//------------------------------// // Chapter 1- Angel // Story: inFAMOUS: Second Storm // by FrostTheWolf //------------------------------// Chapter 1- Angel Mission Valley Mall, San Diego (Friday, Early evening) “All Units, please respond! We have an armed robbery in progress at the Target store in the Mission Valley shopping center. Shots fired! I Repeat. Shots have been fired!! Suspects believed to be heavily armed and have a Conduit assisting them. Evacuate all surrounding civilians and No One call the DUP unless the situation is out of our Control!”         6:00pm         That single message on the Radio of the Western Division of the San Diego Police Department had all the cops in the entire county on high alert. Within minutes, ten or more Police cars showed up with about twenty or so officers establishing a perimeter around the store on the West end of the mall.  In half an hour, four times that plus Ambulances with doctors treating those shot or hurt during the panic to get out of the store. Inside the two floor building was the armed felons and the hostages they have taken. No one could see anything except the self-barricaded doors and the bullet holes that already shattered parts of the glass on the doors.         As the Last car showed up, an officer of African-American descent that was in his late 40’s with a black goatee and an almost bald head because of his military haircut, was right now behind the line of cops holding a megaphone. All were in standard uniform and wore bulletproof vests to accommodate with the current situation. As for the officer with the Megaphone, he turned on the speaker and pointed the device towards the barricaded doors.  Squeezing it’s trigger, the officer began to speak. “This is Lieutenant Daniel Rivers of the Mission Valley Police Department Special Response Team. I’m hear to listen to you and to try to make sure that everybody stays safe.” His voice was firm, but calm. For being on the force for a long time, he had always taken his job seriously. He had handled Hostage situations like this before. Only difference was that this situation had a Conduit. Conduits were Humans that had powers because of a special gene in their body. But many saw them as “Bio Terrorists” because of the DUP (Department of Unified Protection). Back to the impending situation, no response came to the Lieutenant. Due to the Circumstances, he would have to continue his job. That’s when he heard the last police car door open. A very familiar face across the force stepped out and walked over to Lieutenant Rivers, who was still honestly surprised to see him. “Lieutenant…” The officer turned off his microphone and saluted the man. “Chief Kingston-!” “Easy there. I heard the situation over the com-line.” Chief Nicholas Kingston. An American around 45 with a clean shave, short brown hair and blue sapphire eyes. He was an honest man that cared not only for his job, but for the people he met and also his teenaged son. “Permission to speak, Chief?” The Lieutenant asked. “Granted.” “The Captains of the Western Division are waiting at the mobile HQ they set up over there.” The Officer pointed out the vehicle that resembled a Medium sized RV. The Chief nodded as he walked on over. The light from the sun was beginning to set, interfering with his vision. But nevertheless, he persisted. Soon, he arrived at the Command Center, where Blueprints of the store’s first and second floors. Four other captains were there, talking to Teams of Special Forces and trying to figure out any details on the current situation and acquire information they did not have already. Information that was crucial to the situation at hand. “Greetings, Chief.” One of the captains named Thomas Grimden spoke as all four of them and the Special Forces officers saluted simultaneously. “We’re glad you’re here. Wished it would be on better circumstances though…” “I agree. So what do we know so far?” The chief asked, praying for good news. “So far, Not much…”  A Special Forces Captain interjected. “All we know is that there are hostages and the one leading them is a damned Conduit.” The Term “Bio Terrorist” was never used on the Police Force. Bio-Terrorist was used for public Propaganda by the DUP, but it was never used by any member on the SDPD. It was the same for most police officers across the country since they were the ones who encountered Criminal Conduits the most. However the news that the conduit is the one leading the group caused Nicholas’s stomach to sink. “Anything on what he or she is capable of?” “Your guess is as good as mine, Sir.” Captain Grimden replied again. “We’re working on setting up a communications line and also obtaining security feed from the camera’s in the building.” “Thank you Kindly, Tom.” Nicholas replied, pulling out a leather covered notepad. When he flipped the cover, the opposite side had a photo holder that held a family photo of his wife and son. That was noticed by a few of the officers on his branch and one of them (which was a friend of the Chief) decided to speak. “Hey Chief…” Nicholas lifted up his head, looking at one of the Captain’s of his Division. “Yes, Davidson?” He replied, addressing the officer by his last name. “I don't mean to be rude, but didn’t you get a call from your son earlier about going to the mall an hour ago?” Then, it hit him. He did call earlier… Maybe this could help turn the situation around. Taking out his Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone, Nicholas unlocked the phone with his personal passcode and went into the calls he recently received.  