Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

After years of traveling around nearly non-stop, Dana was exercised in packing everything they owned together even without Alex's help. Not that he didn't offer to do it for her, but she declined, saying she wouldn't need any assistance with a laptop plus equipment, some clothes and toiletries. In truth, they never owned much, not before Manhattan, and certainly not after that.

“What am I supposed to do then?” Alex demanded to know, feeling a little useless just standing in the room.

“Check up on Jane Bond”, Dana decided without even stopping while she was stuffing a hoodie into her bag. “I'm not sure I trust her, so could you please keep an eye on her?” She paused and grimaced. “Non-lethal.”

Alex considered it. That was about as good as any other idea, and while he doubted that the woman could do anything to harm him, it would put Dana's mind to rest. So when he about to leave the apartment, while Dana continued to cram whatever they owned into a hiking backpack, he stopped and turned back. “Dress lightly”, he told her. “Even if we don't trust this woman, Wolfe is a solid lead- both Kessler and Moya knew it. But he's in New Marais, and that place is hot and humid.”

She glanced at him, already holding a black shirt up between her fingers. “Like Miami then?”

“Only with less criminals and more frat boys.”

Dana chuckled lightly and he finally left. The next moment, he was already scouting the city. Empire was large- ten million people- and despite being fast, it took him until evening until he finally picked up her trail again.
...Come to think of it, it was probably because he was going so fast that he needed until evening to pick up her trail again. He didn't have much time to get acquainted anyways, so it was guesswork most of the time. But then he caught sight of her dark suit and sharp step just near the piers and latched onto her heels with exactly the same focus he had displayed in the past, when hunting for information.

He watched her silently how she began asking around at the docks and was just thinking about how to approach her when he realized that the direct confrontation would work just fine. The people didn't think him to be a Runner- he was a Conduit to them. One that had been activated at the worst possible moment ever- right in the middle of an infectious outbreak- but who was still a Conduit. And that gave him room to maneuver. He didn't have to hide because the public believed he was something that could be categorized. The only ones who knew the truth were Blackwatch- and they wouldn't tell a soul about it unless they wanted to reveal that it was them who created the virus in the first place. They didn't tell the Marines, after all, and they worked closest with them. Why should they tell anybody outside?

And White, being a NSA agent himself, hadn't known exactly what Alex was either, so the chance was high his co-worker was just as unknowing beyond the normal 'alleged terrorist' and 'user of nightmarish powers'.

He would try playing it from that angle. Figure out what the woman knew. Watch her closely. Learn about her.
It came to his realization, that in the past, he would have just attacked and consumed her, would have learnt what she knew. This was however In the past, this was the old him. The one so desperate for answers that he didn't care for anyone other than himself. Who had done one mistake after the other, and barely got what he wanted in the end. And hunting down people had never actually put him into any better position from the first moment on- it just revealed too much of his powers- and it gave his foes a point to pry from.

And it put him into a compromising situation. A monster that killed and ate humans without leaving a trace wasn't something that could be redeemed. Wasn't something that could be trusted. He knew that was all true, knew that this was all he was , but he craved to be more .

So he was going to ask, like any other civilized person. Try to be different, try to appear non-threatening, keep his more devastating abilities under cover.

If she was lying or going to lie- and he knew perfectly well he would know instantly- then he could still go for consuming her. She hadn't been around them for too long anyways, was just another governmental agent like Moya and White , so it wouldn't have too much of an impact if she was gone . Moya deserved it in the end, White was mourned only a little, but had no further impact in their lives. This agent Kuo wasn't much more, and Alex wouldn't regret removing possible threats if he deemed it necessary.

For now though- diplomacy . Alex exhaled once and simply stepped off the roof he was currently on, hitting the street four stories below with a solid crack . Predictably, the woman spun around, gun already drawn and pointed at him as he peeled himself out of the dirt cloud and casually dusted himself off. Instead of shooting however, what Blackwatch and most Marines would have done already, she just arched an eyebrow and lowered her weapon by a few inches. “Mr. Mercer”, she said, “Are you following me?”

“Was. Past tense”, Alex replied simply.

The agent furrowed her brows, until she seemed to realize that he had, in fact, followed her around the city. “How long?” She demanded to know, though there was a cautious tone in her voice.

“Since you've walked out of Bruce's Pier.” Now they were at Fisherman's Wharf and on the way back. Was at least four blocks down the street.

The woman holstered her weapon and glanced back, then hummed thoughtful. “You're good”, she admitted. “I didn't notice you.”

“I didn't plan to get noticed”, he had perfected it. Most of his victims never knew he was there. He turned his attention towards the various ships, lips curling in amusement. “You're trying to find a way out of here”, he said simply. “Not legally, because then you would be at the bridge. But you're not going to take the chopper you've come in with.” He inclined his head, glancing at her. “Because you're not here officially.”

Her shoulders tensed, and her expression became more defiant- for a short moment before it collapsed into defeat. “Damn, was it that obvious?”

Alex shrugged. “Not enough suits around here”, he pointed out helpfully. “If this was an official NSA action, then there would be a lot more men in black, and you wouldn't be asking...” He squinted at the boat in the distance, the one she just came back from, “...Cap'n Quinn for smuggling us out of Empire.” He knew the man was making constant tours in and out of the place, taking as many people out of the city as wanted- and paid for. Sure, Quinn wasn't greedy or wanted obscene amounts of cash, but he didn't do shit for free. But once he was paid, he saw through to the end. Was willing to break through the supposed quarantine of Empire, even though this thing already was a joke to begin with.

