Infamous
As Cole was nursed back to health by his girlfriend Trish Dailey and best friend Zeke Dunbar, Empire City fell apart after the day of the Blast, with riots and crimes being committed all over the city, along with a violent plague. As a desperate attempt from the government to contain the plague, they have issued a quarantine on the city, leaving everyone trapped within the chaos and crime of the city. With the lawmen gone, the criminals took over the districts, leaving the city lawless and miserable.
Cole, after a few days, awoke and soon discovered his newfound powers. Getting out of bed, Cole practiced his powers with Zeke, hoping to control it for good use. Cole would use his powers to help assist the city in recovering the food drop, along with Zeke, after he recovered his firearm, and Trish, who made his way to the area right after the latter two's success. Then, a television broadcast by the "Voice of Survival" had Cole named a terrorist, causing several civilians to become hostile and suspicious towards him. Also, in the midst of this, Trish walked out on Cole, with the latter believing that he was partly responsible for her sister Amy's death in the Blast.
Cole and Zeke decided to meet up at the Stampton Bridge, to begin their escape from the city before things got ugly. Though their escape with the rioting civilians managed to garner a minor success, they were stopped by a wall of turrets and razor wire, slaughtering every civilian that tried to escape. Zeke broke through the nearby gate and fell down to the harbor, while Cole made his way out through the exit Zeke went through, managing to hide within a decontamination chamber. Cole was then greeted by name, by an FBI agent named Moya Jones. She saw the footage of Cole at Ground Zero and figured he would try to escape (also knowing he had superhuman powers).
She explained that the night before the explosion, John White, her husband and fellow agent, disappeared. She explained John's mission to infiltrate the First Sons in order to learn more of the device known as the Ray Sphere, a device designed to drain the energy out of nearby civilians and then focusing it on the one holding the device, the same device that gave Cole his powers. Without being able to establish contact with John, Moya offered Cole a deal, in which he was to return to the city to find John and the Ray Sphere, and in return, she would get him out of the quarantine and clear his name. Cole agreed and returned to the city.
After making it back to town, Cole then told Zeke about the situation and soon went on to fulfill several of Moya's requests, such as helping out one of his associates and rescuing a train line that might have been where John was. His activities eventually led him and Moya to Sasha, a former member of the First Sons, now the leader of the Reapers, a local faction that took over the majority of the city's Neon District. Deducing her location, Cole made his way into the area and confronted her.
After a fight, Cole was able to subdue Sasha, but as he was about to question her about the First Sons, the area was destroyed and infiltrated by a group of men. The men took Sasha and left Cole for dead underneath the rubble. After getting out of the rubble, Cole made his way out of the area and into the city slums, the Warren. After restoring power, Cole later continued his work with Moya in locating the Ray Sphere and John.
As he went about his duties, Cole was able to encounter Alden Tate, a former member of the First Sons who was born to the faction's leader. His position was taken away by Kessler, a man whom Cole met while looking for John and the Ray Sphere in the Neon District. Now the leader of the Dust Men, Alden terrorized the district with his superhuman powers. After rescuing Trish from Alden's rampage, Cole worked with Moya and the Empire City Police Department to apprehend Alden. Making his way to the faction's home territory, Cole worked in conjunction with the police in arresting Alden, and after a battle, they were successful in arresting him.
Alden was then taken to Eagle Point Penitentiary for Moya and his men to extract him. Cole and Zeke, who decided to help out the police after a certain situation, were present during Alden's transfer to another cell, believing that his men would go after him. Their guess proved right, as the Dust Men invaded the penitentiary. Cole and the other policemen held back the attack while Zeke and the other policemen took Alden to his cell. After the transfer was finished, Zeke came out of the facility in order to assist Cole and the others, despite his orders to stay with Alden. A worried Cole immediately went to check on Alden, but by the time he got there, the policemen were already dead, and Alden has already escaped.
Cole left the area and went on to restore part of the district's power, while Zeke contemplated on his failure. After restoring the power, Cole was contacted by John White, who told him to meet up with him alone. Though he did come on his own, Cole, unbeknownst to him, was followed by a helicopter that was supposed to extract John. John, due to his long time undercover, believed that they were the First Sons, and fled the area before they could explain themselves. As the chopper followed John, so did Cole. After the chopper's destruction by Cole's doing, John kept himself hidden yet again and contacted Cole once more.
John informed him that Alden Tate had the Ray Sphere in his possession and has kept it safe at the top of his tower. John instructed him to go there with someone he could trust, and as he listened, Cole asked John what did he want to tell Moya. Here it was revealed that John was never married, and knew no one named Moya. After this revelation, Cole avoided contact with Moya and worked cooperatively with John, as he instructed Zeke to meet him at the foot of the trash tower.
Meeting up with Zeke, Cole then navigated up the tower while working with Zeke. After passing a few floors, Cole and Zeke were able to reach the top, and awaiting them was Alden and the Ray Sphere. While Cole held off Alden's subordinates, Zeke kept himself at bay and waited for the right time to take the Ray Sphere. After defeating the last of Alden's men, Zeke took the Ray Sphere out of its cradle, though it was soon stopped by Alden and Kessler, who arrived at the area via a chopper. Caught between both Alden and Kessler, Zeke gave in to his selfish desire after realizing that it was just inches away from him. He then attempted to activate the Ray Sphere in order for him to gain powers, though as the energy surged out of the device, it soon retracted, causing no change to neither Zeke nor his environment.
