Just Super

The other side of the portal isn’t what I expected, although I’m not sure exactly what I did expect. What I see is what looks a lot like a military base stretching away in all directions. The only things I see taller than a single story are some buildings that look like oversized hangars. The four nearest have lines of six-legged mechs emerging from them, with the lines merging into a single queue leading to the portal, which is now behind me.

I don’t have to look back to know that, since I stopped to gawk, I’m getting very near that portal again. I rapidly scoot forward, toward the rear of the mech I’m on.

There aren’t as many soldiers on the ground as I’d expect, and luckily for me, none of them seem to be looking up. I reach the back of the mech and I’m not sure what to do; the next one is too far for me to jump, and someone would almost certainly spot me anyway.

I try to flicker to a shadowed spot by one of the buildings that appears to be a barracks. Nothing happens. I’m not surprised. From my extensive experience of visiting two other parallel worlds, I’ve deduced that range of possibilities for destinations resets when I enter a new world.

However, I bet that if I’d run full tilt the moment I came through the portal, then jumped, then I could have reached the spot where the next mech in line is now. I flicker to that spot and prove myself right. Every second I’m here expands the radius of the area that falls within my flicker range by more than thirty feet. Another three seconds or so and the nearest building will be in range. I probably need to add a few seconds, though, for how long it would take me to find a way onto its roof.

“Plast! Zenner!” someone shouts from the ground, in a language that doesn’t sound even vaguely familiar. I flicker ten feet away on the back of the mech I’m riding, to a prone position. No one on the ground should be able to see me. Sizzling sounds and flashes of light cut through the air where I was crouched a split second ago. I guess they know I’m here now.

I flicker again, to the mech behind this one, staying prone to stay out of sight. Just a few seconds more and—

Floodlights I hadn’t noticed come on, dazzling my eyes. I have no idea if there’s anyone in a position to see me, so I flicker. While I was looking for high ground, I spotted a jeep-looking vehicle. If I’d flickered there before the lights came on, I wouldn’t even be dazzled. 

That actually works. Without the spots dancing in my eyes, I can see soldiers surrounding the leading mechs. I guess I missed the truck with the cherry picker in my quick survey, but it’s there now, raising a soldier high enough to see the tops of the mechs. I’m really glad I’m not there.

There’s a lot of shouting going on, but it’s all in that unfamiliar language, so I have no idea what they’re saying. Rather than sitting around trying to figure it out, I flicker to the roof of the building I was eying before.

Now the floodlights are to my advantage. Nothing’s shining up here, but I can see the whole area around the portal clearly.

It’s a lot like a giant version of the one that got me home from Jane’s Earth. Huge cables that must be feeding it power lead from its base off into the darkness; if I can sever one of those, that might turn it off. They might be able to repair that quickly, though, and resume the invasion, but maybe not. Maybe they wouldn’t be able—

Okay, you may have already spotted a flaw in my carefully thought out plan. In case you haven’t, it rhymes with “how the fuck do I get home once I deactivate or destroy the portal?” Maybe I should just go back through.

“Frank,” Emily’s voice comes over my earbud. I hadn’t thought about it, but I’ve been hearing her fighting in the background the whole time. I guess that makes sense, given that they connect through an entirely separate universe. “I don’t see you. Did you switch roofs?”

I could just say “Yeah” and leave it at that. I wouldn’t be lying. But I would be lying. I’m already screwing up by coming here without letting her know first. I’m not going to make it worse.

“Sort of.” I shift uneasily. “It’s just that the roof is on the other side of the portal.”

There’s silence, then a quiet “ow.” Finally, I hear her sigh. “What’s it like over there?”

I describe the situation, then follow up with, “I think if I shoot one of the power cables, the portal will probably shut down.”

“Shoot it with what, Frank?”

She is definitely going to dump me. “WIth the rifle I took from the guy I kneecapped.”

“Come back through to this side, please?” I hear a ripping sound like I heard when she disabled the mech legs. “The rapid team is bound to be here any minute. They have tools that will let them shut it down. Safely.”

I’m about to agree when I see it. A mech, a little larger than the others, is walking rapidly toward the portal. Its size isn’t what grabs my attention; its weaponry is. The other mechs have all had what look like shoulder-mounted cannons. They look like they could do real damage, but they don’t have a big range of motion. Basically, they seem designed for shooting other mechs.

