//------------------------------//
// Chapter 17- Mirror Mirror 
// Story: inFAMOUS: Second Storm 
// by FrostTheWolf 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 17- Mirror Mirror




Ascension Parish, New Marais

        Sunset Shimmer. That was her name. To Shawn, he was honestly surprised that she was the one who brought Twilight and the other Equestrians here. Following the phrase of “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover” though, he waited for the Mirror conduit to explain how she got here and why did she do all of this. The girl drew a deep breath and sighed. She knew that she had to explain a LOT of things.

        “In order to understand why I did certain things, you need to know how this whole mess began.” She spoke. “It happened a few weeks after the fall formal. I would ask if you know what that is, but I assume that you already know. Within those weeks, I’ve changed. A LOT. The friends Twilight made in the mirror world were helping me learn from my mistakes and at one point, I thought I should return home. That way, I could ask if Twilight and Princess Celestia could forgive me of all the wrongdoings I’ve done.”

        Sunset stopped for a second, trying to gather her thoughts. “However, it didn’t go the way I had hoped. What I did not realize is that through all the times that I had used the mirror and all the times I had been jumping to and from both of those worlds, an invisible crack was forming across the mirror. And that crack finally gave way the moment I stepped through.”

        “How did you end up here?” Shawn asked. “I thought the mirror bridged with Canterlot High.”

        “I felt myself keep falling and falling. My body felt like it was thrown because of what I believe was the fracture's energy releasing all the mirror's latent magic. When I woke up, I found myself in an abandoned home. Broken shards of glass and mirror all around me. I was hurt, in pain, suffering. But when I picked one of the shards up, the others reacted to my movements. Forming a mirror out from my will.” She then paused, stopping for a moment to gather her thoughts before she spoke again. “That was almost a year ago. In that timeframe, I’ve learned more about my powers while trying to stay out of the sight of the DUP after I encountered them while trying to acquire necessities like food and clothes. Eventually though, I encountered other conduits, who were eventually locked away in Curdan Cay. But because of my powers, I could see them as they tortured each one and pushed them to their limits.”

        Sunset stopped again, trying not to break down emotionally even though this was hard for her to take in. “Then two months ago, I discovered that I can create a doorway to Equestria. One that could only last for a limited amount of time. I wanted to go. To get out of this place. But I thought about the other Conduits that I had seen. I thought about their cries for help going unanswered. I knew internally that I needed to do something, but not as myself. As someone else.”

        “And that’s how Janus was born.” Shawn asked.

        A quick nod was Sunset’s answer, “Originally, I didn’t have a name for my alias, but after reading a torn up book on Roman history, I stuck with Janus. It wasn’t my best choice, but it had to do. When I first saw you though, when you found Lyra, I only spoke in riddles to see how good you were at solving problems. You were quick to figure it out and I knew you’d be one of those to help me.”

        “So that’s why you rescued me from Roman?” He asked. Sunset nodded, saying that the longer he would be alive, the better chance they had of helping him.

        “Well, that answers most of my questions. However, I only have one more thing left to ask.”

        She raised an eyebrow, puzzled by what he had to say. “And what’s that?”

        “Why am I here now? In New Marais?”

        The Mirror Conduit sighed, folding her arms. “There are two reasons. First off, involving the blast core I left for you, I wanted you to get stronger and acquire new powers that could be helpful in the fight against Roman. The other reason… is to fix a mistake I made.”

        “A mistake?”

        “You have seen that not every Equestrian sent here was eager to let you help them. Chrysalis was only one example,” She said, forming a reflection in her hands. “There was one other mistake. One that I couldn’t tell who they were until it was too late. And now, he’s a threat to not only us, but the rest of humankind.”

        Now Shawn was beginning to tense up, looking back at Sunset with a worried expression. “Who?”

        “What’s the first thing that comes into mind when I say “Tartarus Prison”?” The Snow Conduit’s eyes widened. If what she said was true, then they needed to act fast.

        “Wait… You don’t mean what I think you mean… do you?”

        “Yes… I do. His rage and anger are demonstrated through his powers and he can leech the living energy from those around him… And he’s coming for you.” Shawn could only stare into the circular mirror in Sunset's hands. The visage of a pale face shrouded in a grey hood stared back at him. The only noticeable features he could see behind the hood was the wiry-grey goatee the man sported along with bright, piercing yellow eyes. Those eyes burning with hate, but also a singular purpose.



