One could consider Zack to be a normal 21-year-old, but that would be boring. So, let's get down to the gritty details, shall we!

His real name was Zackary but most people would end up calling him Zack for simplicities sake. The man liked it, thought it sounded sharp and intelligent which reflected him with an astounding accuracy.

Zack's eyes took on a dark hazel hue that seemed to contain the entire cosmos and his hair was a black that contrasted heavily with his pale, beige skin. There's no need to keep describing this character as you'll only be stuck with him for the rest of the story. Plus, I'm guessing that you already know what a human looks like so, moving on.

Zack's mind is… not ordinary… if anything, this averagely troubled man, is about as far from normal as it gets. Zack diagnosed with a rare case of…

Well… The nurse who I asked for Zack's medical file from was more eager to show me the door than the actual documents…

All I know of his condition is that it gives Zack the ability to work out complex problems, plan gargantuan projects, and do mathematical calculus like Einstein all in his head.

Good, right?

Well, you're off by a long shot. This condition drives him insane every day. You try sitting at the breakfast table and look at the telly with what he has…

Actually, let's start right there.

"They're wrong. Just like they always fucking are!"

Zack yelled, staring up at the weather report as the daily news scrolled across the screen.

"Sunshine of up to…"

"Bullshit! can't you see the converging currents? That would create a completely new wind pattern in the west. dumbasses. I thought computers did your job, but it seems like even the computer sucks ass."

Zack couldn't go one morning without this. He felt as if he had to correct everything in the world around him. Zack was always right, justified in his actions. His ability comes with its righteous dose of cockiness.

"Calm down Zack. you don't have to recite your little drama every day…"

It was his father. The older man that looked after this insane man-child hadn't even bothered to peer a glance past the tablet he was reading from.

"I swear if they keep getting it wrong them I'm going to lose it." Zack stated.

"Good! So, you do know that you're going to the looney bin." Zack's father sarcastically chirped from behind the same article that he had pulled up, over ten minutes ago.

This is how the average morning went for Zack;

wake up,

complain about how his room is a mess but don't do anything about it,

shower,

complain that the boiler hardly works but don't do anything about it,

have breakfast,

complain about the weather report every day but don't do anything about it,

get car keys back from father for arriving home late the previous day,

complain about curfew but don't do anything about it,

go to university

complain about how it's all a government sham but don't do anything about it.

I'll give you a minute to spot the pattern.

Arriving at university was no different than any other day for Zack. Driving into his usual spot…

"Hey Zack!" Was all the poor man heard before slamming the brakes to his old, but well-kept, MX-5 to see… his best and only friend, Leonardo, the Asian with hobbies of questionable legality, pressed up against the car windshield.

"Hey. What's happening?" Leonardo managed to spit out while metaphorically peeling himself off the car.

"Howdy Leonardo. Any new developments with the world, other than crazy Asian people trying to commit insurance fraud?" Zack calmly edged in before Leonardo spilled his life story for the thousandth time.

"Well, Zack. We can't talk now but…"

Leonardo paused while fished out a document from a binder he held, handing over a neatly presented slab of paper stapled together, and continued in what little time they had.

"A private company just signed a contract for a supposed 'dark energy influx field' or something like that. A portal device, basically."

"So, I give a damn, how?" Zack shrugged. Leonardo continued with his random demands.

"Can you… build it?"

Wait what? Zack had conjured up a variety of junk that was slightly ahead of this generation, but this… this sounded like it was straight out of a movie or even in some science fictional novel. It was absurd but Zack just couldn't turn down a challenge.

"Leonardo. You know I can't say no. Give me some time and I'll see what I can do."

Zack fished out a scrunched-up ball of paper and handed it to Leonardo. It was a list with some items, software that Zack needed, and a bunch of movies he wants, but can't be bothered shelling out cash for. The two said their goodbyes before splitting ways.

"In this equation; X equals five pi over six and Y is at the value of… negative three, although sir, with the method you're using your having to do a lot more work and your making yourself vulnerable to human error." Zack blurt out while walking into maths.

Despite him despising the school system, Zack still showed up to class early. It was the only way he could set up his books at the back of class in a way that let him draw foxes and other animals in his jotters without getting caught. Nobody expects the first guy in to be a slacker. Do they?

"Have you even done the homework Mr. Atles?"

