Supplying Supers - Ch. 35 - Omen - Alpha (Patreon)

Tuesday June 20th, 2025 Mazuma City, Mazuma Amerika

Omen

OSDB Hero Rank: S

OSDB Threat Rating: 100+

Gunner jumped off his patio and soured into the sky. Once he reached his desired altitude, he leveled out and headed toward his intended destination. The sight of his beloved city in such disarray hurt.

Gone were the beautiful towers of steel and glass. Those affected by the carnage leaned like the dead headed for their trip across the sea of souls. The once perfectly straight streets were now caved inward and painted red. Everything burned.

Ash fell like a heavy snow, covering everything in a muted gray. Flashes of gunfire and explosions rang through the city like the final Christmas bells. Gunner knew this was going to end one way or another.

When he reached his destination, the number-one ranked hero zoomed his AR picture above the asylum, just underneath the rift’s opening. A reticle locked on his target. She sat cross-legged in the air, like a queen overlooking her desolate kingdom.

“I’m in position and I’ve got eyes on Mellicent,” Gunner said, straightening up and hovering in position. “How’s everyone else doing?”

“Flux and I are in position,” Yokai said.

“We’ll be there in a few minutes,” Hailstorm said. “Without Yokai’s fly spell, I don’t want to think how long it would have taken all of us.”

“Let me know when you’re in position and we’ll begin.”

“Will do.”

“Velocity, how are you doing?”

“A few scouts are popping up every once in a while, but so far that’s it. None of the bigger ones have pushed this far into the city.”

“Let’s hope we can stop this before they do.”

As Gunner waited, he couldn’t help but get the feeling that Mellicent had been busy. Endless numbers of her hoard spread from the rift. Monstrous creatures of bone and carapace marched through the broken paths, scrapping the buildings on both sides. Bipedal terrors of tooth and claw screeched as they sprinted toward their next meal. Flying buzzards with endless rows of teeth sat perched, looking down on their hunting grounds.

If it wasn’t his city, he’d be in awe. He’d never seen such monstrosities from the Gale. Their designs foretold their creator’s intent. They were designed for the invasion; to kill and murder as much as they could. Mellicent had centuries to prepare, and she used her time wisely.

Gunner couldn’t help but smirk as he thought, But I’m about to show her it was all for naught.

While he hovered in the air a rumbling roar echoed above him. Dozens of large boxes fell to the ground suspended by three parachutes each.

“Uh… is anyone else seeing this?” Gunner asked over the comm.

“Could it be the airborne?” Hailstorm said.

“I’m not seeing any troops, though. Looks like some kind of large vehicle or something. Maybe armor? But they wouldn’t be deploying it like this.”

Gunner flew to the closest drop and waited for it to land. When it touched the ground, the package exploded, sending the walls out to the side. What rose left Gunner with a feeling of déjà vu.

It was a bipedal and heavily armored drone just like the one Tinker Titan arrived in at their initial meeting.. It had the same camera on top and two micro missile pods that stood over its shoulders. However, instead of a minigun arm, this one had a flamethrower that lit up the city street as the Gale creatures attacked.

When Gunner zoomed in on its blue and silver frame, he noticed white painted words.

“Murdoch Industries?” Gunner said. “What?”

“These are the same things we saw at the church,” Hailstorm said. “Did they somehow steal or repurpose the technology?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised. I’m sure his bunker was scavenged and anything still working or found was probably sold to the highest builder. But that was just four days ago. This doesn’t make sense.”

We found Murdoch Industries at multiple locations, including the asylum, Gunner thought. Why would they be countering Clavus Ad Cor? Could they have been aware of their presence and secretly sabotaged them? Or were they just playing both sides?

It was clear the drone worked. Its torso spun three-hundred-and-sixty degrees, setting a flock of the flying beasts aflame. A Gale creature that looked like the mix of a turtle and a squid as it charged the robot. The drone caught it with its other arm and held it in place as it cooked the animal with its flame. The monster popped like food left in the microwave for too long. After the drone crushed the creature’s shell with a heavy stomp, it marched forward, searching for more threats. Gunner found himself with more questions than answers.

Hailstorm’s voice pulled his attention. “We’re finally here and in position.”

“Flux, Yokai, you two ready?” Gunner asked after flying back to his position.

