New Marais was too loud. He hadn't noticed it before, but it was too loud. Too many voices, too many people.
It hadn't been that bad before, he realized, because before he would only know what was directly around him- but now he knew everything. He knew perfectly well who was where, knew age, gender and constitution of whoever was walking through the city. The only blind spot he had were the Gas Works- but even then what he could already see was entirely too much for him to comprehend.
At first he thought he would be able to ignore it, but the truth was- he couldn't. Not when every breathe, every heartbeat tugged at the primal part of his and told him to consume, to make it his. And, to make matters worse, the more of himself he spread across the city, the more he became aware of potential hosts- and the hunger was gnawing relentlessly at the back of his head even though he had enough Biomass to spare.
Heller had been right when he told him that this wasn't something to pursue. Alex understood it now, and wondered whether it was the virus that drove Greene mad, or whether it was this kind of omniscience that came with the infection.
He figured he had it easier however- the Infection, the Hives as Heller called it, they were all him. Parts of him he had hidden in order to have a storage to work with, not infected entities like Greene or the Supreme Hunter had. This Blacklight Mass didn't have an own mind, like them, but it was still an extension of his consciousness, and as such, he was aware of everything near it.
Which made focusing incredibly hard, and Alex had to admit that he couldn't pay attention to what was going on directly in front of him. He had tried to, but as the day continued and more people woke up to learn of what they had done to Bertrand and his Militia in that rail yard, he found it increasingly hard to keep his attention from slipping.
"...got to call it in and- are you even listening?" Point in case. Alex blinked and forced his focus at the Blackwatch Colonel, who stood in front of him with his hands on hips. He remembered having stuck around, mostly to keep an eye on the Militia idiots Laroche's men had taken captive, and to consume whatever was left of the Corrupted. He remembered having briefly talked to Cole, but he hadn't paid attention as to what had been said- too many people had wanted to congratulate him that it felt like repeated jabs through his brain each time he forced back the desire to consume. So he had taken to sticking around the Wisemen, probably hoping that his natural dislike for Blackwatch would help in keeping his attention- but obviously his mind still kept slipping.
Cross arched one eyebrow, and Alex grimaced briefly. "No?"
The man cocked his head. "The fuck's wrong with you?"
Alex bared his teeth at him. "The city is too loud", he bit out eventually and in a tone that sounded even to his ears like it was making an effort to beat him into the ground.
Cross only furrowed his brows. "Loud?" He glanced around, then paused. "It's this Hive Bullshit you've got going on, isn't it?"
He didn't bother answering, his attention settling to were he clearly heard some Militia idiots talking to each other- somewhere in the South, near the clock tower. Across the city.
The Specialist snorted and snapped his fingers, drawing his focus back to himself. "Don't you fucking space out. We still got Bertrand on the loose and the Beast will be here by dusk."
"Bertrand is in Gas Works", Alex replied distracted, trying to discern whether it was a rat or opossum that was crawling through the sewage system near the fifth street in Ascension Parish. "Thought you had the place surrounded?" Felt more like a rat.
"We have. Laroche's men are a bunch of civilians with guns, but at least even they can follow an order. Main problem is that the Gas Works have been taken over by those ice freaks. We can't get in to tighten the noose."
Gas Works...if it wasn't so cold, Alex could probably relocate some of his mass there, sniff Bertrand out that way-
He cut off his train of thoughts when the other part of what Cross said settled in, and that one made his stomach roll and sent shocks of panic race through his system. "The Beast. It will be here by dusk?"
"Yes", Cross exhaled once and ran his hand down his face in a very obvious gesture of exhaustion. "Rooks's been throwing everything we have at this thing, even got the other branches to help, but so far it shrugged everything off. The radioactive cloud that accompanies it is probably already all around us, but I can't get any more updates at the moment." He grunted. "Let's hope your idea with this RFI actually works."
Alex actually hoped so too- but he knew that Kessler had put a lot of trust into Wolfe, and every time Cole absorbed a Blast Core, he became stronger while something changed. He couldn't put a finger on it, but he would almost assume that Cole started to get...tuned to the RFI. Just like what Wolfe told him.
Damn, he wished he would have had time to talk to Wolfe outside of their first meeting in his lab. Another part of him also wished that the Militia hadn't shot the doctor through the head, because he could have consumed the body- Alex snorted and burried that part of him ruthlessly as soon he realized into which direction his thoughts started pulling.
He shook his head, forcing his attention back to the Specialist. "Bertrand had some interesting toys", he told him instead. "Not sure what kind, but a bunch of guys were pretty excited. I think one of them mentioned that there was something that could actually hurt the Beast" He cocked his head. "Why not take a look?"
Cross was silent for a moment as he considered it. "I'll check it out and decide whether it's actually worth my attention. Better I do something instead of just sitting around. Where?"
Alex was halfway through motioning into the direction, when he stopped with a frown. "Huh", his eyes narrowed. "Looks like Dunbar got to the stash first."
Cross exhaled once, not even asking how he knew. "In that case, I'd better get over there and make sure he doesn't blow all of us sky-high." He snapped his fingers again, and the Wisemen's D-Code materialized out of nowhere. "Captain, you make sure you keep an eye on this fucker here. Once everything is over, I'm going to have a few choice words with him about keeping infectious material lying around."
