Author: Time to face Kessler.


Murder your Maker

Patrick Kings never managed to leave the Marines behind. After Manhattan, after the monsters and zombies, he was unable to reconnect with his family. What he'd seen didn't let him sleep anymore, so he returned into active duty. At least the stress, the shooting and the screaming drowned out the noises in his head.

Patrick was aware he no longer was the guy he'd been before as he and a group of men continued to push into Empire City. Another American city grasped in the hand of terrorists, another American city they were supposed to invade- but he didn't question General Bridges. Manhattan had that kind of influence on him, and orders were orders, right?

Some of the guys on his platoon whooped when something blew up, or when they found one of these guys in the hoodies. Patrick only felt emptiness inside. Every bit of humanity had been ripped from him, torn away through the monsters and zombies.

Whatever was left of the old Patrick was locked inside his head, wondering, questioning whether they were doing the right thing. His captain had told them that the city was overrun with criminals, that it was a hot-spot for terrorists out of Iraq, that they converted more and more people to their cause. They said the guy who blew up the city center was a sleeper agent with connections to Al-Qaeda.

But Patrick couldn't see any signs of Al-Qaeda. Or terrorists. There was nobody hiding in the buildings, no mines, no traps, no men trying to shoot them. There were people, running and hiding away from them.

Was it right? Was this the truth?

Patrick didn't ask however. It wasn't his job to think.

"We got contact!" His captain shouted, and the entire platoon went ramrod straight. Patrick heard the wheeze of an engine above, and turned his head slightly. There was an Apache heading towards them, but it was smoking heavily. He saw some flames jumping out of the rotor ever so often, and he saw the bullet holes that riddled its side.

As his captain tried to make contact with the pilot, Patrick realized that it was on a collision course with them. And it wasn't one of theirs anymore.

"Hijacked vehicle!" He shouted in alarm, "Down!"

Nobody questioned his orders, they all just dove to the side and behind cover. Their gunner whipped his missile launcher at the chopper and shot it. The Apache exploded in a glorious ball of fire and crashed into the street, safely away from his troop.

"Good work, Kings", his captain commented as the men got back to their feet. "That's one less son of a bitch we have to worry about."

The remains of the Apache suddenly exploded outwards, but he could tell immediately it wasn't the gas tank. Patrick and his entire platoon froze when something moved in the inferno. Something...human. The shape stood across from them, still hunched over. Patrick felt his pulse jump up and his finger hovered over the trigger as the figure turned into their direction.

A pair of red eyes flashed.

And Patrick recognized the thing in an instant. Gray hoodie, beaten leather jacket with white stripes, worn jeans...

ZEUS.

The thing from Manhattan. The thing that killed the monsters and zombies and soldiers alike.

"Holy fuck", their gunner whispered, eyes blown wide.

ZEUS stepped towards them, and its expression twisted into a nightmarish grin, just as its arms turned into its lethal talons.

The men opened fire, trying to shoot that thing down. Except Patrick knew that bullets barely harmed that thing.

ZEUS lunged at them, and Patrick's world was drowned out in screams, shots and blood.


Alex wasn't too sure how long he'd been at this. Only a day at most, but how long had this been? Kill Marines, steal a helicopter, fly around in it and shoot some guys, then lose the helicopter, be grounded again, be shot at, consume soldiers, steal the next chopper- It all blurred together, with only the next target being clear in his mind. He didn't even know how many helicopters he'd gone through until now.

But, as he tore through another group of Marines, he realized that
he
enjoyed
every
moment.

Until now, he hadn't realized how much he missed Manhattan. Sure, Empire was far from the chaos and hectic rush of the Outbreak, but this tiny piece of mindless slaughter was the most he'd gotten in years. Yet he didn't lose himself in all of this. He knew he was walking a razor edge, always teetering at madness- one tiny step, and he'd end up becoming what Greene had been. And that was something he would never allow.

So once everything was dead, he stopped himself and inhaled deeply to get his bloodlust back under control. The threat was gone, now to the more...delicate job. Exhaling slowly, he turned and eyed a pen to the side, one that was full of civilians that had been driven together like cattle. Probably for 'questioning', which translated roughly to 'make disappear'. Blackwatch was the master of that game, but others could play it pretty well too.

The people flinched back when he approached them, and whimpered a bit. Alex yanked the door out of the pen and threw it across the street, to shatter it against the building on the other side.

"Go", he growled at them, "Hide. Don't let these fucks get you again." He turned around and leapt off the ground before he heard their response. The civilians didn't interest him in the slightest, and any living witness was one witness too many. But he promised it to Dana, and to Cole, to take care of them. To make sure they would escape while the soldiers burned.

He just hoped he did the right thing, letting them go. If they learnt who he was, they would stab him in the back.

But then again- he was already prepared. Once Blackwatch came here, he would be ready.

"Fucking Hell, Mercer!" Alex winced slightly at the voice screaming at him from the inside of his head, and landed harshly on top of a building. Annoyed, he turned his attention inwards, and his vision was dyed in muted red and oranges.

"Heller"

"Don't you 'Heller' me, fuckass", the Evolved growled, "What in the ever-loving name of Fuck is going on over there?!" Oh joy, Heller was back in his 'at least one choice F-word in every sentence' mode. Made things so much better. "My boss was all fucking jittery when I first came into work, and then she started to chew somebody out via phone. And now the news are runnin' amok!"

