User blog:The Christian Nerd/InFAMOUS: Empire City Requiem - Chapter 1



Author’s Note: This story takes place between the DC Comics Series and InFAMOUS 2

Cole's knees where shaking with the effort he used. He felt sweat trickle down his brows and neck, but couldn't wipe it away. He couldn't move a single muscle, and that was exactly what was so exertive. He felt his feet tingle with the familiar feeling of being electrocuted, and his sneakers and lower pant legs were completely soaked by now, but he also knew he couldn't let up or else everything they worked for was for naught.

"Could you guys maybe hurry up?" He managed to grind out through grit teeth.

"I don't know how long I can hold it like this."

"Just a few more moments, brother!", Zeke called out somewhere above him, accompanied by the hiss of an welding torch. "We almost got it."

"Just finish this", the Conduit groaned. "Because this isn't as easy as it looks."

'This' being the several thousand tons of pipe work he had to hold up with his superhuman strength, afforded to him by his Conduit physiology. Since nearly all heavy machinery was damaged or could not be brought here fast enough, the engineers of Empire had asked Cole whether he was willing to help them. Cole knew this was going to be hard, but he agreed anyways.

Empire City needed those pipes, as they were crucial for the water supply in the city. Ever since the military cut the city off, they have been struggling. There had been barely supplies, no help, no electricity in large parts of the city and mostly, nearly no clean water.

People had been dying from the lack of food and water, from diseases and the overall violence from the gangs that tried to take over the city. The Reapers, First Sons and the Dustmen were responsible for most of the dead civilians, but many more also lost their lives when the military and especially DARPA massacred them as they invaded the city. It was only thanks to the near-suicidal work of two USTV reporters, who sneaked into Empire and found out what was really going on when the public forced President Navarro to help the people.

Now they still weren't allowed outside of Empire, but at least they weren't treated like rabid animals anymore. The so-called 'plague' the people suffered from was safely contained too, since it wasn't a disease to begin with but rather the result of Sasha's Tar in the water.

Things have been starting to look up since then, but Cole was aware that they were still miles away from the old Empire, and he did everything in his power to help them on the way. Originally it had been Moya and later John who ordered him to re-establish the electricity in the districts, back when the people hated Cole's guts. It was a temporary alliance, just so Cole could get the Hell out of this place. However, the longer he stayed in Empire, the more he realized that he did what he did because it was what he wanted deep inside. People needed help, and Cole had the power to help. He had first noticed it back when he freed the hostages from the train the Reapers had taken.

And then when he saw what the Dust Men, Reapers, and First Sons have done to the people, he had become angry at them and fierce in his protectiveness of the civilians, he put his old self behind and started fighting for them, taking bullets and wounds in strife and neglecting his own well-being so the people would be safe.

A part of him also felt responisble for what happened, so it was up to him to fix what he had caused. After all, he was the one who carried the bomb into the Historic District, and he was also the one who created that bomb in the first place.

Or a version of him, a him from a different future.

Kessler.

Cole grit his teeth and focused inwards. He couldn't lose control. He had to keep himself from snapping, just as he always did since he found out the truth. It hadn't been easy to accept, to learn that it was quite literally him who killed thousands, who doomed millions, who tortured others- who murdered his own girlfriend in cold blood. Just to make his other self stronger.

Cole never hated anyone that much as he hated Kessler. He quite literally hated himself- but at the same time, he feared that he would end up like him. A man who had lost so much that he had seen no other choice than to change the course of time.

"Whoa! Cole!" Zeke's voice called out over the shriek of metal, "Cool it, will you?"

The Conduit grit his teeth and forced himself to calm down. Lightning was still sparking across his body, but at least he managed to not crush the pipe Roger, Lou and Zeke were working on.

Zeke was another sore spot for Cole altogether- his best friend, but he betrayed his trust several times during this whole mess and finally sealed the demise of their friendship when he sided with Kessler.

Sure, he had told him why he did that, more or less begged for his forgiveness, but Cole was still pissed about him. In his mind, he had all right to, too. Because of Zeke, Kessler got to Trish and murdered her. Because of Zeke, a lot of good men had died in the prison and Alden had gotten away, making everything only worse than it already was. But then again, Zeke had been his best and only friend throughout this entire situation, and they have been friends for much longer before. And Zeke had been determined to get his best friend back, as he had begun to risk his own life helping Cole.

