capable of suppressing his abilities, with the Blacklight Viruses comprising his body are capable of reconfiguring their own molecular structure to become something else, through affecting the Blacklight Viruses that comprises Alex’s body directly. Has adapted to Bloodtox, which is a poison that hampers the biological processes of the Infected, can cause necrosis in any infected tissue, breaks down anything infected with the virus and is capable of killing him to even affecting him through his Disguise with a gas mask, despite his body being comprised of nothing but viruses that can reconfigure their own molecular structure and the Blacklight Virus being capable of mimicking gas masks from Hazmat Suits to block out gasses; thus, he can resist Bloodtox to the extent that he can withstand an entire gas tank full of it after the first direct exposure, despite the fact that it can break down Blacklight Viruses that can reconfigure their own molecular structure through their molecules)
For other characters comparable to Alex Mercer (which should be the Supreme Hunter, James Heller and the Evolved), this should be listed in their profile:
Resistance to Poison Manipulation, Deconstruction and Biological Manipulation (Molecular level; Should be comparable to Alex Mercer, who was able to resist the Parasite and adapted to Bloodtox)
Resistance Negation should also be an ability listed in the profiles of Alex Mercer and James Heller.
As explained above, the Blacklight Viruses that comprised Alex’s body has absorbed regular Hunters (with or without compatible DNA to the Parasite), Leader Hunters and Elizabeth Greene, which should mean that these Blacklight Viruses should have mimicked and stored the genetic information (and a copy of their genetic structures) that granted them resistances to Alex’s own assimilation abilities as long as they aren’t weakened or heavily battered – and given that the Blacklight Viruses within Alex’s body were used to caused an infection outbreak in the second game, all Infected that aren’t Infected Citizens (because they are failed or imperfect versions of the virus, and so it means that they likely would not have the full extent of the genetic abilities granted to them by either the Redlight Virus in the first game or the Blacklight Virus in the second game) should have resistance to Alex’s own assimilation abilities unless they were weakened or heavily battered.
This should mean that even characters such as the Evolved should be able to possess that same resistance to Alex’s assimilation abilities due to the Blacklight Virus mimicking the genetic abilities of the Redlight Virus – James Heller being able to only absorb the Evolved after weakening and heavily battering them multiple times consistently heavily implies that they possess this same resistance… But then, Mercer was able to absorb them just by touch alone, without the need to weaken or heavily batter them in any way; and considering the Evolved appears to be ready for combat, it is very unlikely they were weakened beforehand.
While there are cases of fictional characters having the ability being listed as “Enhanced” within their profiles (e.g. “Resistance to Enhanced Fire Manipulation”, “Enhanced Electricity Manipulation”, etc.), it was not explicitly stated or mentioned anywhere that Alex’s Absorption ability has gotten “stronger” in any way after the first game – while it was indeed stated that every living thing absorbed makes the Blacklight shapeshifter stronger, and that the increase in their physical parameters (and other abilities) comes from their “genetic advancement”, nowhere is it shown in the game or the Word of God statements that Alex’s Consume (or Absorption) ability is increased or strengthened in any way – the same applies to the Blacklight Virus’ ability to mimic genetic information and duplicate copies of target’s genetic structure, since there is no such explicit statements that such aspects of the ability has gotten more potent in any way. The best I can find is the Consume Boost upgrades, which describes the upgrades as “GAIN more HEALTH from those you CONSUME” (health probably means “biomass” in the context of the [PROTOTYPE] universe in this case)… But that doesn’t imply that the effectiveness of the Power Mimcry, the Transmutation or the Absorption aspect is strengthened in any way, it just means that the upgrades allows Alex Mercer (and James Heller) to gain more biomass at the absolute best – similar applies for adding any layers for Alex’s Absorption abilities, since adding layers to hax abilities usually involve the ability being “stronger” than the resistances to the same hax abilities… And there is no explicit statement anywhere that says anything about the potency of Alex’s Absorption abilities being stronger in any way.
Resistance Negation’s section within the Power Nullification page:
“Resistance Negation is the ability to remove an opponent's ability to resist certain effects, allowing the user to then affect them with those abilities. In extreme cases, this ability can even override apparent immunity.
However, simply overwhelming something with Hax stronger than what they can resist normally wouldn't qualify”
In the case of Alex’s Absorption, since there is no explicit statement (possibly even indication) anywhere that suggests that Alex’s assimilation abilities are any more potent than they were in the first game – and since there is no such explicit statement or evidence, it is unlikely that it is the case that Alex’s own assimilation abilities are “stronger” than the resistances towards his own assimilation abilities… So the best I could say for such a feat Alex performed is through Resistance Negation (against Resistances to Absorption abilities, and perhaps Power Mimicry and Transmutation abilities by extension as well due to them being abilities that are a part of the processes of the Consume ability), by circumventing the resistances towards his own assimilation abilities as of the second game (since he was able to absorb 8 of the Evolved without needing to weaken or heavily batter them like James Heller does).
And it’s not just Alex Mercer that should have Resistance Negation, but also James Heller as well – one could argue that Alex was able to absorb the Evolved because they are infected with the Blacklight Virus that Mercer granted to them (with Mercer being the Blacklight Virus itself), so Mercer already has control over them that could circumvent their resistances to Absorption… But that doesn’t explain how James Heller was able to circumvent Alex Mercer’s own resistances if that’s the case, as James Heller has absolutely no explicit statements or indications that he possesses control over all traces of the Blacklight Virus like Mercer does, yet Heller was still able to be capable of Absorption without the need to weaken or heavily batter a target in this certain situation.
You see, James Heller was able to absorb Alex Mercer’s own hand, without needing to weaken or heavily batter Mercer beforehand (and we know that Mercer was not weaken or heavily battered in any way, because Heller himself is the one that was getting overpowered seconds ago while Mercer wasn’t hit even once; and considering Mercer was definitely the one that is significantly stronger than Heller by overpowering him in just two hits… That also indicates that the Absorption abilities from Blacklight Shapeshifters does NOT depend on the strength of the targets like the common misconceptions of the [PROTOTYPE] characters are, because Prototype 2 Alex was blatantly stronger than Mid-Game James Heller at the time and yet Mid-Game James Heller was still able to successfully absorb Prototype 2 Alex Mercer being physically stronger by a significant extent)… This is a Resistance Negation feat for James Heller, since Alex Mercer has absorbed Hunters (both with and without compatible DNA to the Parasite), Leader Hunters and Elizabeth Greene, and they all have resistance to his own assimilation abilities; therefore, James Heller should also have Resistance Negation towards Absorption (and Power Mimicry and Transmutation, as they are a part of the processes of the Consume ability by extension).
Yeah, it is likely that it is Resistance Negation for both James Heller and Alex Mercer (and not some mere Biological Manipulation through manipulating the Blacklight Virus or similar, because Heller absorbing Mercer’s hand indicates that “control over the Blacklight Virus” isn’t what determines overcoming resistances to assimilation abilities).
However, James Heller’s feat of absorbing Alex Mercer’s own hand was NOT performed again after that moment, as Heller still resorted to weakening and beating down other powerful Infected (such as the Evolved) in order to be able to successfully absorb them, so it is likely that James Heller’s own Resistance Negation only worked against Alex Mercer in that particular circumstance in that cutscene – and since Heller only absorbed a hand from Mercer, whereas Mercer was able to absorb the entire bodies of the 8 Evolved, this only shows that the Resistance Negation of Heller’s Absorption likely isn’t as strong as Mercer’s (until after Heller absorbed Mercer after the final fight) as Heller’s Resistance Negation only allowed him to partially absorb a target (absorbing their hand) while Mercer’s own Resistance Negation allowed him to fully absorb multiple targets (absorbing their entire bodies); so Heller’s own Resistance Negation to assimilation abilities should not be as strong as Mercer’s own Resistance Negation to assimilation abilities.
Based on all this, this ability should be listed in Alex’s profile as:
Resistance Negation (Was able to Consume multiples of the Evolved just by his biomass touching them without weakening or heavily battering them in any way, despite the fact that the Evolved should’ve possessed the genetic information and duplicates of genetic structures of abilities responsible for resistances to his assimilation abilities granted to them by the Blacklight Viruses from his own body)
And this ability should be listed in James Heller’s profile as:
Resistance Negation (Was able to Consume Alex Mercer’s hand, despite the fact that Alex Mercer has absorbed and gained the abilities of Hunters, Leader Hunters and Elizabeth Greene that should’ve made him resistant to such assimilation abilities as long as he isn’t weakened or heavily battered)
After James Heller was infected by the Blacklight Virus, Alex Mercer was able to merge his own arm with James Heller’s and control it into touching the Blackwatch soldier and then absorbing that Blackwatch soldier (and it was Mercer’s own arm that was definitely replacing Heller’s, because that arm replacing Heller’s looks like the arm from the Tendrils Offensive Power, which Heller didn’t have until later on in the game. The Blackwatch soldier was also absorbed via touch, which James Heller hasn’t done other than that one-time moment of absorbing Mercer’s hand) –I’m not exactly sure what other ability would qualify for a character fusing their limb with an another character’s limb, so I would classify it as Fusionism for now – and since Mercer’s own arm was replacing Heller’s, and Mercer was controlling that arm, it should also be Body Puppetry.
Now, since Mercer can manipulate all traces of Infected targets in existence (like what happened with Whitelight) down to the molecular level, thus being able to manipulate all of the Blacklight Viruses in existence down to the molecular level by extension as well, should mean that Alex should very likely be capable of performing Body Puppetry across vast distances based on those scans of the explicit statements as well (with Fusionism and Body Puppetry also being linked to the Biological Manipulation ability via the Blacklight Virus).
However, since I have yet seen such abilities being demonstrated against non-Infected targets (more so by lack of feats rather than any actual limitations of the abilities), it should only be applicable to targets already infected with the Blacklight Virus as a result of a lack of feats of affecting non-Infected targets.
In addition, James Heller should have resistance to Alex Mercer’s Fusionism and Body Puppetry as well, since he was able to resist Mercer’s manipulation of his body through the virus with such abilities withplot armour willpower and sheer familial love for his daughter – while it might look like Heller was resisting Mercer’s Absorption rather than the Fusionism and Body Puppetry (which is still a bit unclear on whether Heller was being absorbed or killed via manipulation of the virus), but it seems to be far more likely to be Heller was having his body manipulated by Mercer and being killed through such manipulation, since the number of tendrils present and the movement of the tendrils don’t seem to match the number and movements of tendrils of the Evolved that Mercer absorbed while the number and movements of tendrils seem to be closer to matching the tendrils of the cutscene where Mercer was merging his arm with Heller’s and manipulating it – thus, the resistance would likely be Body Puppetry and Fusionism (along with Biological Manipulation) rather than the Absorption; however, this resistance only seems to appear in certain circumstances, as it did NOT prevent Mercer from fusing his arm with Heller’s and manipulating Heller’s arm with it… So, it would likely be a resistance that is limited based on it only working on specific circumstances.
And considering Mercer’s quotes when the Player (as James Heller) loses, it might not necessarily be resistance to Absorption abilities either as the game over screen implies James Heller could die if he is weakened or heavily battered enough to get absorbed after losing to Mercer (and considering Mid-Games Heller appeared weary after receiving a hit from Mercer, before receiving an another hit that made his panting became even louder and more noticeable, Heller was also weakened a bit before Mercer attempted to kill him via manipulation of Heller’s body through the virus as well before Heller resisted it – so it can’t be a resistance to Absorption feat, as the game over screen on Heller’s death against Mercer implies that he could still die to Absorption and Heller resisting Alex’s attempt to kill him would contradict that if it was a resistance to Absorption feat as Heller’s resistance was done after he was weakened… So it most likely would have to be a resistance to Fusionism, Body Puppetry and Biological Manipulation under certain circumstances)
This should be listed in Alex Mercer’s profile:
Fusionism, Body Puppetry and Biological Manipulation (Molecular level; Can fuse his biomass with the body of those infected with the Blacklight Virus, such as fusing his own arm with James Heller’s arm and controlling it into touching and absorbing a Blackwatch soldier. Can manipulate all traces of the target infected by the virus in existence down to the molecular level, thus is likely able to control the Blacklight Virus and the bodies of beings infected with the Blacklight Virus across vast distances. Can manipulate the target's body through the virus to kill them)
This should be listed in James Heller’s profile:
Resistance to Fusionism, Body Puppetry and Biological Manipulation (Molecular level; Should be comparable to Alex Mercer, who was able to resist the Parasite and adapt to Bloodtox. Was able to resist Alex Mercer’s attempt to kill him through manipulation of his body with the virus, though it may be limited only to specific circumstances involving attempts to kill him with it as his body was successfully manipulated by Alex Mercer previously)
A short one, but Alex the Blacklight Virus should have a form of Enhanced Senses, such as with his sense of hearing.
