The Science Within Us
In the 1940s, local Michigan entrepreneur Cave Johnson started a shower curtain company known as Aperture Fixtures. This company made asbestos laden shower curtains for the US military. Sometime later, it was later renamed as Aperture Science Innovators. In 1947, the company moved on to actual science. However, decades later, Cave Johnson passed away, leading to the ultimate shutdown of the company. But in another universe, this story takes a very different turn.
On the planet Mobius, outside a college campus dorm area, two teenage boys stand outside the doorway. One of them is an anthropomorphic golden brown lion with a blue jacket, red T-shirt, and blue jeans, while the other is a humanoid wolf with grey fur, a green vest, white long sleeved shirt, and ripped pants. "So, how's the new science project coming along, Carter?" the wolf asks in anticipation. Carter scratches his head in annoyance. "I'm still trying to find a better reaction surface. The current one only holds for about 2 to 3 minutes. Why do you ask, Cam?" Cam shrugs. "Just wondering" His face suddenly brightens. "Hey, do you have a date for the school prom?" Carter glares at him. "I'm not asking Nancy out. She's just not my type, alright?!" Carter says in annoyance.
When the clock strikes 8:20 AM, the two rush to their homeroom class. Carter takes a seat across from his friend. He begins to write up some ideas for his reaction surface. To the side of him, a red male bat walks over to a female chinchilla's desk, slamming his fist against the surface. Carter looks up, startled by the noise. The chinchilla rolls her eyes. "What do you want, Mason?" The bat glares at her. "I want to know why you dumped me last night, Tiger." Tiger looks up at him. "You know why? Because you slapped me across the face. You're too abusive!" Mason narrows his eyes. "We'll see who's abusive, you little-" Carter's voice suddenly booms in. "Hey!" He pushes Mason away. Mason looks up angrily. "Mind your own business, Carter Lion!" Carter simply looks at him in annoyance. "How old are you, FIVE?" The students around them giggle. Mason swings back his fist. "You'll regret saying that once I'm done with you, Robot Boy!" He swings, but Carter dodges, grabs Mason's arm, and sends his enemy flying across the room. "And you already regret calling me that, Bat Boy!" The others whoop at Carter's snarky remark. He sits back down at his desk. He does not notice that Tiger looks at him for a split second, then looks back, texting on her phone. Carter continues writing his research.
At lunch, Carter is still writing, while eating his fries. He does not notice Cam walking over to him. Cam taps him on the shoulder. Carter looks back, startled. "Dude, how about a warning next time?" Cam shrugs. "Sorry." He sits down next to his friend. "So, any new ideas for a reaction surface?" Carter looks up. "Nope. I just can't think of anything good. I relay it in my mind, and it always appears temporarily." He slams his fist onto the notebook.
When the bell rings, it is time to leave. Carter and Cam are packing their things into their backpacks. Cam looks at Carter with enthusiasm. "So, any ideas for a prom partner?" Carter sighs. "No. All of these girls just don't interest me. I don't know what's the de-" He looks across Cam and spots the girl from that morning. His heart begins to hammer. He can't take his eyes off her beautiful face. It's like nothing he's ever felt before. Cam looks at him strangely. "Hey, you having a stroke or something?" Carter breaks out of his daze. "Yeah, it's just, I think I found someone I like." He turns Cam to Tiger's direction. Cam looks confused? "Tiger, the new girl? I don't know. She seems pretty bland." Carter shrugs. "I don't care for looks, Cameron. I just like her." She then disappears into the hallway next to the lunchroom.
Back at their college dorm, Carter is looking over a machine while Cameron is playing Halo. "Okay, now Cam, I'm gonna show you how this works." Cam pauses his game and looks over. "Okay. What's it called, again?" Carter straps a small metal backpack onto him. "I call it a portable quantum tunneling device." Cam looks at him strangely. "Is there a nickname a little less mouthy?" Carter rolls his eyes. "Or for short, a portal gun. Watch." He looks over to two white walls on one side of the room. He pulls a long tube with a metal device at the end of it. He aims the device at one wall. It makes a humming noise, then emits a long string of blue energy toward the wall. Once it makes impact, the energy becomes a flat blue oval shape.
Cam looks at the energy in astonishment. "So, are you able to walk through this yet?" Carter looks at his companion. "Not yet. Watch this." He aims the device at the other wall, and it emits a long string of ORANGE energy. It makes impact and makes another oval shape. However, both shapes open, creating an interdimensional gateway. Cam walks over to Carter's position, awe stricken. "This is amazing!" He slowly approaches the blue portal, and puts his hand through. He sees his hand coming out of the orange portal. He pulls his hand out, then walks through the blue portal, safely coming out of the orange portal. Both portals then abruptly close.
Carter smiles with pride. "I've been working on this thing for many weeks. I just need to find the proper reaction surface." He walks over to the window, staring at the night sky. He then sees Tiger walking along the sidewalk and is overcome with the same feeling as before. He looks at her face, absolutely in love with her. He then spots another figure behind her. Mason. Tiger looks back at her ex-boyfriend, then looks forward, speeding up her pace just a little bit. Mason continues to follow her. Carter then becomes horror stricken. "Uh, I gotta go!" He takes off the backpack and drops it, then runs out the door after the two.
Tiger is now running at full speed, with Mason following close behind her. She runs into an alley way, then stops due to a wall being in front of her. She looks back at her follower, who pulls out a switchblade from his pocket. "If I can't have you, then no one can." She huddles up against the wall, preparing to accept her fate. Carter then steps into the entrance. "Stop right there, Mason!" Mason looks back at his arch rival. "Well, look who's here. Mister Goody Two Shoes!" Carter fakes a laugh. "Yeah, you're funny. Now drop the knife and this won't get serious." Mason glares at him. "You try and stop me." He slowly approaches Tiger. "I don't think so, knifes for brains!" He tackles Mason. It then becomes an all out fist fight. Carter takes a bad hit to the face, and he is sent sprawling backwards. Mason approaches him, still holding his switchblade. "Why don't I just kill you both." He raises his arm, attempting to stab him. He is then suddenly struck from behind, and he passes out from the impact. It turns out that Tiger had picked up a pipe and struck him in the head.
Tiger drops the pipe and holds out her hand towards Carter. "Wow, you're Carter Lion, right? The guy who won last year's science fair with that Repulsion Gel stuff?" Carter takes her hand and pulls himself up. "Yep." He looks down at Mason. "So, what's up with him?" Tiger shrugs. "Ex-boyfriend. He slapped me in the face last night. I had enough of his abuse, so I dumped him." Carter looks at her in astonishment. "Yeesh. I can see why they named him Bully of the Year." Tiger chuckles. "Yeah." She looks at him and blushes. "Well, I can't believe the most successful student in school would be saving my life." Carter laughs nervously, also blushing. "Well, I'm not THAT successful. I'm kind of reckless. I broke my leg while testing my Gel once."
They spend the next few minutes talking about their lives. Carter laughs about a memory. "One time, when I was in 4th grade, I ate this piece of cheese. What I didn't realize that the cheese was as old as time itself! Seconds later I'm sitting next to a toilet barfing my life out!" Tiger cracks up laughing. Then she looks at him. "Hey, my parents kicked me out last week, and I've been living with Mason. Now I've got nowhere to go. So, could I stay at your house?" Carter smiles awkwardly. "Well, I'm not doing anything else tonight. So, sure." She looks up and, quite suddenly, she smiles at him. Carter, turning red, then walks with her the long distance to his house, talking the night away about things they like.