Half as Long, Twice as Bright

[b]Greg and Spork here with another fic, this one centered mostly around Naomi. This takes place in the [i]inFamous 2[/i] game time, between the missions "Desperate Times" and "Conduit, Not Human" in terms of gameplay. Also, this will follow the thread "Shocking Explosion", which took place in the first game. Since it couldn't be shown in the topic due to it dying, it is assumed that Cole MacGarth, Lucy Kuo, and Zeke Dunbar know what an Interference is, while Nix does not (nor does she care).

As a note, none of the Interferences here are Conduits, but one of them will learn skills from the fic (and train them in a later thread). This will take place after "Wandering Wonderland" For Naomi Castillo, and between the thread in which Naito meets Rikka and "Water's Truth" for him.

Now then, let us present to you "Half As Long, Twice As Bright".[/b]

[size=4]Chapter 1: And I Thought I Was A Pyro[/size]

The past few minutes had been...interesting.

Between being shot at by rocket launchers and machine guns simply for flying and the overall hectic nature of this world, he had been forced to the rooftops, out of sight of many, but by no means all. Some might have needed to climb instead, but not him.

That wasn't to say he was having a good time in New Marais, due to the aforementioned gunfire, his failure to protect Azumi and realize the truth about Rikka, and other things on his mind. His psychological block against using his true powers did not help either. Still, he had to fight, especially as he saw the two nearby.

The men in orange and tan clothing fired, their faces hidden by white masks. These were the same ones who were killing random people in the streets, so they were likely evil.

The man shooting small electric bolts of blue had a shaved head with brownish hair and light skin. His right arm was tattooed with patterns akin to stars and wings, and he had a scar on his face, healing. For a shirt he had a white T-shirt with a dark navy blue collar and sleeves, and a light orange drab bag on his back, strapped diagonally across him from right shoulder to left hip with a small radio on his chest on the strap. He took what looked to be a cattle prod of some sort from his back in one hand, and bashed it into one of the enemies, an electric shock coursing through the weapon into the foe, but not harming the user. He had black cargo pants with a Union Jack on the right leg, He wore sport shoes, the "tabi boots" sometimes used for parkour.

A dark skinned woman with some makeup on her face appeared in a burst of black smoke beside the gas can, helped him pick it up and pour the gasoline down on the flags reaching below and surrounding the area of a lower town square, a place where it seemed that there were many prisoners, perhaps for execution. She had braided dreadlocks, with specific parts partly colored with a dark red. Her attire consisted mostly of leather, with a black half-opened vest, and leather pants and boots. She also had several slightly torn sleeves and wore several bands and ornaments. She also wore several decorative rope necklaces, and also had metal finger attachments on both her hands.

Naito Zivaku didn't waste a second as the electrokinetic and his ally moved to the next gas can. He flew straight at the nearest Militiaman on wings of silver, doing his best to ignore the shouts of a "freak" in the area, and tackled him to the ground, smashing the back of his blade into the side of his head, a knockout blow.

It was time to get to business.

The barrels of several machines were leveled in his direction, though they were unaware of a woman sprinting towards them from behind. Her skin was a paleish grey, and her hair, shortly cut and wet with sweat, bore streaks of a light red amidst the normal black. Her attire consisted of a plain, dark red colored long sleeved shirt under a sleeveless black jacket, worn, fingerless gloves, black cargo jeans, and worn black combat boots. She was noticeably younger than the combatants around her.

[i]Thanks for the distraction.[/i] Thought Naomi Castillo as she forcefully kicked the back of one of the Militiamen's legs, knocking him off of his feet, only to be slammed to ground, unconscious, by an elbow thrust to the chest. The pained shout of their comrade prompted the other three to turn, though they were stunned by the appearance of the attacker. Though they leveled their rifles at her despite this, a freak was a freak.

Naomi raised her hands halfway, she smiled with a sly look in her eyes. Curling four fingers and placing her thumb under the tips, she punched out. Flame burst from her each knuckle and struck the two Militiamen on either side of the third. Knocked off of their feet, the two hit their backs against the wreck of a small car, where they lay still.