Alex scoffed. Things like that were inevitable- after all, Moya had managed to convince the American military to invade an American city. Not just any American city- after Manhattan, the nearby Empire had become the main financial trade center. The Ray Sphere must have been seriously important if Moya managed to get these bastards to cooperate.

"Just out of pure curiosity, what lies are they telling you, Heller?"He asked, taking all momentum away from his Evolved.

"Hell, they're saying that Empire's run over with fucking Al-Qaeda. The guy that took out the city center was a sleeper agent and Muslim", Heller snorted amused, "You know, the usual lies. Rile the fucking idiots up to make them support the operation in Iraq."

"Hah", Alex barked a laughter. "Do you want to know what's really going on here?" He spread his arms away from his body. "DARPA happened. They paid a gang full of scientists here to develop a weapon. But, as it is, the guy who developed the weapon didn't want to play along, and set it off early. And guess what- one guy survived and got super powers out of it."

"Fucking Hell", Heller groaned.

"Exactly. Now DARPA employed the same guy to get the weapon back. I met with him, and Dana found the truth- and that pissed DARPA off. Now they're trying to get the weapon through force." Alex shrugged. "I told him to find that fucking thing and destroy it, while I keep the military off our asses."

Heller inhaled sharply. "Fuck. How many are dead?!"

Alex shrugged. "I haven't counted, exactly- and it all blurs together."

"Fuck! I told you not to kill Marines!"

"Do you know what they are told to do? They are told to shoot on sight, Heller. They are told to murder innocents." He growled under his breath. "They are told to kill ten million people. I can not allow this. I will not allow this."

Heller groaned. "Fuck. Innocent civilians against the army? Are you certain they are innocent?"

"Yes. Most of them are starving, too. No food supplies anymore."

"Fuck, it's this General Bridges, right?"

"Yes."

Heller exhaled. "This all fucked up sideways." There was a short silence. "Okay. I try to get Hetty on Bridges's ass. See whether she can stop him. However, you- you better fucking stop killing the Marines, you hear me? Damage's done, but don't try to be even more of an asshole than you already are."

"Really? Then how am I supposed to prevent them from murdering the civilians? Ask nice?"Alex scoffed. "Death is the easiest choice."

"Yeah, but we both know that they'll just send in more, until you are knee-deep in bodies. And then they'll nuke the place and tell everyone it was your fault." Heller snorted and Alex had the distinct impression he was crossing his arms and glared at him like only a disappointed father could (and, seeing as they were talking to each other telepathically, it made for an amusing image). "You don't need to leave them alone, for Fuck's sake. Just knock them around for a bit until they have to be extracted and fixed back up."

Alex furrowed his brows and inclined his head. "Injured- but still alive?" He paused for a moment. "Huh." That would be a good idea, actually- a dead guy was a dead guy, and nobody needed to take care of them. But injured guys needed a lot of care, and a lot of supplies and money. If he couldn't cripple the military by killing their men, then maybe he could cripple them by sparing them? Admittedly, it wasn't something he ever gave serious thoughts to- after all, he was a weapon and it was plainly easier to just kill these fucks- but it was worth a shot. Adapt, evolve, grow.

Alex scoffed again and shook his head, however. "These fucks made their choice. By going in here and killing without question, they painted a large target on their asses. Though I guess I can try to...not aim at vital regions of their bodies."

"So, you're gonna show mercy?"

"No, not mercy. When I see someone shooting somebody they aren't supposed to shoot, I will know no pity. But the others-" He frowned. "If they get help quickly enough they'll survive."

Heller sighed. "That's gotta be enough."

"You just make sure your boss manages to get Bridges on a leash", Alex reminded the Evolved. "Or else I will have to continue with lethal force. Got it?"

"I fucking know. Jesus- you ever tried to figure out how I am supposed to tell her where I got these information from?"

"That's your problem, not-" Alex cut himself off when his back bristled in alarm. He'd seen the dark clouds hanging overhead for a while now, but now something had turned ugly. Out of instinct, he whipped around, eyes narrowing on the Historic in the distance.

Almost immediately, an unknown icy emotion started rooting deep inside his stomach. Terror, stolen memories whispered. He was experiencing terror at the sight of a massive white dome growing at the east-most end of the city. It rose high into the sky, blinding him even at that distance, before it collapsed into itself and exploded its shockwave outwards, sending dust flying everywhere. The thunder clap of the blast reached him only moments later, making him swear and duck low.

"What was that?!" Heller asked, seemingly having heard it through the mental link they shared. "Fuck, was that a fucking nuke?!"

"Ray Sphere", Alex growled enraged. "Somebody fired it off again."

"What the fuck is a Ray Sphere?!"

"The thing that caused this entire shit in the beginning", Alex snapped. He lunged off the roof and headed to the east, hurrying to be the first at the blast crater. If it was true what White told them, then the Ray Sphere was going to be there and could simply be picked up. But the blast did not go unnoticed, either- the jets overhead turned away and headed back to base. Moya would know what happened- and would send her own men to get it. Alex had to hurry to reach it before they did.

"Mercer-"

"Just take care that these bastards here don't do anything drastic! I have to check up on something!" Alex cut the connection.


