Author: Wrapping everything up here.

Working for a Nuclear Free City

"This is Linda Kaufman for USTV. I'm joined by Captain Paul Sheely, an EMT from Empire City's Engine 14. Captain Sheely, can you explain where we are?"

"We're in a sewer beneath Empire City, but I don't want to say any more than that. The last thing we need is for people to start raiding us."

"And how long have you been down here?"

"Nearly a week, since they started bombing the surface. Had to leave the hospital. Even though it had been thrashed by the Dustmen, it was much better than this here. We were doing pretty well over there, but now we're getting hit by Staph infections, E. Coli, things like that. Diarrhea's a huge problem. The city's water purification system's shut down and there's barely anything to eat."

"What about the food the military's been dropping?"

"The what?"

"We were told that the military regularly drops food into the city."

"We wouldn't be eating out of garbage cans if there was food. Everything on TV, the stuff you've reported on? No offense, but it's all bullshit. There isn't any food, any medicine. Between the military rounding up people and idiots shooting anything that moves, this is the only place that's safe. Which is pretty damn pathetic when you think about it. And we can't stay down here forever. Eventually, someone's going to find us, or the people with the bronchial infections are going to have be relocated. The damp air isn't doing them any favors."

"Nobody told us about that."

"Hah. You think they'll do anything that'll puts their whole damn work into jeopardy? Wake up, they don't want to help us. They want to let us rot, then bury us and say they tried their best."

"Do you know who 'they' are?"

"The government. We would've died a long time ago if there hadn't been some guys not okay with that. The only reason we are still alive and the military's not in here yet is because we got help."

"Help? Like the Electric Man?"

"Cole? Yeah. He's one of our best guys. Makes sure we are secure."

"Where is he now?"

"Seen him a few times, but he can't be everywhere. For every guy he deals with, two more are waiting to take their place. Bastards only back down when he sics Alex on their asses. Though not long. As soon either of 'em turns their backs to 'em, they're back."

"Alex?"

"Cole's friend. Has a real penchant for stabby things. Most guys think twice about assaulting us when he's got this whole shit down too. Sometimes I think he's the only one around here who actually enjoys being in the middle of the thick."

"Who is he?"

"I'm pretty sure you're gonna know him. The last name's Mercer."

"Wait- Alex Mercer...as in The Terrorist of Manhattan?"

"Dunno about you, but what I've seen here tells me the thing over in Manhattan had to be similar to the bullshit here. Giant cover-up of some shit done by people much higher in the food chain, blame put on a scape goat. Guy's scary alright, but he's a good man. Helps us with whatever we need: heavy lifting, food, medications, weapons to defend ourselves, driving off scavengers."

"...Are you certain of this?"

"Cole trusts him, and I trust Cole."

"So...they're both helping you?"

"Of course they're helping us. Hell, Cole told us about the platform here."

"Thanks for your time, Captain. Anything else you'd like to add?"

"What I really want to say probably isn't suitable for television."

"Do you mind if we talk to some of your patients?"

"Feel free. Bitching about this Hellhole will probably do them some good."

"Your name is Dana, right? Dana Mercer?"

"Yup."

"And Alex Mercer is your brother?"

"Yeah."

"We've heard he's been helping the people here."

"Of course he does. I know he isn't exactly the nicest guy around, but at least he's doing something. Empire's dying, and him and Cole are the only ones able to do something against it."

"And...what about the bounty on his head? The act of terrorism in Manhattan?"

"Ha. You're funny. Alex was the one to end this entire fuck there."

"Please clarify."

"Mhm. The story's pretty long. Guess I can give you the short version, though."

"Please do that, I'm interested."

"Okay, so this started in Idaho. Little backwater place called Hope. Anyways, the government- or part of it- found a virus that made monkeys stronger and smarter and thought: Hey, let's build Supersoldiers from it. Like Captain America, you know?"

"Yeah, and?"

"Well, figures that testing viruses on people was a dumb idea. Infection spread and Hope turned into Hell. Military goes in and nukes the place. But they took the virus with them. Then they gave it to their buddies at Gentek and told them to continue their work on Supersoldiers. Or maybe some weapon. Guess what? They fucked it over too."

"Gentek- that's the first time I hear about their involvement."

