Jefferson Tunnel, huh? Cole had already wondered what the heck was up with all the barbed wire and barricades, though he had assumed that this was the work of the Feds to prevent the people from crossing into the other districts for easy control. Though, apparently, it was Reaper territory.
He underestimated those guys. He thought they were rabid animals, but they were incredibly cunning, able to adapt to his tactics without wasting too much time. So he didn't try anything stupid and played it safe when he approached the Jefferson. He was crouched on the rooftop across from it, eyes narrowing on the Reapers hidden in the stronghold.
He tapped his phone, shivering slightly from the feeling of dread running down his back. "Alright Moya. I'm across from the Jefferson Tunnel." He frowned. "Entrance looks blocked, though."
"Hm. Guess you'll have to figure out a way to get down there. Your best bet is to head into the compound across the street and look for a way to open the gate."
"Rock and Roll", Cole replied. Moya had cut the connection, but was still listening. The courier turned his head slightly to glance over his shoulder towards the nightmare towering just behind him.
"You got that?" He mouthed, unwilling to pick up his volume.
Mercer nodded, glancing at the compound across from them. "I can easily break open the gate", he mentioned, "Though..." He trailed off. "It would be loud,and obvious- The gate has to be operated from somewhere." He pointed at the tower-like structure jutting out from the constructions just above the tunnel. "I think over there, at the end of the compound. Offers adequate protection, while allowing a good overview over who might want to get in."
"That means through the entire compound", Cole furrowed his brows. "Have to do that the hard way, then?"
Mercer shrugged. "It won't be as much of being 'hard'. Only lengthy." His arms shivered and turned back into his giant claws. "Just let me do the front, and it will be short and easy."
Cole scoffed in reply. Short and easy meant that guy was going to massacre the Reapers. And while he held no love for them either, Mercer's total lack of inhibition worried him. Any guy who thought that complete dismemberment was a good solution to problems was too untrustworthy.
He didn't say anything though and simply jumped off the roof, hitting the street below. Mercer followed close-by, merely stepped off the building to hit the street with a crack. Cole swore slightly under his breath, stumbling from the shockwave of the impact, before he righted himself. He didn't think that guy was even aware of the random destruction he caused just by moving about. Sometimes he wondered how oblivious people had to be to not realize what was going on.
At the upper corner of the massive rolling gate was a box with a red light. Cole furrowed his brows, and summoned a lightning bolt in his hand to shoot it and overload it so the obstacle would open.
Mercer stopped him though. "A moment", he muttered, attention on the gate. His eyes flashed golden, then his brows drew together. "There is somebody maybe ten yards away from the door. There is something hot on him."
"Hot?" Cole frowned. "How do you-"
"Infrared vision", Mercer replied. "Allows me to see hot spots and cold areas- and that guy over there has two. Like torches?"
It clicked and the younger man scowled. "Suicide bomber. Use torches to blow up dynamite strapped to their chests."
Mercer arched his eyebrow. "What a waste of soldiers." He shook his head. "I'll stop him, I'm faster than you are."
Hey, if that guy wanted to get his face blown up, not Cole's problem. He just shrugged and lifted his hand to zap the red-glowing circuit above them. The gate creaked open, followed by the wild screech/snarl of the suicide Reaper. Mercer moved, rushing inside before Cole could even change his position. He did manage to twist his body enough to watch him bodily tackle the guy before he even managed to blow himself up, and smashed him into the opposite wall with incredible force. The courier followed only a moment later, just in time to witness the terrorist turn back around and dust off his talons like it was nothing.
Leaving a flattened Reaper behind.
Mercer rolled his shoulder, then motioned for a rickety ladder against the wall. "Let's continue then- though you'd better be careful, there are several Reapers and at least two turret guns I can see."
Seeing as he had correctly identified the Suicide Reaper before, Cole had no reason not to believe the claim, though as the old saying went: 'Trust nobody but yourself'. He sent out a radar pulse on his own, and confirmed the sightings.
Just that he also scanned Mercer in the process, startled to realize that this man was vastly different to what he could see in the Reapers. No central nervous system, obviously no internal organs, asides from what could be a pair of lungs- not human in any sense of the word. Superpowers he claimed. Superpowers that were similar to Cole's.
Yeah, but Cole didn't turn into a baleful asshole that could transform limbs into over-sized weapons, and he was certain he was a lot more human than the other. Though it worried him. If he had gained his powers during Manhattan- nearly three years prior- then he obviously did have a lot time to change. He wondered whether before long he too would become an inhuman asshole.
