THE OMEGA PROTOCOL: RESETTING EARTH

Chapter 7

**Omega Station – Phantom Zone**

Michael paced the length of the main room, tension radiating from him while Rita and Marcus watched, both visibly unsettled by the crisis unfolding before them.

"I knew it. This will spell doom for all of us if he works with Rose. How the hell did they even cross paths? This was never supposed to happen—we could have stopped it!" Rita snapped, her voice sharp with accusation.

"It's fate," Michael said flatly, refusing to meet her eyes. "If it was meant to happen, then it had to happen. Nothing can be done about it now."

"So what am I supposed to do, Chancellor?" Marcus demanded, frustration bleeding into his tone.

"For now, tell the agents delivering and restocking their supplies that we'll be paying them a visit," Michael said, his jaw tight. "This time, it's a teleportation measure—we're moving him to the station. Temporarily."

"Noted, Chancellor," Marcus replied, already barking orders through the coms at his ear.

**New York City – At the Shore**

"Wow. So that's how you cybernetically advanced beings upgrade," Rose said, startling Leo—he hadn't realized she'd woken.

"It seems so," Leo murmured, recalling Julian's warning that a new tier could emerge spontaneously, triggered the moment someone truly mastered their current abilities.

He tested it—turning air into shields. A mechanical whir confirmed it worked, a barrier snapping into place around them both before he dismissed it. Then he reached for water, earth, plasma, each one bending to his will. Relief washed through him; he could manipulate all of it.

Leo shot upright and pulled Rose to her feet, energized by how close they now stood to his bunker—the map on his screen confirmed it.

Rose, however, wasn't finished. Questions burned in her eyes—who he really was, what his mission meant, and why a man named Finn had hunted her like prey.

"You really have to tell me who you are," she pressed, her voice edged with impatience. "Not just your name—your mission, and why Finn was after me. It's obvious you've crossed paths with him before."

"You're right to ask," Leo admitted. "It's a save-the-world situation—time travel, timelines, pre- and post-apocalyptic chaos. Even I'm still learning the job."

"Well, since I've now seen people like you," Rose said, arching a brow, "I suppose believing in time travel and timeline resets isn't such a stretch anymore. I want to learn more."

Something shifted in Leo then—a certainty, sharp and immediate. He'd need her. The flashes he'd had, visions of them fighting side by side, suddenly made sense.

"Rose, I need you to join me on this journey," he said, urgency threading through his words. "We'll figure it out together."

"Trust me—I'm in," she said, gripping his hand firmly as they shook on it.

"Grahhaa!"

The alien beasts' growl tore through the woods, guttural and close.

"We need to leave. Now," Leo said, dread sharpening his voice as he summoned a bike from the cortex and sped them both toward the bunker.

His stomach twisted painfully with hunger, reminding him just how famished he truly was.

When they arrived, agents were already waiting at the entrance—Leo caught sight of the shimmer of their teleportation just moments before. He guessed they'd been cleared to access the bunker, delivering supplies before vanishing back to the station.

"Good to see you, Captain Leo. My name is Thomas Right, head of catering services for hosts. I'm here to restock," the man said, leading in two young women who deposited supplies inside.

"I'm glad you came—truly," Leo said, gripping his hand.

"This is Rose. The one I saved," Leo added, noticing how unusually silent she'd gone.

"Ah, yes—about that." Thomas's expression turned knowing. "After your meal, the Chancellor would like a word with you." He clicked a small device on his necklace, and in an instant, he and his team dissolved into light, teleporting back to the station.

"Wow. This place looks beautiful for an underground bunker," Rose said, stepping inside with wide eyes.

"I said the exact same thing the first time," Leo replied, a faint smile breaking through his exhaustion. "Glad we agree."

"Don't worry—I can see how starved you are." Rose's tone softened with concern. "Give me a few minutes with these supplies, and I'll have something ready. Just show me the kitchen."

"I will," Leo said, "but first, let me show you your room so you can settle in."

They crossed the distance to a room set apart from the main living space.

"It's lovely," Rose said, setting her belongings down before they made their way to the kitchen, where she cooked while Leo watched, grateful and famished in equal measure.

Only minutes into the meal, unease coiled tight in Leo's chest.

"Julian—what is it?" he asked, alarm sharpening his voice.

"Captain Leo, the teleportation sequence to Omega Station has begun," Julian responded.

Before Leo could react, the bunker dissolved around him, replaced instantly by the cold, sterile expanse of the Phantom Zone.

The white interior stretched before him, pristine and eerily calm—exactly as he remembered.

He materialized in the main room, facing the Chancellor and Vice Chancellor, along with a third man he didn't recognize.

"I'm sorry, Leo—this is Marcus Right, our administrator," Michael said, gesturing toward the stranger. "You haven't met because he was away on a mission in another timeline."

"Hello, Agent Leo 056. It's an honor," Marcus said, extending a hand with evident respect.

"The honor is mine," Leo replied, noting the resemblance immediately—another Right.

"I imagine you're wondering why we summoned you," Michael said, his tone measured but heavy with unspoken weight.

"Of course. I know it's important," Leo said, bracing himself.

"It's about Rose," Rita interjected sharply, cutting through the formality. Michael shot her an irritated glance.

"What about her?" Leo demanded, his patience thinning.

"She's a danger to your mission," Rita said, her voice hard. "You were never supposed to take her as a mate. She threatens everything."

"What exactly is wrong with her?" Leo shot back, anger flaring. "She's innocent—she's a doctor, a nurse, a surgeon. She's *useful*."

"It's classified," Michael said, his tone final.

"Classified?" Leo's voice rose, disbelief cracking through his composure. "If you're going to hide the truth from me, why should I listen to a single word you say?"

"Because Rita's right," Michael snapped, losing his own composure now. "She increases the probability of failure. You just experienced molecular overload—new abilities emerging you don't even understand yet. We have time abilities, Leo. We looked ahead. We saw how she contributes to your downfall."

"And yet you refuse to tell me *how*," Leo said, fury simmering beneath every word. "I'm done. Julian, initiate the return—now."

"Because she's Johnson Smith's daughter!" Rita's voice exploded through the room.

Leo froze, the accusation slicing through him like ice. The realization hit hard—how had he never connected the surnames before?