He would always recognize the shockwave following a nuclear explosion. Barely surviving one burnt the memories deep into his core he thought, as he ran to the dock where he suspected the warhead had been launched from.

Mostly because he realized Cole and Dunbar were there, and who else would have hatched the idea to use a nuke so close to a city?
Well, Blackwatch maybe, and coincidentally, the Wisemen were present too. Alex was about to become irritated, because why allowed Cross these idiots to fire a weapon like that in the first place; when out of nowhere his balance was shot to shit. He just barely managed to stop on a roof and lean against the roof exit with a groan to avoid cratering, while the world around him spun out of control.

His current companion caught up to him with a huff, though quickly noticed that something was off when Alex slid down against the wall and burried his head in his hands.

"You okay?" There was actual worry in the D-Code's voice.

"No", the Runner moaned. "Something...something's wrong." Like something inside of him that went into a completely different direction than it should.
...The metal pieces he had gathered over the course of the years. Those that helped him reading the magnetic field- and which were currently running haywire.

It had only happened once before, and not with that kind of vengeance, because back then it had only been him, not him and most of the city worth of Blacklight that transferred information straight into his brain.
But the symptoms were the same.

And they said that the Beast was nearby.

"Fuck", Alex clambered back to his feet unsteadily, eyes narrowing on the mushroom-shaped cloud rising above the swamp. The Beast had been there, now it wasn't, not after taking a direct hit from a thermonuclear warhead. Yet his instincts screamed at him that it was still there.

It couldn't be. Not even he would have survived that- back in Manhattan the shockwave alone had turned him into a puddle and the explosion in itself had been muffled by distance and water. Surviving a direct hit with a nuke was quite frankly impossible.

"What the-" Grayson cut himself off, and Alex glanced into the same direction. He swore his heart stopped right there, because he could see the vortex forming out of nowhere right above the docks.

The bastard had survived.

Cole and the Wisemen were probably still over there.

Alex snarled low in his throat and jabbed his hand into his chest, yanking the jury-rigged strength meter from his Biomass to flip it over to the D-Code. "Hold on to that and get out of range! Now!"

The other man was probably trying to argue, but Alex didn't listen- his body fell apart and his consciousness blinked out for a split second, only to reform across the city and near the docks within a heartbeat.

He felt the air beginning to burn, and knew he had no more time. He knew Dana was outside of the city with Heller and Nix, and Kuo was at the other side of the area, plus being a Conduit would protect her- just like Cole, though he was too close to the Beast. The Wisemen and Dunbar were the only vulnerable here, and the only ones he actually cared for- only they seemed to be unaware of him or the danger that crept up on them. Alex slammed his hand against the floor and forced the Biomass there to erupt in massive chitinous shields between the group and the vortex, drawing attention- the Wisemen, Dunbar and Cole stopped abruptly, eyes wide, though they didn't get to say anything when Alex's tentacles lashed out and grabbed all of them at once, only to drag them closer to himself while he instantly grew his Armor.

Their colorful curses and swears at his rough handling were drowned out by the wordless roar of fire when the vortex exploded. The shockwave was so immense, it ripped into the shield, tearing away at its surface. While some of the kinetic energy got absorbed, a lot of it simply continued to travel around and through the wall, smashing into them with luckily a little less energy than it originally had- but further away the truck and street got demolished badly. Alex swore as he tried to reinforce the shield and increase its size to protect them better as much as he could, but most of the mass got burned away before he even finished adding to it.

It was just like the explosion in Empire, though this time he had no choice but take it point-blank, and he refused to back down. His enraged snarl however was drowned out in the superheated air around them-

And just as sudden as it began it was over.

Alex blinked, but didn't dare to move. His whole body felt burnt, but slowly repairing itself despite the screaming agony-
Everything was silent. The Wisemen, still very much lucid if windswept, stared at nothing in particular. They were way too tense to speak, though he saw captain Santos mouth something to the Specialist, even while she was fruitlessly tugging at the tentacles binding her and the others. "Is it over?"

The blast, yes, everything else? Alex could already feel the skin beneath his charred Armor squirm, and instantly realized it was because the magnetic field around them was currently blown apart and his receptors were idly spinning around to find it again.

