Omega

by Riley Tune

  On cue, Cayden and Jen darted in. Jen had her sword raised. “What’s wrong?” Flex motioned for her to put the sword away. “Since we are all here,” Perkins said slowly. “I. I wanted to tell you about me. There is more going on than my arm.”

  Flex took a deep breath. He knew it was coming. The secret she had been keeping from them. Well, the secret she thought she had kept from them. “I’m sick.” As she said the words Hunter leaned up in his chair and even The Mechanic who was reading a file across the room looked in her direction.

  “I’ve known for a while now but didn’t want to mention it until we finished with Omega. I have The Curse of Varo.” Not a sound could be heard as she delivered the news and turned to look at Flex with pink eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t-” He leaned down and kissed her and caused her already shaky words to be cut off.

  “I already knew,” he replied as he pulled away from her lips. “You? But how? For how long?” Perkins asked. “Doesn’t matter. I figured if you wanted me to know then, you would have told me. So, I waited until you were ready. Until now. It actually helped me with a decision I was trying to make. Well, it was one of the things that helped me anyway.”

  “Decision?” Hunter said slowly. “What decision?” Flex locked eyes with his intern and then scanned the room before talking. “From the moment we arrived here Perkins fell right back into her role of leader or co-leader of Bravado. I could tell from the start that she wasn’t going to be able to leave them again.”

  Perkins took a breath as she wiped her eyes. She hated feeling so vulnerable, and wondered if the curse flowing through her made her that way. “I had wondered about the same thing,” Danielle said slowly. “Maybe it was woman’s intuition. Maybe I’m just super smart. But I felt something inside of me telling me that when this was over Perkins wouldn’t be making the trip back with us.”

  “And neither will I,” Flex said slowly. Questions and comments exploded around the room from all sides. All except for Power Prince. The young Icon watched as Flex looked to all the people in the room except him. Above all others, Flex looked at The Mechanic more than the rest of the team.

  “What was the other thing that helped you decide to stay?” Power Prince asked. Flex took a deep breath and released his hand from Perkins’ shoulder. Walking around the table slowly, he finally looked Power Prince in the eye. “The other thing that helped was learning that I didn’t have a sister to return home for and try to capture, because you killed her.”

  “Oh shit,” Hunter said as he gently shoved Danielle out of his lap and stood up. He was likely the only person in the room that could slow Flex down if he decided to attack Power Prince.

  Mouth gaped open, Power Prince stood from where he was sitting. “Flex. I was going-” His words were cut off as he felt the muscular arms of Flex wrap around him. Not with aggression, but with a hug. As Power Prince looked over Flex’s shoulder at the other people in the room, Jen shook her head. “I was expecting a punch.”

  She looked around the room. “Oh, don’t act like I’m the only one.” “I don’t understand,” Cayden said slowly. “He is happy that his friend killed his sister?” “It’s complicated,” Hunter said from across the table while still keeping eyes on them. “Wait,” Danielle said slowly. “How did you know?” “The Mechanic told me.” Flex said as he released Power Prince from the hug and gently placed his hands on the man’s shoulders.

  While he was looking at Power Prince, he was clearly talking to the room at large. Only The Mechanic, who was now reviewing some files on a computer and then writing on a board, wasn’t listening to his every word.

  “My sister was disturbed and had been that way since we were younger. She’s killed more than once and would likely have done it again. She needed to be stopped and you made the hard decision. A decision I forced on you when I decided to come here.” Power Prince stammered as he tried to get words out.

  “You protected the people. You met with the I.C.E jerks, and you kept things in line while I was away. You even reviewed files for new members. I’m thankful for you, and I love you like a brother. That’s why I’m sorry to place two more burdens on you.”

  Power Prince raised his brow. “What burdens?” Flex released him from his grip and returned to Perkins. “I’m staying here with Perkins. I love her, more than life itself, and regardless of what happens, I’m going to be here with her. Helping her and Cayden rebuild Bravado. This world will still need protecting as the balances of power shift. While I’m here, the New Lords will need a leader. A permanent one.”

