T.I.M.E. Vaulter
Part I:
The City on The Edge of Forever.
The Rogue T.I.M.E. Vaulter.
The City on The Edge of Forever
Ivar leaves his room and heads towards the control center.
It's been close to 4 months since he first joined with the T.I.M.E. Vaulters, and in that time he learned a lot about the multiverse this men and women have sworn to protect.
He's found out that the vaulters are the last survivors of a 100 realities that were destroyed by Solar Prime.
The identity of the man known only as "The Director" is still a secret.
Ivar has run down a list of suspects, which culminated on a list of 3 possible names, one of which he hopes is not the one.
As Ivar approaches the control room he goes off his way to the Hall of Doors, as the area with the T.I.M.E. Vaulters Gateways are located.
Ever since he first arrived at The City he's been trying to go back to his reality of origin, only to find out that the Solar from his reality closed down all entry points, and that all attempts to breach them has failed.
As Ivar enters the hall a team of vaulters has just returned from an attempt to once more enter his reality to find out how it survived the great erasure.
"Ho Brother Ivar!" Arisia Dacia, a Visigoth Amazon with an X-O Manowar armor yelled at Ivar.
In his time here Ivar has gotten to know many different variants of those he once called friends or acquaintances.
He's meet a woman known as Shadowwoman, who resembles the man Ivar knows as Jack Boniface.
He even met a nun called Sister Magnus, who claims to come from a reality in which machines actually eat humans.
As Ivar goes down the ramp to meet Arisia's team he notices a look of discontent among them... another failure.
"I take it it didn't go well... again, huh?" Ivar asked even though he already knew the answer.
"Ay. The gateway simply stopped, as if it had hit a great wall made of energy." Arisia said as her XO armor left her and became a metal ball floating 10 feet behind her.
"I tried the Map of Everwhen again last night. No luck. Whatever defenses Solar put up are very good." Ivar said as he took the map out of his pocket.
"I'm distrut to hear this Brother Ivar. If only my mighty God Skin were able to penetrate that which the Sun God Solar has done, but alas, not even she is that powerful."
"It's ok Arisia, we'll eventually find a way back in, I'm sure of it." Ivar said as he walked back up the ramp and out the room.
As Ivar exited the hall he was joined by Rebecca Simms, granddaughter of the Golden Age Doctor Tomorrow from reality VH 2... and thus far the only one in The City without a double.
In his 4 month stay Ivar has met at least 2 or 3 different variants of the same hero, but Rebecca - or becca, as he's come to call her - is the only one without a double.
One of the most hilarious doubles he's met, even though he's never had the nerve to laugh at him, was a fat, lazy and short Gilad Anni Padda, who does nothing but serve as janitor. Ivar can't help but get a chuckle every time he sees him walk by. "If my brother only knew" he thinks.
As Rebecca approaches Ivar he can't help but get a grin on his face. Ivar had never been happier then he's been since he and Rebecca finally revealed their feelings for each other *.
*: Timewalker 25... Mike.
"Where were you this morning? I woke up and you were gone." Rebecca said as she grabbed Ivar's arm and wrapped it around hers.
"I had to go see, see if today was finally the day, but it was no different then tomorrow." Ivar said with sadness in his voice.
"Don't be sad. I'm sure The Director will find a way to send you home, you'll see. Now let's go eat..." Rebecca began to say as she was interrupted by a telepathic summons.
"Lieutenant Simms." the voice in both Rebecca's and Ivar's head said. "Please report to the control womb with Ivar VH 1, at once."
"Come, he wouldn't use his telepathy if it weren't urgent."
"The Director's a telepath?" Ivar thought.
The Control Womb
As Ivar and Rebecca enter the room they notice 2 teams of Vaulters waiting inside.
They are being instructed on their next mission by The Director.
As Ivar and Rebecca approach The Director's rotating chair the 8 vaulters left the room.