This mech has a turret on the top, with a cannon-looking weapon that is easily twelve inches diameter and mounted on a swivel so it can fire basically anywhere. Emily didn’t seem worried about the other mechs, but this thing scares me. I can’t let it get through.

I raise the rifle I’ve been lugging around and sight it on the power cable. Deep breath. I pull the trigger.

Nothing happens.

What? Do these things have some sort of fingerprint sensor? No, the guy who was carrying it was wearing gloves. There’s probably some sort of chip in the gloves. Fuck.

I flicker to another rooftop, this one on the other side of the line of mechs. This is better. From here I can see a group of six soldiers forming a rough circle around a seventh, who is hunched over some sort of panel, connected to the portal by smaller cables.

The six soldiers are all facing outward, clearly on high alert; no one is going to get past them—no one who can’t teleport, that is.

I should be able to do something from there, but I don’t want to be exposed like that for more than a second. That doesn’t seem like enough time to figure out what to do.

I take out my phone, open the camera app, and switch to 3x optical zoom, the best it can do. It doesn’t help; I can’t make out any details. I could flicker over there, snap a picture, then flicker right back, but the timing would be really hard to get right.

I’ve found that if I plan it in advance, I can flicker someplace and back so quickly that unless someone is watching for me, they never see me. This isn’t super useful, since I don’t get much visual info, either. If I timed it just right with the camera, though…

I flicker, and now I have a picture of the control panel on my phone. I’m not sure whether I flickered there and back, or just retconned the phone into having the picture on it. I don’t have time to dwell on that; I study the picture.

It looks similar to the control panel for the portal that I used to get home from Jane’s Earth; it’s not as complicated, though. The most important detail is the big glowy button. I’ve got a pretty strong feeling that all I have to do to close the gate is slap that.

Then all I have to do is scramble the knobs and sliders a bit and turn it back on. The gate will open onto some other universe for everyone else, but I can use the same trick I used to get home last time, and pop right back home.

“Frank?”

“I’m heading for the portal in just a sec. Just one thing I need to do first.”

A mech is vanishing through the portal, which gives me a few seconds before the next one starts through. It feels like it would be a bad idea to try turning it off with something halfway through.

I flicker to the panel, with one hand an inch above the big glowy button and moving down. The other hand is over the rest of the controls. My hand hits the button and the portal winks out, leaving the huge metal ring dull and lifeless. At the same instant, I feel a sense of relief, like an annoying noise stopped, or my ears had popped, but centered on my mark. 

I don’t take time to think about that. I scramble the controls and hit the button again.

Nothing happens.

I notice a series of symbols changing on the display. If I had to guess, I’d say there’s a cooldown on the portal. Fuck. Someone slams into me from behind, and I‘m thrown against the console; I’m pretty sure I feel a rib crack. 

I flicker to a rooftop I’m sure I can reach and take a deep breath. No pain. Good.

“Frank.” Emily sounds oddly calm. “The portal is closed, and I don’t see you anywhere.”

“Yeah. I messed up.”

The soldiers are spreading out in a search pattern. Now that they know that they’re dealing with a teleporter, I feel the need for a little more distance. I flicker to another roof a good three hundred yards away. 

“I can hear the rapid team’s helicopter. They’ll be here any minute. Maybe they can get the portal open from this side and—”

“Uh-uh. They should leave it. I’ll get myself home; I promise.”

I flicker another roof away. The further I can get away from the action the better. When I appear on the new roof, I notice that feeling in my mark again. It’s not as strong as before, but it’s there. I walk the perimeter of the roof as quietly as I can. The feeling is strongest at one corner. I close my eyes, focusing on the feeling. 

I stay focused on it while I flicker to another roof. Now I have a definite sense of direction, and a hint of distance. When I open my eyes, they fix on a building that’s about a ten-second run from here. I count off those seconds, then flicker to that roof.

There’s a portal under me, in this building. I can’t prove it yet, but I’m ninety-nine percent sure. I have a good enough sense of its location I can just—

“Frank! Stop!” I jump a little at the sound of Emily’s voice.

“What?”

