.^^ the Portal Mirror ^^

— James —

I stepped through the portal, holding my new, heavier Grimoire, and blinked at the sight of hundreds of humans, (I'd sent the rest to their respective worlds and realms, but the humans took too much thought, so I'd placed them all here,) running around like chickens with their heads cut off. I summoned my lion's vocal cords, and simply roared, echoing over the noice like an air-raid siren.

Once they were all quiet, I nodded, and projected my voice, translating it so that everyone heard their native tongue. "Now, I'm sure you're all very confused, but you just need to calm down. I will get you back to your home countries as soon as possible. Everyone should stand still, with a good amount of space around you, so the portals don't take anyone they're not supposed to. Alright?" I nodded as they all began obeying.

I used the knowledge of the Dead Goddess in my Grimoire, plus her memories, and began sending them back, one by one, to where they'd been when she took them, though When was still beyond me.

Time travel was a complicated issue, even for the goddess who seemed to specialize in it, and so instead, she had simply created a realm where time was nearly entirely obsolete, where Space was the superior partner in the Space-Time equation. It still required a rather interesting set of equations that I would study later, but I was busy at the moment.

Then, I reached out to the ones I'd put in the other realms, and made sure each of them was within a few miles of their homes or cities or whatever, all safe and sound.

Once everyone except Rafaela was taken care of, and my power was severely drained, (even the surplus from the Oasis, which was a scary feeling,) I walked over, and gave Rafaela a tight hug.

She laughed, and hugged back just as tightly. "What's this for? No one really explained what was going on?"

"I killed a God who was using you, and millions of other sentient beings, to break the cosmic laws of balance, using you as basically electrical transformers, and then sent them all back to where she'd taken them from." I nodded.

She blinked slowly. "You can't just-!... but-!... you know I made a Deal, yes?"

"Yes, one she never intended on honoring. Some of these people were gone for hundreds of years, despite her assurances that no time would pass while you were imprisoned." Zetre shook his head. "I'm actually appalled at all this... I never thought a goddess would break her word so casually..."

"Breaking an Oath is actually ridiculously simple, if you have the power. You've seen me do it, when I break the little charms when you thank me?" I reminded him.

He blinked. "And that's... the same?"

"A bit scaled up, but yes. Anyway, all's well that ends well." I nodded, and then released Rafaela, as Mum stomped over.

"JAMES ATHENOS PETERSON-PARTHENOS get your ASS over here!!!" She growled.

I blinked and walked over to her, confused. "Yes, Ma? What've I done?" I asked warily.

"You think you can just do as you like?!?!? You went on a date, I set a curfew, then you disappear for a week,-"

"Whoa, Wait, a WEEK?!?" I balked, confused. "I was rescuing Rafaela, in a dimension where time was wonky, but I didn't think-"

She covered my mouth. "That's right! You didn't think! You just Did! Now, I don't really object to you saving Rafaela from a wonky time-monster, that part was well done, but you didn't check in, you didn't tell me anything about it, you just went off and did as you pleased! It's become a trend for you, every time I give you an inch of room, you disappear and take a week or so without talking to me first!!! Look, you're giving me grey hairs!" She growled, showing me the white that had slipped into her red hair.

I smelled dye on them, and smiled. "You dyed your hair to make a point?"

She frowned and smacked the back of my head. "And that's another thing! The balls on you, it's like you don't care about anything except saying what's on your mind, with no minding anyone else's!"

I blinked slowly. "Well... yes? I learned it from you? You specifically taught me to always say what was on my mind, and damn everyone else that didn't like it."

She shook her head. "Well Not me! I'm yer mum, ye fuckin' idiot, I don't get ignored! Understood?!?"

I nodded. "Alrigh', Mum, I dinnae mean te worry ye." I hugged her close.

"Fuckin' ass..." She grumbled a bit more, but hugged me tightly. Then she released me, and sniffed, rubbing her face. "Now! That's all done, enough with the lovey-dovey shite, save it fer yer man!" She shoved me away brusquely, and straightened her clothes.

I laughed and drew Zetre over. "As you wish, Mum!" I kissed him sweetly, and he melted into me, then slapped me gently.

"What'd my father say about nonsense?" He grinned mischievously.

I shrugged. "I'm sorry, who? My memory must be a little weird from the time-travel..." I tickled his ribs, and didn't release him until he bubbled with laughter.

"Zetre! Oh gods I was so worried!!!" Zapesa tackled him literally out of my arms, twirling him by the hips over his head, and then crushing him into a hug.

I smiled and sat on a nearby bench, waiting as he received the same basic lecture from his father, and then explained the situation, and got another lecture, which ended quickly, thankfully.

