(From the journal of Cale Westmarch)
(March 2005)
The burst of blinding white light finally faded to the point where my eyelids could once again serve a useful purpose and block out the remainder of that intolerable brilliance. The sound was another matter entirely, but the bone-throbbing noise was far easier to ignore than the pain of having my eyes all but burned out from the light.
Not again, was the first coherent thought to gel in my mind once I was reasonably sure I was both alive and largely intact. I had been catapulted across a dimensional boundary once already, thanks to the machinations of one Elaine MacDara, Countess of Glenmont, but this time it felt different. Being drawn into the vortex back then didn't hurt nearly as much as my body was most stridently protesting now, and I don't mean just because of the light.
The sound of an agonized moan registered on what was left of my hearing, strongly suggesting that I wasn't the only one who had been sucked into the whirling maelstrom of energy without so much as a warning. My memory still felt like shattered glass, but enough bits and pieces still remained to give me a fair idea who the other unfortunate soul was.
"Cyan?" I tried to call out. What actually emerged from my throat was a harsh noise best described as a dehydrated frog attempting to belch only tocroak in acute pain.
"Cale, is that you?" a feminine voice rasped back, suggesting that I had not mangled my sister's name as bad as I had feared.
"I hope not," I replied as I took a deep breath and made a good-faith effort at opening my eyes. The attempt lasted for only a brief instant as I was greeted with a wave of searing pain, forcing me to close my eyes to block out the wall of white light that was still assaulting us. "Otherwise I fear I'd be in some significant trouble right now."
"Yeah, you're fine," Cyan muttered to herself. "Damn, this hurts..."
"Mike, did something just come out of the portal?" a booming metallic voice suddenly echoed around us without warning.
"Yes, I think we're in trouble now," I sighed as I began to very gingerly move around. I quickly realized that I was flat on my back on a distinctly uncomfortable and unyielding surface, most likely metal of some kind. My body still ached from the dimensional journey, but otherwise I seemed to be without any major injury. I was still flash-blinded, of course, and the constant bass throbbing in my ears was making my bones vibrate, but all things considered I was actually in pretty fair condition.
"Oh, boy," Cyan sighed as there was the sound of a pair of boots running along a metal surface. "Here comes the welcome wagon..."
"Damn heroes," someone muttered as he drew close. "Always messing around with the portals. Hey, you two! You alright?" he called out in a loud voice that made me wince.
"Not so loud," Cyan complained. "Hey, Cale? Lying all twisted on the floor like that isn't good for your back, you know..."
I almost laughed at the dryness of her words, distinctly remembering how I had said something similar to her the other week after a particularly brutal training session with our mother. Granted I was focused more on the magical arts our father was trying to impart to us, but Mother had insisted that I not neglect the physical in favor of the mystical. Cyan was just the opposite, however, following in Mother's footsteps as a warrior while largely ignoring the arcane teachings Father kept trying to get us to fully understand.
The joints in my back made a rather disturbing cracking sound as I eased myself into a sitting position. Had I known the precise cause of the problem I would have tried a bit of healing arcana, but as Father had demonstrated to us one day, using the wrong kind of magic against the wrong problem could very easily do far more harm than good. "Ugh," I murmured as my nose promptly began to tingle. "What exactly is that smell?"
"Ozone," the mysterious voice said in a flat tone. "That's what happens when people go in and out of an open portal that hasn't been properly tuned. You two want to explain what the hell you're doing here?"
"I don't know, you tell me," I replied as I carefully began to stretch. "The last thing I remember is a rather peaceful walk through the woods. Then there was this big flash of light and I wind up here. At least the last time the Countess booted us through a dimensional boundary, she had the good grace to warn us ahead of time."
"You... know the Countess?" the voice said hesitantly.
"Unfortunately," Cyan spoke up in a faintly bitter tone. "Cale, are you sure you're alright? You don't look too good..."