“Flux is chomping at the bit,” Yokai said, with a smile clear in her voice. “I’ve never seen her so excited.”

“Just make sure she doesn’t go overboard.”

“I’ll keep her in check for you.”

“All right. Both teams… go!”

Gunner’s heart thumped as he waited in anticipation. He split his view between his eyes, with one focused on Mellicent and the other focused on the battlefield. A few heartbeats later, Hailstorm’s team pulled her attention.

Fireballs soared from the street into the sky, no doubt from Whisper’s breath. Flying Gale creatures froze mid flight, falling to their deaths. Several seismic blasts preceded a crippled skyscraper plummeting to the ground.

Not to be outdone, flashes of electricity crawled from the ground up to the clouds above before spreading through the horizon. A bestial roar echoed throughout the city. Flux stretched herself to the size of a tower. Hundreds of tentacles flapped from her bulbous form, snatching up every creature she could reach.

Gunner couldn’t help but wonder if it was the gift he gave her that exemplified her power. Before today, he’d never seen her so large. He made a mental note to investigate it later.

With Mellicent distracted, Gunner flooded his body with power. “Now it’s time to see if this thing really works.” His target was the opening of the Gale. Not because he was ready to close it, but because that’s where it was the easiest to pull his power.

Gunner raised his arms and twisted them in the air. His body surged with power while his suit’s alarms rang. However, they quickly equalized. He could feel that it took him longer to draw his power out and cast the spell. But what seconds were lost came with stability.

The rift’s opening glowed brightly. By the time Mellicent realized the above threat, it was too late. Gunner slammed his hands down. A column of flame the size of several city blocks erupted down in the opening. The blast sent a shockwave of dust and dirt throughout the surrounding area. The buildings underneath melted away until there was nothing left but charred rock. However, he was far from done.

“Everyone fall back now!” Gunner shouted.

With a wave of his hands, Gunner twisted the column. He created a fire tornado that sucked all the nearby threats into its flame. With the point of his finger, he guided the bottom around, getting as close as he was comfortable to his allies without the fear of absorbing them too. Once his attack was finished, he squeezed the palm of his hand, extinguishing all flames.

“What the hell was that?” MartyrDOM asked over the radio. “Was that Mellicent?”

“No,” Yokai said in a chipper tone. “That was something else.”

Gunner’s suit released a volume of steam, and everything equalized. His whole body felt warm and his skin tingled. Excitement built within him as he wanted more. It’d been so long since he flexed his abilities without the fear of destruction. He couldn’t help but smile as he rode high from his body, being so close to the edge.

As he observed his destruction, he couldn’t help but wonder how Mellicent would rebuild herself without the swarm of creatures to help. His answer came in the form of her descent from the Gale rift surrounded by hundreds of more meteors and flying creatures.

“Gunner, do you see her?” Hailstorm frantically asked. “She’s returned with more reinforcements.”

“I see her. Everyone pull back to the Lighthouse as instructed. There’s nothing more that you can do here.”

“We’re heading out.”

Gunner glanced across the horizon and watched Flux’s form shrink behind the skyscrapers. She was his biggest concern. Asking her to restrain after mindlessly killing was always a risk. Another question to answer about his gift to her.

However, as the number of enemies poured from the rift like a blackened storm cloud, his focus turned to his mortal enemy.

It seems like I’m going to have to get close to see how she’s doing it, Gunner thought.

The super brought his hands together, concentrated on a spot near Mellicent, and blinked. He looked up and was only fifty feet from her. Mellicent’s eyes darted directly toward him, no doubt detecting the magical radiation left by the flex of power.

“You must be the one who attacked my children and I just moments ago,” Mellicent said, baring her teeth as she looked down at him. Her temperament became more deranged as she continued. “I can feel the power emanating from you. I can see your threads. There’s no doubt you are powerful. But you are a lamb standing before the wolf. Just like the ones that came before you, I will show you just how insignificant you are!”

A ball of black lightning crackled in between her hands. Mellicent’s whole body flexed and she grunted as he poured more power into her attack. Each passing second, it grew. She raised it overhead, and by the time she finished, the circle was the size of a two-story house.

I could have killed her dozens of times now, Gunner thought. But seeing what kind of strength I’m dealing with wouldn’t hurt.

With maniacal laughter Mellicent shouted, “Witness your destruction!” She launched her hands forward, sending the spinning ball of void energy directly at him.

