Chapter six
Sasha wasn't a simple woman, wasn't flattered by mere flowers or a box of milk chocolate. She didn't fall in love, she didn't do love, she, however, did lust and many men had known that. Yet, somehow the conduit found herself madly in love with the one and only beast from Empire city, but it couldn't really be love right? Sasha didn't participate in love and still she sat on the couch, watching, observing the man she felt attracted to.
Cole wasn't an ugly man. Well to her he wasn't, she liked the rough edge his appearance held and the glowing eyes in the middle of his face, illuminated it. She liked the tattoos that covered every inch of his arms and the muscles he possessed. He was like the title, he wore proudly, a beast of a man. He looked like he could rip a simple human to shreds under two seconds and something in that called out to her.
It was weirdly pleasant to be around someone that could actually defeat her in battle, someone who was stronger than her, because believe her before Cole back in Empire city, nobody came even close to the strength she possessed. Not that anyone could come close enough to harm her psychically, her Reapers made sure of that.
She didn't know where these feelings came from, these thoughts came from, but they arrived and stayed, even when she tried so hard to stop them.
So did she love Cole, that was up for discussing in her opinion, but really who was she kidding.
''What is the matter, Sasha?'' The soft voice wasn't nothing like the gruff one of their leader, was the first thing she noticed and she could have hit herself over the head. Junior stood before her, head down and hands behind his back. What was the little bastard up to?
''What?'' She hissed and the venom was loud and clear. He shrugged, hands coming into her line of vision, they were glowing a slight purple, just like the rest of his skin, she suddenly noticed. It was a sign he'd just used his gift, but it was just in the afternoon. She furrowed her brows and observed the young boy.
''I… um… didn't mean to but…-'' He licked his lips, when he gulped in a breath.
''What. Did. You. Do?'' Every word was its own sentence and added to the scary tone she was going for. He waved around with his hands frantically, going from left to right, from up to down.
''Spit it out!'' And so he did, hands sweaty and eyes wide. She didn't mean to raise her voice, but she sure as hell wasn't going to apologize. Not to Junior, not to fucking anybody.
''Some conduit, I don't even know its name, came around and I was just upset…'' It. He called the conduit it, not him or her, just it. How much did she mess this boy up, no, not her. How much did this world mess this boy up?
''Who was it?'' Silence, only their breathing was heard in an otherwise silent room. Till he broke it, angry voice loud and echoing.
''The fuck do I know!'' He glared, eyes slightly purple. ''Who cares anyway?'' She pressed her hand against her temple, she didn't need this shit, so she shook her head. This was an argument she didn't need to win, not over something as simple as an unknown conduit, one she wouldn't have cared about either way.
''Yeah. Who cares anyway.''
Cole wanted to ask why there was one less conduit in the group, that protected the barn and the land around it, but that would show he cared, kept track of the little numbers, it would show compassion and that he actually cared for them. That, he decided, was close to showing them one of his weaknesses, it would take away his strong reputation as leader and that was something he wanted to evade.
So he snapped his mouth shut and gave strict orders at those who still were present.
''I want nobody in or out.'' Nodding, a lot of nodding and he mirrored the action. ''Nobody in or out.'' He repeated.
''Not till I'm back, got that?'' A sneer made its way onto his face and more nodding followed. And with a mumbled: 'good' under his breath, he slammed the fence behind him shut.
He could hear movement after that, hurried steps and unhappy voices and Cole speeded up. The thrusters under his arms activated and fired him up in the air, high enough to not be noticed by anyone who didn't pay attention, people after all don't look up. Never look up, as he had found out a long, long time ago.
The pull in his chest got stronger along the way, how closer to the city of Seattle, how stronger the pull. It didn't came as a surprise, where else would Reggie go, than to his warm home and lovely company. When Cole was done with him, the home wouldn't be that nice anymore and the lovely company, if indeed confirmed to be the one with the gen, would be far gone from dear old Reggie.
He hoped, secretly, that the conduit was a beautiful young woman, one to fill the gap Kuo, Nix and foremost Trish left behind. It wasn't to forget Trish, don't get him wrong, our dear fellow just felt lonely and well loneliness got to everyone, even to the big, scary beast.
Loneliness was hard on Cole, with Zeke around, he was ok with Zeke, Nix and Kuo around it was bearable, he was ok and even with just Lucy to bug the hell out of him twenty-four-seven, he was ok. He was ok, but then the ice conduit got ripped straight out of his life, poof, gone, death and cooling. Next to the ,still fresh in his mind, lost of both a woman, who he could have loved and his brother by bond, it was too much.
It had resulted in an explosion, that you could have seen from across the Atlantic ocean. So bright and gigantic it was. The explosion so enormous, that whole Paris was whipped of the maps, ruined and gone.
It had also resulted in more loneliness. A sudden wave of it hit him right in his face, it swallowed him and made him almost drown. Yet somehow he managed to pull himself out of dread and sadness, getting his eyes on his goal, their, goal and go on.
But he never forgot. He could still remember the last words Trish had uttered, soft and breathy, simple just three words: ''Keep going, Cole.'' No 'I love you', he wished he got or the 'I hate you', he expected, just three simple words to keep his being together and it worked. He stood, eyes full of rage and sorrow and kept going. It was an unspoken promise to his significant other, one she would have wanted him to make and so he did.
He could still remember the last words Zeke spit out, hard and somehow loving. Their motto, their thing: 'Half as long, twice as bright.' And wasn't it true, but not for him, surprisingly, but for his friend, brother, wingman. Zeke shined hard, but went down far too young. It should have been the other way around, but it wasn't.