Alex scoffed, but refrained from yelling after him as the Colonel wandered off. This 'outbreak' was only active as long he willed it. But to Blackwatch, it was all the same. No?
...It was all the same, wasn't it?
Blacklight, Redlight...there wasn't much that told them apart from each other. He wasn't so much different from Greene or the Supreme Hunter. It didn't really matter what he attempted to do with the Biomass- it was still the virus spread all over the city.
Alex let out a sigh and shook his head, belatedly realizing he had spaced out again. He really should try and keep his mind in the game, especially with the Beast coming.
The Beast...His back bristled. It was nearby, he could feel it approach through the ground- faint, but steadily coming closer.
They needed a way to stop it, needed some way to halt its march-
The RFI.
Wolfe had treated it as the magic bullet even without knowing whether it would work, that much Alex had learnt from the decrypted data. The idea behind it was solid, though: Each Conduit had a specific Ray Field, and the RFI looked like it could be programmed to inhibit only a specific Field-
Only the doctor never found a way to figure out what specific Field should be affected, and as such, the RFI would be more like a sledgehammer as opposed to a delicate tool, stopping basically all Ray Fields.
Possibly killing all active Conduits. Or just depowering them? Neither was a chance he really wanted to take. Latter would be doable, but he didn't feel right with it.
"Captain", he heard himself say, turning to face the Supersoldier. "You seen any telecommunication services around here?"
The D-Code's head snapped up from where he had been glued to the screen of his phone, and his brows furrowed in confusion. "What?"
"Telecommunication Services. Or, fuck, I don't know, an electronics store or something."
Supersoldiers apparently weren't designed with mental prowess in mind, because that guy was just staring, blinking and taking very long to form a reply. "Why?"
Alex snorted, attention already back in the city as he tried to find what he was looking for. Electronics stores were harder to search for, since they weren't living things- but he had his ways- reading electromagnetic fields, for example, and find those humans closest to it.
The very second he discovered something that could have been what interested him, he kicked off the ground. The D-Code set after him almost immediately, swearing, but way too slow to actually stop him. By the time the Captain caught up to him, Alex had already located his target and approached it.
He didn't care much for the armored giant at his back as he easily but steadily walked towards a van and two men who were having a smoke break. Alex grimaced briefly, collecting himself, then cleared his throat. Verbal communication had never been one of his stronger abilities when he was wearing his default face. "Hello there."
The two men eyed him and the massive D-Code, who stopped a little surprised. Then suddenly, both snapped to attention, and the left one dropped his cigarette. "Holy shit! You're the guy that saved my cousin!"
The Runner stopped momentarily, cocking his head and furrowing his brows. "I guess I am?"
Wait, this was easy- he had a point to work from. "Maybe you could help me?"
"Hell yeah!" The other said cheerfully, "You and Cole, you've done so much for us! And-" He cut himself off, now finally becoming aware of the Supersoldier, who hung back in confusion. "Damn! Ain't you one of Bertrand's monkeys?"
The Captain scoffed, the sound deep and rough. "I'm not. That fucker just figured my squad and I were a better show than his bunch of inbred hicks."
"He got lied to just like you were", Alex explained.
The two men eyed the giant briefly, then huffed out. "Yeah, can't believe we've been that stupid to let Bertrand feed us bullshit."
Reverse Swarm Intelligence, but Alex wisely kept his mouth shut. Instead, he cocked his head and waited until the two picked up the thread on their own. "We'll make sure we don't get wool pulled over our eyes again, and you make sure to tell the Electric Man we'll support him."
"Yeah, so what do you want, man?"
The Runner motioned towards the van they were standing in front of. "You are electrical engineers, right?"
"Yeah, we got called because there apparently are energy spikes?"
That was most likely Cole's work, Alex thought, though refrained from saying anything. "Good, because I might need one of your field strength meters."
The men blinked, as did the captain, but still looked through their equipment to extract the hand-held device. "Sure, you help us, we help you, but...why?"
Alex didn't know either. He just had a feeling, a vague idea, much like Wolfe when he created the RFI, he supposed. But he had Wolfe's research documents, and he had the bomb cases- all of it worked on Ray Field Energy. He heard himself thank the men and turn to go as soon he had the device, but wasn't paying attention otherwise- his mind was already in the process of comparing all available information and turn them around until they produced a clear picture.
He was slightly startled when his perpetual shadow made a disgruntled noise. Alex grunted and turned to face the Supersoldier, only vaguely realizing that he was back at their trailer hideout and that he already trashed the place in his apparent frantic search for tools and materials. The loss of time worried him a bit, but on the other hand he didn't hear the city that much anymore now that he was focusing on something else.
"First you storm off, then you ignore my questions, and now you're tearing your place apart", the D-Code grunted, arms crossed over his chest. "Seriously, you going mental?"
Alex scoffed, placing the tools he found on the low table. "I had an epiphany."
The man snorted amused. "Don't tell me you're going to be a preacher now."
"Never. But I realized a few things." He tapped the laptop and called up a few diagrams. "The Beast- I can't beat it by hitting it, no matter how hard. Didn't work for Kessler, didn't work in the past, sure as Hell won't work for me." He put the strength field meter down and started disassembling it. "I got too many fucking voices in my head to get a clear thought. But just now I had. And I know what I have to do." He only had to jury-rig the scanner using the RFI as base to figure out what kind of frequency the Beast gave off, then he would be able to program the RFI and have Cole disable just that one frequency-
It meant he'd have to get close to the Beast to get the frequency.
