The Voidbreak Crisis

18. The Portal Event

"You guys ready?" Andromeda said over the loudspeaker. The men outside the portal apparatus nodded and readied their weapons. They'd been training for this day for at least a month now, and she and Steve had been refining the calculations for much longer. She wasn't sure what was going to come through, but she wanted them to be prepared for the worst.
"Keep in mind this could have long-term repercussions on your world, gentlemen. Things will never be the same once we activate this portal. One more time, gentlemen, are you ready?" Andromeda asked, gripping the key in front of her as Steve grabbed his side.

Steve was ready for this. He couldn't get Lilly back, he knew that now. But Thomas was still out there somewhere, and he believed he could get him back. This whole endeavor must be worth something. The guards nodded again, and aimed at the portal apparatus with their fingers on the triggers.
"Shall we?" Andromeda asked, looking over at Steve.
"Ready. On the count of three." Steve said, looking over his calculations one more time.
"Three, two, one." Andromeda counted. They both turned their keys at once, and the lights in the entire base dimmed for a few seconds as the portal began humming loudly. Bolts of lightning arced from one side to the other, each bolt firing with increasing frequency until the whole of the portal was filled with light. The sound was deafening, a roar and rush of wind so powerful it was pushing the men back from their guard points. They activated their boots, which anchored them to the floor with strong steel clamps. They held their ground and lowered their visors as they kept their aim on the portal. Suddenly the rushing wind died down, and there was an unnerving silence in it's place. Andromeda felt her fur stand on end, and braced herself for the worst. Suddenly, with a violent bang, something was hurtled out of the portal faster than the speed of sound, and slammed into the viewing booth violently, embedding itself deep in the metal shield. The portal slowly died down and became quiet after a soft popping noise. The guards unlatched their boots and turned to aim at the thing in the metal.

Andromeda and Steve hurried out of the viewing area, followed by General Crusher and his aides. The guards kept their sights on the metal, but no one could tell what was embedded in it.
"What happened?" Crusher asked, his hand on his pistol subconsciously.
"Someone came through." Andromeda said, scanning the area with a brief psychic pulse. But there was no one else there.
"Or something came through. Whatever it is, it has no psychic signature, therefore, no brain activity. I don't think it survived the trip." Andromeda said, relaxing her stance.
"So we pulled something through, but the bridge didn't stabilize." Steve said, rubbing his head and thinking.

With a gentle groan, the metal began to move outwards. The guards leapt back and readied their rifles as Andromeda hid Steve behind her and readied her claws. There was no psychic signature, so what was in there? Even mechanimorphs had a small signature. She readied herself for the worst again as a massive, golden furred hand reached out of the metal and pulled itself out of the hole it had created. Andromeda was in awe as he pulled himself out to his full eight foot height and shook the pieces of metal from his mane.
"Andromeda." He said, looking down at her and nodding.
"My lord." Andromeda said, saluting briefly.
"Gentlemen." He said, looking down at the men surrounding him. It was an eight foot tall, golden furred lion wilderfolk. He was wearing only loose pants that closely resembled sweatpants, made of loose, thin fabric. He had majestic, golden hued eyes that scanned over every man and woman around him. He was a gigantic, broad creature. The muscles on his arms were easily the size of a small child. He looked like he could tear a tank in half with his bear hands. He had a mane of dense golden fur that wrapped around neck and shoulders, and had dozens of pieces of metal embedded in it.
"Lower your arms, men. He's a member of the legion." Andromeda said as Steve walked out from behind her.
"Gentlemen, Generals, this is Lord Xaath, founding member of the Legion of Thunder, and the first Immortal." Andromeda said, saluting again.
"Why couldn't you detect him?" Crusher asked, not taking his hand off his pistol.
"I am immune to magic of any sort, and I am indestructible." Xaath said, pulling a piece of metal out of his massive mane.
"Indestructible?" Steve said, rubbing his chin softly as he thought.
"Completely." Xaath said, grinning.
"I've got a horrible idea." Steve said, grinning wider.