        In New Marais, business in the different parts of the city were blooming. But for some customers and shopkeepers, one consistent problem had many consider the possibility of closing their doors. That was involving the homeless. Many were displaced from everything they knew after a massive flood that occurred seven years ago, but over time, things have changed significantly. Now, some police officers have been getting reports of an elderly homeless man in the Flood Town section of the city. Where most of the casualties of the flood occur.

        Two officers were on patrol when they found the elderly man that was in the reports that the NMPD (New Marais Police Department). One of them decided to speak with the man while the other one stayed back for support. The man’s back was faced towards the officer, who in retrospect, tapped him on the shoulder to catch his attention.

        “Excuse me, sir-?”

        Before that officer could say anything else, a hand grabbed him in the face as he felt himself being drained of all life from within. Within seconds, the officer that was right there was nothing more than a sack of empty clothes. The second officer, who pulled out his gun, was startled by what happened and tried to run, only to soon meet the same fate. The once elderly man grew in size, now the size of a normal person. But, he wasn’t normal. Not at all. With the energy he stole to restore a portion of himself, his anger and rage burned brighter. He felt unstoppable. But something to him felt off. He could feel other presences. Just as strong as he was. The last time there was someone just as strong as him…

        No. He wasn’t going to let that happen to him. Not this time. This time… he will hunt those who are just as strong as him and defeat them.

        Claim their power for his own… one by one…



        “So let me get this straight… He’ll be coming after us? How?!”

        “He can feel large sources of energy and see them with his eyes,” Sunset told Shawn as the two of them made their way across the rooftop of St. Ignatius church. “And because of that, I got a bad feeling that Tirek can feel us as well as any other conduit in the entire city. Not to mention Blast Cores. Don’t worry though, I know someone who can help us.”

        Shawn looked at Sunset, puzzled as the two of them landed back on solid ground. “Who?”

        “The Mayor of the city. She used to be just a college student during the New Marais incident, but after everything that happened here some time ago, she believed that through her experience and knowledge of politics, she could help make the city a haven for humans and conduits.” Sunset told him just as they approached the building that Shawn assumed was the Mayor’s office. Both of them walked in, noticing that things seemed to be a bit hectic for it being a government office. However, a woman in a dark lavender suit soon noticed the two of them and walked on over. 

        “Sunset! I didn’t expect you to be back in New Marais again so soon.” The woman then looked to Shawn, who was taking his jacket off and tying it around his waist. “I’m going to take a guess that he’s a friend of yours?”

        “Yes, actually,” The Mirror conduit replied, turning towards Shawn and smiling a little. “Shawn, I would like you to meet the mayor of New Marais, Sara LaRoche. Sara, I would like you to meet the Snow Angel, Shawn Kingston.” Both human and conduit shook hands for a brief moment before the Mayor broke the brief silence.

        “It’s a pleasure to meet you. You know… you kind of remind me of someone… Ah yes, that’s right. The Electric Man, Cole McGrath.”

        Shawn was kind of surprised once he heard that. “You met him?”

        “Of course. Back when my uncle was still around, he saved my life.” She replied before clearing her throat for a minute. “I’m sorry, I think I was distracted for a minute. What brings you to New Marais, Shawn?”

        “That… is a bit of a LONG story. But to summarize it briefly, I need to be able to get stronger and learn some new powers.”

        “Just out of curiosity, what powers can you control?” Sara asked, intrigued a little by what the conduit had just said. All Shawn did was demonstrate by creating a rose of ice and snow in the palms of his hand. “Wow… That’s amazing. I remember one woman who also had powers like that. I think my Uncle referred to her as… Kuo?”

        The Snow Conduit almost lost concentration when hearing that. “You know my aunt?”

        “Aunt?”

        “Shawn’s Aunt is the same woman. Lucy Kuo. Lucy’s sister is Shawn’s mother.” Sunset clarified while Shawn himself was a little taken back by that statement, despite trying to stay calm. “That’s how come Shawn has his powers. His powers though… are quite different.”

        “I’ll say… Tell you what, I might have something that can help you. My Uncle before he died kept everything that he had relating to conduits, including a couple of Blast Cores and other contraptions in a special storage unit by the docks.” Sara said, handing Shawn a key that was in her pocket. “Anything that you find in there that can be useful to you is yours.”

        “Thank you. But before we go though, there is something we need to tell you though.” Shawn said, giving the cue for Sunset to pull Sara off to the side and explain everything having to do with a possible Conduit threat. For the Snow Conduit though, as he stepped outside, he was curious about two things. One, if anyone knew that Tirek was gone and two… where he could be right now. 