Kessler immediately grasped the situation by telling Zeke that he could help him gain the powers he wanted, claiming that he knew what was wrong with the device. Zeke, after looking back at Cole, took off with Kessler in his chopper with the Ray Sphere. Alden then went berserk over the loss of the device, which resulted in Cole being subdued by the falling debris and Alden fleeing the area. After awakening, Cole was instructed by John to meet Alden at the bridge leading to the Historic District in order to stop Alden's rampage. Cole made his way to the bridge, and after dealing with Alden's men, he was able to defeat Alden. As Cole grabbed him and pinned him down to a wall, Alden offered a truce between them, claiming that they should work together. The moment Cole hesitated, Alden jumped down to the river. Despite this, Cole later continued to make his way to the Historic District.
There, Kessler had set up a challenge for Cole to rescue several civilians held hostage with bombs nearby their location and also revealed that he had Trish held hostage as well. After saving all of them, Kessler presented Cole with a choice: save Trish or six other doctors, both of which hung from buildings opposite each other. With only enough time to save one side, Cole made his move, though, despite his efforts, he failed to save Trish. After giving her a proper burial at the district's park, Cole prepared to face Kessler, vowing that he would pay for Trish's death.
Cole and John worked in an effort to take on the First Sons. He started off by destroying the gas balloons that deployed a deadly gas that rooted from Sasha's black tar, then moved on to destroying the signaling device that was jamming John's radar for the device. Though during his activities, Cole was contacted by both Zeke and Moya, he refused to hear what they had to say and continued on with his tasks. After destroying the device, Cole and John were able to learn the location of the Ray Sphere and made immediate plans in order to obtain the device.
Arriving at the area where the device was being kept, Cole and John worked together to lure out the First Sons and the device. With Cole destroying the anti-aircraft turrets and John deploying a toxic chemical to the designated building, they were able to get the First Sons out of the building. Unfortunately, the group had a truck already waiting, and after the chemical's deployment, they made their way out of the facility and into the harbor. Cole followed them along with John, and after subduing all of the nearby First Sons, he was able to get the Ray Sphere. After contemplating on what to do with the device, Cole took action, though right after Cole's act, the device cracked open. A powerful vortex of energy swallowed John and tore him apart, subsequently destroying the entire harbor. Cole made his way out of there before he himself was swallowed by the vortex.
Kessler then contacted Cole right after, telling him to meet with him at Ground Zero. With him waiting there, Cole finally confronted Kessler, and after a battle (with the interference of a repentant Zeke), he was able to defeat him. As Kessler tried to stand up, Cole heard him mention Trish, how he loved her and asked her for forgiveness. Kessler then immediately leaped towards Cole and grabbed him by the head the same way he did during their first encounter. As Kessler repeated all of the visions he has shown, Cole began to understand what it all meant.
Kessler then showed an alternate timeline where the world was ravaged by a powerful entity known only as "The Beast". Though Kessler had his powers to try and stop the Beast during its early days, he instead chose to flee away from it with his family. As the Beast hunted him down while subsequently destroying everything in its path, Kessler and his family watched as the rest of the world fell apart. After the death of his family, Kessler made a desperate attempt to undo his mistake by going back in time in order to rewrite history.
Kessler then accelerated the chain of events that lead to Cole's conception as a Conduit, which involved all of the events that have happened in the city (the Blast, the quarantine, and many others). Kessler's only driving force and motivation was a picture from his wedding day: with Trish Dailey as his bride and Zeke Dunbar as his best man. Cole then realized that he and Kessler were the same person. Kessler went back in time to make sure that Cole got his powers, and he took measures so that he could do the impossible; make him strong enough to face and defeat the entity he was not able to confront. After giving his final message, Kessler succumbed to his injuries, and as Cole took one final look down at his future self, he turned away while holding down the rage within him, subsequently vowing that he would be ready for the Beast's advent.
Aftermath
Good: Cole later on reflected on his journey and remarked that he thought it would be all over once Kessler was out of the picture. Though as he realized his place in the world, he began to accept that there was no going back to the life he once had; that his powers would be a burden to carry until his death, using them as a means to help the city back up to its feet. Though, he was reminded of Moya's promise of revenge and Zeke's moment of betrayal, not sure what to make of it. He then remarked that he has never been more alone, as he watched over the city.
Evil: Cole tore down the city and reduced it to a wasteland, taking it down notch by notch as he went about his activities. As he looked on, he remarked that his powers were only good for one thing: letting him take what he wanted, when he wanted, and completely neglected what Kessler has laid out for him, claiming that he was an idiot for trying to make him into a savior. Cole declared that in a lawless town, the strong take what they want, and the weak are slaves, mere playthings. As Cole looked around the wasteland he has created, he remarked that there is no one stronger than him and that the city was his for the taking.
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