Rex felt a harsh shiver rack through his spine as he stepped away in pure apprehension, hiding behind a car from no one in particular. He sank to his knees as if waiting for a looming attacker, then prodded at the watch. To his horror, he was unable to pull it off.

"Who the hell are you?" the teen hissed, smashing the watch against the concrete beneath him. "Where am I? What kind of sick prank is this? Am I drugged?"

"So many questions," a new text read, prompting Rex to stop attempting to destroy the watch and hold it up. "Calm yourself. Here's a hint at who I am. A king in my own right."

The clue immediately clicked into place.

"Van Kleiss!" the boy answered aloud, smashing the watch once more- this time against the grey car he hid behind. "What did you do? This place doesn't exist anymore! Where did you hide after I cured all EVOs?"

This time, the watch didn't display any new texts. Instead, a frighteningly familiar voice began to crackle into his ear.

"Glad to see you use your head and recognize me for the royalty that I am," the man replied amusedly through the earpiece. "And I suggest you stop damaging your brother's vehicle. After all, he might come out and have you arrested."

"Cesar's car? What is this place? Did you make some freaky imitation of the original lab?"

"Rex, check the date."

Rex scowled and pressed the time button on the watch. The day's date popped up again, still Noah's birthday- though that was now entirely irrelevant- but the year was still incredibly incorrect. Seventeen years ago was...

Before the Nanite Event ever happened.

Rex began to take in low, labored breaths. "This... this isn't actually..."

"Yes, you're far in the past," the king answered, affirming the boy's suspicious. "You are the only one who knows about EVOs. It's a strange feeling, isn't it?

Rex sat on his hands and knees, trying not to let his head spin. "H-how? When?"

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm sure you remember Breach and her time portals."

Rex's eyes widened. "Oh, fuck."

Van Kleiss sighed, then commanded the boy to stand up and compose himself. But the teen refused, and instead, remained on the ground to prevent himself from fainting. Time travel was a shock to anyone, especially to someone who hadn't even considered it a possibility until much recently.

"You're not taking this well, are you?" the man noted, making Rex shiver. "It's not as if I'm unfamiliar with the concept of being an a vastly different time period, but it seems to be taking a toll on you. I expected better from you, honestly."

Rex lied down on the floor for rest, feeling Van Kleiss's words crawl under his skin. "You shut the hell up. You deserved what you got. But I don't. You just took everything from me!"

"If you're referring to your coworkers at Providence, I assure you that they're fine," the king said. "But they won't be if you don't do exactly as I say. Have you ever imagined Agent Six floating in a vacuum in space when Earth never existed? Or your precious doctor sent to an era where women were burned alive for being suspected of witchcraft?"

Rex's vision slowly began to darken, and he tried to fight it away. "No! Leave them alone! Why can't you do whatever mission you're putting me on?"

"Because in the time period you are currently in, I already exist. It would cause people extreme confusion if there were two of me walking around. You, however, don't."

Rex jolted up, surprised by the notion he hadn't even considered. "Wait... yeah! I'm not born yet. I'm sixteen. And... you're in that building, aren't you?"

"The gears inside your head are finally turning, I see."

Rex snorted, then pressed his back against Cesar's car. "Fuck you. If this is my brother's ride, where's yours? I want proof that the past you is actually here."

"It's the black one on the opposite side of the lot," the king answered. "Though, I don't see why you're so curious. The lab should be proof enough."

Rex smirked and stood up, grabbing sharp rocks from the ground nearby. He then wandered over to the aforementioned black car and began to brutally scratch giant lines into the exterior, moved onto piercing all four of the tires, and finally, left giant marks on the glass windows and front until they cracked beneath the pressure. To finish it off, he used his giant Smackhands for a quick minute to leave as many dents into the vehicle as he could.

Rex stepped back from the wreckage and let out a content sigh. "I know that doesn't fix shit, but it felt good."

"You're extremely immature, and I hope you're ready to deal with the consequences. I personally don't care about the car, as it was destroyed in the Nanite Event, but my past self certainly will."

"Yeah?" Rex laughed. "What's he gonna go? Use his freaky metal hand to attack me? Activate EVOs and make them kill me? You're only human here, you bastard. I have more of an advantage against you than you know. In fact, I could kill you before you turn into the degenerate psycho that you are."

"You can try, Rex. But keep in mind, if I die, you're stuck there forever. No one will know who you are. You'll be an anomaly that won't ever belong."

Rex scoffed, and stared up at the building. "Not true. I'll get to be with my family, and prevent this horrible Nanite Event from ever happening. I'm going to save the world! Admit it! You just fucked yourself over."

Van Kleiss, to the teen's surprise, chuckled. "No, Rex. That's an illusion. If you reveal yourself, you'd actually tear your family apart."

"Que- wha? No I won't!"

"Yes, you will. Think about it. You don't exist yet, and likely at this time, you've only barely begun to form. If you try to prove your identity so they can accept you, you'll need DNA tests. Of course, those aren't the first choice of many. The initial decision would be a paternity test to prove you're part of the Salazar family."

Rex shrugged and walked over to Cesar's car to recline on the hood, hanging his legs over the edge. "So? That'll just prove I'm telling the truth. They'll definitely accept me as their son when the test says Rafael is my dad!"

"But that's where the problem lies, Rex," the king continued. "The paternity test will prove that you are Rafael's son. And how do you think his wife and other son will react when they find that Rafael has a child unknown to his entire family?"

Rex froze. "Oh no. Oh god. They'll think that dad..."

"Was unfaithful? That's the cleanest way I'll put it for someone as young as you. Soon, fights would erupt between him and Violeta, and any trust in their bond would be completely eradicated. After all, the test won't lie. They might just cease being a family entirely."

Rex buried his face into his hands, and pondered the consequences. Even if he did order a full DNA test, everyone would be astonished at how his DNA profile and the fetus's matched completely. His family would naturally have no memory of him, and instead, would become far more suspicious of him from a scientific point of view.

Perhaps even the government would get involved, and would poke and prod for answers that they might not even believe because of how outlandish the whole situation was. Who would believe that an evil potential overlord had sent him into the past to cause a massive explosion? Even if they did believe Rex, the explosion part of the story wound surely raise some red flags.

What could he possibly do?