The Everdark had many dangers in it, arguably more dangers than wonders. It hardly surprised him that something scared his daughter.

So he did what any good father would have done, and consoled her. Listening to the explanation of her nightmare made him wonder why she had it. In one sense, it did make sense, she was not always a child that lived in the dark. Once, she was a woman who happened to have crossed paths with Jack when the Earth was endangered. But in another way, he didn't know who the old Annika was, at all.

They sat on the couch, the roof was illuminated by purple candlelight. He didn't know how much he should have told her, Jack didn't know much from that time. It had only been hours, and now she was only a kid who couldn't possibly have earned that kind of burden.

"Nightmares are said to be a window into that which has yet to happen, but might come to pass," He suggested, holding her close. Jack was speaking quietly, out of habit. "They tell us of the things we wish to avoid, and remind us of what has long passed. I do not know what you witnessed, or why, but it is a memory, child. It will pass, as many things do. Perhaps... Perhaps there was a deeper meaning to this dream, but for now, let us distract ourselves with something else."

Jack waved a hand out in front of himself and Annika, and the dark room spilled open into bright, sunny wilderness. Time was strange in their home, it was always day somewhere, and always night somewhere else. But there, past the edge of the portal he'd just snapped open, it was perfectly warm and bright. It was Earth, somewhere in North America, an open wilderness spreading out before it.

"I have often found that a walk through the world is the best cure for an uneasy mind." He stood, and reached out. A coat flew across the room and into his hand. "Go to your room and prepare for one of our usual trips, we'll head to any place in Earth-666 that you'd like, Annika. We haven't been there in some time, have we?"

Jack's voice vibrated through his chest, tickling Annika's cheek where it rested next to his heart. She cried and sniffed while he spoke, covering his shirt in tears and probably snot. Jack was always good like that. He always gave Annika what she needed at that moment.

She listened to his words, finding comfort in the simplicity of them. Annika felt the same. These dreams held some truth to who she was, or at the very least who her family was. The problem with this particular nightmare was how real it felt.

While Annika mulled this thought over, the last of her tears finally faded, and a bright light invaded the dark she had grown used to. Annika pulled away from Jack, blinking away the dark spots that formed in her vision. Yellow sun, blue sky, and white clouds filled her now cleared eyesight. The smell of cut grass and fried food assaulted her nose. Annika gasped and jumped up, recognizing the scents of Earth. She looked at Jack and grinned, the darkness of earlier gone, and she ran to her bedroom to change and pack a small bag.

Annika returned a short time later, wearing a purple dress with white flowers. The top of the dress was styled like a halter top before it flowed away from her waist. She made sure to stuff a jacket in her bag but she went without for now. Annika wanted to feel the sun on her skin, even if she got a chill from the wind.

She bounced over to the portal, her toes just touching the space between her and there. A large grin claimed her face, her excitement plain. Annika knew a lot about the different Earth's from her studies, but she was having a hard time pinpointing where she would want to go.

”Mmm London? No Paris! Or, Orlando? Maybe New Orleans. We could visit Uncle Max or California! Somewhere with a beach and the ocean.” Annika's words tumbled out, her body vibrating with excitement.

Annika had many places in mind, so they went to all of them.

It was a full day, to be sure. They started in California, where they paid a visit to Annika's favorite library. Annika got herself some iced tea, and then they walked through a portal to France.

And then Romania.

Then Greece.

Japan.

China, Canada, they even stopped in Wakanda for a few hours.

All in the span of one day.

They made a point to swing by monuments, places of old history gone by. Annika loved that, it was something he'd used to help her first learn to read. Though, it wasn't terribly difficult given the fact that she was much older once. They'd circumnavigated the planet throughout the day, and it might've seemed hectic to anyone else's perspective, but Jack was an interdimensional traveler. He spent a lifetime doing this very thing, and he'd teach Annika his tricks in time. He used to make these kind of trips across entire universes, stepping between realities like each one was a step on a flight of stairs.

It was a good day overall, like the kind of day a more mundane family would spend in an amusement park where they take advantage of every minute.

Jack and Annika made their way to New York City, deciding to stop at a library and relax for the rest of the day. And then, they showed up.

A man who looked both older and younger than Jack at the same time. Brown skin, a short and pointed beard and uncannily yellow eyes. He was built like someone who was an Olympic sprinter a few years ago. He was walking down the sidewalk wearing some fancy ass orange cardigan that made him look like a rich kid. And there was a girl just a year old than Annika with him. His daughter.