        Remembering the trick within the walls of the DUP and the strange “Visitor” that was inside his head at one point, the Snow Conduit tried to see if he could still reach the Equestrians by thinking in his head. “Hello? Discord, are you there?”

        He could hear a loud POOF! go off in the background and two sets of what sounded like moving hooves as he soon got a response. “Hey, what do you know? Our little Conduit is okay!! You owe me 5 bits, Shining.” In what he thought was the background, he could hear grumbling and the sound of some coins jingling.

        “Hang on a second… Shining? Discord, who are you talking to?”

        “Well Shining Armor and Princess Cadence of course, who else?” The Spirit replied back. “Celestia and Luna left them in charge while they went to your world. Something that I was just informed of recently.”

        “Hey. All we were told was that they were going on an international expedition. I didn’t think she meant interdimensional!!”

        Shawn sighed, dashing up to the rooftop of the mayor’s office. As he landed and began to look around, he heard a voice that reminded him of Cadence asking for the two of them to knock it off as she then posed the next question. “Shawn, are you okay? The last time we saw you, we thought that the man with all the wires was going to kill you.”

        “Yeah… About that… Let’s just say that an unlikely ally saved me at the last moment. It’s a lot to explain really, but to start, I’m going to assume that you’re aware of the mirror that used to be in the crystal empire?”

        “Oh that one with that Sunset… What’s her name? Anyways, what about it?”

        “Well, to start off this story, the mirror’s broken.” Shawn told them as he continued to use his powers to dash between rooftops. “It cracked and shattered when Sunset Shimmer tried to come through to ask for forgiveness and with it, that’s how she became a conduit. You see, she was Janus, but only because she thought that Twilight and the others could help her find a way to end the DUP once and for all. However, during this, she made a major mistake.”

        Shawn heard more murmurs inside his head as he kept on moving. God, how he wanted to put on his headphones. But if he did and tried to play music, he would still hear them in the background and that is still bothersome. Then, as he arrived inside a new district, he heard another question being asked to him. “What kind of mistake?”

        “One that she didn’t realize until after she brought them here. What major villain did Twilight and her friends have to face that sounds like trainwreck?”

        “Trainwreck? What could-? … Oh no.” He heard Discord realize what Shawn meant, the voices in his head ceasing completely before reappear a few moments later. “You can’t be serious?”

        “Dead serious.”

        “Discord, what is the boy talking about?” He heard Shining ask.

        “Shining, we have a major problem-.” Discord was about to continue, until Shawn heard an explosion go off and what looked like a massive tour bus being chucked at his head. He was able to disperse into snow and soon, moved towards the sounds of chaos where the civilians were running away from. As Shawn got closer, he soon began to notice piles of clothes everywhere and people turning into nothing. Almost like if they encountered Cell from Dragon Ball Z, but this was no Android. It was a Conduit and the same one that Sunset was worried about. 

        In front of him was a full grown man, holding flames in his hands as he looked back at Shawn with the eyes of a demon. The eyeballs weren’t white, but black and the pupils of the conduit were a fiery red and yellow. When he saw Shawn though, the conduit wasn’t paying attention to him and more focused on what was dangling around his neck.

        The pendant of Twilight Sparkle’s cutie mark that was given to Shawn by his mother. Tirek was upon him in an instant, preparing to drain his energy like everyone else. But realized that it wasn’t working. Shawn, noticing this, used the chance to use his powers to freeze his opponent’s face before getting behind him and running off.

        “Shawn, What happened!?”

        “Remember what I was telling you earlier? Well, he’s seen me and now, Tirek is trying to kill me. He’s absorbing the life energy out of ordinary people and trying to power himself up. However, it seems to not work for Conduits. Now, I’m trying to get the fight AWAY from any civilians.” He said, dodging and weaving out of the way of a rage filled missile that was trying to blast him. 

        “You can’t take him on alone. We could try to-.”

        “No. I’m not getting anypony else involved with this. Who knows if he could absorb an Equestrian’s energy or even the Princesses.” He said as he reached an open clearing. “If there’s a fight that needs to happen, then he’s fighting me and me only.”

        Shawn ignored the incoming responses from Cadence and the others as he turned around to face the monster that was following him. He could hear him laughing a little as the two of them stared down each other.

        “You… are the first one to ever land a blow to me… Who are you?” Tirek asked in a demanding tone.

        Shawn himself just grinned. “My name is Shawn… and I’m going to be the conduit that’s going to kick your ass!!” Soon, he dashed forth and when the two conduit’s attacks collided, a powerful shockwave could be felt clear across the country.



