The moment the emergency alarm went off, every other alarm went off too.
It felt like every siren and emergency announcement on every channel had woken up and started yelling.
[Perimeter 3 compromised. Repeat—Perimeter 3 compromised.]
[This is a fire alarm. Please remain calm. Our security personnel are investigating the situation.]
This was not normal, and Jennifer knew it—because everyone, from President Xel to the Awakener heroes and uniformed personnel, froze on the spot for a full 5 seconds.
Just to listen to the blaring wailings and bleepings of multiple alarms in surround sound accompanied by emergency announcements.
[Strike teams Alpha and Beta, converge on Sector 5.]
Ronan the Dragon took two steps forward, closing the distance between them. He put an arm around her, frowning as he scanned the vicinity for threats.
[Dimensional instability rising—please stand by.]
[All non-combat personnel evacuate immediately.]
"Did you hear that, Rolly?" Jennifer tried to check. She had just blurted out some deep and completely unplanned I love you, so she would really like to know how it landed.
But the aliens were just so damn inconsiderate.
And now the building was shaking.
[Multiple breach points detected. All teams mobilize.]
"Adrian, how did you bring her here?" Ronan shouted over the noise as the alarms and announcements launched into a second volley.
[Portal activity confirmed in Sectors 2, 5, and 9.]
[Medical teams on standby at Base Point Delta.]
"Tien did it!" Adrian shouted back. "I would never have endangered her like this."
[Code Black. Code Black. This is a Code Black situation.]
Somehow, Ronan had lifted Jennifer off her feet. He didn't even seem to notice. He was too busy moving them away from the windows.
Because outside, a portal was opening.
Fast.
Remember the one that opened on Jennifer's street? This one was larger—already big enough to swallow a plane. It throbbed like something alive. Like something waiting.
[Dimensional instability rising—stand by—stand by—]
Adrian and the two crows followed them to the side.
[This is a fire alarm. Please remain calm. Our security personnel are investigating the situation.]
"Is there any way for her to get away from here?" Ronan asked, urgency bleeding into his voice.
"From the sounds of it, everything is being breached, sir," Aerial said politely from behind the crow mask.
Great. Everything. Very reassuring.
[Portal activity confirmed in Sectors 12, 15, and 16.]
[Refreshments will be temporarily unavailable.]
"Everything is going off. But it'll take time for the scouts to determine which alarms are false," Adrian said.
[Containment failure in progress. Initiate lockdown protocol.]
"Too late!" Tien shouted. "We're in lockdown!"
[Kindly refrain from using the elevators at this time.]
[All agents: switch to combat frequency.]
President Xel's voice cut through the chaos. Surprisingly loud.
"I need all heroes up here to stop that—and whatever else happens up here!"
That being the giant portal opening on the tarmac.
"All non-combat personnel, report to your Code Black stations and standby."
"Where the hell is Adrian?"
Adrian immediately straightened and raised his hand.
"And for goodness' sake, shut off the damn alarms!" President Xel snapped at the poor uniformed official beside her before striding over to their group.
[Command override in effect. This is not a drill.]
[Portal activity confirmed in Sectors 19 and 23]
"Ronan, I'll have to trouble you to hold the fort here until we figure out what the heck is happening," President Xel said.
Ronan was still holding Jennifer.
He looked at her—then at the massive, throbbing portal outside, now wide enough to span three planes across—then back at her again.
"Ronan," President Xel said, sharper this time. "Go. Jennifer can stay with me."
"…Yes, ma'am."
Ronan set Jennifer back on her feet. He looked pained.
"I'm sorry, Jenny."
"Wait, Rolly!" Jennifer seized her chance. "I lo—"
The entire building shook.
[Final perimeter has been breached.]
[Code Black. Code Black. This is a Code Black situation.]
Adrian grabbed her arm and pulled her away. Suddenly she was rushing alongside uniformed personnel, President Xel already moving ahead.
Jennifer looked back just in time to see the glass wall shatter.
Outside—
the stench hit first.
Then the hissing.
Giant cockroaches swarmed the tarmac. Some were the size of cars. Others flew, slamming themselves against the building in frenzied waves.
Ronan had already led the heroes out to meet them.
In the air, Aerial moved like a black-feathered demon, tearing through the flying swarm before they could reach the structure.
Then they turned into a corridor, and Jennifer had to focus on the stairs just to keep up.
Of all the days to wear her pointy heels.
These were her romance shoes.
Not her alien-invasion-in-a-secret-military-base shoes.
WTH.
But more seriously—
Jennifer knew they were in trouble.
The screaming sirens and overlapping announcements said it all.
[We regret to inform you that all scheduled activities have been suspended.]
[Your safety is our top priority.]
Okay, not these ones.
[Lethal force authorized.]
Yeah. That one.
"Why is our comms line being scrambled like that?" President Xel demanded.
Then she looked at Adrian like he should already know the answer.
Adrian didn't look up from his tablet. "I have yet to identify any abnormalities in the systems."
Oh. So Adrian was using his identify ability to read things—reports, systems, people—for abnormalities.
No wonder he was stationed at headquarters.
"Just tell me whatever you've got," President Xel said tiredly as they entered a control room.
It was manned by uniformed personnel and two hero awakeners—a man and a woman in matching costumes.
It was quiet.
The moment the door shut, the sirens dulled into muffled white noise.
"Attention!" a uniformed awakener called.
"As you were," the President waved them down. "Report."
"Comms lines are scrambled, and every wire was tripped," the female hero reported. "Our main communications to HQ has been cut. Switching to alternative channels. It will take another ten minutes."
"It's a good thing Ronan the Dragon is here," the male hero said.
He pulled up the screens.
"Internal security circuits rerouted. We've got visuals."
The display flickered—then locked onto the massive portal.
"What the heck is this, Adrian?" The man pointed to the gaping black portal almost cheerfully, "Anyway, it's the only active portal for now. The others are still just hovering."
"How many?" President Xel asked.
"Fourteen on base. Another eight outside. No civilian residence."
"It was a good thing we happened to have so many top-ranked heroes here tonight," Adrian said.
He paused, eyes scanning rapidly.
"That portal is labelled… The Lord's Portal."
A beat.
"And it reads—The Whims of the Lord is His Will."
That did not sound like something that should exist.
"What the hell…" the male hero muttered at the scene on the TV screen.
Adrian shrugged. "There isn't even a tier number for it. Even Ronan on his own won't be able to stop that."
"Everything else should be under control. All Awakener Response Units are in position," the female hero reported.
President Xel made a decision.
"If this Lord Micah comes through that gate," she said, voice steady, "I will meet him personally."