Over 10,000 words. Remember when Dimensions and Time chapters were 5,500 words on average? Well now at least you know why this one took an extra week, hope it was worth it, cause here we are with one of the big chapters of the story. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, favorited and followed this story, I hope this month hasn't been too terrible for all of you. Without further ado, let's get going.

Chapter 20: The Broken Mirror

The Zootopia Powered Mammals Research Laboratory was a deceptively large building. The lab sported a unique oval shape that gave the building a gentle curvature that made it seem less imposing. Located near the border of Savanna Central and the Rainforest District, the lab was easy to miss amidst the much taller buildings and massive trees not far from any side of it. There were a total of fifteen floors in the building; a ground floor, ten above and four below, so nearly a third of the building was hidden underground. The most distinctive feature of the lab could only be seen from above, the massive open field in the middle of the building. The grassy field was larger than several american football fields put together and was open air, though the high walls meant there wasn't usually any direct sunlight. The grassy surface resembled the teeing position at a golf course, many spots had obviously been torn loose and replaced over the years. Many of the floors surrounding the field were equipped with armored balconies to allow for safe viewing of any experiments that were held. At the end of the building opposite the front entrance was a command center that was two stories tall by itself and overlooked the field. It oversaw security and testing for the very important building. The lab was not only Zootopia's primary source of study into powered mammals and floridium in general, but also housed the tools the city had developed relating to dimensional research in more recent years. The massive number of security cameras, sensors and automotive defense systems all served to protect the building from the very real threat of attack, a threat the building had faced before and not always endured.

The building's history paralleled that of powered mammals in general to an extent. It was built late in the nineteen eighties in response to the need to know more about how powered mammals worked. The lab's reputation for being pro powered mammals and treating them fairly well during the chaotic years made it a prime target for attacks by hate groups and powered villains. The building withstood several attacks over the years, but then at the end of the decade; tragedy struck. The lab became a target for the maniac General Bombardier and in the resulting clash he had with the Mad Mammal Carnival, Melmen Girafferig was killed. The resulting rampage from Miss Fantabulous finished off what Bombardier had started and much of the original building collapsed before Alex Pyroar and Marty Zebstrika could calm their teammate.

A brave photographer captured the image that defined that day. Miss Fantabulous, burning fury on her face, covered in ash, standing in the midst of the wreckage she'd helped to cause. The iconic hero of her time standing in the ruins of a lab meant to help her and others like her, and about to take the role of executioner into her own hands. All of the hippo's warmth and confidence, gone. In the days, weeks, months and years that followed, that image worked its way into every newspaper, article and textbook having to do with powered mammal rights. It became the iconic image of the dark age of powered mammals, and was a consistent source of shame for the juggernaut hippopotamus.

For years afterwards the lab was left to rot, a combination of it's now infamous status and a string of anti-powered mammal sentiments in and out of office kept the once proud building a wreck. At one point it even was used as a base for a small name gang, and it was a particular source of embarrassment for the police when Mr. Big of all mammals drove them out first. Years later it was revealed that Fru Fru Big was a powered mammal and cared deeply for the political state of her kind. Fru Fru was unable to do much more than rely on her father until she met fellow political activist Nick Wilde, and through him the politician Judy Hopps. The Bigs had played a small but key role in revealing Lionheart's schemes, and during that time Fru Fru and Judy spoke of plans to rebuild the labs better than ever. As part of her effort to improve relationships between powered and regular mammals, Mayor Dawn Bellwether green lit the movement to reconstruct the labs. Twenty years later the building stood taller, prouder and more secure than it ever had in the nineties. Beyond all the mechanical security measures taken, the labs also had a dedicated hero team soley for defense of the labs.

All of it was now under Ryan Wilde's control. It had been a delicate process, but taking over several key mammals allowed Ryan to fast track the production of more steelblood. The process was still slow, but Ryan used that time to gradually take over the entire building. It was only recently that he'd felt comfortable taking up permanent residency in the lab, indeed, the move in was finished just before he met Robyn for the first time. The hybrid in question was presently seated in his private quarters, looking at the tubes that contained his former uniform and that of The Mage.

"Kodi, hearing your voice again yesterday, I want to say it's what threw me off but...but it wasn't just that. The other you can make portals, and fly and he's really smart and he just completely outplayed me. He, he was so cool Kodi, almost as cool as you...were...back when…" Ryan sagged down, "I know doing all of this won't bring you back, but I can make it so that no one else has to do what you did. I know it's a work in progress right now but, I know how I felt that night, if i can make any number of mammals not have to feel that then I'm doing the right thing. Even if I'll never get what I wanted." Ryan stood up, "I'll make you proud Kodi, I…"

At that moment there was a surge of light followed by darkness as all the electric lights in the room went out. Moments later the back up generators kicked in and Ryan's room was back to normal. Ryan calmly flipped the switch to conceal the two costumes before walking over to the door.

So it begins, I want to feel smug about calling their opening move but it was SO obvious. Portal generator and a living electric battery, of course you go for the lab's electricity source. That also creates an opening in security for, oh, probably Bullet and Blade Dancer, maybe Andraste, to slip in. Mage is probably trying to use his wand to mess with the systems too.

"Ryan come in!" Marian shouted over the intercom.

"What is in Nana?" Ryan noted there was a slightly confused tone to Marian's voice. That meant something in his opponents attack plan was unusual.

"We have at least one hostile mammal in the building but the exact location is a bit hard to pin down."

"As I predicted, what else?"

"Chime and Orca have launched an attack on the PMFR HQ."

"Good move, those two have no chance of being stealthy and I have to respond in some way to that attack. Bare minimum they take some of my drones out of the picture and they're probably hoping to draw one of my aces away from the lab," Ryan grinned as he read his foe's strategy. "Not that I'll fall for that later bit. Some of them are still unaccounted for, that means they're either with the Mage and Sirius, or they're being saved as an ace for later in the operation."

"I agree Ryan," Marian said simply, "it seems Bullet has started making her way towards the lower levels."

"Another wholly predictable move," Ryan sniggered, "and I'm guessing they used the blackout to mess with our security systems?"

"Also correct, heat sensors and motion sensors are down, but the camera backup system is working just fine," Marian stated the facts.

"The irony is that they'd have been more successful with a smaller party, but you sounded confused earlier Nana, what's going on?"

"Well, it's weird but, your other dimensional siblings are at the front door. Holding a sign that says they want to talk with you."

That brought Ryan to a standstill on his way to the command center. Not because of the bizarre move but because Ryan realized that, at some point, he was actually going to have to talk with his siblings face to face.