Alex was capable of sensing a Leader Hunter approaching from outside the apartment whereas Dana couldn’t – and since Alex said “shhh” to Dana (basically shushing her), this implies that he was using his sense of hearing to detect the Leader Hunter’s approach. That basically implies a superhuman form of enhanced hearing, as an ordinary human such as Dana couldn’t hear it (which is shown when Dana asked him “What is it?”, implying that she doesn’t know why Alex was behaving like that and thus is ignorant to what Alex was sensing).
Thus, this should be listed in Alex Mercer’s profile:
Enhanced Senses (Thermal Vision, Infected Vision and Viral Sonar. Was able to sense a Leader Hunter approaching from outside the apartment while being inside the apartment whereas Dana, an ordinary human, couldn’t with his sense of hearing)
Those that scale to Alex Mercer (which should be the Supreme Hunter, James Heller and the Evolved) should have this listed in their profiles:
Enhanced Senses (Should be comparable to Alex Mercer, who was able to sense a Leader Hunter approaching from outside the apartment while being inside the apartment whereas Dana, an ordinary human, couldn’t with his sense of hearing)
Anyways, here's what this CRT is going to be about.
Self-sustenance Type 2 and 3:
Firstly, there is the self-sustenance capabilities of certain characters in [PROTOTYPE].
Elizabeth Greene:
Here, we have Elizabeth Greene, who was within the custody of Gentec and Blackwatch before she escaped. You see, after lashing out at General Randall (at a time period before he was a General) the moment he took her baby (PARIAH) away from her by scratching his arm with her hand and caused it to become infected to the extent that General Randall had to chop it off with a cleaver to avoid turning into an Infected, Greene was implied to have undergone a state similar to brain death after that incident, which was stated when “nothing goes on in her head” as her brain was supposedly “fried by the virus” – obviously, we know that definitely isn’t the case as she escaped later on… So, her brain is definitely not “fried by the virus” in the least.
As for where I’m going with this? Well, you see… She wasn’t “asleep” or “unconscious” at all for around 39 to 40 years.
You see, she was not at all in a brain death-like state or probably even being in an unconscious/asleep state, which was heavily implied from the visuals when she was looking through the peephole of the prison door to stare at the direction of the Blackwatch soldiers outside of her containment to the extent that one of the Blackwatch soldiers noticed that and suspected that she seems like she’s “waiting for something” (which also implies that she was at a conscious enough state that they’ve noticed her subtle actions, such as her staring) – this is directly confirmed by Elizabeth Greene herself, where she stated that “the time for waiting is over”… Which entails that she definitely doesn’t have her brain “fried by the virus”, and this also means that she isn’t unconscious or asleep either.
On top of her being confirmed to be “waiting” to the extent that even certain people around her noticed that she, the further confirmation for her not being braindead/unconscious/asleep is directly confirmed by the visuals of the game itself, where she is incarcerated for thirty-nine years, and during those times… She stayed in exactly the same spot in the exact same position she was sitting at, remaining as still as a statue despite the evident changes in her environment (possibly due to transporting her in various locations, possibly including the room she’s in as well) and the changes in her clothing and hair that indicates that the scientists have been doing experiments on her as the timeframes were speeding up in the thirty-nine years… And she did all that with her eyes open, with her eyes staring in the same direction from where she was sitting at despite the aforementioned changes!
Now, we know the timeframe between the outbreak that occurred in Hope, Idaho and the first outbreak in [PROTOTYPE] is 40 years whereas Elizabeth Greene only waited for 39 years; however, Elizabeth Greene has also been moved to different places in insolation (with them most likely transporting the very rooms she’s staying still in to various locations for their experiments, where they purposely tried to isolate her), along with the fact that the experiments they did on her were on the more recent years of the 39 years rather than the earlier ones (as evident by Greene being in her bodysuit, with a breathing apparatus being placed on her mouth inside the container she was experimented at, heavily implying that the experiments on her was done in the more later parts of the years), so it is also possible that around 1 year worth of timeframe wasn’t taken into consideration due to her being relocated and experimented on in the more recent parts of the timeline while being transported to various locations.
With the confirmation that she was waiting, with her being at an aware enough state that she is deliberately “waiting” and “looking at people” (implying that she is at least conscious to be able to perform such actions), combined with the visual evidence that she stayed in the exact same position with her eyes remaining open until 39 years that implies that she has at least not moved at all (as, to be able to remain in the exact same position and looking at the exact same direction, she most likely has to remain in the exact same spot and didn’t move at all; especially when moving tends to cause different changes in position that a typical individual would be hard-pressed to move to the exact same position in the exact same spot again)… This is basically sufficient evidence of Self-Sustenance Type 3, as she has been implied by both character statements (including her own words to confirm it) and the visuals to have remained conscious for 39 years.
Now, where does Self-Sustenance Type 2 come in?
Well, here’s the thing… There is no indication, either by character statements or by explicit visual showings, that Elizabeth Greene required food to sustain herself during the 39 years of her staying completely still; and considering how Blackwatch treats even their fellow humans that are even suspected of being infected (as well as non-infected people on an airplane who were all shot down merely for trespassing Blackwatch’s areas), there are no reasons to assume that they would waste essentials such as food on Elizabeth Greene if it isn’t needed to keep her alive, and considering Greene was able to remain in the exact same spot for many years based on the scans I’ve provided above... I doubt they even gave her water either, with her being in such an absent state that they assumed her brain to be “fried by the virus” (based on the Redlight Virus driving others to madness and the virus causing structural changes in the brain), it is likely neither food, water or even IV drips was provided to her in order for her to remain in the exact same position of sitting (and it would be quite scary for the scientists to try to physically get close and awkwardly open the mouth of a woman to give her food and water when that same woman had caused the Blackwatch General’s arm to become infected with just a mere scratch of her hand and forced him to amputate it… And considering this was when she was first brought to Gentek, it is unlikely they would want to give her food or water and have experimented on her at safe distances).
The closest thing I can find to even remotely hint at anything close to the possibility of the usage of IV drips is the slots on the back of the suit that allows for direct spinal injections and various feeds all over her body to distribute the drugs… But even then, that isn’t enough to simply that Intravenous therapy was utilised on her, as IV therapy tends to not be done through direct spinal injections and the “drugs” is a broad term that refers to any other substances with physiological effects on the body that are medicinal; and considering that Blackwatch supersoldiers also have breathing apparatus on their backs that injects chemicals that allow them to be more receptive to control by other Blackwatch Troopers, it is very unlikely those drugs are meant to sustain or help her in any way and would most likely be attempts to control her like with the Blackwatch supersoldiers (especially since they both have breathing apparatuses attached to them or their clothing that indicates similarities in treatment).
Without any true indications of food or water being provided to her, this would be Self-Sustenance Type 2.
However, considering Elizabeth Greene needs a breathing apparatus while she is being experimented on, this implies that Blackwatch and the scientists consider her as still requiring to breathe in order to survive… And with oxygen being required, Elizabeth Greene would unfortunately not be able to get Type 1 Self-Sustenance.
However, while Elizabeth Greene being a mere host of the virus that is still possible restricted by her biological human limitations (however loose those human limitations are), this doesn’t necessarily mean that it is impossible for a certain non-human character such as Alex Mercer the Blacklight Virus to be able to achieve Self-Sustenance Type 1 considering he is not human and is the Blacklight Virus itself and he is described as "the virus itself taking the shape of a man" and that "materials like skin and clothing were all a part of the facade" with an example being that his arm is akin to "the virus shifting from a human arm shape to that of a claw or blade" such as for his Offensive Powers, and real life viruses technically doesn’t require oxygen for survival… But I have not been able to find any feats or explicit statements/descriptions that indicates that Alex Mercer could sustain himself without oxygen; so, while it might be possible for a literal colony of viruses like Alex Mercer to survive without oxygen, I am unable to find any scans that could outright grant Alex Self-Sustenance Type 1 (feel free to provide any such scans if any of you were to find such).
The best I can think of is the Redlight Virus being inside water tanks, and the player as Alex Mercer is able to jump in water and switch disguises underwater to successfully stay underwater and hide (probably for an indefinite period of time?), but I’m not sure that might be enough to grant Self-Sustenance Type 1 – I’ll just leave it for others to decide if that is even enough to cover Self-Sustenance Type 1.
At the very least, Self-Sustenance Type 2 and 3 should be covered for Elizabeth Greene and those comparable to her (e.g. Alex Mercer, James Heller, Supreme Hunter, the Evolved, etc. Basically, all the characters infected with the Blacklight Virus that have shapeshifting capabilities, since Shapeshifters are essentially among the strongest and most biologically resilient in the Prototype-universe (with the Evolved being the type only Blacklight Shapeshifters which Elizabeth Greene surpasses in strength in her Mother form) with the capabilities the Blacklight Virus that Mercer embodies has access to and has granted to others such as James Heller, the Supreme Hunter and the Evolved, along with the Blacklight Virus is considered as a variant of the Mother Virus, which is another name for the Redlight Virus (along with the Blacklight Virus being the offshoot of the Redlight Virus, the same virus that infected Hope, Idaho). Mercer being considered as “more like Greene than not”, or basically him being more similar to Elizabeth Greene than he is different from her, combined with the Blacklight Virus being created as a more dangerous and superior version of the Redlight Virus, should be more than enough for Alex Mercer and other Blacklight shapeshifters to scale to her capabilities), with Hunters, Leader Hunters, Brawlers, or other non-human Infected that isn’t the Supreme Hunter not being among those comparable to her as there is nothing indicating that the viruses within their bodies allows them to have capabilities comparable to Greene, especially with mere Infected citizens being considered as “failed or imperfect versions of the virus” while other stronger infected such as Hunters are not implied to be versions comparable enough in capabilities to Elizabeth Greene or the Blacklight Shapeshifters anywhere in the canon.
For Elizabeth Greene, her profile should be:
Self-Sustenance (Types 2 and 3; Is able to wait by staying in the exact same position for thirty-nine to forty years and being consciously aware of her surroundings while deceiving other Blackwatch soldiers by having a “fried brain” with no indication that water, food or other nutrients was provided to her while she was waiting)
For the others comparable to her, their profile should be:
Self-Sustenance (Types 2 and 3; Should be comparable to Elizabeth Greene, who is able to wait by staying in the exact same position for thirty-nine to forty years and being consciously aware of her surroundings while deceiving other Blackwatch soldiers by having a “fried brain” with no indication that water, food or other nutrients was provided to her while she was waiting)
Limited Resistance to Absorption:
Now, there are common misinterpretations that [PROTOTYPE] characters such as Alex Mercer would need to “weaken” or “heavily batter” his targets in order to absorb them, since he needs to do that for powerful Infected in the game (especially in the gameplay), thus his Absorption is “reliant on his target’s strength”… But that’s not entirely true at all.
You see, the reason for why Alex the Blacklight Virus needed to “weaken” or “heavily batter” Infected creatures (specifically those infected with the Redlight Virus, or the Blacklight Virus for James Heller in the second game) is because they have resistance to Absorption abilities like his.
As we know, Leader Hunters are resistant to Alex’s assimilation abilities, to the extent that they need to be weakened first by destroying both their backs (or spinal columns) in order for Alex to be able to successfully absorb them. Considering the Blacklight Virus is capable of mimicking and storing genetic information from infected organisms and more, and can duplicate copies of its infected host’s genetic structure, absorbing the Leader Hunter should already be enough to grant Alex resistance to Absorption abilities (that works at Alex’s caliber) alone – after all, just by absorbing a regular Hunter’s brain without needing to absorb the rest of its body, Alex was able to attain an improved versions of a Hunter’s claws by gaining his Claws Offensive Power (and we know for the fact that he absorbed that regular Hunter’s brain, considering he gained the mind and memories of a Leader Hunter when he absorbed it, which heavily implies Alex can partially absorb his targets such as absorbing their brains and leave their bodies behind without needing to absorb such), so he would only need to absorb parts of their bodies in order to gain all their genetic abilities such as their resistance to his Absorption.
