Conduit, Not Monsterby The Brony WriterChaptersCole's IntroJames's IntroTwo Forces CollideAn Unlikely MixBlowing Off SteamStrange Enemies, Stranger AlliesThe Monster I Made MyselfA Test Drive (Part 1)With Great Regret...Cole's IntroOur deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. I guess I should start off by introducing myself. My name is Cole McGrath and I can do extraordinary feats never thought possible by a human. But, before any of that, I was just your average, ordinary guy dealing with the same crap every day. I got a job as a bike courier in Empire City, New York, after I dropped out of college. It was mainly because I loved pissing off my parents, but that wasn’t all. I felt that it wasn’t for me, and it was all a big mistake to even think about going there. It was a normal day while I was delivering a package. The cops had busted some junkie in his homemade meth lab, protests were buzzing on Main Street for political reform, and there were homeless people performing on the streets in hopes of getting money for booze. I didn’t notice a crack in the road and hit it with my bike. I flew over the handlebars and did a face plant on the concrete. The pain was so bad that I wished I would just pass out right there. Just as I was about to, I was awoken by a group of people. All that I wanted to know was that there were six girls that all looked between 23 and 25 years, and a guy with green hair about 20 years old. I told them I was fine and two of them pulled me off the ground. I then realized that I had lost my package in the crash and desperately started looking for it. It was about 10 feet away from where I landed. ‘Damn. That’s gonna come out of my paycheck’, I thought to myself. All I wanted to do was to make sure that it was alright, so I opened it up. The package was a metallic sphere that had some sort of blue spark inside of it. I made the mistake of bringing it over to the group to see if they knew what it was. They all shook their heads. Suddenly, I heard a beeping sound coming from the sphere. It started off slow, but suddenly got faster. When I realized what it was, I thought for sure that I was going to die this day. I shouted at the group telling them it was a bomb and they all split. The beeping got even faster. Two of them huddled together, two others sped off, and the last three went off to hide someplace. In a last ditch effort, I set the device down and covered it with my body thinking that it would shield the blast a little. The beeping kept getting faster and faster until it became one continuous sound. You could say that this day was the end of many lives and the start of several others. I woke up in the hospital with a jolt. No pun intended because my hands were actually spurting out bolts of lightning. I tried my hardest to get it to stop. Zeke and Trish were right there beside me and kept telling me to calm down. Kinda hard to do that when you got lighting in your hands. When nothing else worked I just thought ‘To hell with it’, took some deep breaths and started to calm down. The lightning finally went away. But, as one problem was solved, another came up. I realized the gravity of what just happened when I saw that Zeke had forgotten to turn off the TV. Downtown Empire City was gone. Completely wiped out; nothing left but a few remains of buildings that once stood proud. Thousands were crushed by falling debris or burned alive in the fires. I pulled out all the wires in me, got up from the hospital bed, and ran outside with some dark thoughts racing through my mind. Zeke and Trish followed me pretty close at first, but started to fall behind when I got up the third flight of stairs. I made it to the fifth-floor rooftop and positioned myself on the very edge. But, just as I was about to jump, they finally caught up. Zeke was the first to talk. “C’mon Cole. You don’t have to do this. You survived that explosion! You should be grateful that you’re alive right now brother!” Trish joined right in. “He’s right babe. You don’t have to kill yourself to get closure from this whole thing.” For the first time in a long time, I actually screamed at Trish. “Then tell me why I was the one who had to survive!! You saw that explosion! Downtown is gone and it's all my fault! How can I possibly live with myself knowing that I’m responsible for that?! How can I live knowing that I'm the only survivor?!” “Whoa there brother! You’re not the only one. There are other people that survived!” Just like that, my thoughts of suicide were instantly gone and replaced with hope. Slowly, I backed away from the edge and let them take me back into the hospital. The doctors hooked me back up and Zeke went on to explain what happened during the aftermath. A chopper had spotted me at the dead center of the blast radius and they could see that my body was sparking with electricity. So it was the same device that caused the explosion that gave me these powers? He also told me that so far they’ve found seven more survivors. I asked him who they were, but he couldn't remember their names. All he could remember was that one of them was some guy with green hair. I perked up at this. Could it be the same guy that I saw with that group of girls? Could they be the other survivors? Then, a curious thought popped into my mind. Could they all have powers like me? As soon as I’m out of the hospital, I’m gonna find out who they are and where they’re hiding. I need to know if I’m not the only freak in what remains of the city. The next two weeks were basically hell. People started to think that I was a terrorist, Trish left without a word, and things were getting ugly. There was a group of thugs that called themselves "Reapers". They took what they wanted and left the weak to fend for themselves. Of course, people were blaming me for everything. There wasn't a day that went by that I wasn't being shot at, either from the Reapers or the people that were still alive. So, I had to do a few things for people around the city to earn back their trust. Those tasks allowed me to experiment with my powers and see what I could do. I could blast bolts out of my hands, knock back anything with a shockwave, throw electric grenades, and even pick up cars with electromagnetism. But, my favorite one was jumping off of buildings and creating a lightning explosion when I landed. That would come in handy someday. Just as things were looking good, a mysterious plague swept the city. No one knew what it was or what caused it, so they started to blame me once again. They called me "The Demon of Empire City". Only those that I helped said I was trustworthy, but half the city still wanted me dead. The entire area was quarantined and no one was allowed in or out of the city. But, none of that concerned me. I was too focused on looking for the other survivors. The first few days of my search turned up empty. I was starting to get worried that they had already made it out of the city before the quarantine. Then, I finally got a lead. Zeke called me with the best news I had ever heard. “Cole! I know this is all of a sudden, but I just got a call from a pair of chicks who said that they survived the explosion like you and that they’re friends of yours. They want you to meet them at Ground Zero ASAP.” “‘Ground Zero’? Where did that come from? Another one of your cheesy code names?” “Hey don’t look at me brother. For once, I had nothing to do with this. It’s what people started calling what remains of Downtown after the blast took it out.” “Alright. I’m on my way…Wait a minute. How did they know your number?” “Well, that’s just the thing. They weren’t calling my cell phone. It was kinda like they were calling my mind. And I know that I’m not crazy, so I’d take this if I were you. And if you run into any trouble, I’ll take the blame for it.” “Got it. Thanks for having my back Zeke.” “No problem brother. The last thing I wanna do is piss you off. Just do me a favor and be careful out there. Both of those chicks sounded sexy over the call, but I’d still be on guard in case they tried anything funny.” And with that, I hung up. I knew that Zeke was just trying to look out for me, but what he didn’t know was that I was always on my guard. Even around him, the man who was supposed to be my best friend. When I got to “Ground Zero”, I found that something had changed. The crater was still there, but there wasn’t any debris laying around. No burnt-up cars, no pieces of buildings, nothing. Either a group of people pulled the biggest prank in post-Apocalypse history, or there really was something going on. Suddenly a voice popped into my head. “We’ve been waiting for you, Demon. Or should I say Cole McGrath.” I felt my skin crawl as I felt like something was playing around inside my head. I started looking for wherever the voice was coming from. A different, more mature sounding voice popped into my head next. “Don’t worry darling. We do not wish to fight you if you do not wish to fight us. Look straight ahead.” Suddenly, two girls appeared in front of me. I was surprised because they weren’t there before. The first one had her straight hair dyed purple with a pink stripe running down the middle. She was wearing black wedge shoes, long white socks, a light purple skirt, a white dress shirt, a deep purple jacket, and a pair of Oakley glasses. The other wore a silky white dress that hugged her every curve with a cut in the bottom for her legs. She also had white high heels and a brooch in the shape of three diamonds. She had straight curly hair that was a deeper violet color than the first girl. The preppy girl introduced herself first. “It’s nice to finally meet you in person Mr. McGrath. I call myself Twilight Sparkle.” The sexy dress girl was the next. “I agree. It is indeed very nice to meet you. And you may call me Rarity.” “Ok…I know that those aren’t your real names. Why did you give yourselves childish nicknames?” The “Twilight Sparkle” girl spoke up. “Because we aren’t who we used to be. After the blast, we were reborn into something else like you Mr. McGrath. We gave ourselves new names to make ourselves stand out and gain a reputation.” I was reminded that it was the end of human society as we know it, so you could pretty much do whatever the hell you wanted. I finally spoke up saying, “Two things. First, you can just call me Cole. Second, since you say you survived the explosion, what kind of powers do you have?” Twilight Sparkle looked at Rarity and back to me saying, “We were just about to ask you the same thing…Cole. Before we answer your question, show us what you can do.” Luckily, there was a large group of Reapers heading straight for us. I proceeded to climb the wreckage that reached about four stories high. I dropped down on the Reapers in the dead center with a lightning explosion. Surprisingly, one of them managed to stand up, whom I proceeded to shoot in the head, or “head shock” as I like to call it. I looked back at the girls and saw that they were already impressed. Then they proceeded to show me their powers. With just a wave of their hands, a couple of cars were picked up by what seemed to be nothing and were flung into the air. I could already do that, but it still took me a good deal of effort. But that wasn’t all. They focused on the ground below them and pushed themselves up. They were actually levitating themselves! It suddenly popped into my head: Telekinesis. If they were trying to make me jealous, then it sure as hell worked. Twilight and Rarity followed me to the rooftops that Zeke and I now called home. As soon as Zeke saw Rarity, I could tell that he would have his sights set on her. “Well, hello Ms. Lips Legs Breasts and Ass! You got a boyfriend?” he said nonchalantly putting his arm around her. She then proceeded to twist his arm around in a martial arts hold. “It is rude for a complete stranger to address a lady like that good sir”, she said coldly. I thought that Zeke kinda deserved it until Rarity picked him up telepathically and dangled him off the edge of the rooftop. I quickly rushed to Rarity and tried my hand at reasoning with her. “Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa hold it Rarity! I know you’re pretty pissed right now, but I’m afraid that’s just how Zeke can be sometimes. That doesn’t mean you have to kill him!” Twilight put her hand on Rarity's shoulder and must have said something in Rarity's mind because they both had the same look on their faces. Rarity nodded and put Zeke back on the rooftop. "Remind to put that chick on my list of people not to piss off", Zeke said to me while trying to catch his breath. I could already tell that things were gonna get pretty weird from now on. And I'm liking it so far! James's IntroI can still remember the day that it happened. My campaign in Iraq was interrupted by my request to come back home. Normally, when a soldier comes back, he would be greeting his family at their doorstep. How I wished that it could’ve been that way. But, it wasn’t. I came back to a plague-infested Manhattan with a new assignment: get rid of the infected in the Red Zone, the worst part of the plague-stricken city. My psych report said I had post traumatic stress disorder and a homicidal obsession with a man named Alex Mercer. What kind of man would I be if I didn’t want revenge against the killer of my family? And since he was the cause of all this, it was only fitting that I “self-assigned” myself to be his killer. When he accidentally found me, I thought I was so close to avenging my family. But, I was dead wrong. I must have stabbed him fifty times, but his wounds would heal as soon as my blade exited his flesh. Mercer then grabbed me and pinned me to the wall. He used his powers to inject me with “The Mercer Virus” and turned me into a monster like him. He said that he wanted to eradicate the Virus, but I knew not to trust him even after he claimed that the deaths of my wife, Colette, and my daughter, Amaya, weren’t his fault. I found out that Amaya was still alive and that Mercer planned to use her to be “the mother of the New World”. I fought him, beat him a bloody pulp, and consumed him. In doing so, I was granted enough power to eradicate the Virus off the face of Manhattan. I thought that it would be all over, but I wasn’t able to cure myself. Ever since that fateful day, I had to live with the same curse that Mercer had. To this day, I can’t explain how I can do what I can with these powers even though I know how to control them. It had been three years since I beat Mercer. Even after I purged the Virus, there were still a few outbreaks across the state of New York. But, these were different from the Mercer Virus. Instead, it was called “The Ray Field Plague” and it started in Empire City. I was appointed as Blackwatch’s ally in the fight against the Plague since I had saved Manhattan. I turned it down because these bastards needed to take care of things back home, and I told them that I would take care of it. It was off to Empire City. We were all standing on the rooftops in the same spot that we were after I purged the Virus. I said goodbye to Maya and told Dana to take care of her while I was gone. As I was walking away, Maya caught me into a hug and refused to let go. “Why do you have to go away again, Daddy?” “I’m sorry baby girl. But, I’m getting pulled into a new assignment. I won’t be far away and I’ll be sure to keep in touch with you. I’ll come back and we can go away just like you always wanted to.” I pulled her out of the hug and gave her an assuring smile. She nodded her head with tears in her eyes and Dana put her hand on Maya’s shoulder. I looked at Dana and I could tell that she would be worried about me. “Just please, for the love of God, be careful.” “Don’t worry. I will”, I assured her. And with that, my chopper flew down and I jumped in. I waved goodbye to Maya and Dana and hoped that I would be back soon so I could keep them safe. I was asleep when we arrived in the outskirts of the city. The helicopter just dropped me off and left. Almost immediately, I was confronted by some guys with rifles in their hands. "Who the hell are you and how did you get here?" one of them asked me. I asked them, "Do you have anyone sick with the Plague?" Just then, a little girl walked up to us while she was coughing up blood. Right when she got to me, she collapsed and fell into my arms. I immediately went to work. I put my hand on her forehead and started to suck the Plague out of her. A few seconds later, she opened her eyes and turned into a little ball of energy. She was jumping around while clapping and squealing at the top of her lungs. She ran up to me, gave me a hug, and said in a tiny, innocent voice, "Thank you mister!" And with that she ran off, probably to go tell her family that a cure had arrived. The first thought in my mind was to find whoever was responsible for this Plague and make them pay. I looked back at the guys with the rifles and they were freaking out. One of them said, "So he’s not the only one." “Who do you mean?” I asked. Another guy said in reply, “The guy that caused all this. Cole McGrath. We call him ‘The Demon of Empire City’. Cole McGrath. Now I knew who I was looking for. As soon as this realization came, I took off into the air and started searching for him. 'I'm gonna find you and I'm going to kill you, you bastard', I thought to myself. Only a few minutes later, I was about to give up. I even absorbed some of those thugs that call themselves "Reapers", but none of them knew where McGrath was. I was just walking down a ruined street when I suddenly sensed something behind me. It was coming towards me at an incredible speed, so my first response was to pull my shield up and wait for it. Suddenly, I was hit with a tremendous force, one that none of the monsters in Manhattan could compare to. I knocked it back and saw something that surprised me. Instead of it being a monster, it was a girl! She spoke in a menacing voice filled with southern drawl. "Well, shoot. Ah'm surprised you could stop mah kick with that lil thing. But, Ah wouldn't count yourself lucky just yet." As I was wondering what the southern girl meant, I was hit by another force from behind. But, this time I was being picked up off the ground as if I was flying. Before I could even react, something set loose a barrage of fast blows all around my body. It then knocked me back towards the ground with a punch to my gut. Then, that same southern girl jumped up towards me. She then let loose a powerful kick in the same spot in my gut and sent me hurling towards the ground. The impact left a huge crater, but I brushed it off as if it was nothing. My wounds instantly healed up and I gave the southern girl a smirk. "Is that the best you got?" I asked proudly. The southern girl just stared at me with her jaw hanging down. I saw that she was wearing an orange and brown flannel shirt, daisy-dukes, and dark brown cowboy boots. She was also wearing a brown Stetson hat that completed her Southern look. Then, a second figure appeared beside her and it looked pretty surprised too. As I took a closer look, the second figure was another girl. She had a sky blue tanktop on with running pants to match, and tennis shoes. But, her two features that stood out the most were her rainbow colored hair and her wings. "What the hell do you want?" I asked impatiently. The rainbow girl spoke up first, "Well, I thought you looked pretty awesome while you were walking so we wanted to see if I was right." The southern girl just put her face in her hand and shook her head. "You'll have ta excuse me and Rainbow Dash. We're always lookin fer a challenge these days. You never know who you might run into. Ah'm Applejack by the way." "I don't have time for this. I've got to find Cole McGrath and make him pay for unleashing this Plague!" Suddenly, the "Rainbow Dash" girl appeared right beside me and said, "We can take you to him. We spotted him a little while ago with two other people. But we didn't try to fight him because he looked too strong. But if you're looking to kill him, then we can help you." "How did you get those powers in the first place?" I asked. "We don't know," Applejack answered. "All we remember is that we ran into some guy, then there was some kinda explosion, and we woke up in the hospital at the same time. Since we found that we both had powers, we decided to team up. We been fighting Reapers ever since, and then ran into you." 