Chapters inFAMOUS: Friendship is Power
15 mins before the blast.
The girl walked through the warehouse with a gun pointed to her back. To anyone else, this would seem like a situation that you would need to get out of as soon as possible. But to her, it was just another day of being a drug gangs bitch. It had been like this for the past two years, sold from gang to gang like she was some kind of animal. She could run, but it would only earn her a bullet to the ankle and a whole lot of pain.
"Get in the car," one of the dealers said as a mustang rolled up to the curb. she sat down and waited for what she liked to call the initiation to begin.
"Such a pretty thing, how'd you get involved in the drug business?" One of the dealers asked her as the car sped off from the curb.
"Family gave me to a gang to pay for some pot," she lied as she stared out the window as a man riding a bike holding what looked like a package rolled by.
"Scumbag parents, don't know why they'd do that to such a beautiful little girl," he said as he put an arm around her shoulders.
She shoved off his arm while saying, "Flattery will get you no where, creep."
"Now you listen here girl!" he said as he grabbed her head and turned it towards him, "You're mine now! And you'll do as say or I'll be forced to blow your head off! We clear?"
She was about to respond when a massive explosion was heard and seen only a couple of blocks away, and the edge of the blast was heading straight in their direction.
The dealer yelled at the driver to turn the car around but it was too late, the blast hit them and the car was flung back. It hit a pole and the girl was flung straight out of the car and into a wall as a wave of black overcame her vision.
The girl awoke only to see fire and collapsing buildings, she got up and took in her surroundings.
The street was filled with small craters, wreckage, and the bodies of anyone else unlucky enough to be caught in the blast.
But I was in the blast too, so why am I alive? She wondered as she began too limb down the street. She kept a good distance away from a broken lamp post, but her caution was futile as electricity jumped from the pole and hit her. She didn't fall to the ground with locked up muscles though, she just stood there, writhing as the electricity was absorbed by her body.
After that was finished, she stood there, bewildered at what had just happened.
"Shouldn't I be dead?" She said as she continued down the road. She began to feel her legs give out as she collapsed onto the street, another wave of black overtaking her.
She woke up in a bedroom, she looked around and saw an IV in her arm, She only felt a little dizzy so she concluded that they were not the kind of drugs she was used too.
"So you're finally awake." said a voice on her right. She jumped in the bed and turned to face the voice as electricity sparked from her hands, which only freaked her out even more so. After several minutes she calmed down as the voice, which belonged to an bald African-American man gave her some water to drink.
"What's you're name?" he asked as she finished drinking. She didn't know if she could fully trust this man yet, so she decided to give him the name of one of her relatives.
"Luna."
"Nice to meet you Luna, my name's John." She saw an expression on his face that told her that he didn't believe her, but he didn't pry to try and get her actual name.
"Where's my jacket at?" She asked.
"You're leaving?" Said John.
"No, It's just that, well...that jacket's really important to me. It's the last birthday present I got from my big sister."
"I see, well in that case it's right on that chair." he said pointing to a black jacket with a blue shield insignia on the right side of the jacket."Though before you go dashing off into the city that's been turned into a living hell by a quarantine, I have an offer for you."
"What kind of offer?" She asked as she lay back down in the bed.
"Food, water, shelter, and maybe even learning about how to use that little light show on your hands."
"I'm listening."
inFAMOUS: Friendship is Power
Chapter One: Meet the Hero
My name's Cole MacGrath. A while back I dropped out of college and got a job as a bike courier. Mostly just to piss off my parents. I was a guy you'd never meet, delivering packages to folks you'd never know.
But then one day, a package found me.
The blast was massive, destroying five square blocks and killing thousands. And at the center, was me.
Alive, but changed.
It was scary as hell at first, there was no one to talk to, no experts to consult. Over time I've been learning to master it.
The little control I had was put to the test as I was forced to protect the citizens of the Neon district against a gang of thugs known as the Reapers. And after saving and dispersing a food shipment to some civilians, that damned TV jacker comes on every television with a photo of me minutes before the blast, holding what looked like a bomb. After Trish just walks away people start to recognize me. Thing were going to get ugly.
Zeke and I went to Stampton Bridge to try and get out of down, but it was turned into a deathtrap. The other side of the bridge, the exit, was nothing more than a wall of razor wire and machine guns. Zeke jumped into the harbor an I jumped into some container on the side of the bridge.
I was greeted by name by an FBI agent named Moya. She tasked me with finding her husband, John, and the Ray Sphere, the device which caused the explosion. If I did what she asked, She'd get me out of Empire City and clear my name. I thought of the idea of this "Ray Sphere" as a load of crap, but since I was turned into a walking light socket, I cut her some slack.
After meeting up with Zeke back in the Neon and explained to him the situation, I got a call from Moya giving me a few leads to John's whereabouts and the Ray Sphere's location. After finding what Moya called a "dead drop" a Reaper blew up a whole substation, cutting off power to the Neon District. I got a section of the districts power back on Moya informed me she might have a lead, and to wait until the morning to go after it.
