:))

“Are you there?” The voice crackled through the damaged earpiece. The sound of the static battling the ringing in her ears awoke Omega from her unconscious state. Her head felt like it was hammered against an anvil, the pain pulsing across her temples. She struggled to regain full control of her senses immediately. Another shockwave of pain shot through her nerves as she felt her entire body fight against the lull she was once in. Willing her legs to stand, Omega rises from the crater her body laid in and glanced around to take in her surroundings. Cars flipped over, smoke billowing from buildings and people scattering to safety. The usual for situations like this.

“Owen. I need a sitrep.” Omega said into her earpiece. The static faded and made way for a timid but knowledgeable voice in her ear. The clacking of a keyboard and clicking of a mouse came through before Owen responded “Got it. He’s headed north down Central Park West.”

Omega shook off the lingering pain and cracked her neck. In a pouch on the belt around her waist she found one instant numbing pill. She popped it without hesitation. Crouching down, Omega began building power in her legs before releasing the tension in one huge leap. Bounding over the roof of the office building, Omega began bracing herself for the landing. Another long crouch helped her build toward another leap, launching herself over every other building. She wouldn’t catch her target without resorting to desperate maneuvers.

Today was supposed to be a quiet Sunday. Omega had been doing this superhero thing for a while, and Sundays are always the quietest day. Crime doesn’t take a break, but for some reason rogue paranormals do. Omega didn’t expect one of her long-time adversaries, Hunk, to resurface after being in the wind for so long. Especially in such a high-profile manner. Breaking into a lab and stealing classified materials was one thing but parading it in front of the New York media is another. It’s almost like he was baiting someone into chasing him. A plan like that isn’t Hunk’s speed, which is massively alarming for Omega.

“Have we got any leads on the device he’s obtained?” Omega asked mid leap. Owen was her tech support guy, offering information and sometimes moral support. If he could get paid for this, he’d have asked for a few raises by now. Working over the keyboard, Owen scans his six monitors looking for any sign of the intense heat signature the device was said to give off. This Tachyon Particle Destabilizer needs thousands of volts running through it to even be activated, let alone do what its name suggests. Helping Omega lock down his position was priority number one, anything else was secondary.

“He looks to be headed toward Times Square. I’ve scanned the net for any info on the New York power grid.” Owen said. "This device must need a lot of juice.”

“Yeah,” she began, “It does. The problem is if he manages to turn that thing on this entire city may implode.”

A silence fell over the comms, Omega awaiting any response. Nothing came through the mic, not even static. If Omega still had feeling in her back, she would’ve felt a chill run down her spine. Instead, the instant numbing pill had done its job and killed off the nerve receptors in her body for the next few hours. Hunk did a number on her in their previous skirmish, and she planned on getting her revenge. And stop him from activating the device. Both very important tasks.

“I’ll intercept at Times Square; you just focus on creating blockades around the area. Need to keep this bull in the ring this time.”

Omega leaped from the rooftop, angling herself toward the next one. She would need plenty of momentum and force if she was going to get the drop on Hunk. If beach-going, musclebound douchebags had an idol it would be Hunk. His fake tan and bleach blonde hair perfectly complimented his abrasive personality. The only thing separating him from your average gym addict is his large genetically enhanced musculature. His paranormal abilities, unlike many others, were gifted to him through an act of science. Except in this case, it was done without government supervision and quickly ruled illegal.

The bull had finally been cornered. Charging headfirst into the famed district, Hunk smashed into the ground knocking out power in the billboards around him. Setting up shop on the Red Steps, Hunk placed the device at the base near the crater he strategically made to shut off power. The plan was simple. Get in, find the major underlying power lines, connect them to the Destabilizer, turn it on and get the hell out. Hunk wasn’t sure exactly what the device could do, but he knew it was capable of devastation. That’s what his boss wanted, and the boss didn’t exactly pay him to think. The power lines he needed were right under the steps, he just had to get to them before any rude interruptions.

Owen wouldn’t let his efforts be in vain. Using his expert knowledge of manipulating and splicing audio, Owen crafted a message to get the police to direct traffic and form a traffic blockade around the five blocks that make up Times Square. Taking control of the traffic lights, Owen created a perfect square of traffic around the perimeter. Although it wouldn’t flush Hunk out, it would keep him trapped in. That’s all Omega needed. A cage to keep the rat locked in.

Time was of the essence. Omega thought about a dramatic landing, but this situation was way too precarious to take lightly. Leaping from the final rooftop, she landed squarely upon the Red Steps next to a hunched over Hunk. Not even waiting for him to notice, she slammed her black gloved fist into the side of his head, throttling him into the Forever 21 storefront. An explosion of light shot out from the impact causing the sign to collapse right on top of his reeling body. His ears rung from the shock to his head. Blood trickled down from the inner ear, making him grimace in the process.

“Okay, princess. That’s how you want to play it?” Hunk announced. He emerged from under the sign with a murderous smirk on his face. Playtime was over, and Omega had to be on her Ps and Qs for this. While he isn’t the most intelligent foe she’s faced thus far in her career, he is one of the strongest. Their countless bouts have destroyed many city blocks. Times Square would be just another notch on their belts.

Omega reached up for her shoulder, tearing away at the black sleeve and ripping it from her arm. Having her arms bare for a fight like this would help much more than the restriction her Kevlar body weave suit would allow. Removing her gloves, she tauntingly cracked her knuckles and gestured come here with her head. She matched his intensity with a smile that would send a chill down any average criminals’ spine. Flexing her arms, Omega began to shadowbox a bit, fully making fun of her golden tanned opponent. Hunk let out a guttural scream and began to increase in size. His power wasn’t fueled by anger, in fact he could increase his strength at will. But he needed the proper kinetic energy stored. And Omega just gave him the extra push he needed.