'I could use people like them with their abilities', I thought to myself. Without a moments hesitation, I accepted the invitation and let them come along. Now that I had some help, I would be to take down McGrath easier now. I guess even these days, you can find people willing to help you. As we were walking along, Applejack nudged me in the side and impatiently said, "You know when somebody gives you their name, you should give yers right?" Without even looking at her I told her, "Sgt. James Heller." I was too focused on my objective to even think about giving my name. As I pictured myself ripping off Cole McGrath's head, I did something that I hadn't done in a long time. I actually smiled. I'm coming for you McGrath, and I'm bringing a couple of friends with me. Two Forces Collide“Hey Cole! Wake up!” Twilight’s voice pierced my eardrums like a knife. I was sprawled out on the rooftop couch in a haze. I remembered that last night’s escapade of taking down a major Reaper stronghold was celebrated by all the friends that I had made so far with partying, music, dancing, and of course, booze. I think I can remember Rarity and Zeke getting a little frisky in the middle of it. Heh. I guess even though I’m considered to be a Conduit (what people started to call us) I can still get hangovers. I tried to open my eyes several times, but the morning sun kept beating me. Twilight must have seen that I was struggling and telepathically put some sunglasses on my face. When I could finally open my eyes, I saw that Twilight looked as good as she did last night. Her hair was neatly primed, her eyes were wide-open, and her speech wasn’t slurring. “Come on Cole! It’s 10:00 in the morning and we’ve got work to do!” she said louder than she should have. “How are you not hung-over from last night?” I asked her weakly. “I guess part of it was because I didn’t drink at the party and never will at ANY party,” she said with a little sarcasm. “There’s way too much work to be done to be fooling around like that during the end of human society!” I finally managed to get up off the couch and go over to the power box. I sucked up all the electricity in it, and my hangover was instantly cured. Yep, everything’s better when you have powers. Now with that out of the way, I was back to my old self. “All work and no play makes Twilight a dull girl,” I said sitting back on my make-shift bed. “And speaking of fooling around, what happened to Rarity and Zeke?” I could see that Twilight was trying her hardest to keep from laughing at the sound of those two names. “Well, when Rarity woke up this morning, Zeke was laying right beside her. Just so you know nothing happened between the two of them. But Rarity was so pissed off that she picked up Zeke while he was still asleep-” she suddenly stopped while trying even harder not to laugh. “And Zeke woke up on top of the Staton Building!” We both burst into laughter. For those of you that don’t know, the Staton Building has got to be THE tallest building that’s still standing after the blast. Personally, I think he deserved it. We kept laughing until our sides hurt. Speak of the devil and he’s sure to arrive because Rarity and Zeke just got on the rooftop when we stopped. “I take it you were talking about that little incident that I caused this morning”, Rarity said with a bit of regret in her voice. Zeke patted her on the shoulder in an attempt to not make her feel guilty. “If anyone’s to blame, it should be me Ms. Rarity. I shouldn’t have tried to take advantage of you like that. And I promise that it’ll never happen again.” Since when had Zeke become so gentlemanly? He even managed to get a smile out of Rarity!! Here’s hoping that it wouldn’t last because Zeke was starting to freak me out a little. Their little moment was interrupted by an explosion not far away from where we were. Twilight was scared out of her mind. “What the hell is that?” she cried. I went over to her and patted her on the back. “Whatever it is, it can’t be good. We’ve got to get over there and fast before someone gets killed.” We all set out to the location of the explosion, but Zeke stayed behind as usual. I was beginning to feel sorry for that guy. “I knew you’re around here, McGrath!!” I shouted at the top of my lungs. “And I’m coming for you! So quit hiding like a pussy and let me kill you!!” Applejack and Rainbow Dash were standing a few feet away from me with fear in their eyes. But, I didn’t care about what they thought of me. All I wanted was to sink my blade into McGrath’s skull. Lucky for me, I would get my wish. A man jumped off of one of the rooftops and landed about 10 yards away from me. Two girls teleported beside him and it looked like they had powers to. “I’m guessing you’re Cole McGrath?” “And what if I am?” he asked. “Then that means you’re the one who gonna feel my hand on your spine!!” I shouted. “Applejack! Rainbow Dash! Get your asses ready!” Rainbow Dash just stopped all of a sudden. “Whoa whoa whoa whoa there big guy! We said we would help you find McGrath not help you kill him.” “She’s right,” Applejack replied. “And even if we wanted to, those girls with him were there when we got our powers. We ain’t gonna fight our fellow Conduits.” This caught me and the girls with McGrath by surprise. “Fine”, I said through my teeth. “Just don’t get in my way.” I readied myself to charge at McGrath and finish this. McGrath stepped forward. “I’ll take care of this myself. I don’t want you girls to get hurt.” He readied himself like me and we both charged each other. We both sent punches flying and they managed to connect to each of our faces, knocking us both back. I knew then that this was gonna be a little tougher than I thought. We were all watching from a dark alleyway as everything was unfolding. We all were doing double-takes to see if this was real. “Wowie zowie!” Pinkie Pie said. “This is gonna be amazing! Are you excited? Cause I’m excited! I’ve never been more excited! Well, except for the time that-” I cut her off by putting my hand over her mouth. “Thank you, Spike”, Fluttershy said quietly. “But, it is surprising. I never thought I would live to see the day that someone would be in Empire with as much power as the Demon!” “You’re telling me”, I responded. “I have no idea who this other guy is or what kind of powers he’s got, but he is one strange Conduit.” As I said this, the other guy turned one of his arms into a giant blade and lunged at McGrath. The blade was coming close to his head, but McGrath managed to dodge each swipe. Then, when the blade became stuck in the ground, McGrath unleashed a storm of electricity. It actually seemed to do some damage to the other guy, but he still managed to turn his hand into a giant fist and send McGrath flying with a punch to the gut. As we kept watching, we saw that they were both getting pretty tired and the town was getting even more torn up. There weren’t any people around, which was a good thing or else McGrath would be holding back and this other guy would’ve finished him instantly. It was starting to get pretty intense. McGrath was trying to shoot down the other guy, but he picked up a car and started running up the walls. Literally! He threw the car at McGrath, but he deflected with an electric shock wave. We knew that if this lasted longer, then we wouldn’t have any hope of rebuilding the city. “Do your thing Pinkie Pie”, I instructed her. She nodded and performed her weird but useful power. She got in front of McGrath and the other guy just as they were about to charge into each other again, and turned into a clear wall about twelve feet thick. When they hit it, they were knocked to the ground and were almost rendered unconscious. For extra assurance, the two halves of Pinkie went up to the two, turned into frying pans, and knocked them both out. She put herself back together and beamed at her accomplishment. “Thank you Looney Tunes!” she shouted proudly. I was the next to step out of the shadows. “I think you may have overdone it a little Pinkie Pie.” I then surrounded the two with bands of green fire around their arms, waists, and ankles. The others looked like they were about to beat me to a pulp. “Don’t worry”, I assured them. “Those fires aren’t meant to burn them. They’re just meant to hold them down. That’s the good thing about pyrokinesis. We had no choice. If we didn’t step in, then they would have done even more damage than they’ve already done.” All the others thought for a minute and finally nodded their heads in agreement. The girl with the pink-striped purple hair said, “What are we gonna do about them? We can’t take them to the hospital or we’ll risk the safety of others if they wake up.” Finally, Fluttershy stepped out of the shadows, but wouldn’t look at anyone in the eyes. “I can help”, she said quietly. “I have healing powers that can be used on anything whether they’re an animal, a human, or even a Conduit. But, we have to find a safe spot in case the Reapers come.” We all agreed and the beautiful girl in the white dress instructed us to gather around her and the pink-stripe girl. They put their hands on each other’s shoulders and teleported us all out of there. Author's Notes Just so y'all know, this chapter will be the last one in 1st Person format. I find it a little too challenging to be writing in two different points-of-view. Well, three points-of-view in this chapter. Anyway, I'm switching from 1st Person to 3rd Person right about...now. Also, I CAN'T BELIEVE I WROTE TWO CHAPTERS IN JUST ONE DAY!!! An Unlikely MixAn Unlikely Mix A few hours after they teleported back to Zeke and Cole’s place, Fluttershy was almost done with healing the wounds on both James and Cole. Even though they both had regenerative abilities amongst themselves, the two enemies were healing at relatively the same pace. Everyone was silent and would stay that way until one of them woke up. Suddenly, Pinkie Pie jumped up and shouted, “Guys! Cole’s about to wake up!” And right when she said that, Cole did wake up. Needless to say, everyone was surprised. They knew that the blast couldn’t have given her the power to see into the future. Pinkie just bounced towards Cole with an innocent look on her face. “Somebody mention my name?" he said dizzily. Pinkie Pie immediately jumped up and greeted him. "Hi there Mr. McGrath!! It's nice to finally meet you! I heard so much about you! How does it feel to be an electric man? How do you go to the bathroom without shocking yourself?" she said in one breath. Before she could say anymore, Twilight put her hand over Pinkie's mouth and said, "Some questions are better left unanswered." Then, Pinkie Pie shape-shifted her mouth into a zipper which she zipped shut. Cold finally managed to pull himself together, so Fluttershy could focus her efforts on James. "Two things. First, anybody get the license plate of the truck that knocked me out?" he said while gripping his head. "And second, why the hell are we helping the guy that tried to kill me?!" Spike spoke up. "Well, the name of that truck is Pinkie Pie." Pinkie then tried to say something but they couldn't understand her on account of her zipped mouth. She then unzipped her mouth and said, "That's my name. Don't wear it out." Then, Applejack was the next to speak. "And we're helpin’ him because he ain't evil. He's just misguided." "How can you tell?" Cole asked. "Ah got an eye for things like that. He wanted to kill you to get revenge for something, not bloodlust." Twilight suddenly got an idea. "If we can find out what he wanted, then maybe we can help him get it. Well, without killing you of course", she said to Cole. He nodded in agreement. "Well, I'm not taking any chances." He then fired up his lightning and looked like he was about to finish James off. Rarity stepped in. "Pray tell, Cole. What on Earth are planning to do to him?" "Don't worry. I'm just gonna restrain him in case he wakes up and still wants my head", he replied. "You can do that too?" Spike suddenly chimed in. He then showed Cole his fire. "I've got an idea, but it's pretty risky. How about we combine our powers?" Everyone looked at him as if he were crazy. But, Cole suddenly smiled at the idea. "I've always wondered what would happen with that. Let's give it a go." Cole and Spike readied themselves while Pinkie Pie turned into an eight foot thick steel wall, which everyone else was hiding behind. They both counted down and did their thing. To everyone's surprise, their powers actually mixed! They created a stronger restraint coursing with electricity and green fire around James' entire body. Without a word, Fluttershy went back to work. Everyone else couldn't help but let their jaws hang down. "I never thought that was possible!" Twilight exclaimed. "That was SO AWESOME!!" Rainbow shouted. "Y'all did a purdy amazing job!" Applejack said proudly. "Absolutely flawless!" Rarity retorted. "I want cake", Pinkie Pie said absentmindedly. Cole gave Pinkie Pie the most confused look that he could muster. Then, Spike put his hand on Cole's shoulder and said, "She tends to do that a lot so you might as well get used to it." While they were waiting for James to wake up, they all introduced themselves to each other and quickly starting to become friends. Spike, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy were the last. Spike had his mohawk dyed as green as his eyes were, and also wore a green T-shirt covered in a fire pattern, purple jeans, and black Converses. Pinkie Pie was wearing blue jeans, a pink T-shirt, and hot pink sneakers. She explained that her hot pink hair was bouncy because of the explosion itself. While they all questioned this logic, they were reminded of the fact that they were all Conduits and left it alone. Fluttershy was wearing a light yellow shoulder-high sweater (which was unusual since it was 95 degrees outside) with a white undershirt underneath, a long green skirt, and pink wedge shoes. Her hair was colored a lighter pink than Pinkie’s, but it somehow complemented her look. Since they were all Conduits (except for James) Twilight, being as OCD as she was, made a list of all the different powers that they all had. Twilight and Rarity: Telekinesis, Teleportation, Telepathy Rainbow Dash: Wings/Flight, Super Speed Applejack: Superhuman Leg Strength Pinkie Pie: Shape-Shifting Fluttershy: Wings/Flight, Healing Abilities Spike: Pyrokinesis Cole: Electrokinesis/Electromagnetism James: Shape-Shifting/Self-Weaponization, Superhuman Strength “Why do you think that we were given these powers in the first place?” asked Spike. Twilight just shook her head. “I don’t know. But, for whatever reason, it can’t be a coincidence. All reasoning and logic points to this not being an accident. We all met at the same place, at the same time, and met the same person; Cole McGrath.” They all then turned to Cole, who was just as confused as they were. “Don’t look at me. I was just a guy delivering a package. I had no idea that…whatever it was that caused that giant explosion would…you know, cause a giant explosion.” “He’s right”, Applejack chimed in. “If he was responsible for all this, then he woulda gotten outta town before that bomb-thingy went off.” Everyone nodded their heads and agreed that there was someone or something else that worked them all into this web of super-humanity. Sooner or later, they had to find out who was behind all this. But, for now, they had to wait for James to wake up and stop him from killing Cole. TWO HOURS LATER To pass the time, Zeke went to one of the only bars that were still open. Everyone else was just sitting around on the rooftops. The boredom was shattered when Pinkie gave the signal that James would wake up soon. He opened his eyes and shouted all kinds of profanity. This went on for several minutes. When he finally regained his composure, the first thing that he noticed was his unusual restraints. He couldn’t break free from the strange mix of fire and lightning no matter how hard he tried. The second things that he noticed were the familiar faces and the new ones. One of the familiar ones being Cole McGrath. “I’m gonna kill you, you bastard!! You’re gonna pay for making these people suffer with your damn bomb and your damn plague!!” “Easy there, cowboy. You’ve got your facts all mixed up. First of all, you should be grateful I didn’t kill you while you were passed out. Second, the explosion wasn’t my fault. Third, the plague wasn’t my fault. So shut your mouth and listen.” Needless to say, James was confused. Cole went on to explain everything about what had happened. To make sure that the two understood each other, the others chimed in when they felt it necessary to back up Cole’s story. As this went on, Spike and Cole took away James’ restraints to help him relax. When Cole finished, everyone else introduced themselves like they had to Cole. “So what you’re saying is that you’re all working to cure the plague and help people that you never even met before?” “Well, when you put it that way, then yes. You wanna join up?” “Hell no. You may say that none of this is your fault, but I wouldn’t trust you even if was true.” He started to walk off as he kept talking. “So, whatever it is you got going on here, you can count me out.” He went to the edge of the rooftop and turned his head to face Cole. “I’ll be watching you, McGrath. And the rest of you too. Be careful about what decisions you make or not. Make a wrong one and you’ll be sorry.” And with that he jumped to the next rooftop, picked up speed, and glided away. “Well, so much for a good first impression”, Cole said. “I hope he’ll be okay”, Fluttershy mumbled. Applejack put her hand on Fluttershy’s shoulder and said, “Don’t you worry none, sugarcube. He may not be a good guy or a bad guy, but he can take care of himself.” Rainbow Dash stepped between the two. “Yeah, what Applejack said. He’ll be fine.” Rarity looked at them with disgust. “Don’t tell me you’re actually concerned about the well-being of that brute!” “I’m sure they have their reasons Rarity”, Twilight assured her. “Oh well. If anyone needs me, I’ll be watching TV,” Pinkie Pie said. She then plopped down on the couch and tried to turn the TV on. Cole noticed this and gave its batteries a shock. Pinkie thanked Cole and immediately turned to the Boomerang Channel to watch Tom & Jerry. Suddenly, Cole got a call on his phone from Zeke. “Hey man. You’ve gotta get over to the bar. Something’s happening down here that I can’t really explain. I think it might have to do with someone else having powers. And you might wanna hurry. Things might get out of hand here pretty quickly if you take your time.” With that Cole hung up, said goodbye to his new friends, hopped on a power line, and sped off. Blowing Off SteamBlowing Off Steam It was a quiet day in Empire City. Usually there would be a few break-ins, attempted murders, car wrecks, pretty much anything that called for the help of “The Electric Eight” (Pinkie Pie’s nickname for the group of super-powered friends). But, today was different. It was almost as if someone pulled the plug on all violence in the city. Cole and his friends were all tired and he remembered shouting into the sky, “Give us a break, will you?” That happened yesterday. No one questioned why this sudden decrease in crime was happening, but they still kept their guard up. Zeke and Cole were lounging on the couch as usual watching that guy that called himself the “Voice of Survival”. “So what happened that one week ago?” “You mean that guy that supposedly had powers? Turns out it was. He could control water like I could with electricity. It was pretty easy taking care of him.” “So what’d you do?” “All I did was fire a bolt at him and he was down and out.” They