Conduits vs Supes : Civil War

Hi everyone ! Hope you had a good Christmas (if you celebrate it. Otherwise, I hope you still had a good week) ! I didn't feel like writing, personally, which, to be fair is often the case these days. Thankfully, there's still a few chapters of this fic already finished… I'm dreading the moment I run out and I'll have to write a chapter for both my fictions. Especially since I'm not feeling it for one and the chapter of the other are often longer…

Anyways, the reason I procrastinate (other than being me, of course !) is because I've returned to playing Minecraft. This might be my number one favorite game of all time ! Especially ever since I've discovered the joy of modded Minecraft ! Every new mod packs turns it into an almost completely different game ! No wonder I keep coming back to it ! I want to use this opportunity to give my heartfelt thanks to all of you modders out there who might read this : thank you for all your hard work and for sharing your awesomeness to the masses !

Now, as usual, you can read more stories on my Patréon page. Search for Cathbel on their website. Advanced chapters, other stories, the joy of supporting me : that's what you'll find there 😝. Anyways, hope you'll have a happy New Year's Eve everyone ! Enjoy !

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« Glad you're happy with this, but we've still got problems to deal with… » Cole said. « Starting with this guy ! I don't care that he's me from the future or whatever… Not sure, I believe it. He detonated the Ray Sphere and killed thousands. He framed me for it ! He's the cause of this civil war we have going on with the Conduit gangs ! »

« I'm more worried about the disease… » Zeke muttered.

« You seemed to have taken it upon yourself to deal with these gangs single-handedly. Why don't you continue doing so ? » The teen pointed out to Cole. « In fact, maybe it'll go faster with a bit of back up… What do you say, guys ? » He turned to the two NSA agents. « Up for a power up ? »

Then, he turned to Kessler :

« That is… If mister Kessler is willing to part with the Ray Sphere. »

« And have it kill more people ? » Cole reacted vehemently. « No way ! This thing should not be used ! Better to destroy it ! »

« Did you listen to anything I said ? » The teen asked. « You can't destroy it. You'll only make it worse. But… » He let his subconscious speak the next sentence. «… I might be able to tweak it into awakening the agents' gene without collateral damage. »

This caused everyone, except one, to raise their eyebrows at this. Kessler voiced the disbelief everyone shared :

« And who are you, exactly ? To think you can tweak an object that has demanded decades of research and numerous sacrifices ? »

« Silly me ! I haven't introduced myself yet, have I ? Not to everyone, anyway. Frederic Saint-Clair, at your service. Intuitive genius, runaway from Vought and my birth parents, and Conduit. If I say I can tweak it, I can. That's what my subconscious tells me, so… » He shrugged.

The people shared glances. Cole looked ready to tear his counterpart with just his eyes, but the others seemed to consider his words. It was Lucy Kuo who said :

« He did manage to find us and more importantly, trap us in a place where Cole and Kessler's powers are limited. »

John nodded next :

« If you think you can manage it, and if there's no chance of collateral… But I'm afraid I'll become this Beast…On the other hand, we'll be able to help Cole put a stop to all this unrest. But it still leaves the problem of this disease you predicted. Are you sure about this ? »

« About the Beast… I think the energy born from the destruction of the Ray Sphere was amplified by Cole's power and supercharged you. Or at least, the version of you in mister Kessler's timeline. A normal activation shouldn't affect you as much. That's what my intuition is telling me, anyway. As it does about the disease. Although I've studied medicine, I'm not too familiar with Conduit physiology or the effect of this… let's call it Ray Field Energy, on the human body. You'd probably have to ask the hospitals if they've had an influx of patients with an unknown disease they can't cure. »

The man shook his head :

« There's no need for that. We've already heard that there was indeed a new mysterious and lethal disease. I'm just hoping you're wrong about what causes it… Otherwise, the quarantine measures will be useless. »

Fred shrugged. He believed in his power. While it had been considered a minor, almost useless power when it was discovered, the truth was that it was anything but, to him. He didn't know what his life would have been like without it. If he had acquired some other, more meaningful power for Vought… He shuddered to think of it.

« On this front, I believe it would be best to consult the mind behind the Ray Sphere's creation… »

« You mean… Sebastian Wolfe ? » Lucy asked.

