Portal

When Spark met him at the mouth of the alley, he looked around nervously. “You’re not gonna kill me, are you?”

“Kill you? Whyever would I do that? I will neither kill nor harm you in any way. I’m going to do exactly as I said: Get you some food.” He held out a hand in invitation.

Spark looked warily at the extended hand, then reluctantly took it. The man smiled and began walking deeper into the alleyway. Spark felt his hand getting sweaty in the man’s gentle, but firm, grip.

Shadows descended onto the two of them as they walked and the air began to get noticeably cooler. Sounds distorted until they were unintelligible and then vanished altogether. The air was still, but not oppressive when the man stopped and faced Spark.

“Where the fuck are we, man? This isn’t Chicago.”

The man smiled. “Technically, no. It isn’t anywhere. Welcome to my domain, Spark. I am called Shade, and you will now pay me that favor. I’m still going to take you to breakfast, don’t worry. I just wanted to talk to you without the risk of being overheard.”

“All this just to talk? What the hell? You could have just gone to Stan’s and had a donut and coffee. Nobody’d listen there.”

The man smirked. “Are you certain, Spark? Even now, they’re trying to ping your location. The government is keeping tabs on you, son. No asset goes unused. Or untracked. You’ve been tracked since your thirteenth birthday. During one of your routine exams, something happened, didn’t it? You were hurt unintentionally by the ‘new’ equipment, weren’t you?”

Spark stood there, his mouth agape. “Y-yeah… They used a new blood pressure cuff on me. It went on my left forearm, and just when it had fully inflated, I felt something stab me in the arm. I still have the scar and a small knot.”

Shade withdrew a small rectangular box from a coat pocket. “Here. I want you to cut it out.”

Spark took the box and opened it, revealing a scalpel, forceps, curved needle and suturing twine. “Seriously? You carry a kit like this all the time?”

“Only when I’m meeting someone important. Go ahead. A bit of pain for truth. It won’t be very deep. Just under the skin. If I’m wrong” -he pulled a wad of cash from his pocket- “I’ll give you this.”

Spark stared wide-eyed at the money. That had to be several thousand dollars, easy. “What stops me from just killing you and taking it?”

“That’s not who you are, Zack. You’re not a murderer. Besides, you’d be trapped here until you died of thirst. This is my domain. Remember that.”

Spark sighed and held the scalpel. It gleamed in the omnipresent dim light. I ain’t about to die in here. Besides, I’m getting breakfast one way or another. With a shaky hand, he placed blade to skin, and began to cut.

The pain was intense, but thankfully short-lived. The knot was indeed just below the skin, and a small sac had grown around it. Slicing it open, Spark saw a silvery, metallic, lozenge-shaped object, about a half-inch in length. Shade held out a hand, and Spark deposited the scalpel. Picking up the forceps, he grasped the object and pulled it free from his arm. It had adhered to his flesh, and he ripped a small amount of fat out with it, but he was free of the tracker.

“As I said, you were being tracked. Hand it here, and I’ll see to it that it is placed into some other creature. Maybe a horse or a cow. Some far off field, where you went once or twice in your youth?” Shade held open a small baggie, into which was deposited one bloody bit of flesh attached to a tracker. “Now, do something about that wound, would you. Can’t go walking around town bleeding everywhere, can we?”

***********

“And the rest is history. Shade introduced me to my new crew, and I’ve worked up to being a Filter. And I love it. I have a place I belong, people that care about me, encourage me, and a job that makes me feel good to do. Sure, I’ll occasionally assist in something a little unsavory, but we do good stuff, for the most part. Mostly trying to take down the Hunters. We’re learning how to track them and predict their movements.”

“Have you ever killed one?”

Spark shook his head. “Nah. We can barely even wound these things. They’re tough bastards. Oh, hey. We’re here. Welcome to The Storm Forge Gym.”

“Storm Forge? I’ve been here before. With Lab. He invited me in to help spot him, but there was no way I could help with that. I think he did that just to show off.”

“Oh? Labrador has been here?”

“Yeah. I think he holds the record for your deadlift. Seventeen hundred pounds.”

Spark had reached the front desk and stared at me in shock. “Seventeen hundred pounds?”

The clerk perked up and interjected. “Oh, you’re talking about Lab, right? He was in here last week. I think he hit eighteen.”

“What is your roommate made of?”

I laughed and shook my head. “Fucking Lab, man. I swear he has to be the Bearer of Iron, but he keeps telling me that he has no abilities.”

Spark shook his head and introduced me to the clerk. “Anyway. Bethany, this is Jackson. He’ll be joining us from now on.”

“Excellent! May I see your right hand, please?”