Seattle,

        Twilight Sparkle herself was startled awake by what she had just felt. It was a powerful shockwave that felt like when Vinyl and Shawn had clashed only a few days ago. But this one was a lot more powerful. Almost as strong as Celestia. She soon looked towards the wall in the direction where she felt the reaction and said only one thing.

        “Shawn?”



        Shortly after the first blow was exchanged, Shawn was trying to pay attention to Tirek’s motions and see if there was a pattern with his attacks that he could expose. However, this was just as tiring as it was difficult. When Shawn thought that he had a chance and then took it, the Destruction Conduit remembered the action and always made sure to prevent his opponent from using the tactic a second time. Every trick in Shawn’s arsenal that he tried to unleash was either deflected, blocked or followed up by an unexpected counterattack. His options for how to fight back were beginning to shrink.

        Then, he remembered something. His powers allowed him to create with Ice and his brain and imagination were mission control. All he needed to do was use his powers in different ways. With that in mind, he conjured a sphere of Cryo energy and blasted it at Tirek.

        “This again?” He sighed. “Pathetic.” Tirek himself, being the person that he was, tried to smash the small ball to pieces. But before his fist even made contact with it, the sphere split into five other spheres that surprised him as he took the blast dead on in his face.

        “And I thought that the first rule of combat was to expect the unexpected.” Shawn teased as he dodged the attack that was followed by his opponent. However, when he tried to attack again, the Snow Conduit soon realized that he was in big trouble. Using all of his powers caused him to run out of energy that he needed for further attacks. “Um… could you give me a sec? I need like five minutes to recharge-.”

        This was only followed up by a powerful punch by his opponent that sent him flying into a building on the edge of town. A warehouse to be specific. But in the struggle to realize where the hell he was exactly because of the darkened lighting, Shawn came across something that he thought was a sign that someone was looking out for him.

        Blast Cores. Not just one, but three. Two of them were on the ground while a third was hooked up to some sort of strange contraption. Ignoring the third one, he soon grabbed the first two and calmly began to focus on harnessing the energy in them. He felt the same effects from before course through his body and brain as he saw a few new images be displayed in his head. The first of a bald man being able to form a Frost like shield to deflect bullets, bolts and enemy blasts and after that, something else that got him excited.

        “Oh… HELL yes!!”

        “W-what’s going on?” He heard Cadence ask.

        “Let’s just say… I got a few more rounds in the chamber.” Shawn thought as he placed his hands together, absorbing the water that had leaked onto the floor and set off a powerful shockwave that blew off the roof of the building as he stepped out.

        “Never mind, WE’RE BACK IN BUSINESS!!!” He shouted, charging towards Tirek. The Destruction Conduit honestly thought that this was some sort of joke, but when he tried to attack him with another blast, a pair of ice like wings came into view as Shawn launched himself into the air and then accelerated downward, slamming his foot into Tirek’s face and sending him flying backwards. When he got back up, he could see Shawn being a lot stronger than he was before. But also, he saw something else.

        A silhouette of a certain pony princess that was the only other being ever to hurt him.

        “Grr… You should’ve expended all of your energy… Yet you are still standing. How can you be this strong?” He asked, coughing up a little bit of blood. “ANSWER ME!!!”

        Shawn just smirked. He was back up on his feet, shaking off the dust and dirt off of his legs as he stood amid the ruins of the destroyed courtyard that was their battleground. “That is a stupid thing to ask. You judge others by strength, yet you miss the most important value.”

        “Don’t you DARE try and lecture me!!” Tirek yelled, blasting another wave of energy. Yet. when it came close to Shawn, he stook out his right hand and formed a fine barrier of frost that blocked the blast in it’s entirety. The Destruction Conduit was stunned. That attack was one of his most strongest, yet this kid just blocked it with a single hand? How!? That was impossible!!!

        “What you should be asking is the reason for why I fight. You fight, yet you don’t have a reason. Anger gives motivation without purpose.” He said, holding his ground. “Unlike you, I have a reason for why I fight and it is more important to me then any damned reason that you might come up with inside your head.”

        “Oh?” His opponent said, raising an eyebrow. “And what would that be?” 

        Shawn, at first, couldn’t think of the words to say. But after remembering all the people that he had met and all the lives that he had touched, he grinned and said the best thing that came to his mind.

        “I fight for my friends.” He told him, channeling his powers through his hands. “And there isn’t a damn thing that you can do that’ll stop me from defeating you right where you stand.”