"I love you too, sis," I muttered before I stopped to think about what she had just said. "Wait, you can still see?" I inquired, wincing as I made another attempt at opening my eyes. Again I was greeted with a bright blur of light and another wave of intense pain, forcing me to shut my eyes once more.
"Oh, I love this," the unknown voice sighed. "Smart enough to break into the building to use the portals, but not smart enough to keep your eyes shut when you go through them. Are you sure you kids are registered heroes?"
"Look, back off for a moment, okay?" Cyan growled. "We didn't break into anything, and we don't know where the hell we are, let alone how we got here."
"Mike, what's the problem?" the booming voice echoed around the chamber.
There was a soft click before our visitor began to speak. "Just a pair of heroes who are still a little dazed, that's all," he said calmly.
"Whatever," the booming voice replied. "Look, just toss them in an empty conference room or something, we need to have the platform cleared soon for a delivery."
A heavy sigh drifted up from Mike as something made a very faint clicking sound. "Yeah, yeah, I'm working on it. C'mon, you two, off your butts and follow me before Security gets involved. They're a little anal about having uninvited guests to deal with," he warned.
"Come on, Cale, we can figure this out later," Cyan sighed as I heard her rising to her feet. I felt her hand on my wrist a few moments later, being all but catapulted to my feet by a fierce tug that threatened to unsocket my shoulder.
"Ow, damn, easy," I warned her.
"Cale, hold still," she suddenly said in a deeply worried tone. I felt her hands on my cheeks in a firm grip, keeping my head held steady. "Damn," she hissed softly. "Those look like burns to me, and they don't look good."
"Charming," I grumbled. My face did tingle a little bit, but no worse than the rest of my body. Or at least, so it seemed.
"Flash burns?" Mike inquired. "Yeah, probably from the portal. Happens all the time if you're not careful. Hold still, this should help."
"Hey, wait," Cyan protested as an electric hum filled the air. "What is that going to do? HEY!" she yelped as a vivid green glow suddenly flooded my optic nerves. The glow vanished after a few moments, leaving my entire face feeling more than a little unusual.
"See if your vision works now," Mike said casually.
I hesitated for a moment before cracking my eyelids open. Instead of the expected veil of white pain, however, I was greeted with the welcome sight of my sister's visage hovering over me. That everything was tinted a mild shade of green at the moment was of no immediate consequence, given the fact that I had been essentially blinded only a few moments before.
"Ahhhh," I sighed with relief. "Yes, that works quite well, thank you. I... oh, boy," I said dejectedly as I glanced around the room, getting the very distinct impression that we weren't anywhere close to home anymore.
Immediately behind me was a massive circular construction, ringed by a series of moving devices that swirled around a bright white vortex of energy. It became obvious a moment later that this was the source of the mysterious monotone hum that had been assailing my nerves since our untimely arrival in this facility. All sorts of metal machines and devices lined the rest of the walls, quite obviously made by a technology that was well beyond what we had been accustomed to.
"You're welcome," a medium-built man with a short moustache said with a half-smirking, half-frowning expression. He seemed to cast an appraising look at Cyan before sighing and making a gesture over his shoulder. "Look, you can take the public tour later, I'm not kidding about Security being unfriendly to your kind. Go down the hallway there and go in the first door on the left. There's a guy who can probably help you, goes by the name of Lambert. Don't worry about introducing yourself to him, he'll figure it out on his own."
"Right," Cyan said, giving me an uncertain look.
"You have a cut on your cheek," I pointed out to her, gesturing to the thin red line of blood that was seeping out from a perfectly horizontal cut an inch below her left eye.
"It'll heal," she said dismissively as she began to walk towards the door that Mike had indicated. "Thanks for your help," she said as she passed him.
Mike just made a disgruntled face. "Thanks for screwing up our test," he muttered darkly before he cast a glare in my direction. I merely smiled and bowed my head at him before I followed Cyan out towards the door, still more than a little uneasy with both the machinery around me and the green tint to everything that I was seeing.