"I need you to investigate the northern section of the Neon. There are reports of a group of conduits fighting the Reapers and I need to know if they have hostile intentions." said Moya as Cole prepared to descend back into the hell that was once Empire City.
"Conduits?" he asked, never hearing that word used in that context.
"People with powers, people like you."
"Alright, heading there now." he said as he leaped off of the roof where Zeke had effectively "set up shop" as he called it.
As he entered neared the Northern Neon, he felt as if this was way too easy, the Reapers were the most prominent in this part of the Neon than anywhere else in the district. But there wasn't a Reaper in sight.
Either I'm walking into a trap, or they're to chickenshit too take me on. Cole thought as he neared an intersection. As he reached the center, four semi's with machine gun turrets on their beds rolled into each street, turned to the right, and boxed him in.
Trap, dammit. He thought as he charged up his powers, he was going to die, but at least he'd go down fighting.
But then glistening rocks shot up from the ground, surrounding and protecting him from the bullets. What the hell? He thought as a beam of purple energy flew over his head and into one of the semi's, blowing it up the second it made contact.
Similar thing were happening to the other semi's. One was being picked up by a figure that Cole couldn't make out, while another was being hit by what appeared to be nothing, but it was flying across the intersection at the last semi, which was attempting to flee the ambush of their ambush. The flying semi crashed into it, creating a massive explosion.
As the dust cleared, the rocks around him slid back into the ground the tops still having the pavement on it so when they returned to their original positions, it looked as if there were just a few new cracks in the ground.
When he could clearly see his rescuers he was surprised that they were six girls, all probably in they're early twenties, and all we're giving him a very cautious, but serious glare. Two of them looked as if they wanted to attack him immediately, but they held back as the girl in the very center of the group wearing a lavender-ish hoodie with a six-pointed star on the right side and sweatpants walked towards him, her arm outstretched in a handshake.
"Hello, terrorist. My name is Twilight Sparkle."
inFAMOUS: Friendship is Power
Cole stood there, stunned at the CARnage(1) he had just witnessed. The six girls that stood in front of him were all probably in their early twenties or less. And they had just taken out four semi's like it was nothing. He introduced himself and shook the hand of the girl that called herself 'Twilight Sparkle' as she began to introduce the rest of her friends.
"This is Fluttershy," she said as she motioned to a girl with long pink hair that covered half of her face. She wore a yellow sweatshirt and a butterfly shaped necklace(2)."She's pretty timid around others, but she has some pretty useful powers."
"Like what?" Cole asked.
"Well, I...I can fly, and I can um...heal people." Said Fluttershy, obviously scared of the so-called "terrorist".
"Really? Then show me." Cole said as he revealed a bullet wound in his arm. She hovered towards him with caution, revealing a part of her arm as well. At least I can mark off flying from the list, but why did she do that? He thought as her hands began to pulsate with energy. She placed both hands on the wound and a small wound began to form on her arm. After Cole's injury was gone, her's closed up and healed like it was never there.
"So basically, you transfer the injury over to you, and then it just heals itself up instantly?" He asked.
She nodded, "It also help's me cure plague victims, but it only works for a short while. They just get sick again and die." She somberly finished as Twilight motioned towards the next girl, wearing a light brown stenson and a orange lightweight jacket with a shirt with the Golden Apple Inc. insignia on it.(3) She had a face that practically screamed I don't like you in big, neon lights.
"This is Applejack." Said Twilight.
"Howdy," Greeted Applejack as she reached her hand out for a handshake. Cole shook her hand.
You know when people shake your hand and they intentionally do it really hard just to mess with you? Well Applejack was crushing Cole's hand like a rock smashing an ant.
"Mah powers are super strength, and botanokinesis? Is that what yew called it Twilight? Said Applejack, sounding unsure about the secondary power.
"Botana-what?" Asked Cole.
"Botanokinesis, plant manipulation," Answered Twilight.
"Tha only way we found out about that power is when we stopped by Fluttershy's place. She had a bonsai tree on her windowsill and I held mah hand out to it and it started moving." Applejack explained,"But the only plants in Empire City are in the parks, so mah powers are limited to those areas."
"I see," Cole said as Twilight moved to a girl wearing a pink everything. Oh, god even her hair is pink.
"This is.." Said Twilight.
"Hi! I'm Pinkamena Diane Pie, but they all just call me Pinkie Pie. I can use pretty much the basic form of any power I see! Well, except flight, but seriously, who needs flying when you can run really really fast! I heard that you can use lightning, is that true? If so does that suck that you can't ride in a car, or take a shower, or swim without killing yourself!?" She said as she finished her million-mile-an-hour introduction. Cole turned to Twilight with a look of pure confusion on his face.
