〔Warnings: Violence, Death (as always), Anxiety and other mental health things〕
⋆⋆⋆✦_________________________✦⋆⋆⋆
〔December 11th, Bramton, Iowa〕
Sakura rolled over in bed, barely awake to look at the time on the clock next to her. It was around 9:30 in the morning. She huffed and rolled over to the other side. Waking up would mean having to walk again, in the cold, with very little food. Ew. Check out was at noon, and she laid there debating with herself on whether or not she should head out now or wait until the very last second. Well, now she is awake.
She hauled herself out of bed, despite sleeping in her clothes the air was still unpleasantly chilly. As if on auto pilot, she headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth and hair… except she didn’t have a toothbrush and definitely didn’t have hair. She decided to just swish some water around, if she was lucky she might be able to find a relatively uninhabited convenience store to buy some toiletries at while she traveled. She was still not used to seeing herself yet, and stared at her reflection for a second before leaving the bathroom and packing her things.
Even though housekeeping would take care of it, she still made her bed and cleaned any stray rice grains from the night before. Her half eaten box of rice, which was partially frozen because of the fridge, fit perfectly in her bag. She had to move some stuff around and her phone, wallet and glasses sat right on top of it. For a brief moment she almost considered getting rid of her glasses, but ultimately left them. Of the few things she had, they were the last vestige of who she used to be.
That should do it. Sakura scanned the room for anything she might have left behind before piling on her coat, gloves and backpack. Before she stepped out she pulled up part of her coat to cover her face and made sure her hood was as far down as it could go, she couldn’t risk anyone seeing her like this until she was absolutely certain of the time and preceding events.
It was bitterly cold out that morning, her breath instantly condensing as she stepped outside. A few people had appeared overnight, and she really hoped they weren’t in the lobby. Preferably she wouldn’t have to talk to anyone as she left, just hand the room key over and get out of there. Suddenly that office door seemed a lot more threatening than it did the night before.
As she approached it, the ever familiar feeling of dread crept over her. She tried rationalizing it, maybe the same guy she met before was there this morning too, maybe there weren’t any people at all there. She had to keep moving, she couldn’t just steal this place’s key. Plus, they’d charge her for an extra day and she didn’t have that kind of money. Anything to shake off her rising anxiety.
The door to the office squeaked as she opened it and she was hit by the same overwhelming scent as before. No one was here, not even at the desk. Well, she definitely got what she asked for. She left the key on the desk and rushed out the door. This place might’ve been a haven for the night but she was starting to get antsy now that the sun was up and people were moving around. As she left the door rattled shut behind her and she quickly made her way out of sight of any windows. Now the real trial would begin.
Using the sun as a guide, Sakura headed east once again. She had considered stopping by the gas station she saw the night before while heading into town, but by the morning there were too many people there. She ultimately decided to loosely follow the highway she saw before, tracking it east. If she was lucky, it would go straight to Dubuque and across the Mississippi. She didn’t really know what she was expecting to find there, or really anywhere east.
Funnily enough, as she ducked and weaved through brush and in between the stray building, she didn’t feel terribly anxious. Before, she had considered the shock of yesterday’s events sort of repressed her pre-existing anxiety, but now she felt kind of numb to the situation. A lot of things got knocked out of balance yesterday, a lot of things changed. She so vehemently disliked change, and yet, as she followed an unknown highway to an unknown destination, in a strange body, in a strange universe, she didn’t feel very uncomfortable. It didn’t feel the same as moving or having to change doctors, but it did feel like something. Something she couldn’t identify. Maybe she was just holding out hope that after all this she can go home, she’ll charge her phone and her family will come and pick her up and everything will go back to normal again. She didn’t want to let go of that thought, even if it was objectively untrue.
Lost in her thoughts and somewhat on autopilot, Sakura paused and scanned her surroundings like a terrified prey animal. She found herself across from an exit with a few fast food restaurants and a gas station. She couldn’t quite see the parking lots to determine how many people were there but she was getting cold and needed to rest for a bit. It looked like it was a little past noon, but she could very well be completely wrong, she wasn’t really paying attention to the time as she walked.
