"I'm sorry, mam, but due to the current measures that had to be taken in order to capture the bioterrorists, we could only be supplied with the most important medicines. And the product you asked for has already been sold."

Ella was starting to get really desperate. That had been the third drugstore she had gone to, and none of them had what she needed. A frustrated sigh escaped her lips, the situation was growing worse with every day she was trapped in this godforsaken city.

She bit her lower lip, shifted her weight from one leg to the other and folded her arms as she tried to think of a way to solve her problem. How could she get what she needed so badly? That had been the last drugstore in this area which could have had any supplies left, and trying to leave the district would mean to get past the scan-stations. Of course she could try sneaking around those checkpoints by going through small alleys or over rooftops, but she already knew that there were also many dupes patrolling the area to make sure everybody would be behave and nicely play after their rules if they wanted to leave the district.

She needed those medications as soon as possible, the last time she had taken a pill had been two days ago. Or three? She wasn't sure. But she already felt how it slowly gained more and more control over her body, how she was already suffering under it. How the bedsheets suddenly felt rougher at night, how she couldn't fall asleep anymore because she could feel everything ten-times stronger than before, because all of a sudden, everything seemed to make loud noises. Then, she would break out in cold sweat randomly or would be seized by a cramp, she felt cold more often. And her powers? They were slowly getting out of control. She felt how they were growing, and how they were betraying her to the D.U.P.. Yet, with setting so many alarms off at the same time, they couldn't pinpoint her, and she was lucky that they thought it was because of some faulty equipment. But it wouldn't take them too long to figure out what really was happening. After all, they weren't that stupid. And the condition she was in still was bearable. But how long would it take until she would have the more severe symptoms? Until she would lose control, until it would gain the upper hand?

She wished the shop assistant a good day and quickly left the drugstore. As she walked down the street, something unsettled her, it was too quiet. Or was she just becoming paranoid? She didn't have the feeling of being watched anymore, and there weren't any soldiers she could see. There was no sound of a surveillance camera setting off the alarm, no loud speakers announcing how extremely dangerous bio-terrorists were and how civilians should report any suspicious persons and no civilians laying on the pavement, hurt and unable to move. She wasn't sure how she should react to that. Should she be relieved that those cameras had been turned off and that she had her peace for once this week or should she be suspicious as to why there was no alarm and no yellow soldiers in sight? Was it a trap, or was she just lucky?

Her phone vibrated, interrupting her trail of thoughts and informing her that she had a new message:

Hey Ellie, you still wanna meet up for that coffee you promised me?

The message was from Jonah, an acquaintance from work. Meeting for a coffee didn't sound bad at all, after that failed attempt to find the medication and less of the D.U.P. around, she could use some company and Jonah was a friendly guy. Sometimes a bit weird and strange, but the closest she could call a friend. She hadn't planned on doing anything else anyway and she could move more freely for now, so why not? Without hesitation, she quickly typed an answer:

Sure, why not? Meet you at the cafe in the Denny Park in ten minutes?

She didn't have to wait long for a reply:

Fine by me. See you there.

Immediately, she changed her course and turned to the right into a small alley. She could think about her problems later, now she wanted to distract herself from them. If she didn't do anything now, she'd go crazy, not something she would let happen. The alley she entered was normally deserted, a small shortcut she'd taken several times. Seemed as if the D.U.P. was also patrolling here somewhere in the area, otherwise they wouldn't have mounted those incredibly ugly comfort stations here. They certainly didn't put them up for the public, even though people were using them too. But as she glanced to those yellow comfort stations, she stopped in her tracks. She stared at the wall behind them, slowly proceeding what she was seeing, before a smile crept up her face. That smile evolved into a giggle quickly. That hadn't been there when she'd used the shortcut to get to the drugstore fifteen minutes ago.

Someone had sprayed a queue to the wall, looking like they waited to use the toilet. But at the end of the queue, there was a man in yellow and black armor, obviously a D.U.P. soldier, and he looked like he would soil his pants any moment now. That graffiti had been the most creative she had seen in a while. Normally those 'graffiti artists' would just spray their names or some messages that didn't make any sense, but this picture had actually been a creative piece of work, understandable for everyone and with some sort of purpose. She made a picture with her phone, so she wouldn't forget it before moving on. But that image stayed in her mind the whole day.

