“He was with you last night, wasn’t he?”
Selena smiled. “He was.”
“And?”
“And nothing. We slept. That’s it. I was out cold. And no headache this morning!”
“Are you in love with him?”
“No. Were you when you first met Val?”
“Yes.”
Selena gave Ace a curious look. “I do feel weird around him.”
“How so?”
“Like…he’s a caramel macchiato triple-shot latte and I’m addicted to them.”
“So it’s a good feeling?”
Selena nodded. “But I don’t know anything about him. I don’t know how we can have a future together—we’re practically different species. How can any of this work?”
Ace crawled up to sit next to Selena as she leaned against her headboard. “I think what you’re afraid of is loving someone. The rest is just noise.”
“I am scared of that.”
“So go slowly. Don’t commit. Leave your options open.”
Selena sighed as she looked at her petite friend. “I’m glad you’re here, Ace. You get me.”
“That’s ’cause you’re as fucked up as I am.” They both laughed. “For what it’s worth, I like him. He charmed all the guys, even when exchanging insults. Val thinks he’s a hoot.”
“Val would. Probably because he fries Owen’s sense of authority just by breathing.”
Ace elbowed Selena’s arm. “Get dressed. Today’s going to be awesome.”
Selena got up and began unpacking her duffel bag. Shoving things into her dresser drawers, she thought of something that happened yesterday when Ace and Val had left the room. “Hey—I have to tell you something.” She turned to face her friend. “Bastion knows Santo.”
“Knows? Not knew?”
“Yeah. Santo trained him and the guys on his team. I get the feeling that they don’t believe he’s dead.”
Ace released a long and shaky breath. She rubbed her chest. “I was with him when he died, Sel. I saw him impaled on that steel spike. I heard his last breath. He can’t be alive.”
“Right. Right. Unless…it was all an illusion. Maybe you weren’t even fighting him.”
“How is that even possible?”
“I don’t know. That’s the thing. Bastion and all the mutants have special skills. He visited me here when he was stalking us, but he wasn’t really here. It was just an astral projection of him. Or something. I don’t know. I don’t how any of this works. I just know that Bastion doesn’t think Santo is dead.”
Ace looked away, staring at the wall for a long minute, then left without saying anything more.
Selena stepped out of her room. As she often did after leaving her sanctuary, facing what might be a challenging day, she paused right outside her room, gathering her wits and her strength and her determination to make the day the best it could be.
Unlike any other morning, however, Bastion appeared across the hallway, his dark eyes studying her. He closed the distance between them. She kept still, caught between wanting to hurry away and her need to stare him down as she reclaimed her boundaries. He lifted his arms and braced his fists against the wall beside her head. That dominant posture should have fired off all sorts of alarms…but it didn’t. It felt protective and caring.
She drew his delicious scent into her lungs, holding it there as long as she could.
This will be a good day, he said telepathically.
How do you know?
It’s been a long time coming. What you and your team will learn is important. Things have changed in the Omni war you’ve been fighting. You need to know what’s happening behind the scenes. He grinned. And I will be with you the whole day, as I have been for much of the past few months, only today, I can be with you openly. So it is a good day. His grin widened. And if you’ve decided now is the time for fucking, I can freeze the whole household until you’ve had your fill of me.
Selena actually gave that a moment’s thought. “Another time. As you’ve said, too much is at stake. And your boss won’t like the delay.”
Bastion straightened. “Liege can go fuck himself.”
Selena laughed. The sound was contagious, for he laughed too.
He was right. This was going to be a good day.
Selena checked the mood of the group as they waited in the bunker for Bastion’s team to arrive. Owen asked Bastion and Guerre to make themselves absent so the team could have a private convo.
Bastion had easily obliged, saying they’d guide their team in via the tunnel.
Little did Owen know that Bastion was in her head, listening. She thought about blocking him, but at this point, what did it matter?
The group was eerily quiet. None of them was looking forward to the coming meeting, Selena included. It felt like a change was coming, and not the little kind of changes, like the team weddings they‘d been celebrating. Or the babies that would soon be making an appearance.
This felt like Armageddon.
As that thought hit her, she looked at Owen. “This is it. The Armageddon we’ve been warned about all along.”
“Shit,” Blade said. “That’s why the Omnis called their biologic research company Syadne—end days.”
Kit nodded. “Even when we knew the meaning of their company name, we didn’t have the context for it to make sense.”
“It does now,” Greer said. “The long list of little machinations—I just couldn’t see where it was going.”
They’re here, Bastion told Selena.
“It’s time. They’re here,” Selena told her team.
Greer and Max quickly flipped through several screens on their phones. Greer started to tell her nothing showed up in their security system, but one look at her and he went quiet.
They moved toward the end of the bunker conference room that opened to the hallway, where the steel doors were at the loading dock.
“Hey, guys,” Blade said. “I just want to say, before all hell breaks loose—thank you. You’ve made this past year the best ever.”
“I agree,” Greer said. “We know so much more about ourselves than we ever would have if Owen hadn’t pulled us together.”
