Reverie

It was more likely for extraterrestrials to exist than it was for them not to. It bordered on narcissism to assume that Earth, and only Earth, had the perfect conditions to house life. So, it was incredibly strange that humans found themselves alone. In the 1950s, Enrico Fermi, an astrophysicist from Earth, had reflected on the absence of life-signs beyond their lonely planet. How improbable it was that aliens had not yet revealed themselves.

Where were they?

A decade after Fermi had posed the question, a frightening theory was suggested as an answer to him.

What if it was in the nature of intelligent life to destroy itself? The theory seemed proven when, in 2003, researchers began working on a project that seemingly began the death of their own species: the Nanite Project. Earth had been undone and salvaged through human effort countless times . They were equal parts their own destroyers and saviors. It wasn't unrealistic to assume that every planet shared the same sad story.

If Fermi had the technology to look beyond his reality into others, he would have seen the proof of life he had been searching for. He would have seen that their case of loneliness was a unique one. The reality that bore Professor Paradox was self-policing, kept in check by other beings much like himself — those who occasionally enjoyed flouting the rules of space-time but were able to understand their importance. More than humans called their realm a home. Mankind was forced to share space with those out there in the great beyond. As such, one could not do away with and recreate the universe without severe consequences. The Professor had seen the tragic result of neighboring realities where that was not the case.

Rex inhabited a cold and lonely realm. His was a universe that was vast, empty, unfeeling. When its only inhabitants mutated their own environment, creating abominations to science and nature, nobody was there to stop them. There were no aliens, no gods, or monsters, only men and their selfish desires. When Paradox had swatted the man down – another annoying fly threatening their cosmos – and said ,' Here, there are standards,' he had not said as much to disparage Rex. It was simply the truth.

His first encounter with the young man was pleasant. He had been an aspiring doctor at the time, a college student working on breaking into the field of medicine. His stature did not reflect a life stuck behind desks, committed entirely to his studies; his form betrayed previous battle experience, the lean fading frame of a former soldier. His demeanor did not give Paradox the impression he was the bookish type either. Wide-eyed and wandering, he stumbled through the trans dimensional plane, not seeming to understand where he even was.

"It was a mistake," He had explained to the Professor earnestly, unable to tolerate looking directly at him. "It was a stupid mistake. Please, I'm lost. I was just visiting my stupid brother. He was working on a stupid gun and it… He's so stupid! It misfired–"

He paused.

"-at least, I hope it was a misfire. I just… wound up here. I'm lost. Please, just tell me where I am."

He kept repeating himself in such a way that showed he was hiding his fear of the unknown, babbling, holding his hands in front of his face to blot out the unbearable sight of him. Paradox marveled at the ingenuity required to break a hole in the fabric of space-time without meaning to. He presented himself as a complete and endearing fool. It should not have been such a surprise. He supposed that most interdimensional travel was, at first, accidental. Paradox had broken out of his own reality in much the same way. He had been investigating the properties of quartz crystals and had become unstuck from his own timeline.

Rex Salazar was fortunate to have run into him. The blue light of his eyes cast a warm glow in the dark corridor, inviting predators to come snuff it out. No punches or threats needed to be exchanged. Before danger could find him, Paradox directed him back home safely, assuring him that he was not the first to make the error:

"Not to worry, my friend. I can empathize with your situation! In fact, I wound up here by mistake just like you."

Rex Salazar was very loved. He had been welcomed back to his world with relief after his first venture into the unknown. Holiday hugged him so tight that he thought she would squeeze the life out of him. The lab accident that removed Rex from his reality was the incident that nearly led to the demise of the elder Salazar as well, as White Knight, Six, and Holiday restrained themselves from murdering him. As soon as Paradox sent Rex back home into the arms of Doctor Holiday, Caesar was put on paid leave by their employer, who was unable to stand the sight of him without flushing hot with anger.