She looked up from her phone as the other chair at the table made scratching noises while being pulled back by a person. While she had been waiting for her 'friend' to arrive, she had already occupied a table for two outside of the small cafe, enjoying the good weather today. A young man with auburn hair and a short boxed beard sat down, made himself comfortable before he concentrated his attention on the blond woman, who was eying him questioningly. He was 15 minutes late. Apparently, he understood her questioning gaze, because instead of greeting her he started explaining immediately :

"Sorry, it took me a bit longer than I thought to get here. You know, with all these scan-stations and patrols. And that Banner man flushing the D.U.P. like they are all partridges makes those gun-wielding dudes a bit more trigger-happy."

Shock appeared on the blond woman's face. 'Trigger-happy'? They had tried to shoot him on his way here? Were those guys crazy? She knew that they sometimes beat up people who tried to do something very stupid or provoked them -those people laying injured on the pavement didn't do it for the sports-, but shooting at obedient civilians?

"Jävlar*, they did what?!"

His eyes widened slightly as he realized how his last statement sounded and quickly shook his head, hastily explaining himself:

"No no no no, that sounded wrong! They didn't really shoot at me. They just threatened to do so. Pointing their guns at civilians and making friendly comments like 'Try anything stupid and we'll shoot you immediately'. No reason to panic. But it's nice to see that you care about me."

Ella heaved a sigh of relief, for one moment she thought her heart would stop beating. Last thing she needed was the D.U.P. going on a rampage and shooting Jonah and other random people. Stupid Jonah, scaring her like this.

"Well, I'm glad they just threatened people and didn't actually shoot at anyone."

"I didn't say that. I said they didn't shoot at me."

Now he was talking like that on purpose. She wasn't in the mood for that.

"Jonah, that's not funny."

"No, really. I heard gunshots and screams coming from that place where the awfully pink car-wash is. Think it was the Banner man ."

He was talking about people possibly dying like it was nothing. And he hadn't been scared and had gone back to his flat, but instead he had continued heading here. And who was the 'Banner Man'?

That name didn't ring a bell. Should it?

"And you just didn't give a damn about it? And who is the 'Banner Man'?"

Now Jonah seemed to be dumbfounded. As if she had said something really stupid. She didn't though, did she? She never heard of someone called 'The Banner man'. She was pretty sure she'd remember such a silly name. But that stare of him made her feel uncomfortable, confused.

"You haven't heard of him? Man, do you live under a rock? He's like, I don't know, the freaking hero of this city. He's awesome, I tell you. He runs around and kicks those yellow soldiers' asses, but at the same time, he's showing mercy to us, he frees the people who are suspected of being conduits and heals the injured on the street. Doesn't ring a bell?"

"Not really," she answered hesitantly.

"He cleaned up at the Space Needle? Hanged his Banner there? That's why they call him 'Banner Man'? Come on, that was on the news!"

"That guy that hoisted up that flag on top of the Space Needle gave himself a name? I didn't know that, also didn't know of his hobbies. Then, he's a conduit?"

"I suppose, I don't think an ordinary mortal would survive all those bullets and concrete throwing monkeys."

She rolled her eyes at his words, smiling nonetheless.

One of the reasons why she liked Jonah was his attitude towards conduits and the D.U.P.. At work, she had soon realized that he was one of those few who didn't support the D.U.P. or trusted the government blindly, like most of the people did. Of course he didn't support conduits actively or praised them, but he had understood that they had once been normal persons, like everyone else. So why would suddenly all of them turn into reckless and ruthless criminals? And then, when Seattle had been locked down and the citizens captured in the city, he had soon learned to dislike the D.U.P.. She was more comfortable around him, because when it came to those conversations, she didn't have to act up and pretend to support the arrest of all bio-terrorists. But she also was no fool, and so she didn't tell him of her secret. She left him unaware of her real self, afraid of his reaction or what he might spill, on purpose or not. She couldn't trust him, and just because of that fact, she couldn't call him a friend, as much as she'd loved to.

After they both ordered a coffee and a piece of chocolate cake for Jonah -which Ella would have to pay for, because she had promised him to treat him- they changed the subject. They were talking about work, how the lock-down of the city was interfering with their job and how this whole situation put them out of work:

"So, with all that free time we both got right now, what did you do today?",

Jonah asked after sipping at his cup filled with the black and bitter liquid.

"Not much. Actually, I just brought new shoes and roamed various drugstores. Tried to find some Anexylamin, but it's already been sold in every store in this district and I'd hate to go through those scan-stations. Especially not when the dupes seem to get more aggressive, if what you're telling me is true."

"As if I'd dare lying to such an ugly and intimidating creature of your likes. But seriously, you can't leave the district anyway, not while the Banner Man is still in Belltown. And I wouldn't try to sneak past them. If they catch you, you're screwed."

