#imsotireddd

[cbraxs]

Warped [Time Warp Trio Fanfiction] - Chapter 9

Time stood still as Izzy stared at the ghost in front of her. A million thoughts and feelings rumbled around in her chest like a rock inside a tumble machine. The little girl—her, she realized— and her mother looked at Izzy obliviously. But there was a split-second of shock on her mom’s face as she glanced from Izzy to The Book.

Just as quickly, her mother composed herself and fixed Izzy with a polite smile. “Oh, hello. Didn’t mean to bother you. Enjoying your trip?”

“I, uh, no, I mean, y-you you...”

Nice, Izzy. Real nice.

Her mother didn’t notice Izzy’s lack of composure. “Do you mind taking a picture of me and my little girl? It’s her first time in Ptolemaic Egypt.”

Izzy noticed that her voice caught on her, as if she caught herself from saying something else.

She nodded mechanically and took the cheap disposable camera from her past self.

Izzy looked back at her mother, wondering if she recognized her. Izzy was certain that she heard her call her “mom”, but she stood there, regarding Izzy like a total stranger. Maybe her shock was from seeing another time warper here? Still, her mom looking at her like she didn’t know her made Izzy’s heart ache.

Her mom picked up Baby Izzy, who giggled as she was lifted into the air. Izzy aimed the camera at mother and daughter. Seeing them through the viewfinder should have lent a degree of separation from Izzy and the situation, but it just made it all the more surreal.

As Izzy snapped the picture, Baby Izzy pointed up at the sky in amazement. “Look, Mama!”

Izzy looked to see a ball of light streaking its way across the bright blue sky. Was it green? It disappeared in a flash before she could get a good look.

“A shooting star,” her mother said. “Make a wish, Isadora.”

Izzy had to remind herself that her mother wasn’t speaking to her. Well, not the her her in the present. Past tense her in the past. Jeez, this was confusion.

Baby Izzy clasped her hands and shut her eyes so tight her it made her nose wrinkle. Izzy wished she could remember what she wished for.

“Thank you,” her mother said, flashing her with a bright smile that made Izzy’s heart sink even further. “Enjoy the rest of your trip. C’mon, Malpua. Let’s go see the sphinx before we have to go back to Daddy.”

Baby Izzy waved goodbye as she walked off hand-in-hand with her mother. Watching them go, Izzy felt like someone had tied her stomach into a hundred knots. A dozen emotions gripped at her heart and clogged her throat: sadness, confusion, anger, guilt. Especially guilt. It felt like someone rammed an ice pick into her chest, and the cold was spreading throughout her being like cracks in a glass.

She’d been so focused on finding her dad, she’d never thought about saving Mom. Izzy had years to come to terms with her life without her mom, but now, after seeing her again after so long, the idea of going back and stopping that accident—

No. No, no, no, no, no. No. Thinking about that would drive Izzy nuts. Her dad’s warning about not changing the past came back to her. He was right. Right now, she had to put the thought of rescuing her mom to the side and focus on finding her dad. She had to. She had to.

Izzy went to pick The Book back up, but stopped when she realized that she still had the camera. She had to return it. If she didn’t, that cause problems with the spacetime continuum, right? And since she was returning the camera, maybe she could at least talk to her mom a little while longer? She had The Book, and instructions on how to get back home. It wasn’t like she was in any immediate danger.

She stared longingly at her mother’s retreating form, ignoring the voice inside her head that nagged her to back to her friends ASAP. She looked at The Book one last time before scooping it up and deciding to follow her mom.

~*~

Joe paced back and forth in Izzy’s living room and tried not to freak out (with mixed results).

Izzy could have been anywhere and anywhen, stuck someplace in time without anyone watching her back. Whenever Joe warped in the past, he was always with friends, Anna, or the girls. He always had someone to look out for him so even in the worst of times he had someone he could rely on. If things went south, both Izzy and The Book could be in danger.

“Think, guys, think. There’s gotta be something we can do to get her back.”

“There's not much we can do,” Sam said, slumping on the breakfast bar table. “Izzy has The Book, there’s no way we can help her, much less get to her.”

Fred turned to Sam. “Didn’t your grandpa Dima give you that pocket watch that Samantha has? Can’t we use that?”

Sam shook his head. “It just a normal pocket watch now. And it’s not like I would even know where to begin turning it into a time travel device.”

