The Omicron Annihilation

The Omicron Annihilation

By Mordecai J Banda

NOTE: This is the second segment and sequel to the item, The Omicron Facility:

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The Omicron Facility  [13+] Reed Burton is telepathic, he decides to help the government but discovers death instead by inkscribe CC

LUCIA WENT OUT OF SIGHT OF THE DOORWAY, AND REED BURTON followed. These marked as the very first steps in reality for Reed, and he cherished them so deeply he felt his brain tingle, everything seemed clearer now. Especially the fact that they were in a bad position at the moment. Emerging out of the doorway, the first thing that Reed saw was the body of the pale boy slumped against the wall, half of his face blown off from a bullet. He felt his throat go warm with a sudden flow of bile, and it was all he could do to look away from the body of a boy who had been alive and looking tough only a few moments ago. Reed scanned the rest of the area, noticing with grim triumph that about twenty troops were lying still on the floor in various poses of pain and death. All bodies seemed to have been melted in specific areas. Reed shook his head and looked at Lucia, expecting her to have paused to study the macabre scene, but she seemed nonplussed at it at all, she just stood under the cold light of the fading day with her hair flying and her pink outfit glowing. If she was grieving, it wasn't noticeable on the surface. Reed considered reading her mind, but decided against it; he needed his mind more than ever at the moment, for the other 597 troops in the facility, not counting a thousand hostile scientists.

Lucia paused for a while, looking along the metallic walls that made the outer shell of the dome enclosure from which they had just exited. Within those walls, Reed remembered, was a corridor that wound around the dome area, then branched off to the main hallway of the facility that had a tram which they could escape with. Lucia spotted the almost imperceptible outline of the door leading into the corridor, and she headed towards it with purpose, stepping over the bodies and discarded rifles strewn across the floor without much care. The door slid open without any password required, to Reed’s relief.
"Why don't we pick the guns?" Reed asked while reaching for a mean looking assault rifle.
He was almost immediately assaulted by a forceful feeling in his head, and Lucia replied but didn't look back,
"Which one of us outguns any of these people? They’ve probably trained for years." She said, still imposing her thoughts on Reed.
"Yeah, yeah, you don't have to force it." Reed grumbled back at her, rubbing his head as he felt her slight mind control leave. She went through the door. Reed supposed they were lucky that a lock down hadn't been carried out. He followed Lucia again. He stopped suddenly when three more helmeted troops emerged from a bend. They blocked the narrow passage tightly. Reed heard their intentions and saw their rifles rise: They wanted to shoot to kill. Knowing this, Reed's heart jumped just as he focused his attention on the vicinity of the three simultaneously rising rifles. He felt his concentration slip slightly and only had enough power to force the guns away, already suspecting that all was lost and already feeling the cruel bullets thumping into him. The rifles all fired, but not in Reed and Lucia's direction: Reed opened his eyes and saw that one of the helmeted men had accidentally shot himself. Nevertheless, the other two were recovering from the push, wrenching their guns downwards to point at the children, firing their rifles in a deadly arc. Some bullets thumped into the metal ceiling. Reed knew he couldn't do anything this time, and cringed as the guns descended to his level, feeling useless as his fear destroyed any chances of using his telepathy/ kinesis. Then for the second time, the bullets didn't strike, one of the men suddenly turned the angle of his firing arc to his own comrade, shooting him in the face, his hand seemed to have a life of his own. Still firing the rifle, he pointed the gun at himself with jerky movement, struggling with himself, and his head turned to look at Lucia with obvious fear behind the visor. His helmet screen shattered with a non-dramatic thump, and he slumped against the walls of the small corridor, sliding down to rest in a drunkard's sprawl. Reed looked at Lucia, who seemed to have tears in her eyes, and Reed involuntarily caught a whiff of guilt, grief, and a strong image of Lucia standing amidst carnage-
"Let's go, Reed." Lucia broke in, and Reed felt her mind enveloped by a layer of purpose and determination he couldn't break through. He shook his head to clear the strange memory from Lucia, and led the way this time, with Lucia following. Reed suddenly felt his stomach drop with acid fear; he was suddenly unable to contemplate escape easily. He couldn't imagine getting as lucky as before with all the trained troops in the facility. Especially when his powers depended on concentration and calm. Even Lucia would have trouble fighting the Five-hundred troops or so. For once, Reed saw the good in his earlier way of life than now; the Deluded Reed would have most likely been cold and calculating in such a situation.

