Not through, then. Over and around?

Over and around.

This opens her up to a line of fire—a bullet here, an arrow there, a crackling bolt of whatever, but no one's aim is quite good enough. She's not going to be able to get to the target cape, though; a wall made entirely of axes bars her path.

Are there gaps she can see through?

No...there. A section bends under its own weight, leaving a temporary gap.

Blink.

The cape she's after is nowhere to be seen. Instead, there's a girl with a purple costume and a domino mask along with a completely unjustified grin.

"Hey you! I think I've got something you want; you up for a chat?"

(Jack's shade thinks this is a fantastic idea. Of course, he always did like to talk.)

She approaches slowly, menacingly.

"Speak quickly."

She talks fast, but doesn't aim for saving words.

"You're here for the powers, right? Of course you are. Way I see it, you could fight it out. Maybe you kill most of us, or maybe we manage to get you. It's amazing how many people will work together when all they have in common is that someone stupidly overpowered is coming to kill them in particular. I'm offering you a bit of information, something you can do but don't know you can do, and in exchange I want you to call this whole thing off."

"A bold request. This information would have to be valuable indeed."

"Do I look like I'm gambling here?" (Yes.) "It's valuable."

"If we like what we hear, we will consider your request. You and we both know your coin is as yet untested. You will receive no guarantee on that basis alone."

"I can tell you how to move sideways. Here to Earth Aleph and back, plus however many others there are. It does seem like a pretty decent way of getting you to not be here."

"Explain."

"Does that mean you'll leave if it works? I can only tell you once."

"If it works, you will have earned our favor. We will leave this city."

She nods. "Grue, the darkness?" The black cloud clears away. Instead of the empty field Ellie put there, there's an even emptier void. It has defined edges, but the interior is as white as its surroundings were black.

What's this?

"A portal to probably nowhere. And I suspect you can control it if you—"

That's probably the kind of thing some capes might want to shove her into, isn't it. Might be a good idea to dodge back to the other side real quick.

Blink.

It takes a couple blinks since she can't see directly across, but the first one is the one that matters. Mostly blaster powers but also a suddenly appearing wall of weapons (and one enterprising melee cape) all try and fail to force her in.

Her interlocutor shouts "Guys, that's not going to work! She doesn't think she's threatened by what we've got, and if she did she could summon an extra power instead of showing off that she killed Jack Slash. It's your skins I'm saving too.

Can you still hear me over there?" It echoes around and is audible, if not clear.

"Your window of opportunity is closing. Say your piece, before we lose patience with the rabble."

"I'll take that as a yes. Use Labyrinth's power to direct the portal."

She attempts to affect the white area. Somewhere cold.

"What's the other half?"

Looking at it with Labyrinth's power makes it look deep. Everyone knows humans are clinging to a thin film of atmosphere around the Earth's sphere—it's as if she suddenly saw what that difference in scale means. Except bigger; if it bottoms out at all it's not obvious. More worlds than she can count, worlds Labyrinth and doesn't remember and didn't create. There's no immediate way to search by temperature, but half the earths are colder than Bet and Labyrinth can look at them at the speed of thought.

"If this works, I just told you how to move between dimensions. Probably can't close it behind you, but you can leave it inside a mountain or something if you want. And I believe we had a deal?"

"A portal with only one end under our control is only half useful. Perhaps we will only kill half of you."