000

The raid on the PMR Labs began with an inconspicuous car driving around Savanna Central. One blindspot in Ryan's web on intel was anything Olivia and Bella had developed in the interim between Ryan leaving the team and his takeover. Bella trashing the databases during her escape had sealed the deal. The car in question was a medium mammal sized vehicle designed for stealth missions. On the surface it was a standard dull gray four seater with a tall but somewhat short trunk. Underneath it was packed with all manner of equipment that allowed it to serve as a mini mobile HQ; none the least of which was a recreation of Kodi's hacking wand. Bella suspected that Olivia designed the vehicle to try and fill in Kodi's tech disruptor role as a means of coping with the loss of her friend. The driver's seat was much the same as any other car, and the local Clara Bloom was the one currently occupying it. The backseat contained a booster seat that, through the slightly tinted windshield, appeared to contain a standard wolf pup. In truth the seat contained Bella's travel pod with some decorations, the AI in a mouse's body was ready to begin a technological assault on the lab's security.

It was risky having Clara and Bella out in the open with no back up, but they only had fourteen mammals to work with and everyone was needed. There was a real chance this was an all or nothing raid anyway.

"Everyone's in position," Bella the back, "Sirius is about to overload the main generator."

"You'll only have a few seconds to do what you need," Clara cautioned.

"Fortunately I can get a lot done in a few seconds," Bella smiled confidently, "Ryan won't be suspecting my capabilities combined with a replica of Kodi's wand."

"Don't tell me anything once it starts Bella, I need to focus on driving." Clara asked, knowing they were in deep trouble if she crashed the car. Kodi, watch over us okay? Clara silently prayed. The synchronized clocks counting down reached zero, and Clara observed the lights flicker for a few moments in the large building. Either those moments would be enough or they wouldn't, that part was out of her hands.

In another part of the city; two heroes launched an attack on their own headquarters, an attack they hoped would pull attention away from the main action. A magical wolf opened a portal into the PMR Labs to allow two sneaky heroes into the building. In front of the labs, three siblings from different worlds stepped out of the shadows and began walking towards the front door. All three had their scarfs pulled down, Ronan was also carrying his helmet at his side, Reginald had his mask and hood on, and Robyn just the hood.

"Don't come any closer!" A leopard security guard called at the three hybrids. The siblings knew she was a powered mammal, though not what her power was. Either way they respected her words and immediately stopped moving forward. Robyn unrolled a paper she had in her hand and held it up to the security camera at the guard station. The paper read: Ryan, we want to talk.

The leopard guard, named Tanya, was honestly confused by the situation. "Command I've got three costumed unknowns outside the front gate, they stopped when I asked but now they're holding up some sign to the camera. Are you getting this?"

Marian responded, though Tanya didn't know that it was her, "We're seeing it, hold position for now."

"Got it," Tanya acknowledged. Now if only I could get what these three are. Long ears, long tails, ginger fur, they look like foxes but they've got short snouts. And I've never once seen them in any record on powered mammals. "You three stay put, command is deciding what to do with you."

"Understood," Ronan nodded. Tanya never let her eyes leave the three, but something in her gut told her they weren't hostile.

000

"It's a trap, just not for the reason we think," Ryan guessed. Trying to logic out what her three alternate universe grandchildren were up to. "Why play the peace card when they've already thrown the first punch?"

"The other parts of their attack have been loud and obvious," Marian replied, "with the odds stacked against them the way they are, I wouldn't be surprised if they're just throwing things at the wall."

"No, they aren't stupid," Ryan countered, "bare minimum this is a distraction." Ryan looked at the stoic expressions on his three siblings and felt a new pang of dread. I don't want to fight them! I went through all the trouble of bringing them here so we could all meet in person. I...:, "I owe them an explanation."

Marian was caught off guard by that sudden topic change, "You owe them? Ryan, weren't you the one who told me that it was pointless to try and explain your reasonings to others?"

"Not about the steelblood, about why they're here at all," Ryan explained. "And I think I might know another reason why they're here. Mom told Luna and I that if there's a way to resolve a conflict without fighting then you should make an effort to take it. I wouldn't be surprised if they're mothers said the same thing." Ryan's face hardened, "They won't be able to talk me down from this, but they're my siblings, so I'll let them try. And I can see if any of them do see things my way." Ryan gave a weak chuckle, "I don't like being wrong, but I wouldn't mind it here."

"So you're just going to walk out of the lab and into their trap?" Marian asked. The old vixen was not used to such erratic behavior from her grandson.

"Of course not," Ryan snapped, irritated that his Nana would suggest he'd do something so foolish, "have Miss Tanya escort them to the testing field, i'll meet them there. You stick to the plan for the others and keep me updated on any new developments." The hybrid mastermind turned and headed towards the elevator.

"Home field advantage, good call," Marian stated more to herself than to Ryan. The image of Robyn, Ronan and Reginald united outside the gates still dominated her screen. Ryan's not the only one who'd like to meet you three, I just hope you and the others have a better plan than what Ryan expects.

000

Even for two mammals who had no issues being quiet, sneaking around the PMR Lab was a very tall order. Bullet and Blade Dancer were attempting to do just that, and they had one of the most important tasks of the day: destroying Ryan's supply of his mind hacking steelblood. The idea was that they could strike a crippling blow even if they couldn't outright win on the first raid. Bullet used her pulse to keep the pair well clear of the mammals still working to return things to normal after the power surge. Slipping around hallways and staircases was made more difficult by the buildings oval shape favoring a single central hallway around the whole building, so they often had to slip to the side. While they didn't know exactly where the steelblood was being stored, they did know it should be underground.

The labs favored using the above ground floors for offices, housing and appropriate tests. The underground floors were used for storage and housing more dangerous equipment and machinery. With fewer overall entry points it was much harder to get into the underground; especially if one was breaking in. Bella and The Mage had done a sweep of the upper building from outside and confirmed there were no storage units on the above ground floors that could safely store the steelblood.

"There's more mammals on the next floor then I'd like," Bullet reported. The pair had successfully descended to floor G1; the first underground floor. It was mostly home to field test supplies, security equipment and housing for mammals who preferred to live underground. "We may need to start using the vents."

"Let's avoid that unless we have no other choice," Blade Dancer argued, "if one floor is too crowded we can skip it and circle back to it later, the more high value items tend to have fewer regular workers around them anyway."

"Alright, the stairwell to the left is deserted," Bullet informed, "on my word." Even with Bullet's reassurance Blade Dancer kept her ears open for workers; one misstep would expose them. After a tense few seconds Bullet quietly called, "go," and the two were off and down the nearest stairwell, descending further into the lab's depths.

