Chapter 1 - Coma

"Sometimes I hear people talking about conduits like they're different. I say bullshit, cause there ain't anyone more human than Cole MacGrath." - Zeke Dunbar

Disclaimer: I do not own InFamous, that was a masterpiece done by Sucker Punch.

"Wake up Cole." said a rough and familiar voice.

Almost instantly his eyes shot open, he was in a concrete cell with what seemed to be cement restraints.

His current circumstances however seemed to be the least shocking event, the very fact that he could see, hear, feel and smell told him he was still alive despite activating the RFI which should have killed him and every last conduit on Earth.

Cole looked around and noticed the room was rather bare with a single window looking on towards Cole's home, Empire City and it was partially rebuilt as well. The voice made itself known again only this time Cole was certain it was coming from his own mind and wasn't technically sound. A short electrical frequency was the method of communication and Cole traced it a small distance in the air before it seemed to disappear, the voice however was unmistakable, it was Kessler's voice, or rather technically his older self's voice.

"Ah good, you have awoken at a good time. There is somethin-" His elder self was interrupted as Cole sent a small pulse tracing the line, communicating back, he uses this method to relive the last memories of a recently deceased person to chase the echo but this was slightly different. Cole replied "Kessler, how the hell are you even able to talk to me. You're dead." The older Cole telepathically sent forth a slight chuckle as he said "I'm not Kessler, I'm you, Cole MacGrath. It has been many years but I am not the bastard who tore your life apart. Kessler however is a topic of importance because it seems that he only postponed mankind's extinction. He did not stop it."

Cole replied "I'm not exactly in a position to move about anyway, I've been testing these restraints and they're not moving. It's also a bit difficult to manipulate lightning if I can't move my fingers." The Older Cole replied "Break free and I will contact you later if you are unable to fix the problem. It shouldn't be too hard, just focus on your energy and then expel it in a single yet powerful blast, you do not need to move in order to do this. Be careful however, the building you are in houses a sizable security force trained and equipped specifically to fight conduits."

With that the telepathic communication ceased, Cole wondered if his informant was going senile as he hadn't told him what needs to be done in the first place. Focusing on the matter at hand Cole relaxed and began to build up the energy stored in his body and after a minute released it entirely, consuming almost all of his electricity stores though he did shatter his restraints, and blew a sizable hole in the concrete structure he was in and not a moment too soon as whichever building he was in, it's alarms just started blaring.

Dashing out the hole Cole noticed a group of heavily armed men opening fire from where he was about to land. Unluckily for them he didn't need to recharge in order to proceed into a Thunder Drop and that is the fate which awaited the gunmen below him as he slammed into the ground sending forth twice the power he generated to break free and killing the gunmen instantly, two of them close to ground zero were atomized entirely, their bodies and equipment vaporized into a blue ionized mist that faded, only one body had recognizable equipment as the rest were burnt beyond recognition.

On the soldier's uniform was an Insignia and an abbreviation.

Department of Unified Protection (D.U.P.)

Cole chuckled slightly, their acronym meant if someone was calling them by the acronym they would also be calling them a dupe.

Looking off towards Empire City and free from his restraints he realized he was in an orange prison jumpsuit, neither his backpack nor his Amp were anywhere in sight and if someone put them under his bed they probably don't exist anymore. Cole proceeded to climb a power grid pole nearby and once he reached the top he bean to speed across the wires like a train on a rail, heading towards the inner city as he noticed an explosion behind him which he turned his head back to see what happened and it seemed that someone sent a cruise missile at the entirely concrete prison that was now crumbling into the ground.

Two days later

Cole had changed into more fitting clothes after raiding what appeared to be a resurgence of the Reaper gang though minus the conduits among them.

A white shirt with blue short sleeves and a pair of yellow track pants and white running shoes, Cole had bought a phone with the spoils from the gangsters and dialed Zeke's number only to get a busy signal.

He tried again and it connected only for an unfamiliar voice to reply, saying "Cole MacGrath, so it seems the doctors were wrong, you seem to be able to move quite well for someone who was in a coma for several years." Cole replied "Who the hell are you and why are you using that phone?"

