Jenny, a sometime member of the group also known as The Shifter, opened the fridge and was pleased to find a bottle of Cheerwine with her name on it. Literally; the bottle was affixed with a Post-It reading, "For Jenny, whenever. HANDS OFF!" It made her smile. She appreciated the thoughtfulness of Captain Evening in making sure his stores always included this obscure southeastern soda, her favorite, just on the off-chance Jenny would be popping back into their reality for a visit. But that consideration was true in the broader sense as well and Jenny felt a swell of affection for this place that the Captain had turned into a welcoming home for superfolk of every stripe, any who wished to join their powers together for a good cause or simply those who needed a place to congregate away from cataclysmic crises and such. You were as likely to stumble upon a rooftop barbecue here as you were a strategy session to combat an extradimensional menace. Jenny took a satisfying swig of the cherryflavored soda and smacked her lips before turning the lights off and heading back down the hallway.

In the stillness it was possible to make out what was happening behind the doors of those who were actually in residence. As she made her way to her own room, Jenny could easily discern the sexual gymnastics of Professor Madison and her inebriated rabbit assistant Rodney, visiting the Fortress on some super-science housecall but clearly enjoying the hospitality of the Captain. A human woman fucking an anthropomorphic rabbit was hardly cause for Jenny to lift an eyebrow; she'd been to too many alternate realities and dimensions where such behavior - and even more extreme - was commonplace. Hell, she'd even participated in similar couplings. All she heard was the sound of two consenting beings enjoying each other. Frankly, it was making Jenny kind of horny. She took another cooling draw on the soda and moved on.

Two doors down, Jenny detected a different sound altogether. Behind this door, a newcomer to the Fortress - and this particular dimension - was crying. Softly, but heartbreakingly, letting her sadness flow. This touched Jenny and, though she certainly respected everyone's right to privacy, she couldn't stop herself from reaching out to knock on the door. The sobbing halted at once and, after a moment's pause, an unconvincingly bolstered voice issued forth.

"Yes?"

Jenny slowly opened the door and peered timidly from just around it. Within the room, lit by a single lamp, a fit, voluptuous young woman in a skintight silver bodysuit with a red atom icon emblazoned across her chest sat straight and guardedly on the very edge of her still-made bed. Her piercing blue eyes were watery and red, but Anna Romanova, a.k.a. "Anna Atom" still met Jenny's questioning gaze with no indication that she had just been crying.

"Hey, Anna," Jenny began gently. "Do you mind if I come in? Just for a second?"

Anna clearly thought about this before replying, "Okay." As soon as it left her mouth, she seemed surprised she'd actually said it.

Jenny entered the room, shutting the door behind her. She set her soda bottle on Anna's night stand and sat beside her on the bed. Her proximity and her less than formal attire made Anna lightly blush. Anna cleared her throat and looked expectantly at the pixyish Shifter with the flyaway jet hair sticking up every direction around the goggles clapped on her head.

Jenny smiled again, it came naturally to her, and she took one of Anna's hands in hers. "Is everything...okay?"

It was such a direct query, and so sincerely posed, that Anna almost laughed. "Okay?" she barked, "I'm afraid that the word 'okay' has been removed from my vocabulary." It was meant to be a sarcastic quip, but a fresh onset of tears caught Anna off-guard. Her hands flew to her face as she tried to hide the embarrassing display. "Oh God, I'm sorry!"

"No, hey, it's alright," Jenny soothed, "Talk to me. I'm an ace listener."

The other woman, barely in her 20s but still powerful enough to toss a city bus or survive a nuclear blast without mussing her dark, boyish locks, rubbed furiously at her eyes and took a deep breath, releasing it slowly. Once more composed, she shot a furtive look to Jenny before standing and turning away, staring through her reflection in the bedroom's window, losing her unfocused gaze somewhere in the city skyline.

She began to talk.

"I kind of hate this universe," she started, "but, to be honest, things were pretty bad back home, too, as you might recall"

Anna spoke of her home, an alternate of this world referred to as "Earth-K" by Prof. Madison and others who tracked such things. At first, Anna merely catalogued similarities and differences between these worlds, most of which were already known to Jenny from her own travels there. But she eventually brought the thread closer to her core. She spoke of her powerful father, "Max Atom," of her initial adoration and pride in him, before realizing how ruthless and paranoid a man this "superhero" truly was. She spoke sadly of their initial disagreements which escalated over time into an epic, violent confrontation that Jenny herself, as an unbiased third party who had only just met Anna, had tried to mediate. Her attempt to come between two staggeringly powerful people bent on beating their differences out of each other had failed and thus came the quantum explosion that tore the space-time continuum asunder and hurled Anna and her father to this Earth.

