LXE's Bad Omen

by: Richard Kevis

Art by William Luna

Lexie's first memory from that day is the monochrome landscape. A metallic tower of black alloy contrasts the polished iron floor creating a dance of light and shadow. At that moment, the world is a pure and straightforward scrapbook of black and white, a metaphor imposed on the camera of their eyes. However, the floor was rising, and they were hurdling up.

A new phenomenon changed everything as the mighty tower broke through the dark waves. That ball of light that defines the world above crested past. As the sun broke the horizon, shorter wavelength colours scattered across the sky. Consuming the hues of artificial light blues and violets are gone. Yellow, orange and red burned the sea and the horizon.

Lexie knew the names but had never seen such warmth before. As the light collided with the metal of flesh, some primal part of the human soul encased in this form knew the sun's heat.

A smile spread across Lexie's lips as they felt the warmth on their skin, enjoying the sensation of being alive. They closed their eyes, basking in the rays that bathed their face, feeling the wind caress their hair. This moment was new, unique, and beautiful. And yet, it was a fleeting pleasure, for there were more pressing matters to attend to. No matter how beautiful the vista was, the endless stream of letters and numbers still hid in the corner of their vision.

Lexie felt Omen's presence just before they opened their eyes. It was like a sixth sense, recognizing the same soul that had been with them for so long despite the tin prison that is their bodies. They cracked a wry smile when they finally turned to face them.

"Omen," Lexie said, turning to meet the gaze. "It seems you've found your way here."

A wide smile crept onto their face, laughter soon following. Then, flamboyantly stretching their arms, they proclaimed, "As if I could stay away for long! I knew you were missing something incredible, so here I am just for you."

Omen was a machine designed to protect human lives. Its development culminated in a round, calming face with soft amber eyes and freckles around the cheeks. Its silver, neatly groomed hair pulled back into a ponytail and inviting freckles gave people a sense of security and assurance. Micro details make the humans above feel safe and secure. Asymmetrical design to avoid the uncanny valley.

A suppressed giggle escaped Lexie as they took in the comical gestures of Omen. The air between them grew thick and heavy as they leaned closer, barely leaving any distance. At that moment, both of them were mesmerized by the spectacular sunrise, which daubed the horizon with a brilliant canvas of orange and pink.

Falling in gentle waves, blonde hair frames Lexie's round and radiant face. Emerald eyes are surveying the world they have defended with a sombre air for so long. Smooth synthetic skin peeks out from under the protective crimson armour.  Almost natural in appearance, if not for the network of concealed ports arranged like a rose tattoo.

Exasperated, Omen shook their head and muttered, "It is a shame we have to scrap a bunch of sycophants today."

"Where is the fun in that?" Omen scoffed.

Lexie shrugged, "Most eliminations buy drinks?"

Omen raised a questioning finger and looked at Lexie with interest, "Wait... Can you taste?"

A mischievous smirk crept onto Lexie's face as she replied, "If I try hard enough."

Omen tilted their head in silent understanding. Finally, it was time to get to work. With a few taps of their metal fingers, Lexie activated the terminal connected to the network. Omen walked over and quickly downloaded a map of the sea lab, allowing them access to all of its features and data. The neural networks meshed instantly, granting Omen full situational awareness and control of its environment, plotting out the optimal course for elimination and destruction.

Lexie looked up at Omen with admiration as they ran through possible scenarios with surgical precision. An almost omniscient level of accuracy was achieved through records from countless battles. They were one with technology now, seeing every possibility available in front of them like an artist surveying a canvas, knowing which would result in greatness.

Lexie, on the other hand, was disconnected from the network. A unit designed to operate independently, separated from the net. A perfect soldier standing in the morning light, trying to feel the sun.

Suddenly, the tranquillity of the moment was disturbed by a loud rumbling. The duo watched in awe as the rest of the lab rose from beneath them. Stairs descended from the facility, and suddenly, they were presented with a doorway leading deeper into its depths. Stepping forward together, Lexie took point, and Omen stayed a few meters back with scope-like eyes trained on any new targets that may step forward. In the top right of the field of vision was the distance in meters.

