Chapter Text
Cade’s walking her younger siblings home from school with her brother, Aidan, when she feels the tell-tale tugging of a Council summons in the back of her mind.
What did I do this time, she wonders idly.
Her little sister notices when she stops midstep and tugs on her sister’s shirt. “Cade? Are you okay?”
“Hmm? Oh, yeah, I’m okay, Han.”
“Are you sure?” Hannah squints up at Cade, who can’t help but laugh, and the little girl gives her a gap-toothed grin.
“I’m sure. Come on, let’s race the boys home,” Cade says, hoisting her only sister’s tiny frame onto her shoulders and taking off at a sprint. Her brothers protest, Jeremiah yelling “No fair!” and Theo groaning and shaking his head.
The head start doesn’t do much good though, because just a few houses away from their own, Aidan catches up and passes Cade, Jeremiah on his shoulders and Theo at his heels. They maintain their lead easily, Aidan having the advantage of much longer legs and stride.
All five of the siblings stagger into their yard. Hannah blows a raspberry at her brothers as Cade puts her down on the ground, and the older girl laughs when Aidan does a victory dance right in the front yard. Cade socks him in the arm and he snickers.
“Sore loser, Cade?”
“Jerk.”
“Slowpoke.”
“Beanpole.”
“Shorty.”
She opens her mouth to retort but realizes with no small amount of chagrin that she’s out of insults. Aidan gives her a smug grin and corrals their giggling and chattering little siblings into the house, where Cade helps to put away their backpacks and shoes before giving her mother a hug and her father a peck on the cheek.
Right before her parents serve dinner, though, the tugging in her head gets more insistent, and she makes a half-hearted excuse about having to do some job research before dashing upstairs into her bedroom.
She changes quickly into a short-sleeved maroon turtleneck shirt and baggy dark green cargo pants before transporting herself to the First Timeline, home of the Council of Realm Jumpers.
She strolls through the streets, heading for Jumper HQ, surrounded by First Timeline residents dressed in colorful clothes: ultramodern styles next to royalty garb alongside emo, Y2K, cottagecore and pretty much any other fashion trend imaginable.
And every single one of them is a Realm Jumper, the dimension-hopping protectors of the Multiverse.
Cade herself is identified in her files as CA-V 134, renowned solo agent and asset to the Council.
She walks into RJHQ, nodding at the security guards stationed outside as she heads for the elevator, which takes her up to the second-highest floor: the Council room.
The doors whoosh open, revealing an upset-looking Council and high, vaulted ceilings that meet in an arch decorated with heavy crystal chandeliers. Plush white carpet down the middle of the room lays a path to an oval table, at which eight powerful Realm Jumpers sit, stewing in their tense silence.
Cade walks forward to stand semi-adjacent to the other three Jumpers there, unwilling to position herself much closer. She notes to herself the oddness of the other three’s presence. She’s a solo agent, and can’t figure out why three other Jumpers would need to be at what must be an assignment briefing.
Because it has to be that.
Right?
Cade also notes with a heavy feeling of dread the appearance of one of the other Jumpers there: Cherry-red hair, caramel skin, and green eyes that lock onto her own pale blue ones with an expression of mixed distaste and growing amusement.
“ Cade ?” The redhead steps closer to the short, pale, infamously grouchy Jumper, cocking her head to the side and placing a hand on her hip. “Fancy meeting you here.”
“Ace,” sighs the white-haired girl. “Please don’t tell me we’re going to have to work together.”
“I sure hope not. I’d hate to work with someone with such a huge ego it’s bigger than her entire body,” Ace smirks.
Cade scoffs, turning her attention away from the redhead and instead to the other two Jumpers there.
The taller of the two is just that. Tall. She’s easily over six foot and muscular. She’s pale, with two long brown braids hanging down to her waist, an orange tank top, simple black shorts and the darkest blue eyes Cade has ever seen, somehow enhanced by a pale scar running through her eyebrow.
The shorter girl still seems to tower over Cade, but she’s much more slender and softer, with two honey blonde Afro puffs tied back at the nape of her neck, a black sleeveless tunic dress over a lime green long sleeved shirt, and two eyes of different colors: one a golden brown and the other jade green.
The short one sees Cade looking at her and smiles, waving her over.
Cade hesitates for a moment. She’s not one to like interactions with other people, preferring to keep to herself and stay away from other Jumpers.
She’s learned the hard way that attachments hurt to break, and that trust is not something to give freely.
“Hello! I’m Iya!” The short girl’s voice has a pleasantly musical lilt to it. “This is Sycidi,” she says, gesturing to the behemoth of a woman next to her.
“Hey,” Sycidi says. “You’re Cade, right? CA-V… uh, 133?”
“134,” she corrects.
“Dangit. Knew I was close though!”