both shared a chuckle. For a moment, everything seemed like it would get better again. This was interrupted suddenly when Rainbow Dash flew right in front of the TV, much to Zeke’s irritation. “Hey! Come on, Dash! It’s just getting good!” “Sorry Zeke, Cole. But, have any of you guys seen Applejack?! I’ve looked all around the city and I can’t find her!” “Did you try asking Twilight or Rarity for help?” She rubbed the back of her head at her sudden realization. “Oh…um, no.” Cole let out a deep breath. “Alright. Fine. I’ll go get her.” “Wait…you know where she is?” “She told me before she left. You just hang back here with Zeke and I’ll take care of it.” He went off on his way, and Dash plopped down on the couch next to Zeke. “Whatcha watchin’?” “The Voice of Survival. I love listening to this guy rant on about what needs to be done in this God-forsaken city.” “Sounds awesome.” Cole finally arrived at the Town Square and started to look for Applejack. Then, he looked up. Applejack was swinging on the rope that once held the food supplies from two months ago. “Applejack!! How’d you get up there?!” She looked down and gave him a smug look. “The fact that Ah ain’t got wings doesn’t mean nothin’. You shoulda seen me. Ah actually ran up the statue like that James guy ran up that building that one time.” “Yeah yeah yeah that’s pretty amazing! Now come down from there! Rainbow Dash has been looking everywhere for you!” She promptly swung herself off the rope and landed on the ground right next to Cole. But, instead of having a proud look on her face, she looked sad. “Tell Dash that Ah’m not comin’ back.” “What?! Why?!” “Cause Ah don’t belong in the group. You got yer electricity, Pinkie’s got shape-shifting, Twilight and Rarity have mind powers, and wut do Ah have? Superhuman leg strength?! That ain’t nothin’ compared to y’all!!” “AJ, I understand. But, you still have powers. Period; the end.” “But, Ah didn’t want these powers! Ah wanted somethin’ else! Ah can’t compare with the rest a’ y’all. I don’t belong in yer group. So Ah’m leavin’.” Cole put his hand on Applejack’s shoulder. “Well, I know I can’t stop you. But, I can at least make your last night here something to remember.” Then, he smiled. “Hey. You wanna know what I do when I’m feeling depressed? Applejack then gave that same smug look. “Kick some Reaper ass?” “Kick some Reaper ass.” They were both positioned on a rooftop in the Historic District. Luckily, there was a group of Reapers lining up folks for target practice. Cole was about to shoot down the thugs when Applejack stopped him. “Don’t worry bout it. Ah got this.” She then jumped off of the rooftop and landed right behind the Reapers. One of them turned around and she gave him an uppercut to the chin. He flew in the air and screamed, which alerted the other Reapers. They aimed their guns at her, but it was too late. With one swift movement, Applejack landed kicks on each of them. They were instantly knocked unconscious and flew back several yards. Then, that same one that she uppercutted was dropping to the ground screaming like a little girl. “Hey Cole!! Catch this!” Like Bruce Lee in Fists of Fury, Applejack jumped into the air and gave him a flying kick. He was sent skyward again, but this time towards Cole. He caught him by his jacket, pinned him to the ground, and put him in an Arc Restraint. “You’re gonna tell me who sent you to kill those people.” The Reaper smiled. “You really think I would tell that to a freak like you?” “Don’t make me call my friend up here.” The Reaper’s smile didn’t falter. “Anything you throw at me is better than what my employer would do to me.” Cole fired up his lightning, but stopped himself. He needed to get all the answers that he could. “Explain.” The Reaper chuckled. “Not that it’s any concern to you, but he threatened to kill my family and make me watch as he did it. The only way for me to save them was to kill a few people in their place.” Cole couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You were all being forced?” “Just me. The other guys joined in looking for some fun. So, at this point, I’ve lost all hope of seeing my wife and daughter again.” Cole could sympathize with this guy. He would’ve done anything to get Trish back. So, he came up with an idea. “I’ll cut you a deal. You don’t have to tell me who sent you, but if you tell me where your hideout is, I’ll find someone else and let you go a free man. I’ll even make sure that your family is safe. Sound good?” Needless to say, the Reaper was surprised. “You’re gonna forgive me just like that? After what I’ve done? I almost killed a group of people!” “And I let a girl kick your ass, so I think we’re even.” Immediately, Cole took away the restraints and helped the Reaper up. “By the way, what’s your name?” “Johnny. Johnny Carson.” He shook hands with Cole. “Our hideout is near Empire Electrics. Do me a favor and give ‘em hell.” And with that, Cole shouted to Applejack to follow him. They set out for Empire Electrics. Cole was doing his thing with the power lines, while Applejack was jumping from rooftop to rooftop. He was actually surprised that Applejack could keep up with him. She may not have wanted those powers, but she sure as hell knows how to use them, he thought. When they arrived at the supposed hideout, everything was quiet. A little too quiet. Then, they heard someone talking. They positioned themselves on top of an old mill building to hide. Luckily, it had plenty of open skylights so they could see and hear everything. There were two guards with AK-47’s guarding the entrance. In the middle of the room was a woman and a little girl tied to two chairs and blindfolded. “Where the hell is Johnny? He and the group were supposed to be back half an hour ago!” “Just calm down. He can take his sweet time. You know the whole situation, right?” “Something about killing his wife and kid?” “Exactly. If I had to kill to save my wife, then I would. That is, if I had one. Hell, I’ll kill people just because I want to!” “If I had a beer right now, I’d drink to that.” While that was going on, Cole laid out a plan. “Okay. Here’s what we’re gonna do. You take care of the guards, I’ll sneak in and untie the two of them, and we’ll bring them back to Johnny.” “Why do Ah always get the hard work?” “Because you’re a pretty lady with super-strength.” She shrugged her shoulders and went to work. She jumped far enough away that the guards wouldn’t hear her. She unbuttoned a few of the buttons on her flannel shirt to show off her cleavage. She then started to walk towards the guards. They raised their guns at her, but put them down after getting a good look at her. After she got their attention, she started strutting. “Scuse me fellas. But, Ah think Ah’m lost. Can you big, strong men give a lil lady like me an escort home?” The two nodded furiously and started to follow her. Now that they were out of the picture, Cole could get to work. He jumped down and went into the mill house. The woman and her daughter were shaking when they heard someone approaching. “It’s okay. I’m not hurt you. Johnny sent me to help you.” The little girl perked up at this. “Daddy sent you?” “That’s right. I’m gonna get you and your mommy outta here and take you two to see your daddy again.” He took off their blindfolds and untied them as fast as he could. Applejack came back at the perfect time. They snuck around the remaining guards and made it outside. They then set out for Johnny’s last location. Applejack rooftop-jumped with the woman on her back, while Cole cradled the little girl while zipping on the power lines. They reached a ground level area close to his location. The little girl called out for her father and was answered by something else. “Well, well, well. Look what the pretty lil lady brought with her.” They turned around to see a large group of Dust Men perched on a rooftop with Johnny taken hostage. They were homeless people before the Blast, but rose to power using brute force like the Reapers. They would take scrap metal and make weapons out of them, one of which was a razor-sharp blade resting on Johnny’s neck. “Down on your knees, hands on the ground, or this Reaper bastard dies.” Cole didn’t know what to do. He had gone so far out of his way to help Johnny and his family, and now it was all dashed away. Applejack looked at the group. There were eleven men, and the one with the blade looked to be their leader. Suddenly, she felt a new strength rising up in her. There was a desire to protect welling up, and she could have sworn that she heard voices ringing in her head. “Do as he says, Cole.” “Are you crazy, Applejack?” “No Ah ain’t. Ah promise we’ll be fine.” “That’s not true! They’ll kill us the first chance they get.” “Now listen here, Cole McGrath! What Ah’m sayin’ to you is the honest truth! Do as he says, and we’ll make it outta here.” He didn’t know why, but all his trust was in her. He told the others to comply. They all went down on their knees and everyone but Applejack put their hands on the ground. The leader shouted, “Come on missy. Hands on the ground.” She gave an evil smug look and said, “With pleasure.” She slammed her hands onto the ground in front of her. Suddenly, there was a rumbling sound coming from all around. The Dust Men were becoming more afraid by the second, and Cole was bewildered. What was causing this? Was it Applejack? This was answered when a string of eleven green vines suddenly popped out of the ground and wrapped themselves around the Dust Men. One of the vines knocked the blade out of the leader’s hands before tying him up as well. “Take ‘em out Cole!” In a knee-jerk reaction, Cole head-shocked them, and they all fell to the ground. The vines that once held the Dust Men joined up and grabbed Johnny. They extended and lowered him to the ground safely where he was greeted happily by his family. Applejack smiled at her accomplishment, but Cole was beyond confused. “What the hell was that just now?” “Ah don’t even know. There were voices that popped into my head telling me exactly what to do, and Ah did it. Ah didn’t know what would happen.” One of the vines came her way and cradled her hand as if it were congratulating her. “Then these little guys turned up.” Her eyes suddenly widened as she realized something. “You don’t think that this could be a new power do you?” All that Cole could do was stand with his mouth agape. He finally exclaimed, “Well paint me purple and call me stupid!” Applejack couldn’t help but laugh at that. “So does this mean you’ll stay?” Applejack thought for a moment with her hand playing with the vine. She finally looked back at Cole and said, “Oh…why the hell not?” Strange Enemies, Stranger AlliesI know. Short chapter, but it's all I could get down for a while. I promise longer chapters and more fan-requested James centered material. Thanks everypony! Strange Enemies, Stranger Allies Unbeknownst to Cole and Applejack, James was perched on a rooftop not far from their location. James did something that he hadn’t done in a long time: he smiled. “Good job, Applejack. You made the right choice.” He silently flew off into the distance. All he wanted to do was keep an eye on the group of Conduits and not too involved in them. Suddenly, his echolocation kicked on while in mid-flight. It was sort of like a “built-in homing beacon” that proved very useful in the past. He changed directions and flew towards where it was leading him. He ended up on another rooftop in the Neon District and two guys talking to each other in an alleyway. Both of them had very similar Brooklyn accents. “I’m telling ya, broda. This guy’s got a lot a power on him. He can help us get outta this hell-hole.” “I don’t know man. I don’t think I’m willin’ to trust him yet. I mean, why would he wanna help out a couple a SOB’s like us? For all I know, he’s just using us to get to this Heller guy and McGrath. Then, when we find ‘em, he wouldn’t have any more use for us. And just like that, BOOM! Game over.” “Look, do ya wanna get outta here or not? Cause if not, I’m leavin’ without ya. I’m sick a this crap! I need to get outta Empire or I’m gonna go insane! Away from the Reapers, away from the plague, and away from all those God-damned Conduit freaks!” While one of them continued on his rant, James silently snuck down to the ground level and walked over to the alleyway. As soon as they saw him, the two goons shut their mouths. “I’m gonna give the both of you two choices. One, you tell me who “this guy” is and I’ll let you go free. Or two, you don’t tell me and we have to do this the hard way. Which one?” Like a flash, the goons reached around their backs and pulled out matching Bowie knives. They charged towards James and prepared to attack. But, he was ready for it. James unleashed his tendrils to wrap around the goons and catch them. They were strung up to the walls of the narrow alley and couldn’t move. James also made sure that their mouths were wrapped to keep them from screaming. “Oh well. I kinda like this way better.” He walked over to his new captives. “Be sure to get a good look at my face. Because it’s the last thing you’re gonna see.” And with that, James reached up and grabbed them both out their trap. His body opened up and turned the two into bloody mush. It sucked them in and James was able to access their memories. Another handy tool that proved useful in the past as well. He focused his mind to search the memories for anything having to do with what they were talking about. Finally, after about a minute of searching, he found something. The two goons were lying on a concrete floor, bloodied and beaten. There was a figure standing in a back corner that kept his face hidden. “I’m guessing that you two got that way because you tried to get out of the city?” the figure spoke. Whoever he was, he was using a voice modulator to further disguise himself. The two nodded to his question. “Then you must be pretty damn desperate. If you want, I can help you leave. But, you have to do exactly what I say, when I say it. You two are going to do a little recon work for me. There are some certain individuals in the city that I’m looking for, but I can’t risk someone recognizing me out in the open. I have your phone numbers, so I can send you instructions on where to go whenever I feel like it. Do you understand what I’m saying to you?” The two goons nodded their heads. One of them spoke, “Just so we know, who are the people that ya want us to find?” “……I suppose I could tell you now. One of them is named Cole McGrath, otherwise known as “The Demon of Empire City”, and the other is named Sgt. James Heller. Once you find one of them, you are only to keep an eye on them. Do not interact with them, or they will kill you. That will be your only warning from me.” The memory cut off right there. James was even more confused now then he was before. Who was that guy? Why would he be looking for Cole? For that matter, why would he be looking for James? And what did he mean about ‘being recognized’? James just couldn’t put the pieces together with what little he knew. Suddenly, he heard a phone going off. It was probably one of the goons’. James picked it up and saw that it was a phone call from a blocked number. It could either be that hooded guy or someone else. On instinct, James transformed into one of the goons since he had absorbed their bodies. “Hello?” he answered in a Brooklyn accent. A motherly voice answered him. “Do not worry, James Heller. I know this is you.” The hairs stood up on the back of his neck. Had his cover been blown? “And before you say anything, no I am not the hooded man that sent those two after you and Cole McGrath.” With some relief, James reverted back to his normal form. “Then who are you really?” “My name is of no importance. Just know that I am here to help you. I know what it is you truly seek. Retribution. You want to pin something on this plague that is sweeping across your home and take immediate action.” The accuracy of that statement made James shiver a little. “If you wish, I can offer my help to you. I know what causes the plague. It is the very man that you saw in those memories that you have just drained.” “How did you know that I can do that?” “There is much that I know, child. But, that is not important right now. What is important is that you find Cole McGrath and discard this cell phone.” James was taken aback. “You better cut the crap, lady! This might be my only lead on this bastard and there is no way in hell that I’m doing that!” “I understand your frustration. But, it is for the best. The tasks that the hooded man will have you do involve killing innocent people. You wish to save lives and not risk anymore, correct?” James tried time and again to argue with the woman, but couldn’t find a reply. Defeated, he said, “Fine. But if I lose the trial because of this, I’m coming for you lady.” “And I will be sure to keep that promise.” “One more thing. Give me a name so that McGrath and the others know who sent me.” “Very well, child. I shall not give you my human name, but I will say this. You can call me Celestia.” Weird choice of a name, but it was a name nonetheless. “Now go. Find Cole McGrath and his friends. I will stay in contact with you in any way that I can. Goodbye for now, James Heller.” And with that, she hung up and James threw the phone away. “Just when something good comes up, something else gets in my way. Well, I need to talk with McGrath anyway. Maybe he’ll know something that connects us both to that one hooded guy.” And with that, James glided off towards Cole’s usual hangout. The Monster I Made MyselfThe Monster I Made Myself Meanwhile, at Zeke’s place, the Electric Eight just couldn’t get enough of Applejack’s new powers. AJ was so happy because she finally felt like she belonged in this dysfunctional family of Conduits. Rainbow Dash said, “If there was a way to make me jealous, then you just did it!” “That’s what I said!” Cole agreed. Pinkie Pie was bouncing up and down in excitement. “Do you know what this calls for?! A ‘Congratulations On Getting Your New Powers Applejack’ Party!!” “Ah don’t think that now is the best time, Pinkie.” Pinkie’s hair deflated as she heard this. “No party?” she said with watery eyes. “Ah ain’t saying that Ah don’t want a party! Ah’m just saying it can’t be right now.” Pinkie’s hair poofed back to its normal, cotton candy shape. “Okie dokie lokie!” Cole and Dash looked at each other, then to Pinkie, and said, “Pinkie Pie. You are so random.” Twilight studied Applejack’s vines closely and tried to make sense of it all. “What was it that made you gain these new powers? Was there some sort of trigger?” “Hell, Ah don’t know. When Ah saw that that one Reaper guy was in trouble, some voices popped into mah head and Ah did what they told me to do. Ah got no idea bout what coulda caused it or nothing.” “Interesting. So, it seems like these vines as an extension of your will. They must respond to your emotions and sense when you’re in danger. In short, they must act as guardians for you as if you had a special connection with them.” “Well, Ah used to work on an apple farm with mah big brother and mah Granny. Ya think that could be it?” “I’m not sure. Have you tried doing anything with your powers? Like creating something big?” “Ah don’t think so. Hang on a second.” Applejack looked around to find something to use. She then spotted a pot of soil without any plants in it. She walked over it and put her hand on the side of it. She closed her eyes and focused. A few seconds later, the pot started to shake. Her friends all gathered round to see what was going to happen. Suddenly, a tree popped out of the soil bearing fruit. They all jumped back in surprise Even Applejack was surprised at her handiwork. Curious, Spike went over to the tree and picked a fruit. It was the biggest, reddest, most tasty looking apple he ever saw. As soon as he bit into it, his eyes started to water and his taste buds felt like they had gone to Heaven. Well, if Heaven was a perfect, succulent, red delicious apple. “Best. Apple. Ever!!” he