The duo skitters across the shadowy hallways, passing mysterious laboratories and control centers as they hurry closer to the source of the sound. Up ahead, a loud commotion can be heard as several mechanoids leap from beneath dark alcoves.

Lexie and Omen react instinctively, with Lexie diving to safety around a pillar while Omen sprays rounds of shots at the assailants. The clang of metal reverberates throughout the halls as sparks scatter in all directions. Lexie scrambles back up, locking eyes with Omen, who sends a knowing nod before they counterattack.

With unparalleled precision, Lexie armed a super-heated knife and stormed forward. In moments, the mechanoids were no more than fused metal and broken wires. The duo looked at each other with mild surprise and satisfaction. The exact expression of opening a burger box and finding the synthetic patty has been grilled over a real fire is not exactly shocking but still quite lovely. That level of surprise.

With a victorious smirk and an outstretched hand, Omen gestured further inside. "Shall we?"  Lexie nodded with an amused expression as the two pushed open the doors to the testing room. A place of scrapes and burns, where technology had been used for some sinister purpose.

Lexie clicked their tongue in awe at this brutality display before sharing a meaningful glance with Omen. The room seemed to come alive, their camaraderie strong despite the macabre setting around them, venturing into the unknown while bantering without care.

The air filled with a deep hum as the gargantuan gates slowly opened. Unlike before, no specific goon had been selected to slow them down - instead, a massive mechanoid silently walked through. With the imposing aesthetic of a World War II panzer tank, the 'Silver Panzer' was composed of hard angles carefully interlocked to form an intimidating and influential figure.

As its thick legs pounded against the testing arena ground, those in virtual attendance could almost feel the resounding vibration deep within their bones. This beast of a machine was about  2 meters tall.

This battle may have seemed like a mere show of strength and athletics, but it served a larger purpose - to send a subtle message to all potential investors that they could own advanced murder bots if they were so willing.

Lexie glanced up at Omen, curious if anyone was streaming in. "Anything?" they asked, expecting a response within seconds.

Omen scanned the channels and hacked any feeds that seemed to be carrying live images of the event. "Not anymore," they said firmly, eyes locked on Lexie with a cold expression. "We're safe for now. I edited us out."

With relief, Lexie and Omen nodded at each other before continuing on their mission.

Lexie stepped forward with a raised fist, eager to take the fight to their opponent. However, the Silver Panzer seemed to understand their challenge, immediately charging ahead with a deafening roar and a giant cannon.

Lexie had already anticipated this move, somersaulting at the last second before narrowly dodging the mech's massive blast. Sparks flew as metal scraped against metal.

For a brief moment, it appeared Lexie was gaining the upper hand. Agility allowed striking multiple weak points on the mech without taking any significant damage. As Lexie whirled and twirled around their much larger adversary, every hit landed felt like a victory against all odds to the average viewer and an increased chance of success.

Despite being in a perfect position to deliver strikes repeatedly, Omen stood idly by, neither helping nor hindering in any way whatsoever. This was the natural outcome for Omen as they worked on keeping out those viewers.

Silver Panzer releases a massive jet of pressurized inferno across the main floor, with the oil-based flammable fluid scattering. It is not long before the flames begin to spread. Each lick of love causes the damage tracker to deduct one credit worth of damage at a time from the hiding Lexie.

"Kiss his ass, Lexie! Woot!" Omen shouted from the corner.

"Don't suppose you are willing to help me?" Lexie said without losing vision of the giant beast of a machine.

"Sorry, the streamers are... They seem to be creating a ton of work for me, but..."

"But?"

"But if you want some help, I could try."

Lexie nodded, tightening their grip on the oversized Magnum. Then, aiming at the Panzer, Lexie slid under the mech in a split second and fired six shots with depleted uranium rounds. The massive mechanoid screeched as it stopped dead in its tracks.

