Static Sparks (Good Karma)

As they headed toward the bridge, Cole got a call from Zeke. "Listen man, I'm almost at the bridge. Since everyone hates you and Twilight's guts, we gotta get outta town, pronto-like," Zeke told them.

"We'll be there soon. And Zeke - thanks for having my back," Cole said.

Zeke chuckled nervously, "Sure man, I ain't about to do anything to piss you off. See ya." He ended the call.

Cole sighed. Twilight looked livid. "Look, Twilight I don't really blame him for being nervous. I had that package and now I have electric powers. Until I earn his trust back, he is going to be on edge, but at least he's willing to help me," he soothed.

She calmed down, but was still angry, "You shouldn't have to earn his trust back. You didn't do anything wrong. I don't remember everything that happened that day, but you didn't know what was in that package. Right, Spike?"

"I don't know Twilight. Him just having the package with the bomb that caused this is pretty suspicious. I trust you, however, Twilight, so if you believe Cole, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt," Spike said.

She sighed, "I guess, since you weren't there that's all I can really ask for."

Cole smiled at them, "That's more than enough. Thank you both."

When they got near the bridge they descended back to the street. Zeke ran up to them. "Stampton Bridge fastest way out of here. If you can get us past those baton-wielding goons, that is," Zeke said.

"We're getting out of here, one way or another. Follow my lead," Cole told them.

They walked up to the blockade and blended into the crowd. Cole had a decision to make. 'We are going to have to get past those riot cops if we are to get out of here. If I fry a couple of the guards from inside of the crowd, I could probably start a riot. Keep the heat off of us, but then a lot of people will get the hell kicked out of them.' Cole thought about it and dismissed the idea. 'I'm already on thin ice with the people in the city, Zeke, and Spike. If I do that then they'll have all the more reason to hate me. Plus, Twilight trusts me. I'm not going to betray that, just to make things easier on me.' Just the thought of betraying Twilight's trust disgusted Cole so much it left a bad taste in his mouth.

"Right," his mind made up Cole strode forward, Twilight and Spike close behind him, while Zeke hung back. As they got closer they charged at the guards. Cole charged his electric blades and used a blade to hit one guard each, they were rammed into the gate. Twilight shot beams to scatter them and knock them out, she hit two of them and they dropped like a ton of bricks. Spike ran at the nearest guard and punched him through the protective face plate he was wearing, he then swung his tail around to hit the guard standing next to him. The last two were taken down by a size-able rock that was dropped on one of their heads and a bolt to the other's head.

"Okay now that that's done. I'll charge the power source, so we can move on," Cole said. He aimed at the device next to the gate and shot several bolts at it. When all of the lights were green the gate rose. As they ran forward, they saw guards standing on the containers and jumped behind the barricades for cover. They saw Zeke trying to shoot them, but with all of the armor they had on it didn't do much.

They took the guards down with quick beams and bolts. Cole looked at her as they moved forward, "How come you keep using different ways to attack?"

"If I don't change it up they might learn how to deal with my attacks," Twilight answered.

"I highly doubt they could come up with a counter measure, but if it helps you then keep at it," Cole said.

As they got where the guards were, they started to pass the containers. They barely went a few inches before jumping back to avoid the turret fire.

"How the hell are we going to get past that?" Zeke asked.

"Like this," Twilight answered. She teleported behind the turret-man, charged her magic into her hand and brought it down onto the man's head. The man fell limp on the turret.

They walked from behind the shipping containers. Cole smiled at her, "Nice."

Twilight blushed at his smile. She could feel her heart hammering. She wondered why he made her feel so flustered.

They turned and headed to the exit. As they neared the stacked containers, they decided to climb them, in case there were more turrets. When they looked over the edge they saw that they were right to be cautious. There was a turret on each side of the boxes.

"I'll drop on top of one of them and you take the other," Cole said to Twilight.

She was about to nod when Spike asked, "Hey Twilight, can I do it?"

She hesitated for a moment, but then relented, "Alright. Just be careful, okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be careful," Spike nodded to Cole and they positioned themselves above each turret-man.

They jumped over the turrets. Cole gathered electricity into his fists. He slammed them into the ground and sent a shock wave across the area, which sent the guard flying into the fences. When Spike reached the peak of his jump he blew green fire around himself and, as he fell, spun himself bringing the emerald flames closer around him. He slammed into the ground and sent the guard across the yard, looking slightly charred. The gun was red hot and wouldn't be used against them again.

Cole and Zeke walked up to him, grinning, "That was cool, Spike," Cole said.

"Cool? That was downright awesome!" Zeke exclaimed.

Spike blushed a little at their praise, but puffed out his chest. "It was nothing."