"Rebecca, I have news from VH 2. It's your mother, she's fallen ill and is asking for you." A voice inside Rebecca's and Ivar's head said. "Take Ivar with you. I believe it'll be his first visit to your home reality. It'll do him good. Just make sure you don't cross paths with that realities Ivar, he's still pissed at last months failed extraction of the fugitive from reality VH 434."
"Yes sir." Rebecca said as she and Ivar quickly left the room.
The Hall of Doors
Ivar and Rebecca ran down the ramp and approached the main T.I.M.E. Vaulter Gateway.
As they went even closet the Gateway lighted up with energy, creating an stable wormhole between The City and VH 2 which Ivar and Rebecca quickly jumped into.
The Home of Shannon Martin Simms, Reality VH 2
Shannon Simms, estranged daughter of the late Bart Simms, the Golden Age Doctor Tomorrow, lays in her dead bed, connected to a life support machine. She's all alone, her family either dead or away, her only company a couple of nurses that take care of her till the final moment.
As the night nurse leaves the Simms home a bright shinning light appears at the back of the house.
It's Rebecca's T.I.M.E. Gateway, which gently deposits her and Ivar right at the houses porch door and just as it quickly appeared it disappeared.
Rebecca lifted the rug outside the door and grabbed the key that was under it and opened the door.
As she and Ivar walked in they noticed that the kitchen was full of medications and other medical instruments.
"Oh, god. Just how ill is she?" Rebecca exclaimed as she ran into her mother's bedroom.
Ivar slowly walked from the kitchen into the living room, absorbing his surroundings, understanding them.
"God, I've been doing this for months now, but I don't think I'll ever get used to jumping into different dimensions." he thought as he picked up a picture frame from a table.
"Hmm, those must be becca's parents, but who's the kid? Her brother? This must be an old picture or becca's a lot younger then I... wait, there's a date on it." Ivar thought as he looked at the picture. "September 7th, 1975... The kid looks to be about 5 in this picture, which according to that wall calendar would make him to be about... 30 now. Rebecca is 25 so she was born when this guy was about 5. Hmm, her mom doesn't look pregnant in this picture, and I doubt they wouldn't include a newborn in this pic." Ivar thought.
"Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!" was heard from deep inside the house, coming from Shannon's room. Ivar ran inside and saw Rebecca standing next to Shannon's bed, crying. "Who are you? Leave my house, please don't hurt me." Shannon cried out from her bed as she nervously pressed the nurses help button.
"Please, mom, it's me, Rebecca. your daughter." Rebecca pleaded with Shannon.
"Daughter? I don't have a daughter." Shannon said as she grabbed the air mask next to her, gasping for air.
"Rebecca, look at this." Ivar said as he handed her the picture frame. "Do you recognize that boy?" he asked.
"Boy? No, I'm supposed to be in this picture." She said as she took the exact same picture from her jumpsuit.
"Maybe we're in the wrong place. Maybe what Solar did somehow disrupted the gateway." Ivar said as he compared the pictures in his hand.
"Who are you people? Please leave my house... please" Shannon said as she passed out from the shock. "Mom!" Rebecca exclaimed as she approached Shannon's sleeping body and checked her for a pulse. "She's ok, she just passed out."
Ivar took out a tricorder-like device from his trenchcoat and took a reading. "According to this we're in VH 2. The vibrational rates correspond with those in the records." Ivar said as he placed the tricorder back in his pocket.
"It can't be. If we are in VH 2 then why is the picture different? This doesn't make sense!"
"When was the last time you visited your mom?"
"I... it was... I... " Rebecca stuttered as she tried to remember the last time she had been in her mom's house.
"I don't remember." She said with sadness in her voice.
"Oh." Ivar said with a shock look in his face. Just like becca he couldn't understand what was going on. He hugged Rebecca who was starting to panic and cry. Her own mom didn't' recognize her and it looked as if she had ample reason not to.
"Lets go back to The City. Maybe the Director can..." Ivar began to say as a bright light coming from the living room was seen al the way to the room they were at.
"A gateway? Who could they have send?" Ivar asked as he and Rebecca walked out of the room and headed towards the living room.
