Formicidae

@la_espada:

Aaron had no other options.

Barksdale sat in an atomic crater, his long-lost brother having been turned into a tyrant's pawn for experimental purposes only to die for a second time in front of a sibling he hardly knew. While recuperating at Kenshin's estate, the meek scientist received an invitational letter from someone he hadn't heard from in years.

Santiago.

That's all Aaron needed right now - a good friend.

Beaming a little on the inside, Aaron excitedly exited the taxi cab in front of the famous Avalon complex. He sighed, content and comforted. He could easily find solace in the world of science, especially if Santi actually worked here.

@_nobody_:

A tooth the size of a volkswagen soared through the air, implanting itself in the earth like a freshly migrated ivory tree. A river of blood followed, squirting out of Aaron's enlarged veins and dousing the charred landscape a sickening red. All because of an uppercut, the meek scientist started to tumble and fall. His footing was lost in the hit and he started to see in black and white for a split second. It terrified him.

How could he do this?

What was the cyborg talking about?

How did he know his name?!

"Look buddy, I don't know who you are, but - "

The mechanical abomination continued his rampage, following into the defensive systems that kept him alive despite his distinct protests. Each fist that collided with Aaron's face brought about a new tortured scream from the automaton as he lost control of his own body. The biologist started to piece things together, bit by bit, in the twilight of unconsciousness.

What if...

Before he met the Reaper, Aaron's salvation came in the form of a ninja. Woah, what? Not just any ninja, by the looks of him. He carried all sorts of equipment and had the air of a superior combatant. He even had...Allegiance's shield?

"Luke, please, for the love of all that's holy, just kill me. I don't care how you have to do it, just kill me,"

Apparently they knew each other. Wait a minute, Luke? Luke Craig? The Spider vigilante? He died a while back, how was he here? But then again, this had to be an acquaintance of Luke's. Judging by the rate of decomposition and discoloration in the hair, he must have died recently as well. That left only one option...

"Allegiance?"

"Don't call me that, Aaron, it's..." a thick gout of shame stopped him from continuing. "It's your brother. James,"

"No,"

"I'm sorry,"

"NO,"

"I'm so sorry,"

"YOU F-CKING LIAR!"

A king-size boot landed on top of the cyborg, crushing him into the ground. Still, he managed to wrestle against the titanic weight and eventually prop up Aaron's leg.

"I'm better off dead anyway. This should never have happened. Just promise me that you'll forget all of this and live the rest of your life without regrets,"

In an automatic response, the juggernaut smashed his unoccupied fist into the sole of Aaron's foot, bruising the tendon and breaking some of the more fragile bones therein. Screaming in agony, the giant fell back down.

"Just end it Luke. The shield is strong enough to cut through my neck. I trust your throwing arm more than anyone else's."

@the_last_samurai:

(Jump in if you want.)

This world is evil.

Just one more step.

Growing bigger now, footsteps turn into earth-shaking stomps.

"YOU F-CKING SON OF A BITCH!"

Heavy-handed, with the weight of a ten-car train crashing down on top of his head. Aaron Palmer - Formicidae - taking some small measure of vengeance, finally working up the courage to fight. To his surprise, the cybernetic organism doesn't fight back. Maybe this won't be so bad. He grabbed the bastard in his giant hand, pressing against hardened bone and enhanced flesh. He could never break this...thing. But he had to try.

"A...Aaron?"

What did it just say? It knows who I am? No, ignore it. Kill it! Do it! Hurry up!

"Oh God, you're really here! You're alive!" it continued.

"Shut up! Just shut up!"

"Aaron, I didn't mean to - "

"STOP CALLING ME THAT!"

Sick puppy eyes. Genuine. What's going on?

"Aaron, if you're trying to kill me, do it quickly,"

Whirring inside my grip. Automated defense systems? What's happening?

"Aaron, do it. Just end it already,"

I can feel him opening my hand. No, no, no, no! The creature escaped, and dove in for an instantaneous uppercut that bruised Aaron's enlarged jawbone, knocking him to the ground.

"KILL ME! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, KILL ME!"

@the_last_samurai:

"It's something that I have to do," Aaron knew it.

"But," he shook Kenshin's hand. "I appreciate you for guiding me to where I needed to go."

@the_last_samurai:

"I saw the news broadcast," Aaron became a bit happier, knowing that what his heart told him to do did not contradict his moral code.

"Half-man, half-machine. He's somewhere in Georgia."

@the_last_samurai:

Aaron just sat there, across from Kenshin, moving his leg up and down - a nervous tick. Holding his head in his hands, he started whimpering. He didn't belong here. This was a place of honorable warriors. He was just a tiny man taking steps that were too big for him to handle. He recomposed himself and looked up at the samurai. The tears were fresh through bloodshot eyes. Stress finally built up to this point, to where it exploded over his fragile heart.

He needed somebody.

"I don't know anymore. I-I used to be a hero, I guess. Y-You know, fight for truth, justice and the American bullsh-t capitalist way of squeezing money out of the working class, but whatever," he rambled, seeing Tony's ascension to power as nothing more than a madman finally coming to the surface.

"I didn't come here for counseling, I need answers. I need to know..."

He buried his face in his fists, grinding his eyes against the knuckles. Sniffing, he mentally berated himself again for doing this in front of a man who has seen battle more times than the number of ants back at Atlanta University's biology department. 'Stupid, so f-cking stupid,' he mumbled.

"I need to know if it's okay to go after the man who nuked my hometown. I want to believe it is, but...I just can't bring myself to," he stopped again, gathering his scattered thoughts.

"I'm angry. Oh Hell, I'm angry. I want to find him and kill him. But I know that's wrong. I've...I've killed...before," he swallowed, hard, trying to suppress more tears. No matter what Tony said, the dead Venezuelans still haunted him to this day.

"But I'm a scientist. And I'm a hero. I can't go around killing everything that becomes a problem. That's not how the world works. Or is it? If something becomes too much of a problem...are we allowed to destroy it completely? Stain our hands with blood the same way they did? At what point does killing for justice become just killing?"

@the_last_samurai:

"My name is Dr. Aaron Palmer," the man replied, shuffling his hair in a busy motion. He's nervous, awkward, and confused. Tear stains line his cheeks.

"My hometown was just nuked. I...I thought I had a friend in Tony, er, I mean President Stark...but that was a long time ago. I don't even recognize him anymore,"

He takes a pause, to breathe deeply. It hurts more than he initially realized, finally admitting that the one man who trusted most in life has become a monster.

"I just need someone to help me, and I heard you're in the business of doing that."

@the_last_samurai:

A lonely figure approaches the estate. The doorman, in the form of a meditating humanoid panda of all things, perks his ears up.

"Are you here on business, friend?" he murmurs gently, the hum of his exotic voice attracting the panicked attention of the visitor.

"Please, I have to see Kenshin. He's the only one I know who can help right now."

Lose.