Omega

by Riley Tune

  He, and the other server, were dressed completely. A stark contrast to the guest at the table. Omega took a glass from him and sipped the green liquid. “It’s just that many people here don’t speak that way,” Hunter said as he locked eyes with her. “True. They don’t say the word void here either.” She took another sip.

  “I know you don’t have a reason to believe me, but you also don’t have a choice. Impervious is fine. He’s being taken care off and held in a secure part of the palace.” Hunter’s gears began to turn. Now at least he knew that Impervious was alive and somewhere on the palace grounds.

  “Hunter,” a whisper of a voice came into his ear so suddenly that he almost jumped. It was Flex. “If you can hear me, clear your throat.” Hunter listened to Omega speak for a second and then cleared his throat.

  “Perfect. We can hear everything now. We lost signal to you a while ago and have been trying ever since. Cayden and Danielle's coms seem to be down, too. When knew they were captured, but coms should still be on. Keep Omega talking. Try to find where Impervious is. If you can get to him, then do so. If not, then get your ass out of there as soon as possible. Clear your throat again if you understand.”

  Yet again, Hunter cleared his throat. “Would you like a drink for that itchy throat?” Omega asked casually. I know it looks odd, but it’s fantastic I assure you.” Hunter shook his head. “Nope. All good.”

  A feeling of relief took him over as he felt comfort in knowing that Flex and the rest of the team were back with him. Seconds later that relief vanished as he tried to not worry about why the coms of Cayden and Danielle were no longer active.

  “Enough about good old Impervious,” Omega said finally. “As I’m sure you guessed. I’m not from around here.” Hunter laughed. “This palace and the people that damn near pray to you says otherwise.” Omega shrugged. “Do I rule the East Section? Yes. Was I born here? No. A long time ago, maybe about seventy years or so, I came here with my brother. Like you and I, he too was an Icon.”

  And there it was. If he hadn’t been so shocked Hunter felt he would have let out a gasp. Empress Queen Omega was an Icon. A chunk of information that Perkins, Cord, and even Cayden had failed to mention. Hunter still had his reservations about Cord, but Cayden was growing on him, and he had spent a year living with Perkins. It wasn’t a detail she would have left out before heading here. Was it? He was sure Flex was questioning them back at the base right now about such a discovery.

  The only conclusion Hunter could draw was that they didn’t know. Perhaps none of the people of this world did. He did the math in his head. If what Omega said was true then she arrived here when she was no more than nine or ten. “We traveled everywhere together. My brother and I were like this,” Omega said as she held up her fingers twisted around each other.

  “He was able to open portals to anywhere. He was much slower than a standard teleporter so he never went into the line of hero work. When our parents died, he became my guardian. No time to be a hero while you’re suddenly a parent.” Omega paused as she swirled her glass some, creating a mini vortex with the green liquid inside.

  She stopped and then took another sip. “Anyway, we went all over the world, and then one day my powers came. At first, we just thought I could create stronger powers that the Icon already had. We had a friend back then that, when I used my power on her, her power tripled. In the end, it was too much for her body to deal with. She wasn’t a powerful person to start with, and that type of change needs to be introduced slowly to weaker Icons. A lesson I learned over time, but needless to say she died from it. I overloaded her because I barely knew what I was doing.”

  “Murder at a young age huh,” Hunter said slowly. “Don’t be rude,” Omega snapped back. “I didn’t know how to control it then, but my brother taught me. He risked his own life to let me practice on him. Eventually, I got it right,” she said as she shrugged. “Time and time again I created a newer, stronger version of his power for him. It was just done slowly over time. That’s when he realized that he could create portals to other worlds, not just to locations in our own.”