“Are you complaining?”

“I want to know what you get out of it”, he wanted to know. I want to know what you want, he added inside his head.

“I'm doing my job. I try to make the world secure. The Beast is coming”, the woman replied simply. Alex only arched his eyebrow, so she continued. “I know it sounds lunatic, but Doctor Wolfe was so certain it'll arrive, I had to take him serious- whether my superiors think so too or not doesn't matter.” She glared at him defiantly. “And I don't care whether you think it to be idiotic.”

“I don't”, he answered. “I'm just surprised somebody else outside of Kessler, Cole and myself takes this threat serious.” Dana did too, but like Dunbar, she wasn't certain that this thing would actually arrive. After all, time had been changed so the event that caused Kessler to go back and try to stop it didn't necessarily have to happen.

However, even if the Beast wouldn't arrive, meeting with Sebastian Wolfe, the brilliant mind behind the completion of the Ray Sphere, would probably boost Cole's abilities. There were many things Kessler didn't know or just suspected about the very nature of the Sphere. Wolfe knew more about it. Would know more about it, had learnt more since Kessler and he split.

Alex knew this. Knew this from Kessler's point of view. This was the only reason he didn't veto the idea when agent Kuo turned up. Actually, he already wanted to visit Wolfe, but always figured that they'd have time still. Though with that woman here, they could very well start now.

“Why are you that invested in Cole?” He asked instead.

“It's not Cole directly”, she replied simply. “It's this whole thing. We had an agent in Kessler's organization, one that forwarded us plans of this Ray Sphere, dates and files about the First Sons. They were a cult, one extremely dedicated- of course we had to make sure they weren't a threat.” She grimaced. “But when our agent signaled us that things were going south, my superiors didn't react in time. And then the Sphere exploded, took out five blocks downtown- and the quarantine went up. We lost contact with our agent-”

“So you also came here to look for him, asides from Cole”, Alex finished.

“Yes. His last report was he tried to stop the Ray Sphere from getting away, tried to stop the courier who carried it- then the explosion happened. My superiors believe he was a casualty of the blast, but-”

“He survived the blast”, Alex informed her simply. “Managed to get the Ray Sphere and keep it in his possession for some time until a group known as Dustmen took it off him. Cole found the Dead Drops he left behind.” He paused, glancing at her. The agent was attentive, eyebrows furrowed. “Cole and I met him. He actually assisted us with locating the Ray Sphere, and he was there when Cole destroyed it.” He heard the woman's heart skip at his mentioning of the Sphere. “It's gone now.”

“Then-” Her head swiveled slightly from side to side, when her eyes widened and realization set in. “Shit. He's dead, isn't he?”

“The damaged Sphere destroyed everything around. Including White. Cole just barely escaped.”

The agent exhaled slowly, forcing her pulse back under control. “He knew the risks”, she eventually sighed “It's just...I had my hopes up I'd actually find him alive.”

“After two months of radio silence?”

She shrugged tensely. “What can I say? I'm hopelessly optimistic.”

He grimaced, when a voice inside his head that sounded suspiciously like Dana whispered 'Very well done Alex, way to be a jackass' . He cleared his throat and attempted to sound comforting. “If it's any consolation, his death wasn't in vain. The Ray Sphere can never be used by anybody ever again.”

The woman sighed again and tried to smile a little. It looked very forced. “My bosses probably think differently, but...I'm glad that this thing won't be a threat again.” Interesting, she was being honest about it. So she was either a very good actor, or she was genuine. And Alex actually figured it was the latter one. Which meant that this woman was more trustworthy than Moya had been.

Though that wasn't much praise. Moya was a snake, through and through. He wasn't going to take any chances.

“Does the NSA know you're here?” He questioned. Hopefully she noticed the question beyond that. Does the NSA know you're attempting to relocate the priority target?

“They don't”, was her reply, and her pulse remained steady. No dilution of the pupils, no spike in her breathing, no change of her scent. She was telling the truth. “They think I'm still in New Marais with Doctor Wolfe, just as they told me to.”

“Did you give them any plans of the Sphere?” His tone shifted, became darker.

She held his glare unflinchingly. “It is my job ”, she replied coldly. “But Wolfe never got the real plans from Kessler, nor was he able to reproduce the Ray Sphere. Frankly, there was nothing I could give to my superiors.”

He held her gaze for a few moments longer, then cocked his head. “You're being honest. That's good.” For you he added inside his mind. If she wasn't, he wouldn't have hesitated to remove her. Without information, he had no idea how much the NSA or any of the other organizations knew about him, but DARPA- or at least Moya- had been aware of his nature. Though maybe not as surprising- Blackwatch had been founded and funded by DARPA in the beginning, so they still had more contact with each other than with the NSA or Interpol, for example. For those, Alex was still 'only' the Terrorist of Manhattan, a Conduit now that was said to have caused the largest loss of life on the American continent. That much was true, but Dana had twisted the facts on international TV, told them he was a Whistleblower who ended up on the wrong side of the public. Alex wondered whether agencies like the NSA swallowed the lie or dug deeper.