Not to mention even if Sam could do that, it wouldn’t help them find out where and when she went, but Joe was too worried to bother pointing that out.

“Well, what about your uncle?” Fred asked Joe. “He’s gotta be able to help us out.”

Joe stopped in his tracks and dug his phone out of his pocket. “I’ll try his home phone.”

He dialed and waited. Just as he thought, his uncle wasn’t home. He left a message on the answering machine and sat back down at the breakfast bar.

Joe clenched and unclenched his fist, trying to work out his nerves. He hated feeling powerless and unable to help his friends, but there was nothing the three of them could do. Without The Book, they had no way of contacting the girls for help. Without The Book, they were three helpless kids whose friend went missing. All he could do is hope Izzy made it back home with her and The Book intact.

“She’s gonna be fine,” Joe said, mostly to himself. “She can handle herself.”

~*~

Izzy tried not to feel like a creepy voyeur as she watched her Mom and Baby self from behind the Sphinx’s paw (the camera in her hand didn’t help matters).

Baby Izzy marveled at the Great Sphinx of Giza as her mom told how it was built. Present Izzy didn’t remember much about this little trip, so she got to see The Sphinx for the first time.

The monument still had his nose and his braided beard intact, and even with the paint mostly faded, there were still remnants bright red, yellow, and blue pigment. Izzy was used to seeing it in textbooks and on TV as crumbly, unpainted bedrock, that seeing it unweathered was jarring, like coming home after a trip to see that your room was cleaned.

Even so, her attention wasn’t really focussed on the Sphinx. It was on her mother.

No one would ever mistake Izzy for her mother. Mom was a stunning beauty. Her features were sharper, her skin a lighter olive color than Izzy’s medium brown. They both shared brown hair, but her mother’s was warmer and richer, like dark chocolate.

One of the byproducts of being biracial was getting to look like both of your parent and neither of them at the same time. She wasn’t as dark as her dad (who was black) and she wasn’t as light as her mother (who was of Indian and Chinese descent). Don’t even ask her where her green eyes came from.

She remembered how kids in elementary school would make fun of her: calling her ugly or adopted or whatever. She’d disregarded those childish taunts years ago and never took them seriously. Well, she tried not to take them seriously. Seeing how little she resembled her mother, even after all these years, it made Izzy feel… not bad, necessarily, just odd. She wondered if that made coming to terms with her mother’s death easier on her dad.

She shook these thoughts out of her head and tried to focus. For years, she thought about speaking to her mom one last time; all the things she wanted to say, the questions she had. But at that moment, she was frozen by the panicky swarm of moths frenzying in her chest.

Izzy took a deep breath. It shouldn’t be that hard. All she had to do was walk up to her and say, “Hi, I’m Izzy, your daughter from the future where you’ve been dead for several years, oh, and by the way, dad’s been gone for weeks, but don’t ask me where he went. I’ve got no idea going on, please help me, how are you?”

… okay…  so this was going to be way harder than she’d previously thought.

She sunk to the ground, her back resting against the Sphinx’s paw. What was she even doing? Meeting dead relatives must be against some sort of time law or something, right? And even if it wasn’t, being here could nothave been good for her emotional health. Seeing her mom alive tore opened old scars. She should’ve warped home when she had the chance.

Izzy was considering leaving the camera on the Sphinx’s paw for her mom to find when suddenly, there was a whirring noise followed by a flash of golden light on the other side of the Sphinx.

Her mother gasped. She said, her voice low and guarded, “What are you doing here?”

“Really, Dulari?” said another voice— a man. “Is that any way to greet an old friend? I remember you being so much more polite.”

Izzy frowned. She was certain she’d never heard the other voice before. Still, there was something nagging her in the back of her mind, telling her this voice was familiar. It was in the way he talked, how he pronounced his words. Dread bubbled in the pit of her stomach.

She risked a look over the Sphinx’s paw to see the man who’d suddenly appeared, and nearly screamed.

“You haven’t answered my question, Jack,” Izzy’s mother said. “What are you doing out of jail?”

Izzy dropped back behind the Sphinx's paw, clutching The Book to her chest. This was not good, this was not good at all. She’d recognized Mad Jack instantly. He was older than when she saw him at the museum, but it was no doubt the same man, with the same unruly hair, and dark eyes, but instead of a janitor uniform, he wore a black cloak over a suit. He carried a tall silver cane topped with a glowing green hourglass.

