Portal

I stared at the quartet for a moment, then looked at the seats. They had seated themselves nearly equidistant to each other, and I began to feel a little uncomfortable at disrupting that sequence.

But, I’d been asked to have a seat, so a seat I would have. Looking around, I spied an old wooden spool for wire, and figured that would do as well as anything else. I rolled it over to the table and situated myself a couple feet away.

“Okay. I’m sitting. Um… Hi?” I waved self-consciously.

North was the first to speak. Their voice had a soothing, feminine quality to it. “Mr. Wernock, if I’m understanding correctly, you’re not interested in either The Guild nor The Alliance?”

“This is correct.” The muscles in my midsection quivered.

West spoke next. Their voice was deep, almost raspy. “Tell me why you would discount The Guild please, Jackson.”

My face hardened. “I have reason to believe that The Guild is compromised. Some of their actions over the course of my life strike me as…odd, to say the least. I have no desire to work with an agency that is duplicitous.”

East nodded. Their voice reminded me of a spring rain; light, refreshing and calm. “Some would say that that description would apply to The Alliance, as well.”

“I would disagree. While they seem to do and be exactly what they say they are, The Alliance tends to be made up of the people who balance out The Guild. Usually with directly opposing powers. I’ve noticed that the two groups seem to have entered into a stalemate over the past few decades. Also, they tend to be either psychotic or just plain mean. I am neither of those things.”

South folded their hands on the table. The voice that emanated from the cowl was a pleasant baritone and slightly familiar. “That’s an interesting observation, Mr. Wernock. Would you happen to have any evidence to back either of those claims up?”

I shook my head. “Nothing concrete. Nothing that wouldn’t get me put in a loony bin, or identified as a crackpot chasing conspiracy theories.”

North spoke again. “Do you know who we are, Mr. Wernock?”

I tilted my head. “Do I know? No. Do I have a suspicion? Yes.”

I could hear the smile in their voice as South spoke up. “Tell us what you suspect, Jackson.”

My heart thrummed in my chest as I spoke. “I suspect that I am speaking to members of The Gray Cloud.”

West spoke again. “That is correct. We are the Filters for The Cloud. Any prospective members must come through us. We must unanimously agree on their inclusion.”

I nodded. “That makes sense, actually. In order to operate in secret, under the noses of both The Guild and The Alliance, you must be able to trust every member of your team.”

North nodded once more. “This is true, Jackson. I must trust the other Filters, as they must trust me. Just as we must all trust you, should we admit you.”

South cocked their head to the side. “Can we trust you, Mr. Wernock?”

I was stunned. “Can I be trusted? With what, exactly?”

East nodded before they spoke. “An excellent answer. Should we admit you, you will need to keep secret our identities from anyone that may pry. From Labrador, even. You will also need to keep the very existence of The Cloud a secret. Every single detail must be kept to yourself. Failure to maintain secrecy will result in your demise.”

I nodded. “I can do that. Nobody really listens to me, anyway. Except Lab. He listens to everything I say, and always seems to have the right kind of advice.”

South nodded. “It seems you found a good companion in him. Do you trust him?”

I smiled. “He saved my life when there was no benefit to him, and has kept my confidences for the last three years. I trust Lab implicitly.”

East raised a finger. “I feel I must bring the following matters up. You murdered Marge, did you not?”

I hung my head as my shoulders slumped. “I did.”

“Why?”

I took a deep breath and leveled my eyes at them. “Because I am tired of being belittled and forgotten. Of being mocked and shamed. I’m tired of seeing people be cruel to each other for no other reason than they can. She had to have known Stan’s needs. She had to have known how it would needle him for him to be interrupted. I…I have an anger issue. I know this, and I’m trying to get myself better. But I’m just so damn tired of seeing the bullshit people do to each other, and nobody stands up and says ‘Enough!’ Everyone is too scared. Well, I’m not. I’m fucking mad, and dammit, I’m going to do something about it; with or without help from any group of Supers.”

“Does this not make you a better fit for The Alliance, Mr. Wernock?”

“I don’t think it does, actually. I’m not acting solely in my own interest. The Alliance seems to act only in their best interest. I try to act for everyone’s benefit.”

“Do you feel that the only way to do so is through murder and assassination?”

“No. I see them as simply tools to use.”

East leaned forward. “And what of the threat to Mr. Lankholme?”

“I meant every word. I can, and will kill him if word gets out regarding the extent of my abilities.”

They settled back into their seat, nodding. “You neutralized a would-be thief last night. Why and how did you come to the conclusion you did?”

I sighed. “It was a little sloppy, I know. I didn’t want to simply kill him. I wanted him to learn a lesson, and I felt he was able to receive and absorb said lesson.”

“But Marjorie was not.”

I shook my head. “No. In that brief interaction, I had zero indication that she would either listen to or accept any lesson I chose to give her, and I had some options.”

“Such as?”

“I could have dropped her in the Arctic, for starters. Or the middle of the Sahara. Or any number of remote locations. Those would have likely ended up in a long, protracted death. While she was a rude bitch, she didn’t deserve that. She was also getting up there in years and her health was declining.”

East nodded. “Back to the thief; what other options did you have that would have been less sloppy?”

“Iron-banded doors. I could have surrounded him with six Linked iron-banded doors. It would have been taxing, but doable.”

“Linked?”

