"What?" Cole gave a look of utter disbelief.

"You were the one who caused this all to happen." Kessler waved to the world around them.

"How?" Cole yelled, spreading his hands out, he too gesturing the world around him.

"Because of the bomb that you were carrying." Kessler explained, "When you set it off, it triggered an explosion that cut through several square blocks, and almost everyone inside the blast radius became "them". The others were simply like you: Humans who had the ability to gain supernatural abilities, called conduits. However, every one but you actually became one of "them" for they didn't know to use their powers in time."

"You're saying..." Cole remembered the device in his hands, the way he could feel it pulsating... "That bomb was the reason this shit happened?!"

"Yes."

"...No way." Cole shook his head after a moment, voice becoming skeptic.

"What?"

"There's no way that that one explosion could actually cause that to happen. I heard the news from a radio about how even the states were overrun by those Damn things. Unless they have super swimming abilities, which we both know they don't, then there's no way in hell that these walking corpses could've carried over to there that quickly." Cole remembered listening to the radio inside the truck, hearing of the multiple countries and nations that had suffered from the pandemic that plagued the world at the moment.

There really were no signs that "they" had the ability to run, let alone swim, without a noise to carry them.

So even if they COULD swim to the states, it'd be physically impossible for even the best person to ever go to the swimming Olympics to actually swim through the freaking Pacific to the US.

They probably wouldn't be able to actually get there without being torn to pieces, what with the currents, fish (mainly sharks), possible weather, etc.

But Kessler simply pulled a phone from his pocket.

After typing in several things, he lifted it in front of Cole so he could see the screen, and turned up the volume loudly.

"Many are saying that the killing pandemic was the after effect of simultaneous explosions that occurred around the world, in the most populated cities of each country."

Cole didn't need much time to realize that the video was a news report, and as he watched it, he saw several craters, several people standing around them.

"While scientists are saying it is impossible for this to be the case, many have still chosen to believe this theory. As the killing pandemic continues to spread worldwide, some have accepted it, simply seeing it as a biblical end to the world. Several thousand have been found to run to loot stores, while others seek out churches in order to repent for their sins. My family may be in a similar situation. So..." The female reporter's voice cracked slightly, "I'll be taking time off to try to reach them... CNN signing off."

The screen went to static, then went black.

Cole looked up at his silver eyes, and Kessler nodded, answering his unsaid question, "The bomb itself had a wireless connection to several satellites, and each satellite was connected to several other bombs, all stationed at different places around the world, all of which including the top ten cities with high populations for each country. That bomb was the one that you set off."

Cole let his eyes become wide, his mind letting the realization sink in, "...I did this..." He said to himself.

Then he realized...

"How do you know all of this?" He looked up at him again.

"It's a very simple answer: I was involved with the creation of the bomb, which was labeled as "The Ray Sphere"."

Cole continued to look at him, surprise succumbing to anger.

Before he could yell however, Kessler continued, but his next words not helping Cole's anger in the slightest, "And I am the one who placed the Ray Sphere in the confines of your bag."

When the words sunk in, Cole narrowed his eyes, electricity curling in his fists.

Kessler only smirked at his expression, "You can try to strike against me if you'd like, but just know I have more experience in my own powers," Silver electricity formed in his palm for emphasis, "You can try to fight me, but at the moment, you'd be lucky to actually give me the slightest amount of pain. If you want to actually put that power to use, then use it against them." Kessler pointed to his right, and Cole followed the pointer finger, just as a gunshot filled his ears.

Hearing it, he looked quickly, and he saw an entire horde's worth of zombies walking towards a wall of cops.

They tried shooting, but only a few good shots got in.

"You can do whatever you'd like. I'll guide you slightly if you decide to help. But if you don't, then you're on your own."

Cole looked down at the crowd, contemplating it in his mind...

(A/N: During Cole's Karma moments, I'll put it all in bold letters.)

While it's true I want to beat the shit out of this guy, he DID knock me out in one fell swoop... But then, I didn't have any time to react then. You can't really call it a fair fight.

