Yawning, Cole opened his eyes to stare at the pasty white ceiling. Immediately he started tossing the pros and cons of getting up. He felt tired, and more rest would be nice. But then again the city was still a bit shaky after the quarantine, and he had been asked to attend a conference to help motivate people in about three quarters of an hour.

Giving a bit of a groan, Cole flexed his aching muscles before planting his feet on the floor and standing up.

The room was empty, it had a mirror which double acted as a sliding door for the cupboard, but that was about it. He gave himself a look. He appeared to be a bit grubby, he hadn't had a shower in about a week, but he had at least managed to shave. His hair didn't grow much anymore, but he had given it a trim yesterday anyway. He was wearing plain blue pyjamas that were a bit too big, but otherwise comfortable. His clothes were currently drying, so they would be fine.

All-in-all, he figured all he needed was a shower to be presentable. He gave a sigh, there was a reason he avoided taking showers when he could.

He exited the room, and ended up coming face to face with a woman in her mid-thirties. She gave a smile. 'Aahh, I was going to wake you, Breakfast is ready.'

'You're too kind…' His stomach growled, and he gave a sigh. 'But I think I need to take a shower first.'

'To your left' She gave a cheerful wink. 'I already have a towel there for you; it's the dark blue one.'

Cole sighed. He had just wanted to go home when it was all over, but the problem was that 'home' was Zeke's place. And Cole hadn't quite gotten over his betrayal as of yet. So he had decided to live on the street for a while, but then people had insisted he come to their home to stay instead. Part of him disliked intruding in their lives, another part was happy that the people were kind enough to do it.

Turning, Cole entered. There was a Shower cubicle with soap, hair washing implements, and other assorted body care products that barely registered.

Carefully, Cole twisted the cold water tap. Water began dripping down, very little pressure, or much coming out, satisfied and closing his eyes, Cole tested putting his hand in. Wincing not only from the coldness of the water, but pain as electricity danced around his arm, turning the water into steam and slightly reddening his skin.

Well, he had to get it over with. Sighing, Cole stripped down and plunged into the torture…

He came out, his skin red but healing, and his normal yellow and black attire on.

The woman looked at him quizzically.

'Don't ask.' Cole grunted, taking a seat on the wooden table, taking a bite out of a sausage on the plate in front of him.

'It would be cold now; if you want I'll heat it up in the microwave.'

'Don't have the time.' Cole replied, trying and failing to lighten his voice. People were always telling him he always sounded so serious. 'Got a conference to go to, keep the peoples morale up, we did just survive a massive crisis. And we're still repairing the damage. I'm supposed to get up there, say a few words.' He grimaced. 'Doesn't seem right, sure I saved the town, but I had help, you know? Not to mention these abilities.' Lightning danced along his fingertips, as if to emphasize the point. 'I think a normal person should go up there, you know? Show them how normal people survived, managed to make things for the better.'

'You are normal Cole.' She seemed to look away as she said that, perhaps embarrassed. 'Just because you have abilities no others have doesn't mean you are not normal, some people can do things that others could never do. But everyone is different, which in a sense is normal.'

There was a silence for a few seconds. It was ended rather unceremoniously by Cole giving a sigh. 'I'm not sure it's safe for me to believe that just yet.' With that, he left the house, climbing up the power pole and slid on the lines on the way to the docks where the conference was about to begin.

'So, what information do you have about the saviour of this town, Wade?'

A bearded man (Wade) gave a smirk. Here he was, once a low-level Blackwatch because he had asked too many questions, and now he was next to their bane, Alex Mercer. Or what remained of him, he quietly reminded himself.

He made no snide comments; he knew Alex Mercer didn't take kindly, although he was trying to be more "civil". Learning the truth about what he was seemed to confuse him. Wade wasn't a psychologist, but he supposed Mercer was having an identity crisis, and if he should simply be what the template had been, or someone else entirely. Alex could always consume him and take the knowledge for his own, but he kept him alive. His reason was that he was "Sick of doing everything himself", but Wade had always suspected there was more to it. Perhaps he was trying to be a better person. Or perhaps he realized that keeping some people alive to help him may be a benefit.

