5To all my readers, a fair bit of warning, this fanfic might be a bit confusing and a bit of a spoiler for those who have not played Infamous, or have not finished Angel: A Maximum Ride novel.
Maximum Ride Infamous Crossover: Outmanned.
Prologue: The Good Samaritan story, now with added Electricity.
2 days after the Paris bombings…
Undisclosed location
Angel was upset. There were plenty of times she was upset, but not when she was kept alive by a machine. The scene in Paris kept playing out over and over again, wondering where she went wrong. Did she miss one bomb? Did she forget one important fact that could have prevented all this in the first place? Dosen't matter now. She failed, and captured by a mystery person who has that infamous "we have plans for you" sort of way.
She thought that the Doomsday Group was behind this.
She felt scared, as scared as a 7 year old should be. She was telepath, and can control minds remotely. She could even make choices Max herself could not choose without having some gushy emotion seethe into her head. Heck, she could even fly.
But even she had limits, and she was still a child. Children are scared of the unknown sometimes, and this was one of them. The Question now: What were they gonna do to her?
As much as her half-Avian self was a joy to behold, she didn't want to lose her half-human self. She loved that way too much, and so did the flock.
Her healing ability was helping her recuperate. She could now move her hands, feet and legs, but her head and body in general were still messed up. If God loved all of His angels, she must be thinking that a higher power had helped her go through that blast.
But not loved enough to be captured by the enemy. God was bit cruel like that.
She felt a small rocking sensation, followed shortly by small explosion that was way too close for her to tell.
Footsteps were coming closer. She was afraid now more than ever. For some reason, her powers were blocked, so she couldn't figure out who or what was coming to her.
She could feel the person standing right next to her. Tears came to her eyes, afraid of who this man was. Then she felt a hand placed on her head, a voice whispering "What the hell? Who could do something like this to a young childish girl?" A teenage boy' voice, maybe 18, mused.
Confusion came to her. If this guy wasn't part of the Doomsday group, then who-
"So this is why you cried help." Confusion drew all over her face, then realization came as fast as the other. She thought that this device could keep in her thoughts. But, somehow, this guy heard her. A small tinge of hope stirred in the deepest parts of her mind. Maybe she wasn't hopeless after all.
"How important are you to them, I wonder?" He mused out aloud, which frightened Angel for a bit.
"No matter," said the boy "time to get you out of this bed."
No kidding, thought Angel.
She heard a crackling sound whenever she heard, electricity. She suddenly became scared, partly because she felt how much electricity hurt. Not as painful as an Eraser punch, but quite a shock. She began to move, her arms and legs twitching and her fingers wriggling.
"Hey, hey! I'm not here to hurt you." The boy tried to calm Angel down, but she didn't trust him. She did make a pact with Max to not trust grownups, and this guy was one of them. "and yes, I am a grownup, but not an enemy." Did he just-?
It hit her then. This guy is a telepath! She was now trying to put up a mental defense, hoping he didn't read anymore of her mind.
"I can read your mind, but that's about it. Comes with the package of reading electronegative brainwave patterns dancing in your head." said the boy." Your body is healing rapidly. Maybe I can speed it up." She began shaking, but the boy then hit her with blue light.
She began to wonder who her savior might be. She wanted Max to be the one the rescue her, but when a guy shows up to save a damsel in distress who didn't expect to be saved, it was best not to be picky.
Her body surged, and immediately opened her eyes. She blinked and found it hard to see, due to her being out for a while, but she finally gained some vision. She made out a small, but well light room, with an observation deck right above her. Then she looked to the right.
A young, possibly 18 year old teenager was standing next to her. He had a small scar on his left cheek and has electric blue hair. He wore a yellow shirt with dark pants. His shoes were shaped like socks, but were rubber, clearly made for running. He wore a backpack with something strapped to it, and upon closer inspection, was a cattle prod.
She was weak, and immediately wanted to fall back into the bed, but the boy supported her.
"Easy now, I'll carry ya." He offered, and soon he carried Angel like a little baby. She tried to protest, but her mouth was dry, and her mind was weak. He tore off the device in her head, and she felt a little bit better.
"Why?" She asked.
"A little girl trapped in a heavily guarded warehouse, with lots of them posted around your room. Gee, I wonder what that means?" He sarcastically replied. "These guys were very well armed, and heavily mutated." He jabbed a thumb where a kid with eyes placed in a 360 degree arc was lying on the floor, unconscious.
"They were part of the-" Angel began, but Cole finished "Doomsday group. A bunch of cultists to me. The whole lot of them. Along with those Gen-77 kids dumb enough to fall for those psychos. Them and their leader"
She looked incredulous. She didn't know who this guy was but he was spouting facts
"Look, thanks for everything and all Mr?" She began.
"Cole, Cole MacGrath." Cole replied.
