"I'm glad to hear that," Maya replied, nodding slightly, though Jonathan had the distinct impression that she knew very well about the things that had happened to him during that short period of time.

But, not pointing that out or continuing the subject, he stopped near them, turning toward the unfamiliar girl. And, as if she had been waiting for that, Maya introduced her: "This is Vanessa."

Jonathan then briefly analyzed the girl's appearance. The first thing that stood out was that she was white, about as tall as he was. Then came her clothes: a black jacket over an equally black shirt, tight jeans, and sneakers. Along with that, her hair was long, brown, and wavy, and her eyes shared the same tone.

On top of that, she was quite pretty — and, given the obvious fact that she didn't have any masculine behavioral patterns — and since she was with Maya, it wasn't hard to figure out who she was.

"Vanessa, this is the one I told you about: Jonathan."

The girl then looked him up and down, studying him just as he had done before, until their eyes met.

In response, Jonathan extended his hand for a shake. "Nice to meet you."

The girl nodded slightly and returned the handshake. "Nice to meet you too."

Once they let go, Maya, standing beside them, spoke again. "Well, I don't think I need to say this, because I imagine you've already figured it out, but just to be clear — you're the same kind of person."

"Noticed."

"I know."

Jonathan and Vanessa answered at the same time, exchanging a glance before letting the matter drop.

"Well, I imagine you still have a lot of questions and want some explanations, and that's exactly what I'm going to give you now." Finishing her sentence, Maya placed her hand against the ambulance behind her.

Her hand touched a particularly dented part of the vehicle, but before either of them could ask what she was doing, that dented section briefly lit up, covering Maya's hand from top to bottom — which surprised them.

But they were even more surprised when the ground beneath them glowed in a circle, surrounding all three of them.

"Hahaha, don't freak out, it's fine." Laughing lightly and giving no explanation, Maya withdrew her hand and crossed her arms. A moment later, the glowing circle beneath them made a faint click, and the earth-covered floor began to sink slowly and smoothly.

While the two of them still stared in shock, the ground kept descending deeper and deeper at a steady pace, as they went down what seemed to be a tunnel.

"What the hell is this?!" Vanessa exclaimed, still in shock, looking around at the metal walls surrounding them.

"You took the words right out of my mouth," Jonathan commented, equally stunned, as he looked upward — the opening in the sky growing more and more distant.

But just as he thought they would keep going deeper, the descent stopped abruptly.

"This way," Maya called, walking past them toward a door that slid open behind them.

Exchanging a quick look, Vanessa and Jonathan fell silent, staring at the apparent elevator.

"What are you waiting for? Get in," Maya called.

Trading another look, Jonathan and Vanessa stepped into the elevator, which immediately closed its doors and began descending soundlessly, at a speed impossible to tell.

"It won't take long," Maya said as she waited quietly.

Jonathan and Vanessa followed her lead, just waiting in silence while the elevator descended — who knows how many meters.

After a surprisingly short few seconds, the elevator doors opened, and neither of them had even noticed when it stopped. Without saying a word, Maya walked past them, leaving the elevator, and as Jonathan followed close behind, he was met with yet another absurd sight.

A place that looked like it came straight out of some sci-fi spy movie. The whole place screamed secret base. Looking around, dumbfounded, Jonathan wondered how something like this could even exist beneath his city.

"Is that... a jetpack?" he asked, still completely incredulous, pointing toward where a woman floated several meters above the ground, with a strange-looking backpack on her back.

"Wait a second... is that a ray gun?!" — this time it was Vanessa who exclaimed, just as incredulous, as she saw another woman elsewhere in the base holding a huge, futuristic-looking weapon that looked exactly like one she'd seen in a game.

But without answering either of them, Maya chuckled softly. "This way. You'll have plenty of time later to explore this place. For now, explanations first."

With that said, she led them through the vast space of the base, walking toward what looked like an office room, with glass walls in the corner.

Opening the equally transparent door, Maya gestured for them to enter — and, still stunned, they silently stepped inside, finding what appeared to be an operations room, with a huge table in the center and several screens spread around the walls, along with people working at what looked like holographic computers.

"Wow... how much do you think one of those costs?" Jonathan asked, watching as a woman literally used a holographic computer.

"Way too much, you can be sure of that," Maya replied with a smile as she moved toward the massive table, stopping beside it. "Well, it's time to start the explanations."

Saying that, she then tapped the table twice softly, which lit up, revealing itself to be some kind of computer as well — quickly projecting a hologram above it, showing the face of a woman.

"I'll start from the very beginning. You can ask your questions as I go," Maya began, turning her gaze to the hologram. "The woman you're seeing is named Eva Sanchez. She was an unparalleled scientist — and the one responsible for making the world the way it is now."

Maya revealed that information with a calmness that contrasted with the weight of her words. Vanessa and Jonathan immediately understood what she meant.