"Might wanna watch your back." Said Naomi, blowing smoke off of her hands. The remaining Militiaman swerved around, remembering the threat of that flying freak.

Naito, back in the air, yelped, an actual [i]rocket[/i] nearly hitting him. He turned, twisting around it to avoid it, and grabbed the guy, throwing him to the gr--

The electrical guy was landing, electricity pulsing from his palms, and ran over, stomping hard on the enemy and sending a blue pulse into his chest. There was a convulsion, and he was stuck, an electrical restraint on each of his wrists and ankles, holding him on the ground.

Naito looked to the hero, or so he wanted to believe. "What's going--?"

"Interference? Cole MacGarth. Explain later."

"Look out!" Naito shouted as another rocket came their way. He didn't need to, as Cole turned on the spot, arms thrown forward as an electromagnetic blast sent the rocket flying in a random direction, away from them.

"Come on, Demon!" came a shout from the woman across on another roof. Cole sighed, firing a bolt of electricity her way, causing two of the tar-like wormy contraptions holding the Militiamen at her position to explode, possibly killing them, to Naito's shock.

"Names later, her now," he said. "Think you can distract these guys while we work?"

"Um...su--"

"Thanks." And he jumped, gliding to an electrical wire and riding it all the way to the next roof, jumping up and throwing himself over into a roll before re-entering combat. All but one of the flags already had oil on them.

Naito sighed, deciding to help the only other person he saw who wasn't with the "Militia". He flew to the pyrokinetic, landing next to her and stabbing into one of the men's knees to get him to drop to his hands and knees in pain before kicking him in the jaw, knocking him out. "Naito Zivaku," he said quickly, throwing a silvery pair of "Moon Wave" strikes at a rocket that blew it up in two of the enemies' faces.

"Naomi." She said, before sprinting past Naito to the edge of the rooftop and leaping to the next. Rolling to her feet, she spun her heel and kicked through the air in a wide arc, which created a crescent of flame that sent two riot shield carrying Militiamen stumbling backwards. Sprinting towards them, she jumped, landed on the riot shield, then vaulted off to land behind the shield carrier and pummel his back with a series of punches that left several scorch marks in his shirt. Grabbing him by the neck as he dropped the shield, she spun towards the second riot shield carrier and kicked her shield into his comrade, the collision sent them both stumbling backwards off the roof, where they screamed until a sickening crunch brought silence. Her victory was cut short by the chatter of machine gun fire from a rooftop across the street, forcing her to dive behind an air condition unit.

"Flyboy! Mind helping a girl out?" She shouted, wincing as her cover began to fizzle and spark. She could feel the back of her coat wiggle, and a small voice whispered into her ear, barely audible above the sounds of combat.

[i]"Mamma, is this a bad time to ask if you need help?"[/i]

"You [i]think?![/i]" She shouted, and her companion was silent. She didn't want to risk anyone seeing a real life dragon, these people were already scared out of their wits by people with powers, and she didn't blame them in the slightest.

Naito sighed at the comment, also forced to duck under the same cooling unit as a sniper bullet hit the ground where he had been. "I'll try, but don't call me that, Miss Naomi," he said, briefly looking over the edge. They needed to take those guys out, though without killing them would probably be a plus. He readied another Moon Wave...

A cloud of black smoke took all of the enemies, followed by more of those gouts of tar that exploded once more. The woman up there was laughing as she came up next to Cole, grabbing the last can, leaning back... and pouring it down. Naito was still in shock as she spoke. "Spark the banners, man! Do it!"

Naomi was temporarily speechless, this woman... whoever she was, was [i]amazing[/i]. Powerful, vicious, and she seemed to enjoy a good bit of chaos. In short, she was everything Naomi wanted to be. Standing from cover, she climbed up the next roof, curious as to what the purpose the oil soaked banners would ser-

A bolt of electricity ignited a banner, encasing it in flame. The fire spread to the banners surrounding the area. Naomi could feel the heat from here, and she loved the feeling. Below, the crowd of militia were scattered in all directions, panicking as they fired wildly in the air.

