Universal Collision

Alex and Alex

Old Alex handed his younger self one of his revolvers. "I do owe you an explanation. But, I can't do that here. We need to go somewhere else. I'm not the only one that traveled to this universe. We're not safe here. We need to move."

Alex handed him his gun back and holstered his own. "I have a place we can go. But you'll have to be careful. We can't raise any suspicion."

Old Alex transformed and dissipated into a cloud of smoke.

"Lead the way," his disembodied voice said.

Alex shot into the sky and flew back in the direction of his apartment. He checked his watch and cursed. He was late for family dinner night. Elizabeth and Lauren were going to be pissed.

He peered over his shoulder and saw that the cloud of smoke was following behind him, like a cloud attached to his boot.

He landed on his fire escape a few minutes later, followed by his aged counterpart. He signaled for him to be quiet and slid the window open. Silence. "Elizabeth must not be home yet. That's good for me, I suppose."

'If you don't mind me asking, who's Elizabeth?"

He jumped and banged his head against the window. "What happened to being quiet?"

Old Alex shrugged.

Alex rolled his eyes and led him inside through the window. "Go to the dining room and wait there. I'll think of some explanation when my wife gets home."

"Carmella?"

Alex shook his head. "No. Elizabeth. She's my wife."

Old Alex nodded and tiptoed to the dining room. When he stepped through the arch, he almost jumped. A girl with red hair and a pair of shiny black horns sat at the table. She looked up at him. "Who are you?" She asked. Old Alex thought for a moment, then answered. "I'm a friend of your dad's. Alex is your dad, right?"

The girl nodded. Old Alex sat across from her and began tapping his fingers. "So, what's your name?" He asked her.

She smiled. "My name is Emma. What's yours?"

Old Alex looked at his boots, then back to Emma. "My name is Alex as well. Kind of a funny coincidence, huh?"

Emma shrugged. "I guess so."

They heard the door slam. Old Alex reached into his coat pocket and pulled out two butterscotch candies. "You like butterscotch?" He said as he slid one of them across the table. Emma took it and twirled it around in her hand. "I'd have to ask mom and dad. I'm not supposed to accept gifts from strangers."

Old Alex smiled. "Smart girl. Your parents taught you well."

Alex, Lauren, and Elizabeth walked in. Lauren set a paper bag on the table. "How was school today, Emma?" She asked, oblivious to Old Alex sitting next to where she stood.

Emma shrugged. "Okay, I guess. Mommy, can I ask you something?"

Elizabeth looked to Old Alex, then to her daughter. "Go ahead, Emma."

"Can I stop wearing the hat?"

Elizabeth looked to Alex, who nodded slowly. "We'll talk about that later, I promise. Lauren, can you take her to the living room and put on some cartoons or something? We need to talk with our guest in private."

Lauren looked over and jumped as she saw Old Alex. "Yeah, sure, mom."

She led Emma out of the dining room, and a moment later, they could hear the television playing something.