“Whatever you were about to do, don’t.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Were you about to do something?”

“Yes?”

“It would have gone very badly. It still could. Promise me you won’t do it.”

I’m about to ask how she could know that, but I catch myself. This is Emily. But if I don’t try this portal, how am I going to get home?

“I promise.”

If there are two portals here, there are probably more, but I can only sense the running ones, as far as I can tell, and if one has a cooldown, they all probably do. 

I guess I could try to shut one down, then chill on a roof for a while—

“You promised!”

“What!?”

“Weren’t you about to do whatever it was?”

Wait. So going to any of their portals is a bad idea. These people have interdimensional portals, of course they’re not stupid. They’ve probably posted active guards on any portals with orders to shoot me if I appear. Or something.

“Not exactly, but I guess it was just as bad. Give me a second to think.”

Their portals are out, at least for the moment. If I could find a place to hide, I could lay low until things cool off. That could take hours, or maybe even days. Maybe I can do that—

I hear the sound of a helicopter, and see a spotlight shining down toward the ground. It’s not headed straight toward me, so I have a minute. Once it gets here I’ll just flicker to someplace it’s already checked. 

Except that I was wrong. That’s not a spotlight, it’s a floodlight, and there are two more helicopters following that one. They can probably light up most, if not all, of the camp. Okay, new plan.

Step one: Stop avoiding difficult thoughts. Ever since I transed myself, and even more since I went on a dimensional walkabout, I’ve known that I can do a lot more with my mark than I used to think. Other than outfit roulette, I’ve mostly ignored this; I haven’t even let myself think about why.

I don’t have time to figure that out right now, though; I can work on it with Mr. Berry on Tuesday. Right now I need to get home, and I’m eighty percent sure that I don’t need a portal to do it. It’s time to girl up.

I focus on my mark.

“Hey, Emily.” Talking to her helps me focus.

“Yeah? When are you coming back?”

“Any second now. Where are you?” 

That’s optimism talking—maybe a little ego, too. But I’m pretty sure it’s true. The light from the floodlight is getting close now, but it and the rest of this world are getting blurry.

I focus on my mark—and on Emily’s voice.

“The rapid team finally showed up, so I’m staying out of their way on the roof where we landed. Can you give me a few seconds to warn them so they don’t freak out when the portal reopens?”

I’m at the edge of the light now, and I hear someone shout something unintelligible. I really hope this works. I flicker.

“About that,” I say from behind Emily. I’m petty enough to smirk a little when she jumps. It’s barely noticeable, but I’ll take the win. She spins and pulls me into a hug.

“You idiot!”

She’s squeezing exactly hard enough to almost, but not quite, hurt, and her face is buried in my shoulder. I hug her back. That turns into a kiss pretty quickly.

“How did you do that?” Emily asks, when we come up for air.

“Can we go someplace else first? Or do we need to stick around for—” I gesture in the direction of the chaos below. Without waiting for her to answer I look over the edge. There are five mechs lying on their sides, all of them without their shoulder guns, which are neatly stacked off to the side.

Two of them have holes that appear to have been melted in their bellies, and a person is standing at a third, hand extended, as the metal flows away. That’s a cool power.

“It’s probably best if we leave before they notice us,” Emily answers. “Some rapid teams get a little pissy when I step in.”

“Wait, really?”

She shrugs.

“Oh, I should let my aunt and uncle know I’m okay. They’re probably worried, with me being out during a power outage.” I pull out my phone. It’s still getting no signal. I look around and see that the power is still out as far as I can see.

“I better flicker home and tell them, I guess. They probably won’t want me to go back out. Could you come back over for a few minutes so we can talk?”

“Sure. Could you do me a favor, first?”

“Of course.”

She asks me to go to her house and let her moms know she’s okay, since the phones are still out here. She also wants me to pick up replacement clothes. When she makes that request I notice that there are several holes burned in the ones she’s wearing.

“Meet you at your house?”

I nod, give her another kiss and flicker to her front door.

We meet up on my aunt and uncle’s roof and I hand her her clothes. She shoots up out of sight and reappears a minute later, in intact clothes, looking just like she did when we left fifteen minutes ago. Her mom said she goes through a lot of clothes, and has multiple identical sets.