As they entered the living room they saw a tall, blonde, muscular man dressed in an altered T.I.M.E. Vaulter jumpsuit and wearing a helmet standing in the center of the room.
The T.I.M.E. Gateway the man obviously used to come here disappearing behind him.
The man took his helmet off and placed it on the couch.
"Who are you people?" he asked as he checked both Rebecca and Ivar out.
"My name is Ivar Anni Padda, and this is Rebecca Simms. Who are you and what are you doing in..." Ivar began to respond.
"Simms?!? What do you mean Simms? I'm Jason Simms and this is my mother's house!" Jason said as he reached for his gun.
"Ja... jason??" Rebecca muttered, falling deeper into shock after each surprise.
"Look, I don't know who you are or what you want, but you must have the wrong place, and this clearly isn't the time for this." Ivar said as he stood between Jason and Rebecca.
"Don't make me laugh puny man!" Jason said as he shoot Ivar in the chest. The blast made Ivar fall on his back and crash against a coffee table, breaking it into a hundred pieces.
"Ivar!!!" Rebecca yelled, the shock of the evenings surprises making her forget about his regenerative powers.
"Now, as for you. I recognize that outfit. You're one of those damn time travelers that killed by grandpa, aren't you? The time shapers, or jumpers or something like that." Jason said as he approached Rebecca.
"Yes. I'm Lieu... Lieutenant Rebecca Simms of the T.I.M.E. Vaulters." becca said as she sat down on the couch, trying to make sense of what's been happening.
"Rebecca? That was my sisters name! She died before I was born, still born." Jason said with shock on his face.
Rebecca suddenly realized what was going on... she was an alternate, and didn't belong in VH 2, but she couldn't explain why she thought she did.
"But that can't be. I lived in this house, in this reality. Bart Simms is the only man in the entire multiverse that ever became Doctor Tomorrow, he has no duplicates. I have to come from here, I just have to!" Rebecca said as she got up and started walking, the sudden shock of the theory she was forming inside her head making her forget about Ivar's corpse on the floor.
"Stop it right there! Multiverse? You mean there's more then one universe?!? That's... that's..." Jason stuttered as he looked at Ivar's corpse. "I know him! I recognize him now! That's the timewalker! I met that bastard during that whole Final Solution crap back in 98! But he looks... different, yet the same." Jason thought, as he realized that what Rebecca was saying was the truth.
"I don't understand! What would alternates want with my universe?!?" Jason thought as a million different ideas popped into his head. In his short time as Doctor Tomorrow he had seen a lot of things, from the wonders of the Lost Land to the madness of the 41St Century, where man if eaten by machines, but he had never met anyone claiming to be from a parallel dimension until now, and his young mind wasn't prepared for the shock of it, so he just... popped.
"This is not right! You have no right to invade peoples lives like this!" he ranted as he knocked a lamp off its table and holstered his gun.
Ivar had fully healed his wound but played possum, waiting for a change to knock Jason out.
"Look, I'm as confused as you are, gut there's gotta be an explanation of why I have your memories, there's just gotta." Rebecca said as she noticed how mad Jason had become, which caused her to regain her own compulsion.
"Shut up! You can't know what it's like to find out that there are beings out there that play with your life! Tell me, who did this?" Jason said as he went on a berserk rage.
"I don't know! I really don't!" Rebecca said as she placed her hands together and activated a personal force field, which Ivar took as a sign to act. Ivar jumped up from the floor and kicked Jason in the chin, causing him to fall backwards and crash into the wall.
"Argh!"
"I don't know what you plan to accomplish here pal, but you better calm down, it won't do you any good to act all crazy." Ivar said, trying to make some peace between the 2 Simms.
"Screw you!" Jason said as he jumped up and tackled Ivar.
Jason and Ivar struggled for a few minutes, in which Ivar's Map of Everwhen fell out of his pocket.
Ivar kicked Jason off him and into the dinning room table.
"Rebecca, call for the gateway, we're leaving now!"
Rebecca entered the coordinates code into her signal bracelet and a T.I.M.E. Gateway opened behind her. She and Ivar entered it and it disappeared.