  She stretched her drink free hand out into the air and waved it out to the city. “The wastelands have always been a rough place. Lawless with no order. It was worse then. When we stepped into this world, our luck placed us in the sights of men who believed only a person with elite blood could do what my brother had done. These same men, oppressed by the current rule, felt the only course of action was to attack,”

  Omega took a deep breath. “My brother wasn’t a fighter and the attack was over before I barely knew what happened. Then they turned their sights on me. For the next few days, they took turns.” Hunter felt himself fighting the urge to want to comfort her as she began to speak slower than before.

  “They did things that,” she stopped talking and took a gulp this time, not a sip. “Well, there’s no need to mention. When it was over, I was left alone in the dark cold of the wasteland with only my brother's corpse to comfort me. I took this jacket from his body,” she turned her head to the jacket on the table and smiled slightly.

  “And went out into the world. My new home. With only his scent from his jacket to comfort me in my darkest hours. In time I was found by a young boy wise beyond his years. He was only sixteen, but he was raising a group of children. Children that were victims of the way the world was run back then. He told me that if I wanted to survive, I could join them. As long as I followed their rules for survival. Keep to the shadows. Keep your head down, and above all else, if you have gifts, don’t use them in public.”

  Empress Queen Omega let out a sound that could have been a faint laugh, but it was so brief Hunter couldn’t tell. “I remember asking him who would want to live like that. His response was; either we live in the elite’s shadow, or we die at their feet. There is no other way.”

  Omega paused as she bit her bottom lip some and shook her head as if agreeing to something only she could see. Lost in her own memories. “Those words have been with me since. I built my empire on them,” Omega said as she forced a smile towards Hunter. “My rise to greatness is a sad story that I won't bore you with any longer.”

  “Then why spare me? Why bring me up here to talk.” “Because you have elite blood. Your family is one of the oldest. Was one of the oldest. The elite among the elite families that time has forgotten. Imagine what we could do together.” Hunter’s mouth moved a few times but nothing came out. “Do, do together?” he stammered.

  “Yes,” Omega said gently. “I have several plans in motion that will have me as the ruler of this world totally, not just a section. War will come, and people will die. A price I’m willing to pay on both fronts. When it is all over, I will need a partner to help me rule. A partner to give me an heir.”

  Hunter’s heart skipped a beat as he saw a flickering image of Danielle in his head. Full of anger and bathed in darkness as she screamed at him. He found it funny that how even in this situation, his first reaction was to think of an angry girlfriend. “I,” Hunter said slowly, but Omega spoke again.

  “I know it isn’t ideal. Impervious was against it, but eventually told me some of what I needed to know, and how you wouldn’t agree to this. That man can be impossible sometimes. I had to show him what was for his own good several times.”

  Hunter began to wonder just how a person that was impervious to any and everything could be forced to go along with a person like Omega. “Sorry to bother you Empress, but it’s time.” Hunter turned and saw the bearded man standing at the balcony entrance. His hands were at his sides, and a fake smile was on his face.

  “Finally,” she said out loud. “Come with me,” Omega said as she glanced to Hunter as she stepped off the balcony. He did as he was told and followed her into the room. All of the servers were gone now, and so was most of the food. Each man and woman sat silently in their chairs and seemed genuinely happy to see Omega enter the room again.

  She walked around the table slowly, as she left Hunt
er standing beside Maridian. “You know I was against her bringing you here,” Maridian said as he leaned over to whisper in Hunter’s ear. The man’s breath had a surprisingly sweet smell to it. Perhaps it was from the colorful drink Hunter had seen him with earlier.

  “You can’t be trusted. Not with your history of rebellion.” Hunter found himself again wondering just how much Impervious had been forced to tell them.

  “Exterminate them all was what I suggested,” Maridian said as he took a sigh. “Alas she didn’t listen to me,” Maridian watched Omega walk around the table and shake each hand and exchange a few words personally to the people at the table. “I’ve seen her order the slaughter of entire villages without thought, and in the same breath order every child in the city to be given fresh clothes and for their parents to be given funds.” Maridian smiled and shook his head. “She is a mystery, my Empress. A graceful gift from divinity for some, and an unstoppable wave of death for others.”

