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Description
Sex: Male, Female

Species: Lab-grown hybrids

Location of origin: Helix Biotechnologies HQ, Chicago, USA

Date encountered: January 2nd, 1979

Total height: 2 meters (8ft) (Average)

Total weight: 800lbs

Threat level: High

Aggression level: Variable

Known mutations:

- Chameleonic skin allows the Rosalis to radically change their skin color and texture to render them almost invisible to the naked eye. These changes can occur in real-time as the creatures move, allowing them to stalk their prey while remaining hidden. The Rosalis's stealth abilities can be temporarily disrupted if they are wounded by gunfire or by other means. Inherited from their Chameleon and Octopus genes.

- Highly flexible skeleton allows the Rosalis to squeeze through tight corridors and even through metal bars in order to escape or pursue prey. The Rosalis can squeeze through a hole the size of a television set. Partly inherited from Octopus genes.

- Regenerative capabilities allows the Rosalis to heal severe injuries up to and including severed limbs in mere hours. However this process takes a significant amount of energy, and the creatures must rest in that time. The Rosalis cannot heal from catastrophic injuries such as being cut in half, decapitated or completely blown apart. Inherited from Octopus genes.

- Vocal mimicry allows the Rosalis to "speak" using words and phrases they have been taught. This frightening ability can be used to lure targets into an. This ability also extends to animals such as dogs, and can be used to distract or frighten them away. Inherited from Cryptid genes.

- Able to track targets via blood or scent similar to bloodhounds. All the Rosalis needs is a single drop of blood or other tissue in order to track down a target for miles. Inherited from Cryptid genes.

- Suction cup-lined arms and tongue to firmly grasp targets to prevent escape. The arms of the Rosalis are also highly flexible and tentacle-like, allowing them to grab or coil around a target to restrain them. For additional grip, the suction cups contain hooked spines that can be unsheathed and allow the Rosalis to wound prey while constricting them. These spines also grant the Rosalis the ability to scale walls like a gecko would. Inherited from Octopus genes.

- Neural studs implanted in key locations across the skull allow the Rosalis to be "controlled" by nearby handlers. The studs release electrical shocks to stimulate different parts of the brain to calm the creature, incite it to attack, or make it enter a coma for recovery and transportation. The technology behind the studs is relatively primitive, and as such the handlers of the Rosalis never truly have full control of the creatures. If one or more of the studs fail, the creatures can easily turn on their handlers and go rogue. The studs also have a limited reception range, and as such it's handlers must remain within a certain range in order to transmit commands (1 miles). The signal emitted by the studs can be interfered with by certain frequencies.

- Self destruct. As a measure of last resort to avoid capture and erase all evidence of their existence, the Rosalis are able to trigger a chain reaction in their bodies that causes them to violently explode. After exploding, the remains of the Rosalis will being to rapidly decompose until no trace of them is left behind. If the Rosalis are killed before they can trigger the self-destruct, the rapid decomposition process will happen regardless as a fail-safe.

History:

Grotesque laboratory abominations, the Rosalis were the result of a top-secret genetic engineering project by Helix Biotechnologies that began in April of 1977. The goal of the project was to create man-made monsters for military use against the mutant threat, specifically smaller ones such as Hobgoblins or any remaining Hellspawn. The Rosalis were designed with stealth in mind, and as such were bred with the camouflage capabilities of some of the stealthiest hunters in the animal kingdom: the Chameleon and the Octopus. Along with additional genes from The Cryptids granting them enhanced senses and the ability to mimic speech, the Rosalis were set to be the ultimate hunters. In theory, they could be inserted in almost any environment to snuff out small-scale mutant threats while also avoid being detected themselves.

However early iterations of the creatures circa 1978 proved to be genetically unstable and highly aggressive, and several staff were killed trying to work with them. These "Mark 1" Rosalis were liquidated and the project went back to the drawing board. After months of attempting to create viable, genetically stable specimens, finally a breakthrough came in January 2nd, 1979 resulting in the "Mark 2" Rosalis. This second generation resulted in 12 specimens, but only 4 would survive to adulthood, the rest dying from various complications. Though a majority of the specimens did not survive, the remaining 4 were much more genetically stable and healthy than any of the Mk 1 Rosalis.

In early February of 1979, these creatures were put through rigorous trial runs under US Military supervision, and the Army supplied Helix with test subjects. Some of these test subjects included Hobgoblins, Hellspawn, Deep Ones and even Cryptids. The Rosalis terminated each opponent with ruthless efficency, however the creatures were still too aggressive for humans to work with them. As a result, a separate project was developed on order to make the creatures more "tame" and allow in-field handlers to "command" them to a degree. This resulted in the creation of a series of neural studs that would be implanted across the skull and interact with key areas of the Rosalis's brains. This would allow handlers to incite the Rosalis to attack, stand-by, make them retreat, or enter an induced coma for transportation or in the event of a violent episode.