Yet at the same time, he's right. While they might be able to hold those things back, they'll definitely get overwhelmed when they run out of bullets...

But what point in helping them is there...?

I'm not even sure if I can actually be of any real help if I try to fight them...

Cole scowled after a moment, then sighed.

Forget whether he could actually help them or not. He knew in the back of his mind those very policemen could actually be trying to help Zeke, in the possibility that he'd be here.

Cole closed his eyes then.

So many damn "ifs"...

He looked at Kessler again.

"Fine. Tell me what to do."

Kessler only grabbed him, and for one second, Cole was on solid ground.

The next second, he felt weightless, as though the metal holding him up had disappeared.

"Concentrate your electricity as you fall, imagining it covering your entire body. When you hit the ground, the impact shouldn't hurt you at all. Won't be able to say the same for the things surrounding the place you'll be landing though." Before Cole realized how high in the air he was, Kessler let go of him, and he began to fall, the world below him looking much smaller than before.

That's when Cole realized Kessler had teleported him God knows how high in the air.

He paled at this, then remembered his words...

"I'll kill that bastard in the afterlife if I die here..." The electricity started out at his hands, then began spreading as he imagined himself covered in it.

The wind howled in his ears and whipped his face as he fell, and within a moment, just when he began to plummet rather than fall, he crashed onto the bridge, and he lost his balance, the only thing in his ears being something similar to a low roar.

As he regained his bearings, he looked around himself, then felt his jaw drop.

The crash Cole felt had brought on...

"Holy shit..." Cole said to himself, looking around.

The pavement had caved in slightly, forming a miniature crater, but the rims of the bridge that kept cars from falling into the river were gone.

It had been like there had been a giant sweep on the ground, everything that had been left behind being seriously burned with the radius of the blast.

Everything else...

Cole focused again, and concentrated his electricity as the zombies that weren't destroyed starting coming toward him.

A gunshot behind him made him look back, and he saw some of the policemen starting to shoot at the zombies, careful not to shoot at him, some waving him towards them.

They probably didn't understand what had happened, but they were all trying to take it in while continuing their duties.

Cole refused however, turning back to the dead.

He had put himself and everyone else in this shit hole of a new world.

The least he could do was help shoulder the burden rather than run away.

At that thought, Cole couldn't help noticing how the electricity became slightly grayer than before.

He furrowed his brow.

That was... strange...

But, Cole reasoned, so was the fact that there were man eating corpses walking around or the fact that he went from a regular trouble making college student to a Damn lightning rod in under 48 hours.

With that thought, Cole formed a small circle on his palm, thrusting it-

A very poorly aimed bullet richoted off the side of the bridge supports, and as Cole was about to thrust his shock wave, the electricity formed a magnetic pull as the bullet came close to him.

It shot towards him, but only scraped into his shoulder, though still making Cole hiss in pain as the flesh was ripped off part of him.

He spun around, cursing loudly, then clenched one eye shut, pushing the hand where he concentrated his energy out to the zombies.

Did Cole expect something to happen? Hell yes, he did.

Did he expect a freaking tornado to form? Hell. To the. Freaking. No.

The circle seemed to spin as it flew through the air, and in one moment, it expanded, and next second, viola.

A tornado formed and sucked everything in.

No men were pulled into its massive currents (though Cole felt his feet dragging slightly forward as he planted himself), but several zombies were.

They were spun around the thin funnel, the electricity burning them up.

Then it dissipated, and they were all thrown away, falling into the river or coming back on the bridge with many dislocated body parts.

Cole stared at the path of destruction he had caused, the lack of gunfire telling him all of the police were doing the same.

He looked down at his hands again, "Holy Shit..." He said again.

Then he clenched them into fists.

"This should make everything all the more easier."

With that, he summoned his electricity again, then lunged at the zombies.


Kessler watched Cole fall, then calculated how much time he had.

Knowing that he didn't havehave nearly enough time to carry out his plans, he sighed.

