Heavy steps approached him and he turned, half expecting Alex or Heller. It was Colonel Blackwatch instead. His face was set into a frown as he glared at the open water where Bertrand's speedboat vanished.

"That Bertrand?"

Cole furrowed his brows and nodded. "He's also the giant thing you and your guys just blew the shit out of."

The man scowled. "And you didn't tell me, why?"

Cole snorted. "Because we literally just learnt a few hours ago that he was a Conduit to begin with- and even then, we still didn't know what his powers were." He waved towards the destruction the Behemoth had wrought. "This took me by surprise just as much as it did you guys." He cut himself off, sighed and dropped his shoulders. "How many casualties?"

"Still trying to determine", the Colonel replied. "Seemed to have affected a lot civilians, though, the gas managed to get into their homes through the shattered windows. My team's cleaning them out as we speak."

"Shit" He clenched his fist. Another bunch of people dead because he was dragging his ass.

"You frustrated about not being able to have foreseen this?"

Cole blinked, glancing at the Specialist. Could he read minds?

The man snorted. "No, I can't read minds. But I can read your face. You're like an open book, MacGrath."

"Obviously", He exhaled once. "What are you planning to do now?"

"Now I'll make the call. Get the news to Detrick."

He blinked. "Why?"

"Because of the Corrupted. People getting infected and turned into drones by a thing that can blend in with the population? Makes Bertrand Runner enough to count. Though if you act fast, Blackwatch won't be able to steal your thunder- no pun intended."

"No? From what I heard, you guys would butt in as soon you detect only the faintest trace of Runner activity."

"Yeah, but most of our equipment and manpower is tied up at the East Coast. The Beast's still our top priority, and Rooks got his hands full trying to slow it down." He snorted angrily. "If anything, it's only speeding up. It's closer than three hundred miles already. And we can't manage to stop the damn thing."

"Double shit." Which meant he had to get more Blast Cores. And fast. Cole exhaled again. "What about your team? That cloud explosion took me by surprise."

"We've been too far away, the gas was diluted, and everything else got filtered out by our gas masks, though..." He pinched the bridge of his nose, "Not sure whether they would have worked against the pure stuff. Grayson at least was unaffected, guess it only works on humans."

"Alex and Heller?"

"Both physically fine, if you ignore the disorientation."

"Disorientation?"

"That gas plays havoc on our senses", Alex threw in, shuffling closer. Cole swore he hadn't even noticed him approach. "Basically, the stench was so potent it knocked loose our brains. We can be lucky if we smell anything else at the end of the day."

"Ouch", The Conduit grimaced.

"Cross", Alex added, "Captain Santos requested your presence. Apparently there are some police officers who'd like to talk to the one in charge."

"Fucking wonderful", the man scoffed, throwing his hands up. "And Laroche's gone dark already, right?"

"Correct."

"I'll talk to them. And take charge of this entire shit show here."

As he walked off, the two were left in silence, until Alex broke it. "I've seen you use ice and fire. The transfer worked?"

Cole lifted a hand and let lightning run over it, focusing to switch to ice, then fire. "Yup. How are Nix and Kuo?"

"Awake. But", Alex cocked his head. "They didn't get any additional abilities."

Cole felt a stab between his ribs. "No?"

"No. Guess it's either because the machine blew before it could finish the transfer, or maybe you were better suited for acquiring new powers since your genetic code is constantly being altered by the Blast Cores anyways." He shrugged one shoulder. "They're with Zeke at the moment. Or should be, he and Dana arrived when I took off."

Cole turned and slowly walked back to the street. "What do you think about this?"

"Things are getting hot and fast."

"Yeah, I was aware. But you've seen the whole battle, right? Through Heller."

"I did."

"Any thoughts about Bertrand?"

The Runner furrowed his brows. "His powers are...impressive."

"Thought you could do something similar?"

"The infection through the air yes. Could do that as infant." He sounded way too proud of that one. "However, I'm more amazed about him transforming." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Imagine, all that mass- and nothing was left when he fled. At the same time, we didn't even know he had transformed until he showed himself. Which means, he basically generated all that mass near instantly."

"Could be he's got a better grip on this Conduit power source than I have", Cole suggested. "You can create matter with enough energy, right?" Star Trek said as much, after all.

"Yes. Quite frankly, it is amazing." Cole saw the glint in Alex's eyes and could already guess that he actually had a different word in mind. Something along the lines of 'delicious'. He shuddered briefly.

"If we face him again, what will you do?"

"Kill him when he transformed. Use the Biomass to build something against the Beast", Alex pointed out simply. Cole nodded. He already suspected as much.

"Once you get him, tell me everything he knew. I'm damn sure he knows more about Wolfe's work than he lets on. And I want to know."