Kessler had called. And more even, he told Cole to meet him at Staton building.

Finally!

Now he didn't have to keep looking for him. Now he could go right up to him and murder him. Kill him for what he's done. To Empire. To him. To Trish.

Cole's lips peeled away in a snarl. Kessler made a mistake summoning him to Staton Building. He wouldn't escape him. Not this time. He would end him. And nobody was going to stop him from doing exactly that.

The First Sons he encountered pulled back, allowing him free passage. Cole scowled at them, but didn't bother going after them- after all, Kessler was waiting. He would get to them after he crushed their boss.

Get Alex, a voice in his head whispered, Let him take the brunt of the attacks.

Alex is busy keeping Moya's men away from Empire, Cole mentally scoffed, Kessler is mine.

His expression darkened as he headed towards the Crater. Staton building was probably the only construction that remained standing after the Blast, and this was where Kessler was going to be.

His stomach cramped together when he reached the crater's edge. Thousands had died here, vaporized like John had been, or burnt alive through the Blast. Cole forced himself to continue moving though- there was no time to be distracted. Kessler had murdered so many others, using him as a weapon- but now he would reap in what he had created. Cole was no-one's weapon, nobody got to use him.

He reached the center of the Crater, the piece of street he'd woken up on. Cole growled and glanced around, noticing the broken cables peeking out of the rubble. They were still sparking, but the edges looked fresh. As if somebody dug them up just for him.

Kessler?

The courier scowled. Whatever his reasons for doing this were, he would know no mercy. Not this time.

His back bristled and he whirled around, fists clenched and eyes narrowed to slits. In front of him, just a few feet away, the air contorted and rippled. Cole could feel the static electricity gathering there, seconds before Kessler simply appeared out of nothing. His blue glowing eyes were equally narrow, but his posture was relaxed. It was as if he didn't regard Cole as a threat. His clothes had long since been repaired (or maybe he'd gotten new ones after Alex tried to maul him), leaving his worn trench coat back in pristine condition. The metal gauntlet on his right arm glowed eerily in the darkness, and lightning twitched through the black clouds overhead. Kessler's hood hid much of his wrinkled face that indicated his true age, but no matter how old he was- Cole knew that he was not weak. It would be a mistake to underestimate him.

So he clenched his fists a bit harder and carefully stepped back to duck slightly. He was ready to take the old man out. Kessler took notice of his pose and scoffed, though Cole thought he'd seen a tiny smile on his lips. The older conduit turned his attention to the crater, lifting his arms slightly. "Here we are", he said, and his voice sent shivers down Cole's back. "Back where it all started." He paused, then turned to face the younger. "You know, I was worried you wouldn't live through the Blast. But you were fine. More than fine, actually."

Cole pulled his lips away from his teeth in a snarl. "Why?" He hissed. "Why me?!" His eyes narrowed some more. "If you want to kill me- why not kill me when I was defenseless?"

"Oh?" Kessler seemed amused.

"You were there", Cole snapped, "After the Blast. I heard your voice."

Kessler chuckled. "That's where you're wrong, Cole. I do not want to kill you. I want you to become stronger, stronger than I ever was." He cocked his head, blue eyes resting on the younger man. "For that, I've been there. I watched you. Every step of your life, Cole."

Cole growled at the older man, eyes blazing. Kessler had always been there, had always watched- had planned for seventy years to murder Empire City. He had planned for all of this, had persuaded Moya to take control of the city, had these weapons brought in with which the Reapers and Dustmen killed even more civilians.

And Kessler also took Zeke and killed Trish.

Kessler killed Trish.

Cole's mind darkened. The man who murdered his lover was here, right in front of him- willing to die. This was it, this was the final confrontation. Cole would win this. He wouldn't accept a defeat- he would kill Kessler. Lightning snapped out of his hands and slammed into the broken ground beneath. Soothingly blue electricity rapidly bled into crimson sparks- and then it continued darkening. The red was reduced to a dull glow restricted to the edges, while the lightning itself turned pitch black. Cole's teeth were bared as rage overtook. Kessler glanced at the black lightning, before he suddenly vanished in a flurry of white sparks. He didn't flee, though- he simply got ready.

Kessler appeared just a few yards further away, swiping his metal-covered hand from one side to the other. Several white-colored electric grenades, not unlike Cole's own, appeared along the arch of the swing, and bounced off and into his direction.

Electricity? Against him? Cole scoffed at the thought and was about to take the blow, when his skin tickled unpleasantly. Without even knowing why, he lunged to the side, though not fast enough to completely avoid the grenades. As they blew off, Cole found himself unpleasantly reminded of the time he jumped into the Smith Fountain- the electricity wasn't absorbed into his body, but rather ravaged its way through his system, frying him on the inside.

Pain snapped through his system, though Cole bit the groan back ruthlessly.

Whatever powers Kessler had- they were far superior to his own.

Suddenly, the old man was right there, sneering down at Cole as he brought his metal-clad fist down, effortlessly cracking the ground. Cole swore and managed to roll to the side to get his skull out of the danger zone, but he still felt the shockwave racing through the floor, covering an area of several square meters with ease. It wasn't unlike his own shockwaves- and much stronger than the Reaper or Aura conduit's attacks. Cole realized how much damage it would have caused in the past- one Reaper conduit had injured him gravely, though now he did manage to shake Kessler's much more powerful shockwave off with no greater trouble.