She took the chance and dashed across the highway. Luckily out here the highways are pretty desolate but it still made her nervous, not only because she was literally running across a highway, but also because she was out in the open and the jostling of her running shook her hood and coat out of place. It felt strange to run. To really truly run. This new body was absent of the issues that plagued her before, and each time her ragged sneakers connected with the asphalt, she felt a little bit more free.
After her quick jaunt across the highway, stopping in the median and sprinting to the exit ramp, she found enough of an overlook to evaluate the parking lots below. There weren’t too many people around, which was strange since it was getting towards lunch rush hour. She could either continue following the highway until rush hour passed and hope that she ran into another small cluster of restaurants, or she could take the chance now and stop for a bit. She didn't have a whole lot of time to decide what to do, it’d be a little concerning to passing cars to see someone perched over an exit ramp, and she really didn’t want someone to check in on her or call the cops. She weighed her options for a second and ultimately decided to take the chance and stop in the area for a little while.
Pulling her coat and hood back into place, Sakura carefully traced the highway offramp down to the stops below. Again, fast food restaurants and gas station chains she had never heard of before littered the area, and she had plenty to choose from. Right, her first order of business was to find a phone charger and charge her phone. She was kind of hoping the charging cables here would match the port on her phone, even if it was a stretch. She’d be genuinely surprised if she didn’t have to do some insane maneuvering just to find a matching charger, not even mentioning the fact she had zero idea what year it was, if she went forwards or backwards in time.
Spotting the least occupied convenience store she could, she carefully threaded her way around the roads and intersections. Leave it to American infrastructure to make literally everything unwalkable, she was very much so aware she was walking on the side of a seemingly very busy road network. Not so much of a dirt patch or lightly trodden snow to act as a path that didn’t immediately put her in danger of being struck by oncoming traffic.
Luckily for her the place she decided to stop at had a bit of a path leading up to it, though it was nearly impossible to spot considering no one bothered to salt the sidewalks attached to this place. She followed it to the doors, which automatically opened to let her in.
As she stepped in she scanned the entrance. Two cash registers, one self service station. Unfortunately, Sakura would need to use the cash registers. The manned cash registers. Even though her face was mostly covered, she still made a face at the thought of actually having to talk to someone. As she disappeared into the cramped isles, part of her wanted to leave. It was the same feeling she always felt, that ever present anxiety rising to the surface making her feel like a trapped prey animal. She needed to get a charger. She didn’t have a choice, she needed to push forwards.
Usually, electronic accessories would sit at the front of the store, but she didn’t see any when she walked in. She spent a good deal of time just wandering the isles, nothing she needed in sight. This place reminded her of a Dollar General with how cramped it was in some places. Eventually she popped out of the endless rows of junk food, cheap canned goods and other items, right to the back of the store. It was easier to see the aisles in full back here, and she spent a minute perusing them.
Finally she found one that looked like it might have chargers in it. Of course, nothing could ever be easy, could it? Not only did she spend who knows how long looking for this specific aisle, but there was also a person right where she needed to look. She might’ve not been particularly annoyed if this was any other scenario, but with the bright fluorescent bulbs buzzing above her, the unknown behind every dark corner of this maze of a store, she found herself getting rather bothered. With a silent huff, and the sides of her jacket flaring out a bit, she stalked off into the next aisle to pretend to browse.
She waited for what seemed like forever, repeatedly looking over bags of chips and other snacks, as if she was looking for something that didn’t exist. To be fair, she kind of was. Everything here was like an off brand of what she was used to. Maybe they actually were off brands, but of the stuff they had in this universe. Maybe they weren’t. Part of her was still desperately trying to find any semblance of home, but as always, she came up empty handed.
Sakura weaved back over to the previous aisle, the person previously blocking her way had moved on. Time to find that charger. She didn’t waste any time looking, scanning her options. The names were all wrong, but she could identify a couple lightning cables. Which meant that the compatible USB C cable she needed had to be here somewhere. Since she couldn’t identify any brand names, she spent way longer than she needed looking at the pictures on the boxes to try and find the right one. Eventually she did end up finding the right one, it was about five dollars. Weird. Usually these things cost twice as much, but if this was an in-universe version of a dollar store, it figures it'd be cheap.
