The observatory.
A moment after the power was released and the lights were turned off, the red lights came on and a voice sounded.
— Attention. The main energy element is switched off, switching to backup power.
A siren blared all around the perimeter.
The portal room.
Ray gradually opened his eyes, but he couldn't hear anything except the ringing in his ears. Looking around, he noticed the guys who were scattered unconscious, a dilapidated laboratory, and he himself was pinned down by a stove.
Ray tried to move the stove, but nothing worked. He used his superpower to wake up the guys, but no one responded, so he glanced at the metal tube.
Ray tried to reach her, but to no avail. However, after trying again, with more force, suddenly the tube itself came right up to my hand.
Ray grabbed the phone and used it as a lever to free himself.
Leaning on the pipe, he got up and hobbled towards Hercyl.
The lights of flashlights coming from the hallway.
Ray's hearing gradually began to return, but at the same moment his legs buckled and he collapsed to the floor.
Agents with weapons and the T.O.S.T. logo ran into the laboratory, after which they surrounded the guys, one of them spoke into a walkie-talkie.
— Backup is required, ambulance to level -3!
A few days have passed.
Ray jumped out of the medical bed in horror and breathed nervously.
He looked around anxiously, but a calm voice called him over.
Ray turned around and saw Lex lying on the next bed, sleepy, who spoke.
— Ray-Ray, calm down, you're disturbing my sleep, everything's fine.
— Where are we?
— In the medical unit.
— What medical unit?
— I guess it's in one of the organization's centers, although I'm not sure, I see the same thing as you.
— Where are the others? — Ray asked in a lower voice, but also nervously.
— Mike is across the hall, somewhere at the hot water bottle, Riley is in the next room, and Hertz is being pumped out.
Ray collapsed onto the pillow and sighed.
— How long have we been here?
— 4 days.
— We need to get out...
— I wouldn't recommend it, your legs are pinched, but my arm is gone... But no, I just lay down.
— I have to get out, I can't be here, there are too many voices...
— It's probably possible to negotiate.
A day passed.
The paramedics put Ray on a wheelchair. The doctor stands with Mike and Lex.
The doctor holds out a tablet and speaks.
— And also sign here and here that you do not complain in case of complications.
Mike took the stylus and signed, and then Lex took the stylus, but because of his bandaged hand, he dropped it.
Mike signed for Lex and Ray.
— Okay, but if anything, I can contact you, right?
The doctor took the tablet and spoke.
— Don't let me see your sci—fi assholes here anymore.
After that, he put the guys out into the corridor and closed the door with the inscription "An untranslatable pun".
They went to the next ward along a futuristic corridor. Mike brought Ray in, the latter speaking.
— It's humiliating.
— But on wheels, as I wanted.
— That's not what I wanted...
Lex, looking at the picture.
— Be glad that you didn't break anything, but just pulled, in any case, it's better to rest for a week.
The guys found the right room with the inscription "another An untranslatable pun" and saw Riley sitting with someone on a bench.
They came closer. Riley spoke with a blindfold over her eyes.
— Hello! How are you feeling?
— Average. — Lex.
— That's lousy. — Ray.
— Okay, how are you? — Mike asked.
—That's fine. I'm completely 82% healthy, and look who I found.
A girl sitting next to him waved her hand.
— Hello...
The guys also waved, some more vigorously, some sluggishly.
Mike asked.
— And who is this anyway?
— It's Evie! She was also exposed to radiation and has superpowers, and she was also one of those who powered the portal. That's a meeting, isn't it?
— The couple is not very optimistic, as for me. — Ray said.
Lex frowned.
— What if she's a spy, like that rat?
Ray leaned on his arm and spoke.
— No, it's clean. That's how she tried to escape with Hertz and Mike.
Mike scratched his head.
— I don't remember that.
— Hmm... Really. Okay, let's do it all later, now we'll take Hertz and get out.
Parking space.
Mike was putting Ray in the passenger seat. The last one spoke.
— The freaks. Turkeys. The bastards. Some small bus was jammed!
Lex was putting Hertz in the trunk and said.
— Yes, swear normally, it hurts my ears.
Lex opened the front seat and stayed in the trunk while Riley and Evie sat in the middle row.
Mike got behind the wheel and started the car, suddenly additional indicators turned on on the dashboard and a female computer voice started playing.
— Welcome to the universal car! My name is M.I.S.T.Y - voice assistant.
Suddenly, the car doors locked.
Ray sighed wearily.
— F@ck in the mouth...
— X-pain is fixed, the solution is calculated.
The glove compartment opened to reveal a black cap with "X-Ray" written on the back
Lex stood up and spoke.
— It's cool.
— The main thing is to work ... — putting on the cap, Ray felt relieved.
