[CH.001] Once Upon A Time In 1934

NEW YORK CITY | 1934

Goldie's Diner

As Susie walked into the diner, a man had noticed and rushed over to the door to open it for her. He held it open as she walked by him. Wearing a short white dress with red dots, white leggings, and white heels. Her dark red lipstick really popped and was an eye catcher. Beautiful… as always.

She had come to meet with her love interest, Egor, who was sitting at a booth table. He had papers strewn about on the table as he drank his coffee and refined an idea that had recently been thought of.

"Susie," Goldie, the owner of the diner, said as she walked out from the kitchen with a pot of fresh brewed coffee. "How are you, my dear?"

"Hi Goldie," she responded. Egor had heard her voice and perked up. He set his cup of straight black coffee down on the table. He wiped his mouth off with his shirt sleeve as he slid out of the booth and stood. "Quite okay. Did you hear what's going on in Europe?"

"Yeah, that Hitler fella… I tell ya. He's a doozie. He won't last long. And Germany is going to be hosting the '36 Olympics. Rumors spreading round that he's rounding up Jews and sending 'em to work camps."

"Oh my," Susie said as she gasped and covered her mouth.

Ahem…

"My dear Susie," Egor said as he walked up to her. He had an excited, happy smile on his face. He was happy to see Susie again, even though they'd just met the night prior…but in a more romantic state of mind. "Hello darling."

He gently grabbed her hand and held it up to his mouth. He softly kissed it, making Susie blush and smile involuntary. Neatly combed brown hair, a green buttoned shirt tucked nicely into a pair of black pants, with a black belt to keep them from slipping down and coming off.

"Come, I have something to show you," Egor said as he turned around and walked back over to the table. He held her hand and continued holding it until she was seated. She looked up at him and smiled as he took his seat.

When he sat down, he looked straight across the table into her eyes. He had his hands resting on the table.

"What are all of these?" Susie asked as she pulled a paper closer to her. Looking down at it, her first impressions were confusion and curiosity.

"What do you think it is?" Egor asked as he leaned over the table to get closer to her. She could tell he was excited about this idea.

"Hmm, it looks like this sheet is just a part of it," Susie said as she pulled another paper over to her. Then placing it on top of the other one. It was similar to putting the pieces of a puzzle together to discover the hidden overall picture.

"Just put them on top of eachother, my dear," Egor told her with a smile of anticipation and growing excitement.

As she continued layering the pages on top of another, the overall idea began to reveal itself.

A young waitress walked over to their booth with a pencil and notepad in her hands. She had a welcoming smile, then proceeding to ask the question:

"Welcome to Goldie's Diner. What can I get for y'all?" She asked.

Susie and Egor both looked up at her, smiling pleasantly. Her name tag read: Juliana.

"I'm Juliana, but you can call me Julia. I'll be your server this morning. What can I get for you ma'am?" Julia asked as she waited for a response.

"I'll start off with coffee. Two sugars, one sweetener please and thank you."

"You got it," Julia said as she wrote that down. "Love that dress."

"Thank you," Susie said with a smile.

"I'll just take a refill of coffee please," Egor told Julia.

"You got it. Anything else I can get ya?"

Susie shook her head. Egor did too. Julia put the notepad back in her apron pocket, along with the pencil too.

"I'll be right back your coffee's," Julia said as she walked away.

"Last sheet," Egor said.

Susie looked down at the forming concept picture of Egor's grand idea. When she laid the last sheet down, the picture was hard to tell. So she grabbed the bunch of papers and held them up to the window. Aided by the light from outside, the picture was revealed.

"A…uh…a ring?" Susie questioned as she glanced over at Egor.

"Not just any ring. This one will have the power to change the world one day."

"Ambitious, don't you think?" Susie questioned, "an interesting idea, yes, but how would one build a ring to house that much power?"

"I'm a Tinkerer. I fix things that are broken, and invent things that haven't been invented. That's my view of it. Albert Einstein once said: Never give up on what you really want to do. The person with big dreams is more powerful than one with all the facts."

"Words of the wise," she said.

"And what are your plans for this—this idea?"

"Oh don't even get me started on those plans," Egor said, "but once I make that ring, it'll have more than one purpose."

SAN DIEGO | 2024

Downtown

Amy, now a renowned officer of the law, is finding herself once again in the hands of danger. The last mission saw her taking down a drug lord, thus saving the lives of thousands in the surrounding Tri-state area. With the help of the FBI and Homeland Security, the criminals didn't remain at large long, and were eventually captured by the US Marshals. But when one drug trafficking ring is shut down, another one starts operation. Will criminals ever learn?

After her brief time in the past, Amy returned to her job a changed woman…literally. A position that was almost replaced by someone else in her absence.

"Chief, please don't let this slip through my hands. I've held this job for almost ten years. Never missed a day, rain or shine, and I have something—"

He squints his eyes, taking his glasses off and tossing them down onto his desk. He rests his arms flat on his desk. Amy had stopped herself from saying too much. Of course she wanted to tell her superior officer, her boss, about the magic ring around her neck, but hidden under her white t-shirt and tank top under shirt.