They didn't trust him, and he didn't trust them. This agent was one of them, so he didn't trust her either. Simple, really.
She did intrigue him, however. So far, he hadn't noticed any clue that she might be lying about this whole thing, nothing that told him she had something else planned instead of introducing Cole to Doctor Wolfe. He snorted and turned his attention towards the ship. “When do we leave?”

“At dawn tomorrow”, the NSA agent told him. “This Captain Quinn was going to ferry another shipment of people out of the city. There's some room left on the ship.” She inclined her head. “You and Ms. Mercer are welcome to come with me, but I absolutely must insist that Mr. MacGrath accompanies me to New Marais.” It was a peace offering, that much Alex noticed. He mimicked her head tilt and shrugged one shoulder towards the ship. “How long will this take us?” Us, because he wasn't going to leave the person he considered his friend with that woman, nor was he going to ignore the possibility to meet with Doctor Wolfe.

The agent furrowed her brows. “Quinn assured me no longer than two weeks. One week and a half if the sea's calm.”

Alex glanced at the sky. Two weeks? He could deal with that, though he was easily faster on foot. Plus boats meant water , and despite not being actually vulnerable against it, he disliked wide open bodies of water. Additionally, the tight enclosed space meant Hell to him. He always had to move, needed space to run- and a ship was only marginally better than an elevator.
But he wasn't going to move across the land. Not as long this agent Kuo was going to be close to them. Her not lying meant only little to him- it protected her from being consumed instantly, but she could also very well be just a puppet someone else was controlling. If she genuinely believed what she was told, then he wouldn't be able to pick up whether she lied or not. Which meant he was going to keep a close eye on her.

And Dana didn't need him around...Alex cocked his head, turning his attention on the agent fully. “I am afraid I have to follow you then, agent Kuo.”

Her eyebrows drew together. “You don't trust me.” It wasn't a question, but rather a statement. Then she crossed her arms. “That's because of Moya Jones, correct?”

“Amongst others” Alex mimicked her position. Moya had only been the last in a long row of governmental agents who tried to use him or those he wanted to protect for their own agendas.

She hummed for a moment, then nodded. “You can follow me around if it puts your mind at ease then, Mr. Mercer.” Then she turned around and walked away from the pier, and though slightly surprised by the turn of events, Alex trailed after her.

Interesting indeed.

Zeke stretched his body and yawned widely. Cole merely arched an eyebrow, while Dana rolled her eyes. “Nice tonsils there, Dunbar.”

Cole choked briefly, masking a snort, when Zeke turned his attention towards the woman, expression hurt. “Why is it 'Dunbar', Dana? I thought we were finally on first-name basis?”

She crammed as much ill will as she could into that singular glare of hers. “You lost that privilege when you ate my garlic bread.” She glared harder. “You don't take from a Mercer without paying the consequences.”

Zeke actually shrunk back, especially when suddenly a shadow fell on him. Cole too flinched slightly, having completely failed to notice his arrival. Alex grinned maliciously at them, entirely too many and too sharp teeth glinting in the low light of the nearby street light. “Greene and Blackwatch had to learn that in the end”, he said matter-of-factly, though they all knew what he meant. He leaned a bit to the front, obviously enjoying that Zeke turned white. “It was quite delicious , in fact.”

Dana chuckled, then slapped his arm playfully to draw his focus away from his friend and allow him room to breathe. “As much as I love seeing you scare the shit out of people that stole my garlic bread, I have to tell you to turn down your creepy a little. It's too early for that.” She handed him her backpack, which he simply slung over one shoulder, before she turned her attention to Cole. He grimaced when her expression turned into a frown. “You alright, Cole?”

Zeke's attention snapped to him immediately, while Alex only inclined his head enough so he could watch his reaction from the corner of his eye. Dana's face showed worry. “You look like shit”, she added.

The Conduit only shrugged. There wasn't much to say to that. He knew he did. Had been startled when he looked in the mirror after getting up. “I'm fine, I think?” He thought for a moment, then shook his head briskly. “No. Not really. I've been sleeping like shit and my stomach's rolling.”

Zeke groaned. “Man, you getting second thoughts? I told you we shouldn't trust that NSA chick!”

Cole rolled his eyes. “I'm not having second thoughts. I think I'm just nervous leaving Empire behind.”

“That's reasonable”, Dana muttered, furrowing her brows. “But then again, the files she showed us yesterday looked legit.” She was silent for a moment, then turned to her brother. “You kept an eye on her, did she do anything suspicious?”

“Nothing far I can tell”, Alex supplied. “Unless you count drinking coffee so black the spoon stands upright.”

“Sounds legit then”, Dana concluded. She frowned at Cole and Zeke. “And maybe your stomach's upset because of this weird shit Zeke's made for dinner yesterday. What was it anyways?”

Zeke shrugged. “Found it at the back of the fridge, so I dunno.”

Dana curled her nose. “I'm surprised you guys are still alive.”

“Hey, you know us, sister”, Zeke grinned, “Too stubborn to kick the bucket.”

“I wouldn't risk it.”

Zeke shrugged. “But at least we're gonna be in New Marais then. Relaxing, party, and the three Bs, Dana. Beers, Booze and the Mechanical Bull.”

“I think you're missing the greater picture”, Alex supplied with his low grumble. “We won't go there for fun, we go there for information.”

“Why do these things have to exclude each other?” Zeke whined. “Seriously, working with you is like working with a laser. Always so focused.” He jabbed his finger at Cole. “Since you turned up my best friend stopped kicking back, man.”