From behind a shelf, Sakura watched as the one other patron left, the same person who had mildly foiled her plans. Luckily for her, the cashier was still up front. She marched forward, gingerly slinging her backpack forward over her shoulder so as to not spill her rice. She set her item down, trying her absolute best not to notice the unpleasant look the woman behind the counter gave her. Since she had already gotten her bag ready, it didn’t take her very long to grab a ten and set it down, she just wanted to get out of here, the lack of conversation was skeeving her out.
The woman wordlessly took her money and broke it into around four dollars and some change, accounting for the tax. She didn’t get the chance to ask Sakura if she wanted a bag, she had already taken her spoils and dipped her head as a farewell before quickly exiting the store. Whether it was Sakura’s appearance, a bad day for that cashier or just a vibe she gave off, Sakura had a sinking feeling she wasn’t wanted there. Not terribly uncommon for her, but the implications in the context she’s in made her feel violently unsafe. Whatever, it was over now, and she could finally focus on charging her phone.
To be honest, it might’ve been a mistake to pick a burger joint to sit in. While Sakura couldn’t afford any food here, she did go ahead and order a strawberry lemonade so she had a plausible excuse to sit down. It took another five-ish dollars out of her already dwindling budget, but it was worth it. She stole a few utensils as well and stuffed the extra ones in her bag, she might need them later.
Sakura had shoved herself into a far corner of the restaurant and plugged her phone in. It’d be a while before it charged enough to be useful. In the meantime, however, she took her rice out of her bag and started to finish it off. While eating usually helps slow her mind down, the situation she’s in is massively uncomfortable for her. She had walked into this place, ordered a single lemonade, sat as far from everyone as possible, and is now siphoning power off to charge her phone. She expected to be told off, but as she sat awkwardly eating her day-old chicken fried rice, she noticed not many people were really present here. She was out of view from the counter up front, but there were maybe three people working as far as she could tell. The main restaurant was just as empty, for some reason she kept finding herself in a relatively deserted building with one other person, of whom was sitting close to the doors and enjoying a burger and fries. The greasy scent of fast food made her miss going to Burger KIng, unfortunately she didn’t think she’d ever get to have a Whopper again.
As Sakura slowly ate and picked at her cold rice, her phone flickered to life. She had forgotten it buzzed when it powers on after shutting down, the noise of it briefly clattering against the table scaring her. She had grabbed it to stop it from bringing any unwanted attention to her, despite the fact that no one was really around her. It was a relief that it had turned on, she was almost afraid the entire ordeal she had gone through yesterday had fried it. Now, looking at her lockscreen, she took stock of the situation. She didn’t have any new notifications, only the missed alarm for yesterday when she was supposed to get up. She definitely slept in, so that wasn’t terribly surprising. The date on her phone read December 11th, 2025. She made a face, trying to figure out if her phone was just stuck in her universe, or if she really was in 2025 in Young Justice. She had a feeling her phone was just stuck, certainly if it was past season two, she wouldn’t be allowed to run around like this unhindered.
Sakura turned her phone off and let it charge for a while, finishing her rice and lemonade in the meantime. She didn’t feel particularly thirsty, but with how fast she finished a large lemonade, she must’ve been. She wasn’t in any hurry here, even as people came and went. She was getting a feeling this place probably didn’t have a very good reputation around here, business was pretty slow for as long as Sakura had sat. Of course, it could just be a slow day for them.
It had been a good while before Sakura had put genuine thought into texting her sister. She knew her phone didn’t actually work, so she would have to go though Instagram. It was unlikely her message would even go though, they were literally universes apart. She had no other choice however, no other options to choose from. She unlocked her phone and watched the corner of the screen for a minute. Her battery was at 68 percent, and next to it, inexplicably, was the mobile data symbol, with full bars. She was taken aback, but continued to Instagram and opened her messages. It took her a bit to figure out what to write, there was absolutely no way her sister didn’t hear about what happened to her, and Sakura writing to her on Instagram from the dead would be pretty unbelievable. Eventually she sent a single text, “Hey, sorry I didn’t text you sooner, text me back ASAP, we need to talk.” She tried to put a more serious tone on, she needed to let her family know she was alive and well. No doubt it would take her sister a bit to text her back, she could be sleeping or maybe in disbelief. In the meantime, Sakura needed to move on from this place and find shelter for the night.