One that craved bloodshed. Mercer was already mounting the low wall, using his talons to dig them into the mortar and pull himself up easily. Cole lacked any handholds, so he just latched onto the ladder and climbed upwards, though he stopped shortly below the edge and carefully peeked over it. The turrets stood on either side of the area- but he could see the Reapers operating them by peeking through the narrow viewing slot.
Good enough. He focused on the one to his right, and zapped him right into the head with his precision shot, then before any of the other Reapers could react, he nailed the other.
"Clear!" He snapped, and Mercer lunged over the edge, claws blazing. The bullets that impacted into his chest didn't even slow him down, neither did the grenades or missiles two of them shot. Cole could only watch in morbid amazement how the terrorist tore through the small group of Reapers like a whirlwind made of knifes. It was startlingly how easy the guy ripped grown men apart, claws slicing through flesh, bone and steel like through wet tissue, leaving behind clean cuts and lots of blood. "Tower", he ground out while tearing another Reaper in half. Cole jumped and turned his attention to the watchtower, finding another Reaper up there. He lunged across the field and scaled the obstacle, pouncing at the startled guard.
He knocked him out easily enough, before turning his attention back downwards- and froze.
The area was clean. Like nothing ever happened before.
All of the dead Reapers were gone, and there wasn't a speck of blood left anywhere. Mercer didn't seem to realize that things were off and merely nodded towards the other side of the compound where some Reapers were still milling about, even as he proceeded to tear the remaining turrets apart.
Cole exhaled and jumped down into the next group, taking them out with a thunder shock. He threw his body to the side to avoid being shot at from that turret, before he chucked a grenade at the thing, blowing it and the Reaper operating it up. Mercer soared past him with one leg outstretched, taking down another turret with a single violent kick.
The younger swallowed nervously, because he had to realize that there was no chance to take this guy down. He was incredibly strong, fast, resilient and had no troubles using whatever he could do in the most lethal ways possible. He was only alive because that guy had really been pulling his punches back on that building. It pissed him off, but also eased his mind a little. He really didn't want to get torn apart by those claws. Not when Trish would be left with nobody keeping her safe.
Somebody was firing from a watch tower, and Cole whirled around to take that bastard down. However, just as he reached the top of the tower, his brain lurched painfully, and he dropped onto one knee with an agonized grunt, the startled guy momentarily forgotten.
"Sweet, delicious Cole", the voice purred. Sasha, most likely. Cole squirmed, trying to shut her out. "Coming home at last. I've been waiting for you. Longing for you. You're coming to me so we can stop all that try to control us." He ground his teeth together, hand snapping up to send a powerful lightning bolt to down the Reaper that was trying to shoot him. He hadn't been doused with that tar stuff within the last twenty-four hours, so why was he still hearing her voice? His vision turned blurry, as he leaned to the side with a groan. "Just shut up", he ground out, trying to stabilize his balance. He still had to get the tunnel open, he couldn't be stopped here. So he forced himself to move, jumping from the watchtower into a fenced-off area to get to a control panel at the other side.
His head felt like somebody was taking a jackhammer to it, but the feeling luckily faded quickly into a throbbing echo when he was trying to focus on something else. He wasn't too keen to experience that again, though he was afraid it would happen soon enough.
There was a hot hand on his shoulder, making him gasp startled. He flinched back, whirling around- to see Mercer stand there with furrowed brows, a recently acquired rifle hanging from his shoulder. "Everything alright?" He rumbled, and it did actually sound worried. If you squinted hard enough. With a concussion.
"Leave me", Cole snapped, yanking the control lever down to open the main gate. "Everything's just peachy."
"It's not", the terrorist noticed with a frown. "You are still under the influence of that tar, aren't you?"
"And if I was?" Cole bit out. At the moment, he really didn't care if Moya thought he was crazy from talking with somebody she couldn't hear. Or maybe she'll get off her ass and come over here, meet Mercer. They could deal it out then themselves, that way Cole would have to deal with one annoying guy less.
"It could be dangerous, as the stuff doesn't seem to expire after wearing off initially. What about the civilians that have gotten into contact with it?" He furrowed his brows, looking actually thoughtful. "And you're always demanding someone to 'get out', does that mean you're hearing voices? How many?" He seemed genuinely interested.