Right now, they were inside a cloud of active Ray Field Energy- and even though clouds like that dispersed quickly, it was still all around them, easily slipping through his shield and affecting every living thing nearby.

He wondered if it affected him too. It had, the last time.

The next moment he remembered to ease up a little- his hold on the others probably caused some livid bruises already, though maybe he shouldn't add broken bones to it? He could hear the soldiers grumble, and felt Cole's superior strength straining against the steel-like bonds, when the ground shook.

Alex ducked, his own Biomass hammering in his ears as he realized the shaking wasn't just something collapsing, or an earthquake following a massive explosion- it were steps. Giant steps, made by giant feet-
He froze when the Beast casually walked around his shield and into his line of sight. It too paused just as it set its eyes on him and the group of humans around him- and time seemed to stop.

He couldn't fight this, had never been able to. He was the strongest thing around, but even he couldn't battle a living explosion. It made him feel like a rat staring in the face of a massive predator, small, useless, weak-
But rats can bite.

Alex hissed and his Armor shifted, claws increasing in length as spikes and biolumniscent spots began appearing all over his surface. At the same time, the biomass shield he created twisted along with him, breaking into long stripes and lowering themselves over the Wisemen like giant fingers. He had to get them away from here, had to fight the Beast long enough for Cole to recover, had to stop it until the RFI was finished-

The Beast rumbled low in its chest once, and Alex replied with a snarl, though then it simply turned and just...walked away.

Vanished from his field of view, and then from his field of view.

And New Marais was still there.

Everything had happened way too fast. One moment he and his team were celebrating their apparent victory over the Beast, when the next second the 'apparent' turned around, bit them in the ass and forced them to flee.

Because this Bastard had survived a point-blank hit by a Thermonuclear Warhead. It had literally swallowed a fucking nuke and kept on going.

Cross hadn't even been able to comprehend all of this when Mercer appeared out of nowhere and just went crazy. All of it happened so fast- there were tentacles, and suddenly there was something like a Hive, and Cross swore under his breath when the Runner grabbed all of them and yanked them closer. Like he was when consuming his victims-

But they remained alive, because Mercer protected them against the explosion that followed, shielded them with his own body. He could smell the biomass cook under the extreme temperatures, saw and heard it breaking apart. Cross briefly wondered what would give in first: The shockwave from the explosion, or Blacklight?

The shockwave, it was, just mere moments later. Still, the kinetic energy had hit them all hard, and the man swore he could hear his bones grind against each other. Santos was the first to try and struggle free, but her attempts stopped when Mercer tensed again and the Beast made its re-appearance.

Cross inhaled involuntarily, ice running down his spine.
He had never seen it before in person, only from aerial images and grainy video clips.

Nothing could have prepared him for the terror that crept through his body as he stared at the giant human entity that seemed to be completely made of lava and flames.

Like Satan himself had come to Earth. (okay, so he was getting a bit poetic on that one, but at that point he probably had a concussion)

Mercer had puffed up, was yowling at the damn thing like a cat, and the shield he had created lowered itself over them like a cage- Cross's heart did another skip when he realized that if either would lose their cool, the Wisemen would be in the crossfire. It was a risk of their job, but they were supposed to get their shit wrecked by infections, not Satan.

Against infections they had a fighting chance, at least.

The stench of burnt flesh and ozone stung his nose, and he snapped his head around to see MacGrath in a similar state as Mercer was, minus the puffing and yowling, though he had his lightning out and was struggling against the steel-like bonds in an attempt to get at the Beast.

For a moment the Specialist wondered just how short-sighted these guys were- according to what he knew they already got their asses handed to them by the Beast, and still they were eager for Round Two.

The Beast obviously wasn't, because it turned and walked away, without touching either of them.
MacGrath would have liked to jump up and follow immediately (again making Cross question his sense of survival), though Mercer wouldn't let him go. The other Wisemen neither, by the way, and Cross distinctly felt his chest cave in from how hard he was grabbing them.

Idiot didn't even realize it.

Fuck this

The tentacles grabbing him were softer than those holding on MacGrath, and lacked armor. Cross managed to wrestle his knife free and jab it down into the limb- it squirmed and began to loosen-

Right up until they were yanked off violently and suddenly so he could breathe again. His ribs still protested when he scrambled to his feet, eyes focusing on Captain Grayson currently wrestling the Runner into a headlock. Alone the fact the other didn't react much more than being baffled by this and letting go of the Wisemen in the process, spoke stories of how frazzled he was currently.