The Conduit sighed. “Because this is too important to lose focus, Zeke.” He paused for a moment, then exhaled once. “How about this- we go to New Marais and deal with Wolfe. Then we can spend the remaining time we have to have fun, how does that sound?”

“It sounds better, not good, but I'll take it.”

“Then let's just get over to where Kuo wants us”, Cole added. He glanced at Alex. “Fisherman's Wharf, correct?”

“Quinn”, the Runner supplied.

Zeke nodded. “Good man. Already figured we'll get off this rock with his help. But that chick doesn't mess around. Quinn doesn't trust strangers, yet here she is, getting us the first boat outta town. She got some serious connections.” He paused then, folding his arms across his chest when realization slowly set in. “Uh...We ain't gonna have to walk there, do we? Because I kind of don't want to drag my luggage all the way over there.” He added with a side-glance to his own duffel bag.

“It could only help you drop a few pounds”, Cole felt obliged to point out when a pickup truck slowly pulled up besides them. “But don't worry, I already asked around.”

“Heard you need a ride, kids.” He watched how Dana's expression lit up when Warden Harms stepped out of his car.

“Hey Warden”, the Conduit greeted. “It's great you volunteered for this.”

“Least I could do”, was his answer. The Warden inclined his head, eying the bags on the floor. “I heard that right, yes? You and your friends are going to leave Empire?”

“Not for long, hopefully”, the Conduit replied. “The trip's going to take-” he eyed Alex, who helpfully supplied “One to two weeks to New Marais. Depending on the weather.”

Cole furrowed his brows. “We try to keep it short, get in, get new powers, and get back. But it is still going to be a month. You sure you won't have any troubles on that front?”

Harms shook his head in reply. “Nope. You and Alex helped taking down the crime rate. We can handle the rest. The men looked up to you, you know, but I'd say you deserve a short vacation.”

“Not gonna be a vacation”, the Conduit corrected him. “More like a learning trip. Over in New Marais is some guy who understands my powers. So I'm going to pay him a visit.”

Harms shrugged as he grabbed Zeke's bag and put it on the truck bed. “To-mah-toe, to-may-to.” Cole just rolled his eyes with a chuckle, then handed his bag over too. Harms glanced at the group, then pointed to his truck. “Who of you is gonna ride shotgun?”

“I'm out of question”, the Conduit declared at once. “I keep shorting cars out.” Was probably the ignition that was shut down by his literal EMP ass, or maybe the gearbox control. And then, for some reason, these dumb things kept blowing up. Wasn't the gas tank, however- liquid gas was hard to ignite, but the chances were the inductive heat he involuntarily generated affected the gas/air mixture in the tank and the pipes. At any rate, he was better off riding in the truck bed, or on top of the car.

“I'm out too”, Alex simply said. He didn't elaborate, and Cole kept his mouth shut. If he would get on, the truck would probably be well beyond its weight capacity.

Zeke grinned at Dana. “Just you and me, sister.” He lifted his fist for a round of rock-paper-scissor. “Two out of three then.”

Alex cleared his throat and just leaned towards him. “That's out of question too. She's got motion sickness.”

“Yup”, Dana chirped gleefully. “I gotta sit in the front or else I puke everywhere.” She placed a hand on Zeke's shoulder in mock apology. “I'm terribly sorry, Dunbar, but I'm afraid you'll have to sit in the back. But hey, at least you can keep Cole company.”

Cole grinned, swallowing the laughter that was trying to get out of his throat once he saw Zeke's betrayed expression. His best friend frowned unhappily, but climbed into the back of the truck anyways, settling against the cabin with a pout like a snotty brat. Cole joined him there, and Dana slipped into the co-driver's seat.

When the truck started moving, the low rumble of the wheels on the street and the engine couldn't mask the feeling of sickness that kept crawling through his stomach. He wasn't sure whether it was just the nervousness at leaving Empire for herself- she could fend for herself, he was sure, but it just didn't sit right with him.

...If he thought about it, it was the same sort of squirming that accompanied his first meetings with Alex, back then. But it wasn't Mercer. Not anymore- of course he was still the most dangerous thing around, but the terror had lessened drastically ever since he learnt that he was valuable to the other- and not food. Not like Alden, or Sasha, or Moya, or Kessler.

It always remained, though. And now his stomach was crawling in a way he finally translated to danger . Danger from what?

He didn't know, Empire was the safest she had been ever since three months, crime was nearly non-existent, the people had food and the criminals were all safely locked up in Eagle. Come to think of it, that was probably because Alex tended to eat those that didn't get to the prison complex in time. While the reason wasn't well-known, the people knew of the rumors that the other 'Conduit' in town made people disappear. And after Sasha, not many dared to take chances.

He just knew he couldn't leave the city alone, but at the same time, he had the possibilities to make a real difference, to become more than he was, learn about his powers- he just had to take it. The anxiousness was probably just his nerves talking. Maybe the water? Cole didn't like water, showering was Hell, but being trapped on a boat for two weeks? Didn't sound inviting.

His stomach started twisting into even tighter knots when Harms stopped at Fisherman's Wharf. He reassured them that everything was going to be okay for as long as they would be gone from Empire. Cole heard himself agree to it, and then the Warden drove off.

