Chapter 28:

I had just finished slipping on my clothing, carefully so that it wouldn't tear like the memory foam bed and stone when I heard a click, almost imperceptible, and then a whoosh of air, turning the warm air of the room cold.

My boots squeaked as I turned and I frowned a little, they would need to be broken to work perfectly, soundlessly, as I preferred. Nevertheless, I completed my turn and stared at an opening in the wall where none had been before.

I recognized a portal when I saw it. There had been no door there before, and the cut wasn't completely perfect, not lining up with the tiled wall completely. In the portal door stood an unassuming man. He wasn't very tall, his hair was blond, he had horn-rimmed glasses, a plain red tie, and a blue suit.

He cocked his head to the side and gestured to me to approach him before introducing himself, "Greetings, Lara Croft, my name is Kurt, but you might know me better as the Number Man."

He paused for a moment, and when I didn't move an inch, just slowly let my hand drift towards my pistol, he grinned a little, looking chagrined, "Let's talk a little before you decide to kill me, the fate of the world is at stake, after all."

"You know," I replied, letting the tips of my fingers drift over my pistol, which I had been reunited with after far too long, "Alexandria talked about saving the world right before she was 'rescued' by a portal just like the one you're standing through."

The Number Man nodded, still looking remarkably at ease, "That's true, she was a former member of our organization."

"Former?" I asked, slinging my rifle over my shoulder and securing my satchel before walking towards the Number Man, "Explain, if you will."

The Number Man either didn't care about my frosty tone or believed that I wouldn't harm him since all he did was take a step to the side as I stalked forward.

"Apparently," he started, and I was able to notice a slight tightening around his eyes, disappointment maybe, but not necessarily subterfuge, "She somehow came to believe that Coil, whom you killed, was useful for our plan."

"Was he actually?" I asked, mind flashing to what he intended, nay, what he did to Dinah. If these people actually approved…

"No," the Number Man said, and to my consternation, I could not discern whether he was lying.

"In any case," he continued stepping to the side so he could walk alongside me down a featureless white hallway. The glare hurt my eyes a little, I imagined living in this place all day would be quite migraine-inducing, "You've killed her and so her actions, which were not sanctioned by our organization, mind you, are a moot point. The world is still in mortal peril."

"I don't care about that," I said, "the world is always in mortal peril. What happened to Dinah? Is she free?"

The Number Man continued walking, pausing for just a moment, as if he was listening to something, "Yes," he finally responded, "She was returned to her parents by your friend Skitter and Tattletale early Wednesday morning."

Wednesday morning? That would imply…

"How long did I sleep?"

"A little less than three days," the Number Man replied, seemingly unbothered by my derails. That was strange, I did not feel like I slept for so long, but I did seem to have regrown my arm, which was not normal.

"These new… powers? Are they your organizations doing?"

The Number Man pushed his glasses back like an anime protagonist, or maybe antagonist, depending on what anime you watched. No, I didn't watch anime but Jonah did, hence I still learned a lot of stuff by osmosis. I still found it funny that a big guy like him watched anime in his spare time in addition to bodybuilding.

"Not entirely," he replied, "We assumed you had something to do with it. After all, they appear to have a remarkable similarity to Alexandria's powers."

There it was again. I kind of really doubted that they had no idea what Coil was doing and that Alexandria was 'rogue.' If they didn't order her to ensure Coil survived explicitly than they definitely did so by inattention and willful ignorance. There was no way I was going to work with these people. Play nice until I found out where I was and then get out of here.

"You walk quietly," the Number Man observed, "By any chance are you a hunter?"

"Yes," I replied, noting how the hallway ahead of us was both devoid of windows and also seemed to curve slightly so it wasn't just a long corridor to shoot down. Good for defending and attacking as needed.

"And what did you hunt?"

I grinned, it was a cold grin, full of malice, I looked at him, meeting his eyes, "Why the most dangerous prey of all."

The Number Man regarded me for a moment longer and then turned away, "I did so once as well. It is a past I managed to leave behind when I joined Cauldron."

"Cauldron? You named your organization after a cooking pot?" I demanded incredulously, I bit down a mocking question about whether it started out as a cooking club.

The Number Man smiled but didn't answer as we arrived in front of a door, it was a metallic grey and slid open as we approached it. Inside was a room with a circular table, overlooking a lush jungle, teeming with birds and insects. There was even a waterfall within view. It was like what James Bond would encounter when he found a villain on some exploited island paradise.

Around the white stone table sat four people, one man, and two women. One was a man in a green cowl with a green cape, his face was obscured by shadows but two green lights shined from where his eyes would be. The other was a black woman with a severe-looking face and glasses perched high upon her nose. The other woman was tanned with high cheekbones and grey eyes. She wore a crisply tailored suit and sat demurely looking into space.

"This is Cauldron," The Number Man said, "And we'd like to ask for your help with saving the world."

The man in the green cowl clenched his fists, making the material creak.