« Is that the man's name ? Then yes, him. He'll know best what his device does and about the energy it unleashes. If I were a betting man, I'd wager he's already working on a fix. »

Suddenly, the female teen, the girl who accompanied Frederic, raised her hand. When all eyes were on her, she said somewhat sheepishly :

« It's all awesome and all, but… What am I doing here, exactly ? »

Frederic frowned, closed his eyes and let his mind wander :

« I think… You need to meet with Sebastian Wolfe. Don't ask me why 'cause I don't know. Perhaps it has to do with the power the Ray Sphere awakened in you ? »

« My power ? All it does is heal me when I get hurt. And then I get extremely tired. It's not very impressive compared to… » She motioned toward Cole : « Lightning man, over there. »

The teen scoffed and shook his head :

« Your power's much more impressive than just healing. From what I gathered, you have an adaptive physiology. Yes, you heal when you get hurt, and yes, it draws from your internal energy reserves. But it also reinforces your body from anything that can hurt it : poison, disease, bodily harm. It might work once, but after you've healed you'll never have the same injury. Provided you have the necessary chemical energy stored in your body. I'll suggest a diet for you… Until I can work out something better. »

It was Danielle's turn to doubt her foster brother. Then again, it was normal for her : she lived in a rather bad foster home for years, and still did, until Fred came. It's only been a little under six months since they met. In an environment like this, where she was treated not much better than a slave and a meal ticket by her foster 'parents', it was natural for her to be distrustful. And although she did like the young man, she couldn't help but be suspicious.

When nothing more was said on that subject, it was Zeke who next raised his hand, like a kid wanting to be called on by a teacher. When the attention was on him, he enquired :

« I wanted to ask about this Conduit gene business… I understand that the Ray Sphere kills the people who don't carry it. » He hesitated, before finally getting to the point : « Do… Do I have the gene ? How can we find out ? »

Kessler was the one to answer, in a surprisingly gentle voice :

« I'm sorry, Zeke… But you don't. You too died at the Beast's hands… And if young Frederic's theory about its actions is right, then you'd have awakened as a Conduit otherwise. »

« Does that mean you believe it ? » John White asked, finding it difficult to believe.

Kessler frowned, but nodded regardless :

« I think so… The number of activated Conduits rose exponentially once the Beast made its appearance. My guess is that the process it used to awaken conduit also killed normal people, much like the Ray Sphere does… »

« So… What do we do now ? » Lucy Kuo demanded.

« I'll contact the New Marais branch of the First Sons and ask them to smuggle Sebastian Wolfe into the city. » Kessler decided. « And… If Cole's willing, I'll help train him in using his powers. »

Frederic had been watching as Zeke slumped in his seat hearing Kessler's words. To him who desperately wanted to become someone extraordinary, it must have felt like receiving a harsh sentence from a judge. Because he did believe that Kessler was in fact, an older version of his best friend.

The conversation continued and ended in a somewhat agreeable mood. Cole was still pissed to have been manipulated into carrying the Ray Sphere and all the events he felt Kessler had a hand in. But when he put himself in the man's shoes and considered losing Trish and Zeke… He started to understand his point of view. He wasn't sure he agreed with it, but he understood.

As for Lucy and John, they were both glad to have a plan, especially after the NSA left them to fend for themselves here. In fact, it had been fortuitous that the two of them found themselves in Empire City shortly before and after the Quarantine was put in place. Lucy had infiltrated the New Marais branch of the First Sons, while John had joined the one in Empire City. A small group of First Sons members had been sent to carry material to Kessler's group, with Lucy being among them.

Still, there was a question the two of them shared, one they couldn't help but ask the teenager that brought them together :

« What's your stake in all of this ? Why interfere ? »

Frederic glanced at the woman who asked him this, considering his words, before he said :

« My own survival, mostly. » He admitted. « The way hyper-intuition worked for me was it nudged me towards beneficial situations for me : a good foster home, or an adoptive parent, fallen money off the floor… Or, a sudden urge to take a stroll through the historic district while bringing my foster sister along. As soon as I woke up after the blast… I've been feeling this dread, like my life was in danger. I'm still feeling it even now, though to a much lesser degree. »

After he said this, he hesitated for a minute, but finally decided to come clean :

« The reason I fled my home and my parents, was because of Homelander. I was four the first time I laid eyes on him on TV. It was after terrorists had taken over a factory and supposedly blew it the hell up. I watched as he made his speech about fighting crime and terrorism everywhere on the planet… And I felt this same feeling of dread. The more I looked at his face, the more I saw Evil-Made-Flesh… I can't explain it better than that. But ever since the Blast… I've felt like this was a solution to fight him and Vought. »

He concluded :

« The way I see it, the more Conduit survive, the better chance we have against Vought and its monopoly on Supes ! »

The meeting adjourned a little later, but not before Frederic called out to Zeke :

« Mister Dunbar… »

« Just call me Zeke. » The man interjected. « Mister Dunbar's my father. »

« Zeke, then. You can call me Fred, if you like. » The teen proposed and then hesitated. He wanted to give hope to the man but he didn't want to give him false hope. There was at least one other possible way for Zeke to develop superpowers… But it posed a risk. A risk he might be able to mitigate given time and resources. For that, however, he'd need Compound V… And it wasn't exactly something easy to get his hands on. So instead, he said : « You might not have powers but your existence itself will have an impact. You are Cole's friend. You remind him of what it is to be human… You are also his greatest ally. »

With those words, the teen left the bunker, leaving the older man to ponder on his words for a while.