Cole hadn't slept very well after he returned to Zeke. He had taken a shower (one that was longer than he actually could tolerate, but he just wanted to be clean again) and had briefly wondered whether it would be worth to wash his stuff or burn it directly. But if the next day was in any way like the one before, then he would be shot at, sliced into and who knows what else. So he just dumped everything into the washing machine (even the shoes) and switched it on, then crawled into bed in hopes of being able to sleep.
He couldn't.
In his head, he could still hear the voice of the TV Jacker, calling him a terrorist, he could still see Trish's expression when she backed away, he could still hear the thunder of the machine gun turrets that killed all those civilians, he could still taste his blood, the sewer and the tar in his mouth (even after viciously brushing his teeth for ten minutes), he could still feel the impact into his body when the Reaper conduit threw him around.
He could feel his flesh fixing itself, felt how his bruised or broken bones snapped back into place and healed up.
What Moya said was there too, that the Ray Sphere literally drained the life out of thousands just to power his abilities, that there were even more conduits around. Which meant, that there were so many people, all of them powered only through the death of hundreds of others- and if he tried, he thought he could actually hear those people.
And then of course, his meeting with Mercer. He had threatened him in the most violent way possible, had instilled a deadly fear within him. He didn't wanted to be found out- and even if what he told him was just a lie, that guy was still highly volatile and aggressive, and would probably flip his shit if Cole blabbed about him. Which meant that every bump he heard, every shadow that flitted past his window jerked him awake and made him unleash lightning in fear.
He couldn't talk about him- wasn't supposed to speak about it, and he was more than aware that it made sense to keep his mouth shut about it. And no matter how much he loved Zeke as a brother, he knew he was a chatterbox. And knowing that Alex Mercer was in the city would only encourage him to talk to whoever were his contacts- and then the story would make it to Moya. Whatever Mercer's deal with her was, it couldn't be good if she was aware of him. Manhattan came back to mind, and the fact that there had been stories about a nuclear warhead. Stories that didn't make sense- because even with a genius having unleashed a deadly biological agent, biological didn't mean nuclear- a geneticist simply had no possibilities to get his hands on a nuclear warhead.
The only ones who did were the military and the government. Cole wasn't as naive to think that it had been a coincidence that a live warhead was near Manhattan- no, they had planned to use it on the city. To stop Mercer and whatever biological nightmare he had created.
And if they were going to nuke the more important Manhattan, then Empire City would be a viable target as well. In short: there was the possibility that, if Moya became aware of Mercer, her bosses would order the strike. They will gladly shoot through the people to get to me.
He was pretty sure it wasn't overblown paranoia either.
All of it taken together meant that the courier couldn't sleep. Questions, dark thoughts, fear, memories- all of them whirled through his head like a typhoon and refused to settle down.
In the end, all he could do was sit against the dryer and listen to it rumble as his clothes dried. This had, in the very least, a slightly calming effect and dulled his mind to the point he could nod off a little. Still, when he woke up hours later, he felt like he had been hit by a truck. Every joint and muscle ached, and his backside was cold and hurt from sitting on the bathroom tiles the entire time. Cole yawned and stretched, hearing his joints pop and crack as he did so.
Like a zombie, he shuffled into the kitchen to prepare breakfast. They only had few supplies, and Cole didn't really feel like eating anything, but he had to keep his strength up. As he nibbled rather listlessly at his toast, Zeke joined him.
"Mornin'", he greeted him. Cole grunted in reply.
"Rough night?"
"Mhm"
Zeke sat down, eyes glowing behind his shades. "C'mon. You gotta tell me everythin'."
Cole glanced at him with furrowed brows. "Sewers", he said shortly. "City areas without power make my head go crazy. And Reapers. Lots of Reapers. And mind-raping tar." He paused. "And some sort of angry conduit nearly mauled me."
"There are more like you?"
"Yeah. I'm the only one with thunder powers until now though."