"It's Pinkie Pie, don't question it." Twilight replied.(4)
"Okay," Cole said as they moved on to the last two members of the group. they must've gotten bored since they were sitting on a glistening chuck of earth. Wait, what? Rocks like that erupted out of the earth right when the machine guns opened fire. So one of these chicks is responsible for me still being alive, great. One had long purple hair with a white sweater on. While the other had rainbow colored hair and a cyan Letterman jacket on that read on one of the sleeves, Canterlot Wondercolts Volleyball Captain. He recognized her immediately.
"Ashleigh Ball, fastest courier in Empire City, I thought you quit after Mike docked your pay." Cole said as he approached her.
"It's Rainbow Dash now, McGrath. And I didn't quit, I just moved to a different city, but came here to visit my friends." She motioned her arm toward the group as she spoke with Cole. "And just so your not asking later, my powers are flight and super speed."
"Whatever you say, Ballers."Cole said with a smirk.
The last girl introduced herself with a hint of annoyance in her voice. "Rarity, my powers are terrakinesis, the ability to control earth, I've exhibited a little control over fabric, but that power is pretty useless."(5)
"So you're the one who saved my life. Thanks." Said Cole.
"You're welcome." She replied.
"And through process of elimination, Twilight must use some sort of weird energy.
"Well, through several hours of hacking I was able to access some info about Ray Field Radiation, and hearing about that 'Ray Sphere' by hacking you phone line(don't ask how, I won't tell) I have come to a conclusion that I can harness the ambient Ray Field Radiation and weaponize it." Explained Twilight. "But this 'Ray Sphere is why we came to look for you."
"Really? And why do you want the Ray Sphere?" Asked Cole.
"To destroy it of course." Replied Twilight.
Cole received a call then. he picked it up to be greeted by Moya.
"Did you find them yet?"
"Yeah, I'm talking to them right now, they want to help find the Ray Sphere."
"Good, they can probably help you find John too, but keep an eye on them."
"Will do, out." Said Cole as he hung up the phone. He turned to the group. "Let's head back to my place, compare notes."
As they made their way back to Zeke's roof Rainbow Dash brought up the conversation on who the Reapers actually are.
"They're probably just a bunch of drug gangs that banded together to control the Neon District." Said Cole.
"Great, I hate drug gangs." Said Twilight.
"Why's that?" Asked Cole.
"Just some bad history." Said Twilight.
The group had been unaware that they were being watched by a teenage girl in a black jacket who was hiding on a nearby rooftop. She recognized the face of the one who had first spoke to McGrath and nearly broke down crying right on the spot. It had been two years since she had seen that girl, two years since their last conversation.
Even if it had been two years since she had seen her sisters face, she couldn't blow her cover, not yet at least.
I'll see you soon sister, this I swear.
inFAMOUS: Friendship is Power
Chapter 3: Ride the Rails
Over the next couple of days, Cole and the girls made themselves known to the population of the Neon and to the Reapers by destroying surveillance devices on buildings, stopping any crime they came across, and beating the crap out of every Reaper they saw. Some people of the Neon respected them for using their powers for the greater good, while others feared that when the reapers were gone they would take their place as rulers of the Neon district. But their mission for today would put those doubts to rest.
"See that old train? The Reapers have some people locked up in it," Moya explained as the group prepared to descend onto the tracks. "Collateral to keep the people of the Neon in line. More importantly, there's a chance John is locked in there."
"So you want us to bust them out?" Asked Cole.
"No." Moya replied,"You're in the heart of Reaper territory and they'll kill anyone trying to escape. You need to move the train to a safe location."
"How are we supposed to that? Push?" Rainbow said sarcastically.
"Cole is a living third rail. As long as he stays in contact with the lead car, it should move." Said Moya.
"Alright. But what are we supposed to do? Sit back and watch the show?" Said Rainbow.
"You must not have a thing for tactics, do you Rainbow?" Asked Twilight.
"I prefer a direct approach." She replied.
"Well you will be doing something," Said Twilight as she pulled out a small book from her hoodie,"I took the liberty to list our abilities so that we can approach certain situations with as much precision as possible. For this mission we are going to need Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy in the air to scout for any Reapers ahead of us. Pinkie Pie and Applejack will move from rooftop to rooftop, taking out any Reapers they come across. Rarity will be on the ground, doing what Applejack and Pinkie are doing, just on the ground. And while Cole is moving the train, I will create a barrier around him so that he isn't shot by any Reapers."
Everyone gave approving nods to the plan. "Alright, let's move. Those people aren't going to save themselves!" Said Cole as he jumped of the roof and landed right on the track, activating his static thrusters and shot several bolts at the two clueless guards, knocking them off of the track. He then moved to the front of the train, which had several cars blocking the track. "Seriously?" He said as he used his blast to push the cars off of the rails. "Alright Twilight I'm about to get this train moving, you in position?"
"Yeah, just get this moving so we can get out of here." Said Twilight as she made a dome-like barrier around the top of the first car.