The woman on the other end replied "Mister Dunbar no longer required it, he got a little too overzealous with his opinions on Bio-Terrorists and he's now in a federal prison. As for me, my name is Brooke Augustine, head of the Department of Unified Protection, the people who hunt Bio-Terrorists such as you."

Cole chuckled a bit and then replied "You're not the first one to call me a terrorist but if you thought you could just take Zeke and have your way with him then you are sorely mistaken." Augustine replied "I'm not the one with custody over him right now, that job belongs with the FBI right now. However I wouldn't get too comfortable in Empire City if I were you, the DUP are pretty strong there. If you remain where you are now and surrender without a fuss then I won't mention the fact that Mister Dunbar is-" Something interrupted Augustine, it sounded like someone had slammed an aluminum chair against something as Zeke's voice came through on the phone, shouting "Don't listen to her, get your ass in hiding!".

Before Cole was able to respond he heard a loud yell of pain from Zeke and the call ended itself after that. Looking at his surroundings he noticed three armored vehicles surround him and several DUP regulars got out and formed a circle around Cole who grinned and said "Seriously? Is that all you're sending my way? You guys do realize I'm the conduit who took down the Beast."

With those words he immediately wiped out the front of him with a barrage of ice slags, exploding an two of the APCs in the process and then quickly darted into the cover of one of the smoldering APCs as the surviving DUP opened fire. Cole took down two of them immediately with well placed lightning bolts at their heads though he then noticed some launching themselves to flank him with concrete slags similar to how those mercenaries used ice to do the same back in New Marais (And also a power he possesses).

Cole reacted quickly, getting close to the landing DUP agents and began sending punches and kicks their way, his fists and legs charged with electricity which made it easier to actually injure them. Cole then sent a small charge of lightning at another DUP's gun, causing it to explode in his hands, ending his life as shrapnel tore into the agent's head. Cole quickly skirmished the remaining agents with simple ranged lightning bolts as he lacked the power to use anything bigger at the moment due in no small part to his flashy breakout.

Cole drained some power from the unexploded APC and proceeded into hiding once more.

Several Years later, Seattle, Washington State, USA

Cole quietly appeared in a small field of ionized air which resembled how Kessler teleported, he appeared on the space needle and was admiring the work of some graffiti on a flag over what seemed to be an ex-DUP base which had quite a few signs of battle damage, it seemed a conduit had disagreed strongly with the term Bio-Terrorist.

Crossing the country took time, it wasn't like he could walk though an airport without blowing up the metal detectors and furthermore the DUP had set up some type of conduit detectors in secure places such as airports and government buildings which meant Cole had to hoof it as also a reminder, cars exploded when he sat in them and unless he was riding in the back of a truck, he wasn't going to be hitchhiking anytime soon.

Oddly enough water was beginning to have less of an effect on him compared to his time in Empire City and New Marais. It still drained him of his power and caused a painful feedback but no longer was it an absolute necessity to avoid water at all costs seeing as he wouldn't be killed by the stuff (Or rather by a large amount of it. Although he needed less food and water when fully charged with power he still needed to eat and drink and a small amount wouldn't even tickle him as he was still able to enjoy a beer once in a while, whenever he beat the cash out of some drug dealer or DUP agent harassing people.).

His abilities had improved greatly as well and he managed to put together a few new gizmos he was eager to try out. Instead of building a new Amp from scratch he modified an old Calvary Sabre he bought at an Army Surplus Store to have several electrical wires placed from the grip and across parts of the blade which had some holes put into it to hold the wires which allowed him to charge the sword with electricity simply by holding it whereas with his old Amp he needed to consciously put electricity into his hand in order to charge it, with this he not only had the shock and awe of an Amp but also the piercing and slashing advantages of a sword.