The hissing of the welding torches above him was cut off, drawing Cole's attention, followed by Lou's voice. "Okay, you can slowly let go now, Cole!" The Conduit grunted and carefully released the field he had been keeping up for the past three hours. He was half-prepared to just jump up and latch onto the ceiling bars in case the pipes broke- but they held.

He exhaled in relief, before he turned and trudged through the ankle-deep water covering the ground to get into a dry position. His powers were great and he couldn't imagine being without them anymore- but every time he tried to take a shower and subsequently ended up electrocuting himself, he wished he could just switch them off. Or would have never gotten them in the first place, so this entire shit situation would have never happened.

He stepped up a ramp and kicked off the water soaking into his sneakers, then waited for the others to join him.

"Let's test it out", Roger demanded eagerly. "Cole, do you want to do the honors?"

Cole shook his head. "No. Had enough water and valves for a lifetime. It's all yours."

"Okay", Rogers shrugged, then turned to a large valve and opened it. Cole heard water rush in the pipes, but nothing seeped through. Lou headed to another, smaller valve, and opened it, letting cool water rush out over his hands.

"Empire City has water again!" The engineer whooped. Roger gave him an high-five, and Zeke bumped his knuckles into Cole's side with a wide grin. Much to his surprise, and mild shock, the Conduit swayed back from the touch with a groan and nearly fell over, though he did collapse against the wall and stayed there at an awkward angle.

That was when Zeke lifted his glasses in suspicion and took notice of his friend's pale skin and dark rings beneath his eyes. "Bro, when was the last time you turned in for the night?"

Cole winced. "Two days ago", he answered truthfully, "Haven't slept though. Couldn't do that anyways."

Zeke huffed out. "Really? When was the last time you had more than just a few naps?"

"...Can't remember", the Conduit eventually admitted. It had really been too long since he had a good night's rest. Ever since this whole mess had started, he had barely slept. He had been knocked unconscious a few times, but he never really hit the hay since then. He had been to wound up with his new powers and was too busy to pay attention to the new demands his body asked for to just kick back and relax. And anyways, he could just drain electricity from somewhere and feel fine. He knew he shouldn't force himself much longer, but he simply couldn't switch off so easily.

Sometimes he wished he could just take something and sink away into sweet oblivion for a few days. But his increased metabolism rendered him immune against most drugs. Hell, he had once attempted to drink himself into a stupor, and had ended up drinking everything in Zeke's apartment (even the medical alcohol), though he only ended up with a medium buzz. And buzzed Cole was an angry Cole. He ended up destroying a good amount of Reapers, Dustmen and appliances, yelling nonsense. Zeke had eventually found him curled up with an angry glare near the seaside pier, complaining that the water hated him and the damn pigeons kept laughing at him.

He had forbidden him to try to get drunk since then.

The four of them went back topside, and as soon they left the tunnels, the unusual humid heat that had grasped Empire within the last few days hit them like a sledge hammer. Cole whined at the sudden contact and cringed back. Having stayed the last hours in the cool underbelly of the city plus his overall lack of energy made him susceptible to the climate up here.

Zeke- God bless him- noticed it thankfully. He shouldered Cole's arm and shielded him from the others. "Okay", he grinned at some of the crowd. "Empire's got water again. The guys are going to finish up here, while I-" He gestured to his friend, "Gonna get this one back home. See you tomorrow, folks." He more or less dragged Cole off.

The energy grid was going to be the next thing they had to fix- the Substations Cole activated used to be a secondary grid anyways, but it wouldn't harm to have them running a little while longer.

With the help of the warden, Zeke put his friend into the back of his truck and drove off, heading towards their apartment. The damage Moya's men did when they captured Cole two weeks ago had been mostly cleared away. The streets were also free and Zeke drove carefully, so the Conduit wasn't going to be thrown around. The soft vibration of the truck had a lulling effect too, and Cole slowly sank further down as his exhaustion took over him.

However, before he could nod off completely, the car came to a jarring halt, jerking him awake.

"Sorry man", Zeke commented, "But we're here. I can't let you sleep in the back of the truck."

"I slept in the graveyard before", Cole replied with a grunt. "Your truck's more comfortable."

