Part 2.

Shortly afterwards, the two hybrids had made it to the headquarters of the security company. Impatient, Kim was growing even more restless with Charlie keeping a close eye on her. After they had made it to the Captain's office, the door slammed shut behind them for privacy.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet the cunning thief responsible for so many thefts," Rogers said from his chair behind his desk.

"Skip the pleasantries, bub. I'm not going to put up with this much longer if you keep wasting my time," Kim snarled, but Charlie tightened her grip to keep her steady. "Hmph, and bug girl here isn't making me feel very cooperative either."

The insult caused Charlie to growl, but she wasn't going to take the bait. "For the record, scorpions aren't bugs, lizard."

"I'm a chameleon!"

"Ladies." Rogers stood up, palms firmly plased on top the desk. "There'll be time to debate on taxonomy later. For now, let's just review where we stand. Stinger, please release her."

Disgruntingly, the scorpion girl released her strong grip on Kim, who began rubbing her sore wrists while smirking. "Stinger huh?"

"Shut up."

"Our original mission was to apprehend you, miss...?"

Kim paused for a bit. She didn't want to use her full name, but Kim was sure Charlie must've heard at least her nickname back at the apartment brawl. "Just call me Kim."

Rogers, looking between Charlie and then back at Kim, nodded, "Alright. Kim, we're sure we don't need to waste our time explaining why we are after you. But our organization's prime directive is to keep innocents out of harm's reach."

"Yeah good job with that one," Kim resentfully said. "Is sending giant mutant home-destroying scorpions after thieves part of your policy too?"

"We had no choice, you kept giving us the slip. You're hardly a common thief either," Rogers calmly rebouted. "We're not here to apologize however, make no mistake. If your friend had not been kidnapped, Stinger had the orders to take you in, conscious or otherwise. The fact a Beta showed at your apartment though, it's disturbing..."

"There's that name again. What the hell's a Beta? That looked more like a BAT to me," Kim frowned, folding her arms under her hefty chest. Rogers sat back down.

"Beta is the codename for human experiments conducted illegaly, producing the biological nightmare that captured your friend."

Charlie averted her gaze, dealing with the shame that the Betas had been created using her blood. She involuntarily and lightly rubbed her arm as she leaned against a wall. Rogers noticed this and made it brief. "We don't need to stress that they're dangerous. We can't send normal soldiers after them, they're way too fast and too strong for them, not to mention they can fly."

"Then why are we discussing it here?!" Kim snapped, "They took Beth, the same Betas you're saying can't be dealt with by using normal soldiers! For all we know that thing could've... it could've already eaten Beth!" she gagged, feeling a bit woozy over the mental image.

"There is nothing we can gain from rushing, Kim. But rest assured, there have been no reports of them kidnapping humans to eat them."

Kim was growing even more preoccupied, "Oh good, I'm a lot more calm after hearing this."

"Kim, you can't face these opponents without knowing what they're capable of. Our best bet at rescuing Beth successfully is for you to be fully prepared."

"Our sounds like a group to me. Are you making me to join you?" Kim asked. Rogers shook his head.

"We're sending Stinger to rescue the civilian, Kim. It's a small courtesy towards you, you can team up with her."

"Team up?! It's her fault that Beth got kidnapped. For all I know SHE lured that Beta there!"

"What?! We didn't even know it was going to show up at your apartment!"

Kim turned around, glaring at the angry Charlie. "I've never seen you before in my life, and the first time we meet Beth gets kidnapped by another hybrid, I'm not going to even suggest it's a coincidence!"

Charlie fell silent, her fists trembling. In a way, Kim was right; which made it all the more painful to hear. "I'm going to make this right," she grit her teeth together, they could hear it in her voice even with her mask on.

"You don't say? Well what are you going to do, you don't even know where they came from and we don't even know where they went to!"

"Gimme a fucking break! Being so self-righteous; if you didn't steal, I wouldn't be after you, you street-light latex fetishist gecko! Ever think about it that way?!"

Kim growled loudly as she stomped towards Charlie, "Oh that does it. You're going to..."

Rogers stood up and rushed in between the girls before they got too close to each other. "Stinger, wait outside. I'll deal with our guest," he stammered, looking back at an agitated Charlie. The scorpion snapped her mandibles at Kim, who flinched at their sight, but then she did as told and left the room quietly.

"I must be crazy," Rogers thought to himself. "Any second later and they would've torn everything in this room, me included, to shreds," he breathed a sigh of relief, then redirected his attention to Kim. "Please, take a seat."

Kim, seeing no other choice, sat down in front of the desk.

Charlie, groaning over argument, stomped out of the office and leaned against a wall to keep guard at the door. "Damnit..." she cursed at herself, "Lost my temper," she closed her eyes, attempting to relax. It was then that one of the analysts turned a corner and began making his way towards the office.

Common knowledge to this division, the analyst approached Charlie as casually as he could without getting too distracted by her figure. Even for a hybrid between a woman and a scorpion, Charlie had kept nearly all of her humanoid features. And thanks to beneficial side effects, she had been granted with a very attractive, curvaceous shape. One of Charlie's eyes opened to see the man standing beside her, stuttering slightly. "H-hello Agent Stinger, p-puh-please deliver this to Captain Rogers. It's urgent," he spoke. Most of the staff still had to get used to her.

Charlie blinked her eyes as she took the documents in his hands and waved goodbye before she began to read. "Maybe a peek at this'll help me take my mind off..." but then her eyes widened as she realized the document relayed triangulation data for the recent Beta sighting, "...finally!" she gasped. "So we were right... She IS stationed here," full of surprise, Charlie was suddenly undecided. Looking back at the door, the scorpion gal huffed.