Mr Montgomery, the teacher, spoke in a very flat manner as if he already knew the answer. Zack pulled the cheesiest grin and replied in the kindest way possible.

"Nope."

It was a task in itself to get Zack to complete his homework. Mr. Montgomery just sighed as he sat down and looked once more at the board.

"Well, at least you figured out the problem that I was trying to solve."

The older man detailed his statement with a disheartened sigh. Zack sat himself down, pulled out a tablet pc, and slapped a book on the desk. Zack launched his email, instantly spotting a message from Leonardo.

"Gt the software & movies u wanted also ordered teh crystal artefact you were tlking bout. btw are u sure teh design for the battery will wrk? –draco555"

Zack only smiled at his friend's message. Leonardo was as resourceful as his spelling was atrocious.

Later that evening

It was dusk when Zack got to his inventing shed. It was away from where Zack lived, in that it hid in a field behind his home. The metal building was neither small nor large but was plenty enough space for the duo to work comfortably. Zack's head was buzzing from sitting still all day and Zack had developed the Itch to make something.

"Hey Zack. what's was hold up?" Leonardo enquired from behind a computer monitor while the man in question strode in.

"Had to stop by the scrap yard for some spare parts. How's your stock market 'persuasion' coming along?"

"Got myself another property in Alaska!" Leonardo said with a big goofy grin. Zack looks completely unimpressed. Leonardo had the ability to do wonderful things and did completely pointless deeds with his talent.

"What do we even do with that? Also, where is that stuff that I wanted?" Zack hurried over to his designing desk. This is where he would put his thoughts onto paper before they were actually built. It's nice to have a memento for when said machine breaks down and needs parts to be rebuilt.

"It's on the middle table… I know! We could rent out the property."

"You do that Leonardo…"

Zack was only half paying attention to the conversation he was having with his friend as he walked to the main workbench. Looking into the bag on the workbench, Zack smiled before withdrawing a hexagonal black crystal which Zack liked to call, wait for it… Zackromium!

It's a powerful little crystal. Zack was careful placing the relic into a hexagonal case marked with a caution sticker. 'Warning, Danger of not being alive due to you prodding this.' This did not faze Zack as he was the one who put the comedic sticker there.

Taking the case, Zack walked to a bulky suit of armour that stood against a wall. The suit of armour and weapons was a nerd's dream, a machine ripped right out of a sci-fi game. Smooth chrome helmet and visor, light, but strong, graphite exoskeleton and finally… the arm cannon, a work of miracles, that could belch flames of thermite or freeze anything with nitrogen. This was a mean combo, armour resistant to most physical matter attacks such as bullets and an electroplate shielding lattice underneath for when things get electrifying.

Why did Zack make it?... he had no Idea but he was sure that it would be useful eventually. He slowly slid the cell into a backpack compartment and rotated it into place, finally stepping back to look at his own work.

"I wish I was tall enough to use it..." Leonardo said in awe, his pale face lit up by the monitor he was sat at as his eyes scanned the suit.

"Leonardo. Run the program." Zack asked of his friend.

"On it!"

Nothing but keyboard clicks followed.

"Ok… we're live." Leonardo confirmed but still the suit did nothing… maybe a command?

"Engage!"

Zack's yells echoed around the shed walls. In response, the suit stood up, falling onto the floor after being up for only a few seconds. Both Zack and Leonardo had looks of triumph at the chunk of metal currently panicking as it tried to get up but failed once more.

"It worked, Zack. It worked! It's still a little derpy, but it worked, kind of!" Leonardo exclaimed while jumping towards Zack.

"What now?" Leonardo wanted to know what they were going to do with such a machine.

"Now, we test it." Zack stated calmly.

Two old abandoned cars were the main subjects of the duo's antics. One of the motor vehicles was left as a glowing molten heap of various liquid metals, the other car was currently thawing out under the night sky as dawn settled down and a cool night air covered the area of the field that they were in. And to top it off, several pots of either boiling or frozen water saw the two young men sitting on a nearby wall.

"So, what do we call it?" Zack heard the voice through the suits intercom. Leonardo peaked over a laptop with the word 'success' plastered on it. The programmer looked happy with the results and a gleaming smile was a testament to this.

"Hmm not sure, we shall name it some other time." Zack noticed that it was now dark out.