Though the technology effectively allowed the Rosalis handlers to issue very basic commands to the creatures, this was far from "mind control" and the technology was fairly primitive. The studs had a 5% chance of failure or malfunction, and such failures could result in the Rosalis going berserk and attacking it's handlers or even other Rosalis. However most tests indicated that such malfunctions were highly unlikely, and thus the technology was kept as-is. The clandestine nature of the Rosalis project warranted utmost secrecy, and as such one final fail-safe was put in the Rosalis: If they risked being captured or killed, the Rosalis could be remotely triggered to self-destruct. The creatures would explode violently, and any remaining pieces would rapidly decompose to eliminate all traces of it's existence.

With the Mk 2 Rosalis line fully completed and military brass satisified with the results so far, it was time to test the creatures in the field. The first target for the Rosalis was a mutant that had been reported near the Florida coast, codenamed "The Siren". And so, all four of the Mk 2 Rosalis were put in a coma and transported by plane from Helix's headquarters in Chicago to Florida, where an undisclosed location in the wilderness had been set up as a staging area for the test run. The staging area was guarded by US military patrols, and any roads leading to or near the site were closed down under the guise of construction work. To maximize stealth, the operation was conducted at night.

Reconnaissance teams were sent out to pinpoint the mutant's location and to acquire a blood sample for the Rosalis to track. The operation was successful by the time the Rosalis arrived, and the recon team had acquired a whole vial of blood with minor personnel injuries. The Rosalis were allowed to familiarize themselves with the scent, and the operation was greenlit. The cage doors were opened and the Rosalis were set loose to hunt down The Siren. A helicopter was deployed to follow the Rosalis in order to keep the handlers within transmission range as the creatures ventured into the marshes. All of the Rosalis were implanted with tracking devices which displayed them as red triangles on the radar onboard the helicopter.

Within half an hour, the Rosalis had picked up a strong scent and bolted off in the direction of their mutant prey while remaining camouflaged. The Siren had come to rest in a shallow marsh inlet that led to the open ocean, which presented a problem should the mutant try to escape. The Rosalis could operate underwater for a limited time, but could not pursue The Siren if it fled to deeper water, so it was imperative that the creature be killed then and there before it had a chance to flee. The Rosalis converged on the marsh containing the mutant and slowed their approach to a deliberate crawl, like predators preparing to ambush prey. The Siren's back could be seen cresting the water; it's flesh encrusted with mutant barnacles giving it the appearance of hair, hence it's name.

The Rosalis approached on all fours from multiple angles, moving through tall grass and reeds without making a noise; their telescopic eyes laser-focused on the resting creature in front of them. With but a flip of a switch, the handlers incited all 4 of the creatures to attack, and in an instant, all four of them lunged into the water at The Siren. The mutated manatee was completely caught off guard by the sudden ambush and quickly went into a fight-or-flight state, thrashing it's body wildly in an attempt to dislodge it's attackers. The Rosalis held firm with their sucker-studded arms and canine teeth.

One of the Rosalis, designated Unit-001, clamped it's jaws on the base of the Siren's tail right below the fluke, and began thrashing it's head like a dog with a chew toy. The canine teeth combined with the violent movement caused grievous wounds to the mutant and crippled it's main method of movement. Units 009 and 010 bit down on both the manatee's pectoral flippers and with a pull, tore both free from it's body. The Siren uttered a haunting howl of agony, as Unit 004 came from below and dragged it's razor-sharp claws down the mutant's stomach and allowed a cascade of blood and entrails to flow out.

With a final killing blow, Unit 004 slashed open the mutant's carotid artery and the rest of the creatures disengaged to allow the mutant to bleed to death. The moonlight revealed water tinted a deep red as the lifeless body of The Siren floated in it's own blood. The handlers deactivated the attack switch and activated the "retreat" command, which the Rosalis immediately obeyed and returned to the staging area. Operatives were sent out to recover The Siren's body to confirm the kill. As the Rosalis were put back in a dormant state for transport, The Siren's body was photographed, measured and weighed before being disposed of via thermite.

Upon reviewing the field report from the Rosalis's deployment, both the Helix board of directors and United States Military liaisons were content with the results, and greenlit another field test to give the Rosalis more of a challenge. This next test would determine their effectiveness in urban environments and more specifically, as assassins. Though primarily designed as mutant hunter-killers, the Rosalis were also more than capable of being fielded as assassins to take down human targets without detection. The US Military saw great potential in using the Rosalis to eliminate high-ranking military or government officials of rival powers, as well as domestic threats to the United States.

As such, the Rosalis would be tasked with hunting down a Soviet spy going under the alias of "Henry Rossbaum", who had taken up residence in Boston, Massachusetts. Rossbaum was believed to be running a spy network with other Soviet agents across the country, and taking him out would destabilize the network. The Rosalis were readied for transport and shipped off to Boston, where an abandoned warehouse had been commandeered by the US Military to stage the operation. Within 42 hours, the Rosalis had arrived in Boston and Rossbaum's location had been triangulated to an apartment building on the east side of the city. It was decided to use only one of the Rosalis for this operation, and Unit-004 was chosen for the task.