Zeke leaned over the table grabbing a slice of toast. "You know, I've been thinkin'. You can't turn the Ray Sphere over to the Feds, man."
Cole sighed. "Do I have a choice?"
"Do you know what they'll do with it?! Especially if the Pentagon is wrapped up in all of this?" Zeke squeaked, "It's the ultimate weapon!"
"And what's your suggestion, 'Jebediah'?" Cole ground out, clearly not in the mood to discuss this. "We hide it under your couch?"
Zeke floundered. "Only my momma calls me Jebediah", he tried to explain, before he shook his head. "That's not important right now. Listen", his eyes glinted, "I'd say we crack that baby open and give everyone powers. It's the only way to make sure we don't get screwed."
Cole snorted. "I think we're already screwed." He got up from the table and moved to the bathroom to get dressed.
"Why? Don't you think it'll be cool if everybody had powers?" Zeke whined.
"No", Cole groused. "Because I met idiots yesterday that shouldn't have powers at all." Especially that Mercer bastard. "Besides, Moya told me only a few people have this 'Conduit Gene' that allows them to get powers. I have it, but I don't know who else. And let's not forget the whole 'Thousands have to die to power a single conduit' thing." He shook his head, pulling his stuff out of the dryer. "The best idea would be to blow that blasted thing sky-high. Make sure nobody gets to use it."
Zeke muttered under his breath as he leaned against the door frame. "Party Pooper"
He watched how Cole put his track suit back on, and hissed sharply at the sight of its total state. "Holy Hell, man!" He gasped, "What have you been through?!"
"Lot of stuff", the conduit replied, "Like..." He pointed to the holes riddling the back and front of his jacket. "Bullet holes. Got shot more often than I really prefer." He frowned at the frayed shoulder pad. "Conduit", he added, "With claws. Thought my throat would make a nice all-purpose Cole-handle, too." He rubbed his neck. "Nearly snapped my spine. And took out three of my ribs."
Zeke frowned and prodded his flank, earning a dark glare. "Doesn't look broken."
"Not anymore", Cole scowled, pulling away from his friend's fingers. "But I can tell you I felt every rib growing back. And it hurt."
His phone chimed from the kitchen, so he headed over there and picked it up.
"Yeah?"
"Hello Cole", Moya said. Cole furrowed his brows. She didn't sound any tired or stressed (or not more than she usually did), so he couldn't help but wonder whether that woman required sleep at all. "I trust you had a break?"
"I did. Didn't sleep very much, though."
"Mhm. Then I do hope for your sake you'll be up for the task. I flagged the position of the next Substation on your GPS, Cole."
Cole blinked at his phone. A red dot was blinking there. He wasn't aware that thing had a remote marking function. "Got it." He cleared his throat. "Uh- At the risk of sounding like a whiny brat, but I'm not overly fond of crawling back into the sewers. I mean, there should be some guys whose job it is to fix those substations. Shouldn't I'd be hunting for John and the Ray Sphere?"
He could almost hear Moya shrug. "You need to look at the big picture. Every time you restore power to a section of the city, your powers escalate. I'd say it's a valuable use of your time."
Cole sighed. She got him there. He really did become only more powerful every time he wedged himself into one of those transformers, and that was damn useful. It was just he wasn't too fond of sticking in the muck again.
He groaned under his breath, letting Moya know she won. "Good. I knew you'd see it my way. I'll be in touch once you get the substation back online." She paused, before adding, "Oh. And for future references, don't leave your phone sitting around. I don't want to believe you're ...up to something behind my back."
"Got it." Cole grunted. Moya cut the communication, though she would still be listening to whatever was happening.
"Aw man", Zeke whined, "You let her order you around?"
"She has the means to clear my name", Cole pointed out with a sigh as he headed out of the apartment door to head to the roof. "And as much I don't like her tone, I have no choice." Plus, it helps clearing my head.
Zeke followed him as they made their way topside. "Well, see you around, Zek."