I laid my right hand, palm up, onto the counter. “Sure, but-”

Quick as a whip, a sharp object pierced my thumb, drawing a bit of blood. I was too stunned to react as she placed a pipette next to the bead of blood welling up, absorbing the droplet of blood. “You may want to squeeze that for a few moments to halt the bleeding. I’ll deposit this into the system, and you’ll be given full access to our facilities. One moment, please.”

I slowly withdrew my hand and squeezed my thumb, stopping the bleeding. She squirted the small amount of blood onto a metal tray, which withdrew into a machine, complete with whirring and beeping and chattering. A moment later a soft ping sounded, and she smiled at me once more.

“There you are. Follow Zack, and he’ll show you to our training facility. I hope to see you again soon, Jackson,” she said with a wink.

“Uh, yeah… You too, Bethany.” I followed Zack into what seemed to be an office.

I pointed back the way we came. “Uh, is she always like that?”

“Who, Beth? Yeah. She’s a good face for us. Always happy, always willing to help and damn good at her job. If she hits on you, just remember: she’s super precise with those needles of hers. So don’t be a dick to her. I did once, and she kept me from moving my left hand for three weeks.” Spark led me through a door in the back of the office, which opened into an elevator with only three destinations. Two sub-basements and this floor. He pressed the first basement button.

“So what’s first?”

The elevator lurched into motion. “First, you’re going to be assessed. Then an instructor will be assigned to you and you’ll be with them for a few hours. Then you’ll see Doc. Then you’re done for the day. Your instructor will explain everything to you.”

“Huh. Sounds like something I’m going to hate.” I grimaced.

Spark crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. “Probably.”

I shoved my hands into my coat. I hated PE as a kid, and had no desire to run or do push-ups or any of that shit. And I was going to be assessed to learn a martial art? Why the hell was that necessary? I could just open a door and be wherever I wanted at any time. I shook my head and followed Zack out of the elevator and into a place with garish carpet that looked like it belonged in an arcade from the 90’s.

He went through a series of doors until we arrived in a massive open gymnasium. There were fifty or sixty people, all doing some sort of exercise or training with at least one partner. He led me to a corner that had ten different people, a simple set of free weights and a punching bag.

“Here we go, Jackson. In here, you will use your birth name, or whatever other name you go by. Not your Super name. I’ve brought him, and now it’s time for you guys to work your magic.” Turning to me, he clapped me on the shoulder and nodded. “Show them what you’re made of, man.”

I watched him as he jogged off to meet up with his trainer or whatever he was going to do today. Nervous, I faced the group of ten instructors, who were all sizing me up, like a cat would a bird.

A rather lanky man stepped forward and shook my hand. “Welcome, Jackson, to the Storm Forge Gym. I’m Michael, and I’ll be conducting your assessment today.”

“Hi, Michael. Don’t hit me too hard, please.”

The group laughed. “Hit you? No. We aren’t going to hit you. At least not indiscriminately. You’ll only be struck during sparring and training in the martial art that best suits you. Nobody will lay a hand on you otherwise. Now, before we begin, will you demonstrate for us your ability?”

“My ability? Didn’t any of you see the interview with Stan?”

Michael shook his head. “Nope. When the boss told us to expect a new member, we made sure to not watch any interviews for a couple of weeks beforehand. Keeps us on our toes, and helps to keep any of us from thinking too hard on it.” A few people had halted their training and wandered over to watch.

I nodded. “Okay.” I created a standard wooden door in front of them. “There it is. My ability. I make doors.”

Snickers erupted around us.

“That’s it? Fuckin’ doors? They’ve done lost their fucking minds.”

“A door? I guess it’s a nice door.”

Michael cleared his throat loudly. “Is there more?”

“More?”

He nodded. “Most Supers have at least one sub-ability that goes with their powers. Have you found one, yet?”

“Sub-ability? Well, I can do this…” I created a pair of doors, with one behind the instructors.

“Is this what you mean?” The entire gym gasped as I walked through the door to emerge behind them.

Michael spun around in surprise. “How did… Wow. Yes. Yes, exactly. That’s a sub-ability. What do you call it?”

“Well… As far as I’m concerned, they’re just Linked. I walk into one” -I walked back into the door, reappearing in my original spot- “and out of the other.”

“Fascinating. How many unLinked doors can you make? Is there a specific style they have to be?” Michael was leaning forward, examining my door.

”No, I don’t think there’s any set style. I’ve also never made many at one time.”

“What about Linked doors?” Michael had crossed his arms.

“I can create at most four pairs. I’ve not experimented much with it, though.”

Michael nodded. “Show me.”

I blinked twice. “Okay, then.” I stood for a moment with my eyes closed, and called four pairs of doors into existence, surrounding Michael. I made sure to enclose him completely.

“Fascinating. Each” -I heard him opening four of the doors- “one opens to the one directly across from it.” He was silent for a moment, and I heard movement inside the octagon. “Seeing myself like this is rather disorienting. It’s like an Infinity Mirror. Are these permanent?”

