To Trust or Believe?
Supergirl, or Kara, tried to fight against her restraints but knew it was useless since the red radiation was still keeping her powers tampered. She watched as the two guards, Omicron and Sigma, remained vigil in their watch. She was a little curious about the women, who seemed friendly enough to hold conversations with random League members. Sigma seemed to particularly favor talking with Flash and Elongated Man, each one exchanging the most creative and ludicrous jokes Kara has ever heard. Based on her observations, Sigma was probably the most friendliest out of all the armored women. Omicron though was polite and would only speak when spoken to. She often stared at the ground or ceiling as though in deep thought but would only snap out of it when she was asked a question. Sigma seemed to be the only one though to snap her out of her musings.
Kara's arms were starting to hurt and she was sure that everybody was feeling the same way. Some of the League members drifted back to sleep while others remained awake, wanting to see what the morning will bring. Kara could see Superman next to her just staring at the ground. She can tell that he felt guilty for their imprisonment and called his name. He looked at her with tired eyes and she gave him a small comforting smile, showing that she didn't blame him for their misfortune.
"I'm sorry Kara." said Superman.
"It's ok, Kal," said Kara, "None of us would have guessed it was an ambush."
"No, Batman and the others did though and tried to stop us," said Superman, again cursing his own stupidity, "I should have listened, but I did it again. I leapt into action without thinking."
"It's ok Kal. It was… none of could really expect this you know? Nobody could have predicted this." said Kara. Superman continued to stare glumly at the floor and Kara decided to bring out her 'inner-intern'. Despite what the majority thought, Kara wanted to be her own journalist and paid extra close attention to the life of Clark Kent as he worked in the Daily Planet. Loud laughter echoed in the room and Kara looked to see Flash and Elongated Man laughing while Sigma waved her hands to quiet them down.
"Dude, wait! I have a better one," said Sigma as she sat up and looked at Flash, "A vulture walks into an airplane with two dead raccoons. The Flight attendant stops the vulture and tells him 'I'm sorry sir, but you're only allowed one carrion.'"
Elongated Man, Flash, and Sigma dissolved into laughter at the joke, causing others to either roll their eyes at the absurdity of the joke or smile at the temporary happy atmosphere that was presented in the otherwise gloomy room.
"Ok, here's one," said Elongated Man, "get ready, Excuse me ma'am? Is there a hole in your shoe? No? Then how did you put your foot in it?" Flash and Sigma laughed and Sigma had to lay back down in order to compose herself. Omicron looked over at Sigma briefly before looking back up at the ceiling, resuming her deep thoughts. Kara decided to buck up on her courage and called out, "Miss Sigma?"
Sigma stopped laughing when she heard Kara and looked at her but burst out into an even harder laugh and said, "OH! OH! PLEASE MAKE IT STOP! SHE CALLED ME MISS! WHAT AM I, FORTY?"
"Shut up," said Omicron bored at hearing Sigma laughing before turning her attention to Kara, "She's not going to stop so what's your question?"
"Uhm," said Kara, feeling a little bewildered at Sigma's outburst, "I have to know. You took us all down without so much as a sweat. How?"
"Kid," said Sigma, finally calming down, "We said it earlier, you are our prisoners. Why should we divulge secrets to you? As far as the United States government is concerned, you have your secrets and they have theirs."
"But… how can we trust them after an ambush like this?" questioned Kara, feeling a little angry that they do not understand the fear that is growing inside of her. The tank shot red radiation blasts at her that had knocked her and Superman out like nothing. Omicron and Sigma looked at each other before Sigma walked over to Kara's cell. Sigma stood in front and said, "I'm going to explain this to you because you are a kid—"
"—I'm twenty-one!" interrupted Kara, trying to break free from her bindings. Superman looked over at his cousin in surprise but remained silent to see what happens next.
"Barely an adult," scolded Sigma, "a number doesn't mean anything next to experience." Kara fell silent at her words, looking at Sigma with surprise before glaring at her. Sigma, even with her helmet on and the visor obscuring her face, glared back and knew that the Kryptonian knew. Sigma had to give the kid some credit though, she had spirit.
"Now listen kid," said Sigma, "People fear. And when people fear, they want safety. I don't know what a team of superheroes can do to grant safety but so long as a few are still afraid, then they need another source of safety. Waller has shown us video footage of the Justice Lords' time in our universe. Don't forget, Kara, that when people have seen an ugly side of you then they will never forget it. Isn't that right Superman?"