Twilight rolled her eyes, smiling, "Nice job, Spike."

They turned toward the second gate. Cole charged the panel and raised it.

They walked through it and heard a great deal of gunfire. Zeke turned to Cole, "Hey man, you should try and hang from those containers and try shootin' 'em. It will make you a harder target."

He nodded and did as Zeke suggested. He took out the guards on top of the containers with well aimed bolts to the head. He pulled himself onto it and shot the last guard that was out in the open. The were more turrets just behind the containers. He headed to the one on the left. He saw Twilight climbing to get a vantage of the other turret. Cole ran around the corner and charged at the guard and punch his lights out. Twilight jumped from where she was, and concentrated her magic into her foot. She then brought it down on the guards head and was slammed to the ground.

As they continued forward, they saw another turret on top a container. Spike jumped onto it and charged toward the turret-man. He smashed through the barricade and hit him in the stomach. He noticed one last turret and jumped at it, blowing a stream of fire at the gun to melt it. Before it melted, the gunpowder was heated up and blew up. The explosion knocked the guard back, knocking him out.

They walked up to the gate as Cole opened it. "Hey man, head to the quarantine station! That's our ticket out of here!" Zeke called.

Before they could move, the people that were at the front gate rushed past them. As they got to the middle of the area, the four of them witnessed a horrifying scene unfold.

There was a wall of razor wire and machine guns blocking passage across the bridge. The guns opened fire on the people trying to get across. Zeke and Spike rushed forward and smashed in the gate leading to the Decontamination Unit. They both fell headlong into the harbor.

Cole quickly picked Twilight up, who was petrified, and moved faster than he knew he was able to. He jumped across the gap and into through the doorway on the other side. Once inside the two of them were greeted by name. Cole questioned how the hell she knew their names. He figured she knew his because she was part of the government, but Twilight was from another world.

The woman, an FBI agent named Moya, answered that they found the surveillance video from before the blast. She had waited for them there figuring they would want to escape and knew they had powers. She then explained that her husband John had been assigned to infiltrate the First Sons. A shadowy group that were working on a project called the "Ray Sphere." The device was designed to drain the neuro-electric energy from a group of people and focus it into an individual.

The night of the blast was when she lost contact with John and ,despite her connections, she was losing hope. However she found them, believing that she could trust them, ready to make them an offer. They return to the city, find the Ray Sphere and John, and she'll get them out of the quarantine and clear their names. The whole thing surrounding the Ray Sphere sounded crazy to Cole, but he was suddenly a human light socket and connected to the woman in his arms. Not to mention she was an alicorn with a dragon as a brother. So maybe he should give her the benefit of the doubt.

A hatch opened up behind them, leading to the bottom of the bridge. To keep her head from hitting the edges, Cole pulled Twilight's head forward and jumped down the hatch.

As Twilight and Cole fell through the opening, she noticed someone missing. Once Cole had set her down, she turned to him and asked, "Did you see what happened to Spike? After seeing so many people die-" the words caught in her throat as she thought back to that horrific moment. "I probably would have died too if you hadn't picked me up and charged through the gunfire."

He placed a hand on her shoulder, "He charged the gate that led to the Decontamination Unit with Zeke. They fell into the river. I'm sure they are fine." He paused and asked, "Was that the first time you've seen death?"

Twilight shook her head, "I've seen a funeral taking place and we have predators so death isn't a foreign concept, but that's nature. What happened back there was nothing more than slaughter," she said.

Cole could feel her shaking. He pulled her into a hug, "I'm sorry you had to see that, but unfortunately that's part of this world. However, you have my word that I will do my best to keep something like that from happening again."

As she stood there in his arms, Twilight realized something, 'I'm in love with Cole.' She felt warmth wash over her as she made that realization. At the same time she felt bad, he just came out of a good relationship. She decided that she wouldn't tell him how she felt, at least not yet. She reluctantly got out of his arms. She looked up at him and smiled, "I feel a bit better. Thank you, Cole."

He felt his heart ache as he looked at her tear stained smile. It broke his heart to see this girl, so full of love and friendship, crying. Even if she can take care of herself, if what he assumed (from what she told him about her world) was correct, she comes from a world from either little conflict or conflict that is nothing like what happens in his world. He vowed again, this time to himself, that he would do his best to protect the woman in front of him.

He smiled back at her, "Let's get back to land."

At that moment Moya called Cole, "Because of the riot topside, this is the only way back into the city. Given our new 'partnership', I've cloned your phone's frequency. I've got a lock on your GPS locator, and I can hear every word you say."

Twilight scowled. "Wonderful," she said sarcastically.

