Chapter 4 (1/2)

”Bwahahaha! You should've seen your face!” chortled Doctor Mercury.

”No part of that was funny,” Dan snapped irritably.

”Oh no! A ninety-seven year old man is trying to stab me! Whatever will I do!?” Mercury mocked in a high pitched whine.

”I've never been threatened before! I panicked!” Dan exclaimed, a light tint of red creeping onto his face.

The doctor snorted dismissively. ”Regardless of your uncouth behaviour, we've at least established a baseline for your abilities.”

Dan's eyes lit up. Powers! He fought off another squeal of joy.

”I can teleport!” he announced proudly.

”Can you?” Mercury asked.

Dan paused.

”...Yes?” he asked meekly.

”Well go on then.” Doctor Mercury gestured at the closed door. ”Teleport outside. Into the hallway, mind you, not space.”

”Ah—” Dan froze. He glanced between the doctor's serious face and the sealed exit.

Alright Dan, no big deal. Just a little bit of spacial displacement. Reality's got nothin' on you, buddy. He closed his eyes, trying to remember that feeling from before, that feeling of dull resignation, of benign acceptance, and of a single regret. He pictured himself standing outside the door, standing in that long empty hallway, standing in front of the stars.

He'd rather be over there.

A moment passed, and Dan peeked out from behind his eyelids. A large window facing Neptune greeted him. He stood in the outside hallway, exactly where he'd pictured himself. The door behind him slid open, and Mercury strolled forward, scratching his head.

”I'd rather thought you would fail at that,” Mercury admitted sheepishly. ”Well done.”

Dan beamed.

”Teleportation is a rare ability,” the doctor continued. ”We'll have to test your limits later, but you've got all your clothes on, so you can obviously take things with you to some extent. The technology for that is almost prohibitively expensive, even for me. You could probably get a decent job as some sort of courier back on Earth.”

And just like that, Dan's good feelings were chased away. ”Right,” he said slowly, reeling a bit from emotional whiplash. ”Other Earth. Other dimension. Because that's a thing now.”

Dan swayed in place, feeling woozy. ”I'm in space. This is a space station.” He blinked down at Doctor Mercury, who was giving him a knowing look.

”Hmph, that took longer to sink in than I thought it would.” Mercury nodded to himself. ”Go back inside and lie down, kid. Sleep off the panic, you'll feel better.”

Dan opened his mouth but found that he had no words. He took a few robotic steps inside the medical bay, and collapsed in the closest chair.

Mercury awkwardly patted his shoulder. ”I'll get you something to eat, later. Just... take a nap. Try not to think about things. It'll go better for you.”

Dan didn't quite register the words. Dimly, he recognized the sound of footsteps, then a door closing, then nothing. Just him, alone. The room was quiet, the station, silent. There were no subtle vibrations along the floor, no quiet humming in the background, just the smell of antiseptic and the sound of his own breathing; nothing here was how he expected it to be. After a lifetime of living in a city, the silence was more jarring than anything else.

Where had all of his excitement gone? Wasn't this what he had wanted, what he had wished for, once upon a time? A grand adventure, a chance to make his mark? Shouldn't he be celebrating? He was free now, in a way that few would ever experience. His obligations had been erased, his past, reset. He could be what he wanted to be, do what he wanted to do. He was living the dream of office drones everywhere. He should be happy. He wanted to be happy.

He really did.

Instead, he could only imagine his cozy, if old, apartment. He could only wish for his comfortable, if boring job. He could only picture his beautiful, if bland girlfriend. He could only remember what he had lost.

He was struck by a somewhat insane feeling of indignation. Fiction had lied to him. This wasn't better at all.

He wanted to laugh, but he could only cry.