White had chastised him. " First, you're wiping Rex from the face of the earth. Tomorrow, you'll wipe us all off the map! We're still reeling from The Nanite Event, and you're still meddling with what you ought not to! It's like you never learned your lesson. We won't have any more freak-experiments gone wrong, Caesar! I mean it or you're gone. Permanently."

Ever paranoid, White Knight could not trust Rex had returned completely healthy and whole. He was held in quarantine over the next few weeks.

"I get it," The young man told his employer through the electronic screen that broadcasted his image from a sealed white room. "No hard feelings, boss! Just glad I'm on summer break. I'm not really missing anything important. It's good to be home. You know, it's kind of funny."

Rex chuckled.

"Glad you got a sense of humor about it," White grumbled during a visitation. "Damn near gave everyone a heart attack, brat."

"No, not that. I mean, this brings back old memories. Doesn't it? Except now, you're looking at me through a screen. I kind of–"

Missed it.

Rex stopped himself. He didn't want to say it.

White scowled. He didn't want to remember it.

Awkwardly, Rex looked away from the camera. "Sorry, I get not everyone likes thinking about that."

It was difficult to reflect on the past when the only childhood you had ever known was someone else's trauma. It would have been nice to have someone who was capable of understanding what that was like. Someone who understood what being used as a weapon, an object, was like. After a boyhood plagued with monsters, he had grown accustomed to their existence. How could Providence raise such an efficient weapon and hope to reverse its creation?

"Don't need to apologize," White said gruffly. "Sometimes I miss it, too."

Surprised, Rex's eyes flickered back to him. "Your old office?"

"Killing EVOs." White corrected and smiled ever-so-slightly. "I was a Providence soldier before, too. Remember?"

A sour expression darkened Rex's face. Okay, so maybe he wasn't such a perfect weapon. He had never killed before, not like Six or Knight, having only used his abilities to cure. In fact, White's nostalgia for murdering EVOs was repulsive, but he tried not to feel too upset. After all, Rex had been the one to insensitively bring up the years following the Nanite Event in the first place. Perhaps he should not have brought it up at all, but it was the only era that had given his life meaning.

Nonetheless, he felt the need to react defensively, even when he was plagued with his own case of nostalgia. "You don't have to sound so excited about it."

White snorted. "Just thought we were reminiscing. My mistake. I'm hardly fond of those days. If I missed it so badly, don't you think I'd be more eager to be the subject of another one of your family member's twisted experiments? Caesar's on paid leave for a reason. I'm trying to prevent the little bastard from ushering in a second apocalyptic nightmare."

"Don't lie," Rex teased. "You gave him the boot 'cause you were worried about me…"

White rolled his eyes.

"Why else would you be here visiting me?" Although he was joking, it was nice to know that there were people who missed him. His desire for someone who could relate to his experiences was quieted. True, nobody in his world could fully understand him, but he had a family who didn't need to; they loved him unconditionally.

"Checking to see if you're really you," His boss replied, his critical eyes watching him through the screen. "You can't see but my finger's on a button that will gas your room if you're an imposter."

He was lying. No such mechanism existed in White's former office.

Rex grinned.

White Knight scowled. "Don't give me that look, brat. No further lab accidents, or I'll make you disappear myself next time."

But an accident repeated more than once was no longer an accident. It became a decision, and as Paradox became more acquainted with the young man, he came to learn that Rex was bad at making decisions. The first time he had broken into the trans dimensional plane had been a mistake, but the second time was his own dangerous curiosity.

There was only a week left of summer.

"Caesar, I don't want to," Rex denied, lying, a rush of exciting fear tingling down his spine. He thought only of that tempting and mysterious dark place. "White Knight told us to stop dicking around with experimental technology."

Caesar laughed at him.

Rex bristled. "Why are you laughing? It's not funny!"