"What time is it?" Zack's eyes widening as Leonardo showed his laptops time…

"Shit, I'm so fucking dead!" Bolting like mad Zack sprinted to the shed, undressing himself from the suit, leaving it resting lazily and lopsided against a wall and the ran to get to his car.

"Zack Atles I raised you better than this; you leave for school and return at three in the morning… you know what, keys" Zack's father looked extremely annoyed and frustrated by his son's dismissal of the curfew.

Zack's father had become overprotective of his son ever since his wife died… which will remain a story for another time. Zack knew better than to argue, already being used to the cycle; go home late, lose car, get keys from father in the morning once he realises that Zack needed to go to school. Zack was basing an actual theorem on why someone of his age still had to abide by a curfew.

'Yeah, great planning as usual dad.' Zack was sure to keep his father going for the least amount of time possible and after a full five minutes, Zack was freed from the row. Zack wasted no time jogging off and upstairs, rolling his eyes as he made it to the landing.

One week later –At the shed

Today was the day. The private project hosted by a rich billionaire tycoon that Leonardo had been talking about was aired on TV. News of the foreign company's failure of their version of the portal riddled every news outlet as pictures of a building burning up was used over and over as if it was still freshly burning after a full five hours.

"Results were inconclusive as the electrical fire broke out while the machine was charging up, most escaped but several individuals were never found. A lot of the data on the project was lost in the fire. Information on the death of…"

It was your not so average day.

The private investors found out that the portal works… when you hook it up to a city's power supply. But Zack and Leonardo had replicated a scaled down version of the vertical ring, one that could run on the cell Zack made. Just. Anyway, Zack was late for school. This was rare for him.

"No, the coding doesn't work because you put the function to the calculation in the programs notation format not the actual program." Zack blurted out as he sat down.

Many people don't like Zack, this previous example is a perfect reason. Zack nags about peoples shit, bitches be hating, rinse and repeat. Zack was a little quieter today, see he had a plan. Fifth period Zack would sneak out at the end of lunch as well as Leonardo, the portal was almost ready, just one last simulation on Leonardo's part and then to add the power core that had been charging for a little longer that it should have been.

"Well are you going to make it?" Zack quietly screamed down his phone that was carefully tucked into a shirt pocket, the earbuds trailing up the back of Zack's neck and looping to the speaker in his ear. Leonardo couldn't make it, he instead opting to work from his desk at the back of the class.

"Zack, I'll just use the net to remotely operate the device. Just turn my computer on by the mains, hit the power button on the tower then give it a minute and I'll be in control!" Leonardo whispered before hushing himself.

"Got to go, will call back." A monotonous tone followed as the phone cut off.

Zack had now left and was making his way to his beloved sanctuary of technology.

"Well then" Zack stated as he pulled up to the shed, he sighed at his loneliness but that would change shortly.

Zack went in and wasted no time pulling a large tarpaulin from atop the portal machine (Zack had no reason to put a cover on other than to take it back off in a badass way). Zack looked onwards with delight. Frantically he yanked the power cell from the bust outlet and plugged it into a box situated next to the portal device. Next Zack moved to Leonardo's desk and pressed the power button to Leonardo's pc.

"Welcome Zack" spoke the pc in a smooth but obviously artificial tone before the machine made a clicking noise and after a minute or two of waiting the computer chirped up.

"Remote assistance activated."

"Shut it. You dumb piece of… Oh. hey Zack"

The on-screen Leonardo stared at the area below the camera before mustering a feeble sentence of assurance.

"Ok… we're live I guess. You really want to do this now?"

"Yup." With an unsure tone, Leonardo told Zack to do as the screen told him. It was now up to Zack. One window lay open on the computer and begged to be followed.

'Press any key to begin simulation'

And so, Zack did. It was a simple task but with devastating consequence. It was a simple but horrific mistake to have done as he did.

"Warning, portal now engaged. Finding target…"

And with the keystroke, the portal clicked twice, the innermost ring started spinning counter clockwise. Zack did a double take as it wasn't supposed to have started moving yet. Both him and Leonardo still had the test simulation to do! The portal devices inner most ring had gained a lot of speed, the light surrounding the portal had started to slowly bend around the gap and into the centre, meeting at a darkening core until Zack saw it, a tiny little black mass within the very middle. Zack's vision warped as his mind faded into nothing…

Techz: Well there we have it folks, the start of an epic adventure full of… adventury things. And we've only just begun!