Kessler didn't let him catch his breath, though, because he immediately yanked his hand upwards, sending a second shockwave racing through the ground in a straight line. Cole noticed the floor split open like it had been cleaved open by a particularly large blade, and swung around to shoot several bolts of lightning into Kessler's direction, just to get him to back off.

He will absorb my lightning, his mind whispered, he's much stronger than I am.

When he dodged the attack by teleporting away, however, Cole's eyebrows shot upwards. Because he didn't take it- he avoided it. And that meant, Kessler too could not deal with Cole's electricity.

The younger instantly jumped back to his feet and fired his explosive ball lightning at the older in a rapid succession, just for the guy to effortlessly avoid them by constantly teleporting all over the place. And then suddenly he changed his movement, zig-zagging at a breakneck speed towards the courier, all without actually moving. Cole brought his arms up in an attempt to shield himself when Kessler collided into him. He threw a powerful shockwave into his direction, throwing him off his feet. Cole hit the ground hard, gasping in pain and groaning.

Kessler halted his attacks, sneered down on him instead. "Your mother is ashamed of you", he hissed in a near-whisper, and Cole's spine turned to ice. "She lies", Kessler commented, "Tells people you're a teacher." He chuckled darkly and Cole's rage mounted. "No-one respects a bike messenger."

"SHUT UP!" The younger roared, unleashing black lightning everywhere. Stone shattered upon making contact, and Kessler looked too pleased with himself. Shit- he knew about his parents. He knew them.

Cole wouldn't say he was terrified for his family's health, as his parents and younger brother always nagged him for his own choices to the point he stopped talking to them completely- but if Kessler knew what they were thinking about him, then they were in danger. Cole didn't want to be the one to be blamed for their death- not like with Trish. Not again.

He snarled and dove at Kessler, chucking several grenades to his side. Kessler dodged them, and Cole followed up with a lightning bolt. He grazed the old man's side, only through sheer luck, but it showed him that Kessler was not indestructible.

Kessler teleported backwards, to stand in the center of the crater. Cole saw white static crackle around him, saw how he lifted his arms- only to throw them to the front and unleash a single beam of white energy, not even a thunder bolt but more a ion beam, and from the palms of his hands. Cole instantly dove to the side, trying to get behind some loose rubble to avoid it, only to witness in terror how the blast literally ate its way through a boulder to the side, leaving behind a white-glowing melted hole inside it. Cole realized that hiding wouldn't cut it- he just leapt back to his feet and dashed in a circle around Kessler, feeling the hot attacks behind his back rip through the broken remains of what had been central Empire.

He heard a hiss and whipped around, witnessing the old man drop to one knee, panting harshly. Cole immediately went for him, unleashing everything he had to shoot as many lightning bolts as he could at the terrorist.

Kessler grunted once the black lightning made contact with him, though he came back to his feet entirely too fast, teleporting away and instantly assaulting Cole with another barrage of grenades.

"I see, you have figured out my weakness", the old man taunted. "It's true, I'm not as spry as I used to be- but you'll find I'm still tougher than I look."

And suddenly, he was right there. Cold, claw-like metal fingers reaching for the younger. Cole bit back a startled yelp and tried to fend him off, only for Kessler to effortlessly grab a hold of him to leave him sneering into his face. Kessler charged up, and thousands of volts slammed through Cole's body, burning their way deeper and deeper into his flesh. Cole instantly mimicked his action, trying to counter with whatever he had.

"You're weak", Kessler growled as he easily overpowered the younger. It was ridiculous how strong that old coot was. "All of this had been for nothing." He freed his metal hand and slapped it into Cole's face, and white lightning raced through his brain. Cole's world instantly turned gray, his blood roared in his ears, drowning out the shrill screech of his own agonized scream. His heart slammed madly in his rib cage, and for the first time he realized that he was dying. Panicking, he scrabbled along Kessler's wrists, trying to find some purchase, but then the old man simply let go of him, dropping him into a heap to the floor.

Cole gasped, trying to get away or anything, really, when he heard an enraged shout, followed by shooting. "Get your hands offa him!"

Kessler made a disgruntled noise and teleported away, leaving Cole to twist his neck and stare wide-eyed at the shape of Zeke.

Zeke!

He came back!

"Cole!" Zeke hollered, "Make a run for it! I'll take care of this gas-bag!"

Kessler snorted, materializing just a few feet away from Zeke. "This doesn't concern you, fat man", he growled. Zeke aimed his gun at Kessler, just as he threw his arm out and flung Zeke backwards, sending him flying all the way to the crater's edge.

Zeke!

Cold terror flooded through Cole's body, moments before it changed into fiery hot rage. Black lightning snapped out of his body, fixing his injuries. The courier snarled and lunged to the front, tackling into Kessler while also unleashing his power to fry him. The old man flinched back in surprise, then instantly teleported away and out of reach. Cole's shoulders hunched and he became aware of his ragged breathing, but wasn't going to give up. Not now.

"No one is going to save you this time"

"You're not going to be so glib when I ram my foot up your ass!" Cole barked enraged, part of him wanting to abandon this battle and just look for Zeke, but the much larger part simply wanted to murder that old buzzard.

