rey (firststeps) wrote in noexits, @ 2021-07-26 20:45:00 |
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“Thank you for meeting with me, Rey. How are you adjusting to your new surroundings?”
It had been a few days since she appeared in Derleth. Given how rude Loki was to her over the Network, Stephen thought it better to ask if she wouldn’t mind answering some of his questions, and then letting her choose the time and place where they could meet. Rey was not the first to arrive from another multi-dimensional point: Stephen had heard there were others, but he’d been too distracted before to speak with those people. Rey’s arrival gave him a good reason to introduce himself in person and learn what he could. It was a good thing that the accident involving Pym Particles had been remedied and he was no longer Hobbit-sized.
He entered Rey’s room with a smile, but carefully observed Rey’s own expression to gage her mood.
***
Rey had opened the door to Stephen with her best attempt at a smile. Giving off an impression as the 'sad girl' wasn't exactly a goal one aspired to and certainly not one she wanted for herself, despite how true it presently felt. Once he'd been inside, she gestured towards one of the chairs that was in the living room while she moved towards the wall. Pressing her back against it, she quickly slid down until she was sitting on the floor, with her knees brought up near her chest for her to rest her arms on.
"I said I would," she commented with the continued smile, "Not exactly ready to start breaking promises yet."
As for how she was adjusting? Well, she shrugged her shoulders. "The room setup isn't unfamiliar." Random roommates and shared housing? Check and check for repeat offenders in her past. She thought for a moment and realized her hospitality wasn't quite up to snuff. "Did you want something to eat or drink? I don't admittedly have a lot. It's basically water but there are cups?"
***
Rey’s body language alone told Stephen about her emotional state. “You’re under no obligation,” he said, “I apologize if I came off that way. It’s not like I’m in charge of anything around here. My curiosity stems from trying to get a deeper understanding of what’s happening, not just here, but in the multiverse in general.” He offered her a sympathetic gaze. “Water would be nice, thank you.” He wasn’t necessarily thirsty, but the friendly exchange was appreciated.
“Do you need anything? Derleth is in a transient state, in the void, so the options are limited, but if there’s anything we can do to make your stay more comfortable…?”
***
"I know," she assured him as she shifted to push her body back up, bracing her weight on the metal hand to do so. She then proceeded to brush herself off, more out of habit then necessity, and make way past Stephen to grab the cups she had seen. "Is there any position of authority here? Or has it not been enough time to really put together one?" She felt it was destined to occur. Whether it was accepted or enforced was something else entirely.
"I have everything basic I need. But thank you." Granted, she had grown more accustomed to a wardrobe selection but she had lived most of her life with sparse choices. Staying in the same outfit until she could find something else wasn't as much of an issue for her as it might be for others.
She snatched up the cups and went to the sink, turning on the tap. She slipped her regular hand under the water, testing to see how cool it was, before she moved to fill them both up. When that was finished, she brought one over and held it out for him.
***
Rey’s robotic prosthetic made Stephen think about Bucky Barnes’ arm, and while he was curious, it wasn’t a very polite way to lead a conversation, to ask how she’d gotten it - might bring up harsh memories.
“I’ve only arrived a week ago, there are others with much more seniority. From what I’ve experienced, there’s nothing really official. Everybody cooperating to make things work. Considering how people are always coming or going, it’s probably difficult to rely on one central leader. We just lost a batch, recently.” He grimaced, thinking specifically of Tony Stark, and the future that awaited him in their shared universe.
Stephen accepted the glass with his heavily scarred hand, thanking her as he did, “Where did you come from, originally?” he asked.
**
There was a stoic nod in response to the notion of how regularly people came and went. "Usually best to have systems in place. People can follow those even if the individuals who set them in place leave." And after all, didn't they sort of have that here? The paper airplane and the welcoming committee, though she'd misunderstood at first, seemed like systems to try to emulate some building blocks of leadership. Or, at the very least, guidance.
She went back to her wall once he'd taken the water and resumed the same identical position as earlier, leaning her head against the surface. "Jakku." She knew there'd been planets and systems before Jakku, of course, but those memories were still buried within her subconscious. She wasn't actively seeking them out. "It's a desert planet located on what we called the Inner Rim. But I was moving between planet to planet as of late." The memories all swelled together and her statement was a simplification of matters. "I don't suspect, in that life, I'll settle down on any one planet any time soon."
She knew well enough that she was still present in those events and that timeline. There was a Rey who existed that never knew a world called Earth or a city named Chicago or a town named after barren plants. She lifted her cup to take a drink as a natural pause. "Sometimes I wonder if there is a version of me who stayed in Chicago and never went to Tumbleweed. I imagine there has to be. Infinite possibilities and all?"
***
“I don’t recognize the name Jakku,” Stephen said, thoughtfully. “I don’t claim to know every planet in my universe, but I haven’t heard of the Inner Rim, either. So, I’m guessing that we’re not from the same place.” His eyebrows rose. “I have heard of Chicago, though. Probably not the same one I know, either. I wonder, in the two other places you were before, did you happen to meet a version of me?”
Rey’s question was an interesting one. “Infinite possibilities is right. I was told that when people disappear from here, they return to the exact time and place from where they were initially taken, but I also know there are some who have come from other secondary locations just like yourself. It sounds like you’ve been doing this for a while.”