Sigma walked away from Kara after that and sat down next to Omicron, who looked at her curiously with a head tilt. All the heroes were quiet at her words, even Batman who had once considered her words himself two years ago. Superman however was far from ok with the argument and said, "So what are you then? Wouldn't you put yourselves in our category then? A group of skilled fighters under the motto to protect the people."
"No, see," said Sigma walking back to stand in front of Superman's cell, "We have Waller on our ass for everything that we do. You don't have anyone on yours, so by that type of reasoning you can guess why the people have little to no trust." Again, silence reigned in the room until Vixen said, "What the people fear shouldn't be blamed on us. It was on Hawkgirl and her damn race for trying to invade Earth."
"The Thanagarian Invasion did nothing to raise the people's fear of you." came a voice by the doorway. Everybody turned to see Delta walking in, her forest green cloak draping over her like a curtain while her hood was off the helmet. Delta walked in and stood in the middle of the room but had her attention to Vixen as she said, "The Thanagarian Invasion had actually boosted public opinion of you in a positive light. It was the assault on Metropolis by Superman that had made public opinion change greatly and made the general consensus fear the almighty Man of Steel."
Superman flinched when Delta had brought up his moment of weakness of when he began to tear the park apart looking for a bomb. It was a moment of weakness on his end. He believed in his own paranoia and it made him look like a fool. Delta turned her attention to Superman and said, "You're weak-minded. If I wanted to, I could sneak inside your head and force yourself to reveal all your secrets. You lack logic and you lack self-control where it counts. I have seen the way you handle yourself in a fight and rely on your strength greatly in order to get the job done. One would almost believe that you know how to fight but an observer can see that you rely more on your brawn than your brain."
"Hey!" cried out Marvel, "That's not fair. He may have made a mistake but Superman has always pulled through when it mattered."
Delta turned her attention to him and said, "I know all about you, boy. You may have been granted Solomon's wisdom, but you are still a boy and therefore you can offer no intelligence in this type of matter."
"Oh yeah? SHAZAM!" cried out Marvel, who had waited for the right moment to cry out his secret word. To his shock though the lightning that was supposed to hit him in order for him to revert back as an eight-year old boy and slip through his shackles had instead hit the top of his cell and fuelled the energy that kept him prisoner. Sigma laughed at the dumb-founded expression on Marvel's face while Delta shook her head at his naivety. Delta then said, "Again, you're nothing but a boy. Your hero-worshipping will be the end of you. You may grant wisdom but you can offer no insight to delicate matters such as this. The people agree with the way the United States is handling matters such as this because for them, even superheroes can be dealt with by the law. No hero is above the law. So my advice to you is to deal with the deck that's been handed to you and suck it up. You care for the people? Then follow the rules while you're here."
"It still doesn't… I mean… you can't…" said Superman as he struggled for words. Delta turned to him and said, "Tell me Superman, do you know why it was very easy for us to capture all of you?" Everybody remained silent in the room, wanting to hear the answer.
"It's because you're the leader," said Delta, surprising people who weren't expecting that, "What you say goes and all the others follow after you like sheep. With that logic, we can deduce that a few might not listen to the great man of steel but will continue to follow him anyways because their loyalty refuses to let them stay in the safe-house of space. They follow you like sheep because despite knowing how brash you act, you're like a beacon to them that you can protect them. You brought this on yourself by acting rashly. You refused to give up a known criminal so he can stand trial to the United States government, you exert your own force as a show of dominance to the government, and by doing so you have also proven to the world that when people question your authority, you will strike back."
Delta turned to Sigma and said, "Waller and I are in need of your services. I trust, Omicron, that you can handle this by yourself."
"As though it were a walk in the park." said Omicron. Delta signaled to Sigma to follow her and Sigma bounded up and followed after Delta. The whole room was silent as everybody digested Delta's words. It made sense, despite almost everybody not wanting to admit it. Batman in particular was digesting the words in his head. They were the exact same thoughts he held two years ago but had decided not address on it. Superman though was looking at the ground shame-faced. Everything Delta had said made sense and in some dark, twisted way he knew her words to be true. Diana was absorbing the words with bitterness. It was true, she did follow Superman into battle without thinking. Her mother and sisters on Themyscira will surely disown her as an Amazon if they ever heard that she followed a man into battle with no thoughts for herself.