  Power Prince’s head jerked slightly. He had fought an internal battle within himself for so long about being a leader, and second in command. How it was easy because the buck didn’t stop with him. Now here was Flex offering him the title permanently. How could he say no? He didn’t actually say anything. Instead, he nodded his head first and then spoke.

  “I’ll do it. I’ll have to find a second in command, but I’ll do it. What was the second burden?” Power Prince asked. Smiling, Flex turned his head to Hunter and then to Jen. “You agree to take the role, right? No turning back.” Flex asked with a grin. “You now have two new interns under your belt. For whatever time is left of their last year. Teach them well, you’re welcome, and I'm sorry.” Flex said with a laugh.” “Funny,” Hunter said under his breath as he rolled his eyes and sat back down.

  “This is all well and good, but there is a bigger issue at hand here,” Cayden said as he looked to Perkins. He found it odd that when she returned, he couldn’t stand her, and now he was here fighting back tears at the thought of losing her. He had already lost a brother, and he didn’t want to lose her too. Despite their differences, she was like family.

  “How long have you been sick. How quickly is it advancing? We need to set up a place for you to rest and be monitored.” Perkins went to answer but was interrupted. “Won’t be a need.” The Mechanic said quickly.

  “What do you mean?” Perkins said slowly. “Well. The data is all here. Percentages, procedures, theories, test results, everything.” The Mechanic said quickly. I have enough here to make a machine that can generate the cure. I’ll need a few samples of Hunter’s blood, though. Then I’ll synthesize the blood and use it to create a cure. Based off of these notes it seems rather doable.”

  The Mechanic moved his finger down the paper in front of him and then tapped twice on the bottom. “There are two additional names on here of researchers. We will have to find them, or at least one of them to help, but that shouldn’t be a problem. If they were important, they were likely guarded and protected.”

  He finally looked up from his work in front of him and saw a room full of smiles looking at him. “How long are we talking here? Cure wise,” Cayden asked. “I’ll be taking my time of course,” The Mechanic said. “I want to avoid any calculation errors, but about a week.” Perkins walked over to the slender man and gave him a hug.

  She stepped back and looked at him as he smiled slightly. “Thank you. Not only are you saving me, but you’re saving my people,” She glanced at Hunter and Cayden. “Our people.” The Mechanic nodded. “Indeed. However, that means that I too will not be returning.” The room had already come to this conclusion once he said at least a week.

  For those in the room that new him personally, they knew before then that he would be staying. The Mechanic loved what he did. He loved his work and inventions. It was his power after all. It made him the Icon that he was. Tech was his life, and from what he had let slip from time to time, he wasn’t very happy with that life back home. Now he had a purpose, and to him, that meant more than any amount of money he’d be missing back in his own dimension.

  “Well, I’m pretty sure there aren’t any other surprises to drop on us are there?” Hunter said as he looked around the room. For the most part, everybody either shrugged or shook their head. “I’m pregnant,” Danielle said out loud. The room went silent as Hunter’s mouth gaped open. “Kidding. Kidding,” she said quickly with a laug
h. Hunter glared at her and then he noticed Flex smirking from ear to ear, and glancing to Danielle.

  Danielle caught Flex looking at her and then quickly tried to act like she didn’t see him. “What was that?” Hunter asked as his eyes narrowed. “What was what, boo?” Danielle said . “Oh no,” Hunter said as he stood back and shook his head. “Don’t boo me.” Perkins laughed out loud as she failed to keep her amusement controlled.

  “You told her, didn’t you?” Danielle hissed. Flex whistled casually. A clear indicator that he did, in fact, confide their secret with Perkins. “Guess who has a True Name picked out?” Flex said in a tone that sounded like a song.

  “You’re dead Ken Doll,” Danielle said as a streak of darkness replaced her eyes for a moment. “You picked a True Name and told Flex before me?” Hunter said with mock disgust. “I swear it's always the girlfriend in the end that turns on you.” Danielle balled up a fist. “It’s not too late for that nut punch.”