She wasn't that undecided anymore.

"I have a deal for you, Kim," Rogers said from his chair. Kim shook her head.

"Look, I just want to rescue Beth, and keeping me here offering me deals isn't going to get you anywhere!"

"We need you working together with Stinger," Rogers added. "This is the fifth Beta sighting at Los Angeles. They're too fast to be followed but we've had our team estimate their direction."

"You mean you actually know where they are?" Kim asked, hopeful.

"Yes and no. The latest Beta's movements are being processed, we should have them any minute actually," Rogers explained. Kim seemed to be a bit more relaxed.

"Let me go."

"Of course."

"I mean, on my own."

"Absolutely not," Rogers shook his head, "You might have powers and abilities on your side, but to my concern, you still are a civilian. You and Stinger are going together. You need each other."

"What makes you say that?" Kim seemed baffled.

"If our estimates so far are correct, then the Betas are based in an abandoned complex..."

"So? Professional thief here!"

"...and are probably being directly led by Omega."

"What's with the greek letters?" Kim raised an eyebrow.

"Omega is the name the creator of the Betas gave herself. She is threat level Red and dangerous."

Kim paused. "So those monster sighting news at L.A. were these guys kidnapping people at night for this Omega chick. This isn't just a monster outbreak, is it?" Rogers shook his head. The conversation was about to continue when suddenly Kim's cellphone began to ring. She gasped, the Caller ID on screen reading Beth.

Kim bounced to her feet and quickly picked up, "Beth! Beth! Is that you? Where are you?!"

"Kimberly Sanders, I presume? Please remain calm," a soft, seductive voice came through the receiver. "Bethany insisted we let you know she's alive and well."

Kim's eyes went wide as she stared blankly forwards. Rogers made a hand gesture to keep the person on line and to record. Kim did so and finally composed herself to say: "Where is Beth?"

"Ah, she's with us right now. We would actually prefer it if you'd grace us with your prescence," the voice briefly paused before adding: "Please check your mail shortly after I hang up. Do hurry up, you don't want your miliy (dear) getting lonely, do you?"

"Wait, don't hang up on me, don't you dare...!" Kim shouted but before she could say anything else the hung-up tone was all she could hear. "Damnit...! Damnit, that bitch's got Beth!"

"Do you have the recorded conversation? Play it back, Kim," Rogers calmly said. Helpless, Kim was more than inclined to comply. After Rogers had heard the entire conversation, his reservations ended.

"It's Omega," Rogers concluded, then heard the ringtone for Kim's phone again.

"It's a text message," Kim blinked as she read it, "This address is for the aircraft complex at the edge of town."

"Place's been abandoned for decades, it shut down after WWII. Say what you will about her, but Omega sure has a flair for the dramatic," Rogers seemed a bit baffled, even if he had been expecting this kind of outcome.

"It also says to come alone. Let me go!" Kim shouted. Rogers shook his head again.

"I'm sorry, Kim. We can't let you go on your own, Omega is too dangerous for you to tackle on your own. This most likely is a trap. We'll let Stinger know and we'll come up with a plan, okay?"

"She better not blow it." Kim frowned, but Rogers stared back in return.

"Kim, you should know something about Stinger, it has to do with Omega," Rogers started, "They used to be patient and doctor."

"Uh huh."

"The company I was hired to protect sent in an Interpol agent with a condition that had to be kept secret while our top scientist treated her; you can probably tell what Stinger's condition was. That treatment took a wild turn when that scientist turned out to be the daughter of the man responsible for the creation of the compound that turned Stinger from a human to a hybrid. She became obsessed with Stinger to the point she began to develop her own compound to raise her own new race of hybrids."

Kim seemed aghast with the new details, "The Betas?" she asked.

Rogers nodded. "Precisely. According to the data we recovered from her lab and research computers, Omega perfected the compound and even managed to give herself more power than any of the Betas had thus far achieved. She's very unstable, however, which is what makes her dangerous."

"So Stinger...?"

"Yes. She feels responsible for what happened to her. The new compound, as you probably have figured out, came to be by using data and samples collected from Stinger. In other words... She was the Alpha, to Omega."

"Damn..." Kim fell silent as she tried to process the information. "She really blames herself for all of this. But it's not really her fault, Omega turned herself into what she is, and Stinger didn't really have anything to do with the experiments... did she?" Rogers shook his head no. "But why did Omega kidnap Beth? I mean, specifically this night when these guys finally found me?" she asked herself, the question itself making her head hurt.

"Stinger and I will help you recover Beth, but you have to trust us."

Kim briefly paused, "Just one question," she said, "Why have you told me all this?"

"Can't exactly ask you to trust me if I'm not telling you what you need to know," Rogers smiled, standing up. "Now let's go, Stinger needs to know about this so we can start planning ahead."

They nodded to each other and Kim opened the door to come out first. Kim felt a strange mix of regret and relief after what she'd learned. She had to make up with Charlie and work together, that they may have a chance at saving Beth. With newly built resolve, Kim put on a smile and started: "Hey Sting, just wanted to say that... Sting?" she blinked, looking around to see no one around.

"She isn't here?" Rogers blinked as well in surprise, walking out before stepping on something he noticed on the floor. Picking it up, he widened his eyes in shock. "No!"

"What?!" startled, Kim turned around, "What is that? Bad news?"

"This is the final triangulation for the Beta sightings. And the text you received corroborates it, Omega is waiting at that adress... and Stinger must've read it. She's probably on her way there!"

To Be Continued...