Chapter 16: War Room

As O charged toward Orion, his face contorted into an expression of pure rage, Orion stood his ground, smirking at him. The air in the war room seemed to charge with anticipation, the crowd's murmurs fading into a tense silence.

Orion calculated his next move with precision. O's aggressive approach was predictable, driven more by emotion than strategy. Orion sidestepped gracefully, evading O's initial strike, his movements a dance of fluidity and purpose. The crowd gasped, their expectations of a quick victory for the Silver Ranger beginning to waver.

"Is that all? Maybe you should have been number 13," Orion taunted, his voice carrying a mix of challenge and derision. The taunt hit its mark. O's eyes narrowed, his next attack more deliberate, a series of swift, slicing motions aimed to corner Orion and leave no room for escape.

But Orion was prepared. He had always been more than just his enhancements; his time outside the Vanguard facility had honed not just his physical abilities but his intellect, his ability to read opponents and environments, to turn seemingly insurmountable odds to his advantage.

As O's blades came within inches of him, Orion used the environment to his advantage, pushing off a nearby pillar to vault over O, flipping in the air to land behind his opponent. The crowd erupted into cheers and jeers, the spectacle before them more thrilling than any fight the war room had seen in recent memory.

Orion didn't let the momentum wane. "You've gotten sloppy, number 1. Relying too much on brute force," he said, circling his adversary, who spun to face him, anger contorting his features.

"Seems Instructor Jenson continued your training, how lucky..." O said bitterly, his claws shining as he slashed them through the air.

Blue waves of energy surged toward Orion, hitting him square in the chest. 

"Alright, that's new," Orion spat out, glaring at O.

"Go ahead Orion, show me what made you so special…" O said, his eyes glowing as he charged toward Orion once again.

Orion coughed, standing up slowly just as O reached him.

"You know damn well I can't," He said, dodging a slash and grabbing O by the throat.

"I figured it out, the designs on the building walls are hexes, meant to amplify one's abilities. You were able to shut down technology but it was limited… Guess you found the work around."

O spat in orions eyes, smirking as he slashed him clean across the chest. "Good job, you can use that minuscule brain for something other than bad humor."

Orion ignored the black blood flowing from the open wounds, sighing to himself as he tightened his grip around O's throat.

"Your reach… It must span all over New New Mexico right? So you're the reason this place is in despair, unable to advance like other human territories have.

"Ladies and gentlemen the match seems to be at a close, the boss is calling for a stoppage!" The ref yelled as security rushed into the ring.

"Then the only way to stop it is to kill you yeah?"

Orion's eyes glowed bright blue, the security guards flew back, breaking multiple bones as they slammed against the chainlink fence surrounding the ring.

"You don't scare me, your stupid magic never scared anyone, you useless piece of shit, stop looking at me like you're better, I'm number 1!"

O screamed as he slashed off Orion's arm, flipping back as he rubbed his throat.

"Don't stop it D'Angelo," He said to the casino owner. "He's no threat to me."

Orion smirked, grabbing his arm and pressing it against the bleeding stump, within seconds the wound disappeared, his arm reattached.

"Always hated that disgusting ability."

"You're just mad they didn't give it to you."

Orion and O slammed into each other, clawing, punching, and kicking as they moved swiftly and smoothly.

Orion rarely worked up a sweat when he fought, nor did he ever bother to try. Yet right now, he wanted O to die.

"I wonder why you're alive," Orion said, smashing O's ribs to dust and throwing him away, but not before catching five claws to the face.

"Seriously?" O said, standing up and groaning. "They really did everything they could to make you a monster, self-regeneration, sense nullification, and amplification, what else did they do with you? Why are you so much stronger than all of us were?"

"Who knows, guess I was just born better," Orion said with a smile as his wounds healed.

O groaned as he walked toward Orion. 

O's frustration was at an all-time high as he limped towards Orion, his determination undiminished despite the clear physical toll. The air between them crackled with tension, a testament to their shared history and the high stakes of their confrontation.

"Born better? Or just the favorite project of a mad scientist?" O shot back, his voice laced with bitterness. Despite his injuries, there was a fire in his eyes that spoke of deep-seated resolve, a refusal to be seen as lesser.

Orion's smile faded, replaced by a look of contemplation. He recognized the pain in O's words, the sense of abandonment and inequality that had plagued the other Orions. "Maybe," he conceded, his stance relaxing slightly, signaling a temporary pause in their physical skirmish. "But we were all victims of the same system. It's what we choose to do now that defines us."

O halted his advance, his eyes glowing bright as he stared him down "And what have you chosen, Orion? To be some god?" You're just some junky who was experimented on to the extreme. Being born better had nothing to do with it."

As O lunged through the air, Orion felt a bit bad inside. He had planned to kill him, but he didn't expect the sob story.

"Just rest in peace like the others, we're just good clones..." Orion said as two halves of O fell on either side of him. He felt the EMP barrier fall, all his technology was back online, and he was now pissed.

"I'll make it quick, I don't care about the territories at all, nor do I care about anything going on in the world. Now that I got rid of your EMP I'll just be on my way..."

Orion's words trailed off as all of the fighters stood up to him. 

"You think you can kill my number 1 employee and just leave?" The owner said, sneering up in the tower down at them.

"Fighters, I will personally pay you all a bonus of 500 million dollars if you can kill him."

"So thats how it'll be huh? Guess it's time for us to leave this shithole huh Zeph?" Orion asked with a smirk, his eyes glowing.

"Who's Zeph?" 

A few moments passed by of nothing as that question was asked, everyone looked at Orion like he had a companion, but it was becoming increasingly clear Zephyr wasn't around.

"Fuck... Oh well, I'll just kill all of you then," He said with a sigh as everyone rushed at him...