"Are you sure about this, TJ?"
Talia met Vance's eyes. "I shouldn't have given up on him before." Her attention turned back to the equipment being set up in the previously empty warehouse. A lot of dust had collected in seventeen years.
"I meant with Nina. This might not be safe. If something goes wrong…" The steely look in her yellow eyes made him fall silent. This wasn't the first time they'd had this conversation. Vance turned back to the girl being outfitted with electrodes. She was the spitting image of her mother. Nina turned around and gave a thumbs up.
TJ took a deep breath before initiating the countdown sequence. "Open the portal on my mark. Three. Two. One…"
Swirling energy left Nina's hands and webbed across the empty archway like a dream catcher. It bounced around inside the circle until a portal formed. Vance flipped a few switches and the bouncing intensified. The building kinetic energy started to push Nina backwards as she struggled to maintain control.
TJ's hand hovered over the killswitch."Wait! There's something coming through!" Vance's shout drew her attention away from her daughter. A shadowy outline was forming into a figure. Could it really be-?
All of a sudden the portal burst into thousands of balls of energy. There was barely enough time for Vance to put up a teke shield. "Nina!" TJ fought against Vance's protective grasp. She needn't have worried, however. Someone was already helping the teenager up.
Nina stared at the stranger. His blond hair was messy, goggle lenses broken. The blue and orange costume was torn, revealing a whole mess of scars. And yet, a lopsided grin was plastered over his face. "Heya, Teej. What's a girl like you doing in a place like this?" Nina's eyes blinked a few times before the guy collapsed.