"Be careful, man"
"Ain't I always?" Cole jumped off the roof, falling several stories to land on the floor with a thud and a roll, then started jogging to the North-western part of the Neon, where Moya had marked the manhole. The sky was overcast, and it looked like it would rain soon. Cole frowned. He didn't really like rain, so he'd better hurry.
At the very least, the Reapers would be easier to spot and take out during the day. Plus Mercer himself wouldn't risk assaulting him- judging by their first real meeting on Archer Square and the fact he was actually hiding here in Empire. Also, the feeling of panic that accompanied him after their battle yesterday was a distant shiver at the back of his neck.
The courier headed to the roof of a building to make his way from there. Despite the few advantages, daytime also gave him the disadvantage of more pedestrians on the streets and less covering darkness, so he wasn't too keen having to run from them should they try taking him down. So staying off the ground was the best choice, as long he didn't mind sharing with Reapers.
Well, that problem was easily solved with a few well-placed lightning bolts and Shockwaves, even as he headed into the the powerless section. His head started to pound again, but he knew that as soon he'd be underground it wouldn't be as bad anymore. So he grit his teeth and continued moving.
However, as he headed across the rooftops, he quickly realized that even during the day, the damn hoodie-wearing junkies were assaulting people. Cole scowled and watched a group of Reapers turning on a small group of civilians, snarling like rabid animals.
Not on his watch. Cole leapt off the roof and dropped towards them, lightning rushing over his body to unleash a massive discharge once he hit the ground. The Reapers were flung to the side, flailing their limbs. Cole wasted no time to lunge at those that remained standing, discharging lightning everywhere to drop them. But especially to drop them before they could give off a single shot and threaten the pedestrians. The growl of an engine drew his attention. Cole whipped around, eyes narrow as a turret truck came towards his position.
Oh Hell no!
"Get away!" He shouted at the civilians, and rushed to meet the truck. The front was his safest bet, since they couldn't shoot him from there, but that also meant they could run him over. And the truck did speed up once the driver noticed him. Cole scowled and remembered what happened to the first truck he'd seen.
The flying AC unit took it out.
Well, he didn't have an air conditioner, but there were several cars parked along the sides of the street, many badly damaged by the previous Reaper encounters. He dove to the side, between the vehicles, and threw his arms up, sending Shockwave after Shockwave into the cars to send them flying.
Lugging around several tons worth of steel and glass did drain his reserves harshly, and made him halt with a pained expression as he doubled over panting, but his attack did have the desired effect. The truck was completely flattened by his assault, and no longer useable.
"Take that", he growled, turning away. Taking their food, shooting civilians, poisoning the water... the Reapers made him unbelievable angry, and he let them feel it. He was going to stop them, and if he had to destroy every last one of them.
His thoughts must have showed on his face, because the civilians he just rescued backed away with wide eyes. Cole watched them for a moment, torn between trying to soothe them or not, until he decided that they weren't worth the trouble.
He did what was right, he took out his anger at the guys deserving it. Screw what others were thinking about him.
Cole paused, frowning. He realized that he really didn't give a shit about what the people thought about him. Why should it matter anyways? The idea that they'll accept him if he helped them was a mere illusion anyways. Everything he did, he did for himself. He put the substations back online to avoid feeling like shit and prevent the Reapers from hiding in the dark, he activated the transformers because he got more powers from them. He took out Reapers left and right because they pissed him off. He helped Trish to win her back. He helped Moya because he wanted to clear his own name. He didn't care of the people of Empire City.
Right? Then what about the kid in the sewer and his family? Why did you help them too?
Because it would be a dick move to not help them if he had the power. He didn't really care about them, but he also just couldn't walk away. He didn't like those idiots, though he wouldn't stand by and watch them suffer. He had the power to help, and he was going to help them, because it wasn't in his nature to let them rot away.
The people here didn't require healing though so he could leave them be. He turned and walked away, ignoring their voices ringing out behind him.