***
"We're not from the same galaxy," she said matter of factly but with a smile still present. She'd known this to be a truth ever since she'd been pulled away from her own. "And I don't think anyone would particularly care for Jakku. There are far more exciting and lush planets to visit. Hypothetically." It wasn't as though there were a guarantee they could visit. She didn't know what to expect here, really. She pulled in a breath, "My Chicago had a center established known as CARV. The Committee for the Assistance of Refugees of the Veil."
It seemed so long ago and there was a slight hint of amusement, accompanied with a roll of her eyes, as she went through the unnecessarily long acronym. "Not in Chicago. There was a version of you with us in Texas."
She straightened up with this piece of information and for a moment, she appeared to be speechless. She pulled her lips together and swallowed. If they were to return to exactly where they'd come from? She could go home. "If I get to go back to the exact moment I was in, I'd be able to have the spell and never leave again." There was a sort of hopeful tone to her voice and it was clear that Stephen had just given her the best possible news. She dipped her head and swallowed again before lifting her hand to rub at her eyes. When she cleared her throat and looked back up, there was a huge smile. "Yeah. It's been...years."
***
“I’m pretty sure if there was a center called CARV in my Chicago, I’d be aware of it. A Veil, huh? Is that how people came through from other universes? And Tumbleweed… is the name of the city where you showed up in Texas. Have to say, that’s pretty spot on for a city in Texas. That state can get a pretty Jakku in places.”
For the first time since they’d met in person, Stephen noted a glimmer of hope in Rey when she’d heard him talk about returning to the exact same place and time. It was a better sign than the despondency she showed, earlier, and so he kept his conversation light and hopefully amusing while at the same time trying to mine for more information.
“There’s something very important I need to ask. Between the two Stephens… which one of us is more handsome? Him, or me?” He’d been pretending to be serious, but smirked at the end of his sentence. “I’m kidding. Maybe. A little.”
***
"I'm pretty sure I agree." There was a bit of cheek in Rey's tone but it wasn't intended to be anything more than playful. Lifting her cup again, she gave a nod of her head. "Stepped through the Veil. When people went back? They'd say the Veil sent them home. And it liked to fold in on itself. It brought people from the future of Chicago back to what was perceived as their past and our present. And then that'd cause another possible timeline. There were different individuals who came and went and their descriptions of the future could differ from a person's six months before." She shrugged her shoulders as she said that. It'd been fairly commonplace in Chicago but less so in Tumbleweed. Tumbleweed only had people from the future ever show once.
She flashed a glance to him and caught the attempt at the joke. Humoring him with a smile, she nodded. "Very Jakku at times," she agreed.
Both her brows came up for a moment with surprise before she burst into a laugh. "Really?" She pulled in her lip, chewing on it for a second before she tilted her head and responded, "Definitely you." She'd honestly never had an opinion one way or the other on Stephen's looks but she figured he'd appreciate the nod towards present company.
***
Stephen also laughed. “That’s the correct answer,” he teased.
The description of the Veil, however, was sobering. Looking around and finding a chair, he pulled it up closer to Rey so he could sit and continue their discussion. Now that he’d broken the ice, he felt more confident in his inquiries. “Where did this Veil come from? Was there a similar Veil in Tumbleweed?”
He paused, feeling the need to explain his motivations. “In my universe, it was my responsibility to guard against and protect my planet from magical and mystical attacks. Right now, in our current situation, there’s not much I can do, but I still need to understand. This sort of multiversal anomaly shouldn’t be happening. And if it’s going on simultaneously on other Earths, then there’s something very seriously broken with the fabric of time and space.”
***
This was where Rey felt she was going to be a disappointment to Stephen. He reminded her so much of Alice and Julia, the way their minds were always working, trying to untangle puzzles. "I didn't study the Veil," she offered as a precursor, "but my understanding was they believed it to be a fabric between universes, that kept them separate, and that it was beginning to rip. They were actively studying it the entire time I was there." Crossing her arms over her knee caps, she leaned forward to rest her chin upon them but kept her gaze fixed on Stephen. "I have no way to say if they were right with their beliefs. Tumbleweed didn't have the Veil but they had the portal. And really, it functioned similarly, so who is to say it wasn't the same thing? Just pushing people into different universes?"
She gave a shake of her head, "No, I understand." She'd lived in his orbit for years after all. "I know of at least three other places where similar events occurred. People would arrive in Tumbleweed and talk about other portals or gateways, with communities built around them, that they'd lived in before ours." There was a slight frown before, "I can understand that might be alarming."
***
“Three other places, at least.” Stephen echoed blankly, causing him to sit back in his chair and consider the ramifications. “Anomalies might’ve happened every now and again, but never to this extent.”
His thoughts caused his mind to wander, plunging them both into a silence until he commented, “From what I can tell about Derleth, there’s no precise focal point, or as you put it, tear in the fabric. The whole campus is caught in a pocket universe that moves from place to place.” He looked over at Rey. “Thank you for your answers. And I’m sorry for you situation. Being bounced around the multiverse must be exhausting.”
***
She remained quiet and only gave him a nod of affirmation. She was certain there were far more than the ones she was privy to. While she could understand his view on the matter, it'd been the reality she'd known for five years at this point. It no longer felt like an anomaly.
"That is how it has sounded," she agreed. It reminded her of stories Eliot used to tell her. In fact, she'd been alarmed upon arriving and worrying she'd been pulled to the Hotel he'd described. Another nod was given in response to the gratitude. "I'll be available if other questions come to you."
She glanced down at the sympathy and pulled in a breath, "Thank you, Stephen." There was no point in agreeing with his words. They both knew it to be true.