"Polaris, to the EWA in five."
Tori huffed as she stood.
"General Vance calls…" she muttered, stretching.
The others followed suit, rising from the table.
Zora lingered a moment longer, Lena's question still circling in her mind.
Yeah… guess we're gonna have to see.
She stood and followed the team through the portal.
Zora still felt queasy when they stepped into the command center.
General Vance looked up as they approached.
His eyes narrowed at Zora.
"What's wrong with you?"
Zora waved the question off with a sigh.
"What'd you call us down here for?"
Her eyes drifted to the floating 3D map of the camp — still cloaked in darkness.
But before Vance could answer, another voice cut in — smooth, playful, British.
"Actually, I wanted you down here."
Vance groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
From the far side of the room strode a tall woman with tanned skin and auburn hair tied back in a loose braid. Her emerald eyes gleamed with mischief as she walked confidently to the center platform, wearing oil-stained overalls, a red shirt, and heavy combat boots.
Paul inhaled sharply as she passed.
She leaned against General Vance's shoulder with a grin.
"Polaris, this is Olivia Brunsen. Tracker. Sole operative of the Field Information Team."
Olivia gave a cheerful wave.
"Hi! Like he just said, I'm Olivia. I'm the one who found you all. And…"
She stopped in front of Zora, her gaze sharp and amused.
"I'm also the one who can find our dear friend."
Zora blinked.
"What do you mean you found us?"
Olivia's Eidolon materialized beside her — a sleek, mechanical wolf, its glowing red eyes sweeping the room.
"There's a reason I'm the only member of my team," she said with a devilish grin.
Vance cleared his throat.
"That's enough, Olivia. Just tell them what you found."
She rolled her eyes and pouted slightly.
"You're no fun, Theron."
Then she turned and strode to the map, placing her hand over the surface.
The image shifted — zooming out until it displayed the entire northern U.S. in a pale blue glow.
"Long story short? It seems our friend Tariq has a talent for keeping the creepy crawlies away."
She tapped the map. Bright red flares blinked in North Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming.
"Over the past year, these zones have popped up — burn zones. Fires. Scorch marks. At first, we thought it was radicals. Or travelers."
Tori raised her hand.
"Yes, you have a question," Olivia said flatly, clearly annoyed at the interruption.
"What do you mean by travelers?" Tori asked, brow furrowed.
Olivia looked from Tori to Vance — then burst out laughing.
"You haven't even told them about the most dangerous part of their job? Jesus. You Americans and your secrets…"
Vance looked like he was about to pop a blood vessel.
"They didn't have a need to know until their first mission," he muttered.
"But since the cat's out of the bag… go ahead and explain it to them."
He waved her on, clearly exhausted.
Olivia smiled wide and flicked her wrist.
The map zoomed again — this time into the heart of the Arizona desert.
With a snap of her fingers, images and videos burst into the air — suspended in glowing panels above the map.
Each one showed something different.
Men and women emerging from what looked like cracks in the air, the world behind them warped and shimmering like broken glass.
One wore flowing robes.
Another looked like a Mayan warrior.
Another had gear that resembled something out of a sci-fi film.
Olivia smiled like a magician unveiling her next trick.
"This is the most recent doorway I've discovered — right in the heart of the desert."
She zoomed the map back out. Dozens of pins appeared, scattered across the continent.
"That's right, boys and girls. People from other worlds are coming to ours — right through these gates."
Lena's legs gave out and she hit the floor.
Olivia didn't even blink.
"Oho, that's not even the worst part."
She was clearly enjoying herself.
"None of them use Eidolons. Each one has their own way of showing power."
One of the videos lit up — a recording of a man in robes facing off against a towering humanoid spider on a scorched field.
"That's a Kin!" Ivory gasped. "That's a full Spider Kin!"
"Shh," Olivia whispered, eyes locked on the feed.
"Watch."
The robed man's skin began to glow — his clothing erupted into flames, incinerated in seconds. Beneath it, he was built like a warrior from myth — tall, scarred, and chiseled, his pale skin covered in glowing runic tattoos, each one pulsing a different color.
As he fought, he drew on the tattoos to wield fire, wind, earth, and even lightning.
But the Spider Kin danced around him.
It teleported, poked him in the ribs, vanished, reappeared behind him, jabbed his shoulder — all without causing any real harm.
It was toying with him.
Each time the man used a rune, it vanished from his body. And eventually… he ran out.
His skin was bare. The glow was gone.
He dropped to his knees and punched the ground in frustration.
The video cut off.
"The next part's a little gruesome," Olivia said, glancing at Paul and Tori — both of whom looked like they were about to join Lena on the floor.
She turned back to the map and gestured broadly.
"Each pin marks a gate I've confirmed here on our continent."
More glowing markers pulsed across the display.
"Most of the people who've come through? Dead. Either killed by the Controlling Abhorrent or Sovereign of the region…"
"Or they ran back through their gates, tails tucked between their legs."
She smirked.
"Either way — the ones we've seen so far don't seem all that strong."
She paused.
"Yet."
Olivia cracked her neck and stretched with a lazy grin.
"Now that that's out of the way…"
She raised a single finger.
"Let's move on to the next horror you'll be facing out there."
With a flick of her hand, the map shifted again.
Lines appeared — paths connecting across states, branching like veins… each one ending at a small, pulsing dot.
"Radicals."