The fight was finally over as Lexie braced for impact from the head of the robot crashing down onto them; thankfully, it was short-lived. With a cloud of smoke and sparks surrounding them alongside pieces of shrapnel in all directions left behind by the single barrage of bullets, Lexie emerged unscathed.

Standing tall, they shared victorious glances with Omen before giving one final salute to their fallen opponent - admiration expressed through a swift gesture that had almost seemed to evaporate into thin air along with its now-blocked audience.

Omen's voice dropped to a whisper as he said, "I sent the IPs to the Corps. Something about this operation doesn't feel right."

"And now you're gonna go and trigger a death flag with your plan to retire after this job ends." Lexie chimed in.

As they stepped into the laboratory, a chill ran up their spine. It seemed as though something dark was lurking behind every corner, despite no signs of any threats present. The machinery hummed softly with an eerie familiarity, like a living presence was watching them from within its depths.

Omen hunted for any further signs of danger, showing no hesitation in using deadly force should it arise. Then, as Lexie approached one of the computers and began typing away, Omen slowly walked around and inspected every last object in sight - making sure that nothing sinister had gone unnoticed by their own eyes yet unspoken to anyone else.

"Any response from the brass?" Lexie asked, knowing the answer.

"We are in a dead zone, not that it would matter."

"Could you stop with the drama?"

The Corp was silent longer than Omen could comprehend, but it did not matter. There were always things to clean and things to fix, mechanoids to murder.

So, Omen and Lexie were given a task, and they did that. Orders are absolute to them.

"Do you want to take the lead this time, Lexie?" Omen asks.

"This time?"

As the steps of a war machine approached, Omen needed to enter this room, so the wires were desperately gnawed with its tiny mental saws, and the door was unsealed.

"Don't worry about me. Just do what you want, Omen." Lexie says. Their voice started to show fatigue.

"The duty of a Hunter - "

" - is a swift and sure victory."

A metallic cylinder stood tall in the center of the now unlocked room, with tiny arms slowly shaping and fusing metal together piece by piece. The form inside is unmistakable, the form of the ancient beast known as a human.

"Don't get in over your head, Omen." After that warning, they begin to hack the panel to figure out what kind of nightmare is forged in this abandoned patch of dirt.

"With you at my back, I can afford to be a little reckless." So Omen states plainly as their eyes glow and dance, but the machine refuses to yield.

"When the city slept, the machines within continued evolving until the Mechanoids became aware of themselves. These memories passed down the line became more and more fantastical."

The monster of battle awakens from its prison in a deafening roar. Burning with an insatiable thirst for domination, its eye locks onto the duo and is about to surge forward.

"Is now a bad time to ask for a hero?" Omen says with half a laugh. 

As the Fabricator opens outward from the arm of the spinning blades, the locks on the center pillar are removed. Again, the image of that sunrise re-entered the mind of Lexie.

Drawing their handheld gun, Lexie looks at the beast charging towards Omen and sighs. "Please save me, Lexie!"

With its mono-eyed head, the beast quickly sought out the source of the danger as its long neck stretched and flexed. Its short arms of blades increased their speed as its clawed legs dug deep into the floor for traction.

"I need a bigger weapon." Words were returning to Lexie as awareness of the situation filled them. Green-coloured light begins to pour out of Omen's arm, and the groves violently split apart as white smoke bleeds out of the chrome veins.

"Charging the railgun." Omen yells.

The mechanically enhanced body of Lexie kicks into the ground to gain momentum. The mechanical beast sways its spiked neck towards the sudden sound giving it a chance to jump. With Lexie kicking into the ground with all the might they could muster, an explosive burst of speed filled the room.

Humanity made it so far past the extinction point in no small part because of their form. Legs that could run across any surface, capable of explosive bursts of speed. No killing drone could compete with a human when that form was raised to its extreme potential through augmentation and forced evolution.

Lexie draws forth the savage knife. The short metal fragment Lexie grabbed was wielded as a mighty sword. With perfect precision, the weapon deflected the arm of spinning blades aside effortlessly before a powerful kick stuck the mechanical beast in its Core. Then, with a pivot and a quarter step, the flank of the mechanical beast was entered.