The sun began getting low in the sky as Sakura traveled east once again. Since it was winter, the sun set much earlier and took its guiding presence with it. Sakura didn’t have any plans for the night, there was nowhere for her to shelter now. In staying at that motel for the night yesterday, buying food, a charger and a drink, she had very little money left. What little she did have, she intended to use for bus fares, it wouldn’t be enough to get her a room anyways, not even in the cheapest motels. If she wanted to stay warm and alive for the night, she had to think of a solution, fast.
The noise and bustle of the highway she followed was the soundtrack to her ponderings. She had very few options. As of now, she was effectively homeless, which put her at risk of being attacked, involved in an accident, freezing to death, the list goes on. She was very, very aware of this reality, and as she marched east, never once faltered in watching for any hint of danger. Every time a car slowed down, a twig snapped or the branches of the sparse trees and bushes rustled, she snapped her attention to it, pausing to listen as best she could before moving on. Each pause took her away from her thoughts, which were scrambling from one thing to the next.
In between pausing and watching for danger, she tried to rationalize her situation. In a way, she was grasping at straws, fruitlessly trying to disprove the truth she already knew. It’s an awful twist of fate, and a confusing one at that. This entire situation, her new body, the very universe she was in, it was a poetic sort of punishment. Yes, her body was no longer failing and rotting beneath her, but in exchange she lost everything. She had been thrown into an unfamiliar situation in a universe she barely understood. She probably should have spent more time engaging in the lore of this place, though now, if her timing is correct, she’s going to experience that lore first hand as it happens. It’s an uneasy thought for sure, especially with how she looks.
As Sakura traveled, she barely noticed the change in scenery around her. Dipping behind trees and buildings, watching and listening for danger, it had all become a monotonous chore to her as she went. She paid so little attention that only the sound of a passing car horn snapped her back to reality. The place she stood was far from the snow covered fields and sparse trees she had been wandering through for the past day. Here, plenty of buildings littered the landscape and the roads, wet from snowmelt, glistened in the dark as golden streetlights lit them. Somewhere along the way it had gotten dark, though with how bright the main roads were here, the darkness almost didn’t matter. This must be Dubuque. Or, maybe some other city. It hardly mattered to Sakura, she had finally made it.
Darting between buildings and avoiding people, Sakura scanned the alleys and side streets for a place to stay for the night. Eventually she had worked her way down to the river, and crossing it, a giant bridge lit up bright white against the black sky. This is definitely Dubuque. The bridge itself was a ways off, but she was still in the downtown area as far as she could tell. Not a good area, not compared to where she came in from. She skirted around another building, it was a brick apartment building but looked in disrepair. The entire building sat over something that looked like it could be a storage unit, garages maybe. There weren’t any lights on, it looked abandoned.
Sakura didn’t let the thought slip that this place might make an okay refuge for the night if she was lucky. She was very aware that there could be other people squatting for the night in here, and with this concern in mind, she picked up a stray piece of metal piping. It wasn’t a great weapon, to be honest. It was about two feet long and rusted in some spots, but it would do. If anything, having it made her feel a bit better.
With her new weapon in hand, she decided to stay here, if she could. If she was lucky, a window might be open or unlocked. She climbed the fire escape, careful not to jostle it or make any noise. It was loose against the wall and it swayed every time she moved. She stopped at the apartment right above the storage below, she really didn’t want to climb this thing further and figured it was high up enough that anyone breaking in would have to be a squatter or already know she had taken shelter there. As far as Sakura could tell, nobody was watching her. Not when she first saw the building, not when she scoped it out and not when she opened the window and climbed in. She was taking a massive risk in doing so, but as she lit the room with her phone’s flashlight, she found it completely deserted. Nobody had lived here in a while.
There wasn’t much in the way for furniture here, it was a studio apartment and the only things around were the kitchen counters and a ragged couch. Now, Sakura made a big fuss about bedbugs when she stayed at that motel, but now, tired and cold, she plopped herself down on that nasty couch without a second thought. Crazy how being tired can lower your standards like this. She looked around with her phone a bit and made sure the doors and window were locked before she got comfortable again. Well. As comfortable as she could get in a situation like this. She wasn’t sure what her plans for tomorrow were, but she decided to cross that bridge when she came to it.