"I know, but Harms's gonna need it", his friend answered with a chuckle. "C'mon."

The Conduit slid off the truck bed, then followed his friend back upstairs, yawning all the way.

Zeke unlocked the door and shoved his friend through. "Okay", he grinned, "I'm going to tuck you in, and you're going to stay here until you've slept properly. Deal?"

"Mph", was Cole's only reply. Zeke turned around surprised to see his friend already flopped on the couch, with his face mashed against the arm rest. Three seconds later and he was gone completely.

Zeke chuckled at the sight of his best friend, then went to get a blanket to put it neatly over his back. It was pretty warm inside the apartment, but there was no reason for Cole to freeze. Then he threw one last glance over his apartment and walked back outside, locking the door behind him.

Fire and ashes.

Only fire and ashes.

Everywhere.

The city is dead, broken. The sky is red.

And it is my fault.

"You are still too soft."

"You couldn't stop it."

"Now you have to fix it."

"No way back- fix it. Doom him again. And again and again and again."

"Until the Beast is beaten."

"I'm not going to become like you!"

Laughter shakes the dead air around me. Then he's there. Kessler.

"Don't forget Cole: I am you. You are me. There is no escape."

"Screw. You."

"Can you hear them cry for help, Cole? My girls?" His eyes flashed. "They're dead because you are weak, Cole! You are always going to be weak!"

"I beat your ass!"

"So? You cannot 'beat' me. I am always there. I am you."

"I am not you!"

"You are. You cannot deny it."

"Shut up!"

"Can't you see? Trish. Zeke. Mom. Dad. Empire. New Marais. They are all dead because of you. And Dylan..."

"SHUT UP!"

Cole jerked up with a hoarse shout, sweat running down his back as he kicked and tangled himself into the blanket. His eyes whipped around the empty apartment, sparks racing up and down his arms as he searched for a threat that wasn't there.

Another nightmare. Great.

Cole groaned and slowly sank back, draping his arm over his face as his pulse slowly became calm once again. Every time he closed his eyes it was the same thing. Fire and ashes. And Kessler taunting him, showing him things he'd seen. He could deal with the burning Empire, he could deal with Kessler. Hell, he could also deal with the glimpses he caught of the Beast.

What he couldn't deal with were Kessler's memories of his dead family. Trish with the two little girls. They had his eyes, Cole realized, and Trish's hair. Dead from being crushed by their hideout collapsing. Zeke- dead from having tried to save other civilians, with his shades shattered and blood pooling all around him.

Cole swallowed hard, trying to banish these images from his head.

Worse than what Kessler implanted into his brain were only his own memories. Not so much the countless unnamed Reapers, First Sons, and DARPA soldiers he's slain himself over this entire time- Cole couldn't give a single shit about them, but it were the civilians he and Zeke had led to their doom at the Stampton Bridge- where they have been brutally gunned down while he and Zeke barely managed to escape. Or all those people he couldn't rescue because he was too slow, like Brandon's wife. All those deaths he caused himself because he couldn't control his own powers. Every single civilian David and Moya had killed because he was too cowardly to face them.

And, of course, seeing Trish fall over and over and over again, feeling how her broken bones ground against each other as he cradled her against his chest. He choked back a sob, feeling the tears trickle down his cheeks again. Part of him was glad Zeke wasn't here- he wasn't sure whether he would understand- but right now he wished that his best friend was actually around. Only to have somebody nearby who wouldn't say anything and be just there.

But he wasn't leaving him to fend for himself.

Cole sat up abruptly and marched into the bathroom, determined to take his mind off the nightmares and try to start fresh. Completely fresh. He kicked his shoes off and threw his sling bag back onto the couch as he made his way there. He peeled his clothes away from his body and dropped them into the hamper, then stepped into the shower and switched on the hot water. The pipes sputtered for a moment before a blast of luke-warm water met his shoulders and back. Cole's mind whited out and he went rigid for several seconds as his skin started to crawl with lightning that rushed over his body- but it wasn't unpleasant, though. It was much better than being dropped into the bay and electrocuting himself, he thought, because it was actually tickling. In some way.

He just shouldn't waste too much time, so he started to scrub away all the grime that had accumulated.