As night fell, Unit-004 was released into the city and it's handlers followed from a distance in an unmarked white van. The creature's skin constantly changed color and texture to match it's urban surroundings, rendering it nearly invisible to the naked eye as it darted through alleyways and leapt across busy streets to scale buildings on the other side. After traversing several city blocks, the creature was in visible range of Rossbaum's apartment and using it's keen vision, could see Rossbaum in one of the windows preparing a meal. Unit-004 quickly descended from it's building perch and crossed the street to Rossbaum's apartment building, where it carefully crept up the brick wall towards his window.

Rossbaum had left the kitchen to attend to other matters, and the Rosalis took advantage of the fact that he had also left the window open. Using it's flexible biology, the Rosalis carefully squeezed it's way through the open window with such grace and elegance that it didn't disturb any of the items on the windowsill or on the counter in front of it. Within moments, the Rosalis was through the window and inside the kitchen, remaining clung to the wall and positioning itself upside down on the ceiling. After a few moments, Rossbaum entered the kitchen to check on his meal and placed a folder of documents on the kitchen table as he went.

Unit-004 carefully dethatched it's arms from the ceiling and carefully snaked them down towards Rossbaum, but then something unexpected happened: the phone in the other room suddenly rang and got Rossbaum's attention. He turned just in time to see two camouflaged clawed hands reaching for him. Rossbaum screamed an darted to the left around them right as the Rosalis swung with a strike that would have easily decapitated the human. The Rosalis leapt from the ceiling and landed on the tile floor of the kitchen as Rossbaum bashed open the door to his apartment and ran down the stairs. Unit-004 bolted after Rossbaum, smashing aside furniture and the apartment door as it skillfully descended down the stairwell after it's prey.

Rossbaum made it out onto the street and continued to flee, pushing aside pedestrians as Unit-004 exited the building just in time to see where he was going. Having camouflaged itself before exiting the building, the hideous creature gave chase to Rossbaum as police sirens could be heard in the distance. Evidently, Rossbaum's neighbors had heard the commotion in his apartment and contacted the authorities. The involvement of law enforcement complicated matters, as if they discovered the existence of the Rosalis, the entire operation could be compromised. To Rossbaum's luck, he bumped into a police officer on the sidewalk as he frantically tried to explain what was going on. The hair on the back of Rossbaum's neck stood up when he heard the creature right behind him, and dove out of the way just as the creature lashed out with it's tongue.

The abomination unsheathed dozens of hooked barbs from the suction cups peppering it's tongue, and the appendage buried itself in the officer's face right as he was about to speak into his radio for back up. The tongue shattered the radio as well as caving in the officer's skull. The broken radio began to emit a series of static signals that stopped the creature right in it's tracks. Unit-004 clutched it's head in pain as it's camouflage began to falter, revealing it to the horror of bystanders and Rossbaum himself. The creature retained enough control to strike Rossbaum across the chest with it's claws, killing him and nearly cutting his body in two. The creature then began to attack bystanders, tearing them apart limb from limb in a berserk fury.

The police had arrived in time to see the creature go on a rampage, and immediately opened fire on it with revolvers and shotguns. The beast recoiled from the gunfire, as bullets penetrated it's skin and wracked it's body with pain, however this served only to anger the creature even further. Some distance away, Unit-004's handlers reported back to the FOB that the Rosalis had gone rogue due to a stud malfunction. With the whole operation in jeopardy, it was quickly decided that Unit-004 must be terminated immediately and to that end, Unit-001 was dispatched to destroy the rogue Rosalis. Meanwhile Unit-004 had made short work of the officers that attacked it, but not unscathed. The creature retreated by squeezing itself through a storm drain and into the labyrinthian sewers below.

Unit-001 was hot on it's kin's trail, having been familiar with it's scent from birth and thus not requiring a sample to track. Following the scent through the sewers, Unit-001 confronted Unit-004 in the sewers. Unit-004 was laying down as it's injuries were rapidly healing, and quickly took notice of it's kin's presence. With the flip of a switch, the handlers incited Unit-001 to attack....but instead of immediately attacking, the Rosalis hesitated. Unit-001 tilted it's head in confusion at the order to attack it's own kind. This hesitation was all Unit-004 needed to suddenly spring to it's feet and attack. With a single swipe of it's claws, Unit-004 completely slashed open Unit-001's neck so deep that it was nearly a decapitation.

