Waiting on the familiar stairs where I had seen Jerome many times before was Shockwave- or rather Jo, out of their outfit and instead wearing sweat pants and a t-shirt, along with a little fanny pack at their waist. After a big event like yesterday they looked visibly tired, actually leaning back instead of standing around jittering. Unfortunately, I needed whoever I could get to arrive quickly, and though my squad was willing to help me out they weren’t exactly able to scramble to my location. If there was an active issue they could have hurried up, but I only really called Shockwave in panic and they had already arrived by the time I got off the phone with Captain Senan.

“Thought you were going to save the favor for that Deimos guy?” Jo said as I approached.

“My apprentice is in danger so that takes priority,” I said confidently. “Also I kicked him through a portal last night.” I hadn’t really considered that part when asking for the favor.

“Huh. I’d kind of feel like an asshole if I actually made you use your favor for that,” the normally blue outfitted speedster said, taking a swig of coffee. Or rather, it was probably an entire normal sized to go cup full of espresso, if my memory didn’t fail me. The Corner Coffee branding meant Shockwave had gone there between when we left and when we arrived here. The time wasn’t surprising- speedsters were speedsters- but the loyalty to a brand a significant distance across town was. Though perhaps they were the only ones who would actually serve that much espresso.

“Well, I wouldn’t really want to count my tiny help with you getting to Hammerfist either,” I shrugged. “So I don’t really know where we stand on favors.”

Shockwave shrugged. “Whatever. Got anything to eat?”

I shook my head. “Sorry.”

“... Canned tuna?” Midnight offered.

“I think I’ll pass.”

A nearby door creaked open, revealing Tylissa. “Mage! You’re here. Err… Turlough.”

“My secret identity isn’t actually secret,” I said. I casually scanned the area, though I had been watching for anyone following us as Sophia drove. I determined we were fine, and more importantly Izzy had said we were fine since she was actually good at that. “We should probably get inside.”

As our little group stepped inside I felt strangely huge. It wasn’t just the weird growth spurt, but the fact that the normal sized Sophia was pretty tiny. There was also Izzy, a halfling that was hardly bigger than a kid- and only because of her proportions being different. Finally, there was Jo, who was skinny as heck. Not counting Tylissa who was tall for a woman, somewhere around 5’9”, these people were just tiny. I probably outweighed the other three, though I wasn’t quite sure since Sophia was still muscular at her normal height… just not bulky like when she grew.

We made our way into a tiny kitchen, which was one of the few places that had room for all of us to sit down. Even with the aforementioned sizes, we could probably only squeeze one more person around the kitchen table. As we sat down, Jo’s stomach rumbled loudly. They blushed, slightly- though it came and went in an instant. “Uh, sorry.”

“I can make you something,” Tylissa’s mom instincts kicked in.

Jo quickly refused, waving their hands. “That’s not necessary. But if you have something with a lot of carbs, like a loaf of bread…”

Tylissa pulled open the fridge. “Just a couple slices and the ends,” she said as she tossed a mostly empty bag onto the table. She shimmied her way around the table, and I felt the slightest trace of mana being used as her scout abilities came into play to improve her balance as she reached for a cupboard and pulled out a huge bag of chips. “And chips.”

“That would be great, thanks,” Jo said as the bag of chips was set down on the table. I heard the wrinkling sound of the bread’s packaging being opened, but by the time I turned my head it was crumpled and empty. With deft movements, Jo tore open the top of the chip bag. What followed was a very strange experience where I heard something akin to one continuous crunch of chips. My eyes vaguely picked out individual chips being tossed into Jo’s mouth and disappearing. In a few seconds, it was over. “Whew,” Jo said. “I normally eat a bit slower but I didn’t want to interrupt whatever talking with constant noises.”

“... Not concerned about showing off your powers in front of me?” Tylissa asked.

“Why? I’m here to help. And you and your son both have portal powers, right?”

“I suppose so,” Tylissa admitted. Then she took a deep breath. “I guess I should explain what happened.”

She repeated mostly what I had heard on the phone- Jerome had been over at a friend’s house, but when the portals appeared he went to check one out. He insisted his friend- with no powers or fighting capabilities- stay behind at his house. Then Jerome hadn’t come back.

