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2013 a.t.b., Harlem, New York. Alistair was travelling alone, as he had separated himself from Alison, two weeks beforehand.

Alison: What do you mean, you wanna travel alone?! I've been sticking my neck out for you!
Alistair (Age 12): I think you've been with me, long enough.
Alison: What about Civility!? You can't fight them! They have no weaknesses!
Alistair: I'll figure something out. If you want, we can meet again...on my 13th birthday.
Alison: Where!? When!?
Alistair: April 1, in Georgia.
Alison: I know where that hideout is! Just a couple of months, huh? Okay. Stay safe.
Alistair: That's a given.

As Alistair walked through the neighborhood of Harlem, he saw that most of the buildings had crumbled and that barely anybody was on the street.

Alistair: (thinking) So, this must be the work of Civility. No energy weapons were used to destroy the buildings, so it had to be cyborgs.

On the other side of the street, two African American men noticed Alistair walking down the foggy road.

Man A: Yo, you see that kid?
Man B: He's white. That's a rarity.
Man A: Think he's new to Harlem?
Man B: What do you think? This is mostly a black neighborhood.
Man A: Man, why'd you have to be educated?
Man B: I'd rather be smart than not know anything at all.
Man A: Are we gonna help him, or not?

The two men approached Alistair, causing him to stop walking.

Man A: Hey, kid. You new here?
Alistair: That's a given. I'm not African American.
Man B: Yeah. Listen, it can get dangerous out here...
Man A: Let's just get on with it, Andre. They'll be here, any second. Let's just drag him outta here.
Andre Wilson: Lamar, you're not helping.
Lamar Jacobs: Screw you, man. I'm tryin' to help, too.

Immediately, more men appeared, all of them African American. They appeared to be part of a gang.

Gang Member: Andre. Lamar.
Lamar: Shit. Sorry, kid.
Alistair: It's fine. I'm used to it.
Andre: The hell do you want? This is our turf, not yours.
Gang Member: What about that white kid? He part of your group? Your little freedom fighters?
Andre: Insult him one more god damn time, and there will be no mercy.
Gang Member: (while chuckling) Ooh! (stops chuckling) I'm so scared. Oh, wait... No, I'm not. You're outnumbered, goody-goodies. You answer to me, thus you answer to York.

All of a sudden, rapid gunshots could be heard, and the gang member's posse fell to the ground, dead. Alistair's pistol was smoking from its barrel.

Alistair: Never graduated high school, did you?
Lamar: The shit?!
Andre: Whoa!
Gang Member: How dare you insult me! You can't-! Oh, wait, you killed my backup. Uh, we can talk this out!
Alistair: I suggest you run. Tell your boss to leave this place alone. Got it?
Gang Member: Uh-huh, uh-huh!
Alistair: Bye.

The gang member ran off into the fog, his silhouette fading away.

Alistair: (holsters pistol) That takes care of him.
Andre: How'd you manage to do that!?
Alistair: My mom was the first female Ranger in the U.S. Army. So, you tell me.
Andre: Wait, Cheryl "Paragon" Wake? She was your mom?
Lamar: Wait! You Alistair Wake?
Andre: Oh, shit! The son of a legendary badass!
Alistair: If you wish to call me that.
Lamar: Come on! The boss has gotta see you!

Andre and Lamar dragged Alistair to their hideout, bringing him to the top floor. In the penthouse, there was an African American man in a business suit, looking out the window.