Unit-001 gurgled and clutched it's throat as death took it's hold on the creature and it collapsed, staining the dirty sewer water a dark red. Unit-004 snarled at it's dead kin as it's body began to rapidly disintegrate into nothingness. The situation grew dire: not only did they have a rogue Rosalis on the loose, but now they had also lost a second unit in combat against it. They had underestimated the "bond" the creatures shared with one another and would need to find a way to circumvent it. It was decided to use the Rosalis's voice-mimicking ability to lure unit-004 into a trap. By using recorded audio tapes of Rossbaum that the CIA had on file, the Rosalis would be familiarized with his voice so they could mimic it.

With everything in place, it was decided to lure Unit-004 back to the staging area where it would be trapped in the abandoned warehouse with Unit-009 and Unit-012 along with armed personnel. With Unit-004's tracking chip still intact, the handlers could make sure that the Rosalis took the bait. About 2 hours after preparations were made, Unit-009 was deployed into the sewers to begin calling out to Unit-004 using Rossbaum's voice, as Unit-004 was probably familiar with it by now. It didn't take long for Unit-004 to take the bait and began to unknowingly follow Unit-009 back to the staging area. Within half an hour, Unit-009 re-emerged from the sewers and took position in the warehouse with Unit-010 and the armed personnel which hid in the shadows.

Moments went by with no activity, when suddenly there was activity from a nearby storm drain. A pair of tentacle-like arms emerged from the drain and firmly gripped the pavement. Soon a head and torso followed as Unit-004 squeezed it's way out and onto the street. Unit-009 called out again, screaming "help me!" from within the warehouse. The creature cautiously approached the open warehouse door; clearly it knew that something was amiss. It had already killed Rossbaum, or so it thought. Still, curiosity drew it closer and closer until it was within the threshold of the door. Suddenly the doors behind it slammed shut and the lights flashed on. Unit-004 was greeted by it's two brethren that stood against it with dozens of humans aiming their weapons at it. Unit-009 and 010 were ordered to attack, but both Rosalis hesitated.

Unit-004 screeched at them, and just when it seemed that the two Rosalis would suffer the same fate as Unit-001, both creatures were forced to attack when Unit-004 charged them. The three creatures clashed, with intermittent gunfire focused on Unit-004 when a clear shot was available. Unit-004 slashed off Unit-010's left arm and momentarily took it out of the fight. Unit-009 took this opportunity and leapt onto Unit-004's back, clamping it's jaws around it's brother's neck and sinking it's canines into it's flesh. The Rosalis screeched as it tried to swat it's attacker off of it, and was further hampered when a well placed shot to the eye blinded it.

Unit-010 rejoined the fight with a severed arm and grabbed ahold of Unit-004's leg and pulled it out from under it, causing the rouge Rosalis to fall to the ground. Unit-004 rolled to the right and sank it's claws into Unit-009's chest and attempted to disembowl it, but was stopped by the timely intervention of Unit-010. Knowing that the injured Unit-010 was the weakest link, Unit-004 launched it's barbed tongue at it's kin and wrapped it around Unit-010's neck. The hooked barbs buried themselves in the creature's flesh as it gasped for air. Retracting it's tongue, Unit-004 clamped it's jaws down on Unit-010's head with crushing force. The Rosalis screeched and flailed it's remaining arm, stabbing and slashing at Unit-004 until the latter summoned enough strength to literally crush Unit-010's skull in it's jaws.

Moments before the killing blow was dealt, Unit-010's self-destruct was triggered and the Rosalis exploded in a hail of blood and gore. The explosion damaged Unit-004, badly wounding the inside of it's mouth, severing it's tongue and removing several teeth. Seizing the opportunity, Unit-009 once again leapt onto it's kin's downed body and clamped it's jaws around Unit-004's neck. The creature thrashed wildly as Unit-009 grabbed Unit-004's frill and jaws. With an effort that required every last ounce of it's strength in order to subdue it's resisting brother, Unit-009 twisted Unit-004's neck until a loud snap was heard that echoed through the warehouse.

Leaping off the corpse of it's brother, Unit-009 watched as Unit-004 exploded in a shower of gore before collapsing from exhaustion. The pieces of Unit-004 quickly began to disintegrate, leaving no trace of it's existence. The area was sanitized and Unit-009 was recalled back to Helix's Chicago HQ. The incident was covered up as a mutant attack that took the lives of Rossbaum, several police officers and bystanders. Several conspiracies cropped up regarding what actually happened that night, with some suspecting the creatures were government made abominations gone wrong. Though this was in-fact the truth, it was dismissed as nonsense by officials.

Fearing that the Rosalis project will be deemed a failure due to Unit-004 going rogue and two other Rosalis being killed, Helix's board of directors anxiously waited the response from the US military. To their surprise, the army had actually greenlit further development of the Rosalis project, having been impressed with their stealth capabilities and combat against one another. The issue with the neural studs would have to be addressed, and the army also requested the creation of additional Mk 2 Rosalis units. Helix quickly got to work with refining the genetic code of the Rosalis, as well as beginning production of the Mk 3 Rosalis...