"Right let's get out of here," Cole said. He looked around for a way to get back. Seeing the poles that were only being held up by rusty hooks, he shot them. He shot all of the ones he could reach. "There, that should help get us across." He leapt to the poles, Twilight right behind him. They ran across the pipes under the bridge.

As they got closer Cole saw a couple of Reapers on the platform in front of, them busting the pipes that were under the bridge. 'I see some kerosene cans near them, if I shoot them I won't have to directly deal with the Reapers, but it could kill them and I just promised Twilight that I would try my best to not let people die. Even if they are bastards, I'm going to try and limit the amount of death she has to witness,' he thought. So, with that, he took aim at the Reapers and took them out from a distance without hitting the kerosene. When they got to the platform, he checked to see if they were alive. They were just unconscious.

Twilight looked at him, smiling, "I'm glad you didn't kill them, but if you have to choose between killing them and saving innocent people, please save the people, even if you have to kill the bad guys."

Cole nodded, "Of course. Come on." They turned away from the Reapers and walked to the side. "It looks like the only way to the other side is to sidle across this pipe." He looked around the corner and added, "Be careful there are some pipes spraying some kind of gas down."

They got on to the pipe and slowly sidled across the thin metal, carefully avoiding the gas. When they got to the end of the pipe, Cole saw a wire and spoke to Twilight, "Looks like we are going to have to jump to that and swing ourselves across." He jumped first and grabbed the wire, then moved forward a little so she could get on. He looked over just in time to see her barely miss the cable. Cole reached his hand out and grabbed her hand, "Are you okay, Twilight?"

"Yes Cole, I'm fine. Will you help me up?" she asked.

"Alright, I'm going to swing you forward. Be ready to grab the wire, okay?" Cole told her. At her nod he started to swing himself back and forth. When got a good momentum going he pulled Twilight up with all of his strength. She grabbed the wire as she got near it. They let go of each others hand and quickly grabbed the cable with their other hand. They swung to the platform and once they were above it dropped down.

Moya called, "Cole, Twilight, the water pressure is dropping from the main running under the bridge. What's happening down there?"

"Some Reapers were busting up some pipes," he answered.

"Interesting," she said, "I'll see what I can find. You two worry about getting to the city." As the call ended, they went about shooting the poles down.

They jumped to the pipe. When they landed on it one side busted. Twilight jumped to the nearest pole, while Cole jumped to the next one. He grabbed the bottom ring that went around the light at the end. He pulled himself up on to the pole.

"Cole, I see a platform with some Reapers on it. I'm going to teleport to it and take them out, while you head over there," Twilight told him.

"Okay Twilight, just be careful," he said.

"Of course," she disappeared in a flash.

As Cole made his way through the broken pipes, Moya contacted him again, "Don't forget whose holding your reins, you two. You find John and the Ray Sphere, and I get you out of there, no questions asked. But if you double-cross me, or do something stupid, I will throw you both into a hole so deep that you won't even know which way is up. Understand?"

Cole, rolling his eyes and smirking, thought, 'I highly doubt that would be a problem for Twilight.' He said to her, "Yes, I understand. Though I doubt Twilight would like me double-crossing you and I highly doubt she would let me do anything stupid. She's so smart and analytical that she would know a stupid idea from a smart one."

"Don't get smart with me, Cole." With that she ended the call.

When he got to the platform he saw Twilight standing over two unconscious Reapers. She looked over as he landed on the platform.

She smiled at him, "Hey. I took care of them."

"Nice job, Twilight," Cole complimented. "Well, there's the city. I think these pipes are going to fall as well, so you teleport or fly over and I'll meet you over there."

"Okay," she said. She spread her wings and flew across, with Cole following behind her.

When they got back on solid land Spike and Zeke ran up to them.

"Cole! Twilight!" they called.

"Man, I'm glad to see the two of you are okay," Zeke said.

Spike ran to Twilight and hugged her, "I'm so glad your not hurt."

Twilight smiled and hugged him back, "I'm fine, Spike. You can thank Cole that I'm alive. I was just standing there paralyzed, but Cole picked me up and ran through the opening you two made."

He looked at him, "Thank you, Cole."

Cole smiled at him, "It was no problem, Spike. Speaking of the opening, nice going on that you two."

"Hell, we lived through the fall, no problem. But gettin' back to shore, well, let's just say I'm no Michael Phelps," Zeke said.

"Yeah, that's an understatement," Cole joked.

"Hey, take it easy Lightning Rod. So how the hell'd you guys live through that? Bullets flyin' everywhere. I figured the two of you were goners. I mean, don't get me wrong I hoped the two of you were okay, but that was crazy," Zeke said.

"Let's all head home. We'll fill you guys in on the way," Cole said.