"There's no way out!" One cried out, his tone overtaken with fear.

Laughter from the woman, "Where you gonna run now?!" She was gone in the blink of an eye, reappearing on the ground below, where she encased the lower bodies of a nearby group of militia in tar. The tar then exploded as Cole landed in front of the group, his landing shaking the ground and sending an electric shockwave out in a circle.

"No way I'm missing this..." Naomi muttered, leaping from the roof. The body of one of the militia broke her fall, and she expressed her gratitude with a knockout punch to his face.

Naito, on the other hand... was horrified. The fire, so much fire... He didn't want these people killed, just to be taught a lesson! What did that woman want?!

"Oh gods..." he muttered, and was nearly a blur of motion, flying straight down, faster, faster, his wings almost tucked in....level out! The speed allowed him to catch a running civilian under his arm, fly him out of range, land him near the gates.

"B-but--"

"Get out of here!" the angel screamed. "Run!"

No questioning it, as the man sprinted out the gates, out of range, out of sight. Naito turned, trying to get a different militiaman, and heard that unnamed woman.

"Just a few more, baby!" More of that tar came up, bringing up two, four unaccounted for. An electric bolt took out the former two, allowing the woman a "Yeah!" in response.

Naito took a different route. As this carnage was taking place, he threw another Moon Wave, taking down one of the posts used to hold up the flags. It swayed.... and fell, stopping one of them in their tracks, letting him take them down with two stabs to the knees and a bash against the metal to the face. These people were out of their minds.

The intense heat from the banners only bolstered her powers, something she was all too aware of. Kicking outwards in rapid succession, volleys of small fireballs struck two of the militia, and they fell within seconds, their skin scorched beyond recognition. Turning in time to lean back under a rifle butt swing, she aimed a kick that connected with the man's gut, and she slammed her fist down on the back of his head, and he fell to the ground, motionless.

Naomi stopped once the screaming faded, and with a sigh, she crossed her arms, "Too damn quick." She muttered, tapping her foot in annoyance.

Finally, the woman appeared on the stage, holding a purple cylinder of some sort, glowing. "Yeeeeah [i]baby[/i]! You were.... [i]damn![/i]"

As Cole came close, she looked to the others. "Who're these? They look like they had some fun too!"

Naito glared at her. "That wasn't fun! That was sociopathic!"

Naomi rolled her eyes, "Don't be a b****, flyboy," she looked to the woman, "yeah, it was fun. Really fun. You ain't too bad in a fight either, like the tar." While it was she did admire this woman, she wasn't one to gush, no matter how much she wanted to.

"You got a name?" Naomi added, an eyebrow raised with crossed arms.

"Nix, firecracker," she said, laughing at the carnage and the reaction to Naito's outburst. "Flyboy. I like that!"

Naito groaned, Cole just looking to the cylinder. "Cole MacGarth. Now, about--"

"Here it is, Mister Pretty." After Cole took the cylinder, she asked her question, holding on to it a little until she finished. "Am I gonna see you again?"

He took it, putting it in a back pocket. "Call me," he said, blue electricity on his right hand again. "Call me, we got a little something in common."

Nix grinned, turning, swinging her hips slightly... and was gone in a flash of smoke.

Cole scoffed, turning away. "Unbelievable." He looked to the other two conscious survivors. "And you two? Conduits, or just Interferences?"

"Um... dunno what the first is, Mister MacGarth," Naito said, trying to remain polite under pressure.

"Cole. Just Cole. I guess you two can come. As I said, we've all got something in common."

Disappointed to see Nix leave, Naomi sighed, then turned to Cole. "Come where? What's that glowing thing?" She asked, finding the glowing object almost transfixing. Shaking her head, Naomi glanced to Naito. Sure, he was too polite for his own good, a bit stupid for going out of his way to save people, and had a face that just screamed 'punch me', but he was good in a fight. That went a long way with her.