She scoops me up in a princess carry and flies us to the front door.

I use my key for the first time and let us in. My aunt and uncle are sitting in the candlelit living room. They look up as we walk in.

“Since the power’s out, I thought I should come home, so you wouldn’t worry.”

“The radio said there was another incursion,” Uncle Keith says. “It was those giant walking tanks again. Did you two see anything?”

I hesitate, and Emily squeezes my hand. I get the strong sense that she’ll back me up whatever I say. I could lie. I’m not good at it, but it doesn’t take much skill to say “no.” But I don’t want to. They took me in; they deserve the truth. I take a deep breath.

“Yeah, we did.” I glance at Emily. She gives me a tiny nod and squeezes my hand again. So I tell them.

I don’t go into too much detail, and I look to Emily to chime in on a few things. To their credit, my aunt and uncle listen, mostly without interrupting until I wind down.

“So you two kids stopped an invasion of giant walking tanks on your own.” It’s not exactly a question, but clearly Aunt Kate wants some sort of confirmation.

“Not entirely by ourselves.” Emily looks a little embarrassed. “The rapid team had to do cleanup on the soldiers. And it would have taken me forever to get the pilots out of the mechs.”

“All I did was shut down the portal.”

“And take down one soldier.” Stop helping, Emily.

“That was only because he was chasing a couple. I was afraid he’d hurt them.”

“Does the school teach you to do this stuff?” Aunt Kate looks like she’s composing a sternly written letter in her head.

“Not really, no.” Emily takes this one. “They mostly discourage it. Except for me.”

“Why is that?”

Emily looks to me for help, so I step in. We haven’t talked about this, but I’m confident of my answer.

“She sort of has to go. Sometimes she knows when something bad is going to happen, and she has to go deal with it.”

“Why can’t she just tell somebody?”

I tell them as much about Emily’s danger sense as I can, without giving away her real secret. They don’t know enough about marks to find it weird that she has that along with the rest of her abilities. When I’m done, they seem a little dubious, but they accept it.

“Your uncle and I are going to discuss this. We’ll talk to you more in the morning.”

“I need to talk to Emily before she goes home. Is it okay if we go to my room?”

“We’re going to bed. You two can have the living room.”

We say our “good nights” and they leave Emily and I alone in the living room.

“I’m not sure if they don’t want us in my room, or if they were just being nice.”

Emily shrugs. “Okay, no dodging. Tell me everything.”

She’s not yelling, or radiating cold anger, but I have the distinct sense that she’s upset at me. I want to try to justify my actions, but instead I give her the facts, and simply and directly as I can. At the mention of the more heavily armed mech she asks for a few more details. I give them to her as best I can.

“It's good that you went through the portal. If that other mech was carrying what I think it was, it might have done a lot of damage before I could stop it.” She doesn’t sound happy about it.

“But?” 

“I thought you wanted us to communicate.”

Ouch.

I almost point out that I could have lied when she asked me where I was. I catch myself, though; that would be missing the point. Instead I say something just as bad.

“That was about us—our relationship.”

She closes her eyes. Fuck.

She opens her eyes again, sighs, and says, “and you putting yourself at risk in a situation you were only in because we’re dating? That doesn’t have to do with our relationship?”

“I was afraid you’d tell me not to go.”

“So what if I had? I’m not your boss. I’m your girlfriend. Do you think I expect you to do whatever I say? Do you think I somehow hadn’t noticed the fact that you sometimes make really bad decisions when I told you how I feel?”

That stings a little, but once again, she’s not wrong. 

She takes my hands in hers.

“I hate that dating me is putting you in danger,” she continues, “but you’re making your own choices, and I’m selfish enough to want you in my life even if it gives you the chance to make bad ones. But if you won’t at least warn me…”

“I will. I promise.”

“Okay. I’m going to trust you.” She pulls me into a hug. 

“Monster,” I whisper into her shoulder.

There’s no kissing this time, but that’s okay. This is what we need right now.

“Want me to ask if you can stay the night? You could have my bed and I could sleep on the sofa.”

“Thanks, but I think I need the flight to clear my head.”

I see her out, and we share a short goodnight kiss.

“See you tomorrow.”

“Goodnight.”

She disappears into the sky.