"Is that so?" Kessler sneered, releasing his white lightning. His form blurred, and a second later, there were three of them.

Which one was the real one?

Cole snarled, trying to figure out which one to fry when the ground buckled and warped. Giant black spears broke through the soil, impaling two of the Kesslers. One faded away, the other grunted in pain and teleported across the crater, pressing his flesh hand against a massive bleeding hole in his thigh. His eyes narrowed then, and he teleported away yet again, when an uncanny human shape slammed into the spot he'd just been in before. Giant wicked claws whistled through the empty air where his head had been, and a pair of crimson eyes flashed.

Cole exhaled in relief. Alex was there. Now they could tag-team Kessler, take him frown two sides and keep the pressure up.

"Hello Mercer", Kessler scoffed, lightning knitting his wounds back together. "Finally joined us, I see?"

"Shut it, Kessler", Mercer growled back, "We end this. Now!"

He immediately lunged at the older man. Kessler charged up and created his massive lightning bolts once more, but Alex easily rolled in mid-air to avoid the attack, slamming into the ground hard. Before Kessler had managed to target him again, Alex's body melted and burrowed into the soil, completely avoiding the attack. Kessler grunted and teleported away.

Cole jumped back into action in that moment, firing lightning bolts into his direction, drawing his attention again. Kessler zig-zagged again to appear in front of the younger, throwing another shockwave into his direction.

Cole avoided the blade-like attack, just in time for Alex to burst from the rubble and slash his massive claws at the older conduit. This time, Kessler could not teleport away fast enough, and several of the strikes shore through his flesh before he managed to get into a safe distance, where he dropped down once more, panting harshly.

"I got this!" Cole snapped, firing his lightning bolts at the older man. Kessler grunted at each hit, but his body was already healing again.

"Fuck. He's a tough coot", Alex growled under his breath. Then a wicked grin split his features. "I love it."

"Go for it", Cole replied, "But remember- I get to kill him."

"With pleasure."


Alex had arrived at the Long Pier way before any of Moya's men, and from afar the scent of the Blast assaulted his nose. It was the overwhelming smell of ozone, sea and hot material in general that made him gasp and involuntarily pause.

The Long Pier was gone. The remaining edges were frayed and torn, ash and something hot having burnt most of it right off. The bay was still churning, though was notably calming. The Blast was over, the Ray Sphere now probably at the bottom of the harbor. Alex clenched his teeth and leapt off the street, soaring over what he believed was the center of the dome he'd seen before his rational mind caught up to what he was doing. He had to find that damn thing and dismantle it, make sure nobody got to use it anymore. He angled his body and let himself drop into the water, his entire surface squirming in panic.

But water didn't hurt him. Redlight was hydrophobic, but Blacklight wasn't. The reason he disliked it was simply because he had been afraid to drown when he first fell into the Hudson. Back when he believed he was still human, when he believed he needed to breathe. Knowing now the truth allowed him to overcome his fears, though, and he willed himself to go deeper until his feet hit the dug-up ground of the harbor. Visibility was near zero down here, but Alex easily switched into the infrared spectrum. The Sphere should be hotter than the surrounding area, right?

But no matter in which direction he looked, he didn't find it, and his body demanded him to leave now. He broke the surface, jumping right out of the bay to land on the shattered remains of the Long Pier. No Ray Sphere, and as long it's down there, it should be secure from Moya, right?

Alex figured he had bigger concerns at the moment.

He was missing Cole. If he'd been in the Blast, then he should be around here somewhere, correct? Even if he dropped into the bay, then he should have seen him- yet he didn't. And that meant Cole wasn't here. He needed to talk to him, figure out what happened to the Sphere.

Alex inhaled the air, filtering through hundreds of smells to find the one he had come to identify with the courier.

There was a trail- and it led away from the harbor. Good, that meant he was still alive then.

Alex dashed after the track, hoping to find the man before something happened, when he became keenly aware of the cracking of thunder. He saw bright white streaks of lightning arch through the air, followed by impossible black bolts.

He stopped for a split seconds, eyes widening beneath his hood. Shit. Cole had found Kessler. Cole had found Kessler. And they were fighting!

He swore under his breath and started sprinting, hoping to intercept the old coot. He was aware how powerful he was, but he did learn from their brief encounter at Alden's Tower. And with Cole there, they would be able to assault Kessler from both sides, keep him on his toes. The guy was old, very old, so his system should fail if they kept him running around. They should be able to weaken him, the question was only: How long would it take?

Then he heard shooting, and shouting. Dunbar? That was Dunbar's voice, wasn't it?

"This doesn't concern you, fat man." Alex snarled at the sound of Kessler's voice, but the terrified scream of Dunbar drew his attention for the moment. He saw the man flail through the air, falling entirely too fast. Part of him just wanted to let him fall, to see what would happen, but Dana once referred to Dunbar as a friend. Hell- he was Cole's friend, and no matter what happened, friendships that have existed for such a long time wouldn't be gone simply at the drop of a hat.

Alex lunged off the floor and met Dunbar in mid-air, his strong arms taking a secure hold of the other man. He hit the ground hard, his feet cracking the soil so hard he dug himself in for a few inches.

