Omega Squad

by Kurtis Eckstein

  “Thanks,” I replied. “You look really amazing too.” Of course, Zayden scoffed again, walking ahead of the group. I barely heard him mumble something under his breath but didn’t catch it.

  Ava fell in step at my other side, seeming sympathetic to my plight as the new guy. “Don’t worry about him. He’s just annoyed that you’re getting special treatment by getting on the squad so fast. Trust me when I say that being on this team is a privilege. A lot of people who have abilities are just locked up forever. We actually get to have a semi-normal life.”

  “Are they all criminals?” I wondered. The fact that they were killers didn’t seem to bother them, so I wasn’t worried about offending anyone.

  “Pretty much,” Ava admitted. “That seems to be how it is. People with abilities like ours tend to abuse them and get into trouble with the law. Those who are living normal lives haven’t been discovered because they hide it, but there’s certainly no room for comic-book superheroes. There are syndicates all over the world who try to collect people like us to obtain more power, so if it’s discovered you have a powerful talent then you’ll end up coerced into fighting one way or another.”

  “And how does Armstrong coerce all of you?” I wondered, still not feeling like I was overstepping by bounds. “Ava, you can move through solid objects, right?”

  She nodded solemnly. “Yes, but I do have a family, and these guys aren’t angels. They wouldn’t hesitate to threaten their lives.” That surprised me on multiple levels. For one, I couldn’t believe the military would really do that. But also, it meant that Ava at least couldn’t be so bad if she cared about her family.

  Trinity joined in then, still clinging to my arm. Her tone was more serious now. “Plus, everyone feels pain. They have a girl who can make anyone experience the most excruciating pain you can imagine. I think actual torture would be better than what she does.” She shivered slightly, seeming to recall a personal experience, and then looked up at me. “You definitely don’t want to get on their bad side. All of us have seen her at least once…unfortunately. Disobey an order and they’ll teach you never to do so again. Running away isn’t an option either, in case that was on your mind. They always seem to have a way to find you and bring you back.”

  Zane glanced at the three of us and then contributed as well. “One of the guys I used to work with tried running away. He’s currently in a cell in an underground prison. Probably hasn’t seen the sun in seven years. They’ll condition you with pain if you fail to follow an order, but if you intentionally try to sabotage or escape, they don’t give second chances.”

  I couldn’t help but stare down at the concrete floor as we exited the building, feeling a little overwhelmed about the situation I had gotten myself into. Trinity tightened her embrace on my arm slightly, attempting to reassure me. “But don’t worry. It’s not so bad. At the very least you get to kill people on a regular basis. Definitely a perk.”

  I glanced at her, already having briefly forgotten she was a sociopath. Although, I wasn’t confident she completely lacked a conscience. At the very least, she hadn’t mentioned my girlfriend again after she saw how upset it made me. I hoped that was a good sign that she wasn’t entirely crazy.

  We all got into a black utility-style van lacking side doors – a set of double doors opened in the back. Inside, it had seats along the sides of the vehicle facing the middle instead of facing the front. There were six seats, three on each side, so I sat next to Zane, and Trinity sat next to me on the other side closest to the backdoor. Zayden and Ava sat opposite us, with an empty seat across from Trinity.

  The front two seats were separated by a wall. I could see that there was already a guy at the steering wheel through a glass window that could be rolled down, but it appeared he was waiting for another soldier. According to Trinity, they were part of the other squad coming with us. I assumed they must have ten guys altogether, eight in an identical vehicle along with two in ours.

  Once the last guy got in the front and we were driving down the road, Trinity twisted in her seat, swinging both her legs over my thigh. I looked at her in surprise, shocked that she was being so forward in front of everyone. She flashed me one of her grins.

  “Hey! A girls got to be comfortable.” She then laughed. “You should see your face right now. It’s priceless.”

  This time I heard what Zayden mumbled underneath his breath. “Bastard.” He then looked directly at Trinity. “I’m not calling him ‘Incubus’ on the field – it’s stupid. Shithead is better.”