000

Scarlet was beginning to worry their part of the plan wouldn't pan out as the minutes ticked by without anything happening. Tanya, the security officer kept a steady eye on the three, but Red noticed her eye's kept momentarily drifting over to his uncovered ears. It was a look the young hybrid was sadly familiar with. He folded his ears down, sending them dropping past his shoulders like a bunny's would. Tanya's eyebrows shot up at the movement and confirmed Red's suspicions.

"You're allowed to ask," Red spoke up. Catching his siblings and the guard unaware with the sudden statement.

"What?" Tanya asked with force.

"You do a good job hiding it, but you keep looking at my ears and our body shape," Red explained, "you want to know what we are."

The guard said nothing, but all three siblings could read her surprise at being correctly called out. Her posture remained poised and ready, but her face didn't have the same sternness to it.

"We're hybrids," Red calmly explained, "bunny mother, fox father." She seems more curious then hostile, anything to make this waiting go by quicker.

Tanya nodded once in acknowledgment before returning to her silent stance. But before anyone could let their thoughts drift too far a voice called out.

"...ok," The four mammals looked down to see a faded image of a koala child flickering in and out of focus.

"Aaron!" Scarlet called desperately as she moved forward to kneel in front of him

"...or," Aaron's voice was very weak, and barely audible for the assembled mammals.

Tanya took an aggressive stance when Scarlet moved forward and would've attacked if Red hadn't shot to the side to prevent Crimson from advancing, "That's her son!" Red explained.

"...ur's...ord," only the tail end of Aaron's words made it through. Scarlet desperately pulled out her make up kit and pictured Aaron as hard as she could, but nothing happened and no further words were heard. Scarlet held her tears in, but hugged herself nonetheless.

"Explain," Tanya demanded in a firm but not harsh voice.

"We're from other dimensions, plural, Scarlet here was separated from her son in Crimson's dimension," Red indicated his siblings as he named them, "we're trying to get our friends and families back together, so after ending up in this world we came here."

To everyone's surprise, Tanya nodded, "Checks out, explains why I haven't seen you three in any databases. And you requested the deputy mayor's kid because you wanted an ear you knew would be sympathetic to a hybrid's plight, you must have it rough in your home worlds." The leopard's acceptance of the explanation was a stark reminder of how oddities were more frequent in this world. "I'll forgive the advancement, just don't let it happen again," Tanya continued and Scarlet took her place back in line. When Scarlet pocketed her make up kit, Tanya asked, "What's that for?"

Scarlet realized Tanya's confusion, "I can see into other dimensions through mirrors."

"Haven't seen that one before, makes sense," Tanya again surprised the trio with her blunt acceptance. A quarter minute of silence passed before Tanya suddenly spoke up, "Look for." Having predicted the puzzled looks on the hybrid's faces, she explained, "your son was saying to look for something."

Scarlet's face lit up as the leopard put some of the pieces together for her, but her excitement faded quickly, "But, why would he tell me to look? He knows there's something blocking my powers?"

"Can't answer that one," Tanya said, she suddenly raised an eyebrow, "but I did just get orders from security. I'm to escort you three to the central testing field, Mr. Wilde will meet you there." She motioned for the three to follow her and the four made their way to the front entrance. A male arctic fox exited the building as they approached and gave a brief nod to Tanya before heading to her post. The four entered the large building and Tanya announced, "Welcome to the PMR Labs, Zootopia's leaders in all manners powered mammals, and dimensional anomalies," Tanya explained with a somewhat brighter tone than she'd used before.

"Is that the, uh what was it, those circus heroes?" Crimson asked as they passed a statue depicting the Mad Mammal Carnival.

"It is," Tanya explained, "when the lab was rebuilt in the 2020's they had this placed in the lobby to remind us of the history of this building, highs and lows." Tanya brough the three to the front desk where a wildebeest receptionist awaited them. "Carlos, need pass notes for Crimson, Scarlet and…uh," Tanya paused in slight embarrassment, realizing she'd never gotten Red's name.

"Red," Red filled in.

"Got in," Carlos explained evenly, "what's going on?"

"Dimensional displaced mammals," Tanya explained.

That got the wildebeest's attention, "Yeesh that's rough, well you three came to the right place." He handed the three hybrids passes that marked them as guests.

"Thank you," Red said politely, his siblings echoing him moments later.

"You gonna be alright?" Crimson asked his sister as they once again followed Tanya's lead.

"I'll be fine," Scarlet replied, "just surprised me is all."

"With the resources and mission statement of this building you'll be home by the end of the day," Tanya reassured with a small smile, "I can all but guarantee it."

"I hope so," Red muttered.

All three siblings were aware that they probably would be getting the help they needed if the lab was running normally. Now however, Ryan was in control, and Tanya was mere words away from being another drone in Ryan's pocket. Knowing that Tanya, who had been stern but ultimately understanding and genuinely wished them well, was unknowingly guiding them to the mammal who had stolen her mind helped Scarlet refocus on the mission.

Tanya opened one more door and the three siblings entered the massive field in the middle of the lab, and they could see Ryan waiting for them in the middle. With some nods of solidarity the Wilde siblings advanced towards their brother, Tanya staying with them.

Scarlet got a good look at her fallen brother as they approached; the curly tuft of fur atop his head was a bit unkempt, but otherwise he looked semi formal with his work clothes. They weren't casual but long pants, belt and collared shirt made him look at least a little professional. What didn't make him look professional was the constant shuffling and pacing he was in the middle of doing.

"I know we both know neither of us is going to back down but, gah, no too defeatist," Ryan muttered to himself.

Is he…"Are you reciting greeting lines?" Robyn asked as she pulled her scarf and hood down.

Ryan went stiff, straight back and his mouth shut upon realizing that his ramblings had been overheard. He slowly creaked his head to the side and met his sister face to face. Brown eyes met amethyst, green and blue as the two sides sized each other up. It looked to Robyn like Ryan was trying to process something, and a tense silence hung in the air for a few moments before Ryan responded. "Your voice."

Not the greeting I was expecting, "I guess after all the fighting we're past the point of saying hello." Robyn crossed her arms, not noticing Tanya's confused looks.

To her surprise, Ryan looked embarrassed, "Sorry it's just, your voice is deeper than Luna's. I wasn't expecting that."

Reginald snorted, "Yeah well we didn't expect to be plucked from our home dimensions but we're coping alright."