The Conduit exhaled once and grabbed his bag tighter, glancing at the pier with the ship at the very end. The pier was, unlike most other docks here, made of pontoons. Big ones that were firmly attached to the harbor basin ground, but they would still sway in choppier water. And with him being vulnerable against the liquid (well, any conductive liquid, really), Cole was hyper aware of every rocking of the concrete flooring beneath. His stomach continued to roll, and that made it only worse. It was as if his own body tried to stop him from leaving Empire.

He still trudged on, leading the way towards Quinn's ship and up the ramp, where agent Kuo was waiting.

He briefly toyed with the idea to just throw everything, have her bring Wolfe to him , but then he figured he couldn't draw back now. They were already here, and Kuo went off to talk to Quinn. If he wanted to get out, he'd have to jump the ship (literally) and race off before the others could stop him.

...God damnit. His head was pounding now and it was a little hard to focus .

“Problems?” Alex's low voice demanded to know. Cole blinked and turned around, eying the other. Who was leaned on the railing with a strained expression. How he knew how Cole was feeling was beyond him- he wasn't even looking into his direction. Was focused on some point in the middle of the city. Who knew which one? Guy had super virus senses, so he wouldn't think it to be impossible for him to read some guy's newspapers from across the city. He never asked what range his senses had, though he could obviously listen in to a conversation across the street and from top of a skyscraper with no problem.

But then realization struck. Because the face Alex was making was a perfect mirror image of the face he was making. Cole gaped for a moment, then asked carefully “You worried about something?”

Alex snorted. “I'd say no. But that would be a lie.” He turned his attention on the conduit for a moment. “If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say it's the same thing eating you.” He jerked his chin over his shoulder. “And it has nothing to do with the boat.”

Cole frowned. “I don't know what it is, but it makes my stomach roll and I got a headache going on too.”

The Runner scoffed. “That's how it feels to you?”

“You're different?”

“I don't have internal organs. Or at least not like you”, Alex huffed out, then glanced at Cole. “But I've eaten my fair share of birds. Not to mention I got all kinds of metal in my body- I can feel electromagnetic fields.” He waved his hand vaguely. “And somehow, the field in Empire's screwed up. Not sure since when, but it definitely became worse. I'd say you feel the same.”

Cole blinked. So the creeping malaise that was plaguing him too was because he couldn't focus on the magnetic field? It made sense, since he could sense electric sources, and electromagnetism was just another form he could sense and react to. That would actually fit, seeing as he kept feeling weird when surrounded by too much metal.
In other words, he was the compass that was spinning out of control. No wonder his head hurt.
However, and that he realized just then- that also meant that something was going on in Empire. Something big.

He grit his teeth and turned to Zeke and Agent Kuo. “I can't come with you”, he bit out.

The two of them fell silent immediately, eyes wide as they stared at him. Zeke approached him, sunglasses pulled down to his nose to watch him. “Cole? What's gotten into you?”

“Something's going on in Empire”, he explained with a tense voice. “I don't know what it is- but I don't want to leave her alone. I can't leave her alone.”

Zeke starts to protest, but Dana cut him off, eyes dark. “It's about the Beast, right? You're afraid.”

Cole laughed coldly. “Afraid that it'll turn up and destroys Empire when my back is turned?” Just like it happened when Kessler was still Cole. “Damn right you are.”

Agent Kuo approached him. “Trust me Cole, you'll be ready when you're done working with Doctor Wolfe.”

“I know”, the Conduit replied. “But it's just that- ever since yesterday my stomach's been uneasy about leaving Empire right now. I know I should talk to Wolfe as soon as possible, but I just can't leave her behind.”

Kuo seemed a little frustrated, but she masked it good enough. “So you want to meet Doctor Wolfe, and you don't want to leave the city. But perhaps you are aware that you'll need access to his lab for this to work, yes?”

Cole shook his head. “I only need access to someone who had access.” He jerked his head roughly in Alex's direction. “Anything Doctor Wolfe has to say to me, he can tell Alex. Not only would that put me here in the city, where I can deal with the Beast easiest, but it also puts someone into New Marais who understands what all this science babble is about, because frankly, I haven't got a clue.” Not to mention Alex knew perfectly well what working with Wolfe was like- he had worked with him already, or part of him did anyways.

Zeke was about to protest, though Dana cut him off. “Are you sure you're up to it, Cole? Because that would mean you'd have to remain behind in Empire. Alone.”

“I got Harms. And the others”, Cole shrugged. “I'll be fine. You just need to hurry.” And having only Alex talk to Wolfe had the advantage that he would be faster than a month, since he wouldn't need to take the boat back to Empire. “After that, we can all visit New Marais together. How does that sound?”

It would be the best solution for everybody involved. It was the solution that provided Empire with the protector it needed, while it also put the one who actually understood the Ray Sphere technology right into the place where this understanding was needed. And Zeke could get a vacation and get away from the city and the demons-

His back went ramrod straight, and his head snapped to the side so fast he feared he dislocated his spine. But it was Alex's snarl- feral, inhuman - that told him that shit was on its way to the fan.

It was morning. The sun was peeking through dense clouds, bathing everything crimson- but the light that drowned them came from the North. From Archer Square, where a giant pillar of fire rose from between the buildings.

And then the Archer Square statue just...crinkled up like a paper ball, as if it was sucked in by some form of invisible force. At the same time, flames and ashes spewed out from the center of the chaos, drowning the entire area with thick dark fog and embers.

Cole was pretty sure he heard people scream.