"Jävla skit*, I really need those pills, but apparently there is no need to support the city with any Anexylamin at all. I get the feeling their new motto is 'Fuck the people'. Dumma* D.U.P.."

"You thought about going to the hospital? You never told me which disease you are suffering from, but if it is that bad as you let it sound like, you really need this. And I'm sure the D.U.P. wouldn't dare to 'fuck' the people who are ill, they could catch diseases, you know? Could be worth a try."

"Forget it,"

Ella snapped immediately a little bit too loud. Her eyes had slightly widened in fear and her body slightly tensed. Jonah, a bit startled from Ella's reaction, eyed her suspiciously now:

"And why?" he asked, emphasizing the last word.

Suddenly, she seemed to be nervous, avoiding his questioning his stare and trying find a proper answer:

"Because..Well...I don't like...hospitals?"

It was rather another question than an answer. When she realized that he obviously wasn't buying it, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath before answering:

"Look, I really don't wanna go to a hospital. They creep me out and I've been avoiding them since I was a teenager, okay? There has to be another way."

His intense stare made her uncomfortable and at the moment, she just wanted to escape it. Would he leave it at that, or would he try to find out what was so horrible about hospitals that she didn't want to go there? One thing was sure for Ella though, he surely wouldn't get any answers from her if he decided to bug her more questions. After what seemed like ages, his stare softened a bit -to her surprise- and his eyes darted to the left, then to the right as if he suddenly was looking for some ninja to jump out of a bush to attack them. When the coast seemed to be clear, he leaned a bit forward, she did the same. What did he have in mind now? Did he feel watched? She prepared for anything bad that could escape his lips, from scolding, to threats. But what he said next, in a low voice, surprised her:

"Look, normally I don't have much to do with those people and I won't try to make you do drugs, but those dealers hanging around here can get you anything you want. Don't ask me how they manage to pass those medications through the customs, but I'm sure they can get you your pills, if they don't already have a supply stash hidden somewhere. With that lack of medications in legal stores, their business has to run as good as ever."

The blond woman was baffled, speechless and completely confused. She certainly hadn't expected that answer. She had expected scolding, suspicious interest, but not...such a suggestion. Maybe she had just imagined his last words, because even if Jonah sometimes was strange or sometimes a little bit extraordinary, she had been sure that he wasn't doing any drugs or in possession of any connections to those sort of people. Was she already hallucinating because of her lack of pills?

"What did you just suggest," she asked, her voice slightly trembling.

"One more time, I don't tell you to do drugs, and I won't judge you if you'll go to them at times like these. I mean, there are only three options for you here: You wait, you go to the hospital or you go to them. Two out of three are ruled out, what other choice does the D.U.P. leave people like you? Just trying to help, not advertising their business."

"How would you even know about this?"

"I tell you how I got the information when you tell me why you need Anexylamin. What is that stuff anyway, never heard of it before."

He raised an eyebrow, his facial expression daring. She narrowed her eyes. For a brief moment, she considered telling him what he wanted to know, just out of curiosity, but she quickly decided against it. That information she would get in exchange wasn't worth it.

Her body relaxed, she leaned back in her chair, running a hand through her braided hair without untangling it and looked into the sky, thinking about her options. After a couple of seconds, she let out a sigh, before mumbling:

"I...I have to think about it."

"When you have made up your mind, then go to this address and ask the shop assistant if he could show you the more special products and mention that 'Marcus' told you that they had the best assortment in the whole district," he murmured while he was writing down something on a napkin and then handing it to her. She hesitantly took it and stuffed it into her pocket. She didn't want to go down that path. But then again, she wasn't really doing drugs, she would just...buy her medications from a drug dealer, reluctantly. Nobody could judge her for that now, could they? Jonah certainly didn't. The government practically forced her to do it, what other choice did she have? She didn't have to feel bad or guilty, it was not her fault. And she would stop as soon as the D.U.P. was gone and the drugstores supplied decently again. This was her last alternative, the last way out of her dilemma, and she wouldn't just ignore it.

"Thank you, Jonah," she whispered, her voice so faint that he almost didn't hear it. But he did, and a small smile crept up his face.

"Don't mention it! And I mean that literally, or the cops are going to pay us both a visit. And then they'd find all those dead bodies for decoration in my living room, and that would really ruin my day." He winked at the blond woman and his smile grew into a wide grin. The tension from before was gone immediately, replaced by an easiness she usually felt when she talked to him, even if it had taken her some time getting used to his certain kind of humor.

