Portal

There were holes in the wall and the floor tiles, as well as the two large windows. One of the registers had been destroyed, as well. I heard the cashier from earlier talking on the phone.

“You don’t believe me? Man, whatever. Just get your ass down here now. The lobby is all beat to hell and back, and Diego filled the walls with fuckin’ holes, man. Yes, that Diego. He was trying to kill some door guy, I dunno. What I do know is I ain’t staying here after you get here. It’s all yours, man. Diego could be back any damn minute, and I sure as shit don’t wanna be the one he’s pissed at.” I stepped on a piece of tile, the crunching sound forcing the man to speak in a strangled whisper. “Oh shit, he’s back. Get over here!” I heard him clear his throat. “H-hello?”

“You’re cool. It’s the door guy. My name’s Portal.”

I heard him sigh in relief. “Oh thank god. Look man” -he stepped out from the office- “you pissed Diego off. How are you not dead?”

“I’m more than I look, man. Look, I fucked up. How can I help fix this place up?”

The man stared at me like I was a maniac. Which in all honesty, was probably warranted. “Fix this place up? Dude, the owner is on his way. He’s gonna be pissed. I’m quitting after he gets here, so I don’t give a shit what you do. I don’t wanna be here when Diego gets back.”

“He’s not coming back.”

“Do what? You killed him?”

“What? No. I left him over at Ocean Beach after making him promise to leave this place and me alone.”

“The beach? You left a criminal dickhead like Diego out at Ocean Beach after making him promise to leave this place alone? Seriously? That’s your plan?” He stared at me wide-eyed. “Do you really think Diego will hold that promise?! He’s a goddamn criminal, you moron!” He started pacing, his head in his hands. “I’m gonna die. I’m gonna die because some slack-jawed moron got Diego to make a damn promise and he left him alone. What the fuck.”

I sat on the counter, my back against the wall as the man paced. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to talk to the man that owned the restaurant. I could always dip out if it got heated. After about a half-hour, during which the cashier got quiet, the door opened, admitting an older man with a lean build and a shock of white hair above his left eye.

“You the door guy?”

“Yes, sir.”

“What happened?”

“Fuck this shit, I’m out, man.” The cashier walked out from behind the counter, only to get stopped by the owner.

“Hang on, Michael. Let’s not be hasty. You might be part of a lawsuit.”

“Not against me, he won’t be. I ain’t got nothing. I just came in for dinner when that tattooed dickhead started tryin’ to rob the place.”

“See! I told you the door guy was nuts!”

“Michael, go sit in the office, please. And bring up the footage of the incident. Okay?”

I could see Michael warring with himself. The thought of a potential lawsuit had piqued his interest. “Alright, Dave. You better make this right, man. I ain’t liking this.”

“It’s okay, Michael.” Directing his attention to me, he said one word. “Talk.”

I told him everything that happened, from the moment I arrived in Santa Francesca, to the moment he walked in. Everything. Including the bit on the beach.

“He still there?”

I opened a small door facing where we had fought. Diego was nowhere to be seen. I followed Fulton street with a series of doors, heading towards my location, not seeing a hair of Diego anywhere. “He’s not there anymore, but he also doesn’t seem to be heading here.”

Dave nodded. “I’m not sure what to do, then. I have insurance for this kind of thing, yes, but it isn’t often that an unaffiliated Super gets tangled up in this kind of thing. You might not be off the hook, son. I’m sorry.”

“Shit. Well, you do what you have to do. Like I said, I ain’t got nothin’ you guys can collect on.” I shrugged.

Dave nodded and headed to the office. “I know, kid. Hang tight, would you?”

I nodded and he left. Wondering about Lab, I opened a head-sized door to our hallway. “Lab? Buddy, you okay?”

“Jackson? Yeah, I’m fine. Gonna need stitches for this gash, though. What was that?”

“I dunno, but I saw it happen. It’s some sort of created matter he can do.”

Lab emerged from the bathroom, a towel pressed against his shoulder. “Huh. Well, I’m gonna head to a doctor friend I know. He’ll patch me up. I catch up with you when we get home. See ya.”

I nodded and let the door dissolve, waiting for Dave. After a few minutes, I began to get restless and began to pace. My phone rang after a couple more minutes.

“Hello?”

“Jackson? It’s Anna. You need help. Open a door outside the gym, on the east side of the building. Can you do that?”

“Yeah, but how-”

“Don’t worry about that. Someone will be there to help you. Gotta go.” She hung up, and I opened the door like she asked.

A tall young man, about my age, walked through. He looked like he was wearing a cyberpunk costume, with a full face mask resembling a cybernetic fever-dream. “Hey man. I’m Tekky. Heard you got caught on camera and we need it changed?”

“I… Uh, yeah. I guess so?”

“Sweet. Where is it?”

“Well, the manager-”

The office door opened up and Dave walked out. “Good news, kid. Tape shows- Who the fuck’re you? If you can’t tell from the damage, we’re closed.”

“I’m sorry, sir. My name is Tekky. I’m here to fix the video.”

“There’s nothing wrong with the video. System shows that it all happened just like the kid said it did. He won’t be held liable for damages. I’ve had this kind of shit happen before. They’ll treat him like a good Samaritan, and he’ll not have to pay a dime.”

“That’s not the point, sir. I need to erase him from the video. I’ll replace him with someone else with a different power, but he can’t be on there. Not yet, anyway.” Tekky started walking toward the office.

“Now you hold on! That young man just saved my restaurant, and now you want to take away his glory? He earned that!”