Did he see her? She waited to be called out and exposed, but Mad Jack kept talking as if he hadn’t noticed her.

“As it happens,” she heard Mad Jack say, “I am on parole for good behavior.”

A derisive laugh from her mom. “Funny.”

“It’s the honest truth. I am a changed man.”

Slowly, Izzy chanced to peak over again. Her mom had placed herself between Baby Izzy and Mad Jack, a polite but insincere smile stretched across her face. It was clear she was putting on a cordial act for Baby Izzy, trying not to scare her.

Baby Izzy looked confusedly between her mother and Mad Jack. She tugged on her mother’s sleeve. “W-what’s wrong, Mommy?”

Mom’s eyes immediately softened at her daughter. She tentatively glanced at Mad Jack before smiling and crouching to Baby Izzy’s eye level. “It’s nothing, Malpua. Why don’t you go play by the Sphinx’s tail. Build me a pretty sand castle.”

Her hands glowed green with the aura of magic. When it died, she was holding a shovel and pail. Without hesitation, Baby Izzy grabbed them and skipped away.

Mad Jack watched her happily dig into the sand, leering in disgust as if she was a walking wad of gum. “What is that?”

He said “that” like one might say cockroach or math homework.

Her mom stood, her glare back tenfold. “That is my daughter, Jack.”

“Your...” he looked from mother and daughter in disbelief before his face settled back on disgust. “It doesn’t look a thing like you.”

Rage flashed in Mom’s eyes. Izzy was shocked; she’d never seen her mother so angry before.

Her mom sighed and crossed her arms. “‘A changed man’, huh? You see why I find that so hard to believe?”

“Is this about what happened to that foolish brother of mine?”

“After what you did to Joe, you have the nerve to insult—”

Mad Jack huffed indignantly like a spoiled child. “Oh, for the last time, I did not kill my brother! He got himself killed.”

“Protecting The Book  from you!”

“Precisely! If that useless fool would’ve done what he was told, he’d be alive and The Book wouldn’t be missing.”

Izzy’s mind reeled. That was a lot to take in at once. They were obviously talking about Joe’s uncle. They referred to him as being dead, but he couldn’t have been. Joe talked about his uncle all the in the present tense and never once mentioned him being deceased, but they clearly believed he was. Not only that, but The Book was apparently missing, too.

She didn’t understand what was going on, or what to make of this, or why her mom was still giving Mad Jack the time of day, but her mother had a handle on the situation. She seemed more annoyed than fearful by Mad Jack’s sudden appearance.

Izzy needed to leave. The faster she warped home, the safer she’d be.

But she couldn’t bring herself to move. She knew this is the day. The memory was still hazy, but she recognized this as the day her mother warned her about Mad Jack. She still had so many questions, none of which would be answers if she warped now. She had to know what happened, why Mad Jack was here, and what he wanted from her mom.

So she stayed put, crouched behind the Sphinx. As Izzy eavesdropped, she silently flipped to the transporter page. In case things went south she would need a quick escape.

Her mother sighed again, bringing Izzy out of her thoughts. “We’re going in circles, Jack. Tell me what do you want. I know you’re not here for a friendly visit.”

Mad Jack stood straight and adjusted himself. “Very well. I’ll get right to the point. I need your help.”

Her mom cocked a brow. “With what exactly?”

“With The Book  missing, there is a power vacuum in the universe that needs to be filled. I propose we should the ones to fill it.”

“You mean—”

“We make a new Book .”

Make a new Book ? Was that even possible? Izzy guessed it had to be, otherwise The Book  wouldn’t exist in the first place, but something told her that the amount of magic needed to make something so powerful wasn’t as easy Mad Jack made it seem.

Magic operated on equal exchange. In order to do anything, you needed to sacrifice something in return, be it ingredients or energy. Doing something like levitating a basketball required next to no energy since carrying a basket ball was something she could do with no effort, but complicated spells always tended to make Izzy tired and hungry. She couldn’t fathom the amount of energy it would take to create something like The Book. It wasn’t just a time machine, it was all of time and space contained in a single book. The amount of magic needed to create something like that must be absolutely astronomical.

“We’ll need additional help,” Mad Jack went on. “I believe da Vinci may be the only man in history up to the task.”

