Too Afraid To Love

Authors note:

Rather than making up fictional cities based on/inspired by real life cities (like Empire City and New Marais), I've decided to go with real life cities. It makes it easier for me to get things right as I can look things up (Wikipedia 4 teh w!n!) rather than making them up. The focus of this story is the characters, rather than the scenery around them.

The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower made good speed up along the East Coast, but it was clear that this was no pleasure cruise. The admiral wasted no time learning as much as he could about what Cole, Kuo and Sonya were capable of. They gave demonstration of nearly all their powers and how they'd been utilizing them thus far. The admiral's crew along with some people from DARPA jotted down notes and documented every second of it. Zeke wasn't happy about it, but Cole pointed out that team work was essential and that they weren't shown all their cards in one go.

Certain powers were mentioned and described as best they could, but not demonstrated due to their destructive nature. On the third day a certain pattern of tactics and strategies started to form. It was strange mix of what Cole and Kuo and been doing since the latter got her powers, and what the admiral had at his disposal. Admiral Davidson also had a running dialogue with the Pentagon for more suggestions of how to best use Cole and Kuo's potential. It was decided that Sonya would primary act as a scout, so she was trained in flying high and fast. She was also given the ABC of various camera, goggles and binocular equipment.

Cole would, rather unsurprisingly, be the team leader and Kuo would be his partner. Zeke was told to stay on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and coordinate the info from Sonya with Cole and Kuo. The admiral had at least a dozen crew members that could do the same thing, but he realized that if he split up the group and discarded one of them, they'd loose the dynamic that had kept them alive so far. It was a valid compromise that left both sides equally unhappy. Neither Cole nor Kuo would be given any weapons training, aside from basic disarmament moves. Cole's electrical powers would make the guns explode in his hands and Kuo's cryokinesis made the moving parts of the guns freeze together, rendering them useless.

From sunrise to sunset, the admiral pushed them hard and then some. They knew he had the best intentions in mind. The admiral didn't want to loose them and failure was not an option at this point. When they finally were left off the hook, they were dead tired all four of them. Zeke had a mountain of homework to do every night, Cole was literary drained, Sonya out of breath and Kuo complained that it felt like she was on fire. «So... how's it going with Kuo?» Zeke asked on the fifth night. «What do you mean Zeke?» Cole asked back, not bothering to move an inch from his bed. «Well, I just noticed that you two have a very good tone. You guys look good together, that's all.» Zeke pointed out, flipping the pages on yet another manual.

Yeah, they got along just fine, Cole thought. Kuo had been the first, the first like Cole. Sure, there was Sasha and that crazy gang from Empire City, but Kuo was different. She'd been normal first, then changed. Thankfully that didn't turn her into a crazy loon. Okay, she'd crack up every now and then, but Cole took that as proof of her humanity and that was not a bad thing, not a bad thing at all. He could relate to her, and she to him. Aside from Zeke, Cole relied on Kuo the most. Zeke was still Zeke, Cole's link to the past and to his humanity, but for the parts that Zeke couldn't understand because he wasn't a Conduit, there was Kuo. Thank whoever or whatever is in charge of such things for that, Cole thought to himself before falling asleep.

At the breakfast table the next morning, Kuo started the idle chatter with a strange question. «Who's Sub Zero?» Cole and Zeke looked at each other, quite unsure of how to respond. They both looked over to Sonya for help, but she was too busy cooling down her morning coffee to be of any help. «That's... uhm... come on man, help me out here.» Zeke began, snapping his fingers in front of Cole's face. «I think it's a video game character.» Cole replied, pushing Zeke's hand out of his face. Kuo gave the two of them a suspicious frown. She isn't buying it, Zeke's eyes told Cole.

«So, is this character... what?» Kuo pressed them for more information, NSA style. «He's one of the fighters in the Mortal Kombat series. He uses ice to beat the living hell out of his enemies.» Sonya supplied before taking a loud slurp from her coffee. Well, that's one way to put it; straight up and brutally honest. «Oh really? I was wondering why some of the crew gave me that nickname.» Kuo mumbled to herself as she was about to drink her coffee, before realizing she'd frozen it solid by holding on the cup rather than the handle.

The conversation naturally went into nicknames that would fit them, based on their powers. Sparky, frostbite, airbus, ice cube, lightning, thunderstorm, polar bear, concord, the list went on and on. It was a light topic with plenty of room for jokes and laughter. After breakfast, Cole and Kuo would go through training on searching and clearing buildings. Some basic walls were put up in a hanger below deck, with cardboard bad guys popping around corners at random. Yeah, Zeke hadn't lost his touch, not in the slightest. For a change it was Kuo that was the instructor and Cole the student. It was unusual for Kuo to point with just her hands, as she'd been trained to do this with a gun.

Even so, it didn't take long before they both got into it and killed a whole pile worth of cardboard bad guys. They upped the scale by having Cole outside in a sniper position, covering Kuo as she went inside. Towards lunch they'd made some good progress, learned new things and found better ways to coordinate their powers. Kuo was discussing with their training instructor for the possibility to use crew members as opponents, when a crew member informed Cole that the admiral wanted to speak with him in private. Smelling trouble, he agreed after giving Kuo the heads up. Cole followed the crew member to the admiral's office, since he still wasn't familiar with the layout of this floating armed city.

