"The dimensional anomalies are increasing exponentially," Mentis explained, manipulating the holographic display to show a time-lapse map of New Harbor. Red dots representing rifts blossomed across the city like a spreading rash. "Seventy-three confirmed incidents in the past forty-eight hours, compared to twenty-one in the entire previous month."
Max stood in his full Rumor costume, the adaptive fabric of Shimmer's improved design moving with him like a second skin. The spiral symbol on his chest caught the light as he studied the concerning display.
"What's causing the acceleration?" he asked.
"Unknown," Mentis admitted. "Our working theory involves cascading dimensional resonance—each breach weakening surrounding reality, making subsequent breaches more likely."
"Like microfractures spreading through glass," Shimmer added from her position at the monitoring station. "Eventually reaching critical failure threshold."
The image was disturbingly clear—and aligned with Mrs. Chen's warnings about progressive reality degradation. Max thought about sharing her insights but hesitated, remembering her caution about Mentis's scientific perspective.
"So what's the plan?" he asked instead. "How do I help?"
Mentis adjusted the display, highlighting three specific anomalies. "These locations show unusual energy signatures requiring immediate investigation. Guardian resources are stretched too thin for proper coverage."
"Which is where you come in," came a new voice from the doorway.
Max turned to see Velocity entering the lab, his red and white uniform slightly blurred at the edges from recent high-speed travel. The Guardian speedster's close-cropped hair with its distinctive red lightning bolt design was unmistakable, as was his perpetual kinetic energy—even standing still, he seemed to vibrate slightly.
"Rumor, right?" Velocity extended a hand, moving at a deliberately slowed pace that suggested he was restraining his natural speed for Max's benefit. "Heard good things. That phase-shifting trick at the university was impressive."
Max accepted the handshake, momentarily star-struck at meeting another Guardian up close. "Thanks. Still learning."
"Aren't we all?" Velocity grinned, his bright smile matching his flashy persona. "Especially with these dimensional whatsits popping up everywhere. I've been running perimeter containment for thirty-six hours straight."
Despite his cheerful tone, Max noticed the signs of exhaustion—the slight shadows under Velocity's eyes, the occasional micro-tremors in his movements that suggested energy reserves running low.
"Velocity will accompany you to the Harbor District anomaly," Mentis explained, highlighting one of the marked locations. "Initial readings suggest a Fluctuating classification, potentially allowing entity transit."
"Translation: something might be trying to come through," Velocity clarified. "Our job is to make sure that 'something' isn't dangerous, and if it is, slam the door in its face."
Shimmer activated a display showing equipment schematics. "You'll deploy modified containment devices. Improvements based on university incident data. Specifically calibrated to your phase-disruption technique."
Max examined the detailed technical specifications, impressed by how quickly Shimmer had adapted the technology based on his improvised approach to the university anomaly.
"The mission parameters are straightforward," Mentis continued. "Assess, contain, report. Do not engage any entities without Guardian backup. This is strictly reconnaissance and preliminary containment."
"But if something nasty does come through?" Max asked.
"Then I run it in circles while you get creative with those phase-shifting tricks," Velocity said with a confidence that suggested he'd faced much worse. "Simple."
Somehow, Max doubted it would be that simple. But the alternative was letting dimensional rifts spread unchecked throughout the city.
"When do we leave?" he asked.
Velocity's grin widened. "Already gone, buddy."
---
The harbor district was eerily quiet for early evening. Guardian alerts had cleared most civilians from the area, leaving the usually bustling docks deserted. Shipping containers stood in silent rows, their colorful surfaces dull in the fading light. The broken moon hung low over the water, its fragments casting multiple reflections across the harbor's surface.
Max and Velocity crouched behind a stack of containers approximately fifty meters from the anomaly—a shimmering distortion hovering about three feet above the end of Pier 7.
"Definitely Fluctuating class," Velocity whispered, checking readings on his wrist device. "Energy signature matches previous harbor incidents."
Max studied the anomaly through his mask's enhanced visual filters. Unlike the university rift, this one pulsed with a rhythmic pattern, expanding and contracting like a breathing organism.