"Just how stupid do you think I am?"

"You once glued your hands on a wig you were making. This should answer your question."

"That can happen to everyone who works in our branch!"

"You don't need glue to knot a wig."

'Maybe,' Delsin thought,'Maybe I should have thought that through.' Even though he would never admit it, he overestimated himself a little bit this time. He would defeat them all -he absolutely would- provided that he would find some smoke to actually get the job done, but right now, he was avoiding those gun-wielding guys, by running. Not fleeing, just running into a direction where these seven soldiers wouldn't follow him or get him until he could find some smoke to charge his powers. The problem: there was no stack with the gray clouds around that he needed so desperately right now. He really should have thought that plan through, but the thought of playing a prank call to that woman on the D.U.P. help line had been so appealing, he didn't want to keep her waiting. The reaction when he had asked her what she was wearing had been totally worth the trouble he had to deal with now. But he could laugh about it later, now he had to get to a rooftop ASAP. Climbing would take too long, the dupes would shoot him in the back. But there were more ways to get to a roof than climbing, especially when you were a conduit. All he needed was the vent on that building over there. Without hesitation he ran straight into the round vent, and just a couple of seconds later, Delsin found himself on top of the same building.

He had almost completely freed the Belltown-district, the only thing that was left to do was to win this final fight right now. Then, people could move freely again, without constant surveillance and they would have one more reason to praise him as the hero of Seattle. And maybe, they would stop calling him 'Banner Man'. And maybe the other conduits would reveal themselves to him, then he wouldn't have to search in every corner for them, because that was not just plain boring, but also incredibly frustrating after some time. That conduit that should be hiding somewhere in this district was either a phantom, incredibly good at avoiding people (including him and the D.U.P.) or didn't exist. It was like his brother had told him, the surveillance cameras would constantly ring the alarm, the drones flying around the area weren't doing a better job and the dupes had been patrolling more often. He had been trying to catch the conduit while the cameras were detecting high conduit activity, but there was just no person who was in line to be a possible conduit, not to mention that it was pretty hard to watch so many people at the same time. So he had waited nearby a surveillance camera until it had set off the alarm, making sure it was not because of him, but to no avail, he just couldn't find him/her. And Reggie had no track on the other conduits yet. Delsin had to get stronger in order to defeat Augustine though, in order to help his people back home, in order to help Betty.

"Come on, I just need a bit smoke."

He searched the nearby area, no smoke coming from the stacks nearby, not a single trail of those gray cl...There! It wasn't much, just a faint trail coming from a stack on top of a cafe, but it was better than nothing and definitely enough to send those yellow morons back to sleep. There weren't many civilians around the place either, just two couples sipping their drinks in the afternoon sun and a guy typing something on his laptop. The all too familiar sounds of gunshots suddenly filled the air again, a clear sign for Delsin to get moving. And he didn't waste any time and dashed to the rooftop of the cafe. The surprised screams of the people far below on the ground didn't matter right now. He had gotten used to them pretty fast, and as a result, didn't pay them much attention anymore. He put out his hand and almost automatically the grayish black cloud seemed to flow to his hands, into his body and felt how his power was returning to him. It still felt a bit weird, but for Delsin, it was a feeling he connected with joy and anticipation.

All the remaining soldiers who had followed him up to this cafe were all standing on the street, blocking the traffic, pointing their gun barrels up in the air in his direction. The civilians who had been sipping their coffee peacefully only seconds ago were cowering on the ground, fearing for their lives. One man tried to crawl away from the scenery, but the others remained. He couldn't do a 'comet drop' now, he would hurt or probably kill these innocent persons, something he didn't want to be responsible for. He decided that shooting them from up here with his smoke shots would also do the job, it would of course be less epic, but better than killing civilians. Unfortunately, his enemies didn't just hold still, but quickly built small walls of concrete, thick enough to block all his attacks from above and just high enough so they could hide behind them.

'Time to keep them some company down there.'

And with that thought in mind he jumped down, without releasing an attack that would burn any normal human being in one instant, ignoring the surprised screams of the civilians, either fearing for his safety or fearing him himself.