When Sakura shut her phone down, the apartment was nearly pitch black, the only light came from a far off streetlight, hardly enough to illuminate any more than the windowsill and the fire escape. It made her a bit uneasy, but as she laid there, she couldn’t fight off sleep for very long. She had been walking for hours on very little food and water, and her body felt like it was made of lead. She drifted away again, her second night in this strange, new world.
〔December 12th, 3:07am, Dubuque, Iowa〕
Sakura had been fast asleep in the apartment she had chosen to rest in for the night, tucked into her jacket as far as she could go. It wasn’t particularly comfortable, and she had woken up a few times previously. This time around wasn’t much different, and if anything, she was rather annoyed that she wasn’t getting the rest she needed. Her eyes opened and she was greeted by the same darkness she had climbed into hours before. She was so tired and strung out that she wouldn’t have noticed the figure blocking part of the dull orange light from outside if it hadn’t moved to look at her. Piercing through the oppressive darkness were two bright yellow eyes.
Startled would’ve been an understatement. Sakura reacted violently, grabbing the metal pipe she had picked up earlier and launching herself off the couch. She hadn’t landed very far off, and the lack of distance only served to force her to react much sooner. It wasn’t like she was unprepared to face off against someone else eventually, but maybe not this soon. In the split second before she reeled back and swung that pipe as hard as she could, she figured whoever was in front of her was shorter than her, if only by a bit. She had a chance to overpower them if she was lucky.
When she had connected with them, the sound her pipe had made on contact didn’t sound like the noise you’d expect a metal object would make against a human skull. Instead of a dull thud, it made something closer to the sound metal hitting metal would make, a piercing ting and its following vibrations shattered the quiet shuffling and barely constrained panicky breaths of Sakura. Whoever she just domed had yelped, though she couldn’t tell if it was surprise or actual pain. It sounded familiar, just enough that she had paused to try and make out more of the figure standing in front of her. This was a mistake, however, as she didn’t notice the second, concealed presence behind her.
She was still so panicked and jumpy that she reeled back again, readying another strike, even if it wouldn’t do much. As she completed the backstroke and was about to swing again, the pipe she wielded was swiftly yanked out of her hands and discarded. A bright light illuminated the darkened apartment, blinding Sakura as her eyes couldn’t adjust fast enough. She flinched away from the source before making some attempt at trying to see who just blinded her. She was completely disarmed and at the mercy of whoever was in here with her.
Upon finally adjusting slightly, she had expected to find similarly disheveled people, likely in the same situation she was in, however, as she lifted her head to see who she was dealing with, she found herself face to face with someone very familiar. She recognized this person, this was Conner. She calmed down a little bit, but, to be fair, you wouldn’t immediately expect heroes to be the ones breaking into an abandoned apartment in the middle of the night. She whipped around to see who she just smacked the crap out of, and standing just behind her on her other side by the couch she was just on, was Jaime. Or just Blue Beetle, she couldn’t just name drop these guys.
Sakura was about to squeak out an apology, but Conner spoke before she could. “You okay?” He was awfully calm about this whole situation. Sakura couldn’t manage much more than a nod however. She must’ve looked terrified if he’s being this nice to her. It seemed like her nod was acceptable, as he radioed in about this obviously interesting encounter.
There was no way Sakura could live with herself without at least saying sorry to Jaime, who looked just unprepared for this encounter as she was. She could barely croak out the words “I’m sorry,” as her throat seemed to close up.
“It’s alright,” The exchange itself was short, but he didn’t sound very upset. In fact, Sakura, out of everyone here, sounded the most distressed.
She was so distressed that she forgot she’s not even human anymore. In the chaos of her attempting to defend herself from who she thought were other people looking for shelter, her hood had fallen down around her neck, exposing her entire face. This would have been bad, but as she stood, attempting to find her footing again, no one antagonized her. It must still be early, before the invasion takes place. She spent a second gathering her thoughts before deciding to move back to the couch to sit down for a minute. Now that they were here, and definitely saw what she looked like, non-human and practically homeless, she knew she wasn’t anywhere near free to leave. If anything, they’d ask her a few questions, though she had no clue what they’d do after that.
It wasn’t long before Sakura was proven correct. As she sat gathering her thoughts, the questions began. Conner was the one asking, of course. “Alright, let’s start with your name,” he had moved to sit on the other side of the couch, as Sakura was practically pressed against the armrest on her side.