Description
Sex: Male, Female

Species: Lab-grown hybrids

Location of origin: Helix Biotechnologies HQ, Chicago, USA

Date encountered: January 2nd, 1979

Total height: 2 meters (8ft) (Average)

Total weight: 800lbs

Threat level: High

Aggression level: Variable

Known mutations:

- Chameleonic skin allows the Rosalis to radically change their skin color and texture to render them almost invisible to the naked eye. These changes can occur in real-time as the creatures move, allowing them to stalk their prey while remaining hidden. The Rosalis's stealth abilities can be temporarily disrupted if they are wounded by gunfire or by other means. Inherited from their Chameleon and Octopus genes.

- Highly flexible skeleton allows the Rosalis to squeeze through tight corridors and even through metal bars in order to escape or pursue prey. The Rosalis can squeeze through a hole the size of a television set. Partly inherited from Octopus genes.

- Regenerative capabilities allows the Rosalis to heal severe injuries up to and including severed limbs in mere hours. However this process takes a significant amount of energy, and the creatures must rest in that time. The Rosalis cannot heal from catastrophic injuries such as being cut in half, decapitated or completely blown apart. Inherited from Octopus genes.

- Vocal mimicry allows the Rosalis to "speak" using words and phrases they have been taught. This frightening ability can be used to lure targets into an. This ability also extends to animals such as dogs, and can be used to distract or frighten them away. Inherited from Cryptid genes.

- Able to track targets via blood or scent similar to bloodhounds. All the Rosalis needs is a single drop of blood or other tissue in order to track down a target for miles. Inherited from Cryptid genes.

- Suction cup-lined arms and tongue to firmly grasp targets to prevent escape. The arms of the Rosalis are also highly flexible and tentacle-like, allowing them to grab or coil around a target to restrain them. For additional grip, the suction cups contain hooked spines that can be unsheathed and allow the Rosalis to wound prey while constricting them. These spines also grant the Rosalis the ability to scale walls like a gecko would. Inherited from Octopus genes.

- Neural studs implanted in key locations across the skull allow the Rosalis to be "controlled" by nearby handlers. The studs release electrical shocks to stimulate different parts of the brain to calm the creature, incite it to attack, or make it enter a coma for recovery and transportation. The technology behind the studs is relatively primitive, and as such the handlers of the Rosalis never truly have full control of the creatures. If one or more of the studs fail, the creatures can easily turn on their handlers and go rogue. The studs also have a limited reception range, and as such it's handlers must remain within a certain range in order to transmit commands (1 miles). The signal emitted by the studs can be interfered with by certain frequencies.

- Self destruct. As a measure of last resort to avoid capture and erase all evidence of their existence, the Rosalis are able to trigger a chain reaction in their bodies that causes them to violently explode. After exploding, the remains of the Rosalis will being to rapidly decompose until no trace of them is left behind. If the Rosalis are killed before they can trigger the self-destruct, the rapid decomposition process will happen regardless as a fail-safe.

History:

Grotesque laboratory abominations, the Rosalis were the result of a top-secret genetic engineering project by Helix Biotechnologies that began in April of 1977. The goal of the project was to create man-made monsters for military use against the mutant threat, specifically smaller ones such as Hobgoblins or any remaining Hellspawn. The Rosalis were designed with stealth in mind, and as such were bred with the camouflage capabilities of some of the stealthiest hunters in the animal kingdom: the Chameleon and the Octopus. Along with additional genes from The Cryptids granting them enhanced senses and the ability to mimic speech, the Rosalis were set to be the ultimate hunters. In theory, they could be inserted in almost any environment to snuff out small-scale mutant threats while also avoid being detected themselves.

However early iterations of the creatures circa 1978 proved to be genetically unstable and highly aggressive, and several staff were killed trying to work with them. These "Mark 1" Rosalis were liquidated and the project went back to the drawing board. After months of attempting to create viable, genetically stable specimens, finally a breakthrough came in January 2nd, 1979 resulting in the "Mark 2" Rosalis. This second generation resulted in 12 specimens, but only 4 would survive to adulthood, the rest dying from various complications. Though a majority of the specimens did not survive, the remaining 4 were much more genetically stable and healthy than any of the Mk 1 Rosalis.

In early February of 1979, these creatures were put through rigorous trial runs under US Military supervision, and the Army supplied Helix with test subjects. Some of these test subjects included Hobgoblins, Hellspawn, Deep Ones and even Cryptids. The Rosalis terminated each opponent with ruthless efficency, however the creatures were still too aggressive for humans to work with them. As a result, a separate project was developed on order to make the creatures more "tame" and allow in-field handlers to "command" them to a degree. This resulted in the creation of a series of neural studs that would be implanted across the skull and interact with key areas of the Rosalis's brains. This would allow handlers to incite the Rosalis to attack, stand-by, make them retreat, or enter an induced coma for transportation or in the event of a violent episode.