"Why are you here? The music? Moonshine?" She laughed, "Course you're not, you want to see some action, juuust like me, right?"

Cole rolled his eyes. "I was it in for this. Not for the carnage. Come on back to Zeke's, and we'll--"

A male voice was audible on the radio on his chest. [i]"Who're these? What's going on?"[/i]

"New Blast Core, Zeke," the protagonist said. "And new Interferences, since I don't' think they know about the Beast."

"Beast?" Naito asked.

"I'll explain when we get back. Don't think they're Conduits, but you never know."

[i]"Really? Weird. Alright, bring 'em on up to my place, and we'll see where they can crash."[/i]

"Alright... if you think that's a good idea." He just looked blankly at Naomi at that. "Used to be those first ones, and not that last one. I'm here to train. To get stronger to... Look, let's just go. You can fly?" he asked Naito.

"Um...yeah?"

"Then bring her over. Follow me." With that, he started off running, jumping up, grabbing a telephone pole, and climbing up to a wire. In second he was grinding and gliding along.

Naito sighed. "You want to come with me, you're going to have to avoid killing or hurting people at random. We're supposed to be good, unless you aren't. So, you coming?"

Naomi rose her hands in mock defense, "They hit first, I hit back harder." At the mention of flying, she practically glowed, flying was something she had always wanted to do, and now she had the chance. This day seemed to be getting better and better. "Enough talking, we gonna g-"

Naomed cursed loudly as she was adroitly gripped in a hug from behind, though she went silent as Naito took to the air. New Marais was truly a beautiful city from a bird's eye view.

===

Several minutes went by before they landed, where Cole was looking around at the roof. There was a television hooked up, a couch, and some lighting, but nothing fancy.

The electrokinetic held out his arms as he looked, waving to them before he grinned. "Looks just like home."

"Cole?" An overweight man with dark sunglasses, light skin, and short, slicked black hair came in, faking pointing a gun at him with his right hand. He was entirely garbed in Militia attire otherwise, Naito  on edge as a result. "Get yer hands up, you deviant, subhuman, homo sapien!"

The angel tilted his head in confusion. "That.... do you even know what that means?"

"Eh, who asked you?" "Zeke" said, arms out to his side as he grinned, hands up as he turned around to show off.

"You joined the Militia?" Cole deadpanned.

"Nah." He stopped, his left side toward them, pantomiming holding a gun in his hands, a pistol held and pointed up in front of him. "It's more like Zeke Dunbar: Double Agent." On that, he turned toward them, faking making a shot. "Get it?" He dropped the act and his hands. "I'm a spy."

"For our side, right?" He evidently didn't have a lot of trust.

"Oh, ye of little faith!"

"Well, my faith's been shaken before, Zeke." An uncomfortable laugh.

"I thought that was water under the bridge!"

"Um...what is?" Naito asked, confused.

Uncomfortable silence from the both of them. "Um..." Zeke finally spoke. "So... they know?"

"Nah, nothing," he said, sitting on the couch with the "Blast Core" in his hands.

Chuckling at Zeke's expense, Naomi sat down on the other end of the couch and propped a leg onto the arm, "So what's the big deal? Why does this guy need that.... Thing?" She asked, an annoyance for being out of the loop was settling in.

Cole nodded, and decided to say it. "People like me and Nix, we're called Conduits. Two of yours are at least. One in a thousand here. Back in Empire City, where I lived? Had trouble after my powers activated, during it, too." He glanced to Zeke, who coughed nervously into his hand, then back to the ground again. "Found out about a Beast intent on extinguishing all life. Fought him back there. I almost... I might have won, but... It exploded. The whole damned city. Lucy Kuo, from the NSA -- secret agent types... well, she knows some. Wolfe knew some. But he's dead, and we have to keep moving to pick up the pieces, to find Kuo again, get her back from the Militia, and get ready to fight the Beast when it gets down south over here." He held out the "Blast Core." "Prototype Ray Sphere energy source. Ray Sphere's what gave the powers, killed a whole lot of city blocks the first time it activated. And that's not even mentioning the plague. Don't know what causes it. Maybe the Beast is spreading it, and it already was there? I don't know."