Cole jumped on top of the train, which sparked to life the second his feet made contact with the roof of the car. "Okay, here we go." He muttered as the train began to pick up speed.
About a minute later the train began to stop.
"Uhh, the trains stopping."
"Reapers must have disengaged the low-voltage feeder box mounted under the tracks. Have Pinkie charge it up until it's green across the board. That should get you moving again." Said Moya as Cole Jumped of the train to charge the box.
"Why Pinkie?" He asked.
"Can't she use the basic form of any power she see's?" Asked Moya.
"We tried to see if that would work, but.."
"You see, when I absorb electricity, instead of becoming a lightning girl, I go all 'BZZZZZZZ' and pass out like everyone else!" Pinkie said excitedly.
"Oh," Said Moya as Cole got back on top of the train. It began to move until it started to stop again.
"Are you kidding me?" Said Cole as he jumped down to deal with the feeder box.
Several feeder boxes and several car barricades on the tracks later. The train arrived at the station that was out of Reaper territory. He leaped down and broke the barriers preventing people from leaving the train. The girls had all arrived at the station by then and stood next to him as people piled out of the train. The former hostages approached the group and began to thank them for saving their lives. They felt good knowing that these people might be able to find they're loved ones now that they were free.
"I don't see John in the crowd." Said Rarity as people started to leave the station.
"I didn't see him either." Said Cole as they made their way back to Zeke's roof."But he's out there somewhere. And when we find him, we find the Ray Sphere.
"I'll look for any leads and inform you of them when I find them." Said Moya as the call ended.
One thing was certain. They had a long way to go before they would find that Sphere.
inFAMOUS: Friendship is Power
A few days after the train mission Cole, Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were patrolling a section of the Neon district. Earlier that day Moya had informed them of large amounts of people getting sick from drinking any water. They found a small medical outpost in a large alley being run by Cole's ex, Trish.
She ran up to them after tending to a patient. She didn't look too happy to see them.
"This is like the fountain all over again, why aren't you guys stopping this?" She said as Twilight started to move towards Trish, but Cole put a hand on her shoulder. She got the message.
"Me and Twilight blew up a tanker full of that stuff under the park last night. Figured that would do the trick." He said as Trish got an annoyed look on her face.
"Well it's coming from somewhere," She snapped as she turned back to the camp." These people aren't getting sick on their own Cole." She finished as she returned to her patients.
Rainbow turned to him, "So, I guess were going to find out what's going on?"
"Yeah," He said as he dialed up Moya's number. "Hey Moya, it's that black tar again. There's sick people all over the place. Any idea what's causing it?"
"The only remaining source of water in that area is from the water towers on the rooftops." She replied.
"Alright, we'll head up there and see what we can do." He finished as he hung up the phone. He turned to address the rest of his group. "We're heading to the rooftops."
Fluttershy and Rainbow nodded as they took flight, reaching the roof of a nearby building in seconds. Cole and Twilight began to climb up that very same building. Cole had told all non-flyers of their little group to practice climbing and parkour as much as possible, stating that it was an invaluable skill needed to navigate the city.
When they reached the roof they immediately noticed a water tower with a large keg attached to it. It had several Reapers guarding it.
"Okay, Fluttershy and Rainbow, Take to the sky, try to distract them for a long as you can. Twilight and I will take em out and deal with that keg."
"Right," Rainbow replied as she and Fluttershy took to the sky, the Reapers immediately noticing them. After a few seconds of missed shots, the Reapers realized what was happening when one of their soldiers flew off the roof. The turned to see Cole and Twilight charging them. Their attempts to gun them down proved futile as their bullets stopped in midair, a purple glow surrounding them. Before the Reapers could react the bullets turned around and were sent back at them. Cole and Twilight began to take them out with blasts of lightning and energy.
After the last Reaper fell, the group gathered around the water tower, unsure of how they were going to remove the keg.
"I could blast it." Cole said.
"But then you'll get tar all over us," Rainbow argued. The rest of the group looked at her with confused faces.
"That sounds like something Rarity would say," Cole chuckled as Rainbows face turned red with anger.
"You said that stuff messed with your head last night. So it should stand to reason that...."
While Rainbow argued with Cole, Twilight crouched down near the base of the keg were it was attached to the water tower. I think I have an idea." She said as she raised her right hand. Before anyone could question what she was doing, a long, glowing purple blade sprouted from the palm of her hand.
She began to cut in areas where the keg was bolted to the tower. If she was right, then the weight of the tar in the keg would cause it to fall of the tower.
And it did just that after cutting the last support beam, hitting the ground with a satisfying thud.
She turned around to see Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash staring at her, wide-eyed and gaping mouths. Cole simply had a smirk on his face.
"I think we just found our way of dealing with those kegs."
About fifteen minutes later the group was ready to head back to the roof. They had removed three more kegs in the area, each one was surrounded by Reapers.
Twilight had taken a shotgun shell to the thigh while dealing with the last keg, and was laying next to an AC unit while Fluttershy tended to her wound.