The following discussion included the ways everyone could help. I mentioned Scrying. They had a mirror here that was good enough- better than a car’s mirror, in any case. I also had Locate Object, and I could probably track down his favorite shoes, if he was still close. Izzy was a scout, so she could pick out all sorts of signs- and Tylissa had a lesser ability in that area. She was not only newer, but focused on the movement abilities she had access to. Jo could help by covering much more ground. Sophia… was another pair of eyes, and had driven us. To be fair, Great Girl’s job wasn’t supposed to be investigation.

“I suggest we start with Scrying,” Midnight said. “Turlough can do that, and I can split the load by following up with Locate Object, perhaps when we get closer to where he was.”

It wasn’t too far to the friend’s house- but a few blocks could make all the difference.

“That’s the best place to start. We can get some real information,” I nodded.

While the kitchen was cramped, the bathroom was more so. There was room for me to stand next to Tylissa, with the others out in the hall. A mirror on the front of a medicine cabinet was large enough to get a decent scrying window.

As I began to draw upon my mana to reveal Jerome, I thought to explain the process. Then I thought better of it, because there were some potential ways it could fail and I really didn’t want to mention one of them. If it didn’t work… I’d lean towards other excuses.

Silvery fog crawled over the mirror, slowly and with much effort. I tried not to think about why that might be too much. Then, mercifully, the fog began to clear. It didn’t fade away completely like it was supposed to. Instead, it merely thinned, providing a fuzzy view. It was difficult to hold onto the image I had. At least it didn’t feel like someone fighting me.

“It’s black…” Tylissa nervously wrung her hands next to me. “What’s wrong?”

That, at least, I had an answer to. “It’s just dark. He’s somewhere without natural light. Don’t worry, I can see him. I’ll try to describe it.”

Jerome was in a cave. That, I was fairly certain of even with the unclear view. As I took in his surroundings, he moved from lying down to sitting up, looking around. For a moment, his eyes almost locked on mine.

“Nice,” I said. “He’s good at this. I think he picked out my Scrying.”

His next move was to feel around next to him. Then he pulled out his phone- a smartphone that I bought him, instead of the old brick he’d had. Tylissa and Jerome weren’t exactly wealthy. The light from that showed him the remains of the fire next to him, and he shot a Firebolt into it.

“I see him!” The combination of lights was enough for Tylissa to call out- though it quickly faded as the fire didn’t catch. Or rather, there wasn’t much more than some charcoaled bits of wood and ashes, the fire having already run its course. Still, Jerome slowly stood up and began to stumble outside, and soon there was light.

“Well, there’s some good news,” I said. “But I’m not sure what else we can learn here.” It was kind of hard to hold onto.

“Wait,” Izzy said. “Try and get a look at the surroundings.”

With a fuzzy image and a mirror that wasn’t large enough to give full detail, the normal ten foot radius was even less useful in its revelations, but I held on and let Izzy pick out everything she could until the spell ran its course.

“Clearly he made his way through a portal,” I said. “Given his magic he’s not defenseless. But…”

“The portal was probably closed,” Sophia said bluntly.

“I won’t let that stop us,” I said, clenching my jaw. I could feel my broken tusk twinge from that, but I didn’t care about the pain. “Let’s find this friend.”

There was a lot of nervousness around as we walked. I was happy that Jerome was alive, but I had to admit that both Midnight and I weren’t quite as confident as I’d stated. Sure, he had a bit of magic, but that wouldn’t last him long at his level, and his options were… limited.

Jerome’s friend was called Haralamb, a real mouthful of a name. He nervously met us, casting his eyes down as he saw Tylissa. “... I’m sorry. I should have gone with him.”

“You really shouldn’t have,” I retorted. “Unless you have powers?”

Haralamb shook his head. He was one of Jerome’s rare friends, and had been informed about his abilities. “No…”

“Then, you would only have increased the danger. Just tell us where he went.”

“Right, it’s… a little bit this way,” Haralamb said. “We didn’t see anything come out of it, he just said he felt something ‘weird’ and needed to check it out.”

“Could you see through to the other side?” I asked.

“Yeah, there were… trees, I think? Nothing that stood out.”

“That fits with this latest round of portals.” I wasn’t quite sure why they were different. Perhaps Doctor Doomsday was getting better at them- or he had different intentions. Unfortunately, it was hard for me to know any such things, given how the best I might get from Scrying him was a headache and a view of a wall. And I wasn’t going to try in case he built something worse.

Haralamb took us… to an empty lot. Surrounded on all sides by bricked buildings, there wasn’t really much of anything to go on.