Cole grunted, slightly confused that he had been found out so fast. "Just one", he grumbled unhappily. "Guess it's Sasha."
The terrorist furrowed his brows. "Sasha...the leader of the Reapers?" He paused for a moment. "That would explain some things..."
"What things?" The younger demanded to know.
"Reapers", Mercer explained. "The way they act. They always seem to know how to deal with either of us, trying to adapt to our tactics, though I am certain neither of us leaves any alive to tell the others."
Cole arched his brows. Yeah, that was...true. Whenever he managed to beat those guys back, they came at him the next time trying to beat him in different ways, sometimes even using his weaknesses against him.
"What do you think?" He asked carefully, now mindful to keep his voice low.
"The tar", Mercer replied. "It's not only causes hallucinations and drives people mad- it seems to create a some sort of link. A link between the Reapers...and Sasha, most likely, something she obviously employs to take control over the single individuals. A Hive Mind, if you want to put it that way."
Cole looked up in surprise. "Like ants?"
"On a telepathic scale. Yes." He pointed at him. "That's why you can hear her voice. She's linked herself to you. Tries to take control over you."
"Wonderful", Cole scowled. "Another reason to take her down."
Mercer paused and flicked his rifle downwards, shooting at the three Reapers that just came out of the Jefferson Tunnel. "Then we better get started. The sooner she's out of your brain, the less likely it is she will gain control."
Cole sighed angrily at both- the fact he was having the Reaper's leader inside the head and that this bastard here was ordering him about. Unfortunately, he couldn't take out his irritation on Sasha (yet) or Mercer (probably never), so he settled for the next best opinion: He jumped off the watchtower and dropped to the ground, lightning sparking all across him to fry the Reapers that were still hiding in the tunnel.
"I can feel the love inside you. Just waiting to be coaxed out", Sasha whispered, making him jerk back with a swear. Well, he wouldn't call the feeling that rushed through him 'love', but whatever floated that woman's boat. She didn't seem to be able to get her thoughts together anyways. "We're going to have such fun." Oh yeah. Let's see how much 'fun' she had when he fried the last brain cells she had. Cole scowled and forced himself to move forwards. The Jefferson tunnel was cluttered with empty cars. Small cars, big cars, buses, trucks...all kinds of vehicles. Cole paused, frowning. He had heard rumors of people disappearing just after the barricades went up. He glanced at a car, taking notice of the state it was in. There was dust everywhere, but the doors had been torn open- the handles had been broken off actually.
His stomach twisted, because he just knew that the Reapers had taken everyone in here. All of them. Hundreds of people.
What for?
Mercer appeared besides him, blue eyes moving along the rows of cars in a slow, methodical manner. He too had come to the same conclusion, apparently. Only...There was something about his expression that told Cole he knew more than he let on.
The younger flinched when his brain lurched again and his vision dipped back into smudged red colors. He had to finish this quick, before Sasha got too much control over him. Something whistled through the air, and the courier was bodily pushed aside by the other man. Seconds later something exploded with a loud crack, making his ears ring. But the fog lifted enough so he could take in the situation. Mercer had gone between him and the Reapers, had shielded him with the same giant blade he used as a makeshift lightning rod just a few days before.
Cole blinked, then immediately ducked underneath the cover to zap a Reaper wielding a grenade launcher before the guy even figured the situation out. More Reapers came at them, but Cole easily took them out without the other man needing to step in. Not that he even attempted- he was contend with acting as meat shield.
"Getting sick of you guys", the courier grumbled as he chucked an electric grenade at them, watching how it went up in a glorious shower of sparks, scattering the men into every direction and buying him some breathing room.
"Heads up", Mercer remarked, moving the blade in front of the courier again to stop several high-speed bullets. Cole responded as soon the shooting tapered off by firing several lightning bolts at the attackers, frying them. Then he doubled over, panting. It looked like he had used up too much juice- and that meant he needed to charge up before he could continue.
Mercer glanced at him. "There's a fuse box over there", he said, thrusting his chin into the mentioned direction. More Reapers appeared in that moment, snarling. "I got this. You just charge up."
