A low hum echoed through the containment chamber. Dim white light traced along the reinforced glass, illuminating the hulk of a figure seated inside. Thick sedation cuffs locked over his arms and legs; sensor nodes blinked intermittently from embedded ports in his skin. His chest rose slowly.
It was Omega-5.
J'onn J'onzz stood on the other side, silent.
His cape fell still around his feet. The air held no movement, yet his expression flickered—not of fear, but of memory. Omega-5 stirred slightly in his sleep, the faintest twitch of muscle crossing his jaw.
' He's stabilizing. Faster than expected.'
J'onn folded his hands behind his back.
The treatment—psychic weaving, cognitive reinforcement, telepathic sedation—had taken weeks. Every breakthrough felt fragile. But progress had come.
And it all began three weeks ago.
---
Three Weeks Earlier
The forest was dead quiet. Branches bowed under grey skies. A scent of iron drifted through the trees.
J'onn hovered just above the ground, cloaked in partial phase, eyes scanning the landscape with both vision and mind. The tips of branches brushed through his intangible body as he passed.
'He's close. I can feel his mind, so broken.'
'What Cadmus did to him... they no only destroyed his body, they dissected the mind, left him in pieces.'
A tree to his right was split in half. Deep footprints—far too deep—led through the mud ahead. Not human.
J'onn's brow furrowed.
'If I had found him sooner...before he went feral...But hindsight is indulgence. What matters now is what I salvage.'
He wouldnt allow more suffering.
He phased through a thicket and stopped. Ahead, in a clearing littered with broken logs and shattered stones, stood the towering figure of Omega-5.
He was hunched, trembling, arms hanging low like a beast. His eyes glowed faintly, bloodshot and wild.
J'onn had expected scars, disfigurement, perhaps even some mindless shell of a living weapon. But what stood before him was something else entirely—a biological furnace, a storm wrapped in flesh. The creature's muscles flexed with every movement, veins bulging, breathing ragged. It didn't see him yet.
But it sensed him.
A growl rumbled up from Omega's throat. It turned.
Then charged.
J'onn raised a hand. The earth shook as Omega barreled forward like a living meteor, crushing fallen trees beneath his feet. A telekinetic blast from J'onn slammed into Omega's chest, halting his momentum.
Trees behind Omega exploded into splinters as his body flew backward and crashed into a boulder, fracturing it with a thunderous KR-KRACK!
J'onn didn't follow up.
Instead, he floated down to the ground, landing softly, watching.
Omega rose slowly. Eyes glowing. Breathing heavier now.
"I am not an enemy, I wish to help you," J'onn said, trying to calm him down.
Omega roared and lunged again. J'onn sidestepped with speed too fast for human eyes, grabbing Omega by the arm and hurling him into the air. Omega twisted mid-flight and crashed through a line of pines, tearing down trees like matchsticks.
BOOM!
The earth trembled.
J'onn sighed. "So much rage... but it isn't yours, is it?"
He was still holding back.
Omega leapt again, faster this time. J'onn caught the incoming fist with both hands—WHAM!—the ground beneath them cratered. Pebbles and dirt shot outward like shrapnel. The force of the impact sent a shockwave rolling through the forest, knocking birds from trees.
Still, J'onn remained standing.
He ducked under another wild swing and struck Omega in the ribs—THUD!—a precise hit meant to knock the wind out of him. It didn't work.
Omega retaliated with a backhand that J'onn phased through. The blow passed harmlessly through his body.
J'onn rematerialized behind him and slammed both fists down on Omega's back—KRAK-A-DOOM!—sending him face-first into the dirt. Trees around the impact site fell in a wave, leaving a giant crater of about 10 meters.
He used a little more force.
"Enough." J'onn's voice was firmer now. He knelt beside the downed form.
Omega groaned. Something like a word tried to escape his lips. Not a roar. Not a growl. But syllables. "Frh...friend...."
J'onn's brow furrowed. He could feel that wasnt meant for him, but someone else.
So even now, fractured and scarred, someone lingered in his mind. Was it the other one that escaped?
J'onn placed two fingers to Omega's forehead—not to invade, but listen.
Static. Fractured imagery. Burning halls. Pain. A boy with a smirk that didnt fit the scenary. Laughter amid chaos.
J'onn pulled back.
He didn't need to force entry. The bond was already there, he despised to use his powers in a forceful way.
Instead of pressing further, J'onn enveloped Omega in a telekinetic field and slowly lifted him into the air, ensuring the beast wouldn't awaken mid-flight. Omega flailed once, weakly, but didn't resist again.
J'onn looked down at the cratered forest clearing. The broken trees. The ruined terrain.
"Some would say your a monster, but not me. What I see is a broken soul that chose to isolate himself to avoid harming innocents," he said quietly.
He turned to look at Omega,"Even when the world hurt you, you turned thebother cheek."
J'onn could feel the, 'goodness', inside this creatu...no...person. Much better than most.
With that, he ascended into the clouds, disappearing with his passenger into the sky.
---
Present Time.
The chamber before him glowed faintly now, shielded by alien tech and Watchtower safeguards.
Omega slept within, breathing steady.
J'onn stood alone, watching the glass, watching the scars beneath the skin slowly vanish.
Healing took time. But the first step was always belief. He wasnt talking about his body, but his mind.
He psyche has already healed enough for the two to have a somewhat normal conversation, howere he is still driven by rage.
So, at Omegas own request, they had to keep him contained until he can fully control his rage.
He reached out again—not mentally, just a simple thought projected into the silence.
"I think its time we look for your friend."
....