"We should tell the others about this." Said Fluttershy as she finished transferring the wound over to her own thigh, taking a seat next to Twilight so that her enhanced healing could do its work. "If any of them come across these, we wouldn't want them to try destroying it."
"Yeah," Twilight began as she got up. "We'll tell them when we get back. Knowing the Reapers, they probably have a few more of these spread throughout the Neon."
(Author's note: This fit's the next scene well.)
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"She's going to be pretty pissed about that, you know."
They all turned to see a man dressed in a white hooded trench coat with a scarf around his neck. He had several cybernetic-looking areas of his body, mainly his chest and right arm. His eyes were a bright blue with no pupils that gave off an dim glow.
"Who the hell are you?" Cole asked as his hands sparked with electricity.
"My name is of no importance," Said the man, who began to walk towards the group, "But it would be wise of you to hold still."
He vanished from sight, only to reappear inches away from Cole. The mans hands were gripping both sides of Cole's head for a few moments before Cole collapsed on the ground, grasping his head in pain.
"HEY!" Dash shouted as she rushed him, using her speed close the distance between them within seconds.
But it was no use. The man simply vanished and reappeared about ten feet behind her, bringing up his right hand and unleashing a bolt of pure, white lightning. It struck Rainbow with enough force to send her spiraling over the side of the building.
"RAINBOW!" Fluttershy shouted as she leaped off the building to catch her.
Twilight charged the man, both of her energy blades ignited. When she reached him she began to wildly swing, forcing the man to go on the defensive, but only for a moment. When he saw an opening, he grabbed her left wrist, squeezing tightly so that Twilight lost concentration, causing the blade in her hand to dissipate. She tried to strike him, but he grabbed her other wrist before she could act.
"Your eyes...." He said, "They remind me of myself when I was a little older than you."
"What are you talking about?" She said as she tried in vain to wrench herself free of his grip.
"The pain of losing someone you love, knowing that you'll never see them again. And the burning rage to make those responsible suffer." He pushed to the ground, releasing her as he prepared a lightning bolt.
She got back on her feet, rage filling her eyes, "Believe me when I say this," She said as she ignited her left energy blade. "I am nothing," then her right blade ignited, "like you." She finished as she charged him, swinging wildly once again as he backed up, avoiding the blades as he waited for an opening. when that opening appeared, he fired straight into her stomach, causing her to fly back to the ground. Before she could get up a boot connected with her stomach, causing her to writhe in pain on the ground.
"I'll leave you with this." He said as he turn to leave.
"My name is Kessler, and I'm your worst nightmare come to life." And with that, he vanished.
Twilight lay on the ground, clutching her stomach in pain. She had failed. Failed the group, and herself.
She let out scream full of with pain and rage into the midday sky.
inFAMOUS: Friendship is Power
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The full moon shone brightly on Empire City's Neon District a day after the fight with Kessler. Twilight was sitting on one of the edges of Zeke's roof, staring into the sky and admiring the few stars that she could see.
She always liked the full moon... Thought Twilight as her gaze drifted back to the shining disk in the sky.
"Couldn't sleep?" She heard a voice ask, prompting her to turn around and see Cole walking up to her.
"Not really..." She replied as he took a seat next to her. They both began to watch the sky.
Twilight shifted a bit as she felt Cole's gaze on her. "You need something?"
"Not really," He replied as he looked down at the street below them. She did the same to see a girl who was probably in her late teens walking with a young man who looked a few years younger than her. The boy was telling a story by the look of it. The girl suddenly burst into laughter as she held onto his shoulder for support. After she finished the duo continued to walk down the street. They continued to watch them until they were out of sight.
"Seeing things like that remind me of what I'm truly fighting for." Twilight said as she returned her gaze to the sky.
"What do you mean?" Cole asked.
"Well, we're all fighting to find the Ray Sphere and John right? But each of us has another reason why we're fighting." She explained as she looked at Cole again, "What do you fight for?"
Cole looked back at the sky, thinking if what his answer would be. He thought of all the good that he had done with his powers, and all the good that would do in the future.
But why am I doing it? He thought as one person's name crossed his mind.
"Trish," He said.
"Hm?" Twilight said as she turned to look at Cole, who was still staring at the sky.
"I'm fighting to protect her, and Zeke, and all of my friends. I'm fighting so that they can see tomorrow. And so that I can atone for my sins." He finished as he lowered his head. Twilight understood what he was talking about, and she understood that it was now her turn to tell him her motivation.
"I'm fighting to find someone, or to keep her memory alive if she's moved on." Twilight said, her voice wavering.
Cole turned his head towards her, "Is that what Kessler meant by saying your eyes show loss?"
Twilight nodded, "It's my sister," she began, a single tear emerging from her right eye. "She was kidnapped by a drug gang when she went out to eat with some friends about three years ago. The police looked for days, and we looked for weeks. But we had to give up, there was no sign of her anywhere."
