Chapter 9: The Not-So Magic Word

Terrorist.

The word itself made Cole flinch on the spot. How far did one have to sink before being addressed as such? Sure, Cole had been called worse by his boss but he had never been called something like that in front of an entire city.

He wasn't one was he? The picture that had appeared on the screen was the moment after he got told by that man on the phone to open the package. He was not to blame, that much he knew but it seemed like everyone was starting to believe it, judging by the fury in the eyes that stared him down. He turned to Trish for any sign of her not believing the lies that had been said.

Nothing. Nothing was in her eyes as she slowly looked up at him. The silence seemed to last for eternity as Trish finally did something to break the fast building tension, something Cole dreamed in only his worst of nightmares. She simply turned and walked away without a single word. Cole wanted to yell that it was all lies and embrace her in a warm and comforting hug, however, he knew better than to attempt that. The woman he loved began to get farther away as his focus began to be interrupted by the growing shouts of people around him. Regaining his composure, he remembered that Zeke was still there for him. Surely he would believe him right?

Cole turned to face his best friend and was relieved a tad when he seen that Zeke had a different expression rather than Trish's nightmare inducing one. His best friend simply lowered his glasses to look him in the eyes, no anger or betrayal, just confusion and a small hint of suspicion that quickly faded when he noticed Cole had met his eyes. The shouts got louder and more colorful with threats that intertwined with violent swears. Some people even began to pick up rocks and any other objects that could be used as weapons.

Zeke grabbed Cole by the shoulders and turned him around "Meet me by Stampton bridge on the double, brother." He said and turned toward the people making advances toward his friend. He pulled out his gun and took aim, making some people back away giving him and Cole just enough of an opening to make a break for it. Just as they made it out of the growing mob, someone managed to jump Cole and hurl him to the ground. Cole was forced to look up at his attacker as the man prepared to, as Zeke would say, "knock his lights out."

However, the attack was interrupted by a gunshot that sounded like it hit near the ground next to the fighting men. Cole took this moment of relief to punch the man in the face, get up, and make a break for it before the fear of being shot left the mobs mind and made it to their sub-conscious. After swearing to himself, Cole bolted down the nearest dark, dank alleyway to catch a breather before taking off again.

He hoped Zeke would keep his end of the deal. Because, after being called a terrorists, of all things, he wasn't sure he would be invited to anyone's birthday party anytime soon.

The Ed's were still in the square, not knowing how to feel about the whole situation. Eddy mostly ignored it and kept bragging about how awesome he kicked the Reaper's butts while Double D made a snarky comment or two on the subject. Ed, however, was doing something that could be considered treason in the Cul-de-sac and even the entire world. For once in his life, Ed was thinking. Not about monster movies, comic books, or the delicacy known as gravy. He was thinking about his baby sister and the harm that had come to her.

The cogs in his brain were clogged with cobwebs from such a long time of under use that it took nearly a minute before the repair man came by to dust and oil them up. After giving the order, and sipping some of his well deserved break coffee, the cogs began to function normally with the occasional spark or two. After a few seconds, the thought hit him like a brick covered in chickens.

That man had indirectly caused harm to his baby sister and maybe the death of his and his friends parents.

"Ed?" Eddy waved his hand in front of Ed's face. After the cogs had finished turning, being blocked by some cobwebs beforehand, Ed got to his feet and looked dead serious.

"Um, Ed?" Double D looked up as Ed began to march away in the direction Cole had went in. Eddy ran alongside him.

"Hey monobrow? Where ya goin'?" Eddy waved his hand in front Ed again. Ed payed him no mind and kept marching, that is until Eddy jumped in front of him and leapt on his chest, pulling his shirt to get in his face.

"Earth to Ed! What are you doing?!" Eddy yelled directly into his ear. Ed stopped in place and an invisible force took hold of Eddy, tossing him to the side towards the pavement. Eddy recovered mid flight however and landed on his feet, thanks to his enhanced reflexes. Eddy was about to yell as loud as he could before he stopped himself and took a few deep breaths to calm his anger.

"Eddy! Are you alright?" Eddy looked to see Double D running towards him. Eddy turned his focus to Ed.

"Yeah, but monobrow over there is being awful serious about somethin'. What do you think it is?" Eddy turned to Double D again, Double D shrugged, then he looked absolutely horrified.

"D-Do you think he got another pebble in his shoe?" Double D whispered, with panic clear in his voice. Eddy blew a raspberry and faced the direction Ed had walked in.

"Please, Ed's shoes have been on tighter since that day than the dirt under his nails. Besides, even if he did have one in his shoe, this entire town wouldn't be standing right now." Eddy turned back to Double D and put a hand to his chin.

"I think we need to follow Rip Van Winkle and see what's got his pants in a knot." Eddy prepared to take off before his shirt collar was grabbed by Double D, who looked dubious.

"Why don't we just keep asking him until he answers us, I mean he is our best friend, I'm sure he would tell us eventually." Double D crossed his arms and Eddy shrugged.