“You were. But here’s the thing. I’m a solo agent, and I tend to keep to myself,” Cade points out to the taller girl, whose cheeks flush. “How do you know who I am?”
“Um. It was the, uh,” she gestures vaguely to her face. “That. Plus you’re kind of a legend around here.”
Cade looks away, unable to help the scowl that flits across her face and the way her shoulders tense. Her multitude of scars and white hair are rather iconic, she supposes.
Lucky me, she thinks to herself.
“Realm Jumpers.” Lizhi Zhanfang’s voice echoes around the chamber, capturing all of their focus and cutting off their conversation. They turn to the half-circle table, where all eight seats are filled by some of the most powerful Realm Jumpers in the Multiverse: Zan, Auahi, Ishana, Lizhi herself, Vio, Payge, Jai, and Casey.
“You no doubt want an explanation for why you are here. And I have no wish to drag this out any longer than it must be. Therefore, by order of the Council of Realm Jumpers, Casey Variants 134, 258, 380, and 907, you have hereby been banished by this Council to The Bad Batch Alternate Timeline 17. Your abilities to traverse the Multiverse will be revoked, and all memory of you will be removed from your home timelines,” Lizhi states in an emotionless monotone Cade suspects does not portray her true feelings: the tightness around her mouth and the ice in her gaze when her eyes dart in Zan’s direction make it clear this was not a unanimous decision.
But it’s only distantly that she notes these things. Her mind is already racing, turning over the Councilor’s words over and over until the truth is plain as day: She will not be going home today.
“Ma’am?” With all the bravado and attitude she can muster, Cade steps forward. “With all due respect, what the f— ”
Iya interrupts and steps in front of Cade, holding out an arm to stop her. “What Cade means is, why are we being banished? We didn’t do anything wrong.”
Zan holds up a hand and interrupts Iya’s plea. “This decision has already been made and is irrevocable. As we speak, your families’ memories are being erased.”
“That’s not an answer to her question,” Cade says, breath quickening. Panic and rage are building inside her chest, fighting for control over her actions.
Her whole family…Hannah, Aidan, Theo, Jeremiah…
And her parents .
All of them are just going to forget me…?
“Sorry,” Zan shrugs. There’s a predatory and almost gleeful gleam in her eyes that Cade definitely does not like.
She gets up from her seat and crosses the room to the four Realm Jumpers frozen in place.
Casey stews in her seat on the opposite end of the table. It’s very obvious to all watching that she’s not happy about this either.
Zan creates a portal behind them with a flick of her wrists, and Ace finally does something. She’d been standing there, frozen, but now she looks up at Zan, something cold in her eyes. Something flickers in her closed fist, and faster than Cade’s eyes can track, she’s driven a perfectly formed icicle into Zan’s stomach.
Ace turns away from the Councilor, hands bloody. Zan writhes on the floor in pain, and two other Councilors rush over and try to staunch the bleeding.
“There.” Ace’s voice is deathly quiet and menacing. “Now I’ve done something to deserve it.” She steps through the portal, but not before Cade sees one single tear drop off of her chin.
Iya and Sycidi follow her through, Sycidi saluting the room with a single finger, one arm around Iya’s shaking shoulders. It’s clear that the young Jumper is on the verge of breaking down, if she hasn’t already started. Cade knows she doesn’t really have a choice, so she starts to leave too.
She doesn’t think she has it in her to fight this.
And she hates herself for it.
“ Wait ,” calls a voice from across the room. Casey. Quite possibly the most powerful Realm Jumper out there, the one person who could fix this, the one whose timeline Cade branched off of so many years ago. “I…”
“You what?” Cade pauses, but doesn’t turn to look at her.
“I’m sorry,” Casey whispers just loud enough for Cade to hear.
She’s sorry ?
Sorry isn’t going to bring back Cade’s family’s memories of her.
Sorry isn’t going to get her out of this mess.
Sorry is not enough to fix this.
“Apology not accepted,” Cade spits, continuing through the portal and into her home for the foreseeable future: TBB-AT 17.
The portal closes behind her, and she stands there for a moment, trying to sort out her thoughts and take in her surroundings. They’re in a grassy clearing in a massive, thick forest, trees as far as the eye can see. Creatures scurry in the shadows around them, chattering to each other shrill warnings and soft calls.
“Cade?” Sycidi’s voice is quiet as she looks down at the much shorter Jumper. Iya is still shaking in her arms, and her face is pressed into Sycidi’s chest. “What do we do next?”
Cade shakes her head slowly. She’s the oldest here, the most experienced, just like at home. All three of these girls are depending on her right now, expecting her to save the day. But the truth of the matter is…
“I have no freaking idea.” Cade barks out a harsh, dry laugh. “Might as well try and figure it out.”