"Yeah, to be fair, most of Gentek had nothing to do with it. But the boss was on it, and some others. Alex too, he used to work there."

"He worked at Gentek? On...viral weapons?"

"Yup. He figured he wasn't working on cure for cancer and decided to blow everything over. Whistleblower, you know? Anyways, that ended with him getting cornered in Penn Station. He should have died there but...he's a conduit. He survived and fled. And then the virus got out of Gentek and infected the city. Alex stopped it and the fucking nuke the military tried to use to erase their own mistake."

"Oh. That is pretty much to take in... And...then what do you think about the situation here?"

"It's the same. Like fucking the same, minus the infection."

"But the quarantine-"

"The only diseases I see here are caused by polluted water. Even before the treatment plant went down, there was a crazy bitch putting poison into the water. And the explosion that happened? It sprayed all sorts of radioactive material around, people got sick from getting into contact with it. But no, there's no infection going around that deserves this kind of quarantine."

"And the government isn't helping."

"The government is trying their best to hide what they did. Someone up there's more corrupt than African Warlords. You know, we got proof that the bomb that started all of this was brought here by the government. Bitch directly responsible is named Moya, if you're looking for someone to blame."

"Well...I thank you for your time, then."

"Heh. Alex will probably go up a wall if he finds out I talked to you. But it can't be helped- the world needs to know...Haha. What am I talking about. Of course he's gonna go up a wall."

"Do...do we need to be worried?"

"No. He's ruthless, but not heartless. He will leave you right alone. If not, tell him I'm gonna have his hide if he does something, okay?"

"We'll remember."

"You shouldn't be here. Get out of here. Quickly."

"COLE!"

"Following scenes have been taken near the Steel Harbor in Empire City." The woman on the screen said with a slightly nervous expression. "Provided by two USTV reporters, Linda Kaufman and Phil Maabe. They clearly show the so-called Electric Man, Cole MacGrath, and the Terrorist of Manhattan, Alex Mercer, previously believed to be dead, fight what appears to be a mutated creature, defending the Marines of the United States as well as innocent civilians in the process. However, in the duration of this conflict, the USS Washington was seriously damaged and sank in the harbor of Empire City. It appears there have been several casualties, though none through the sinking ship as it had been evacuated in time, but rather the mutated creature assaulting the men."

She shuffled her paper and sighed out. "The apparent battle against rogue governmental forces was not the only thing Kaufman and Maabe uncovered. As it appeared, we have been knowingly deceived by General Bridges. There never have been military food drops, but a military invasion. The people of Empire city were forced to hide, locate even the most important institutions like the hospital into the local sewers under appalling conditions. Government sources claim that FBI Agent Moya Jones and General Darren Bridges- working without the authorization of their superiors or the United States Military- initiated a series of disastrous decisions that resulted in a tragic loss of lives. As for MacGrath and Mercer- both remain at large and the CDC confirm that the quarantine around Empire City will remain for the foreseeable future-"

"Ah, shut it, Bitch." Dana shut the television off with more force than necessary and marched outside of their makeshift commando central, where Alex and several men were working to clear the Stampton Bridge. The quarantine was still active, but at least the people of the United States had managed to force the government to send supplies to Empire, and for this they needed the bridge open.

"Alex!" She shouted, drawing her brother's attention. "Can you believe this crap?! They've clearly seen you work your fucking ass off, and what is the thanks? Not even an 'investigation pending'!"

"What did you expect?" Alex asked casually, effortlessly moving a massive crate. "A pat on the back and a 'thank you'? Cole and I- we pissed off the entire government. And there's no way they are ever going to admit that we exist because they wanted to play God and create nifty weapons to blow anybody away they deemed as enemies." He put the crate down and crossed his arms. "If you want them gone, however, then you'll have to let me murder a fuck-load of bastards. Probably three quarters of whoever has the money."

Dana scoffed. "Yeah, we'll call that Plan B."

"Oh. And Plan A would be?"

"Just murder everybody who gets into our way. Eventually, they won't send any others." Dana threw her arms up. "I seriously had enough of this bullshit. You and Cole saved the city- saved the city- and what do you get? A 'MacGrath and Mercer remain at large'!"

