Author: Well, Alden 1 - Cole and gang 0. Uh...Guess things could have gone better?

Secrets revealed

You knew things were fucked up when Alex Mercer was the voice of reason. The Runner grimaced as he checked the steam tunnels the Dustmen escaped through. A dead end, just like all the others. These fucks had more brains than he believed them to have.

As he walked back, he found Dunbar devastated.

"Ah shit", the man muttered, "I really screwed up this time."

"Why?" Alex questioned. "Because the Dustmen freed Alden?" He inclined his head, glancing at the massacre around them. "I doubt you'd made any difference."

"What? Do you think so little of me?"

"Yes." The Blacklight Prototype waved his arm towards the corpses. "These men were trained, better armed and in better physical conditions. Yet still they're dead." He frowned at the other. "What makes you think you would have survived?"

Zeke blinked at him, then leaned back with a moan. "Ah shit."

"You humans don't really see the outcome", Alex pointed out. "You simply don't understand how fragile you are. Even MacGrath's fragile. Yet neither of you seems to understand this." He exhaled. "If you want to help, start by getting these guys out of here. I'll go find Harms, have him send a few more guys to help you."

He turned and was about to walk outside, when the door opened. Harms, who sported a bandage around his head, and a few of his men stopped in the doorway, staring at the massacre.

"Holy-"

"Dustmen", Alex cut them off roughly.

"What? How?!" Harms glared at the Runner. Alex simply pointed to a torn-out hatch.

"The steam tunnels", he explained. "The fight in the courtyard- it was only distraction. The real troop came in through the steam tunnels. Killed the men here and freed Alden."

"And nobody realized this?"

"Not soon enough", Alex hissed, painfully aware that he could have known. Fuck- every single Dustman he killed knew they were the distraction. He could have known, too, but he hadn't taken the proper precautions. He had splattered the men's brains instead of taking them whole, leaving him with no information. He could have known. He could have prevented this here. But he didn't.

And a lot of good men were dead.

"We didn't know", he repeated, voice a bit lower. "Don't try to chase them down now- they set charges inside the tunnels that sealed them off once they were in the clear. Tricky bastards."

"Crap", Harms sat down heavily. "What now? This woman's going to be here any minute. And without Alden-"

"I'm going to talk to her", Alex offered, ears already picking off the beating of helicopter rotors. "Alden won't escape the next time", he added darkly. "I promise." He stalked out and headed for the destroyed courtyard, where the helicopter was hovering above. Alex glanced at the vehicle, switching the courier's phone on.

"Moya", he grated, "Pull your dogs back."

"Mercer", She paused. "Why?"

"Alden escaped."

"How?"

"Distracted us with an army, and snuck away like a coward. That's how." He didn't want to go into detail, mostly because it hurt having to admit that an old man tricked the mighty ZEUS.

"So, you want to tell me you lost an old man, who was under lock and key?"

"Not my fault", Alex snarled, "If you had hurried up with the clearance like you DARPA bastards always do, then we wouldn't have this problem now." His eyes narrowed. "Fuck, if you hadn't have these damn weapons ordered, then these bastards would never have been a problem in the first place!"

There was a sharp gasp from the other end. "What do you imply?" Well, to her credits, Moya did manage to keep her voice level.

"Don't give me that, Moya", Alex replied coldly as he watched the helicopter circle overhead. "I know it was you who convinced General Bridges to get these weapons to Empire. And I'm talking here about military-grade arms, weapons able to hurt even me." He cut her off before she could even answer. "I am aware of this. I know the Ray Sphere was made by the First Sons- underorder by DARPA. But it's not that simple, isn't it? There already was a Ray Sphere. Something that interested DARPA, wasn't it?" He bared his teeth in a snarl. "You knew. You knew this blast was going to happen. You paid the First Sons to build the weapon." He tilted his head back, glaring at the helicopter. "You know who Kessler is, and you are going to tell me."

"You are moving on very thin ice at the moment, Mercer", Moya growled in reply. "I can still summon Blackwatch, you know?"

"If you do, then I will have no problem releasing everything I have into the internet", his bared teeth shone in the darkness. "I'll make sure I send the President and every big News company on the world a copy. Let's see how threatening you are once everybody knows about what DARPA did in Hope. What they did in Empire. What Blackwatch and Gentek did in Manhattan."

"You wouldn't dare", Moya snarled.

"I would", Alex replied sharply. "I am aware that this would reveal even my existence to everybody in the world. But I am tired of running. I am tired of hiding. I will stand my ground now. And if I go down- everybody who fucked this up will go down too." His eyes narrowed. "So, do you want to play this game, Moya? I got nothing to lose, after all."