That would also mean that the Beast was already in the city, and chances were high they'd be all dead by then. He was fast, but probably not fast enough to finish the RFI and have Cole activate the last needed Blast Cores to be able to even use the thing- It would just be a paperweight until then. The main problem there was, however, that neither of them had even an idea where more Blast Cores could be.
"Fuck", he growled, hands stilling momentarily. The D-Code glanced at him again, eyebrow arched, though Alex only half paid attention to him as his thoughts started turning in on themselves. "Can't get a frequency without being close to the Beast, but if the Beast is here, we're dead anyways. Maybe skip the last Blast Cores? No. No. Too risky." He tapped the table. "Maybe rush over and try to scan it before it notices me? No. It's too close already." He paused again, eyes narrowing on the Supersoldier. "Why doesn't it stays in this pocket dimension like it did until now? Why walk here? Because of Cole? Kessler said it would go after him, but what makes him different?"
"Yeah, I just got like a third of what you're saying", the captain grunted, startling Alex with the realization that he had audience on his raving. "Was probably not for me anyways, right? However, since you asked a question, I try to answer it." He crossed his arms and cocked his head. "You know who this Beast reminds me of, the way you just described it? You."
"Me?" Alex inclined his head quizzically.
"Yup. This whole stuff with marching towards your enemy instead of just, you know, sneak in and blow everything to shit before we can react? You did the same."
When he chased after Taggart. Because he needed Taggart afraid and running, because then the man made mistakes.
...It would fit. The Beast had tried to stop them in Empire, and when it didn't manage to do so, it began looking for Cole along the coast. Once it figured where he was, it stopped disappearing and just marched towards New Marais in the open.
It wanted to face Cole again, and possibly try to make him afraid so he would make mistakes.
"The Beast won't destroy New Marais", Alex realized. "Not yet, anyways. Not before it met with Cole." What would it want with the Conduit? A rematch, maybe?
That wasn't good. It was better than immediate destruction, but not good at any rate. At least they got some room to breathe? Hopefully.
He grit his teeth and turned back to the scanner, finishing putting it together. He'd need Blast Shards and Conduits to test it on, but so far, he hoped he understood Wolfe's data correctly.
"Shit, there's no time to wonder about that", Alex growled, shoving the scanner into his chest cavity as he marched out of the trailer. "Captain, contact Cross. Tell him this thing is not coming here to destroy anything, it is here to challenge Cole for whatever reason."
"That's a pretty thin assumption to make", the D-Code muttered, though went for his radio to give an update regardless.
"We've been making assumptions this whole time, and they were mostly correct", Alex replied with a snarl. He needed to prepare, too, had to find a way to slow this thing down-
Because he could sense it at the edge of his perception. His magnetic receptors at the borders of the swamp were going haywire, and he sensed all other life escape the closer vicinity. His eyes were sharp, sharp enough to spot the plume of smoke that heralded the Beast's arrival.
This time, he wouldn't be afraid of the thing. He knew it was weaker than the one Kessler faced, which in turn gave him a chance to take it down.
The city had fallen into tense silence.
"And where do you think you are going?" Dana winced and forced herself to turn and face James, who stood casually leaning against a wall and watched her closely. His posture was relaxed, but she swore she had heard a flicker of concern in her voice. "Abandoning us?"
Dana blinked, realizing what it must have looked like, then shook her head. "Hell no. I'm not leaving any of you."
"Would maybe be the smarter move", Heller cut in with a startlingly clear tone of defeat. "Thinking about the same, actually." He shook his head after a brief moment. "I can't go however. The Beast is coming here. You were sure this RFI will work, so I will stay until the end."
"You should be thinking about Maya, though. Asides from you she doesn't have any family left."
"Yeah, but if we don't stop this thing here, everything's over anyways." He sighed, then glanced at the young woman. "So, where are you going, if not out of the city?"
"Nix's place", Dana replied with a huff, then furrowed her brows. "Or at least, I wanted to. No idea where she lives, actually."
"Nix?" Heller furrowed his brows. "The Fire Conduit? Why?"
Yes, why? It never seemed like the Swamp Witch actually cared about others. "She simply stormed off after we finished at the rail yard", Dana pointed out. "And I'd like to at least thank her for her help."
Heller arched one eyebrow, then snorted amused. "And despite having no idea where to look, you would have started looking for her anyways?"
"Well, I know she's somewhere in the swamp." The words hadn't left her mouth fully when Heller leaned back with a groan. "And you figured you'd just find her?"
Dana snorted. "Sure, I'll just head into the swamps and hope I'll stumble over her. Won't work."
"So?"
"I know however, where the people lived that Bertrand had collected so he could activate the Ray Sphere." She had managed to crack into one of the older servers, and from the looks of it, they have never been cleaned out. Possible they simply forgot about it. "I bet she's still nearby. If the Militia found her there once, they won't look a second time." Dana furrowed her brows when another thought formed in her mind. "But if you accompany me, you can find her track, can't you?"
"I can", Heller confirmed, "However, who says I'm going to come with you?"
Dana grinned mischievously. "You don't have to, but if I go on my own, Alex will be really unpleasant if he learns you let me wander Louisiana swamps without protection."