Cole was about to reply when his voice caught in his throat. He watched, in fascination, how the massive blade melted away and turned into that braided tentacle with gleaming claws at the end. The terrorist pulled the tentacle back, then launched it to the front, shifting his center of balance while at it. The tentacle crossed the distance within the blink of an eye, slicing through a Heavy Reaper with no trouble. The others snarled and dove to either side, behind the abandoned vehicles. Mercer snorted and flexed his arm, flicking the claw from one side to the other. It cut through the metal of the cars with no great trouble. Gas tanks spilled open from the violent blow and the friction of the metal nails was enough to ignite some of it.
The explosion shook the entire tunnel, making the concrete groan overhead.
Cole inhaled once, snapped his jaw shut to smother the need to say something, before he finally went over to the fuse box to drain it. He had been hungry, tired and in pain before, but all of this faded quickly as he refilled his energy reserves. Mercer was watching him like a hawk the entire time, but said nothing.
Only when he felt sufficiently alright again, they continued moving, with the terrorist easily pushing the burning wreckages aside as if it didn't weigh more than cardboard boxes and weren't on fire at all.
"What's this?!" Sasha's voice suddenly shrieked in panic. "No! That's not possible! Not the creature!"
Cole cringed back again. "It followed you! Cole! It will devour you!"
"What creature?" He ground out, trying to keep his balance as he stumbled to the front.
"Kill it!" She screeched. Cole collapsed to one knee, groaning in pain at the volume of her voice.
He became just vaguely aware of the Reaper conduits approaching them, but his bones didn't respond to him, leaving him nearly defenseless. But Mercer stepped in at that moment, whip lashing out to shred the Reapers to pieces. Sasha shrieked in terror inside Cole's head, making him wince in pain.
"Get yourself together, MacGrath!", Mercer barked, pulling him to his feet. "Don't let her get to you!"
Cole ground his teeth together, yanked his arm away and focused on the snarls from further down the tunnel. He unleashed his power in a frightening wave of lightning bolts that slammed into the walls and fried whoever was anywhere within a fifty-foot-radius. Mercer uttered a single, startled yelp once, bringing a small grin to his face. 'Sorry, not sorry.'
He kept the discharge going until he had no energy reserves left and doubled over, exhausted but proud of himself. The attack not only defeated every single Reaper around them, but also blasted Sasha's voice right out of his skull. There was a heavy thud next to him, followed by a disgruntled growl. The courier tilted his head slightly, glancing at the nightmarish armored shape Mercer had taken to fend the lightning blast off. "Heh", he grinned. "I'm not even sorry."
The featureless face plate 'stared' at him for a moment, before the armor receded and left Mercer with an exasperated expression. Instead of saying anything, he just shook his head and walked past him. Cole exhaled and straightened his back, looking around for the closest source of electricity. He found another fuse box and drained it, filling up his reserves just as he heard the hollow shriek of metal. He turned around, watching how a torn-out fence came flying past him.
"MacGrath. Look at this", Mercer rumbled, his voice like a distant thunderstorm. He was pissed off, that much was obvious, though why Cole only realized once he stepped closer and stared at the sight in front of him.
There were rows of cages along the walls, with massive machines installed above them. Cole saw people sitting inside the cages, most begging and weeping, slapping weakly against the the metal bars to try and break free. All of them were coughing, some retching, and at least three were constantly throwing up.
And the machines above them were constantly spraying black mist over the cages. Black Tar.
Mercer made a disgruntled noise. "So this is how they make Reapers", he growled, tentacles rushing over his frame in an agitated manner. Cole whipped around, eyes wide.
"What?!"
Mercer frowned at him. "This is where Reapers are from", he explained. "The black tar- short contact with it causes madness and hallucinations. But longer contact..."
Cole's stomach dropped. Telepathy, madness, Hive Mind, Reapers abducting people, Reapers coming out of nowhere...all of it suddenly made sense. Terrible sense- The Reapers were the civilians. They were the people they had taken. Now they were twisted, corrupted, driven mad through the black tar, puppets bent to Sasha's will. And she used them as she desired, then threw them away on a whim.
The courier tried to catch his breath, get his brain working around the intense rage he felt for the Reaper's leader, when Mercer approached him and tapped the phone.
"Moya", he grated, using Cole's voice once again, "I think I found where they're making the Reapers. Bunch of people down here, locked in cages. Machines spraying the black tar all over them."
"Get them out of there", Moya ordered, "Then deal with Sasha."
"My pleasure", Mercer replied. He switched the phone off and stared at the courier. "If you want to save these people, then hurry. The longer they stay in there, the worse off they will be."