There he found his son’s number. He pressed the Dial button as the chief set his phone down on the Table. ”Chief! What’re you-?!” “You’re right about my son calling me earlier. In fact, he’s going to help us right now.” The chief smiled as the phone began to connect. “I told all of you that my son is special. I mean that in more ways than one.” Inside the Store on the top floor, the security room was inside the wall to the back corner of the building. Of course, there was only one in this room at the time the fiasco was going on and it wasn’t the security guard that was on duty. Instead, it was a teenager around 15 years old with black hair that was medium length and combed, light blue eyes, around 5 ft 6 in tall and wore a Wonderbolt Jacket and DJ-PON3 headphones that you could find at Hot-Topic, a plain Cyan V-neck shirt underneath, Jeans, and size 12 Nike Air sneakers in black. This kid was sitting on the floor underneath the deadbolt locked door with his headphones around his neck. Waiting… There had been enough surprises for him already. So the last thing he expected was a phone call from his father and hearing the Bass Drop of “Ultimate Sweetie Belle” by Alex S. for 15 seconds. Knowing that the room was mostly sound proof, the teen answered the call, not scared for if anyone found out about what he was doing. “D-Dad?” “Shawn, I hear you. The rest of the department is with me and I have you on speaker.” He heard his father’s voice over the phone. “Where are you?” “Target. In the Security Room. Ran in during the panic while others tried to get out.” Shawn could hear other voices on the end of the line, but he had absolutely no idea what they were saying. Ignoring that, he focused on his father’s next question that the Chief told him. “Can you see the security feed inside the room? If so, what can you see from the camera?” Shawn hesitated a little as he looked at the security screens. There were sixteen screens in total. Four outside the building, six on the first floor, and six on the second floor. However, he wasn’t familiar with how they operated. So, Shawn had to learn on his own for how they worked. It was trying to teach yourself how to play a game without a tutorial. Nevertheless, he soon was able to figure it out and find out what he needed to know. “There’s five of them.” “Five of what, Shawn? Talk to me.” Nicholas’s voice asked him over the phone. “Five Crooks, first floor. One set up a makeshift barrier by the west end of the building and armed it with what appears to be a possible homemade explosive the size of a barbasol can.” “Good work, Son,” His fathers voice calmed the teens tense feelings, helping him focus. “What weapons do they have?” “These idiots are actually packing a lot of heat.” Shawn continued. “All of them have some kind of body armor and their weapons mean business. Out of all of them, the shortest one has two revolvers and keeps twirling them likes he’s from the old west. Another one has a sawed-off shotgun. Two of them have SMG’s and the last one in the back used a makeshift cover by the produce department for sniping with a hunting rifle.” Again, more voices. This time though, they sound surprised. Another new question came in for Shawn, but this time from one of the squad leaders instead of the chief of police. “What about the hostages and the conduit?” ‘What the Hell? There was a conduit here?’ Looking back at the screens, he noticed both the hostages and the individual he assumed as the conduit. Top and bottom floor. “Hostages are by the pharmacy, behind the counter, to the right when you come in the East Entrance. The conduit is the top floor and he’s made a mess of the place. Pushed anything that was bound to the floor against the wall to create a huge open space. Looks Filipino or Mexican heritage but not quite sure. Besides that, he is bald, has a clean shave and has tattoos on his arms. Looks like something showing his reputation with the locals.” “You’re doing great son. Just stay calm and-.” “What the hell!?” Shawn cursed, now noticing something new on the monitors. “Shawn, what’s wrong?” “This conduit… he has a hostage of his own.” Shawn said.  “Looks like a young girl. Hair resembles a midnight blue, eyes are the same. Wearing a small skirt dress and… oh dear god.” “Talk to me, son! What’s wrong?” “He has her in handcuffs… but the handcuffs… There are pieces of glass attached to them. He’s torturing her!!” “Oh my god…” His Father cursed. Others swore along with him. For a few moments, Shawn didn’t hear anything. He didn’t know if the call was broken up or they were all stunned by the shock. The Teen even thought that the call ended on accident. This silence was really putting him in a state of anxiety.  Then, he heard his father speak to him again. “Son, I know what you are thinking right now and I have something to tell you.” “Yes dad?” “Go for it.” The Chief told him. “D-dad!? Are you serious? What about the DUP’s? You told me-.” “I remember what I told you, son. But this changes things.” The father told him, sighing over the phone like he was looking for an alternative way to say what came next. “Do you remember what the first two words are on the police badge?” This was a no brainer for not only him, but also for Shawn. The slogan is “To Protect and Serve”, and since it’s on all the police badges, he could figure it out immediately. “To Protect?” “Right.” His father replied, sighing due to what he had to say next being the hardest. “You might be a conduit, Shawn. But I still love you no matter what. You’re still my son… Just with powers and a tendency to watch ponies every Saturday morning.” “Pfft…” Shawn chuckled a little, humored by his dad’s comment. “Did you seriously have to say that to the entire department? I can see a few of your men laughing about it right now.” Even the officers hearing this were surprised. Not just because the chief’s son was a conduit, but by knowing what they were doing at that moment. “How the-?” “You seem to forget the cameras along the sides of the building.” The conduit pointed out. “There are four of them and one is pointed directly towards where you are.” “I know that.” The Chief replied. “Still though, out of the two things I mentioned about you, one was obvious and the other is what I believe will define you. Let us take care of the ground floor, you go protect that girl. Be her Guardian Angel.” “Yes dad. I’ll do my best!” “Make me proud and teach that criminal what happens when you hurt children!” With that, the call ended and Shawn hopped to his feet, Cracked his knuckles and stretched his muscles to loosen himself up. It was time for him to go to work. Quietly, the deadbolt was unlocked on the door to the security room as Shawn slowly crouched near the floor, shutting the door behind him quietly to not make any noise. He was now in a two direction hallway that allowed him to go left or right. To his left was the way to the girl, while to the right was one of two water fountains that was operational (The other had a DON’T USE sign taped to the head of the fountain). Stretching his hand out the the right, the water began to flow out of the faucet and crystallize halfway through, and restore the conduits energy as snow. You see, Shawn’s conduit powers were on conjuring and manipulating snow. He could even concentrate hard enough to create different forms of Snow like ice, a mini blizzard, and hail. Of course though, finding snow in sunny surf territory is like next to impossible if your powers made you a walking ice cube. However, at Big Bear Lake four months ago (The same place where he discovered his powers four years ago), Shawn figured out that he could drain water and his powers would convert the liquid to snow. Back to the task at hand, Shawn slowly walked out of the hall and into the wreckage that was the main room. Clothes were scattered all over the place and the top half of the store looked completely vandalized. From there though, he could also see the girl and her captor. The eyes of the girl widened as she stared at her, wanting to say something, but Shawn used a small sign to tell her to stay quiet. As he walked, the footsteps he made could be heard by the other conduit. He turned around and noticed the new person that was in the same room. “What the hell? I thought we encountered all the prisoners and had them be under guard.” The shirtless bald man grunted in disgrace. He went to reach for a handheld radio that was on an empty shelf, but Shawn destroyed the communication device with two piece’s of hail the size of a golf ball, turning it into broken plastic and electronic parts. “You missed one.” Shawn bluntly noted, looking at the destroyed radio before focusing his gaze on the mystery man without a shirt. “So, a fellow conduit I see?” The man said. His tattoo on the left side of his face had one meaning that really disturbed the teenager when looking at him. Not to mention another tattoo that showed a cobra around a barrel of explosives on his right arm.  