It wasn't that he wanted to be dirty, but between discovering that water was more of an enemy now and the whole mess he found himself in, he only had time for some quick sponge baths- if any at all. Plus he hadn't exactly changed his clothes over the time Empire fell into ruins. He was sure he smelled pretty bad, but he really couldn't give a shit.

His skin started to prickle even more, the lights above him started to flicker and lightning lashed out of his body. Cole turned off the water and stepped out, padding over the tile floor and wrapping himself with a towel.

After heading into his room, picking and putting on a new track suit. That one looked almost identical- they had been on sale. He began searching the kitchen. There was no food there, but he could at least get some water from the tap now.

His stomach growled, earning a sigh from the Conduit. Food then. He wondered briefly where he was supposed to get some, though he quickly figured that Zeke would know. So he put on his shoes and slung his bag back over his shoulder and headed towards the roof, ringing up his room mate.

"Z?"

"Jesus, Cole?"

"Yeah. Listen, I'm coming over."

"Did you sleep?"

"A bit."

Zeke sighed. "According to my watch you had a little over three hours then."

"Most I had these days", Cole joked, stopping next to an electric station to drain it. "Where are you?"

"Where we've been before. Still cleaning up."

"Do you have something to eat?" Cole asked, accompanied by the growl of his empty stomach.

"Yeah. Some canned beans and the warden even found a can of corned beef."

"Sweet. I'm coming over." Cole clicked the radio off and leaped from the rooftop, landing gracefully atop the cable car tracks. After catching his balance, he twisted his legs a bit and kicked off, grinding along the tracks with sparks rushing around his legs.

He hummed at the feeling of the wind rushing past his face and driving away the last remnant of his dreams, then he coiled his muscles to jump off and land on a lamp post, which he used to climb up and onto the roof of a low building. He inhaled once and glanced at the sun, until suddenly his neck started to crawl.

Out of instinct, he whirled around, searching for any threat.

He didn't see any, just the glimmer of hot air rising up over the building's roofs. Cole eyed the area for a few moments longer, then turned away and continued his way through the Neon District to find Zeke.

But he couldn't shake the feeling of being watched.

Cole found Zeke, Warden Harms, Lou, Roger, and some of the others sitting around a small makeshift camp fire, eating from tin plates. He could smell the beans and the corned beef, and his stomach growled.

He landed a few feet away from the group with an audible thud, but that was hardly surprising to them. He didn't move exactly stealthy, it was still day and he had used his Static Thrusters on the last few yards.

"Hey man!" Zeke greeted him. "We left you some food!"

"Great." Cole planted his butt near his friend and folded his legs before he accepted the bowl of food Harms held towards him. "Man. I'm starving."

As he dug into his beans, he noticed Zeke glancing at him. Cole knew he was taking in every information he could get- for somebody as loud, annoying and downright dumb as his roommate, Zeke was able to read most people quite well. More so when this person was his best friend.

If Cole focused hard enough, he could almost hear Zeke's thoughts too. He didn't want to though, because reading minds left him with a splitting headache. The few times he's tried it, he very nearly threw up from the effort it took. He used it directly a couple times when he viewed the memories of dead Reapers to find their Blast Shard stashes, but even that was a chore.

No doubt he was going to ask him about what was on his mind later on when they were alone. Zeke was the only one who knew what Cole went through nearly every time he slept, with the few rare exceptions after he pushed himself too far and ended up collapsing and passing out rather than falling asleep. The sun began to vanish, but the heat and humidity was still sitting heavy on them. Cole wondered why he wasn't melting in his track suit, until he realized out that being a Conduit had not only enhanced his own strength and stamina, but also rendered him more resistant against climatic changes. Still, if the heat wave persisted any longer, he would have to change his attire. Harms was asking him about that too, and Cole replied automatically. Just to keep the mood up.

They didn't need to know that their hero was mentally scarred, not when there were still so many problems to fix before Empire would be a good place to live again. Cole was willing to put his own troubles behind and try to help them with the more pressing matters, mainly because they affected much more people than his own personal demons.

He stopped mid-eating, his spoon hovering in the air as his eyes narrowed. He slowly turned his head, glaring into the direction of the large ships while his beans dropped back into his bowl.

"Cole?" Zeke asked worried. "Everything alright?"

"Marines", Cole replied with a scowl.