Moya sharply inhaled air with a hiss. "This isn't over, Mercer. Not by a long shot."

"It's not. I'll see you around." He cut the connection, and the helicopter above turned and flew off, into the rapidly darkening sky.

Alex snorted, putting the phone back into his pocket. He just declared War on Moya, a War he intended to let the World witness if necessary. He knew people like her. They hated nothing more than being dragged into the light. And he just threatened to do just that. He was aware what kind of problems this would bring with it, but it was a risk he was ready to take.

He would no longer run and hide. He had the weapons, and he was damn sure going to use them. If Moya played along, he wouldn't need to. But it never hurt to be sure.

He glanced back at the prison. There was no need to rush anymore, they had lost. The men were dead and Alden was gone. He was downright furious for what happened, but raging wasn't going to save anything here anymore.

Instead, Alex exhaled once to push the urge back to simply maim something and headed back inside, to avoid the rainstorm that suddenly set in and trying to help the remaining cops with the bodies of their men and the Dustmen they killed. After all, their deaths were his fault, to a degree. So it was up to him to clear away the mess. Plus, he also respected the men for trying to hold their ground, even if it looked to him like the singular most idiotic idea ever. But they had been brave, and he could accept that.

The next step was easy to figure out: Find Alden and make him pay. Alex knew where he was going to be: In the Tent City, at his tower.
He paused with a frown glancing at the rain outside. Maybe he should get MacGrath on it. He was going to love taking the bastard apart piece by piece. Alex didn't want to deny him his revenge, so he was going to wait until the courier came around. The old coot wasn't going to go anywhere.

There was a motion on his side, taking his attention for a moment. It was Harms, who shuffled his feet uncomfortably. No question, he didn't want to be anywhere near him.

"My men said you took out most of the Dustmen", he pointed out.

"Didn't stop them from freeing Alden though", Alex replied with a slightly bitter undertone.

"Yeah. Shame", the warden sighed. "But you know, this-", he waved one arm to the bodies covered in sheets, "This could have looked a lot worse."

Alex only tilted his head, waiting for the warden to continue. "You and Cole- you stood here, fighting the transients off. Everybody else would have run, naturally. But you two- you had been there to try to stop them."

"Without any success."

"Yeah, but the effort alone- this is what counts."

Alex snorted. "Is this really what you think?"

"Yes. I don't like what's happening in the city, and I try to fix it- but these large things? The Dustmen, the Reapers, the plague? It's too much for me. Hell, it's too much for my guys. But I've seen you and Cole fight back, I've seen you not taking it for granted. Alone the effort of fighting back gives the people inspiration, you know?"

"But it's not enough."

"No. No, it's not. Though..." The warden trailed off for a moment. "But if you take out Alden, then we'll have a chance to take back the Warren. From what I heard, the Reapers aren't that much of a threat anymore anyways. Just a little more, and we can take back the city. Make it right again. And show the World that we can do it even without the Government's help." He paused, then added with a wink: "Show the World that not everybody who got called a terrorist is actually one of the bad guys."

Despite himself, Alex chuckled slightly. "Yeah. Maybe."

They were silent for a while, until Alex inclined his head. "Do you know how Dunbar's doing?" He told himself he didn't really care for the problems of humans, but a part of him recognized even the annoying fat man as something similar he sees Cross and Ragland. Not only an ally, but rather something more- a friend? At any rate, Dana would be proud of him to make conversation.

The warden sighed. "He's pretty down, blames himself for what happened. I told him he was lucky, because if he'd been inside back then, he'd be out here in a body bag now." He jammed his hands into his pockets. "I told him to go home and get some rest. You should probably do the same."

"Not yet", Alex replied. "There are still some things I want to check out." He turned to go, but stopped for a short moment. "Take care, Harms. Things are going to get even more rough in the foreseeable future."

"Yeah. Got it."

The Runner nodded and started walking out of the prison. The raining had stopped, and the ground was wet. He frowned at a few puddles on the sidewalks, before he decided to ignore them and picked up his pace. He went at a slow speed first, though was gradually speeding up until he was rushing along the streets for a short while before he leapt upwards and against a building. He headed north, to the center of the Warren. To the Tent City.

He could hear the cheering of the Dustmen from afar. They were fast to throw a party to celebrate their victory. Over the cops. Over MacGrath. Over him.

Well...time to remind them that they hadn't won yet. Plus, he was still being hungry. Between the incendiary grenades and his own Devastator, he was seriously lacking in Biomass.

Better fill up again. And make Alden remember who the real threat is.

