Omega

by Riley Tune

  “We also have another problem.” The Mechanic said as he placed the multibox down just beside the plans for the Horn of Booming. “Of course, we do,” Hunter said through an exhale. “What’s wrong now?” “If this monster is as large as you say it is,” The Mechanic began and then paused for Hunter to confirm.

  Hunter slowly nodded. “Did you miss the part where I said it has a damn city on its back?” “Precisely,” The Mechanic replied. “Any creature with such size and strength will need to be hit from several sides at once for the device to work. Not just at the head either. All sides. So, I will have to craft several guns. They will be perfect, small and powerful. One, perhaps two, likely three, will, of course, be rather large and imposing but that comes later in design. Either way, much more impressive than these childish plans you have provided.”

  “Those plans aren’t childish,” Perkins insisted. She had only met the man, but for some reason, he reminded her of Cord. The person who created those plans was a friend to her. A good man and she refused to let his designs and his genius be referred to as childish. “I’m sorry, perhaps childish wasn’t the correct word. The designer was clearly intelligent, just not on par with myself.” The Mechanic raised his hands quickly and shook his head. “Merely an observation.” he quickly added.

  While Perkins and was still taken aback by his words, something else The Mechanic said had stroked her attention. “You mentioned one of the guns would be rather large?” “Or two, likely three but yes. Very large indeed,” The Mechanic quickly said. Perkins didn’t respond. Not verbally anyway. The large grin that found a home on her face was enough to let Hunter and even The Mechanic know, that she would have dibs on the larger weapon.

  “So how many people we talking?” Hunter finally asked as he dropped down in a chair and rested his elbows on his knees. He was ready to get this show on the road and over with. He didn’t realize just how much he had missed his world until he landed back in this luxury apartment with a fabulous view, that he was trying to avoid. He was also reminded of a special task he had set into motion before all of this save Impervious business started, and was eager to get back to it.

  As crowded, and phobia-inducing as The Mechanics place was, the undertones of wealth well spent was playing a number on Hunter, and he was not looking forward to going back to live in a semi-completed lair. Still, he had a mission to complete, and he would see it through. “Two for the head on each side, one on each side of the body, and lastly three at the end of the body. This will be the location for the larger guns.” The Mechanic said quickly.

  Hunter took in a breath and leaned back in the chair. Seven people, seven people were going to be needed for this to work. He then rubbed his temples and sighed. Nothing ever seemed to happen easy. Then again, if he wanted easy, he could have just been a painter. Instead, he wanted to be a hero. He wanted greatness, fame, to help people, and do the right thing. Complications came with the job.

  He adjusted himself in the chair and ran through a tick of names in his head. Seven people. There was himself, Flex, Cayden, Danielle, and Perkins. No way she was going to miss out on that big gun. Cord was sick, even though he tried to hide it more and more, so he was out, and Hunter didn’t really trust the recruits. He knew what he had to do, but didn’t really want to involve them in it. “Hey,” Hunter said as he sat up.

  The Mechanic, sprawled on the counter, and talked to himself as he made notes on the side of the designs before him. He didn’t look to Hunter, but he did raise his brow to signify that he heard him, and for the most part was paying attention. “To make the gun, horn, thingies and to replace the multibox. How long we think that will take?” Hunter asked as he eyed The Mechanic.

  A slight laugh came from The Mechanic’s mouth as he continued to write down some numbers. “Once I’m in the back in my lab, very little time at all.” “What’s very little time?” Perkins asked as she reached for the remote and adjusted the TV. “About Five hours or so,” The Mechanic replied.

  “Damn,” Hunter said to himself. That was pretty fast. Much faster than he expected at any rate. “What if we needed a device that would grant limited flight to some people. Five people to be exact. How long would that to make?” Still, The Mechanic didn’t miss a beat and continued to make corrections on the paper before him.

  “Do they need to fly as you do? Do they need to exit the sound barrier? Or do they need the basics? By basic I mean up, down, hovering in the air. Nothing too fancy.” Hunter thought about it for a moment. He and Flex would be there. So, the fancy stuff would be covered by them. Everybody else just needed to get in position and stay there.