Alex and Cole had reached Ground Zero soon enough. Cross's Wisemen were just taking out the last Corrupted, all of them jumping the first time Alex's tendrils snaked from the ground to add the Swamp Beasts' mass to the storage he installed beneath the city. Now he had one in Ascension Parish, one in the Old Town, one in the swamp. He'd need more, preferably in the other districts as well, if he wanted to be prepared. He grinned and waved at the Wisemen, and got rude gestures in return.

Cole made a disgruntled noise besides him. "He's gonna pay for this", he growled.

"He will. But Bertrand's only means to an end, an obstacle. You shouldn't lose sight of what's important"

The Conduit exhaled. "You're right. The Beast is coming, and I'm still at only three Blast Cores-"

"Four", the Runner corrected. "You kind of absorbed the one in the transfer device too. Was probably the reason you got Nix's and Kuo's powers and not the other way around."

"Okay, so four", Cole furrowed his brows. "I think we still need more."

He probably did, though that was another bag of problems waiting to be opened. "You up for consuming another one so soon?" The third had knocked him out for quite a while, and from what he could piece together from Wolfe's work, the constant change of a Conduit's DNA wasn't too healthy- the doctor had theorized that it could possibly take years off their lives or cause chronic diseases.

Cole scowled. "I have to. I'm the only one who can use the RFI."

Alex's brow came down. He really shouldn't give him the possibility to wreck himself any further- but he was right. Time was short. "When I left, I heard how Laroche was contacted by one of his men. Apparently, they took a Blast Core off a patrol in Flood Town."

"Flood Town?" Cole's eyes widened, then he snapped his head towards the flooded part north of their current position. "No juice there." He grabbed his phone and picked Dunbar's number. "Zeke? You with Laroche in Flood Town?"

"Uh, yes. Was just about to call you. Uh, we kind of need electricity here-"

"And I kind of need the Blast Core Laroche's supposed to have."

Alex heard the sharp intake of breath from the other end, then the shuffling. "How do you know, MacGrath?" Laroche sounded surprised and angry at the same time.

Cole eyed the Runner briefly. "Alex heard it", he said eventually. "Just a fair word of warning- he got freakishly good ears."

"God, it's just one thing after the other with you Conduits-"

"You have the Core or don't you?" Cole cut him off.

"Yeah, I got it." Laroche hummed audibly for a moment. "Tell ya what- you switch on the power here in Flood City, and the thing's yours."

"Deal" Cole clicked his phone off, and eyed Alex. "You know where the next transformer is?"

"I do"

"I'll get the Core then, activate it, and take a nap. Promise."

Alex thought about it for a moment. "Sounds like a plan." Plus, he really had to get to Laroche- he had heard the muffled breathing in the background that had sounded way too much like someone trying to inhale as silently as possible so he wouldn't hear. He still did- and with Dana in Flood Town, he knew perfectly well where he was going to be.

First though- the last few Corrupted crumpled under sustained gun fire. Alex just nodded at Cross who was in the process of talking with Robertson, then turned to Heller, who stood aside the carnage and was holding a phone. He had already altered his appearance back into his normal form, and from the static inside his head Alex could guess that the change and regeneration felt anything but pleasant.

"Yeah, I helped MacGrath fight this huge-ass bug monster. It could spit acid and sprout tentacles, and punching it in the face didn't even interest it. It was awesome- Hah, I know. You should have seen the kid chuck those electrical grenades at it. Was just beautiful."

"Aw, thank you", Cole cooed with a wide grin.

Heller snorted, and turned back to his conversation. "He's still a dumbass. Anyways, we learnt that the Bond Villain was in truth that giant monster, and now we're going to kick his ass three ways to next week- I'll be careful, you know me. Greet Ragland for me and sleep tight, baby girl." He put the phone into his pocket after a short pause and glanced at the other two. "Now what?"

"Now we'll go over into the Flood Town", Alex pointed out. "Cole will switch the energy back on, then we meet up with Laroche. After that, we'll see." He cocked his head. "You in?"

"Wait", Heller crossed his arms. "Didn't we just meet that guy? Thought he would be back at Fort Phillipe to celebrate their victory?"

"Nope. Since he's a civilian, he doesn't subscribe to what we think as logical- instead of securing his position, he and his men chased after the Militia almost immediately, and ran themselves into a tight spot with no energy and probably surrounded by God knows how many hicks."

The Evolved sighed. "So we need to go there and make sure they don't get themselves killed, do we?"

"That is about correct."

"Also", Cole threw in, "Laroche got one Blast Core, and I want it."

Heller simply shrugged in reply. "As long we get to show these guys who's boss, I'm in."

Alex nodded and turned his attention to Cross. "You okay with us heading over to the Flood Town?"

"I couldn't care less", the Colonel replied with a short scoff. "You ever figured what I'll tell my superiors about the fucking Hydra you spawned?"

"Lie. Blackwatch's good at it", The Runner answered simply, then led Cole off the main street and into one side alley where a transformer was. "Do your thing. The next is directly in the middle of the West Bridge."