"Protection for who? You, or the gators?" Heller shook his head. "Fine, I'll tag along. Might as well try to clear my mind from all this stuff going on here." He grimaced briefly. "Might be more silent in the bog."
"Silent?" Dana's brows furrowed. "The people here partying too hard for your taste?"
"Nope, not that." The Evolved slowly fell in step besides her. "It's the Hive Mind."
"The Hive?" She looked at him, eyes narrowing. "It's about those Hydras, and all that stuff, right? Alex said he has eyes and ears everywhere in the city- in the literal sense of the word."
"Yeah, feels like it alright", Heller admitted. "Guess it's just the way it is- if it is active, the virus will constantly scan its surroundings. Your brother however is the virus, and as such he is aware of everything around. If I can hear a constant whisper at the back of my head, I don't want to know what it's like for the focus of the virus."
Dana cocked her head. "And you don't think you should help him?"
Heller snorted. "Fuck no. He put himself into this situation, he can try to get out by himself again. Me, I'll just look whether distance makes it easier. If not, I can still bitch about it."
Dana thought about it for a moment. "Yeah, that seems fair." She shuffled her feet slightly. "So...ready to go?"
"I am", Heller confirmed. "Lead the way."
"Shouldn't it be the other way around?"
"Hey, you said you knew where the people lived. Once there, I will look whether I can figure out where your Swamp Witch went."
Dana chuckled, and started walking.
The path, as she had to realize, was in poor shape and without Conduit powers nearly not passable anymore. Nobody had walked this way since a few years. However, Dana also quickly discovered a few broken branches that had been clearly singed- so Nix had been here, and not too long ago too. Heller seemed to think something similar, because he subconsciously started walking to the front more and began sniffing the air audibly.
Then the trees parted and the Evolved whistled. Out of the thicket they stepped into a shanty town.
Made of thin wood and corrugated iron sheets, it was clearly build without contractors. There were no streets, no signs, just a bunch of huts put up all around them. All of them were in disrepair, the windows were shattered and the roofs leaky. Some had collapsed entirely.
And nobody was there. It was like one of the Wild West Ghost Towns, abandoned after the Gold Rush wore off.
Only in this case, the population never left on their own, Dana reminded herself when she noticed a weather-beaten rocking chair with a half-rotten doll sitting on it. Everything had been abandoned in a hurry, and the population never came back home.
All but one.
Heller made a noise and pointed down what counted as the main street. Dana squinted into the direction he gestured to and noticed the shack that was half hidden behind shrubbery and cypress trees.
Even at a distance, this building looked cared for. An impression that only added to the closer they came. The corrugated iron roof had been patched several times over, one window was cracked, but all of them were clean. A worn quilt lay across a comfy looking wicker armchair on the porch. Strings of leaves and mushrooms for drying were attached to the roof structure. A chicken coop was at the side of the building, and several of the birds approached them curiously, clucking as they looked for bugs to eat.
"Can' shake ya, no?"
Dana turned her head slightly to look at the Fire Conduit, who was perched on the lowest branch of the closest cypress tree to her house.
"Nope, we'll just find you again."
Nix sighed once. "Wy ya 'ere?"
"To tell you thank you", the younger Mercer told her, making her blink in surprise. "You just straight up vanished from the Rail Yard without saying a word to anybody, and I guess nobody spoke to you either- so I'll do it. Thank you for your help."
The Conduit blinked again, then waved her off. "Pf. A din' do it for ya. A did it to 'urt Bertrand."
"Yeah, I call bullshit on that one", Heller threw in with a slight scoff. "If that was true, you would have hunted him down instead of coming back here."
"Well, de chicken need to be fed." Even to Dana's ears, this sounded defensive. She just crossed her arms. "That's not it. Out with it, Nix."
The Fire Conduit bristled, then deflated visible after a moment. "A tougt we'd get Bertrand. A tougt wit' Alex and Cole we coulda kill 'im dead. Won' bring back mah family, but a would feel better. But den..."
"But then Bertrand escaped", Heller nodded his head. "I know how this feels. You finally have the chance to hurt big bad, but big bad manages to give you the slip. And all you can do is be pissed off about it."
"If it makes you feel better, Cross and Alex have him surrounded, though", Dana added, "He's like a rat in a trap now. We just need to get into Gas Works and drag him out."
"Den wy don' ya?"
"Can't start the party without you", was the answer. "Bertrand won't get away anyways, and once we draw him out, it'd be great if you were there so you don't miss the fun part."
Nix inclined her head, swinging her legs slightly before she jumped off the tree. "Ya promise? Alex promised we'd get dat bastard, but 'e's still alive."
"Because he wants to fight him when he is in his monster form", Heller informed her. This was new to Dana, but not as surprising as it should be. Leave it to her brother to ignore the easy target and wait until they powered up.
"Wy wait? Bertrand jus' waits to be killed, man!" Nix obviously didn't understand that logic either.
Heller shrugged. "Because, apparently, he likes his meals big enough they drown out the taste of scumbag beneath."
Nix paused and blinked. "Shit, man. A tougt 'e was 'appy wit' de Swamp Tings? Wy Betrand?"
"Because Bertrand needs to die. And needs to be as dead as somehow possible. When Alex chews them, they won't ever come back. Right, James-?"
