Time Skip

His name was once Jason Fawkes. He had gone under the name Edward Younger for the past twenty years, however, so was surprised when the stranger addressed him by his given name.

He looked up from his lunch, free even though the bar had stopped the general practice of free lunches, and looked at the speaker.

Dark green hair. Blue eyes. Slender, almost boyish, build. "well I'll be. Figured you more for Paris. What brings you to this dump?"

Jason's eyes unfocused as his mind tried recalling who this person was. His heart screamed at him to go to her. Yet the memory was distant, grainy. "I...." He squinted at her.

Click!

"Shelly?" Incredulous voice. The woman grinned at him. "You're a sight for sore eyes."

Shelly's grin widened. "While you look like you've thoroughly gone native Boyo." Without being asked she took the seat next to him at the bar. "So where've you been? I looked Everywhen and where for you!"

in response Jason pointed at the ground. "Twenty years, subjective, I've been here. Long story. Long. LONG story in fact."

It took minutes for this to fully penetrate Shelly's mind. Stuck in a single time period for twenty years unable to call for aid. Thinking you had been abandoned by everyone. She couldn't let concern and sadness mar her public face, so she quickly found a positive to spin around. "At least you were stuck somewhen interesting?"

"oh well. You know me." Jason found it surprisingly easy to get back into gentle banter. "I've never liked boring." He passed her a mug of something dark and frothy. "First impulse is to ask you to take me home. Give me a lift to somewhen where I can get recomposed and shrug off the years lain on me. I have to ask though if I've been put on the black list for my involvements."

Confused look. "Your involvement?" Comprehension clicked when she saw the stylized tripod craft painted on the far wall. "Deus... you were the anomaly?"

"One of." Jason shrugged. "Was somebody else passing crystal tech around like party favors for about a decade. Used to think it was another Jumper, but now... I dunno. We got valuable experience. Probably the only reason we ended up as well off as we did this time."

"Well they asked a few dozen of us to find whoever was involved and bring them back for some stuffy awards ceremony. Everything... changed. The timeline. The wars. The plague. It's still gonna get bad in a few hundred years, but there isn't the total depopulation after Oak went up."

This got Jason's attention. "No kidding?" He glanced about. "Where's yoru craft? I can leave a note and be ready in an hour."

"No rush Jason dear." Shelly touched his cheek gently. "We have time enough after."

"After?" Beat. Comprehension. "Ahh. Yes. after."

Edward Younger Fawkes was last seen leaving a McMillan's Pub in Philadelphia August 3rd 1901. He has not been seen since.