  Unexpectedly, she swung her legs off and sat forward with a death glare. Zayden immediately leaned back, flinching from her abrupt movement. Her tone was ice cold as she responded. “Now you listen very carefully Zay. I don’t demand a lot from you out of respect, but you will use his codename on the field whether you like it or not.” She then leaned back and was cheerful again – a big grin on her face. “And if you don’t, I’ll get Armstrong to change your codename to shithead – don’t think I won’t.”

  I just stared at her as she swung her legs over mine again. “You are terrifying.” I whispered, emphasizing each word.

  She immediate smirked and patted me on the head. “Good boy.”

  Zayden readjusted in his seat, crossing his arms, and mumbled, “You don’t know the half of it.”

  I paused for a moment, before I responded. “Actually…I think I do.” That got everyone’s attention. They all looked at me, wondering what I was talking about. I tried to clarify. “So…I don’t really know how to explain this, but I feel like I have some kind of sixth sense or something. It’s like my instincts can tell me who is the most dangerous – at least dangerous to me.” I then looked back over at Trinity. “And my instincts tell me you are the highest threat in this vehicle.”

  “Aw, that’s sweet,” she replied cheerfully. “You really want to get laid, don’t you?”

  I blushed, and was thankful Ava distracted me. “How about the rest of us?”

  “Well, that’s where it gets a little weird. I can tell that Zayden is the second strongest here, followed by you, and then Zane.” I paused, afraid that I was going to offend the large guy next to me, but he didn’t seem bothered. By the expressions on their faces, I realized I had hit the nail on the head. However, I was still hesitant to proceed. “But…”

  When I didn’t continue, Trinity filled in the gaps. “But they aren’t a threat to you, right?”

  I glanced at her, and then at Zayden, before looking back at her. “Well…yeah, basically.”

  Zayden scoffed again, but he didn’t say anything. Much to my surprise, Trinity readjusted her legs slightly to get more comfortable, and then replied. “Well, we already knew that, whether certain members of our group want to admit it or not…” She glanced icily at Zayden, before looking warmly at me. “But it is interesting you could figure it out for yourself. That might prove to be a really valuable skill in battle for all of us. Can you actually determine what each person’s powers are?” I saw Zane flinch in the corner of my eye, but I had no idea why. Bad memory maybe?

  “Oh. No, it’s nothing like that. I still have no idea what you can do – unless it’s just super strength. However, I know that’s not true, because somehow I feel like you wouldn’t be very threatening if that’s all you had up your sleeve.”

  “Oh really!” She said with a grin. She then grabbed my forearm in both her hands, placing pressure on it. “Maybe if I break your arm you’ll reconsider.”

  I just stared at her, uncertain if she was serious or joking. However, after a moment, her expression slowly dropped and became serious. “Wait…does that hurt?”

  I looked down at my arm, seeing that she was squeezing it pretty hard, but I wasn’t reacting at all. Not even a wince. I looked up at her again. Her eyes got even wider and she put more pressure on my arm. Unexpectedly, a loud snap filled the small space, and everyone gasped, even Zayden.

  “Trinity!” Ava exclaimed, but then she froze when she saw my expressio
n.

  I looked back down at my broken arm, bending at an odd angle, and then met Trinity’s crimson gaze again. I was surprised I didn’t feel any sense of loss from my mangled limb. It was like it just didn’t bother me in the slightest, although I couldn’t fathom why I felt that way.

  “Jake…” She exclaimed. “Do you feel pain at all?”

  I sighed. “I guess I’ve always had a high pain tolerance, but ever since earlier at the mall…no, not really. I felt the pressure, but it doesn’t hurt.” I glanced down at my arm again. “Granted, I’m probably going to be a liability now that it’s broken.”

  Unexpectedly, my arm popped back into place on its own. I quickly held it up, flexing my fingers in surprise. “Trinity, did you know that was going to happen?” I asked in disbelief. Did my arm really just heal itself?

  Trinity nodded slowly. “Sort of. That’s what happened to your forehead earlier.”