“Yep.” Kit put his fist out in front of him. “Live or die, our families come first. And the pride. Whoever remains standing after all of this, know that we’re relying on you to guard our own.”
Blade nodded. “And also know this: I’ve signed this house over to a trust for the team. Whoever survives and wants to remain living here will always have a home.”
Selena put her fist out with the others. God. These people were her family. She couldn’t let anything happen to them. She had no dependents, only her aging parents. She already was the canary in the coal mine, so she’d finish out that path and take the first hit, if doing so would save any on her team.
The seconds were tense as the group waited silently for the rest of Bastion’s team to arrive.
Val started snapping his fingers.
“What the fuck, dude?” Max asked.
Val gave him an innocent look. “What? C’mon don’t tell me this doesn’t have a West Side Story vibe. The Sharks and Jets. This is just like that. Their boy, our girl.”
Selena sighed, but Val kept snapping.
Liege parked in the wide area at front end of the cave. Bastion and Guerre were waiting for them at the end of the tunnel, on the loading dock. Liege exchanged a long look with Bastion as he joined them. They didn’t need words—or even thoughts—to communicate. Guerre had taught the whole team the power of nonverbal communication through the use of knowings. Knowings were universally understandable because they weren’t tied to linguistics. They even crossed species lines.
Liege used those skills now to scan Bastion’s wounds and catch up on the pulse of the team they were about to meet. The exchange of info took seconds, and when he was finished, he nodded at Bastion.
Bastion heard the finger snapping coming from the bunker behind the steel doors. His whole grou
p heard it. Liege smiled, enjoying the joke. Then he did something that always terrified regulars…he spoke aloud to them before entering the room. Bastion didn’t questioned Liege’s approach—he never did anything without significant forethought. Bastion had no doubt Liege had taken a read of the group and felt the need to establish authority.
And given what the group was about to learn, some dramatics may well have been the right approach.
Bastion heard Liege’s voice coming from the bunker, fully disassociated from the person who still stood outside the doors.
“We are not gangs. And we should celebrate two members of our groups finding love.” Liege compelled the snapping to stop, then psychically opened both doors, making a grand entrance.
Bastion scanned the faces of Selena’s team as his team moved inside the bunker.
Apologies, my love, Bastion said. Liege likes setting the stage. I believe the American term for that is “shock and awe.”
You think?
Owen shook hands with Liege. A long, silent moment passed between them as they stared at each other. Selena waited tensely as the silence lengthened. To Bastion, she asked, What's going on?
Liege is reading Owen.
Can he do that? Selena asked.
Easily, Bastion said.
Acier gave her a small grin from where he stood behind Liege. They are butting heads and thumping chests. But Liege will win.
Maybe, but don't underestimate blue eyes. He has a core of steel, Bastion said.
Possibly, Acier said, but Owen has never met a fully empowered mutant before.
He’s met Bastion, Selena said.
Acier shrugged. Like I said…
Selena checked to see if that insult had offended Bastion. He just gave a slight shake of his head. Liege is stronger than any of us. He is a formidable leader. It’s an honor to follow him.
I feel that way about Owen, Selena said.
Bastion nodded. Then it’s good that our leaders are meeting. There is much work for our teams to do.
The long moment between Owen and Liege finally broke loose. Owen seemed a little perturbed but quickly regained his composure as he introduced his team and Liege did the same.
Both groups took seats at the long conference table. Guerre and Bastion managed to sit on either side of Selena, something she didn’t realize was probably a strategic move until she saw some of the guys from her team glaring at the mutants.
Oh, for fuck’s sake. Selena leaned forward to try to shut them down, but Guerre caught her wrist and said, Be calm. This is new to them. And it’s overwhelming, as it shatters their reality.
Selena frowned. You can talk to me.
We all have different skills, different abilities, Bastion said. Guerre is our healer, so of course he can communicate.
I have a lot of questions, Selena said.
And now that we’re dealing with this openly, we’ll answer all of them, Bastion said.
Owen, in his typical fashion, stood against the wall behind Selena. Liege, possibly because Owen stood, took up a position opposite him, arms folded. The two leaders stared at each other.
Owen nodded at Liege. “You have the floor.”
"You and I have many things in common,” Liege said. “Our teams are both fighting the Omnis. Our women have been modified. We’re worried about keeping our teams and the civilians around us safe. The only civilian we have at the fort is my girlfriend. She was changed against her will, as all of us were. You have access to the researchers who could possibly reverse her modifications, or at least help us understand them. I need to talk to them. I want to bring them out to the fort, where we’ve built a secure lab and research facility. We can house them and guarantee their safety.”
“My wife's modifications were temporary,” Owen said. “It appears they’re out of her system—she's no longer a modified human. We believe her modifications were intended to kill her. She was being used as pawn between two Omni leaders, one of them her father."
Liege nodded. “Something similar may well be the case with my girlfriend. But we'll need the researchers in order to determine that." He held Owen's gaze for a long moment. “Your wife wasn't the only one changed in your group, was she? Your father was also changed.”