Though the technology effectively allowed the Rosalis handlers to issue very basic commands to the creatures, this was far from "mind control" and the technology was fairly primitive. The studs had a 5% chance of failure or malfunction, and such failures could result in the Rosalis going berserk and attacking it's handlers or even other Rosalis. However most tests indicated that such malfunctions were highly unlikely, and thus the technology was kept as-is. The clandestine nature of the Rosalis project warranted utmost secrecy, and as such one final fail-safe was put in the Rosalis: If they risked being captured or killed, the Rosalis could be remotely triggered to self-destruct. The creatures would explode violently, and any remaining pieces would rapidly decompose to eliminate all traces of it's existence.

With the Mk 2 Rosalis line fully completed and military brass satisified with the results so far, it was time to test the creatures in the field. The first target for the Rosalis was a mutant that had been reported near the Florida coast, codenamed "The Siren". And so, all four of the Mk 2 Rosalis were put in a coma and transported by plane from Helix's headquarters in Chicago to Florida, where an undisclosed location in the wilderness had been set up as a staging area for the test run. The staging area was guarded by US military patrols, and any roads leading to or near the site were closed down under the guise of construction work. To maximize stealth, the operation was conducted at night.

Reconnaissance teams were sent out to pinpoint the mutant's location and to acquire a blood sample for the Rosalis to track. The operation was successful by the time the Rosalis arrived, and the recon team had acquired a whole vial of blood with minor personnel injuries. The Rosalis were allowed to familiarize themselves with the scent, and the operation was greenlit. The cage doors were opened and the Rosalis were set loose to hunt down The Siren. A helicopter was deployed to follow the Rosalis in order to keep the handlers within transmission range as the creatures ventured into the marshes. All of the Rosalis were implanted with tracking devices which displayed them as red triangles on the radar onboard the helicopter.

Within half an hour, the Rosalis had picked up a strong scent and bolted off in the direction of their mutant prey while remaining camouflaged. The Siren had come to rest in a shallow marsh inlet that led to the open ocean, which presented a problem should the mutant try to escape. The Rosalis could operate underwater for a limited time, but could not pursue The Siren if it fled to deeper water, so it was imperative that the creature be killed then and there before it had a chance to flee. The Rosalis converged on the marsh containing the mutant and slowed their approach to a deliberate crawl, like predators preparing to ambush prey. The Siren's back could be seen cresting the water; it's flesh encrusted with mutant barnacles giving it the appearance of hair, hence it's name.

The Rosalis approached on all fours from multiple angles, moving through tall grass and reeds without making a noise; their telescopic eyes laser-focused on the resting creature in front of them. With but a flip of a switch, the handlers incited all 4 of the creatures to attack, and in an instant, all four of them lunged into the water at The Siren. The mutated manatee was completely caught off guard by the sudden ambush and quickly went into a fight-or-flight state, thrashing it's body wildly in an attempt to dislodge it's attackers. The Rosalis held firm with their sucker-studded arms and canine teeth.

One of the Rosalis, designated Unit-001, clamped it's jaws on the base of the Siren's tail right below the fluke, and began thrashing it's head like a dog with a chew toy. The canine teeth combined with the violent movement caused grievous wounds to the mutant and crippled it's main method of movement. Units 009 and 010 bit down on both the manatee's pectoral flippers and with a pull, tore both free from it's body. The Siren uttered a haunting howl of agony, as Unit 004 came from below and dragged it's razor-sharp claws down the mutant's stomach and allowed a cascade of blood and entrails to flow out.

With a final killing blow, Unit 004 slashed open the mutant's carotid artery and the rest of the creatures disengaged to allow the mutant to bleed to death. The moonlight revealed water tinted a deep red as the lifeless body of The Siren floated in it's own blood. The handlers deactivated the attack switch and activated the "retreat" command, which the Rosalis immediately obeyed and returned to the staging area. Operatives were sent out to recover The Siren's body to confirm the kill. As the Rosalis were put back in a dormant state for transport, The Siren's body was photographed, measured and weighed before being disposed of via thermite.

Upon reviewing the field report from the Rosalis's deployment, both the Helix board of directors and United States Military liaisons were content with the results, and greenlit another field test to give the Rosalis more of a challenge. This next test would determine their effectiveness in urban environments and more specifically, as assassins. Though primarily designed as mutant hunter-killers, the Rosalis were also more than capable of being fielded as assassins to take down human targets without detection. The US Military saw great potential in using the Rosalis to eliminate high-ranking military or government officials of rival powers, as well as domestic threats to the United States.

As such, the Rosalis would be tasked with hunting down a Soviet spy going under the alias of "Henry Rossbaum", who had taken up residence in Boston, Massachusetts. Rossbaum was believed to be running a spy network with other Soviet agents across the country, and taking him out would destabilize the network. The Rosalis were readied for transport and shipped off to Boston, where an abandoned warehouse had been commandeered by the US Military to stage the operation. Within 42 hours, the Rosalis had arrived in Boston and Rossbaum's location had been triangulated to an apartment building on the east side of the city. It was decided to use only one of the Rosalis for this operation, and Unit-004 was chosen for the task.

