Chapter two
Reggie murmured something that Cole didn't quite catch, the conduit leaned forward and whispered in his ear. His breath, probably smelly as hell, ghosted over the ear shell and he saw the shiver run up the guy's spin. He smiled, eyes hardening and tongue licking his lips.

Oh beast, the fear was so great. Even now after encountering so many people who shit their pants for him, it still was amazing to see one and know that they peed their pants because of your own mere presence. It gave him a sense of power, an almighty power.

''What was that, Reggie?'' His voice was gruff and husky, giving off the wrong vibe to the other. He sounded like a dog who wanted a fuck, was how he could describe it in the most easy way there was. If he needed to go into details, nobody would be happy.

Reggie's eyes went big from surprise, bulging out and struggled against the iron hold the conduit had on him, what did this creep want from him? Besides the obvious pleasure of seeing him in distress. Which he seemed to enjoy immensely.

''What do you need from me?'' His voice was still soft, but audible now. Straight to the point. Not twisting around the obvious issue between them and it wasn't just because they couldn't decide on what to have for dinner.

The beast's eyes narrowed and a glance, more like a glare, was shot in his general direction. The human was bolt and Cole didn't know exactly if he preferred them like that or not. Maybe he did have a little bit of fight left in him, even now.

He observed the man, Reggie, and wasn't really impressed with what he saw. A man in probably his thirties, not too bulky and he probably couldn't even lift Cole of the ground. It was then that Reggie noticed their unreal color, a eerie, red color with a abhorrent golden ring around the pupils. His mind went in overdrive, that wasn't a color that came natural was it?

Grey, blue, green, brown. No red in that row. No, not natural.

It scared him even more, but he bit his lip to keep him from shuddering of fear. Maybe if he played the tough guy, like the other, he was going to be freed. Probably not, but hey, why not try? What did he have to lose really? In the best scenario he was going to get a quick, swift death, preferably painless, but he was doubting it.

''Nothing really.'' Cole shrugged, all business and the wrinkles in his face stood out. In that moment he looked older than he was, but he shook it off and grinned. It was the stress that got to him sometimes, being the leader of an army of super humans was quite tiring sometimes.

''Just a good time.'' Reggie's brows went up, till hair covered them, so high they went. The dog metaphor flashed through his mind one more time and he should've bit his tongue, but it slipped past his lips before he realized it.

''Sorry to disappoint, but I really need to get home to my little brother.'' He coughed, the grip wasn't the most pleasant thing to have around your neck. He wasn't into kinky shit like that, but he was sure his brother was all up to it. If the little shit was going to save him… probably not.

''Plus I don't swing that way.'' Stupid, stupid, stupid. Reggie scowled at himself. He deserved a metal for his stupidity. First place for mister Reggie Rowe! Golden metal, great job and something extra because you pissed the guy off. Want to get this now or be sent to your family after your funeral?

Cold tension was alive in the air and Cole didn't even notice when a DUP member bumped into his back to just be gripped by an ice mutant and dragged away from their leader. Playtime turned to serious time. Serious time with Cole MacGrath was even worse than playtime with Cole MacGrath.

Cole didn't notice the temperature going down when the poor bastard was frozen just a few meters behind them. He was a potential one even and Cole didn't even notice the smell that swirled around his head for a few seconds.

Sweet and sour at the same time.

He didn't notice the bullets grazing his skin and some that buried themselves into his flesh. Didn't see how his flesh knitted itself back together and how the metal bullets were plunked out of himself to fall to the ground with a loud thud.

He didn't notice all fights going on around him, which were many, just the rage that built inside him.

How could this human think he was good enough for him to betray Trish? Even though his love died a long time back in Empire city, before Kuo, before Nix and before John, she was still on his mind. Every single minute he wasn't busy with his world plans.

Even now seven damn years later he still drinks anything he can find on what was supposed to be their ninth anniversary, all he manages to do, on what is supposed to be a joyful day, is sit inside and drink. Drink, drink, drink, but alcohol doesn't get to him any longer and he never gets the blessing of being in a stupor of drunkenness. The memories of her, her laugh and her death still spooked around his head.

The grip on Reggie's limbs and neck tighten and he was lifted up in the air, effectively cutting off his air supply. He clawed at the arm wrapped around his neck, but Cole didn't even feel the scratches he made on his skin, those healed in mere seconds. Not even visible evidence of them remained. You could see the boiling rage in his eyes, the fiery pits were flaming.