Alex shrugged. "I'd like to give a fuck about that, but they have all left in one glorious migration when I told Moya to shove her gun up her own ass and fire."

"Oh?" Dana arched her eyebrow. "Care to clarify that?"

"I'm tired of running away, Dana", Alex replied. "Tired of hiding. I know you don't want this either. I just want you to be happy." He spread his arms slightly. "So, for your sake, I'm going to stop running."

Dana nodded slowly. "Yeah. Show the World that it can't fuck with us. We are here now, and nothing's gonna change that."

Alex chuckled slightly. "And if it tries, I'm going to show it just how wrong it was to do so."

"Hmhm. Just remember- leave enough of these fucks left for the cops to identify them, okay?"

"Deal."

Dana cleared her throat. "Just that you know- I talked to Kaufman."

Alex inclined his head. "And?"

"Told them about you. Don't worry- I never said anything about you not being the real Alex or that you're a fucking Weapon of Mass Destruction. I made them believe you were a Whistleblower that got caught. Oh, you're a conduit to them, too."

Alex frowned. "That...might actually work. Just hope that nobody's going to look to closely."

"Conduits exist. It's easier to tell them you're one of them rather than something that wasn't suppose to exist in the first place." She stepped back and tilted her head, eying the crates while Alex's expression became distant. "You done here?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Harms told me to ask you to get over to him. He says there is something going on at Steel Harbor. That there are not only the Marines now, but someone else."

In that moment, Dana noticed her big brother slump his shoulders. "I know", he said slowly. "Blackwatch. They're here now. I can smell them."

Dana paled. "Fuck! Already?!"

"Yeah. Was inevitable. My face is plastered all over the news, after all." He sighed once and took a step back. "I'll check it out."

"Alex-"

"Don't worry. They haven't managed to stop me with their full force in Manhattan, and they won't do so here now with a skeleton crew. I'll be fine." He put a hand on Dana's shoulder and squeezed gently. "However, I need you to stay around a crowd of people. I don't want Blackwatch to grab you and use you as bait. Keep your head down until I return."

"Okay."

Alex nodded with a small smile, then turned and headed off the bridge. Dana sighed. If bad came to worst, then they would have to clean out lots of blood.

If bad came to worst, then there was going to be a lot of blood spilled. Alex actually hoped for it to go wrong. Hell, it was Blackwatch. They needed to die just on principle.

But everybody he wanted dead in the past was dead already, and the upper echelons he wouldn't get to just by killing and consuming the low grunts. Also...He glanced down slightly irritated, to where several cops and civilians stopped and watched him race across the roofs in awe. He had audience. Which sadly meant he'd have to save his violent tendencies for when these guys shoot first. It wasn't that he gave a fuck about what people thought about him, but assaulting guys just because he didn't like them sounded so...immature. Plus, Heller would do good on his threat and actually come over here to beat the ever-loving snot out of him. He already had shouted at Alex for good two hours just the day before, when the news got out, finishing with a threatening 'Be glad L.A.'s on the other side of the fucking continent, or else I'd get over there and whoop your fucking scrawny white ass'. Now Heller was a lot less powerful than Alex, but the Evolved had a sort of stubbornness that made it hard to deal with him once he started with something.

Alex glanced back towards the civilians as he leapt over a five-story building with a single bound. Maybe he could get them to do something else and leave him five minutes with Blackwatch, so he wouldn't have any witnesses to his lethal prejudice towards Blackwatch.

Wait. They could actually be the solution to this little problem...

Empire City knew him. They trusted him. And the USTV News had posted his face everywhere, telling people he was a Whistleblower, and a conduit. It wasn't as if...

Alex grinned, then changed his trajectory to get closer to the ground. He hit the street a few seconds later, and slowly decreased his speed to be in a simple jog when he reached Warden Harms.

The older man turned, and his expression lit up (and that in itself was already strange, though not entirely unwelcome). "Alex! Good to see you."

"Likewise", the Runner acknowledged. "What is the situation?"

"We've been keeping an eye on the Marines", the warden told him, "You know, make sure they don't dare spill their crap into the city. But they've been busy cleaning up their own mess. Just, these other guys appeared then." He motioned to the black-clad soldiers milling about, putting up all sorts of viral scanners. "I get the creeps just watching them."