“Da Vinci?’ Mom asked incredulously. “And how do you plan to get to him? Em timeblocked you from the entire Renaissance.”

A dismissive wave of his hand. “Timeblocks? Bah! You know as well as I that those are, at best, a Band-Aid solution against any skilled warper. All I need is to try warping to every available day until I find the gap to exploit.”

“The definition of insanity…” her mom muttered and rubbed her temples. “So let me get this straight: after all the times you’ve lied, cheated, and manipulated me and, well, everyone you’ve ever met, you want me to forget all that? Leave my family and my life behind to gallivant across time with you for your evil little project? You want me to siphon a deadly amount of energy so you get to be the king of everyone and everything forever and ever? Is that about right, Jack?”

Mad Jack’s eye twitched, but he exhaled and tried to act calm. “I promise you won’t have to make that sacrifice, Dulari. I believe I’ve found away to get the energy we need without any death—”

“No, no, no. Stop. Just stop. Even if I believed you, I wouldn’t help you.”

“Dulari—”

Mad Jack went to grab her by the shoulder, but her mom seized his hand before she could.

She glowered at Mad Jack, the hand holding his wrist shaking. “You. Don’t. Touch. Me. Ever. Ever.” She threw his hand down.

Mad Jack rubbed his wrist, but otherwise looked unperturbed by her actions. He stared at her, unimpressed. “Answer me this one thing. This little domestic life of yours,” a sideways glance at Baby Izzy, “is it enough for you?”

“I’m not even going to entertain–”

“You were—are— Dulari the Daring, Warp Witch extraordinaire. I saw you go toe-to-toe with Black Beard himself. You once single-handedly liberated smuggled artifacts of Thonis from Bonefat’s crew and landed a Lockheed Vega on an island in the Bermuda triangle in the middle of a hurricane.

“Now what are you up to? Making lunches and changing diapers? Surely you must miss the adventure? That is what I’m offering you: the life of adventure you worked so hard to get. The life of adventure I know you crave.”

Her mother looked at him, her expression unreadable. Izzy feared for a moment her Mom might be swayed by Mad Jack speech.

But then she laughed harshly without any joy. “You’re forgetting something, Jack.” She pointed an accusatory finger at him. “You were the reason I was on the Queen Ann’s Revenge. I was stopping you from stealing documents that would lead to events that would spiral out of control and cause the Civil War to last three times as long.”

Mad Jack frowned. He looked like he wanted to counter her point, but her mom went on.

May I also remind you that you,” she jabbed her finger into his chest, “were also a part of Bonefat’s little scumbag crew. And I never got to thank you for that trip to Bermuda Triangle. It was you who banished me there when I wouldn’t kowtow to you anymore! Those weren’t great accomplishments and feats, that was me making up for—”

She took a shaky breath before continuing. “You cannot manipulate me like this anymore. If you think offering me the chance to go back to being your little portable battery who gets to clean up after you is going to make me want to abandon my family, you’re crazier than I thought.”

Anger flared in Mad Jack’s eyes. He gripped his cane so tight his knuckles turned pale. “You haven’t seen crazy.”

The hourglass on his cane glowed blindingly bright, and Izzy’s heart went into overdrive. She recognized the energy emanating from the cane. The Book  still in hand and without thinking, she leapt over the Sphinx’s paw and ran at him. “Stop!”

She was ready to shove him, push him away, do anything to protect her mom from that psycho’s attack. There was a buzzing in her ears. Green lightning sparked from beside her and struck Mad Jack square in the chest. He sailed through the air and crash-landed a couple yards away, dirt flying in every direction.

Izzy barely noticed how heavy she was breathing as stared she at Mad Jack’s body embedded two feet into the ground. What was that? She brought a hand to her ears, fingers brushing against her earrings. A familiar warmth tingled at her fingertips. Magic.

Mom stared at her in utter shock. Her face jumped from surprised to panic as she looked from her to Baby Izzy to Mad Jack stirring, about to getting up.

Her mother fixed her with a stern look. “You need to leave right now.”

“B-but I—” Izzy stammered.

“Now!”

Her mom’s sharp look soften to a sweet smile as she addressed Baby Izzy, “Stay back, Malpua.”

She yanked off the necklace she wore. The gold grew and morphed, resembling the handle of a brief case. From the glowing green jewel, a curved blade shaped like a butcher’s knife formed, growing bright green with magic.