However, these resistance to Alex’s Absorption abilities doesn’t just apply to Leader Hunters… It should apply to even regular Hunters as well (and possibly other Infected creatures with greater capabilities than Infected Citizens and Walkers), especially regular Hunters with compatible DNA to the Parasite.
This was shown when the Redlight version of the Parasite (there’s actually two versions of the Parasite. There’s the Parasite that are comprised of the Redlight Virus, and there’s the other Parasite that are comprised of the Blacklight Virus. I’ll explain about that later) was eating Alex Mercer from the inside out. At first, I didn’t really pay much mind to what it means by “eating him from the inside out”… Until this statement was further elaborated on by the Prima Guide.
This statement was further elaborated upon the Prototype (or Alex Mercer the Blacklight Virus, as the term “the Prototype” was only used to describe Blacklight Alex in the Prima Guide and not anywhere in the game or comics) being infected by the Parasite via injection, the Parasite began to Consume him right after.
Now, the term “Consume” was used (and it was used with the “C” capital letter, implying the name of a technique or ability was referenced) – in the [PROTOTYPE] universe, “Consume” are basically an ability that is synonymous with “Absorption” or “Assimilation”.
This basically means the Parasite isn’t just wreaking havoc inside its target’s body… It is absorbing the target from the inside out the moment it infects the target.
Now, as mentioned above, there’s two versions of the Parasite. There’s the version of the Parasite created from the Redlight Virus, using the material of the Redlight Virus at the center of a Hive… And then there’s the Parasite created from the Blacklight Virus where Ragland is getting the samples from the Penn Station corpses – and as we both know, the corpses from Penn Station are the people who got infected by the Blacklight Virus; you know, the same Blacklight Virus which the original Alexander J. Mercer has smashed the vial full of it onto the ground with and caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people with the brief Blacklight Virus outbreak starting from Penn Station
The Redlight Parasite was what has infected Mercer and caused him to lose the ability to transform, while the Blacklight Parasite was created from the viral information Ragland used from the Penn Station corpses (which are infected by the same Blacklight Virus that the original Alexander J. Mercer has unleashed on Penn Station) – the Blacklight Parasite was then created by Ragland, and it is contained in the syringe that Ragland was holding that he then gave to Alex – even though the two respective versions of the Parasite are created from different viral sources, they should have identical functionality (because the Blacklight Parasite infecting a regular Hunter for Alex to absorb was what cured him of the Redlight Parasite).
Now, here’s the thing… Resistance to Absorption capabilities at Alex’s calibre is not at all purely restricted to Leader Hunters, as even regular Hunters are capable of this… And in this case, the Hunter with compatible DNA with the Blacklight Parasite was injected (thus is then infected by the Blacklight Parasite); and the moment it got infected, it then immediately starting the process of adapting and building antibodies against the Blacklight Parasite… And as the Parasite functions by beginning to absorb its host right after the injection from the inside out, this means that it should’ve started absorbing the regular Hunter from the inside out as well… And yet, that regular Hunter with compatible DNA later adapted against the Blacklight Parasite, which is a feat that showcases resistance to Absorption abilities at Alex’s scale (since the Blacklight Parasite should have similar assimilation abilities to Alex’s) and that newly gained resistance was what led to Alex being cured of the Redlight Parasite after he has absorbed that regular Hunter infected with the Blacklight Parasite (with the Redlight Parasite having disappeared, implying it either got destroyed or dropped off somewhere, who knows) – so the fact that Alex absorbing the regular Hunter and its adaptation to the Blacklight Parasite’s Absorption cured him of the Redlight Parasite plaguing him also proves that both the Redlight Parasite and the Blacklight Parasite have similar functionality, with resistances/adaptations/antibodies against the Blacklight Parasite also working against the Redlight Parasite.
And considering Ragland mentioned that the Leader Hunters’ resistance to Alex’s Absorption abilities could be an “adaptation” to his methods (heavily implying that the resistance to Absorption is achieved either by Adaptation or Reactive Evolution), and considering a regular Hunter with compatible DNA to the Parasite could adapt against the Parasite… It follows regular Hunters of such calibre should also have resistance to Absorption abilities as well, considering such resistances are likely achieved as “adaptations” like how the Leader Hunters’ resistance to Alex’s Absorption was achieved.
But wait, Alex has the ability to mimic genetic information, duplicate the target’s genetic structure and gain all their genetic abilities; and he has absorbed regular Hunters before and should’ve gained all their abilities (including their possible resistances and adaptation abilities), and yet he still got successfully infected by the Redlight Parasite and wasn’t able to resist it until he absorbed that other regular Hunter that adapted to the Blacklight Parasite, so how the heck did that one regular Hunter’s genetic abilities allow Alex to resist the Redlight Parasite when the abilities of the previous Hunters Alex has absorbed should’ve allowed him to resist that Redlight Parasite?
Well, you see, there’s actually a simple yet insightful answer to that… And that answer is that not all regular Hunters are equal.
You see, the developer notes of the Prima Guide mentions that some Hunters can assume human (or human-like) form but most lack the ability to Consume and become human targets, and the Hunters are inferior to “the Prototype” (Alex Mercer the Blacklight Virus)… And most importantly, they will kill and Consume one another to grow in power and ability if possible.
The statement “If possible, they will kill and Consume one another to grow in power and ability” is important here – this means that regular Hunters aren’t all equal, as there can be some that have grown in power and ability that sets them apart from the others.
At first, I didn’t pay much mind to this part of the developer notes of the Prima Guide because it mentioned that Hunters are “modified versions of the Blacklight virus”, and Hunters are creatures formed from the Redlight Virus, NOT the Blacklight Virus… But then it was brought into my attention that “BLACKLIGHT” (or “Blacklight”) not only refers to the Redlight Virus in Prototype 2 (because the Redlight Virus is the same virus that destroyed Hope, Idaho, not the Blacklight Virus which only got created by Alexander J. Mercer later on), but Bloodtox being stated to only being able to affect the Blacklight Virus in the first [PROTOTYPE] game and yet Bloodtox also affected Elizabeth Greene as well (who is a host of the Redlight Virus, not the Blacklight Virus) and forced her to avoid it such as by hiding deeper underground (implying Bloodtox could harm her as well, as she was purposely hiding away from it)… So, because of such, “BLACKLIGHT” (or “Blacklight”) could refer to either the Redlight Virus or Alexander J. Mercer’s Blacklight Virus completely depending on the context.
So, based on that, the Hunters are basically modified versions of the Redlight Virus (but are called “BLACKLIGHT” because of a name with a different context).
And it’s not just the developer notes of the Prima Guide indicating that regular Hunters can differ in capabilities as well, this was indicated in both the comics and even the first game as well.
[PROTOTYPE comics]
In the comics:
1) A regular Hunter could bisect a man in half with a claw swipe, yet dies to shots from an assault rifle to the head (9-B AP feat while dying to 9-C shots to the head).
2) A regular Hunter could endure shots from Glock Pistols, yet die from a speeding Fire truck crashing into it (Could endure some lower-end 9-C shots but died to a 9-B AP from a Fire truck crashing into at best).
3) One other regular Hunter also got electrocuted and exploded from stepping on wires or power lines on Railway tracks.
In the [PROTOTYPE] games:
1) One of the regular Hunters had pounced at Alex and successfully knocked him out of the building.
2) The regular Hunters falling on the APCs (or M1 Abrams?) caused them to explode
3) Could endure missile shots without receiving significant damage, and doing so multiple times. These “Missile Launchers” are actually FGM-148 Javelins (which is a 9-A feat). The Prima Guide considers Assault rifles to be very ineffective against even regular Hunters that is pursuing/fighting (contrasting against the regular Hunters being killed by assault rifle shots to the head in the comics).
4) Regular Hunters being able to survive attacks from Alex unless he decides to absorb them while they’re weakened, with one even landing an attack on Alex.
Not only that, to prove that there is actually a variety of regular Hunters with differing ability and power… There is actually a green, lizard-like regular Hunter with a tail! And its appearance resembles other regular Hunters in the comics despite its green-coloured skin and tail!
Seriously, there is a Hunter with a tail, something which other regular Hunters lacks… Thus, all this subsequently proves that there is actually notable variance in capabilities between regular Hunters, which could also mean notable gaps in adaptive abilities between them as well.
So, the regular Hunters from the [PROTOTYPE] comics are overall tier 9-B in AP while the regular Hunters pursuing and fighting Alex in the game is tier 9-A in AP – and the regular Hunters that Alex absorbed before wasn’t able to grant him any resistances or adaptative abilities to help fight against the Redlight version of the Parasite, while the regular Hunter with compatible DNA to the Blacklight version of the Parasite (which this regular Hunter was able to adapt to the Blacklight Parasite and adapt antibodies against it with, thus able to successfully fight off the Blacklight Parasite absorbing it from the inside out) granted Alex the resistances (as well as antibodies) and adaptive abilities needed to fight off the Redlight Parasite plaguing him.
As Leader Hunters only got introduced after Alex absorbed the regular Hunter with compatible DNA with the Blacklight Parasite, and that the Leader Hunters’ resistance to Alex’s Absorption is mentioned as a form of “adaptation”, the Leader Hunters should have resistance to Absorption comparable to certain Hunters with compatible DNA with the Parasite – and unlike regular Hunters, there seems to be no notable discrepancies in power or abilities between Leader Hunters, so it is safe to assume that all Leader Hunters should have the same abilities and resistances throughout the game.
However, while regular Hunters that Alex has previously absorbed before the Parasite would not have the adaptive capabilities needed to resist the Parasite’s infection and Absorption without outside help (because Alex needed some outside help to be able to resist the Parasite, which implies the previous Hunters wouldn’t have been able to resist the Parasite either because the abilities Alex gained from them isn’t enough to fend off the Parasite), that does not necessarily mean that they themselves aren’t resistant to Alex’s Absorption abilities – remember, the Redlight Virus itself kept changing (and the Redlight Virus in Greene’s body had her producing hundreds of unique strains daily, having her body evolve at a rapid pace and war-dialing at the genetic level to become something else) to the extent that its changing behaviour is noticed and the Redlight Virus in the 21st century is not following the pathology of the virus that the scientists have learnt about in the Idaho, Hope outbreak, so the Redlight Virus within the regular Hunters bodies should’ve still been capable possessing adaptive capabilities… Adaptive abilities which should’ve been able to resist Alex’s Absorption abilities (which also helps that resistances against Alex’s Absorption is mentioned as an “adaptation”), and this was implied when Alex is unable to absorb even regular Hunters until he has stunned them first (which makes him able to absorb them), so they should have a form of resistance to Absorption as well.
Also, given that Elizabeth Greene resisted the Blacklight Parasite injected into her and expelled it out as the Supreme Hunter, she should also have similar resistance to the Blacklight Parasite and its Absorption abilities (as she was able to prevent it from absorbing her from the inside out).
So, in terms of Adaptation and/or Reactive Evolution capabilities and resistance to Absorption abilities:
Regular Hunters < Regular Hunters with compatible DNA (or correct genetic type) = Leader Hunters (although regular Hunters with compatible DNA < Leader Hunters for AP) = Elizabeth Greene.
Although Hydras are also a “gigantic strain” of the Redlight Virus, they have not been absorbed in the first [PROTOTYPE] game… However, there are Hydras that are present in Prototype 2 (which are Blacklight Hydras rather than Redlight Hydras), and Blacklight Hydras should also at least have similar resistance to Absorption abilities as regular Hunters with compatible DNA and the Leader Hunters as the Redlight Virus is what provides such adaptations (including the resistances to Absorption) in the first place, and the Blacklight Virus should have mimicked and stored the genetic information of the Redlight Virus due to Alex absorbing Elizabeth Greene (which means the Blacklight Virus should have all the genetic abilities that the Redlight Virus has as of the end of the first [PROTOTYPE] game and all of Prototype 2 via assimilating the Redlight Virus in Elizabeth Greene’s body)… So Brawlers, Blacklight Hydras, Spiked Brawlers, Juggernauts… Or basically every other Infected that isn’t Infected Citizens or Walkers should have resistance to Alex’s Absorption abilities.