"Understandable", Alex replied, eyes narrowed. "Blackwatch."

"Wait-" Harm's brows furrowed. "Are they those guys this Moya woman wanted to call in case you don't do what she wanted?"

"Yes", Alex nodded. "They're dangerous, but not stupid. I can deal with them, but I do need your help with that."

Harms furrowed his brows, and glanced over to Steel Harbor. "I trust you", he eventually pointed out. "What am I supposed to do for you?"

Robert Cross sighed on the inside as he watched his men scramble across 'Steel Harbor'. General Rooks was just in the process of telling the Marines nearby that they were going to take control now, though he could tell the men didn't want them to be here. No wonder, Blackwatch didn't have the best reputation after Manhattan. But this, this was a gross waste of time. He was certain that there was nothing left, and every moment they spend out in the open was another moment somebody could try to dismantle them.

Not Mercer though. Cross figured after having his face pasted all over the news, he probably had already relocated to the opposite side of the country, to be as far away from Empire City as possible. He'd done so every time before, and all Blackwatch managed to find were traces of the virus and a lot of bodies to process.

So when the harbor shook, and dust was whirled up when something hit the ground with enough force to throw all of them off-balance, he felt surprised and confused at the same time. What the...

"We got contact!" Cross whirled at the alarm, just as everyone else did. "Fuck!" Someone else shouted, even before the dust settled, "It's ZEUS! Orders?!"

Cross' eyes widened at the sight of the uncanny lanky shape of the Runner march towards them. His hands were jammed into his pockets, but he knew it was just a facade. That guy could easily wipe out the entire platoon without even moving.

Mercer? Here? He wasn't supposed to be here!

"Sir!" Rooks' right-hand man snapped, "Sir- you need to take cover!"

"Too late", Rooks claimed, fingers tightening around the trigger of his rifle. "Too late for that, son." Not that it would have been effective at all- if Mercer could shrug off a fucking nuke, then guns wouldn't even begin to interest him.

"On my mark", Cross barked, lifting his grenade launcher. He knew it was futile, but that didn't mean they had to roll over and deal with it. "Nobody- and I repeat- nobody shoots before I say so!"

His men were trained to obey his every word, but they had heard the stories. Stories about ZEUS decimating their men whenever he found them. Stories about bases wiped out within moments, stories about one man after the other going missing. They were ready to shoot and kill, but at the same time, they were afraid of what was going to happen if they pissed this downright indestructible thing off.

Not to mention that they didn't have their big guns with them- this was a simple recon mission, and the bosses didn't like them wasting money on cold trails, like it had happened so often before.

Just this time, Mercer was actually there. And they didn't have any big guns because of some corner-cutting bastards. Chances looked pretty glum.

Oh, Cross wasn't too worried about his own life- Mercer valued him as an ally and would leave him and a hand full of others alive, but he'd have to go through all this questioning again.

And Mercer hated Blackwatch. The only reason he'd get out here in the open was to massacre them.

Though in the past, Mercer had shown mercy...at times. And in most cases, he'd let them right alone if they gave him no reason to flay them. Which was the only reason right now Cross did not give the order to shoot that thing.

"Sir?" One of them asked, "Orders?"

"Wait", the Specialist growled. His eyes narrowed and locked with Mercer's slightly luminous ones. The Runner cocked his head, then slowly turned to glance at the General.

"Rooks", he drawled. "On a word?"

The General froze, then his rifle snapped an inch higher. The other Blackwatch units followed suit. Mercer, however, furrowed his brows and eyed the weapons with no apparent interest.

"That's a foolish thing to do", he pointed out, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "You and I know perfectly well it won't harm me. But I will take it personally then." He leaned back, eyes half-lidded. "I am not here to maim you, you know", he pointed out.

Cross frowned. What the fuck was that bastard doing? Usually, he'd never march right into the middle of a Blackwatch Base, not when he was trying to keep hidden.

"I've come to...make a bargain." Cross' head snapped up, and his eyes widened by a fraction. What the...?

"A bargain?" Rooks questioned. "A fucking bargain? This is not a matter open for discussion, ZEUS!"