shouted as he started to gnaw wildly away at the apple. He finished the entire thing in record time. He let out a loud fiery belch, much to the girls’ dismay. Zeke stepped forth. “Okay, so AJ’s got some new powers. But, it can’t be a coincidence. She can’t be the only one. Maybe all Conduits shared the same thing. If you make the right choices, then maybe your powers get upgraded. Do something good and get a new power. Do something bad and still get a new power.” “So, it’s sort of like Karma?” Twilight chimed in. “Your actions will be your reward? That doesn’t make sense.” “So, what? You’re saying that someone or something is out there giving us new powers based on what we do? How is THAT possible?” Cole said. “I don’t know. I’m just a logical person. There has to be an explanation for everything.” “Twilight, you have telekinectic powers. I have lightning in my body. Rainbow Dash can fly, Applejack can make trees, and Spike can breathe fire. Tell me one part of this that makes sense.” Before Twilight could respond, something crashed on top of the rooftop. It kicked up dust and had everyone coughing and hacking. When the dust cleared, they saw a familiar figure. “Miss me yet?” Pinkie Pie suddenly jumped up. “James!! You came back!!” She then turned to Cole. “Are you excited because I’m excited I’ve never been more excited well except for that time that I found out about Applejack’s powers and I was all *LE GASP* but really who could top that?” Just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie, Cole thought. “What do you want, James? What happened to all that crap about how you wouldn’t help and that you don’t trust me?” “I got no choice, McGrath. Some crazy lady tells me that there’s something weird going on around here, and it involves you and me. Maybe even your friends.” “What crazy lady?” “She calls herself ‘Celestia’. That name ring any bells?” Cole thought hard for a moment, but couldn’t remember any kind of name like Celestia. Zeke stepped forward. “Anyway, what’s the big thing going on between you and Cole?” “Recently, I got some intel that there’s a guy in Empire that’s looking for me and McGrath. I don’t know why, but it can’t be good whatever it is.” “What do you know about him?” Twilight joined in. “Not that much. All I could gather is that he’s pretty high up. He was recruiting guys to look for us, do recon work. He even bribed a couple of guys by saying that he would help them get outta here.” “Do you know who or what he’s charge of?” “All I could see was that he wore a black hood. He actually looked like he could be a Reaper.” Applejack perked up at this. “Cole, ya don’t think that that could be him, do ya?” “Maybe, maybe not.” “Who’re you talking about?” James asked. “There was a guy that was being forced to kill a group of people to keep his family alive. It sounded to me like his ‘employer’ had to be a pretty high-ranking bastard. Maybe we’ve got the same guy?” “I don’t know, Cole,” Twilight said matter-of-factly. “The chances of two people running into the same perso-” She was suddenly cut off when Spike put his hand over her mouth. “Could you not try to ruin our enthusiasm for once?” he said coldly. Cole continued, “Well James, we’ve got a common enemy now. So, it only makes sense that we work together right? It could speed things up and we can finally get this crap out of our hair.” Pinkie interrupted, “Well, technically neither of you guys have hair.” This was answered by glares from James and Cole. Once again, Pinkie zipped her mouth shut in response. “So what do you say?” Cole asked as he put a hand out. There was a moment of hesitation, but eventually the two shook hands. “Just for now, McGrath. Try anything funny and I won’t hesitate.” “Likewise.” LATER THAT NIGHT Cole was keeping watch while everyone else was asleep. Naturally, he sat the furthest away from his new “ally”. Everyone resolved to sleeping close to one another just in case their common enemy tried to kill them in their sleep. James was having a very strange dream. He was running from something, but he couldn’t bring himself to turn around and see what it was. Suddenly, his path ended and his dream shifted to an empty white plain. “It is alright, James Heller”, an angelic voice answered. “You don’t have to run anymore.” Standing in front of him was a beautiful woman. She wore a flawless white gown like some sort of Greek goddess and her long hair was all the colors of the rainbow. She also had wings on her back that looked like that of an angel. And for some strange reason, her hair was flowing and flapping in a nonexistent breeze. James didn’t recognize the face, but the voice was familiar. “Celestia?” “Correct, child. I wish you congratulations on finding your friends.” “Friends? I’m sorry, but that’s kinda pushing it.” “Why do you insist on pushing others away? As that old saying goes, ‘Strength in numbers’.” James hung his head in shame. “Look at me. Do you know how I’ve come this far? By consuming other people. I’ve taken their memories and implanted them into my brain. I’ve killed them for my own benefit. A person can only take so much before he gets fuckin tired of it.” “You believe yourself to be a monster?” “What the hell would you think? I know you’ve seen what I can do, what I’m capable of. There isn’t another word to describe what I am.” A tear started to run down his face. “Sometimes, I see other memories. Fathers seeing their newborn babies, young girls getting their first kiss, men proposing to their girlfriends. I’ve consumed all of them and ruined so many lives. Any sense of reason I have left tells me that I’m some kinda demon that doesn’t deserve to live. “Is that why you choose to hide your emotions from the others and only show anger? Are you afraid of what would happen to them if they grew too close to you?” James was silent. “Then that only shows that you care about each of them. Even Cole McGrath.” More tears started to run down James’ face. “They’re all so young. They haven’t lived to see real horror. What if Pinkie Pie saw the things I did? She’d go fuckin insane! I don’t want that! I want her to stay the way she is and be happy all the time! I don’t want any of them to turn into a monster like me!” “Even if they saw you kill a person, they would respect you. They may be young, but they have gone through hard trials as you did. Perhaps not as... graphic, but difficult nonetheless.” Celestia went over to James, lifted his head up and wiped away that single tear. “Listen to me James. You are no different from any of them. You are a Conduit, not a Monster.” “What do you mean?” “In time, you will find the answer. But, my time is short, so listen carefully. An old foe is coming back to seek revenge. It will endanger all of you if you do not prepare.” Naturally, James wasn’t afraid. “He can’t be all that tough. If we manage to work together, then we can take him down.” “Not as you are now. You know of Applejack’s new powers, correct?” “Yeah. The whole plant-control thing?” “There was a trigger that brought out those powers from within. That must be done for the rest of your friends. You and Cole McGrath must work together to find those triggers and help each of them grow stronger. When the time comes, you will need all the help that you can acquire.” Celestia started to fade away. “I wish I could tell you more, but my power grows weak. Farewell, James Heller. And take special care of Twilight Sparkle. I wish to see her again when this is all over.” The words left James, so all he could do was nod. With that, Celestia faded away and James jolted awake. Everyone was still fast asleep except for Cole and Zeke sitting at the edge of the rooftop. Quietly, James got up and went over to them. Cole was the first to respond. “What the hell do you want?” “I just wanted to say I’m sorry,” James responded. This took Cole and Zeke completely by surprise. “I know. I’m kinda surprised at it too. But, just listen.” To make sure he wasn’t joking, Zeke and Cole got up and stood side by side towards James. “I’ve done a lot of crazy shit in my life. I’ve seen things that no one should have to see. That’s why I’ve been acting like such an asshole. I’m angry that I had see them and turn into the freak I am today. I’ve been afraid of what’s gonna happen to you all because you got too close to me. But, like it or not, we have to work together. That’s why I wanna make sure we’re all on good terms. So, why don’t we start off on the right foot?” James held out his hand. Completely taken back, Zeke and Cole stared at James to make sure he wasn’t joking. Finally, with a smirk, Cole took his hand and they shook. When James did the same thing for Zeke, he got pulled in for a bro-hug. “Always room for another in the Conduit Clan!” “Zeke, you’re not a Conduit. For that matter, I’m pretty sure James isn’t either.” “Technicalities,” Zeke dismissed. James smirked, “Good. Now that that’s taken care of, it’s time to get to business.” A Test Drive (Part 1)A Test Drive (Part 1) -Three Months Later- “Listen up ladies and gents!” Zeke shouted. “I’m happy to announce that you’ve all completed your training thus far!” This earned some cheers from the girls in the line and the guys gave each other fist bumps. “That’s right! As of now, you all have some pretty good knowledge of hand-to-hand combat thanks to our good friend James! Thanks again for all the hard work brother!” A nod came from the dark-skinned man. Zeke then called him up to pick where he left off. “Alright,” James began, “as many of you know Applejack got some kinda power upgrade a while back. We still don’t know what caused it, but we sure as hell aim to find that out. Now, you’re all Conduits which means that there’s a connection between you. So, I’d guess that each and every one of you is capable of doing the same thing. So, as of now, you have an assignment!” This earned a groan from the lady in the white dress. “I want each and every one of you to go out into the city and do whatever it takes to find your ‘upgrade’. We’re gonna need all the power we can get if we wanna be ready. Also, I’m gonna split y’all into teams of two. If something should happen to one of you, you’ll have some backup. Cole, you’re with AJ. Spike, with Fluttershy. Twilight, Pinkie. And Dash, Rarity. You have your teams, so get to work! Dismissed!!” “Yes sir!!” “Why do we have to do this today?” Rarity complained. “What I wanna know is why James paired me up with you,” Dash complained back. “Well excuse me for wanting a break every once in a while!” “And excuse me for wanting to survive every once in a while!” Rarity glared daggers at Dash. “Do you know how long it has been since I’ve been to a good spa?! I swear I’m looking older and older with each passing day!” “Just like the rest of us,” Dash mumbled. Rarity continued, “My skin feels like paper, my hair feels like straw, I have dark circles under my eyes, AND I have a pimple! A pimple Rainbow Dash! I’ve never had acne until just yesterday and it was because of all that sweating we did while doing that uncouth martial arts training!” She went on and on as the two of them walked down the street. If Dash had Pinkie’s powers, she’d turn her hand into a gun and shoot herself with it. Suddenly, Dash heard a sound almost like an engine revving. She turned towards the source to find that her suspicions were right. A car was barreling towards she and Rarity at what Dash figured was about 80 miles an hour. As quickly as she could, she pulled Rarity out of the way just in time for the car to race past them. That caught the two by surprise, but they were grateful to still be alive. “We’ll continue this conversation later,” Rarity said. She turned back around to try and see what that car might have been running from. Without warning, she felt a *ping* sound go off in her head, and her vision quickly zoomed in to an area a long way away. What she saw next almost made her puke. A pack of ugly beasts unlike anything Rarity had ever seen were running in their opposite direction. Whatever those things were, they weren’t the easiest to look at. They all had giant tumor-like growths in multiple places and sores festering with pus and blood. Some were running on all fours like wild animals and others were running on two legs. She wasn’t sure what was going on, but Rarity knew that she and Dash were in danger. And they weren’t the only ones. Automatically, her vision zoomed in further to see a woman running sluggishly. She stopped for a moment to look back only to see the beasts closing in on her. Before she turned back around, Rarity saw a bundle cradled in the woman’s arms. A tiny hand was poking out of it and reaching up to the woman. Rarity gasped and grabbed Dash by the shoulders. “Dash! We have a problem!” she almost screamed. “W-what? What’s going on?!” “A lady and her child are in danger! 75 miles, 6 o’clock! You’ve got to help them!” “What are you talking about?” “No time to explain! Just start flying!!” Unsure of what was going on, Dash gave a salute and sped off into the air. She climbed higher and higher until she could see what Rarity was talking about. She saw a huge pack of monsters and figured out that Rarity was right. She bolted and flew harder than she ever had before. It was faint, but Dash saw a small figure trying to get away from the pack. Knowing what she had to do, the winged girl went into overdrive. She felt her body sizzle with heat as she picked up momentum. She then folded her wings to her back and proceeded to go into the nosedive position. A cone of air formed around her while electricity surged outside of it. With a sudden bang, she felt her speed double instantly and the world became a blur. She felt no resistance of gravity or wind almost as if it was just her and the sky. Somehow, a rainbow trail was following Dash through the air almost as if she was controlling it. Just as the monsters were closing in, Dash grabbed the woman and unfolded her wings. With steady precision, she looped around in the air and was soon flying in the opposite direction. She slowed to a stop on top of a nearby building with a thick air of confidence around her. She put the woman down and made sure the baby was alright as well. “Don’t worry. You’re both safe now,” she assured the woman. Before the woman could thank her, Dash jumped off the rooftop and floated down to the ground. She turned her attention to the beasts with a newfound fire in her eyes. “Hey losers!” she shouted. They all turned towards this new sound to find the girl bending over away from them. “You want a piece a’ this action?” she taunted while smacking her own ass. The beasts roared furiously and immediately set their sights on Dash. She made sure that they were dead set on her before shouting, “Then come and get me!” With one last shake of her booty, she took off. Rarity was able to see what her rainbow friend did thanks to her newfound ‘sonar vision’. At first, it amazed her to see something so beautiful. That is until Dash stuck her ass out at the pack. That made the fashionista give herself a facepalm. Within ten seconds, RD was back at Rarity’s side. “Did you see how awesome that was?!” “What? Your spectacle in the sky or showing off your boney butt?” “Small butt, big personality.” “Whatever. I just hope you have a plan to go along with this… you do have a plan right?” Dash was stumped. She always had the habit of not thinking things through. She thought it over pretty hard, but couldn’t get anything. It wasn’t until she saw the pack approaching that something came over her. A strong breeze picked up a piece of paper and it floated over to Dash. It spun in place for a second and blew away. Meanwhile, Rarity felt something else come over her. She looked at the ground and saw what looked like a ring. The diamond was missing, which gave Rarity an idea. Rainbow flew up once again and started to fly around in a circle. She picked up more speed until she was barely visible. It wasn’t long before bits of debris started to inch towards a spot in the street. Dust started to kick up in the gusts of wind which were forming a sort of funnel in the street. Rarity used her levitation powers to lift up a huge mound of dirt and debris from the surrounding area. She brought it over to herself and started to work with it. “This had better be worth it Rainbow Dash!” she screamed at the wind devil. Rarity never was one to enjoy playing with dirt. The mound began to shrink down further and further with a few miniature explosions appearing to go off inside of it. Finally, Dash had finished her proudest creation: a cyclone as big as a six-story building. The monsters stopped dead in their tracks and gazed at the brewing maelstrom. With a confident smirk Dash shouted, “Let’s see if you losers know how to fly!” With a single swipe of her wings, she hurled the storm at the crowd of monsters now struggling to get away from it. It was all in vain as the cyclone caught them in its wake and swung them around like giant rag dolls. Some were slammed into either each other or the bigger pieces of debris that were also caught in the wind. Rarity’s ball of dirt reached the size of a baseball before she was satisfied. With a similar smirk she said, “Enjoy it while it lasts you ugly brutes. Because I’m about to bedazzle the shit out of you!” She hurled the ball of dirt at the cyclone which immediately picked it up. Rarity maneuvered it to reached the eye of the storm before stopping it. With a single push, the ball suddenly exploded into the cyclone releasing hundreds of thousands of razor-sharp gems. In a dazzling flash, the gems impaled themselves into the monsters multiple times while using the speed of the wind as momentum. Just as quickly as it came, the cyclone disappeared while leaving the monsters floating in midair for a split second. The long dead bodies of the deformed beasts fell to the ground one by one with a sickening sound at the moment of impact. Neither Dash nor Rarity paid any attention to any of that as they walked away. “If it’s any consolation,” Rarity began, “that was very awesome. And I’m sorry for the things I said about you.” “It’s all good Rares. And I’m sorry too. Now how’s about we get you one of those mud baths that you go on about?” Rarity squealed happily at the sound of it. “And maybe I can get us both a facial?” “Don’t push it.” With Great Regret...I have to announce this story's retirement. I don't enjoy this anymore and I think this story is just a piece of crap. And it's only up to this point can I write stuff for this thing and have it be anything that you all consider to be good. I'm deeply sorry and I hope that you guys can understand. I've played the shit out of the inFamous and Prototype series', but so far I've had no inspiration for this story whatsoever. I don't want to leave anymore empty promises and keep telling you, "I'm working on it", when I've got nothing. So, I hope that someday an author much better than me can take the concept of this story and make it so much more awesome than I ever could. Again, I'm deeply sorry to all of my fans that enjoyed this story and I hope that you can understand. With a heavy heart, The Brony Writer
