HEY! Back with another one, about time I get going with this story. Anyways, what to say:

1: Anyone has my permission to make a fanart of Sora, Krain, and/or Anti. That would be very awesome! Plus, I need a profile pic.

2: Open to suggestions, I'm gonna keep saying this until someone gives me one.

3: Don't expect any chapters this weekend, I'm gonna be someplace else.

OK, let's do this!

Chapter 12 : Playing Hero

Normal POV

Sora wakes up with a small headache and gets up from the ground.

"Well, I completely forgot about that." Sora said to himself.

"You awake?"

Sora looks over to Cole that was getting up from the couch.

"What's planned for today?" Sora asked.

"I told Moya that we're going for the next substation." Cole answered.

"Marked on our GPS?"

"Yeah. Let's go."

Once we got off Zeke's roof, Zeke called.

"So Dwight's sister just took off. Man, it was a disaster."

"What? I thought you were golden?" Cole questioned.

"Wanted to treat her right, you know? Show her a good time, let things simmer a bit. Any old idgit can land a one-nighter. I wanted something more, like what you and Trish had." Zeke answered.

"Well anyway, she comes over and says she can only stay for a minute or two. And starts talkin' about, uh, I don't know, how she really digs me, but only sees me as a friend. "I'll always be your friend, Zeke." - she actually said that to me." Zeke continued.

"Oh, man." Sora commented on his phone.

"Women are something else. Never will understand them."

Zeke then hung up, only for Sora to start talking.

"Hey, Cole. What happened last night?"

"Well, after you made that joke of baking, Krain gave you a high five and, next thing we knew, you guys passed out." Cole answered.

"Really? Well, at least I have a new power. Wonder what it is." Sora said.

"We'll see. Now, to the substation."

After the two got into the sewers, Zeke called again.

"So I was walkin' over to help Trish load up her bus with the others, and I see Dwight's sister hangin' on some guy's arm. She didn't even look at me."

"Sorry, man." Cole said.

"I've should have known better - she's always been like that. No biggie, though. Frees me up to play the field, see what else is out there. Catch ya later." Zeke then hung up.

After rebooting the generator and exiting the sewers, the two saw the area come to life.

(Cole learned: Megawatt Hammer)

(Sora learned: Magnum Bolt)

Then, Moya called.

"Been receiving reports of unauthorized drones patrolling the Warren. Since they're not ours, you two should look into it. It also sounds like the Dust Men are planning a quarantine break." She explained.

"All right." Cole said.

"One other thing - tell your friend Zeke to stop calling me. If he wants to play hero and track down "leads", that's his business. But I don't need to hear it." She then hung up.

"Zeke, what the hell are you doing..." Cole said to himself.

Sora then called someone on his phone.

"Hey, Fawn. How's the loading up the bus?" He asked.

"Not bad. We're almost done actually." She said over the phone.

"OK. Btw, do you see Zeke anywhere around there?"

"...No. Haven't seen him."

"Since when?"

"He went somewhere after we loaded half of the supplies."

"And that was how long ago?"

"About half an hour ago."

"OK. Thanks for the info." He then hung up.

"What did she say?" Cole asked.

"She said that Zeke left there about half an hour ago."

"What is he doing?" Cole questioned.

"Don't know. But, we better find him before he gets into deeper shit."

The two then arrived at the coordinates, where Moya called.

"We just caught a big break - one of the UAVs patrolling the Warren has crashed. Recover its flight recorder, and I'll try to figure out who's controlling them." Moya explained.

It wasn't far, so they arrived pretty quickly. Cole then called Moya.

"All right, we found it."

"Use your phone to send me the contents of the flight recorder." She said.

After Cole put the recorder in his phone, Moya called.

"Just what I thought: The First Sons are using drones to search for the Ray Sphere. They've narrowed their search to this area."

"They know anything we don't?" Sora asked on his phone.

"No, but we can't take any chances. Find the other drones in the area, shoot them down, and collect their flight recorders. And guys, that UAV was programmed to self destruct if it crashed. Don't know why it didn't, but the other ones might. Once you shoot them down, you have to get to them right away." She then hung up.