He looked over at them. "Anything else? Or should I charge this thing and get a new power? No, you guys can't. Don't want to have to find out if you're Conduits or not the hard way."

Naomi wished that she hadn't bothered asking questions, a Beast blowing up a city? How do you kill something like that? She had half a mind to leave this world before that Beast came, but she quickly decided against it. Nothing was too big to kill, you just needed a bigger fire. Though she had a feeling that she wouldn't see such a fight go down, which sucked.

"I think I've got it, you can light the fireworks now." She said, leaning back into the couch.

He nodded, standing again as he gripped the Core in both hands, Naito standing back with Zeke. The electrokinetic looked to the native. "I better not wake up in a Militia cage."

Zeke was a little upset. "Come on, man, I got your back."

The time traveler watched as Cole gripped the core, grunting as he let a sizable charge through it. Faster, faster! Finally he let go, jumping into the air, throwing his arms and legs out spread eagle as electricity coursed out in four directions, one from each limb. He held there for reveal seconds... and finally collapsed face-first, unconscious, electricity still crackling around his body.

Naito looked to Zeke. "Um...he okay?"

"If it's like the last one? He's more than okay," he said, walking around to a cooler on the ground. "You guys want drinks until he wakes up? Any particular kinds?"

"Um... just water will be fine. Want my head clear if the Militia shows up," Naito said. "Anything for you, Miss Naomi?"

"Just... Just Naomi," She said, feeling breathless from the display of the blast core, "Anything alcoholic, don't ask me about my age." She said, before realizing that she was gripping the couch's arm rather tightly. When she lifted her hand, a black handprint remained where her hand was before.

Naito nodded, deciding just not to speak as he caught a water bottle from a toss, a bottle of beer thrown to Naomi without a word about age. Either he was following the request, or he just didn't care. The angel just sat on the couch near Naomi, seeing the handprint, and waited, keeping his distance. He didn't have much to talk about, and Zeke seemed busy.

A few sips from her drink (which didn't taste half bad, if a little flat) had steadied her nerves, and her usual passive expression came back. Glancing to Naito, she looked him up and down, as if she were trying to piece an analysis of him together in her mind. "How do you fly?" She said adruptly, staring him in the eyes.

Naito thought a moment about how to talk about this as he sipped some water. The Cruxis crystal he had was within his own body, unlike many others, so as to be unable to repossess or to take advantage of. How could he say? "Um... it's a little complicated. It involves magic from my world. I have this crystal inside me, a memento from my dad. I'm working on getting the skills associated without it." He leaned forward, the silver, ethereal wings appearing. "Untouchable, but usable when people are riding on my back as much as held in my arms. It's just...well, it's what I was born with. And it only works for certain people. Too dangerous to give at random, or they'll turn into homicidal monsters. And... the crystal itself is... well, it was made from a tortured soul. We just took it after it was made to use it for good against its creators."

Several blinks, "That's... Cool, I guess," a glance at the window, "So... What's your world like?" A returning stare, a world with magic like his could be an interesting place to learn about, not that she'd ever admit that learning was a big deal.

"Uh..." This one was a little more confusing to explain. Best to just...get to it. "Well... I have two home worlds. I'm the son of two Interferences, so... well, one world is pretty low tech, but peaceful. I hang out with my mom's friends there and her dad and uncles and aunts and such. But the world the wings are from is my dad's. It's... well, Aselia is mixing still from being two. We have mana to fuel our magic and keep the demons out from Niflheim, but it's nothing special, just ways to move technology and some combat applications." He sighed. "Sorry for being rude before. I get stressed in situations like that one."

Time passed, the two making some little bits of conversation, not much. Mostly about their respective worlds, avoiding talk about their moral compasses. Zeke explained about Cole's powers as best as he could, about how he had to recharge like a battery, how his weapon worked and how Zeke had invented it. He even brought up the idea of maybe seeing about training them while passing time between Blast Core runs. Gunfire was audible below at last. Militia?