He found the manhole Moya marked easily enough, pried it open and slipped inside. As his feet hit the tiled platform beneath, his nose wrinkled at the smell of the sewage. Joy.
He scowled and glanced down the tunnel, finding the transformer sparking just a few yards down the place. Well, at least that thing is close-by. Who knows how long he'll have to stick around to find the substation?
He clicked his phone active. "Hey Moya. I'm down in the sewers", he informed her, "Should have the power back on in no time."
"Roger", the Agent replied. Cole shut the phone off, then carefully balanced along a thin pipe to reach the transformer. He paused once he stood in front of the massive machine, but only for a moment to brace himself against the pain. Then he jumped up and latched onto the outlets to close the circuit.
The fire that slammed through him was...bearable this time. His teeth still ground together as the voltage raced through him, but once he let go, he didn't fall on his ass like every time before. He managed to land with only one knee bent. But he felt more powerful once more.
He got up and balled his fists, lightning racing across his body at a mere thought. Good.
Cole grinned and headed away from the transformer, glancing at the thick wire that was suspended between the transformer and the gateway going deeper into the sewers.
As he approached it, his body started to tickle, like pulling him in into a direction. His toes prickled and itched. Cole wondered for a brief moment, then just decided to let his instincts- whatever they were- simply take over. He hopped onto the wire and didn't even balance himself when his body lurched to the front. Lightning snapped out of his feet and pushed him to the front. Cole gasped involuntarily as he shot across the wire going easily fifteen miles per hour.
The wire was too short for that speed though, and Cole was literally flung off at the other end, yelping in surprise. He hit the maintenance area in an undignified heap on the floor, groaning from the bruises and scrapes. He struggled upright, rolling his neck as lightning washed over him and fixed him right back up.
As sudden as it ended, this power was pretty amazing. The courier grinned. It had been awesome, really. The rush of air in his face- it felt like jumping, only more controlled- and for as long as he could slide across a wire. Or, he noticed, any sort of metallic track, really. He couldn't wait to try it out on the subway tracks above.
His phone rang, and he stopped to answer it.
"Dude!", it was Zeke.
"Hey"
"Have you paid attention to the TV jacker?" Zeke asked and his voice sounded pretty pitched. Cole could easily imagine him waving his arms around and stalking over the roof agitated. "Used to think he was pretty righteous!", his best friend continued, "But now he spends half the time trashin' you!" The courier winced with a frown. Yeah. As if he needed more bad publicity. It wasn't that he cared about what others thought of him, but that didn't meant he enjoyed being made the most-wanted man in Empire. And the less civilian idiots he had to zap to make them back off, the better it was.
"Makes me think you should pay him a little visit", Zeke continued.
Cole shrugged. "Believe me. I'd love to", he explained. He really wanted to. This would be so worth it. "No idea where he's hiding, though."
"Probably holed up in that old TV station over in the Historic District. You find him, you give him a taste of the good stuff. He's gotta learn not to run his mouth the entire time."
Cole smiled. "Got ya."
Zeke chuckled and cut the connection, leaving Cole to head for the next wire.
He glanced at it and focused back to the feeling he had before he started the sliding. Or, grinding more likely. His toes tickled again and he jumped onto the wire. In an instant, there was lightning around his calves and feet again and he shot to the front.
This wire was longer, and Cole leaned to the front, whooping enthusiastically from the sheer speed he was experiencing. More lightning lashed out of his arms, increasing his speed. Cole felt tears trickle at the corners of his eyes, but it was just so good. He estimated he went at twenty miles now, shooting across the wire like a meteor made of sparks.
His reaction time had greatly improved too, so he easily jumped off the wire as soon it ended and landed on another one, without even slowing down.