“Lots of people walked through these weeds,” Izzy said. “But I think that’s a regular occurrence.”

I nodded. “I can feel lingering traces of the portal. The mana levels here are higher.”

“Can you… open it again?” Tylissa asked.

“If it was not fully closed… maybe,” I frowned. “But there’s something else we can try. Fortunately, I saved up the points for exactly this spell.” I supposed this could count as practice for sending Izzy back. Once she decided she wanted that. I didn’t have enough mana to cast Gate properly but… “Midnight, work with me. Focus on where this portal went.” What a fortuitous time to get Alter Portal. Or, if I was being logical, it was perfectly reasonable that with so much portal based shenaniganry going on I would eventually get such a thing. In that manner, it was almost late to arrive. “Provide mana for that, while I attempt to use Gate. I should be able to get it… complete enough.”

“What will we do if you get it open?” Sophia asked. “Are we all going through?”

“I am,” Tylissa said. “I’m not great at fighting but-”

“Don’t be down on yourself,” Izzy commented. “You’re better than those discount paladin punks. And we wouldn’t just leave you behind.”

It had made sense that we would, but I supposed she had a big stake in this as well. I gestured to Sophia. There weren’t many people in the area, but I still didn’t want to tie her name to whatever was going to happen. “You should stay here. Since we’re going to be opening a portal and… well.”

“Yeah, alright, fine,” she nodded. “I carry a mask with me.”

“... And your outfit?”

“I’m pretty tough without it. And I don’t need it. What, you think I have one of those garbage powers that would tear my clothes?”

I shrugged. “I’ve mostly seen you suited up, so…”

“Yeah, it’ll be fine. Also, I guess we should call the Power Brigade so they can inform the city and all that. I can help keep people not worried about another portal but there are protocols.”

“Right,” I nodded. “Though you won’t have to deal with it for long.”

“What does that mean?”

“If I get something open, it will only last… a minute, tops.” I looked to the others. “Speaking of which, I suppose that’s a good reason for any of you to back out…”

“I’m fine,” Izzy said. “I can handle being in the wilderness for a while, if you manage it. And if you get us one way… you can get us both, I’m certain.”

“I’d rather be trapped in the same place as my son,” Tylissa said honestly. “Though, perhaps we should bring supplies if we can get trapped?”

“Good point,” Jo said. “Gimme… like five minutes.”

“Thanks,” I said. “That will help a lot. You don’t need to come through with us.”

“Are you kidding?” Jo raised an eyebrow. “And miss a chance to visit another dimension or whatever? I just need some of you to cover me for a second,” they gestured to myself, and vaguely Tylissa and Sophia. “Just stand shoulder to shoulder facing away for a sec.”

“... Alright,” I said. The instant we were vaguely in position, I felt a strange wind that lasted a moment.

“I always keep a change on me,” Shockwave said, standing in front of us in full blue uniform. A bundle of clothes were shoved into my hands along with the fanny pack that had presumably carried the outfit. “Take care of those for me. I’ll be back with some tents and supplies and crap.” Shockwave took one step, turning to the side, then looked back at me. “Hey, I don’t really wanna break stuff so…”

“Freedom?” I asked. I took mental stock of my mana. “I should be able to manage that.”

“I have enough for Haste,” Midnight said.

“I hope we’re not in that much of a rush,” Shockwave said. “Hold onto that for later.”

Thus, Shockwave dashed off- occasionally dropping tents and backpacks and piles of food at our feet. There was a limit to how much they could carry, but it was still faster for them to get everything. While we might not be in a hurry with Jerome looking to be in good health, delaying longer wasn’t something anyone wanted.

“I changed my mind,” Sophia said. “I’m coming through with you, if it’s closing. No prolonged panic to deal with.”

“We’ll be glad to have you,” I nodded. Hopefully, there wouldn’t be any danger. We could just walk through, take a break to recover mana, and portal back after finding Jerome nearby. But if not… I really wanted every bit of help I could get.

Soon enough we were all equipped- Sophia and I without uniforms. I realized I should increase Storage slightly so I felt comfortable shoving my whole thing in there all the time, but Mage Armor and potentially Stoneskin would have to suffice.

Then I took a deep breath, trying to figure out how to cast a spell that was way too much for me, even with help and a guide. My face held more confidence than I felt for Tylissa’s sake. “Alright Midnight. Let’s do it.”