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"Alison! Fetch me that report on Kite's case, would you?"

Katy Lockhart was, as ever, sat behind her desk in the WCPD offices. The door to her little room -- the Commander's office -- was open giving her easy access to the officers in the main office room.

Alison Sanderson, Katy's top researcher and general go-to for computer wizardry, looked up from her own desk a few metres from the door at Katy's shout, nodding to her before disappearing off into the maze of paper and clacking keyboards to retrieve the file. The ambient hum of computer fans and telephones filled the Commander's ears.

She really hated that noise.

---

Sylvire Nasazura stood from her reading, and waited for the arrival of those she had sensed approaching, the elf frowned, abruptly feeling a wrenching feeling that foreboded something terrible. Something that should have been impossible. The wards she had placed on the bookcase that led into her abode were being removed -- torn apart -- by another. The complex runes and patterns of magic were being undone -- but those castings were so old... surely none lived that could know of their secrets?

The sorceress let out a breath as the last ward was ripped from its place, and stepped backwards warily, drawing on her magic to defend against whatever came through the door in the other end of the library.

The sound of booted feet reached her sensitive ears after a moment, echoing in the near-bare chamber, off of its cavernous roof. Soldiers of some sort... perhaps Krycis?

The figures that emerged from the corridors that the bookcases formed were no creations of Krycis, however, an array of suited and armoured soldiers, the tint of blue adorning them. Sylvire raised her staff, glowing now with power, and called out.

"What do you want? What business have you in this place?"

From amongst the figures, a familiar sight flowed forwards. Black liquid, tar-like and unnatural. As it moved forwards, the liquid rose, convulsing and coalescing into a humanoid shape. Limbs and extremities took form, until the figure of an unwanted visitor became apparent.

"Business, Sylvire?" Tamesis mused, a smile coming to her face as the tar retreated to leave a pale, tattoed skin beneath black clothing. "I am not here for business. I am here to crush you. We can't have you interfering with our plans, after all..."

The sorceress scowled, drawing on further magic. "Plans, assassin? Beyond your release of The Sealed one?"

"Psh. I've found a more promising cause, elf. Who wants to destroy the world, when you can control the worlds?" Tamesis lazily raised a hand, and gestured at Sylvire. "Kill her."

---

"Under attack?" Alyssia Damodred rose to her feet, abandoning her meal and adjusting her long black dress with irritation. "What do you mean, under attack?"

Alanna shook her head, "Just that, ma'am -- there are soldiers out front, they're gunning us down with quite frankly frightening ease! It's like our bullets and spells are just bouncing off of them!"

"Soldiers? What sort of soldiers? Whose soldiers?!" Alyssia's voice was agitated, and she held up a hand to halt her daughter Min as the younger woman rose from her seat made to speak.

"We don't know." Alanna admitted, "They're in full body armour of some sort -- green tinted, but whatever they are even though some of our spells are getting through the armour, most of the time they just shrug it off. I need to get you and Min to the panic room, immediately."

"Mother? Surely we can't just let them walk all over us, mother? We have a reputation to uphold." Min protested,

Alyssia nodded in agreement, but Alanna interjected. "You don't understand - they're utterly destroying our men out there. They came out of nowhere, a portal in the gardens -- they were behind most of our men before we knew what was happening! They'll be here in minutes!"

The mother and daughter exchanged glances, before Alyssia gave an angry sigh. "Very well, lead the way, Alanna." she instructed.

---

"Commander? I think you should see this."

Scowling, Katy made her way over to the source of the voice, an officer standing by the window, and pulled back the blind.

"Holy shit..." she swore.

Outside the station, in the middle of the street, was a gaping expanse of flashing lightning and swirling magical energies. A portal, torn open in the air, to god only knew where. But the portal itself wasn't the biggest worry. It was what was coming out of it that was the problem. Rank upon rank of armoured and armed troops, each bearing a large gun and outfitted in a full, red tinted body suit.

"All officers to arms!" Katy yelled, pulling back from the window and moving to organise her force into action.

Sonya emerged from a doorway off to the side of the room, Officer Matthew Kite in tow. "What the hell is going on here Katy?" she asked, just about in time for that question to be answered for her.

The wall of the station exploded inwards in a rain of stone and glass shards, scattering the people in the room and forcing Katy to yank Alison down to take cover behind a desk. Swearing profusely, the commander raised herself into a crouch and peered over the edge of the desk.

Framed in the hole, brandishing a shotgun in one hand and a flamethrower in the other stood a woman; long black hair falling to her mid back and a wicked smile on her face. "Katy! Katy! Where are ya, sis?"

"Naia..." Katy muttered under her breath, "What the fuck are you doing..?"

---

Min and Alyssia arrived in the room leading to their underground haven with the sound of fighting closing in on them. The older woman immediately approached a panel in the wall, and began typing in an authorisation code.

The sounds of screams and gunfire were incredibly close as Alyssia placed her eye against the retina scan and the statue beside the panel slid aside, revealling a door in the wall that led to an elevator. "Go." Alyssia said simply, gesturing toward it.

Min looked up at her, "You're coming with me, aren't you, mother?" she asked, frowning up at the older woman. "Mother?"

---

Sylvire barely had time to slam a shield into place before the cascade of magic from the soldiers impacted it, forcing her backwards in a flurry of bright white magical energies, sending her straight through her desk and back to the wall.

Opening communications via her callstone, Sylvire sent out a call for help to the other Patronus. "Patronus! This is Sylvire, I am under attack by... I don't know what, soldiers, they are with the assassin that attacked us previously -- she claims this is unrelated to the Orsa, but I don't know what el-"

The message was cut off as Sylvire was force to focus to defend herself from a second onslaught, cursing loudly in her own tongue. It was time to fight back.