  He turned slowly and looked Hunter in the face now. “Why she would want to join you in a union is another mystery.” As he finished Maridian turned back to face the table. Hunter couldn’t wrap his mind around any of this and felt that his only action should be to save Impervious. To find Impervious. That or make it home to the base. He just needed to wait for his moment.

  “I am thankful for you, and the service you will bring to my order,” Omega said as she finished her walk around the table. Now she stood just in front of Hunter and faced those at the table. Hunter fought the urge to glance down at her perky backside. She’s old enough to be your grandmother, he thought to himself. “You’re my tributes, and today is the day of your ascension.” She pointed to a dark-skinned man, covered with muscles, and a wide chin.

  The man rose from the table and walked forward. Beside him, Hunter could hear Maridian take in a deep breath and whisper the words, “and here we go,” under his breath. “You see Hunter,” Omega said as she moved to stand behind the kneeling man and placed her hands on his shoulders.

  “As I grew older, I realized two things about my ability to create. Some of which I can’t even explain. One was that I could create new life within myself. I couldn’t heal from wounds like a person with regenerative abilities, but I could slow down my aging and heal my body internally.” Hunter watched as she clamped down on the man’s shoulders so tightly that her fingers turned red.

  Slowly, the intense orange glow began to pulse from her hands and spread over the man’s body. The orange power made Hunter think of Power Prince. Of his vibrant pink energy and how they left him behind. How he missed the man that was his superior but also got along with so well. “I also realized, much by accident, that if I tried to create new powers in people that had none, I could create whatever I wanted, and what I wanted was an army. A powerful one to help me and my friends escape the harsh world of the wasteland.”

  The glow had consumed the man entirely now and was flowing up Omega’s arms. The people at the table looked on in amazement and Maridian had returned to his seat and began to read a book. Utterly unimpressed by the events unfolding in front of him. In a flash, the orange light was gone. For that matter, so was the man that was kneeling before Omega.

  Hunter’s brow furrowed as he watched the metallic man stand up. As with all his kind the creature was faceless. The lights around the room danced off of its metal skin, and Hunter realized that between the creature's legs was nothing. He was clearly male before, but now the figure of the Warden resembled a doll and not a man.

  “Welcome, Warden,” Omega said with a smile. “Your new life starts now. Your powers will mirror one or more of the true elements of Mo’eizus. Your power was gifted by me, and as such cannot harm me.” Hunter let this information sink in and hoped they were getting it all down back at the base.

  “You are to serve me for your life and are to protect me with that life. Should I perish, your gift of ascension will perish with me, and so would your life.” Hunter looked around the room at these words. Omega couldn’t be hurt by those she created. This explained why none of them got smart and tried to take over. Their powers wouldn’t work on her. It also explained why they followed her words to the letter. If she were to die, so would they. Hunter had to admit, it was a damn good business model. One that guaranteed obedience.

  What was more concerning is the smile that still remained on the rest of the people’s faces. The other tributes as she called them. None of them seemed to care about the rules of their ascension. Hunter could only assume that they knew the rules already, and didn’t care one way or the other. “You are my child now,” Omega said as she placed a soft kiss on the Warden’s metallic cheek. “I will protect my children for as long as you are in my shadow.”

  As soon as she said these words, the rest of the table in one group chant said out loud. Forever in your shadow. Hunter took in a deep breath. No doubt about it, these people were crazy. As Omega shoot a glare to Maridian, he stood from his chair to stand beside Hunter once again.

  As the next few minutes passed, Hunter witnessed much of the same process take place. No more Wardens were created, though. Instead more members of the Warden’s circle were created. Two Pain Conduits, a few Swordsmiths, and a Gunner or two. The process was faster than he expected, and the act didn’t take much out of Omega. Normally the extended use of any Icon’s abilities would cause some sign of fatigue, but not for Omega. Hunter wondered if that internal creation power was the source of this seemingly unlimited endurance.