He always hated doing this...

He used his static thrusters, and his hands ejected white electricity like drizzle sprinklers, floating backwards slightly, the power dramatically decreasing the strength of gravity on the aged man.

When he felt he had gone far enough, he concentrated, and when he opened his eyes, he saw himself and Cole conversing just as he began to wake up.

Knowing he would have more than enough time, he slowly floated down, using his static thrusters to lighten the fall.

As he went, he landed on the ground, then walked briskly, watching the growing crowd from behind the barrier.

As he looked, he sighed.

So many with the plague...

"I think it's about time you spread the signal." He said in his metal claw, then let his hand hang loosely.

He waited, then began followed a policeman as he walked to the leader of the crowd.

Just when he was about to reach the man however, Kessler grabbed his elbow, "Let me handle this. I'll take care of the crowd for you."

"Why would I-"

Kessler narrowed his eyes, and they became very dangerous looking.

"Allow me to handle this. When the time comes, I'll let you take control."

The man suddenly seemed to recognize him, and he nodded in understanding, eyes somewhat narrowed as he walked away.

Kessler regarded the man, then looked to the crowd, already noticing the camera coming to him.

Realizing this, he pulled his white hood down lower on his face, concealing the larger part of his face, though he could still see.

Walking up to the ring leader of the crowd, Kessler simply listened quietly.

"Do you see now?! They're killing citizens at random! We cannot tolerate the tyranny of the police!"

"GO HOME!" The crowd responded loudly in unison.

Kessler scowled.

Damn idiots. They took any chance they got just to antagonize the government.

Kessler actually somewhat felt a jolt of satisfaction for once when he brought his hands on either side of the man's head, silver electricity connecting with the man's head, as though his hands were magnets used to conduct it.

He screamed, his voice loud, then letting his body drop to the ground, completely limp.

There was a stunned silence, and Kessler gave an emotionless look down at the man.

"Good to know he finally shut up for the moment." He said, as though the dead man was as meaningless as a cloud moving through the sky.

There were murmurs for a moment, then a the reality of the moment sunk in, they began to scream.


Several kilometers away, Takashi and Kouta were both looking at the screen with widened eyes, gazing at the screen in silence.

"What the fuck?" Takashi said after a moment.

Kouta gave no response, only watched.

"Now that I have your attention, my name is Kessler." The man had a deep voice, yet it sounded overly confident, as though he knew everything that would happen at any given moment, "I am here to inform the world of the real reason that this pandemic began to exist. It is a biological weapon, but it wasn't created by any nation or world power, for the device that caused this to spread was far beyond even the greatest of minds of most of the countries. In truth, this pandemic was caused by an organization known by few as the First Sons. The First Sons are a group trained to be the advancement of all the world's technology. Even Japan and China, who are currently the highest ranking in the world on the scientific scale, always pale in comparison to even some of our weakest minds. The First Sons constructed a device designed to bring powers to all who use it." As he lifted his head slightly, it was obvious that the cameraman was attempting to catch even a glimpse of the man's face, but never had that luxury, "But with the activation of this power, comes a price, and the price is what you see before your eyes. The dead, zombies, "them", whatever you prefer to call them, all came to because of the use of the Ray Sphere. And the one who is the blame for all of this," As though on cue, there was the sound of a low roar, and Kessler pointed to the source of it, "Is that man right there."

"...Hey isn't that..." Kouta looked at Takashi, as though wanting him to confirm something.

"Yeah... that's Cole." He said incredulously, "And that guy... he's the same guy who kidnapped him..."

"He used the Ray Sphere, and as a result of this action, a high scale explosion took place, and all within the blast radius became "them". The Ray Sphere was also connected to several different bombs, and the Ray Sphere explosion set off a chain reaction, leaving us all in the world that we are currently in." Kessler looked down, "And how I know this, one may ask? Simple." Kessler looked up, his hood still concealing his upper face, "I am the leader of the First Sons."

Takashi looked at the screen more intensely.