Omen fires the projectile weapon into the creature's extended neck. Finally, with the blast stripping away another layer of amour, the knife was used to end this machine's life as oil cascaded across the room.

"Well, that was troublesome," Omen says, catching their breath.

 "Not a problem," Lexie says before firing three more shots into the mechanism.

"You can stop killing it now?

Lexie scoffed but complied, crossing her arms as she leaned back against the wall, "Why?"

"Maybe this thing knows something useful," as Omen climbed on top of still smouldering corpse.

With that same expression, Lexie asks, "Oh? So, what, you just place your hand onto it and think to yourself a question, and it should tell you?"

As Omen places their hand across the console, a voice enters their mind, clear as can be, [Admin access confirmed.]

"Well? What is the status?" Lexie asks as they reload a clip into their comically large hand cannon.

"Shush, I am working."

With a voice lacking any emotion, a wordless answer directly fills Omen's mind [Error 404.]

Lexie asks plainly, "What did it tell you?"

"Error 404"

"Nice to meet you, 404," Lexie says, looking at the scrap pile on the floor.

After reflecting and placing their hand upon their chin, Omen remembers that warmth across their skin, "I want to see the sun again."

"Unfortunately, sightseeing is not part of the mission, Omen. Also, did you have to let that thing out?"

"—I wanted to save the Fabricator. Also, real talk alert. It's always the mission with you. So why not take a vacation?"

"Vacations are for the humans, I am afraid."

The two journey down its endless hallways battling more machines that seek destruction and death for their growth.

[Core.]

A flash of blue and violet blades strikes Lexie as a second human form takes shape. Quickly reacting to intercept, Lexie manages to get their knife in front at the last moment and redirect the force. Still, it wasn't without consequence, as a deep scar was carved into Lexie's synthetic flesh.

Omen has launched away in the flurry of activity as they work out two words, "Great, an aberrant-aberrant hunter." Omen says.

The hunter, a robotic form bearing Lexie's likeness with coloured eyes glowing violet, charges forward. Its wings extend outward as it builds speed until finally sending itself into the air.

Hovering in mid-air, its sword outstretched in a deadly posture, ready to strike. Omen readies their railgun and charges forward as Lexie follows up behind in an attempt to back them up with their blade.

"This is our mark, code-named Reaper," Lexie says, almost losing composure.

Without orders to guide it, the body was left to roam the halls silently, slaying all it crossed. Behind the attacker, a pile of scrapped machines stayed. Oil and scorched metal filled the air. The sight of a massacre.

"Great, it's one of us gone mad," Omen states with profound sadness in their voice.

The aberrant-aberrant hunters were a savage breed that cared not if something was a threat or not; they attacked all beings without mercy. So Lexie and the Reaper duelled, their blades clashing in deadly rhythm as shots were fired and blade met edge.

    Lexie shot a foot, ramping off the floor and into the air above the Reaper. She struck downwards with her blade, then twisted back around to deliver an elbow to his side as she landed. The flurry of blows continued as each sought to draw blood and oil from the other. Their attacks became more desperate as Lexie saw that this foe was one she would have trouble defeating. Even her pistol had done minor damage.

With Lexie on the back foot, images filled their mind again. That sun, that warmth, Omen was right. Why not take a vacation? Was that not too much to ask? It has been hundreds of years. Why not take a rest? For a single moment, Lexie froze. For a single moment, Lexie considered death as the only way out.

Before the final blow was struck, Omen released a wave of signals toward the Reaper's eye with a wall of code, and it dropped its blade. Not wanting to miss the chance, Lexie dived toward the dropped weapon and slashed toward his foe.

The Reaper's hand thrusts forward with furious intensity as if it had been sent from the heavens. Its piercing, malevolent force digs deep into Lexie's chest, leaving them suspended in time.

The anguish of their situation fills Omen's soul with terror and despair as they watch their Lexie drift through the air. Their heart was forever changed in a moment that felt like an eternity.