The soldiers quickly left their hiding spot, their weapons ready to shoot him, but before the first could even fire, he was knocked out by a strike of a reddish glowing chain. The D.U.P. soldier was not killed, but he certainly wasn't in any condition to fight anymore either, and the second one followed soon, before the remaining five were able to shoot at him. Delsin swirled around and rose his arm, quickly firing smoke and ember at his enemies, targeting their heads while staying in motion so it would be harder for them to hit him with their bullets. They missed him almost every time, unfortunately though, so did he, but while they were backing off of him, he was approaching them. They were scattering, and trying to overpower him with their weak concrete powers, but he dodged and they missed him. He quickly dashed to the nearest soldier and knocked him out like he did it with the first two. But he had to retreat again, he was too close to the remaining four soldiers who now were able to hit him with their bullets and their concrete. The four soldiers were regrouping, shouting instructions at each other and trying to make a new plan. They were planning to surround him trying to get him into a crossfire.

"You know, maybe you should try to tell each other your plans without me noticing. Just sayin',"

Delsin shouted, mocking them with his words. The answer came promptly: they fired again.

"You should learn to take criticism!"

Apparently their plan to surround him was discarded, because they stood all at one place. He didn't think twice as he gathered enough energy in his right hand to fire a cinder missile to end this battle quickly. But Delsin had forgotten that there still had been civilians cowering under tables, too afraid to crawl away. And five of those were cowering behind the yellow soldiers, three men and two women, who had just came to this place to enjoy the afternoon-sun while sipping a good coffee. He realized too late that they were in the line of fire, in the range of the cinder missile. The D.U.P.-soldiers would certainly survive the attack, they were protected by thick, yellow armor, but the others, they could easily die if they were hit by such a missile without any protection. But Delsin realized that too late.

Time seemed to slow down as he saw the missile colliding with the first soldier, throwing him off his feet, sending him flying into the yellow armored man behind him. The heat burned the third and the blast wave knocked the fourth out. But the missile was strong, burning through his enemies like they were made out of butter, getting past them with almost as much power as when he had fired it, now approaching the civilians and Delsin couldn't do a thing against it. And although it seemed that time had slowed down, what happened next was too fast for him to comprehend at first. The concentrated smoke and burning ember clashed with a flash of white, blocking the heat and the force of the blow entirely. Baffled, he stared at the daggers, thorns and stings, all sprawled chaotically over the place, but still ordered in a way that built a wall to protect the persons behind them, one of them who had created the wall.

Delsin was about to comment the incident that had happened before his eyes, but a loud exclamation from a young man, also behind the wall of ice and frost let him hold his words for a moment:

"What the fuck?! Ella! You are a bioterrorist?"

Delsin still stood there, mouth slightly agape. Being honest, he had given up the thought of finding the conduit who had hoaxed the D.U.P. in Belltown (and him), but finding her here, completely by accident was just…He was luckiest conduit in Seattle (not that there were so many). But he still didn't know how she looked like yet, but now he at least knew her name: Ella. He slowly approached the wall, surrounded it and had to duck as white splitters of ice flied just past his ear:

"Whoa! Slow down, we're on the same side! I just want to talk!"

'And maybe I want some of your powers.'

But the girl had already turned her back to him and ran off down the street, intent on leaving everything and everyone behind as they were right now.

Delsin cursed under his breath, immediately chasing after her, ignoring the shouts and screams of the people who had seen the spectacle (again). She was fast, turning into a flash of ice and frost to get away from him, but he was faster. But what he didn't expect her to do was to turn around in a fluid motion and to throw some more ice at him. He reacted quickly, melting the small daggers and splitters she had thrown at him and gained some more speed. His attempts to persuade her to stop weren't helping at all (not that he would give up trying), and if she wouldn't listen by herself, then he would make her. She tried some more times to hit him, and each blow of her was getting stronger, so strong that he couldn't melt it anymore, he had to duck. He had almost reached her when she turned around again, but this time she wasn't aiming for him directly. This time her shot hit the street before his feet, and the cold was spreading fast around the spot where her shot had come into contact with the gray concrete. Faster than Delsin could react he ran right on the ice spreading on the floor and as soon as he stepped onto it the cold, frozen water crawled up his feet, over his ankles to his knees, immobilizing him.

'Great. Another woman who wants to see me in shackles.' he thought.

The only difference between these shackles and Augustines was that ice could easily be melted with smoke. That small amount of snow wouldn't hold him off very long, he would catch up to her and then they would have a nice, long talk, provided that she would stop running away from him. Hastily, he shot at the shackles with smoke but when he was finally freed from the ice on his feet, she was already gone. When he realized that he had lost sight of her, he tried to find her again, but she was gone. She had escaped and he had only learned two things of her: she was a conduit with ice abilities named Ella.

Time to call Reggie.

Jävlar – fuck

Jävla skit – shit/crap

dumma -stupid