        “Is that so?” Tirek snickered. “In that case, let’s put that theory to the test!” The Destruction Conduit followed up his statement with a blast of heat that aimed straight at Shawn. However, the Snow conduit used one of his new tricks to block the blast as he rolled to the right. Noticing a small baton like pipe by his feet, Shawn picked it up and soon realized that this may become useful. Again, Shawn had to barrel out of the way of another attack as he blasted two arctic missiles towards his opponent. During this, he saw the baton react a little to his hands and grinned. He was going to enjoy whatever he can pull off with this. 

        In that moment, Tirek tried a new approached and charged forth at the Snow Conduit head on. Shawn though, was ready as he grabbed the baton and channeled his powers into it. When Tirek was about to slam his fist into him, he instead felt the sheer pain of his chest getting slashed at by the Snow Angel’s newfound weapon. He roared in pain as he slowly turned around to see what Shawn was holding. The baton served as the weapons handle, but the rest of the blade was sheer ice as he held it in reverse and looked down at his opponent.

        “Is that all you got?” He asked, causing Tirek to get even angrier. Shawn himself picked up another baton that he found on the ground, forming another sword as he used it to strike near the Destruction Conduit’s exposed legs. Tirek soon tripped, feeling the pain in his calves and thighs as he tried to get up. Only to be met by the Snow Conduit as he pointed one of his weapons at him, causing him to fire another blast to try and gain some distance.

        “You ANNOYING LITTLE PEST!!! I will tear you apart once I’m-!!” Before Tirek could say anything, he soon realized that his legs were going numb. He couldn’t move them at all and he was feeling the same sensation run through the rest of his body as it locked down his shoulders.

        “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Shawn snickered as both of his blades melted away. “Your body is beginning to shut down due to extreme exposure of cold. You thought that your rage was all you needed in order to fight me, but then again, your arrogance and overconfidence now leads to your downfall.” Now, The Snow Conduit placed both of his batons together as ice began to take form all across it. It formed a powerful recurve bow as he pulled back his arm and took aim at his opponent, the ice from his hands forming a powerful arrow.

        “Checkmate.”

        Before his opponent could even get a final say in, Shawn let the arrow fly. Upon impact, it encase Tirek in a sturdy block of ice and because of the Destruction Conduit’s defeat, all the energy and souls of the lives he stole burst back into the sky in a dazzling display of light before fading away.

        Shawn himself was relieved. He dismissed the bow he conjured before falling back down on his behind. He could see Sunset rushing towards him as he slowly tried to stay upright. However, that couldn’t help him right now. All he needed right now… was to rest his weary bones.



        Upon waking up, Shawn found himself in the strangest of situations. He felt like he was in New Marais. But it didn’t really feel like the actual city. This place felt more like a dream than it actually being real. Puddles of water were carelessly floating in midair like they were in suspended animation. The flames from nearby lanterns were instead taking forms of people rather than flames and the entire town seemed… dreamy. 

        Then, he began to hear a voice… Briefly, but still a voice nonetheless. It sounded like a man that was a LOT older than he was judging from how it came out. But that wasn’t his main focus as Shawn soon began to notice multiple pillars of Ice down by where a group of homes in a flooded out suburban area would be. As he got closer, he felt that his conduit senses were playing tricks on him and when he actually touched the pillar and later on, absorbed it with his powers. All that did though was set off some sort of unknown alarm as he had to dodge an incoming bolt of lightning that was aimed at his head before dispersing into Snow and getting on the sidewalk.

        His attacker was a male. Wore a t-shirt, had a messenger bag, long pants and sneakers along with sets of tape around his finger. He also had a clean shave and a bald head as the Electric Conduit stared him down. “Who the hell are you?”

        “Me? I was minding my own damn business until you attacked me, jackass!” Shawn yelled back.

        “And for good reason. How do you have those kinds of powers. Are you with Vermaak 88?!” The other conduit snapped back, channeling more electricity into his arms.

        “What the hell is a Vermaak 88? That sounds like an old luxury car.”

        “Now you are starting to piss me off.” He snarled. But before the other conduit could attack Shawn, he heard another voice and turned around.

        “Cole, what the hell are you doing!?”

        The man, now known as Cole, turned around. “I found this kid here and he seems to have your powers. I thought he was part of Vermaak 88.”

        “What in the world are you-?” When the woman came out, Shawn’s eyes widened and his mouth partially dropped. He couldn’t believe a thing he was seeing and only a few words came out in response to what was going on.

        “A-aunt L-lucy!?”




End Chapter 17