Don't get the wrong idea, this story is not currently 'active' and will not receive any regular updates, I have Chimera Rising to finish and this is just to clear my head. You have been warned. Now that being said, I'm surprised that only one chapter got 12 follows already-thank you to those people.

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She floated through the portal, Lance stepping aside so she could silently land next to him. The two began a steady walk down the stark white hallway.

"You said it's something we've never encountered before, how so?"She asked.

"I don't know all the details,"He admitted, running a hand through his blonde hair,"But from what little I heard and saw, it could be a way to restart talks about The Exodus Initiative."

She jerked to a halt, Lance doing the same as her eyes widened and mouth opened slightly in a rare display of surprise as she looked at him.

"Yeah,"He nodded, a small smirk gracing his face at being able to surprise her.

"Someone found a way off world?"She asked, skepticism leaking into her tone.

"Eh,"He shrugged with a so-so motion of his hand,"Something like that, like I said, I don't know all the details. All I know is that there's some kind of gate or portal that leads to another dimension."

"And you're sure it's not just another Earth?"

"Pretty sure, the pictures I got certainly didn't look like any Earth I've seen."

"Hm,"She says as they begin walking again."And you think The Exodus Initiative could be put back on the table?"

"Honestly? I don't know. Not enough details to go off of just yet. But it's possible, and you and I both know that's more than enough reason for some people to bring it up. And since this happened on Bet…"

"We're sure to get a lot of attention tonight,"She acknowledged,"I'll look at the full report before we leave."

"Already sent it to your inbox!"He said with a snap. She nodded her thanks.

Eventually they came up to a side door that slid open with a quiet hiss as she came closer. This was one of several spare rooms she would use when she needed to change either in or out of costume. While she entered, Lance stopped at the doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed. The room itself was sparse, nothing more than a double bed, a desk/dresser, and a bathroom off to the side.

"We can expect a few opportunists to try and use this,"He commented,"From the usual trouble makers no doubt."

"Naturally."She agreed as she unclasped and folded her cape, gently placing it on the bed. Removing her helmet, she shook her long dark hair out before setting it down next to her cape before pausing to think.

"Senators Kane, Harkow and Smythe will be the ones to watch out for."She mused while pulling off her gloves,"The Heads of The Andromeda Party are always lobbying for the most control in any big Cauldron affairs. Until this is confirmed to be a waste of time, they'll be pushing for oversight."

"Which will then force Babylon to try to get first dibs before them or block their efforts.''He scoffed,"Greedy bastards the lot of em. It's pointless anyway: doesn't Andromeda already provide the most funding for R&D?"

"Yes. As well as Vial Production, Artifact Studies, Planetary Terraforming, A.N.S Development, and lately, S-Class Requisition."

"Lotta pies, lotta fingers."He frowned."No matter where you go it's always the same."

"Politics is politics, no matter how grand the scale."She drawled, unbuckling her belt and throwing it to the bed.

"I'm gonna shower first, that should give you plenty of time too…"She looked him up and down, taking in his black wife beater, gray sweatpants, and brown slippers,"...get dressed up."

He looked down at his attire, snorted, then looked back up.

"I won't be long, I should be ready by the time you,"He copied her down and up gaze,"Get dressed down."

With a roll of her eyes she turned around, hearing his chuckle alongside the quiet hiss as the door shut, encasing her in a soft darkness, barely illuminated by the short lamp on the desk.

As she continued to undress, her mind lingered on what they talked about.

The Exodus Initiative.

Such an early and outdated idea. Turned around and dissected for all it was worth until it was eventually dubbed a waste of time. As optimistic as the idea was, it just couldn't be done. Besides the fact that The Agents subtly sabotage any strong efforts to leave the planet, they had nowhere to evacuate to. Maybe there was a planet light years away that could sustain all of the complexities and nuances of human life, but again, they had no real way of reaching it. Even if they somehow could, trying to replicate that monumental effort across dimensions was all but impossible. So the idea, while innocent and well meaning, was thrown away and never brought up again. The hope for an easy and effective solution swept away with it. And yet…

She finished undressing before stepping into the bathroom and turning on the shower. Five minutes later she was out and drying herself down with a fluffy white towel before she began to dress herself in her trademark black suit and jacket, a simple pair of flats completing the outfit.

Now fully dressed, she sat down at her desk, the mirror's image reflecting the features of a young hispanic woman well within her twenties. Internally sighing-as she did every time she had to do this-she picked up the small bag in front of her, digging out the foundation and the correct brushes before she began to gently apply her make-up, slowly but effectively making herself appear older with each brush stroke and dab of powder.