"Oh, believe me-", Mercer's eyes flashed crimson, and his surface rippled as a very graphic grin appeared on his face. "-it is, in fact." He spread his arms slightly, expression still in a mocking smirk. "The deal's simple: You leave me the fuck alone, and I will not tell the World about Blackwatch. Easy, right?"

Rooks snorted. "What? Do you think you have any position to tell us what to do?"

"As a matter of fact, I do." Mercer cocked his head and glanced at them lazily. "Or do you want everybody to know what you've done in Idaho? Carnival I, Carnival II? Do you want everybody to know that you experimented on an entire town without their knowledge? Or..." He dropped his arms. "Do you want them to know that it was your work that Greene ran free in Manhattan? Or maybe that it was your work with that fucking parasite that caused the second Outbreak?"

His teeth were bared now, but he still hadn't done a single move towards them. "I know everything." He told them. "And I have the data. How controllable will the fallout be if I send your data to the internet? You won't be able to shut it all down. Once it's out there, you will have lost."

Rooks' jaw snapped open, but Mercer cut him off. "I don't fucking care what it will do to me, but I am done cowering in the shade. If you want something from me- come and get it. Though-" His expression suddenly twisted into something sinister. "I advise you to be careful about that."

"Hello Empire City!" Cross swore and whipped around at the sudden static shriek and a voice blaring right at him. A massive television screen attached to a nearby building, that had been switched off previously, had come to life, and a shadowed figure was visible. "I think it's time to apologize. I've done a big mistake declaring an innocent man a criminal, and for this, I am deeply sorry."

What the fuck was that?! Cross' eyes flicked between the screen and Mercer's smug expression. Did he plan for this?

"But now we finally know what went down: A DARPA agent paid a lot of money to make a weapon, one that detonated right here in Empire. And despite me blaming the wrong guy, he still went out on it and saved all our butts. I am deeply embarrassed by what I said earlier."

What in God's name...

"As for the other news, your Voice of Survival has something juicy for you. Those of you from the Historic- what can you tell us about our Electric Man's brother-in-arms?"

"Guy's really scary. Ripped one of those First Sons right in half."

"Shit, thought I'd die. But then that guy pops up outta nowhere and smashes the whole gang!"

"Vanished without a word."

"He saved my brother from a bomb."

"Those shape-shifting Powers are creepy- but otherwise sweet."

"My cousin told me he's been over at the prison. Fought of a whole bunch of Dustmen on his own."

"Him and Cole- we owe 'em our lives."

"Beat this scary black thing into the ground."

"Pulled my ass and that of my buddies out of the fire."

"He brought food to the clinics, didn't even want a thank you."

"There you see it. That guy helped the Electric Man making the city safe. So whatever you hear, whatever the government is trying to tell you- always remember that he rescued all our ungrateful asses and didn't want anything in return. Keep up the good work, guys."

Accompanied by several interviews with different civilians were records of Mercer (and sometimes that electric kid) moving through the city, beating up gang members and...rescuing people. Cross' head snapped back so he could stare at Mercer, who was idly picking at his nails.

"What the Fuck?!"

"It's just a little reminder", Mercer told them in a bored tone. "You see- I know you are going to make me disappear. And Dana. And whoever else was in contact with me. However..." His expression turned into a grin. "I'm afraid around five million people of Empire City alone, plus about...a third of the entire population of the United States, is a bit too much. Even for Blackwatch. Wouldn't you agree?"

Cross choked once, swallowing a God-to-honest laughter and barely managed to cover it with a wheeze. He saw Rooks' expression, a wide-eyed stare of disbelief and terror. Holy Fuck, this kid had a fucking nerve!

Mercer turned to Rooks again, the grin a bit too sharp and demanding. "I think you understand, General. Now a lot ot people know about me- and more importantly, a lot of people view me as the one that saved them. I doubt whatever you can do will ever change their impression without exposing yourself in the progress. You won't be able to make me disappear."

And then, he turned on his heel and fucking marched right back out of the compound. The Blackwatch Soldiers just stared at his back, while Rooks stood there like a fish out of the water. Cross chomped down on his lower lip in an attempt to appear like the stoic asshole he was.

But this was fucking gold. Mercer just stomped all over Blackwatch, managed to silence them, to blackmail them- and they couldn't do a fucking thing.

He couldn't even be angry at him. Holy shit, that guy would go places. Good work there, Mercer.