Twilight stifled a sob," We were so close, always doing things together and just being really good sisters. My only regret is that I never got to say goodbye..." She as tears streamed down her face. "I fight for her. To keep her memory alive, and to hopefully someday finding her." She said between sobs. She felt a hand touch her shoulder, and she looked up to see Cole with a look of sympathy on his face.
"When this is over, I'll do whatever I can to help you, I promise."
Twilight nodded as she wiped the tears from her face.
inFAMOUS: Friendship is Power
Chapter 5: Queen of the Reapers
A few days after the fight with Kessler, Moya was able to inform the group that she had found out where the leader of the Reapers, Sasha, was hiding. The entire group of seven conduits were now standing on the roof of a building overlooking the entrance to the Jefferson tunnel, which had been turned into a fortress.
He dialed up Moya's number before they began their assault.
"Alright Moya, were near the Jefferson tunnel."
"Since the entrance is blocked, your going to have to figure out a way to get down there. Your best bet is to head into that compound the Reapers have constructed, and look for a way to open that gate."
"Couldn't we just break the door down?" Applejack asked. " Ah have super strength, ah could just bust it down,"
"You could," Moya replied. "But that tunnel is old. There's no telling what could happen to it if you busted through. They could also have hostages, who would get crushed before they could have any chance of escape."
"Didn't have to be that harsh 'bout it," Applejack muttered.
"I think I have a plan," Twilight announced as she put her hood up.
She pointed to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, "You two will fly up and take out the three guard towers, we can't have those bastards sniping us."
"Count on us!" Rainbow said as she cracked her knuckles. After that she placed brass knuckles on each hand.
"Rarity, you deal with the suicide bombers," Rarity grimaced as she was given her task. Suicide bomber Reapers would always rush the group with two live grenades that would detonate when in close proximity of the group. She quickly found out a good way of dealing with those psychos, by trapping them in walls that were at least eight feet high. And if that didn't work, a simple blunt rock spike to the stomach would leave them incapacitated long enough to take them down.
"Applejack and Pinkie," She said, "Wait by the gate, and when it opens, rush in and take down as many Reapers as possible."
"Got it, sugarcube." Applejack said.
"ALRIGHT! Time to lay the smack down!" Pinkie exclaimed, hopping up and down like a giddy school girl.
"Cole and I will assault the compound, any questions?"
After a short silence, Cole's hands sparked with electricity. "Then lets do this." He said as he jumped towards the door that led into the compound. After feeding some electricity into the opening mechanism, they were to enter the compound. A squad of Reapers was quick to start shooting a them, but they didn't count on Twilight to catch and redirect the bullets back at them.
A sniper on the third tower saw the other two snipers fall by the hands of Rainbow and Fluttershy, and began to try and snipe both of them. He was about to get a good shot on Rainbow when she suddenly vanished and reappeared directly in front of him, her fist connecting with his face in seconds.
Two mounted machine guns pinned down Twilight and Cole for a few moments while Rarity was hiding behind a wall that she created. She had both of her hands on the ground and seemed to be concentrating.
Before they could ask what she was doing they heard the sound of rock moving very fast and two separate THWACKS before the machine gun fire stopped, followed by the sound of someone landing on the ground.
Rarity quickly looked over her cover, as did Cole and Twilight, to see the gunners on the ground, grasping their backs in pain. They looked up at the machine guns to see a blunt spike of rock jutting out of the front of both of them.
"Well," Rarity began as she walked gracefully over to a control box, pressed a button, and the sound of the main gate into the tunnel slowly opening reverberated for a few moments. "That was easy."
The group burst into Sasha's chamber, which was a large room with four large columns and a few other areas of dry land, since the rest of the room's floor was covered in tar.
You think I don't see her? The way your parading her around like a common jesabelle?
The group turned to see a woman in a red hooded jacked and what looked like mutated legs sitting on a chair that hung from the ceiling, resting her head on one of her hands.
"What's your problem?" Rainbow exclaimed as the group formed a line across from Sasha.
I see everything now, Kessler. ALL of it!
"You know Kessler?!" Twilight exclaimed as she ignited her energy blades.
"Yes, but you'll find out more at our meal tonight," She got up from her seat and walked into the tar until she was ankle deep in it, her throne ascending into the ceiling. "Of course I told you we were going out to dinner, silly girl."
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And with that she vanished under the tar, reappearing right in front of Cole, who had stopped her just in the nick of time and grabbed one of the four cylindrical devices attached to her shoulders, and yanked it off. This seemed to cause her pain as she reeled back as more tar leaked from her shoulder. She screeched at the group before vanishing into the tar again.
"Rarity! Create a platform in the center of the room!" Cole shouted.
"Right!" She replied as she slammed her hands into the ground, a decently sized platform erupting in the center of the room. The group then scattered across the room, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash in the air, while everyone else found a platform to stand on.