Right up until he seemed to realize it and began squirming with a low growl, then started outright complaining when the D-Code didn't loosen his hold.

Cross finally got to his feet, approaching him. "You back then?" His answer was a growl. The Specialist shook his head. "Next time try to not crush to death those you want to protect." He was pretty sure his ribs were creaking again. He exhaled once. "Still...thank you."

That got attention. Mercer's head snapped up, and despite the Armor Cross could see the surprised expression on his face. "You just saved my team from being reduced to ashes." He would have done so without thinking for Dana, though Cross had the feeling she was out of the range anyways. If Mercer came here instead of going to her, then she was secure.

Was more than could be said about the city in itself, however, because the last time he'd seen the Beast appear after being blown apart, Empire City ended up a crater.

It looked like he and the team, and the few Conduits, were probably the only survivors left. The Beast was gone, likely heading further towards New Orleans and Baton Rouge.
And Blackwatch's finest couldn't even slow it down. Fuck.

"Sir?" Santos's voice was rather breathless. "You need to look."

Look? At what? The evidence that he fucked up? Cross grunted and walked around the burnt Biomass shields- and froze.

New Marais was still there.

Cole didn't believe it- the Beast had spared them. Had spared the city.

Why? Where they really so hilariously out of its league it just decided to skip Round Two and simply going to continue destroying one city after the other?

Then why was New Marais still there? And why walk here then in the first place? Alex had been under the impression that it was going to want to face him. Now it didn't, and it worried him.

Or...maybe it wanted to meet him? Just him, face-to-face? But there had been too many trigger-happy people around, so it postponed their meeting.

If that was the case...what was he supposed to do? Follow after it? Have that meeting? Or just...head into the other direction as quickly as possible?

Wouldn't it destroy the city then?

He grit his teeth. He couldn't allow this. He turned to Alex, who finally managed to free himself from the Supersoldier and was just staring at nothing in particular.

"Hey, you seen where the Beast went?"

His voice startled him briefly, though he snapped his focus towards him quickly, frowning. "Gas Works. Or, at least it vanished there. Can't tell you more, have no eyes there."

"Good enough." Gas Works was doable. "I have to get there. Have to find it again."

That got his attention, and Alex bristled. "What for? You just barely withstood this meeting, and you already want to go back for seconds?"

"I have to", the Conduit growled. "There has to be a reason why it came here, and didn't destroy the city. Because it wanted to come to me. You remember? The Beast had been after Kessler, and only because he kept running it destroyed everything he ever cared about." Cole grit his teeth so hard, his jaw hurt. "And I can't allow this to happen. So I will go look for it."

"It could kill you."

"Maybe. Maybe not. We won't know until we try it, right?" He shook his head. "And if it kills me and leaves you guys alone, you'll have a fighting chance then."

It seemed to alert the Runner, because his head snapped up and his eyes narrowed. "Don't you talk about sacrificing yourself."

Cole lifted his hands in a placating manner. "Just considering all possibilities. But it would fit, won't it?"

Alex bristled once more, before slumping his shoulders. "Yeah, I guess. Still, I don't like it."

"Believe me, me neither. But we have to be ready for that outcome." he blinked, taking in the rather pale and washed-out appearance of the other. "What about you? You getting sick again?"

"I don't think so", Alex shook his head. "Felt like shit after Empire, now I'm just kind of sore."

"So, now what?"

Alex glanced at the Blackwatch specters, brows furrowing. "I have to get something back, and go look whether I can find a Blast Shard. I want you to get Kuo, and meet me at the train hideout. I...want to check something."

"Shouldn't you be looking for Dana?"

"She's fine. Heller's with her, and he will bring her and Nix along."

"That's...good to hear." Cole nodded to himself, then glanced over to where Zeke was still between the soldiers and apparently making friends again. "I'll go and look for Kuo, and check whether I can switch the energy back on in Gas Works. 'Cause we need to go to Gas Works next, right?"

Alex made a face. "You sure you're up to it?"