"Oh. Okay", his room mate furrowed his brows. "Don't zap them."

"Can't promise anything." Marines, soldiers in general were a massive sore spot in Cole's mind too. They weren't like the Dustmen or the Reapers or the First Sons, who fought for power. The Marines had shot the innocent civilians because they were told to do so. There was no hesitation when they gunned them down at the Stampton Bridge, they didn't ask questions when Moya told them to take over the city and massacre the people. They only did, without remorse, without questioning why.

Cole hated them for this. So when a small group of Marines approached them, the Conduit had gotten up and faced them. Once they were less than ten feet from each other, the captain lifted his arm and stopped his troop. The men glared at Cole with a mixture of awe, terror and disgust. No doubt they heard stories about him. No wonder, he hasn't been exactly subtle when he took out the men Moya send in, and he really didn't hold back when he sank the Washington, so there had been more men on his head.

But that was okay. Cole couldn't stand them either. He stood protective in front of the others, had his arms spread slightly to the sides and had lightning running up and down his body. Maybe he was being irrational, but he was being cranky, hadn't slept much and just needed an outlet. And these idiots were quite well suited for it.

"What do you want?" Cole growled.

"Calm your jets, freak", the captain snarled, "We aren't here to cause any trouble."

"No?"

"We have been assigned to clear this sink hole out."

"Really?" Cole drawled out, "Like you 'cleared out' Stampton Bridge? Civilians died there!"

"We had our orders", the Marine gave back. "And we will stay, no matter what you or anybody else says here, freak."

"Cole!" Harms called out, stepping up to the Conduit to put his hand on his shoulder. "Calm down, will you? Let them prove themselves that they aren't the same bastards that gunned down our people." Cole glared at him for a split moment before he switched his powers off and pulled back.

"Fine", he bit out. He glared at the captain. "I see one of you do so much as taking aim at one of us, I will not hesitate to fry the entire battalion, got it?"

"And we will not hesitate to pump you full of lead", the group's first lieutenant gave back. "Some of the guys want to, you know? You did murder some of us."

"I wouldn't have needed to", Cole replied coldly, "If you hadn't murdered civilians." He turned around and marched away from the camp fire. "You can shoot anyone wearing a gas mask, a hoodie or a trashbag- but stay away from the civilians, got it?"

"You can't give us orders, cocksucker!" The first lieutenant shouted, "We do what we came here for!"

"Screw you!" Cole hollered, before he leapt off the floor, using his enhanced strength and magetism to quickly leap onto a roof in a single bound. "I'm watching you!" He added before he vanished.

The Marine captain grumbled under his breath, then turned to give his men a few orders. Zeke glanced at the warden. "I guess I'll go and check up on him", he said quietly.

"Do that", Harms answered. "I know he means well, but his temper's getting worse."

Zeke jogged off.

Zeke found his best friend easily enough. Rule number one: If Cole stormed off, he was most likely with Trish.

So Zeke headed to the park-turned-graveyard. Cole was there, sitting in front of Trish's grave and staring blankly at the picture he's gotten from Kessler.

"Hey bro", he called out.

"Hey Z", Cole replied with a blank tone.

Zeke sat down next to his friend, noting how he put the picture away before he could catch a glimpse of it. "I hate them too", he explained. "But the Marines have man power, equipment and supplies we can only dream of."

Cole didn't say anything, just glared harder, so Zeke dug in a bit deeper.

"Empire needs them, if we ever want to get back to our feet."

His best friend sighed. "I know", he eventually admitted. "But I can't help loathing them. They come in here, all important and great and expect us to just bend over and kiss their asses. They know nothing about what happened here. If it was according to them, they would just nuke the place, cut us off and shoot us like animals."

"Yeah", Zeke sighed. "I know. But we have the public on our side", he added with a grin. "Linda called me again and asked for another interview, you know."

"Good. Tell her what we did for the city." Cole yawned again. "Just leave out that I can lift a few hundred tons of pipes for like five hours. I don't feel like being worshipped."

"Don't worry, bro", Zeke grinned.

He rummaged through his bag, while Cole watched interested. Finally, he produced two cans of beer. "Here", he claimed. "To Empire."

"Yeah...", Cole snorted amused. "To Empire."

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

To Be Continued...