The Portal Effect

"I will take her from here." Cody told the soldier when we exited the holding cells. The soldier hesitated, but a cold look from Cody sent him on his way. I saw a vehicle not far ahead, and it was holding Keegan. They would arrive way before us.

"You really believe that I would kill Richie?" I asked as he took my arm and started walking. After a moment, I amended my statement. Talking felt good for some reason, letting it out even though the man I thought I could trust was taking me to God knows where.

"Ok fine, I've hated him a lot, and killing him to shut him up has crossed my mind before, but he shot first, and I reacted accordingly. And I shot him in the shoulder. Once. Not in the heart or the head." I grumbled. As I talked, Cody said nothing, but I did notice he was glancing around a ton. Looking up at buildings. Looking at vehicles as they passed.

"Are you even listening to me?" I asked. But still Cody said nothing. I pursed my lips as we continued walking to the Lincoln Center.

By the time we got there, a small ensemble had formed behind us. About two dozen soldiers had fallen in line and were marching like it was a parade today. When Cody realized this, his posture had tensed measurably more. Which confused me quite a bit.

The doors were opened by two guards as we arrived. They were wearing full uniforms today. usually, since it was so hot at this time of year, General Anderson allowed them to wear basic military clothing so as to stay cool.

I was marched right to the theatre, where I saw the rest of my large group. Jessie and Andvari had bandages around their legs, and Keegan was sporting a few new scratches and cuts on his arms. Nick and James looked defeated, but Leo had a determined look on his face. Several feet in front of them was a deactivated drone. Solace was standing to the side, talking with Conan. I did not see Karen.

"Ah, there you are." Solace grinned when he saw us enter.

In the corner of the room, a movement drew my eyes away from Solace. Kaia was sitting down, handcuffed to a metal chair. She looked quite ruffled, but hate and anger was highly apparent on her face. She was glaring swords at Solace.

"Yes, your little scheming med friend was caught driving when she should have been in the infirmary tending to the wounded." Solace told me. He limped over and shooed Cody aside before grabbing me harshly and throwing me over to the rest of my friends.

"Hey guys." I said with a small smile.

"So much for the infiltration." Jessie said. She looked at Cody as she spoke.

"Looks like." I agreed.

"Reunion's over. You saw each other just yesterday. Moving on." Solace said impatiently.

"Now, thanks to Cody, we have an idea of what you all might do if kept together. We won't kill you, but once we find the blue energy, we will open the portal and send you all in as punishment." Solace spoke.

"Where's the man? Where is Riley?" Conan asked. He stepped forward.

"We are still looking. But he seems to have learned the art of disappearing quite well." Solace replied, stiffly turning to Conan.

"Make sure that you approve who goes in and out of their cells. Riley has a knack for appearing as someone he is not." Conan said. He had let some hate drip into his voice. When I looked at him closely, I saw that thin green lines were spider webbing across his face.

"Still upset that he not only evaded you twice, but seemed to survive the punishment you served him fifteen years ago?" McFay sneered. I forgot that I had told her what happened several weeks ago, after Riley had confirmed it in the Gate room.