Sora's POV

We found one nearby and made it crash. Bad news, it went into water.

"Moya, the drone crashed into the water. No way we can recover it." Cole said.

"All right, look around for another one. And guys, make sure it crash over land."

We then continued to other drones, already making two crash and recovered their flight recorders. Then, we got an unexpected call.

"I want you to listen to something, Cole." It was Kessler.

We then heard Sasha, gasping for air as she begged. "Please, no more. I'll do anything you want."

"Real tough guy, aren't you?" Cole questioned.

"On the contrary, I'm weak. Quite weak, in fact. Which is why you need to learn this lesson and learn it well - everyone has their breaking point. You, me, even dear, sweet Sasha." Kessler explained.

"What separates the strong from the weak is the ability to take the beating- hell, to love the beating - no matter how great the pain, never wavering from what needs to be done. Think you can remember that?" He continued.

"Screw you." Cole simply answered and then he hung up.

We then recovered the last two recorders after crashing the drones.

"That should be the last one." Cole said.

"Your phone doesn't have the bandwidth to transmit that much data, so you need to find a satellite uplink. There should be one on the roof of the old Coleridge building. Hopefully, it still works."

We then went and climbed up the building, dealing with a couple of Dust Men on top, and put the recorders in the satellite.

"You should have everything. It's going to take awhile to sort through all of this. I'll let you know if I find anything of interest." She then hung up.

"Just find that damn Sphere so I can get out of this shooting gallery." Cole said.

We then passed by the shipyards, only to be called out.

"You think you can come over here, doing what you please? Think again! We've got your fat friend - and we're going to kill him real slow."

"Those idiots just made the biggest mistake of their lives." Cole said.

"Well,..." I then put his hood over his head, temperately changing his karma and appearance, now has red eyes and dull gray hair.

(Sora's karmic rank temperately changed to: Tyrant)

"Time we kick their asses, they just got on my last nerve." I finished.

We then entered the place, and took down a couple of Dust Men after a couple of Magnum Bolts and three Megawatt Hammers. We continued through the maze as the asshole came back on the intercom.

"This is my island! My home! You know how long I've waited for this? No one, no one will stop me."

"Just keep on blathering. You'll get yours." Cole said to himself.

Moya then called us.

"Guys, your GPS says that you two are at the shipyards. What are you doing?"

"Killing the bastards that kidnapped Zeke." Cole answered.

"It's his own fault. You can't run out and rescue him every time he gets into trouble."

"We don't abandon our friends." Cole said and hung up.

I then swung my electric chain at a Dust Man, greatly damaging him in the head and stunning him. I then wrapped the chain back on my wrist and fired a Magnum Bolt at him, taking him out. We continued on, turning a corner and facing a turret. Before it fired, we both fired a Megawatt Hammer, taking him and the turret out. We then dodged an incoming rocket and we fired back a precision enhanced bolt, taking him out. We went ahead and next thing we knew, we got trapped.

"Like that would stop us."

I then ran at the gate and swung my chain. However, instead of electricity, it was smoke and ashes. The chain hit, burning the gate in two.

"Whoa, nice one." Cole commented as he went by me.

We continued through the shipyard until we got to the top of the crates, which we then noticed a nearby cage and called out.

"Zeke? Can you hear me?" Cole called out, which the cage was then hit by a rocket.

"Zeke!" We then heard his voice at the far end of the shipyard.

"Cole? Hey guys, over here!" he called out.

"Hang in there, buddy. We're coming." I said.

We continued on the crates to Zeke, only to be shot at by some more Dust Men.

"Oh my god." I said in annoyance.

I then ice dashed down there and swung my chain, cloaked in smoke and ashes, hitting three at once and knocking them off the crates to the ground below.

"Ashes to ashes." I said with a smirk.

Cole's POV

While Sora dealt with the ones down there, I went over to the crane that was holding Zeke's cage. As I was heading up to the controls, the asshole came on the intercom one last time.