Cole zipped through the tunnels faster than any person could ever run. He noticed another maintenance tunnel to the front and jumped off, still going twenty miles per hour. The ground shook with a massive tremor when he landed in a roll and slowed to a near stand-still. A Reaper made a startled snarl, Cole having taken him by surprise- and he didn't manage to do anything before the conduit fried him. He hopped onto another wire and sped along it, though his heart did make a startled leap in his chest when it suddenly ended, leaving him to obey Newton's Laws and quite literally flying a few more yards through the air before he managed to land atop a large tank with slightly wobbly legs. He panted sharply, turning back to the wire. "Holy shit. That was intense."
A grin was plastered on his face despite that. Because this new power had the best potential for some really awesome stunts.
He jumped off the tank and latched onto more pipes, carefully swinging from one pipe to the next to reach the grates on the other side. Two Reapers thought they could ambush him, but a quick grenade thrown into their general vicinity told them just why they shouldn't even try it.
He jumped off, headed through a smaller tunnel and found another wire to grind along. A part of his brain wondered just how a bunch of maintenance workers were supposed to work here, since he couldn't even see traces of a catwalk, unlike the other two sewer parts he'd been in.
Maybe Empire employed Urban Explorers like him for maintenance, or maybe they went by boat. He didn't have any other ideas.
He did also wonder how the heck the Reapers managed to get everywhere. They were like damn flies, buzzing all over the place.
Well, good thing he was such an excellent insect repellant.
And, as he made his way further through the sewers, he figured out he could also shoot while grinding, which made the entire ability even more awesome than it already was. The only moot point was that he couldn't take sharp turns and was sent flying if he didn't pay any attention as to where he was grinding.
He headed along the last part of this tunnel, then carefully balanced across a thin pipe suspended on the ceiling to reach the substation. He charged it back up, watching how the machine started to light up bit by bit and the hum became louder.
Cole smirked and turned to head back outside. Another substation down.
--------------------
As he climbed back out of the manhole, Cole inhaled the fresh air with a content moan. The lights all around him were working, so that annoying throbbing in the back of his skull had faded too. He hummed for a moment, before he contacted Moya.
"Good work, Cole", she commented. "When you're ready, I've got a couple of things I'd like you to look into." She paused, and her voice lowered slightly. "One of them might lead us to John."
John. John White. The guy with the Ray Sphere.
This was important here, but Cole couldn't help but indulge the more childish part of himself. The night had been shit anyways and he was only all too glad for any kind of distraction, really. He glanced up to the railroad track that ran overhead, then quickly latched onto the support beams to pull himself up and reach the top of the track.
He stopped next to the train tracks, looking around to make sure no train was coming, before he put a foot on top of the rails. His toes tickled again, making him grin. He kicked off the floor and ground along the rail, sparks flitting up behind him. And better, at the same time his natural affinity to drain electricity from any source latched automatically onto the third rail, sucking juice directly from the city grid and feeding it into him. A grin bloomed on his face as he rushed across the rails, feeling the wind whistle sharply into his face.
When his phone rang, he slowed to a stop and hopped off the rail to answer it.
"Yeah?"
"Cole?" Moya sounded...vaguely disturbed. "Is that you?"
Cole frowned. "Uh, yes. Why are you asking?"
"Because you went at roughly thirty miles per hour. And I know for fact that in your vicinity are no cars going and the train is off-limits too."
"Oh." the courier blinked. "Well, that's my new power"
"...I see." There was a pause, until Moya continued. "At any rate, it's fortunate you already are on the train tracks then. Remember when I said the train is off-limits?"
"And?"
"The Reapers have killed the entire track", she told him with a stern voice, "And they have locked up several people in an old train close to you. They want to keep the Neon in line."
"Shit", Cole growled, all good mood gone.
"Indeed. And, aside from the fact that they have a whole lot of hostages now- John might be on that train."
Cole glared along the tracks, seeing the faint edges of a train there. "Want me to bust them out?"
"No", Moya said. "You're in the heart of Reaper territory. They'll kill everybody who'll get out. You have to move the train to a safe location."
Cole blinked. Slowly. "How am I supposed to do that?!" He burst out in a voice that was maybe a bit too high. "Push?!"
