Alex Mercer

Name: Alex J. Mercer

Age: 23

Gender: Male

Species: Infested Terran/Zerg

Rank: Hero (Empire)

Abilities: Zerg control, shapeshifting body into various Zerg parts, gliding.

Family: Dana Mercer (Sister, deceased)

Past
Alex J. Mercer was born in New York City with his sister Dana, and was, time after time, orphaned due to issues in his family, but soon came back into the family. This was because of his abusive father, and his alcoholic mother, who would always abuse him, or try to give him and Dana away to an orphanage, only to come back to their senses, and take them back, sometimes through illegal means. Despite the worsening family life, Alex stayed strong throughout his life, and taking up the role as a proper parential figure for his younger sister. He never let his family's abuse take him down time after time, and, with enough effort, neither did Dana. They eventually ran away from home at the age of 15 to live on their own, renting out a complex in the city.

Alex eventually joined Gentek while job-searching, and proclaimed that he would use the job to create a cure for cancer. His resolve was so strong that he was put in charge of the cancer research project by scientists who appealled to his goals and his positive outlook on life.

Infestation
However, the end result was not what he had expected. After a long few years of working on a cure for cancer, things began to go horribly wrong. The 'cure' became more than what Gentek wanted, and turned into a nightmare. One of the ingredients for the cure was Zerg tissue, which scientists had put in, mistaking it for human tissue, only to find out what it was before it was too late. The Blackwatch organization, led by James Heller, eventually interfered with the project upon discovery of an alien organism smuggled in by a scientist. Things continued to escalate, before James Heller had no other choice but to exterminate scientists to keep the project from moving any further, and this meant Alex Mercer himself. Despite his claims, Alex was labelled as a terrorist for creating a biological weapon, and calling it a cure by Blackwatch soldiers, while James Heller refused to comment. Alex, making a plea for his life, threatened that he'd release the virus if they tried to kill him. This ended up coming to pass, as Alex threw the virus sample to the ground, shattering the container, moments before being killed on the spot.

However, because he was the first organism the virus could find, the Zerg Virus, known as Black Light to the Blackwatch, infested Alex's body, and resurrected him by creating new Zerg organs inside him. When Alex awoke in a morgue, he could barely hear witnesses panicking, as he heard the voices of the hive mind echoing around him, trying to get him to destroy and kill, as most Zerg do. However, Alex still had his free will, and fought off the voices in his head, before escaping the morgue.

Destruction of New York
Because of Alex's infestation, and his lack of control of it, he constantly emitted a strong psionic signal unintentionally, attracting the attention of the Overmind and the Zerg Swarm, who proceeded to attack and infest, destroying New York, and turning citizens into monsters in their quest to find Alex Mercer. James Heller originally blamed Alex Mercer, believing the virus was causing the mayhem and the level 9 catastrophes around the city, which were soon known as 'Outbreak Zones'. His claims were soon forgotten when he discovered the Zerg, and unwillingly joined Mercer in the battle to take back New York. However, there were too many Zerg, and too little defenders, as even the Blackwatch succumbed to infestation, and turned on their commander, forcing them to retreat.

Present
Alex Mercer, along with James Heller, now reside on Aiur as heroes of the Empire. Alex became the first known terran to successfully reject the Hive Mind, and keep his sanity, which gave the Protoss some Zerg power of their own. At first, their arrival to Aiur was frowned upon by the council, but when Alex was taken to court, he had said things no Zerg unit would have ever said, and the Protoss became convinced that he still had a compassionate, determined soul, which the Zerg could not hold. Because of this, Alex was admitted into the Empire, and had, time after time, proven his worth and purity in battle.