He had also torn apart and modified a hunting rifle when it was unloaded (And thus having no bullets to explode upon contact with his hand) and with some help from another conduit who knew gunsmithing he placed several conductive wires across the barrel and linked to the trigger which was modified to not be able to move. In effect, he had built a lightning gun, allowing him to charge it up along with his own powers and had a small battery connected to the wires in place of a conventional ammo clip which meant he could charge it separately and if need be, drain power from the battery to heal or use more complex powers. With this he had mastered a means to execute precision strikes with both his powers and a customized scope which enabled him to make better advantage of stealth.

And finally around his left arm was a gauntlet similar in design to the one Kessler had, it was more crude in comparison but still held the purpose of amplifying his ability to store and discharge electricity as it could hold half as much as his own body on it's own and he could feed this into the battery pack of his Bolt Rifle.

So his new gadgets summed up was his Sword which was more or less a replacement Amp, his Bolt Rifle and his Power Gauntlet.

Cole closed his eyes and listened in, he intercepted and interpreted the radio signals coming in and out through their frequencies. Normally he wouldn't be able to do this but his gauntlet in addition to his own abilities acted as a receiver and by increasing his sensitivity to a specific electric frequency he could trace the signal. His gauntlet picked up the radio waves and translated them into electrical signals basically.

"This is Lieutenant Renault, we're closing in on the Bio-Terrorist Sniper, Rowe is following her and we're in pursuit but we might not make it on time. Please Advise."

Cole focused on this signal and tracked it, Cole assumed Rowe was one of the DUP who perhaps dashed ahead of his unit and he was pursuing another Conduit.

Cole proceeded to make a less covert approach to dealing with the main DUP unit and used lightning tethers to cross buildings like some comic book character whose name he didn't remember.

After a final tether he teleported above the APC and slammed into it with a thunder drop, sending it's occupants out unexpectedly though some survived. Cole quickly unslung his Bolt Rifle and decided this is a good day to test it out. Sending electrical charges through the wires connecting to the Barrel and Battery, the simple bolt was amplified threefold after passing the battery and into the barrel, sending a piercing shot of blue lightning right through the armor and out the other end of a DUP regular. A concrete armored DUP soldier suddenly dropped in from above, knocking Cole off the APC though the rifle was still in his hand, held tightly due to the electricity causing a magnet like effect, sticking the rifle to his hands when sending electricity through it to fire (which also produced a small recoil due to the strength of the pulse though not as much as an actual firearm.)

Cole made a short teleport to gain distance from the DUP Heavy and opened fire, focusing on trying to hit him in the head. Cole's shots from the Bolt Rifle were effectively semi-automatic since sending a persistent stream of energy would overheat and melt the barrel, making his new weapon useless should he attempt that.

Taking care in his rate of fire Cole slung the rifle over his shoulder and rapidly drew his Calvary Sabre and as soon as he gripped the handle it came out with the blade a slight blue shimmer as he rolled to the side to avoid a punch from the DUP Heavy and Cole then slashed at the Heavy's back, his lightning both increasing the cutting power of the blade and also making it nearly impossible to break, even against reinforced concrete armor. The blade slashed through the armor and drew blood from the Heavy who yelled in anger and turned 180, grabbed Cole and threw him into a building with a (recently) collapsed roof.

Cole flew clean through the walls though not enough to send the entire building crumbling down. Like his rifle his sword was glued to his hand until he sheathed it after stopping in a room full of spare Neon Signs, some of them weren't lit. Shaking his head slightly he looked around and saw flashes of Neon dart about with what seemed to be a skirmish between two Neon Conduits. A voice spoke to Cole, his elder self, only he could hear it.

"Abigail Walker and Delsin Rowe, both prime conduits. Delsin Rowe can absorb a limited degree of another prime conduit's abilities. Abigail Walker has absolute dominion over any Neon in her vicinity and stored in her blood after absorbing it. Subdue Walker without killing her if you can. As for Rowe take care not to let him get a strong grip on you or your powers will become his."

Cole didn't even bother to reply and didn't have the chance too as Fetch suddenly slammed into him with a burst of Neon, sending him into a lit Neon sign behind him, breaking it slightly though Cole regained his composure and sucked the sign dry of electricity and said "And I thought Nix liked it rough."