In an instant, Dana realized that something was off. Heller was staring at thin air with enough intensity to set it alight- then his teeth were bared the second the chicken around them stopped looking for bugs and starting clucking and flapping their wings agitated. She slowly turned around, eyes narrowing.
There, in the distance, a column of smoke trailed into the air, surrounded by all kinds of birds flying away from it.
"Nix!" Dana whirled on the Conduit, jabbing her finger to the upper branches of the cypress tree. "Get me up there, now!"
"Wat?"
"You heard me!" The other woman didn't ask, just grabbed a secure hold of Dana and thrust her body upwards in a cloud of embers and smoke. Dana choked briefly and her eyes instantly started tearing, but as fast as it began, it was over, and Nix kept hold of her to prevent her from falling off the tree.
The Swamp Witch inhaled sharply, prompting Dana to look where she had seen the smoke- and her heart stopped.
A giant burning human figure rose from the swamp a few miles or so away from their position, clearly recognizable as it made its way across the land, scorching everything it touched. A swarm of helicopters and jets were chasing after it, only to be swatted out of the air like irksome flies when the entity merely brushed its hand through the air space they just occupied.
Dana swore, grabbing the tree branches as she yelled towards the ground. "James! Contact Alex! The Beast is coming!"
The tree shuddered the second Heller made his appearance at the top of the branch where the other two were standing. "I know!" He bit back, "Let's get out of here as fast as possible-"
There was a flash of light, and the Evolved moved fast, grabbing both Dana and Nix and yanking them off their feet, leaping back downwards and crouching over them when an ear-shattering blast tore the usual silence in the bog apart. Dana swore again, eyes squeezed shut and her hand twisting into Heller's shirt when bright light nearly blinded her and washed over them in waves of heat and kinetic force. Trees cracked and toppled, and a blast of wind roared deafening over them.
The entire thing was over within moments, but to Dana it felt like it was drawing on forever. Her eyes were still squeezed shut, but she could still see the blinding light that had washed over them. Her fingers started hurting from how hard she was twisting them into Heller's shirt, and she could feel the incredible heat Nix was giving off on her side, but didn't dare move until the Evolved did so himself and loosened the grip he had on them.
The man huffed out as he dragged both women back to their feet, his massive frame nearly completely blotting out the strange-looking sky overhead. "Motherfucker", he grunted. "Hope that was that."
Nix made a disbelieving noise at the damage wrought around them- her shack was nearly completely blown apart and trees had toppled on top of it. The chicken were gone too, probably ripped away by the gale winds.
But her attention wasn't on the remains of her home. The Conduit was staring at the sky, where a massive mushroom-shaped cloud was rising from the same spot the Beast had been.
Dana's jaw dropped. "A nuke?" She turned to Heller. "James, give it to me fair and square- how in the world did they get a nuke?!"
"How in the world did Bertrand get a nuke?!"
"Don't ask me, brother, I'm just the messenger."
"Your friends on the Militia didn't tell you anything?"
"Nah, man. They just said that Bertrand knows people. And I guess some got access to a nuke." A shrug followed that initial statement. "But it wasn't in any condition- Bertrand had Wolfe fix it up for him, so I think he got it a bit cheaper. I'd say we shouldn't look a gift nuke in the mouth though."
"Gentlemen" Both froze and turned to face the third member of their party with varying states of fear. "You want me to get this thing rigged up, or do you want to stand there and mouth off?"
"Hey, alone the fact you know how to ready a goddamn nuke makes me rethink our entire relationship." A grimace followed that statement. "We could blow up the whole city, you know? I'm not sure about that."
"I doubt we ever had a relationship to begin with", the older man snorted. "And we won't damage the city too much if we use this thing before the Beast gets any closer, so we don't have much time. Now, you want to use this thing on the Beast or not? Because if I don't get any help here soon, I won't get it ready."
"Yeah, right. Got it." Cole approached him, generated a field of electromagnetism and slowly lifted the warhead off the cart it had rested on and lowered it into the bed of a truck Zeke had acquired in the chaos that followed the Rail Yard incident. He still couldn't believe that the Militia had had access to a nuke, alone the idea that a bunch of trigger-happy hicks had the possibility to screw them up from every direction...he grit his teeth and subconsciously clenched his fists.
Colonel Blackwatch just arched one eyebrow. "Easy. Don't damage the hull, will you?"
Right. Cole forced himself to relax and gently put the warhead down onto the truck bed. Colonel Blackwatch then motioned for Zeke to tie it down to prevent it from falling off.
He still couldn't really believe it that they were currently handling a live nuclear warhead- when Zeke had called him, he had thought of something along the lines of a ray gun, or space weaponry (because, hey, he had superpowers and Bertrand was a literal Bond villain, so the lack of Death Rays was kind of disappointing), but he hadn't expected a nuke.
Just as he didn't expect Colonel Blackwatch march right in and take over the entire show. He would have thought the man was more busy with everything else, instead he declared he would call the shots on that one.
It was better that way, however, because neither of them two knew how to even use a nuke, and wouldn't have any authority to clear the target area anyways. The Colonel was better equipped for the whole situation.
The man climbed into the driver's cabin next to Zeke, who took to the wheel, while Cole climbed on the cabin in itself to keep everything under observation. "Where to, Dunbar?"
His best friend flinched again. "The docks, Sir", he bit out with a squeak, "I mean-"
"The docks at the South of the Flood Town?" The colonel inclined his head slightly. "Why, and lose the Sir."