  Quickly a force field surrounds Hunter for a second and then faded away. “Well let’s have it,” Hunter said as he propped on the table. “It better be good too, after all the crap you gave me for my name.” “She teased me some for selecting Mystic, too,” Jen added in.

  Suddenly all of the jokes she had made about their names seemed to rush back to her. Danielle didn’t put much stock or respect into the name until she had selected her own. Now, she felt like she would feel some type of way if they teased her half as much as she had teased them. She took a deep breath. “Obsidian. My True Name will be Obsidian.”

  Jen whistled as Danielle looked around the room. “Damn. That’s pretty badass.” “I second that,” Power Prince said. “Where were you when I was selecting my True Name?” Danielle turned slightly to face Hunter. “Well, do you like it?”

  “I mean it’s no Paragon, but it’ll work. I guess.” Hunter said with a smile. As he pulled her in close. “No more villain in the sheets, since you went all hero on me now. True Names, doing what’s right, saving cities. You’re not who I thought you were.” She looked up at him. “I’m going to be taking the oath too, but it’s always villain in the sheets,” Danielle said as she kissed him.

  Jen adjusted her ball cap and walked towards the door. “Alright, you two just made it weird, and I’m hungry. Cayden, double P wanna come with?” Both men nodded and followed her out the room leaving the two couples, and a frantically reading Mechanic, in the lab.

  CHAPTER 39:

  BEYOND SUPREME

  P erkins was still a little groggy when she finally woke up. She didn’t remember much in the last few hours, but she did remember how weak she was before she had gone under. As she sat up, the makeshift medical room was all but empty, except for Flex, The Mechanic, and another short, round man with red hair in a white lab coat.

  A shiver rushed over her and the noise from her teeth chattering sounded louder that she expected. The sound alerted the room that she was awake. “So?” Flex said as he sat on her cot. “I feel fine,” Perkins responded. “Better than fine actually. I feel, almost like a new person.” She formed a fist and flexed her arms to add emphasis to her words.

  “Good. That is what we wanted to hear,” the man in the lab coat said as he made some notes on a pad. “With this success, Rondo and I can start spreading the word that we have a cure.” The Mechanic said.

  Perkins smiled as she could feel Flex squeeze her thigh, as he looked at the men in the room. “Thank Atlas.” They had found Rondo pretty quickly in the last week. The second name on the paper from the lab belonged to a woman that died in the fall of the city. With Rondo’s help the creation of the machines needed for the cure, and the research work included with it went by smoothly.

  Flex had noticed that Rondo and The Mechanic got along very well. For the first time in a while, The Mechanic was working with a mind as sharp as his, giving him an equal and a little bit of a challenge.

  He wasn’t sure, but Flex thought he had seen a few glances exchanged between the two men while they worked. He didn’t know much about The Mechanic’s love life from the past. He seemed to always keep that, like the rest of his personal life, private. Flex was curious to see how their partnership would develop in the long road ahead of curing an entire world.

  “So, what now?” Perkins asked. “I’m cured? Good to go? Varo Free?” The Mechanic looked at some formulas on the board in front of him, and then double checked a computer screen. “We will monitor your progress and run some follow-up tests in the next few days. If everything comes back well, which I have no doubt that they will, you will be given a clean bill of health.”

  “Sounds good,” Perkins said as she got off of the cot and gave Flex a large smile. He looked at her and for a moment seemed like a statue. “What?” she asked him. He took a breath and shook his head. “You’re beautiful, you know that?” She looked down at her baggy clothes, vest, and boots. “Is it because I don’t have on my goggles?” she said with a smirk.

  Flex shook his head. “I’m serious. When I first saw signs of the curse in you, I tried not to think about what I’d do if I lost you. I’ve fought a lot of things in my life. Grew up in a family that cared about their legacy more than their own child, and faced trials that many Icons my age never should. I’ve been afraid once or twice. Most recently when I had to catch a city, but nothing had made me feel as hollow as the thought of losing you.”