  With her newly created soldiers quietly waiting as they were fitted with clothes, and men with papers began to speak to them, Omega turned back around to face Hunter. “So, you’ve heard my story, seen my power, and even got a taste of my vision to unify the world.” Hunter leaned on the balls of his feet as he raised a brow.

  “Unify the world by creating war? You may have been raised here, but you’d still fit in back home.” Omega shook her head. “The people in my section are happier, smarter, and receive better treatment than any other section combined. Nobody starves, the people have jobs, and many live good lives,” Omega replied.

  Hunter shook his head. “The people here may, but from what I’ve seen in the wasteland, not so much.” Maridian raised a slender finger and cleared his throat. “Even by those comparisons, the people here still live several levels more comfortably than those in the wasteland of other sections.”

  The man chuckled slightly. “A visit to those other areas would confirm this in mere seconds.” Hunter paused for a moment. He had no idea if Maridian was telling the truth or not. He hadn’t seen other parts of the world yet.

  Omega spoke and ripped Hunter away from his internal conversation. “Those who reside in Acropolis are different. They are the chosen and their descendants.” “Come again?” Hunter said.

  “It’s hard for an outsider to gain hold in a new world. When I showed people my power back then, most of them feared me. Some even tried to kill me. But some believed. They believed so much that they thought I was a second coming. A person of divinity to save them. And I did. My children and I protect them. Those who believed in me, their descendants, and their families, were allowed to live by my side in Acropolis.”

  Hunter nodded his head. He knew Omega was the bad person in all of this. One couldn’t kill, withhold cures, and create addictive drugs to topple nations and not be a bad person. Still, she always seemed to have a logical backing for what she did. Rewarding those who supported her with a city of beauty and advancement was a nice touch. No wonder they worshipped her. “I just want the rest of the world, to experience what the East Section has. Will you join me in that?”

  Hunter stood silent for a moment. Many people continued with their normal tasks around them, but a few were watching him. None stronger than Maridian and Omega. “I can’t.” Hunter said finally. “I have a life and responsibilities of my own. My duty is to my own world.” Omega sighed as she shook her head and walked away from him.

  She reached the table on the dec
k and placed her jacket on once more. She was silent as she adjusted the clearly too large jacket around her, and placed her hands in her pockets. “I offer you something none other has been given. Not to live in my shadow, or to die at my feet, but to rule by my side.” “I can be a rebel sometimes,” Hunter replied. Omega nodded as she pursed her lips. “Impervious said you were stubborn.”

  “If you’re not by my side, then they are to be at my feet. Maridian proceed to your plan. Have our forces descend on their base. No survivors. Once he is alone, maybe he will reconsider my offer.” Hunter couldn’t breathe as he quickly turned to Maridian. The man had a smile on his face that could cut through steel. “No,” but before he could get the word out Maridian turned to a body of smoke and disappeared. Empress Queen Omega was being escorted out of the room by her newly created Warden and several Swordsmiths.

  “You little,” Hunter’s eyes turned blue as he prepared to attack, but at that moment pain exploded through his body like a rocket. Sending him to his knees, and causing him to scream so loud that his throat started to burn. He didn’t have time for pain. He didn’t have time to even try to fight them. He needed to get to Bravado. He knew Flex was there, but he could only do so much.

  As he rolled on the ground in pain, he could only hope that the members at the base were doing whatever they could to escape the death that approached them. He didn’t even know where Cayden and Danielle were. With vision blurry from tears in his eyes, Hunter reached out with as much power as he could and wrapped a force field around the Pain Conduit. He tried to close it on her, but he couldn’t focus.

  The force field faded away for a second, as a new idea formed in the home of pain that was now his mind. He needed to hurry. He could feel this Pain Conduit playing with him. Increasing the pain tenfold and then reducing it just before he passed out. Eventually, she would end things. For the first time in his life, he made the decision to kill. Not to stop or to hurt, but to outright kill.