Reed kept on running along the corridor, thinking of what that Reed would've done. A few seconds later, Reed saw the yellow door and broke out of that line of thought. He saw that it was already opened. He stepped out of the corridor cautiously, already troops. The hundreds of troops. They poured about from everywhere but the tram. Within the corridor behind Reed was the faint but increasing cacophony of stomping boots. In front of him he saw the troops emerging from higher platforms and running down various staircases. Some of them dropped onto the glass roof of the rectangular tube, others through doors placed along the hallway adjacent to the tram.

Though Lucia froze with horror, Reed stopped heeding the scene before him, because he could suddenly hear someone transmitting a thought insistently with his mind. Usually Reed couldn't read background thoughts because they droned on into unnoticeable streams, but this one was unique. This one was unique because of the message, it was a boy repeating, "Go into the tram, ride it to the lab in my direction, I can help you a lot, trust me. Go into the tram-" And the message looped, it was from a stern mind, and Reed trusted it unconditionally. He looked past the troops coming in all directions to the doors in front of the tram. Reed felt his mind envelope the doors, and a number of troops shouted warnings as they saw the face of concentration Reed was showing. The troops closest to Reed were about to open fire when the two glass doors fractured off the frame of the rectangular tube and smashed into the huddle, piercing skin and opening deep wounds. The troops on the stairs and on the roof of the rectangular tube ducked instinctively at the sound of the exploding glass, Reed walked towards the open door
"Fire! Open fire!" Someone roared.
Lucia screamed as people opened fire particularly at Reed, who ran to the doors not to dodge the salvo of bullets, but to get closer to the mind that called him. He felt that if he was to survive this, he had to follow the voice. Lucia screamed and limped after him. She desperately fed confusion on all troops by making them shift their weight or close their eyes. This ultimately saved both of their lives, making their aim off enough to miss the two just barely. "Reed!" Lucia shouted desperately, trying to warn him of his mad rush and realising at the same time how stupid that was when he had already made it into the tram. Lucia was a few steps from the entrance herself, until her left angle exploded when a round punctured it. She almost immediately went into a state of shock, dropping to the marble floor without much feeling. She heard her heart pumping in her ears and her senses dulled with a dream like quality, voices and sounds muffled, vision tinted grey.

Reed inspected the small console in the tram regardless. Two bullets crashed through the glass above and thumped into his body from above, one through his shoulder and the other through his stomach, he looked up at the group of helmeted men reloading their guns, preparing to open fire again. Reed shoved them upwards with an outstretched hand. The men rose a few metres in the air, screaming in alarm. They then either landed on the marble opposite or bounced on the glass tube with whacking sounds. Where they rolled about in pain, groaning.
Reed looked out of the tram, spotted Lucia and the troops who were closing in on her as well as aiming at him, and he effortlessly pulled Lucia into the tram. A small red trail appeared from her ankle. Reed ignored the rounds that whizzed past him and smashed through glass inches away from him. He absently pulled Lucia to him with two hands and looked ahead at the tunnel beyond, he looked at the console, noticed a button facing the direction of the voice, and he pressed it. Almost as soon as the tram started picking up speed he coughed up gout of blood, feeling the pain in his stomach and shoulder for the first time. Unlike Lucia he didn't go into some sort of shock: he just collapsed and died.