''What makes you think I want you?'' He spitted out the last word and looked down, both literally and psychically, on him. You could see the disbelieve that was written on his face and in that moment it was like it was just the two of them in the whole universe.

By now Reggie's face turned a deep red going to purple, arms slack and legs not reacting anymore. So it wasn't like he could really focus anymore, but even he felt that. Cole dropped him, whipping out his amp. The red eyes went wide and he sniffed the air again, while the human coughed up his lungs. Not literally, but close enough.

He could smell the gen on Reggie, not in him, but on. That was the smell from earlier!

Sweet and sour at the same time.

The person he came in contact the most had to be one of the strongest conduit or potential one Cole had smelt in a while. It was a nice fresh scent, sweetness and sourness fading to the background when he delved deeper in the smell.

The scent was a mix of smoke and fire and reminded him of Nix. His heart ached, it was almost exactly as hers had been before she closed her eyes forever and took her last breath. Just the faint smell of oil was missing. Nix was no longer and he knew, but well he could use another with powers like hers. Her powers had been devastating and one of the few he couldn't recreate and use for himself. Fire, yes, a little, but smoke and oil were things he didn't even ever touch. Only hurt was brought with them.

So he observed Reggie and formed something you could compare to a magnet in his hand. It was a bright orange and had a form of a sphere with a circle in the middle, which was giving out shocks to the rest.

It was alike to a magnet, the form and what it did, the huge different was that it attracted Cole, not just any metal and well it was made entirely out of electricity. It was a nifty trick he had picked up from a wise old woman back in the ruins that people knew as Java. Before he destroyed it during a nightmare. A shame, he actually began to like the place. That's, he remembered, where he got the kid with the black mass to join them. Maybe that's why the old woman didn't like him all that much, it was her grandkid right? That was something to think about.

The old woman showed him how to make a little detection device from his powers. To do it was simple, create a little pile of energy between your fingers and form it in a little ball. To make it actually work was proven fairly difficult. The old woman made him do it several times himself, before she actually helped him and only then did she help because she lost her foot by a stray bolt of his. 'Just an accident' he claimed, 'just because I'm frustrated' and 'sorry, but we don't want that to happen again do we?'. So she helped and here he was actually using it for the first time, it better work for her sake and that of the people of Seattle. Or else a big explosion would follow, he wasn't a star in controlling his famous temper.

He flicked it at Reggie, he didn't really care if he saw it or not and it latched on his coat almost immediately. If he did it right nobody could pluck it off the material, now just to hope he kept it on while he made his way to his home.

Cole mused and watched the last members of the DUP, at least in this part of the city, go down. Soon they needed to retreat, his people were tired, hungry and thirsty. He saw it in the way they lacked the strength they had before. Their teeth were gritted together and lips drawn in a tight line. They were tired and whole Seattle would be too much.

It was surreal with how fast the time went, they were in the gates at around two o'clock and they were nearing nine. How long did he already stood there with the human, Reggie?

One ice mutant jumped up and down, shooting ice shards at a guy in heavy armor. He clearly had a hard time killing the human, but nobody jumped in, they all just snickered and pointed at the idiot that couldn't even get a simple human with some armor down.

By the time Cole let his gaze waver from the somewhat stupid conduit, Reggie was already standing again, a little shaky but standing none the less. The magnet shined bright from where it stuck to the back of his coat, but he didn't seem concerned with that at the moment. He patted himself off and shot a wary glance at Cole. Said conduit shrugged and pointed at the street, mouthing: 'go'. Reggie didn't need to be told twice and was off. Perky, little human.

Reggie dodged ice shards that zoomed past his head and leaped over the death bodies of others, trying not to gag. So they had finally reached them… he of course knew why they were here, to take and destroy. The march of conduits went already over the whole world, leaving some areas untouched but most was ruined. People dead, to only let conduits see daylight. The news, or the channels that still functioned which were few, told them about the news they could gather, which was little. Conduits coming for the United States next was the head story of the media that week. Reggie would never imagined they could get to them, Seattle, so soon, with them being in the outer point of the USA. Yet it was how it was and here they were. Ready to take and destroy.

