inFAMOUS: Rebels, Chapter One

Leslie sat on her dark red sofa with her legs crossed and a glass of wine in her hand as she watched the night club roar below. Countless bodies, moving with a sort of peculiar rhythm, inhabited a neon dance floor as dub-step shook her to the core. People laughed, people cried, people cheered, but none of it could be heard over the practically therapeutic thumping of the musical beat and welcome ambiance of heightened conversation.

Slowly, as to savor the moment, Leslie took a sip from her glass, the cool, thin drink soothing to her blood-red lips. Amid the sea of half-naked bodies before her, she spotted Kasumi, who was, per usual, making an amusing fool of herself on the dance floor. Bryce was dressed like a freak straight out of some steam punk dystopia as his six-and-a-half-foot, muscular figure lurked over the dance floor from his position as disc jockey. Young Toni was in a corner of the club, chatting with an attractive young girl in a golden cocktail dress. Sammy was on the showgirl stage, clearly high as a kite.

Unsurprisingly yet to Leslie's dismay, Sarah was no where to be seen. Knowing her, she was most likely locked away in her room listening to some holier-than-thou sermon, documentary, or maybe even music. From a personal standpoint, Leslie found Sarah's genuine trust in and passion for some make-believe man-in-white amusing. Hysterical, really. But it kept the girl loyal and honest, so Leslie had no reason to complain.

"Miss Pierce?"

Lowering her glass, Leslie waved her assistant in. The young woman, Lena, waddled over to where Leslie was seated, clearly uncomfortable in the attractive yet extremely short skirt she was being paid time-and-a-half to wear.

"Miss Pierce, a police car just arrived in front of the club. Two officers request an audience with you," Lena explained uneasily.

"Invite them in," Leslie responded unfazed. "They should know by now that I do not leave this seat 'less I absolutely have to."

"Yes, ma'am," Lena muttered solemnly, clearly not looking forward to passing her message onto the officers, before turning and waddling out of the room.

Leslie's eyes remained fixated on the party as she sipped from her glass once more. But her mind was buzzing with questions and genuine uncertainty. Normally it wouldn't have been out of the ordinary for an officer or two to stop by, but officer Lee had already been by that week to check their license and Leslie hadn't received word of any recent crimes in the area from her sources. What did the police want with her? As far as she knew, they had been awfully careful not to let word out of their illegal activities.

Somewhere around five minutes passed before Lena returned, officers Lee and Alex at her side.

"Good 'morrow, officers. What can I do for you?" Leslie inquired politely without turning to face the men.

"Well, Miss Pierce, we have significant evidence indicating that you might be housing bio-terrorists. We're going to have to take you down town for questioning," officer Lee explained nervously.

Leslie's heart dropped to her stomach, but she managed to maintain her composure, even laughing, "Bio-terrorists? Oh, please! I do not negotiate with terrorists! And even if I was housing such a horrible sort, you have no right to come in here and question me."

"Actually, we do," Alex hissed, clearly annoyed with her, as he stepped forward and raised some papers. "We have a search warrant and a warrant for your arrest right here."

"Is that so?" Leslie sighed, leaning forward as to place her wine glass on a small table before her. "That's a darn shame, officers. I was really hoping we'd be able to keep this conflict civil."

Two security guards stepped into the room behind the officers, fully loaded magnums at the ready. The blaring music and rumble of the crowd drowned out the subsequent gunshots.

"Remove the bodies, clean the blood, and get Charles on the line for me," Leslie ordered calmly, leaning back in her seat.

Lena and the guards quietly did as instructed, never once daring to so much as glance at Leslie, who simply rested her head on her hand and watched the party rage below. Beneath her stone surface, however, sprouted a sapling of fear. The local police were onto them now. She'd have to schedule a meeting with the board before any more blood was shed. Perhaps they'd have to relocate, open a new business. Suddenly, Sarah's proposition of an orphanage didn't sound like such a bad idea.

The sight of the front doors being thrown open snapped her back to attention. Several men dressed in military garb that read "SWAT" rushed in, their fully-automatic rifles at the ready as they screamed to be heard over the music.

"What?!" Leslie exclaimed, her demeanor finally shattering as she clenched her teeth and dug her nails into the couch. The two officers must've been bugged. How had she been so foolish? "Lena!"

Bryce shut the music off as the SWAT team shouted for the crowd to remain calm.

"Yes, miss Pierce?!" Lena cried frantically as she rushed into the room, her delicate attire forgotten in her haste.

"Initiate the Endgame Protocol!" Leslie ordered.

"But, miss Pierce-!" Lena gasped, shocked.

"Now, Lena!" Leslie insisted, all manner of formality lost.

"Y-yes, ma'am..." Lena stuttered gravely before waddling out of the room.

Raising herself up, out of her seat, Leslie stepped up to the massive window overlooking her private night club, listening to the barking operatives and terrified patrons. Reaching up to activate her blue-tooth headset, her voice pounded from the speakers, "Quiet down, all of you! What is the meaning of this madness?!"

The crowd fell silent surprisingly quickly as the SWAT members aimed their guns up at Leslie, their captain responding in a booming voice that had no need for a microphone, "Miss Pierce! You and your employees are hereby under arrest for multiple homicides and the housing of bio-terrorists! Come down with your hands up and no harm will be brought upon you!"

Leslie wanted nothing more than to assemble some snippy comment that would get them all off the hook, but for the first time in her life, she found her heart hollow, her blood drained, and herself at a loss for words.

Was this it? What this where it all ended? After all her hard work? After everything she had sacrificed?

A gunshot rang out and silence ruled for half a second before being overthrown by fully-automatic weapons fire, screams, and the shattering of glass. Bullets tore through the window, licked at her dress, and dug into her flesh until she was drenched in a dark red substance. Only then did the SWAT team cease fire. Only then did she feel aggression replace her fear. Only then did she come up with something witty to say: "You really shouldn't have done that."

A swift swipe of her arm shot hardened projectiles of red downward, into the hearts of three of her assailants. The three operatives hit the floor as the remaining five opened fire once more and the crowd flooded toward the exits.

Like a serpent she shot forward, slamming her palm into one soldier's head and his head into the floor. She stripped a second man of his gun, forcing him backward with a powerful shoulder. Bullets struck her chest, but she simply shrugged them off, opening fire with her newly acquired assault rifle. Via her peripheral vision, Leslie spotted her allies spring into action as the patrons continued to run, assaulting the SWAT team with merciless glass, vicious torrents of water, and punishing steel.

Once the club was clear of innocents, Sarah appeared in the large window, glass crunching under her shoes. Leslie watched as the young girl raised an arm high into the air, an unforgivably bright light emerging from her very skin, blinding them all.

As soon as the SWAT team regained their eye sight, Leslie and her friends were gone.