Alex found a five-story tall building nearby and quickly mounted it. He turned, glancing at the Tent City nearby, switching to his thermic vision. He easily found the giant bonfire at the center of the place, just at the foot of Alden's tower- and he saw the hundreds of heat signatures surround it.

Perfect.

The Blacklight Prototype crouched low and coiled the Biomass in his legs, curling it up like springs beneath his skin. His body twisted with countless tendrils that focused in his lower extremities as well, and when Alex released the pressure, he shot nearly eleven stories up. At the highest point, shortly before gravity took a hold of him, he unleashed air in a short burst, shoving his body forwards. He easily leaned to the front, so he was parallel to the ground far beneath him, and snapped his arms and legs back, gliding through the night sky. The imitated leather of his Biomass rippled through the sharp wind, and his hair was tousled beneath his hood.

Reaching the area just above the Dustmen was easy. Alex was silent and too high up for them to realize the danger they are in. It would be so simple to kill them all. Right now. With a single Bulletdive Drop. Or maybe a Groundshatter Drop, followed by one of his Groundspike Devastators.

As tempting as it was, Alex knew he wouldn't take it. Not here. Not now. No. If he did, Alden would survive and hide away. But Alex didn't want him to hide. He wanted to destroy Alden in every way possible. He wanted him to see his failure before he would go for his throat. And he wanted the courier to witness it. Alden had wronged the man, so it was his prize to watch him being annihilated.

Alex was not going to harm Alden or his Dustmen yet. Well, most of them, anyways.

He angled his body, letting gravity take over to drop downwards. He didn't exactly speed up voluntarily, but he was still weighing about as much as six men and he didn't slow down his fall either.

Five guys were dead on impact, six more injured, and the entire rest thrown into shock. Alex rose from the crater he tore and casually stepped to the front. His icy glare met Alden's hard stare, and neither of them broke it, even as Alex's sides and shoulders lost cohesion. The old man did flinch slightly when several thick tendrils curled out of the Runner's body, coiling through the air, before they latched onto the six injured Dustmen. Alex allowed himself to grin when he heard the startled shouts all around him, as well as the terrified screams of the six he grabbed. He relished in the disgusted expression Alden showed as Blacklight raced through his victim's bodies, twisting them into formless shapes of flesh. He rarely did this- consuming more than one person at once came with a splitting headache and a long time of vulnerability when his body was busy fitting the new Biomass- but it was an highly efficient way to quickly restock his Biomass supplies and intimidate whoever was watching.

Alex pulled his lips away from his teeth in a grin. "Well, I'm sorry for your guys here", he began in a tone that only barely hid the rage in his voice, "But after our little dispute, I felt a little hungry. You understand."

"What do you want?!" Alden screeched, "Do you want to mock me?!"

"Maybe a little", the Runner replied with a nasty sneer, "But I am mostly here to...congratulate you on a battle won." Alden inhaled sharply, when Alex cut him off. "However, I wish to remind you that you did not win the war, Alden."

The Dustmen around had finally managed to grab their weapons, though until now, they didn't shoot. Alex glanced at the old man with utter contempt. "Remember this, Alden", he pointed out, "You got lucky last time. Next time, however, I will not hold back. I will kill you, Alden." He smirked and pulled back, not even letting the old man get to say a word. "Not now, though. I will stalk you. Maybe I'll wait in the shadows. Maybe I'll wear a familiar face. But I will be there. Every moment in your life I will be nearby. And the very moment you feel safe, I will strike." His eyes had started to glow red. "This is a warning." He leapt back skywards, shooting straight up and instantly changed trajectory to get away from the Tent City. He had left the old coot with a warning. The other Dustmen knew what he was able to do, so now he could sit by and wait for paranoia to finish the job. He would keep busy otherwise too. There were still some things left to do.

Cole knew that storming off wouldn't salvage the situation. He knew it, damnit. He still ran away.

He growled. He was so angry. At everything: Zeke, Mercer, the Dustmen...and most of all himself. How the heck could he had been so blind? Stupid stupid stupid

The conduit roared out, an inhuman howl of sheer wrath, as he slammed his fist into a parked car, crashing it through the window. Shards of glass bit into his skin, leaving bloody scrapes in their wake. The electricity that crackled along his skin instantly ignited the gas, blowing the vehicle up not even a second later. The rush of superheated air across his skin was painful, but it did take his mind off the disaster. However, his own healing abilities quickly kicked in and repaired the damage done. Cole scowled. It wasn't enough.

He threw his hand out, blasting a shockwave into the cars standing at the other side of the street, sending them careening through the air to watch them crumble against the derelict buildings. He swung around, unleashing bolts of lightning as he reduced more cars to burning wreckages. It wasn't enough.

