“Remembers, it’s very important you only listen to me or someone. I tell you that you can too okay? If you see a big man with a sword, that’s my Dad, do what he says. These other ones are a bit strange, but if any dog, tree man, or one-eyed alien tries to get you to follow them, you should do that, too. They are all my friends, and we are going to work together to get you everyone to safety,” Cal explained to the other children as they took the first flight of stairs together.
“You heard him, everyone, and if you can’t remember, just follow me. I told you I’d protect you, but he’s going to be even better at it,” Rusty, the biggest of them, told the rest of the kids. Cal was surprised when several of the kids cheered. Apparently his appearance had been enough to overcome some of the fear. Despite what his frame may suggest, he had a hard time remembering just what it was like being that young anymore.
The first resistance they encountered was a squad of soldiers on the main floor, Cal’s clean out of the bottom levels had been thorough enough, it seemed. Before the men had a chance to realize Cal and the kids were there, Cal had already hit them all with a ball of lightning, the electrical discharge blasting their lifeless bodies backward into the hall. Cal heard one of the kids yell, “holy shit!” behind him and let himself smile slightly. Okay, maybe he remembered a little bit about what it was like to be a kid.
“Remember how I said I wanted you to wait while I went ahead? Well, this is the time. I’m going to go into the hall and stop anyone that wants to recapture us, then I’ll come back for you, okay?” Cal asked the kids again, hoping the confirmation helped them listen.
“I got it,” Rusty said. He had gone from terrified when Cal first saw him to a look of hope. Cal wondered just how long these kids had been locked away.
He walked through the door, avoiding the bodies of the soldiers he had just handled, carefully making his way back towards the way he had come in. There were about fifty soldiers in the main room, and they were screaming over each other about the madmen with the sword and the magical dog outside. Good, that meant they were more worried about them than him.
By the time they noticed the light coming from the walls it was already too late as arcs of electricity flashed across the room, killing everyone it hit. Within seconds, there were a handful left standing. They pointed their guns at Cal. He detonated the ball of lightning sitting on the ceiling of the room. There was now a new exit much larger exit from the building, and no one was blocking his path.
“Dad, keep the path as clear as you can. I need to get all these kids to the void house,” Cal yelled to his father.
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“I’ll try,” Stan shouted back, deflecting the blast of another ogre’s energies. He was currently fighting over a dozen of them. They really had summoned the whole Agency this time. As Cal considered if it was even possible to get the kids through the melee, two more figures popped out of the gateway. Twonger and Frank had made it back home. Neither of them wasted any time throwing themselves against the ranks of soldiers.
Cal ran back the kids as quick as he could; now was their best shot. He couldn’t count on Bug and Gretel showing up and adding more firepower to their side. There was also the likelihood that something much worse as coming. He wouldn’t put it past the Agency to nuke the base just to start the loop over at this rate.
“It’s time to run, guys. As soon as you get outside, I need you to run for the weird black dot hanging in the air. We all need to get through that. I’ll be going in last. There should be some very nice people on the other side waiting for you. Now run!” Cal ordered the kids, taking off himself in a dash. He checked behind him about halfway down the hallway to make sure everyone was following, and they were.
As they cleared the door Cal fired off several shots of lightning to further clear the pathway. Alfred joined him on the run, and a large bubble popped up around them all. He heard a noise overhead and saw a whole new problem incoming. At least a dozen helicopters armed with missiles were coming in from above, far out of his usual range.
“Fulginanis, I need help if you’ve got anything that can shoot down some helicopters before this turns into a bloodbath for us,” Cal shouted in his head. He didn’t think there was anything, but who knew what that Gryalth woman could do?
To his surprise it was the robot Libby who emerged from the portal. From their arms, several rockets fired into the sky, each finding their mark. Several helicopters started to fall back toward the Earth, damaged beyond the ability of the pilots to keep them in the air.
“Go, kids, Alfred, take them home. I’ll get everyone else back!” Cal yelled as he turned to fight the ever-growing army facing them.
“Come on, kids, I’ve got you now!” Alfred yelled, and none of the kids questioned it as they followed the dog to safety.
“Everyone retreat the kids are safe,” Cal yelled, fighting his way to his father, trying to get the big man his own exit. The ogre still in front of them split in half as Excalibur came into Cal’s view.
“Good, then let’s go!” Stan roared over the noise. They were the last two still on the battlefield, and the second they made it through to the other side, Cal closed the portal behind them.
His return coincided with Bug’s march of her prisoners of war through the portal. He had never seen this many people in the void house together before and certainly not in this cramped room. “Gus, get the kids to Ethel’s realm and try to cheer them up. Bug, take your prisoners to the situation room, and we can work on figuring that out later. I need to find Harold,” Cal said, exhausted.