Jason stood up from the floor and cleaned the blood coming out from his mouth from a cut he got when he crashed into the table.
As Jason stood up he noticed the Map of Everwhen on the floor. "My, my. This alternate has a Map of Everwhen too." he thought as he opened the map. He noticed that the Map was just as he remembered it from the last time he saw it during an adventure in the 43rd Century alongside Ivar and Magnus 6 months before.
"I'll use this to make sure that no alternates ever come back to my reality again." Jason thought as he entered his mothers bedroom.
The Hall of Doors
Ivar and Rebecca came out from the T.I.M.E Gateway and were received by Rai (Yuri Sakamura), Turok (Cynthia Fourwinds), X-O Womanowar (Arisia Dacia) and Sister Magnus.
"Brother Ivar, you've been shot!" Sister Magnus explained as she saw Ivar's wound.
"It's nothing, I only need a new shirt. We must see The Director, something has happened."
The Vaulters left the Hall of Doors and entered the control womb.
"What is wrong Vaulters?" a voice in everyone's head asked.
"You're a teep, you know what's wrong." Rebecca said out loud in a sarcastic voice. "You lied to us. I'm not from VH 2. Who am I?"
"Oh, I see you met him, your brother." the voice said.
"Brother? I don't have any brothers!"
"Not that you know of, no, but you do have one."
"The day you were born one of your brothers enemies-to-come, Doctor Eclipse, traveled back in time and kidnapped you, planning to hold you for ransom. What he didn't count on was a Vaulter extraction, as his plans would have seriously damaged the VH 2 timestream.
During a battle in the year 2004 in reality VH 2, 3 of the Vaulters were able to rescue you, but the damage had already been done. Unberknowst to us Eclipse was always meant to kidnap you. If he hadn't Jason would have never been born and the damage to the timestream would have been greater then if you had stayed. I decided to keep you with me, but after 10 years of living here with me in the City you had become miserable. For all the comforts I could give you I could never give you a real mother, or a father, or even a dog. On your 13 birthday I told you the truth, who you were and what had happened to you. You cried for 2 days straight. You thought that you weren't a real person, but a time anomaly. So one day I walked into your head and erased all your memories of your time here with me, and replaced it with Jason's own memories up till his 13 year, and every night for the last 12 years I've been doing the same. I've walked into your head and add Jason's memories of his life into yours... not his adventures as Doctor Tomorrow, but his personal memories. I of course changed them to suit a woman instead of a man."
Rebecca couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her entire life was a lie, and she never had a clue of it.
Rebecca ran into Ivar's arms, who held her strongly in his arms.
"Timewalker of VH 1, where is your fold map?" the voice in his head said "Your trenchcoat tells me that it doesn't' have it."
"My trenchcoat?" Ivar thought. "A teep and a Geomancer?"
"Yes, I am both and more. Now answer the questions. Where's the map?!?"
Ivar checked his pockets and noticed that the map was no where to be found.
"I must have lost it during the struggle with Jason."
"Jason was angry at finding out about the alternate realities, there's no telling what he would do with the Map." Rebecca said as she composed herself, which surprised Ivar. Unberknowst to him The Director had been sending calming messages to Rebecca's mind, making her forget her pain for the moment.
"No, this can't be!" The Director's voice said. "You must go back and recover the map, now! Take your team of Vaulters with you... Now go!"
The Hall of Doors
Ivar's Vaulter Team (Yuri, Cynthia, Arisia, Sister Magnus and Rebecca) walked into the T.I.M.E. Gateway, and in seconds disappeared.
The Home of Shannon Martin Simms, Reality VH 2
The Vaulters appeared in Shannon's living room.
"The place looks the same, he hasn't cleaned up after the fight." Ivar said. "Everyone split up and look for the Map. Becca, you're with me. Lets go check on your mom."
Rebecca and Ivar walked into Shannon's room to check up on her, but it was too late, she was dead.
"She's dead, we're too late." Rebecca said in a calming voice, which disturbed Ivar. In normal circumstances someone would cry and scream, but Rebecca seemed perfectly calmed.