Moya scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous. You're a living third rail. Stay in contact with the lead car and it should move."
Right.
Cole kicked off the track again and shot across the rails at a breakneck speed. Three Reapers, who were there for guarding purposes, whipped around and noticed him, but the conduit was too fast for them. He slammed into them at full speed, unleashing lightning around him as he did so, and send all three flying off the track.
He skidded to a stop and snorted. Good. That's them. Now to the train itself...
Cole frowned, glancing at the wrecked car that blocked the tracks, but that was easily removed with a single Shockwave.
He turned to look at the train itself. The windows were boarded up with metal sheets, but he could catch glimpses of the panicked people inside through several gaps. "Just stay calm in there", he muttered, before he hopped up and latched to the edge of the roof, then pulled himself on top of the lead car.
He looked around to check for any danger, then planted both feet flat against the metal and charged his body up. A tremor ran through the entire train before it slowly started moving. It was slow, squealing all the way and shaking like mad- but it was moving.
For about seven hundred feet or so before the thing simply stopped. Cole blinked and sent out a few discharges, but nothing happened.
"Uh. Train's stopping", he said, scratching the back of his head.
Moya made an angry noise. "Reapers", she huffed. "Must have disengaged the low-voltage feeder box under the tracks."
Cole cleared his throat. "Sorry to say that- but I'm a college dropout. Don't use so large words around me." He cut Moya off before she could respond. "But as far I understood, there's a box on the underside I have to charge up to make this thing move again, right?"
Moya paused for a moment. "Correct", she replied.
"I'll go look for it."
Cole dropped off the train and hopped off the tracks to land on the street beneath. He startled several people around, who backed away in fear, but he paid them no further attention. Instead, he looked up, finding the metal box underneath the tracks. It blinked red, and red usually meant 'off'. He fired several bolts at it until it sparked and turned to green.
"Okay. That's that." Cole climbed up the support pillar and climbed back on top of the train, charging up to get it moving again.
He saw red hoods poking up from beneath the rails. More Reapers. "Ah. Crap" He simply aimed his hand at them. "Say good bye", he growled, then started firing several bolts at the guys, frying them. When the train stopped screeching once more, he let out a sigh and hopped off it again, this time he charged up while he fell to take out a whole group of Reapers lurking around on the street. They were starting to piss him off. He growled and switched on another feeder box, before heading back topside.
That was when things started to go south. He saw Reapers starting to crowd on the tracks, armed with various rifles. One had a heavy-looking pipe on his shoulder. Cole's eyes widened.
It was no pipe.
It was a bazooka.
"Shit!" He gasped. The Reaper snarled once, and fired his weapon. Cole moved. All he knew was to stop that damn thing from blowing up the train. He had taken the hostages away from them, and to the Reapers they were no longer valuable. Instead, killing them would only send a message to not mess with them.
He threw his arms up, creating a huge Shockwave that intercepted the rocket. The projectile blew up with a huge explosion, sending Cole hurtling backwards and down on the street. His ears rang and his head spun, but he couldn't leave the people behind.
No.
This would be a second Stampton Bridge massacre. And they would blame him for it, for having brought the train here.
He could not allow this.
Cole swung himself back topside, bodily tackling the first of the Reapers that rushed towards the train. He slammed the man hard into the ground and wasted no time to send thousands of volts through his brain to kill him. He didn't even try not to. He just killed him, plain and simple.
The Reapers fired their rifles. There was no cover, so all Cole could do was to brace himself, grit his teeth against the pain and power through. The bullets impacted into his chest and arms, and one hit him right in the temple. His vision flashed white, then turned gray. But anger quickly drove him forwards, and right into the Reapers. Unleashing lightning, he more or less berserked his way through their ranks, destroying them left and right in massive discharges. The Reapers snarled, trying to stop him, but Cole was much stronger.
He wiped them out within moments. All of them.