Cole's IntroOur deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. I guess I should start off by introducing myself. My name is Cole McGrath and I can do extraordinary feats never thought possible by a human. But, before any of that, I was just your average, ordinary guy dealing with the same crap every day. I got a job as a bike courier in Empire City, New York, after I dropped out of college. It was mainly because I loved pissing off my parents, but that wasn’t all. I felt that it wasn’t for me, and it was all a big mistake to even think about going there. It was a normal day while I was delivering a package. The cops had busted some junkie in his homemade meth lab, protests were buzzing on Main Street for political reform, and there were homeless people performing on the streets in hopes of getting money for booze. I didn’t notice a crack in the road and hit it with my bike. I flew over the handlebars and did a face plant on the concrete. The pain was so bad that I wished I would just pass out right there. Just as I was about to, I was awoken by a group of people. All that I wanted to know was that there were six girls that all looked between 23 and 25 years, and a guy with green hair about 20 years old. I told them I was fine and two of them pulled me off the ground. I then realized that I had lost my package in the crash and desperately started looking for it. It was about 10 feet away from where I landed. ‘Damn. That’s gonna come out of my paycheck’, I thought to myself. All I wanted to do was to make sure that it was alright, so I opened it up. The package was a metallic sphere that had some sort of blue spark inside of it. I made the mistake of bringing it over to the group to see if they knew what it was. They all shook their heads. Suddenly, I heard a beeping sound coming from the sphere. It started off slow, but suddenly got faster. When I realized what it was, I thought for sure that I was going to die this day. I shouted at the group telling them it was a bomb and they all split. The beeping got even faster. Two of them huddled together, two others sped off, and the last three went off to hide someplace. In a last ditch effort, I set the device down and covered it with my body thinking that it would shield the blast a little. The beeping kept getting faster and faster until it became one continuous sound. You could say that this day was the end of many lives and the start of several others. I woke up in the hospital with a jolt. No pun intended because my hands were actually spurting out bolts of lightning. I tried my hardest to get it to stop. Zeke and Trish were right there beside me and kept telling me to calm down. Kinda hard to do that when you got lighting in your hands. When nothing else worked I just thought ‘To hell with it’, took some deep breaths and started to calm down. The lightning finally went away. But, as one problem was solved, another came up. I realized the gravity of what just happened when I saw that Zeke had forgotten to turn off the TV. Downtown Empire City was gone. Completely wiped out; nothing left but a few remains of buildings that once stood proud. Thousands were crushed by falling debris or burned alive in the fires. I pulled out all the wires in me, got up from the hospital bed, and ran outside with some dark thoughts racing through my mind. Zeke and Trish followed me pretty close at first, but started to fall behind when I got up the third flight of stairs. I made it to the fifth-floor rooftop and positioned myself on the very edge. But, just as I was about to jump, they finally caught up. Zeke was the first to talk. “C’mon Cole. You don’t have to do this. You survived that explosion! You should be grateful that you’re alive right now brother!” Trish joined right in. “He’s right babe. You don’t have to kill yourself to get closure from this whole thing.” For the first time in a long time, I actually screamed at Trish. “Then tell me why I was the one who had to survive!! You saw that explosion! Downtown is gone and it's all my fault! How can I possibly live with myself knowing that I’m responsible for that?! How can I live knowing that I'm the only survivor?!” “Whoa there brother! You’re not the only one. There are other people that survived!” Just like that, my thoughts of suicide were instantly gone and replaced with hope. Slowly, I backed away from the edge and let them take me back into the hospital. The doctors hooked me back up and Zeke went on to explain what happened during the aftermath. A chopper had spotted me at the dead center of the blast radius and they could see that my body was sparking with electricity. So it was the same device that caused the explosion that gave me these powers? He also told me that so far they’ve found seven more survivors. I asked him who they were, but he couldn't remember their names. All he could remember was that one of them was some guy with green hair. I perked up at this. Could it be the same guy that I saw with that group of girls? Could they be the other survivors? Then, a curious thought popped into my mind. Could they all have powers like me? As soon as I’m out of the hospital, I’m gonna find out who they are and where they’re hiding. I need to know if I’m not the only freak in what remains of the city. The next two weeks were basically hell. People started to think that I was a terrorist, Trish left without a word, and things were getting ugly. There was a group of thugs that called themselves "Reapers". They took what they wanted and left the weak to fend for themselves. Of course, people were blaming me for everything. There wasn't a day that went by that I wasn't being shot at, either from the Reapers or the people that were still alive. So, I had to do a few things for people around the city to earn back their trust. Those tasks allowed me to experiment with my powers and see what I could do. I could blast bolts out of my hands, knock back anything with a shockwave, throw electric grenades, and even pick up cars with electromagnetism. But, my favorite one was jumping off of buildings and creating a lightning explosion when I landed. That would come in handy someday. Just as things were looking good, a mysterious plague swept the city. No one knew what it was or what caused it, so they started to blame me once again. They called me "The Demon of Empire City". Only those that I helped said I was trustworthy, but half the city still wanted me dead. The entire area was quarantined and no one was allowed in or out of the city. But, none of that concerned me. I was too focused on looking for the other survivors. The first few days of my search turned up empty. I was starting to get worried that they had already made it out of the city before the quarantine. Then, I finally got a lead. Zeke called me with the best news I had ever heard. “Cole! I know this is all of a sudden, but I just got a call from a pair of chicks who said that they survived the explosion like you and that they’re friends of yours. They want you to meet them at Ground Zero ASAP.” “‘Ground Zero’? Where did that come from? Another one of your cheesy code names?” “Hey don’t look at me brother. For once, I had nothing to do with this. It’s what people started calling what remains of Downtown after the blast took it out.” “Alright. I’m on my way…Wait a minute. How did they know your number?” “Well, that’s just the thing. They weren’t calling my cell phone. It was kinda like they were calling my mind. And I know that I’m not crazy, so I’d take this if I were you. And if you run into any trouble, I’ll take the blame for it.” “Got it. Thanks for having my back Zeke.” “No problem brother. The last thing I wanna do is piss you off. Just do me a favor and be careful out there. Both of those chicks sounded sexy over the call, but I’d still be on guard in case they tried anything funny.” And with that, I hung up. I knew that Zeke was just trying to look out for me, but what he didn’t know was that I was always on my guard. Even around him, the man who was supposed to be my best friend. When I got to “Ground Zero”, I found that something had changed. The crater was still there, but there wasn’t any debris laying around. No burnt-up cars, no pieces of buildings, nothing. Either a group of people pulled the biggest prank in post-Apocalypse history, or there really was something going on. Suddenly a voice popped into my head. “We’ve been waiting for you, Demon. Or should I say Cole McGrath.” I felt my skin crawl as I felt like something was playing around inside my head. I started looking for wherever the voice was coming from. A different, more mature sounding voice popped into my head next. “Don’t worry darling. We do not wish to fight you if you do not wish to fight us. Look straight ahead.” Suddenly, two girls appeared in front of me. I was surprised because they weren’t there before. The first one had her straight hair dyed purple with a pink stripe running down the middle. She was wearing black wedge shoes, long white socks, a light purple skirt, a white dress shirt, a deep purple jacket, and a pair of Oakley glasses. The other wore a silky white dress that hugged her every curve with a cut in the bottom for her legs. She also had white high heels and a brooch in the shape of three diamonds. She had straight curly hair that was a deeper violet color than the first girl. The preppy girl introduced herself first. “It’s nice to finally meet you in person Mr. McGrath. I call myself Twilight Sparkle.” The sexy dress girl was the next. “I agree. It is indeed very nice to meet you. And you may call me Rarity.” “Ok…I know that those aren’t your real names. Why did you give yourselves childish nicknames?” The “Twilight Sparkle” girl spoke up. “Because we aren’t who we used to be. After the blast, we were reborn into something else like you Mr. McGrath. We gave ourselves new names to make ourselves stand out and gain a reputation.” I was reminded that it was the end of human society as we know it, so you could pretty much do whatever the hell you wanted. I finally spoke up saying, “Two things. First, you can just call me Cole. Second, since you say you survived the explosion, what kind of powers do you have?” Twilight Sparkle looked at Rarity and back to me saying, “We were just about to ask you the same thing…Cole. Before we answer your question, show us what you can do.” Luckily, there was a large group of Reapers heading straight for us. I proceeded to climb the wreckage that reached about four stories high. I dropped down on the Reapers in the dead center with a lightning explosion. Surprisingly, one of them managed to stand up, whom I proceeded to shoot in the head, or “head shock” as I like to call it. I looked back at the girls and saw that they were already impressed. Then they proceeded to show me their powers. With just a wave of their hands, a couple of cars were picked up by what seemed to be nothing and were flung into the air. I could already do that, but it still took me a good deal of effort. But that wasn’t all. They focused on the ground below them and pushed themselves up. They were actually levitating themselves! It suddenly popped into my head: Telekinesis. If they were trying to make me jealous, then it sure as hell worked. Twilight and Rarity followed me to the rooftops that Zeke and I now called home. As soon as Zeke saw Rarity, I could tell that he would have his sights set on her. “Well, hello Ms. Lips Legs Breasts and Ass! You got a boyfriend?” he said nonchalantly putting his arm around her. She then proceeded to twist his arm around in a martial arts hold. “It is rude for a complete stranger to address a lady like that good sir”, she said coldly. I thought that Zeke kinda deserved it until Rarity picked him up telepathically and dangled him off the edge of the rooftop. I quickly rushed to Rarity and tried my hand at reasoning with her. “Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa hold it Rarity! I know you’re pretty pissed right now, but I’m afraid that’s just how Zeke can be sometimes. That doesn’t mean you have to kill him!” Twilight put her hand on Rarity's shoulder and must have said something in Rarity's mind because they both had the same look on their faces. Rarity nodded and put Zeke back on the rooftop. "Remind to put that chick on my list of people not to piss off", Zeke said to me while trying to catch his breath. I could already tell that things were gonna get pretty weird from now on. And I'm liking it so far!
James's IntroI can still remember the day that it happened. My campaign in Iraq was interrupted by my request to come back home. Normally, when a soldier comes back, he would be greeting his family at their doorstep. How I wished that it could’ve been that way. But, it wasn’t. I came back to a plague-infested Manhattan with a new assignment: get rid of the infected in the Red Zone, the worst part of the plague-stricken city. My psych report said I had post traumatic stress disorder and a homicidal obsession with a man named Alex Mercer. What kind of man would I be if I didn’t want revenge against the killer of my family? And since he was the cause of all this, it was only fitting that I “self-assigned” myself to be his killer. When he accidentally found me, I thought I was so close to avenging my family. But, I was dead wrong. I must have stabbed him fifty times, but his wounds would heal as soon as my blade exited his flesh. Mercer then grabbed me and pinned me to the wall. He used his powers to inject me with “The Mercer Virus” and turned me into a monster like him. He said that he wanted to eradicate the Virus, but I knew not to trust him even after he claimed that the deaths of my wife, Colette, and my daughter, Amaya, weren’t his fault. I found out that Amaya was still alive and that Mercer planned to use her to be “the mother of the New World”. I fought him, beat him a bloody pulp, and consumed him. In doing so, I was granted enough power to eradicate the Virus off the face of Manhattan. I thought that it would be all over, but I wasn’t able to cure myself. Ever since that fateful day, I had to live with the same curse that Mercer had. To this day, I can’t explain how I can do what I can with these powers even though I know how to control them. It had been three years since I beat Mercer. Even after I purged the Virus, there were still a few outbreaks across the state of New York. But, these were different from the Mercer Virus. Instead, it was called “The Ray Field Plague” and it started in Empire City. I was appointed as Blackwatch’s ally in the fight against the Plague since I had saved Manhattan. I turned it down because these bastards needed to take care of things back home, and I told them that I would take care of it. It was off to Empire City. We were all standing on the rooftops in the same spot that we were after I purged the Virus. I said goodbye to Maya and told Dana to take care of her while I was gone. As I was walking away, Maya caught me into a hug and refused to let go. “Why do you have to go away again, Daddy?” “I’m sorry baby girl. But, I’m getting pulled into a new assignment. I won’t be far away and I’ll be sure to keep in touch with you. I’ll come back and we can go away just like you always wanted to.” I pulled her out of the hug and gave her an assuring smile. She nodded her head with tears in her eyes and Dana put her hand on Maya’s shoulder. I looked at Dana and I could tell that she would be worried about me. “Just please, for the love of God, be careful.” “Don’t worry. I will”, I assured her. And with that, my chopper flew down and I jumped in. I waved goodbye to Maya and Dana and hoped that I would be back soon so I could keep them safe. I was asleep when we arrived in the outskirts of the city. The helicopter just dropped me off and left. Almost immediately, I was confronted by some guys with rifles in their hands. "Who the hell are you and how did you get here?" one of them asked me. I asked them, "Do you have anyone sick with the Plague?" Just then, a little girl walked up to us while she was coughing up blood. Right when she got to me, she collapsed and fell into my arms. I immediately went to work. I put my hand on her forehead and started to suck the Plague out of her. A few seconds later, she opened her eyes and turned into a little ball of energy. She was jumping around while clapping and squealing at the top of her lungs. She ran up to me, gave me a hug, and said in a tiny, innocent voice, "Thank you mister!" And with that she ran off, probably to go tell her family that a cure had arrived. The first thought in my mind was to find whoever was responsible for this Plague and make them pay. I looked back at the guys with the rifles and they were freaking out. One of them said, "So he’s not the only one." “Who do you mean?” I asked. Another guy said in reply, “The guy that caused all this. Cole McGrath. We call him ‘The Demon of Empire City’. Cole McGrath. Now I knew who I was looking for. As soon as this realization came, I took off into the air and started searching for him. 'I'm gonna find you and I'm going to kill you, you bastard', I thought to myself. Only a few minutes later, I was about to give up. I even absorbed some of those thugs that call themselves "Reapers", but none of them knew where McGrath was. I was just walking down a ruined street when I suddenly sensed something behind me. It was coming towards me at an incredible speed, so my first response was to pull my shield up and wait for it. Suddenly, I was hit with a tremendous force, one that none of the monsters in Manhattan could compare to. I knocked it back and saw something that surprised me. Instead of it being a monster, it was a girl! She spoke in a menacing voice filled with southern drawl. "Well, shoot. Ah'm surprised you could stop mah kick with that lil thing. But, Ah wouldn't count yourself lucky just yet." As I was wondering what the southern girl meant, I was hit by another force from behind. But, this time I was being picked up off the ground as if I was flying. Before I could even react, something set loose a barrage of fast blows all around my body. It then knocked me back towards the ground with a punch to my gut. Then, that same southern girl jumped up towards me. She then let loose a powerful kick in the same spot in my gut and sent me hurling towards the ground. The impact left a huge crater, but I brushed it off as if it was nothing. My wounds instantly healed up and I gave the southern girl a smirk. "Is that the best you got?" I asked proudly. The southern girl just stared at me with her jaw hanging down. I saw that she was wearing an orange and brown flannel shirt, daisy-dukes, and dark brown cowboy boots. She was also wearing a brown Stetson hat that completed her Southern look. Then, a second figure appeared beside her and it looked pretty surprised too. As I took a closer look, the second figure was another girl. She had a sky blue tanktop on with running pants to match, and tennis shoes. But, her two features that stood out the most were her rainbow colored hair and her wings. "What the hell do you want?" I asked impatiently. The rainbow girl spoke up first, "Well, I thought you looked pretty awesome while you were walking so we wanted to see if I was right." The southern girl just put her face in her hand and shook her head. "You'll have ta excuse me and Rainbow Dash. We're always lookin fer a challenge these days. You never know who you might run into. Ah'm Applejack by the way." "I don't have time for this. I've got to find Cole McGrath and make him pay for unleashing this Plague!" Suddenly, the "Rainbow Dash" girl appeared right beside me and said, "We can take you to him. We spotted him a little while ago with two other people. But we didn't try to fight him because he looked too strong. But if you're looking to kill him, then we can help you." "How did you get those powers in the first place?" I asked. "We don't know," Applejack answered. "All we remember is that we ran into some guy, then there was some kinda explosion, and we woke up in the hospital at the same time. Since we found that we both had powers, we decided to team up. We been fighting Reapers ever since, and then ran into you." 'I could use people like them with their abilities', I thought to myself. Without a moments hesitation, I accepted the invitation and let them come along. Now that I had some help, I would be to take down McGrath easier now. I guess even these days, you can find people willing to help you. As we were walking along, Applejack nudged me in the side and impatiently said, "You know when somebody gives you their name, you should give yers right?" Without even looking at her I told her, "Sgt. James Heller." I was too focused on my objective to even think about giving my name. As I pictured myself ripping off Cole McGrath's head, I did something that I hadn't done in a long time. I actually smiled. I'm coming for you McGrath, and I'm bringing a couple of friends with me.