  “The latter works but allow them a little speed just in case,” Hunter finally replied. “Oh, I have several devices like that in storage,” The Mechanic said. “So, we are all set if that is what you need.” Hunter didn’t respond. He wasn’t a fan of The Mechanic. Their original introduction was too rocky for that, and one didn’t get a second chance at first impressions. Still, he continued to prove to be an asset, and even if Hunter didn’t want to admit it, he was glad they came to the fast-talking Icon for help. He was even more glad that The Mechanic was so board that he would jump at the opportunity to do almost anything.

  “Okay, I need to borrow your phone,” Hunter said. “Phone, living room.” The Mechanic said out loud. From across the room the sound of items being knocked over startled Perkins and Hunter. The Mechanic didn’t even seem to notice. From the direction of the sound, slowly rose a floating item, that for a moment Hunter thought was a remote.

  As the item drifted to the living room and began to hover in the air, however, he realized it was, in fact, a phone. “I have the same design for the remote controls and my keys.” The Mechanic stated. “These bad boys hit the market in a month and are gonna be targeted to buyers with multiple children or people living in large homes. Affordable, and guaranteed to save your time looking for your crap.” The Mechanic blurted out in record time.

  Hunter stretched his hand out and grabbed the phone. For some reason, it had a rubberized feel to it that was slightly warm. He didn’t know if that was normal or if it was part of the design that allowed it to listen to voice commands and fly. Flipping it over he muttered to himself, “he better pick up the damn phone, too.”

  He dialed the numbers and waited for the phone to ring. “Nerf!” Perkins screamed as she stood up. “Nerfing, nerf.” Hunter quickly hung up the phone before it could even ring once, and took a few steps to Perkins. The Mechanic, completely oblivious to Perkins or her squeals, grabbed his plans and dashed off to another room.

  Hunter realized what had caused the reaction from Perkins, she had landed on a news channel as she was looking for something to watch. Zeva’s face was now on the screen. “Hunter could feel his brow furrow as he read the bulletin.

  Zeva Green, sister to popular hero Flex, dead at hands of former Imperial Lords member Power Prince. He swallowed to try to kill the sudden dryness of his throat, but it didn’t work. Flex had no idea that his sister was now gone, and that the man he tasked with taking her down, did just that. Hunter didn’t actually feel bad for Zeva. He had fought her a year ago and had he not won, she would have gladly killed him.

  She was a villain through and through. No way around it, and after seeing her in the prison, he knew that she would go on to do horrible things if not stopped. Power Prince did what he had to do. What he took an oath to do. Flex may be hurt about it on the inside, but he would harbor no ill feelings towards his second in command. At least that was what Hunter was hoping for.

  “Should they just be blurting out that she was Flex’s sister like that?” Perkins asked. “What about his privacy? His safety.” Hunter all but laughed at her. “You’re referring to his secret identity. Like in the comics.” He shook his head some as he looked at the phone to dial again. “Some heroes do keep who they are secret. Mostly for the safety of themselves and loved ones. Flex on the other hand, is no pushover and his family is loaded to the limit
with Icons. So there really was no need. Same goes for me, and my parents. Some things just can’t be private, sadly.”

  “Oh,” Perkins replied as she looked back to the images from the television that moved around her as if they were on set. Hunter looked at the phone once more and hit the redial button. It rang a few times, and then he heard a voice answer the phone with a loud tv blaring in the background. “Hey, glowy hands it’s me. Paragon. Hunter, whatever.” Hunter turned away from the tv and closed his eye. From where Perkins was standing, she could hear the other person on the phone unloading words almost as fast as The Mechanic.

  “Wait. Wait. Slow down.” Hunter said as he moved his hands to punctuate his words. “Yeah, I just saw the news. Busy indeed.” Loud sounds came from the phone again. “Look we’ll talk later. Grab Jen and get over to The Mechanic’s place.” More loud sounds came from the phone, as Hunter nodded his head slightly and agreed a few times. “Okay, see you in a bit, and tell Jen to bring her sword. Oh, if Jen drives over here then Atlas be with you.” Hunter smiled and then hit a button to end the call.