Charging at one another, Hunk and Omega clashed, causing a massive shockwave which felt like a huge earthquake. The two titans growled at one another, fully giving in to their animalistic side. Omega had never felt anger like this course through her body, it felt like a strange heat building up in her chest. She held no ill will toward Hunk, he was just another rogue paranormal and she was the one sent in to take him down whenever he’d stray from the pack. But this bout felt different. She could feel an enormous buildup of power bubbling inside her, almost spilling over. If she wasn’t caught in a deadlock with her current foe, she would’ve felt fear.

Ripping her hands away from his, Omega clasped her hands together and quickly struck upwards, catching Hunk on the chin. The dumb brute was too distracted by his rage that he didn’t notice how much faster Omega seemed to have gotten since their last skirmish. She leaped up after the thunderous uppercut, grabbing the back of Hunk’s head and slamming it into her knee. His face was shattered from the impact, leaving a trail of blood and broken teeth in the impact. If Hunk’s face wasn’t so swollen from the last hit, he would’ve smirked at the thought of his healing factor kicking in. Of course, he would’ve had to sacrifice a bit of muscle and power, but his perfect face was way more important to him.

Omega continued her onslaught, sending wave after wave of attacks to subdue Hunk. Each hit became more vicious and more powerful than the last. Omega was no longer in complete control of her faculties, something else had taken control. Bloodlust? She wasn’t worried about it, at least not now. Not while lives hung in the balance. She needed to finish this as quickly as possible. Casualties wouldn’t be an issue, not since this entire part of the city was quickly evacuated once the local authorities got word of a rogue paranormal attack. Omega could let loose. Perhaps that was the cause of her newfound power, her newfound rage.

Hunk was reeling from the flurry of blows being sent his way. He could barely move any body part he still had control over. Not much needed to be said here. Well, not much could be said by him at all. He had managed to bite his tongue in half completely destroying any chance of a witty taunt or an angry swear. He was utterly defeated. It was fitting, he had done this to her a few hours ago just on a lesser scale. He never figured she would come back with a vengeance like this.

Omega slammed down on Hunk’s head with a tomahawk punch. His body went limp, sealing his immediate fate. It was over almost as quickly as it started. Millions of dollars of property damage aside, Omega had done well to subdue him in this fashion. She’d need a cleanup crew to fix up her mess, but besides that she could take pride in her work. It was then that the rage in her chest began to fade. She didn’t notice the physical aspect of her change until her muscles began to shrink. She had grown to almost seven feet in height despite only being six foot four previously. It was like the rage inside of her was a smoldering wildfire, and it took beating down Hunk to put that fire out.

“Owen,” she began, “I need you to phone Sanitation. Tell them we’ve got a spill in Sector Three.”

-------------------------------

The ride to Homebase was the longest part for Omega.

Introspection was something she tended not to do nowadays. It wasn’t born from fear of some sort of negative discovery, but from the pain of reliving her previous life. Once upon a time, the Majestic Maiden of Might was a timid little librarian named Marion Mason. If you saw Omega, you wouldn’t believe this gigantic, scarlet haired, colossus of a woman was at one time a tiny bookworm.

It’s true. It’s been five years since her awakening, but those five years have felt like a lifetime. Marion Mason, the Queens-born mild-mannered English major was transformed into a paranormal after a mugging gone wrong. What triggered her awakening is still a mystery to most scientists, but she has no real interest in digging any deeper. Whether supernatural or otherwise, she’s here now. No point in getting too stuck on it.

The transport came to a halt. Homebase was just across the Queensborough Bridge, so it didn’t take too long to get there from Manhattan. A large, gray circular structure surrounded by security rose to the top of the Queens skyline. Most citizens thought it to be just another ugly building in a collection of ugly buildings, but this facility was Sector Three’s first line of defense. Motherbase was located far away from here, so Homebase was the next best thing.

Omega stepped out of the transport, greeted by a team of medics and scientists. A woman with pink hair tied in twin pigtails and large horned-rimmed glasses power walked towards Omega as she was being poked and prodded by men in white hazmat suits. She threw a punch at Omega’s thigh, her face twisted into one of disgust.

“I never cleared you for active duty today,” the woman said, “you keep going over my head and that’s not cool!”

She chewed hard on her gum and blew a bubble. The gum was just as pink as her hair. At first glance you would assume Kimiko Ayane to be just another cooky scientist. But as far as Sector Three goes, she’s the leading expert in paranormal physiology. The pink hair and the mismatched socks were just style choices. For Kimiko, bringing a splash of color to this drab institution was just something she felt obligated to do.

Omega faked a reaction to the punch from the smaller woman, making Kimiko’s cheeks blush and puff up in frustration. She turned and stormed away from Omega, quickly brushing past Owen. Owen fumbled with his tablet just barely keeping it in his hands along with his balance. For her size, Kimiko was pretty strong. Owen walked toward Omega and handed her a small silver pouch. She ripped the pouch open and began to pour the contents into her mouth. Trail mix after a mission was always fun.

“She’s going to chew you out; you know that right?” Owen asked.

“Kimiko or Commander Hale?” Omega said curiously.

“Pick your poison.”

Omega grimaced as she entered the facility, hoping both Hale and Kimiko would go easy on her today. It was bad enough she dealt with Hunk solo; she didn’t need the stress from a debriefing to compound on the pain that was slowly creeping back into her body.