Cole sighed. "Not really, but I know right now I am a bit too worked up to go to sleep. So...let me do this, and once I get back to you guys, I'll take a nap. I mean, the Beast's here, and the city is too, so I guess we have the chance to take a breather first."

"Right", Alex inclined his head. "If it doesn't kill us while our guard is down."

"It won't", Cole's brows furrowed. "Because it wouldn't make sense." Why come here, ignore all the other cities, just to vanish? He was pretty sure the Beast had wanted to meet him. Was still attempting to, probably.

He would see it again before everything came to a head, he was sure of it. So he waved at Alex and Zeke, and started walking towards the Gas Works. He plucked his phone from the strap of his bag, and paused briefly when he noticed that the energy was off. Probably the nuke that shut it down, or maybe the Beast. He snorted and sent a small discharge into it to power it up again- and cringed back at the message that he missed a few calls.

All from Kuo.

He tapped her number and let it ring, and she answered almost immediately. "Cole?! Oh my God! We've seen the blast- what happened?!"

He grimaced, thinking for a moment what to answer. Colonel Blackwatch wanted to put the blame on Bertrand, but this was Kuo. She probably deserved the truth?

What if somebody was listening? Cole thought about it for a split second, then settled for not outright lying, but leaving out the facts. "Bertrand got a nuke. Used it against the Beast."

She inhaled once. "Shit. Bertrand?"

"Still on the loose. And", he steeled himself. "And the Beast's not gone either."

"Cole...what do you mean?"

He sighed. "It took a nuke to the face. Didn't seem to care about it, because it kind of blew up the docks. With me and Zeke and Colonel Blackwatch's team in it."

"Shit"

"Alex took the blow, protected us from getting fried. Problem is, the Beast's in New Marais now."

He heard her swear. Kuo never swore, but now she did with an intensity that actually scared him. And probably Laroche too, because Cole could hear him curse in the background.

"Fuck. Why are we still here then?"

"No idea. Could be it is waiting for something. But Kuo- this is a chance. You understand? We have time, and we can figure something out!"

"I- I don't really see a silver lining there, Cole."

"We are still here, and the Beast is too. We are still alive, and the city is too- something is going on. I think if we can stall this bastard, then maybe we'll have a chance to finish with the Blast Cores."

"That's asking for a lot of maybes, Cole."

"I know. But somehow it feels right", he ran his hand over his scalp. "Listen, the thing with Kessler? He was hunted to the end of his days because he didn't stop running away. I won't make the same mistake. I won't run. Something will be different here. I feel it."

"...And I believe you", she sighed audibly. "Is there something you need me to do?"

"Alex wanted us back at the train. I'll just switch the energy in Gas Works back on, then I'll come along too."

"So I have some time", her voice cut off as she was talking to somebody in the background. "I'll make sure Laroche and his men don't wet their pants, then I'll head over. Be careful, however. Bertrand's running desperate, there's no telling what he might do."

"I always am. See you."

"See you too."

He cut the connection and closed his eyes, sending out a pulse of energy. He could still feel the distortion left behind by the Beast, but it was fading already. Beneath those disturbed layers, he could sense New Marais's energy grid in the closer vicinity. He could sense the hole in the Gas Works, and the focus points he needed to activate.

In short, he knew where the distributors were. Good, he would need this. Cole grunted once and headed for the closest activated one, digging his fingers into the metal surrounding it, electrocuting himself.

He exhaled and closed his eyes, letting his focus spread away from him and through the energy when he fired it blindly into the direction of the closest hole.

He found something strange on the way, something...like a human body. But wrong. Those were humans with a Conduit's powers copied to them.
Vermaak.

Cole felt anger well up inside of him. They were the reason Kuo had suffered, and they were the reason the people of Flood Town suffered now too.
With a mental flick, he directed the Tesla Missile towards the man and just felt the impact before the guy disappeared from his radar. Cole blinked, his focus breaking for a moment and the missile vanished in a static crackle.

Huh. He just took out a dude without being close-by.

Okay, he could work with that. With a feral grin, he turned his attention back towards the distributor and fired off another Tesla Missile, since the last one stopped existing. There was still much left to do.

Cole had quickly realized that the Gas Works were firmly in control of the Vermaak idiots. In some places he had to focus to allow the Tesla Missile to crash through thick sheets of ice in order to reach the distributors. In some other places he had to take out dozens of men first.