Cole roared out and the sky darkened, lightning flashed and thunder started to echo across the city. The courier paused, glaring at the clouds overhead. "And where the Hell have you been when I needed you?!" He yelled at the thunderstorm. Roaring thunder was his answer. He scowled and marched off, mood worsening when the clouds could no longer contain their load. It started raining.

The courier swore and rushed along the streets, trying to get out of the rain as soon as somehow possible. Static electricity crackled along his body. First his skin only, but later also along his arms, legs and torso once his suit was soaked enough. He frickin' hated water.

Not so much a short and delightful hot shower- no, those he loved, even after he got his powers; but this endless soaking in icy rain was its very own circle of Hell.

The rain turned more merciless, more icy, and Cole's mind was consumed with the feeling of pain. The cold water drenched him to the bone, and the lightning arching around him was no longer tickling like it usually did in the shower. No, this time it bit into his skin, tearing and itching and clawing at his flesh. Cole swore some more and sped up, trying to escape the weather when the hospital came to view. Like a meteor made of sparks, he rushed into the Bayview's lobby, kicking off the excess water with poorly contained swears. It wasn't that late yet, maybe ten, so it was no wonder there were still a lot of people around. They stared at him, some in surprise, others in confusion. Cole didn't feel like talking to them. He nodded at the woman manning the reception desk (it wasn't Dana, and he was glad for it because he didn't want to talk to anyone) and marched towards the stairs, wet shoes making squishing noises as he went. He winced from the sound and the sharp bite every step caused in his toes. He was out of the rain, so his own powers didn't work that worse against him anymore, but it was still uncomfortable.

Cole dragged himself up the stairs without any strength. After the rain, he didn't have any energy left. All that rage that had been in him had gone away, leaving a weary emptiness in its place. He was tired. So goddamn tired. Tired of being constantly shot at. Tired of being assaulted. Tired of killing. Tired of being one of two that actually had the strength to do something. Cole didn't want to be the one everything depended on, but he also knew he couldn't just quit. Not anymore.

Gah! Cole grumbled under his breath as he finally reached the level his room was on. He glared at the doors as he passed them, trying to figure out where exactly he was supposed to sleep. He was so tired and his head hurt and he was still wet, so he just threw up his arms mentally and walked right through the first door that appeared on his right.

It was a small room, that didn't smell of antiseptics as much as the others did. And it was empty. Cole kicked off his soaked sneakers, he peeled away his sopping wet clothes to simply drop them on the floor, and then collapsed into bed in just his underwear. Didn't even bother tucking himself in. The second his head hit the pillow, he was out like a light.

The sun was shining through the window. Cole groaned and twisted his head away. He must have slept hours in one go, and still felt like he went three rounds against Mercer. Every inch of his body hurt. His mind was strangely empty, though the rage from yesterday was still there, still simmering beneath the surface. But at least he didn't feel as murderous anymore. Still, he was pretty pissed. Plus, judging from the way the sun stood in the sky, it looked like it was afternoon already.

"God mother-fu-"

"Okay. Stop it right there, MacGrath, or I will wash your mouth with soap."

Cole blinked, wide-awake, staring at the shape of Trish in the door. She had her hands propped against her hips and had a half-hearted scowl on her face.

"Trish?"

"In the flesh"

"What-are you doing here?" Stupid question to ask. This is the hospital. She works here.

"Well, firstly, I am supposed to be here, and secondly, you decided that my room was the perfect place to crash."

"Your room?" Cole blinked, before leaning back with a groan. "Hell"

"Imagine my surprise when I discovered you." The nurse kept her glare for a short while longer, before she huffed out and walked over to him, sitting down at the edge of the bed. "I found the water trail you left. And then I saw you, passed out. What happened?"

Cole sighed, feeling oddly relieved to talk to Trish. She did have this effect on him. He slowly pulled himself into a sitting position to speak.

"Harms asked for help. Yesterday", he started. "So Mercer and I went down to the Dustmen's main hideout."

Trish winced, though Cole wasn't too sure whether it was because of him blatantly risking his life or the virally altered supermutant. But she didn't say anything and let him continue. "The two of us- shit, we were unstoppable. We made it to Alden Tate, the Dustmen's leader. And we frickin' took him down."

He exhaled with a low snort. "Harms took him in, and I told Moya to get him away from the Warren."

"Moya..." Trish frowned, "That DARPA bitch?"

Cole slumped with a groan. "I know. But she was really the only choice. You know, Alden could not stay here in Empire." He exhaled. "So it was either have Moya extract him, or let Mercer kill him. And..." He trailed off. "I decided for Moya."

"Oh", Trish furrowed her brows. "It was a mistake, wasn't it?"