"Got it", Cole went up to the transformer, grabbed it with one hand- and fired his so-dubbed 'Tesla Missile' into the direction of the street. Heller made a surprised noise, more even when a few moments later some lights lit up around the bridge. Cole blinked once, then let go and dusted his hands off. "Okay, so that was the first one. By the way, your 'right in the middle of the West Bridge' actually meant 'on top of the middle of the West Bridge'."

"So? It's not like it's going to make a difference." He really didn't see the problem. High position, good to defend- He was certain the Militia was going to try to stop them from powering up the district, but between him, Heller and Cole, it was going to be a cakewalk.

Then he paused, realizing that the north end of the bridge was still pulled up. And that didn't make sense. With a sigh, he took his own phone as they headed over to the newly activated transformer, calling Dana.

"Please tell me you are not in Flood Town."

"Uhm. I'm not?"

"Thank you, even though I know you're lying." He dragged his palm down his face. "How did you get over there anyways?"

"By boat, obviously."

"And you didn't stop to think that it would have been maybe the safer choice to wait until the bridge is down so you actually have a way back?"

Dana snorted. "I'm not alone. Nix and Kuo are with me, as are Laroche and Zeke. We can deal with this. But we need to do this."

He stopped. "How do you even know that Bertrand is in Flood Town? This whole thing happened like ten minutes ago."

The pause at the other end was maybe a bit too long. "We didn't."

Alex swore. "Damn it, Dana! Then why are you in Flood Town?!"

"To offer help. This place makes the Warren look tame in comparison. Since Katrina it's been trashed, and the Militia thinks they got free reign. Laroche wanted to keep the Militia in the ropes by striking now, just after taking control of the Fort." She scoffed. "I know you don't like it, but I want to help. Also, Nix and Kuo managed to secure another hideout. One with a roof and four walls, so we can work our stuff there. Would make it easier to do shit here in Flood Town without having to return to the Martini."

Cole had obviously discovered and activated the next transformer, lowered the bridge, and was eying him expectantly. "Another hideout? Sweet. Then I'll know where to sleep the Core off."

"Yeah, I think you're going to love it. But before you do, you'll tell us everything that happened. For example, why the Hell is Bertrand in Flood Town?"

"Oh, you're going to love this- he's the Conduit responsible for the Corrupted", Cole threw in.

"...You will tell us everything once you are here, MacGrath"

Flood Town certainly deserved its name, Heller thought. Most of the streets were easily two to three feet under water, and basically all houses were unusable. But people still lived there, which surprised him. In New Orleans, the flooded districts had been abandoned. Here, people simply moved into the upper levels of their homes, or to the rooftops to live out in tents, or they lived on platforms put together from trash metal that floated on top of the water.

But they didn't get to catch a break- the Militia were giving them a hard time, they knew, but strangely, there were none of those guys to be seen anywhere.

Then MacGrath stopped suddenly, lightning coming up- just in time for one of those Vermaak 88 mercenaries to make his appearance, clad in combat gear, trench coat and full-face mask, yelling at them that Flood Town was theirs and they were supposed to leave. Mercer grunted disbelievingly. "That guy serious?"

"I think so", the Sergeant commented, then turned to MacGrath. "You up for punching him in the face if necessary?"

"I am, it's just questionable whether it is necessary-" He got cut off when the guy lunged right at them, and he threw a shockwave into his face to make him back off. Just, that apparently pissed the guy off, and he jabbed his palm towards them to blast them with ice. Mercer growled in his throat as he backed off, while Heller grumbled under his breath and shielded his face with his arm.

MacGrath flexed his fingers, generated lightning wrought in flames surrounding his arm- and pounced on the guy. The mercenary swung his rifle into his direction, but the kid quickly ducked to the side and ran his shoulder into his guts to knock him off balance, then slammed both palms flat against his chest and fired off a pair of lightning bolts from point-blank directly into the mercenary. The guy dropped back with a swear, and the kid finished him off with another powerful lightning bolt, making him go still.

MacGrath dusted off his hands and brushed off pieces of frost clinging to his shirt. "Okay, I guess that answers my question. Assholes too. So they're on the shit list." He hummed for a moment. "Above or below the Militia?"

Heller snorted amused. "Too soon to tell, but since they got military training and super powers, I'd say they're above the Corrupted even." He turned to Mercer. "You think you can get some information from this guy?"

Mercer knelt down to extend a few tendrils towards the unconscious mercenary, but they curled backwards with a grunt from him. "Nope. No chance."

"But, uh, I didn't give him a head trauma?" MacGrath wondered.

"He got a sub-zero metabolism." Mercer scoffed. "Much like Kuo. And it doesn't matter if they can live with it, Blacklight can't. So no consuming these guys. Yet."