Thus, with the Blacklight Virus having assimilated Hunters, Hunters with compatible DNA (or correct genetic type), Leader Hunters and Elizabeth Greene as of the end of [PROTOTYPE] and all of Prototype 2, the Blacklight Virus should have all of the Redlight Virus’ abilities and the resistances to Absorption that comes with it (which means all the Blacklight infected that isn’t Infected Citizens or Walkers should have such resistances).
Given Infected Citizens (and Walkers by extension) are described as failed or imperfect versions of the virus (compared to more powerful infected such as regular Hunters and others where they are described as “modified versions” of the virus), and since I doubt the Blacklight Infected Citizens are any different in Prototype 2, these Infected Citizens and Walkers obviously do not scale to these resistances to Alex’s Absorption abilities like the others do as they are essentially at the bottom of the Infected hierarchy.
However, given that these Resistances to Absorption can get overpowered the moment the aforementioned Infected beings are weakened or heavily battered (all of them, even the strongest among them such as Alex Mercer, James Heller, the Evolved, etc. And even then, the Evolved, Alex Mercer and other Blacklight Infected that isn’t Infected Citizens or Walkers requires being weakened or heavily battered before James Heller could absorb them in the second game), it should be listed as Limited in the character profiles. This was proven when Alex resorted to beating Elizabeth Greene to a pulp in order to be able to absorb her.
So, for Hunters, they should have this in their profile:
Limited Resistance to Absorption (Hunters are unable to be Consumed unless they are stunned or otherwise weakened. Hunters with compatible DNA are able to adapt to the Parasite and build antibodies against it, with the Parasite beginning to Consume its targets after the initial infection. Leader Hunters are resistant to Alex Mercer’s assimilation abilities, and needs to be weakened to be vulnerable to being Consumed. Being infected by the Blacklight Virus that has assimilated Hunters and Elizabeth Greene, Brawlers should be similarly resistant to being consumed unless weakened or heavily battered)
For characters that scale to Hunters’ resistances to Absorption (it should be all Blacklight Infected if they aren’t Hunters and aren’t Infected Citizens or Walkers. These include Goliaths and even Super Soldiers, with the latter even being infected by a strain of the Blacklight Virus), they should have this in their profile:
Limited Resistance to Absorption (Should be comparable to Hunters, who are unable to be Consumed unless they are stunned or otherwise weakened. Hunters with compatible DNA are able to adapt to the Parasite and build antibodies against it without being eaten from the inside out, with the Parasite beginning to Consume its targets after the initial infection. Should be comparable to Leader Hunters, who are resistant to Alex Mercer’s assimilation abilities, and needs to be weakened to be vulnerable to being Consumed. Is infected by the Blacklight Virus that has assimilated Hunters and Elizabeth Greene, who resisted the Parasite and expelled it out without any indication that she got affected by the Parasite consuming her from the inside out)
For Elizabeth Greene, her profile should have it listed as:
Limited Resistance to Absorption (Should be comparable to Hunters, who are unable to be Consumed unless they are stunned or otherwise weakened. Hunters with compatible DNA are able to adapt to the Parasite and build antibodies against it without being eaten from the inside out, with the Parasite beginning to Consume its targets after the initial infection. Should be comparable to Leader Hunters, who are resistant to Alex Mercer’s assimilation abilities, and needs to be weakened to be vulnerable to being Consumed. Has resisted the Parasite and expelled it out without any indication that she got affected by the Parasite consuming her from the inside out)
For Alex Mercer, his profile should have it listed as:
Limited Resistance to Absorption (Has absorbed Hunters, who are unable to be Consumed unless they are stunned or otherwise weakened. Hunters with compatible DNA are able to adapt to the Parasite and build antibodies against it without being eaten from the inside out, with the Parasite beginning to Consume its targets after the initial infection. Has absorbed Leader Hunters, which are resistant to Alex Mercer’s assimilation abilities, and needs to be weakened to be vulnerable to being Consumed. Has absorbed Elizabeth Greene, who resisted the Parasite and expelled it out without any indication that she got affected by the Parasite consuming her from the inside out)
For characters comparable to Alex Mercer (e.g. Supreme Hunter, James Heller, the Evolved via being granted by Mercer’s Blacklight Virus, etc.), they should have this listed in their profiles:
Limited Resistance to Absorption (Should be comparable to Alex Mercer, who has absorbed Hunters, Leader Hunters and Elizabeth Greene; thus, should have similar resistances to assimilation abilities unless weakened or heavily battered)
Additionally, the new Tiers and AP for the Hunter profile should be:
“Tier: Varies, from 9-B to 9-A”
“Attack Potency: Varies from Wall level (A weaker Hunter should be superior to Infected Citizens, who could split a soldier with body armor in half with a punch. A weaker Hunter can bisect a man in half with a claw swipe) to Small Building level (A stronger Hunter can obliterate helicopters and APCs by jumping onto them, could match early-game Alex Mercer) | Small Building level (Are a lot tougher than most other infected, can combat mid-game Alex, it's roar can destroy the floor below it. Should be much stronger than their lesser counterparts)”
“Speed: Varies from Athletic Human (A weaker Hunter could keep up with cops on foot) to Subsonic travel speed, with at least Hypersonic reactions and combat speed (A stronger Hunter can keep up with Prototype 1 early-game Alex Mercer) | Subsonic travel speed, with at least Hypersonic reactions and combat speed (Managed to stay on the run from Prototype 1 mid-game Alex Mercer)”
“Lifting Strength: Varies from Superhuman (A weaker Hunter should be superior to Infected Citizens, which are failed or imperfect versions of the virus that are capable of superhuman feats of strength beyond that of ordinary humans) to Class M (A stronger Hunter can throw trucks and the haul of APCs long distances. Should be comparable to early-game Alex Mercer) | Class M (Comparable to mid-game Alex Mercer. Should be much stronger than their lesser counterparts. Can lift and throw M1 Abrams Tank Hauls and are a lot stronger than the other infected)”
“Durability: Varies from Wall level (A weaker Hunter can endure bullets shot from Glock Pistols and has only died from either assault rifle shots to the head or a speeding Fire truck crashing into them) to Small Building level (A stronger Hunter could take hits from early-game Alex Mercer, endure FGM-148 Javelins without receiving significant damage multiple times and survive a single tank shell) | Small Building level (Much tougher than other infected, can take blows from mid-game Alex Mercer and it takes a well-focused strike from Blackwatch to take one down)”
Transmutation:
Despite how it seems, the Absorption abilities of the shapeshifters of the Blacklight Virus are capable of assimilating inorganic matter and mimicking all their properties and functions with the same efficacy as they do with organic matter; being able to absorb and mimic clothing, Radio transceivers, LED masks, Hazmat suits and many more by converting these inorganic matter into biomass (as demonstrated by Alex Mercer's first ever Absorption in the first game, which is visually shown when both the entire body and clothing that also includes electronic equipment such as the Radio Transceivers being shown as piles of black tendrils travelling to Alex Mercer's body) and replicate these same inorganic materials to the extent that the functionality and design of the clothing and even electronic equipment are no different from the original's.
To prove this, there is a Word of God statement from Dennis Detwiller himself that clarified this mechanic of Alex Mercer’s Absorption, where he stated that the Blacklight Virus within those shapeshifters' bodies can assimilate ANYTHING, including metal, and so the inorganic materials are absorbed.
Editing Rules page for this site:
Brief or vague answers to fan-questions via social media are also generally disregarded, whereas more elaborate explanations in serious interviews are usually considered more reliable.
- When a statement from a character, guidebook, or even word of god contradicts what occurs in the series, they won't be used. For example, if an author says that a character from his work is incapable of shattering planets, even though it has destroyed galaxies on-screen, we will always go with the latter, rather than the former. The statement needs to be consistent with what has been revealed within the fictional franchise itself. Otherwise, it will be considered invalid.
- Author statements will only be accepted when they clarify what has been shown or implied in the series itself, and will be rejected when they contradict what has been shown to the audience. Statements that technically do not contradict anything shown in the series will still be rejected if there is no evidence that they are accurate.
This Word of God statement is not vague, and it is not that brief as it seems to perfectly answer the question about the clarification of Alex Mercer's Absorption abilities in a concise manner with sufficient amount of text. And since the Word of God statement only clarifies what is already shown/imply in the series itself, and is a clarification for an ability that was already established in the franchise, along the [PROTOTYPE] series itself actually supporting that Word of God statement as Alex Mercer's first ever Absorption scene has all of the target (including their clothing and even electronic equipment) being assimilated... It should be accepted since nothing appears to be contradicted by that Word of God statement.
Anyways, what happens to the targets and the inorganic materials in their possession after they get assimilated?
Well, if we combine that Word of God statement with the developer notes' implication on how Alex Mercer's entire body is comprised of the Blacklight Virus, and that materials like "skin" and "clothing" were "all a part of the facade", and that he's "the virus shifting from a human arm shape to that of a claw or blade", and we then knew what occurs when the inorganic matter is absorbed… And the fact that it was stated that the clothing is “imitated” (as in, something is imitating the clothing and not actually the clothing), and NOT transferred/stolen… Which is to say they are no longer inorganic materials anymore, they got transmuted to Blacklight viruses - the implication that Alex Mercer's body is made up of the Blacklight Virus is surprisingly important, because Alex Mercer didn't even get the Claws Offensive Power until he consumed Hunters (and he has absorbed several Blackwatch soldiers with their inorganic equipment and materials on their clothing before gaining his Claws power) and later on his Blade Offensive Power from recovering from the Parasite, and he is considered as "the virus" with his skin and clothing being facades that imply that his skin and clothing are composed of the Blacklight Virus even after he got his Claws and Blade... That implication, combined with the Word of God statement and the visuals we see from Alex Mercer's Absorption such as Alex Mercer's first ever Absorption, means that even all the inorganic matter that comprises the gas masks and Radio Transceivers of Blackwatch soldiers are transmuted into nothing but the Blacklight Virus, and that these viral biomasses (that's made up of nothing but the Blacklight Virus) are then absorbed into Alex Mercer's body.
So, based on all this, the shapeshifters of the Blacklight Virus such as Alex Mercer, James Heller and the Evolved can indeed consume even inorganic matter with similar effectiveness as organic matter, and that those same inorganic matter are transmuted to viral matter that are then absorbed into them and that they can mimic the functionality and design of those inorganic matter even to the extent that it is indistinguishable from the original's (notice how, after Alex Mercer absorbed a Blackwatch Soldier, other Blackwatch soldiers and similar faculty can still communicate with that biomass mimicking a Radio Transceiver from Alex Mercer's body as if he was that same Blackwatch soldier they're talking to? That means he not only converted and absorbed such inorganic matter, but even electronic data such as from Radio Transceivers are mimicked and retained even to the extent that other Blackwatch soldiers can still contact that same Radio Transceiver Alex Mercer has absorbed and mimicked).
However, while Alex Mercer (and the other Blacklight Shapeshifters) can transmute even living targets into Blacklight Viruses, they tend to not need to do that for living beings and likely only need to do that for inanimate objects. We can see, Blacklight Viruses (which Alex Mercer is completely comprised of) are virions, and when it enters a cell, it can replicate itself and convert those cells into Blacklight Viruses themselves as an innate mechanic – this mechanic is important because it’s demonstrated when Alex has absorbed a Janitor with just his touch, where the Janitor’s flesh is all peeled away and transferred to Alex while the clothing weren’t converted, which shows that Alex isn’t converting that Janitor into Blacklight tendrils for this process of absorption like he did for the others (but it ultimately led to Alex wearing the janitor’s clothing and shapeshifted to the Janitor anyways).
Basically, while Alex can indeed transmute living targets into Blacklight Viruses if he wishes to like he does here, he doesn’t need to transmute them to be able to absorb them like he did to the Janitor (who he was able to absorb without needing to transmute them).
But wait, if all these radio transceivers and other electronic equipment are now nothing but Blacklight Viruses, then how the heck can the biomasses shaped as radio transceivers even being able to communicate with other electronic radio transceivers when there’s nothing but flesh and virions rather than wires and metals (and other components) to allow for wireless communication between electronic devices to be possible? It should be impossible!