"Oh, that's..." Zeke inhaled once to calm himself. "That's because Bertrand already used the constructions and cranes there to hide the fact he built a launcher for the nuke."
Colonel Blackwatch just leaned back, arms crossed over his chest. "Why would he want to do that?"
"His guys always said it was so he could keep the city safe, you know? Guess it was his kind of insurance in case things went way south." Zeke furrowed his brows as he got the engine running. "I wonder why you don't question just how he got a nuke?"
The Specialist waved him off. "Pah. Since the end of the second World War, the government lost a whole bunch of those warheads without even knowing where they ended up. Bertrand comes from old money, and those people can get whatever they want. Nobody's going to ask if it is a technically derelict specimen- nobody knew he had a doctor at hand who knew how to prime it. No, I don't question that." He grinned briefly. "In fact, it could be helpful. You know, I am not authorized to use a thermonuclear warhead, even a jury-rigged one with such a small payload such as this one. I shoot one, and I'd get court-martialed at best and shot on sight at worst. However, Bertrand is a civilian- if he fires one, it will be on his head. And he will be dead anyways."
"But", Cole felt complied to point out, "Bertrand isn't here?"
The Colonel's grin widened. "That is something people don't need to know, no?"
"Sir, I think I like how you think", Zeke laughed, then pushed the accelerator. "Okay everybody, hold on to somethin' because this truck is about to take off."
Cole glanced across the water to the other side. The dock was plainly visible, but to reach it, they had to drive all the way to the west, cross the bridge, and head back east to the southern-most part of Flood Town. Quite a distance- though they should be able to get through with no problem. Hopefully, because the Militia was running scared, weren't they?
The Colonel was on his radio. "Captain, get me a secure route from the North Canal to the docks, and clear the area around the latter."
"Consider it done, sir"
"Good. Thanks", he pointed at the street. "What are you waiting for, Dunbar?"
Zeke jumped. "Right, Sir"
"Lose the sir", the soldier rumbled as Zeke turned towards the street and carefully drove along it. Cole wondered when he had learnt controlling semi trucks.
Then a Blackhawk swooped down from the East, hovering over their truck. Cole could see the surprised faces of the pilot and co-pilot. The Colonel's radio crackled. "Sir? Is that a motherfucking nuke you got there?!"
"Bertrand got one- illegally, I might add- so it will be Bertrand who authorized the usage", the soldier replied simply.
"Red Crown won't like it"
"Red Crown authorized Operation Firebreak. On Manhattan." He shrugged. "Payload's small enough to not affect New Marais, but it should be enough to blow that bastard to high Hell. Besides, we don't have much time."
"No. We don't. Red Crown confirmed its presence inside the Red Zone."
"Good, then let's not waste any more time." The Colonel motioned for Zeke to put the foot to the pedal and the truck jumped to the front.
Cole swayed briefly, then anchored himself magnetically and waved awkwardly at the helicopter as they passed by under it. The Blackhawk instantly set after them, hovering high enough about them so the wind blasts from its rotor wouldn't affect him too much, but at the same time it was low enough so it was clearly guarding them.
The bridge was trashed, with dozens of derelict cars strewn about. Zeke stopped the truck, clearing his throat. "Hey, Cole, man. Remember Empire? You had to clean the bridge too, so Trish and the others could pass through."
"I remember." He threw a glance at the Blackhawk, then jumped off the driver's cabin to throw a powerful shockwave into the first of the cars and send it reeling backwards. Another car he blew up with a pair of grenades, another he sent careening off the bridge with a rocket.
Ah, screw this. He checked whether there were any civilians, and finding none, he yanked the Amp free of its mounting and spun in a circle, swinging the weapon like a baseball bat- summoning a tornado of ashes and lightning to clear the way. He rushed after the vortex, leapt on top of another derelict car that didn't get the memo, and pulled it upwards with his magnetic powers- then he shot it to the front and off the bridge.
The last car he just ground-spiked out of the way with a set of ice spears.
"Bridge's clear-" He cut himself off at the sound of slow clapping, and turned around to see a pair of black-clad soldiers standing casually at the corner, surrounded by several smoldering corpses of Corrupted.
"Nice work, kid", one of them pointed out.
"Yeah, we almost forgot smoking these bastards out because you were so distracting."
Cole snorted at their sarcasm. "Thank you, assholes." He briefly glanced at the cadavers. "Huh, thought we had gotten them all?"
"Apparently we didn't", the tall black man commented, nudging one carcass with the tip of his boot.
"Sun helped us", the other added. "Makes me think somebody wanted to stop you guys to send these things out when they were clearly at disadvantage."
"Yeah, but why? We are quite literally on our way to save this entire city." Cole shook his head. "Thanks for the assist, guys" He climbed back on top of the semi as it approached. Colonel Blackwatch just nodded at his team, and the truck continued driving. On the last few hundred yards Cole noticed a few more Blackwatch soldiers milling about or keeping some of the Corrupted at bay- or a few of those Ice Freaks. Cole was about to assist, when the Blackhawk swooped down and peppered the ground with missiles, taking out several of those idiots with frightful ease.
As the truck approached the docks, a female Blackwatch soldier approached them. "Sir"
"Captain", Colonel Blackwatch got out of the cabin. "Any problems?"