Izzy faltered, but did as she was told. She ripped through the pages to find the transporter page again. But as she found it, a million volts of electricity shot up her spine sending spasms upon painful spasms throughout her body. Her scream echoed in her ears. Her muscles locked up, and she collapsed into the sand, The Book  falling out of her hands.

Izzy’s heart stopped as Mad Jack stalked over to her, domineering, a nasty sneer on his face. There was a crazed look his eyes. His cane glowed violently hot. “How do you have that? Give it to me!” “No!” Her mother flew at Mad Jack, dagger drawn. Mad Jack brought his cane up in time to deflect the blade, but the force of her mother’s blow was enough to push the two of them back and outside of Izzy’s field of vision.

Izzy’s muscles jumped and twitched as she struggled to move. A million fire ants marched along her skin, sending jolts of lightning through her spine. The sound of combat mixed with bursts of magic raging on behind her was drowned out by the blood roaring in her ears.

It took her a moment to register the sobbing next to her. She managed to turn her head to see Baby Izzy in her face. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Her tiny hands fisted Izzy’s shirt, trying to get her to up.

“P-please!” Baby Izzy begged. “Help Mama!”

It’s strange to watch yourself cry, Izzy thought, even if it was a much younger version of yourself. Her body was still shaking from Mad Jack’s spell, but she pushed on and, with effort, managed to stand on shaky legs and grab The Book.

“Hide behind the Sphinx,” Izzy told her past self, “and don’t come out unless that man is gone, okay?”

She tried to force a confident smile like her mom, but it probably looked more like she was having an awkward stroke. Nevertheless, Baby Izzy nodded and ran behind the statue.

Izzy turned her attention back to the battle. Mad Jack and her mother fought, sword against dagger. Mom slashed at Mad Jack with the ferocity of a tiger, rolling out of the way when he brought the blade of the sword—his cane in another setting— down on her and dodging energy blasts like they were dodge balls.

What Mad Jack lacked in speed he made up for in power. The heat of his sword vitrified parts of the sand he hit whenever he missed her mom with his blade.

She realized how stupid it was of her to stay instead of leaving immediately. What was she even thinking? She couldn’t help her mom. She couldn't even fight on their level. And she didn’t know any spells that could help in combat (even if there was a basketball around, it wouldn’t do much to help). She was utterly powerless.

Or was she?

She touched her still warm earrings with a hand. She was still confused about them, but an idea— a reckless, stupid idea— began to form. Was this even a good idea?

Her mother’s pained cry shattered her thoughts. She collapsed in a heap on the ground, unmoving.

Izzy no longer had time to consider whether it was a good idea or not. She tightened her grip on The Book and rushed at Mad Jack. She was twenty feet away, ten...

Mad Jack reared on her. “Not so fast!”

He shot a spell at her and she froze. Pins pricked at her skin, a green aura dancing around her.

Mad Jack stalked towards Izzy, staring at her quizzically, like she was a magic eye picture he couldn’t quite make out. He stopped himself from getting too close and snarled at her.

“You’re that girl from the museum. Aren’t you?”

Izzy didn’t answer, not that she would if she could. Her jaw felt like it was bolted shut with industrial screw. She narrowed her eyes and tightened her grip on The Book  with her limited mobility.

Mad Jack made a flippant wave of his hand. “No matter. You have something that belongs to me!”

To Izzy’s surprise, Jack relinquished the spell on her. Izzy’s knees wobbled as she regained control of her body.

“I am going to give you one chance,” Mad Jack said. “Hand over The Book, no funny business, no tricks, or—” He aimed the cane at her chest. “—I’ll hit you with a spell that’ll have you spending the rest of eternity as a million molecules scattered across time and space!”

A lump formed in Izzy’s throat. There was no doubt in her mind he would with no hesitation.

At the same time, she couldn’t hand over The Book to him. She thought about what her mother said about Mad Jack stealing documents that would prolong the Civil War, and she shuddered. She couldn’t imagine the amount damage Mad Jack could do to history if he got his hands on The Book.

Her eyes flickered from the cane threatening to end her, to Mad Jack’s irritated face, to The Book in her arms, and she knew what she had to.

“I-I’m not going to throw it to you,” Izzy said, hoping she didn’t sound as nervous as she felt. “I’ll set it down and back away. P-please don’t hurt me.”

