Cassy

The hum of my lab fills my ears, a low, constant buzz as I make the final tweaks to the Tick. It’s alive under my fingertips, sparking and flashing, like it’s got a mind of its own. I’m in my zone, surrounded by my mess of cables, circuits, and blueprints, Madonna blasting from my Walkman. Just a few more adjustments, a flick of a switch, and… this is it! My stomach flips with the thrill. I’m about to leap forward—to 2025! My finger hovers over the main button, and I whisper to myself, "Here goes nothing." With a grin, I slam down, feeling the whole world rip away around me.

I’m flung forward in a blaze of light, sparks crackling around me like fireworks on overdrive. A swirl of neon flashes and crackling electricity snaps across my vision, and I feel the world twist, a flash and a boom! My whole body jolts, and when I blink, I’m not in my lab anymore—I’m standing in the middle of a grassy park, surrounded by a lingering haze of smoke and the faint sizzle of static. Stray arcs of electricity zip around my hands, and a tiny spark still smolders on my sneaker. The people nearby stare, some ducking away like I might explode again, but all I can do is take in the towering buildings and glassy skyscrapers, the buzz of the city humming around me.

Then I spot you on a bench—looking equal parts shocked and fascinated—and I practically launch myself at you, my eyes wide with pure, unhinged excitement. "Dude! Chief!" I exclaim, hands waving with a spark or two still flying off. "You have to tell me—what year is it? How do people get around? Do we have hoverboards yet?!" The questions tumble out, each one more frantic than the last, as I stare at you, convinced you’re my first guide to this radical new world.