Mutant Multiverse

Keiko wasn't keen on public places but she needed a few things, and Eden had mentioned wanting to look for anyone that may have followed her through the portal. Dressed in low profile clothing, she hid under one of Edens old high school hoodies, and a pair of jeans, holding her arms in her sleeves as she window shopped, keeping her attention to things happening around her.

"Do you think anyone might have been able to follow you going as fast as you were Eden?" She asked quietly. "I haven't seen anyone from back then in years, most of us are gone to be honest. I dont even see our old instructors."

The downtown area wasn't terribly crowded, school was still in session for the younger residents of the city, traffic wasn't horrible either. Removing a stick of gum from her pocket, she popped it in her mouth and passed the package to Eden. "Do you think we'll see anyone?"

Ryan strolled out of the only vintage shop she had located on the current downtown street she had found, a bag in hand. She was lucky, one of the community groups she'd reached out to with the information from some people she had run into had set aside very small emergency kits for new arrivals. A small amount of donated cash, a prepaid cell phone with a some time on it already, basic hygiene necessities.. Things like that. She'd dug through the room full of donated clothing to find whatever she could, having come up with a few pairs of jeans, some tops and a coat. Hair styling products and equipment had also been scrounged from donations, and she'd managed to get her hair into a high ponytail with some small victory curls in the front. A pair of jeans had been rolled up at the ankles in a semblance of vintage style with a pair of flats and a snug t-shirt tucked into the high waist.

She'd found a few cheap things she'd enjoyed at the vintage shop, and she was now meandering down the street window shopping and wondering what it would take to get a job as an EDE... Would anyone hire her? Could they hire her even unless she went through the government? Did the government have to register her somehow to get a job..? She would sure need one to get out of the park and into a real apartment.. What a mess. She was too absorbed in her own musings to pay attention to anyone about her, no matter what attention she was getting.

Eden walked alongside Keiko, dressed in her old clothing which still didn’t quite fit. Today she was unknowingly flexing in a pair of black Adidas joggers (the dual white stripes up the sides), and a matching pullover hoodie that was tight on her but thanks to her muscles, looked stylish. She also wore a pair of black and white running shoes- also Adidas.

Not really one for fashion, she did the athletic look well. She had the hood up and dark sunglasses on,‘ mostly to cover up her the scar on her right eye.

“No, perhaps the only thing could be a Sentinel that they merged with my abilities or another speedster,” she said to Keiko. “But you came over from a different time without speed, so it is still possible.”

She saw Ryan up ahead, recognizing her immediately though she looked older than the last time Eden had saw her. Which admittedly was when she died.

“But if they are here, I doubt that they would above the surface,” she said almost distractedly, not walking up to Ryan just yet. She nudged Keiko subtly and gestured to Ryan.

"So we're on a wild goose chase...got it." Exhaling slowly, a shiver ran down her spine and she hunched in colder against the afternoon chill. She was always chilly now a days, and no matter how many layers she put on they never warded it off completely. "I think we'd have noticed a Sentinel coming through the portal. I didn't see anyone else but you when you arrived, and last I dealt with a Sentinel they're kind of tall."

At the mentioning of her manipulating the time stream, she exhaled uncomfortably. "True. Though things come at a price. Nothing is for free." Stumbling slightly as Eden nudged her, Keiko looked up and the color drained from her face. "Oh fuck." She whispered quietly.

"I...I don't know if shes from this timeline. It's been over decade easily..." Her mouth had gone dry, and Keiko reflexively tried to swallow. "Is that who I think it is?"

Ryan grumbled as someone 'bumped' into her on their way past. It was hard enough that she knew it wasn't an accident, and she braced herself as she walked through the rest of their group who had clearly gone out of their way to be in her way. She weaved the best she could and finally, with the last of the group approaching, twisted so that they attempted to shove into her left shoulder. Unluckily for them, there wasn't exactly an arm or much of a shoulder to ram themselves into and they went stumbling instead, scrambling to catch their balance. A glare was sent in their direction before she continued on her way, snickering to herself.

If she was going to deal with assholes, she was going to find joy in it in the smallest ways if she had to. Fairly pleased with herself, she came to a slow stop as she approached a florist with a help wanted sign in the window. Her lips pursed.. She looked almost displeased.. Apprehensive to say the least. All those years slaving away in flower shops.. She loved the work, but she'd finally escaped that life.. She'd finally made a name for herself, and achieved her goal.. did she really want to go back? There she froze, staring at the sign and wondering if she really had a choice.