"I've got a bad feeling about this," I said to Cyan as we walked, still keeping a wary eye on my surroundings. She looked like she was about to reply when the door hissed open without warning, as if it had been expecting us. We regarded it carefully for a moment before exchanging unsettled looks, clearly wondering what sort of situation we had been thrown into.
"Ladies first," I said with a gallant gesture.
"That's right, send your little sister in to the unknown," she grumbled with a look of patient suffering. "How courageous of you."
"You're the fighter, my dear, not I," I pointed out carefully. Granted I could easily hold my own in a match-up against her, but only as long as I was out of range of her fists and had enough time to charge up my magical powers. Raw bursts of energy could mess anyone up, and even Mother would admit that my uncanny sense of aim tended to shift the odds in my favor. The balance was shifted to the other side if they got close enough to strike me, however, as I was far from gifted with a firm and resilient constitution needed to ward off heavy or otherwise debilitating blows.
Cyan just rolled her eyes and strode through the open doorway after only a brief hesitation. I quickly followed her, not so much out of a sense of not wanting to be left behind, but so that I could be of assistance to her should anything untoward crop up. Genuine life-or-death fights were a rare instance back home, but they had happened enough times to instill a sense of wariness in the both of us over anything unknown.
We came to an intersection of sorts where the hallway branched off to the right as well as continuing straight. A sealed archway was to the left that hissed open as we approached, giving us the feeling that such auto-opening doors were pretty commonplace. Or at least they were wherever it is that we ended up.
"You think this is the Countess' doing?" I inquired softly as we warily stepped into what seemed to be a meticulously neat but empty office.
"I honestly hope not," Cyan replied over her shoulder with a sigh. "I'd hate to have to be compelled to beat the crap out of her for this mess. Or at least make a good-faith effort at doing so," she added dryly, knowing just as well as I did how hard it would be to actually bring harm to her.
"Good evening," a soft but deep male voice said, causing us to both come to a sudden stop. It shocked me to realized that I had somehow missed seeing him sitting at the desk, elbows resting on the polished surface and fingers steepled together as he studied us. His skin was fairly dark, giving him the appearance of an ebon golem in a sharp business suit. Much to my unease, his eyes were a uniform yellow color with cat-like irises, seeming to study us as a panther would his prey.
"Please, have a seat," he said in a pleasant timbre as he made an absent gesture to the pair of chairs in front of the desk. "As it is unlikely that you entered both this facility and my office at random, I presume that the two of you have some business with me?"
"Mr. Lambert, I presume?" I asked in a cautious but respectful tone as I very carefully sat down. Cyan hesitated for a moment before likewise taking a seat, seeming to be very uneasy about the entire situation. Not that I could blame her in the slightest, mind you, but I have always been of a mind to show a brave exterior at all times. It helps cut down on perceived weaknesses that opponents could exploit with ease.
"Indeed I am," our host acknowledged with a slight gesture. His eyes suddenly seemed to bore into me with nerve-wracking intensity before a faint smile crossed his face. "And you would be... Cale Westmarch, correct?"
An icy chill promptly washed down my spine, leaving me feeling far more uneasy at the whole situation than before. "I am indeed," I said, echoing his words in what I felt was a reasonably calm tone.
"And you, young lady... are Cyan Westmarch?" he inquired casually as he turned his piercing gaze towards Cyan. "Brother and sister, then."
"Who are you and where are we?" Cyan demanded in a low tone, clearly rattled at his proclamation.
Lambert smiled and leaned back in his chair, his fingers still steepled together in front of him. "I am an envoy of the Portal Corporation, a sort of special investigative agent if you will. Due to the recent spate of break-ins and unauthorized portal activations by various heroes, it is my job to... I won't say 'interrogate' those whom we arrest in the course of such activities, as it has negative connotations. Suffice it to say that anyone referred to my office is given a rather in-depth and personal interview. Oddly enough, I am getting the distinct impression that the two of you are not of this world. If you don't mind, I would be most interested in hearing your explanation of how you managed to arrive here."