Without thinking, he just leapt off the boat and dashed back across the pier. He had to help- he had to- do something .

“MacGrath!” Somebody yelled, but he was deaf to it. He simply barreled headlong into the embers. He plowed past terrified citizens, who tried to get away from whatever it was what was going on.

The ground shook and he stopped, seconds before a building to the side of the harbor simply...collapsed. Sank to the ground with a thunderous rumble. And a giant flaming ball came hurling into his direction- no, not ball- it was a bus that crossed the distance frightfully fast and impacted into a larger container ship to the side, instantly tearing a hole through its hull and setting the leaking gas aflame. People screamed as they dropped into the churning and burning waters, and the pontoons started heaving like they tried to throw him off. Further down the pier were only bodies left, and he stopped anyways as he noticed something move in the smoke.

Something big .

There, just over the roof of a building, was a human shape.

A giant human shape.
And it was burning.

Cole felt his heart stop when memories that weren't his snapped to the front of his mind. Of his wife and children screaming, of the moon breaking. Of fire and destruction that just kept going on until nothing was left.

The giant turned to face in his direction and just lugged its arm over, throwing whatever was left of the Archer Square monument as a giant flaming projectile into his direction. Cole was rooted to the spot, watching in terror as the metal remains just slammed into the ground in front of him. The impact sent him sprawling, and through the ashes and smoke he lost his orientation too damn fast.

But then there was a hand on his shoulder, pulling him roughly back to his feet. “Cole, get up!” Alex's voice snarled in his ear. It sounded...terrified? Alex wasn't scared of anything, was he?

“Fuck, get yourself together”, the Runner snapped, the shock of the pain lacing his shoulder from the harsh grip yanking the conduit back to reality. “We have to get out of here!”

And yeah, there was really panic in his voice. Cole wondered about that, when the ground shook again and he slowly turned around.

Locking eyes with the Beast.

The first sign that shit was about to hit the fan was when his magnetic receptors ran havoc . He was snarling, before he even realized he did. And then Archer Square blew up and was reduced to rubble and people started screaming. It was like lapsing back into the Outbreak, but that was wrong. There was no infection anymore, no virus to be fought. But the people were screaming.

By then, Cole had already jumped ship and was dashing down the pier, way before Alex even realized he did. Kuo was yelling after him, but the Conduit was deaf to her voice. He didn't pursue, however, memories gripping him tightly. Not his own, but his . He remembered the last time he'd seen destruction like this. Remembered the last time he saw fire and smoke, and heard people scream.

Remembered how he watched his best friend die at the hands of the thing that was responsible. Remembered how he watched himself die at the hands of this thing.

Fear wasn't strange to him, though until now, it had always made him fight harder to overcome it. But this ? Fear was keeping him rooted to the spot.
He couldn't- he wouldn't attempt to face it. Not this thing. Not like this. Not without having a weapon-

“Alex!” Dana's panicked voice snapped him into motion and he leapt after Cole, tearing down the pier and past the fleeing civilians.

Bad Idea bad idea bad idea

And still he pushed on, quickly catching up to Cole, though stopped dead in his tracks when the burning wreckage of a bus came flying across the harbor and completely sank a freight ship to the side, killing everybody on it. Alex grit his teeth, forcing his attention back to the front. No time to think about them. No chance to help them- they had to stop this thing and fast - so he wanted to start sprinting, though was forced to go slower than normally because of the shaking pontoons that constituted the ground. He couldn't risk tearing them apart. And then he saw the shape in the smoke and stopped dead in his tracks, fear and memories mingling with each other and rendering him unable to catch up to his friend and protect him from the projectile that crashed into the ground and sent him on his ass.

He did manage to shake himself free and reach him when the Beast simply appeared in front of them, having devastated the pier at its connection to the harbor wall and was now standing in the basin, steam clouds roaring from the boiling water to mix with the ashes and embers and shroud it in a red veil.

He hissed at it, like a cornered rat in face of a predator, but still started dragging the conduit to his feet. “Cole, get up!” He snarled, eyes flitting between his friend and the Beast. Cole made a curious sound, shaking his head slightly as he attempted to get his bearings back together. Alex grabbed his shoulder harder. “Fuck, get yourself together”, he ordered, then attempted to pull him back. “We have to get out of here!”

He didn't care that his voice was edging on hysteria. This- he was supposed to be ready, but he wasn't , and his own survival instincts screamed at him to get away as far as possible, to leave the Conduit behind and escape with his life still intact.

Alex crushed those urges mercilessly, but his body was still twisting beneath his skin. The threat was too close and too powerful. This was nothing like facing down Greene, or the Supreme Hunter. Cole was frozen too, eyes locked with that of the Beast as it grabbed and lifted the monument and just...turned it to ash.

It would have been easy to grab him and carry him off, get out of the city and to safety.

Yet he didn't.

Because Cole's jaw set and he ground out a single thing. “We have to stop it.”

Alex didn't question it. Just followed through. His body bristled and armor started to crawl across his arms, shoulders and torso. Stop it. They had to stop it. Here in Empire. Had to stop it before even more people died. Cole should be able to do it. Kessler could have, and Cole had beaten him.

“I'll distract it”, he heard himself say, even though his instincts were screaming at him not to, to flee and get away. He held his ground.

“Distract it?” Cole questioned, lightning already dancing around his body.