Cole snapped into action, hurrying to the front. He threw his arms up, throwing a shockwave into the machine hanging overhead to shatter it, before he started tearing into the cages. Mercer started doing the same on the row at the other side, ripping doors from hinges and dragging the people out of them. For some, he realized, all seemed lost already. They were lethargic, just lying in their prisons and staring blankly. No amount of coaxing seemed to help.
Everything came crashing down around him. Electricity started to snap around him, rising with his anger. Lightning smashed into the metal cages, and the lights overhead started to flicker.
"This is sick!" He barked enraged. "What was she thinking?!"
"Taking civilians and bending them to her will is not that new", Mercer replied, shoving the last of the people outside. The group rushed away from them, back towards the Neon and away from this place. "Means you have as many disposable soldiers as you want- and hostages on top."
"This is sick!", Cole snapped again, before he sat down abruptly, covering his face with his hands. "Until now- this entire time, I have been killing civilians!"
Mercer glanced at him. "Yes", he said with no real emotion behind his voice. "Yes, you have. We both have."
"No", Mercer replied, startling Cole with the finality. "You couldn't have." He sighed and waved his arm over to the few people that still sat in their cages. "Those people over there are dead already", he explained.
"Why?" The courier demanded.
"The tar", Mercer continued. "It destroys the nervous system. The brain." Prolonges exposure...corrodes the cerebral matter? He tapped the side of his hood. "The longer the contact with this stuff, the worse it is. And every Reaper I faced until now..." He shook his head. "Alzheimer in its last stages comes to mind", he explained. "The both of us- we are probably the only ones immune to the corrosive effect of the tar."
"Alzheimer?" Cole's eyes narrowed. "How the Hell are they still functioning then?!"
"The Hive Mind", Mercer replied. "The telepathic link they share with Sasha. They are, to a certain degree, nothing more than an extension of her mind. She is the one who controls them like puppets. What they do is what she tells them to do. Maybe she's even steering them remotely." His lips peeled away from his teeth in a snarl. "The same had happened in Manhattan. Almost exactly the same. And millions died back then."
Burning hot rage rose through Cole's chest as he slowly got up. "She will pay", he hissed. "She will pay for what she had done."
"You think I don't see you?", Sasha hissed suddenly in his head, making him cringe back with a swear. "You and the creature. I see it now. You think it will devour me too, Kessler!" The entire tunnel started shaking, tremors running from its depths, breaking the concrete and snapping steel. It was as if something large had awoken. And it was angry. Mercer snarled and motioned for him to follow. Cole didn't need to be told twice- his rage about Sasha made him move without taking notice of his blurry sight and throbbing head. He was just too pissed to react to it.
"Oh, you are a tricky bastard", Sasha spat. "Playing your games, thinking you're smarter than everyone else. You're going to pay. Oh God, yes! But first, your pet has to go!"
The ground buckled and warped, seconds before massive fountains of red tar sprang forth from the street. Cole swore and backed off, trying to avoid it when high-voltage cables snapped and were torn upwards as well, setting the tar ablaze.
The two tried to dodge around the fountains, but just below their feet, the ground buckled once more. A huge spray of red tar broke through the street, hitting both square in the chest and throwing them back. Cole swore, trying to wipe it off, when Mercer suddenly gasped in pain and dropped to one knee. The courier whipped around, eyes widening in shock when he saw the red tar literally eating its way through the other man. Entire parts of him- his whole right arm, large pieces of his chest and even face- were melting off.
Mercer groaned, entire body writhing, before he lurched to the front, parts of him simply sloughing off like wax.
"Holy shit!" Cole hissed, realizing that the guy was quite literally dying in front of him- and more, he too was coated in the stuff.
Frantically, he tried wiping it off, but somehow, it was only gross to him, not acidic as it was to Mercer. The terrorist made a strangled noise, then swiftly changed his unaffected hand into a claw, easily slicing off what looked deceased. Cole stared, in horror, as the guy proceeded with simply cutting off parts of his limbs and body, gouging out copious amounts of his own flesh and then simply stepped back to easily re-grew them in a matter of moments. His face settled first, turning back into unaffected skin, while his expression turned into a deep scowl. Cole was pretty sure his own was somewhere between 'What just happened' and 'Am I seriously seeing this'.
Mercer snorted, glaring at the red tar and the melted dead remains of his body. "What the fuck?!" He grated, and his voice was more hoarse than usual.