Then they walked back over to me, and I waved. "Hey, Mr. Lithos! So listen, I've been thinking, just listen, yeah? I made the curfew, then Zetre followed me without my knowledge, but in his defense he wanted to go on an adventure. Now, I figured, two hours tops, and he's home before you know it. But obviously that's not exactly how it happened." I grinned uncomfortably.

He stared at me calmly while I talked, and nodded when I finished. "Yeah, I don't really care." He said flatly.

"I understand that, and I do appreciate your position, worrying for Zetre and all that, but I'd like you to know that I definitely never intended to betray your trust, in fact I did my best to build that trust by being trustworthy, but it seems it wasn't really as easy as I thought, so-"

"James, shut up." He shook his head.

"Got it." I nodded.

"Alright, So I appreciate what you did, trying to be trustworthy, definitely I appreciate your efforts, Alright? I do notice, and I appreciate it, and I'm not forcing you to stop dating my son. What I am doing is grounding him for a week, because that's how long he was gone. In that time, he may not do more than talk to you on the phone, and you may not visit him at our house, until this Friday, when you come pick us up for the family dinner we were planning together. Understood?" He raised an eyebrow.

"More than fair, Sir." I nodded, sighing.

"Good. Now goodbye, and good luck with your own parents." He winked, and started walking away.

"I already got my lecture, actually!" I called after him.

"One of them!" He retorted.

"As much as I hate agreeing with him..." Athenos sat next to me slowly. "Hey, Son. Been a while, huh?"

"Oh... right. Sorry." I grinned.

"Sorry?"

—

All things considered, a month of staying in Greece wasn't all that bad, seeing as I still had Qin Long to fetch things for me, using the portal in the office.

I'd moved the stationary portal mirror (after giving it a serious upgrade from its Mk 1 status,) as well as all the materials and intel from the 'secret' room in the Miami house, to the Grand Canyon Office, seeing as it was a basically-finished case, and it required little to no investigation left.

I also decided to create a private chamber under the office, large enough for everything I needed, from a Forge, which my Jotun Star powered. The star in the Deeps been connected to a simple Enchanted Diamond about the size of my fist, which was constantly receiving all the heat from the Deeps from the Star by way an intricate system of tiny portals, and a stream of electricity.

The result was a wicked-cool-looking Forge, which looked like it was under a waterfall of cosmic lightning, so hot that it would melt almost any normal material that came near it, thought it was contained to that corner, and wasn't freezing the rest of my lair.

The Egyptian lair was linked by way of a simple portal-door that looked like an elevator, though I didn't really care about anything there except for the Shrine and the giant dining room, which I had redecorated with extreme prejudice.

The giant complex hiding underneath the main dining room held a few hundred, fully-equipped apartments, each luxuriously sized and equipped. Each one held fake windows that showed a variety of views, and every single one followed a specific time-zone, so everyone was on the same sleep schedule.

The place was massive, laid out almost like an Apartment Complex, with a Gym taking up one entire floor over the Pool, which filled the basement, a Lobby on the top floor with a reception area and a place for archives and keys, and the rest of the Works one would expect in a luxury location... except for workers, which it lacked entirely, along with power and supplies.

I had solved the workers and supplies issue by making a deal with a few hundred young Boggarts and Elves, (who I restrained from randomly calling 'Dobby' only through the most powerful of willpower,) and they agreed to be responsible for cleaning the whole Complex, running the kitchens and shopping, in return for room and board, and a paycheck.

The electricity was even easier, as I built a hefty transformer, and let a little bit of the electricity I was draining from the Star flow through it, and into the building's mainframe, where it spread properly, and only busted one lightbulb.

While I didn't need any of the apartments, having my own, they were good to rent to people who preferred to live underground, and also remarkably well-suited for hiding people who needed to get away from either abusive homes or situations, a sad reality in our world today, and one that Mages and magical creatures were not immune to, unfortunately.

Vanessa, who I hadn't thought about in weeks, was placed in charge of overseeing it all, because of her knowledge of the subject, and also because her old ones, both of them, had been destroyed by the spiders that had nearly killed us both.

In my main Office, I also made sure that Riley had enough room to lounge around in her true form, along with Perceval, mimicking the structure of my room in Athenos's House, by having my library and work area take over one side, next to the Forge and Elevator, and the other side with Riley's pillows and Perceval's lattice of perches, supersized to meet their needs, as well as the portals I'd made for Perceval to go flying, attaching it to both their collars, like the little collars that unlocked cat-doors.

Once that was finished, and my new lair looked as well put-together as I could make it, I began working on my portal. It still costed too much energy, and while it didn't bother me, I wanted my family to be able to use it, but a limited version, just in case some of my evil cousins were still around somewhere, leeching my powers like little parasitic rats.

I went back to my original design, which could go anywhere on earth, and boosted it a bit, letting it reach into another realm, if you got close enough to the point you needed to be at, which would mean the same continent. So, it would usually take two portals to leave the realm. Boohoo.

