Time Bending For Dummies

Jennifer stared in the direction that Skylar and the acolytes had been standing when they vanished, and pondered silently what she had just witnessed and heard.
So, the Time Bender could only ever exist in one place?
What, like Mexico or something?

No, Skylar must have been talking about 'place' in the sense of 'time', and not just 'time' as in 'date' but some sort of deeper understanding of time, like the pathway of time, or the knotted string of time...
Warren wasn't in the 'current' time, but where-ever he was was the time that the Time Bender considered to be now??
So time didn't have anything to do with the actual time now, the time that she was in, but more to do with some sort of uber-narrative or over-arching quest?

It was enough to make her see double.

Or rather, her double.

“Hello,” said her double.
“Huh?” said Jennie.
And she thought, “Am I going nuts?”
“No, you're not going nuts,” the double said.
And Jennie thought, “Did I just say that out loud?”
And the double said, “No, you didn't say that, or that out loud.”
“Then how...?” Jennie began.
“I'm you,” said the double.
“Me?” said Jennie.
“Yes,” said other Jennie.
“But how...?”
“I'm a future you.”
“And how...?”
“Skylar.”
“But he...?”
“Yes, but not for long.”
“And why...?”
“Because I – er, you – er, us – are going to be quite helpful on this quest.”
“So when...?”
“Now.”

The door opened and a man in blue robes followed by three other men with shaven heads and light grey jumpsuits entered.
Skylar paused upon seeing the two Jennies, and rubbed his eyes, before staring suspiciously at them again. The Jennies, not his eyes.
However, you don't become Overseer of Time, Telekinesis, and people named Timothy if you are easily thrown off by time anomalies.
Skylar cleared his throat significantly, and said, “First Jennie, please raise your hand.”
First Jennie looked across at Second Jennie cautiously, who nodded reassuringly.
Sheepishly, like a tardy student, First Jennie raised her hand, even saying “Present” out of habit.
“Ok,” Skylar said, completely ignoring Second Jennie, “We have tracked the exact moment of Time Displacement to three days ago at nine fifty-seven and thirty-five seconds, point 03452718456237582345432 to be precise – thank you for helping us narrow it down so much. But now, we need your help again.”
Jennie exhaled the breath she hadn't even realised she had been holding, and asked, “What do you need me to do?”
“We need you to come with us,” Skylar explained, “We can't see where the Bender is unless it is activated, and if it is activated, we can't guarantee we'll be able to stop it in time. If it Bends again, it will once again mean that we are a step behind, and just that much harder to track it down before the next bend. However, if we have you with us, you can help us identify this 'Warren' guy. People are much easier to find than small purple tennis-ball shaped objects, and if we find Warren, we find the Bender, or at least, are that much closer to doing so.”
“But can't you just jump back to when I told you and see what this Warren, I mean, what Warren looks like for yourself? Do you really need me to come?”
“Every second counts,” Skylar stressed, “And every second we waste time with this conversation, the Bender could be getting further away from its destination and thus harder to locate. It doesn't matter what time the Bender is in, because of its properties it is still moving through every time at the same speed. We need to get to where it went now, and we need you to help us.”
“But what about my job?” Jennie fretted, “I can't just leave the office unattended.”
Now Skylar looked across as Second Jennie for the first time since entering.
“It seems that we have already found you some cover,” he said dryly.
First Jennie looked across at Second Jennie, who smiled cheesily and gave two thumbs up.
First Jennie could think of no more excuses.
“Fine,” she muttered, “Lets go. But it all still doesn't seem to make much sense.”
Skylar shrugged.
“This is time travel,” he stated, “It doesn't have to make much sense.”

* * *

Baron Julius von Autobahn adjusted his monocle and smiled down at the waiting crowds.
“Greetings, fellow citizens,” he proclaimed, “I am pleased to announce that this day, on the 15th of April in the year 1855, the might of the locomotive has finally reached our beloved Bertramfieldshire, and I am honoured to declare the Bertramfieldshire Train Station officially open!”
There was a polite round of applause from the gathered citizens.
Suddenly, a man in blue robes followed by three other men with shaven heads and light grey jumpsuits approached the platform.
“Excuse me, but could you direct me to Jennifer Thom-” the man began.
Then he paused, took in the scene before him, and without a word glared at one of his companions, before turning and storming away angrily.

That Which Was *** That Which Will Be