"You two are persistent little bastards, aren't you? Doesn't matter. It's nearly done, and once it is, all will bow before me. Just as my father wanted." He then shut up. Sora then got up to where I was.

"He's a real nutjob." Sora commented.

"Yep." I said as I pulled the lever, lowering Zeke's cage. As it lowered, Zeke commented, "Whew, there is close, and then there was that." The cage landed on the ground as we jumped down to open it.

"What the hell were you doing down here?" I asked as he got out of the cage.

"Just tryin' to help out, man. Wanted to sneak in and see what the trash-baggers were up to." Zeke answered.

"Are you insane? You're lucky they didn't kill you." I angrily said.

"What are you saying? That old Zeke needs to go back to his roof and just chill? That he's only good for a laugh and a beer, but when it's go time he ain't worth a damn? That what you're sayin', Cole?" Zeke questioned.

"That is not what he meant. This isn't a game, Zeke. Not anymore." Sora said.

"Just cause you guys got powers doesn't make you better than everyone else. Not by a long shot."

"If that were true, would we even be doing all we done?" Sora angrily said.

"That's what you said, not me." Zeke then left as Sora took off his hood.

(Sora's karmic rank changed back to: Champion)

(Good Karma +)

(Sora's and Cole's karmic rank changed to: Hero)

We then headed over to our next assignment and arrived at the coordinates.

"The Dust Men think that if they load hostages on their boats, the military will back down and let them pass through the quarantine." Moya said.

"Let me guess, the guys with the guns aren't going to play ball?" I said.

"All forces positioned along the quarantine line will have standing shoot-on-sight orders. Any vessel attempting to cross the harbor will be destroyed, no questions asked." Moya continued.

"You two are going to have to find all of the hostage boats and disabled their engines. If those boats leave, a lot of innocent people will die." Moya still continued.

"Listen, I don't want to get any blood on my hands, Moya, but I really don't see what this has to do with our deal." I said.

"Are you shittin' me?" Sora said to himself.

"If I can't maintain control of this situation, I will be replaced. They'll bomb the island, and you guys will be fugitives. No deal, no nothing. You understand?" Moya said.

"Yeah, sure." I simply said.

"Good. Don't ever take that tone with me again." She then hung up.

"I don't where to start, you asking that the innocent people has anything to do with our deal or her telling you off?" Sora sarcastically said, walking over to the docks.

"Not in the mood, Sora." I answered.

Sora's POV

We then climbed to the roof and surprised a couple with Megawatt Hammers. I then swung my ashy chain at the last two, knocking them off the roof.

"Same as the last."

I then ran to the edge and perform a thunder drop, taking out two more Dust Men and their turrets. I then started to head over to the boat after turning the corner and taking out another one with two Magnum Bolts, with Cole coming out of the other side of the building.

"All right, let's disable and save." I then released the hostages as Cole disabled the engine. Then, Moya called.

"Got some bad news. The military is mobilizing several gunships, and they're planning on attacking the Dust Men's boats regardless of whether or not they're still docked. I'm holding them off, but they're not going to wait forever."

"I thought you said you had things under control? Maybe I should make a deal with them." Cole said.

"They want results, Cole. That's all that matters. If we don't deliver, they'll find someone who will." She then hung up.

We then arrived at the second dock, where they started to fire from top and bottom.

"You take down here, I'll take upstairs." I said as Cole fired a shockwave at three trash scorpions.

He nodded and I used Ice Launch to get onto the roof. I faced two turrets, but a Megawatt Hammer and a Freeze Rocket took care of them. I then ran to the boat and jumped off the roof with Cole already there and talking on the phone.

"Hey Trish, how's the hospital looking?" He asked.

"The outside is pretty trashed, but the inside is in surprisingly good shape. I've already moved a couple busloads of people over there." She answered.

"Right on." Cole simply said as I released the hostages.

"I've been thinking that we should sit down and talk sometime, figure out what happens once all of this is over." She continued.

"Sure, whatever you want."

"I'll talk to you later." She then hung up.

