Chapter 2 – Mar's Haven
The Zoomer started picking up speed, causing Myra to stiffen up sharply.
A corner of the tarp was lifted up. "We're coming up on the Time Barrier. Do you guys have your talismans?"
"T-talismans?" Myra repeated in confusion. "Time Barrier?"
James sighed as Azari, Pym, and Torrun pulled out various items and gripped them tightly: Torrun's sword, Azari held what looked like a worn, old mask of some kind of black cat, and Pym holding a similarly worn mask, but with antenna sticking out of the top of the mask instead of cat ears. "The pink barriers are Time Barriers; you're going to need something that's been infused with energy can protect you from getting abruptly older or younger – Dad, do you or the World Jumper—"
"She'll be fine." Cap gripped his shield and held it in front of him.
Myra blinked, then lifted her head up to the lifted side of the tarp. She caught sight of a flash of pink before Torunn pushed her back down. "Oh, those? I've gone through those before." She reached under her black shirt and pulled out a necklace. Attached to it was a crystal that glowed with a purple-white light. "This usually reacts to them."
"Then that'll work." James dropped the tarp.
"Where did you get that?" Torunn stared at Myra with wide eyes, her face appearing strange in the light coming from the crystal in Myra's hand.
"I don't know." Myra noticed the curious look she was getting from Cap and quickly hid it under her shirt again, leaving them in darkness. "I don't really remember what…what before was like."
"You don't know which world was yours before they collided together?" Pym asked in surprise.
"No, I—"
Suddenly everything was glowing pink.
Myra gripped at the necklace hiding under her shirt as the crystal glowed brightly in response, the purple and pink merging and clashing together. The others gripped their own items tightly, yellow, red, black, and dark blue clashing and merging with the pink as well.
Something gleamed in the World Jumper's chest, and she was suddenly encased in a glowing, blue-white light. Myra stiffened up in surprise and stared as the woman's face seemed to shift a little, but she didn't open her eyes.
Then they were suddenly in the dark again, colors still dancing in their eyes but quickly fading.
Myra let out a sigh of relief and relaxed her grip on her shirt. "That felt…different, from the other times."
"Where's the World Jumper's talisman?" Pym asked. "I didn't see anything…."
"World Jumpers like her pass through time and space when they travel," Captain America replied. "She is her talisman."
The Zoomer jumped suddenly, causing the tarp to flap upwards for a moment. Cap, Torunn, Azari, and Pym grabbed the corners before it could go flying, and as they pulled it back down, Myra caught sight of buildings that were made of hard-packed dirt – nothing like the tall, wrecked steel towers that Myra had been hiding in before.
And yet, she knew the name of the place. "Spargus?"
"Passing through?" Captain America ventured.
"No." Torunn's voice was grim. "We are in Mar's Haven now."
Captain America fell silent.
"Um…" Myra's brow furrowed as she felt the others' gazes move over to her. "I haven't heard of Mar's Haven before."
"H-hey, are we sure that bringing her is a good idea?" Azari spoke up. "I mean, she's a straggler – the last one from the Dark City as far as we know! They're gonna be coming after her and then we're gonna be—"
"I doubt it," Captain America spoke up shortly. "They're looking for new fodder, not to clear an area out. There's probably still some people left in there."
Torunn muttered something that Myra didn't catch. A moment later, she said, "She has to come. She's seen us."
"What are you talking about?" Myra frowned. "You said I'd be going somewhere safe – where are you taking me?"
"You will see," Torunn replied.
The hovering truck slowed, then came to a stop. Myra fidgeted in her seat, wondering what was going on outside the tarp.
The doors on the sides of the truck's cab slammed shut, and a moment later the tarp was pulled off, revealing what looked like a thin alleyway between two buildings.
James bundled the tarp up and tossed it into the cabin through an open window as Captain America gathered the World Jumper in his arms. "We're almost there. We have to go on foot the rest of the way."
Seeker folded his arms across his chest and looked up. "Grey, I know you're there."
A red-haired woman in a dark blue and yellow outfit jumped down and landed on the truck bed where the World Jumper had been lying a moment ago.
Myra yelped and scrambled back, bumping against the side of the truck bed.
Azari rose to his feet and gave a nod in greeting. "Jean Grey."
"Prince Azari." Jean returned his nod, then looked over at Seeker. "Aura Seeker, that was a dangerous move going out in the open to bring them back."
"I know. But I think you'll find that I had a good reason for it." Seeker nodded to Captain America as the man rose to his feet, the World Jumper cradled in his arms.
Jean turned and locked her gaze with Captain America, whose shoulders stiffened in response. She took another step towards him, then raised a hand and put her fingers on his forehead; Captain America took in a shuddering breath as his eyes flickered shut in time with Jean's.
After a moment, Jean removed her hand from his forehead and stepped back, her eyes wide as Captain America opened his eyes again. "How did you break free of their control? You don't have—"
"It's got more to do with her than anything else." Captain America shifted the World Jumper's position in his arms, causing Jean's attention to shift.
Jean blinked, then put a hand at the World Jumper's head first, paused, then moved it to the girl's chest. After a moment, she pulled her hand back. "I didn't think that she'd look so young."
"She can have a mechanic change her physical age if she wants," Seeker replied. "She's going to need it. Her presence is weak."
Myra blinked in confusion. How did Seeker know?
"And Batman is going to want to talk to you." Jean looked around at the group.
"I am not surprised," Captain America replied dryly.
"He is also going to want to see this girl you brought along with you." Jean turned and looked at Myra, who hadn't stood up yet.
"She's a Straggler," Pym said, in a tone that suggested that explained everything. "She doesn't know where she came from, either."