"Huh", Heller turned his attention to the transformer, where more mercenaries appeared. All of them were waving their rifles, and unlike the Militia, actually went for cover so they wouldn't be too easily dispatched. "That doesn't make sense", he noticed. "If they're mercenaries, why are they shooting at everything that moves? They're not paid to do that."

"I guess whatever Bertrand did to them made them go crazy", Mercer suggested as his arms bristled and turned into his Muscle Mass. "And they probably want to take revenge for what he's done to them- but sadly, they also attack us, so they won't be allies."

MacGrath shrugged. "I can live with that. Wasn't going to work with a bunch of Neo-Nazis anyways."

It was just a small group, and they seriously overestimated themselves when facing the Electric Conduit, ZEUS and HADES all together- their body armor offered more protection than whatever the Militia was wearing, but they were far more fragile than Super Soldiers. Heller didn't even need to transform and just had to throw a few light punches- and these guys crumpled like paper. Mercer had even less problems, was content basically clapping his hands to clear a path. That way, they reached the second-to-last transformer, and MacGrath did this lightning move again, just this time, when he snapped back to himself, he furrowed his brows. "There are a lot of these ice freaks around", he pointed out, "Like...like they want to stop me from putting the energy back on."

"I guess they want to keep the control", the Sergeant assumed. "Without energy, the people won't risk going against them, correct?" He huffed out and cracked his knuckles. "Shame they have no idea what they are up against. I wouldn't have minded a fair fight."

"What?" Mercer questioned, "Three against a hundred isn't fair?"

"It's not if these guys stand no chance", the Evolved grinned, then clapped MacGrath's back. "Now come. Let's get that last thing up and running, then we can look for Laroche."

MacGrath smirked. "Sure thing, dad."

Why would anyone even fight for this place? Heller wondered after they switched on the last transformer and had to remove a whole lot of Vermaak idiots. Wasn't like there was anything worth of having in this place, but these guys- they were looking for something. Maybe Laroche would know something?

They found the rebel's camp easily- a derelict large building, probably an old industrial complex, or maybe an office building from the 20th century. Only one wall and some pieces of the floors remained. Heller spotted Dunbar and Laroche, along with Dana, Agent Kuo and Nix standing around a map on the floor, talking to each other. Some more men hung around nearby, smoking or playing cards.

All of them looked up when they approached, and all of them seemed very much delighted.

"Okay guys, we're here. Party can begin", MacGrath grinned as he walked up to Dunbar.

"We already noticed the light show in the town", Laroche pointed out without looking up. "And thanks for fixing the energy grid."

"Hey, was all purely in self-preservation. I got no juice, and I get cranky." He paused and cocked his head. "You noticed these Vermaak idiots running around?"

"We did", Dana confirmed. "But they weren't interested in us, I guess. Or, at least, not into us non-Conduits. Pretty sure they gave Kuo and Nix the stink-eye."

"Dey jus' jealous", Nix snorted, "'Cause we look better."

"They were looking for something", Kuo pointed out. "But what for, I can't say."

"We got more problems anyways", Laroche sighed. "The Plague's worst here in Flood Town. People are dying left and right, and we're trying to give them meds against the pain. Problem is, the Swamp Monsters have suddenly popped up and throw everything into disorder."

Mercer's eyes narrowed. "Since when?"

"Half an hour, maybe a little more."

"Half an hour- that's the time Bertrand must be here", MacGrath noticed, which made Laroche gape at him. "Bertrand?! He's here?!"

"Possibly. The swamp beasts are his calling card", Heller pointed out. "Could be he's put them here to protect himself."

"Wait, wait", Dunbar blinked. "Bertrand's the Conduit that makes these things?"

"Das 'is powers?" Nix added. "Das wat 'e killed mah mamma for?!"

"Not only", MacGrath added. "He could also transform into some kind of super Corrupted. Five stories tall easily. Didn't even flinch when getting a missile to the face." He grimaced. "He kind of killed a few hundred people in the Old Town", he admitted. "We didn't even know what was happening until it was too late." He slumped his shoulders. "And I'm terribly sorry for it."

Laroche's pulse had jumped up, and he swallowed once to keep himself from lashing out. "And he's here now?"

"He's got to be here somewhere", Mercer explained. "And those Corrupted..." He thought about it for a moment. "Maybe I can follow their connection to him? They have to originate from somewhere, and it could be possible they still remember where they've been." He tapped the side of his hip. "It's worth a try."

"Ya gonna look for dem?" Nix demanded. "A wanna in den. 'E killed mah family, 'es no' gettin' off easy."

Mercer eyed her briefly. "If you are okay with me getting the larger part of this, you're welcome to join me." He glanced at Laroche. "Where are they?"

"Uh-" The man was still obviously frazzled.

"Eloquent as ever", Dana snorted, then turned to her brother. "They're basically everywhere, but probably closing in."

