inFAMOUS: Ruins of Empire

Chapter 1. Conduits and Normals

7 Years Later...In Curdun Cay...

   Lillian is now 25 years old. She has her hair cut shorter like a pixie-cut, but not quite as short. Lilly is also wearing a green headband. The former photographer is currently sitting alone in an interrogation room, smoking a cigarette with a reinforced one-way mirror in front of her. From this angle she can see that her eyes are reddened from tears.

   "Tell us something, Miss Vaga," says a distorted intercom voice. "How long have you known Celia Penderghast for?" Lilly doesn't say a word. Instead she puffs her Cigarette. After a brief silence, the voice asks "Do you have anything to tell us at all, Miss?"

   Lilly raises an eyebrow. "Actually...yes."

   "And?"

   "Question..." Lilly starts. "How long have I spent kissing your asses for? Hm? Six...maybe Seven years at this point?"

   Behind the one-way mirror, one individual can be seen whispering to another. After a brief moment of silence, the distorted voice says "Seven Years is Correct."

   "Right," Lilly continues. "Now so...In that span of time, how many conduits did I help you bring in? Or 'Bio-Terrorists' as you call them?" She puffs the Cigarette again. "I helped you bring in a lot, didn't I? Some more powerful than others...Right?"

   After a brief silence, the voice asks "Do you have a point, Miss Vaga?"

   "The whole point, I suppose, is that I've been working for you people for Seven Years...'Bitch Work'...and what do I have to show for it? Half the people imprisoned here hate my guts, and now one of my best friends is dead...killed by one of your Dupe-Troopers."

   Sounding disingenuous, the distorted voice says "I understand you're upset, Miss Vaga. Celia's death was a tragic accident-."

   Lilly cuts them off. "Don't you dare try to patronize me! I already know the truth. What happened to Celia before...that was not an accident. You've been bullshiting people like this ever since I first arrived here. You think I'm not aware of your dishonest tactics?"

   Another distorted voice, whoever it is, appears to snap back. "I suggest you watch your tone, Miss Vaga. Bare in mind that you are not the one in control here."

   Sounding confident, Lillian says "You sure about that? Cuz from my understanding, those concrete restraints of yours don't work on me. Which means...I could leave this place and free everyone inside anytime I wanted."

   "Yes, but we still have another good friend of yours in captivity here. Understand that any untoward actions on your part, could endanger this one's life."

   Lilly eases up. "Perhaps...but you won't be able to control us forever, you know-?"

   The voice cuts her off. "We did not ask for your opinion, Miss Vaga." Lillian takes a breath, and the seemingly locked door off to the side of the room appears to unlock. "This interview is over, so I suggest you return to your cell at once."

   Lilly gets up from her seat. "Ain't got much of a choice in the matter. None of us do." Lillian leaves the room and the door closes behind her.

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   She is immediately greeted by a D.U.P. Guard who had been waiting outside the room. In a strong southern accent, the guard says "Hey, Lilly. How'd the interview go in there?"

   "About as well as expected," Lilly says as she starts to make her way through the long hallway. The guard escorts her.

   "Some tough shit, ain't it?" the guard sincerely says. "Lose a good friend...you feel powerless, and the whole world goes dark around you...I know the feelin all too well."

   "Well...'Powerless' isn't a word I'd use, but...yeah. Okay. Speaking of 'Powerless', you're not a conduit yourself, are you?"

   "How do you figure that, eh? What type of...uh...special abilities do you got anyway?"

   "Plant based mostly. Though I also have a Bio-Sense that allows me to detect other Conduits. That's how I know that you're not-."

   "Oh okay. By the way, I noticed that you're not wearing any restraints at all. Do your powers have somethin to do with that, er-."

   "Hmm. You don't have much experience here, do you? But, yes. My powers don't sit well with concrete, and that keeps the other guards at bay."

   "Damn. Bet you got Augustine shittin her pants, huh?"

   "Tsk." A smirk appears on Lilly's face as she shakes her head. "No. Not really. My Fast-Healing Power relies on UV Lighting to work effectively." She points at the ceiling. "As you can see here, the Dupes put in special lighting to keep my powers in check. That's one thing they got on me."

   "Oh, I see what you mean." The two pass through a set of double doors and enter the next area of the prison.

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   "Hey, listen," the guard says. "While you were in that room for the interview, I received word that Fetch and two other conduits managed to escape the D.U.P. Transport."

   "Seriously? How the hell did they pull that off?"

   "Couldn't really tell ya, but I do know this though. The Smoke Conduit Hank Daughtry was with them, and he got slowed down trying to create a diversion for the others. Augustine and her crew managed recover Hank, but uh...Fetch and that Video Power kid got away."

   Suddenly two other D.U.P. Guards approach Lilly and her escort and stop them both where they stand. "Hey!" one of them calls out. "No fraternizing with the prisoners here!"

   The second guard backs up the first one by saying "You lookin for trouble or somethin, bub?!"

   Lilly's guard escort is speechless. "Uhh."

   "Back off, you two!" Lilly exclaims. She then shows off her power by sprouting a vine from her wrist. "You do know who I am. Don't you? Know what kinda powers I possess? Hmm?" The other two guards back away, and Lilly retracts the vine. "Damn straight."

   "Whew. Thanks for that," says Lilly's escort.

   "No problem." As the two of them continue walking, Lilly says "You get yourself into trouble alot? Seems that way to me."

   "Yeah. You could say that. There's a lot of uh...risk involved in my line of work. Lost a lotta good people myself over the years. Some better men than others. The way I see it, good people need to stick together. Conduits...Normals...Doesn't matter to me."

   "Seem to have a good head on your shoulders," Lilly comments.

   "Yeah, I appreciate it," the guard escort says as they both arrive at Lilly's Cell. "Looks like we made it. Best take care of yourself, Lilly. I'm gonna be out for the next couple of weeks or so."

   "Doing what exactly?"

   "I uh..." he clears his throat. "I think I better keep that to myself for the time being. Discussing it here...not a good idea. I'll catch ya later."