“Distract it. All I can do”, Alex insisted, and his Musclemass came into existence. “I don't know whether I can kill it. You have to end this fucker.” Energy was probably a better weapon than brute force, though it didn't mean it wouldn't notice getting stuff thrown at it. He dove to the side and latched onto a small snack booth, tearing it off the pontoon like it was made of cardboard- and chucked it at the Beast. At the same time, Cole fired his orb lightning at the Beast, shouting enraged. “Kessler told me all about you! I will not let it happen!” The snack booth and the lightning bolts hit the thing, but asides from splattering its lava-like surface, there was seemingly no effect.

Alex snarled and pulled the pontoon free, throwing it too. “The face!” He yelled, “Avoid its body, target its face!” It worked with him, after all. Blind it, make it defenseless. Would hopefully work with this thing too. Cole instantly changed his aim, and the Beast swayed back slightly. Shock or maybe pain, Alex had no idea.

Then it roared and grabbed the pontoons from beneath, and Alex had just a brief moment to realize what it was going to do when it already flipped the pier upward, disintegrating the wood and concrete and sending both of them flying. Alex choked in terror, then instantly twisted in mid-air to shoot his Whipfist at Cole and yank him along when he kicked against the air for an air-dash in an attempt to get distance.

He didn't manage to get distance.
Instead, they were pulled backwards , and Alex felt his body ripple as if something was tearing at his Biomass. Then he heard Cole's swear. “Crap, Alex! Get down! Get down !”

He didn't question, just kicked against the air again and hurtled his body towards the pier, rolling in the last moment to avoid cratering with the Conduit in tow. He hit the pier violently enough that it nearly tipped over from the force of impact, and he didn't wait for it to do so actually, was already running.

“The fuck was that?!” He howled over the enraged roar of the giant.

“No clue!” Cole yelled, “Looked like a Black Hole of sorts. Was sucking stuff in-” He inhaled sharply and Alex heard the distinct crackle of lightning as the courier fired several lightning bolts at the Beast from his position propped against his shoulder. “Shit”, He hissed. “It looked like the Ray Sphere did as it blew up.”

Alex grunted in reply. That blow had eradicated all of the pier it had been on and dug open the harbor basin. And the Beast was seemingly capable of controlling this power. That did not bode well.

“Screw this”, He hauled his arm back and just threw his partner several yards down the pier, ignoring his startled yelp. In the same moment, he ducked to the side and dove into the churning water. It was warm- warmer than it should be, but at least he was far away enough to avoid the boiling regions right around the giant.

The Whipfist turned back into Musclemass and he propelled himself to the front with another air dash, diving right towards the half-sunken freight ship.

There were bodies in the water, trash, and the surface was aflame with burning gasoline. Alex grit his teeth and went for the bottom of the ship that was firmly lodged on the basin floor. Tentacles unfurled from his shoulders and arms, wrapping around the body of the ship. The burning gas didn't harm them, low temperatures like that he could withstand near indefinitely anyways.

Alex ducked and grabbed the keel of the freighter, his tentacles securing the entire body to prevent parts from snapping off- and his feet dug into the soft floor.
Then he kicked off and hauled the entire ship out of the water and several stories into the air. He had a split second to witness Cole suspended in mid-air with his thrusters emerging from one hand while he fired lightning bolts at the Beast with the other. The giant was roaring, forming a black hole in its hands as it attempted to suck the conduit in again- and Alex just threw the whole ship to the front. The sheer size and weight made it impossible to throw it very far, but it was enough. Several thousand tons in motion hit the Beast and just vaporized it, and the ship hit the other side of the pier with a giant splash that ripped its body and the pier further apart, the waves throwing smaller boats around like they were toys.

Alex hit the pier with a growl and a huff, shaking his arms briskly to get feeling back into them. Cole landed besides him, eyes wide. “Dude”, he said with awe in his voice, “Did you just throw a boat ?!”

“More like a ship.” He grimaced and rotated his wrists. “I'm not going to do that again.” The pressure on his body had been too much, and he was glad he had the Biomass needed to prevent being crushed beneath the weight. Any less and he wouldn't have managed a stunt like that. As it was, his insides were currently repairing themselves from the massive strain.

“Next time, warn me when you want to throw me around like a ball”, the Conduit grumbled.

“It was a spur-of-the-moment thing”, the Runner replied with a shrug.

Cole muttered under his breath, staring at the sinking wreckage in the harbor. “Think that was it?”

Alex was about to answer, when giant clouds of steam ripped from the water in front of them, and the Beast rose, roaring enraged. One of its eyes was gone and there were deep tears in its surface, revealing the yellow glow of its lava-like insides beneath it; but other than just pissing it off, being thrown at with a ship didn't seem to have interested it much. Instead, it just grabbed the pontoon and ripped it upwards.

Cole swore under his breath, but kept his balance, and lifted his arms to focus his powers in the ash and steam clouds surrounding the giant. Then he yanked his fists down.

Thunder clapped deafeningly all around them and the bright light of several dozens of lightning bolts impacting into the Beast blinded both of them for a moment. Ten thousand degrees versus a few thousand- the lava body of the Beast was ripped apart through the sheer difference in temperature and the sudden influx in energy, too much for dissipation to remove it in time.