… Well, that’s the Blacklight Virus for you, being able to perform various feats impossible for any viruses (or even any organisms for that matter) to achieve in real life like it was nothing special. ^_^;
I mean, the Blacklight Virus blatantly defy the laws of real life physics and biology on many levels based on its feats, such as being able to essentially defy gravity by running up walls at relatively low speeds for Alex Mercer, being able to glide in the air (implying that density and mass are altered to be lower somehow), being able to infect and manipulate molecules (despite the fact that molecules are significantly smaller than viruses in real life, to the point that virions look like giants compared to molecules, and that real life viruses has only ever dealt with cells and not molecules), being able to communicate with others infected by the viruses through a psychic link called the "Hive Mind" even though that's not how real life Hive Mind works like for real life bees, being able to transmute inorganic matter into viral matter (made of nothing but Blacklight Viruses) and absorb such, being able to mimic the functionality of electronic devices it has absorbed despite the fact that the mimics are not made of the same inorganic materials as those electronic devices that made such functions become possible in real life in the first place, and more...
At this point, the Blacklight Virus clearly follows their own rules that does not correlate with the laws of real-life physics and biology, and thus should be treated as the magical virus it actually is by us instead of the games portraying the Blacklight Virus' abilities as "scientific". ^^;
As for why guns weren’t directly observed to have been absorbed by Alex Mercer or James Heller… It’s because they don’t need to use such guns, as they aren’t particularly useful at being a part of their disguises – in fact, the entire point of why Alex Mercer is going around and absorbing people is because he wants their memories in order to restore his own memories – and considering the guns logically does not provide memories for him… Well, that is another reason why guns aren’t necessary for them to absorb.
However, just because we don't outright see Alex Mercer or James Heller absorbing guns doesn't mean they can't. See that grenade launcher on Robert Cross’ arm? That is attached to his arm, and it was used to shoot rocket-propelled grenades out of it – and considering the Supreme Hunter has absorbed Robert Cross and disguised himself as Robert Cross (including the grenade launcher on his arm), that would also mean the Supreme Hunter has absorbed that grenade launcher on Robert Cross’ arm as well. And the Supreme Hunter is explicitly stated to be a duplicate of Alex Mercer, so Alex would scale to the Supreme Hunter (with James Heller and the Evolved scaling to Alex Mercer).
That is also not the only time a firearm was absorbed. When attacked rather than grabbed, the assault rifle disappeared from the Bio-Bomber Evolved’s hands when he revealed his true form… And for that to happen, either two things must have happened: 1) The assault rifle was absorbed and transmuted. 2) The assault rifle was a part of the Bio-Bomber’s disguise all along.
Or, it could be both – and when grabbed rather than attacked, the Bio-Bomber Evolved dropped the assault rifle instead (and with it flashing “white” occasionally on the ground to indicate that it can be picked up and used to shoot bullets like the other guns in the game, even when that same assault rifle has also disappeared when the Bio-Bomber reveals his true form from being attacked rather than grabbed… It is likely that even firearms such as an assault rifle could be absorbed and perhaps even mimicked as well, with it being comprised of Blacklight viruses, which shouldn’t be that outlandish when even electronic equipment such as Radios could be absorbed and mimicked as well) - and considering the Supreme Hunter mimicking Robert Cross' form (including the grenade launcher) was already shown in the cutscene, absorbing firearms should not be an outlier for this Bio-Bomber Evolved's feat.
Therefore, firearms tend to be not absorbed in the games because they aren’t necessary as a part of the disguises (and doesn’t grant memories or provide increases in power like absorbing living beings do), but they could still be absorbed and mimicked by the Blacklight shapeshifters if they wished to.
Anyways, this basically means that shapeshifters infected with the Blacklight Virus should have Transmutation via Absorption (because such transmutation effects tend to occur most commonly in their Consume ability).
Based on this, Alex Mercer and those that scale to him (e.g. James Heller, Supreme Hunter and the Evolved) should have this listed in their “Powers and Abilities” profile:
Power Mimicry, Transmutation and Absorption (Absorbs the powers, abilities, memories, skills, and experiences of any living thing, with any part of his biomass via his Consume ability without the need to weaken or batter them. This also allows him to negate his target's regeneration capabilities. Every living being that he absorbs makes him stronger. The Blacklight Virus is capable of mimicking and storing genetic information from infected organisms and more, and can duplicate copies of its infected host’s genetic structure, and is able to copy and combine genetic traits to the extent that it results in him being a repository of genetic ability, where he can mix the best version of any creature into a single, super-effective form. Can absorb even inorganic materials such as Radio transceivers and clothing, to the extent that both the radio transceivers and clothing are “imitated” and that the inorganic materials comprising them become “a part of the facade” as a result of being transmuted into viruses)
Limited Resistance to Transmutation:
As mentioned, Alex has absorbed Leader Hunters, who has resistance to his assimilation abilities.
Now the particular wording “abilities” is important here – as Ragland said “abilities” (plural) rather than something like "ability" (singular), this means that he isn’t just referring to one aspect of Alex’s Absorption, but all aspects of his Absorption with “abilities” being mentioned in plural… This would mean that the Transmutation aspect of Alex’s Consume ability should also be included.
Considering the scans provided for the Transmutation aspect of his Consume ability, and that Alex is unable to absorb Leader Hunters (along with regular Hunters, with or without compatible DNA) without weakening or heavily battering them first, should imply a form of resistance to Transmutation as well – albeit, the resistance to Transmutation should be Limited to the same degree as the resistance to Absorption, in that the resistance to the Transmutation could be overpowered if the Hunters (and all other aforementioned characters that scale to the resistances those Hunters possesses) gets weakened or heavily battered to the extent that such abilities would work on them.
It is especially evident that Transmutation is one of the aspects of the Consume ability, since it is shown by Alex when, upon first touching and throwing that Blackwatch soldier, the Blackwatch soldier’s body got converted into tendrils in Alex’s first ever Absorption.
Now, if you were to set the playback speed to 0.25, you would notice that the Blackwatch soldier’s body was already transmuted into black-coloured tendrils with red tints (the same colour as Alex’s own tendrils) BEFORE any of Alex’s four tendrils managed to reach the Blackwatch soldier, much less touch his body. So, the fact that Blackwatch soldier’s body was converted into dark tendrils even before Alex’s tendrils made contact with his body after Alex first touched him demonstrates that there is a transmutation aspect to the Consume ability of Blacklight shapeshifters… So the fact that Blacklight characters such Alex is unable to Consume powerful Infected such as Hunters, Leader Hunters and Elizabeth Greene (and James Heller being unable to Consume any of the powerful Blacklight Infected that isn’t the Infected Citizens) at all unless he was to weaken or heavily batter them first (especially since we don’t see their bodies being converted into tendrils until such aforementioned condition occurs) heavily implies that resisting the Transmutation aspect of the Consume ability of Blacklight shapeshifters is an actual thing for such characters.
Now, there should also be a resistances to Power Mimicry for Blacklight Infected (that isn’t one of the Infected Citizens, Evolved Infected or Walkers) as well, While the Power Mimicry occurs even when a target is infected by the Blacklight Virus (where the virus itself mimics the target’s genetic information and duplicates their entire genetic structure) without needing to be absorbed as a result of the Blacklight Virus having already mimicked everything in their body, it could also occur when the target is absorbed as well, so resisting the Blacklight Virus’ Absorption process could also lead to resisting its Power Mimicry process as well. A good example of resistance to the Power Mimicry process was when James Heller absorbed Alex Mercer’s hand.
Despite absorbing Mercer’s hand, Heller was NOT able gain any new abilities from that… Despite the fact that the Blacklight Virus is capable of mimicking and storing genetic information, as well as duplicating copies of a target’s genetic structure – and we know Alex Mercer is capable of absorbing a piece of the target, such as the regular Hunter’s brain without needing to absorb the rest of its body, for Alex to be able to attain an improved versions of a Hunter’s claws by gaining his Claws Offensive Power (sure, Alex was able to absorb that regular Hunter’s brain, so he has the benefits of gaining its mind, memories and possible skills it has… But a Hunter’s claws is nowhere near the length of Alex’s own claws, it does not have the metallic appearance that Alex’s own claws has, and it is constantly present and certainly does not appear from shapeshifting via alteration of molecular structure like Alex’s own claws do… So, any of the Hunter’s skills and memories are completely irrelevant for how Alex was able to gain and use his Claws power, because Alex’s Claws power is logically just too different from the Hunter’s claws for the Hunter’s memories and skills to effectively carry over to Alex’s skill in utilising his Claws power, so Alex might as well had used his Claws power instinctively the moment he first gained it).
And Alex’s body is comprised of nothing but Blacklight Viruses, so absorbing his hand should effectively be not much different from absorbing his brain (because they are both comprised of Blacklight Viruses anyways)… And yet, James Heller still has not gained any new abilities from such an Absorption. The only time Heller was able to gain any new abilities from Mercer was the Tendril Barrage Devastator ability (along with also absorbing the rest of Prototype 2 Alex Mercer’s body after Mercer lost the power-up he gained from absorbing 8 Evolved, to gain the biomass necessary to be able to unleash such a large scale Devastator in the first place), and Heller was only able to gain such ability after weakening and heavily battering Mercer in order to fully absorb him.
As a result, resistance to Power Mimicry should also be present for all Blacklight creatures that isn’t Infected Citizens, Evolved Infected or Walkers (just to play it safe, as the inability to gain new abilities even from absorbing a portion of a body from a non-weakened Blacklight character is only displayed by Blacklight characters such as Alex Mercer, so only such aforementioned Blacklight creatures should scale).