After arriving at the last dock and dealing with the last Dust Men, we rescued the hostages. Or, so we thought. Moya said we have one more boat to deal with, Cole makes a slightly harsh remark, something about the president and we went to the last dock. We started dealing with the last Dust Men of the docks when suddenly, I felt a sudden surge of power and then, a car was lifted up into thin air. I then blast a shockwave, throwing the car at them and it exploding on impact.

(Sora learned: Kinetic Pulse)

"Now that was awesome!" I exclaimed.

I then started firing smoke shots, taking out the last two with a headshot.

(Sora learned: Smoke Shot)

"That too!" I exclaimed.

We then got on the boat, released the hostages and disabled the engines.

(Good Karma +)

"That was the last of the boats, Moya." Cole said.

"I know you're not happy about the situation, Cole, but we have to play with the cards that we're dealt. That's just the way it is." She then hung up, which after that Trish called.

"Cole, I've got the last of my gear loaded onto the bus, but the Reapers are blocking the way to the hospital. I need extra help getting past them."

"Maybe once we get over there, we can sit down and have that talk." Cole suggested.

"We'll see. Got a lot of sick people that need help. They come first, Cole." She then hung up.

"Of course they do." Cole said to himself.

Then another unexpected call came.

"I've been keeping an eye on you two, watching you parade around like a damn peacock, showing off every chance you two get. Pathetic." It was Kessler.

"That's real tough talk form a guy who tortures people." Sora said over his phone.

"You still don't get it, do you? You don't get any second chances. Every time you fail, someone's world ends. Ends in the worst way possible." He said.

"I learned that the hard way. And by god, you're going to learn it too. One way or another." He continued.

"Tell you what, crawl out of your hole and meet us somewhere. Then we can settle this once and for all." Cole suggested.

"All in good time, Cole. All in good time." He then hung up.

"Wonder what he meant by he learned it the hard way?" I thought.

After awhile, Zeke called.

"Hey, brother. Sorry I was such a prick back at the shipyards. Really screwed the pooch on that one." He said.

"I know you mean well, Zeke, but the world is changing. You make a mistake now, and you're as good as dead." Cole said.

"Hell, I know that. but you know how it's been for me, no family, broke all the damn time. When this quarantine went up, I thought it'd give me a fresh start. Let me really be something." Zeke continued.

"I know where you're coming from, Zeke. But we have to be careful now. All of us." The phone call ended.

We then arrived to where Trish was, meeting up with the others. The group managed to hold them off but, the bus still took little damage. She then told us that Roger rigged the roof of the bus with metal mesh and have a generator electrifying it, providing a non-stop generator for me and Cole.

"Wow, that's really smart." Cole commented.

"They don't let dumb-asses into med school, Cole. Once you two are up on top, we'll head out. If you need to jump down, I'll stop the bus and wait for you."

She then went into the bus and we hopped on the roof, beginning the ride to the hospital. It wasn't long until Reapers showed up, which we easily defeated some with a Freeze Rocket. We continued on, the others taking action. Raze started to fly and rained down Wind Rockets on the Reapers on rooftops while Fawn and Gold dealt with the ones on the streets, firing orbs and icicles. Izura then started to get pissed off at their annoyance and surprised us by firing fire at some of them. Krain fired lightning bolts and smoke shots simultaneously and picked up and threw some cars at them with his telekinesis. We continued on under the tracks where a lot of Reapers came out of the alleyways behind us.

"All right then." I then jumped off the roof.

"Sora, where are you going!?" Cole called out, causing the bus to stop.

"Keep going! I'll catch up!" I called back.

I then stopped in front of the small army and felt another surge of power. I then started to levitate with every nearby car (except the bus) levitated as well. I then unleashed a gigantic shockwave, throwing all cars at the Reapers, each car exploding on impact and taking out every Reaper in sight.

(Sora gained: Ultimate Kinetic Pulse)

I then went back on my feet and had a little trouble standing, breathing heavily. I then caught up to the bus after I catch my breath and hopped on.

"Dude, that was... epic!" Gold said.

"Thanks." I said back.

"They stop attacking us!" Trish called out.

We then noticed the Reapers are now attacking the Dust Men on the bridge.