The four of them crossed paths. Jack stopped walking, and he stopped walking.

"Jack." The man sneered at him.

"Who's this dad?" The girl asked.

Jack sighed. He really didn't need this shit today.

"Annika... This is Salem Hennigar. And... His daughter."

"This, Serena, is the man who once set our house on fire," Salem explained. The girl named Serena balked.

"Wait. You have a kid?!" She asked.

That was before he'd been sent backwards through time. That was before Annika had met him. Great, time shenanigans. This would have never happened otherwise. But... Fuck.

"Your father stole a priceless tome from the Second Eternity from me, before I could secure it," Jack explained to the girl. "So I made him regret that."

"Yeah... And now you've got a kid. That's strange. Who's the unlucky lady, Jack?" Salem asked.

"That is neither here nor there. We were just on our way to a library, get out of our way."

"I lost my favorite shoes in that fire, asshole. Dad, can we fight him?"

"I was wondering the same thing. I bet he's still got that magic coin we found in Berlin." Salem rolled up his sleeves, and his eyes started to glow.

"If you lay one finger on my daughter, I will disembowel you both," Jack warned, curling his hand into a fist. People were starting to pay attention to them. "Get. Out. Of. Our. Way."

"Nah. Get 'em, Serena."

Serena, who looked like she'd never eaten more than a slice of bread in her entire life, leaped at Jack. Her nails turned into claws and she shrieked like an animal.

Jack just sighed.

The day was incredible so far. Jack's adventures were infamous and today's trip was no exception. Annika was bombarded with different sights, smells, and languages. She loved it all. Not only did she get to be a kid for some of it, going on rides in Disneyland and eating too much ice cream, but she also got to expand her knowledge about Earth and mutants, and Wakanda's science department.

As she walked down the streets of New York, she spoke to her father, waving her arms and hands animatedly while she recounted the day's events. She was excited to revisit some of the museums in New York, knowing there would be new exhibits to visit and books to buy. But that anticipation fell short when they came across an old acquaintance of Jack's.

Annika stood half a step behind her father, looking around him to size up the girl around her age, and eyeing the man who demanded retribution. Annika frowned at the altercation. Annika knew her father had a past, she even accompanied him on some of his less savoury adventures, but she also knew Jack did a lot of good. After all, she knew about the adventure that united the two of them. Jack didn't deserve this defamation, or an attack from a teenager over a pair of lost shoes.

Annika shifted quickly around her father. She launched herself at the girl, altering her attack, and Annika took the brunt of the girl's force. She felt her back hit the pavement at the same time claws dug into her skin. Annika grunted from the force and sharp pain but didn't cry out.

The girl that had just crashed into Annika tumbled over and growled at her. She used animal magic to take on the traits of some feline predator, and though she was more ferocious than Annika was right now, Annika had tricks of her own. And Jack knew this so he turned his attention to Salem.

The man whipped his hands around and flicked a golden sword into existence. Jack made a motion with both hands, and a scythe appeared, black as night and sharp as a razor. The lower end of its haft met the blade, and Jack curved it over, bringing it down low in a circular motion that flung Salem off balance. This made the blade move between them, and Jack moved thrust it upwards like a spear. The dull side of the blade smacked Salem across the face, knocking him back.

"Annika, use your advantages against her," He said, cryptically. Annika knew what he meant.

Salem rolled over and onto his feet. His hands started to glow gold, as a chain launched towards Jack, which had a blade at the end. He sidestepped it, and threw his scythe at the chain. The scythe fell inwards and became a shadowy hand that yanked Salem towards Jack.

And he teleported, seeing that coming.

A flash of yellow light, and Salem was behind Jack, swinging a fist. Jack stumbled and spun around, lashing out at the man with his shadowy arm that spooled out like an anchor chain. It swept the man's feet out from under him.

And people were pointing phones at the four of them, from across the street.

Annika understood her father's cryptic meeting but wasn't sure she could follow through. It wasn't often that she called on the shadows outside of The Everdark, and she was distantly aware of being watched from onlookers. For now, Annika bent one of her legs and threw Serena off her. Annika reached into her bag and pulled out a knife, a weapon she always carried on her person, and stood.

Annika stalked Serena, matching her strides and waited before striking out. Annika sliced her knife up, cutting across Serena's palms. The girl cried out before rushing Annika. Annika let Serena tackle her, and used the girl's momentum to flip her over before Annika scrambled back to her feet.

”Dad, we're drawing a crowd,” she warned her father, as she squared off against Serena once more.