Cyan and I looked at each other in the same instant, not pleased in the slightest with the situation. "Great," Cyan muttered sourly before she turned back to face him. "You wouldn't happen to know a woman named Elaine MacDara, would you? The Countess of Glenmont?" she asked in a faintly hopeful tone.
"I do not," our mysterious host admitted calmly. "I am... familiar with Countess Crey, however, but only in a business sense."
"Great," Cyan sighed again as she cast another unhappy look in my general direction. "We thought she might have been the one to have opened up that dimensional conduit... again," she added with a snarl. "But if she didn't do it, then I'm afraid we have no idea. Quit looking at me like that," she said to Lambert in a soft tone of warning.
"Forgive me, but I am merely attempting to ascertain whether or not you are being truthful with me," Lambert said gently. "I am not sensing any sort of deception from either of you. In fact, I believe the both of you are quite sincere about your belief that you were dimensionally relocated. How utterly interesting," he purred as he turned his slitted gaze on me.
"The two of you are obviously not heroes, but the potential in you both is quite real," he said after a few moments of heavy silence. "Seeing how you are new to Paragon City, I think it would be best if I were to leave the more nuanced details of this world to those who are far better equipped than I to explain. Suffice it to say that there are two kinds of people in this world, ordinary people like the person you met on your rather unfortunate arrival, and people like you and I who possess rather unique abilities.
"You, Cale, are what most would term a mystic," he said as he focused his unblinking gaze on me. "Magic exists in this world, but only certain people can even feel it, let alone are strong enough to hope to control it. Oh, but forgive me, you do have proper control over your magical talents, I presume?" he inquired as he suddenly sat up straight.
"Assuredly," I replied in a dry tone. "I can even arrange for a suitable demonstration, if you have a proper target."
"Cale?" Cyan murmured with a heavy sigh and a roll of her eyes. "Spare us the flashy stuff, okay?"
A quiet chuckle rose up from Lambert's throat. "It is quite alright, I assure you," he said as he made a gesture with his hand. A ghostly shape took form at the far corner of the room, seeming to be a floating seashell with odd metallic attachments. "Please, feel free to demonstrate at your leisure," he said to me with another gesture at the spectral shape.
I cast a quick glance at the object, not entirely sure if it was solid or not. Not wanting to risk damage to the wall in case I missed or hit it with more force than intended, I selected the simplest of direct-energy spells in my arsenal and gathered my internal energies together. (Exhor minimus,) I muttered in an arcane language that was believed to be thousands of years old.
A burst of bluish-white energy promptly leapt outward from my palms to zoom across the distance. The ghost-like image was torn into shreds by the force of the impact, scattering tiny microbursts of raw energy everywhere like drops of rain splattering against an umbrella. Both the image and the residue of summoned energy vanished an instant later, leaving behind only a somewhat unsavory whiff of carbon stench.
"A blaster," Lambert commented. "Impressive. I believe that with the right kind of training from an expert in the field, you will become quite the force to be reckoned with. Once you reach Atlas Park, seek out a woman named Azuria. You may find her services to be... most rewarding."
He then turned his gaze to Cyan, a faint smile touching the corners of mouth as he studied her. "As for you, Cyan, I sense a very strong combative streak in you, a natural-born scrapper, if you will. This is good, of course, for it means you will not hesitate to take decisive action when and where it is needed. Unfortunately, such action is almost always needed in all parts of the region. A woman by the name of Susan Davies should be able to help you further your abilities. You will also find her in Atlas Park, the heart of our beloved Paragon City."
"How do you know so much about us?" Cyan demanded, her eyes narrowing in a very familiar way that indicated she was on the verge of turning her temper loose on her immediate surroundings.