As night fell, Unit-004 was released into the city and it's handlers followed from a distance in an unmarked white van. The creature's skin constantly changed color and texture to match it's urban surroundings, rendering it nearly invisible to the naked eye as it darted through alleyways and leapt across busy streets to scale buildings on the other side. After traversing several city blocks, the creature was in visible range of Rossbaum's apartment and using it's keen vision, could see Rossbaum in one of the windows preparing a meal. Unit-004 quickly descended from it's building perch and crossed the street to Rossbaum's apartment building, where it carefully crept up the brick wall towards his window.

Rossbaum had left the kitchen to attend to other matters, and the Rosalis took advantage of the fact that he had also left the window open. Using it's flexible biology, the Rosalis carefully squeezed it's way through the open window with such grace and elegance that it didn't disturb any of the items on the windowsill or on the counter in front of it. Within moments, the Rosalis was through the window and inside the kitchen, remaining clung to the wall and positioning itself upside down on the ceiling. After a few moments, Rossbaum entered the kitchen to check on his meal and placed a folder of documents on the kitchen table as he went.

Unit-004 carefully dethatched it's arms from the ceiling and carefully snaked them down towards Rossbaum, but then something unexpected happened: the phone in the other room suddenly rang and got Rossbaum's attention. He turned just in time to see two camouflaged clawed hands reaching for him. Rossbaum screamed an darted to the left around them right as the Rosalis swung with a strike that would have easily decapitated the human. The Rosalis leapt from the ceiling and landed on the tile floor of the kitchen as Rossbaum bashed open the door to his apartment and ran down the stairs. Unit-004 bolted after Rossbaum, smashing aside furniture and the apartment door as it skillfully descended down the stairwell after it's prey.

Rossbaum made it out onto the street and continued to flee, pushing aside pedestrians as Unit-004 exited the building just in time to see where he was going. Having camouflaged itself before exiting the building, the hideous creature gave chase to Rossbaum as police sirens could be heard in the distance. Evidently, Rossbaum's neighbors had heard the commotion in his apartment and contacted the authorities. The involvement of law enforcement complicated matters, as if they discovered the existence of the Rosalis, the entire operation could be compromised. To Rossbaum's luck, he bumped into a police officer on the sidewalk as he frantically tried to explain what was going on. The hair on the back of Rossbaum's neck stood up when he heard the creature right behind him, and dove out of the way just as the creature lashed out with it's tongue.

The abomination unsheathed dozens of hooked barbs from the suction cups peppering it's tongue, and the appendage buried itself in the officer's face right as he was about to speak into his radio for back up. The tongue shattered the radio as well as caving in the officer's skull. The broken radio began to emit a series of static signals that stopped the creature right in it's tracks. Unit-004 clutched it's head in pain as it's camouflage began to falter, revealing it to the horror of bystanders and Rossbaum himself. The creature retained enough control to strike Rossbaum across the chest with it's claws, killing him and nearly cutting his body in two. The creature then began to attack bystanders, tearing them apart limb from limb in a berserk fury.

The police had arrived in time to see the creature go on a rampage, and immediately opened fire on it with revolvers and shotguns. The beast recoiled from the gunfire, as bullets penetrated it's skin and wracked it's body with pain, however this served only to anger the creature even further. Some distance away, Unit-004's handlers reported back to the FOB that the Rosalis had gone rogue due to a stud malfunction. With the whole operation in jeopardy, it was quickly decided that Unit-004 must be terminated immediately and to that end, Unit-001 was dispatched to destroy the rogue Rosalis. Meanwhile Unit-004 had made short work of the officers that attacked it, but not unscathed. The creature retreated by squeezing itself through a storm drain and into the labyrinthian sewers below.

Unit-001 was hot on it's kin's trail, having been familiar with it's scent from birth and thus not requiring a sample to track. Following the scent through the sewers, Unit-001 confronted Unit-004 in the sewers. Unit-004 was laying down as it's injuries were rapidly healing, and quickly took notice of it's kin's presence. With the flip of a switch, the handlers incited Unit-001 to attack....but instead of immediately attacking, the Rosalis hesitated. Unit-001 tilted it's head in confusion at the order to attack it's own kind. This hesitation was all Unit-004 needed to suddenly spring to it's feet and attack. With a single swipe of it's claws, Unit-004 completely slashed open Unit-001's neck so deep that it was nearly a decapitation.