Jean's eyebrows rose at that. "You don't?"
Myra shook her head. "I know I know how to survive, and…and what's happened, but…." She shook her head again.
Jean put a hand on Myra's forehead, and the teenager stiffened as she felt something dig around in her head for a moment, there but also not there. The feeling faded after a moment, and Jean pulled her hand back. "Well, you're not experiencing mind tunnel vision, so you're not a sleeper agent for them. It almost feels like there's something blocked; Charles is going to want to have a look at you."
"Wh-who?" Myra swallowed.
"A friend." Jean turned to look at the others, then motioned for them to follow her as she jumped off the truck bed and walked over to the wall at the end of the alley. The others followed after her, Myra bringing up the rear with Torrun again.
Jean put her hand on the wall as she neared it, paused, then pushed. Myra's jaw dropped as the wall collapsed in on itself, revealing a doorway just barely big enough to fit Captain America through.
Jean looked back, motioned for them to follow, and stepped through without another word.
"What just—"
"Didst thou think that we would leave the entrance open for anyone to pass through?" Torrun asked.
"You're doing it again," Pym called over his shoulder as he went through the entryway ahead of them.
Torrun ducked her head as she and Myra passed through, Myra looking at her with a curious expression as they left the alley and the orange, tamped clay buildings behind…
…and entered a large, cavernous space, with vaulted ceilings that went up so high that Myra had to crane her neck in order to see where it was that they went. Carvings of strange people with large, pointed ears fighting against creatures with metal coverings; one that was purple-skinned made his appearance the most often.
The entire chamber seemed to be filled with smaller hutches as well, with people milling about between them. Myra caught sight of some sort of large, mechanical construct off in one corner, while it looked like some sort of miniature arena had been constructed in an opposite area.
"It's so quiet," Myra said, keeping her voice low.
"We don't have as many people as we used to," Seeker said, looking back at her and startling the girl. "That's going to change soon, though."
Myra blinked a couple times out of confusion at that comment. "H-how?"
"You'll see." Seeker looked over at Jean and Captain America. "I'll take James and Myra to talk to the Dark Knight. Jean, you go with Cap to the mechanical bay to help explain what's happened. The rest of you should report to Nightwing for another round in his Gauntlet for going out there unsupervised."
"Seeker—"
"Don't 'Seeker' me, Pym; you know the rules." Seeker fixed the boy with a meaningful look, causing him to duck his head in response. "Come on, you two. Let's go talk to Batman about what's just happened."
James nodded, then looked back at Myra and motioned for her to follow him. She remained where she was for a moment, but then Torunn gave her a nudge forward.
"Go on." Torunn grinned. "The Dark Knight doesn't bite, especially when Seeker's there to back you up."
Myra swallowed, then looked up at Captain America.
The man noticed her gaze and gave her a slight smile in response that was probably meant to be encouraging. "It'll be all right."
Myra hesitated again, then nodded a little and followed after James and Seeker. As she followed after tem, she looked back and watched as Captain America and Jean went in one direction and Azari, Torunn, and Pym went in another.
"S-so, what now?" Myra asked.
"Let's cover what you know about the world first," Seeker replied. "I'd rather not have Batman or any one of us be forced to cover everything if you know most of what's going on already."
Myra swallowed. "Okay then. Well, I know that a bunch of worlds were merged together in a World Collision, but they didn't merge right in some places, and that's what's basically causing the Time Barriers that tend to warp the time of whoever goes through them. I know that whatever monsters were in charge of causing that also didn't come from any of those dimensions, and they've basically been attempting to rule with an iron fist ever since."
"You mean the MindTech," James interrupted.
"I was getting to that." Myra frowned at him. "The MindTech was something they came up with when people tried to rise up against them – I don't really remember much of that point in time, but I remember that it happened." She scratched her head. "I don't really remember what before was like either, but that doesn't matter when nothing can go back to normal, right?"
Seeker said nothing in response, but he cocked his head to one side.
"A-anyway, they've been looking for people to stick up in that tower that's in the middle of everything ever since, and it's been getting harder and harder to avoid them dragging you off to their Trials. I was pretty sure I was going to be taken when…when that girl—"
"You don't need to say any more." Seeker turned and looked over at Myra as they passed a small group of huts. "You've got enough street smarts to know that life was different before this and what exactly is going on. That's good."
"It is?" Myra blinked.
"Yes. Because it means you can help, even in some small way. In fact, you already have. By rescuing—" Seeker stopped moving for a moment, looking like there was something in his mouth that he really wanted to get out but had to keep in at the same time. After a moment, he continued, "By rescuing the World Jumper, you've done us a pretty big turn."
Myra blinked slowly a couple times, absorbing that. "I…wait, is this the same World Jumper who was said to have been some kind of fox in a past life?"
Seeker raised an eyebrow at that. "Past life? I think you might have misheard. She was transformed into a Vulpix, then had it reversed." He chuckled as Myra ducked her head. "It's all right; things have been more than a little vague about her for a while. I think a lot more details are going to become solidified over the course of the next few days, however, so don't be surprised if a lot of what you thought before ends up getting dashed to pieces."
"You knew her from before, Seeker?" James spoke up.
"Something like that." Seeker started moving towards the pile of technology in one corner of the large chamber. "Step lively, you two. We have to talk to the Bat before he gets out of range for communication again, and who knows how long that's going to be for, what with all the time warping around us."
Myra and James both picked up the pace as they followed after Seeker, exchanging odd looks before focusing on him.
Whatever was going on, Myra was starting to wonder if she was ever going to get answers.