"Have something…?" He asked as he fixed his sights directly up at her, not blinking. He was clearly a bit irritated. But wouldn't you be if one of your top performing officers just vanished for days without a call or text?

Gypsy and Antonio were curiously watching the Chief and Amy hash out their differences on if she should keep her job or not.

"I was worried about you. What I don't tell the other dumbasses, like Gypsy and Antonio…," he said as he looked over at them watching them. "One second."

He pushed his chair back and got up. Walking over to the glass wall, he smiled sarcastically. Amy turned around and gestured to them, nudging her head to the side. In turn, that silently told them to bug off. Clearly the Chief was pissed off, but he has his reasons for being this way.

He pulled down on the long cord for the blinds. He did this twice until the blinds were closed.

"You know they were worried about you too," he enlightened Amy as he limped back over to his seat.

Alfred Jahns is his name. Started his career as an officer back in 1970. This was a couple years before Amy would be born. He's since worked his way up the chain of command. Before his Chief, Walter Lord retired in 1979, he chose Alfred as his successor. The two would go on to remain close friends outside of work.

Bowling, meeting at a local bar for drinks, grabbing a bite to eat at a family-owned diner down by the waterfront. Their friendship would flourish for years until Walter's sudden death in early 1987. He passed away at seventy-eight.

"I came back. I wasn't in any danger. If I was, I wouldn't be standing here today begging you to let me keep my job."

"No calls. No texts. Nothing. You were here one day. Then gone the next. Where'd you go?" Alfred asked. "You can tell me. I'm sure I'd understand. I just want to know."

"Are you sure your heart can take it? What I'm going to tell you is some weird sci-fi shit."

"You calling me old?" Alfred smiled and scoffed.

"Yes and no."

ATTENTION ALL UNITS. REQUESTING IMMEDIATE BACKUP AT 424 E BAY AVE. SHOTS FIRED. SUSPECTS ARMED AND DANGEROUS.

Alfred flew out of the chair and rushed over to his office door. He grabbed his coat off the coat rack hook. He tossed it over his head and put his arms in the sleeves.

"You're one lucky woman, Amy. You want back in? Take these bastards down and I'll give you more than just your old job back," Alfred promised her with a wink.

"Thank you, Chief. You won't be disappointed, I promise," Amy said as she grabbed the ring out from under her shirt. She unclipped the necklace and put the chain in her pocket, then put the ring on her finger. When she did, Alfred shook his head with confusion.

"A ring?" He asked as he saw it light up and glow.

Amy squints her eyes and smiles mischievously as she aims and opens a portal in his office, leading directly to the exact address given by dispatch.

"What the—? This is some Doctor Strange type shit," Alfred mumbled to himself.

Amy, on the other end of the portal, blasted a man who had run out with his automatic pistol blazing and firing. Amy held her arm up, which in turn made an impenetrable shield form in front of her. The man, shouting in Spanish, continued firing until the ammo was exhausted.

CLICK! CLICK!

"My turn," Amy said as she lowered her arm halfway, holding it straight out. Her hand was now a fist. A bright green light flashed, followed by a loud bang and the sounds of men grunting and moaning.

"Are you gonna come or stand there in awe?" Amy asked as she looked back over her shoulder at Alfred. "Told you I'd impress, not disappoint."

Alfred sighed and rolled his eyes. He trekked closer to the portal, still hesitant to believe it was actually true. He watched as another man ran out of a room adjacent to where she was standing.

"Behind you!" He shouted.

All Amy did was raise her right fist. When she did, the man who was armed with a small submachine gun, was lifted into the air. His body had a faint green haze glowing around it. Amy turned around and looked up and waved.

"Damn, you're fine," she laughed as Alfred finally stepped through the portal. He'd withdrawn his pistol from its holster, pulling the safety back to release it.

"Took you long enough," Amy said as she looked back at him again over her left shoulder. She lowered her arm, with the haze around the man fading away. As she walked over to Alfred, the man fell back to the stone cold floor, landing on his stomach.

GROAN!

"You have a lot of explaining to do!" Alfred reminded her as he pointed right at her with a serious look on his face.

"I'm aware," Amy said with a subtle smile. She began walking away from Alfred, holding the ring up closer to her mouth. She began speaking into it like she would with a radio.

The building was poorly lit, a commonality amongst abandoned buildings in downtown San Diego. As Amy continued walking down the dark hallway, a shadow of a man was seen on the floor and the wall on the other side of the hallway.

"Egor, we need backup. 424 E. Bay Ave. Downtown," Amy said into the ring as she then noticed that the figure was no ordinary person like she was deceived into thinking. "Come out where I can see you! NOW!"

"On our way," Egor responded.

"Hurry," she responded.

"Who the hell was that?" Alfred shouted.