That was something he learnt quickly too- the 'normal' grunts were fewer in number. Instead, he mainly faced heavier armed guys and those with the Ice Armor. Neither felt like a real person anymore. They were off, the energy streams inside of them kind of...washed out. Like a river emptying itself into a swamp.

They also shattered when he defeated them.

Kuo had told him of those. Her powers actually killed them and turned them into ice-coated corpses that still walked around, kept alive by the very thing that took their lives. Made them a lot like Mr. Freeze, he figured. Only there were a lot of Mr. Freezes, and they didn't need a suit to keep their sub-zero metabolism running. Kuo's powers were enough to keep them that way.

Maybe he felt a little sorry for them, but when they started shooting him as he entered the oil-and-shipping-complex that made up for most of Bertrand's income, his feelings changed. These guys were assholes, and dangerous ones to boot.

He could take them, lightning being stronger than ice at any rate, though he couldn't help but think briefly about calling for assistance.

He didn't, however. It wasn't so bad, and while these guys employed military tactics and equipment, the Gas Works offered enough sources of energy and cover for him to push through.
Plus, Nix's fire was highly effective. He experimented on his grenades, added ice or fire to them, then altered their structure so they adhered themselves via static cling to the Vermaak idiots before exploding.

It was beautiful.

But there was still something that sat wrong with Cole. Several of the guys he beat up yelled nonsense. Some of that nonsense was 'We will be whole again!', and he stopped to think about it.
Because these men- they never chose to be turned into those beings. They had been lied to, trapped and experimented on, much like Kuo. However, unlike Kuo, these guys took out their anger on the innocent civilians- not even the Militia, and that he could have understood- but all they seemingly wanted to do was to stop the decay of their bodies so they would be able to continue using their powers in order to gain an edge over the innocent civilians, act out their power fantasies and establish their superiority.

Which put them to the top of his shit-list. With only Bertrand above them.

He let go of the Distributor once he felt the impact of the Tesla Missile into the last deactivated station, and cracked his neck to head over there and check up on it. The last he had finished had been old, and as such not very willing to start up, so he had been forced to fix it manually. He figured this one would be similar.

He stopped on his way for a moment to look up at the giant tower of ice. He knew the Ice Freaks were around here, and they were protecting this construction, but since they weren't attacking him, Cole let them be for now.

He was too tired to deal with them. Had been since the Blast, but hadn't noticed it. All he wanted to do was curl up and sleep for a few hours, because he felt like shit. He swore his batteries weren't as full as they used to be either.

Just that one distributor, and he would go home.

He found his target under an underpass, dragged himself closer while yawning once and blinking owlishly at the machine. Damn hunk wasn't running, but at the very least, it was online. With a sigh, Cole lifted his hand to zap it and start it that way.

The hollow shriek of metal startled him and he nearly jumped out of his skin, whirling- and realizing that massive grates creaked into place so fast, he couldn't get away in time. He leapt away from the one slamming into the ground and locking in place towards what he hoped was an escape route- but he had to halt sharply and try diving into the third direction, only to be trapped there too. He didn't even attempt to reach the remaining closing routes.

Shit

Cole groaned out, dropping his head against the iron bars cutting him off from the outside.
Great. Metal cages were his mortal enemy. Zeke once joked that trapping him beneath a turned-over shopping cart would be enough to stop him in his tracks. Faraday's cage in a nutshell.

"Mr. MacGrath", his back crawled and he spun on his heel, eyes narrowing on the leering face of Bertrand. The millionaire's smirk was oozing contempt. "Like our new security system?" Cole's face set into a scowl as the millionaire just waved his hand into the direction of the metal bars. "It's nothing special, but it will stop your lightning." Then he motioned to the two mooks who accompanied him. "Now bullets, that is another story."

Cole growled in his throat. "So, you're going to shoot me now? Why don't you then? Why that elaborate mousetrap?" And why hadn't he asked for support? God, anybody would have been nice to hang with. Kuo, or Nix, or Heller, or Alex, or Colonel Blackwatch even.

Bertrand was obviously in good mood, though that was only skin-deep. He was highly displeased with him. "I've seen the way the wind's blowing", he told him, "Been watching my authority bleed away ever since you got here."