Based on all this, for Hunters, they should have this in their profile (Resistance to Power Mimicry only applies for Brawlers and Spiked Brawlers):
Limited Resistance to Power Mimicry, Transmutation and Absorption (Hunters are unable to be Consumed unless they are stunned or otherwise weakened. Hunters with compatible DNA are able to adapt to the Parasite and build antibodies against it, with the Parasite beginning to Consume its targets after the initial infection. Leader Hunters are resistant to Alex Mercer’s assimilation abilities, and needs to be weakened to be vulnerable to being Consumed, and such assimilation abilities also include being able to transmute targets into tendrils comprised of Blacklight Viruses even Alex’s own tendrils made contact with their bodies after the first touch with the targets. Being infected by the Blacklight Virus that has assimilated Hunters and Elizabeth Greene, Brawlers should be similarly resistant to being consumed unless weakened or heavily battered; similarly, Brawlers should also be resistant to having their genetic abilities mimicked with their Blacklight Virus, as James Heller was unable to gain new abilities after absorbing Alex Mercer’s hand even with the Blacklight Virus’ mimicking capabilities until he has weakened and heavily battered Alex Mercer before fully absorbing him)
For characters that scale to Hunters’ resistances to Absorption (it should be all Blacklight Infected if they aren’t Hunters and aren’t Infected Citizens or Walkers), they should have this in their profile:
Limited Resistance to Power Mimicry, Transmutation and Absorption (Should be comparable to Hunters, who are unable to be Consumed unless they are stunned or otherwise weakened. Hunters with compatible DNA are able to adapt to the Parasite and build antibodies against it without being eaten from the inside out, with the Parasite beginning to Consume its targets after the initial infection. Should be comparable to Leader Hunters, who are resistant to Alex Mercer’s assimilation abilities, and needs to be weakened to be vulnerable to being Consumed, and such assimilation abilities also include being able to transmute targets into tendrils comprised of Blacklight Viruses even Alex’s own tendrils made contact with their bodies after the first touch with the targets. Is infected by the Blacklight Virus that has assimilated Hunters and Elizabeth Greene, who resisted the Parasite and expelled it out without any indication that she got affected by the Parasite consuming her from the inside out; should also be similarly resistant to having their genetic abilities mimicked with their Blacklight Virus, as James Heller was unable to gain new abilities after absorbing Alex Mercer’s hand even with the Blacklight Virus’ mimicking capabilities until he has weakened and heavily battered Alex Mercer before fully absorbing him)
For Elizabeth Greene, her profile should have it listed as:
Limited Resistance to Transmutation and Absorption (Should be comparable to Hunters, who are unable to be Consumed unless they are stunned or otherwise weakened. Hunters with compatible DNA are able to adapt to the Parasite and build antibodies against it without being eaten from the inside out, with the Parasite beginning to Consume its targets after the initial infection. Should be comparable to Leader Hunters, who are resistant to Alex Mercer’s assimilation abilities, and needs to be weakened to be vulnerable to being Consumed, and such assimilation abilities also include being able to transmute targets into tendrils comprised of Blacklight Viruses even Alex’s own tendrils made contact with their bodies after the first touch with the targets. Has resisted the Parasite and expelled it out without any indication that she got affected by the Parasite consuming her from the inside out)
For Alex Mercer, his profile should have it listed as:
Limited Resistance to Power Mimicry, Transmutation and Absorption (Has absorbed Hunters, who are unable to be Consumed unless they are stunned or otherwise weakened. Hunters with compatible DNA are able to adapt to the Parasite and build antibodies against it without being eaten from the inside out, with the Parasite beginning to Consume its targets after the initial infection. Has absorbed Leader Hunters, which are resistant to Alex Mercer’s own assimilation abilities, and needs to be weakened to be vulnerable to being Consumed, and such assimilation abilities also include being able to transmute targets into tendrils comprised of Blacklight Viruses even Alex’s own tendrils made contact with their bodies after the first touch with the targets. Has absorbed Elizabeth Greene, who resisted the Parasite and expelled it out without any indication that she got affected by the Parasite consuming her from the inside out. Is able to resist having his genetic abilities mimicked, as James Heller was unable to gain new abilities after absorbing Alex Mercer’s hand even with the Blacklight Virus’ own mimicking capabilities until James Heller has weakened and heavily battered Alex Mercer before fully absorbing him)
For characters comparable to Alex Mercer (e.g. Supreme Hunter, James Heller, the Evolved via being granted by Mercer’s Blacklight Virus, etc.), they should have this listed in their profiles:
Limited Resistance to Power Mimicry, Transmutation and Absorption (Should be comparable to Alex Mercer, who has absorbed Hunters, Leader Hunters and Elizabeth Greene, as well as resisting the mimicking capabilities of James Heller’s Blacklight Virus; thus, should have similar resistances to the assimilation and mimicking abilities of the Blacklight Virus unless weakened or heavily battered)
Immortality Type 2:
Now, there are certain powerful Infected with Immortality Type 2. These should include Hunters (and by extension, Elizabeth Greene via scaling to those Hunters as her virus was what granted them their abilities in the first place), Alex Mercer, the Supreme Hunter and all other beings infected with the Blacklight Virus (that aren’t Infected Citizens or Walkers).
Even for regular Hunters, they themselves should have a form of Immortality Type 2 (that can only be bypassed if they have received sufficient enough damage to their bodies).
For example, there’s this newly turned regular Hunter, which was able to survive and operate even with its brain completely destroyed from a M16 shot to the head. Its Immortality Type 2 is further evidenced when it was able to stand up even without a brain, and it only died after being disemboweled by M16 shots towards its torso – all other weaker regular Hunters died from either being hit by a speeding Fire truck, being electrocuted by power lines over Railway tracks, and dying to gunshots to the head only after being damaged by assault rifle shots beforehand… Which showcases that they have a limited form of Immortality Type 2 that could only be circumvented by having their brain destroyed after receiving sufficient damage beforehand or one-shotting them with powerful impacts towards their entire body such as being hit by a speeding Fire truck (else, if their head is destroyed without receiving sufficient damage prior, they can operate without a brain until they receive sufficient damage such as having their brainless body’s torso being disemboweled).
Elizabeth Greene, considering the Redlight Virus within her body (which she endured, absorbed and changed with her unique biology) was what infected the city and created the Hunters in the first place, along with the Redlight Virus being capable of mimicking and storing genetic information (although not being able to duplicate copies of organisms’ genetic structures, as that is implied to be an ability of the Blacklight Virus created by the original Alexander J. Mercer as an implied form improvement of the Redlight Virus’ ability to mimic and store genetic information with the feat of duplicating copies of an organism’s genetic structure), she would at the very least scale to the Immortality Type 2 of the Hunters as the Hunters’ Redlight Virus was granted to them by Elizabeth Greene’s Redlight Virus within her body in the first place.
Now, Alex himself should have a superior form of such Type 2 Immortality compared to the Hunters. Not only could he walk around with a large hole in his head while in disguise, but, after being exposed to the nuclear fireball… While he is in the middle of regenerating, he was able to sit up with his regenerating hand on the ground and was able to keep his upper body and neck in an upright position even before the mimicked calvaria of his mimicked skull (or the top half of his mimicked skull, and thus his entire mimicked brain as well) was even formed. Based on these feats, combined with the scaling to the Hunters (especially considering he has absorbed them and all), Alex should not need a brain to operate at all, and would only ever need a brain to process the mind and memories of his absorbed targets… So, outside of processing the mind and memories of his absorbed targets, he would not need internal organs such as his brain (which is also made of nothing but Blacklight Viruses anyways, so he would not need it to operate in the first place as well).
Alex should also have comparable Type 2 Immortality to the Supreme Hunter as well, which is a duplicate of him that is able to move his fingers and hand even as a puddle and still in the middle of regenerating, which further emphasises for their capabilities of operating even with lethal injuries with missing internal organs or even a completely liquefied body.
For Hunters, they should have this in their profile:
Immortality (Types 1, 2 and 3; Can survive and operate without a brain unless sufficiently damaged such as being disembowelled by M16 shots to the torso, being struck across the entire body by a powerful impact such as a speeding Fire truck, and dying to gunshots to the head only after being damaged by assault rifle shots beforehand. Brawlers should have comparable capabilities to Hunters)
For Elizabeth Greene, she should have this in her profile:
Immortality (Types 1, 2 and 3; Is un-aging. Should be comparable to Hunters, which can survive and operate without a brain unless sufficiently damaged such as being disembowelled by M16 shots to the torso, being struck across the entire body by a powerful impact such as a speeding Fire truck, and dying to gunshots to the head only after being damaged by assault rifle shots beforehand)
For Alex Mercer, he should have this in his profile:
Immortality (Types 1, 2, 3, 6, 7; Is “effectively immortal”. Should be comparable to Elizabeth Greene, who is un-aging. Can operate without needing the brain or other internal organs, such as operating with a large hole in his head and being able to sit up with a regenerating hand on the ground and with upper body and neck in upright position even before the top half of his skull and brain was reformed. Should be comparable to the Supreme Hunter, who is “immortal” and can move his fingers and hand even as a puddle that is still in the middle of regenerating. Is the same Blacklight Virus that infected and mimicked the corpse of the original Alexander J. Mercer as it infected him as he died, thus should have similar bodily functionality to a dead human corpse)
For the Supreme Hunter, he should have this in his profile:
Immortality (Types 1, 2, 3, 6; Is “immortal”. Can move his fingers and hand even as a puddle that is still in the middle of regenerating. Should be comparable to Elizabeth Greene, who is un-aging. Should be comparable to Alex Mercer, who is “effectively immortal” and can operate without needing the brain or other internal organs, such as operating with a large hole in his head and being able to sit up with a regenerating hand on the ground and with upper body and neck in upright position even before the top half of his skull and brain was reformed. Is the same Parasite that previously infected Alex Mercer that got refashioned into the Supreme Hunter, thus it can live off its host’s body as the Parasite)
All other characters that scale to Alex Mercer that isn’t the Supreme Hunter (which should only be those that can shapeshift with the Blacklight Virus, such as James Heller and the Evolved):
Immortality (Types 1, 2, 3; Should be comparable to Alex Mercer, who is “effectively immortal” and can operate without needing the brain or other internal organs, such as operating with a large hole in his head and being able to sit up with a regenerating hand on the ground and with upper body and neck in upright position even before the top half of his skull and brain was reformed. Should be comparable to the Supreme Hunter, who is “immortal” and can move his fingers and hand even as a puddle that is still in the middle of regenerating)
Immortality Negation Type 2 and 3:
With Absorption, characters such as Alex Mercer and all other Blacklight Shapeshifters (including the Supreme Hunter, James Heller and the Evolved) should have Immortality Negation Type 2 and 3 (Mid-High for Type 3).
With even regular Hunters possessing Immortality Type 2 (capable of operating even with a missing brain) that can only be circumvented if they receive sufficient damage such as weaker Hunters either being shot by assault rifles beforehand and then getting shot in the head, being disemboweled with M16 shots to its torso with its brain being destroyed or being hit across all of their body by a powerful impact such as a speeding Fire truck, they should not die even with their brain being destroyed or missing… But Alex is able to circumvent that, where just by absorbing a regular Hunter’s brain without needing to absorb the rest of its body, he effectively killed that Hunter as shown when it collapsed to the ground – and considering Hunters can be consumed in the game without needing to shoot them with assault rifles, such as in this case where a Hunter was absorbed without one-shotting them across their entire body or being disemboweled after they were worn down enough, this should be a Immortality Negation Type 2 feat.
Though even without the regular Hunters, Alex was able to absorb the Evolved (who should be among the other beings that scale to Immortality Type 2 and 3 above) and they have not appeared or reformed again, which appears to be an Immortality Negation Type 2 feat – this should also be Immortality Negation Type 3 feat (up to Mid-High) with the Evolved having comparable regeneration to Alex, as well as James Heller being able to absorb Alex Mercer after heavily battering him, and Mercer not appearing or reforming again after Heller has absorbed him being an example of such Immortality Negation Type 2 and 3.
For Alex Mercer, he should have this in his profile:
Immortality Negation via Absorption (Types 2 and 3 – Up to Mid-High; Could kill a Hunter just by absorbing its brain, despite a Hunter being able to survive and operate without a brain unless sufficiently damaged. Is able to to absorb the Evolved, who should have comparable regenerative abilities to his own. Should be comparable to James Heller, who was able to absorb him after heavily battering him with the same Blacklight Virus that he has granted to James Heller)
For others that scales to Alex Mercer (Supreme Hunter, James Heller and the Evolved), they should have this in their profile:
Immortality Negation via Absorption (Types 2 and 3 – Up to Mid-High; Should be comparable to Alex Mercer, who could kill a Hunter just by absorbing its brain, despite a Hunter being able to survive and operate without a brain unless sufficiently damaged, along with Alex Mercer being able to absorb the Evolved, who should have comparable regenerative abilities and immortality to his own. Should be comparable to James Heller, who was able to absorb him after heavily battering him with the same Blacklight Virus that he has granted to James Heller)
Resistance to Biological Manipulation (Molecular level):
You see, resistance to Biological Manipulation (Molecular level) should not just be something possessed only by James Heller, but it should be something possessed by other Blacklight shapeshifters such as Alex Mercer, Supreme Hunter and the Evolved as well.
You see, the Blacklight Viruses that comprises Alex’s body are able to reconfigure their own molecular structure to become “something else” – which is a feat of molecular level shapeshifting or Body Control… And the Parasite injected into Alex’s body could hamper that, to the extent that all of Alex’s Offensive Powers, Defensive Powers, Devastators… And basically everything that isn’t his physical stats, regeneration, Consume (or Absorption) or Disguise ability (which are a part of his ability to “transform”) are essentially nullified for him as it “rendered his powers useless” – this nullification includes his Offensive Powers such as his Claws and Blade that involves the Blacklight Viruses altering their own molecular structure, which are a part of his “transform” abilities (so his other abilities that are nullified should be a part of the mechanic of the Blacklight Viruses altering its own molecular structure).
And considering Alex’s body is comprised of nothing but Blacklight Viruses as the developer notes of the Prima Guide has described, it basically confirms that the nullification of his “transform” abilities aren’t due to “cells” (which Alex doesn’t actually have, because his body is comprised of viruses with even visual evidence showcasing Blacklight Virus also being virions) or anything to do with the “nervous system” (which Alex also should technically not have, since the Blacklight Viruses merely mimics the human brain of its dead creator… And it doesn’t even need it to operate from the previous scans mentioned above), so the mechanic of nullifying his molecular-level abilities shouldn’t be a part of some obscure parts of the human biology being affected due to Alex lacking any actual human biology in the first place – and so, that should mean that the Parasite was actually affecting the Blacklight Viruses comprising Alex’s body themselves rather than some cells (since while virions aren’t made of cells, basic knowledge stills says they’re made of molecules, so affecting the virions in Alex’s body should be closer to a molecular-level feat than a cellular-level one).