"Let's just say that I have the ability to read people," Lambert said in a maddeningly gentle tone. "It is why the Portal Corporation employed me in the first place, as it is very, very difficult for a person to lie to me and get away with it. As for your next question, why I am bothering to help you and your brother like this... it is quite simple, really. We need you. Not that the company sees a need to employ you directly, but rather to ensure that heroes like you and your brother are properly cared for given the roles they play in keeping our city safe. Look outside," he said as he pressed a hidden button on his desk, causing the back wall to shimmer and dissolve.
Both Cyan and I promptly blinked at the landscape outside. It was easy to see that we were on an island of some sort and a fairly small one at that, but off in the distance was a truly immense wall. The upper part of the walls seemed to consist of blue fields of energy all linked together in a chain that stretched across the horizons as far as the eye could see.
"What you see are what we call the War Walls," Lambert explained calmly. "They were put in place after the Rikti invasion to keep them out. While that has largely worked, there are still pockets of resistance everywhere, not to mention more conventional threats from entities like Crey Industries, an army of rogue militia groups, and an epidemic of street gangs that roam virtually every single district in the city. Our security arrangements for our facility here are largely adequate against such dregs, but the rest of the city is not nearly as fortunate. They need help, help that only heroes like the two of you can provide. This is why the Portal Coroporation is willing to help you, Cyan Westmarch. Helping you in turn helps everyone else. I trust that is an acceptable tenet in your native dimension?" he asked archly.
Cyan glanced towards me at that moment, giving me a look that made my heart drop down towards my stomach. If what he said was true, that this new dimension we were in was overrun with evil, then we would have little choice but to help in any way we could. I was old enough to remember the world we were born in, a world once called Sanctuary by those who lived on it. Cyan was still a toddler and I was not much older when Countess MacDara had drawn our entire family through a dimensional vortex into a similar world, one that was different enough to require some time to get used to. Both our parents, having risked not just their lives but their very souls to free Sanctuary from an evil that threatened to destroy the entire world, had spared no effort in instilling in their children a respect for things like justice and honor and nobility, the very same things that had helped them win their deadly struggle.
The world we had just left behind not twenty minutes ago likewise had its own brand of evils, but certainly nothing on the scale as what we were hearing now about this world. I had honed my magical skills for a purpose, the very same purpose that drove Cyan to further her combative prowess since she became old enough to wield one of Mother's katars properly. That she later took a disliking of the weapon and came to favor her fists and feet instead was a minor issue at best, but the internal fires that drove her... no, that drove the both of us remained very much intact.
"Excellent," Lambert purred softly, causing us to both blink hard at the reminder of his presence. "I will make the necessary arrangements for you to be taken to Atlas Park to be properly registered as heroes. You will also be given the opportunity to design a suit to wear as a sort of hallmark. Free of charge, of course, the Portal Company spares little expense when it comes to taking care of both guests and heroes," he added with a somewhat predatory smile. "You will find that most heroes prefer to wear something... unique, a sort of personal statement made to others. A hero's reputation can have a very powerful impact on the opposition, so it is often wise to let that speak for itself even from a distance. Most heroes favor names as unique as their costumes as well, so you may wish to think carefully about whom you wish to be known as to the denizens of Paragon City."
Cyan and I exchanged dubious looks, not entirely sure what to make of the last part of his statement. "Thank you," I said, not sure what else to say.
"I think I understand..." Cyan said slowly. "It's sort of like a secret identity, right? An alter-ego to go with the costume?"
"If you prefer to think of it as that," our host replied with a smile.
"Hmmm..." my sister purred quietly.
"You're thinking again," I pointed out with a smirk. "That's a dangerous habit, you know. Especially for you."
"If you avoid thinking, that would explain an awful lot," Cyan retorted with a smirk of her own. "How long will we be required to remain here?" she asked Lambert. "Not to sound ungrateful or anything, but it would be nice to be able to go back home once we take care of this mess for you."