Cole stared at his phone in his hand as if it was coming to life any moment soon to tear out his jugular. He wasn't too sure whether this scenario was actually preferably against what he had planned to do.

He scoffed. Damnit. He was Cole MacGrath, the guy that took on all of the Reapers and Sasha, the Dustmen and Alden, the First Sons and Kessler, David Warner, the entirety of the American military and Alex Mercer himself. He could do a simple phone call.

His fingers froze over the call button, the number he painstalkingly punched in over the last hour (not because he didn't know it, but because he didn't want to put it in) sat there, mocking him.

"C'mon Cole", he ground out. "You can do it." His finger pressed the button.

When the dialing tone squealed into his ear, he almost dropped the phone like a live grenade and ran for the hills, but he stubbornly kept it in his hand. Maybe they weren't there. Maybe they didn't hear the ringing?

"Yeah?"

Shit. Cole swallowed. He couldn't do this. He couldn't fucking do this.

"Speak up, man"

His lips were dry and his pulse had jumped up. God damnit. He had to do this.

"Either you say something or I will hang up, you got me, shithead?!"

Cole inhaled sharply. "Hey Dan." Please let him hang up. Please let him not hear it. Please let the connection be cut-

"Cole?!" The voice skipped by several octaves.

Cole grimaced. "Yeah", he replied, fighting to keep his tone even. "It's me." In an instant, he heard agitated voices in the background, then a harsh voice requesting to be put on speaker.

"Cole? What is-" A second, deeper male voice demanded to know, but was almost immediately cut off by a female voice.

"Cole? Oh my God! We've seen the news- Are you alright?!"

He winced at the volume. "No", he admitted. "Nothing's alright." He sat down into the gravel and ran a hand across his scalp. He'd have to shave soon, his five 'o clock shadow was on the way towards growing into a full beard, and his hair was getting too long.

"Cole?", the woman asked carefully. "Baby, what is the matter?"

He smiled sadly. "You haven't called me that since I was thirteen, mom."

"Cole", his father threw in, "Four weeks ago, we heard of that explosion in Empire. Then the quarantine went up. Zeke told us you were in a coma. And then, nothing. No call, no answer on our messages, no word from you. We were worried sick. And now there are the news calling you a terrorist and show you jump off buildings and- and- throw around lightning, for God's sake. What happened?"

The courier exhaled, turning his words over in his head. "The explosion- it was a package I transported. It blew right into my face, turned six blocks into wasteland. When I woke up, I was suddenly able to control electricty."

"No way, man!", Danny, his brother, commented. "Awesome!"

Cole's lips twitched up. "Yeah. It's pretty awesome. Was kind of the reason I didn't call back- you know, electronics fizzle off when I'm around now." He shook his head. "But now I wish it never happened. Because it caused so much trouble. Because..." He swallowed once. "Because it killed Trish."

"What?!"

Cole winced at the volume of the outcry of his father. He knew how much his family adored Trish. Your old man carried a picture of Trish in his wallet, Cole. He told people she was the daughter he never had. Did you know that? He couldn't wait for you to marry her.

"She- I couldn't rescue her", the courier admitted with a low voice. "I've tried to keep her safe. I tried so hard- but in the end I failed." He inhaled to swallow the lump in his throat. "I couldn't heal her either. And now she's gone."

"Baby", his mother sounded like she was trying to keep herself from crying. "Why don't you come back home? Maybe we can help you."

Cole shook his head. "I can't", he admitted. "There's not only that quarantine cutting us off- I also can't leave Empire. The city's still too broken. And I- I'm one of the few that can actually do something." He sighed. "Don't you understand? I have these powers now, and I am trying to help people with it. If I leave, then those gangs are going to get back to power, or the military's going to try to destroy evidence. I can't leave them now." Plus, there was the matter with the Beast. If David could beat him into the ground, what chances would he have against the thing that made Kessler scared if he didn't train his abilities?

He could hear his mom sob, and a deep sigh from his father. "You're stubborn, then", his dad commented. "But I never thought I'd ever hear this from you, of all people." He cleared his throat. "Empire City is your job, isn't it? And you are serious about taking care of her, right?"

"Yeah. I don't care how many loaded guns are waiting for me, because I'm going to beat everybody up who thinks they can do as they please."