Ryan faced Reginald for a moment and nodded, "Your right, and before we get to the matter at hand there's something I need to say." Ryan drew himself up a bit as he turned to face Ronan, "I know I already said this to...Kodi, but I am so sorry about what happened to Fuli, that should never have happened."

Ronan sent a hard glare at Ryan, "There's a lot about this situation that shouldn't have happened, my girlfriend almost dying isn't even the worst of it."

Tanya,not prepared for the direction the talk was taking, let out a confused "What?".

Ryan barely paid the guard a sideways glance, "You shouldn't be here, be a drone." Tanya's confused face went blank and her posture became stiff and still.

All three siblings were a bit unnerved by how quickly their helpful guide was replaced with a mindless drone. I had enough of this with the Drowned, Robyn though as she had some unwelsome flashbacks to her early days as Scarlet.

"Case and point," Ronan gestured at Tanya.

Ryan's face hardened, "We both know that, as badly as we want it, neither side is going to back down here. So, why are you here? You aren't being subtle about being a distraction, one that isn't working for the record, and you wouldn't put yourself at such a risk just for the off chance of talking me down."

"We want answers," Reginald bluntly replied.

Robyn sighed, "how did you bring us here, and why?"

Ryan's face lit up in recognition, the flustered hybrid quickly collected himself. "I suppose I do owe you an explanation and none of your allies have made any new moves yet." Ryan began pacing back and forth in front of the other three, "Now how best to explain, I guess the how is easier to start with. Are any of you familiar with the science of interdimensional travel?" Ryan got the expected trio of handshakes to confirm a negative, "Okay then, just bare in mind that I'm using terms that you'll understand when describing this, they aren't actually what goes on."

"Okay," Robyn replied. All three hybrids were used to the laymen's tech terms speech due to being around Olivia as often as then were.

Ryan nodded, "So there's a dimension, then there's the space between dimensions that prevents them from rubbing up against one another."

"I've been there before," Robyn noted.

"When you traveled to Doom's world, that mad bastard hid his prison there. Clever, awful, but clever," Ryan noted. "Anyway there's also a, and reminder this is just me trying to visualize it, bubble around a dimension. It's basically a layer of protection against the space between more than anything else. This lab's dimensional thinner basically pushed that barrier outwards and can have it intersect with another bubble."

"Which is why we haven't run into that between dimensions place all this time," Robyn realized.

"You pick things up quick sis," Ryan smiled. "The first time we met in the mirror, which was all you to be clear, I had the labs remember the dimensional signal."

"And that let you create a portal," Reginald concluded.

"Not quite," Ryan corrected, "we can shorten the gap, but we can't actually open the way, something else needs to do that."

"Robyn's powers," Ronan realized. "You've been using your thinner on your own world and wherever Robyn wound up the whole time, she just got distracted the first time you tried to get us here. And we haven't been able to get home because of that static."

Ryan smiled, "He gets it in one. As for the static, it's there because the bubbles don't compress as quickly as they expand, without it Robyn would've been able to get herself home fairly easily."

"But why go through all the effort of bringing me here at all!?" Robyn demanded, "I wanted to have my brothers as much as any mammal, but all of this..."

"I...admit that this was a selfish move on my part," Ryan admitted with less confidence then before, "I intend to spread my protection to more than this world but...well that justification came later on. Initially I just wanted mammals to be with again, and I couldn't turn to my team after they got Kodi killed."

"If you think we're gonna let you infect our worlds…' Reginald started to say.

"I don't think you'll let me but it will happen because you can't stop me," Ryan snapped at Reginald's attempt at gusto, "I don't want to hurt you Reginald, or Robyn or Ronan or anyone else, but I will if it means less mammals get hurt in the future."

"That's how you justify doing this to mammals!?" Ronan yelled as he pointed to Tanya, "stripping them of their free will any instant, reprogramming them to suit your needs!"

"They won't be aware of it, and once there isn't any more resistance there won't be much need for that level of control," Ryan shrugged, "as for the reprogramming, that can be lessened as the need declines. And frankly? None of that outweighs the boon of protecting mammals from their own foolishness, I figure you three could relate to that."

"What do you mean?" Reginald growled.

"Nana screwed over her family when she got addicted to being the Maid, Dad grew up the way he did because of that! Robyn, Ronan, your M. started Ceartais as a means to recreate themselves but better, but they recruited freaking sixteen year olds and of course one of them went off the rails. Your big sister messed herself up so badly she developed a split personality! Kiara stole the elixir pump and we all know how that turned out for all of those worlds. Reginald, your sister would never have been traumatized if your Dawn had steelblood to incapacitate her if she tried anything fishy! And Robyn, your team would have caught Ronin and Andi without the team falling in on itself if they were cooler heads in command to reel in everyone's hot heads! My Kodi would still be alive if even one of my team had been more pragmatic in TNTiger's assault! And you're telling me that some brief periods of loss of free will aren't worth it to stop all of that!"

Ronan was ready to give a furious response when Robyn spoke up, "Yeah, I get it."

"What!" Reginald demanded.

"Uh, Robyn?" Ronan asked in confusion.

"You...do?" Ryan asked, not believing he had a sympathetic ear.

"Look, I've spent the past month more miserable than I've ever been in my life. One bad thing led to another and before I even knew what was happening my sister fell into bad habits and did something insanely stupid and risky. Then my sister in law, my best friend, one of my oldest friends and my freakin wife do something even stupider and they're so caught up in being angry that they treat Olivia and I like complete shit with no remorse. When there were so many ways they could've avoided it. And most of them have spent the last month on some highrock refusing to admit they'd fucked up even when no one took they're side. I don't think the team will ever recover fully, things will never go back to the way they were and, honestly, I doubt I'll ever forgive Kion for being such a selfish dick." Robyn wiped a tear from her eye as she admitted her feelings about her former friend to herself, but collected herself and continued. "When I think of all the damage that's been done, all the damage that can't be undone, yeah...I see where you're coming from Ryan."

Ryan had a small frown on his face, sad to hear first hand that his sister's team was in an even worse state then his was. Ronan and Reginald looked at each awkwardly, neither wanting to speak up after Robyn's emotional confession. Ryan wanted to reach out a hand to Robyn, but he could tell the other shoe had yet to drop, "But…"

"But eventually they were able to get over themselves, mostly," Robyn smiled lightly. "Alice came to my home to try and make up, when she really didn't have to since she's got those babies to look after. Kodi, just yesterday, he apologized for everything, and was even able to tell why he'd messed up and was so damn stubborn about admitting it. Mammals can learn from their screw ups, and they can get better from them, especially when held to task." Robyn's face morphed into a hard glare, "But they're never gonna do that if some self absorbed actor is making all the calls for them!"

