AMERICA CHAVEZ (UP)

If there was one thing that she should've understood, it was the multiverse. Yeah, yeah. The multiverse was vast; it was never ending, actually. A perpetual abyss of infinite potential and unlimited possibility. For most, it was overwhelming. Trying to consider how limitless reality could be was enough to melt the minds of some. Nothing could make you feel smaller than the moment you realized that you were you but there were other you's in other worlds you never could have dreamt of. Having a variant was a universal experience that could be extremely humbling in terms of individuality and uniqueness. Everyone could grapple with the fact that they were just one drop in a cosmically large puddle in their own way.

Everyone but America Chavez, that was.

Feeling special and being special were two different things, it turned out. Time had familiarized America to the perils of the multiverse. She had been a child when unfortunate circumstances had first forced her into it; lost, alone, and afraid, America had been adrift. Her mamá's were gone and it was no one's fault but her own. All they had done was love and care for their child, and America had failed them.

In the beginning, she hadn't known she was special. Even as each star shaped portal carried her to the next reality in her never ending hunt, America clung to the idea of home. The early days had been filled with hope; maybe there was a reality where she could get in contact with a version of herself who knew how to keep her curse under control. This variant could teach her, take her under her wing. With her tutelage, America would find her mothers. Reality after reality, however, proved futile. She looked high and she looked low, but no other America Chavez's could be found.

Eventually, she would learn of dreams. America knew the realities she visited were off-limits to everyone else she met. It was an isolating existence she had been forced into, to see things others never would. Often times, she had to remind herself to not get attached. The odds of her unpredictable powers taking her back to a reality was not a guarantee. She traveled, awake and alone. Others traveled, it seemed, in their dreams. Never a scientist, America didn't understand the details. All she knew was that others seemed to peek into other realities when they closed their eyes and fell asleep. They saw worlds. America? She saw darkness. Over time, she came to the conclusion that she was the only America Chavez there was. A girl in Earth-616 shared her name, but they were not the same. If America felt alone before, she felt it tenfold after. Being the only her didn't make her feel special or unique. Her lack of dreams every night only served to remind her that she was alone, a solitary figure untethered to anyone else.

But that was then.

It had taken almost being killed by a homicidal witch to find a place to belong. Earth-616. Stephen Strange. For the first time since she had ruined her own life, America had someone who knew that she existed and gave a shit if she lived or died. Her tears of relief were ones she shed alone, the years of hardening herself creating a sense of embarrassment over how emotional it made her. The world had not treated her like a child in a long time, even if she still was one. She continued to search for her mothers, but there was a home base to return to. There were friendly faces to grab a slice with. That's when America made her next mistake: she got comfortable.

When you spend most of your life traveling the multiverse, you begin to think you understand it. America was learning how to control her powers and travel freely. It was beginning to come naturally. That was why it was so jarring to wake up in a new reality with no clue as to how she had gotten there. She certainly hadn't portaled herself. One day she was in her room at Kamar-Taj, and the next everything had flipped. Eventually, America would learn what had happened to her wasn't an isolated event. The number of those ripped to Earth-Prime from their home realities continued to grow every day. It was inevitable for people to feel powerless with the sudden change, but no one felt it more so than America.

What happened when you took someone whose powers revolved around multiversal travel and trapped them with no way to out? For the first time since her powers had developed, America was locked into one reality. She could create a star portal, sure, but no matter how hard she strained, she was unable to leave the New York of Earth-Prime. It was almost worse than not being able to control her transporting. Without her abilities, America felt a shell of former self. She put on a brave face because it felt necessary. Inside, she screamed. She focused so hard she almost passed out. Nothing. It was like someone had severed the bond that once tethered her to the multiverse.

Still, she tried. Normally brown eyes glowed white. The blue tinge cast a low glow around the room she had sequestered herself in. A door opening normally would have warranted a look —  rule twelve of multiverse travel: always stay on your guard —  but she was lost in a futile attempt. It wasn't until the star portal faltered and flickered away that America turned to face the intruder. Stephen Strange, her friend. Stephen Strange, one of the only people should trust. Even still, it took a moment to get the words out.