Once inside the admiral's office, it became clear that Cole's hunch regarding trouble was right. Moya had come aboard. «Admiral.» Cole greeted with a polite, if short nod. «I'll get straight to the point, Mr MacGrath.» The admiral said, leaning back in his chair. «Agent Jones here have told me of her plans for you and agent Kuo. Now, I've come to an agreement with agent Jones that we'll see how well you guys preform on the first few cities and take it from there.» Cole said nothing for the moment. It sounded like a deal he could live with. He just wanted a few details confirmed first. «So if we do good?» He asked the admiral. «Then you're all to be transferred to agent Jones new agency.» The admiral replied straight away. «And if we screw up?» Cole asked, steeling himself for the answer. «Then... you're either dead or in jail.» Another no pressure situation, wonderful, Cole thought to himself.

At the end of that day's training sessions, Zeke and Cole headed out on the top deck for a change of scenery and some fresh air. Cole'd already filled Zeke, Kuo and Sonya about the news he got from the admiral earlier. «I figured it was only a matter of time, before that cockroach of a woman would show up.» Zeke said, referring to Moya. Cole nodded, smiling over Zeke's choice of words. The two friends kept on walking, not saying anything, just enjoying each others company. «But you know... I'm sure Kuo'd like to take a night stroll like this. I mean, she's a woman after all.» Zeke said after a while. Sure, sure, Cole thought. She can take a walk on her own or with Zeke or with Sonya, plenty of options.

«Kuo's a big girl. She can figure that out herself.» Cole commented. That made Zeke stop in his tracks. «Ah come on man, you know what I'm getting at, right?» He told Cole. Yeah, Cole could see it. Zeke just meant good, trying to hook Cole and Kuo together, but... there was so much right now. There was the death of Trish. According to Kessler, the two of them married and got some kids. Two daughters, was it? It was still hard to come to terms with, that another you went to such extremes for the greater good that he'd kill off the love of his life, his unborn children. What kind of agony did Kessler go through when loosing Trish and their little girls to the Beast?

Another issue that's been bothering Cole, was one of the audio logs from New Marais. When making contact with Cole, Kuo seriously considered going for the seductive approach. The same log mentioned that she dropped the idea after realizing that Cole still hadn't come full circle as far as Trish's death went. This told Cole a lot about Kuo; she's not afraid to stoop to such low levels if needed, but at the same time she can tell if her approach is likely to succeed or not and act accordingly. There were other factors playing in as well. Kuo was a former NSA agent, so if push came to shove, Cole could not say for sure if she'd stick with them or the government.

As far as Cole could tell, Kuo appeared to lean her loyalty to the group rather than the government. Evidence of this is when Kuo along with John decided to act on their own when investigating the First Sons. Aside from Cole, Nix and Sonya, Kuo had no other Conduits to turn to, no one else that would understand her the way they did. Nix was dead and even if she'd been alive, Nix and Kuo never saw eye to eye, so they'd end up as bitter enemies rather than good friends. While Sonya was a good and levelheaded woman, she'd not been through what Kuo had and not carried the burden and responsibility that came with countering the Beast.

If Dr. Wolfe had been alive, she could turn to him for support and understanding, but he's dead and with him Kuo lost a father figure and emotional support. «Sorry man, but I...» Cole started to tell Zeke, but couldn't bring himself to get the words out of his throat. «Too afraid to love?» Zeke asked, sounding serious. Yes and no, Cole wanted to love someone and be loved back. The time he'd with Trish were some of the best years of his life, no question about it. He'd go through Hell and high water to get those days back, but whenever that thought crossed his mind, Kessler's face and voice blew those notions away in a flash.

«Zeke, remember what I told you about Kessler?» Cole asked his old friend. Of course he remembered, Cole thought. Stupid question. «Yeah, that's some crazy shit right there, brother.» Zeke answered before he continued that he felt Cole shouldn't be bound by that anymore. The Beast is dead after all, they'd won. No need to be bound and tied by the words of a dead man, at least not when you'd kept your part of the bargain. Cole wished he could agree and tell Zeke how right he was, but it was like a large rock in his stomach telling him he'd jump the gun if he gave in now. Yeah, the Beast is dead, but his legacy lives. «Maybe Zeke, we'll see where this takes us. Once this Conduit mess is cleaned up and we're still sane and in one piece...» Cole replied.

The next day was D-day. They'd arrived at their destination; Petersburg, Virginia. Satellite pictures showed a mess eerily similar to Empire City except for multiple Ray Sphere like craters. They'd arrive by boat from the Appomattox River and make their way through the city. Getting an overview of what the situation was like and securing smaller zones where supplies could be dropped. Identifying and locating the Conduits were a high priority, but they were not to engage them until they got a clear idea of what the Conduits were capable of. Night photo's taken from the International Space Station showed that the city still had some electricity, allowing Cole to refuel if needed.

Sonya was geared up with Kevlar and various radio and camera equipment. She'd go ahead of the boat that Kuo and Cole'd take and let them know that the coast was clear. Zeke stayed behind on the Ike, as they'd started to call the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, keeping in touch with Sonya, Cole and Kuo over radio. Admiral Davidson and his crew would be ready to provide support if needed, with Moya eagerly observing on the sideline. They all had 3 days worth of emergency rations and a GPS emitter surgically implanted into their right shoulder. Prepped and good to go, Cole and Kuo boarded the boat and watched Sonya take off and fly straight towards the mouth of the Appomattox River.

«Ready to save a city?» Cole called over his shoulder, Kuo was sitting in the back, steering the boat. «As ready as I'll ever be I guess.» Kuo wasn't really bubbling over with confidence. It'll be alright, we'll pull this off, Cole told himself. Working under Moya would suck, but it was better than being dead or in jail. Frankly he'd rather work under admiral Davidson, but that's not how things turned out. For now, they'd just have to clean up Petersburg and take it from there.