"I'm proud of you, son", his father claimed, and Cole paused. Did he really just-? "Just remember, we are here too. If you have any problem, just call us, okay? Don't grow into a stranger."

The courier swallowed. "Thanks, dad. I'll keep that in mind."

His father chuckled. "Yeah. So I guess we'll leave you to your job then, Hero. Go and save the city."

"I'm going to."

His parents cut the connection and Cole was left staring at his phone. He didn't even turn his attention away when he heard Zeke approach.

"Hey man, you finally called your folks?"

Cole furrowed his brows and finally looked at his best friend. "Yeah. I think I'm going to throw up now."

Zeke chuckled. "Hell, never pegged you for the nervous type, Cole."

"Me neither", he commented dryly, "But I guess trying to tell your parents that you can shoot lightning now is a whole different situation."

He fell silent and glanced at the water of the bay. It was so peaceful now. He knew it wouldn't last forever, but at the moment all the day's work had been done.

Zeke chucked stones into the water, trying to make them skip across the surface. Eventually, he cleared his throat. "You think that monster-thing's dead? Like, for good?"

Cole frowned, glancing at the water as he remembered the stench of burning flesh and the horrid screams David made when his lightning strikes tore him apart. "I really hope so", he muttered. Nobody deserved to survive something as brutal as that.

And it wasn't just that, either. Alex had told him what he found in David's old house. He had lost his wife and daughter- and Cole felt sorry for the guy. He knew how it was to lose everybody you ever cared about, and he understood how easy it was to fall into rage, especially if one had those powers. But unlike him, David never had somebody who would catch him, who would stop him from going too far. Their roles could have been reversed, Cole knew. That was why he couldn't be angry at the other guy, not even knowing that he had killed a lot of people- Cole had killed too, way more than David ever had, and still he was a 'hero' to the people. David was just a 'monster'. But, at some point, he had been a family father, who just got the wrong job and ended in Kessler's claws. One tiny moment in his life, and everything went to shit. He understood it. Knew how it was- so he had made sure that nobody forgot about this either. David Warner wasn't just a beast, he had been a man before.

Cole just hoped he was in a better place now.

At his side, Zeke was talking about how the battle was all over the internet, and that somebody in Hollywood already wanted to make a movie from it. Cole didn't care, because he hadn't done anything to become famous. He just wanted to make sure his friends were safe- and when Trish died, all he wanted to do was kill the man who murdered her.

But what was left for him now? How was he supposed to continue? He had powers now, powers no other human had. The government wouldn't leave him alone. They wanted him, they wanted his powers, they wanted his abilities.

Alex had told him what he found on Moya, and Cole had to realize that even without that woman, others were going to take her place and try to continue what she tried to finish.

And Cole wasn't Mercer. He couldn't run away forever. He couldn't and didn't want to carve a bloody swathe into these guys. He just wanted to be left alone so he could mourn his girlfriend in silence.

Not that the government gave a shit about that. They were going to continue trying. And in the end, they were going to win. Because they were so much stronger than Cole was.

But Cole wasn't alone.

He blinked in realization- it wasn't him against the World- it was the World against them. He wasn't on his own in this entire mess- he still had Zeke. He had Dana. He had Alex. He had Harms. And he had every single person of Empire City. The same people that wanted him dead just two weeks ago now stood behind him, supported him, helped him so he wouldn't have to do everything himself.

It felt...nice, he supposed, though he was aware he couldn't lean back any more. There was still so much left to do. Empire still wasn't fixed, and the Beast would arrive. He had to stop it, though had no idea how.

His phone chimed. Cole furrowed his brows and glanced at the number. No caller ID.

Still, he answered it. "Hello?"

"Is this Cole MacGrath?" A woman asked. Cole frowned at Zeke, who shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah. Who's there?"

"My name is Lucy Kuo. I worked with John White in the NSA. We need to talk."

Author: And that's it. Thank you for reading and reviewing, you were a great audience. To answer any questions: Yes, I am planning on doing inFAMOUS 2, Second Son, even Festival of Blood. Currently, I am working hard(ly) on Prototype- as soon this baby hits fifteen chapters, I'll start uploading the story.

See you soon
DLRynn