"What happened?!" Cole burst out, "Because this kind of stuff-" He cut himself off with a sharp hiss. Moya wasn't supposed to know, after all. That guy just casually regenerated entire parts of his body- And why didn't it have an effect on him?
"The tar", Mercer grunted, forcing his body to settle down. "It's...like a strong germicide." His eyes narrowed. "Like fluid and concentrated BloodTox."
"English, please?!"
The terrorist snorted. "Sasha is a scientist. She found something that affects me. That keeps me away from her. Fucking bitch." He snarled hatefully, then glanced at the courier. "I have no choice- I have to go back outside, look for another way in. I will hurry, but I fear killing her is your job, then."
Shit. "Why doesn't this stuff affect me?!"
"You are human", Mercer grated, "I am not. You can do things I can't, just as I can do things you cannot." He thrust his head into the direction of the tar fountains. "You have to stop Sasha. If she is beaten, those fountains should stop and the Reapers will degrade into rabid animals, easy pickings."
Kill Sasha and stop the Reapers, because Sasha was the literal brain in this. It shouldn't be too hard, right?
"I'll get her", Cole eventually relented. "I'll make her pay for what she did." He had to stop her, had to make sure she wouldn't be able to spread her influence any further, had to make sure she wouldn't be able to corrupt Trish or Zeke. He had to stop her to end the plague that was causing the government to lock down the city.
So he turned and started to sprint towards the red tar. He threw his arms up in a feeble way to protect himself- and easily passed through it without any harm, like before. It had no effect on him whatsoever- how could it affect one conduit and not the other?
He was going to figure that one out later, he decided when he found a deep pit just to the front. He stopped for a moment to collect himself, then dropped down without hesitation.
--------------
Cole dropped three stories into the underground of the Jefferson tunnel, landing hard on a piece of collapsed street. Black tar was all around him, clogging up his sinuses with its stench. The courier scowled and jumped across the broken pieces to reach dry ground, then started to make his way deeper into the Reaper lair. He was utterly alone now, but he could hear the tar slosh over his head through the pipes suspended from the ceiling.
Wherever he was going, he was going towards the source of this stuff. And towards Sasha.
The narrow maintenance tunnel opened soon enough to a large room, a cistern, most likely. The ground was coated with knee-deep black tar, but there were parts of the ceiling that had dropped into the liquid, forming a sort of walkable ground in a circle around the center: A massive throne that jutted out of the middle with thick pipes and massive pumps attached to it.
And on that throne...Sasha.
Cole narrowed his eyes on the woman. She noticed him too, because her head snapped up, and her eyes glowed.
"Darling, what took you so long?" She asked, and Cole stepped back, ducking slightly. "Was there traffic? I told you not to take the bridge, it is always backed up at night."
He stared at her, his rage momentarily subsided out of pure confusion. Didn't she realize he had come here to beat her ass? Didn't she notice he wasn't here for smalltalk?
Obviously not, because Sasha inspected her fingernails, though in the half gloom of her lair it was hard to make out the details. However, Cole could see the hood on her head and the...valves sticking out of her back and shoulders that were attached to the machine. In that moment, Cole realized that the woman didn't just know how to produce the tar- the woman was the source of it.
She leaned to the front, and the tubes disconnected from her with a hiss. The massive pump overhead was pulled back into the ceiling, and the throne was lowered into the ground as Sasha stood up, seizing Cole up. "Get dressed", the woman ordered, "We have dinner plans tonight." She chuckled. "Of course I told you. Silly man."
Cole's eyes narrowed. He had believed her to be a sly and dangerous woman, but she seemed to be clinically detached from everything around herself. "You gotta be kidding me."
Sasha chuckled again, and simply vanished in a flurry of black tar. Cole flinched back, recognizing this as something similar as the Reaper conduits and Kessler employed to teleport around- but Sasha was nowhere to be seen. Nothing to be heard either, except for the bubble of the liquid on the floor.
He took a step to the front, glancing around and carefully sending out his radar pulse to find her. He took another step when he didn't, stopping right in front of the tar pool. And then Sasha suddenly lunged out of the tar like a viper, grabbing hold of the courier. Cole swore and tried to jerk back, but her grip was like steel. "Stop trying to confuse me!" She hissed, enraged all of a sudden, fingers grabbing a tight hold of him.