Dunbar was panting audibly, and his eyes were blown wide behind his glasses, but he seemed to be unhurt. Alex dropped him to the floor, not caring in the least when he heard him squeak in surprise. He was watching the crater, where Cole and Kessler were fighting. The younger was in a bad condition, his body had taken quite the beating already, while Kessler barely seemed worse for wear. The Blacklight Runner growled and instantly shifted to his claws.

He had to take Kessler by surprise if he wanted to prevent Alden's Tower from repeating itself. Down there, Kessler summoned two copies of himself- simple optical illusions cast through his powers. Enough to blind Cole as to who the real one was, but those images lacked the heat of the real one. Finding Kessler was easy.

Alex took a single second to right himself, then he stabbed his claw into the ground and channeled himself through it. His Groundspikes tore from the soil, eradicating one of the copies and injuring the original, who teleported away with a pained grunt.

Alex didn't let him recollect himself. He snapped off the Biomass still in the ground and lunged at Kessler, who barely managed to avoid his attack.

"Hello Mercer", Kessler sneered, and his body was healing as he watched. "Finally joined us, I see?"

"Shut it", Alex barked back, fanning his claws out. "We end this. Now!" He pounced at Kessler again, who charged up and unleashed a powerful white bolt of lightning. Alex rolled to the side, using his Air Dash to change his trajectory. Different plan- on the ground or the air he was an easy target. But the floor was going to protect him, conduct the electricity off and keep him safe. His body fell apart as his Biomass instantly squirmed into the soil, crawling through the countless cracks and gaps in the floor. He found the mass he snapped off before and took it back into himself, then turned his attention to the surface. Down here, he couldn't see, smell or hear anything (and he was lacking a face to speak of), but he could feel the tremors from above.

Pinpointing Kessler was easy. Alex catapulted himself back to the surface, reforming his body in the loose layers just below- and burst from the ground like a nightmare, claws blazing. He finally took Kessler by surprise, and his powerful talons ripped through his flesh. Being a conduit made the old man incredibly tough, and he was fast, so he managed to teleport away before Alex managed to shear through his spine. Nearly as tough as a Hunter then. But Kessler had the same weak points as the beasts had.

And he had succeeded in weakening him. Forced to the ground and immobile to heal, he was an easy target. Cole jumped into action in that moment, shouting "I got this" before he fired his lightning bolts at him to keep him down.

However, Kessler slid back to his feet after the first few hits, and teleported once more. "Fuck", Alex heard himself say, "He's a tough coot." At the same time, he couldn't help but feel incredibly riled up. Kessler was so powerful, so resistant to every type of attack, it made him downright giddy. He grinned widely at the recognition of this enemy. "I love it!"

Cole scoffed. "Go for it. But remember- I get to kill him."

The Runner nodded at the younger man for a second, and his grin only widened. "With pleasure."

He lunged again, not to hit Kessler, but to keep him on his toes. He was old, after all, and wouldn't be able to keep up with him forever. He was going to fuck up eventually, would be helpless against Blacklight.

"That's the best you can do?" The old man snorted, flexing the fingers on his metal gauntlets. Lightning rained down around him, forcing Alex to roll to the side and get into a safe distance.

"Cole!" He snapped.

The younger chucked several grenades at his foe, forcing him to abandon his barrier. Kessler teleported away, then slammed his fist into the ground to generate a powerful shockwave. Alex and Cole both easily leapt over it, at the cost of giving Kessler room to breathe.

The old man teleported across the field and away from the two of them, expression blank once again. "Your old man carried a picture of Trish in his wallet, Cole", he taunted, and Alex could see the younger's limbs tremble with poorly-contained rage. "He told people she was the daughter he never had. Did you know that?" Kessler smirked, "He couldn't wait for you to marry her."

"You rotten son of a bitch." It wasn't so much Cole's volume that startled Alex somewhat- it was the lack of it. The sheer rage that bled into every syllable, hatred given a voice. He was coming apart, and Kessler was taunting him, goading him every step.

He wanted the younger to kill him, but wasn't going to make it any easier for him. Again, the question was- why?

Kessler chuckled darkly, and spread his arms to the side. "Let's not dawdle any longer." His body sparked with white lightning, seconds before it burst outside. Kessler vanished, leaving an aura in his place. No, not one- five two-story auras.

"Ah, crap", Cole growled.

Alex agreed, but at the same time, he whipped his head to the side, hoping to find the old man. But Kessler was nowhere to be seen.

Auras...and vanishing. Like his conduits.

Alex's eyes flashed back into the infrared spectrum, easily spotting Kessler. "Cole", the Runner snarled, "I see him. Can you keep his fucking auras off my ass?"

The courier scowled and black lightning snapped from his arms. "No problem. Kick him around for a bit, will you?"

"I will."

Alex lunged at the hidden conduit. His auras immediately whipped around, and each of them slammed their fists into the ground, cratering the floor and shaking the entire crater. Any other time, the Runner would have admired them for their tenacity, but right now they were simply annoying. He rocketed off the floor, seconds before several high-powered lightning bolts hit one of them and made it fizzle off. Alex angled his body and expelled air to dash downwards, to where Kessler was. The old man had long since noticed him, and Alex could see something hot gathering in his hands. He instantly rolled to the side, avoiding one of those high-energy blasts. As soon he hit the ground, he had to dodge another blow. Kessler was powerful, no doubt, but Alex was simply faster. He could easily go a hundred miles per hour on flat ground, and could outmaneuver tank shells shot at him from close up. While he couldn't outrun lightning, he could easily avoid being targeted. Kessler could not keep up with him, couldn't focus on him in time to actually hit him.