"Self absorbed!?' Ryan screamed, "you little…"

"I'm older and taller than you bro," Robyn interrupted, "and I learned something from meeting all of my brothers. We can be our own worst enemy, and admitting that is hard. So tell me Ryan," Robyn started to advance, "what gives you the right to decide who gets enslaved or not, to be the one making all the practical decisions, when you're just as capable of screwing up?"

Ryan stood his ground, "You got the upper hand on me yesterday due to completely unknown factors, it's impossible to account for them."

"Oh but I'm not talking about that," Robyn got right up in Ryan's face, "I'm talking about the fact that Kodi would still be alive if you had hoped into one of your fancy cars when there were only a few bombs left and you saw that Kodi's was still active!"

Ryan's eyes widened in shock at the accusation, then they narrowed, he grit his teeth, howled in rage, his fist flew forward and smashed right into Robyn's waiting paw. She'd easily predicted his attack.

"The only answer you have is to try and punch your way out," Robyn replied calmly. "I think that concludes negotiations." Robyn sent out a lightning quick sucker punch of her own that connected right with Ryan's face.

"Agreed," Ronan said as he put his helmet on. Reginald and Robyn did the same with their hoods and all three pulled their scarfs up.

Ryan jumped to his feet, his own healing factor allowed him to shrug off the punch. His face was twisted by rage and he spoke with pure venom, "Well if that's the case, allow me to show just how badly your friends are doing." A large TV screen along the inner walls of the building lit up and displayed some security camera footage that made the three heroes gasp.

000

The room containing the steelblood was indeed on floor G3, so Bullet and Blade Dancer had been right to skip floor G2. With solemn nods the two used a stolen pass to open and close the door, "Only three mammals inside, one near two far." Bullet called their targets. Blade Dancer raced forward and used the energy field around her sword to send the beaver near the entrance to dreamland. Bullet fired a duo of suppressed shots from her gun and the arctic vixen and deer further into the large room went down.

"All clear," Bullet announced.

"Sending signal," Blade Dancer stated. An electronic beacon was activated by the bunny. Bella picked up the signal from outside and relayed the information to the waiting Mage, who had found a secure hiding place on one of the upper floors along the feild's perimeter. He'd been listening in on the Wilde sibling's talk but quickly left to collect Sirius and join the two down on G3. He traced the portal to Alice's location. He hung back by the open portal while Sirius advanced on the cylinder containing the drone creating steelblood. The golden wolf took a deep breath before sending out a massive electric blast. The surge overwhelmed the machinery, caused some small explosions and obliterated the steelblood.

The four mammals barely had a moment to celebrate when a series of nearly translucent white tendrils shot out from the back of the room. Sirius was ensnared before she even knew what hit her. Bullet tried to dodge but the tendrils formed a sphere and trapped her too. Blade Dancer was able to dodge initially by phasing through the attacks, but she was trapped the moment her phase ran out. Only the Mage saved himself by throwing up his forcefield.

"What is…" Sirius trailed off, feeling weak and numb, especially where the tendrils made contact with her.

"Mom," Bullet stated with fear.

The arctic vixen and the deer at the back of the room stood up, their disguises having masked their identities. Skye Savage kept her focus as she used her numbing tendrils to prod Mage's shield. The three captive mammals were lifted into the air. The deer had the blank face of the drones, it was Chester Hornsworth; one of the powered criminals who worked with TNTiger. He had his own forcefield up around Skye to prevent the Mage from attacking her.

Skye wore a deep scowl on her face, "Were you really dumb enough to think we'd leave the only supply of steelblood so undefended? You destroyed a decoy, barely a set of arrowheads worth." Skye locked her eyes on her helpless daughter, "You are such a disappointment."

"I'll save you Mom," Bullet tried to stay strong but the numbing tendrils made it difficult.

"Kodi, get out of here!" Sirius called, "the serum will protect us." Already Hornsworth had advanced far enough to trap Bullet and Sirius behind his shield as well.

The Mage weighed his options. His shield was holding the energy tendrils out, but it was putting a drain on the batteries and there was still a lot of operation to get through. The sound of footsteps from behind told him he needed to retreat. Don't count me out of tricks yet! "I'll be back later!" With a flick of the wrist, Mage's demon card shot forward and grabbed Blade Dancer, ripping her free of the tendrils which had no effect on it. The Mage called his card back to him and retreated, his portal closing behind him.

000

The Wilde siblings breathed a collective sigh of relief when their key member escaped, but Ryan quickly snapped his fingers and the screen shifted to show a scene at the PMFR HQ. The lobby had been torn up by a battle, one where copious amounts of water and sonic blasts had been thrown around. But now it was over; a mare and a lynx were kneeling on the floor, bound by thick tree branches from a costumed deer standing off to the side. The heroes were fitted with nullifying collars that suppressed their powers.

"This happened while we were talking earlier," Ryan's grin radiated smugness, "I hope you weren't counting on me sending any of my big guns after them, oh those disappointed faces tell me you were. Speaking of which." Ryan snapped his fingers and a section of the field behind the trio opened to allow an elevated platform to rise up. Robyn, Ronan and Reginald's heart's sank; it was a goliath white lion with a red mane. Roar bellowed at the three before charging.

"Crimson go after Ryan!" Red shouted as he and Scarlet prepared to fight the lion. Both hybrids had a Roar on their teams and had practiced with them. This meant they had a pretty good idea of how screwed they likely were, but also what small chances they had to fight back. "Scarlet, you know his weak spots!" The two heroes jumped to the side in opposite directions, forcing Roar to choose only one target. He went after Red, arms outstretched to use his massive size to block off Red's escape. The sergeant tried to dive under Roar's legs but was grabbed himself as he leaped forward. Roar slammed the hybrid into the ground twice in rapid succession before bringing him up to his face.

"Alright shrimp this isn't gonna kill you but even you're gonna feel this!" Roar snarled as he drew his fist back. Scarlet seized the moment to jump up and kick Roar's fist, knocking it and the lion off balance. She bounced back and landed on Roar's head, quickly slamming her fist into the one weak spot she could access; his eyes. With a cry of pain Roar dropped Sergeant Red and stumbled away.

"You okay?" Scarlet asked as she got Red to his feet.

"Yes, but we need a plan."

"I'm fresh out," Scarlet moaned in frustration.

"And I'm out of grenades, never got to resupply after Phelps base," Red pointed to his barren belt. "But do you remember what you tried to do to Phelps?"