"I massive one", Cole slumped. "We knew the Dustmen were going to try to get Alden back. So Harms, Zeke, the cops, Mercer and I- we fought them. We held them off...but then these bastards came from the steam tunnels." He paused, glancing at Trish. "Zeke thought he could fight these idiots out in the courtyard with us. Thought he'd get a bit of the glory- but instead he should have stayed inside, made sure Alden remained where he was."

Cole frowned darkly. "Because he tried to play hero, he neglected his position- and every cop in that room got slaughtered. And Alden's free again."

Unexpectedly, Trish reached over and wrapped her arms around his shoulder. Cole froze, not entirely sure what she was doing. "Silly man", she mumbled against his neck. "Silly, silly man. Don't you see? Zeke wouldn't have made a difference. On the contrary. If he'd stayed, then he'd be dead now too."

Cole exhaled coldly, draping his arms around his girlfriend. "I know", he admitted silently. "I know. Zeke's not really useful in a battle. Especially not against the Dustmen...but"

"You were angry Alden escaped", Trish muttered. "I understand. And Zeke understands too, you know. When you get angry, you aren't yourself anymore."

"I know", Cole repeated slowly. "And ever since I got my powers...It's harder to keep in control when I'm pissed off." He glanced at her. "The rainstorm yesterday- I think that was actually me."

Trish blinked. "What?"

"You heard me. You know, when I tried to get over the Fremont Bridge, I was scared. And then the lightning started. That was me. Or my powers, anyways."

"We already talked about this", Trish reminded him. "You had no control over them."

"I know. A few days ago, when I met Mercer the first time, he tried to strangle me."

"What a nice fellow", the nurse snorted.

"Yeah. But back then, I managed to replicate that thunder storm again. Was pretty useful getting him to back off, but that guy's tougher than the Fremont Bridge." He frowned, blinking as her hair got into his eyes. "I tried it again, yesterday. I didn't manage to get that thing back." He scoffed. "Would have been really helpful. And then I was so pissed off at anything, the rain set in."

Trish chuckled. "Maybe that's someone's way of saying to cool off."

Cole glared at her offended. After all, the rain was damn uncomfortable. Eventually, he gave it up, and glanced around the room- Trish's room. "Where is my stuff?" He asked, "I kind of just dropped it before I fell asleep."

"I know", his girlfriend pointed out. "I picked them up and ran them through the washing machine." She handed him his neatly folded pile of laundry. Cole took them with a smile. Count on Trish to brighten the day.

A shadow fell on them, followed by the sharp rapping of knuckles against glass. Trish's head snapped up and her eyes widened. As she tried to duck behind Cole, the courier had turned around, only to see Mercer clinging to the window soffit with one hand, the other hanging limply behind his body. His dark hood was over his head, shadowing his face, but his eyes were still glowing unnaturally.

Cole sighed and got up, opening the window. He was fully aware of Trish's sharp intake of breath. He couldn't blame her for being scared of Mercer. Hell, he was still scared. Especially after yesterday night.

But, unlike Trish, Cole could see the advantages of working with the mutant. He was strong, fast, intelligent and able to crack every security that existed. He was also a great meat shield. Just a shame he was such a pain in the ass.

"What do you want?"

Mercer cocked his head, regarding the courier, before his free hand came into view. He held a Blast Shard in his blackened, necrotic fingers. Cole took it from him with a surprised gasp, watched how the affected limbs crumbled to dust before being replaced by new ones. The shard shuddered once and its glow stopped, being absorbed into his body. "Uh..." he began lamely, "Thanks?"

"I got more of them on the roof", Mercer claimed. "Get dressed." He glanced at Trish. "You might want to come too, there's something I want to tell you." He vanished out of view laughably easy, by simply jumping upwards. Cole glanced at his girlfriend. Trish grimaced. "Better not let him waiting, huh?"

When Cole and Trish emerged from the rooftop exit, they were surprised to see Dana already present. The blonde turned to them with a forced smile. There was no question she learnt from her brother about what happened the night before, yet she still tried to ease the mood.

Cole nodded at her, before he turned his attention to the collection of Blast Shards on the roof. He paused, eyes widening. Shit, there must have been at least a hundred here! Did Mercer really gather them all just for him? He could remember he didn't like them very much.

But they were giving off radiation...Cole glanced at the terrorist. "Is it okay?" He asked, "These things aren't exactly safe."

Mercer shrugged. "As far I figured, the radiation is only problematic when being nearby or actually touching the shards. Plus- the hospital had been built with a metal mesh in its walls, to keep a little radiation away."

"Excuse me?" Trish cut in. "Radiation? And you let Cole touch this thing?"