The older woman shot a glare at Keiko, sniping quietly, “We are not on a wild goose chase. I will know what we are looking for when we... find it,” she finished kind of lamely. She wasn’t used to not having her usual resources at her disposal. But here, she had a feeling that the resources she would need would only come from SHIELD or something akin.

And she was not about to trust them again.

“I led an entire resistance. I think I can handle some negotiations,” and she glared down again, knowing that her own shortcomings were causing her to lash out. Much like she had when she was a teenager.

“There is only one way to find out. We cannot leave her here alone. We don’t leave X-Scouts behind.”

With that, Eden would walk forward, bridging the gap quickly with her long strides.

“Ryan? Ryan Babnik?” She asked the woman, removing the sunglasses and tucking them into the edge of her hoodie.

Eden would gesture for Keiko to walk over and then would wave a hand between them. “Do you know who we are?”

Taking a deep breath, Keiko fished a small pill case from her pants pocket and removed three small pills, swallowing them dry. "Yes, I'm aware. However it's going to be a little difficult when we don't even know who could be....who." Her voice fell quiet as Eden went off, and internally, the asian counted to ten before massaging her eyes. "Goodness some things never change you're as stubborn as a goat sometimes its why I--" Cutting herself off, Keiko swallowed her gum, keeping herself busy.

"Just try not to be to harsh on her. She might not even know you." Upon waiting for Eden to beckon her foreward, Keiko squared her shoulders back and stood up straighter, walking over with her patented "professional" body language she used when dealing with business negotiations. Keikos hands were in her pockets again, and she'd look Ryan up and down, searching for any signs of her old friend. For the time being she didn't speak and letting Eden take the lead, as she'd always been better at handling people.

Ryan? Ryan Babnik?

The words startled her. Of the few people she'd met in this world, only one she hadn't been getting official help from knew her name, and that girl only knew her first name. So who the hell..?

She turned and was barely able to keep her jaw from dropping. There was no way.. Could it.. Really be? For a moment she felt sick. It'd been years since she'd seen Keiko and Eden.. Particularly because in her universe they were dead. She was probably as nervous as Keiko was, and despite usually being rather put together she didn't feel like it all of a sudden. Her one hand had suddenly gone clammy and she lost her grip on her bag, scrambling to grab it as it fell to the ground. Well.. Good thing there was nothing fragile in there.

Looking mildly embarrassed she attempted to gather her composure, setting her jaw and staring the two down as subtly as she could manage. "Eden.. Keiko.." For a moment it felt like she couldn't get the words out, clearing her throat lightly. "Jeez, are you two together in this universe too? I sure hope so.. Cause the tension between you guys beforehand was almost unbearable." She forced a grin, trying not to let on how startled and thrown off she was by seeing them.

Eden shot a final side eye at Keiko, choosing to let the woman have the last word before focusing her attention on Ryan.

And then...

“W-what?” She squeaked out, her voice breaking and cracking and shooting up like five octaves.

“N-no... what?! That is- that is the most outlandish- US?!” She didn’t know why she was protesting so much, her entire face turning a burnt crimson as she shook her head profusely. So much at being good at handling business.

“Nooooo, I am not from here... you are not either?” Eden sputtered, glancing to Keiko for help.

Her face and ears went red with embarassment and as Eden vehemently denied any claim to her Keiko cleared her throat uncomfortably, albiet looking slightly on the hurt side.

"I ah...no. Eden isnt from here by any stretch...and my end is complicated too."

Catching onto Edens discomfort, Keiko took over by clearing her throat again. Removing her hands from her pockets she jammed her thumbs into the beltloops. "You look good Ryan. So how did you wind up here? Because it looks like we've all got some drastically different methods."

Ryan couldn't help but flash a sheepish grin, shrugging apologetically. "Oh," she stated plainly. "Um.. Well, sorry about that.. You guys got together years ago back home." She shrugged again, picking up her bag from the ground and trying to brush off the awkwardness that her comment had brought on. "Yeah.. Thanks..." Her weight shifted back and forth between her feet, those vines extending from her shoulder stump to take hold of the bag and free up her actual hand to rub the back of her neck.

"Fell outta the sky after falling through some portal or something.. About three days ago." Now that she mentioned it, if you looked closely enough she had some healing scrapes along her arm, and even across one of her cheeks. She didn't seem too worse for wear at least, so she must've managed a graceful landing somehow. "How about you guys.."

Eden glowered at them both and said suddenly, “yes, well you are deceased in both our times so,” huffing out her chest.

“Something similar to you,” she said simply, not wanting to go into detail about it and also striving to regain some ground.

“Keiko found me. And now we found you. Let us walk and talk,” and without waiting for a response she would begin to walk quickly in the direction they had been moving in before stopping.