"A friend from work," Amy responded.

"You're at work!"

The figure started walking out of the doorway they were standing in. The further they walked out, it became clear he wasn't any ordinary drug lord like the others. Their hands were behind their back.

"After all this time, all it took was a few shots fired to get your attention," the figure said as they turned to face Amy head on. Their identity is still shrouded in darkness.

"I recognize that voice," Amy mumbled.

"Good. You should. We fought some time ago," they said. "Maybe this'll jog your memory."

BOOM! A yellow bolt of lightning struck the floor, leaving behind a puff of smoke.

BOOM! Another yellow lightning bolt, followed by another. Each time a bolt struck, a flash of light revealed the figure in the dark. He was wearing green pants, a yellow shirt, and was wearing a red cape, which was draped down behind him. Wearing his helmet, he stared directly ahead at Amy.

"No," Amy said with complete disbelief, "Egor defeated you! Trapping you in the past. How? Who helped—?"

"Surprise," Shockwave said with a muffled laugh. Three Jumpers appeared, walking out from the darkness and into the light.

"Amazing thing about time," Shockwave said, "I exist in the past, present, and future. In all of time, I'm everywhere."

It was when he finished saying that, that Amy happened to notice the ring she'd taken away from Carl glowing in her front pants pocket.

"So much power, so much potential. All you have to do…"

Amy had been sucked into a trance by the Jumpers ring she had in her pocket. It was only because she was wearing the Tinkerer ring that her mind wasn't collapsing in on itself. The ring was protecting her, but if she continues to possess the other ring, her ring won't be able to protect her. Every power has its limits.

"Put it on," Shockwave said as she was fixated on the pulsating glow of the yellow ring. "Take my hand, and we can fight side by side."

In reality, Shockwave wasn't anywhere near her. Neither were any Jumpers. It was all an illusion from the ring. Not real, but not fake either. It was feeding off her memories and using those to tempt her to put it on. Unlike the green ring, the yellow one had a mind of its own.

"Amy!" Egor shouted as he leapt through a portal that had opened a few feet in front of her. When Egor saw her holding that ring, he charged towards her. He tackled her, throwing her onto the floor on her back. He landed on top of her. She was dazed, yes, but coming out of the trance.

The ring had fallen to the floor. Its pulsating yellow glow stopped the moment Amy dropped it. Julia ran through the portal, desperate to see what had happened to her friend.

"Egor," Julia gasped as she grabbed his hand and lifted him back up onto his feet. Amy had fallen unconscious from smacking her head on the stone hard floor. "What the hell happened?"

"That damn ring almost got to her," Egor said as he looked to his side at Julia. It's when he leaned over and picked the ring up, that it started glowing again. Not because it was trying to trick him, but because it recognized Julia and sensed she was near. Egor was quick to put it in his pocket until they would return to his antique shop.

"Take her back to my shop. Susie and Todd will be able to help her there," Egor told Julia.

"What about this?" Julia asked.

"I'll handle it," he told her, "I always do."

"SHIT!" Alfred shouted in anger as he kicked the man who'd fallen to the floor earlier.

"Owww," he faintly moaned.

"Shut up," Alfred said as he put the safety back on his gun, returning it to the holster on his belt line. "Who are you guys? Avengers or something?" He said in a snarky attitude, frustrated that the dispatched call to this location was a bust. Whatever was going on here, and whoever was here, were long gone by the time he and Amy arrived.

"Woah, where are you taking my officer?"

"To get the medical attention her head injury requires," Egor answered as he held his hand out. Alfred, still irritated, was grateful to see them. The two shook hands and smiled at one another.

"We're the Tinkerers," Egor introduced, "I'm the leader behind a team of amazingly talented individuals. We are here to assist you. Anything you need, anytime, we'll be there."

"Good. The World could use more people like you. Amy never told me about you all, but I suspect that's what we would've talked about one day."

SAN FRANCISCO | 2024

Alcatraz Island

The ground rumbled. The Prison was beginning to crumble and collapse after years of neglect and disrepair. A tour boat was moored at the pier, waiting for the last tour of the day to conclude.

As the driver waited in the wheelhouse, drinking his coffee and listening to the radio, the entire island behind him began crumbling and falling apart. The water suddenly went from mildly choppy, to waves battering the boat on both sides.

People flooded out of the prison building and were rushing down to the only means of escape from the island. Just when the driver heard the faint screams and shouts from people, a massive pointy rock ripped through the ship, decapitating him and rendering the boat a total loss. The rock continued rising out of the water.

"Go back to 2024," a voice said, "find her and take what power she has, and return to me with her source. Use whatever means necessary to complete your task," the voice continued.

"I understand, Sir," a man, wearing a brown leather coat and blue denim jeans said.

Just then, that very man emerged from the building. His eyes were black, and his veins visible on his face and neck. They were black too.

"I am Tremor," he shouted in a deep, threatening voice, "and I'm here to wreak havoc on your world!"