As close as she was now, he could see more details of her. Sasha was thin, painfully so with her ribs and hip bones sticking out in a ghastly way. Her skin was gray, her head shaved and her lips deep crimson. She had clawed fingers and completely red eyes, with pinprick-sized pupils. Various tubes jutted out of her shoulders and below her collar bones, and her hooded jacket was barely tied together in the front.
Other than that, she was nude.
Cole didn't know why this disturbed him the most, but that woman currently latching on him was naked from the chest down. More red tar coated her nether regions, but not enough to hide anything, because she was naked. And worse even- she was tightly pressed against him so he could actually feel her body shape. It was disturbing in all kinds of manner; so Cole squirmed, trying to shove her off with only little success.
She was incredibly strong. And she started to overpower him to press her face closer to his. Her lips slid open, revealing metallic shining black teeth. Those teeth slowly parted and Sasha's tongue slipped out of her mouth, curling over her lips.
Or better, tongues. Cole made a strangled noise as four long tentacles whipped towards him, coiling through the air and ghosting across his face. He struggled against her hold, and managed to press one hand against her skull, trying to push her off. Or, at the very least, prevent her from kissing him. His electric powers didn't work, didn't work as the tar inhibited them, so he didn't have much choice but try to wrestle her off. Sasha pushed harder against him, trying to overwhelm the courier. Cole struggled back, eyes catching sight of the tubes on her shoulder.
Hopefully it would hurt to twist them, because he had no idea what else to do.
Sasha hissed, clawing at his arm as he fought to reach it over her shoulder. His teeth ground together as he roughly shoved her head away, then managed to seize one of the valves.
"Keep talking", he snarled, and yanked it out. Black tar sprayed from the wound like blood. Sasha shrieked in pain and let go of him, stumbling back. She doubled over for a second, before she hissed at him with her tongues snapping through the air, then she vanished inside the tar again. Cole dropped the valve and quickly jumped away from the tar and onto the collapsed parts of the ceiling to get away from the tar, all while hearing her malicious laughter that echoed through the cistern.
The tar was hurting his head, but the adrenaline coursing through him gave him the strength to power through. With her gone from his closer vicinity, he had his electricity back too. Just like the tar itself could inhibit his abilities, any direct contact with Sasha prevented him from zapping her. Great.
He saw something bubble at the other end of the room and shot several lightning bolts at it, just to see a massive red shockwave race towards him. He leapt up to avoid it.
"They're expecting us at seven", Sasha's disembodied voice continued to ramble. "Of course it's formal wear. I laid out your tuxedo." Seriously, that woman was a nutcase. "And I made soup from the neighbor's bones", she added, "You want a taste?" 'Make that a mental case.'
Something caught his eye again. Cole whirled around and fired more lightning bolts, hitting only bubbling tar. There- at his left- he saw her materialize from the tar. He threw his body to the side, avoiding another shockwave, and lugged a grenade. Sasha shrieked in agony and dropped to one knee. Seeing his chance, Cole quickly rushed over the dry bits of ceiling to reach her. Without thinking, he threw himself on her, wincing as the tar splattered all around them.
Sasha arched up from the sudden contact. "Yes", she moaned in an aroused manner, "Yes! I love it!" That crazy bitch actually got off from that. It almost made Cole jump away from her and run for the hills, because what the Hell.
He didn't, and instead tried to pin her with his own weight. He reached around her shoulder to grab another of those valves that stuck out just below her collarbone, struggling as she seized his arm and attempted to stop him. He just hoped his brain wouldn't actually catch up on what he was actually doing here- pinning the crazy woman down with his own body weight in a way it might actually look like something far more pleasant- or else he might easily curl up into a ball and hide in a corner to burn these images from his mind.
Holy shit, he was just glad Zeke wasn't around. Or anybody else. He was going to take this memory to his grave.
Cole scowled as Sasha strained to buck him off, snapping him back into reality. He had to take this bitch down, no matter what he had to do to accomplish that. He snarled and put his entire effort into grabbing that one valve. His fingers curled around it, and she made a startled noise, instantly trying to hold his arm to stop him.
Fat Chance. Cole jerked back, tearing the tube out of her chest. Sasha dropped to the front screeching in pain, before she vanished into the tar once more. Cole quickly hopped back onto dry land, though he did pause long enough to try wipe some of the tar off his legs.
His head kept hurting, but he wouldn't give up now.
There was movement to the side, and he flung his arm out, startled to see Reapers aim their rifles at him. Where did they come from?!