“T- Sakura,” She stuttered out, her voice was still gravelly from not being used and it only made her sound more alien.
“Sakura…? Did you name yourself?” This time Jaime spoke, though the question he asked didn’t sound the slightest bit rude, just curious.
“Yes,” Sakura responded, he must've caught that slip up, but seemed satisfied with the answer.
“Do you know where you are?” Conner resumed the basic questioning.
“Dubuque?” Honestly Sakura wasn’t sure, she hadn’t actually seen the city before and just hoped it was the right one.
“Alright, Sakura, do you have anywhere to stay at all?” That seemed like a stupid question but its implications set in rather quickly.
“...No,” She could’ve lied, but it’s cold out here, and if they could set her up with a hotel room just for tonight, she’d be grateful forever.
“Are you heading anywhere in particular? You seem like you’re travelling,” Conner made an indirect reference to the tiny backpack Sakura had half flung when she jumped.
“No, honestly I don't know where I’m going,” She wasn’t lying, she really had no idea.
“Any particular direction?” He followed up.
“Do you have family out there?” Jaime spoke up again.
“Ah no, I used to live on the east coast, it’s just familiar,” Sakura explained.
“That leads us to our next question- how did you get out here?” Conner continued.
“I don’t… remember,” Sakura wasn’t lying here either, she really couldn’t remember what happened before she woke up in that field.
He didn’t ask her much else, he seemed to be letting the others know about her though. Of course they wouldn’t just let a potential alien or superpowered human seemingly with amnesia just wander around Dubuque. As he spoke on comms, it was seeming less and less likely she was going to get a nice free hotel room, although, where would she even go after that?
It went quiet for a bit, presumably because Conner had taken his phone out to text someone, likely her. Sakura looked between him and Jaime, who was starting to look like he really wanted to go home. She couldn’t blame him, it was cold and they had been interrogating Sakura for what felt like hours. “So, what are you guys going to do with me?” Sakura piped up, it might be a dumb question, but it was gnawing at her.
“Right now? We don’t know. That swing of yours might be useful though,” Conner answered, the last part being lighthearted, but it gave Sakura some hope.
“Yeah, just don’t use it on me again,” Jaime added. For the first time since she got here, Sakura chuckled. Obviously she wasn’t trying to go around and smack 15 year olds over the head with metal pipes, but the circumstances of tonight kind of forced her hand. She still felt pretty bad about it though.
It was a little while longer before any decisions were made. Sakura wasn’t told very much, but was beckoned to follow. Evidently whoever Conner was talking to made the decision that she couldn’t just be left to roam around Dubuque forever. Sakura threw her backpack over her shoulder and followed the two down the fire escape, wherever they were taking her, it would be better than here.
Unfortunately for Sakura, these two were in much better shape than her, and she was having a difficult time keeping up as the group weaved through back alleys, over fences and under parking garages. She had been walking for days on very little food and sleep, and kept falling behind. Eventually they made a stop, another grimy back alley that honestly made Sakura a bit uncomfortable. There was quite a bit of trash around and the only light was from a flickering lamp above an ancient emergency exit.
She couldn’t quite see what Conner was doing, but he said something. There was a brief pause before the entire wall opened into a well lit space. As Sakura followed the two in, she noticed how modern the place looked. It was practically spotless and the computers Conner had stopped by were way more advanced than even the most expensive ones in her universe. Floating touchscreens that seemed nearly holographic, but were solid nonetheless. Sakura was enamored, but her attention quickly shifted as the massive gateway she had failed to notice burst to life. She identified it as a zeta tube, which she didn’t think was going to be as loud as it was. They must not have thought Sakura was a threat if they decided to bring her here. She was going to ask what was going on but was beckoned to follow again, and she did, before her anxiety set in and rooted her to the spot. Wherever she was going, be it a lab or some secret base, it had to be better than where she was. It had to be.
⋆⋆⋆✦_________________________✦⋆⋆⋆
➢Author’s Note: RAHHHHHHHHHH. FINALLY. I’m sorry this took forever gjbjnkn i was trying to make sure i got everything just right. 100% chance i mischaracterized everyone present.
Now we get to see me desperately try to get every canon character written correctly while simultaneously inserting my personal headcanons ✨