VICTORIA COULDN'T HOLD THE STATE OF VAGUENESS QUITE AS LONG AS SHE had hoped, and seeing the strange teenager collapse in the moving tram like that shook her calm. The other boy didn't complain as he too became fully visible, he seemed to still be in shock from the death of his twin brother, shot through the side of his head. Victoria saw the swarm of troops run towards the door to the tram. Victoria turned to the boy and pleaded with him.
"Vincent, do something..."
Vincent looked at her with deep sadness and shook his head hopelessly. Victoria glanced at the scene again as the troops closed in on the tram. They still hadn't spotted her and Vincent become visible. Victoria tried to coax Vincent again,
"Do it for your brother."
Vincent looked at her again, and Victoria on the neck, placed the muzzle of his pistol on her forehead, and pulled the trigger.

VINCENT DIDN'T HEAR THE GUNSHOT. HE WAS TOO BUSY GAINING HEAT. He smiled when he heard the nearest man scream in pain and surprise as his felt the fabrics on his back melt off. The man turned to see who had done it only to have his face run off like melting candle wax. Vincent walked into the group of troops, and was about to unleash an energy blast when a bullet shot from the same man who had killed Victoria struck his head. He died instantly, and unleashed an uncontrolled amount of energy, much more than he had intended or expected, which wasn't a bad thing. The heat released was enormous; melting practically everything. The man managed to hide in the metallic corridor before the heat engulfed the area, and he survived. He had time for some relief, not knowing that he would still die that very same day.

LUCIA GAINED HER SENSES BY FORCING CONSCIOUSNESS ONTO HERSELF. She told herself to feel the pain of the bullet and it worked. Harnessing the pain of the bullet woke her up like a pinch to a dreamer. Lucia stood up while holding onto the tram railings shakily, realising that it had stopped moving. She saw that they had stopped at another pair of sliding doors, which opened to a white room, shaped much like an arena. From her position she could already see beds and various hospital equipment placed along the curve of the room. Lucia stepped dazedly through the doors and stumbled when she tripped on the Reed's leg. She looked poured out of the wounds inflicted on it, and that was the only sign of life from the body. Lucia felt grief build up within her, but dismissed it with her powers fiercely, because if she gave in to that grief she'd take it with her even to the afterlife. Reed was not dead. She dragged the body into the white room.

AT THE CENTRE OF the room was a depression that had a chute at its centre. There was blood spilt on its side, Lucia guessed the chute was the dump. She looked away from the chute, past the empty beds and her eyes focused on a teenager in a black suit with a red necktie lying in bed, his hands were clenched. He looked at Lucia imploringly, saying something in a low voice that Lucia didn't quite hear. She dragged Reed's body by his heel, much like a teddy bear. When she got close enough she was able to hear the words,
"Bring him here quickly; I might be able to bring him back."
That was all the motivation that Lucia needed. She dragged Reeds body at an unceremonious speed and slid him into place next to the bed of the boy. The boy smiled strangely,
"Boyfriend of yours?" He asked.
Lucia didn't answer, squeezing Reed's leg and looking lost.
The boy smirked and reached out his hand to Reed, Lucia followed the movement and watched with amazement as the wounds stopped bleeding almost immediately and Reed's skin writhed underneath his clothes. Suddenly Reed's foot jerked out of Lucia's hand with a spasmodic kick. It was followed by another. And another. And then he started kicking so violently that he came on his feet, kicking in a gruesome sort of tap dance. When it stopped, Reed crumpled to the floor and moaned. He opened his eyes and said abruptly
"That hurt." Reed spoke.
"It should." The boy replied simply, straightening his black necktie, " No time to chat though, I need you to float me out of here."
"Literally?" Reed asked in a flat tone. Lucia didn't like it.
"Literally." The boy replied.
"That's impossible, I need concentration, and I’d get shot trying to float you."
"That's where I come in." The bedridden boy replied.
Lucia just watched the exchange with stupid blankness. The relief she had felt deflated in the face of suspicion.
"They paralysed me, and put up a safeguard to stop my powers, they still haven't figured out the right one."
"What are you talking about?" Reed said, rising to his feet.
"I do biogenesis, they tested a drug to stop my powers, and it did, for a while, that's why I didn't help out with others in the first place. When they wore off I paid them back for all the kids they killed while lying in bed."
"How?" Lucia asked involuntarily, realising she really didn't want to know.
"Look up."
She did, and she vomited. Reed didn't dare. He looked at the boy.
"So how will you help me help you?"
"I'll morph a piece of your brain that helps you with telepathy into something bigger. You'll have your type of powers a breath away. But there's a catch."
"I know, it hurts, doesn't it?"
"You'll survive, that's what matters. You want a boost too, girl?"
Without waiting for an answer, Lucia and Reed felt their heads cave in with pain and their brains rippled sickeningly beneath their skulls. Though their brains couldn't actually feel pain, the wave motion caused havoc to the feeling cells beyond the brain, and it was excruciating. The power flow that they felt after that was so much they didn't talk for a full minute.
"Let’s save the others." Lucia broke the silence in a much differ
"There all dead. There's only bad people to kill now."
The boy floated upwards as Reed picked him up without even looking at him. Reed walked towards the exit.
"Then let’s do the killing." He replied.
Lucia was chilled, and the suspicions flowed back.