Two Forces Collide“Hey Cole! Wake up!” Twilight’s voice pierced my eardrums like a knife. I was sprawled out on the rooftop couch in a haze. I remembered that last night’s escapade of taking down a major Reaper stronghold was celebrated by all the friends that I had made so far with partying, music, dancing, and of course, booze. I think I can remember Rarity and Zeke getting a little frisky in the middle of it. Heh. I guess even though I’m considered to be a Conduit (what people started to call us) I can still get hangovers. I tried to open my eyes several times, but the morning sun kept beating me. Twilight must have seen that I was struggling and telepathically put some sunglasses on my face. When I could finally open my eyes, I saw that Twilight looked as good as she did last night. Her hair was neatly primed, her eyes were wide-open, and her speech wasn’t slurring. “Come on Cole! It’s 10:00 in the morning and we’ve got work to do!” she said louder than she should have. “How are you not hung-over from last night?” I asked her weakly. “I guess part of it was because I didn’t drink at the party and never will at ANY party,” she said with a little sarcasm. “There’s way too much work to be done to be fooling around like that during the end of human society!” I finally managed to get up off the couch and go over to the power box. I sucked up all the electricity in it, and my hangover was instantly cured. Yep, everything’s better when you have powers. Now with that out of the way, I was back to my old self. “All work and no play makes Twilight a dull girl,” I said sitting back on my make-shift bed. “And speaking of fooling around, what happened to Rarity and Zeke?” I could see that Twilight was trying her hardest to keep from laughing at the sound of those two names. “Well, when Rarity woke up this morning, Zeke was laying right beside her. Just so you know nothing happened between the two of them. But Rarity was so pissed off that she picked up Zeke while he was still asleep-” she suddenly stopped while trying even harder not to laugh. “And Zeke woke up on top of the Staton Building!” We both burst into laughter. For those of you that don’t know, the Staton Building has got to be THE tallest building that’s still standing after the blast. Personally, I think he deserved it. We kept laughing until our sides hurt. Speak of the devil and he’s sure to arrive because Rarity and Zeke just got on the rooftop when we stopped. “I take it you were talking about that little incident that I caused this morning”, Rarity said with a bit of regret in her voice. Zeke patted her on the shoulder in an attempt to not make her feel guilty. “If anyone’s to blame, it should be me Ms. Rarity. I shouldn’t have tried to take advantage of you like that. And I promise that it’ll never happen again.” Since when had Zeke become so gentlemanly? He even managed to get a smile out of Rarity!! Here’s hoping that it wouldn’t last because Zeke was starting to freak me out a little. Their little moment was interrupted by an explosion not far away from where we were. Twilight was scared out of her mind. “What the hell is that?” she cried. I went over to her and patted her on the back. “Whatever it is, it can’t be good. We’ve got to get over there and fast before someone gets killed.” We all set out to the location of the explosion, but Zeke stayed behind as usual. I was beginning to feel sorry for that guy. “I knew you’re around here, McGrath!!” I shouted at the top of my lungs. “And I’m coming for you! So quit hiding like a pussy and let me kill you!!” Applejack and Rainbow Dash were standing a few feet away from me with fear in their eyes. But, I didn’t care about what they thought of me. All I wanted was to sink my blade into McGrath’s skull. Lucky for me, I would get my wish. A man jumped off of one of the rooftops and landed about 10 yards away from me. Two girls teleported beside him and it looked like they had powers to. “I’m guessing you’re Cole McGrath?” “And what if I am?” he asked. “Then that means you’re the one who gonna feel my hand on your spine!!” I shouted. “Applejack! Rainbow Dash! Get your asses ready!” Rainbow Dash just stopped all of a sudden. “Whoa whoa whoa whoa there big guy! We said we would help you find McGrath not help you kill him.” “She’s right,” Applejack replied. “And even if we wanted to, those girls with him were there when we got our powers. We ain’t gonna fight our fellow Conduits.” This caught me and the girls with McGrath by surprise. “Fine”, I said through my teeth. “Just don’t get in my way.” I readied myself to charge at McGrath and finish this. McGrath stepped forward. “I’ll take care of this myself. I don’t want you girls to get hurt.” He readied himself like me and we both charged each other. We both sent punches flying and they managed to connect to each of our faces, knocking us both back. I knew then that this was gonna be a little tougher than I thought. We were all watching from a dark alleyway as everything was unfolding. We all were doing double-takes to see if this was real. “Wowie zowie!” Pinkie Pie said. “This is gonna be amazing! Are you excited? Cause I’m excited! I’ve never been more excited! Well, except for the time that-” I cut her off by putting my hand over her mouth. “Thank you, Spike”, Fluttershy said quietly. “But, it is surprising. I never thought I would live to see the day that someone would be in Empire with as much power as the Demon!” “You’re telling me”, I responded. “I have no idea who this other guy is or what kind of powers he’s got, but he is one strange Conduit.” As I said this, the other guy turned one of his arms into a giant blade and lunged at McGrath. The blade was coming close to his head, but McGrath managed to dodge each swipe. Then, when the blade became stuck in the ground, McGrath unleashed a storm of electricity. It actually seemed to do some damage to the other guy, but he still managed to turn his hand into a giant fist and send McGrath flying with a punch to the gut. As we kept watching, we saw that they were both getting pretty tired and the town was getting even more torn up. There weren’t any people around, which was a good thing or else McGrath would be holding back and this other guy would’ve finished him instantly. It was starting to get pretty intense. McGrath was trying to shoot down the other guy, but he picked up a car and started running up the walls. Literally! He threw the car at McGrath, but he deflected with an electric shock wave. We knew that if this lasted longer, then we wouldn’t have any hope of rebuilding the city. “Do your thing Pinkie Pie”, I instructed her. She nodded and performed her weird but useful power. She got in front of McGrath and the other guy just as they were about to charge into each other again, and turned into a clear wall about twelve feet thick. When they hit it, they were knocked to the ground and were almost rendered unconscious. For extra assurance, the two halves of Pinkie went up to the two, turned into frying pans, and knocked them both out. She put herself back together and beamed at her accomplishment. “Thank you Looney Tunes!” she shouted proudly. I was the next to step out of the shadows. “I think you may have overdone it a little Pinkie Pie.” I then surrounded the two with bands of green fire around their arms, waists, and ankles. The others looked like they were about to beat me to a pulp. “Don’t worry”, I assured them. “Those fires aren’t meant to burn them. They’re just meant to hold them down. That’s the good thing about pyrokinesis. We had no choice. If we didn’t step in, then they would have done even more damage than they’ve already done.” All the others thought for a minute and finally nodded their heads in agreement. The girl with the pink-striped purple hair said, “What are we gonna do about them? We can’t take them to the hospital or we’ll risk the safety of others if they wake up.” Finally, Fluttershy stepped out of the shadows, but wouldn’t look at anyone in the eyes. “I can help”, she said quietly. “I have healing powers that can be used on anything whether they’re an animal, a human, or even a Conduit. But, we have to find a safe spot in case the Reapers come.” We all agreed and the beautiful girl in the white dress instructed us to gather around her and the pink-stripe girl. They put their hands on each other’s shoulders and teleported us all out of there. Author's Notes Just so y'all know, this chapter will be the last one in 1st Person format. I find it a little too challenging to be writing in two different points-of-view. Well, three points-of-view in this chapter. Anyway, I'm switching from 1st Person to 3rd Person right about...now. Also, I CAN'T BELIEVE I WROTE TWO CHAPTERS IN JUST ONE DAY!!!
An Unlikely MixAn Unlikely Mix A few hours after they teleported back to Zeke and Cole’s place, Fluttershy was almost done with healing the wounds on both James and Cole. Even though they both had regenerative abilities amongst themselves, the two enemies were healing at relatively the same pace. Everyone was silent and would stay that way until one of them woke up. Suddenly, Pinkie Pie jumped up and shouted, “Guys! Cole’s about to wake up!” And right when she said that, Cole did wake up. Needless to say, everyone was surprised. They knew that the blast couldn’t have given her the power to see into the future. Pinkie just bounced towards Cole with an innocent look on her face. “Somebody mention my name?" he said dizzily. Pinkie Pie immediately jumped up and greeted him. "Hi there Mr. McGrath!! It's nice to finally meet you! I heard so much about you! How does it feel to be an electric man? How do you go to the bathroom without shocking yourself?" she said in one breath. Before she could say anymore, Twilight put her hand over Pinkie's mouth and said, "Some questions are better left unanswered." Then, Pinkie Pie shape-shifted her mouth into a zipper which she zipped shut. Cold finally managed to pull himself together, so Fluttershy could focus her efforts on James. "Two things. First, anybody get the license plate of the truck that knocked me out?" he said while gripping his head. "And second, why the hell are we helping the guy that tried to kill me?!" Spike spoke up. "Well, the name of that truck is Pinkie Pie." Pinkie then tried to say something but they couldn't understand her on account of her zipped mouth. She then unzipped her mouth and said, "That's my name. Don't wear it out." Then, Applejack was the next to speak. "And we're helpin’ him because he ain't evil. He's just misguided." "How can you tell?" Cole asked. "Ah got an eye for things like that. He wanted to kill you to get revenge for something, not bloodlust." Twilight suddenly got an idea. "If we can find out what he wanted, then maybe we can help him get it. Well, without killing you of course", she said to Cole. He nodded in agreement. "Well, I'm not taking any chances." He then fired up his lightning and looked like he was about to finish James off. Rarity stepped in. "Pray tell, Cole. What on Earth are planning to do to him?" "Don't worry. I'm just gonna restrain him in case he wakes up and still wants my head", he replied. "You can do that too?" Spike suddenly chimed in. He then showed Cole his fire. "I've got an idea, but it's pretty risky. How about we combine our powers?" Everyone looked at him as if he were crazy. But, Cole suddenly smiled at the idea. "I've always wondered what would happen with that. Let's give it a go." Cole and Spike readied themselves while Pinkie Pie turned into an eight foot thick steel wall, which everyone else was hiding behind. They both counted down and did their thing. To everyone's surprise, their powers actually mixed! They created a stronger restraint coursing with electricity and green fire around James' entire body. Without a word, Fluttershy went back to work. Everyone else couldn't help but let their jaws hang down. "I never thought that was possible!" Twilight exclaimed. "That was SO AWESOME!!" Rainbow shouted. "Y'all did a purdy amazing job!" Applejack said proudly. "Absolutely flawless!" Rarity retorted. "I want cake", Pinkie Pie said absentmindedly. Cole gave Pinkie Pie the most confused look that he could muster. Then, Spike put his hand on Cole's shoulder and said, "She tends to do that a lot so you might as well get used to it." While they were waiting for James to wake up, they all introduced themselves to each other and quickly starting to become friends. Spike, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy were the last. Spike had his mohawk dyed as green as his eyes were, and also wore a green T-shirt covered in a fire pattern, purple jeans, and black Converses. Pinkie Pie was wearing blue jeans, a pink T-shirt, and hot pink sneakers. She explained that her hot pink hair was bouncy because of the explosion itself. While they all questioned this logic, they were reminded of the fact that they were all Conduits and left it alone. Fluttershy was wearing a light yellow shoulder-high sweater (which was unusual since it was 95 degrees outside) with a white undershirt underneath, a long green skirt, and pink wedge shoes. Her hair was colored a lighter pink than Pinkie’s, but it somehow complemented her look. Since they were all Conduits (except for James) Twilight, being as OCD as she was, made a list of all the different powers that they all had. Twilight and Rarity: Telekinesis, Teleportation, Telepathy Rainbow Dash: Wings/Flight, Super Speed Applejack: Superhuman Leg Strength Pinkie Pie: Shape-Shifting Fluttershy: Wings/Flight, Healing Abilities Spike: Pyrokinesis Cole: Electrokinesis/Electromagnetism James: Shape-Shifting/Self-Weaponization, Superhuman Strength “Why do you think that we were given these powers in the first place?” asked Spike. Twilight just shook her head. “I don’t know. But, for whatever reason, it can’t be a coincidence. All reasoning and logic points to this not being an accident. We all met at the same place, at the same time, and met the same person; Cole McGrath.” They all then turned to Cole, who was just as confused as they were. “Don’t look at me. I was just a guy delivering a package. I had no idea that…whatever it was that caused that giant explosion would…you know, cause a giant explosion.” “He’s right”, Applejack chimed in. “If he was responsible for all this, then he woulda gotten outta town before that bomb-thingy went off.” Everyone nodded their heads and agreed that there was someone or something else that worked them all into this web of super-humanity. Sooner or later, they had to find out who was behind all this. But, for now, they had to wait for James to wake up and stop him from killing Cole. TWO HOURS LATER To pass the time, Zeke went to one of the only bars that were still open. Everyone else was just sitting around on the rooftops. The boredom was shattered when Pinkie gave the signal that James would wake up soon. He opened his eyes and shouted all kinds of profanity. This went on for several minutes. When he finally regained his composure, the first thing that he noticed was his unusual restraints. He couldn’t break free from the strange mix of fire and lightning no matter how hard he tried. The second things that he noticed were the familiar faces and the new ones. One of the familiar ones being Cole McGrath. “I’m gonna kill you, you bastard!! You’re gonna pay for making these people suffer with your damn bomb and your damn plague!!” “Easy there, cowboy. You’ve got your facts all mixed up. First of all, you should be grateful I didn’t kill you while you were passed out. Second, the explosion wasn’t my fault. Third, the plague wasn’t my fault. So shut your mouth and listen.” Needless to say, James was confused. Cole went on to explain everything about what had happened. To make sure that the two understood each other, the others chimed in when they felt it necessary to back up Cole’s story. As this went on, Spike and Cole took away James’ restraints to help him relax. When Cole finished, everyone else introduced themselves like they had to Cole. “So what you’re saying is that you’re all working to cure the plague and help people that you never even met before?” “Well, when you put it that way, then yes. You wanna join up?” “Hell no. You may say that none of this is your fault, but I wouldn’t trust you even if was true.” He started to walk off as he kept talking. “So, whatever it is you got going on here, you can count me out.” He went to the edge of the rooftop and turned his head to face Cole. “I’ll be watching you, McGrath. And the rest of you too. Be careful about what decisions you make or not. Make a wrong one and you’ll be sorry.” And with that he jumped to the next rooftop, picked up speed, and glided away. “Well, so much for a good first impression”, Cole said. “I hope he’ll be okay”, Fluttershy mumbled. Applejack put her hand on Fluttershy’s shoulder and said, “Don’t you worry none, sugarcube. He may not be a good guy or a bad guy, but he can take care of himself.” Rainbow Dash stepped between the two. “Yeah, what Applejack said. He’ll be fine.” Rarity looked at them with disgust. “Don’t tell me you’re actually concerned about the well-being of that brute!” “I’m sure they have their reasons Rarity”, Twilight assured her. “Oh well. If anyone needs me, I’ll be watching TV,” Pinkie Pie said. She then plopped down on the couch and tried to turn the TV on. Cole noticed this and gave its batteries a shock. Pinkie thanked Cole and immediately turned to the Boomerang Channel to watch Tom & Jerry. Suddenly, Cole got a call on his phone from Zeke. “Hey man. You’ve gotta get over to the bar. Something’s happening down here that I can’t really explain. I think it might have to do with someone else having powers. And you might wanna hurry. Things might get out of hand here pretty quickly if you take your time.” With that Cole hung up, said goodbye to his new friends, hopped on a power line, and sped off.