And since the Parasite is affecting the Blacklight Viruses comprising Alex’s body directly, to the extent that it restricts Alex from using his capability to reconfigure his own molecular structure, that’s essentially a Biological Manipulation feat at the molecular level.
Sure, McMullen said that Alex “rebuilds on the cellular level”… But he’s also the same person who doesn’t actually understand the full capabilities of the Blacklight Virus, and what he says was based on what he has observed what Alex has achieved in the cameras (which wouldn’t show the full inner mechanics of Alex’s own physiology, as it only shows what Alex is doing with his Shapeshifting from the outside perspective); this was confirmed when McMullen was described as an individual who is driven by an urge to understand the Blacklight Virus and that the virus was considered as a “mystery” to him, and that McMullen understands above all that there are things he does not understand (which was heavily implied that he doesn’t fully understand the Blacklight Virus) and has stated that he “need to know what makes it tick”, which proves that McMullen doesn’t actually understand the full capabilities of the Blacklight Virus and so what he says should be taken with a grain of salt in regards to describing specific mechanics involving the Blacklight Virus (so, while McMullen’s words should have more merit than any other character that isn’t the original Alexander J. Mercer in the [PROTOTYPE] universe, McMullen still doesn’t know the full picture behind the capabilities of the Blacklight Virus, so that should be kept in mind) – and since Alex is described as being comprised of nothing but viruses (which are also virions), with virions being smaller than cells, it also further demonstrates that, while McMullen’s words aren’t unreliable, it also comes from an individual with canonical gaps of knowledge at a specific subject they are studying about.
Plus, “cellular level” basically means operating at the level of cells, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it is the upper limit to a character’s capabilities – for example, a character that can manipulate molecules could easily achieve “cellular level” feats with Biological Manipulation as well, but that doesn’t necessarily their overall abilities are limited to cellular-level scale (since characters with molecular-level scale feats could easily achieve scales of manipulation feats “bigger” than molecules such as manipulating cells as well).
Also, this thread mentions that his “cellular abilities” were nullified but his physical attributes and regeneration remained functional because they are “integral to his DNA” – while this previous CRT is mostly correct, it isn’t entirely so because Alex’s capabilities operates more at the molecular level rather than the cellular level as I’ve mentioned above, and it’s arguable that Alex even has a DNA as his body are made up of nothing but Blacklight Viruses.
While it is possible that the Blacklight Virus might be a type of DNA virus, it might also be a RNA virus as well (though I have yet to find any explicit statement or scan that suggests that the Blacklight Virus is a retrovirus or otherwise a type of RNA virus) – however, even assuming it is more of a DNA virus, his regeneration, Consume and Disguise abilities are unaffected due to them being integral to the Blacklight Viruses themselves rather than anything to do with cells (which Alex should not have in the first place) or alteration of molecular structure.
You see, Word of God clarifies that the Blacklight Virus can assimilate ANYTHING, including metals – now, it is mentioned that “the virus can assimilates ANYTHING” rather than “Alex Mercer can assimilate ANYTHING”; this may seem redundant as Alex himself is the Blacklight Virus rather than a mere host of the virus, but it is still an important distinction as it is NOT Alex himself as an individual that does the Absorption… But rather, it is the Blacklight Viruses themselves that does it. This means even for other shapeshifters such as James Heller and the Evolved (who does not have explicit statements of being comprised of Blacklight Viruses like Alex does), it is NOT their bodies that performs the process of Absorption, but it is in fact the Blacklight Viruses infecting their bodies that actually does so.
This means that the Consume ability is in fact an innate ability of the Blacklight Virus itself, and it has nothing to do with abilities achieved by alteration of molecular structure (such as the Offensive Powers, Defensive Powers, Devastators, etc.) – and considering that the Blacklight Virus can mimic and store genetic information from infected organisms and more, and can duplicate copies of its infected host’s genetic structure, and having such mimicking capabilities that it could mimic the functionality of even electronics such as Radios or the filtering capabilities of gas masks from Hazmat Suits, the Disguise ability (which allows Alex to become a perfect copy of the target) should also similarly be an innate ability of the Blacklight Virus with its mimicking capabilities.
There’s also the fact that every living thing a Blacklight shapeshifter absorbs makes them stronger (it increases their physical attributes among others – this is heavily implied when Mid-Game James Heller went from being completely overpowered by Prototype 2 Alex Mercer, to being able to trade blows with Prototype 2 End Game Alex Mercer after absorbing 8 Evolved at the end of the second game), and how it does that is through “genetic advancement” with the Consume ability – basically, every time a Blacklight shapeshifter absorbs a living target, it “advances” their “genetics” and causes them to become stronger – this basically means that the physical parameters of a Blacklight shapeshifter (such as Alex, Supreme Hunter, James Heller, the Evolved, etc.) such as their strength, speed, durability, etc. is tied to their genetics; so, while the Blacklight Viruses themselves are involved in the process of making Blacklight shapeshifters stronger through enhancing their genetics, it’s their entire genetics themselves that grants them their superhuman physical stats like how brown bears in real life are physically very strong and fast (because evolution made their genetics to become that strong and fast) rather than the Blacklight Viruses themselves directly.
And Regeneration from Blacklight shapeshifters, while it should indeed come from the self-replication nature of viruses from infecting cells and using cells to duplicate viruses, possessing cells (or absorbing them) are NOT an absolute requirement for Regeneration due to the Blacklight Viruses’ capability of mimicking should allow it to mimic the functionality of cells to the extent that it can self-replicate on its own without the need of external sources of biomasses or cells (and considering Blacklight Viruses can reconfigure their own molecular structure, and that even cells are made of molecules, it should not be outlandish for Blacklight Viruses to be capable of having its own viruses/virions mimic cells or convert themselves into cells to self-replicate. Although, with the Parasite nullifying “transform” abilities while Regeneration abilities are kept, it’s more likely to be the Blacklight Viruses/Virions mimicking cells to self-replicate rather than converting themselves into cells via altering their own molecular structure to do so) – the Supreme Hunter regenerating from a puddle without needing to absorb any biomass or cells is clear evidence of that (as the Supreme Hunter is also made of the same Blacklight Viruses that comprises the Blacklight version of the Parasite that was injected into Elizabeth Greene and expelled out), where the viruses within them are capable of self-replicating (thus Regenerating) without the need for external sources of biomass – so, while absorbing external biomasses or cells does speed up the Regeneration capabilities of Blacklight shapeshifters, they ultimately don’t actually need to absorb external biomasses or cells to continue to regenerate. And the reason the Blacklight Virus did nothing inside the vial that the original Alexander J. Mercer was holding (before he smashed it) was simply because it has yet to absorb or mimic anything that has sentience until it found the corpse of Alexander J. Mercer, so it was reduced to the basic functionality and behaviours of a mere virus (which is to say that it only targets living beings, and doesn’t target inanimate objects such as the glasses of the vial even if Word of God states that it can assimilate even inorganic matter, because the basic nature of real life viruses lack sentience and they only targets living organisms… Until it found sentience and sapience from Alexander’s corpse that is).
So, the reason Alex can’t use his Offensive Powers (Claws, Blade, Hammerfist, Whipfist, etc.), Defensive Powers (Shield, etc.), Devastators, etc. are all due to the fact that they are all categorized as under his ability to “transform”, and his “transform” abilities involves altering his own molecular structure into something else in order to perform such abilities. In contrast, Alex’s Consume, Disguise and regenerative abilities are all due to them being integral to the innate nature of the Blacklight Viruses themselves (and not from alteration of molecular structure), so they exists separately from the “transform” abilities as such abilities are intrinsic to the viral nature of the Blacklight Virus rather than anything to do with reconfiguration of molecular structure (which is why they remained, while the “transform” abilities are rendered useless by the Parasite). Physical stats are also similar in that regard as they are directly inherent from the genetics of the Blacklight shapeshifters themselves, and aren’t directly linked to the alteration of molecular structure of Blacklight Viruses, so they remained even with the Parasite in Alex’s body.
Anyways, there’s also Bloodtox affecting Alex as well.
Sure, while Bloodtox is described as causing necrosis in any Infected tissue and affecting the Blacklight Virus… But necrosis by definition is about “the death of cells”, and considering Alex shouldn’t have cells in the first place as body is comprised of nothing but Blacklight Viruses (sure, there are antiviral medicine or drugs and Bloodtox are described as “anti-virus”, but antiviral drugs are mainly to help the body fight off certain viruses and don’t actually attack those viruses directly)… And yet Bloodtox was shown to affect Alex and caused harm to him and was stated in the Prima Guide to be able to kill him, which heavily implies a Biological Manipulation feat that should be comparable to Molecular-level (or at least close to it) as it could affect something smaller than cells (such as Blacklight Viruses, which are shown to be virions) – and this was further confirmed when it was outright stated that Bloodtox hampers the biological processes of the Infected, and considering that Alex was affected by Bloodtox even while he was in disguise with the mimicked gas mask (which has mimicked the functionality of actual gas masks such as from Hazmat Suits to such extent that it can filter gasses exactly like how actual gas masks does) and mimicked clothing even with his ability to alter his own molecular structure to become something else, with even McMullen confirming that Bloodtox being able to affect Alex, then it is likely that it is a Biological Manipulation (Molecular level) feat against Alex and other beings infected with the virus as it is capable of hampering even the biological processes of literal colonies of viruses that is Alex.
There's also the fact that it was stated that "Bloodtox breaks down anything infected with the virus"... The term "breaks down" heavily implies that Bloodtox is capable of Deconstruction for anything infected with the virus - and since Blacklight Viruses aren't made up of cells (but they are made up of molecules, as virions are made up of molecules), and that Alex got severely harmed by it on first exposure even when his body is comprised of nothing but Blacklight Viruses, this Deconstruction would likely be at the Molecular level... So him adapting to it and developing immunity to it would count as a Resistance to Deconstruction feat at the molecular level. NOTE: Since it was not stated anywhere that Elizabeth Greene, or the Redlight Infected such as Hunters or Hydras, were able to adapt or resist the Bloodtox... They obviously won't get any resistances to it like Alex does.
And so, resisting the Parasite for Hunters and Leader Hunters (which Alex has absorbed) and Bloodtox (which Alex adapted to) should be Resistance to Biological Manipulation at the Molecular level.
For Hunters, this should be listed in their profile:
Resistance to Biological Manipulation (Molecular level; Hunters with compatible DNA are capable of adapting to the Parasite, which are capable of suppressing the abilities of Alex Mercer, whose Blacklight Viruses within his body being capable of reconfiguring their own molecular structure, through affecting the Blacklight Viruses that comprises Alex’s body directly)
Elizabeth Greene’s profile should have this listed in her profile:
Resistance to Biological Manipulation (Molecular level; Should be comparable to Hunters with compatible DNA, who are capable of adapting to the Parasite, which are capable of suppressing the abilities of Alex Mercer, whose Blacklight Viruses comprising his body are capable of reconfiguring their own molecular structure to become something else, through affecting the Blacklight Viruses that comprises Alex’s body directly)
Alex Mercer himself should have this listed in his profile:
Resistance to Poison Manipulation, Deconstruction and Biological Manipulation (Molecular level; Has absorbed Hunters with compatible DNA that can adapt to the Parasite, which are capable of suppressing his abilities, with the Blacklight Viruses comprising his body are capable of reconfiguring their own molecular structure to become something else, through affecting the Blacklight Viruses that comprises Alex’s body directly. Has adapted to Bloodtox, which is a poison that hampers the biological processes of the Infected, can cause necrosis in any infected tissue, breaks down anything infected with the virus and is capable of killing him to even affecting him through his Disguise with a gas mask, despite his body being comprised of nothing but viruses that can reconfigure their own molecular structure and the Blacklight Virus being capable of mimicking gas masks from Hazmat Suits to block out gasses; thus, he can resist Bloodtox to the extent that he can withstand an entire gas tank full of it after the first direct exposure, despite the fact that it can break down Blacklight Viruses that can reconfigure their own molecular structure through their molecules)
For other characters comparable to Alex Mercer (which should be the Supreme Hunter, James Heller and the Evolved), this should be listed in their profile:
Resistance to Poison Manipulation, Deconstruction and Biological Manipulation (Molecular level; Should be comparable to Alex Mercer, who was able to resist the Parasite and adapted to Bloodtox)
Resistance Negation:
Resistance Negation should also be an ability listed in the profiles of Alex Mercer and James Heller.
