 Cole is instructed by an anonymous customer to deliver a package to a location in the Historic District , and then to open it ; unbeknownst to Cole , the package contains the Ray Sphere , which activates upon opening and wipes out six city blocks . Cole manages to survive the blast and is nursed back to health by his girlfriend Trish , during which he discovers his newfound electricity powers . After stopping members of The Reapers gang from stealing food from a supply drop , the Voice of Survival reveals Cole was responsible for the explosion and the city turns against him , including Trish , whose sister was killed in the blast . Cole and Zeke try to escape the quarantine with Cole 's new powers which results in the army opening fire on them along with a crowd of escapees . Zeke escapes by jumping off the bridge into the harbor and Cole jumps into a container on the side of the bridge and inside meets Moya , a high ranking government agent , who convinces Cole to return to Empire City to seek out the Ray Sphere and her husband John in exchange for Cole and his friends ' release from quarantine . Cole proceeds to follow Moya 's orders , restoring power to the city to be able to fight off the various gangs that have taken over . As he comes to interact with Sasha , Alden , and Kessler , the leaders of each gang , he learns that Kessler displaced Alden from the leadership of the First Sons , an organized crime group , and initiated construction of the Ray Sphere , while rejecting Sasha 's attempts for romance . Cole is able to defeat Sasha and capture Alden , but during a breakout attempt by the Dust Men , Zeke 's own heroism antics allow Alden to go free , much to Cole 's irritation . Later , Cole and Zeke track down Alden , who has recovered the Ray Sphere ; Cole is able to distract Alden long enough for Zeke to recover it . However , Zeke is caught between Alden and Kessler , and realizes that he could gain superpowers himself through the Sphere and activates it , but nothing happens . Kessler knows what went wrong and offers Zeke power in exchange for assistance to fix it . Zeke agrees and departs with Kessler , taking the Ray Sphere with him . 