Blowing Off SteamBlowing Off Steam It was a quiet day in Empire City. Usually there would be a few break-ins, attempted murders, car wrecks, pretty much anything that called for the help of “The Electric Eight” (Pinkie Pie’s nickname for the group of super-powered friends). But, today was different. It was almost as if someone pulled the plug on all violence in the city. Cole and his friends were all tired and he remembered shouting into the sky, “Give us a break, will you?” That happened yesterday. No one questioned why this sudden decrease in crime was happening, but they still kept their guard up. Zeke and Cole were lounging on the couch as usual watching that guy that called himself the “Voice of Survival”. “So what happened that one week ago?” “You mean that guy that supposedly had powers? Turns out it was. He could control water like I could with electricity. It was pretty easy taking care of him.” “So what’d you do?” “All I did was fire a bolt at him and he was down and out.” They both shared a chuckle. For a moment, everything seemed like it would get better again. This was interrupted suddenly when Rainbow Dash flew right in front of the TV, much to Zeke’s irritation. “Hey! Come on, Dash! It’s just getting good!” “Sorry Zeke, Cole. But, have any of you guys seen Applejack?! I’ve looked all around the city and I can’t find her!” “Did you try asking Twilight or Rarity for help?” She rubbed the back of her head at her sudden realization. “Oh…um, no.” Cole let out a deep breath. “Alright. Fine. I’ll go get her.” “Wait…you know where she is?” “She told me before she left. You just hang back here with Zeke and I’ll take care of it.” He went off on his way, and Dash plopped down on the couch next to Zeke. “Whatcha watchin’?” “The Voice of Survival. I love listening to this guy rant on about what needs to be done in this God-forsaken city.” “Sounds awesome.” Cole finally arrived at the Town Square and started to look for Applejack. Then, he looked up. Applejack was swinging on the rope that once held the food supplies from two months ago. “Applejack!! How’d you get up there?!” She looked down and gave him a smug look. “The fact that Ah ain’t got wings doesn’t mean nothin’. You shoulda seen me. Ah actually ran up the statue like that James guy ran up that building that one time.” “Yeah yeah yeah that’s pretty amazing! Now come down from there! Rainbow Dash has been looking everywhere for you!” She promptly swung herself off the rope and landed on the ground right next to Cole. But, instead of having a proud look on her face, she looked sad. “Tell Dash that Ah’m not comin’ back.” “What?! Why?!” “Cause Ah don’t belong in the group. You got yer electricity, Pinkie’s got shape-shifting, Twilight and Rarity have mind powers, and wut do Ah have? Superhuman leg strength?! That ain’t nothin’ compared to y’all!!” “AJ, I understand. But, you still have powers. Period; the end.” “But, Ah didn’t want these powers! Ah wanted somethin’ else! Ah can’t compare with the rest a’ y’all. I don’t belong in yer group. So Ah’m leavin’.” Cole put his hand on Applejack’s shoulder. “Well, I know I can’t stop you. But, I can at least make your last night here something to remember.” Then, he smiled. “Hey. You wanna know what I do when I’m feeling depressed? Applejack then gave that same smug look. “Kick some Reaper ass?” “Kick some Reaper ass.” They were both positioned on a rooftop in the Historic District. Luckily, there was a group of Reapers lining up folks for target practice. Cole was about to shoot down the thugs when Applejack stopped him. “Don’t worry bout it. Ah got this.” She then jumped off of the rooftop and landed right behind the Reapers. One of them turned around and she gave him an uppercut to the chin. He flew in the air and screamed, which alerted the other Reapers. They aimed their guns at her, but it was too late. With one swift movement, Applejack landed kicks on each of them. They were instantly knocked unconscious and flew back several yards. Then, that same one that she uppercutted was dropping to the ground screaming like a little girl. “Hey Cole!! Catch this!” Like Bruce Lee in Fists of Fury, Applejack jumped into the air and gave him a flying kick. He was sent skyward again, but this time towards Cole. He caught him by his jacket, pinned him to the ground, and put him in an Arc Restraint. “You’re gonna tell me who sent you to kill those people.” The Reaper smiled. “You really think I would tell that to a freak like you?” “Don’t make me call my friend up here.” The Reaper’s smile didn’t falter. “Anything you throw at me is better than what my employer would do to me.” Cole fired up his lightning, but stopped himself. He needed to get all the answers that he could. “Explain.” The Reaper chuckled. “Not that it’s any concern to you, but he threatened to kill my family and make me watch as he did it. The only way for me to save them was to kill a few people in their place.” Cole couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You were all being forced?” “Just me. The other guys joined in looking for some fun. So, at this point, I’ve lost all hope of seeing my wife and daughter again.” Cole could sympathize with this guy. He would’ve done anything to get Trish back. So, he came up with an idea. “I’ll cut you a deal. You don’t have to tell me who sent you, but if you tell me where your hideout is, I’ll find someone else and let you go a free man. I’ll even make sure that your family is safe. Sound good?” Needless to say, the Reaper was surprised. “You’re gonna forgive me just like that? After what I’ve done? I almost killed a group of people!” “And I let a girl kick your ass, so I think we’re even.” Immediately, Cole took away the restraints and helped the Reaper up. “By the way, what’s your name?” “Johnny. Johnny Carson.” He shook hands with Cole. “Our hideout is near Empire Electrics. Do me a favor and give ‘em hell.” And with that, Cole shouted to Applejack to follow him. They set out for Empire Electrics. Cole was doing his thing with the power lines, while Applejack was jumping from rooftop to rooftop. He was actually surprised that Applejack could keep up with him. She may not have wanted those powers, but she sure as hell knows how to use them, he thought. When they arrived at the supposed hideout, everything was quiet. A little too quiet. Then, they heard someone talking. They positioned themselves on top of an old mill building to hide. Luckily, it had plenty of open skylights so they could see and hear everything. There were two guards with AK-47’s guarding the entrance. In the middle of the room was a woman and a little girl tied to two chairs and blindfolded. “Where the hell is Johnny? He and the group were supposed to be back half an hour ago!” “Just calm down. He can take his sweet time. You know the whole situation, right?” “Something about killing his wife and kid?” “Exactly. If I had to kill to save my wife, then I would. That is, if I had one. Hell, I’ll kill people just because I want to!” “If I had a beer right now, I’d drink to that.” While that was going on, Cole laid out a plan. “Okay. Here’s what we’re gonna do. You take care of the guards, I’ll sneak in and untie the two of them, and we’ll bring them back to Johnny.” “Why do Ah always get the hard work?” “Because you’re a pretty lady with super-strength.” She shrugged her shoulders and went to work. She jumped far enough away that the guards wouldn’t hear her. She unbuttoned a few of the buttons on her flannel shirt to show off her cleavage. She then started to walk towards the guards. They raised their guns at her, but put them down after getting a good look at her. After she got their attention, she started strutting. “Scuse me fellas. But, Ah think Ah’m lost. Can you big, strong men give a lil lady like me an escort home?” The two nodded furiously and started to follow her. Now that they were out of the picture, Cole could get to work. He jumped down and went into the mill house. The woman and her daughter were shaking when they heard someone approaching. “It’s okay. I’m not hurt you. Johnny sent me to help you.” The little girl perked up at this. “Daddy sent you?” “That’s right. I’m gonna get you and your mommy outta here and take you two to see your daddy again.” He took off their blindfolds and untied them as fast as he could. Applejack came back at the perfect time. They snuck around the remaining guards and made it outside. They then set out for Johnny’s last location. Applejack rooftop-jumped with the woman on her back, while Cole cradled the little girl while zipping on the power lines. They reached a ground level area close to his location. The little girl called out for her father and was answered by something else. “Well, well, well. Look what the pretty lil lady brought with her.” They turned around to see a large group of Dust Men perched on a rooftop with Johnny taken hostage. They were homeless people before the Blast, but rose to power using brute force like the Reapers. They would take scrap metal and make weapons out of them, one of which was a razor-sharp blade resting on Johnny’s neck. “Down on your knees, hands on the ground, or this Reaper bastard dies.” Cole didn’t know what to do. He had gone so far out of his way to help Johnny and his family, and now it was all dashed away. Applejack looked at the group. There were eleven men, and the one with the blade looked to be their leader. Suddenly, she felt a new strength rising up in her. There was a desire to protect welling up, and she could have sworn that she heard voices ringing in her head. “Do as he says, Cole.” “Are you crazy, Applejack?” “No Ah ain’t. Ah promise we’ll be fine.” “That’s not true! They’ll kill us the first chance they get.” “Now listen here, Cole McGrath! What Ah’m sayin’ to you is the honest truth! Do as he says, and we’ll make it outta here.” He didn’t know why, but all his trust was in her. He told the others to comply. They all went down on their knees and everyone but Applejack put their hands on the ground. The leader shouted, “Come on missy. Hands on the ground.” She gave an evil smug look and said, “With pleasure.” She slammed her hands onto the ground in front of her. Suddenly, there was a rumbling sound coming from all around. The Dust Men were becoming more afraid by the second, and Cole was bewildered. What was causing this? Was it Applejack? This was answered when a string of eleven green vines suddenly popped out of the ground and wrapped themselves around the Dust Men. One of the vines knocked the blade out of the leader’s hands before tying him up as well. “Take ‘em out Cole!” In a knee-jerk reaction, Cole head-shocked them, and they all fell to the ground. The vines that once held the Dust Men joined up and grabbed Johnny. They extended and lowered him to the ground safely where he was greeted happily by his family. Applejack smiled at her accomplishment, but Cole was beyond confused. “What the hell was that just now?” “Ah don’t even know. There were voices that popped into my head telling me exactly what to do, and Ah did it. Ah didn’t know what would happen.” One of the vines came her way and cradled her hand as if it were congratulating her. “Then these little guys turned up.” Her eyes suddenly widened as she realized something. “You don’t think that this could be a new power do you?” All that Cole could do was stand with his mouth agape. He finally exclaimed, “Well paint me purple and call me stupid!” Applejack couldn’t help but laugh at that. “So does this mean you’ll stay?” Applejack thought for a moment with her hand playing with the vine. She finally looked back at Cole and said, “Oh…why the hell not?”
Strange Enemies, Stranger AlliesI know. Short chapter, but it's all I could get down for a while. I promise longer chapters and more fan-requested James centered material. Thanks everypony! Strange Enemies, Stranger Allies Unbeknownst to Cole and Applejack, James was perched on a rooftop not far from their location. James did something that he hadn’t done in a long time: he smiled. “Good job, Applejack. You made the right choice.” He silently flew off into the distance. All he wanted to do was keep an eye on the group of Conduits and not too involved in them. Suddenly, his echolocation kicked on while in mid-flight. It was sort of like a “built-in homing beacon” that proved very useful in the past. He changed directions and flew towards where it was leading him. He ended up on another rooftop in the Neon District and two guys talking to each other in an alleyway. Both of them had very similar Brooklyn accents. “I’m telling ya, broda. This guy’s got a lot a power on him. He can help us get outta this hell-hole.” “I don’t know man. I don’t think I’m willin’ to trust him yet. I mean, why would he wanna help out a couple a SOB’s like us? For all I know, he’s just using us to get to this Heller guy and McGrath. Then, when we find ‘em, he wouldn’t have any more use for us. And just like that, BOOM! Game over.” “Look, do ya wanna get outta here or not? Cause if not, I’m leavin’ without ya. I’m sick a this crap! I need to get outta Empire or I’m gonna go insane! Away from the Reapers, away from the plague, and away from all those God-damned Conduit freaks!” While one of them continued on his rant, James silently snuck down to the ground level and walked over to the alleyway. As soon as they saw him, the two goons shut their mouths. “I’m gonna give the both of you two choices. One, you tell me who “this guy” is and I’ll let you go free. Or two, you don’t tell me and we have to do this the hard way. Which one?” Like a flash, the goons reached around their backs and pulled out matching Bowie knives. They charged towards James and prepared to attack. But, he was ready for it. James unleashed his tendrils to wrap around the goons and catch them. They were strung up to the walls of the narrow alley and couldn’t move. James also made sure that their mouths were wrapped to keep them from screaming. “Oh well. I kinda like this way better.” He walked over to his new captives. “Be sure to get a good look at my face. Because it’s the last thing you’re gonna see.” And with that, James reached up and grabbed them both out their trap. His body opened up and turned the two into bloody mush. It sucked them in and James was able to access their memories. Another handy tool that proved useful in the past as well. He focused his mind to search the memories for anything having to do with what they were talking about. Finally, after about a minute of searching, he found something. The two goons were lying on a concrete floor, bloodied and beaten. There was a figure standing in a back corner that kept his face hidden. “I’m guessing that you two got that way because you tried to get out of the city?” the figure spoke. Whoever he was, he was using a voice modulator to further disguise himself. The two nodded to his question. “Then you must be pretty damn desperate. If you want, I can help you leave. But, you have to do exactly what I say, when I say it. You two are going to do a little recon work for me. There are some certain individuals in the city that I’m looking for, but I can’t risk someone recognizing me out in the open. I have your phone numbers, so I can send you instructions on where to go whenever I feel like it. Do you understand what I’m saying to you?” The two goons nodded their heads. One of them spoke, “Just so we know, who are the people that ya want us to find?” “……I suppose I could tell you now. One of them is named Cole McGrath, otherwise known as “The Demon of Empire City”, and the other is named Sgt. James Heller. Once you find one of them, you are only to keep an eye on them. Do not interact with them, or they will kill you. That will be your only warning from me.” The memory cut off right there. James was even more confused now then he was before. Who was that guy? Why would he be looking for Cole? For that matter, why would he be looking for James? And what did he mean about ‘being recognized’? James just couldn’t put the pieces together with what little he knew. Suddenly, he heard a phone going off. It was probably one of the goons’. James picked it up and saw that it was a phone call from a blocked number. It could either be that hooded guy or someone else. On instinct, James transformed into one of the goons since he had absorbed their bodies. “Hello?” he answered in a Brooklyn accent. A motherly voice answered him. “Do not worry, James Heller. I know this is you.” The hairs stood up on the back of his neck. Had his cover been blown? “And before you say anything, no I am not the hooded man that sent those two after you and Cole McGrath.” With some relief, James reverted back to his normal form. “Then who are you really?” “My name is of no importance. Just know that I am here to help you. I know what it is you truly seek. Retribution. You want to pin something on this plague that is sweeping across your home and take immediate action.” The accuracy of that statement made James shiver a little. “If you wish, I can offer my help to you. I know what causes the plague. It is the very man that you saw in those memories that you have just drained.” “How did you know that I can do that?” “There is much that I know, child. But, that is not important right now. What is important is that you find Cole McGrath and discard this cell phone.” James was taken aback. “You better cut the crap, lady! This might be my only lead on this bastard and there is no way in hell that I’m doing that!” “I understand your frustration. But, it is for the best. The tasks that the hooded man will have you do involve killing innocent people. You wish to save lives and not risk anymore, correct?” James tried time and again to argue with the woman, but couldn’t find a reply. Defeated, he said, “Fine. But if I lose the trial because of this, I’m coming for you lady.” “And I will be sure to keep that promise.” “One more thing. Give me a name so that McGrath and the others know who sent me.” “Very well, child. I shall not give you my human name, but I will say this. You can call me Celestia.” Weird choice of a name, but it was a name nonetheless. “Now go. Find Cole McGrath and his friends. I will stay in contact with you in any way that I can. Goodbye for now, James Heller.” And with that, she hung up and James threw the phone away. “Just when something good comes up, something else gets in my way. Well, I need to talk with McGrath anyway. Maybe he’ll know something that connects us both to that one hooded guy.” And with that, James glided off towards Cole’s usual hangout.
