Alex Mercer made his way through Empire City, a section of New York he didn't remember being there. The place looked post-apocalyptic, people scrambling around the dilapidated buildings, cars turned over completely, dead bodies everywhere.

What was going? Did the virus make it's way here? He didn't see any signs of Blacklight inflicted victims. There were sick people, this was different. No, this was something else. He noticed that all over the place were posters of someone. They looked like propaganda, they showed a figure to be feared and obeyed. And not to be crossed. He was about to ask someone about it when heard some one call him out.

Cole MacGrath was on his daily patrol of his town. Everywhere he looked the insects ran from him, going back to whatever holes they had come out of. They all saw him on the rooftops every day and every day they would run. Occasionally someone would throw a rock or hurl an insult and that's he would fry them.

Empire City was not what it was before. There was no law anymore, it was pure anarchy. And everyone knew not to mess with him. He had made it clear that the City was his and that no one should dare try to leave or come in.

At least he thought he had, for today he saw a hooded figure that he had never seen before. Well he couldn't let this stand.

"Hey, you!" A voice rang out. Mercer looked up to roof of a building and spotted the one who had called out to him.

"You talking to me?!" He called back.

Suddenly the figure jumped off and landed about 10 feet away from him,"Yeah I'm talking to you! What are you doing here?"

Mercer clenched his fists, getting ready for a fight," Passing through, that a problem?"

MacGrath smiled menacingly," Yeah that's a problem, no one just passes through here. Hell, no one's allowed here! Didn't you see the blockade and the signs on your way in?"

Mercer said nothing.

"Hey! I'm talking to you, you little shit!"

"I got nothing to say to you." Said Mercer.

Cole charged up, letting his power be shown, "Well then lets get to it!"

Cole let out a red lightning bolt that caught Mercer off guard. It stunned him long enough for Cole to run up and hit him with an electrically charged fist. Then another and another and finally a kick that threw Mercer back a bit. To his surprise, Mercer stood up. And before his eyes, Mercer's arm changed into a strange whip-like abomination. Alex used that moment of surprise to his advantage and grabbed him from afar, then he slammed him against a building, and broke through the wall. He moved his Whipfist to the left against another building and finally swung him over head against the ground. He let him go and morphed his arm again into a giant blade. Cole recovered quick enough to blast him with a shot of lightning again, reverting his arm back to normal and dazing him long enough for Cole to start going up a building.

Alex recovered in time to see him get up to the rooftop, with one giant leap he made his way up. Only to be caught by a lightning grenade that blasted him almost off the roof. Cole then picked him up and threw him onto the railways nearby. Cole leapt over and punched him while he was down, then planted his feet on the railways and sped off. Alex got up and chased after him.

Cole looked back and saw Mercer catching up, he wasn't worried in fact this was what he wanted. He was able to keep ahead long enough to find what he was looking for: a train. Suddenly he jumped onto it and got it going. But Mercer caught up and landed at the back car.

Cole turned around to face him and threw a lightning bolt as the train went around a curve, dodged it and but lost his balance and fell off the train, but quickly shot out a whipfist at the back of the train. He was being dragged along now.

MacGrath saw his chance and ran for the back car, the momentum would keep the train going for now.

Meanwhile Mercer struggled to pull himself up while being dragged along the wood and the metal railings. As the train went around a curve, he broke through the railings and was now hanging off the subway line. He managed to get his feet on the buildings and morphed his arm back to normal so he could run along them.

Cole made his way to the back car but, didn't see Mercer anywhere, he started looking in all different directions. But he never saw what hit him next.

As the train began to slow down Mercer had been able to get ahead of it. Once he did he waited until he MacGrath and when he did, he made his move. He bolted and with all the energy he could muster, he rammed into the train, derailing it and taking MaGrath off the subway line along with the train.

Cole flew forward smacking head first into an apartment and breaking through wall of the second floor while the train, made its way through the apartments across the street. The explosion was massive, taking down one of the pillars that held up the subway line and bringing it down. His vision was blurry but he was able to make out a silhouette walking towards him.

He barely managed to stand up when Mercer picked him up, and with uncompromising force he slammed him down through the floor below. He coughed up blood and fought to stand up, just as he did Mercer kicked him through the door and out to the wreckage, denting a train car that had fallen off the line.

He could feel his broken bones, and some of his internal organs on fire, but still he would not lay down and die. He stood up again to see the hooded figure walking towards him with nothing but murderous intent in his eyes. And with everything ounce of strength he had left he tried to throw and electrically charged punch his way. Mercer caught it and winced a bit but nothing else, then he morphed his arm into blade and took Cole's off.

Cole let out a pain filled yell as Mercer dropped his arm like it was a piece of garbage. Blood gushed out of the stump where his arm had been. Then he tried to hit Mercer with one last lightning bolt, but was suddenly seized by the throat and picked up.

"Any last words?" He asked.

Cole put his remaining hand on Mercer's arm, closed his eyes and said, at just above a whisper," Trisha, I'm sorry."

Then Mercer stabbed him through the chest as Cole looked at him wide eyed, tendrils began to envelope him, his heart beat slowed down, and then he was consumed.

Mercer grabbed his head as it was finished and memories that weren't his began to flash through his mind. He saw a blast, a bald hooded man, a woman expressing her shame for a man she once loved and then a prophecy of a great Beast that was coming, that only Cole could have stopped.

The visions stopped, he regained his composure, then he looked at his hand as conjured up some red lightning. He gave a small smirk," Well whenever this Beast appears. I'll be ready for it."

A/N: Leave a review, let me know if you liked it or not. Thanks for reading.