"Are you ok becca?" Ivar asked, concerned for her.
"I'm ok. Look, it seems like her oxygen mask was cut by a laser torch." "My god! The bastard killed his own mother!"
"Oh! I think our visit here did a lot more damage then good. I think we made Jason mad, and with my map there's no telling what he'll do or where or when he'll go."
"Timewalker, please come." Rai's voice from the living room yelled.
Ivar and Rebecca joined the others.
"Timewalker, it seems like our assessment of the room at first glance was the wrong one. Evidence suggest that it's been 3 days since your fight with the man known as Jason Simms.
Further investigation of the room seems to imply that he's already started to use the missing fold map, and he's visited the last surviving 4 realities already *."
*: Only 5 Realities will survive Unity 2000.
"What in Alaric's name is this madman planning?!? Arisia said as she clenched her jaw.
"Brother Ivar, I've found some possible evidence." Sister Magnus said. "I found a "Ken Clarkson In 1994" poster, a calendar for the year 2028, an obituary for a Gayle Nordheim, an ancient newsreport disk with the date 2990 which says something about Harada being defeated, some photos of a Gilad Anni Padda inside a shuttle craft with refugees and lastly a casette player with a recording inside it." Sister Magnus said as she played play on the recorder.
"I'm in the year 4022, and this place is paradise." The voice in the recorder said. Ivar and Rebecca recognized it as being Jason's voice.
"This is not right! In my reality the future is hell! Humans are treated like cattle, and eaten by machines the same way we eat cows! It's not right for such a paradise to exist and for the people of my time to suffer... like Elya... God, I miss her." was the last thing on the casette.
"Well, it's obvious that Jason has concentrated his attention in some very particular events." Ivar said. "Here's what we'll do. Rai, you will search the year 2028 in all of the surviving realities except for VH 2, see if you can find any anomaly. Once you find it I'll join you... Cynthia, you will find the realities were Gayle Nordheim exist and review the days she died, see if you can find any anomalies as well, and once you find anything I'll join you... Arisia, you will visit the years 2990 of the realities in which there was a Harbinger Wars, NOT Harada Wars, those were different... Sister Magnus, you'll visit the year 4022, and make sure it's still the paradise Jason found and that he hasn't changed anything to turn it into the hell from his own dimension. Rebecca and I will visit the first reality, the one in which Ken Clarkson ran for Senator, and after that we'll visit the images on the pictures with Gilad." Ivar said with resolve in his voice.
"But Timewalker, how will we visit the reality known as VFA? That reality has been closed by Solar." Rai asked, not knowing that unlike all the Vaulters Ivar's reality of origin still exists, a secret kept by Ivar, Rebecca and The Director.
"Actually, there's a way you can go in." A voice behind the Vaulters said.
"Ivar!" Ivar said as he noticed his VH 2 counterpart standing infront of him.
"I thought we had an agreement Timewalker." Ivar said as he talked to Ivar, whom he calls Timewalker to avoid confusion. "At the meeting of the Council * it was agreed that travel between the dimensions would stop, as to prevent Solar Prime from noticing us again."
*: Armageddon 5
"I know, but our coming here couldn't be avoided. We came to..." Ivar began to say before he was interrupted.
"...to visit Rebecca's mom, I know, and even such a simple thing as that has caused all this trouble." Ivar sarcastically said "Damn you shadows never learn."
"Shadows?!? You're the shadow, I'm the original." Ivar yelled at Ivar.
"Little timewalker, how do you know you're the original?" Ivar said with a grin in his face. "We are all shadows and we are all real, but originals? Nah, that we'll never be."
"Please, don't fight about this. We are all real in the eyes of MOTA Almighty." Sister Magnus said.
"Ay, and we have work to do. Brother Ivar, we'll do as ordered and may MOTA keep you in his graze." Arisia said as 4 gateways opened behind the 4 women, which as soon as they crossed the thresholds they disappeared as swiftly as they had appeared, leaving Rebecca and the 2 Ivar's alone.