Lamar: Boss! We got someone who can help us!
Boss: Lamar, do you even knock, before you enter a room? People will think you're rude. If there's anyone civil left, that is.
Andre: He's right, though! You know about the Paragon, right?
Boss: Yeah. And she's dead. Thanks for making me feel bad, jackass.
Andre: Well, her son isn't dead.
Boss: (turns around) Pardon me?
Alistair: I don't suppose you knew my mom, personally?
Boss: You... You're Alistair?
Alistair: Yeah. And?
Boss: I'm, uh... I'm Tyrone DeWitt. I run a group of freedom fighters, opposing Civility and the Enclave.
Alistair: Neat. Where'd you get the hardware?
Tyrone DeWitt: It's not that difficult when you're stealing from a guy who wasn't the smartest guy the Enclave could enlist, and whose password for everything was "swordfish".
Alistair: A dumbass, then?
Tyrone: Did you really just curse in my face?
Alistair: It's a way you can understand, right?
Tyrone: (sighs) Alright. If you say so.
Alistair: What's been going on, here?
Tyrone: Well, the entire state is under Civility lockdown, until the start of Civil War II.
Alistair: I figured as much. Civility doesn't use energy weapons, they just supply the Enclave with them.
Tyrone: Yeah. Unfortunately, all the gangs that enjoy causing trouble are siding with Civility. They work for Agent York, a head honcho for Civility.
Alistair: One out of 50.
Lamar: 50?!
Andre: Well, shit.
Tyrone: Catch on quick, huh? No wonder you had straight A's.
Alistair: Also makes you wonder how I became the student council president of an elementary school.
Tyrone: Damn. Anyway, York has his cyborg cronies guarding the Empire State Building, so he must be in there. There's only one flaw with us... We don't know how to combat Civility's cyborgs.
Alistair: Let's say that I'm out of the loop on Civility. What do you know?
Tyrone: Well, their leaders are the only living people in Civility, while the others are walking corpses.
Alistair: Corpses?
Tyrone: Literal dead bodies. They've got AIs in their brains, controlling the bodies. You can literally smell them coming, from 20 miles away. They don't wash the corpses, just keep them from decomposing. The AIs that the mooks have are cloned from different AIs that are much more powerful.
Alistair: There's an AI cloning process?
Tyrone: Yeah. The big boss AIs are clones, as well. Cloned from the original AI, Alpha.
Alistair: So, what your saying is that the crony AIs are cloned from a clone?
Tyrone: Yep. Defective, as it were. No talking, no expressions, just loads and loads of combat data. We've tried shooting them, but they just keep getting back up.
Alistair: There's also the fact that they're practically bulletproof. I don't even comprehend how someone can throw their life away, just to have their bodies be used.
Tyrone: That's just the "volunteering" process. Their numbers are so big because they've been going around, robbing graves. The defective part about the mook AIs is that they're very picky about the bodies they possess. Any form of decomposition, and they reject it, immediately.
Alistair: That's just disrespectful.
Tyrone: They never they were respectful. They're part of Hawking's regime. However, Civility's founder and true leader is an enigma. They all tie back to someone named "the Director".
Alistair: The Director, huh?
Tyrone: Besides, there's a theory that, even if we do manage to kill a cyborg, they'll just take the AI out and place it in another body.
Alistair: So, destroying the AI is the only option. An AI is usually stored inside a sort of microchip. Perhaps a powerful surge of electricity could destroy the AIs?
Tyrone: Of course! Andre!
Andre: Yeah!?
Tyrone: You and Lamar head down to Drebin and tell him to augment all the tasers that we've acquired! We're taking down York!
Lamar: We're on it!
Tyrone: Alistair, I could use your help.
Alistair: I've got nothing better to do.

Outside the Empire State Building, Civility cyborgs were guarding the front entrance. Immediately, Tyrone's group charged at the cyborgs and struck them with tasers. The electricity from the tasers was enough to cause the cyborgs to collapse, motionless.

Tyrone: York's at the top floor. Andre, Lamar, Alistair... You ready?
Andre and Lamar: Yeah!
Alistair: Let's see what he's made of.

Tyrone, Andre, Lamar and Alistair rode the elevator all the way to the top of the Empire State Building, where Agent York's office was located. When they reached the door to York's office, they waited for the right time to charge in.

Tyrone: Ready?
Andre: Ready.
Alistair: I've got the door.

Alistair kicked the door open and the others followed him inside. A man in combat armor, assumed to be Agent York, and three African American men were conversing with one another, then saw the group walking in.