Cole scoffed. "Sure. It was only a matter of time, Bertrand, I just sped it up."

The man scowled at being interrupted. "You certainly did more than that. You brought the Beast here, and now it is in New Marais. And I- I can not stop this thing myself." Cole blinked when Bertrand added "But together- together we'd be heroes."

"You for real?" He spat. "No really, you got some hits to the head? Why in the Hell would I want to work with you? Your guys keep shooting me and the people you said you want to protect, you killed Wolfe and you kidnapped and tortured Kuo!" Cole's teeth were bared and lightning ran across his arms and shoulders. "Anything you offer me- it's all a lie, Bertrand. I already have heavy hitters that can distract the Beast, and I trust them. I don't trust you. I know you would stab me in the back as soon you find the right moment!" He grit his teeth. "I give you one chance only- either you let me out and get the Hell out of my way, or you will regret it."

Bertrand's eyes narrowed. "I would say I expected this, but sadly..." He trailed off. "When you're not with me, you're against me." Then he stepped back and spread his arms. "Boys."

Cole instantly dove behind the distributor when the shooting started. He could have groveled, played along, but Bertrand was just repulsive, and he really couldn't find it in himself to be nice to this piece of human refuse.

Though...now bullets were flying like homicidal hornets and Cole grit his teeth when he heard the shriek of metal. He couldn't take cover behind the distributor, or else it would get damaged too much and blow up.

Bertrand's voice was drowned out by the cracks of the gunshots, but still clearly audible. "Conduits like you have no place in the natural order, MacGrath. If you had helped me with my mission, God may have forgiven you for what you are. But now you will head for Damnation that you so richly deserve!"

That guy serious? Cole ducked and sprinted towards a support column to hide behind, wincing when concrete was chipped off and bit into his cheek.

"Nice work, boys", Bertrand's voice was starting to leave. "Make sure nobody finds the body."

Shit. He really should call for support. He yanked his phone free and mashed down redial, while ducking behind the concrete to reduce the viable target area.

Kuo answered almost immediately. "Cole? Are you being shot at?"

He grimaced when another shard of concrete chipped off and bounced off his ear. "Kind of. I, uh...got myself into a situation. Would be nice if you could, I don't know, come here and get me out?"

A bullet whizzed past his ear, and he noticed one of the guys changing his angle to shoot him from a different position. "Now would be good. Place is Gas Works, under an underpass!", Cole yelped, diving out of the way.

"I'm on it!"

Something exploded in the background, and the two Militia idiots whirled in alarm. Cole instantly rushed to the front, hoping to catch them by surprise- he could probably wrench his arms through the bars and zap them like that- though he stopped when he saw Zeke barreling towards one of them and tackle into him with enough force to send him sprawling. The other guy was too stunned by the events, so he neither paid attention, nor did he shoot Zeke. Cole instantly lunged towards him since he stood closer to the cage, and seized his head to slam him with full force against the bars to knock him out cold.

Zeke took care of the other guy, kicking him hard against the jaw to shut him up. Cole exhaled and straightened his back, tapping his phone his phone while he was at it. "Thanks, Kuo, but you can go back to what you have been doing before. Zeke just pulled my ass out of the fire."

"I heard that. So...see you at the train, then?"

"Yeah, see you."

Cole cut the connection while Zeke puffed out his chest. "Haha! You see that? Zeke Dunbar: Man of Action!"

He couldn't help but grin. "Don't you mean 'Ezekiel Jebediah Dunbar: Living Bowling Ball and Fierce Defender of his Friends'?"

Zeke blinked. "Yeah, no. Titles need to be short and sweet, brother." He tapped his finger against his hip and a grin slowly began spreading on his face. "See? A turned-over shopping cart is enough to stop you. I kept sayin' it."

Cole groaned. "Yeah, but this isn't a shopping cart. Now, will you please look for a release switch or something, to get me out of here?"

Zeke blinked. "Yeah, right. Sorry. Hold on, I'll go look." He vanished briefly from his line of sight, then a moment later the grates slid upwards. When Cole stepped out a little hastily from the trap, Zeke appeared again. "You okay?"