  “Wait,” Zane suddenly leaned forward, looking at me. “You didn’t know you could heal instantly?”

  I pulled away from his unexpected intensity. “Well, no. Did you?”

  “Of course not, but that’s not the point. You should know!” He then got a wild look in his eye. “Please tell me you know how to use your other abilities.” When I hesitated, he slammed his hand over his face. “Shit. You have got to be kidding me.” Zayden cursed too, and even Ava looked alarmed.

  Trinity tried to smooth it over, speaking like they were making a big deal out of nothing. “Oh, it will be fine. Using our abilities is like breathing, so he’ll figure it out in plenty of time.”

  Zane suddenly turned his fury on her. “You knew?! This entire operation depends on him! If he fails, we might as well all be dead! Our primary target can suck the blood right out of us!” He then looked at me again. “Do it! Do it right now! I want to see it!”

  I flinched back against his sudden wrath.

  He gave me a hard look, before realization crossed his face. “Do you even know what your ability is?!” He quickly recovered from his shock when I couldn’t answer him. “Trinity, we have to call this off. I’m not going to throw my life away just because you want to ‘hope for the best.’ Shit! Don’t be stupid!”

  Trinity was perfectly calm and level-headed as she responded. “Zane, in the last three years how many times have I made a mistake as your leader?”

  “None, but…” He wildly gestured towards her legs draped over mine. “You also aren’t giving me much confidence that you aren’t being biased about this guy.”

  She sounded a little more annoyed when she replied, but refused to move from her position. “Just because I want to play with him a little doesn’t mean I can’t think clearly. I just broke his arm for heaven’s sake! You really think an emotional little girl could have done that?”

  They both stared at each other for a solid minute as Zane thought about it. Finally, he shook his head and sighed. “Fine. Don’t make me regret trusting you.”

  Zayden scoffed. “Can’t regret anything when you’re dead.” But he was then immediately silent when Trinity gave him another death glare.

  It was awkwardly quiet for a few minutes. At first, I was hesitant to break the silence, but I realized their lives depended on me being able to use my ability. This wasn’t the time to be shy. “Look, can someone at least just tell me what I supposedly did at the mall? Maybe if I at least knew what my ability was then I could figure out how to use it in time to prevent us all from getting killed.”

  Zayden scoffed again. “Probably can’t die with an ability like that. Another stupid immortal like our dear princess.”

  My head snapped in his direction as I processed what he had just said. Then I slowly looked over at Trinity who was staring at the wall away from everyone else. “Trinity, you’re immortal?” I asked breathlessly.

  She glanced at me briefly, before looking away and shrugging. “Not immortal like I can’t die. More like it’s very difficult to kill me…and as long as I’m not killed then theoretically I might live forever.”

  “R-Really? How old are you?”

  She finally looked at me then. “Sixteen, why?”

  “Then how do you know you’re immortal?”

  She sighed. “They have a pretty detailed database of known abilities. Their computer is very good at using information about each of us, including lab results, and extrapolating the potential implications of our abilities. In my case, they actually tested my DNA before and after my first mission, showing that even the slightest imperfections in its structure were fixed after I used my ability.” When she saw I was confused, she continued. “Aging is just a symptom of DNA damage. Perfect DNA means no aging. No dying either.”

  “So…” I wasn’t sure if I should ask, but I didn’t see any reason why I shouldn’t know. Everyone else knew. “What’s your ability then?”

  Trinity stared at me for a solid minute before answering. Her red eyes studied my face intently. I’m not sure what she was looking for in my expression, but she didn’t seem to find it – which appeared to be a good thing. “I basically suck the life out of people. Codename Succubus, remember? It’s not that original.”

  “Oh,” was all I could think to say. Despite what she said, I didn’t think her current codename was very revealing, because I still had no clue about the details. After a few seconds, my curiosity got the better of me. “How do you do it? Like, you aren’t going to strip on the battlefield or anything, right?”

  Trinity burst out laughing at that. Zane and Ava started laughing too, and even Zayden cracked a smile. Once she recovered enough to speak, she said, “No, silly! It’s not that literal!”