“I won’t,” Mad Jack said. “So long as you do what you are told like a good little warp runt.”

Izzy glowered at him, but she did as she was told. She bent to place The Book  on the ground...

...then sprung forward, barreling straight at Mad Jack, Book still in hand. Magic sparked from her earrings. Mad Jack unleashed a bolt of energy at her. The Book  absorbed the brunt of the attack, but it was still enough to send her flying.

She landed hard on her back, plumes dust settling around her. The Book glitched and jump in her arms. Her head spun as she struggled to her feet and spat out sand.

Unfortunately, Mad Jack was still up. Smoke curled from his cloak. His monocle was popped, and his eyes dark with rage. “You better hope that stunt of yours didn’t damage The Book you little brat!—”

Mad Jack paused. A green light surrounded his body. Her mom stepped out from behind him, her arm outstretched to maintain the spell. Beads of sweat dripped down her face. Her hair was disheveled and there were scratches all over her face and arms, but Izzy was relieved to see she was okay.

With her free hand, her mom pulled out a silver pocket watch. She pressed the face of the watch, and a beam of yellow light shot at him, shrinking his form to the size of a baseball before floating away into the sky and disappearing in a pop!

Once he’d vanished, her mom sighed and slumped over, clutching her shoulder and grimacing. There was a smoldering hole where her clothes had burned away.

“Mama!”

Baby Izzy ran from behind the Sphinx towards her mother. Mom stopped holding her shoulder and hid her pained face behind a strained but serene smile. Her short blade turned back into a necklace, and she put it back on before kneeling to hug Baby Izzy.

Izzy watched in silence as Baby Izzy trembled and babbled incoherently to her mom, who in turned smoothed her hair and murmured comfortingly to her daughter.

Finally, the two pulled apart. Izzy’s mom wiped her baby’s tears and spoke softly: “Listen to me, Isadora. Don’t trust the madman with the monocle. He is dangerous, Malpua. You see him, you run. Anywhere. Any when. And you don’t ever, ever let him get you. Ever.”

Baby Izzy nodded, tears still spilling from her eyes. The image of them blurred, and Izzy realized her eyes were watering. She wiped her eyes and swallowed the lump in her throat, but there was a still a heaviness in her chest.

“I hope you know how to use that thing.”

Izzy nearly dropped The Book. She was so wrapped up in her jumbled thoughts, she barely noticed her mom was standing in front of her, carrying Baby Izzy on her hip.

“I, uh, well… kinda?”

“Kinda, huh?” She laughed. “Kinda is good enough. You need to go before he comes back. I’m not sure how you have it, but you need to keep The Book safe. What you have in your hands is the most powerful and potentially destructive item in the entire universe. It is incredibly important that it never falls into the hands of the monsters who would abuse it.”

And with that, she pulled up her pocket watch again, ready to warp away.

“Wait!” Izzy cried.

Her mom froze and looked at her, surprised. Izzy didn’t know what came over her. She’d already overstayed her welcome, and she didn’t want to run into Mad Jack again. But… there was something she needed to know.

Izzy rubbed her arm, feeling self-conscious. “Do you… do you know who I am?”

Her mom’s stunned face melted into a warm smile. With her free hand cupped Izzy’s cheek, and Izzy nearly burst into tears. She brought her hands to rest on her mother’s. So many things she wanted to tell her rushed to her lips all at once, leaving her tongue-tied.

Before she could put together a coherent thought, a yellow portal unraveled besides them. Izzy heartbeat hitched, afraid it was Mad Jack coming back for them. Her entire body hummed like every atom in her was vibrating. But it wasn’t fear doing that to her. It was magic.

Suddenly, a similar yellow energy enclosed around her. Before she was whisked away back to her time, she caught a glimpse of the man that warped there.

It wasn’t Mad Jack.

~*~

“I don’t think Izzy will appreciate you digging a trench in her house.”

Joe rolled his eyes at Fred’s remark but sat back at his stool. Waiting around and doing nothing made minutes feel like hours.

Sam cleaned his glasses for the umpteenth time. “There’s no point in stressing ourselves out. Worrying isn’t going to bring her back sooner.”

Just then, glowing yellow portal spiraled to life next to them, revealing Izzy. She staggered on her legs and collapsed on her knees.

Sam blinked. “I stand corrected.”