When the blast reached him, Gunner slapped it away. It flew high in the sky before detonating beyond the clouds. A blue shock wave cleared the sky, briefly bringing the stars and moon into view. The blast rolled through the city like a tidal wave, throwing up pieces of buildings, cars, and loose rubble.

Mellicent’s eyes were the size of saucers as she stammered. “H-how…” Her fear turned into rage. “You vile, insignificant pest. How dare you defy me!”

With a thrust of her hands, long bolts of pure Gale energy shot out of her hands like beams. Gunner raised a single hand for defense. The beam split around his cutting through the skyscrapers below like a hot knife through butter.

When the attack stopped, he looked at his hand.There wasn’t a scratch or burn on it.  His power had kept his suit protected.

A tingling sensation jolted through his body. He was under attack. When he looked up, Mellicent was just inches away from him. A small orb of blackened energy extended from her palm.

Her teeth clenched when she realized the differences in speed. He moved freely while she looked petrified. Gunner took a glance behind him. Just a minute of battle and the city paid the toll. “Time to take the fight elsewhere.”

Gunner pulled his fist back and punched. His goal was to send her back to the Gale and continue their fight there. However, when her skin split and she exploded like a bug smacked by the fly swatter. He looked down at his black-blood splattered fist.

Shit… I didn’t mean to hit her so hard, Gunner said. When he looked up, he watched the threads that were connected to her body float away. He also noticed that all the Gale creatures stood motionless. After flying next to one, he popped one in his hand. There was no reaction.

Maybe upon death she has trouble controlling the others, he wondered. I expected for her and her spawn to act like a hive mind. Yet, maybe it's not even that.

After a few seconds of staying still, the flying creatures eventually moved, He watched them twisted in circles binding their threads into a bundle. They bit and clawed at each other. Their blood and flesh twisted into an amniotic sac. A clawed hand ripped open the thick pouch and Mellicent floated out of it.

“Let’s try this again,” Gunner said. Before his foe could react, the number one super slammed his fist under her chin. She flew head-over-heel with incredible speed. He was pleased with the trajectory, landing her almost perfectly center in the rift.

Gunner pressed forward and flew through the crack in reality. Once he breached the edge, gravity shifted. The opening was a vertical slit, like a window presenting another reality.

The Gale’s golden dunes stretched in every direction. He expected there to reflect Mazuma City, with dozens of decayed towers sticking out of the sands. However, there was nothing else except for the twisted orange sky above. He landed across the sand and waited for his foe to rise.

Mellicent pushed herself from the sand, wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand. With a flap of her wings, she thrust herself back, getting distance between each other. “You stupid fool. You dare assault me in my home? You’ve made a grave mistake. This is my domain. I am a goddess of the Gale. This will be your end.”

“Then make your move,” Gunner growled.

Mellicent raised her arms like a puppeteer controlling their creations. Four massive creatures rose from the sands. Each charging stomp sent quakes throughout the surrounding dunes. Their heads pointed forward with massive spikes protruding from their heavily armed heads. They threatened to crush or spear him as they charged forward.

Gunner grabbed several threads from the Gale. His power spread down them. With a few swift tugs, the ground underneath the beasts gave way. Giant spikes protruded at the bottom, piercing their unarmored bellies. With a slight pull of his hand. The pit closed, spraying blood and gore into the sky like a macabre geyser.

Mellicent grunted, her fingers dancing along the threads. A swarm of flying creatures descended from the clouds above, swarming all around her. They reminded Gunner of giant pieces of charcoal with small wings and endless rows of teeth. Their maws took up the majority of their body with their only purpose being to consume.

Their speed was slow, giving Gunner plenty of time to counter. Towers of rusted spinning blades rose from the sand, sucking the air towards them. The creatures squealed as the sharp obstacles sliced through the creatures like sashimi. By the time they finished spinning, intestines twisted around their base.

Mellicent let out a shout. Her wings twisted with her hands, gripping bundles and bundles of threads. Gunner felt the ground beneath him shake. He dodged at the last second before a jaw snapped with a force that pushed him back.

A voidwurm rose from the sands. Its size took up Gunner’s entire view. The shadow it cast darkened the miles behind him. Giant claws surrounded its mouth, used for carving out the harshest terrain. Thick armored scales covered its long body, protecting from any threats.