With a groan, he collapsed to his knees, panting in pain as blood soaked into his jacket and pants. He knew he needed to heal, before his rage subsided and left him without any strength. He slapped his flat hand onto the third rail, electrocuting himself. The energy rushed into him, knitting broken flesh and shattered bones together. But the sheer amount of injuries made it impossible to heal quickly- all he could do was sit there and wait until his body had fixed itself. The pain remained, even as dozens of bullets dropped down around him and the flow of blood tapered off. He was pretty sure he wouldn't be moving so soon.
He probably should, though. His head snapped up when a Reaper conduit strolled towards him. Cole pulled his lips away from his teeth in a snarl, daring him to get any closer. He was pretty sure a shockwave from him would knock him out cold and leave the people defenseless. He just hoped the guy would get his message and stay away.
He didn't and kept moving towards the courier. Cole swore, jerking upright and biting back the pain to face the man. The Reaper conduit started glowing in preparation for attack.
A black whip-like tentacle slammed into the man and silver gleaming claws hooked into his clothes. Cole gasped, knowing exactly what this claw was- before it pulled back and yanked the Reaper with it.
The conduit gave off a startled hiss when he was dragged on top of a high building, vanishing from Cole's view. He did, however, hear the loud shriek that was suddenly cut off by something...fleshy. Sounded too damn much like body parts being rended from their place and blood splattering the ground.
It should have prepared him, but when Mercer himself moved into his line of vision, a violent shudder still ran down Cole's spine. Despite him having forgone his hoodie and jacket, he wasn't any less imposing. His eyes were still cold, his expression grim. The Reaper's assault rifle was slung across his shoulder.
Their eyes locked for a moment, before Mercer turned his head slightly and fired the rifle once, simply off the cuff like some cowboy in an old Western Movie. Cole jerked back, as if hit- but he quickly realized that he never had been the target. Instead, a Reaper across the train tracks collapsed into a heap, his weapon cluttering to the ground.
No doubt he had tried to shoot him while he was distracted- but that would mean that Mercer was protecting him.
Again.
Cole grit his teeth, growling under his breath. He wasn't weak, and he didn't need someone's protection. Lightning lashed out of his skin as he scowled at the guy. He wondered what it would take him to zap that guy, though with all the Reapers running around, the people on the train were in danger if he left them. And this he couldn't stomach. He was here to make sure they got to safety, and he was going to go through with it.
Reluctantly, he abandoned his thoughts and climbed back on top of the train, charging up to make it move again. The train rumbled and began to slowly crawl along the tracks, picking up on speed along the way. Cole saw Reapers trying to intercept them, but they dropped before they even managed to get close. His head whipped around, and he saw Mercer easily rush over the rooftops alongside the tracks, picking off the Reapers with deadly precision. He didn't even bother with stopping to target, just glanced at the next one, and continued moving while squeezing the trigger. His aim was lethal. One bullet was enough to drop every single foe that dared to get closer.
But...that guy must have watched him, hadn't interrupted when they fought in that tunnel yesterday- he must have known that Cole was much stronger than those idiots. He frowned in confusion because even that bastard couldn't be so full of himself that he didn't acknowledge his powers.
Three more Reapers collapsed then and he realized that this wasn't to help him- this was to speed things up. For whatever reason, this guy wanted the hostages secured, though didn't dare acting on his own. Which didn't fit- because he had taken down Manhattan, then why the Hell would he even consider rescuing hostages? That was when he realized that there were some things that didn't add up. Sure, Mercer was a baleful asshole- but that was only the surface.
He was yanked from his thoughts when the train stopped screeching. Cole exhaled in annoyance and jumped off, dropping to the ground to fry a Reaper that thought sticking in a dead angle was going to save him. The courier swiftly activated the next box and climbed back upsides. A Reaper conduit appeared out of nowhere and slammed physically into him, knocking him off his feet. Cole hissed, trying to change their positions when the conduit snarled and tried to unleash his power against him on that short distance. It would be lethal, so Cole didn't bother with neatness. He jerked to the front, smacking his skull into the Reaper's face. The Reaper howled in surprise, giving him enough time to change their positions. He slammed his flat palm into the Reaper's face, and pinned him with the other against the ground, then started draining the electricity out of the guy's synapses. Killing him instantly.