At the same time, Alex forced pressure to build within himself, not about to be outdone by a mere human - and when more lightning bolts smashed into the already damaged form of the Beast, he let the pressure go by throwing his palms to the front. Densely packed tentacles shot from his palms like a cannon blast, driving themselves right through the burning body of the Beast and breaking whatever support structure it had. He grit his teeth at the feeling of the hot insides eating away at the Biomass he just introduced- but his dense form acted as shield for himself, and when he pulled the Devastator back, he left behind a hole and had only lost the surface of his tentacles. He could deal with it.

The Beast however, could not.
It collapsed backwards, crashing into the waves with a giant splash, directly followed by the pontoon they were on. Steam rose from the churning waters, and the pier was getting too instable for them to enjoy their victory. Alex grabbed Cole's arm and just pulled him back. “Let's get out of here”, he growled. The Conduit grunted and turned around to sprint over what was left of the construction. The damage and waves were too much, and the single pontoons were heaving and thrashing, as if trying to throw them off. Alex dodged a breaking part once and stomped down on another to fracture it and reduce the stress on the remaining parts. “That was damn impressive.”

“Bastard got what he deserved”, Cole smirked back, but there was a strain in his features. He had been releasing massive amounts of energy, and the stress was plainly visible on his face. He would need rest once they were out of Empire.

There was a fine tremor, and the pier continued to collapse. Cole stopped, eyes widening at the sight of the gap between the still somewhat solid parts of the way and the collapsed portions.

Alex scoffed and knelt down, jabbing his talons into the ground to unravel his Biomass throughout, stabilizing it. “I got this. You just get over there.”

“Thanks” Cole kicked off again and made a mad dash to the edge of the pier that Alex lifted from the water to form a ramp. He jumped off with all his strength and soared through the air-

And was stopped in mid-air.

The Conduit hung there, suspended, and his arms waved a little in confusion- seconds before he was yanked back.

A giant hand closed around him in a crushing grip. Alex swore and tore himself free the very second the Beast made its reappearance. He could see Cole flailing in its hand, could see Zeke and Kuo and Dana stare in horror at the entity that somehow was still alive despite missing half its head and having a hole punched through its chest cavity.

He didn't think , just acted. He launched himself off the cracking pier and catapulted himself high into the air, then angled his body and shot back downwards with his foot outstretched. He slammed hard into the Beast's wrist, just as Cole continued firing bolts at the thing. The impact was tremendous, and the giant swayed slightly, but it then tried to swat at the Runner to force him to back off.

Fuck this .

Alex corrected his position in mid-air, air dashing back towards the giant and slamming into it again to bounce off and upwards. It made a disgruntled noise, but was distracted by Cole firing another lightning bolt straight into its face, so it used its previously free hand to close it around its fist in an attempt to crush the Conduit. Alex thought he could hear his bones creak, and knew perfectly well that there was no time. So he changed his trajectory again and slammed hard into the back of its neck. He dug his claws into the lava-like surface, gritting his teeth against the heat that was starting to eat into his system.

He forced the sensation down, focusing on concentrating his Biomass in tighter and tighter curls. He knew he was going to lose a large chunk of himself through this, but it was the only thing he could think of that would possibly work. The only thing he could think of that would save Cole.

So he jabbed his claws inside and released the pressure, wrenching a massive Groundspike Devastator from his system and jabbing story-tall black spires of condensed Biomass through the Beast. It jerked back in pain, roaring.

“COLE!” Alex howled over the roar of superheated air, hoping the Conduit would realize what he had planned.

He did.

The sky shattered as giant bolts of lightning rained down, using the Groundspikes in themselves as conductors to dissipate their charge deep into the giant's system. Alex had numbed his nerves in preparation, but it still hurt like fuck and he already felt light-headed from the loss of Biomass- but the Beast was suffering a lot more.

Lightning bolts tearing it apart, Groundspikes shredding its insides- there was one last giant explosion and it just blew up, parts of lava and bits of scorched Blacklight scattering across the harbor. Alex hit the water hard and instantly sank to the bottom, head pounding and body aching in a way he hadn't felt for a long while. He was exhausted beyond anything he'd ever felt before and briefly toyed with the thought of simply staying down here and just...sleep.

But he couldn't. Forcing his limbs to move, he gave off another air dash to get back to the bottom of Quinn's ship, eyes focusing on a small dark spot in the water above him. There were weak sparks surrounding it, but the body in itself didn't move. Damn, was he face down or face up?

Alex didn't know, so he kicked off the ground and shot straight upwards, grabbing the limp form and breaking surface to get on deck.

When he hit the solid surface, his knees buckled underneath him and he simply collapsed, talons digging into the ground so he wouldn't keel over.

“Cole!” Dunbar yelled, racing towards them, just as Dana added her own “ALEX!” He grunted and squinted at them, eyes slipping out of focus.

Ah, fuck this. He groaned and just dropped the Conduit, stumbling to his knees. “Alex!” Dana was there, grabbing his shoulder to stabilize him. “Shit Alex, you okay?”

“Not really”, he huffed out, slumping against the railing. “Gonna...need some rest.” He turned his attention back on Dunbar and Agent Kuo. “How's he?” He ground out.

“Alive”, Kuo declared.

“Good”, Alex grunted and shoved himself upright, then staggered to the inside of the ship with Dana's help. He didn't feel too well anyways. His head was strangely fuzzy, and his lungs felt like they were filled with burning air. Every step he did, every breath he took just hurt.

A little rest should fix it, he figured.
And after that- after that they would have to figure out what to do from there.