It let out a horrendous screech that flattened the surrounding dunes. Black ichor spilled from his rows of thousands of arm length teeth. Gunner only felt one thing from it. Hunger.

Mellicent’s cackling laughter echoed from behind it. “Witness my ultimate creation. Once I unleash it upon the world below, it will not stop until it devours everything. Entire cities will be consumed. Starting with yours!”

Gunner clasped his hands together and lowered his hand. As he extended them a part, a sharpened blade of raw power grew until reached his full length. It pulsed with purple light. Steam rose from it. It floated to his side as he directed it with his arm.

When the monster roared above him and charged, Gunner swiped his hand in the air. The blade slashed in the same direction. The beast groaned as its upper half continued forward with its momentum and slammed into the ground. It slid to a halt in front of Gunner’s feet. After ascending into the air, Gunner could see the creature’s bottom half of sizzling meat where the blade had sliced it completely through.

“No!” Mellicent shouted. “T—that shouldn’t be possible. I’m the Mother of the Gale! I alone wield its power. It’s mine to control. You may have bested my summons, but this fight is far from over!”

Mellicent lunged forward with incredible speed. Almost as fast as Mach10. But even then, when Gunner tried, he perceived her moments as if she was moving in slow motion. Enough for him to yawn.

With each swipe of her claws, she grew more impatient. “I’m going to kill you. I’m going to make you suffer!”

As he side stepped each of the blows, Gunner got lost in thought. It’s clear she can reincarnate upon death. When she died, the threads connected to her avatar faded away. Then, other threads combined to establish connections to her reincarnated form. But there seemed to be a slight delay. My assumption is that this delay is her mind recognizing her form is dead before choosing new threads to control her form. So, my question is… can she choose to do that if she gets injured or does she have to die?

When he grew tired of toying with her, he instructed his blade to cut. The appendage fell with a thump into the sand.  It took her a few seconds before she realized what had happened.

Her eyes widened, and the Gale shook with her wails. She flew backward clutching her burning stump. “How dare you touch me, you… you… wretch. I’ll flay you for what you’ve done to me.”

The carapace covered woman concentrated on her arm. She growled as she stared at her burnt flesh. “Why isn’t it working?” Her eyes darted momentarily before she looked up with a wicked smile. “No matter, I’ll just build a new body.”

Gunner’s whole body tensed when she pointed her claws and jabbed toward her neck. She’s trying to kill herself! He flashed behind her, straightened his hand, and chopped the back of her neck. With a hard crack, he shattered her vertebrae. Spit flew from her mouth as she slumped forward.

Mellicent fell face first into the sand. Frantic moans echoed from her still body as her neck twisted, digging her head further into the soft sand. He left there until he was certain he could hear her scream. With a tip of his boot, he rolled her limp body.

Mellicent gasped for air and entered a coughing fit. “What… What have you done to me? I—I can’t feel anything.”

Gunner kicked her in the face. Her painful groan brought him needed satisfaction. “Seems like you can.”

“I’ll fucking kill you!” Mellicent shouted with missing teeth. I swear to all that exists—”

“You’re not going to do anything,” Gunner groaned. “I snapped your spine. You’re paralyzed from the neck down.”

“I’ll end you! You hear me!”

“Then why don’t you reincarnate?” Gunner asked, shrugging. “Hm? Rebuild your body. Go on, I’ll wait.”

After her eyes darted from-side-to-side, Gunner saw her fear for the very first time. He picked her up by one of her horns and raised her to eye level. A smile crept along his face. “You can’t, can you?”

When she didn’t respond, he twisted her around and eyed the threads that connected to her body. He traced them into the sky. Using them as a guide, he flew deeper into the Gale. He didn’t know how far Mellicent’s actual body was, but he hoped it wasn’t far.

“Where are you taking me?” Mellicent grunted.

“Back to your real body.”

Mellicent’s panicked voice echoed all around the Gale. “No! I won’t allow it.”

The wind picked up, and the sand inhibited Gunner’s visibility. Her sudden flex of power surprised him. But it was moot. Gunner summoned a thread in his freehand and pulled. The storm seized, giving him miles of visibility. Off into the distance, something stood alone among the golden dunes.

“No, no, no!” Mellicent begged. “Please! I’ll do anything. I’ll grant you any power you wish. I—I’ll teach you everything I know. I’ll—.”