Everybody remained silent as Omicron stared at the ground, deep in her own thoughts. She always held her opinions to herself knowing that it was never well received by Delta and Kappa, and by that extension the others. Delta was stubborn and relied heavily on numbers and probability, she had no sense of faith or trusting anyone that isn't a number. Sigma was almost identical to Delta but her playfulness masks the true ingenuity that was underneath. If anything, Omicron suspected Sigma plays up her playfulness for when the time will come and she will allow herself to show her whole self. Eta and Iota both were strategic and had a serious commitment to their missions, but neither one will blindly follow anyone into a battle. It's why Kappa keeps them close at hand. Kappa may play up the confidence very well but Omicron knew that she often doubted herself when the risk is higher and she had no plan to back her up.
It got Omicron to think about the others who were either missing, with Waller, or on a mission. Phi and Theta were with Waller at all times. Omicron and Delta believed it was because of their young age. The two weren't allowed armor and were kept protected at all times by Waller's men. Beta has been missing since her breakdown, Omega has been kept in therapy since her blind fury episode and is only allowed one weekly visit, and Gamma was always away on missions. Omicron sighed and tried to fight against her thoughts. Her stand on preserving morals and ethics had made her very unpopular amongst her sisters. Really, the only ones who don't mock Omicron for her beliefs were Phi and Theta but bless them, they were too young to understand the real world.
Omicron was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't hear the Flash calling out her name until he practically screamed it, "Omicron!"
She jumped in surprise and turned to look at him. He smiled sheepishly and asked, "I kind of don't want to be a bother but… do you think we can get something to eat around here? I haven't eaten since yesterday afternoon."
"Food will be provided for you once the collars are in place. We will then allow you to be free of your restraints but you will remain in your cells." said Omicron. Flash looked discouraged at the news and said, "You really don't trust us to follow the law, huh?"
Omicron looked over at the Flash and said, "I… believe you can follow the law."
"But not trust?"
"It's difficult to explain, my basis on trust is rocky at best. I don't know you personally and the others don't seem to like you very much."
"Sigma seemed to like me."
"I wouldn't count on it too much. With Sigma… you never know what her motives are." said Omicron. Flash looked interested in those words, as did Batman. Perhaps it was a weakness he can expose on how Omicron seemed hesitant to mention Sigma's behavior. Perhaps she was treated badly in the past by Sigma but the question was how to utilize it to their favor.
"Then can I count on you then?" asked Flash.
"You would put your faith in me? The jailer?" asked Omicron.
"Sure, I mean if I can't really trust Sigma then can I trust you?" asked Flash. Batman hoped she answered yes as in a way of her accepting Flash's trust. To his surprise though, Omicron answered, "No. You cannot trust me. I work for Amanda Waller who has the fate of humanity in her best interests in the same way as you do. The only difference is that she is more than willing to step over the line."
"You can't kill people though just because it looks like it will solve the problem." argued Batman. Omicron looked at Batman and said, "You would say that. No, I agree. The only wall between us though is that even I must admit that sometimes, for the greater good, some of us must be willing to abandon our ideals. Sometimes, in this world they don't want the moral negotiator. They need someone to actually end the threat, not calm it down before it rises again."
"So you don't trust us then to behave?"
"I believe you can behave, but I don't trust you that you will."
With that being said, Omicron felt her heart clench a little. The one time she was tasked with dispatching a CIA mole, she couldn't bring herself to kill the man and instead brought him to Waller, who was furious with her. The man could potentially call out a plea-bargain or scream for his rights as an American citizen to be treated with a trial while on USA soil, thus allowing him time to wiggle his way out as a CIA agent. Iota took the matter into her own hands and shot the man in the head, leaving Omicron speechless. Omicron was then never sent to deal with missions without having someone with her in order for the job to be completed.
Omicron softly reached behind her back for the weapon that was strapped there, a mace. She remembered two years ago waking up with no memory but with her sisters waking up at the same time as her. Omicron and the others had no idea who they were, but then Amanda Waller walked in and began to explain their circumstances. They were originally spies but had failed their mission and were promptly executed and left for dead by the ones they had befriended but betrayed. When asked to elaborate more, Waller announced that she will in time if she could trust them. When they were given a tour of their new underground home, they went into the Armory where a mace was set on a table. The others ignored it and favored the more heavy-handed or practical weapons, but the mace… it called out to her. Omicron had simply raised her hand and it was as if she could see the extension. The beautiful silver aura that surrounded the mace was soon extended to her and the mace flew into her hand. The others demanded to know how she had made the weapon listen to her but they didn't believe her when she explained about the silver aura. That was the first time they dismissed her as foolish.
Omicron shook the memories from her head and focused on her current responsibility as guard. She walked cell to cell making sure that they were in working order and waited until morning.
Hey readers hope you liked this chapter :3