Rarity crouched down on the platform she made, her right hand on the ground in case of an attack. Before she could try to move another location, Sasha leaped out of the tar and attempted to grab her. In response, Rarity raised her right hand as chunks of earth surrounded her hand as it connected with Sasha's stomach. before she could vanish under the tar, a blunt rock spike struck her in the back, forcing her onto the platform, giving Rarity enough time to rip another cylinder off of Sasha, causing the woman to scream in agony before leaping back into the tar.
STOP TRYING TO CONFUSE ME!
The words seemed to echo in their minds as massive Reapers began to materialize around them. They began to shoot them, and they dissipated the second a bolt of any power hit them.
"They're just illusions!" Cole shouted as he continued to shoot the 'Reapers'. "Focus on finding Sasha!"
"I'm right here, darling!" He heard as Sasha's arms wrapped around him. He could feel her trying to pull him into the tar, but he instinctively grabbed her third shoulder cylinder and yanked it off. She fell into the tar, disappearing the second she made contact.
WHY! WHY DO YOU LOVE HER, KESSLER? I'LL KILL HER AND WEAR HER SKIN LIKE A ROBE!
Twilight could feel the woman's rage as Sasha leaped for her. Twilight jumped back and grabbed Sasha, holding her for as long as possible.
"RARITY! DO IT!"
Rarity's hands immediately slammed into the ground. Seconds later, every rock formation and platform elevated a few feet, along with a new platform right behind Sasha. Twilight grabbed the last device on Sasha's shoulder and ripped it from it's socket. Sasha screamed in pain as she was flung onto the ground. Before she could act several rocks sprung up from the ground, trapping her hands and feet.
(End the music here if you played it.)
The group gathered around the defeated woman. Twilight was panting as she crouched down to get a better look at Sasha, who had a defeated and angry look on her face.
"None of you will ever control your powers, they will always control you." She said as Twilight crouched down to begin the interrogation.
"We just want answers. Tell us what we want to know, and we won't hurt your any more."
"What do you want to know?" She asked, looking at Twilight with bored eyes.
"Do you know where Kessler is?"
Sasha chuckled evilly before answering. " You really are a fool, aren't you? Your not looking for Kessler. Your looking for the organization that he runs, The First Sons."
"The First Sons?" Rainbow asked.
"The group that made the Ray Sphere, I doubt that they still have it. Since they have been combing the city for weeks."
Before they could ask another question the wall to their right exploded, scattering the group as several armed men rushed in, grabbed Sasha, and left before anyone could recover from the blast.
Twilight was disoriented as she made her way through the now-crumbling tunnel, she could hear the distant cries of her friends, but they were too far away to be of any use.
Before a wave of black overcame her vision she saw a person that she didn't recognize running towards her.
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inFAMOUS: Friendship is Power
Chapter 6: I Thought Only Rabbits Lived in Warrens
Cole stumbled out of the Jefferson tunnel with dust covering his clothes and face. He did his best to wipe it off before taking in his surroundings. He mentally kicked himself when he realized where he was.
He had stumbled into the Warren, or as people not from Empire City would call it, the Hood. It was known for having large amounts of homeless people since the Warren had a large amount of apartment buildings. Since the downfall in the economy the amount of homeless got larger and larger. Cole had heard some rumors that the homeless, or transients, had banded together and seized control of the Warren in a similar fashion to the Reapers takeover of the Neon District, and began calling themselves the Dust Men.
As he took in his surroundings he realized one glaring issue about the Warren. It was pitch black, not a single light or billboard was on. Which meant that Cole was in a very bad situation.
Great. No power, separated from the rest of the group, and this area's probably crawling with armed, homeless psychos. He thought as he called Moya on his strap-mounted phone to get the location of any substation that he could recharge so that the Warren would have power again.
"Hey, Moya," He said as he clicked the call button, "I'm stuck in the Warren, are there any substations near me that I can recharge?" He finished as he waited for a response. After a couple of seconds of silence he tried again. "Moya?" He asked as he looked down at his phone. He mentally kicked himself again when he saw a small bullet lodged in the device. How it didn't punch through the phone though was a mystery.
No communication, no power. This day just keeps getting better and better.
1 Hour Later....
"Fluttershy, did you see anything?" Rainbow asked as she met back up with long haired medic.
"It's to dark in that part of the city to see anything. " Huffed Fluttershy as she crossed he arms over her chest in frustration.
When the tunnel began to collapse the duo immediately found holes in the crumbling ceiling and flew out of them, forgetting about their friends in their shell-shocked state. They had been flying around the areas in the Neon District and the Warren along with the river separating them for their friends.
"I just wish we could've gotten at least one of them out of there!" Rainbow exclaimed as she slammed her fist into her palm. "I don't want to wake up tomorrow and find out that they all died down there!"
"Relax," Fluttershy said as she placed a hand on Rainbows shoulder. "They're all really tough. I doubt that one collapsing tunnel would kill any of them, especially if they are together."