Alex effortlessly dodged the next blast, then instantly dove at the old man from his side. Kessler wasn't fast enough, failing to avoid him when one ton of viral mass collided into him. Alex could hear bones creak under the force of the impact and the startled huff of air being punched out of the old man's lungs. Alex instantly jabbed his claws to the front, running them through the other man's lower torso, just seconds before Kessler teleported away.

Thunder cracked behind him and Alex whipped around, witnessing the old man collapse to his knees with blood starting to seep into his once pristine white coat. At the same time, the auras collapsed, and Cole instantly turned on his enemy.

The first two ball lightnings hit the old man, then he managed to pull himself together enough to summon a shield in front of his body, protecting himself against the attack. At the same moment, his wound started to grow shut in a flurry of white sparks. Slower than before.

Alex's eyes narrowed, and from the furrow in Cole's brows, he was thinking the same. Kessler was weakening.

The old man teleported again to avoid them, then came rushing towards the Runner. Alex instantly shifted to the Whipfist and swung it in a wide arc, though Kessler managed to avoid it and slam a shockwave into him, actually sending him sprawling backwards.

Alex snarled and screwed his body back into the correct position, but by then Kessler had brought enough distance between them. The black sky rumbled once- and giant pillars of lightning rained down. Far more destructive than Cole's, they ripped through the soil and scorched anything they came into contact with. Alex rushed to the side, grabbing a hold of the courier and pulled him away from the danger zone. For once, Cole didn't protest, but rather braced himself against the viral entity to target Kessler.

Alex's body bristled in discomfort when the static electricity gathered around the conduit, but he didn't let go of him, because for some reason, Kessler's lightning hurt Cole just as much as Cole's hurt Kessler.

He wondered about that, because the younger was easily able to absorb any sort of electricity, even radiation, and always came out looking better than before. So what was Kessler's secret?

Cole landed a lucky shot, hitting Kessler square in the chest. The lightning strikes stopped, and Alex immediately dropped the younger man to pounce on Kessler. The old man had stumbled back from the courier's blast, and was thus wide open. Alex swiftly shifted to his Hammerfists and brought them down with all his might. Kessler's shield popped back into existence, swallowing the blow along with the kinetic energy. Alex snarled at the old man, Kessler sneered back. "Not you", he growled. Lightning snapped out of his body and ripped in painful strikes through the Runner's body. Alex grit his teeth, reeling back. However, he didn't let up. Close combat wasn't cutting it to get him to drop his cover- so what else was there?

Elizabeth Greene, MOTHER, flashed through his mind, and his Biomass squirmed. It coiled in tight layers just beneath his surface, then suddenly shifted to generate an extreme amount of pressure between his layers. Alex snarled and let the pressure go, part of his body tearing open in a way similar to a Devastator, but this one wasn't made of Biomass.

It was a ring of crimson energy tearing away from him and racing outwards. The force of the shockwave threw loose rubble up to the size of small boulders around like they were bits of paper caught in a breeze, but also Kessler lost his balance even though his shield swallowed up the blast.

He corrected his stance quickly, though he was careless for just a split second. A split second too much when dealing with ZEUS. Alex went back at him with his claws, razor edges gleaming in the low lighting.

Kessler offered no resistance asides from a startled gasp when the viral entity ran them through his chest. Alex twisted them and ripped them back out, maximizing the damage and tearing a good-sized gash into the old man's lungs, when he heard Cole's shout. "DIE!"

The scent of ozone had grown overwhelming, and the Runner immediately hopped back and away from his downed foe. Pillars of black lightning struck Kessler, burnt through his body and ripped the ground he was kneeling upon to shreds. Alex winced at the ear-splitting thunderclap, and brought his shield up to block some loose rubble.

The lightning storm went on for several long moments, until it finally died down. Alex slowly lowered his shields, half-expecting to find a scorched corpse, but he was surprised to find Kessler in one piece- singed and bleeding, but still very much conscious.

Only, he had no energy left at all- obviously having used it all to shield himself, and Alex could hear the labored breathing. Steps besides him told him of Cole's arrival. The courier glanced at his downed foe, then to Alex. His face was set into a frown. "Let's end this."


Cole had wanted to be the one to end Kessler- when Alex had stolen it from him. It was pointless, he knew, and the older actually caused more damage with his talons than Cole would ever be able to cause with his electrical blades. And the attack had given him an opening, and opening he used to unleash his entire hatred and rage in a thunderstorm. He had poured everything he had into frying Kessler.

For a moment, he had been worried that he had accidentally killed him, because he wanted to look him in the eyes as he took his life, but when Kessler coughed and squirmed a bit on the ground, he saw his chance.

"Let's end this."

He moved to his fallen foe, his expression grim. He had done it, he had beaten the guy- and avenged Trish. His blood was still pulsing in his veins, and his brain running in circles, but he had defeated Kessler. Now all that was left to do was to kill him, end him once and for all. Unlike Alden, this was something he was going to do himself.