— What else can she do? — Lex said as Mike poked a button on the panel. A voice rang out.
— Attention, 2 unregistered users have been detected in the car. Would you like to register them?
— Is that necessary? — Ray asked.
— User registration is recommended...
— Evie and Hercyl!
— Registration was successful... Attention, 1 was detected in the car...
— You go already!
— Accepted...
The doors unlocked and Mike was able to move.
The trip turned out to be quiet, no one said a word, only Lex offered to have a snack, everyone supported the idea.
The area near the stage.
The guys took turns getting out of the car with bags of food from the diner.
Evie asked.
— Are we going to eat here? And they won't send us off the stage?
Riley, holding onto Evie, spoke up.
— They won't send you away.
Mike opened the descent. The guys got into the elevator.
Lex, holding Herz, spoke.
— There used to be other music.
Ray spoke.
— Maybe Lo changed it in time...
There was a pause. Mike started singing along.
— Pa pa pa pa... pa ram pa...
— What are you singing along to?
— Why can't you do something?
The guys stopped on the kitchen floor while Lex went down to the medical unit.
Ray spoke.
— Here, Evie, get settled in the spare room, Riley will show you.. ah f@ck, you'll figure it out.
Mike drove Ray to his room.
— Go on by yourself?
— Yes, yes, go get some rest.
— Okay.
Ray looked at the things scattered in a hurry with a tired face, after which he picked up the comics he had left long ago, with difficulty moved to the bed and began to read.
Meanwhile, in the med block.
Lex laid Hertz on the cot, then turned on the equipment, and the voice assistant turned on with it.
— Welcome to the medical unit, my...
— Skip it... And the infection has switched here, maybe it's a virus at all?
Lex looked at the dashboard. The voice spoke.
— I'm starting the scan...
An LED lamp flashed a blue beam over the Hercule, after which information was displayed on the screen.
Lex started reading.
— Over... Overe-e... over-energy saturation. Ugh, f@ck.
Lex went to the elevator.
— Computer! Tell me when you're done or something will happen.
Meanwhile, Riley was showing Evie's rooms.
— Let's start with this one.
— There are zippers, a camera, and a pair of dumbbells.
— This Mike's.
Suddenly, the door closed and a voice rang out.
— Do not enter without knocking!
They shrugged and moved on to the next room.
— A bed, a tripod, a horizontal bar and a bunch of pancakes for the barbell.
— It's a Lexus, but everyone calls it a Lex.
The next room.
— Drawings, pencils.
— Fleur. He's lost in another world right now.
— Oh...
— Don't worry, it's a common thing for us.
— Guitar, posters.
— Thurik, also somewhere in the same place.
Riley detached herself from Evie and slammed into the doorway.
— Sorry, I didn't see it. — Evie said.
— It's fine, tolerable. Let's move on.
Evie opened the door.
— A bunch of scattered things, a stroller, Ray is reading comics.
— Hmm... Farther.
They moved to another wall.
— A couch, a bunch of CDs, a guitar.
— Hmm... Tama and Rapi are also missing.
— Doesn't Rapi have a room?
— No, she's a dog.
Evie moved on to the next door.
— Absolute cleanliness, but pure tastelessness, as if no one lives.
— Runo. He's hanging out in the garage.
— Mmm... In the next one, for some reason, there is a mattress on the floor, discs and a set-top box on the bed.
— Oh, this is Glory, he's kind of smart.
— I see...
The last room, Riley herself went inside and spoke.
— Well, this is mine. Until everything settles down, you can stay here.
— Okay, but I just don't want to crowd you...
— Don't worry, we're not here yet anyway. Let's get together at the table and discuss everything.
— Careful, do...
Riley hit the open door again, then fell to the floor.
— It's fine, tolerable, it couldn't be better.
Several hours have passed.
The guys, except for Hertz, sat in the kitchen and ate quietly.
Lex spoke with his mouth full.
— Well, what are we going to do?
Mike, having finished the shawarma, supported me.
— Yes, yes, we need to think about which hole everyone was sucked into.
Ray, without touching his food.
— I think I think... It's just that we don't even understand what happened at all.
M.I.S.T.Y. has been activated.
— Can I help you?..
— You weren't even there! — Ray cried out.
Riley thought about it.
— Well, the guys were sucked into the portal one by one.
Suddenly, a hologram of a portal emerged from the center of the table.
Evie asked.
— Do you have the blueprints?
— The answer is no, this diagram is a sketch from a "Black Hole" user's wristband.
— And who is this?
Ray took hold of his face.
— Glory, it takes a long time to explain. And most importantly, M.I.S.T.Y And can you track the bracelet?
— Start scanning.
— We can only wait...
Suddenly, Deila reincarnated from under the table.
— She won't find him...
— F@ck in the mouth. — Ray screamed and almost fell off his chair.