Cole sent a static blast forward, effectively a charged EMP which acted as an air shotgun, sending Fetch back a distance though she quickly regained her composure to avoid a chain whip attack from Delsin Rowe who was behind her. Delsin quickly said "The more the merrier."

Cole chuckled and said "Do we really need to fight? All three of us are conduits, we should be on the same side here." Delsin replied as he evaded a beam of neon from Fetch, saying "Been trying to tell her that for half an hour, how about helping me out here?"

Cole was about to say something when the DUP heavy jumped in from the hole that Cole's unplanned entry had made and he then charged at Cole.

Cole made a short teleport to gain distance and used his left hand, charged by the power gauntlet to send a supercharged Magnum Bolt at the heavy which disoriented the DUP agent slightly. Delsin caught on and sent a few neon shots at the DUP agent forcing said agent to turn his attention to Rowe only for a beam of neon from Fetch alongside a shot from Cole's Bolt Rifle both impact the Heavy's chest, blowing a hole clean through the soldier as he fell and his concrete armor broke off.

A purple colored burst of neon and electricity erupted from the fused hole of the DUP agent, vaporizing the body. Cole grinned and said "Cool.".

Delsin took a look towards Fetch who was no longer showing signs of hostility towards him and he then said "So, convinced I'm not DUP yet?"

The girl nodded and Delsin then said "So, can I get a handshake or something?" Fetch shot him a hostile glance for a moment and Delsin sighed and decided to take what he wanted, or rather needed. Making a quick dash he placed his hand on Fetch's forehead, finishing the power transfer he started before Cole appeared and just as he finished gleaning her memories a concentrated Static Blast sent him flying. Cole then said "Hey punk, I do believe no means no."

Delsin shouted in a bit of pain, having hit a Neon Sign. He stood back up and said "I needed to finish the, power transfer or whatever it is. That DUP Bitch Augustine put a bunch of concrete slags in my friends at Salmon Bay. I need to leech a bit of power from her to get the stuff out of them but in order to do that, I need to grab some more powers. You could help out you know?" Cole sighed and replied "I'll help out, but not the way you're asking. I don't trust you yet but if you do some good things, maybe I'll help you out. You do realize you could have told the girl exactly what was going on." Delsin shrugged and said "I tried, she preferred zapping over yapping." Fetch sighed and said "Still probably would have said no, but I would have given it some thought, we both have no love for Augustine. So, who're you?"

Cole shrugged and replied "Cole MacGrath, I can control lightning and Ice." Delsin shrugged whilst Fetch stared a bit in disbelief, saying "Wait, Cole MacGrath, as in the Patron Saint of New Marais? The Conduit who took down the beast?" Cole nodded and said "Yup, that's me. Apparently the RFI didn't kill me and all the conduits like we thought it would. It cured the plague though so we all came out ahead there." Delsin spoke, saying "Wait a minute, now I remember that name. I'm not so sure on Patron Saint of New Marais but I've heard of the Demon of Empire City, at least in the tabloids."

Fetch took a glance at Delsin who replied "What? It was all my brother let me read whenever he hauled me in for expressing my artistic talent."

Another voice spoke, saying "I hardly believe vandalizing Salmon Bay with spray paint is art."

The three conduits turned their attention to Delsin's brother, Reggie who had his gun aimed at Fetch who charged a bit of neon in her hand only for Cole to teleport between the two of them which caused Reggie to lose his cool temporarily and he fired his gun though the 9mm round didn't do much except cause pain for the conduit. Cole looked at Reggie and said "First, Ouch, keep your trigger finger calm. Second, nobody needs to start another firefight in here, this place looks like it's about to collapse from the last one and third, who are you?" Reggie replied "The name's Reggie, I'm Delsin's brother and also a cop." Delsin replied "Uh, yeah, technically he's my brother but he doesn't really do much except pay the bills and randomly shoot conduits when they teleport in front of him." Reggie snapped back, saying "Hey, he surprised me though I saw the News when the Empire City Incident happened though, this guy deserved it." Cole replied "Whoa, first of all, you don't know the whole story. Second, the person really responsible for the Ray Sphere I electrocuted and third there's a combination of the DUP and an FBI Agent named Moya who are blackmailing and strong-arming the media into scapegoating Conduits as being all evil. After the blast I did what I could to help the city recover, in time they accepted me as their hero even as the Military started bombing the city trying to take out the Ray Sphere. Long Story short, I found the damn thing, blew it up and then was forced to recuperate in New Marais after the Beast appeared until finally I took him out and cured the Plague that killed half the East Coast. Nobody's reporting on New Marais because of Moya."