"Look, thanks for the help, but I can take care of myself, so please let me down." She pleaded weakly. In reality, she was as dizzy as a top spun at high speeds, and was in no position to refuse help. But she couldn't take the risk of having some guy lead her to Max.
Max, she thought, as realization finally dawned on her. They think I'm dead at this point. If I were to call to her right now… She realized that Max might be wrecked after that Paris incident and her contacting to Max right now would seriously make her even more on edge, even though she was really alive.
As much as she wanted to say to Max and tell her that her baby was alright, the group that captured her might use her to lead to Max.
Even if she managed to get this guy to put her down, she didn't know where to go. Smart, calculating, and mature, but still too young to make such a large decision.
Cole seemed to notice her reluctance, but he wanted answers. Waiting never got him special points.
"Sorry, but it ain't happening. Too much horse crap has hit the fan, and I ain't leaving you for dead. Not until you can give me answers." He sternly answered her. He also dosen't swear much, at least not in front of children, no matter how dangerously powerful they are.
"Wha-" She began, but saw a guard up ahead. "Look out!" She warned.
Immediately, the guard opened fire, and Cole ducked out of the way into a closet room.
Cole got his right arm up and electricity flared from it, surprising Angel with a gasp.
Angel has seen many mutations in her life, but this was entirely different. While there were many mutations in the world, none have been able to conjur up one mutant capable of energy manipulation. She found out this much when she dug up information pertaining to Dr. Martinez, Max' mom, and Jeb, the one man Max hates but needs at the same time.
Anyway, the only things possible for the lab coats to genetically enhance people like angel were with animal DNA. A mutant was a normal guy/gal now a walking freak of nature that made most normal people accepts her with a tiny hint of envy, or rejects us out of jealousy or fear.
She began to study him with interest. She then began to delve in his mind for answers to questions like who was this guy, his motivations, and how long has it been since she was out.
She then had a flashback, a very strong one, right as Cole ducked out the door to face the hooded kid whose gun was raised, and before she heard the gunshot, the world faded around her, and the world according Cole began to take form. While sometimes she delved into a memory, nothing could prepare for how intense the memories of the boy who rescued her felt.
With a note of shock, she realized this guy was not just another freak like them, nor was he part of some group that decided to "help out" the human race. He was from another dimension, and saw he came from a city that looked all too well like New York:
Empire City. And, for the first time, she was looking at a bonafide superhero.
Empire City, 24 hours before the Paris bombings… Another dimension different from Maximum Ride's
The memories are fuzzy and tried to pry memories. Surprisingly , she couldn't pick up anything. Maybe because she was weak, or he was good in protecting his thoughts. The only thoughts she could pick up was the recent ones, the ones the got him here in the first place. She then concentrated and then—saw him.
Cole rode on the electric rails leading into the city. Normally he would have taken the subway, but being a living battery charged tesla coil usually helps.
A bald man, wearing a black striped yellow coat with baggy pants and shoes made solely for running, jumped out and climbed up to the tallest building in the street to get a better view.
He was a hero, at least according every last living thing in Empire City.
Since the defeat of Kessler, Cole had been worshipped as the man who had single-handedly brought the city from the brink. Pedestrians called him Jesus with the electric hands. Cops called him the Good Conduit, or the more famous title Zeus, and criminals called him their harbringer of doom. People had looked up to him.
But this has not been without cost. He had lost the love of his life, Trish, as a way to prepare him for the coming battle with the Beast, a powerful Conduit hellbent on destroying everything.
Kessler, a man who had lost everything to it in the future, traveled back to give his past self powers strong enough, and a will capable enough to make impossible choices.
The worst thing: He succeeded.
His best friend Zeke, a man who has stood by his side no matter what Cole did, was a bit withdrawn in the past few days. They were still working out the kinks in their friendship, but for the moment, Cole was on his own. Never in his entire life had he felt so lonely. Zeke , at least, tried to make it up to him by building an electric cattle prod for melee battles, as a sign of atonement, which kind of shortened the gap between the two.
A small explosion shook him from his reverie. For now, at least, he had to do what Kessler made him to do: become a Hero. He jumped on a train track, and grinded himself to the train tracks to the direction of the explosion.
A small child was holding a large chunk of blast shard, a small piece of metal from the Ray Sphere explosion that gave Cole his powers. He stole it from a gang who gave some of their members telekinetic powers, and were now in pursuit of the young rascal that got to it. Cole watched as the boy turned from one alley to another. He was perched on a 15 story building that overlooked the entire street below.
The thugs were armed from Ak-47's to bazookas, to flaming fists, which kind of looked silly, until they hurled fireballs in the kid's direction.
If he keeps this up, he'll trap himself He thought.
Cracking his knuckles, he jumped on the 4 gang bangers with the RPGs and sent him flying.
"Now," he said electricity coursing up and down his body. "time to put you all down."