He grunted and climbed off the body, then pulled himself back on the train. His injuries were gone by now, only the holes they've torn into his clothes and the overall soreness remained behind. He caught a glance of Mercer, who watched him with an unreadable expression.
Cole grunted, tore himself away and took his place again, charging up to make the train move.
That was when Moya called. "You're almost there", she explained, "I'll let everyone know that you'll bring in the train. They'll be waiting at the station. Don't let them down."
She cut the connection before he could reply, leaving him to mumble "Right. And leave all the idiots to me."
He narrowed his eyes on the blockade in front. Several car wrecks were piled together, forming a barricade, along with a turret gun. Cole grunted and balled his fists, then threw his flat palms to the front to create a powerful shockwave that hit the first car and sent it hurling backwards. It slammed into the turret, bent it and dropped off the tracks. He scoffed and repeated his action a few times, until the turret was scrap and all obstacles were gone from the track.
His phone chimed, and he answered it. "Nice work with the Reapers", Moya commented, "Though my sources say it's not your work. Who else is there?"
Cole bit his tongue, trying to not tell her that it was a wanted terrorist who was currently shooting the junkies. Instead, he forced a snort. "Don't know", he said, "All I see are guys on the roof, taking shots at these bastards."
"So many?"
"Well, guess there are a few people left in the city that don't like those idiots running the Neon."
"Mhm." Moya paused. "You're almost to the station" She cut the connection.
Cole inhaled relieved when he saw the station come into visual range in front of him. Good. Very good. Then he could finally get off this rolling death trap.
He froze at the sight of several dozen people standing at the platform, watching him. They didn't do anything at the moment. He frowned, but then jumped off and simply blasted the first door from its hinges, to allow the captives to go free. The hostages surged out of the train, all flooding towards the now open door and into the arms of their loved ones.
And suddenly, the people started crowding around Cole, cheering.
He stared at them baffled, unable to say or do anything as they squeezed his shoulder, shook his hand or just patted his back.
All of them were smiling. And cheering. And telling him how good he's done.
The conduit stared at them in confusion, before his expression set into a deep scowl. Hypocrites. All of them.
Yesterday they wanted his head on a platter, now they're treating him like a part of the family. Cole's scowl turned into a snarl, teeth bared and lightning flashing all around him. Some already backed off, fear plainly evident on their faces.
He did not need them. He did not want their so-called gratitude. It was...nice, that they didn't want to outright lynch him, but their behavior disgusted him. This...hero worship. Sure, it was hard, but this trip could be done with enough people too. It wouldn't have needed him, just a group of guys who were dead-set on getting their family and friends back. But people were cowards.
He saw it now. All of them. Too chickenshit to do something about it themselves.
Cole snarled at the hypocrites and released more lightning to make them back off, before he lunged off the platform and onto a balcony at the other side of the street. John wasn't among the people here, and he had no great desire to stick around any longer and drown in their 'worship'. As soon as there would be another catastrophe, he would be their boogeyman again anyways.
Screw them. He didn't need them.
"John's not there", he growled into his phone, his good mood now completely gone. No amount of grinding along the city tracks was going to cure that.
"Damn", Moya muttered. "Well, good job anyways, Cole."
"Yeah", he snorted. "Good job. How long until these pea-brained idiots start thinking otherwise?"
"That shouldn't be your concern. They are not important. John and the Ray Sphere are."
Moya cut the connection. Cole frowned at the phone, before he looked up to where he'd last seen the other guy.
No surprise there. He was gone.
The courier snorted and, with a last glance at the guys on the platform, turned and scaled the wall. He was going to head back to Zeke and take a nap.