As explained above, the Blacklight Viruses that comprised Alex’s body has absorbed regular Hunters (with or without compatible DNA to the Parasite), Leader Hunters and Elizabeth Greene, which should mean that these Blacklight Viruses should have mimicked and stored the genetic information (and a copy of their genetic structures) that granted them resistances to Alex’s own assimilation abilities as long as they aren’t weakened or heavily battered – and given that the Blacklight Viruses within Alex’s body were used to caused an infection outbreak in the second game, all Infected that aren’t Infected Citizens (because they are failed or imperfect versions of the virus, and so it means that they likely would not have the full extent of the genetic abilities granted to them by either the Redlight Virus in the first game or the Blacklight Virus in the second game) should have resistance to Alex’s own assimilation abilities unless they were weakened or heavily battered.
This should mean that even characters such as the Evolved should be able to possess that same resistance to Alex’s assimilation abilities due to the Blacklight Virus mimicking the genetic abilities of the Redlight Virus – James Heller being able to only absorb the Evolved after weakening and heavily battering them multiple times consistently heavily implies that they possess this same resistance… But then, Mercer was able to absorb them just by touch alone, without the need to weaken or heavily batter them in any way; and considering the Evolved appears to be ready for combat, it is very unlikely they were weakened beforehand.
While there are cases of fictional characters having the ability being listed as “Enhanced” within their profiles (e.g. “Resistance to Enhanced Fire Manipulation”, “Enhanced Electricity Manipulation”, etc.), it was not explicitly stated or mentioned anywhere that Alex’s Absorption ability has gotten “stronger” in any way after the first game – while it was indeed stated that every living thing absorbed makes the Blacklight shapeshifter stronger, and that the increase in their physical parameters (and other abilities) comes from their “genetic advancement”, nowhere is it shown in the game or the Word of God statements that Alex’s Consume (or Absorption) ability is increased or strengthened in any way – the same applies to the Blacklight Virus’ ability to mimic genetic information and duplicate copies of target’s genetic structure, since there is no such explicit statements that such aspects of the ability has gotten more potent in any way. The best I can find is the Consume Boost upgrades, which describes the upgrades as “GAIN more HEALTH from those you CONSUME” (health probably means “biomass” in the context of the [PROTOTYPE] universe in this case)… But that doesn’t imply that the effectiveness of the Power Mimcry, the Transmutation or the Absorption aspect is strengthened in any way, it just means that the upgrades allows Alex Mercer (and James Heller) to gain more biomass at the absolute best – similar applies for adding any layers for Alex’s Absorption abilities, since adding layers to hax abilities usually involve the ability being “stronger” than the resistances to the same hax abilities… And there is no explicit statement anywhere that says anything about the potency of Alex’s Absorption abilities being stronger in any way.
Resistance Negation’s section within the Power Nullification page:
“Resistance Negation is the ability to remove an opponent's ability to resist certain effects, allowing the user to then affect them with those abilities. In extreme cases, this ability can even override apparent immunity.
However, simply overwhelming something with Hax stronger than what they can resist normally wouldn't qualify”
In the case of Alex’s Absorption, since there is no explicit statement (possibly even indication) anywhere that suggests that Alex’s assimilation abilities are any more potent than they were in the first game – and since there is no such explicit statement or evidence, it is unlikely that it is the case that Alex’s own assimilation abilities are “stronger” than the resistances towards his own assimilation abilities… So the best I could say for such a feat Alex performed is through Resistance Negation (against Resistances to Absorption abilities, and perhaps Power Mimicry and Transmutation abilities by extension as well due to them being abilities that are a part of the processes of the Consume ability), by circumventing the resistances towards his own assimilation abilities as of the second game (since he was able to absorb 8 of the Evolved without needing to weaken or heavily batter them like James Heller does).
And it’s not just Alex Mercer that should have Resistance Negation, but also James Heller as well – one could argue that Alex was able to absorb the Evolved because they are infected with the Blacklight Virus that Mercer granted to them (with Mercer being the Blacklight Virus itself), so Mercer already has control over them that could circumvent their resistances to Absorption… But that doesn’t explain how James Heller was able to circumvent Alex Mercer’s own resistances if that’s the case, as James Heller has absolutely no explicit statements or indications that he possesses control over all traces of the Blacklight Virus like Mercer does, yet Heller was still able to be capable of Absorption without the need to weaken or heavily batter a target in this certain situation.
You see, James Heller was able to absorb Alex Mercer’s own hand, without needing to weaken or heavily batter Mercer beforehand (and we know that Mercer was not weaken or heavily battered in any way, because Heller himself is the one that was getting overpowered seconds ago while Mercer wasn’t hit even once; and considering Mercer was definitely the one that is significantly stronger than Heller by overpowering him in just two hits… That also indicates that the Absorption abilities from Blacklight Shapeshifters does NOT depend on the strength of the targets like the common misconceptions of the [PROTOTYPE] characters are, because Prototype 2 Alex was blatantly stronger than Mid-Game James Heller at the time and yet Mid-Game James Heller was still able to successfully absorb Prototype 2 Alex Mercer being physically stronger by a significant extent)… This is a Resistance Negation feat for James Heller, since Alex Mercer has absorbed Hunters (both with and without compatible DNA to the Parasite), Leader Hunters and Elizabeth Greene, and they all have resistance to his own assimilation abilities; therefore, James Heller should also have Resistance Negation towards Absorption (and Power Mimicry and Transmutation, as they are a part of the processes of the Consume ability by extension).
Yeah, it is likely that it is Resistance Negation for both James Heller and Alex Mercer (and not some mere Biological Manipulation through manipulating the Blacklight Virus or similar, because Heller absorbing Mercer’s hand indicates that “control over the Blacklight Virus” isn’t what determines overcoming resistances to assimilation abilities).
However, James Heller’s feat of absorbing Alex Mercer’s own hand was NOT performed again after that moment, as Heller still resorted to weakening and beating down other powerful Infected (such as the Evolved) in order to be able to successfully absorb them, so it is likely that James Heller’s own Resistance Negation only worked against Alex Mercer in that particular circumstance in that cutscene – and since Heller only absorbed a hand from Mercer, whereas Mercer was able to absorb the entire bodies of the 8 Evolved, this only shows that the Resistance Negation of Heller’s Absorption likely isn’t as strong as Mercer’s (until after Heller absorbed Mercer after the final fight) as Heller’s Resistance Negation only allowed him to partially absorb a target (absorbing their hand) while Mercer’s own Resistance Negation allowed him to fully absorb multiple targets (absorbing their entire bodies); so Heller’s own Resistance Negation to assimilation abilities should not be as strong as Mercer’s own Resistance Negation to assimilation abilities.
Based on all this, this ability should be listed in Alex’s profile as:
Resistance Negation (Was able to Consume multiples of the Evolved just by his biomass touching them without weakening or heavily battering them in any way, despite the fact that the Evolved should’ve possessed the genetic information and duplicates of genetic structures of abilities responsible for resistances to his assimilation abilities granted to them by the Blacklight Viruses from his own body)
And this ability should be listed in James Heller’s profile as:
Resistance Negation (Was able to Consume Alex Mercer’s hand, despite the fact that Alex Mercer has absorbed and gained the abilities of Hunters, Leader Hunters and Elizabeth Greene that should’ve made him resistant to such assimilation abilities as long as he isn’t weakened or heavily battered)
Fusionism and Body Puppetry:
After James Heller was infected by the Blacklight Virus, Alex Mercer was able to merge his own arm with James Heller’s and control it into touching the Blackwatch soldier and then absorbing that Blackwatch soldier (and it was Mercer’s own arm that was definitely replacing Heller’s, because that arm replacing Heller’s looks like the arm from the Tendrils Offensive Power, which Heller didn’t have until later on in the game. The Blackwatch soldier was also absorbed via touch, which James Heller hasn’t done other than that one-time moment of absorbing Mercer’s hand) –I’m not exactly sure what other ability would qualify for a character fusing their limb with an another character’s limb, so I would classify it as Fusionism for now – and since Mercer’s own arm was replacing Heller’s, and Mercer was controlling that arm, it should also be Body Puppetry.
Now, since Mercer can manipulate all traces of Infected targets in existence (like what happened with Whitelight) down to the molecular level, thus being able to manipulate all of the Blacklight Viruses in existence down to the molecular level by extension as well, should mean that Alex should very likely be capable of performing Body Puppetry across vast distances based on those scans of the explicit statements as well (with Fusionism and Body Puppetry also being linked to the Biological Manipulation ability via the Blacklight Virus).
However, since I have yet seen such abilities being demonstrated against non-Infected targets (more so by lack of feats rather than any actual limitations of the abilities), it should only be applicable to targets already infected with the Blacklight Virus as a result of a lack of feats of affecting non-Infected targets.
In addition, James Heller should have resistance to Alex Mercer’s Fusionism and Body Puppetry as well, since he was able to resist Mercer’s manipulation of his body through the virus with such abilities with
And considering Mercer’s quotes when the Player (as James Heller) loses, it might not necessarily be resistance to Absorption abilities either as the game over screen implies James Heller could die if he is weakened or heavily battered enough to get absorbed after losing to Mercer (and considering Mid-Games Heller appeared weary after receiving a hit from Mercer, before receiving an another hit that made his panting became even louder and more noticeable, Heller was also weakened a bit before Mercer attempted to kill him via manipulation of Heller’s body through the virus as well before Heller resisted it – so it can’t be a resistance to Absorption feat, as the game over screen on Heller’s death against Mercer implies that he could still die to Absorption and Heller resisting Alex’s attempt to kill him would contradict that if it was a resistance to Absorption feat as Heller’s resistance was done after he was weakened… So it most likely would have to be a resistance to Fusionism, Body Puppetry and Biological Manipulation under certain circumstances)
This should be listed in Alex Mercer’s profile:
Fusionism, Body Puppetry and Biological Manipulation (Molecular level; Can fuse his biomass with the body of those infected with the Blacklight Virus, such as fusing his own arm with James Heller’s arm and controlling it into touching and absorbing a Blackwatch soldier. Can manipulate all traces of the target infected by the virus in existence down to the molecular level, thus is likely able to control the Blacklight Virus and the bodies of beings infected with the Blacklight Virus across vast distances. Can manipulate the target's body through the virus to kill them)
This should be listed in James Heller’s profile:
Resistance to Fusionism, Body Puppetry and Biological Manipulation (Molecular level; Should be comparable to Alex Mercer, who was able to resist the Parasite and adapt to Bloodtox. Was able to resist Alex Mercer’s attempt to kill him through manipulation of his body with the virus, though it may be limited only to specific circumstances involving attempts to kill him with it as his body was successfully manipulated by Alex Mercer previously)
Enhanced Senses:
A short one, but Alex the Blacklight Virus should have a form of Enhanced Senses, such as with his sense of hearing.
Alex was capable of sensing a Leader Hunter approaching from outside the apartment whereas Dana couldn’t – and since Alex said “shhh” to Dana (basically shushing her), this implies that he was using his sense of hearing to detect the Leader Hunter’s approach. That basically implies a superhuman form of enhanced hearing, as an ordinary human such as Dana couldn’t hear it (which is shown when Dana asked him “What is it?”, implying that she doesn’t know why Alex was behaving like that and thus is ignorant to what Alex was sensing).
Thus, this should be listed in Alex Mercer’s profile:
Enhanced Senses (Thermal Vision, Infected Vision and Viral Sonar. Was able to sense a Leader Hunter approaching from outside the apartment while being inside the apartment whereas Dana, an ordinary human, couldn’t with his sense of hearing)
Those that scale to Alex Mercer (which should be the Supreme Hunter, James Heller and the Evolved) should have this listed in their profiles:
Enhanced Senses (Should be comparable to Alex Mercer, who was able to sense a Leader Hunter approaching from outside the apartment while being inside the apartment whereas Dana, an ordinary human, couldn’t with his sense of hearing)
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