Delsin then said "Okay, instead of chatting until the roof falls on top of us how about we go someplace more structurally stable, talk a bit, maybe let me have some of those lightning powers?"

Reggie said "The last thing you need is more things wrong with you." Delsin was about to reply when a creaking in one of the support beams promptly ended the conversation and convinced them to leave the building.

Two Hours Later

On the roof of another building it was only Delsin, Cole and Fetch as Reggie wasn't able to keep up with their agility.

Delsin was suggesting Fetch go after lifeline instead of wasting time on the dealers when Cole interrupted, saying "Whoa whoa, those Lifeline guys are just bitching about shit like every American has the right to. They're only ignorant because of the media. We start rampaging against them and we'll only confirm their fears that all conduits are evil. If we take down the drug dealers though we can actually do some real good though killing them is attracting the wrong kind of attention, the media keeps spinning it as random murders. We need to take them down alive and let the cops bust em."

Fetch replied "Those needle pushing bastards caused my brother's death, it's only fair they get what's coming to them." Delsin just let the conversation go on as Cole replied "Any other day of the week, I'd agree with you, but this isn't just your problem, they screw up the lives of millions of people not only here but in other countries where they have more power. If we take them in alive then the media won't have any killings to spin around, instead they'll just report police drug busts. Doesn't immediately help out but it gives them less ammo to shoot at us." Fetch didn't seem to care as she gave Cole the bird and dashed in neon out of sight. Delsin exhaled on purpose and then said "Well, I'm getting your point a bit. I guess I'll try and help her not get killed until she comes around I guess." Cole replies "Just be careful kid, there's a good chance the DUP don't give a damn about the difference between good conduits and bad conduits. I once said before it's not the powers that kill people, it's the people with the powers that kill." Delsin made a slight nod and said "Huh, who'd you tell that one to?" Cole replied "Some self-righteous Conduit who, ironically was preaching hate against conduits and formed a militia in New Marais to 'Purify' the city. I exposed him and eventually killed him."

Delsin shrugged and said "So, wanna help me keep Fetch under control or?" Cole shook his head slightly and said "That's your problem. My problem is Moya. The reason I came to Seattle was because I tracked her down here. I know she's here somewhere I just gotta keep digging around for information. When I find her I'm going to beat the shit out of her until she confesses the truth about New Marais and get it on tape, I've figured out how to make a camera that doesn't explode when I touch it." Delsin replies "So, you have drawbacks from your powers?" Cole nods and says "Yeah, too much water hurts like a bitch, bullets explode when I touch anything conductive leading to them, sitting in a Car eventually ignites the gasoline and blows it up and anything not insulated gets charged with a thousand watts of electricity fresh from my hand. This rifle on my back doesn't have any bullets, I made it so it has a battery my powers go through and get amplified, basically it's a lightning gun." Delsin replied "Well you could call it a Bolt Gun or Rifle, sounds cooler."

Cole grinned and said "Huh, we think alike a bit on the names. I also need to get some information on where Augustine is holding a friend of mine, his name is Zeke Dunbar, he's not a conduit but we've been friends long before I had any powers."

Delsin nodded and the two departed, Delsin smoke dashed into a vent to get to an even higher ground whilst Cole teleported off into the city, intent on finding Moya and beating out Zeke's location from her and then he'll pay a little visit to Augustine once Delsin feels free to do so, the more the merrier. Augustine may be smart to put an electric fence around the USTV News Tower to keep out most conduits but the damn thing would make Cole nearly invincible whilst climbing it.

To be continued...