It was a cold and dark night. The streets of New York had fallen silent, there wasn't a single soul walking through them. The towering skyscrapers of Manhattan sat in the dark, nobody was left working inside them… but, in one of them, a light remained turned on. In the main headquarters of World Beyond Labs, a man was still working at his desk.

He was a robust, good-looking man. His hair was auburn, while his eyes were brown. He also had a moustache, although it wasn't very prominent.

Without taking his eyes off from the documents he was working on, he took a sip from his coffee mug. He left it on his desk and continued his labor. It seemed like he couldn't be distracted by anything. But then…

*Creeek* The doors of his office opened, giving way to a young boy clad in a suit. The man, leaving what he was doing, looked at the boy.

"Ok… What do you have for me?" It was like his eyes were saying "You dare to interrupt me?".

The boy, regaining his composure, set out to answer.

"Yes… yes, Mr. Highstew. I only came to tell you that Senator DiAngelo is waiting for you at the reception room, should I tell him to…"

"No, I'll take care of it." He cut him with a wave of his hand. Then, he stood up and walked towards the door, but just before he reached them, he turned around and threw his keys for him to catch. "Please, do me a favor and park my car in the garage. I won't need it tonight."

"Yes… yes sir!." He caught the keys and disappeared. Highstew, for his part, headed towards the reception room.

When he arrived, there was already someone waiting for him, sitting in the couch. He greeted him.

"Good afternoon, Michael."

"Same, Senator DiAngelo."

DiAngelo was a tall and robust man. His eyes were icy blue, with a cold look on them. His brownish hair was straight, with some fringe.

After what felt like an eternity, DiAngelo stood up and came closer to Highstew.

"Well, I've heard you've got something for me, right?" A small smile spread on his face. It made Highstew uncomfortable. It was him or that smile just felt… too odd?

"Michael~… is everything ready?"

That brought him back to reality. "Sorry, I got distracted. Yeah, everything's ready. The only thing we've left is to test it."

"Good to hear that." Said DiAngelo. "He began walking towards the exit of the building. Outside, a black limousine was waiting for him. "Allow me to go with you. I would love to see the test with my own eyes…"

"Ok, understood."

/ /

The two men got inside the limousine. The driver started the vehicle and headed to the outskirts of New York. After an hour or so, they finally left the last suburbs behind, leaving way to the darkness of the night. The road was very lonely, and was surrounded by a thick forest. While the limousine drove through the road, DiAngelo and Highstew began to talk.

"So, how was your day, Senator? I've heard that the president was almost butchered by the Senate…"

"Yeah, it was a shame they didn't do it. He wants us to withdraw from Taiwan… You know what that means? That means 12.000 of our boys will have died in vain, and it also means letting the Chinese destroy the peace we've built for decades…" He raised his fist. "But I won't let that happen! If I had been there, the Chinese would have been defeated a long time ago…"

"I agree, but it's not the case." Replied Michael. "Also, I've heard that something's brewing up in the Middle East. I hope that they're just rumors…"

"Oh! Look, we've arrived."

The limousine stopped in front of a barbed wire barrier, guarded by two US soldiers. After making sure the car was clear, they let them pass. When they arrived, they were received by the sight of a massive tunnel opened on the hillside. While DiAngelo and Highstew were busy getting off the limousine, an officer went to meet the two men.

"Senator DiAngelo, Mr. Highstew, please follow me."

/ /

The interior of the base was something truly impressive. The walls were totally made of gray concrete, and the wide tunnels were filled by passing people almost all the time. The officer guided them towards the elevators. When they reached the lower floors, they saw the laboratory. The place was littered with cables and machinery. The scientist ran around the place, making the last checks before the long-awaited test.

Among them, there was a blonde man with glasses. When he saw the two men, he approached them.

"Mr. Highstew!" He stopped in front of him. "Everything's ready, there's 5 minutes left for the test to begin."

"Good work, Alfred." He turned to DiAngelo. "This is my partner, Senator DiAngelo."

"Call me Franchesco." He shook his hands.

"The test will begin in a couple of minutes, we should go to the control room."

"Ok" Answered DiAngelo.

The environment on the control room was one of stress. The workers and scientists were busy making sure everything was ready. DiAngelo and Highstew stood besides Alfred. In front of them, a thick crystal was the only thing separating them from the machine that rested on the other side. The device consisted of a big metal box covered with screens, cables and God knows what else. DiAngelo watched the machine with interest.

"So this is the machine that's going to allow us to travel to another dimension…" he muttered.

"Yes, the Traveler is capable of opening a "door" between two different dimensions. I could explain the physics behind the machine, but it would take too much time…"

"Don't say anything else." Cut him Highstew. He looked at DiAngelo. "Remember, if it works, I get the 20% of the revenue, as we agreed."

The senator let out a small laugh.

"That if it works in the first place…"

At that moment, the emergency lights turned on. Everyone inside the room began working on the control panel.

"1 minute left for boot!"

"Begin the ignition sequence!" exclaimed Highstew.

The screens inside the room turned on, displaying the status of the device. The scientist frantically pressed buttons on the console.

"Primary reactor online!"

"Reactors at 75%!"

"Magnetic field established! Initiating breaking protocol!"

The gears of the machine began to turn, and the rotor at the top started to glow. Then Michael ordered.

"Alfred, pull the lever!" Following what he said, the boy reached and pulled down a lever.

The gears turned even faster. The rotor at the top grew brighter and then…

"Look!" Above the machine, a black hole formed. The room began to shake, but nobody seemed to care. DiAngelo looked at his partner with a satisfied look.

"You're a genious, Mr. Highstew! With this, the US will be saved, good work!"

"You flatter me, senator." From the corner of his eye, Michael saw something in one of the screens: Danger, unstable magnetic field.

"SHIT!" Alfred ran towards the console and tried to solve the problem. "It's too damn powerful, we can't control it!"

The scientists were trying their best to bring the situation under control, but in vain. Suddenly, the rotor blew up.

"We've lost the control module, we're losing the gate!"

The situation worsened with each passing minute. The black hole began to ascend, and then emitted a flash that blinded everyone in the control room. Highstew thought that he was going to die right there…

BOOM!

/ /

When Michael reopened his eyes, he was surprised. Apart from the now destroyed machine, everything else was in good shape. The shakes had stopped and the emergency sires had gone silent. DiAngelo, who had put his arms in front of him to protect himself, stood up from the floor.

*cough* "What has just happened?"

"The portal was more unstable from what we had expected." Answered Alfred, standing up. "The controller didn't withstand it and exploded."

"So it has been a failure… – muttered Highstew."

Then, when they least expected it, one of the screens turned on. Feeling curious, Alfred approached it to see what was being displayed. When he saw the screen, he jumped and cried out with joy.

"YESS! WE DID IT, WE DID IT!"

"Hey, calm down!" exclaimed DiAngelo. "Why're you happy?! There's no portal!"

"Look, senator!" he pointed at the screen. DiAngelo followed his eyes. "See? We've achieved the most important part, establishing the trans-dimensional connection. What happens is that we haven't been able to anchor the portal properly, it has been opened in another place instead."

"Well, can you tell us where has been the portal opened, then?" asked Highstew.

"From what I'm seeing… it was opened in Virginia."

"I see, we should send there someone to check if "something" has found its way into our world…"

"You're right." DiAngelo turned to face the soldiers from the military. "What you're waiting for? You've heard him, send someone over there. Now."

The soldiers nodded, and then ran as fast as they could. DiAngelo was left alone with his thoughts. "An new world, huh? Poor thing that they don't know what's coming… America shall rule these lands, no matter what"