"While you may look down upon this man, Cole MacGrath, and see him as the bringer of collamity, you must also know that he could very well be your savior... if he so chooses that fate. And regardless of whether you put your faith in him or otherwise, remember that if you stand in his way, he will destroy you."

Takashi heard wind whistling in the air from the screen, and as the camera shifted, he only saw it vibrating, with something unintelligible moving.

He ran outside after grabbing binoculars, then looked, eyes widening as he saw it.

"Hirano... You'll probably want to see this..." The boy was by his side, and when he took the binoculars, Takashi still felt his mouth go agape, "Holy Shit... You can see it from all the way here..."

Hirano lowered the binoculars, and then he jumped so violently his glasses were sent askew.

There was a tornado ripping down the bridge.

"If you plan to use the Ray Sphere to obtain your powers, I warn you not to try. For the outcome will be very similar to this, only much worse."

Again, on almost perfect cue (Takashi was seriously wondering if this was all an act) there was a groan.

Takashi whipped around, looking at the screen again, and as he watched, he knew that the person who groaned was...

The man Kessler had killed.

"This man has been diagnosed with a plague, of which doesn't activate until one dies. Those who gain it will have a consciousness and their remaining senses, just like the living. But besides that, they will be as savage and feral as the dead. So from here on, the world we all knew is dead. Just yesterday was the mark of a new world, where survival of the fittest will be the only rule. The only ways for a person to escape this, is by either dying, or by relying on the help of MacGrath. Both are very acceptable, but if you wish opinion on how this will end up turning into..." A ghost of a smile appeared upon Kessler's face, "...then I hope humanity rests in peace the day the last one of us dies."

With that, he literally disappeared into thin air, leaving the camera to start to poise on Cole again.

No one watching this knew that the cameraman himself was a member of the First Sons.

And no one outside of Japan wouldn't realize until later that the entire broadcast had been given worldwide.


Cole breathed heavily, feet spread apart, hands lifted slightly, electricity sparking on his hands.

"...where the hell are these guys coming from..." He said breathlessly.

The zombies didn't seem to have an end.

He looked around.

Kessler was nowhere to be seen, and it seemed that the police had safely evacuated everyone.

He probably should follow them-

A flash of red light caught his eye, and Cole looked in time, just fast enough to make a combat roll to the side as he saw a wave of crimson energy being thrown at him.

"The hell was that...?"

There was a person who looked female with a red hood and red pants far away from him.

The woman herself was pale, her skin so bloodless Cole almost thought she was a zombie for a moment.

But then he could see the smile forming on her lips, and the way her eyes beamed with life, her body showing absolutely no bite wounds of any kind.

Yeah, this wasn't a zombie.

She made a movement, then lunged forward, disappearing in a flash of red light.

Before Cole could do anything, she appeared before him, then threw another massive energy wave, blowing Cole back.

He cursed as he fought to keep his bearings, trying to see the woman, only seeing her claret eyes.

"Who... who the hell are you...?"

She smiled at him in a seductive way, "You don't remember me? How horrible."

Cole gave a look of utter confusion.

He didn't knowknow her.

Her face gave him no feeling or inkling of a memory.

"I see you've forgotten about me Kessler..." She scowled, voice becoming very deadly, "You'll regret the day you forgot about Sasha!"


A/N: In this fic, there'll be karma moments.

Most of which are nowhere close to the same ones in the game.

I'd like to say that Cole's electricity in this story is mainly black, or at least a color with a black outline.

I chose to do this because of the fact that despite Cole fighting Zombies, he's doing it for survival rather than "for the greater good" (Blue) or just "for the sake of killing" (Red).

And one more thing: While the first few chapters may seem like it's just Cole in the H.O.T.D. world with him being a part of it all, just with a mash up version of inFAMOUS and H.O.T.D. mixing up: No. This isn't the case.

While it may seem like that at first, I actually plan to go further, for I've already planned for the actual inFAMOUS story to be completely different than it is.

And no, Wolfe wasn't making the RFI last chapter.

Please give feedback!