Haven.


A place of safety or refuge.


An inlet providing shelter for ships or boats; a harbor or small port.


These are the immediate definitions available to users of the world wide web and the elucidations most would grow to understand. However, the word - Haven, would eventually come to mean, so much more. As the planets aligned and the universe shifted itself a tad, allowing for a single action to occur and cause a rift across... everything. A cosmic anomaly that initiated the start of a vast alteration that would meld all of time and space; in every reality known to man and a few others that weren't known to anyone, together, for exactly 2.5 seconds. Which wasn't much time at all, not in the grand scheme of things anyway but in the same sense, it was all the time in the world or rather, all the time the world had left. Depending on which world this was in reference to. Every world, in every time and every reality, can make for some interesting combinations. Especially, when the realization that the birth and death of planets were in simultaneous sync for one single, shining moment. It was enough to shatter minds! If one thought about it long enough, while also calculating every groundbreaking or cataclysmic event that would've wound up parallel with one another, in that exact moment. All of existence could've been shattered with those minds too, had the union lasted longer than what it did. Thankfully though, this was not the case, no one did that and as quickly as it happened, it was over. Changing everything and nothing, all at once.


For instance, a random gas station on a lonely dirt road in Georgia, simply fazed out of existence. The gas station and all that it contained inside of it, just wasn't there anymore. It was gone, like it had never been there in the first place. While Georgia; the entire state as a whole, remained. Other examples of this sort of oddity occurred all over Earth, throughout the galaxy and the universe as well. All of time and other dimensions were not excluded from this massive effect either. As Benjamin Franklin of Earth 42DD, suddenly became African American and immediately failed in his endeavors to enslave the Jews. Interestingly enough, in that same instant, every single one of Adolph Hitler's ancestors were completely wiped out. Thus wiping out the chance for an Adolph Hitler. Though in that reality, Hitler would have become nothing more than a humble shoe maker, so that didn't really change much there. Unless you count all the feet he would have cobbled shoes for. Then it was actually a pretty big loss. That no one would ever realize.


Meanwhile, chaos would ensue, in a remote capacity; here on Earth (version 4), when an entire community would lose its power... for good, as an otherworldly wonder, awakened from a very deep slumber. Contained, deep within a subterranean lair, this enchanted being of light was kept captive and used as an energy source. An experimental project that the brilliant minds of Quantum Mist, thought up when they discovered the being, washed up on the shores of Smith Island. A tiny community, few would suspect a secret government agency to call home, it was the site of projects not meant for the prying eyes of the public. The frightening dark side of science, more akin to the horrors of Nazi Germany, than a supposed institution hell bent on serving and saving humanity. The scientists there felt they struck a gold mine when they made their find, for they had been tracking the movements of the creature for some time. Well versed in the being's abilities and potential, these scientists immediately went to work. Keeping an endless tap of heavy drugs flowing, while they experimented and slowly developed their plan of action. The end result, they were going to turn the life form into a living power source for Earth... or that was the goal at least, the first stage was keeping said life form alive through the process and that required extensive analysis. So the scientists started their research project, right there on Smith Island and the entity became the power source for the entire community. Unbeknownst to the community, of course. For nearly a year this amazing creature was used as a living battery and then the alignment occurred. No one could have predicted the occurrence nor would they be able to fully comprehend what happened. All they would come to understand is that everything came to an end, when Codename: Haven woke up.


You alone would witness it all. Stepping out of nowhere and everywhere, all at once. You observed the door to an oubliette, burst open from the floor and the form of a small, frail looking female crawl out. Completely naked, dripping wet and wide eyed, she immediately took off running and leapt through the closest window. Glass shattering around her, she landed whilst remaining in motion. Rushing forward, she dove into the water and started to swim. Putting as much distance between herself and the island as possible and that simply swimming would allow. The small community, now shroud in darkness from the sudden blackout, would see nothing and know less. You, on the other hand, would be taken along for the ride. Crashing into the icy waters, you were pulled behind her for miles as Haven swam like her life depended on it. And who knows? Maybe it did? Stopping only when she reached Baltimore, she climbed up onto the closest harbor and promptly passed out. Only to wake up, several hours later in a hospital bed. With you by her side.