"Now, what is this about there being a way for me to go back home?" Ivar asked his counterpart.
"There's a way known only to a select few for the realities to connect. The Solar from your reality knew this, and that's why he didn't close it. He kept the back door open for the little doggie to return." Ivar said as he pointed towards the Timewalker.
"Why you little shit."
"Little shit? Trust me "little" brother, there's nothing "little" about me." Ivar said with a grin in his face.
"Why don't you 2 take your fold maps out and see who has the bigger one already!" Rebecca told the 2 twins. "In case you forgot we have a rogue to capture."
"Ah, your... companion is right, as always." Ivar said. "Well, I'll make things a little easier for you. The rogue is in the year 1993, in YOUR reality. Now go, fetch!" Ivar said as a fold gateway appeared under him and swallowed him.
"That petulant bastard!" Ivar yelled at the floor.
"Now's not the time. He left without telling us how to reach your reality."
"Or did he?" " He said that Solar left the backdoor open... The back door... the back door... I got it! The Lost Land! That's always been used as a sort of backdoor to connect timelines, why couldn't it be used to connect realities?!?"
Ivar grabbed Rebecca and the 2 of them jumped into a T.I.M.E. Vaulter Gateway.
The Lost Land
Ivar and Rebecca came out of the gateway on top of a ledge looking towards a familiar looking Rainbow Tower.
"Dammit! I hate this place. That whole "time is not absolute" crap is nerve racking!" Ivar said as he took his trenchcoat off.
"That's MotherGod's tower, isn't it? We better leave fast, before she notices us. I don't want to go through all of that again." Rebecca said as she pulled Ivar off the ledge. The 2 of them ran down and headed towards the caves.
"Ok, let's just head over to the cave used by Magnus to come here from 4001 and we can just cross it using the gateway and land in 1993." Ivar said as they 2 of them walked towards the cave.
A few minutes later
Ivar and Rebecca entered the cave used by Magnus, Rai and Gilad to cross over from the year 4001 and take part of the massive event known as Unity. As the 2 of them exited the cave they found themselves in the year 4001.
"Wow, this place is nothing like the 4001 of my reality!" Rebecca said, as the experiences of Jason Simms in the 4001 of VH 2 flooded her mind.
"Becca, those aren't your memories, remember? You've never been to the year 4001 in any reality, at least not if you remember being there alone." Ivar said with a calming voice.
"Yes, I know, I just can't help but grasping this memories."
"We'll do enough grasping at memories after we stop Jason... Next stop, 1993." Ivar said as he introduced the year coordinates into his T.I.M.E. Vaulter manacle, but nothing happened.
"Huh? No gateway?" Ivar thought with a surprise look in his face.
"Must be part of Solar's protection against invaders from other realities. Without the gateway we'll never stop Jason."
"Not true. I still have a trinket or 2 under my sleeve." Ivar said as he pulled his old time arc detector out of his pocket.
"What's that?" Rebecca asked.
"It's a time arc detector. I got it from a woman a long time ago, and I've been using it to travel time since I can remember. Now, I'll just type the year 1993 and XO in it and that should take us to when we want to go." Ivar said as he typed in the lcd display.
"Next stop, 1993!" Ivar said as a time arc opened infront of them. "Just get close to me and nothing will happen to you, I promise!" Ivar said as he reached for Rebecca's arm.
Rebecca grabbed Ivar's arm and pressed her body next to him and then the 2 of them jumped into the arc...
Welcome to Rogue T.I.M.E. Vaulter: Timewalker, the first issue in this multipart adventure.
Taking place 4 months after Armageddon 5 I plan to cover a lot of unanswered questions about the origin of Rebecca Simms and how her existance contradicts that of Jason Simms in the comics.
I also use this special issue to plant clues as to the origin of the enigmatic Director.
Now we know that he's a telepath and a Geomancer. Any guesses as to who he could be?
Check the other issues of this event for the unfolding saga of The Rogue T.I.M.E. Vaulter.
Sunday, February 4th 2001.