I spoke through gritted teeth. “No. I can only… hold it for a short time.” My breathing became labored as I held the concentration.

“Keep holding it. I want to see how long you can last.”

A few more seconds went by, and my vision began to swim, then darken. “Stay out of the doors.” I fell to my knees, panting.

“That’s incredible, Jackson. The Linking is holding strong and not wavering in the slightest. Keep going. I want to see what happens at failure.”

Sweat was pouring from my brow as I struggled to hold the doors intact. My arms were shaking from the strain of holding the doors and my body up. I could taste copper and iron as my reserves gave way and I collapsed to the floor completely.

I came to with Dice, Celeste and Zack around me, their faces worried.

“Mike! He’s awake!” Zack was yelling through a door.

“Thank the heavens. You’ve been out for about an hour, Por- Jackson.” Dice had a hand on my shoulder, a worried frown creasing her face.

“Can you sit up?” Celeste had a bottle of water for me.

“Ladies, he needs to stay put. We don’t know yet how his body will react to such stress.” Michael had walked into the room, followed by a rather short woman.

He took a seat beside me, shooing Celeste out of the way. “Jackson, I’m sorry to have done that to you on such short notice. If it wasn’t obvious, I am a man who loves data. The more information I have, the better able I am to help you get stronger and be even more effective. What I saw in there… Incredible. Have you ever surrounded yourself like that before?”

I shook my head. “No. I had the idea to surround someone with six doors and a pair of trapdoors above and below, but I’ve never had the need to do it.”

“So this was the first time you’ve actually done this before?” I nodded. “Interesting. Jackson, I think we’re going to train your body before we train your ability. To that end, you will be working with Jennifer here” -he motioned to the unknown woman who had walked in- “with the bo staff. Doc and I took the liberty of examining you so we could find and remove your implant. Your body isn’t built for power, it’s built for speed. Sure, you’re gonna get a fair bit stronger, but you’ll mostly get faster.”

I nodded slowly, the dizziness threatening to overtake me. “Okay. Can it wait? I can’t even see straight right now.”

“Take your time, Jackson. I’d wager it’s been a while since you strained yourself like that. Marie? The water you had?”

Celeste -whose actual name I just learned- handed him the water bottle. “Here we are. One cool bottle of water.”

Michael opened it and handed it to me while Dice assisted me to a sitting position. Jennifer spoke up. “Jackson, what we’re going to do is train your coordination, balance and stamina. You already have a fairly trim physique, so we just have to….optimize it. Take your time recuperating, and come see me when you’re ready.” She patted my shoulder and left, Michael trailing behind her.

Zack pulled a chair up and sat beside Marie. “Dude. What the fuck?”

I raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean, ‘what the fuck?’”

“The doors, man! Going through a door yesterday was neat, sure, but to have eight of them around you? That has to be trippy. I know you described it to us yesterday, but to actually see it? Man, that’s gonna be wild.”

“Seriously, Zack? He just woke up. Let him rest before you go all fanboy on him.” Dice had put on her best “scolding mother” routine and was shaking her finger in Zack’s face. It seemed to work, as Zack appeared chastened. I laughed quietly.

“I’m fine, Dice. He’s fine, too. I’ve never held four links for that long. How long was it, actually?”

“About two minutes, Jackson. You were shaking like a chihuahua by the end of it, and you got a nosebleed.” Dice shook her head. “You seemed determined to keep going, too. Push your limits, sure. Just… know where the edge of the pavement is.”

I nodded and drank more water. She was right. For the past three years, I’d been relying on a single Linked door to get me in and out of places. I’d fooled around a bit with the multiple Links, but never held it for this long. “I should approach this like weight lifting, huh? Find my failure point, and go up to like, eighty percent of that until it’s easy, then push ahead.”

Zack nodded. “Yeah, that’s pretty much it. First, you need to listen to Jennifer and train your body. You might use weights, you may just jump right into weapons training, but you have to do what she says. She’s got experience doing this. Trust her judgment.”

“Yeah. I will. I need to get up and move around. My body’s all tingly.” I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and slowly stood.

“Jackson… You don’t have to push yourself.” Dice reached out for my arm to steady me, and I took her hand with a squeeze.

“I’m alright,” I lied with a smile. “Just a bit shaky and tingly for some reason. Wish I knew why.”

Zack rushed out of the small room, trailed by Marie, leaving me alone with Dice. “So,” I said, taking a shaky step as she supported me. “You know my name, but I’m afraid I don’t know yours. Can’t very well call you ‘Dice’ when you buy me dinner, now can I?”

Dice faltered a bit, but quickly caught herself -and by extension, me- on the wall. “Um… My name is Anna.”

I stopped and faced her. “Hello, Anna. I’m Jackson. Nice to meet you.”

She turned red and nodded. “Hi, Jackson. I’m glad to actually meet you, too.”