"Place was overrun by those Ice Freaks", she commented. "Some didn't get the message, but other than that we got most of the area secured."
"Good", The man turned to Zeke. "You get the truck into position. MacGrath, you and I will get the crane ready and check up on the guiding system."
"Got it" The Conduit headed around to the base of the west crane, then started climbing, taking two rungs of the ladder at the same time. The Colonel was close behind, mounting the construction like a man twenty years younger. Military was one Hell of a rejuvenation, Cole figured-
His radar system screamed in alarm at him and he just barely managed to dive out of the way before one of those ice freaks could ventilate his skull. The Conduit snarled and whirled around, swinging the Amp and slamming it with full force into the armored visage of the mercenary. The man stumbled back, but was about to recover when a single shot echoed out and ripped through his skull, dropping him. Cole slowly turned to see the Colonel stand behind him with a smoking rifle. He cocked his head and simply tapped his radio. "We got contact. Open up."
Gunfire erupted down on the docks, followed by the shattering of ice. Cole rushed to the rail preventing him from falling off to stare towards the ground, where the Blackwatch Soldiers were in the process of taking down the ice freaks. Blackwatch was obviously better trained and equipped, if vastly outnumbered. The Colonel sighed as another ice guy appeared behind them. He casually drew that stun baton of his. "I got this here. Go down and play the hero, if you have to."
Cole didn't let the man tell that to him twice- he lunged across the railing and dropped several stories down, gathering kinetic energy to turn it into electrical and give it off the very second he hit the floor in a massive discharge. Two guys he knocked back at once, a third he took out with a brutal swing of his Amp.
Somebody fired at his back. Cole dove to the side and rolled behind a container to heal himself first. Then he threw up his shield and dashed right back outside, charging in and battering the guy like a runaway train. Another bunch of guys tried to ambush him- he kicked off the floor and catapulted himself several stories into the air with an ice pillar. Using the fire gliding, he managed to get some distance between himself and the mercenaries, though once he hit the floor, he slammed the Amp into the ground to summon a wave of ice spikes to force the guys back- unlike Kuo, these assholes could be hurt with their own element.
Some were on a roof nearby, firing at him- and Cole was about to whirl on them when both collapsed at the same time, following the cracks of shooting. Two of the Wisemen lowered their rifles, and one of both grinned at Cole. "Thanks for distracting them. Makes it much easier."
"Yeah, you're welcome, but I think there are-" He cut himself off as the Blackhawk swooped down and peppered the ground with missiles, taking out whoever remained. "Never mind, you got that." He blinked. "Shit. Zeke!" Cole spun around, looking for his friend, when the man in question peeked out behind a train car.
"Here, Cole. Thought it'd be better if I keep my head down. Leave all the ice freak wranglin' to the professionals."
In that moment, a heavily armored and thoroughly ventilated ice soldier crashed into the ground in front of them and didn't move anymore, as if to prove a point. Colonel Blackwatch glanced down from his high position, voice raised. "You guys down there finished? Good, then get that warhead loaded!"
The Wisemen scrambled to load the missile into the launcher, though the captain stopped Cole from helping. "We shoot this thing, and the shockwave is still going to hit us hard. We look after your buddy, but you make sure the boss gets through this mostly unharmed, clear?"
"As crystal", Cole hurried to climb back topside, though paused and glanced at the city sprawled between him and the bog, where the Beast was clearly visible as a plume of smoke. He swallowed and hurried to climb the construction crane, meeting up with the Colonel who was bent over what probably were the launcher controls. "What about the city?"
"Called Robertson and Laroche", the Specialist replied without looking up. "Before I met you two. Told them to evacuate the entire West Side of the city." He dangled his radio between his fingers. "Evacuations are so far finished."
"And your own guys?"
The man's expression changed. "Nobody left alive in a five-mile radius around the Beast", he growled. "Got the updates from Red Crown. Told them to stay the fuck away for now."
"Ah, shit", Cole grimaced. "Sorry-"
"What are you sorry for? You didn't kill them, but you can help that they don't go un-avenged." The Colonel scoffed and glanced through a small pair of binoculars. "Bastard is very close already."
His radio chirped. "Payload loaded, sir"
"Good. Get out of the launch zone. I'll meet you down there. MacAlistair, you take the chopper down. You won't survive if it crashes."
"Sir"
He turned to Cole. "When the warhead explodes, don't look into the fire, or you'll go blind, got it?"
Don't look into the explosion, and look after the colonel because he wasn't as durable. Cole nodded. "Got it."
"Good" Cross nodded to himself, checked the launching computer again- and pressed the button like it was an everyday occurrence. Almost at the same time, Cole heard the hiss of the warhead down below- and the Colonel spun around, nearly tackling into him. The Conduit reacted instantly, whipping up his shield within the blink of an eye and seizing the older man with his free hand while squeezing his eyes shut. He couldn't see the impact, but he certainly saw the light, even through closed eyes.
Then the shockwave hit like a massive invisible fist. Cross bit out what could have been expletives under his breath, though Cole couldn't be so sure. He was aware of the construction he was on rock wildly under him, so he anchored himself to the ground and ducked deeper behind his shield while the ice and electrical field in front of him sizzled and cracked and it took ever ounce of his focus to keep it in one piece.
