[b]Thanks for the reviews. Next one up. This one is going to go through a way through the game that is actually impossible for reasons that will be clear within it.[/b]

[size=4]Rabble Rousers[/size]

A few days had passed since Cole had learned his "Ionic Vortex" move. They had named the purple energy on some Militia soldiers "Ionic charges" or "Ionic Energy". Both of the Interferences had been given handheld radios like Cole had, so people could keep in contact, mostly Zeke, but Cole and even Nix on some very rare occasions.

A lot of time had been spent giving Cole "Rayacite" or "Blast Shards", highly charged pieces of earth that glowed blue or purple. Naito had been spending most of his time gathering them, seeing as he could fly, but he did seem weak after handling them, and needed a few minutes to take a breath. Maybe the radiation had negative effects? Unknown, but unlikely to be that much of an issue.

Naomi, after constant pestering, had convinced Cole to be a trainer of sorts in order for her to learn how to better utilize her rare ability to manipulate lightning. Though her world's version of electrokinesis was controlled differently than Cole's, she managed to adapt and learn (after several days of relentless training) a basic attack that sent a bolt of electricity out of her palm. She had made a habit out shooting bolts any chance she could, much to Naito's annoyance. This only encouraged her to continue, as she was none too fond of his 'goody two-shoes' nature. She had a feeling that the feeling was mutual, it didn't take a genius to figure out that her destructive tendencies unnerved him.

However, despite their differences, both of them did come to Zeke's roof to relax and talk. It was there that they came to see Zeke once he had heard about something important, them and the two Conduits they knew.

As the four arrived, Zeke was sitting on the couch in a white shirt and green jacket, reading a book titled [u]Thievius Raccoonus[/u]. He did close it, though, standing up as he spoke, starting with a slight groan. "Ugh... I tell you guys," He started to pace. "Spying on this Militia? [i]Man[/i] it's taken [i]years[/i] off my life." He did turn to them, grinning as he pointed to them. "But boy is it worth it."

Cole grinned in return, walking forward. "Heh, you found out where they're keeping Kuo." He crouched a bit, putting an arm on one knee.

Naito knew better than to interrupt, but he did grin. Maybe they could get a better idea on what to do with her here, if he understood talks right. Only then could they bring down this "Joseph Bertrand III" and his Militia to make it easier for Cole to take on the Beast.

Zeke had his hands on his hips then. "Bertrand's got all his veterans protecting an old cane plantation. Word is they've got all the serious... uh..." He made some hand motions to try to get a word for it. "'deviants' caged up in there."

To Naito's dismay, Nix had an idea. "That's the place with a streetcar out front, yeah?"

"That's the one," Zeke confirmed.

It was Nix's turn to pace, making some hand motions as she walked past and around the vicinity of Naomi, getting increasingly manic. "I got an idea. We fill the streetcar up with explosives, we get it going [i]real, real fast[/i], we ram it through the front door, and [i][b]boom[/b][/i]!"

Naomi found herself grinning as Nix laid out her unorthodox plan of action. It was dangerous, destructive, and it would cause a [i]lot[/i] of mayhem. It was perfect. "Likin' the sound of that, sounds like a [i]blast[/i]!" She said, chuckling darkly at the pun. She then glanced at Naito, wondering what he'd have to say about such a violent way of accomplishing one's goals. If his boring do-good personality was any indication, his opinion would take hours to explain.

Cole pointed to them. "Fire will make a great diversion."

After palming his face in exasperation at the pun, Naito had an objection, though a far shorter one than Naomi thought. "This is the Militia," he said, glaring at Naomi. "They'll have people caged up. Blow open the gates, and they'll be burned alive! Not to mention any innocents anywhere else near it!"

Zeke nodded. "Naito's got a point."

Cole was a little annoyed. "Come on, Zeke, Naito. If we're gonna do this thing with any sort of precision, we're gonna need a much bigger [i]team[/i]."