"Got it", the Runner tilted his head slightly. "We're going to form perimeters then, spiral outwards from here. That should do the trick." He turned his focus on his sister. "We'll talk once I get back. Just running here with no clue what was going on..."

She smacked his arm. "You know I can take care of myself. Now go. Turn up the heat on these things."

Mercer nodded and motioned for Nix to follow him as he leapt off the floor and vanished over the flooded shantytown. The Fire Conduit chuckled once and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"That's one problem less", MacGrath pointed out.

"Yeah, I can guess", the rebel leader muttered. "I've seen him fight. And...eat those things, I guess." He shook himself, then turned his attention to the Electric Conduit. "I assume you want the Core I have?"

"Yeah", he held out his hands in a 'gimme' motion, then paused and frowned at the man. "I hope you didn't touch it-"

"Radiation, I know", Laroche waved him off. "When Agent Ice here told me they were charged, I had my guys only remove it once they had it back in that container the Militia had it in."

"Strange though", Kuo added, "That they arrived here now. Could this be...because of Bertrand?"

"I mean, he's a Conduit. Possible he gets powers with Cores too", Dana suggested.

"Heller". The Sergeant flinched slightly, then turned away from the conversation. "What?"

"These ice guys- they've set fire to the wells."

Heller thought he hadn't understood. "Wells?"

Laroche's head however snapped up at his question, eyes widening. He spun and yelled at his guys, expression turning pale when he confirmed the Runner's intel. "Shit, the wells are burning-"

"I got this", the Evolved grunted. Just tell me where they are-"

"Are you out of your mind? The only way to snuff the flames would be with the well cap, and that thing weighs like a ton-"

"And?" Heller cracked his knuckles. "I lifted heavier. Now where is the cap, and where are the wells?"

"I know it", Kuo threw in. "I'll go with you."

"Good", Heller turned and rushed off, while the agent flitted after him in the form of icy mist. He found himself amazed by how fast she could move in that shape- easily being able to keep up with him as he dashed along the unstable ground.

He found the first well easily enough- the massive pillar of smoke and the shine of flames were easy to spot from basically everywhere in Flood Town.

"I got it", agent Kuo called out, materializing next to a large structure which Heller realized was the well cap. He glanced back at the blazing inferno. Gas and oil on top of the water, he figured, and from the sheer amount of flames spewing from the well, they would be eating up any oxygen very fast.

"Let's hope the cap closes airtight", he grumbled, then headed over to pick it up, but paused for a moment. Blacklight didn't like playing with fire, and he wasn't an exception to this rule. "Kuo? Can you try to cool the surrounding air down?"

She made a noise, eyes narrowing. "Reduce the ability of the fire to burn and help you get close enough?"

"Exactly" Heller cracked his knuckles, then seized the cap and easily heaved it off the ground to carry it into the cold field the Ice Conduit created just next to the blaze. He simply dropped the cap onto the well, snuffing the flames instantly. He just had to wait until the oxygen was gone and the fire suffocated, then he would be able to use it for another well.

"Why do you think these men are doing this?" Kuo asked as they waited. "Why are they hurting innocent civilians?"

"No idea", Heller furrowed his brows. "Maybe...maybe to force them out of Flood Town? You said they were looking for something."

"But what could be important enough that they do this?"

He huffed out. "No idea. Pretty sure we'll learn of their motive soon enough. At any rate-" He pulled the well cap back off. The fire had extinguished, though agent Kuo still blasted ice down into the well to keep it cool and prevent the gas from re-igniting. "We should finish this. Chances are we'll meet some of these assholes too."

"I'm not sure whether I am ready to face them", the woman returned. "Just..." She shook her head. "Militia is one thing, as are the Corrupted. But these men are actually dangerous."

Heller hefted the well cap into a more comfortable position, patting her shoulder with his free hand. "You can leave any time you need to, you know. I didn't conscript you into a death march."

"I invited myself", was her reply as she set her jaw and marched past him. "And that is why I will help you with this. They got my powers, after all."

She disappeared in another cloud of mist, and Heller just arched an eyebrow, shook his head and hurried after her.

The second well was on the other end of the Flood Town, and they had to cross several blocks of drowned buildings and rickety constructions, while always being hounded by the Vermaak.

And they didn't let up, no matter how fast either of them moved, so when a group of these guys tried to ambush them at the well, Heller snarled and threw the cap at the group of mercenaries. They dodged to the side with simultaneous blasts of ice that completely encased the lid, while the Evolved dove at them with a frustrated growl. Several of the men threw their arms up to fire a powerful jet of ice at him, but Kuo was besides him in that moment, jabbing her palms towards the men and... actually diverting the blow.

Heller hadn't stopped to watch, instead already reached the first men to slam both fists into the ground with enough strength to crater the fragile floor and generate a shockwave that knocked them off balance. As they stumbled back, he charged them like a bull and slammed hard into one guy to send him flying into a wall, collapsing the entire structure in a cloud of dust and rubble.

