The next morning, we set out to explore the ruined city.
"Where are we going?" Nix questions as we carefully climb through rubble in the street.
"Not sure," I reply.
A spiral, blue column of energy blasts us back.
"Freeze!" a familiar voice orders. A woman jumps down from a broken window. "I thought you were killed by the damage you caused."
"Who are you?" I question.
The woman pauses. "You don't remember? You allied with the white Martians to cause the apocalypse."
"Look, I don't know who you are. We just got here yesterday and I can't remember any farther than the day before that. You must have mistaken me for someone else."
"Well, it was ten years ago," the woman replies. "I'm Dreamer. Sorry for attacking you."
"I'm K and this is Nix."
"Nice to meet you."
"What happened here?" Nix asks.
"A group of aliens called white Martians invaded. We were betrayed by a close friend and a series of artificial disasters wiped out nearly all sentient life on the planet. I've spent the last decade searching for and gathering survivors."
"How many have you found?" I question.
"Counting you, nine. Mostly aliens. Do you know what part of Earth you two are from?"
"This is Earth?" Nix asks.
"What's Earth?" I inquire.
"Earth is a primitive planet in the Sol system." Nix sounds like he is reciting from a textbook. "It is populated by the relatively weak human race and several alien refugees."
"Human's aren't weak," Dreamer retorts. "I'm assuming you're refugees."
"No idea," I reply.
"I'm from Maltus," Nix says.
"You're a Monitor," Dreamer realizes.
"What's a Monitor?"
"The Monitor is a powerful being who brought a group of heroes together to save the world during the Crisis on Infinite Earths."
"Nix, do you still have that photo I gave you?" I question.
"Yeah. It's right here." He takes the small slip of paper out of his pocket.
"Recognize anybody?" I ask Dreamer.