“Shut up! Gunner shouted, shaking her head. “Nothing you can say will stop you from your fate.”

Her eyes lowered, her tone softened. “This can’t be the end. It just can’t be.”

Gunner landed on soft desert sands in front of a towering dead tree. Its few branches were hollow and thin. Their brothers were scattered around its base. Its bark was smooth and gray as if the arid air had sapped all its moisture.

However, when he concentrated on it, Gunner felt the raw power that the tree exuded. Thousands of threads connected to it, spreading far and wide. A lone skeleton embedded in its body. Claw marks covered the surrounding base.

Gunner raised Mellicent's head and pointed her to it “No!” she cried, shutting her eyes. Blackened tears fell from their corners.

“Is this what you truly fear?” Gunner asked. “Yourself?”

When she sobbed and didn’t answer, he tossed her on her back. Her eyes darted between the tree and him. “Centuries ago, when I fell into this place wounded, I found myself alone. I believed I knew the Gale, that I could survive. Only to wander the endless desert, dying of hunger and thirst. It’s in those last moments when I screamed for help.”

“Let me guess, the Gale listened.”

“It did. I found an oasis here, under the same tree you see before you. But when I drank from its waters, the tree drank from me. I found myself trapped in its roots, fearing my demise. But from those sips, I found myself satisfied. I no longer hungered. I no longer thirsted. Stuck with it, I gained lifetimes of knowledge. I spent centuries learning its secrets, plotting for my eventual attack on the world that had forsaken me.”

“Save me your sob story. You are nothing but a hypocrite.”

“And who are you to say such?” Mellicent growled. “You know not of my history, of my plight!”

Gunner gritted his teeth. He gripped the side of his helmet and twisted. When he pulled it off of his head, the Gale’s skunky smell filled his nose. He shook his head and looked down at the one who he used to love. There was no sign of remorse in his eyes. “Look upon the monster you created and know it is I who will issue your end.”

All the color left Mellicent’s face as she muttered, “James?”

Gunner resealed his helmet, unclasped the Charon Cube off his belt, and set it next to her body. “It’s Gunner now. But you already know that.”

“You had Shivatha's power this whole time? No wonder you defeated me so easily.” Her eyes darted back and forth. “But this makes little sense. How could you have her power yet not be possessed by the Architect?”

“Your ritual failed.”

“But you wield her power. You are supposed to bring about the end of days.”

“I’m not your destined tool to fulfill your dark wishes. My fate is my own.”

“But you see… you’re what I’ve always wanted. Whether Shivatha possesses you or not, you wield her power. My life has always been spent under her devotion. If you’re her evolution, then my goal in life was to bring about your existence. You are my calling. If I’d had known—”

“You did this to me!” Gunner shouted, pointing at his chest. “You made me this monster. No matter what you believe, you’re to blame for everything. All your cult has done has threatened to destroy everything I have built. You robbed me of the life that I was supposed to have.”

“I gave you so much more! Without me, you’d be nothing but the same weak man you were when I met you.”

Gunner took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Perhaps. But you stole that choice from me. And now I’m going to take everything you have left.”

As Mellicent shouted her endless rage, Gunner raised his hand and said an incantation. The Charon Cube opened. A red smoke rose from the center and spread along the boney tree.

Mellicent’s scream turned into a squeal as the ancient device absorbed her soul. The threads snapped from the tree and withered. Her avatar body hardened like a rock. It became white and cracked. When the smoke retreated into the box, both sets of bones disintegrated into dust. A firm gust carried it on the wind, and everything was silent.

Gunner let out a sigh of relief. He picked up the Charon Cube and clipped it on his belt. With a twist of his wrist and activated his power, he teleported underneath the rift. With the fingers of a surgeon, he gripped the nearby threads and spent the next minutes carefully sewing the open wound. The power and concentration left him feeling exhausted by the time he sealed the last stitch. The Gale was visibly gone, but the scar left upon their reality would be forever visible to those who could look for it.

With the Gale’s power subsided, a bright full moon peaked through cracks in the clouds. After a moment's contemplation, he looked down at his burning city below. He left despair out of his heart, filling it with determination.

The immediate threat was over. But with his city battered and broken, it would take years for it to recover. But with the power of the Architect, Gunner knew he could rebuild again.