He could still remember the last words Nix shouted at him, venom laced to her voice and teeth gritted. 'You're a dead fool, demon.' And that was that, he finished her there. Bolt going through her head, eyes melted and face unrecognizable. The only bright side was that she didn't suffer, much. Nix was right though, he was a demon, is a demon and not only from Empire City or New Marais anymore.
He could still remember the last words Kuo, Lucy, told him, voice almost inaudible and heartbeat slowing. 'Keep on going.' So much alike to those of Trish, yet different, not only in phrasing, but in tone as well. Lucy's tone was demanding, hard and business, almost as cold as her personality and gift. It was a order, not a goodbye or a message to support, it was a cold, hard order slipping of her tongue. It was so much alike to Trish's, but yet so different.
He could still remember the last words of John, even though they are faint, they aren't screams in his head like the others, or nightmares waiting for the dark to resurface. It was a faint whisper in the morning, during dawn and afternoon. They were clear in the end: 'I can't do it anymore.' The pain, the sadness and regret in his voice, till this day, are eye opening. The truth suddenly blasted in the conduit's face, because even John, who put himself together, made his own body from memory, couldn't do it anymore. Sometimes Cole felt like that too and sometimes he thought about John more so than the others, sometimes he thought about how selfish the previous beast was, shoving his duties and responsibilities on him, Cole MacGrath. Then he needs to remind himself, that John never really was a selfish man, because he really wasn't even though sometimes you could doubt that.
And even though so much last words have been spoken the last seven years, there have been also so much first words. Not from Zeke or Trish, the ones that in the end mattered the mast even after death. But from Kuo, Nix, John, Kessler, Sasha, Junior and even that moron Reggie.
He could still remember those as well. He can still remember the first words Kuo said to him, the disgust for conduits coming out and how ironic that had been in the end. All business she said: 'Listen to me and we can get this over with.' Yet another hard, cold demand and somehow Cole doesn't think her powers changed her personality even a single bit.
He could still remember the first words Nix spoke around him, fiery passion and hate for Betrand and his lackeys as bright as the day of their meeting. She had jumped, scaring him with her power and drawled: 'Ready for some action, baby?' After, of course, some squeals of 'the demon of Empire city!'. He felt their band almost immediately.
He could still remember John's, even clearer so than his last. He was concerned, it shone in his eyes and when he spoke, the same worry clung to his words: 'I need to talk to you.' It was an conversation he rather forgets. The conversation that started all.
He could still remember his first words, because in the end they were his right. Kessler was him, just with some fancy powers and a different name and oh, from the future. He looked at him, grinning: 'Your decisions are never right, are they, Cole?' The laugh that followed made the conduit want to smash Kessler's head in, but he couldn't do that. Kessler knew all his moves and thought, hell Kessler was him. He also was right, Cole's decisions were rarely right. Never shoot the truth speaker.
He could still remember Sasha's words to him on the day they met, they were smug and annoying, expressing everything he hated about her. Past tense. 'Good looking, handsome.' He was a lucky fella her trick didn't work on him, because differently he would have been screwed for sure. Both in the literal and figural sense of the word.
He could somewhat remember the words Junior murmured, when Sasha came in with him. 'Hello, sir.' Paired with a tug on his mind, it woke the curious cat inside him and even though he damn well knew curiosity killed the cat, he asked the question.
'What can ya do, boy?' It wasn't much, not compared to Sasha or him, but enough for him to stay and so it went. Never sent someone away who can come back to bite you in the ass. Never do.
He could still remember the words of Reggie and it isn't really surprising, mainly because it happened somewhat over seventy-two hours ago and he should have a real bad memory if that already slipped from his mind. Just: 'Reggie.' And the human made him think about how weird it was, that none of the others he got to know in the past ever started with their name. Reggie was the first.
Cole stared at his hands, still floating through the air and somehow he still didn't reach the city. How far did they went out? The time on hands gave him thinking time, alone and peaceful, something that rarely happened. There was always someone who needed his immediate attention or an case to tend to. It wore him out and to just think was amazing.
He could still remember Trish's first words to him and the feeling she gave him. He was just a delivery boy, cycling down the street and she was a college student, young and bright. She had a future, where he had nothing but the next day. And if he was completely honest, which he was, he was smitten for her the very first time they met. He was a goner with the simple phrase: 'That's a nice tattoo.' And it was a cliché and it was stupid, it's like saying someone's shirt is nice or their hair looks good, just because they look down and need a little of cheering up. It was a cliché and it was stupid, but Cole loved it all the same.
He could still remember Zeke and the aura he'd around him. The first time the men met there were no words, just looks and glances at each other. Cole sat on the roof of his apartment building, shouting insults at the people below, all unaware of his presence and he liked it that way, when the door behind him flew open and a man came out of the stairway. He remembered how Zeke puffed and sweated. Zeke had shot him one look and sat down beside him, both pairs of legs swinging over the side. He offered him a beer, having stocked up on them for if he needed them, which he did for the record. With a grin Zeke accepted, tipping his head to him and gulping the alcohol down. There they sat in silence and peace, just sharing smiles and glances and it was just perfect.
The first time they actually spoke to one another was two days after that, same spot and same time. Same Zeke, puffing and sweating and same Cole, silent and shaking of the sadness that clouded his mind.
Zeke spoke first: 'Hiya brother, name's Zeke.' All together with a slur, he held out his hand, beer clasped in his palm.
'Cole, nice to meet ya.' It was a cliché and it was stupid, but somehow he found somebody who wanted to put up with his shit and that was a task all on its own.
A car horn alerted him, blasting when he lands in front of it. His eyes went wide, reddish glow fading away and thrusters hidden. Look normal, act normal, because it wasn't the time to go in guns blazing, this asked for stealth. So no electricity coming from his palms or jumping over cars. He let his eyes scan the area and they finally rested on a yellow and black car parked to the side.
''Taxi it is.'' And so it was.