They opened fire, Cole stumbled back, hissing in pain. Lightning lashed across his wrist as he shot a bolt at each of them.
The guys vanished into thin air, so they weren't real. But his body believed they were, so when they shot him it hurt. Oh shit. He wasn't sure why, but he was certain he would not try to figure out what happened if those hallucinations tried to kill him.
"Remember the weekend in Maine?" Sasha continued to ramble, "We stayed in bed the entire time. And oh! How you whispered to me. The promises you made." Okay. He was going to stop his brain right there. Because if he ever indulged the idea of having any physical contact with that woman, he was going to take up celibacy.
"Shut the Hell up!" Cole barked, lugging grenades at where he saw the tar bubble once more.
Another Reaper illusion shot him in the back, throwing him nearly off balance. He groaned in pain and zapped it. Sasha screeched enraged.
"Why do you love her, Kessler?!" She demanded to know, all of the sensuality gone from her voice, "I'll kill her! I swear it! I'll wear her skin like a robe!"
Cole paused, panting. Did she just call him 'Kessler'? Why?
And who did she mean with 'she'?
Sasha appeared at the other end of the room, snarling. Cole instantly whirled around and shot her with all he had to stun her, before he rushed over to his downed foe.
"Crazy Bitch!"
He grunted as he physically collided into her again, trying his best to ignore the shocks going through his body, then instantly grappled for one of the last two valves. Sasha bucked up and wrestled his arm, trying to stop him. Cole growled and let his weight fall to the front, forcing her to get one hand beneath her body for balance, before he managed to subdue her and grab the valve, yanking it out with all his strength. He backed off as she shrieked, but did notice she was moving slower than before.
She vanished, leaving a series of tentacles in her place that balanced a red glowing orb on their tips. Cole just knew better than letting them hit him, so he chucked grenades at them to destroy them.
"You don't know, do you?" Sasha's voice asked, and it was surprisingly free of her 'crazy' tone. "Of course not", she continued, "How could you?"
Know what? What was going on here?
Sasha's voice turned icy. "But you'll find out soon enough. And oh. How you'll weep." Another massive red shockwave raced towards the courier. Cole swore and jumped over it, feeling the energy tickle across his skin. It was...weaker than the first one. More desperate, too.
Sasha was weakening. The injuries he caused were taking their toll.
That didn't stop her from going crazy with the shockwaves, though. They shattered the ground, smashed into the walls and made everything shake like mad. At this rate, she was going to tear down the entire Jefferson Tunnel.
He had to stop her before that happened.
Sasha hissed, suddenly lunging out of the tar once more. Cole flinched back as her claw-like fingers seized him, pulling him closer. The courier hissed and put his effort into fighting back, into subduing her.
"Why don't you just die?!" He ground out, muscles straining from the battle. Sasha struggled against him, trying to stop him from reaching the last of her valves.
Cole didn't make it easy for her. Not one bit.
He pushed back, overpowering the woman, and finally seized the valve. With every ounce of his rage poured into his movement, he ripped the last tube out of her body. Sasha screamed in agony, dropping back against the floor.
She struggled, tried to stand up, but she didn't have any strength left. Tar oozed like blood all around her, trickling down the corner of her mouth. Cole scoffed, glaring at her.
She was done for.
He growled and approached her, face set in a deep scowl. He had to kill her, make sure nobody could use her again.
He stopped himself when she glanced at him, eyes blown wide and fearful. But most of all- lucid. This wasn't the crazy woman he just fought. This was who she had been...before she turned into that.
"You'll never control it, Cole", she whispered, "Look at me. Look at what it's done. It controls you"
Cole froze, back going rigid. Sasha- she was a conduit. Just like him.
He stepped back, terrified. She was a conduit just like him. Was this what his powers were going to do to him too? Sasha was barely human anymore, her mind degenerated. Mercer wasn't human either, having degraded to a level where violence was all he cared about and even his organs had been reduced. Would this happen to him sooner or later?
He stared at her, before his mind snapped back into action. She knew about the Ray Sphere. About the First Sons. About Kessler. She knew- and he had to know. He lunged to the front, hand closing securely around her throat while the other hovered over his head, lightning snapping out of it.
"You will tell me everything you know!" He barked. "About Kessler! About the First Sons! And about the Ray Sphere!"
Sasha made a startled gasp, struggling weakly against him, but he didn't let up. He needed those answers, damnit!
His world exploded around him in a ball of fire and agony.