Cole grunted and said on a divider. "Guess so." He furrowed his brows. "You always have my back", he pointed out like it came to his realization just now. "You always had my back", he repeated. "No matter how I treated you. Back in Empire, when David and Moya were after my ass and I blamed you for what happened. After that, when you made my Amp to help me fight- and I don't think I thanked you. Now in New Marais, when I spend most of my time with Nix and Kuo and Alex and ignore you mostly-"

Zeke snorted, clapping his hand on his shoulder. "Yeah, but I was also an idiot back in Empire, so forget it, man."

"Doesn't excuse me being an ass", the Conduit pointed out. "But you've always been there, helped me through all of this. You even went so far to sneak into the Militia to supply us with information, at the risk of your own health. Now this whole shit with the nuke- you could have died, Zeke. And still you did it."

Zeke sighed and took off his shades, setting his eyes on Cole's face. "Look, I don't call you 'brother' because I like the way it sounds. You are my family, have been ever since we came to Empire." He beamed at him, and Cole felt his own lips quirk up. "And about us fightin'- don't forget that siblings only have two modes- 'I would hide bodies with you' and 'Don't even breathe in my direction'. Guess we hit the rough patch, but got through it."

Cole winced. "Guess so". He yawned again. Zeke eyed him for a moment.

"Think we should turn in?"

"Yeah, that's a good idea", Cole agreed. "Tomorrow we can look what to do. But right now I guess my brain's too fried to come up with another idea."

"That the reason you didn't use your shield?"

Cole blinked. Right. He had a shield. He could have just called it up and held it in front of his body instead of diving out of sight like an idiot. He ran his palm down his face. "I forgot I had one", he admitted. "Too tired."

Zeke grinned. "Like a bike then? You can't stand on your own because you're 'two tired', right?"

Cole groaned.

The Hive was in uproar. Heller grimaced when they returned to the city of New Marais. There were screams all around him, in the distance, nearby, inside his head. It was maddening, but like an old radio interlaced with so much static, he couldn't grasp a single clear thought.

"Shit", Dana groaned as they entered the damaged outskirts of the city. "It's worse than I thought."

Heller glanced at the destroyed windows, broken trees and toppled street signs. "This payload's been small, too", he muttered. "Destruction could have been a lot more had it been closer to the city, or larger."

"Wos idea was dis?" Nix snapped. "Mah place is gone!"

"Technically, it was Bertrand's", Heller pointed out as they picked their way through rubble and twisted metal towards the train yard and their train hideout. "I mean, why the fuck would somebody want to have a nuke if not to actually use it?"

"But Bertrand didn't fire it", Dana questioned. "No?"

"MacGrath and Dunbar did. On Cross's orders."

"Of course. Fucking Blackwatch just had to nuke something." Dana ran her hand through her hair so it stood away from her head in even wilder spikes. "Fuck, tell me this was enough."

"I can tell you", Heller grunted, "But that would be a lie. That bastard fucking survived. And it's now in the city."

Dana gaped at him. "Fuck"

"Yeah, I know", Heller shook his head. "However, there's the problem. I mean, if I got nuked and would have survived, I would march towards the guy who had the finger on the button and maul the shit out of them. The Beast did not, and let's not forget it is the same thing that basically mauled every other city on the way here for shit and giggles."

"So it wants something. From Cole?"

"To gloat?" Nix suggested at the same time.

"Maybe", Heller shook his head. "Mercer got some kind of idea. Though I just can't grasp a single clear thought. Hive's all worked up by this." It had never been like this before. Blacklight had always kept a cool head, even back in Manhattan when it got pissed off the voices were still clear. Now it was like all of them pulled into different directions with different speeds and urgency. And he was right in the middle of this twister.

"Shit", Dana sighed again. "Think he's going to shut down again, like he did before we came here?"

"Maybe. Maybe not." Heller shook his head. "Can't say. Guess we'll see what the idea was once we get there." He cut himself off, eyes narrowing on the few ice soldiers patrolling a nearby street. "Through them, or evade them?"

"Trou dem", Nix growled, flames already springing to life along her arms. "A gotta break sometin'." She darted to the front without waiting for anyone, colliding with the first guys with enough force to throw him across the street and into a wall. Heller set after her immediately, grabbing a heavier armed man and simply punching through his sternum. Guy shattered on contact.