"What, and ruin the plot?" Eddy took off in Ed's direction. Double D sighed and followed suit, wishing he had brought a glass of water.

Cole tapped his foot impatiently.

He had been waiting on this street corner for nearly ten minutes, watching people gather at the bridge with signs in hand to continue their protest about being trapped in the hellhole formally known as Empire City. Every time he seen someone walking down the street he made it a priority to hide in the nearest dumpster. Since almost everyone had seen his face at Archer, it would not be long before there would be a district wide hunt for him.

After another minute he heard the familiar, heavy footsteps of his friend approaching. He turned to see Zeke barely maintaining a run, panting loudly and wheezing a bit. He managed a small wave and stopped in front of Cole, gasping loudly trying to reclaim his lost breath.

"Hey..Cole..*whew*..how are ya?" He said in between gasp. Cole shrugged.

"Well, considering that the entire Neon is wanting to see my mangled body hang in the streets with a line of smiling children waiting to get their photos taken next to it like some messed up mall Santa, just dandy thanks for asking."

"Good to know you're as optimistic as always." Zeke rolled his eyes and looked to the Stampton Bridge entrance.

"That's the fastest way out of town. However,according to a few beat up protesters I eavesdropped on at the hospital a few days ago, they have some riot cops posted at the entrance." Zeke wiped some lingering sweat off of his forehead. Cole sighed in frustration.

"Well, nothings ever easy is it?" Cole put his finger to his chin as he tried to think of a plan.

"Have they got any guns?" Zeke shook his head.

"Lot of the protesters were bruised but I don't think I heard any of em' talking about gettin' shot." Cole perked up a bit at that.

"That makes things a little easier." Cole signaled for Zeke to follow and they made their way to the bridge. Shouts of protesters and jeers from the guards grew ever louder as they approached, the police sirens from the nearby cruisers assaulted their eardrums. The two managed to squeeze past the cars and seen the dozens of protesters, all shouting and waving their signs while the guards held their ground and occasionally shouted back.

Cole and Zeke looked passed the crowd and seen the eight riot cops. Cole was thinking of all the ways he could get by them and eventually voiced one his thoughts to Zeke.

"Think we can fry one from inside the crowd and trigger a riot?" Zeke looked at him like he just murdered his pet goldfish.

"Well, if you want the blood of innocent people on your hands be my guest." Cole shrunk a little and began to reorganize his thoughts. Zeke chimed in.

"Why don't you go up there and kick their asses. You'll look pretty awesome to these people here." He looked over the crowd and his thoughts became conflicted. One side told him to toss all empathy aside and let these people know what it feels like to be kicked when you're down. The other side told him to get a hold of himself and

"These people want you dead. Show them what happens if they mess with you" " Yeah, but why don't you prove to them that you can do great things?" Cole,once again,sighed in defeat.

"Alright then. But you better not cop out on me." Cole began to chuckle at his own pun and the laugh began to die down upon seeing Zeke's palm meet his face.

"Shut up and come with me." Cole began to push people out of the way as he tried to make his way to the front. Zeke struggled, but eventually caught up, standing at Cole's side as he stood face to face with the cops. They rose their nightsticks, preparing for an attack.

The crowd had gone silent and murmurs and jeers began to take the place of shouts.

"Isn't that the guy who blew up the city?"

"It's that terrorist! Wait till I get my hands on you!"

"You left a man without a wife you piece of shit!"

"I heard he can shoot lighting from his hands!"

"You're crazy dude! No such thing as super powers."

Cole pushed all these jeers out of his focus and stared down the cops, letting the tension build.

"What do you call a bike courier fourteen days out of his last cup of coffee?" Cole broke the tension and waited for a response. The cops looked at each other in confusion.

"A shockingly pissed off delivery boy!" Zeke finished and took aim, firing a shot at one of the riots cops. The guy flinched as the bullet hit his chest, not piercing his armor but shocking him at the sudden turn to violence. The others reacted and began to charge the duo.

Cole scowled at Zeke, who was to busy shooting to notice, and jumped to action. Cole focused his energy and fired a shock wave. The cops screamed in surprise when the ground was pulled from under them and they flew a few feet away and hit the pavement with a thud.

The protesters were shocked to see both the display of superpowers, and the bravery of these two men. However, even a spark of bravery did not force these people to move and actually try to help, you know because they are useless... *ahem*

After a few more shocks, and Zeke's infinite number of bullets from a pistol that apparently did not need a reload, the cops were down and out. Not dead, but severely beaten. Cole turned to face the crowd and held his head high, expecting a thank you at least.

"What the hell is your problem?" Okay, not the praise he was expecting but it was a sentence at least. He saw a man making his way through the crowd until he was in front of Cole.

"This was supposed to be a non violent protest you fucking moron!" The man yelled. Cole drew back a little but held his ground.

"Oh, pardon me. I thought that you was trying to get out of the city, not ask them to a tea party." Cole faked surprise and crossed his arms.

"Looks like it was working wonders, since you guy's are still trapped in here." The man glared even harder.