"Proper schooling has changed you," He teased fondly. "I have never known you to listen to authority, least of all White Knight. My little brother is now so responsible…"

Startled, Rex stopped glaring. On the inside, he was dying of mortification. Caesar was right. He was starting to sound just like some brown-nosing, goodie-two-shoes. He wanted to think that his courses had nothing to do with that, but maybe the structure, rules, and regulations he had to follow day-to-day had a mellowing effect on him. During his internships, when there were gravely ill people in need of his help, being loud and obnoxious didn't make matters better. He'd had to develop a shred of compliance and sensitivity.

"It has nothing to do with him," Rex seethed, balling his fists up at his sides. " You weren't the one sent into an empty void. I don't get how relaxed you are about that. Don't you care? What if I never came back? Wouldn't you have missed me at all?"

Caesar wasn't fazed. "I would have found you eventually."

" Eventually ," He repeated. Who knew when "eventually" was?

"This time will not be an accident. I am going with you," Caesar promised him his safety. "And I am taking the transporter with us so we have a way of returning."

"How do you even know that?" He asked apprehensively. "Wherever you sent me last time, I didn't know which way was up or down. Why can't you just admit you don't know what you're doing?"

"It would be untrue. I do," Caesar replied. "Last time, I shot you by mistake, so of course you had no way to come back. You had no teleporter. This time you will."

"I don't get why you want to do this so badly."

"I don't have a clear picture of what you described for me when you disappeared; I need to see it for myself. I am going to map out this void you spoke of."

"Sounds like you don't really need me for that."

"But I do. You're the only other person who has been there. You're necessary for quality control purposes." Caesar disagreed. "If anything has changed, or if we teleport someplace new, only you would know the difference. I already know that you're coming, so you should save us time and stop arguing with me."

"I told you I don't want to." Rex insisted.

"Yes, you do. You are miserable at your school." Caesar said knowingly. "You would not stop complaining about it the entire summer."

Surprised, Rex stared at him in something akin to flattery. For weeks during his vacation, he had bitched to Noah about the long, tedious days and the difficult, irritable patients he had dealt with during his internships. He didn't feel the same exhaustion that came with being a soldier. This exhaustion existed in his head – a tiredness that clouded his brain and made him forget the reasons why he continued pushing forward during the nights he was all alone in his cold dorm room. He would forget that Holiday was waiting for her new lab assistant and the guaranteed position Providence was going to give him once he graduated. It was difficult to remember when he was being spat on or bitten by people too sick or injured to understand he was only trying to help.

He didn't think his brother listened to his ranting.

"So? That's normal," Rex pointed out. "Everybody hates school and work."

"Not me. I enjoyed my studies and love my work, but I know that you were built for more. You're going back next week. I know you want to do something exciting before you're locked inside medical offices again."

Rex frowned disapprovingly at him, trying not to let his resolve weaken. His interest in his brother's project was getting the better of him, though. Caesar held up the gun, aiming it at the blank white surface of his laboratory wall.

When he fired, a small red sphere of energy formed in the center of the wall. It shined brightly, rotating and rotating until it finally expanded, opening so wide that the entire wall was consumed by red. It crackled angrily, reminding Rex of the only other portals he had seen: the kind that Breach tore into the air and once when the Alpha nanite had been banished from their world.

Without fear, Caesar stepped forward and hopped right in.

"Caesar!" Rex's arm shot out to grab him, but it was too late. His fingers gripped the empty air where his brother used to be. The portal before him began rapidly shrinking, threatening to disappear and take Caesar with it. Without hesitating or thinking much about it, Rex charged forward into the red doorway. As he fell into the black pit, adrenaline pumped loudly in his ears, making him reach out frantically to grab onto something to stop his plummet. But there was nothing there. He landed flat on his back in a vast, dark plane that stretched out indefinitely before him. The sound his spine made when it collided with the ground made him clench his teeth as it echoed endlessly on.

Pushing himself up onto his knees, he looked around, his blue eyes lighting up the dark passageway.