Tyrone: Game's up, York.
Agent York: DeWitt? How the hell did you get in?
Gang Leader A: I thought your cyborgs were unstoppable, York!
Gang Leader B: Screw it! Kill them!
Alistair: I wouldn't count on it.

Alistair shot the gang leaders in succession, leaving Agent York alone.

Agent York: A kid?! You got killed by a kid!? Are you freaking serious!?
Alistair: Goodbye.

Alistair shot Agent York in the head, and he fell to the ground, officially dead.

Lamar: Are you shittin' me!? That was too easy!
Alistair: Exactly. He wasn't even a cyborg.
Tyrone: Well, that takes care of him. We're all good, here. You can roam free, while we deal with the AIs. There's a control panel for them, somewhere. We can deal with it.
Alistair: Very well.
Tyrone: Visit Harlem again, sometime, yeah?
Alistair: I might.

As Alistair exited the office, a man exiting the elevator bumped into him.

Man: Sorry about that.
Alistair: It's fine.

The man approached the door to Agent York's office and pulled out a rifle, making sure it was fully loaded.

Man: Okay, you name-stealing punk-ass... Let's see you face the real deal.

The real Agent York barged through the door and saw the bodies of dead gang leaders and the man he was looking for.

Agent York: What?! He's dead!? What the hell!? How!? Wait! The kid! Damn, he's a badass. But, how could he beat the AIs? They're dead. Well, thank God he's on my side, and not Hawking's. Dammit, how can I get Alpha out? I miss Delta...

Meanwhile, at Civility's main base, Agents of Civility were conversing with each other, while eating meals.

Agent California: Hmm. There hasn't been much fun, these last few days. I'm starting to get bored.
Agent Washington: What, you feel great about yourself for hitting on everybody that you find appealing?
Agent California: What can I say? I've been depraved, ever since I became a cyborg.
Agent Carolina: So, becoming a cyborg turned you into a bisexual?
Agent California: I've been this way, yes.
Agent Washington: (whispering to Carolina) This is getting really awkward.
Agent Carolina: (whispering) Agreed. (out loud) Listen, it's been fun, California, but we'll be hitting the hay.
Agent California: Wouldn't you prefer to sleep in my bed, Carolina?
Agent Carolina: Hell no.
Agent California: You get no points for being straight, you know.

Agents Carolina and Washington left the table and Agent California behind. As they walked down the corridor, they could speak in private.

Washington: (out loud) How did Hawking find all these people with different varieties of batshit insanity?
Carolina: No clue. Maybe that's why York left.
Washington: Also, because of what they've been doing to Alpha. He couldn't get Delta out of here, even if he wanted to.
Carolina: Thank God that California doesn't have an AI. She might hit on that, too.
Washington: What is wrong with all the people, here? One minute, California's hitting on me, next thing I know, she's flirting with South.
Carolina: Like I said, she's a bisexual. She'd mate with any person that moves, no matter if they're a boy or a girl.
Washington: That's not a plausible thing. What you and York have, that's something I can get behind. Whatever that tan, redheaded woman is? Not natural.
Carolina: No kidding. I've been going out with him, just to apologize for punching his lights out.
Washington: Like emotional therapy, or something?
Carolina: Of sorts. The love's purely emotional, yeah. I mean, we're freaking cyborgs. I'm pretty sure...activity other than what we have is not a possibility.
Washington: Yep. (pauses) Where do you think Tex went?
Carolina: Don't know. Woodrow's dead, so there's no more child soldiers. For a while, anyway.
Washington: If other people can accept cyborgs as people, instead of tools for Hawking's pornographic needs, she wouldn't need to hide her cybernetics.
Carolina: It's weird, though. Beta's dead. It's like it...got viciously murdered, or something.
Washington: Wasn't Beta supposed to keep Tex from being insubordinate?
Carolina: Keep her from being good? Yeah. Any attempts at being good, with Beta around, would automatically fail. The abomination is very difficult to kill.
Washington: But, Beta died. It proves that it could be killed.
Carolina: Someone's out there. And their will to do good is basically the greatest in the world.