Cole blinked in surprise when he noticed the heated glare his girlfriend was sending into Mercer's direction. A moment ago, she was afraid of the living viral weapon, but now? He decided to intervene. "It's okay, Trish", he told her, "It doesn't harm me. The opposite is true, actually. I only become stronger."

"The shards have been irradiated through the Blast that gave MacGrath his powers", Mercer added. "He can still continue to drain them." He paused, frowning. "Which is better than letting them lie around for other people to find."

"The plague", Trish noticed, "It is...radiation sickness?"

"Yes and no", Mercer explained. "The reason all those people died- it was the radiation from the Blast itself, and those shards. However, the plague you and Dana encountered, this was poisoning induced by the Reaper's Black Tar."

"Iodine", Dana piped up. "Iodine should help this, wouldn't it?"

"Possibly", Mercer admitted, "Though this type of sickness is going too fast. Within a week at most, the victims are dead. Most die faster." He shrugged, not really caring. "The supplies are dwindling too fast, Dana. I don't know what purpose it would have to waste resources on people that are dying anyways."

Cole winced at his harsh words, but Dana already beat him to the punch. She walked right up to her brother and smacked him into the chest once. "Alex!" She snapped harshly, and Cole noticed the genetically altered superweapon actually flinch back slightly, "It is not nice talking about other people like that!"

"It's just logical", Mercer tried to argue. "Most of these guys are already dead when they first notice the symptoms. Why waste effort on them when they can't be saved anyways?"

Dana huffed out and turned to Trish, who followed the encounter in bewilderment. "See what I'm dealing with? It's impossible to teach him manners!"

Cole snorted, then tried to cover it up with a fake cough. Everybody turned their attention to him. He gestured with his hand. "So..." He began, "I'll just go ahead and make these things safe?"

He turned without waiting for their response, and focused on the shards, lightning arching away from him. It wasn't much different from draining a source of electricity, he remembered.

The shards' glow increased in their intensity, before they abruptly turned dark. Cole stumbled back with a grunt, feeling something hot burn through his body. It was similar to the transformers in the sewers, but a lot slower. Because of this, it wasn't too painful either, but it was still extremely uncomfortable. Lightning lashed out of his skin, and the pain instantly skyrocketed. Cole jerked back, electricity crackling along his body, singing his clothes and flesh. Okay. Ouch.

Someone shrieked his name- Trish, maybe- but the sound of her voice was drowned out by the loud roar of thunder. Cole saw something move, but couldn't really pay any attention because his own body was seriously trying to fry itself. He felt like he was on fire, and the scent of burnt skin reached his nose. He grunted through his clenched teeth, hoping the effect was going to fade soon.

Then, like a rubber band, the tenseness in his body snapped and he dropped bonelessly to the floor, groaning in pain. He stayed like this for a moment, willing his brain to clear. Panting, he twisted his head to find his friends, only to find something that looked like a massive black shell near the roof exit.

"Guys?" He moaned. "Guys? I think it's over"

The shell moved, shifting to the side before it melted away. Cole blinked when he recognized Trish and Dana, both wrapped up in several tentacles and Mercer's arms. He slowly let them go and stepped back, so Trish could rush over to her boyfriend with a worried expression. "Cole? Holy shit, Cole! Are you okay?"

"Guess so", the courier groaned painfully. "Don't let me do this again."

He struggled back to his feet, leaning heavily on Trish's shoulder. Mercer approached them, head tilted to the side. "Got anything new out of it?"

"Don't know" Cole focused on his hand, lightning arching between his fingers. "I do feel...weird, though." He flexed his wrist, then threw his arm out. A massive lightning bolt shot into the rooftop across from them, rendering the AC unit there to a wreck. Cole flinched back in surprise. "Holy shit", he gasped. "Did you see that?!"

"Interesting", Mercer mentioned, "It looks like your powers increased in their strength and efficiency."

"Awesome", Dana threw in slightly breathlessly, "Awesome to the Max."

Cole agreed with the younger sibling. This was pretty impressive. And hopefully, it would be enough to take down Alden. Speaking of Alden...Cole glanced at Mercer. "The North Section of the Warren is still without power", he mentioned, "And to take on that old fart, I would need the electricity back online. Do you maybe know where the substation is?"

Mercer furrowed his brows slightly, then closed his eyes and inhaled once. "Yeah", he mentioned a moment later. "I do know where it is. And also where the entrance is. I can take you there."

"Sweet", Cole was about to head over, when he felt a hand at his arm. Trish frowned at him.

"Cole- please be careful, okay?"

The courier smiled and turned around to embrace her. "I'm always careful. I'll be back tonight."