The man could already see his freedom, the alleyway with the bright lights, he always hated because his eyes got all messed up from them, but god always had such a way of punching him in the face when all looked up. He wasn't one of his more favorite creations that was for sure.

The dim ice conduit landed right in front of him, fending off a DUP officer and collided with Reggie. With an loud 'oof!' he stumbled back and fell. That was all there really was to it, he tripped over his own feet and fell.

The clumsy little human.

Maybe if that was all and he didn't bang his head on the newly formed ice block, he could've walked away from the scene, but no, he smashed his head against the block of ice the foolish conduit just threw across the ground. And ice, even though it smelts so easily, is a solid hit.

Needless to say Reggie didn't rose and made his way home. To his brother, to freedom. He merely fell back, head bleeding a little and eyes closed firmly. The poor bastard blacked out, seeing stars and Cole watched in pity.

No. Not pity, Cole MacGrath didn't do pity anymore.

He let electricity flow through his amp, even when he didn't intend to use it against the last standing DUP officer. That was too easy and not spectacular enough of an exit. He was going out with a bang, not a whimper. He was Cole MacGrath, he was god.

He merely let two lines of energy come from his fingers, both a dark red with a faint golden glow to them. It was an terrifying sight. He almost never used this power, it cost him more energy than he really can afford in combat and plus it wasn't painful or quick enough. It didn't have the certain perks other powers did have, like his electricity. His electricity was everything, but sometimes it was nice to use some of the less frequent used powers. Exciting, new and unknown. The unknown didn't only bring bad news.

The two strings, that uncomfortable so looked suspiciously a lot like tentacles, slithered over the with ice covered ground to the fighting duo. An broad DUP officer and a stupid ice conduit. Cole couldn't understand how the conduit was still alive with his stupidity.

They went through the legs of conduits that were cheering at the fight and obvious enjoying the little show and up the curb, leaving a sick red slime behind. Nobody even saw it happen, all clapping and shouting insults at both human and conduit, nobody even paid Reggie, unconscious Reggie, any attention, except Cole.

Except Cole… because Cole wanted to find this one that smelt so much like Nix, just like how he'd wanted to find that one that smelt so much like Kuo. He didn't find Kuo v2.0, so he'd be damned if he didn't find Nix v2.0 either. Nix v2.0. better was going to be fucking worth all the effort.

The Cole tentacles wrapped themselves so silently as possible around the legs of the officer and when they were well secured, they constricted. The thick red veins in the tentacles bulged up and they bit in the flesh of the chubby legs. The DUP member let a gasp of surprise slip from his lips and his rocket launcher fell from his fat hands, clattering to the frozen ground with a thud. His eyes bulged and blood dripped from his mouth onto his hands, that clawed desperately at the tentacles that made the circulation in his legs stop. The little rows of sharp white teeth hacked away at the legs, blood covering every inch of skin. Even though they looked like tentacles they sure as hell didn't act like them.

One of the tentacles unwrapped itself, covered in the crimson substance, and slithered up towards the sweaty neck of the officer. Hands were batted away and his mouth filled with blood, not all his own. The crimson fluid left his mouth and covered his face and chest. His once white armored suit was now a deep red color and it looked good on him, if Cole could say so. Red looked good on all his victims.

By now every conduit that was present stopped clapping, mouths agape, none were used to the power their leader had. Would they ever get used to it? Probably not. The ice idiot was watching too, a heavy ice block held in his hands and that was dropped abruptly. Had he fucked up? Probably.

One of the fat tentacles wounded itself around the neck of his next victim and let its tip touch the man's cheek. The tentacles liked the game a little too much, but Cole didn't like the game anymore and enough was enough, the tentacles intruded the man's mouth this time. Said man was struggling heavily but to no avail, he was stronger. Always would be stronger than everyone. He was god.

With a simple flick of his wrist the tentacles gave out a extreme painful load of electricity, deadly enough to kill a simple human. Some million volt did that for you. The officer fell to the ground, tentacles still stuffed in his mouth, where it got covered in intestines and loads of blood. The other had several chunks of skin stuck to it and with a mind of its own tried to get rid of those.

When they got too feisty, he needed to end it. With another simple flick of his wrist, Cole disposed of the extensions and when they lost contact went up in dust almost immediately. Without him they were nothing, nothing at all. He turned his head towards a certain human and nodded: Reggie needed to come with them, because Cole wasn't going to do the dirty work anymore.