"What are you talking about?" Rainbow asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.
"Well," She began, "Alone, each one of us is a force to be reckoned with. But together, we're unstoppable. We've rescued entire trains, liberated an entire portion of a city from a brutal gang, found said gang's fortress and defeated their leader."
"So?" Rainbow asked, still not understanding Fluttershy's words.
"I guess what I'm trying to say is, well. Friendship is power, and from the looks of things," She said as she looked towards the Warren. "We're going to need all the friends that we can get."
Before Rainbow could laugh at the corniness of that speech her phone began to ring. It was a number that she didn't recognize.
"Hello?" She said as a very loud and familiar voice rang blasted through the speaker. "Twilight! We are alive! You can stop yelling into my ear." A few seconds passed before Rainbow spoke again. "Yeah, Fluttershy's with me right now, we were searching the areas around the tunnel for you guys." Rainbow put the phone on speaker and lifted it away from her face.
"I don't have a lot of time so let's make this quick. We don't know where Cole, Pinkie, Rarity and Applejack are right?" Twilight asked.
Before Rainbow could respond a good portion of the Warren's street lights and buildings lit up.
"We just found Cole, kinda." She said.
"Is he recharging the substations?" Asked Twilight.
"Yeah," Replied Rainbow as she and Fluttershy flew towards the raised bridge. "Hey Twilight? Any chance you would know how to lower a bridge?"
"No, but Trish knows someone in the Warren who does."
"Your with Trish?" Asked Rainbow.
"I woke up at a medical camp where she was working at. Some Girl wearing a combat mask and tinted goggles brought me there. Anyways, look for a man named Roger Miller, he's an engineer. He'll probably know how to lower it."
"Right, see ya, Twilight." She said as she hung up.
"Okay Fluttershy, let's go to work."
Twilight hung up the phone and walked towards the girl who had rescued her. She wore grey sweatpants and a familiar black hooded jacket with a blue shield insignia on the right side of the chest. The girl also wore a black combat mask that covered her nose and mouth, and her eyes were covered with a pair of aviator goggles with tinted lenses so that her eyes were hidden. It was a silly look, but it kept up that 'mysterious savior' thing if that's what she was going for.
"Alright," She said, Crossing her arms over her chest. "If you want to work with me, I'm going to need to call you something other than 'girl'."
The girl placed a hand on her chin, obviously not wanting to give Twilight her real name.
"Call me Nightmare Moon, or Moon for short." She replied, her voice slightly muffled by the combat mask.
Twilight's mind stopped. First the jacket, now the nickname? There were so many similarities, but it couldn't be her. There was no way.
"Alright then, Nightmare Moon. You said you know someone who can lower the bridge on this side?" Asked Twilight.
Moon nodded, "Yes, but he was captured by a squad of Reapers, I'll need your help if we're to rescue him." She immediately dashed off after finishing her sentence, prompting Twilight to do the same.
The duo reached the park where the Reapers were keeping the engineer known as Lou hostage. Moon dashed behind a large boulder before she was seen. Twilight slid in right behind her, hands sparking with energy.
"There's only a few of them, we can rush in and take them out before they knew what hit them." Twilight whispered as she prepared to charge the Reapers.
"What about the guy on the bridge?" Moon asked.
"Huh?"
Moon pointed to a bridge that was overlooking the scene. True to her words, there was a Reaper walking back and forth on the bridge. "We should use precise shots to take every one of them out. I trust you can hit the one on the bridge?"
"Yeah, just give the word." Twilight replied as she got in position to take him out.
"Now." Moon said as a bolt of concentrated red lightning hit one of the Reapers in the head, incapacitating him. Twilight's bolt hit the guard on the bridge right in the forehead, sending him flying over the railing. After the last Reaper fell the duo moved in to secure Lou.
"Are you alright?" Asked Twilight.
"Jeez, that was insane!" He said as he got up. "Did Roger send you?"
"Yeah, we need you to help lower the Stone Canal Drawbridge." Twilight replied.
"Get me over there and I'll see what I can do."
After defending the engineer for a few minutes he was able to lower the drawbridge. When Twilight caught sight of Rainbow and Fluttershy on the far side she began to sprint over there, Moon following closely behind.
The two groups met in the middle of the bridge. Twilight immediately tackle-hugged Fluttershy and Rainbow the second they were in range.
After a few minutes of catching up the two flyers noticed the newest member of the group.
"Who's this?" Rainbow asked as she scanned up and down the girls form, assessing her from what she could see.
"This is Nightmare Moon, or Moon for short. She helped me get Lou away from the Reapers and got me out of the tunnel."
Before Rainbow could ask anything else her phone began to ring again. She looked to see Applejacks number. She picked it up and was greeted with a very frantic sounding Applejack.
"We need ya'll down by the prison NOW!" Was all she said before she hung up.
"She said that we're need at the prison." She explained.
Then let's move." Twilight said as the group dashed over to the Warren.