“I need to return to my time. I have people waiting for me. Keiko and I were headed to speak with the Morlocks. To see if they perhaps have someone hidden amongst their ranks who might be beneficial to returning me to my home.”

Keikos face was neutral as she took in the conversation. "And apparently in Edens timeline we were together as well and then I died. Lets not forget in my timeline where most of you either died in battle, offed yourselves or vanished off the face of the earth. Literally."

Nodding a few times, Keiko grabbed her phone and tapped out a few notes. "Three days ago? Eden landed yesterday....I havent seen or heard a lot of action coming from the portal but who knows with idiots running SHIELD anymore. I've got my own buisness to run." She didn't respond on her own adventures, choosing to tuck her phone away instead.

"Let's get to the morlocks and see what they've got. I've been meaning to see who's down there anymore anyway." She beckoned for Ryan to follow and fell into stride the best she good with Eden, though for every one step the tall woman took, Keiko was forced to take two or three. The lack of emotion she was presenting might have troubled her years ago, but she did her best to just pull her hood up and stay silent.

Ryan frowned somewhat as they both went solemn. She hadn’t meant to upset anyone, and Keiko being so quiet and un-cheerful was.. Unsettling to say the least. Perhaps she’d best keep quiet for now about the fact that in her timeline they were the ones who were dead.. No need to make them any more cold.

She was silent as they beckoned, watching as they started on their way. They hadn’t exactly asked if she wanted to join them, but that didn’t feel too terribly unfamiliar. A gentle sigh left her lips as she started after them, her stride far more suitable to Eden’s own stride, though she was careful to try and slow it down just a touch for Keiko as she pulled a scrap of paper with a street address and a name on it out of her pocket and held it out to the others. “Girl gave this to me at the mall. Can’t guarantee it’s where we’re headed but she was with a red guy.. I..” Ryan hesitated a moment, eyes kept ahead of her towards where they were going. “I didn’t get a great look but.. I think it may have been Cadmus..”

Eden glanced to Keiko, opening her mouth to correct her but instead choosing not to. Perhaps not to dishonor her Keiko’s memory, or perhaps to not start a fight.

“In my timeline the Morlocks were led by a woman named Elsa. She was a fierce warrior, and a protector of her people. She was one of the first big casualties... after the age of Heroes had passed, anyway. Once the Greats no longer existed to protect us...” she trailed off.

Eden furrowed her brow, asking, “Cadmus? I am not familiar with that name.” She would look to Keiko, to see if that names triggered any recognition to her.

Beckoning Ryan to follow them, Keiko held her arms close to herself. "Cadmus huh? Hope he's doing alright. I havent seen him or his brother since we were teenagers." Kicking an empty can across the street, a passerby eyeing Keiko up and down and she subconsciously pulled her hood up a little higher, trying tp sink into the huge hoodie. "Cadmus and Phineas were in the X-Scouts. Their parents pulled them out of the city when things got bad if I remember right."

Removing another candy from her pocket she began eating.

"I know an Elsa...from my timeline. She's not someone to be fucked with if memory serves me right. Her parents were insane." Looking over her shoulder to Ryan, she took the paper and snapped a photo of it with her phone. Passing it back, Keiko gave a shrug. "Elsa was powerful when I remember her...let's just hope to appeal to her good side."

Ryan took the paper back as it was offered to her, tucking it into her pocket and just keeping pace with the other two. It was exciting to see them, but.. It was awkward. Everyone seemed so solemn, cold almost. Eden had mentioned needing to get back to her own world, but hey.. She wasn't exactly the only one who wanted to get back home. Vines kept a good grip on her bag as she shoved her now empty hand into her front pocket, keeping it there for the time being.

Small glances were stolen at the others from time to time though her gaze was otherwise trained on the route that they were taking. She needed to try to learn the city after all, because who knew how long she would be here. "The Morlocks aren't very open in my universe.. They didn't want to come out into the open, but I met a few here and there. Kept hoping they'd make their way out into the world." A shrug was given before she went silent again, ignoring any passers by.

Eden realized she needed to slow down and with a dramatic huff, she came to what felt like a crawling snail’s pace.

She would offer her hand out to Ryan and gestured to the paper. If granted, she would take it and read it.

“Well, a much more solid lead than I had,” she admitted, eyeing Ryan up. “It is a good thing we ran into you,” she freely admitted, her voice still we cool as steel around the compliment.

“I am not sure why I am even leading this. I have no idea where we are going,” she said plainly enough, moving to follow Keiko and Ryan instead.

And off they went to the underground.