The gang members tensed. They saw what he was capable of, and what he did to those who crossed him. A large bunch dropped their guns and ran away, promising to do good if he just didn't chase them, but the more bullheaded members stayed to fight. They began firing at him as Cole brought a small electromagnetic shield to block the initial onslaught.
They numbered in 6, three clustered together, and the other three far apart, two of them were sparsely together. Cole began to think of a strategy to take them down fast so he could catch the kid. He made up his mind when a fireball scorched his jacket. Not enough to hurt him, but just enough to piss him off.
"Thanks, you just made my day." He scowled, then threw condensed lightning at the more clustered group of three on his left, and some old fashioned lightning bolt to the nearest bad guy at the right.
All four simultaneously got showered in electric hot energy. Lethal? Nope. Painful? Most definitely. They hit the ground as the last two tried to gang up on him with flaming hands, and Cole decided to wrap things up by calling a streak of thunder to blast in between the two which sent them flying and shooting them mid air with electric bolts, incapacitating each before they hit the ground. He then restrained then with arc cuffs.
The police, just as Cole, predicted arrived to clean up. Cole decided not to wait and head off to find the kid.
"Take care of these punks here, I'm gonna help the kid who these assholes were going after" He yelled, and the cops nodded, as he took off and headed for the sewer system in which the kid dived in.
Angel snapped out of her reverie when the guard with the hooded mask got blasted in between the eyes with a smack of electricity and she turned to look at Cole.
All the doubt/mistrust, and pain about this guy suddenly vanished, which was unfortunate when Cole rounded up to her he then grabbed her little neck and lifted her up to his eye level.
Normally, this would be a bit too harsh, even for Cole, but he was furious.
Saving her was a major pain in the ass, and that girl was now reading her life like a book in less than the second he put down that guard. So much had happened to him, and now this girl was playing him like a pawn.
"LISTEN YOU!" he snarled, mindful of the pitiful attempts she tried to breathe "As much as I want you to get home, I want you to please note of personal space and your sudden drop of survival should you try and do something idiotic." He yelled, and realized the girl was hurt and scared.
He slowly let go and pulled a small bottle of water for her to swallow down. "Sorry, I wasn't sure I should have trusted you." She admitted meekly. "I had to know if-""I was and ally?" Cole supplied. She nodded weakly.
He chuckled a bit and replied "I should be the sorry one; I have had a hell of 3 days, and the last thing I want is you trying to make me jump in pool of lava."
He then saw some fear, and decided to come clean with the truth. If he was gonna stop this group and get home in one go, he was have to make at least one ally. And that requires letting someone in. He trusts kids in this planet like a terrorist promising to not blow up a bus.
He breathed in and out. And then let all his memories focus all into a green spark on his right arm.
"I'll help you, but first give me a reason why? You screamed and cried in my head for 2 days now and I'll give you a recap, but only if you trust me." Angel looked at this guy as if he'd about to jump off the deep end, which, unlike her, may end up being a very big stain on the floor.
Angel was a bit shook up, but took all ounce of strength to remain stoic and impassive. The slightly disturbed expression on Cole's face eased her a bit. As much as she wanted to be with Max, the people that were able to capture might use that to their advantage. This group was dangerous, as was already proven in Paris. All this weared down on her mind like a 747 Airbus landed on her head.
She failed Max once. She didn't plan on failing again.
Finally, she took a deep breath and said "I failed in Paris." She began "I was the one who told my brother and my leader's ex-boyfriend," Blushing slightly and Cole took notice "and many died. Max said that one group wasn't enough, but I think 2 isn't a good number either. So I think you and I should team up." Cole took this and became interested. "Three groups bearing down on them will really take 'em out, especially if one group is unknown to the others."
Cole smiled "For a seven year old, your tactical grasp of the situation impresses and frightens me."
Angel smiled weakly, giving her best poker face "I know how to fight. I didn't become so important to these clowns if I wasn't such a pain in the butt."
I like this girl already. Thought Cole, and gave her an offer.
"Tell you what, I will give you what I know, in exchange for giving me the whole story on this group. I know some but you seem to grasp the whole picture. Afterwards, you and I can team up, but just us." Angel narrowed her eyes at the suggestion. "I know that you need a large group, but I know firsthand it just takes only one person to make a difference. So after we leave we plan our next move, Sounds fair?"
"I would object, but I was able to read everything in your head before you figured it out."
"I'll learn to keep it to myself next time" Cole grumbled. Angel giggled and Cole found himself chuckling but managed to catch himself and cleared his throat. She was still weak from waking up but already she was getting a bit stronger. "Alright, show me how you found me."
And with that she now got the full picture.
AU: I am sorry for not continuing the other fanfic but I had a block but now I have read ANGEL and I have a better sense of what to write now. What if is a scenario I enjoy and this gives me massive pleasure to entertain such thoughts.
REVIEW Pls. I will put this story in Original so people can read it more.