Once that was finished, I linked it to the Oasis in an extremely roundabout way, tracking it through several different power-sources, from my Star to the Oasis Spring, and even the Tree God, who had gained Sentience, wandering much closer to the realms than I'd designed it to, anywhere there was an abundance of nature.

He seemed to think his mission was to speak wisdom to all who came to his waters, though obviously if they drank, they died. He didn't seem aware that he protected a prison, but rather than the crystal at the bottom of his spring was a power source of some kind that was poisonous to mortals.

Either way, the portal was powered by the Oasis, hidden behind many other things if anyone went looking. Next, I made sure it was protected by way of a Key, a Rune you had to draw on a surface with a drop of your blood, (which had to be magically connected to mine, by way of me giving my blessing, in order to open a portal,) I allowed that version into my Blood Magic, and went to see Mum Test it.

When I stepped through a portal, she eyed me suspiciously. "Where were you?" She frowned.

"Technically, still in my room. I just got lazy. I also just made you a portal you can use, and anyone else with my Blood Magic. Here's the Rune, it'll go anywhere in the realm." I grinned, and drew the Rune in her palm with my finger.

She traced it again as it disappeared, and hummed. "A portal, huh?"

"Yep. Figured it would make things easier. My portal is too powerful, it doesn't work for anyone other than me because it takes too much energy. This'll be easier." I nodded.

She pricked her finger, drawing the Rune on the wall of her garden, and smiled at the black mirror with Victorian accents, made of Liquid Darkness, instead of Ice or Fire this time. She stepped through, and another mirror appeared next to the first, allowing her out.

"Impressive! But what's this Rune, I don't recognize it?" She asked.

"Oh, I invented it. It's the Key to my Blood Magic, so that the Cousins can't use it anymore. I realized only recently that they had access to everything I put into my Blood Magic, and that was... y'know, Oops." I chuckled.

She nodded. "That was kind of stupid, Son, I agree, though I recognize the necessity. Anyway, go get ready for our dinner, we're going to pick up the Lithos's in an hour."

I grinned and ran inside, hopping in the shower.

—

Walking down the mahogany Grand Staircase version of my Portal always made me feel fancy, even if I was dressed in a pair of shorts and a tank-top, but dressed in a suit, (not a tuxedo, a step down on the formal scale,) that matched what Zetre was going to wear, I felt like the very coolest of cats.

'I always loved that analogy.' Bast purred, laying regally across my shoulders in her pitch black Mau form, contrasting herself to my white suit.

Mum looked at her oddly, but shook her head, and allowed me to escort her down the steps in her beautiful scarlet evening gown, which she'd insisted upon wearing for 'tactical advantage', despite the locale being our family's restaurant.

Zapesa answered the front door, dressed in a snazzy charcoal suit with gold stitching, while his wife wore a silver evening gown, on par with mum's.

Mum looked her up and down, and hummed. "Pretty... a bit lacking in the body, but a cute face to balance it all." She said casually, and then smiled at Zetre, who had approached in a baby blue suit. "And there he is! Oh, you're adorable, baby doll!" She hugged him gently, careful with her hair, (which had taken aunty Durham and her about an entire hour in the bathroom, to my horror,) then she shooed him towards me mischievously.

I smirked at her behavior, and kissed his hands, making his suit press itself, darken to a navy blue, and finally made sure that it fit his body more kindly, painting him in a more masculine light, which I knew he preferred. "Allo, me luv! Ready for a spot o' fun?" I asked lightly.

He scoffed, but his eyes thanked me for the changes to his wardrobe. "I'm ready for the hell this will turn into. Remind me, why did you do this to me?"

"Meh, threw your Da a bone to soften him up before our date." I whispered, and winked, then looked at Raul who was standing uncomfortably next to Maria, in a plain grey suit, while she wore a normal black dress. "Oh now, Raul, why would you dress yourself in that drab color? Look here, mon ami." I shook my head, and snapped my fingers sharply.

His suit turned to a beautifully glossy gunmetal silver, to match his eyes when he did magic, (which turned out to be difficult for him, as he simply wasn't very good at magic, sadly,) and his hair fixed itself into a more casual-style look.

Maria, standing next to him, flinched as her dress lengthened a bit, becoming a gown, and gained the same design as her first gown she'd worn with us, though I left it a metallic black, just in case she'd actually been trying to dress like a chameleon.

"There, that ought to manage you both nicely." I nodded, and spared a brief glare at Mrs. Zapesa, who had picked both all five sets of clothes, based on their smell.

Before she could react to the change in status she'd just been handed, first by mum's backhanded compliments, and then my undermining of her attempts to make herself seem more beautiful, (having everyone else dress more dull,) I led them up the grand Staircase, on Zetre's arm, as always.

"And oh boy do I have a night in store for you guys..." I grinned.