Pity she couldn't see you, for you were simply the silent, invisible watcher in this play. And you watched as a doctor walked into the room with a clip board. Short, fat and balding with a name tag that read Dr. Spencer. That would be the first and the last time you seen that man because seconds later, you were ripped from the scene. Appearing quite suddenly on a random rooftop, presumably still in Baltimore. You looked on while Haven strode to the edge of the roof and gazed out at the city. A mixture of confusion, anger and sadness in her eyes, a piece of paper caught in an updraft would momentarily steal her attention as she plucked it from the air. In bold, bright pink letters, the words literally popped from the page, screaming for attention. "JOIN THE XWF! TODAY!" It was an advertisement for a wrestling company of some sort, Haven crumpled the paper and let it fall to her feet. Her eyes drifting down to her attire, an unflattering hospital gown met her stare and she sighed. Quickly tearing it away, new clothes appeared in its place. A long black cloak, hung loosely from her body, occasionally revealing a pair of black, form fitting trousers underneath as it billowed in the wind. Yet she remained barefoot. Her eyes set on the horizon and the gradually rising sun, she seemed determined. For what? The true prognosis was unknown but something inside told you, it had to do with the XWF.





Steven Sayors was looking forward to his interview with the prospective newcomer, Codename: Haven. Sure, she had a weird name but in the XWF everything was odd. Being normal was the strange now, the company was a virtual Wonderland of sorts and Steve; much like Alice, had accepted it for what it was, a long time ago. Walking briskly into his office, he was pleased to see that Haven was already there. Most of the superstars weren't punctual and half of them didn't even show up on the right day. The struggles of being the only XWF reporter were real and you kind of felt bad for the guy. It wasn't easy being Steve. You watched as he took a seat behind a desk, littered with paper, magazines, various wrestling paraphernalia and fast food wrappers, while he motioned for Haven to sit on the chair across from him. Gracefully, she complied.


"Thanks for actually coming through for this, can I get you anything to drink?"


Haven shook her head - no, and politely smiled.


"Okay, well then, lets begin. I'm just going to ask the basics here, since you're new. What made you want to join the XWF, what are your aspirations and what are your opinions of the upcoming match that you've been scheduled to compete in?"


Haven said nothing as her eyes slowly panned the room, she seemed to be searching for something while Steve looked on in expectation.


"Um... this is the part where you respond to my questions."


Steve stated, blinking with a dumbfounded expression barely altering his face. To this, Haven only chuckled as she rose from her chair and plucked a small radio off a dusty shelf in the corner. Blowing the dirt off it quickly, she switched it on and turned its tuning dial, till it reached a station where nothing but static emitted loudly from the speaker. Adjusting the volume, she placed the device onto Steve's desk, keeping a single finger on it as she returned to her seat. Almost immediately, a deep, imposing, vibrant voice, emanated from within the radio.


- "Apologies for the brief delay, Mr. Sayors. I needed to find a way to relay my answers. This body before you isn't quite capable of doing that, so I had to find another means in which to accomplish this otherwise simple task. Now, to get to your questions. I joined the XWF because I felt a calling to do so, as I'm certain a great many of others have felt the need to do. Something pulled me here, I was drawn to this company and I intend on staying until I figure out what exactly invoked that need within me. Whether it's a simple yearning for the sport or a far, deeper, more meaningful reason, I will uncover the truth. My aspirations aside from that, are simple, I want to rise. Whatever and however that's possible, it will happen and nothing will stop my ascension. Even when you believe that I've ceased my momentum and it seems as though I won't succeed, I will. Because that's who I am. I thrive and survive, where others can't and this company won't prove differently for me. As for the match I'm scheduled to compete in, I'm looking forward to it. I'm sure it'll be a lot of fun."


"You think the fight is going to be fun?"


- "Oh yes, I do indeed. It's an incredible honor to be facing the adversaries that have been lined up for me."


"Benito Angelo is a top man in the mafia with an impressive history bathed in violence and adorned in veils of vengeance yet despite having a mark on his head, he's chosen to compete in the sport of professional wrestling. He's lost more than 75% of his men and still the threat persists but he remains unafraid. He boldly accepts a career that would put him in the lime light and a more compromising, convenient position where he's even more liable to be whacked and barely bats an eye. Is he insane, stupid or fearless? Whose to say? Surely not me. I'm just glad, I'm involved and have the opportunity to see Benito Angelo skate past the grim reaper yet again. I hope the other twenty four guys have the same luck. "


"Speaking of taunting death, Maria Brink has AIDS and still, she fights. That's spectacular in my book. A gust of wind could kill her but that doesn't stop her from competing. Now, that woman has a lot of heart. Plus she has a successful band and I think she was married to Peter Gilmour at one point, which proves... absolutely nothing, in the terms of wrestling but it does mean she's lead a colorful life. That's something noteworthy. Right? I'm sure that radiant life has only inspired her to do amazing things and as long as her disease doesn't remove her from the equation, before she even gets into the ring, she'll most likely be an impressive talent to behold. In theory anyway."


"It's fantastic that you've got such an optimistic outlook towards your fight. I think you'll do great things here in the XWF. I've got to ask one thing though."


- "What's that, Steve?"


"How are you using the radio to project the sound of your voice?"


- "What makes you think that you're hearing my voice?"


"Touché."