Joe jumped, Sam and Fred right behind him, and help her stand. “Izzy! Are you okay?”

“Where did you go?” Sam asked next.

“And why are you covered in sand?” Fred asked.

Izzy took a ragged breath, shutting down the rest of their questions. On top of being covered in dirt, she was covered in cuts. One of her pigtails was undone. There was a haunted look in her watery eyes, like whatever happened on her warp must have freaked her out.

“Sorry, sorry,” Joe said, backing off. “We shouldn’t have all jumped on you like that.”

Izzy swallowed. “It’s okay, guys. I...” She handed The Book  back to Joe. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to steal your Book.”

Joe frowned. She was worried about that? Of course The Book was important, but so was her safety. “Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

Joe was relieved to see her smile, a true smile that eased away the pained lines etched on her face.

Behind him, Sam cleared his throat. “I think he means that we’re just glad you’re okay.”

Joe scratched the back of his head. “Right. That’s what I said.”

Fred snorted. “Anyway, you wanna explain what the heck happened? Looks like you got a story.”

Izzy laughed, but it sounded hollow and bitter. She dusted off some sand on her shirt. Tears swelled in her eyes but didn’t fall. “Yeah, that’s… that’s one way to say it, I guess.”

Joe placed a hand on her shoulder. “You don’t have to tell us if it’s too much.”

“No, I do, really I... I   need a moment. Are there any Brownies of Coping left?”

Surprisingly, Fred hadn’t scarfed all the brownies down yet. They all sat around the breakfast bar as Izzy began to tell everything that happened to her from the beginning.

~*~

Anthony J. Shabazz sat at Mabel’s diner— a rest stop at the end of time– and tried not to reignite. Smoke billowed from his clothes and skin, and he was sure embers stilled smoldered in his hair. His latest brush with death in a gladiator stadium left him particularly famished and, thankfully, Mabel’s served their famous waffles all the time.

The diner wasn’t too crowded. There were a couple of warpers in booths, all wearing attire from ancient to modern to futuristic. Some he recognized, like Napoleon and Amelia Earhart, but most were strangers. Stars and galaxies glimmered outside, but his attention was on the notes and clues he’s gathered on Mad Jack so far.

The timeblocks placed on Jack over the years made it harder to track him, but Anthony had hoped certain precautionary measures he placed on himself would keep Mad Jack from being able to sense him. But with all the time-hopping Jack did, Anthony felt like he might as well have slapped blaring sirens and flashing lights to his head before he went after Jack.

From medieval England, to Feudal Japan, to ancient Rome, to even the nineteen-thirties, Mad Jack would pop in and steal something of magical value and leave just as quickly. Outside of using the Lapis Manalis to taunt him a few weeks ago with that storm (he knew he shouldn’t have told Jack thunderstorms made him sneezy), he hadn’t used or traded or bartered with any of them. Anthony would have dismissed this as typical Mad Jack shenanigans: stealing stuff just because he could and he wanted to. But there was something about all of this Anthony was struggling to stitch together.

“You look like you’ve been through Hell, Shabazz.”

Anthony blinked and looked to see an old friend. A fair-skinned woman in a pantsuit and colorful headscarf stood in next of him. She licked her fingers and put out a flame still smoldering in his hair.

“Thanks, Mihrimah,” Anthony said with a wry smile.

She slid into the booth across from him and sat, back erect and hands clasped. Even in a diner, she exuded an unmistakable regal air around her. “What happened?”

“Rome happened to me.”

Mihrimah cringed. “What is this, the fifth—no sixth— time this happened? You know you have the worst luck in Rome.”

Anthony shrugged and took a swig of his coffee. “Are you stalking me, Em?”

She gave him a look. “Clearly someone needs to keep tabs on you. Just because you don’t work with me anymore doesn’t mean I won't check up on you. How’s the hunt going?”

Anthony groaned and ran a hand over his face.

“I’m guessing not well?”

Anthony massaged his brow. “I traced and retraced Mad Jack’s steps a hundred time over, but I don’t see what his endgoal is. I don’t get how this relates to Isadora.”

Mihrimah leaned forward and cupped his hand. “I can assign my agents to this case. You can go home and be with your daughter. You don’t have to be the one to do this.”

That was so tempting. He thought about turning this case over to Mihrimah and her agents at least a dozen times a week. Every day he thought about Isadora, how lonely she must be; how confused she must be. Even though he was doing this all for her sake, it made him feel guilty to leave his daughter behind again as he searched for answers.