There was a groan nearby. "Oh man..." Cole groaned, having cooled down as he lay there, stirring as he got back to his feet. It appeared he was alright.

Zeke came over. "Phew, glad you're awake. There's some idiots down there shooting up anything that moves."

Cole shrugged, drawing his cattle prod weapon, the Amp, as Zeke called it. He cracked his neck. "I'll take care of it. It'll give me a chance to see if I got anything new." And, without a word, he jumped off the roof.

Naito looked to Naomi. "Um...need me to carry you down?"

Nodding, Naomi held her breath as he lifted her up in flight. Once her feet hit the ground, she scanned the area. Five hostiles, each armed with automatic rifles.

Not a problem.

[i]Boom![/i] The Thunder Drop technique from Cole, powered by both his Amp and the sheer shockwave, sent two of the Militia members flying, slamming into a wall. Neither was unconscious nor dead, and they did get up, but he was relentless nonetheless. He slammed the Amp into one's chest, then an uppercut to the chin, followed by a hit to each side. He finished the combo with a finisher, slamming the thing into the side of the man's head, knocking him unconscious.

The angel among them let go of Naomi after the landing, going straight into the fight himself. He ducked under some gunfire, around a fountain at the center and came up the the other enemy Cole had been attacking. He slashed across his chest, knocking the gun from his hand, then hit his hilt of one of his dao "Lunar Saber" weapons into his nose, breaking it. There was a shout of pain, and a spray of gunfire from behind him hit Naito, making him drop to one knee. The man he was fighting was ready to attack again... but he didn't give him a chance, tackling him to the ground with a shout and punching him once, twice, three times into the ground until he was moaning in pain.

Cole planted his foot onto the unconscious man's chest, thrusting his palm down, a collection of electric binds held the man's wrists and ankles to the ground, rendering him immobile. He copied the Arc Restraint on the man Naito had taken down before another collective burst of gunfire forced him to dodge via several rolls. The men were too focused on Cole to see Naomi leap into the air and connect a flaming kick into one of their comrade's heads, who fell to the ground, motionless, with smoke carrying the scent of burning hair rising from his head. The remaining two swiveled in her direction, though she dived into a roll under their bullets. Uppercutting the leftmost man as she stood, she followed through with a spinning kick that connected with his stomach, knocking him to the ground with a groan.

She turned just as the other man's fist connected with her nose. A small cracking sound confirmed that it was broken, though she only stumbled back before launching herself onto him. As the two fell to the ground, she snarled, delivering several punches to the man's face, which was quickly turning bloody. "Mother. F***ing. Piece. Of. S***!" She shouted, punctuating every word with a blow. Stopping once the man's struggles ceased, she stood and stepped away from his unconscious body. "Ah... Crap..." She muttered, pinching her nose.

Not long after, the remaining Militia members had been restrained. The second to last of them began to glow, a purple that emanated in a concentrated orb near his chest as he moaned. Zeke's voiced was audible on his radio set.

[i]"Man, you see that? There's a weird kind of glow on that guy. You do that?"[/i]

"No... no, but I feel it. It... it's uh..." he said, walking over. The purple came up, going into him and absorbing inside of him. "It's Ray Field energy!"

Naito had an idea. "Maybe he was around when they were testing that 'Ray Sphere' here or something."

A nod from the electrokinetic, and he looked down the empty street, seemingly getting an idea. Just cars there, no people. He spun three hundred sixty degrees, charging a sphere of electrical energy through the Amp into between his hands in front of him... and threw.

What commenced from there could most accurately be described as a tornado. Dark wind ripped down the street, electrical branches of power crackling out of it. Cars were picked up, thrown at buildings or just straight up into the air. It went all the way to the far building two blocks away before it dissipated.

Cole just stared in wonder at the Ionic Vortex, a grin coming to his face slightly as Naito just watched in shock and horror. "No way..."