It didn't take long before she was done, her skin a little darker, face more angular, a few lines exaggerated around her eyes. What was once a young woman in her twenties was now the seemingly forty year old Chief Director of The PRT, Rebecca Costa Brown. Just another mask for a different purpose.

The acknowledgement didn't even stir a response anymore.

Pushing aside the make-up bag, she opened a side drawer and pulled out a black tablet with the Cauldron Omega symbol on the back.

Entering her identification password, the screen came to life in a flash of white light. She tapped the red number one protruding from the mailbox icon at the bottom and her messages popped into view. She opened the highlighted message at the top and began to read the report. If there was one thing she appreciated about Emily, it was that her reports were always clear, concise and straight to the point, no unnecessary details or God forbid some flowery pleasantries to flatter her into increasing funding for their sector.

After seven minutes, she had read the email multiple times and analyzed the pictures that were sent-finding herself agreeing with Lance that it certainly didn't look like any alternate Earth they had encountered-and mentally formulated multiple questions and answers that would no doubt be thrown her way by the other Senators.

A knock on the door interrupted her thinking. Turning off and putting away the tablet she stood up and walked over to the door. The door slid open revealing Hero standing there clad in his iconic gold and royal blue power armor. His helmet tucked to his side by one arm. He cast an inspecting look over her before nodding in approval.

"You clean up well. You look like an entirely different person."He joked with a winning grin and a thumbs up.

"Thanks."She said dryly. Internally she noted, not for the first time, that there was very little difference between Hero and Lance. Unlike herself, who switched faces like she switched clothes, and unlike David who barely existed outside of being Eidolon; Lance seemed to be in perfect harmony between his hero and civilian persona. It wasn't surprising, afterall, he was the best of them.

"So,"He began,"Are we going straight to our seats or are we gonna mingle for a bit."

"How long ago was The Call sent?"She asked.

"About half an hour ago."

"We'll head straight to our box, I'd rather not have to be forced into the spotlight just yet."

"You got it!"He said, placing his helmet on his head, the gold visor shielding his eyes,"Door to, Box 131-Council Chamber."

The bright light of the Doormaker portal flared into existence before them, together they stepped through into their box-one of the hundreds that lined the walls of inner sanctum for The United Earth Leagues' meeting ground.

Gray boxes were snugly pressed together in the wide tower that rose 680 meters high into the air, all of them surrounding a rectangular podium with a long mahogany table with five slim black microphones jutting out. Just behind it hung two flags, one white with the black Cauldron Omega symbol, the other with a white Earth stamped over the black fabric, the letters U.E.L just below the planet.

She took a seat at her desk-Hero standing to her left-folding her hands across the top and casting a glance around the chamber, seeing multiple portals blink into existence to deposit other senators into their designated seats.

"Rebecca, Hero,"said a voice to her right. She turned and nodded her head.

"Markus,"She acknowledged at the same time Hero gave his greeting.

The black haired man took a seat as his portal closed behind him. Red Death-a woman in a blood red cowl and lower face mask-stood to his side, giving them both a silent greeting.

"The Call went out so suddenly, I had to clear my afternoon schedule for the rest of the day,"The Senator of Earth Sif grumbled while running a hand through his thick beard,"Any idea what this is about?"

"We're not entirely sure,"She said easily.

"Not entirely?"He inquired with a narrowed eyed assessing look in her direction.

She shrugged,"We'll just have to wait and see."

"Hm."He answered, turning his stare briefly to Hero for a few more seconds before turning away.

It was another half an hour before the rest of the seats were filled. Just as the last senator took their seat, a wide door slid open between the two flags. From the darkened hallway strode a pair of guards in large bulky white and black trimmed NEXO 12 Brute Series Power Armor, their red visors glaring out into the gathering of senators and cape escorts in silent warning, before they stepped forward followed by a retinue of the top brass in the U.E.L/Cauldron coming out in a single file line.

Doctor Mother-The Head of Cauldron

Number Man-Chief of Finances and Funding

Balminder-Current Lead Developer/Distributor of Vial Production

Glass Maker-Head of Research and Development

Academic-Head of Artifact Studies

All five of them came in, followed by two more of the towering armored guards, and ascended the podium to take their seats, placing files and briefcases onto their spaces. Doctor Mother draped her lab coat across the back of her chair in the middle before she too sat down. A tap of a button in front of her activated the holo-screens on all the desks in the chamber, her stern and focused expression appearing across the screens.

Her clear Côte d'Ivoire accent chimed through the chamber speakers. sharply grasping everyones' attention as she spoke,"This council is now in session."

'And so it begins,'Rebecca thought.

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Remember what I said; no regular updates, if any at all until Chimera Rising is finished. Thank you and have a good night.