Trish nodded and pulled back, though Cole could see the conflict on her expression. "Just- just don't get harmed. I would like to speak to you tonight."

Mercer tilted his head with an unreadable expression, then he turned to his sister. "Dana. Make sure Trish stays safe, will you? If anything only looks out of the ordinary, contact me or MacGrath immediately, okay?"

Dana blinked. "Ooookay...Will do that."

Cole furrowed his brows at the exchange, but decided to let it slip for now. It looked like he and Trish were on a similar level as Dana was to Mercer and he was worried for them. It was a good thing to have him as a guard, too. Mercer nodded at the courier. "Come. Let's go."

Both men leapt off the hospital building and soared easily through the air, leaving the building behind.

They reached the manhole cover easy enough. The battle at the Eagle Point Penitentiary hadn't had the wished effect of Alden being taken out of the Warren, but at least they did manage to decrease the number of Dustmen in total. Plus, with both of them rushing along the roofs, not many dared to stand in their way. And Mercer also did slow down a lot, allowing Cole to keep up with him. When they crossed into the powerless area, the courier grit his teeth, though this time his headache was considerably less prominent. The world wasn't as blurry as it normally was, and his body wasn't that desperate for juice anymore. Those Blast Shards really improved his powers. Awesome.

He leaned down and pried the cover off, when he remembered something. He glanced at Mercer. "You still have my phone", he pointed out.

Mercer blinked, understanding slowly dawning on his face. "Right", he muttered. He pulled the phone out of his pocket and handed it over, Cole sighing in relief when he fastened it to his bag strap.

"Did anything happen yesterday?" He asked then.

Mercer shrugged. "I called Moya. Threatened her", he explained with a deadpan voice.

Cole felt all color drain from his face. "What? You threatened Moya?!"

"I'm sick of playing along", the terrorist growled. "I am no longer going to hide from her. I told her if she tried anything, I will release everything I have into the internet and the news companies." He shook his head in disgust. "I have been on the run for three years. But I'm tired of it. If she wants a piece of me, she's going to bite off more than she can chew. I will outlast her. I always do."

Cole groaned. "Holy shit", he grunted, "I do hope she plays along. Because I don't really want to see another war breaking out here."

"Oh, she will", Mercer snarled. "Because I didn't give her a choice. As high and mighty as she acts, she is a coward. And cowards hate the light." He peeled his lips away in a scary grin. "Plus, I want to keep her on the edge. She's going to make a mistake sooner or later. And once she does- I'll be there."

To eat her. Cole shuddered involuntarily at the idea. Yes, Moya was a bitch. Yes, she did deserve any sort of insurgency against her authority- but killing her was a tad too much. And it wasn't just killing Moya- it was damning her to the most violent death Cole had ever seen. Screaming, thrashing, fighting back against a thing that was made for killing people, without any hopes of breaking free. He felt very, very queasy.

He didn't think Mercer could read minds, but the terrorist suddenly stepped back, withdrew his personal shadow from Cole, allowing him to breathe again.

"I'm leaving this to you", he muttered, turning away. "Don't like sewers too much. Just call, if you need anything." He walked off.

Cole blinked. Looks like there were still some things he didn't know about Mercer. But then again, he did live together with his sister, so it was plausible to assume he could guess what emotions and thoughts humans had in certain situations, and what the best remedy was.

At any rate, the queasy feeling was letting up slightly, allowing him to pull himself back together. He inhaled shakily, and proceeded with slipping into the sewers beneath.

Okay, that was a mistake. The stench of the sewage and his own memories of Mercer consuming that Dustman in combination played Hell on his stomach. He retched once, forcing himself to breathe through clenched teeth to calm down again. Holy shit, he was just glad he hadn't eaten anything in the past two days. But maybe he should have, not because he was particularly hungry, but because it would have settled his stomach a little.

"Ah yeah", he muttered sarcastically between a few sharp pants, "That's the smell I know and love." He gagged again, forcing the bile in his throat back, before he tried to move away from the maintenance grate. He'd better hurry up, get the transformer back online, get a shiny new power from it and get the Hell out of here.

He grit his teeth with determination, and started moving, jumping off the platform to latch against a set of pipes. He steadied himself there for a moment, then continued: just jumping and latching, and hoping he wouldn't slip and fall into the sludge beneath. He was just glad for his thrusters to carry him across the larger gaps, so he was spared having to look for another way. He did find a maintenance tunnel, with the transformer glowing just across another gap behind it. Cole scrambled into the tunnel, and easily hopped off the grate at the other end to reach the transformer. He hopped up and closed the circuit, grunting when the charge slamming through him burnt away the nausea.