I nodded. “Yeah. I’m guessing the details of his neutralization didn’t make their way to your information network?”

South spoke up. “Unfortunately not. While our network is vast, as you’ve no doubt noticed, it isn’t omniscient.”

I nodded, the decision making itself. “Then I will offer this freely, as a gesture of goodwill. I am able to Link my doors. So far, I’m able to Link two doors, and can maintain a maximum of four Links at a time, for about an hour. I would have called six doors into existence, each one touching the other, forming an impenetrable shell around him. He would never be able to leave the confines of the box. Not unless I called another pair, with one being a trapdoor directly below him, and an exit outside of the box.”

The Filters sat there stunned. I watched as they looked to one another, unsure how to proceed, until North spoke up. “So. How did you neutralize him?”

“A single pair of Linked doors. One above and one below. He fell for over an hour.”

South spoke up quickly. “An hour? He would have hit terminal velocity in under five seconds. How did you keep from having him splatter across…well…everything?”

“I can, if need be, shift my doors slightly. Over time, I can move a pair of Linked doors almost anywhere. It gets to be draining after a while. I was honestly glad they had a Super that could slow him down. Otherwise, I’d have had to open up new Linked doors in rapid succession to keep him alive.”

The four of them nodded. North spoke up. “One moment please. We must confer.”

I nodded and Shade appeared from a corner. “This way, please.”

I got down from my seat and followed the man as he walked into the shadows, where he took my arm gently as we walked farther than it seemed possible. Sounds became distorted, then unintelligible as I looked around.

The area we currently existed in was a purplish black void. I could see only Shade once he stopped.

“This is far enough, Portal. I must say, I’ve not seen an interview last this long. Usually, it’s only a few questions before they call for me. You’ve been in there for nearly a half hour. Tell me. What is your impression?”

I pursed my lips as I thought. “I think you lot are meticulous, paranoid, and downright frightening. The things they knew should not have been possible.”

Shade nodded. “True. They shouldn’t be. But they are. Why do you think that is, Portal?”

“Probably because The Gray Cloud has some Supers with new Powers. Like mine. I can only guess at what they might be.”

I saw him smile. “Quite so. Remember that, should you ever think to reveal what you currently know.”

“Oh, there’s no worry there. I’m not gonna breathe a word of this to anyone. Not even to my journal.”

I sighed and looked around at the gently swirling purple and black mist. “Not quite like the city’s skyline, is it?”

Shade looked up. “No. No, it isn’t. I spend a lot of time here. It’s cozy, after a fashion. You won’t get hot or cold here. Hungry and thirsty, yes. But not hot or cold. I’ve found that each person feels it differently in here. If you prefer the cold, it’s cool; if you like it hot, it’s warm. If - hang on. They’re requesting you.” We began walking once more, and eventually the sound returned.

Shade let my arm go, and I walked back to where my spool was. I stood in front of it as the Filters stood and approached. My core was shaking violently, but I shoved my hands in my pockets and tried to remain as uncaring as possible. Outwardly, at least.

The four of them stood six feet in front of me. They all seemed to be of a height, and slowly, one by one, they pulled their cowls back.

I recognized the voice of North as a slender hand pulled her cowl back. “Hello, Portal. My name is Dice. Welcome to The Gray Cloud.”

South’s oddly familiar voice was next. As he pulled his cowl back, he said, “Nice to meet you, Portal. I’m Quantum.”

“You’re the one who spoke to me during the interview! I knew I recognized that voice.”

He smiled and nodded. “Dead to rights. I’ll explain later.”

The next cowl was pulled back by a pair of scarred hands and a face that was strangely familiar. “Nice to see you again, Portal. It’s me, Spark.”

My hands hardened into fists in my pockets. “Zack. I should beat the shit out of you.”

He held his hands up in surrender. “Yes. You probably have reason and the right. I don’t blame you, and I know it’ll take time to earn your trust, but I want to say that I was initially against you joining. Hearing you talk? Cleared that away. As far as I’m concerned, you belong here.”

I took a deep breath and let it out. “Thanks, Zack. I mean, Spark. I appreciate that.”

East pulled her cowl back. She had a broad smile and eyes that laughed, as though she knew a secret she’d never tell. “Welcome to The Gray Cloud, Portal. I’m Celeste.”

Dice spoke up. “Spark was truly against even considering you, Portal. He was not convinced you’d be able to do anything useful. Only Celeste knew what had transpired in the studio.”

“She’s right, Portal. I was there. I couldn’t hear anything, but I saw it all. I don’t know how you killed Marge, but I was certain that you did. Care to share?”

I froze. “Um… Well… I might have a nearly encyclopedic knowledge of anatomy in my noggin.”

“Okay. That still doesn’t explain how you…oh. Oh dear god.” Spark’s face went white.

“What is it, Spark?” Dice asked.

Zack stood there staring off into space, his scarred hand over his mouth. Eventually, he turned his gaze toward me. “You made a door inside of her, didn’t you?” he whispered.

The other three stared at me, eyes wide and fearful. I nodded sadly.

“Yeah, man. At, um” -I pointed at the back of my neck- “at her brainstem. Mimics a stroke, and she didn’t feel a thing.” I tucked my hands behind my back.

“Jesus Christ. Shade’s gonna love that.” Zack locked eyes with me.

“Shade? Why Shade?”

“Shade’s our leader, bud. He’s been watching you for a while.”