Lex and Mike stood up and were about to give battle, but Deila raised her hands and spoke.
— Quiet, quiet, friends.
Lex asked.
— Who told you we were friends? You were the first to attack us three times!
— But she didn't kill me! Hey, Evie, by the way.
Evie waved her hand.
M.I.S.T.Y And spoke.
— The scan has been completed, no signs of life have been detected.
Mike asked.
— How's that? Come on, Dolittle, explain it!
— You don't remember?
— Well... Not really.
Deila sighed and pointed at the hologram.
— It's a portal. He is able to send anything and anyone to different dimensions.
Ray, standing up.
— Why the f@ck did this scientist give up the dimensions?
— He's a scientist. "Knowledge is above all else..."
Riley asked.
— Then why did you help him?
Mike interrupted.
— I'll explain here. Rick brought together completely different people with a certain factor, but at the same time, each of us had no home. Yes, he did experiments, sometimes even too wild.
Evie lowered her head. Mike continued.
— But in general, life was not bad.
Lex asked.
— Why did you run away then?
Deila spoke up.
— All these experiments were aimed at improving human abilities, officially... but Rick's main goal was this portal. I do not know how he found out about other worlds and how to get there, but he was able to.
Ray spoke up.
— And in the end he took all our people... Okay, I think everyone needs to rest and figure it out now. And tomorrow we will start preparing for the return. And yes, Deila, you can take a spare room or a booth, you'll figure it out yourself.
Several hours have passed.
Ray was sorting through things in the workshop.
Riley and Evie came up to him. Riley spoke up.
— So, are we here?
—Yeah,— Ray said without being distracted.
—Oh, Ray, do you know if there are any glasses left?
— I'll take a look.
Ray opened a desk drawer and rummaged through a pile of cases and tools until he found a case labeled "Prototype Gorgon, Season 2."
Ray opened the case and took out a pair of red glasses with a rim.
— Here, I think they'll do.
Evie took the glasses while Riley undid the blindfold. Evie helped me put on my glasses.
Riley cautiously opened her eyes and nothing happened, she exhaled calmly.
Evie asked.
— What would have happened?
Ray spoke up.
— Nothing serious, we would just all be frozen in stone.
Ray continued to disassemble the bracelet. Riley thought about it.
— Maybe we should try it anyway.
Evie spoke up.
— If you want to.
Ray, don't get distracted.
— Not here! Go outside.
Riley reached for the button on her glasses and looked at the jar lying on the floor.
She took a long time to collect her thoughts and finally lowered her hand.
Evie spoke up.
— Then you'll show me later.
— Yeah, and then you.
Ray tightened the screw and turned on the bracelet.
— Yes, I was able to update the firmware.
Ray put on the bracelet and changed the hologram to a combat uniform, then to a tuxedo, and then to ordinary clothes.
— And it is now connected to M.I.S.T.Y
A holographic window appeared from the bracelet.
— Welcome, I am M.I.S.T.Y...
Ray closed the window.
— Okay, I'll take care of yours now, sorry, there's no Ivy for you yet.
— Good.
Suddenly, M.I.S.T.Y's voice rang out from the speakers and the newly launched holographic window.
— Attention, excessive activity in the medical unit! Attention excessive activity in meditation.
— Let's run there quickly! — Ray said.
After that, Riley and Evie hurried to the elevator, leaving Ray at the table.
Evie came to her senses halfway down the road, when she noticed Riley only at the elevator, after which she returned with the words.
— Sorry, I forgot.
The guys took the elevator down to the medical unit, where Lex and Mike were looking after Hertz.
— What's wrong with him? — Ray asked.
— I don't know, everything is jumping back and forth here. — Lex said.
The indicators on the dashboard ranged from minimum to maximum values while Hertz was shaking.
Riley spoke up.
— We have to do something.
— What's to be done here? Should I wake you up? — Lex was saying.
— As an option! — Mike said, then rubbed his hands together.
The boy touched Hertz with his charged hands, which caused a burst of colorful lightning.
The guys were thrown back, the dashboard was knocked out, and the lights started flashing.
Hertz's shaking was over. The boys cautiously approached the cot and looked at the boy, who began to make some noises.
Ray is quiet and angry.
— If you've shortened all his neurons, you're going to answer for yourself, okay?
Hertz cleared his throat and slowly began to open his eyes.
Riley quickly rushed to get a bottle of water and handed it to Hertz.
He took it clumsily and eventually the bottle flew to the floor, but Evie immediately caught herself and forced the water bottle to hang off the floor.
Riley was surprised to see a flying bottle, and Hertz spoke.
— Oh, guys... Did we beat Rick?
Everyone exhaled calmly.
Lex spoke up.
— Well, as you can say, we rather shit ourselves a little...