The other men caught themselves, tried to target the Evolved with their ice, but Kuo appeared between them and shielded him by diverting the mercenary's attack away from her partner again.
With a low snarl, Heller grabbed two men and just slammed them together hard. He could hear the crack of bones and felt them go limp in his hold, wondering briefly whether he killed them and realized that he didn't care.

He whirled in place, dispatched of the last guys easily. Didn't even breathe hard. Kuo made a face, but refrained from saying anything as he broke the well cap free of the ice. Both winced however at the ungodly cracking noise the lid made upon being lowered onto the well beneath.

"I'm assuming that maybe it hadn't been such a smart move to expose it to such high temperatures immediately after it'd been frozen", the Evolved noticed with a grimace.

Kuo hissed under her breath. "Shit, how are we supposed to get the others shut down if the cap breaks?"

"Smother it with something else", he suggested. "There's enough trash around. Alternatively..." He toed a piece of ice left over from his short and violent tussle. "I would ask you to try and freeze some of the water here so we can drop ice down the well. Should work too."

The woman's eyes lit up. "That would work", she agreed, "Though I'm not going to use the water that came here through the flood, but it certainly is humid enough to generate enough ice." Probably to avoid polluting the wells, though Heller questioned how clean the water was anyways, considering the whole area was flooded. Not his problem, he decided as he picked the well cap up again and started heading towards the nearest pillar of smoke he could see.

Flood Town seemed to insist on kicking the ground out from under his feet, because the moment he reached the third inferno, a massive wall of ice came out of nowhere and slammed into him with enough force to knock him off balance. He corrected himself within a heart beat, but his attacker already followed up with Groundspikes made of ice, forcing him to dodge to the side to avoid being skewered.

"Flood Town is ours!" One of the Vermaak idiots yelled at him. Heller whirled to face him, eyes narrowing at the sight of the man. He had a normal height, was shaved bald. His eyes were pale blue, his skin gray and his arms and shoulders were armored with slabs of ice. Mist was constantly rising from his body, and his uniform was partly frozen.

When he slammed his ice-encased fists together, frosty shards broke off the shell. Heller snorted and clenched his fists, while Kuo appeared besides him, looking grim.

"I don't like this guy", she whispered, "He makes my head ache."

Heller felt inclined to agree. Something was very off with that guy, and that wasn't just the missing human scent. He also didn't hear much in the ways of a pulse, and even at a distance he could feel that this man was way too cold.

The ice man fired a blast of frozen air at them, Heller instantly lunged to the side while Kuo more or less grabbed the fog and simply absorbed into into her own body with a confused expression. Given, those were basically her powers, so it shouldn't have been so much of a surprise there.

He didn't have that advantage however, and the virus inside of him screamed at him to get out of the cold and stay warm. He ignored it and rushed directly at the guy, rolling to the side in the last moment to avoid another wave of Ice Groundspikes, and tackled into the mercenary's side. The man stumbled back, barely keeping his balance because of the heavy armor, and Heller instantly seized his arm. Twisting and jerking back, he ripped the limb clean off- much to his surprise, because he had only aimed at breaking the shell off- yet the whole arm had come off.
But there wasn't any blood. Or bones. Or tissues.

Heller easily leapt over a wild swing from the mercenary as he stared at the fractured area- no bones or tissues- only ice. And that made him think. Mercer had told them about Lesser Conduits. Was this one of them?

It couldn't be. Lesser Conduits were still human, but this guy...

Heller snorted and leapt off the ground, getting back to where he had dropped the well cap, snatching it up again. Then he charged the mercenary, easily flipping out of the way of an ice blast- and slammed the cap down with all his might. If he had done it to a human, they would have splattered. This guy...shattered.

Shards of ice flew everywhere, digging into the soft ground or bursting to pieces upon making contact with his legs. He waited for a moment for any eventual Terminator-like regeneration scene, but the shards didn't move.

Heller stepped back with an arched eyebrow, then dusted his hands off. "Okay, so the Bad guy is dead."

Agent Kuo approached the site carefully. "...Usually people shouldn't break apart like china."

"That's just it", Heller hoisted the now thoroughly damaged cap off his victim, showing the crushed ice beneath. "But there was nothing human about this guy." He used to be human, however, he mentally added when he discovered shards looking a lot like muscle tissues. Was this guy ice pretending to be a person?

He noticed the sharp inhale from the Ice Conduit, and winced internally. "That doesn't mean you aren't human", he told her with a grimace. "I know you think you lost that right when your powers were activated- but you are perfectly human, even though you got a sub-zero metabolism." He gestured to the remains. "That guy just now- I didn't get much in the ways of pulse, or even respiration. He was basically your ice powers walking around in a people suit."