"It looks... deliberate," he observed. "Like it's being controlled somehow."
Velocity glanced at him with newfound interest. "Good eye. Mentis noticed the same thing about the harbor anomalies. They show signs of external manipulation rather than random formation."
"You mean someone is creating these intentionally?"
"Or something," Velocity confirmed. "The energy patterns suggest technological influence."
That aligned disturbingly well with Mrs. Chen's warnings about her world's fate. "So what's the plan?"
Velocity outlined their approach with surprising tactical precision, belying his casual persona. "I'll deploy perimeter sensors to give us advance warning of any entities. You set up the containment array directly beneath the anomaly. If it remains stable, we initiate controlled collapse protocol. If it spawns entities, we assess threat level before engaging."
Max nodded, mentally reviewing the containment procedures Shimmer had drilled into him. "What about civilians? The area seems clear, but—"
"Harbor patrol evacuated everyone within a half-mile radius," Velocity assured him. "Standard procedure for confirmed anomalies."
With the plan established, they moved into position. Velocity became a red blur, placing sensors in a wide circle around the pier in seconds. Max approached more cautiously, the containment devices Shimmer had provided secure in his utility belt.
As he neared the anomaly, Max felt an odd pressure—not physical, but something more subtle, as if reality itself was thinner here. His phase-shifting abilities seemed to respond to the environment, his molecules vibrating slightly in resonance with the dimensional distortion.
He deployed the primary containment disc directly beneath the anomaly, just as he had at the university. The device activated smoothly, energy beams shooting upward to create a cylindrical barrier around the rift.
"Containment field stable," Max reported through his communicator. "Ready for collapse protocol."
"Sensors show no entity signatures," Velocity confirmed, appearing beside Max in a gust of displaced air. "Let's shut this thing down and—"
The anomaly pulsed violently, interrupting him. The containment field flickered but held as the dimensional tear expanded beyond its previous rhythm.
"Energy spike!" Velocity warned, checking his sensors. "Something's coming through!"
Max braced himself, preparing to shift into phase state if necessary. The anomaly's center darkened, and through that darkness, a shape began to emerge—humanoid but indistinct, as if composed of shifting shadows.
"Class IV entity," Velocity identified, dropping into a combat stance. "Potentially hostile."
The figure fully emerged from the portal, hovering just above the pier's weathered boards. As it solidified, Max could make out more details—a vaguely feminine form wrapped in what appeared to be tattered black fabric that moved contrary to the harbor breeze.
Most striking was the entity's face, or rather, its absence. Where facial features should have been, there was only a smooth reflective surface like burnished metal that caught and distorted the moonlight.
"Reminds me of Mindmaze," Velocity muttered, referring to a villain whose mirror-mask was notorious in New Harbor.
The entity turned its featureless face toward them, the reflective surface rippling slightly. It made a sound—not speech exactly, but a series of harmonic tones that seemed almost like a question.
"Universal translator not recognizing language patterns," Velocity reported, checking his wrist device again. "Could be communication attempt or simply ambient noise."
Max studied the entity more carefully. Despite its otherworldly appearance, its posture and movements seemed uncertain rather than threatening. It reminded him of the Warning Entity from the university—trying desperately to communicate something important.
"I don't think it's hostile," he said quietly. "It seems... lost."
The entity floated closer, its reflective face tilted in what might have been curiosity. It extended a hand—or appendage approximating a hand—toward Max specifically, making those harmonic tones again with greater urgency.
"Stay back," Velocity warned, moving slightly ahead of Max in a protective gesture. "Standard procedure is to maintain distance until intent is confirmed."
But something about the entity's focused attention on him made Max hesitate. Mrs. Chen had said the university entity recognized what he was—a Consensus Avatar, whatever that truly meant. Perhaps this being did as well.
Making a decision that Mentis would definitely not approve, Max stepped forward. "I'm going to try something," he said to Velocity before the speedster could object.
Drawing on the phase-shifting abilities he'd been practicing, Max allowed his hand to partially dematerialize—not completely intangible, but entering a state between solid matter and energy. If this entity existed partially in another dimensional state, perhaps meeting it halfway would facilitate communication.