Tekky smiled. “Yes he did. He’s just not ready to join the front, yet. I’ll replace him with a friend of ours that has, and make his entry plausible. I’ve done this thousands of times before. Don’t worry.”

“Yeah, but… Can it be detected?” Dave sighed.

“Nope. Not a chance in hell.”

Dave nodded. “Michael! Get on out here.”

Michael emerged from the office, staring at the new arrival. ”Now what?”

“Tekky here has some work to do in the office. Let’s let him in there.”

Michael looked frustrated. “Another Super? Y’all are like damn cockroaches, I swear.” He joined Dave and I at the counter.

“So, kid. Looks like you have friends. I won’t say anything about you. Neither will Michael.” We both heard the man grumble under his breath. “Right, Michael?”

Michael huffed and looked away. “Fine. I won’t say anything. But only cuz Dave asked me to. Not you, door man.”

“That’s fine with me, guys. Look Dave, I am seriously sorry this happened. I’d like to make it up to you, if I could.”

“Don’t worry about it, kid. It happens from time to time. And this time, it’s just a table, some chairs, two windows and some- what are those, bullet holes?- in the walls and the floor. No lives were lost. Except maybe that guy with the shattered pelvis. I don’t think he’s gonna be okay. And where’s the other guy you just dropped out of here?”

“Oh shit! He’s on the roof!” I opened a full-sized door to the roof, seeing the guy seated against the wall. “Hey man. Let’s get you down from there. Come on.” I extended a hand to the man, who pulled himself up from the ground.

“Man, I hate heights. Where’s the boss?”

“Diego? I dunno. Probably went home after I nearly killed him.”

“Do what? You nearly killed him?”

I nodded. “Yeah. Threatened to drop him a few miles out at sea if he ever came back.”

“But, he can’t swim.”

I sighed. “Yes. I know. That’s the whole point.”

“Whatever, man. You’re crazy. I’m out.”

“Remind him of his promise to not return, dude. I really don’t wanna come back after him.”

“Yeah, yeah…” The goon walked out of the restaurant, waving a dismissive hand.

Tekky came out of the office a few minutes later. “There we go, man. It’s Spark in the video now. You guys can still file your claim. Good Samaritan Super, asshole criminal. And since you know the asshole in question, you can put his name down. Let’s go, Portal. These guys have some paperwork ahead of them.”

“Hang on, Tekky. Let me just give Dave my number. If Diego comes back trying to hassle you guys, call me. If I’m available, I’ll pick up, I swear. I can’t take my phone to some of the places I go, though. If he comes back and messes with you guys, and I don’t answer, leave a message, and I’ll make certain he can’t hurt anyone else ever again.” I fixed Dave with a hard look.

“You sure, kid? Something like that… Not many folks can do that.”

I grabbed some paper and a pen and wrote down my number. “Call me if you need me, Dave. I’ll be there. Let’s go, Tekky.” I opened a door to the outside of Storm Forge Gym, and we left Tommy’s.

The doors disintegrated and I leaned my back against the wall. “Fuck. I’m sorry you had to come out, Tekky. Tell Celeste I said thanks.”

“Celeste? How did-”

“Celeste is the only person I know of who can remote view. When she saw the security camera she probably figured there was gonna be an issue. So, I’m betting she called Shade, who called you, then called Dice, who then called me. Sound about right?”

Tekky nodded. “Yep. And it's because of exactly what I said, too. You aren’t ready for the front, yet. I need to get home. See you, Portal.” A motorcycle rolled up from the shadows, sans rider, and Tekky climbed aboard. Revving the engine once, he sped off into the night.

I heaved a sigh. I hoped that was the last time I had to go help people for a while. My arms were sore. As I created a door to the Wendy’s down the street, I heard Anna’s voice from around the corner.

“Jackson? You still here?”

I let the door dissolve. “Yeah, I’m still here, Anna. You okay?”

She came around the corner, dressed in a pair of jeans and a dark colored t-shirt, hugging her midsection. “Yeah, I’m fine. Are you okay?” She stopped in front of me, looking up at me with those honey-colored eyes of hers. Damn, she was pretty.

“I… uh… I’m fine, Anna. Really. Just sore from the exercise, is all.” I grinned, my stomach feeling like it was tied up in a knot.

She tucked her hair behind her left ear and smiled at me. “Good. I was worried. When William called me and told me what was going on, I got real scared.” She stiffened and started talking rapidly. “Not that I didn’t think you couldn’t handle yourself, though! Ha ha! No, of course not! You’re strong, and you’ve got a real cool power and everything and I’m sure you’d have been fine. Right? Right. So, yeah. This was all probably me being a worrywart! Yeah. That’s it. Ha ha!”

I smiled and put my hands on her upper arms, squeezing gently. “Thank you for worrying about me, Anna. It means a lot. Would you like for me to walk you somewhere? I can take you just about anywhere in the city.”

Her face burned crimson. “Um… No, thanks. I’m staying here for a while, with Bethany. She lives here at the Gym.”

I nodded, letting my hands drop to my sides. “Okay, then. Get inside, and I’ll see you later, okay?”

“Okay.” She turned to go inside, and I opened a door downtown. I still had my phone on me, after all.

“Jackson?”

I turned to face her. “Yes?”

She ran over to me and wrapped her arms around me in a hug, surprising me with its intensity. I returned it awkwardly, being unused to the gesture. “I’m so glad you’re okay. Stay that way for me, okay?”

“I will be, Anna. I’ll see you later, okay?”

She nodded against my chest, then let me go, running inside. I stepped through my door, arriving near the piers by the lake.

For once, I was glad of my eidetic memory.