The odd smile on Lambert's face promptly vanished to be replaced with a somewhat grim mien. "I am... not sure that would be possible," he said in a somber tone, sending a very icy chill through my blood. "You see, while we have the ability to access certain dimensional pockets of our own creation, we are still working on the technology necessary to contact other dimensions that are natural in origin. I will attempt to research what drew you here in the first place and see what the energy readings were, but I have my doubts that it was our portal that you stumbled into. You emerged from it, yes, but that is only likely because of the natural quantum gravity of the device. It has proven to be a most vexing problem to overcome," he admitted casually.
"So we're stuck here?" Cyan blurted out, her eyes widening in shock.
"As I said," Lambert said coolly, "I will attempt to research the exact circumstances of your arrival here. In the meantime, however, there is little that the Portal Corporation can do for you as private individuals. Perhaps there is someone in Atlas Park or in another part of the city who can help you better than we can at the moment."
Cyan and I traded looks again, feeling a sense of resignation that didn't require spoken words to be properly conveyed. "I guess we will have to speak to these contacts you mentioned, then," I said calmly, trying to keep as calm an exterior as I could manage.
"It would be best, yes," our odd host observed calmly. "Oh, and Cale? When you visit the Icon store to have your costume designed, make sure that the employees understand you were improperly treated with a green-wavelength laser that left your retinas permanently damaged. It is likely that you will require tinted glasses to compensate for the after-image. Unless, of course, you find a way to overcome the slight handicap by other means," he added with a casual gesture.
"What?" Cyan said as she sat up straight. "Cale..."
"That does explain the green tint," I sighed as I briefly glanced around the unusually neat room. "Still, it is better than being blind..."
"There is that," Lambert agreed as he stood up. "If there is nothing further, then I shall wish the both of you the best of luck. You will find an aide waiting for you outside in the hallway. She will make sure that you make your way to Atlas Park in a suitable fashion. Oh, and once there, you may wish to speak to a heroine by the name of Ms. Liberty. I'm sure she can help you understand how things work far better than I could explain them."
"Ms. Liberty, right," I said as I rose to my feet. "Thank you for your help, Mr. Lambert."
A soft smile crossed his face as he looked back at me. "It has been a unique pleasure, Cale Westmarch, I assure you. And it has been a pleasure to meet you as well, Cyan Westmarch. Or should I call you Jambalaya now?"
"What?" Cyan said, blinking hard enough to almost be heard. "How did you know I was...? Oh, nevermind," she sighed, giving me a dour look.
"Jambalaya?" I echoed in open amusement. "Sis, you can't be serious."
"Leave me alone," Cyan growled as her cheeks turned pink. She sighed and turned back to the desk. "Thank you for... what?" she gasped as she took a startled step back.
I reflexively glanced towards the desk and likewise took a step back at the realization that it was now empty. I traded deeply disturbed looks with my sister before the door hissed open behind us, causing us both look over our shoulders in unison.
"Good evening," a young woman in a business suit said, making a gesture towards the hallway. "If the two of you would come with me, please?"
"Cale?" Cyan said very quietly. "Why do I have the feeling that this is going to be a very long day?"
"Don't tell me you're reading my thoughts now," I murmured, prompting a dark shiver from her.
"That's not funny," she sighed as she headed towards the door.
"Trust me, I wouldn't be laughing if it were true," I assured her as I followed her out of the office. The door started to hiss shut behind us once we left the room, but not before we could hear a very faint chuckle starting up behind us.
"Welcome to the City of Heroes," a calm voice whispered with a smile.
19 May 2005
Cale Westmarch (50 Energy/Energy Magic Blaster)
Jambalaya (10 Martial Arts/Regeneration Natural Scrapper)
Lune Fen (11 Human/Bright Nova Natural Peacebringer)
Liberty server
(Original formatting stored at www sailormoonv net)