Unit-001 gurgled and clutched it's throat as death took it's hold on the creature and it collapsed, staining the dirty sewer water a dark red. Unit-004 snarled at it's dead kin as it's body began to rapidly disintegrate into nothingness. The situation grew dire: not only did they have a rogue Rosalis on the loose, but now they had also lost a second unit in combat against it. They had underestimated the "bond" the creatures shared with one another and would need to find a way to circumvent it. It was decided to use the Rosalis's voice-mimicking ability to lure unit-004 into a trap. By using recorded audio tapes of Rossbaum that the CIA had on file, the Rosalis would be familiarized with his voice so they could mimic it.

With everything in place, it was decided to lure Unit-004 back to the staging area where it would be trapped in the abandoned warehouse with Unit-009 and Unit-012 along with armed personnel. With Unit-004's tracking chip still intact, the handlers could make sure that the Rosalis took the bait. About 2 hours after preparations were made, Unit-009 was deployed into the sewers to begin calling out to Unit-004 using Rossbaum's voice, as Unit-004 was probably familiar with it by now. It didn't take long for Unit-004 to take the bait and began to unknowingly follow Unit-009 back to the staging area. Within half an hour, Unit-009 re-emerged from the sewers and took position in the warehouse with Unit-010 and the armed personnel which hid in the shadows.

Moments went by with no activity, when suddenly there was activity from a nearby storm drain. A pair of tentacle-like arms emerged from the drain and firmly gripped the pavement. Soon a head and torso followed as Unit-004 squeezed it's way out and onto the street. Unit-009 called out again, screaming "help me!" from within the warehouse. The creature cautiously approached the open warehouse door; clearly it knew that something was amiss. It had already killed Rossbaum, or so it thought. Still, curiosity drew it closer and closer until it was within the threshold of the door. Suddenly the doors behind it slammed shut and the lights flashed on. Unit-004 was greeted by it's two brethren that stood against it with dozens of humans aiming their weapons at it. Unit-009 and 010 were ordered to attack, but both Rosalis hesitated.

Unit-004 screeched at them, and just when it seemed that the two Rosalis would suffer the same fate as Unit-001, both creatures were forced to attack when Unit-004 charged them. The three creatures clashed, with intermittent gunfire focused on Unit-004 when a clear shot was available. Unit-004 slashed off Unit-010's left arm and momentarily took it out of the fight. Unit-009 took this opportunity and leapt onto Unit-004's back, clamping it's jaws around it's brother's neck and sinking it's canines into it's flesh. The Rosalis screeched as it tried to swat it's attacker off of it, and was further hampered when a well placed shot to the eye blinded it.

Unit-010 rejoined the fight with a severed arm and grabbed ahold of Unit-004's leg and pulled it out from under it, causing the rouge Rosalis to fall to the ground. Unit-004 rolled to the right and sank it's claws into Unit-009's chest and attempted to disembowl it, but was stopped by the timely intervention of Unit-010. Knowing that the injured Unit-010 was the weakest link, Unit-004 launched it's barbed tongue at it's kin and wrapped it around Unit-010's neck. The hooked barbs buried themselves in the creature's flesh as it gasped for air. Retracting it's tongue, Unit-004 clamped it's jaws down on Unit-010's head with crushing force. The Rosalis screeched and flailed it's remaining arm, stabbing and slashing at Unit-004 until the latter summoned enough strength to literally crush Unit-010's skull in it's jaws.

Moments before the killing blow was dealt, Unit-010's self-destruct was triggered and the Rosalis exploded in a hail of blood and gore. The explosion damaged Unit-004, badly wounding the inside of it's mouth, severing it's tongue and removing several teeth. Seizing the opportunity, Unit-009 once again leapt onto it's kin's downed body and clamped it's jaws around Unit-004's neck. The creature thrashed wildly as Unit-009 grabbed Unit-004's frill and jaws. With an effort that required every last ounce of it's strength in order to subdue it's resisting brother, Unit-009 twisted Unit-004's neck until a loud snap was heard that echoed through the warehouse.

Leaping off the corpse of it's brother, Unit-009 watched as Unit-004 exploded in a shower of gore before collapsing from exhaustion. The pieces of Unit-004 quickly began to disintegrate, leaving no trace of it's existence. The area was sanitized and Unit-009 was recalled back to Helix's Chicago HQ. The incident was covered up as a mutant attack that took the lives of Rossbaum, several police officers and bystanders. Several conspiracies cropped up regarding what actually happened that night, with some suspecting the creatures were government made abominations gone wrong. Though this was in-fact the truth, it was dismissed as nonsense by officials.

Fearing that the Rosalis project will be deemed a failure due to Unit-004 going rogue and two other Rosalis being killed, Helix's board of directors anxiously waited the response from the US military. To their surprise, the army had actually greenlit further development of the Rosalis project, having been impressed with their stealth capabilities and combat against one another. The issue with the neural studs would have to be addressed, and the army also requested the creation of additional Mk 2 Rosalis units. Helix quickly got to work with refining the genetic code of the Rosalis, as well as beginning production of the Mk 3 Rosalis...