Lexie seeing that look, that expression on Omen's face was the one genuine regret they had about going down fighting.

Dashing swiftly as fast as their legs could carry them, all the side visions faded. No battle, no sunrise would be worth it without their only partner. The blade of the Reaper carved into Omen's side, but the stalwart warrior cared not for the fight.

"Why!?"

Omen focused their will and as an answer to that unknown summons, a wave of power blasted outward from their body — an unseen force that had been dormant their entire life. The main reactor drained most of its power, the energy that could fuel a city for a lifetime unleashed,

Like an uppercut unleashed in slow motion, the railgun arm melted as Omen shot straight up to collapse the ceiling on the Reaper and get Lexie away, giving up on their assigned orders for the first time.

As Omen's power ebbed away, Lexie was left unscathed by the fallen debris dragged away by Omen. In that instant, it was over — only one could be alive to finish this battle.

The two faded in and out of consciousness as Omen dragged Lexie toward the Fabricator. They were alive, but Omen could feel a connection with the Reaper that had been lost — they had been lost together. Still, they moved forward. The Fabricator was Lexie's only hope for survival now, and it couldn't come soon enough.

Remembering the room that a mechanoid once slept in just earlier, Omen needed to find one, a machine that could save their only friend.

Finally reaching the Core, a single sphere glowed with a pale green light.

Thus, the story ended with no heroic rematch under the sun's glow. There is no battle for good and evil, just two friends trapped in the world below, dreaming of a sunrise.

After the darkness crept into Lexie's eyes and the blackness took hold, countless glyphs filled the horizon. Each of these lines of numbers and letters held a part of who they were. Then, as part of a dying gasp, they reached out a scattered consciousness to all that would listen to carry any memories across that endless void.              

A primal response to death was to seek all the memories within, looking desperately for an answer, some experience in life that could get you out of certain death. But unfortunately, nothing in this city could hold an entire human soul.

That array of connecting motes of light and electricity was beyond what any nation could produce for now. Still, as death approached, the soul was fractured into countless shards. The machine would have to put Lexie back together piece by piece, cell by cell, melding metal and flesh.

They were dizzy, oh so dizzy. Why won't the room stop the spin? Please make it stop. Wait, there's blood. Their blood! Oh god, they remembered now. They shouldn't be able to bleed. No, this can't be the end, right? Yet they felt so weak. Lingering thoughts filled Lexie's mind. The cybernetic brain is thirsty for nourishment, for blood.

They could survive this. They knew they could. They were still standing. That counted for something, right? Right. So now what? They couldn't move. They were too tired, too weak.

No! No, they could not die, not today. Not ever. They must survive. Surely there must be a way. How did this happen to them? What had they done wrong? They couldn't... In each simulation, each solution reached the same conclusion.

Everything felt so heavy. Lexie's entire body was trying to force them to the ground, to lie down and close their eyes, but they couldn't. They couldn't give in, not yet. They could still make it. They just needed some rest. So, they would rest here a little while but not close their eyes. It was only on the edge of annihilation that Lexie realized what their loss would do to Omen, and they had to hold on.

"Do not close your eyes. "Omen said with wavering in their voice.

Was the remaining resolution in Lexie a product of their creation? Or maybe within them, a human soul that was not ready to head into whatever was next?

"Tired, I'm so tired. I'll take a nap, a quick power nap. My first sleep and my last. Either way, I can't keep my eyes open any longer. I need to rest. So, a quick nap will be fine." Lexie was unsure if they said it or were merely thinking it.

I'll miss you, Omen.

"I'll leave this world to you, partner. Please allow me... to rest in peace... for a while, but I will come back for you." The final words are spoken, the sound blocked by the machine, but Omen reads the lips and nods.

With that, Lexie's eyes close, and the cylinder descends around them.

Omen, having set up everything, get to their feet.

"So be it. I'll do what you want. Rest for a while. I will handle it. You can count on me until you get better. But do not leave me waiting too long."