At that, the one non-action oriented double agent nodded, thinking. "Hm..." He had it as he walked around, stopping and looking at the group of powered people. "Militia's been parading around cages full of cops. These guys used to fight against them."

Cole understood, standing upright again and walking toward him. "Think we break 'em out, give 'em guns..."

Naito sighed with relief, liking this idea better. "Much better, much less likely to cause too much damage. Zeke, where's--?"

Nix cut him off, annoyed as she waved her arms. "Wait, wait, wait. Free cops? No, no, no." She pointed at Zeke, then stepped away. "If we do that, I'm out."

Likewise, Naomi wasn't liking the second plan at all. She'd never been fond of any form of law enforcement for reasons stemming in the past. Crossing her arms, she looked to Naito with a frown, "Same here, why should we help people who wouldn't think twice if they had the choice to kill us?" She said, then nodded in Nix's direction, "We could do this ourselves," she gave her head a jerk towards the others, "They do their thing, we do ours."

Naito's eyes narrowed more. She was willing to sacrifice civilians just for her "fun"? He wasn't going to have any part of that, so he just listened to Zeke again.

"Now, think about it, Cole," the nonConduit said. "Putting some ex-cops back on the street? Hell, that could pay off in the long run."

Though Nix did agree a bit with Naomi, she was angry with Zeke. "Screw that, man!" She stepped back from him... then over to Cole, whispering now. "Don't you want to see that place burn, baby?" And she stepped back, motioning toward her. "I know you do..." She looked to Naomi. "Any case, down by the streetcar. I'll have it set up. Just be there. I'll guide you, alright, firecracker?" And she disappeared in a burst of smoke.

Naito looked to Zeke once more, who was annoyed with her, shaking his head. "Whatever. It's your call, chief," he admitted, walking over to change into his Militia outfit and get his handgun.

Naito looked to Naomi. "If you're so set on blowing everything up even if it hurts so many people, I'm not going to stop you, and I know it. All I'll ask is that you don't run people over. I'll keep in touch, but we'll cut off communication if you annoy us."

"Whatever." Naomi muttered, rolling her eyes and giving Naito a dissmissive wave of the hand. Despite the fact that she wanted to go along with Nix's plan, she felt uneasy about the fact that many people would be injured from the ensuing explosion. Yes, she was a destructive and violent person, but she'd hardly ever killed others because of this. The truth being that she disliked taking lives immensely, and Naito's request to avoid running people over would stick in her head. She'd try to minimize the casualties, but that was it, going out of her way for others wasn't her style.

"I'll see you when I see you." She said, exiting the rooftop from the door. As she left the building, Naomi could hear Chau whisper in her ear.

[i]"Are you sure you wanna do this?"[/i]

She smiled, "Yeah, I am." Chau said nothing to this, and slithered back into her jacket. Naomi then took to the streets, walking with haste towards her destination.

===

Some time passed before Cole and Naito made it to one of the tile roofs, looking down at the parade of trucks. They had gotten Cole some power on the way, sapped from power lines. Three, one on front, one in back, one in the middle with the cage of police officers. Those in the front and back had Militia members on top and inside of them, the sides open so they could cheer and laugh, as well as a pickup truck in back with two more on it, and a helicopter in the air. There were a few on top of the cage too, a visible mechanism there to keep it locked as the police officers sighed in defeat or tried to get out by shaking the bars.

Cole spoke. "Sure packing a lot of heat just to humiliate some police."

Zeke on the other end. [i]"It'll be worth it. The cops in those cages are just a fraction of what they've got back at the plantation. You bust those boys out, and you're gonna have a hard time holding them back."[/i]

"Yeah, we'll see," Naito agreed.

Someone out on a loudspeaker as the trucks came around. [i]"Good people of New Marais. These men swore an oath to protect and serve, but when things got tough, did they accept the help of fellow citizens? No, they turned their arrogant backs on the Militia..."[/i]

Cole and Naito were no longer listening as they dropped down to the street level at the former's insistence, and stood, ready as the convoy turned the corner, right in their path.

It was time to start working.

===