But the tattoo on his face was different. It was a teardrop. Despite it looking so innocent, his father told him that it meant something else entirely when he gave him a tour of the police station on the day of a big drug bust. Something very disturbing that would make you think otherwise. Tears meant that he had killed someone before. Not to mention the face of another tattoo being on this man’s left wrist. It was a watch. Again, watches meant another sign in prison terms. Watches meant that he had did time in Jail. All of this made Shawn assume the worst as he snarled a little. “Fellow? You honestly think that I want to be associated with a criminal who tortures children!!?” The snow conduit shot back at the man, pointing at the handcuffs on the girl and the small amount of blood that had began to drip and stain the floor. Shawn was now concerned for her and worried that she might be dying due to the glass being so close to her wrists. Either that or blood loss at some stage. “Well now, mi amigo. They’re just a… What’s the American word again?” He walked around in a loop with his finger tapping his head, trying to think of the words to say. “Ah yes, a necessary precaution.  precaución necesaria-!” “BS!! Or should I say it as Mentira for clarification? Because that damned thing is making her bleed to death, monster!” Shawn snapped. He didn’t know much spanish, but that was not the focus right not. The Snow conduit personally had enough with this lunatic and wanted to walk towards his hostage. He was worried that something would go wrong if she wasn’t attended to soon. The unknown conduit though sighed. Then, he moved his hands to grab something within his pockets while Shawn began to make his way to the child. Something reflective caught his eye, forcing the teen to look in the direction to see what this man was holding. At first, he thought the lunatic pulled out a gun. What he pulled out though was different… and also what confused him. ‘Bullets…? but he doesn’t have a gun on him… So why would he be holding bullets?’ “It seems that we have reached an impasse. However, I have a better reason for this.” Twisting the bullets off the caps and tossing them aside while he threw the cartridges into the air. A black powder of the gunpowder in those chamber began to form in the air as he held out both of his hands. It wasn’t until Shawn saw what this man was doing that he couldn’t stop the maniac. “Para sobrevivir.” To Survive. In seconds, the gunpowder that scattered into the air was pulled in like a vacuum and absorbed into his hands and breathing through his fingertips. This conduit can drain and control Gunpowder. “My name is Pablo. But I’m known by my compadres as “Powderkeg” Pablo. What is your name Amigo?” “Shawn. Shawn Kingston” came the Snow Conduits reply. “Well Shawn, you have no other choice but to fight. Show me what you can do. No me decepciones.” Don’t disappoint me. Immediately, without warning, Pablo attacked first. Having his hands resemble finger pistols, the Mexican bombarded his opponent with a wide spray of Gunpowder bolts. Instincts kicked in for Shawn as he dodge rolled to the right and formed a protective barrier around himself and the girl, using it as cover. ‘That should keep him occupied’ Shawn thought as he switched his priorities from Pablo to the child he put the handcuffs on. With another blast of hail, The Teen got the cuffs off the little girl’s wrists and used his snow to heal any cuts or wounds she had. Her wounds weren’t severe since the glass wasn’t sharp or rough enough to cut deeply into her skin. “Stay here, Okay?” Shawn requested. “I’ll take care of this guy quick.” She nodded as The Snow Conduit dispersed into flowing snow. Shawn now began to fight back, working on countering the gunpowder bolts with his shots of Hail. The difference? Shawn used only one hand while Pablo was using two. Shawn’s other hand was forming a white sphere of cold energy. In preparation for whats to come next. Without warning and completely catching his opponent off guard, the snow conduit threw the ball of snow. Well, less like threw and more like pitch since it came out like a fastball at a baseball game. When Pablo hit it with one of his attacks, the sphere dispersed into a cloud of snow and also hit his with some shards of ice. The shards gave some cuts along his arms as The Mexican just got angrier at his opponent. The only problem though? He couldn’t see a damn thing. “Oooh… Strike 1!” “Blasted-. Dónde diablos estás!!?” The conduit shouted in anger and fury. “Uh, English?” Shawn asked, even though he kind of already understood what it mean partially. Something like ‘Where the hell are you!?’ or something like that. He didn’t have time to use a translator app on his phone to figure it out. The Glacial Bomb he tossed was suppose to be used as a diversion. What went through the teens mind was that if there was anything he could use that would be useful. His eyes dawned on an Aluminum baseball bat that reminded his of when he use to do tee-ball when he was in elementary school. It was by his feet. “Not FUNNY, Hail-face!!!” ‘Times up on thinking!’ he thought. ‘Seems like Nike’s model of “Just do it” follows me wherever I go.’ Grabbing the bat, Shawn got himself ready from what came next. Pablo began to conjure more energy into his hands and released a lineup of TNT Missiles. Shawn dived back behind a shelf of sporting goods equipment to find that the bat he had was starting to overheat. Thinking quickly, he lined the bat with a thin coat of ice and looked over the shelf to see him. The teen didn’t have many options on how to plan this out. So, he thought that with the weapon he had, there was only one crazy idea that could possibly work. ‘Treat it like batting practice? Oh, this was going to be fun.’ Jumping back out into the fray, he got up as Pablo aimed his hands and launched another Missile in Shawn’s direction. Turning to his side, the snow conduit swung and sent the missile back towards his opponent. It made the Mexican jump for cover as it crashed into the wall and dispersed into smoke. “Wow…” Shawn gasped, relieved a little bit on how his theory turned out. “I can’t believe that actually worked.” That’s when he noticed more incoming missiles and began to dodge, dive, and hit back the projectiles. This continued for another couple of minutes until one of them actually was able to hit Pablo in the chest, making him fly backwards into the nearby wall. Now he was really beginning to tick. “That one went over the fences.” Shawn chuckled as he tossed the bat aside. “This isn’t funny, you piece of-!” “Whoa, hey! We got children here. Watch your language!” “Damn it kid!!” Pablo cursed. “Treat this like a game and you’re going to get killed!” “Well it’s not my fault that you decided to pick a fight by the sporting goods department, baldy.” Shawn teased. What he didn’t know was that calling Pablo “Bald” was like sentencing yourself to death. It was the one thing that made him tick and caused his emotions to go overboard. Almost like when you call Marty McFly from Back to the Future “Chicken”. “Okay, THAT’S IT!!” Pablo’s anger ran out of control. The gunpowder conduit began to muster all of his current energy into an incinerating warhead. A warhead that was aimed directly at Shawn and was coming in at speeds of 120mph. Giving no time for the Snow conduit to react or even move. “Oh Sh-!” The warhead’s impact blast was nearly close to killing him. In fact, the explosion from the warhead served as the signal for the bottom team to neutralize the threat. Besides the fact that it made a thirty foot wide hole in the floor and the impact could be felt from outside. The fire alarms were triggered because of the flaming wreckage and debris that Pablo’s attack left behind. Water was now being drenched everywhere and Pablo couldn’t see a damn thing due to the Smoke left behind from his Warhead attack. “Hmm… Where are you?” For Shawn, he was lucky. The smoke allowed him to hide on the floor behind a stock shelf. He was lucky to disperse into snow and dash out of the way at the last possible second, but he still got hurt from the explosive impact. ‘Thank god my clothes aren’t in shredded pieces.’ he thought.  “Where are you?” Pablo’s menacing tone now strangely reminded him of Scorpion in Mortal Kombat. Maybe it was the pitch of the voice or the edge, but that doesn’t matter. What he did pay attention to was the sprinkler system from the fire alarms going on and the water being sprayed around the room. He smiled, almost wanting to chuckle because of his opponent’s sheer stupidity. ‘Now’s my chance!’ Immediately after catching some air, the snow conduit answered his opponent’s question by giving him three jabs to the stomach and a right hook across the face. This threw Pablo backwards as he saw his opponent still standing. “Strike Two.” Shawn told him, holding two fingers like a peace sign. “Heh… Even though you survived kid, I can still-.” His sentence was cut off when he looked at his hand and wondered why he couldn’t drain the gunpowder he expended from his attack. He began to panic in disbelief. “Qué demonios!?!” “Tsk Tsk Tsk…” Shawn waved his index finger from side to side in a taunting manner. “You must’ve forgotten that gunpowder isn’t effective when it’s soaking wet. You’re an idiot to be setting off fire alarms.” “Grr…” Pablo was furious. With his own powers not working, he tried to attack his opponent by picking up the baseball bat that Shawn set aside. This only led to him being disarmed and a foot to the face that sent him flying. The Gunpowder conduit collided into a wall, knocking him out and having Shawn breath a major sigh of relief. “Strike three… You’re out.” He said confidently. ‘And thank god for the Self-Defense classes Dad had me go to.’ Using his powers to freeze Pablo’s outstretched hands, the Conduit first attempted to drag the Mexican across the floor. But after about ten feet, he was forced to give up on that plan. Why? Well, he was way too heavy for him to pull (Not to mention being unconscious doesn’t help him either). So Shawn redirected his focus on something else instead. Well, less like something else and more like someone else. Someone who he needed to make sure was okay. The girl. Walking his way back over there, he got on his knees to be at the girls level in height. She looked okay. Not too many scratches or unexpected bruises. But still, it would be polite to ask. After everything she’s been through, he was concerned. “Hey, are you okay?” She nodded. “Y-yeah, I’m okay.” The child spoke softly “Thank you… for saving me.” That’s where her eyes lit up and handed Shawn something that she was holding onto. His phone. “You almost left this behind.” The girl told him a quiet and calm voice. “It fell out of your pocket shortly after you freed me.” “Oh thanks!” Shawn replied, bending to his side so he could clip it back to his waist. “I was wondering where that… went?” Out of surprise, the teen looked up to find the girl he saved had vanished. Gone. Without a trace. She didn’t even know about him and just… ran off? That was odd. ‘Could she be a-?’ Then, a small “Yay!” went off on his phone, signaling to the teen that he received a text and also directing his attention elsewhere. Bottom Floor is secured. Is everything okay? Shawn chuckled at his fathers message, pressed a few keys, and sent another message back to him. All under control. The girl is okay and possibly heading back to her parents. Conduit is contained as well. Be careful, he can manipulate gunpowder and use it as a weapon. Quickly, his father replied to him. Good job. I’m proud of you son. Happy Early Birthday! Some time had passed since the events that had transpired hours ago and now, the same girl from the Target store was seen in the shadows of an underground parking lot. She looked around her cautiously, hoping to not find anyone here this late at night. Then, she calmly began to take deep breaths as a mystical midnight purple colored mist swirled around her and illuminated around her fingertips. As the mist began to fade, so did the child that was once there. The young girl was now seen as a young woman, supposedly in her mid-thirties. Her hair was a darker shade of the previous color and longer in length, though her eyes still remained the same. Her clothes had also changed. She wore a Dark purple collared T-shirt with buttons only to the shoulder level of the body as well a pair of dark brown khaki’s. She also wore a pair of fancy work shoes and looked like she was the assistant of a boss for a major company. The only thing that was different though was that these assistants don't have a patch of a crescent moon on their sleeves. Back to the Woman, she looked around instinctively once again to make sure that no one was following or had followed her. When she thought that she was in the clear, the woman's right hand went into her pants pocket. She drew out a cell phone and fumbled around a little bit to unlock the puzzle she had set up for a lock screen. Once solved though (after almost two minutes of frustration), she went into her contacts and dialed one of the only two numbers that she had in her cellular device as of right now. It took some time to connect, but she was able to reach her caller. “Hello?” “Sister, it’s me.” “Where were you?!” The female voice on the other end asked in a demanding, yet concerned manor. “I was worried sick when you didn’t come back-.” “I think I found someone that could help us.” The worried voice on the other end of the line stopped. Only to speak again with a sigh of relief. “Really?” “I believe so…” “Thank the stars!” The other voice said again in a relieved tone. “Was it the boy with the jacket that you saw at that “shopping center” today?” “Yes it was.” The woman replied, looking around the lot some more as she moved across the lanes of cars and trucks. “His name is Shawn Kingston. He’s also what this society calls a Conduit.” “The human figures that have different powers?” “That’s right, sister.” “Interesting.” The voice on the other end now sounded curious. She wanted to know a little bit more. “What was he able to do?” The individual holding the phone took a deep breath as she told her sister on the other end of the line. “Snow Manipulation. He can use his hands to harden Snow into different densities like hail, conjure snow into different forms and channel water to turn into snow to heal himself of injuries and anything that could physically harm him.” “Interesting… I didn’t think something like that would be possible given this world being in the season of summer. Come back to where we first arrived, Luna. We have much to discuss. I believe that this “Shawn” figure could be important, but we need to talk on this first before we ask him for help.” “Yes, Sister.” With that, she stopped the call as the night princess locked her phone, used her powers to turn into a Mystical Raven and disappeared from sight. The only thing left behind was a feather that slowly disintegrated into clear dust. End Chapter 1