"You mean the...SHIT!" Scarlet and Red realized too late they were lined up to be hit by Roar's namesack attack. The two were flung across the field, eardrums blown out and aching pains all over their bodies. That very distance wound up saving them though; Roar was unable to close the distance to them before their healing let them recover enough to dodge. Even with that lucky break, the two knew that Roar would best them in a stamina contest.

000

Ryan went through the state of the battle, if it could even be called that, in his head while he dodged The Crimson Banshee's attacks.

Esso, Regina, Hannah and one Clara are out, my siblings are right here with me, Clara two and Olivia are probably on tech support with whatever they showed Bella into, Kodi got away with Alice and Fuli's a civilian. Only Luna and Rani left unaccounted for. Ryan somersaulted over Crimson's next chage and started running in the opposite direction. They probably weren't planning on winning today, just taking out some high value targets.

"I'd say this fight is a microcosm of your attack on this lab as a whole wouldn't you?" Ryan taunted, "me outpacing you at every turn." Crimson made no attempt to reply and just charged again. That was the one thing unnerving Ryan, Crimson hadn't spoken a word since the fight started. I won't deny he's doing a lot to sell the whole ghost gimmick, Ryan grinned, challenge accepted, let's see if I can make you speak. "You know I thought Clara had to be speaking from ignorance when she called you a brute, but you really are nothing but raw force and no finesse, is it any wonder Robyn and Ronan ran rings around you?" No response from Crimson, just another charge. "And with me making this into a comedy routine I guess we know which sibling is the weakest!" Still all Crimson did was charge and stay silent."Can you even face Mom and Dad with how much of a screw up you are!?" Only more charges. Alright this is boring, skipping to the ace card.

"You know I'm aware that you're trying to distract me, right?" That did get a pause out of Crimson. "C'mon, it's only a matter of time before," Ryan was interrupted by a sonic blast up above. Multiple panels in the command center's windows were shattered by an unseen force. "And there's Luna to try and take and out the command center, another high value target," Ryan smiled at his correct prediction. Crimson had taken a stance like he was ready to pounce, but Ryan knew he was easy to dodge, "Your plans are as easy to read as mother goose and GAH!"

Rather than pouncing, Crimson had dug his hand into the field and flung a chunk of dirt right into Ryan's mouth. As Ryan attempted to spit it out, Crimson leaped forward and smashed his steel covered fist into Ryan's mouth. Ryan was sent flying back and swallowed some of the dirt in the process. Unlike Roar, The Crimson Banshee was able to close the distance quickly and landed another punch. Ryan absorbed several more punches before he sat up suddenly and slammed his head into Crimson's jaw. The sound of bone's crunching accompanied Crimson falling away. Ryan stood up, his healing mending his bloody and bruised face. "Alright, this show's been going on long enough, it's curtains time!' Ryan declared as he pulled out his phone and pressed a button.

000

Andratse and Blade Dancer wasted no time jumping through the shattered windows of the command center. As soon as the Mage had reunited the two they'd moved to attack the vital location. They were improvising a bit at this point since Skye had cost them two team members, but Robyn and her brother's distraction had at least succeeded in getting Ryan out of the command center.

The married duo took stock of their opposition; there was Marian herself at the central station in the middle, two security guards and the dozen or so computer workers still recovering from the sonic arrow and shattered glass. The first to attack were, predictably, the security guards. The panther guard drew unnaturally long claws and the stallion guard took in a deep breath before letting out a blast of icy wind from his mouth. The pair didn't even need to look at each other to know who their opponents would be.

Andraste fired a flare arrow straight into the ice breath spray; it cluttered to the ground short of it's target but the heat seared a hole in the cloud that let the following teaser arrow fly straight and true. Blade Dancer closed the distance with the large clawed panther and drew her sword. Just as they were within striking distance of one another, Dancer hurled a kunai up at her opponent's face. The panther dodged but that left him unable to dodge the swing from Dancer's energy clad sword. Both guards landed on the ground unconscious.

"Really sorry about this Nana" Dancer said as she leapt at the older vixen.

A pained grimace crossed Marian's face, having to fight her granddaughter in law so soon after she started calling her Nana was extremely upsetting. "I'm sorry too sweetie." A barrier formed between Marian and Dancer and the latter collided with it, first with her sword and then her face. Blade Dancer was knocked a few feet away from the central station, the energy field on her sword flickered but held and cracks were made in her mask. Andraste's stun arrow was also repelled and bounced away. A small otter emerged from under the desk, blank eyes on both heroines. Felicia Otterton, the mayor's personal bodyguard, stood ready to defend the central station.

Andraste prepared another sonic arrow, knowing that Felicia's reflection barriers only worked on physical attacks, when a ping was heard from the elevator in the back. The doors opened to reveal two familiar mechs. "Spitfire mechs!" Andraste shouted as she dodged a spray of tranq darts, not trusting her armor to protect her from any improvements Ryan may have made.

"Merde!" Dancer cursed as she sliced the incoming darts to pieces. The mechs steadily advanced on the duo with barrages of darts, laser blasts and rubber bullets coming the whole time. Andraste and Blade Dancer dodged or deflected every attack, but they were losing ground. Any hope of turning the fight around was dashed when another ping was heard and the elevator opened to reveal another pair of mechs.

"Get ready to jump!" Andraste shouted as she fired a grapple arrow at the ceiling. Blade Dancer fired a blast from the energy cannon in her arm at the mech attacking her wife, hitting it in the arm right as it was about to shoot. The mech's arm exploded, lightening the barrage long enough for the two to make the jump out the broken window.

The duo were greeted with an unusual sight as they exited the command center; a pair of smaller flying drones were raising from the field to meet them. Like the original Spitfire mech they were insectoid themed; in this case resembling legless beatles with weapon pods instead of legs. Ryan hung from the bottom of one and he smirked as the drones took aim at the midair duo.

"Sorry mi amore!" Blade Dancer called as she kicked into Andraste's gut for forward momentum. The thrust sent Andraste off course and out of the drone's line of fire even as she had the wind knocked out of her. Dancer dove towards the Ryan-less drone, deflecting some tranq darts in the process, and landed on top of it. A swift slash with her sword to the drone's head sent the machine careening out of control, but not before Dancer jumped off of it and attacked the other drone with a similar slash. The strike severed the drone's head, but Blade Dancer had no place to land this time.