  “Wow, you really know how to make a woman that just defeated death by curse, feel special don't you?” Perkins said as her cheeks turned a shade of red. “Truly beautiful,” Rondo said from across the room. While he remarked on Flex’s words he missed the long glance that The Mechanic gave him.

  “I love you,” Flex said slowly. “And I love you more, pretty boy,” Perkins said quickly. “Plus being involved with the strongest person on the planet, really makes me feel good inside. Danielle and Jen said I could pretty much pick a fight with anybody and be covered.”

  “Don’t.” Flex laughed. “Don’t listen to them.” Perkins laughed as she did a little spin towards the door. “That cure is something else. “Flex made his way to the door behind Perkins. “Well, now that you’re up, we have to go see the others off,” Flex said. “They should be almost ready.” “Wait.” The Mechanic said as he crossed the room and removed a drive from his pocket. “Give this to Paragon.”

  Flex looked at it and then to The Mechanic. “It’s something he requested.” Flex nodded his head and stored the drive in his pocket before leaving the medical room behind Perkins.

  Inside the main area of the base, various tasks were being completed by the recruits. Each member of the team had a file in their hand as they worked. Some moved large carts with various parts in and out of the room. Others slowly set up large monitors, and a few just did the cleaning. While they worked Cayden and Hunter stood on a raised level and watched.

  “They’re like ants, almost aren’t they?” Hunter said as he watched them quickly move around the base. One recruit walked by with a gun that looked like a blow torch, and then rose in the air by a flight band to begin working on the beams above them. “They are determined I’ll say that. We didn’t expect so many new people to want to join, but after word spread of what we did to Omega we transformed from a band of rebels to local heroes overnight. Although, some still curse our names. Mostly those that were once in favor with Omega,” Cayden replied.

  “Tell me about it,” Jen said as she walked up and dropped a large duffel bag on the floor. She looked up and snapped her fingers and a recruit appeared out of nowhere and snatched the bag from her before trotting off. She adjusted her cap on her head and hefted her covered sword in her hand.

  “Seriously, the base is crawling with people now. No wonder we had to relocate from that crappy backup base you all were in.” Hunter nodded as he looked around. The new base was certainly larger. It had more rooms and space than both of the previous bases combined. “Say what you will about Omega, but the lady owned some damn nice buildings,” Cayden said. />
  “She had the right idea,” Hunter said slowly. “So did Perkins. Suggesting you all move here for a fresh start for Bravado was a good call.” Power Prince and Danielle, both carrying bags similar to the one Jen had moments ago, walked up and gently placed them on the ground. Only this time, a recruit didn’t come and take it from them.

  “That it?” Hunter asked. Power Prince looked down at the bags and shrugged his shoulders. “I guess so. The Mechanic dropped it off at my room last night and said it was the stuff he talked to you about.”

  “What is it?” Danielle asked. “My dear Obsidian, that is a surprise for us all.” Danielle raised a brow and then glanced down at the bags. “So, now that everything is up and running, what are you going to do, Cayden?” Hunter asked as he turned to look at the youth.

  “I mean you’re elite, so you have the right to, well rule I suppose.” Cayden shook his head. “I don’t think that’s for me. I think it’s better that the time of elites ruling the world has passed. I’ve spoken to Perkins about it, and I think I’m going to take my brother's spot as a leader of Bravado.”

  “Good call.” Power Prince added in. “From one new leader to another, it will do your team good to have you around. You’ve got experience and, if I’m being honest, the power to really make a difference. Especially as you guys get this curse stuff handled. Being immune will greatly aid you.”

  “Well look who is up and running again,” Jen said as Perkins and Flex walked through a sliding metal door. Over the next few minutes, greetings were made as they all talked to Perkins and got detailed information on how she felt after the cure was given to her. Among the chatter, Hunter saw Flex look at him and jerk his head to the side.

  Flex quickly left the crowd and waited to the side. “What’s up?” Hunter asked as he came over. “The Mechanic asked me to give you this. He didn’t go into detail over it, though.” Hunter looked at the drive in Flex’s hand and smiled. “That fast-talking son of a bitch came through.”