The Monster I Made MyselfThe Monster I Made Myself Meanwhile, at Zeke’s place, the Electric Eight just couldn’t get enough of Applejack’s new powers. AJ was so happy because she finally felt like she belonged in this dysfunctional family of Conduits. Rainbow Dash said, “If there was a way to make me jealous, then you just did it!” “That’s what I said!” Cole agreed. Pinkie Pie was bouncing up and down in excitement. “Do you know what this calls for?! A ‘Congratulations On Getting Your New Powers Applejack’ Party!!” “Ah don’t think that now is the best time, Pinkie.” Pinkie’s hair deflated as she heard this. “No party?” she said with watery eyes. “Ah ain’t saying that Ah don’t want a party! Ah’m just saying it can’t be right now.” Pinkie’s hair poofed back to its normal, cotton candy shape. “Okie dokie lokie!” Cole and Dash looked at each other, then to Pinkie, and said, “Pinkie Pie. You are so random.” Twilight studied Applejack’s vines closely and tried to make sense of it all. “What was it that made you gain these new powers? Was there some sort of trigger?” “Hell, Ah don’t know. When Ah saw that that one Reaper guy was in trouble, some voices popped into mah head and Ah did what they told me to do. Ah got no idea bout what coulda caused it or nothing.” “Interesting. So, it seems like these vines as an extension of your will. They must respond to your emotions and sense when you’re in danger. In short, they must act as guardians for you as if you had a special connection with them.” “Well, Ah used to work on an apple farm with mah big brother and mah Granny. Ya think that could be it?” “I’m not sure. Have you tried doing anything with your powers? Like creating something big?” “Ah don’t think so. Hang on a second.” Applejack looked around to find something to use. She then spotted a pot of soil without any plants in it. She walked over it and put her hand on the side of it. She closed her eyes and focused. A few seconds later, the pot started to shake. Her friends all gathered round to see what was going to happen. Suddenly, a tree popped out of the soil bearing fruit. They all jumped back in surprise Even Applejack was surprised at her handiwork. Curious, Spike went over to the tree and picked a fruit. It was the biggest, reddest, most tasty looking apple he ever saw. As soon as he bit into it, his eyes started to water and his taste buds felt like they had gone to Heaven. Well, if Heaven was a perfect, succulent, red delicious apple. “Best. Apple. Ever!!” he shouted as he started to gnaw wildly away at the apple. He finished the entire thing in record time. He let out a loud fiery belch, much to the girls’ dismay. Zeke stepped forth. “Okay, so AJ’s got some new powers. But, it can’t be a coincidence. She can’t be the only one. Maybe all Conduits shared the same thing. If you make the right choices, then maybe your powers get upgraded. Do something good and get a new power. Do something bad and still get a new power.” “So, it’s sort of like Karma?” Twilight chimed in. “Your actions will be your reward? That doesn’t make sense.” “So, what? You’re saying that someone or something is out there giving us new powers based on what we do? How is THAT possible?” Cole said. “I don’t know. I’m just a logical person. There has to be an explanation for everything.” “Twilight, you have telekinectic powers. I have lightning in my body. Rainbow Dash can fly, Applejack can make trees, and Spike can breathe fire. Tell me one part of this that makes sense.” Before Twilight could respond, something crashed on top of the rooftop. It kicked up dust and had everyone coughing and hacking. When the dust cleared, they saw a familiar figure. “Miss me yet?” Pinkie Pie suddenly jumped up. “James!! You came back!!” She then turned to Cole. “Are you excited because I’m excited I’ve never been more excited well except for that time that I found out about Applejack’s powers and I was all *LE GASP* but really who could top that?” Just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie, Cole thought. “What do you want, James? What happened to all that crap about how you wouldn’t help and that you don’t trust me?” “I got no choice, McGrath. Some crazy lady tells me that there’s something weird going on around here, and it involves you and me. Maybe even your friends.” “What crazy lady?” “She calls herself ‘Celestia’. That name ring any bells?” Cole thought hard for a moment, but couldn’t remember any kind of name like Celestia. Zeke stepped forward. “Anyway, what’s the big thing going on between you and Cole?” “Recently, I got some intel that there’s a guy in Empire that’s looking for me and McGrath. I don’t know why, but it can’t be good whatever it is.” “What do you know about him?” Twilight joined in. “Not that much. All I could gather is that he’s pretty high up. He was recruiting guys to look for us, do recon work. He even bribed a couple of guys by saying that he would help them get outta here.” “Do you know who or what he’s charge of?” “All I could see was that he wore a black hood. He actually looked like he could be a Reaper.” Applejack perked up at this. “Cole, ya don’t think that that could be him, do ya?” “Maybe, maybe not.” “Who’re you talking about?” James asked. “There was a guy that was being forced to kill a group of people to keep his family alive. It sounded to me like his ‘employer’ had to be a pretty high-ranking bastard. Maybe we’ve got the same guy?” “I don’t know, Cole,” Twilight said matter-of-factly. “The chances of two people running into the same perso-” She was suddenly cut off when Spike put his hand over her mouth. “Could you not try to ruin our enthusiasm for once?” he said coldly. Cole continued, “Well James, we’ve got a common enemy now. So, it only makes sense that we work together right? It could speed things up and we can finally get this crap out of our hair.” Pinkie interrupted, “Well, technically neither of you guys have hair.” This was answered by glares from James and Cole. Once again, Pinkie zipped her mouth shut in response. “So what do you say?” Cole asked as he put a hand out. There was a moment of hesitation, but eventually the two shook hands. “Just for now, McGrath. Try anything funny and I won’t hesitate.” “Likewise.” LATER THAT NIGHT Cole was keeping watch while everyone else was asleep. Naturally, he sat the furthest away from his new “ally”. Everyone resolved to sleeping close to one another just in case their common enemy tried to kill them in their sleep. James was having a very strange dream. He was running from something, but he couldn’t bring himself to turn around and see what it was. Suddenly, his path ended and his dream shifted to an empty white plain. “It is alright, James Heller”, an angelic voice answered. “You don’t have to run anymore.” Standing in front of him was a beautiful woman. She wore a flawless white gown like some sort of Greek goddess and her long hair was all the colors of the rainbow. She also had wings on her back that looked like that of an angel. And for some strange reason, her hair was flowing and flapping in a nonexistent breeze. James didn’t recognize the face, but the voice was familiar. “Celestia?” “Correct, child. I wish you congratulations on finding your friends.” “Friends? I’m sorry, but that’s kinda pushing it.” “Why do you insist on pushing others away? As that old saying goes, ‘Strength in numbers’.” James hung his head in shame. “Look at me. Do you know how I’ve come this far? By consuming other people. I’ve taken their memories and implanted them into my brain. I’ve killed them for my own benefit. A person can only take so much before he gets fuckin tired of it.” “You believe yourself to be a monster?” “What the hell would you think? I know you’ve seen what I can do, what I’m capable of. There isn’t another word to describe what I am.” A tear started to run down his face. “Sometimes, I see other memories. Fathers seeing their newborn babies, young girls getting their first kiss, men proposing to their girlfriends. I’ve consumed all of them and ruined so many lives. Any sense of reason I have left tells me that I’m some kinda demon that doesn’t deserve to live. “Is that why you choose to hide your emotions from the others and only show anger? Are you afraid of what would happen to them if they grew too close to you?” James was silent. “Then that only shows that you care about each of them. Even Cole McGrath.” More tears started to run down James’ face. “They’re all so young. They haven’t lived to see real horror. What if Pinkie Pie saw the things I did? She’d go fuckin insane! I don’t want that! I want her to stay the way she is and be happy all the time! I don’t want any of them to turn into a monster like me!” “Even if they saw you kill a person, they would respect you. They may be young, but they have gone through hard trials as you did. Perhaps not as... graphic, but difficult nonetheless.” Celestia went over to James, lifted his head up and wiped away that single tear. “Listen to me James. You are no different from any of them. You are a Conduit, not a Monster.” “What do you mean?” “In time, you will find the answer. But, my time is short, so listen carefully. An old foe is coming back to seek revenge. It will endanger all of you if you do not prepare.” Naturally, James wasn’t afraid. “He can’t be all that tough. If we manage to work together, then we can take him down.” “Not as you are now. You know of Applejack’s new powers, correct?” “Yeah. The whole plant-control thing?” “There was a trigger that brought out those powers from within. That must be done for the rest of your friends. You and Cole McGrath must work together to find those triggers and help each of them grow stronger. When the time comes, you will need all the help that you can acquire.” Celestia started to fade away. “I wish I could tell you more, but my power grows weak. Farewell, James Heller. And take special care of Twilight Sparkle. I wish to see her again when this is all over.” The words left James, so all he could do was nod. With that, Celestia faded away and James jolted awake. Everyone was still fast asleep except for Cole and Zeke sitting at the edge of the rooftop. Quietly, James got up and went over to them. Cole was the first to respond. “What the hell do you want?” “I just wanted to say I’m sorry,” James responded. This took Cole and Zeke completely by surprise. “I know. I’m kinda surprised at it too. But, just listen.” To make sure he wasn’t joking, Zeke and Cole got up and stood side by side towards James. “I’ve done a lot of crazy shit in my life. I’ve seen things that no one should have to see. That’s why I’ve been acting like such an asshole. I’m angry that I had see them and turn into the freak I am today. I’ve been afraid of what’s gonna happen to you all because you got too close to me. But, like it or not, we have to work together. That’s why I wanna make sure we’re all on good terms. So, why don’t we start off on the right foot?” James held out his hand. Completely taken back, Zeke and Cole stared at James to make sure he wasn’t joking. Finally, with a smirk, Cole took his hand and they shook. When James did the same thing for Zeke, he got pulled in for a bro-hug. “Always room for another in the Conduit Clan!” “Zeke, you’re not a Conduit. For that matter, I’m pretty sure James isn’t either.” “Technicalities,” Zeke dismissed. James smirked, “Good. Now that that’s taken care of, it’s time to get to business.”
A Test Drive (Part 1)A Test Drive (Part 1) -Three Months Later- “Listen up ladies and gents!” Zeke shouted. “I’m happy to announce that you’ve all completed your training thus far!” This earned some cheers from the girls in the line and the guys gave each other fist bumps. “That’s right! As of now, you all have some pretty good knowledge of hand-to-hand combat thanks to our good friend James! Thanks again for all the hard work brother!” A nod came from the dark-skinned man. Zeke then called him up to pick where he left off. “Alright,” James began, “as many of you know Applejack got some kinda power upgrade a while back. We still don’t know what caused it, but we sure as hell aim to find that out. Now, you’re all Conduits which means that there’s a connection between you. So, I’d guess that each and every one of you is capable of doing the same thing. So, as of now, you have an assignment!” This earned a groan from the lady in the white dress. “I want each and every one of you to go out into the city and do whatever it takes to find your ‘upgrade’. We’re gonna need all the power we can get if we wanna be ready. Also, I’m gonna split y’all into teams of two. If something should happen to one of you, you’ll have some backup. Cole, you’re with AJ. Spike, with Fluttershy. Twilight, Pinkie. And Dash, Rarity. You have your teams, so get to work! Dismissed!!” “Yes sir!!” “Why do we have to do this today?” Rarity complained. “What I wanna know is why James paired me up with you,” Dash complained back. “Well excuse me for wanting a break every once in a while!” “And excuse me for wanting to survive every once in a while!” Rarity glared daggers at Dash. “Do you know how long it has been since I’ve been to a good spa?! I swear I’m looking older and older with each passing day!” “Just like the rest of us,” Dash mumbled. Rarity continued, “My skin feels like paper, my hair feels like straw, I have dark circles under my eyes, AND I have a pimple! A pimple Rainbow Dash! I’ve never had acne until just yesterday and it was because of all that sweating we did while doing that uncouth martial arts training!” She went on and on as the two of them walked down the street. If Dash had Pinkie’s powers, she’d turn her hand into a gun and shoot herself with it. Suddenly, Dash heard a sound almost like an engine revving. She turned towards the source to find that her suspicions were right. A car was barreling towards she and Rarity at what Dash figured was about 80 miles an hour. As quickly as she could, she pulled Rarity out of the way just in time for the car to race past them. That caught the two by surprise, but they were grateful to still be alive. “We’ll continue this conversation later,” Rarity said. She turned back around to try and see what that car might have been running from. Without warning, she felt a *ping* sound go off in her head, and her vision quickly zoomed in to an area a long way away. What she saw next almost made her puke. A pack of ugly beasts unlike anything Rarity had ever seen were running in their opposite direction. Whatever those things were, they weren’t the easiest to look at. They all had giant tumor-like growths in multiple places and sores festering with pus and blood. Some were running on all fours like wild animals and others were running on two legs. She wasn’t sure what was going on, but Rarity knew that she and Dash were in danger. And they weren’t the only ones. Automatically, her vision zoomed in further to see a woman running sluggishly. She stopped for a moment to look back only to see the beasts closing in on her. Before she turned back around, Rarity saw a bundle cradled in the woman’s arms. A tiny hand was poking out of it and reaching up to the woman. Rarity gasped and grabbed Dash by the shoulders. “Dash! We have a problem!” she almost screamed. “W-what? What’s going on?!” “A lady and her child are in danger! 75 miles, 6 o’clock! You’ve got to help them!” “What are you talking about?” “No time to explain! Just start flying!!” Unsure of what was going on, Dash gave a salute and sped off into the air. She climbed higher and higher until she could see what Rarity was talking about. She saw a huge pack of monsters and figured out that Rarity was right. She bolted and flew harder than she ever had before. It was faint, but Dash saw a small figure trying to get away from the pack. Knowing what she had to do, the winged girl went into overdrive. She felt her body sizzle with heat as she picked up momentum. She then folded her wings to her back and proceeded to go into the nosedive position. A cone of air formed around her while electricity surged outside of it. With a sudden bang, she felt her speed double instantly and the world became a blur. She felt no resistance of gravity or wind almost as if it was just her and the sky. Somehow, a rainbow trail was following Dash through the air almost as if she was controlling it. Just as the monsters were closing in, Dash grabbed the woman and unfolded her wings. With steady precision, she looped around in the air and was soon flying in the opposite direction. She slowed to a stop on top of a nearby building with a thick air of confidence around her. She put the woman down and made sure the baby was alright as well. “Don’t worry. You’re both safe now,” she assured the woman. Before the woman could thank her, Dash jumped off the rooftop and floated down to the ground. She turned her attention to the beasts with a newfound fire in her eyes. “Hey losers!” she shouted. They all turned towards this new sound to find the girl bending over away from them. “You want a piece a’ this action?” she taunted while smacking her own ass. The beasts roared furiously and immediately set their sights on Dash. She made sure that they were dead set on her before shouting, “Then come and get me!” With one last shake of her booty, she took off. Rarity was able to see what her rainbow friend did thanks to her newfound ‘sonar vision’. At first, it amazed her to see something so beautiful. That is until Dash stuck her ass out at the pack. That made the fashionista give herself a facepalm. Within ten seconds, RD was back at Rarity’s side. “Did you see how awesome that was?!” “What? Your spectacle in the sky or showing off your boney butt?” “Small butt, big personality.” “Whatever. I just hope you have a plan to go along with this… you do have a plan right?” Dash was stumped. She always had the habit of not thinking things through. She thought it over pretty hard, but couldn’t get anything. It wasn’t until she saw the pack approaching that something came over her. A strong breeze picked up a piece of paper and it floated over to Dash. It spun in place for a second and blew away. Meanwhile, Rarity felt something else come over her. She looked at the ground and saw what looked like a ring. The diamond was missing, which gave Rarity an idea. Rainbow flew up once again and started to fly around in a circle. She picked up more speed until she was barely visible. It wasn’t long before bits of debris started to inch towards a spot in the street. Dust started to kick up in the gusts of wind which were forming a sort of funnel in the street. Rarity used her levitation powers to lift up a huge mound of dirt and debris from the surrounding area. She brought it over to herself and started to work with it. “This had better be worth it Rainbow Dash!” she screamed at the wind devil. Rarity never was one to enjoy playing with dirt. The mound began to shrink down further and further with a few miniature explosions appearing to go off inside of it. Finally, Dash had finished her proudest creation: a cyclone as big as a six-story building. The monsters stopped dead in their tracks and gazed at the brewing maelstrom. With a confident smirk Dash shouted, “Let’s see if you losers know how to fly!” With a single swipe of her wings, she hurled the storm at the crowd of monsters now struggling to get away from it. It was all in vain as the cyclone caught them in its wake and swung them around like giant rag dolls. Some were slammed into either each other or the bigger pieces of debris that were also caught in the wind. Rarity’s ball of dirt reached the size of a baseball before she was satisfied. With a similar smirk she said, “Enjoy it while it lasts you ugly brutes. Because I’m about to bedazzle the shit out of you!” She hurled the ball of dirt at the cyclone which immediately picked it up. Rarity maneuvered it to reached the eye of the storm before stopping it. With a single push, the ball suddenly exploded into the cyclone releasing hundreds of thousands of razor-sharp gems. In a dazzling flash, the gems impaled themselves into the monsters multiple times while using the speed of the wind as momentum. Just as quickly as it came, the cyclone disappeared while leaving the monsters floating in midair for a split second. The long dead bodies of the deformed beasts fell to the ground one by one with a sickening sound at the moment of impact. Neither Dash nor Rarity paid any attention to any of that as they walked away. “If it’s any consolation,” Rarity began, “that was very awesome. And I’m sorry for the things I said about you.” “It’s all good Rares. And I’m sorry too. Now how’s about we get you one of those mud baths that you go on about?” Rarity squealed happily at the sound of it. “And maybe I can get us both a facial?” “Don’t push it.”
With Great Regret...I have to announce this story's retirement. I don't enjoy this anymore and I think this story is just a piece of crap. And it's only up to this point can I write stuff for this thing and have it be anything that you all consider to be good. I'm deeply sorry and I hope that you guys can understand. I've played the shit out of the inFamous and Prototype series', but so far I've had no inspiration for this story whatsoever. I don't want to leave anymore empty promises and keep telling you, "I'm working on it", when I've got nothing. So, I hope that someday an author much better than me can take the concept of this story and make it so much more awesome than I ever could. Again, I'm deeply sorry to all of my fans that enjoyed this story and I hope that you can understand. With a heavy heart, The Brony Writer