"Well, you killing them-"

"Relax sunshine, I didn't kill them. They are just unconscious." The man jumped back at him.

"Any act of violence is not good! Do you realize how hard they are going to crack down on us now?! If the government gets word of this, then-" The man was cut off by the blaring of a speaker.

"Attention! All citizens on the Stampton Bridge are hereby under arrest! Get on the ground and put your hands behind your head!"

The exit gate opened to reveal a fresh pack of five guards. They were wearing full body, dusty environmental suits, used to protect them from the plague that dwell in the town. Armed with guns this time around, they split up to meet the protesters. Cole turned to see the protesters getting on the ground and complying with the men. One approached him and Zeke, waving their guns to tell them to get on the ground. Zeke looked at Cole for any hint of a plan. He did not see it, but he did see a smirk.

"Get on the ground!" One of the guards muffled through his suit. All Cole could hear was "Please, shoot me!"

"Not a chance pal." Cole crouched down and swept his leg to knock the guard off his feet. However, it did not work like it did in movies and Cole's leg simply bumped against the guard. He looked up and smiled nervously at the armed man and felt a rifle butt hit him in the face, dazing him.

Cole was pulled up and handcuffed immediately. He could break out of this, he knew he could. But before he could do so, he caught the look of several protestors. They looked at him with dubious and angry looks, as if they knew exactly what he was thinking. Zeke nodded a bit, as if waiting for him to do something.

Cole knew what to do and he knew he had the strength to pull it off, but a part of him did not want to make things worse for these people. That part of him felt tiny and of insignificant at the moment but the more he acknowledged it, the more it seemed to grow in size and importance as his conscience took hold of it and cradled it like a new-born baby.

Great, now he was going to feel guilty about it if he did not adhere to the peoples wishes.

Cole simply shook his head at Zeke and was met with a look of disbelief and panic as the thought of being arrested began to grip his mind like a predators jaws biting down on its prey. Instead of throwing them back into the city like he had thought, they instead began to take them towards the quarantine station past the giant storage crates and the many placed turrets. Cole sighed as he thought about how happy he was to have come quietly.

After a few minutes of walking they made it to a giant wall of steel, barbed wire and guns. Lots of guns, as a matter of fact. So many that he heard Zeke whimper like a baby as the panel powered door opened enough for him to see. There was no door or stairs to get past the obstruction, it was just a big wall of death. After being whacked in the back of the head as a punishment for stopping, some more agents came out of a small yellow station that sit to the left behind a small gate.

The man that Cole guessed was the commander began to bark orders at his men to line them up against the wall and to "make sure you cavity search every one of em'!" Yeah, if Cole ever needed a reason to leave somewhere so quickly, then this place held the world record.

"Come on Double D, what's taking ya?" Eddy tapped his foot impatiently and kept his eye on the corner of the street where Ed had rounded. He looked at his non existent watch and groaned in annoyance as his patience began to wear thin. The raspy gasp behind him signaled that Edd had finally caught up and he waited a few seconds for his wimpy friend to regain his composure.

"Eddy...water.." Eddy turned around, annoyance clear on his face as he looked down at a glass that Edd seemed to have conjured up out of nowhere. Inside the clear, polished glass was ice that had molded into the shape of the cup. Eddy groaned once again and grabbed the glass of ice, focusing on it for only a second before the ice turned into its liquid form.

"There, now hurry up and drink before we lose Ed." Double D nodded and gulped the water greedily. He sighed and wiped the sweat from his brow, sitting upright to confirm that his strength had returned. Before he took off around the corner, Eddy noticed something strange about this part of town. The street was deserted and, except for the occasional gust of wind, far off gunshot, or the roaring of distant cars, there was not a sound to be heard in this part of the city.

"Everyone must be after the light bulb guy." Eddy turned to Edd, who also noticed the lack of population.

"Come on, this place is giving me the creeps." Double D was about to say something but Eddy had already taken off around the corner before he could even udder a syllable. He adjusted his beanie and took off after his three haired friend. He glanced over his shoulder for a moment and swore that he saw someone sink into one the many nearby alleyways that seemed to act as a natural hideout for many a crime. Double D scratched his head but shook off his paranoia as he was sure Eddy would yell his eardrums out of town if he lagged behind anymore.

"Paranoia isn't going to help anyone, Edward." Edd said to himself as he tried his best to catch up. Little did he know, a sleek figure peeked its head out of the shadows and giggled.

"No, it may not." A giggle then turned into a quiet, yet sinister laughter as the figure adjusted it's hood and rubbed it's hands together. "But it makes my job a lot more fun."

Sorry for leaving you guys hanging on a cliff this chapter, but by now I am sure you are used to my schedule slips. However, I have some great news for those who keep a constant eye on this tale. I am graduating high school in a month and I will be taking a year off before heading to college soooo... guess what that means? Yep. I will get more time to work on this story and I will also be taking some lessons to improve my writing. Thank you all so much for reading and I hope to hear more of your feedback. Peace out.