Blade Dancer lost her grip on her sword as she plummeted to the ground many stories below, but she managed to keep her cool as she knew she had a friend waiting. The Crimson Banshee leapt high into the air and intercepted the falling bunny. Ryan had no such luck and he hit the ground hard. Both drones collided with the walls of the field and exploded, one of them not very far from where Andraste had landed. Ryan let his healing run its course as he lay in agony from the fall, only hoping he could get to his feet before Crimson and Blade Dancer caught up to him. The drone he'd been on had at least carried him far away from the two pursuing him before it crashed.

Crimson once again went after Ryan while Blade Dancer retrieved her sword. The sword mammal looked up to see that her wife had climbed to safety on one of the higher floors. She considered racing up to her before she remembered the dire situation her other teammates were in.

Blade Dancer turned but then stopped as she beheld the battle on the other side of the field. Sergeant Red and Scarlet both leapt at Roar head on, dodging his large arms as they swung at them. The two went for the head, but the lion assumed that they were trying to attack his eyes again. Instead the two simply hopped over his shoulders and down his back. Roar's misreading of their actions cost him valuable seconds, he tried to grab the two on either side of his head and instead grasped thin air. Scarlet slid down first and put her full weight into pulling down Roar's belt. The elixir pump was exposed and Red used his last cryo pod on it as he joined his sister. The victorious pair jumped away while Roar let out a pained bellow as the frozen pump induced a forced transformation back into Kion.

They were on the other side of the field, but Blade Dancer could easily see the toll the fight had taken. Both hybrids could heal and Scarlet's uniform did the same, but Red's uniform had multiple impact induced tears and both fighters were covered in dirt.

It needs to happen soon, Dancer thought to herself.

000

Ronan was right, not fighting is the hardest part of this whole thing. The Mage tried to distract himself from his unease as he waited for the final piece of their attack plan to come into effect. The Mage wanted to help Scarlet and the others down in the field, but he was their only escape route and they couldn't risk exposing him in an area this heavily defended. We already failed to take out the command center, if this doesn't work then all of this was for nothing. We already have to save two mammals on top of…, Mage's thoughts were interrupted by a shout of confusion from the field.

000

"What!" Ryan shouted, drawing everyone's eye's to him and bringing the advancing Crimson to a halt. Ryan had been struggling to sit up when he'd gotten a distressed call from Marian. The display screen flared to life again and showed a storage tube similar to the one Sirius destroyed earlier but much bigger. It was security feed for the actual steelblood storage room, located on the crowded Floor G2. "Nana what are you doing!? They'll see…" Ryan's question was brought to a screeching stop when a mammal materialized out of thin air in the middle of the room. It was a cheetah in a tattered longcoat, and she was carrying a canister with some holes along the sides in her hands. She spared a half second to shoot a devilish smirk at the security camera.

"It's Fuli!" Ryan heard Marian announce through his ear piece.

"But she doesn't have powers!" Ryan called back.

"They must've used floridium to heal her injuries," Marian realized. Before either mammal could remark on lucky a win that was for Fuli, the cheetah opened her canister and a pillar of flames erupted out. Fuli's grin was given a fiery illumination as Pyre rematerialized after spending over half an hour maintaining her flame form inside Fuli's canister. The lioness wasted no time morphing herself into a fire twister around the containment tube. While not as effective as Sirius's lighting, Pyre's fire did the job and Ryan could only watch as his whole supply of steelblood was melted away.

Ryan put the pieces of his opponent's plan together as he witnessed the fire attack play out. The initial blackout, Robyn, Ronan and Reginald getting the door open, all of it was to get Fuli into the building undetected. They knew I'd split the steelblood!

"You used every resource you had to distract me from your real secret weapon, the only thing you had that I had no way of knowing about. I'm impressed, furious, but impressed," Ryan spoke in a quiet monotone.

"Portals!" Marian called.

Ryan smiled, checkmate Kodi.

Four portals opened at once around the PMR Labs. One with Fuli and Pyre, one by Andraste higher up, one by Scarlet and Red, and one by Blade Dancer and Crimson. That was the moment that Ryan sprung his trap. Before any mammal could move towards their portals a figure suddenly appeared near Scarlet. It was Tanya, the leopard security guard had been forgotten in the melee following her being turned into a drone. Ryan could only imagine the horror on his sister's face as one of his key drones unveiled her short range teleportation powers to appear next to one of the portals. A loud sonic grenade left Tanya's hand and entered the portal before Scarlet tackled her to the ground. It was too late.

Ryan had correctly called that his opponents would try to use Mage's portals as their getaway ticket, and The Mage was frankly the only mammal Ryan saw as a major threat. Ryan knew that The Mage would have to stay close to the action to cast his portals properly, and the hallways of the PMR Labs didn't offer much room to hide. Tanya's sonic grenade went off and Mage's shield did nothing to protect him from the sound attack. He lost his concentration and the portals closed before anyone could use them. Even worse, the sonic blast gave away The Mage's hiding spot and every guard, agent and security turret that had been lying in wait for just that moment opened fire on the magic wolf.

Ryan was treated to a front row seat of his plan unfolding as The Mage was forced to take flight to avoid getting overwhelmed on the ground, but that just tightened the noose further. Now out in the open air, even more of the security turrets had a clean shot at The Mage, who was spending too much time dodging and using his wand to try and fight back to open any portals.

The attacking mammals were trapped.

"I admit you caught me off guard once or twice," Ryan mocked The Crimson Banshee, who was still close by, "but the minute I called your escape plan you lost." Ryan said this as all many of the drone's he'd created for himself appeared on the field. Other heroes, powered criminals like Hornsworth, many an MCB agent and ZPD officer, more Spitfire mechs and beetle drones, all under his command.

Crimson charged Ryan again, but a loud shot rang out and Crimson's leg exploded in a spray of blood. He screamed in pain as his broken leg gave out right as his other leg was lifted. "I finally got you to make a noise Regi," Ryan gloated as Crimson's leg healed up. He tried to stand again but this time his arm was shot when he tried to prop himself up. The Crimson Banshee couldn't see it, but Scar the lion assassin was amongst Ryan's drones. He had a sniper rifle trained on the hybrid, and no matter how many times Crimson tried he would always be shot back down.

Blade Dancer was quickly surrounded by more beatle drones hovering above her, she prepared to go on the offense but saw a sight that horrified her. The Spitfire mechs that had countered them in the command center had followed Andraste to her ledge and overwhelmed her. One mech carried her gear while another carried the weakly struggling vixen down to the ground. Blade Dancer looked around and saw more drones emerge from the upper floors, more guards from below and her allies being overwhelmed. "There's too many of them," Blade Dancer realized in despair. As if to mock her, one of the drones fired a single rubber bullet at her face and shattered her already cracked mask. The geisha mask fell to the ground in pieces and nothing hid the defeated look on Alice's face.

