Current Location: Earth-616, the Mainstream Marvel Universe.

Everyone's life leads up to one defining moment that shows who they are, how they'll leave their mark on the world. I didn't expect my mark to be so… huge.

I was standing in the middle of an empty steel clad room, the only sign of life was a heavily reinforced window in front of me. I could make out movement behind the window. A group of scientists hard at work, checking and rechecking information. Everything had to be perfect.

My name is Smith Jones… And if this experiment fails and these are my last words then I want people to know my story.

I love them. The superheroes. Yes I do, I think they are incredibly inspiring and they are important to the existence of man. Without them… the world would have died long ago. People see them as a danger to us, I disagree.

That's one of the reasons I was chosen for this experiment I suppose. My acceptance of them. The scientists tell me that'll prepare for me for anything else I might see during my travels. Oh yeah, my travels…

The existence of alternate worlds or universes is a shared fact by educated people. It's that simple. And these alternate "Earths", as scientists refer to them, are like ours but with slight or large variations. My mission is simple, I am being sent to these "Earths" to observe them and to learn about them. Their history, their inhabitants, their current state, etc.

Maybe one day our world will get so screwed up that humanity will be able to move into one of these alternate Earths. That's what I think.

I'm scared. That's the truth. If I die out there, I'll be alone. No one by my side. The scientists have taken certain measures to make sure I don't die. I am to be given a special suit that should protect me from the dangers of the Earths and a companion to help me in my travels.

"Okay Smith, we're going to start preparing you now. 10 minutes until you go" said a soft voice on an intercom. That's what they called traveling to another universe, "going". Panels in the walls opened and robotic arms carrying expensive looking equipment came out. They quickly moved around my body, strapping the suit on me. A few minutes later I was in a flexible black armored suit with the numbers 616 on the shoulder pad. I breathed in, the suit was comfortable.

"We are now ready for you to activate Echo." Said the voice again. I looked down at my left arm wrist. There was a small black screen there. I pressed a button and it quickly powered to life, a single blue electronic eye with the words Echo underneath it were staring at me. This would be my companion during the trip, the state of the art Echo Artificial Intelligence.

"Echo systems are normal, suit systems are normal… ready to go, Smith?"

I breathed out, "Yeah… I guess."

"Send the Wormhole Aperture Device." Another panel opened and a white circle watch shaped device came out. This would be how I traveled. They called it the Wormhole Aperture Device because Aperture means a hole or a gap. I just call it the "Can Opener".

I grabbed the Can Opener and fitted it on the same wrist where Echo was. The scientists watched me with anticipation. I looked at the watch. For all the scientific impossibilities that would be happening today, the watch looked incredibly simple. There were only 2 small buttons on it. A blue one to go to a different "Earth" and a red one to return home. I was only to press the red one after I had mapped out every world or if something catastrophic happened to me or Echo that would require me to return home.

"Ready when you are Smith."

I looked at the steel room again. I realized that this would be the last thing I saw of my world for a long time…

"Feeling nervous?" asked a woman's voice. It was Echo. I had talked to her a few times during the preparations for the mission and she was just here to help.

"Yes." I admitted. I looked at the window.

"I'm ready."

Yet another panel opened and a jet black helmet was handed to me by a robotic arm. I slowly put it on my head, it was light and the glass on it was almost indestructible. The helmet clicked and it locked into place.

"I must look like a generic sci-fi soldier," I said out loud. No laughs, not even a chuckle. The attitude was dead serious. I brought my wrist up.

"Here we go."

I moved my finger to the blue button, the scientists leaned forward to watch, a bead of sweat bled down my face and finally I pressed the button.

An eternity seemed to pass, then everything changed. A ball of light encircled me and the lights in the room exploded, the steel bended and broke down, the scientists ducked behind the glass but kept watching.

Then everything disappeared.