"Trish..." Cole paused, eyes narrowing. Did he just-? Kessler coughed and weakly propped himself up on his elbows, head down so the hood hid his face, but Cole could hear his pained breathing. "I'm so sorry, Trish", Kessler whispered with a hoarse voice. "I love you. Please forgive me." Cole furrowed his brows and carefully drew closer- did he just hear what he thought he did? Kessler- he knew Trish?

And then suddenly, Kessler pounced. Cole jerked back, but not fast enough when Kessler's fingers dug into his face. He felt the blood stick to his skin, and he felt the sheer effort it took the old man to hold him down, but he put every last bit of his strength into this grab- and then pictures flashed in front of Cole's eyes.

Kessler gave him a vision, gave him his secrets- his own memories.

And Cole saw his nemesis, the Beast that extinguished all life. Kessler could have fought it when he first saw it, he could have stopped it- but fear and panic overrode his rational thoughts. Instead of fighting, he took his family and fled. He ran away, trying to keep his family safe, while abandoning everybody else.

And the Beast only grew stronger. It went on for years, with Kessler always trying to keep a step ahead of the Beast, only trying to keep his wife and daughters safe- while the world around them died. And then it was too late. He had been too late one day, just a little bit- and the Beast found and murdered his family. Everything he had sacrificed, every life he willingly doomed- and in the end nothing mattered. In the end, Kessler was alone, billions of lost lives sitting on his back, judging his every step. He could hear the whispers of those that died, heard the screams of his family over and over and over again- and he knew he could not stand up to the Beast. He had been too weak, too cowardly- and now everything was lost.

In that moment, he made the decision to never be weak again. To never allow this to happen. To stop the Beast.

And his powers responded. Kessler literally tore a hole through the fabric of time itself, and passed through it, taking only the prototype of the Ray Sphere and his intense hatred for the Beast with him. He left behind his old world, his time- and went back nearly a century before he left in the first place.

Kessler went back in time to rewrite it, took control of the First Sons, and had them work on the prototype he took with him. Had them create the Ray Sphere- to create a weapon against the Beast.

Cole.

For seven decades he was working on this, accelerating the development of that blasted Sphere, contacted DARPA and Moya, found him, planned the very quarantine itself- he was working for that single moment when the Ray Sphere exploded in Cole's hold- killing thousands and giving him his powers.

Cole watched with wide eyes and slack jaw how Kessler dropped back lifelessly, having spent too much energy into this mental link to keep alive. In his own hand was a single picture- Kessler had stuffed it between his fingers when he gave him his memories. It had been laminated, but it was badly scratched up and worn from the decades of fighting, running and planning.

Yet it was the one thing he cherished most. The one thing that created the link between what he did, and his past- Cole's future.

It was Kessler's wedding picture. Taken on the happiest day of his life- when he married Trish with Zeke as his best man.

Cole's body shook when the realization set in. The man on the picture- the man that had married Trish- it was him. It was his face on that picture, it was him who was happily nuzzling a smiling Trish. Kessler and him-they were one and the same. Kessler was him- he was Cole MacGrath.

He had come back in time to mold Cole- his own past self- into the savior he failed to become. He had failed to defeat the Beast, but was unwilling to accept it. Instead, he gave his past self those powers, the same powers he had- and forced him to use them, to become stronger than he was.

And to do this, he killed Trish- the woman he loved- Cole loved- so he wouldn't be tied down by emotions, so he wouldn't be rendered unable to do anything like Kessler had been, so long ago. He wanted Cole to become strong, strong enough to do whatever was necessary to destroy the same thing that killed his world.

Cole didn't want to accept it, didn't want to have anything to do with that bastard- but it was too detailed to be a lie. No, Kessler was him. He was Kessler. They were the same.

Cole stepped back, brain racing. He became aware of Alex besides him, but couldn't tear his gaze away from Kessler's body. The body of his future self.

"Cole?" Alex asked, and there was genuine worry in his voice. "What happened?"

"I-" Cole swallowed. "You- you'll figure it out." He choked back the lump in his throat, and his blood began boiling. Kessler was dead- he took the life of the man who took Trish's- but the victory felt just so empty. This entire time, he had done exactly what Kessler had planned- what he had planned- and he felt so used. So fed up with everything.

Kessler had taken everything from him, everything in the name of 'common good'- he killed the woman he loved (they both loved), and now Cole couldn't even relish in this victory. Kessler had taken this from him too. He hated him, hated everything about him- hated that it was him who ended like that. His rage was curdling through his stomach like an angry snake.

"You can have him", he growled at Alex, turning to face the mutant. "Leave nothing behind."

He didn't miss the excited gleam in the other's eyes as he turned away, watching how Zeke stood there, shuffling his feet. Cole peeled his lips away from his teeth in a snarl, and simply stormed off. He ignored Zeke's voice behind him, ignored the fleshy tearing sounds Alex made as he took what was left of Kessler.

He couldn't grasp a single clear thought- except one- he would be ready. He would be ready for Moya and her soldiers. He would be ready to destroy any and all opposition. He would be ready for the Beast, he would kill it. He would stop it from destroying their world like it had done before.