IT WAS NOT DESTRUCTION, NOTHING LIKE IT. IT WAS MUCH MORE FURIOUS and disorganised. It was amazing how instinctively murderous the teenagers were. And suddenly there was a part of Reed that actually understood why the facility killed such people.

Lucia forced all scientists to stop breathing.

The boy morphed most personnel into grotesque mutations with skeletons that pierced their own vital organs.

Reed crushed their brains against their own skulls.

Not one troop fired a single bullet, no† alarm rang and no one screamed, because the onslaught was much too fast. The trio didn't use the tram; they walked to the exit, Reed caving in the whole facility behind him. When it was done, the overall height of the facility was a pile of dust no more than three metres high. It was completely crushed, and no one survived the devastation. The Omicron Facility was gone. The ensuing silence of death was a screaming presence in the cold night air. Reed Burton breathed in the night air of the arctic land with relish, taking in the sight of mountains and the swirling so dancing through the air on hidden currents. He asked the boy,
"What's your name?"
The boy, floating on a cushion of nothing but Reed's brain waves, replied,
"Eric."
"Eric, why didn't you heal your spine?" Reed asked without much accusation in his voice.
Eric laughed, the snow whipping past his face, "Haven't read the books yet. I can enhance both of your brains, but realise that I might've given you tumours in the process of morphing your brain, and might need to hang around me until I can figure out how to counteract that." To Lucia he didn't sound apologetic at all, and Lucia's suspicions took hold again, clearing away the euphoria. She didn't like the way he talked to Reed.
"Where are you heading to?" Reed asked.
Eric looked at Reed, "You know the Greek alphabet of course? Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta? Omicron was is one of them, and it’s not the only facility. I'm planning on taking them all out, and maybe I’ll need some backup..."
Reed thought over it for a while, not realising that he had turned evil in the run of events,
"I'm coming." He said.
"No! Reed, don't trust him! He's changing you!" Lucia shouted at Reed, Reed looked at her and shook his head, started walking towards the centre of the chopper pad as though he were heading for the helicopter.
"Reed, No!" Lucia used her mind to tell Reed to stop walking, started forcing information into his brain in a last ditch effort to-
A fierce wall of pain fractured her nose and one rib, flinging her away with full force. She rolled on the marble four times and stopped rolling at the entrance of what used to be The Omicron Facility. She looked up in the cold swirling air, and saw Reed's form, facing at her, looking at her, as Eric floated beside him, eyes glinting. She saw Reed hunch over in pain, two wing shapes emerging behind his shoulder blades, and like a new crowned angel of death, he floated upwards with powerful strokes, Eric tagging along on Reed's brain waves.
Lucia closed her eyes, and whispered resignedly,
"Brother..."