After a while, he dropped back to the floor in a crouch, every inch of his body buzzing with electricity. He slowly rose to his feet, feeling the charge tickle in his fingers. He wondered what this was about and lifted his hand. He twisted his fingers a little bit, trying to get a feeling for when the tickling was the strongest. He held a fist to the front, frowning as the discharge increased in intensity. Cole cocked his head, then slowly uncurled his fingers, holding his flat palm away from him.

The electricity arched upwards and away from his fingers, forming an oval, translucent shield in front of him. Cole's eyebrows shot upwards as he gently moved the shield, pulled it closer to his body, then turned it. After a moment, he closed his fist and the shield snuffed out.

The courier grinned. "Oh Hell yes." He had no idea whether this shield of his could really stop bullets, or whether it was just a glorified umbrella, but shit if it wasn't any sort of improvement towards diving face-first into a hail of bullets.

He continued to move, finding a quick possibility to test his shield in the shape of three Dustmen shooting at him. The shield easily swallowed the bullets, letting them hang suspended in front of Cole's face.

Yesssssss

One problem down. Cole hurried through the sewer, creating his shield whenever necessary. He leaned a bit from behind his cover, then fired a lightning bolt with his free hand at the Dustmen shooting him. He was also pleasantly surprised when he realized that, whenever a bullet hit his shield, he actually felt more energetic than before. Like the shield was converting the bullet's kinetic energy into electric energy for him to consume. Best. Ability. Ever.

Not even a turret could stop him now. Cole easily made his way along, zapping and killing every single Dustman he saw. The rage from the loss at the Eagle Point Penitentiary was still there, and now it found a new outlet in these brain-dead idiots.

His shield did find its match in the RPG missiles, but Cole was still proud of his newest ability. He made his way deeper into the complex, while frying those annoying Dustmen with glee. In the end, he did finally discover the substation, took out the single bastard guarding it, and switched it back on. He headed back to the surface.

Alex was moving across the city's rooftops. He had swung back to the hospital, to check up with Dana, before he left again. He had found Dunbar there, sitting on a chair and looking like someone had forced him to kick a whole litter of puppies. But Alex didn't have anything to say to him, so he just nodded into his direction and left again. Now he was hunting for Dustmen. The shards did a number on his Biomass, and he did have to restock already several times when he collected them. The radiation simply killed his body too fast, and now he was still desperately hungry. Maybe I should try to get my hands on water bears, add their genetic code to mine and become as indestructible as they are, he thought with a snort.

The Runner stopped at the roof of a building, glancing down. He found three Dustmen standing in a corner, talking to each other with vivid hand gestures. He looked around to search for any witnesses. Finding none, he allowed himself to grin. These three idiots down there were exactly what his starving body required. He lunged.

As their memories settled into his brain, Alex ceased all movement. The Dustmen- they hadn't been here by chance.

No, they had been hunting someone. Those braindead idiots didn't know the full story, but apparently, Alden wanted to get that guy. Alex furrowed his brows, checking the memories a bit more. The Dustmen didn't know the man's name, but they had assaulted him once and found a strange sphere on him. The Runner's head snapped up. The Ray Sphere. The man did have the Ray Sphere with him after the Blast. And the Dustmen now probably had it. But one Sphere wasn't enough. Alden wanted to have more of them. So he send his soldiers to find the man again- and get him to him.

Alex was moving, pouncing back to the roof to find the man. Everything seemed clear now. This was the guy that left the Dead Drops. This was the guy MacGrath was supposed to find for Moya.

John White

The Runner lunged across the roofs, sharp eyes scanning every single person down on the street. Ever since they started taking back the Warren, there were more down there. Most of them were trying to clean up, and some were trying to force the Dustmen back.

He stopped when he noticed the one person ducking away and purposefully marching down the street. John White.

Alex followed after him, noticing the group of Dustmen doing the same. Not on his watch.

Another group came from the front, cutting off John's way. The man instantly turned and tried to head into an alley, then started running and quickly latched onto a fire escape to scramble upwards. The Dustmen tried to follow. Alex was faster.

In a blur of black leather, he shot off his perch and into the group of transients, utterly decimating them. He heard a startled gasp from above, and his eyes locked with John's. The agent then suddenly flicked a switch in his head, pulled out a gun and fired at Alex a few times, targeting not his chest, but rather his face. Alex swore and stumbled back, forced to wait until his eyes had regenerated. By then, John was gone.

The Runner huffed out and inhaled the air, easily picking up the man's scent. He wouldn't escape.

He smirked and easily stepped against the wall, casually jogging up the wall just in time to see White's coat vanish behind the corner of a roof exit the next roof over. Oh well, if he wanted it that way...

Alex started to follow after the man.