Owen sent Selena a sideways glance, which made her feel awful, but he wasn't off-base. Who knew how much Bastion and his team had pulled from her, even though she'd resisted their attempts? It was Liege, not Owen, who cut her a break.
"Bastion felt your father’s mutant energy here at the house," Liege said.
"You've been spying on us for months. Now you want a truce. Why should we trust you?" Owen asked.
"Because you have no other option,” Liege said. "If you weren't fighting the Omnis, things might be quite different. But you are and we are, and now they’ve constructed a new threat that you can't be blind to."
"And what threat is this?" Owen asked. “Monsters like the one belonging to the head Selena brought to us?"
"Yes." Liege nodded at his men. Seconds later, a hologram-like projection appeared in the middle of the room. It showed Bastion and his team fighting the monsters. The weird thing was that the hologram looked different depending on where the viewer was in relation to the replay—like it was showing the fight from several different perspectives.
“What I'm showing you,” Liege said, "is an amalgamation of one of our confrontations with these deviant mutants, a 3-D image of our combined perspectives. These are lethal enemies, but they are not sentient. It's more like they are programmed for a mission that they will complete or die attempting. The good news is that if you prepare yourselves to fight them, you may not all die. The bad news is that the training will take time. There is no good way to approach this situation. The Omnis are making more and more of these ghouls. Sooner or later, you are going to have to confront them. Bastion has already gone several rounds with these things right here on your compound.
“To be successful against them, you’ll need to make physical modifications to your headquarters. And you’ll need to train for these beasts. There is the option, since you have access to the researchers, to take the modifications yourselves, but then that opens up all-new ethical issues you should not have to be faced with.”
Liege looked at Owen. “With your father having been changed, and your wife modified for the short time that she was, I’m sure you've given that option much thought. Perhaps your team has as well. Your choices, as I see them, are one—to stop fighting the Omnis, disband, and return to civilian lives so you don't bring interest to yourselves from the Omnis; two—continue fighting them, fortify your compound, and receive intensive training from us; or three—take the modifications, hope you survive them, and still fortify your compound and receive intensive training from us.“
Owen shook his head. “I’m not loving those choices, except perhaps for option two. You and I both know the Omnis never forget and never forgive. We could disband, but they’ll still come after us. We wouldn’t be as strong on our own as we are together."
"That's true," Liege said. "So if you want to continue as you are, you have to strengthen your defenses. You have to train your team. And consider taking the changes to fully join the fight. These ghouls can inflict mortal wounds with their razor-sharp nails. You regulars don't heal as quickly as we mutants do. If you choose to fight the ghouls, you need to be damned sure of your skills, because if they get through you, they will get to your women and children.”
“To be honest,” Bastion said, “these monsters aren’t what you should most fear—it’s the mutants running them.“
“These things are being run by Omni operatives, correct?" Owen asked.
“Oui.”
"With what objective in mind?" Owen asked.
"It's a power play, but isn't everything with the Omnis?" Liege said.
“So they further the objective of the Omni agenda," Owen said.
“No.” Liege shook his head. “The world isn't what it was just a few years ago.
You know the Omnis have spent the last several decades building their infrastructure, creating their own dark nation that exists globally. Perhaps you might think they were doing this for regular human ambitions, but it’s much worse. Now that they have the technology to mutate humans at will into monsters, warriors, breeders, servants, and leaders, etc., they no longer have use for any human paradigms or social structures. Soon they will be able to impose their will over all of humanity. And then the world becomes theirs, because who could stop them? They alone hoard the technology that gives them the power they'll have.”
The room was silent for a moment as that sank in.
"How do we know any of this is real?" Owen asked. “How do we know you’re not manipulating our minds right now, convincing us we’re seeing what we’re seeing and that it’s true?”
Liege sighed, then nodded. “Good question. I hate to say this, but you have to take it on faith for the moment. As you learn to work with energy, you’ll discover ways of penetrating and altering perceptions of reality. All mutants have access to those skills. Omni mutants have no compunctions about using those skills against humans. Your training will show you how fluid reality is. Such knowledge alone can fracture the human capacity for reason. It is that very concern that’s causing governments to keep all of this quiet.”
“So the Feds know about these mutations?” Selena asked.
Liege shrugged. “Some in their ranks, I suppose. Of course, only those with the clearance to know it.”
“We should ask Lobo about it,” Kit said to Owen.
“I wonder if he even knows,” Owen said.
“If you don't prepare for an encounter with these ghouls,” Liege said, “if you aren't trained and ready, you’ll die.” Liege looked at Owen then Kit then Selena. "My men and I will train you. We'll equip you. We’ll do everything we can to help you be successful in the fight, if you decide to continue fighting. You don't have time to waste. These things will be coming for you. It may well be the more we continue to interact with you, the more we endanger you. They’ve already tracked our energy trails to you."
"So for real," Greer said, "what are these things?"
Bastion: O-Men: Liege’s Legion Page 23