Anna related her side of these events without blame, though that didn't prevent Jenny from feeling partially responsible for her friend's predicament. But it was clear, as Anna continued her narrative, that she reserved full recrimination for Max Atom, the father who had, upon arrival in this new reality, denounced her before the authorities and handed her off to the covert agency called Ohmega for incarceration and humiliating experimentation. It had been the ultimate betrayal. Jenny knew just how strong a woman Anna was and that made the traces of bitterness and despair in her voice that much more heartbreaking.

"I have friends back there, Jenny, a group of my own like this one, full of dedicated, good people working to protect and better the world. I have an apartment and favorite restaurants and places to walk, viewpoints and landmarks that don't exist here-”

Jenny interjected, "I get it; moves are hard. It's a big transition."

Anna turned and glared, "No! You don't get it! I had a life there and now it's just gone!"

"It's still there," Jenny tried to placate, "we just have to figure out a way to get you back to it."

Anna sighed, dropping her toned muscles in surrender. "This is 'no big' to you, a girl who moves between realities with a snap of her fingers. I wouldn't expect you to understand."

"Actually, that's exactly why I do understand," Jenny countered, "just in a slightly skewed way. You see, what you think of as 'home' is merely a static concept informed by your memories and perceptions, your life as you know it. 'Home' is everywhere and anywhere, because you take it with you. The feelings you attach to friends, lovers, places, activities, etcetera, are a common connective thread through all realities where sentient beings exist. And, take it from me, they can and will be found wherever you find yourself."

"But - what if I don't want to replace the old with the new?"

Jenny shrugged, "It's always your choice, but I wouldn't think of it as 'old' and 'new.' Like I said, all of the bonds you had still exist, but here you have the chance to build even more. And it's not just a chance to explore a fresh world, but also yourself! Here, you're not bound by expectations or the past. Just think, here you can be an alternate you!"

"You're saying I should view this as an opportunity. There's a whole new Earth out there to discover, right? Several billion new people to meet -" Anna's eyes swam as she fought back more tears, "-and I've never felt so alone."

Jenny stood and crossed to Anna. "Of course you aren't alone. C'mere..." She pulled her into a hug, silently marveling at how the superheroine's body was soft and warm, yet steel hard. Anna, stiff at first, gave herself over to the embrace, breathing deeply into the crook of Jenny's shoulder. "Thank you, Jenny," she said, already sounding more steady.

When they parted, Jenny held onto Anna by the upper arms and flashed another wide, comforting smile, "Sure, Anna. I'll do whatever I can to help, but it will get better. As the great Wilson Phillips once said, 'don't you know things'll change, things will go your way, if you hold on for one more day?'"

Anna looked confused. "Is he some poet or philosopher?"

Jenny, unsure for a second if she was being duped, burst into laughter.

"Wait - you mean that Wilson Phillips - the band - doesn't exist on Earth-K?!" Jenny's brown eyes sparkled with tears of their own, tears of mirth, "That I didn't know! We'll just add that to the many wonders this world holds in store for you, Anna Atom!"

Anna managed a smile, her first in some time, "Well, maybe you could be my tour guide. Okay?"

Jenny beamed back, "Anytime - and, hey, look what's back in your vocabulary!" Her laugh trailed off as she looked at the not-as-invulnerable-as-advertised superheroine. A beautiful woman, a friend, lost and lonely. And, on impulse, The Shifter placed a quick but insinuating kiss on Anna's lips. Anna, confused perhaps but not overly offended, pulled back, "Oh, Jenny, no. I'm sorry if - if -- Well, you see, I've never- I mean, I'm not-"

Jenny gently brushed Anna's bottom lip with her finger. "How do you know? You get to decide who you are here. Alternate Earth, alternate you..."

And when she moved in for a second, longer kiss, Anna didn't resist. Instead, she timidly met Jenny's lips and opened her mouth wider to receive The Shifter's tongue. They stood like that for a few minutes, framed by the twinkling sprawl of New York City, kissing both sweetly and hungrily before coming to a mutual pause, both breathing heavily.

The look on Anna's flushed face as she looked into Jenny's almond-shaped eyes was a mix of wonder and curiosity and undeniable arousal. Her mouth hitched into a grin.

"You taste like cherry soda," she said.

THE END

"The character of Jenny Everywhere is available for use by anyone, with only one condition: This paragraph must be included in any publication involving Jenny Everywhere, that others might use this property as they wish. All rights reversed."

"Earth-K, Anna Atom, and Max Atom were created by Michael P. and are available for use by anyone, with only one condition: This paragraph must be included in any publication involving Earth-K, Anna Atom, and Max Atom in order that others may use these properties as they wish. All rights reversed."

“ The Fortress of Evening,” “ Captain Evening,” “ Merv the Griffin,” “ The Blue Knight,” “ Jung-la,” “ Armstrong Fatbuckle,”

“ Centennia,” “ Professor Madison,”  and “ Rodney”  are all © Paul Hoppe a.k.a. CosmicBeholder