Shard- ~3~
(This is faintly linked to the new game 'inFamous.' Only the ability and a couple of other things are copied, but I feel an need to acknowledge the game.)
The Plaza was indeed owned by someone. The day after my encounter with Cell and his group, I arrived at the Plaza. I had topped up on electricity, so wasn't too worried that there were no lights around the Plaza to suck energy from. Before making an assault on the Plaza, I had a look who I would be fighting.
The Plaza was a large circular area where people used to meet. It was still a good meeting place, and that's why I assumed the two men took it for themselves. One of these men was large and around forty, with a bald head and frowning features, while the other was younger, around thirty, brown hair and angular features like me.
I had been sat watching these two for a few hours, but neither of them seemed to show any ability. It was beginning to get late when I decided I would try the innocent approach again, and surprise them. I walked into the Plaza slowly, long coat on again (I had picked it up while running from Cell's gang), and a sort of lost look on my face.
The younger man noticed me first, and approached with caution. I didn't blame him.
"Who are you?" he said suspiciously, cutting straight to the point.
"I, I don't know," I feigned a look of utter blankness. "All I can remember is the explosion, and then..."
"Special!" the man called suddenly, and punched me in my surprised face.
Shit! I thought. How did he know?!
I was on the floor at this point as my new wound slowly healed, but the man was on me in a second, punching me repeatedly and not giving me a chance to get him off. He was so quick, and I was in so much pain, that it was the most I could do to heal as he struck again and again. My face quickly became bloodied. Focusing hard, I managed to conjure a few shards of electricity into my fist and strike the man. He fell backwards but was up in a moment, even though his head was bleeding. I rolled back onto the balls of my feet, my body battered despite the healing.
The man rushed me but I created a ball of power in my fist and smacked his jaw as he approached. He hardly flinched before he was on top of me again, pummelling me. It was amazing, really. I had hit this man twice with electrically charged punches and yet he didn't even seem to care. I grabbed his wrist and shocked him quickly, stunning him, and threw him off. Standing, I shot the man multiple times with lightning. By the time I had finished with my slaughter, the man had five holes in him. And yet to my sheer amazement, he got up again. He didn't heal, he was still bleeding from his gut and chest, yet he seemed just as strong as before.
In the corner of my eye, I saw the bald man come towards me. His hands were glowing with a bright light. I managed to put around a hundred volts into my static shield before the man hit. Instantly my shield went down and I was flung back with the shock of an explosion.
Ah shit, I thought.
I was in trouble, big, big trouble. And there was no-one to help. I quickly turned, strengthening my leg muscles, and jumped at the younger man. I landed on top of him and, sensing the electricity in him, placed my hand on his face and began to suck. His body went limp as I took his life-power along with the electricity. Finishing within a second of when I had started, I turned to face the radioactive man. We ran at each other, my hands filled with electricity, his pure energy. The collision shook the ground and threw both of us back. I got up first and blasted him with a powerful shot of electricity. It killed him instantly.
Sighing, I heaved myself to the younger man's body. He was breathing shallowly; he would survive, unless his wounds killed him. The other man, however, was dead as a stone. I moved both bodies away from the Plaza and sat, not particularly enthusiastic about my hollow victory. My body hurt like hell, and my electrical power was almost depleted, I needed more. I stood and began to search for an energy source.
After topping up at a telephone booth, I returned to my Plaza to sleep some. I stayed in the shadows, waking every few minutes to check for intruders. There were none, and the next day I woke with broken sleep. My head killed, and some of my electricity had gone; probably to give me a little energy that I should have got from sleep.
I stood and stretched. Perhaps I should get some sort of generator into my new 'crib' to restore my power. This was, after all, my new base.
I waited the day out in the shadows still, waiting both for Leah, and any goons who thought they could take the Plaza.
I saw Leah at the edge of the Plaza at around midday, looking around, probably for the two people who had been guarding it before me. She was good. I could only just see her from my waiting place. If the two goons would still have been here, she could have seen them, they couldn't have seen her. She walked forward tentatively, ready to flee at the slightest movement. I stood slowly and walked into the daylight so she could see me. At first sight she tensed, but then relaxed just the slightest bit as she saw that it was me. She walked forwards to greet me.
"How did you clear the place of those guys?" she asked, a tiny bit of awe entering her voice.
My head still killed from the impacts I had taken, but I wasn't about to let that on. "I'm just good, I suppose," I said, giving her a smile.
"Yeah well, I considered your invitation yesterday... You didn't even try to attack me, just put that thing you can do on me so I couldn't move to attack you. You attacked Cell and Rocks. I suppose I should say... thanks."
"You are quite welcome," I said, flashing another smile. I felt much older than I was.
"Thing is, you gotta persuade me its worth leaving Cell and Rocks for you. I got a few minutes; I told them I was going to go top up on heat, and wanted to do it privately."
"Well," I said, thinking a little. "I'm strong, I managed to beat you, Cell and Rocks without breaking a sweat, not that I can sweat any more... And I managed to claim this territory single-handedly against a radioactive guy and some other fucker who just wouldn't die... That enough?"
She put on a thinking expression. "I suppose," she said. "What will being in your gang entail? What jobs will I have to do?"
It was my turn to think. "I suppose just protect this area. Find yourself food; I don't need to eat, I feed off electricity. You'll be my companion, so assist me in whatever... That's it I suppose."
She shrugged. "I'm an absorber like you," she said. "I don't eat either. I suppose that sounds good. Better than the deal I get from Cell. We'll need to build a place to stay though. I don't know about you, but I've learnt that water doesn't mix well with me."
"Same," I said, and with that we were companions.
It took us another day to build a shelter, piling up scraps of burnt wood and stone. Leah helped a lot, using her ability to heat tar to stick things together. I could have done it, but it would have taken a lot, lot longer, due to the fact my electricity was more concentrated.
It was a shambles, but our home now. A small, one-floor block of a building, with two blocks inside for beds. It was made from so many different materials that I stopped counting after twenty-seven.
Leah seemed to be surprised that no-one had attacked yet, especially Cell and Rocks.
"It should have happened by now. Cell would have realised by now that I'd ditched the group for you. Not that I regret the decision."
"I don't know," I said as I sat with her outside our shelter. "Perhaps he thinks you're dead? That you'd been ambushed by Specials?"
"No... That's not like Cell."
I looked at her, and she looked away. I was about to remark on how warm it was, when Leah suddenly disappeared. I stood, reflexly charging my arms and hands with electricity. Leah appeared a few metres to my side, unconscious. I felt something against my chest, but then the electrical charge of my body repelled whatever it was. There was a shout as the electricity sparked around a human form. A young boy appeared, no more than thirteen, in front of me, clutching his smouldering hand.
"Who the hell are you?!" I shouted, aiming my hand at his chest.
An attack had come, but not in the way I had assumed.
Before I could shock him, the boy disappeared again, and I heard his footfall pelt across and away from the Plaza. Forgetting about him, I turned my attention to Leah, who was beginning to mutter to herself. I helped her up and asked her what happened, but she was disorientated and didn't have a clue besides. I let it drop, curious as to who the invisible kid was.
The day had been eventful, and I'd gained a powerful ally.
But other Specials were getting more dangerous by the day. Including me.