"But", Kuo's eyes narrowed as she eyed her hands. "That is why he shattered", she realized. "Human bodies can not withstand a Conduit's power- they get sick when the Beast tries to evolve them. But with mine- while retaining their intelligence, they also turn into literal animated ice." She turned her attention to him. "Is that why they are looking for something here? Bertrand maybe, to make him fix this, or the Blast Core? One exposure had been enough to turn them into flawed but powerful copies, maybe they are hoping a second exposure would fix them?"

"...Didn't Laroche have a Blast Core?"

"Shit", the agent whirled around, ice gathering around her wrists. "We have to warn them. You-"

"Will finish this here, then join you too." He waved her off. "Now go."

Alex had only seen such a large amount of Swamp Beasts once before- when they had swarmed him and Heller to prevent them from going after Cole. This time they were even more aggressive. Alex would have bet that this was because Bertrand was running scared- these things didn't have much in the way of a real Hive Mind, but the Corrupted were still the receivers for Bertrand's thoughts.

"Move, ya slowpokes!" Nix complained. Not to him, but to the group of civilians the two of them rescued from the pack of Corrupted. Alex just finished grinding the last into the floor and consume them, then turned to watch the people escape and move to where Laroche was. Nix huffed out. "Ya would tink dey wouldn' stay outside to get eaten."

Alex snorted. "You would be surprised by how dumb people are." In Manhattan, they had insisted on living their normal routines, no matter how bad the Infection had gotten.

She glanced at him. "A guess a was always 'opin' for a miracle."

"If you want one, make one yourself." Alex flexed his fingers and let his Biomass settle back into its normal appearance. "You still up for demolishing some more of these things?"

"Still up?" Nix cackled. "Baby, a was made for dis!"

Her enthusiasm was contagious, and the Runner felt himself grinning along with her, then just pointed across the derelict buildings towards what had probably been a commercial district before Katrina. "More over there" He eyed her. "Race you?"

Her expression lit up. "Ya no slowpoke, a give ya dat!" Then she was off, vanishing in a puff of ember and smoke. Alex instantly set after her, far less subtle than she could.

He loved it. This was the first time since Manhattan that he could cut loose as he wanted to- the Corrupted were easily identified and assaulted, and the large 'Ravager' tunneler beasts were a lot of fun to track down and kill. He wanted to enjoy it for as long as he could, and he felt Nix did too.

It was rare to have someone he could share his favorite pastime with.

"'ey, slowpoke!" He turned his attention to the Conduit, who stood on a ledge with her arms crossed. "Took ya long enoug. Was de matter?"

"Took it slower", Alex replied easily. "Thought about a few things."

She snorted and slapped his shoulder. "Ya tink too much. Live, man!"

"'Live', while we stomp a whole lot of Corrupted?" He grinned. "I think I like your way." He turned his attention downwards. "What do we have here?"

"Dozens of Swamp Tings", Nix pointed out. "Wit' dose large tings too. Very angry. And..." She squinted briefly. "Los of people bein' trapped."

"When will these people ever learn?" Alex pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay, so the plan is to kill these things as quickly as possible."

"Am surprised. Notin' about mah havin' to get dem to safety?"

"I know you don't want to do that and I respect your wishes. Just make sure they don't go too close to the civilians."

The Conduit beamed widely. "A love dat idea, baby."

"I knew you would", he smirked into her direction, then shifted to his Whipfist. "Let's go and take as many of these things down as possible."

Nix cackled again and dove off the side of the building, followed closely by Alex. She diverted from his course, however, streaking through the air with a wisp of smoke as she assaulted a group of Corrupted that perched on top of one of the buildings around them. Alex hit the ground below and instantly rushed to the front to grab the closest Swamp Monster and consume it, then spun in a half circle to let his Whipfist tear through another group with ease. Their halves hit the floor, moments before small tendrils snaked out between the rubble to grab the remains. Alex didn't stop moving during the entire time, was already catapulting himself high into the air to slam into a Ravager that had mounted another building to assault them from above by spitting acid. There wasn't much left of it once he was through with it, however.

Alex paused for a moment, watching from his vantage point how Nix assaulted a small group of normal Swamp Monsters, using her superior speed and agility to avoid each of their blows and tangle them up in her tar. With a snap of her metal-clad fingers, she set the tar aflame and easily destroyed the creatures with a very short, but very intensive fire.
She was laughing the entire time.

Alex grinned and kicked off the roof, screwing his body high into the air- before he thrust himself downwards, growing Armor to reduce wind drag and impact into the soft and spongy floor with enough force to utterly crater it, topple a smaller building and kill several dozen Corrupted in one blow.
Within seconds, he repaired the damage on his own body with the remains of the Swamp Beasts and lunged out of the hole he'd torn and that was already starting to fill up with brackish water. The Ravager that had come closer to investigate jerked back roughly when he collided with it. It was dead when it hit the ground, shorn cleanly in half by his Blade.