"They're in the way! We go in there, we will take a ton of damage!" I warned.

"It's the only way across, what choice do we have!?" Fawn called out.

I then felt another surge, a very strong one.

"Stop the bus!" I said then jumped off.

"What now!?" Izura yelled.

I then ran onto the bridge and saw a war zone. Dust Men and Reapers facing each other, which is fine but one problem, they're in the way. I then crouched down, smoke and ashes swirling around me and electricity surging through me and I jumped,... really high to the height of a skyscraper.

"Holy shit!" I heard Cole yelled.

I gave a smirk as I hit my limit in the sky. I then used my static thrusters to descend fast, really fast, as I then do a spinning cannonball cloaked in lighting and hit the ground, making a gigantic thunder drop and blowing away all the Reapers and Dust Men off the bridge and into the water.

"Thank god I didn't destroy the bridge." I said to myself.

(Sora gained: Orbital Thunder Drop)

"Damn, dude!" I heard Gold say.

"I know! Let's go!"

The bus then went across as I hopped on top as Moya called us and said she has a pic of the Dust Men leader, however she'll tell us when she gets an ID and hung up. We finally arrived at the hospital where a old guy and a Dust Man with a rocket was. The rocket was fired, blowing me and Cole off the bus. Moya was talking as the old man literally lift a bus with his mind.

Cole's POV

Moya kept talking as the man lifted the bus with his mind. I'm strong, but nowhere near that powerful. Alden was born to the leader of the First Sons. As a powerful mentalist, he was groomed from an early age to assume control. That is, until Kessler showed up. Alden disappeared into the streets, growing up scared and homeless. But there's no fear in those eyes now. No, the blast has made him powerful. Gave him the tools to combat his paranoia. With a flick of his wrist, he threw the bus on top of the hospital, sending a message to anyone that would challenge him. With Trish still in that thing, we needed to act fast, not like we can do anything to Alden. He was already gone.

"You just signed you death warrants!" I said to myself.

"We'll cover you, Cole. Go!" Sora said.

I then climbed up the building as the Dust Men fired at me. However, Sora and the others took care of them. Fire, ice, smoke, lightning, energy, wind and cars were flying as well as bullets and rockets. I then reached the top and helped Trish out.

"Are you all right?" I asked her after I dealt with the three Dust Men on the roof.

"When he threw the bus up here, the only thing going through my mind is you, and how things stand between us." She said.

"I'd never let anything happen to you, Trish."

"I know you didn't mean to kill Amy, Cole, that you've been trying to make things right. And I need to stop being angry at you, it's just been hard for me." She continued.

"I want us to be together again. Like how it used to be." She finished.

"I like that, Trish."

Sora's POV

We finished the rest of the Dust Men, looking at the aftermath.

"Man, never thought it would be a war zone." I said to myself.

"Yeah. Hey, Sora?" Fawn asked.

"Hm?" Sora responded.

"Can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Yeah."

We then walked over to the side of the building.

"What's up?" I asked.

"I'm not sure what Sasha said was true so, I'll ask you myself. Do you... have a crush on me?" She asked.

I stood there in silence for a sec.

"How would I answer this? If I say no, I'll hurt her feelings. If I say yes, only time will tell how things will progress from this." I then answered, "Yeah."

She turned away in a light blush. "Just wondering." She then walk away.

"OK..." I said to myself as I turned to thought of what just happened, when suddenly, something pecked my cheek.

"Thanks." It was Fawn, who then walked off again.

Now I was in a light blush. "Well, that just happened."

(Good Karma +)

OVER 4000 WORDS! My longest chapter yet! OK, Sora now has smoke and telekinetic powers, Trish and Cole get back together, Zeke is starting to act weird, Sora learns two karmic bombs as well as some new tricks, we face the leader of the Dust Men, the mysterious man is Kessler, and Sora and Fawn has a moment of "aww!", you know the audience in comedy shows when they see a cute moment. Anyways, what will happen now? We'll see next chapter, won't we?

So, I will see you in the next chapter, buh bye!