---

Pulling herself from the wreck of the elevator -- something having caused it to fall unabated -- -- Min immediately cut a path to where surveillance cameras showed the mansion, and let out a gasp at what she found.

All the screens bar one were blank, dead. That one was a camera set in a surviving statue in the gardens, and it showed the fate of the Damodred mansion. The entire building was collapsed, the explosion of lightning that had caused it just fading from view.

Whimpering, Min collapsed into the chair at the surveillance station, and wept.

---

It dawned on Sylvire then that she was sorely outmatched. Though she had made a sizable dent in the ranks of the soldiers, many more still stood, and her shields were failing. She had to retreat.

Abandoning her Library home was something that Sylvire had not expected to have to do for a long time to come, the heavy defences she had placed around it were supposed yo prevent scenarios like this. But this was not the time to brood over plans gone awry, and so Sylvire drew once more upon her magic.

Swinging herself around, the sorceress unleashed a blinding flash of light, obscuring herself from the view of the soldiers. In the momentary lapse of assault, Sylvire darted forwards for her desk's remains, snatching up the folded and neatly clasped suit of leather armour that was Dallas' old artefact (it would not do to allow that to fall into anyone's hands, new enemy or nay). When the light faded, the sorceress was gone, a faint hint of teleportation magic hanging in the air.

---

The sound of screaming and gunfire pursued Katy as she ran into her office, Alison behind her, and picked up the phone, slamming in a number and muttering quiet prayers to herself as it rang. "Fuck!" she cursed as it went to voicemail...

Frost? Are you there?

The sound of a crash in the background as a pair of officers slammed into a desk, splintering the wood and falling to the floor with a crash punctuated Katy's words, forcing her to hurry herself along.

Obviously not -- I need your help, something's attacking us, Dannyl and Naia are with them, but it's the soldiers, they're decimating us...

Another scream and a thud as a man impacted the wall outside Katy's office.

Shit, I have to go, send help as quickly as you can, I don't know what they want but...

This time the clattering of the phone being thrown down on the table would cut off Katy's speech, as a shot could be heard, followed by Alison letting out a scream behind her.

Alison! No!

Katy's voice was still audible through the receiver as she delivered a forceful punch to the side of the helmet of the soldier that had just shot Alison, knocking it sideways and allowing Katy to wrench his weapon out of his grasp after a followup kick to the back of the legs. The sound of a gunshot followed, and the soldier fell to the floor.

Gunfire, explosions and shouting continued to be audible for a good number of minutes after that, but the last that would be heard of Katy was her shouting from the doorway.

Sonya! Kite! Lead everyone out by that door! I repeat, fall back! Full retreat! Get the hell out of here!

This was followed by another explosion, and the line went dead.

---

A thousand worlds away in New York City, SCD Director Miles Frost hit stop on his answering machine, and slowly looked up at the team of Agents crowded around his desk.

This was the man that the American underworld hailed as the 'perfect sociopath'. Nothing fazed him, nothing tugged at his decision-making. Who better to have at the top of the United States' magical law-enforcement agency, especially in a time of crisis? No one.

On paper and in press conferences this sounded wonderful, but when it came down to it, those who had to actually work with Frost thought of him less as a 'perfect sociopath' and more as a 'creepy fuck.' Case in point -- as WCPD Commander Katy Lockhart's voice (accompanied by the screams, shouts, and bangs of chaos) faded from everyone's ears, all eyes were on Frost and he just stared right back.

Any other man would have been breathing heavier, running his fingers through his hair, or at least showing some sign of anxiety. Not Director Frost. He didn't even allow himself the luxury of blinking before he straightened, and gave his orders.

"Call Washington, get word to Desiat, Aramei -- everyone. Alert the Chromatic Order, and get Vogler's people on closing those portals. Immediately."

When Frost spoke, it was with his usual deliberateness. He chose his words in the same way he lived -- through inhuman precision; low, cool, crisp, and even.

"Cut off all teleportation contact with Wing City. Allow no one in or out. Agent O'Connel, see to it that the West Coast papers do not get a hint of this story. I want control before anything gets released."

Despite the feeling people got around the man, they knew to listen for his every word. Frost was smart. He knew what to do -- and in this case, the SCD couldn't afford to think twice.

"Field everything to the war room when it comes -- calls, updates, reports. Move. Now."

And so the agents whirled away. Some would phone the White House, some would phone various International councils. All the SCD offices aross the country would be alerted; governments across the globe, as well as across realities.

This was a worst-case scenario to beat all worst-case scenarios. Frost was right. If the portals weren't shut off as soon as humanly -- or inhumanly -- possible, then they could have a full-scale invasion on their hands, sooner rather than later. No one liked to think of what a war requiring magical and non-magical support could mean, but one thing was for sure -- things wouldn't settle down in DC or New York or anywhere for a very long tim.

As crisis mode settled on the agents, it was SA Blaine Wesler, a desk jockey straight from his years at the Academy who hung back.

"Director -- we have agents in Wing City! The Major Cases Squad, sir. You're gonna end up trapping -- "

"I'm aware," Frost said unflinchingly. He never flinched. The man stepped from behind his desk, each motion disgustingly precise; there was no wasted motion with him, "we need eyes on the inside."

"They were -- they were running a lead on -- "

Frost brushed past the young agent, striding out of his office and down the wide hall towards the elevators. He turned only when the door were about to slide shut.

"Get me Agent Kennicot on the war room Big Eye."

"Yes sir," Blain swallowed, and with a cheerful ding! the Director was gone.