  “Well, I’m glad I could amuse you,” I replied. I was grinning too. It was hard not to, especially when everyone else was giggling over my comment. At the very least, the mood had lightened significantly. “So…then how do you do it? Can you do it through your clothes?” I slowly slid my hand on her knee that was resting on my thigh as I spoke. “Or do you have to be skin-to-skin?”

  She glanced at my hand, and then up at me. “Wow, you’re really playing with fire now, aren’t you?”

  “Feels like it,” I admitted. “Thing is, I don’t feel like I’m in more danger when you touch me. It’s more like just a constant awareness when I’m around you.”

  “Huh. That sixth sense of yours is pretty amazing after all.” She then paused, glancing at my hand on her knee again as she spoke. “My radius is roughly seventy feet, and there’s no limit to how many people I can do it to at once. I could suck the life out of everyone right now in this vehicle, as well as the vehicle behind us – no need for touch.”

  I quickly glanced up at everyone else to see their reactions. They were all staring into space while she spoke, no one seeming surprised. They all knew. Her saying it didn’t change that fact. Glancing back at her, I gave her a half-smile. “Terrifying indeed.”

  She crossed her arms in disbelief. “You certainly seem to be handling that little revelation well.”

  I sighed. “I guess I kind of already knew to an extent. You just confirmed what my senses were already telling me.” I then paused and grinned at her. “Granted, I said you were a danger to me. I never said I wasn’t confident I could win if it came down to it.”

  Trinity’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head. Everyone looked at me in surprise too, stunned that I had really just taunted her – the succubus who could kill them all on whim. Trinity recovered and scoffed. “Wow, hotshot. You’re really tempting me to put you in your place.”

  “What would happen if you did?” I wondered. “Would I die right away? If I didn’t die, would I recover? Would my lifespan be permanently shortened?”

  Trinity’s eyes narrowed in response to all my questions. I gently rubbed my hand over her knee, catching her attention. She looked down at it and then up at me with a softer expression. I tried to reassure her. “You know I would never attack you, right? I’m not actually a heartless murderer like you.” I kept my tone light-heart
ed despite the truth in my words.

  “That we know of,” she teased back.

  I groaned in annoyance. “I don’t have a split personality.”

  She chuckled, and then sighed, placing her hand on mine. “When I do it, it doesn’t kill people instantly, although they generally can’t attack me while it’s happening. From what I’ve heard…” She glanced at Zayden, and a new realization occurred to me. She continued. “…it’s extremely unpleasant. However, they’ve shown that it’s completely harmless unless I finish. I reap no benefit unless I actually kill someone, and likewise the victim will have no lasting damage from it. Basically, it’s an all or nothing ability. Either they die, or they don’t.”

  “Have you ever killed someone accidentally?”

  She immediately shook her head. “No, I know exactly when it’s going to kill. And I can actually draw the process out longer if I want. I’ve used it for five minutes before without killing the person. And I’ve never made a mistake when using it for non-lethal purposes.” She glanced at Zayden again and then back at me. “Why? You want to experience it yourself?”

  I thought about that for a moment, before continuing. “That…might be a bad idea…”

  She grinned at me and leaned forward slightly. “Oh? Chickening out?” Her red eyes were practically dancing with amusement.

  I shook my head. “No, it’s not that. It’s just…all of you are confident that I just massacred a bunch of people and I don’t remember a thing…probably not a good idea to provoke that kind of ability by threatening my life. For all we know, that may be very well what set me off in the first place. Someone threatened my life.”

  Trinity leaned back as she evaluated my serious expression. They were all looking at me now, considering my comment. After another minute, she spoke. “Well, I guess if you can’t figure out how to use it in time, then I can just try to provoke it out of you.”

  I nodded, causing her eyes to widen again in surprise. “That’s fair. However, make sure none of our comrades are around, and when you do…” I turned to look at her fully, gripping her knee tightly. Her eyes widened even more at my sudden intensity. “When you do Trinity…run. Run as fast as you can.”