  In what seemed faster than should have been possible, a knock came to the door. When it did, Hunter glanced at the clock on the stove in The Mechanics kitchen. “Ten minutes?” he said to himself. Perkin leaped up and ran to the door, opening it with a smile as she saw Power Prince first and gave him a hug. A hug that he gladly returned. “Glad to see you two are still kicking,” he said as he let her go and entered in the living room. His eyes got wide as he looked around. “Dude, this place is messier than the Sanford and Son house.”

  Hunter laughed as he understood his tv show reference. “I suppose it is,” he said as he crossed the room and extended his hand out to him, while at the same time trying not to panic at the thought of the cramped area being more occupied. “Good to see you,” Hunter said.

  Power Prince shook his head but avoided Hunter’s gaze, and it had nothing to do with Hunter being taller than he was. “We need to talk,” Power Prince finally said. “Nah, we don’t,” Hunter replied.

  “You did what you had to do. Nothing more.” Power Prince exhaled. “I have no idea how I’m going to tell Flex.” “With your head held high, and confidence in your voice,” Hunter replied. Power Prince shook his head. “I’m supposed to be the experienced hero that gives the advice around here.” Hunter shrugged. “I trust the meeting with the stiffs at I.C.E went well?” Hunter asked.

  “Yes and no. We can get into that later though,” Power Prince said as he moved to look through the home, and disappeared into another room. “Hey Paragon,” Jen said as she left Perkins and moved his way. “I didn’t want to break up the bromance reunion or anything,” she said with a smile.

  She extended her fist out to Hunter who in return bumped it with his. He then plucked the brim of her baseball cap. “Couldn’t leave it at home, huh Mystic?” He asked as he said her True Name a little louder than needed and gave her a hug. “Heck no. When he told me, you requested I bring this personally,” she held up Big Whopper concealed in its sheath and gave it a slight shake. “I figured my luckiest cap would be needed.”

  Hunter rolled his eyes. “I know the green one with white trim. Same cap you had on when you told your folks you liked men and women, wrecked the car, and turned Jr. invisible and now you couldn’t find him.” Hunter suppressed a laugh. Now that he thought about it, that cap was always around when Jen delivered news that could have earned her months of grounding or scorn, yet she came out unscathed each time.

  True, she could have just looked at it as having very understanding, supportive, and forgiving parents, but no Jen figured it must have been the luck of her green cap. Either way, here she was, sporting it proudly. “So, first things first,” Jen said as she shoved her sword into Hunter’s hands. “Let’s check out this fridge.”

  She grinned and clapped her hands in mock fashion as she moved to the kitchen, opened the large stainless- steel refrigerator, and leaned inside. “Jackpot on so many levels,” she said from the inside. Perkins followed her into the kitchen. “I could use some food, too.” Hunter was about to proclaim the same thing, but heard footsteps behind him and found Power Prince entering the room again.

  “Now that the introductions are out of the way, and Jen has found the fridge, tell me from the beginning what’s going on, and why we needed to help.” Power Prince said. Hunter glanced over his shoulder and saw Perkins gawking at the size of the sandwich Jen was making. “I’m going to make you one too. Just wait a minute,” Jen said to her.

  Hunter turned back to Power Prince and then motioned for him to take a seat. “I’ll just start from the cluster fuck of events that have happened since we left, and landed there.” “Sounds good,” Power Prince said as he fell to the couch.

  CHAPTER 32:

  THE GANG’S ALL HERE

  I honestly expected this to be going better,” Cayden said as he looked at yet another recruit getting tossed to the ground with a loud thud. He had finally decided to head to the room where the new recruits had turned into their quarters to check on them. His brother had left some time ago to make his rounds in the city and check some contacts.