Velocity made a sound of protest, but Max was already extending his semi-phased hand toward the entity. "We want to help," he said, unsure if it could understand words but hoping his intent might carry across dimensional barriers.
The entity went still, its reflective face rippling with increased activity. Then, with surprising gentleness, it extended its own hand to meet Max's. The sensation was bizarre—like touching electricity that had somehow gained consistency, neither solid nor gaseous but something in between.
Images flooded Max's mind—fragmentary glimpses of another world, much like Earth but with subtle differences. A city similar to New Harbor but with an intact moon overhead. Then destruction—tears in reality expanding uncontrollably, consuming entire city blocks. People fleeing through portals as their world literally unraveled around them.
Max gasped, staggering backward as the connection broke. "It's a refugee," he managed, his voice shaking. "Its world is being destroyed by the same thing happening here."
The entity made another series of tones, more modulated this time, almost like it was trying to adopt human speech patterns. It gestured urgently toward the anomaly, which had begun fluctuating more rapidly.
"I think it's trying to warn us," Max continued. "These rifts—they're symptoms of something worse coming."
Velocity looked skeptical but professional enough not to dismiss the possibility. "Even if that's true, we need to contain this anomaly before it destabilizes further." He checked his sensors again. "Energy readings are approaching critical levels."
The entity seemed to understand their dilemma. It moved back toward the portal, making one final series of harmonic tones that somehow conveyed farewell. Before either hero could respond, it re-entered the anomaly, which immediately began to contract.
"It's helping us close it," Max realized.
The containment field strengthened as the anomaly shrank, the energy beams brightening as they guided the dimensional tear toward controlled collapse. Within moments, the rift had compressed to a pinpoint of light and then vanished completely, leaving only the containment device humming softly on the pier.
"Well," Velocity said after a moment of stunned silence, "that was unexpected."
Max deactivated the containment device, collecting it for analysis. "It wasn't hostile. It was trying to help."
"Maybe," Velocity conceded. "Or maybe it just didn't want to get stuck here when its exit closed." He activated his communicator. "Velocity to Guardian Control. Anomaly contained, Class IV entity encountered but returned to origin point voluntarily. No hostile action."
As Velocity reported the details of their encounter, Max replayed the fragments of vision the entity had shared. The progression of destruction matched what Mrs. Chen had described—reality degradation spreading until entire sections of space-time collapsed. If the same process was accelerating here...
"Mentis wants full debrief," Velocity announced, finishing his communication. "Especially about that phase-state contact you initiated. Which, by the way, was extremely reckless."
"It worked, didn't it?" Max defended. "We learned more from direct contact than we would have from just observation."
"Procedure exists for a reason," Velocity countered, though without real heat. "But between us? Nice improvisation. Reminds me of my early days before the Guardians got all structured and protocol-heavy."
It was a surprising admission from a senior Guardian, making Max wonder about Velocity's history before the team.
"Ready to hit the next anomaly?" Velocity asked, checking the time. "We've got two more on tonight's list, and at this containment rate, we might actually get ahead of the crisis."
Max nodded, though privately he doubted the crisis could be solved by simply closing rifts one by one. If Mrs. Chen was right, and if the entity's visions were accurate, they were treating symptoms rather than the disease.
But for now, containment was the only tool they had. And helping the Guardians meant access to information that might lead to actual solutions—assuming Max could piece together the truth from Mrs. Chen's cryptic revelations and the fragmentary warnings of dimensional refugees.
"Let's move," he agreed. "Time's running out."
Velocity grinned, his exhaustion momentarily forgotten in the satisfaction of a successful mission. "That's the spirit! Guardian Tower will make a proper hero of you yet."
As they headed toward their next target, Max couldn't help wondering if becoming a "proper hero" was really what the world needed right now—or if something else entirely was required to face what was coming.
Either way, Rumor was now officially part of the response. And for better or worse, the stories people told about him would continue to shape not just his abilities, but perhaps the future of New Harbor itself.