Huh. The day before most guys collapsed when he did that. Now they broke apart like, well, ice. He continued testing it by jumping a few more men, most of them breaking, though a few remained in relatively completeness.

"De 'ell?" Nix stared at a body of one of the guys she assaulted and who subsequently got melted into a half-puddle. "Was is wrong wit' dem?"

"No idea", Heller admitted as he brushed frost off his pant legs.

"Their bodies can't deal with the Conduit powers, maybe?" Dana suggested. "I mean, Conduits get a special fancy gene, get stronger when exposed to Ray Fields, while humans get sick and die, right?" She gestured to the mercs around them. "This looks the same. Only, instead of getting sick, they pull a Mr. Freeze and turn into ice-covered corpses."

"Meaning the longer they remain that way, the more they will turn into ice?"

"Most likely." Dana seemed thoughtful. "Guess this is why they are looking for a Blast Core. Maybe something went wrong when Cole and Alex plucked Kuo out of there, and the process didn't get finished? Maybe they're trying to finish it correctly?"

Seemed likely. "Which means", Dana continued, "We have to make sure we get the Blast Cores instead and keep Kuo away from these guys. Could be they will target her next."

Nix snorted. "Reine des Glaces can look afta 'erself, no? She's stronger dan dem."

"She is, but we should tell her regardless. A little warning can go far."

"Maybe", the Conduit admitted with a bow of her head. "Still 'aff to get Bertrand, too."

"Oh, he won't escape", Heller snorted. "He won't get out of Gas Works." Mercer had this place surrounded, Laroche's men were keeping an eye on the waterways, Blackwatch had the man on their list of targets, and the energy was back online, too. The noose was tightening.

"He's a dead man walking. Tomorrow or maybe the day after that. Not any longer."

"'ope so."

When they reached the train hideout without encountering any more resistance, MacGrath and Dunbar approached too, both looking windswept and exhausted. Kuo seemed to be in a better condition, though she more or less jumped MacGrath to check him over for injuries. Heller could see bullet holes and dried blood on his shirt, knew instantly he had been shot at. Apparently Bertrand had lured him into a trap and tried to have him killed.

Though, interestingly, according to the kid Bertrand had theorized that he could have stopped the Beast with his help. Probably only stalled, but the idea was there- it was possible to fight this thing face-to-face and at least slow it down.

And they had someone who could endure a whole lot of punishment before he had to give up.

Heller just hoped he knew what the fuck he was doing, because from what he realized so far, Mercer himself didn't have much of an idea.

He paused, blinking. "Is that your plan?" He asked a moment later. "Just winging it?"

Mercer stopped fiddling with what looked like a strength meter. "Mostly. Currently I have a bunch of ideas whirling around inside my head, all of them ending up worse than the other." He grunted. "Trying to keep them separated is nearly impossible with all the noise in the city-"

"You mean the shit you steered yourself into?" Heller snorted. "Was your own damn fault."

"I know", Mercer sighed. "I know, okay? It's just...I know with the RFI we can stop the Beast. But, there are so many parts I haven't considered yet, and time's running out-"

"Okay, take a deep breathe first", Heller cut him off. "You can't consider every possibility, you know. You just need to go with what you feel is the best way. Everything else is just a distraction." Mercer blinked and glanced at him, brows furrowed. "I know what I said", Heller scoffed. "And I know what it means. We need to keep that bastard busy, and busy a lot. You can buy us time."

"It's playing awfully loose with the lives of everybody", Mercer reminded him, Heller grit his teeth and shook his head. "I am aware of the consequences. But in this case...we don't have much choice. Do it."

Ways to defeat Cole:
-A Water Hose
-Standing next to a lamp post
-Sitting under a turned-over shopping cart
Doesn't work for close-up combat, however

Also, whoever says that the Vermaak dudes can be redeemed- never forget they have been literal Neo-Nazis before being turned into Ice Freaks (Vermaak 88- 'Wehrmacht HH', Heil Hitler). After being turned into Ice Freaks, they literally assaulted and drove out civilians from Flood Town. If they were redeemable, they wouldn't have done so. In other words, let's turn them into crushed ice, they didn't deserve any better.

Also fixed the meeting with Bertrand, it made no sense in-game. But I wonder just how delusioned that guy really is. Or is it just a show he puts up when around his Militia idiots?