  Or so he told Cayden and the rest of the team. Secretly, Cayden had feared that his brother’s condition, as strong as he was, was getting worse. Because of his immunity to disease, Cayden had seen first- hand just how quickly the Curse of Varo could ravish a body. The fact that his brother was dealing with it for so long was a testament to his strength.

  While Cayden was just now checking on the recruits, Flex had given the same task to Danielle almost as soon as they returned from their own scouting mission. In the time that followed Danielle gave a brief introduction on who she was, what her powers were, and how she liked to fight while in battle.

  The demo was great for the recruits. Having to face an enemy with superior power would make them strong, but first, they would suffer. Danielle held nothing back as time after time she was rushed by the new recruits. Bolts of dark energy, mixed with her shadow form, made her hard to lock down. Throw in that she was decent in hand to hand combat made her a force to be feared.

  Cayden also could tell she was going easy on their recruits. He had noticed several times that she pulled punches when she had direct openings and could have caused serious pain for the recruits, but instead would have simply blocked or countered their attacks.

  “No, they’re doing fine,” Danielle said as she ducked down spun around and swept the legs from under one of the recruits. The brown- haired boy she was facing fell over in a comic fashion and groaned as he went to stand up. “I’ve been on the receiving end of getting my ass handed to me several times. Once you guys get in a better base and have more time to train, you’ll be on your way.”

  “Will there even be a need for us once we are finished with Empress Queen Omega?” A dark-haired and tan skinned recruit asked from the corner where she rested. “I mean if you think about it, Bravado was formed to defeat Omega and give back freedom to the people that didn’t even realize they were being oppressed. The real people, not the high and mighty people in Acropolis.”

  Danielle removed some sweat from her brow and eyed the girl, then she turned to Cayden. “You know what, she has a point.” Cayden pulled a small, protruding nail from the wall and proceeded to bite into it as he shook his head. “You’d think that, but once Omega is dispatched with, that is when the real fight starts.”

  Every recruit in the room adjusted and turned towards him as his words shocked them. “Think about it,” Cayden said. “Once she is gone, there will be a void left in the East Section. Not only that, but once she is gone, so are her Wardens and their Circle. With them goes their power and protection. Other leaders will likely war for her kingdom, and normal people will be caught in the middle. Normal people that we will protect, and fight for if we have to. In time our numbers will grow, and even you all will be Generals in Bravado.”

  At these words, a few of them perked up. The thought of leadership a
nd respect rushing through their sore bodies. “Unless somebody of elite blood decides to take action,” Danielle said slowly. “Wouldn’t that prevent the war?” All the recruits turned their heads from Danielle to Cayden. Danielle smirked as she could see Cayden visibly struggle with what to say. His posture changed, and his lip quivered slightly as he tried to select his words carefully.

  Danielle had grown fond of Cayden in the time they had been here. He was a smug guy, but having such power among people that couldn’t compare could often do that. Her time with Hunter was living proof of that. Still, Cayden had turned out to be an okay person. “I,” Cayden stammered.

  “Hey look alive,” a sudden voice said as the door to their quarters was swung open with force. Flex stood tall in the opening. “They’re back.” He turned and quickly exited, leaving an open door that led to the adjoining room where most of the interactions went down. “Keep training and running your drills my future Generals,” Danielle said as she motioned for Cayden to follow her. Several of the recruits nodded together as they stood up and paired off with each other to continue practicing.

  Flex stood alone in the center of the main room of the base and watched the portal swirl, as the familiar odor it produced radiated from it. Before the portal came to life, he had been alone with his thoughts for a while since Cord left, and Cayden went to join Danielle in her recruit’s training. He needed the time, though. So much was going on, and he barely had time to think about how he was going to approach everything and handle his team.

  As he watched the portal swirl, he let out a sigh. For the first time in a long time, he wished he had a senior member of the Imperial Lords around to talk to. He had missed Detach, and her calm demeanor most of all. She always seemed to have a plan for what to do next. Impervious would just have to do, and for what Flex was planning, he felt that Impervious would support him completely.