Cole grunted and slowly opened his eyes, realizing he was sprawled on the floor. Everything around him was silent, deafening so, in fact, and the sky looked strange. He coughed and slowly climbed to his feet, groaning at the sore feeling of his muscles. He hadn't even realized he lost consciousness, and for a moment wasn't even sure where he was.
That he quickly remembered when he found the other guy curled up against the rail. Shit. "Hey, Cross? You okay?"
The Specialist coughed weakly and peeked at him from half-closed eye lids. "Guess so. Tomorrow will feel like fuck, but right now..." He grimaced and forced himself to stand, while Cole helped him to his feet. "Thanks"
"No problem, man", The Conduit looked around, seeing the burning inferno where the Beast had been. A grin slowly began spreading on his face. "Man, we did it."
"Looks like", the other man coughed a few times to clear his throat. "Lucky this thing held", he mentioned with an absent-minded kick against the crane. "Miracle. Let's take a look at how the others are holding up. More detachable objects down there."
"Guess so" Cole didn't feel like hopping down, because his throat was dry and his body felt like a wet washcloth. He had to absorb some electricity to get better, but he figured the shockwave knocked loose a Hell of a lot of cables, because the area around them was dead, so to speak.
He didn't see the Wisemen anywhere, and it looked like a storm had went through. Many of the smaller objects were gone, and pretty much all of the glass he could see was shattered. Embers were drifting through the red air. Cross bit out a sharp bark, ordering his team to attention, and only got a few coughs and groans in reply.
He arched an eyebrow, glanced at Cole briefly, then had him lead the way to the closest collection of human energy signatures. The Wisemen had gotten rather unlucky- they had hidden behind the base of a massive crane, only that it wasn't as sturdy as it should have been and all of them were summarily buried beneath loose rubble. Luckily, Cole still counted the same amount of life signs he had sensed before, so they hadn't lost any of them. He grimaced briefly, then generated his force field to carefully pick the rubble up and free the soldiers.
"Shitty construction, sir", the Captain grimaced through what was likely pain as she attempted to sit up once she was free, only to abort it and flop uselessly against the floor. Cole's toes curled in sympathy as he crouched down next to her and her team. "I can fix you up, you know?"
"And miss the few days off and Oxy? Hell naw", the black gunner joked, then winced.
Zeke was right in the middle of the pack, whining in pain. Cole just shook his head. "Sorry, no Oxy for you guys. I fix you up, and you can get out quickly again." He cracked his knuckles and placed both palms flat against the closest Wiseman, sending out a shock to increase the self-healing rate in all of them to mere moments. Was the first time he ever tried with a larger group, but the effect stayed the same, and no matter how thirsty he felt, healing always worked. Was likely some form of reserve he couldn't touch, since it was basically his self-healing he just copied to others as long they were in range.
There were a few shocked yelps as his powers did their work, and once it was over, Cross cocked his head in what could have been surprise. His team slowly climbed to their feet puzzled-
Then they cheered, giving each other high-fives, some clapped Cole's back. "God, yes!" Zeke grinned as he joined in, "We cooked that goose right!"
"You still need to get yourself checked over", the Colonel grumbled as he watched them celebrate.
"Just sore, boss", one of them claimed with a grin. "Will be over in a few days."
"Reminds me of Empire", Zeke winced with an attempted smile, "When Kessler kicked my ass."
"I ought to kick your ass", Cole scoffed, patting his friend a little too aggressively to dust him off. "Seriously, dumb idea with that nuke."
"Worked, didn't it?" No denying that. Cole couldn't even sense the Beast anymore. So maybe they wouldn't need the RFI anymore?
The Conduit shook his head to himself and walked over to where a flood light had collapsed and was blocking their way out. He figured it would be nice of him to spare them having to climb over it. Would make it easier to get out of here, because right now, all he wanted to do was go back home and sleep a little. He suspected, the Wisemen thought similar.
Then his radar went haywire, and the assembled team stopped simultaneously.
In the air above the docks a fire was burning, radiating outwards and inwards like it was breathing- before it suddenly ignited and turned into a massive vortex suspended in mid-air, slowly sucking in and twisting the cranes they'd been on a few moments ago, eating up more and more material.
Ice ran down Cole's back. "No. No. No fucking way."
The Beast. It had eaten a nuke. And it didn't seem to have slowed it down much.
"Team!" Cross barked and there was a distinct tone of panic in his voice, "Evacuate the area now!"
The vortex shivered and belched up once, collapsing in on itself for a brief moment before it stabilized itself- and the Wisemen started running with a swear. Two grabbed Zeke and dragged him along, and Cole hurried to the front to remove whatever obstacle had fallen into their direct escape route. Running away was possible- they just had to get to the truck that miraculously survived and get the Hell out of dodge here- but Cole still felt like the ground was yanked out under his feet.
They should have defeated this thing, should have destroyed it- but they had failed. The air began burning, and even though the group already reached the truck, they knew they were too late- Because the vortex roared once and the air was set on fire.
No, seriously, where did Bertrand get a Nuke from?
On another note, because of all the shit that happened in the last half year, I'm slowly closing in on the end of my buffer. I mean, this particular chapter took more than one and a half month to complete. So unless I manage to get one chapter done in six days or less, I am afraid we'll hit some longer breaks between each chapter. On the other hand, we're closing in on the finale, so those fears might be unfounded.
Thought I'd let you know, however.