Sergeant Red had turned to face the oncoming horde with his tranq gun while Scarlet injected Tanya with one of her syringes of the cure. The tranqs worked on the stray cop or agent Red managed to hit, but any powered mammal had been given the tranq immunity Ryan had created. Leading the attack on the two hybrids were Rough and Rumble, the rhino villains Miss Fantabulous had taken down the night of TNTiger's bombing. Rough could make his skin hard as steel while Rumble could vibrate his body and produce attacks that felt more like drills then punches. Red prepared to jump up and back to escape, but a spray of bullets preceded Rough's punch and tripped Red up. His eyes widened as Rough's fist collided with his shoulder in a downward punch, cracking his goggles, knocking his gun from his hand and sending him face first into the dirt. Rumble placed his large hand over Red's back and a surge of violent vibrations got a scream of pain from the immobilized hero.

Scarlet tried to jump forward and help Red, but as she took off from the ground a strong root snared her ankle. Wildhorn and the other PMFR mammals had arrived, with Orca and Chime in tow. The two had power nullifier collars around their necks and looked horrified at the state of the affairs on the field. With a sharp series of hand gestures, Wildhorn guided his root to slam Scarlet into the ground repeatedly, before tossing her high into the air. Just as she was about to hit the ground, Rough rushed forward and delivered a brutal uppercut to Scarlet's chest. Scarlet felt every rib she had break as she was flung far away from the action and landed with a hard tumble in the center of the lay on her back in total agony for several seconds as her healing worked hard to repair the damage. She tried to catch her breath, something that was hard to do when every breath hurt. As she shifted around to get back on her feet, she felt something crack in her pocket. She reached down and pulled out the make up kit she'd received back in Ronan's world, but now the mirror had been cracked into three somewhat equal sized pieces. While Scarlet's eyes traced the fractures, one vertical and one diagonal, she realized that the fight had gone silent.

Looking around the testing field made it clear that they had lost. Sergeant Red and The Crimson Banshee were pinned down. Blade Dancer and The Mage were surrounded. Bullet, Sirius, Pyre, Orca, Chime, Andraste and Fuli were bound by collar, handcuff and other restraints. Those that weren't there already were marched onto the field so the defeated could all see each other. The Mage hovered above Scarlet, his shield barely holding at this point.

"Robyn, Kodi," Ryan called, "you've lost, your friends are captured, and I hold every advantage. I don't want to hurt any of you anymore then necessary, so please just give up now."

Scarlet was on her hands and knees, It can't end like this, there has to be something, Hannah, Aaron, Mom, Dad, Luna...Alice...I'm sorry, I can't think of anything!

"Lo…" Scarlet looked down and saw her son standing in front of her; his image was almost transparent at this point, and nothing past the first syllable was audible.

"What are you trying to tell me Aaron?" Scarlet cried.

Look for…, Tanya's earlier words came back to Scarlet. Lo, fo, a, so, that was the first time, and ok, or, ur's, ord was the second.

While Scarlet tried to puzzle out her son's message, The Mage looked down and glimpsed his oldest friend kneeling before the barely visible form of her son. Without a moment's hesitation he dispelled his shield, aimed his wand at Ryan and summoned glowing rings of energy around his wrists. The memory of Marian and Robin's deaths in his world came back to him, they faced certain doom in their final moments but saved the day and all of Zootopia anyway. Drawing on that same courage, Kodi Jones shouted their last words, "Oo-de-lally!"

A swift flick of his wand caused Marian's end of her radio link with Ryan to short out, breaking one line of Ryan's communication. "So be it," Ryan sighed.

Look for a, ur? What's a ur? Skip it. So ord, sord, sword! Look for a ur's sword, a ur's sword, Arthur's sword! Look for Aurthur's sword! Memories of the blade that had obliterated drones, sliced through Doctor Doom's armor and sealed a massive dimensional rift came back to Scarlet's mind. If anything can save us.

Scarlet placed her broken mirror on the ground and pictured the sword Excalibur as hard as she could, and for the first time she saw something through the static. The sword was seated on a table outside of its usual stand, but what really drew Scarlet's eye was the unusual bright blue glow the sword was giving off. Does it know?

"Ryan, something's breaking through the dimensional static," Marain called over the lab's intercom, no longer able to use her direct link. The Mage looked down and spotted the glow as well.

"What, well power it up!" Ryan screamed back, disbelieving that his barrier had been breached.

Scarlet watched as the image on the sword faded for a moment, then the sword glowed brighten, as bright as it had when sealing Doom's rift. The Mage threw a wind barrier underneath him and Scarlet ducked down while keeping her eye's on the mirror.

Excailiber was a very powerful tool, and one way that manifested was in that it could defend itself from harm. The sword had detected Ryan's dimensional static from the beginning, and now it unleashed all it's built up power after Ryan's direct attack on it. The massive energy pulse went three ways. Some of it went into the Bunker by virtue of it being where the sword currently was. Much of it went to the space between dimensions to destroy the static and trace it to its source. But thanks to Scarlet's mirror, a lot of that energy went into creating a massive circular pulse that expanded out from the center of the field. Every mammal was blown down, turrets were short circuited and mechs were knocked from the sky. Only The Mage was prepared and his wind barrier prevented anything worse than him being thrown higher into the air.

Scarlet paid no mind to the havoc she'd unleashed, she instead got her head back in front of the mirror as soon as she could. In her mind she visualized a somewhat dingy but large circular room that a team of heroes and a team of agents had used as headquarters in their battle with a mad buisness mammal, an underground layer located beneath a large office building which a group of vigilantes used as their base, and a familiar base of her own that, though it had many descriptions, was being thought of by Scarlet in that moment as home.

The three separate pieces of the make up kit's mirror each showed a different world, and already their borders were glowing blue. Scarlet placed her hand at the mirror's base and one finger slipped into each of the portals, bridging the gap and allowing Scarlet to hear confusion and panic on the other ends.

"Everyone! We need backup now!" Scarlet called as loud as she could into the three portals. Before she'd even finished talking a stripped vixen wielding twin guns and a shotgun had leapt through the middle portal. Scarlet's eyes followed her wife into the air, not noticing how she'd come through a space far too small for her to fit, nor that she'd taken her eye's off the mirror but the physical contact of her fingers was keeping them open anyway.

All Scarlet cared about was that her wife was here, and the sound of footsteps meant more were coming.

Next Time: The Stars Align.