Crossover Earth '98
The Best of Intentions Jay Shaffstall
Richard Meglan stood in front of a twenty foot wide bank of windows and looked on the ruins of New York. Even from the top of the Omega Corp skyscraper, the devastation was unmistakable. Fires burned here and there throughout the city, and many streets were still gridlocked by accidents which happened during the Apocalpyse Now gas attack. The main traffic arteries had been cleared, but finishing the work would take time.
Meglan looked upward, at the alien ship overshadowing the city. The aliens were an unknown quantity. Omega Corp scientists had been trying to communicate since the aliens first appeared, without any luck. Meglan had assumed the aliens were hostile, and had moved the bulk of what remained of the New York operations to New Jersey. The Los Angeles office had moved to San Francisco. Omega Corp took care of its own.
A quiet chime announced someone approaching through the concealed entranceway into the office. Meglan kept surveying the city until he heard the sound of the door opening. He caught the reflection of a white robe and blond hair in the window. He turned with a smile.
"Angel!"
"Richard, my dear," Angel moved to Meglan and held him close. Her voice purred in his ear, a soft yet powerful voice. "You should leave here, Richard."
"I know." Meglan turned back to the window. "If I'd been a sea captain, I'd be the last one off the ship, I suppose. New York was the start of Omega Corp. Difficult to give up on it after all these years."
"God's wrath knows no bounds, Richard," Angel said. "When the aliens unleash their fury, you must be elsewhere."
Meglan nodded. "I have a helicopter on its way now. It'll take both of us to the New Jersey facility. Speaking of God's wrath, how was Seattle?"
Angel laughed, a sound many heroes would be surprised to hear.
"I met the most electrifying new hero."
"Dynamo," Meglan said. "We have a file on him."
"He actually tried to convince me he was a messenger from God. It was difficult to keep up the pretense."
"Must you continue it at all?" Meglan sounded worried. "The heroes are getting more and more grim. One of these days you'll run into one of them who will want to send you back to God."
Angel looked at Meglan with compassion.
"I know it worries you, but I'll be fine." Angel's voice started to raise slightly as she continued. "God wants mankind to be redeemed, and the surest path through redemption is suffering. The public image of myself as a psycopath definitely contributes to human suffering. While behind the scenes, we bolster those industries designed to increase human suffering: weapons manufacture, genetic engineering, heavy industries."
"I know," Meglan nodded. "Allow me to worry. How is the Academy coming along?"
"Wonderfully," Angel said. "The children are simply darling, and each one is taking to the training admirably. Except for the girl we sent to you, they'll all be ready to take their rightful place in society when they mature. I've been thinking about taking a few of them on a field trip. They'll observe me as I work, and later give ideas on how the suffering could have been increased."
Meglan nodded absently. He'd heard all this before; Angel was a true visionary, and he'd been instantly enthralled by her when they first met years ago. For his part, Meglan hadn't had to change the way Omega Corp did business at all to satisfy Angel. They'd already been manufacturing weapons, researching genetic engineering, funding heavy industries. Sometimes, Meglan thought Angel was missing something. If you wanted mankind to suffer, give them enough resources to do whatever they want. It'll usually be self-destructive.
But Meglan knew that Angel meant well, and had mankind's spiritual salvation at heart. It did his heart good to know he was involved with such a woman.