*pew*pew*pew* (that's laser rifles lol)
"Fuck! Frag out!"
*boom!*
Our first contact with the species we now know as Mermen, was a little more difficult than I expected.
We encountered the first one shortly after entering the tunnels.
The thing was humanoid in appearance but had green scales with a slight glow at the joints.
A thick spiny carapace clung to it's back and it's eyes were bloodshot red with vertically slitted pupils. It reminded me of a horribly irradiated ninja turtle hopped on crack and dry Popeyes biscuits.
As feral as it looked it also carried a trident carved out of coral, hinting at some level of basic intelligence.
Perhaps not as smart as a super mutant but enough to make tools.
That first one was easy to kill. Lady easily dispatched it with her laser rifle as it charged her.
Several smoking holes dotted it's chest and head and it collapsed to the ground.
The problem came shortly after as I approached to take a sample.
The creature, not fully dead, unleashed a sonic shriek that made us flinch in surprise.
And that... lead to a horde responding to its call.
"I swear I didn't know about this! No one ever mentioned it! We also don't fight them head on like you!" Jonny yelled mid battle while struggling to reload his peashooter.
"Shut up and take this!" I threw him my laser rifle and a few fusion cells. The game counted fusion cells by the number of shots but in reality each fusion cell is an entire "magazine".
Jonny fumbled with the rifle and took a few moments to figure it out before leaning out and firing from his position.
Meanwhile, Lady was putting down the mermen with precision. Steady bursts of automatic laser fire left blistering holes in the charging horde.
The tunnel was filled with numerous Mermen all rushing us with a crazed fervour.
The number of dead Mermen were now several dozen but a new wave rushed at us every few minutes now.
I pulled out a gatling plasma from my inventory, a little goodie I have been dying to use, and began mowing down the remaining enemies in front of us.
The Gatling Plasma winded up and then torrents of corrosive green balls pelted the oncoming mermen, some even turning into puddles of green goo.
"Hahahahaha eat shit noob!" If not for the power armor, my crazy looking smile would be seen.
As I mowed down another mob, I was suddenly struck by a small lightning bolt, causing me to stagger.
"Arrgh! What the hell?!" I zoned in on an enemy that was crouched behind one of his deceased comrade's scorched body.
The Merman seemed to be slightly larger than the others with a deeper green glow and what looked like sparks being emitted from his finger tips or maybe claws is the right word.
'Is that supposed to be a captain level enemy? And it has powers? I have to get a sample!'
I began winding up the gat-plas to kill the thing but the thing launched another bolt of lightning at me stunning me again.
"Damn it!"
Lady and Jonny who had finished off their targets began firing at the creature but it also seemed to have a higher Intelligence than the other mobs.
It lifted another corpse and used it as a meat shield and then picked up a coral trident and aimed it at us.
Laser fire pelted the corpse and penetrated through but the captain merman's scales resisted most of the remaining damage.
Lightning crackled across the trident it held before it forcefully threw it in our direction.
'Damn it's gonna hit our escort.' I thought while activating Vats tracking the thrown weapon.
Jonny's eyes widened as a crackling weapon coated in electricity flew through the air towards him.
Knowing he couldnt survive the attack, I jumped in front of it and tanked it with my power armor.
"Aaargh! Fuck! Again?" That was the third time I had been shocked and I was really getting pissed.
The coral trident had shattered against my chest piece but the electric discharge had stunned me a third time.
"Fuck this!" I said seeing the mermen picking up another meat shield and another weapon.
Lady and Jonny kept firing at it but the sneaky bugger was now trying to retreat using his dead allies as a shield and trying to back up to a connecting tunnel branch.
Another sparkling trident flew at me but I knocked it away this time and charged.
"You ain't leaving fucker." I charged across the smoldering fishy corpses, each footfall of my power armor causing a splash of gore and goo.
But I didn't care. The thing had pissed me off too much and I wanted it's blood for research so there was no way I was letting it escape.
And besides, who knows if the thing would bring back even more reinforcements.
We could easily be worn down and defeated if hundreds of them showed up.
I could see the primal panic in its face as I bulldozed my way towards him mimicking the Pain Train perk.
Once in range I threw a power armored punch straight into its scaly face. Its head bounced to the side and slammed into the tunnel wall.
I grabbed its head and started bashing it into the wall repeatedly. My temper on full display as I left a soupy smear on the wall where a head used to exist.
Once I knew it was dead, I swept my eyes over the dozen intact corpses that werent goo or ash and then pulled out some vials and began taking blood samples.
I labeled the vials and then stored them in my inventory before moving on.
"Ah... here's your rifle back..." Jonny said sheepishly while holding out the laser rifle I gave him.
"Keep it. You need it more than I do right now." I shook my head and said. "How much further?"
Jonny stepped over the bodies and then looked around. "We are getting close. Should only be a few more minutes of walking."
"Great. I'll take point now. Lady watch our backs and you... just don't die."
I realized I had leveled up to level 33. I currently only had 1 stat and perk point to spend.
But I wanted to save perk points up to get a good perk, so I only used the stat point. That brought my Luck up to 9.
And so we then continued on. The tunnels were long and had many turns and branches. With some ending in dead ends.
They were also quite dark so the only light we had was from mine and Lady's headlamps.
Those mermen seemed to have an innate night vision as well as sensitive hearing, making them a significant threat to the average person.
But I didnt think they were that formidable for seasoned fighters.
As we walked my mind drifted to the power the variant merman displayed.
'That was a plasmid, right?Or something similiar? I knew the parallels were strong when ADAM and EVE were mentioned in the files. But seeing it in person makes me super exited.'
"We're here." Jonny whispered as we approached another branch in the path, causing me to crack a vicious smile.
'I really want everything in this vault to belong to me...'
---------------------------------
Status
Frank Winter, 19 (+50)
Lvl: 33
S-7
P-6
E-7
C-9
I-17
A-11
L-9
Perks: Swift Learner, Hard Bargain, Educated, Lady Killer, Advanced Science, Advanced Robotics, Advanced Chemist, Adamantium Skeleton, Action Boy, Advanced Gunslinger, Field Medic, Advanced Hacker, Rad Resistance, Gun Nut, Rad Child, Sneak, Dodgy, Advanced Nuclear Physicist, Advanced Brawler, Local Leader,
Perk Points: 1
Mutations: Healing Factor, Speed Demon, Marsupial, Timeless, Rad-ical,
Augments: "PHOENIX" Monocyte Breeder Implant,
Caps: 32,087
[A/N: I dont plan to include all the plasmids and tonics right away. Leaving many for him to recreate on his own sounded like a more fun idea. But which ones should he discover have already been created by the scientists there? I already planned Electro Bolt but tell me in the comments which you think he should get immediate access to. Depending on what's voted for I may add them or have him developed them early on.]