Then he thought about Mad Jack, and that strengthened his resolve.

“Isadora is my child,” Anthony said, his eyes trained on his coffee. “My only living family. I can’t standby and let others handle this. He went after my wife before. There is no way on earth I’ll let Mad Jack lay a hand on my daughter. He needs to be stopped once and for all. I’ve got to do this.”

Mihrimah nodded and didn’t try to argue, instead fixing him with a grim look. Anthony knew her long enough to know that look meant she was hiding something from him, but he also knew her well enough to know that whatever she was hiding, she wasn’t about to share. He’d have an easier job prying secrets from a cuttlefish.

“Alright,” Mihrimah said finally. “But I worry about her safety.”

He took another sip of his coffee then said, “As long as she has those earrings and does what she was told, Isadora will be completely safe. And as long as she doesn’t try to contact me, she’ll—”

An electric jolt shot through Anthony’s spine to his head, shocking his brain like a cattle prod. He muffled a pained groan, clenching his coffee mug hard enough to nearly shatter the ceramic.

Oh no.

Mihrimah frowned. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

“T-the coffee,” Anthony lied. He dabbed spilled coffee off of his notes with a napkin. “It was too hot. Burned my tongue.”

He hoped Mihrimah hadn’t noticed him gritting his teeth.

Just then, the robo-waitress came by to top off his coffee, saving him from being asked any more questions. She offered Mihrimah a cup, but she waved it away, a small look of distaste on her face.

“I never did care for this place,”  Mihrimah said. “The food is delicious, but the prices are extortion.”

Anthony nodded, half-listening. He tried to ignore his throbbing head.

Mihrimah frowned, her dark, harlequin eyes studying him intensely. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

He tried to blink away the pulsing behind his eyes and forced a smile. “It was only a light scalding. I’ve endured hotter circumstances than that.”

Her expression was hard to decipher. Mihrimah had an infamous cock-and-bull detector. Fortunately, an alarm on her work phone went off. She pulled out her phone and frowned at the screen.

“Duty calls. I’ve got to run.” She clicked a button. It morphed into a black pocket watch decorated with intricate designs etched along the front and sides. The face hummed with a purple light. “Be careful out there, alright?”

“You worry too much, Em. I’ll be fine.”

She smiled softly before disappearing in a purple glow.

As soon as she was gone, Anthony’s shoulders sagged and he let out a groan of pain he was holding back. He knew trusting Joe was iffy. Not that his old friend was untrustworthy, but he had a tendency to be pretty flighty. Still, how could he have even let her try to warp, especially to him? Didn’t Joe understand the risk? At least now he knew that spell he placed on himself worked correctly.

As the pain subsided, the robo-waitress rolled by and placed the check on the table. “Whenever you’re ready, hun.”

“Please, allow me.”

Anthony looked in the direction of the unfamiliar voice. A dark-skinned man in a fez and a white tunic stood by his table. His outfit wasn’t the most surprising thing about him; most patrons at the diner wore bizarre clothes. The oddest thing about him was the wide grin on his face that didn’t quite meet his eyes.

The robo-waitress shrugged and rolled away. “Makes no difference to me.”

Anthony studied the strange new man. “Thank you, sir. But do I, uh—”

“Forgive me, I haven’t properly introduced myself. I am Hammonri, at your service.

The man sat across from him, and Anthony realized his eyes weren't just cold and distant. They were glazed over and blank, with nothing behind them, as if the man was sleepwalking. It sent shivers down Anthony’s spine.

“Well, thank you, Hammonri,” Anthony said. “That was quite kind of you.”

“No need to thank me. I am simply doing my master’s will. He sent me to, uh, personally deliver an invitation.”

He handed Anthony a mask. It was a domino mask, gold and green and angular. At the top of the mask was a blazing sun with a face carved on it.

Anthony frowned and turned the mask over in his hands. “And who exactly is your master?”

That unsettling grin grew wider. “Why, it’s an old friend.”

[bichitosdecolores]

i want to draw so badd but also i’m so tired i can hardly move xc

[vagabumm-blog]

going to math class. then going to take a horrid chem test

later dudez

[simplysmile]

THE CHOCO SHIPPED AND THE WORK DAY IS ALMOST OVER THANK