'Well, it wasn't too difficult to find out most of the information. Although I do have a feeling some pieces of the puzzle are missing.' Wade stroked his beard thoughtfully. 'His name is Cole McGrath, he was a bicycle messenger.'

'Not a job that pays very much.' Alex murmured.

'No, but he lived at his friend's place, his name is Zeke Dunbar, the job payed enough for Cole to do his share of the bills.' Wade scrolled down. 'It seems he was taking a package somewhere when it exploded, tearing a sizable chunk of the area. Cole was at the centre of the blast, yet he survived, and seemed to develop abilities after. Then, as if everyone was waiting, it seems several factions began acting, and the city was put under quarantine due to some black gunk that managed to get into the water supply. Cole used his abilities to basically stop the factions getting…'

He paused, taking a breath before continuing. 'This was a bit tricky to find, but the factions were all after something called the "Ray Sphere". What it does is supposedly drain the Neuro-Electricity and allow the user to absorb it and develop their abilities. That was supposedly the thing that caused the explosion.'

'Where is it now?'

'Destroyed, Cole was supposedly very clear on that, he said it in one of the few times he allowed himself to be put in front of a crowd.' Wade gave a smile and looked at Alex Mercer, his dark brown eyes searching Mercer's face for a clue on what he was thinking. A difficult task, Mercer's hood and the poor light that only came from the computer screen obscured most of his features. 'What, were you hoping to use it yourself?'

Mercer was silent for a few moments, before growling 'So then, is he Pariah or not?'

'Possible, but unlikely.' He turned back to the computer and stroked his beard yet again, he liked doing that. 'There is no information in his past until after the time Pariah escaped, no recorded family. So that does increase the likelihood. However the problem is that he showed no abilities until after the Ray Sphere detonated, Pariah most definitely had abilities to begin with. I suppose he could have forgotten how to use them or something, but he had abilities, even if he was… Not like you.' He turned to Alex, to see his expression.

'How did he kill those people?' Alex asked, recalling a memory he had absorbed. His voice suggested curiosity, pure and simple.

'I believe I know who you are talking about, but alas that was strictly classified, after all, I shouldn't have even known about Pariah, let alone his actions.' A smirk crept on his lips. 'Or that he escaped,' he added dryly. Carefully, he avoided Mercer's gaze, and asked 'what do you intend to do to Pariah when you find him, anyway?'

'None of your business.' The reply was rough, and had an edge that meant if Wade wanted to live, he would drop the subject.

Luckily he didn't have to. Alex Mercer asked gruffly 'so then, you don't know if Cole is or isn't Pariah?'

'No, I don't.' Wade sighed. 'You would have to capture him.' Looking back at the computer screen, he began typing. 'You're in luck, it seems he is due for a conference in about ten minutes, wait until after and bring him back alive.'

Alex's face was expressionless. 'Very well, I'll bring him back.' Tendrils covered his body, and once again the mugger appeared. It didn't make much of a difference, the mugger had been wearing grey and black, his green eyes were hardened with purpose. He exited the room. Mercer had always been a man of few words.

Wade watched as he exited the room, and then returned to the computer screen. As he continued typing and finding out more on what happened, he couldn't help but notice a key word that Mercer had left out at the end of his sentence.

The two lines mean the story is over, and it's just the boring author talking.

I was going to write this chapter later. But i must admit my surprise at the amount of favorites, alerts, and a review. So yeah... I figured i'd write this chapter sooner then expected.

So yeah, got any questions PM or ask in review, any problems with the story (spelling, grammar, story etc.), please review with the problems so I can edit them. I do like to fix things up. Want to review with just praise and a nice comment on what you liked, that's fine to. So yeah, hope you enjoy!

Oh, and I forgot the Disclaimer.

I sure as heck don't own [Prototype] or inFAMOUS. There you go!