Alex was already moving again before his body finished assimilating the fresh Biomass, colliding with another Corrupted and subsequently killing and consuming it too.

He had simply went for far too long without this rush- always moving, killing, feeding. It was like an addiction, one he was sure was gone since Manhattan- but it had always been there. And he couldn't deny just how good it felt to indulge in it.

Some things were still missing, and Alex was struck with a sudden inspiration. With a manic grin, he altered his course and dashed to where Nix was- she had created another pool of tar below a different group of Corrupted, but paused and turned into his direction when he approached. Her expression was surprised and bewildered, and Alex just grinned at her, shifted to Musclemass and reinforcing his Armor- and slammed his fists into the ground hard to stagger the Corrupted.
Splattering the tar at such a high velocity that the dense liquid was torn into billions of fine droplets that floated around him and the Corrupted.

"Nix!"

To give her credit, the Conduit didn't ask, just generated another spark- and Alex's sight was drowned out in brilliant white as the mist cloud exploded far more violently than the tar in itself had done before. It would burn the Corrupted to crisp and probably cost him a good amount of his Biomass, despite the Armor- but it was fucking worth it.

It made him feel truly alive, so he couldn't really stop himself from outright laughing at it- the glorious feeling of fire, of destruction, of death- he loved every second of it.
Nix's cackle drew his attention once he could hear and see again, and the Conduit was leaning against a wall, grinning widely at him. "Ya real crazy, ya know?"

"I haven't been sane for a very long time now", Alex replied easily, removing his Armor in the process to take in the surrounding. Not a single Swamp Beast remained alive and the civilians had apparently escaped while they've been busy with the Corrupted.

"Is good", Nix agreed. "We need some crazy." She looked around once. "Any more of dem around?"

"Not as far I can tell", Alex pointed out. "Certainly didn't find what I was looking for. No idea where they came from."

The Conduit eyed him for a moment. "Ya said sometin' of de sorts. Ya said ya could know wat dey knew." She cocked her head. "An' ya been dat Militia guy, 'for dat anoter one."

Alex arched one eyebrow. "You've seen that?"

She shrugged. "By chance. Looked for some crackers to break an' den one of dem sneak up on de oter one an' dey become one. Den I learn dat guy was ya." She eyed him. "Cole eats ligtnin' an' shoots ligtnin'. Ya eat people, an..."

"I modify my body into whatever form I desire."

"But ya ain' no Conduit, no?"

He arched one eyebrow at her. "No. Not really. If anybody asks, that's what I am, but I really am not."

"Den wat?"

He furrowed his brows. "I'm from a similar program. You see, DARPA wanted to use Conduits as weapons. I am from an older research, where they tried sticking superpowers to normal humans." He snorted. "Didn't work the way they wanted. On both accounts."

"No?" She inclined her head. "Ya pretty strong."

"Yeah, but I don't have a kill switch. I can't be stopped- or only with enormous amounts of resources."

"Wat ya doin' wit' de swamp tings den? A seen ya root in de ground eva time ya eat dem."

Alex shrugged, half surprised she had noticed that. "I am preparing myself. Like you said, Cole absorbs lightning, I absorb living beings, and mass means health in my case. I can also store pieces of what I ate away from me. As a sort of fail-safe. To avoid death if possible. But..." He exhaled once. "Not sure whether it will be enough. Not with the Beast coming"

She just eyed him. "Ya tink it will come 'ere?"

"It will. It's not finished with us. Cole needs those Blast Cores to be ready to face it. I need more mass to last through facing it. You-" He pointed at her, "You and Kuo, you need to be ready. Run or fight, I don't care."

She scoffed and bared her white teeth. "A don' know about Reine de Glace, but if ya an' Cole stay to face it, a stay too. Dis city is mah 'ome. Was mah mamma's 'ome." She slapped his shoulder hard. "Now stop mopin'. Dere are still more swamp tings to kill 'for de day is done."

Alex just cocked his head. "I'm not moping."

She grinned again. "Sure ya was. No come, we gotta be ready to kick Bertrand and de Beast. Los left to be done."

"You know, most people would scream and run away when they learn what you did. You don't."

Her grin became wider. "Mah mamma always said to never judge by cover. Ya scary, but ya is also a good person. Ya try to do de rigt ting. Ah can respect dat. An' ya is mah frend too." She winked before she vanished in a cloud of smoke.

Alex snorted amused as he moved after her. Friend? Yeah, he could work with that.

You read it here first: Cross can read minds, Heller is dad, and Alex got a BFF.

Piece of advice: Always remember- gas and oil torn into small droplets burn a lot hotter than if they are a pool on the floor. The reason is a larger surface area- that is also the reason why you shouldn't pour water on burning fat or why a flour mill could spontaneously explode (I'm not shitting you).

Also, I re-discovered the 1999 game 'Alien Nations', and let's just say it is a fun little game with distractingly cute Amazons and bug people.