"The woman who left the world in this state... so you mean..." — Jonathan stared at the hologram again, processing the new information.

Vanessa, at his side, shared the same expression as she looked at it.

"Yes. This world used to be just like yours."

Hearing her confirmation, Jonathan stared, mouth slightly open, at the hologram of the woman.

In it, the scientist's appearance was clear: slightly curly and voluminous brown hair, a bit messy, thick eyebrows, thin-rimmed round glasses, and a wide, arrogant smile.

She was pretty, but not extraordinarily so. Overall, she looked like an ordinary woman — maybe giving off a bit of a mad scientist vibe — but you definitely wouldn't expect her to be capable of changing the world to this degree.

"And why did she do it?" he asked, recovering from the shock and looking back at Maya.

"As I said before, thanks to her intellect, she had unmatched genius — and because of that, you could expect a hefty dose of arrogance and egocentrism," Maya explained calmly.

Crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow, Jonathan asked back, "So you're telling me she did this out of a God complex or something? Just because she could?"

"Yes, at least partially," Maya replied with a faint smile. "The truth is that, aside from all that arrogance, she had one... rather unique trait. She was completely misandrist."

"...Seriously?" — Jonathan asked back with a blank look and a dry tone.

"Oh my, now that's something. Hahaha."

Looking sideways with a doubtful expression, Jonathan saw Vanessa nodding to herself, crossing her arms and smiling. Her words and actions gave off a clear impression of satisfaction with the woman's actions — but Jonathan decided not to comment, preferring to believe he'd misunderstood.

"Right... so why was she like that? Some kind of trauma?" — he asked, turning his attention back to Maya.

"No," Maya shook her head.

"She was abandoned by her father? Or he was abusive or something?"

"No," Maya shook her head again.

This time, he raised both eyebrows and gestured with his hand. "Then what happened? Was she raped or something?"

Shaking her head with her eyes closed, Maya denied once more. "Also no." — then she looked at him, answering before he could ask again. "She despised men simply because she wanted to."

"You've got to be kidding me..." — Jonathan rubbed his forehead slowly, barely believing what he'd just heard.

Vanessa beside him just laughed, seeming to find it amusing.

Hearing her laugh again, Jonathan turned his head slightly, raising an eyebrow as he looked at her. "You think that's funny?"

Stopping her laughter, Vanessa shrugged lightly. "Ah, well... you've got to admit it's kind of funny, come on."

Lifting his head, Jonathan stared at her, eyebrows raised even higher. "You think it's funny that a woman changed the entire order of human society just because she despised one gender?"

Vanessa waved her hand casually. "Oh, come on, it's not that bad. She could've done way worse. After all, the state of this world right now seems like nothing more than a small compensation for what women have suffered."

Hearing that, it was like the pieces in Jonathan's mind clicked together. His eyebrows slowly lowered as he looked at her in silence, calm-faced and saying nothing.

After a few seconds, he finally asked, "Are you, by any chance, a feminist?"

Vanessa nodded at him with a wide, proud smile. "Absolutely, I am."

'I see...' Jonathan thought slowly, an understanding look crossing his face as a calm smile appeared. "I see. That's great, isn't it? Good for you." He said it the same way someone congratulates a child.

Or someone with obvious mental issues.

He then turned back to Maya, intending to ask her to continue, but Vanessa interrupted: "What was that look and that tone just now? You think I wouldn't notice?" — Vanessa asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's just your imagination, don't worry. I've got nothing against it." — Jonathan replied with a soft smile and a friendly look, giving her a thumbs-up.

Seeing that, Vanessa huffed lightly, a contemptuous smile curling her lips. "I don't find it strange that you're bothered by it. After all, you come from a patriarchal world. It's natural that seeing women in power makes you uncomfortable." — she nodded with a knowing expression, imitating him.

Jonathan blinked slowly at that. "...You actually believe what you just said, don't you?"

Vanessa rolled her eyes, looking exasperated. "I don't care whether you agree with me or not. What I said are facts — and your opinion doesn't change reality."

"Jesus Christ..." — Jonathan's eyes widened slightly as he practically heard her confirm it. 'This girl's completely retard.'

He definitely hadn't expected to find a feminist in this world — much less in a place like that.

"You're completely nuts," he couldn't help but say; it was hard to ignore that level of nonsense.

But in response, Vanessa just waved dismissively, looking uninterested. "Yeah, yeah. Like I said, your personal opinion doesn't affect reality. Now shut up, I want to hear what she has to say."

'Good Lord... crazy and arrogant. Holy shit.' — Jonathan's eyes widened even more at her attitude. 'Damn it... I'm gonna have to work with this lunatic, aren't I?' — he rubbed his forehead, letting out a heavy sigh, already imagining the stress ahead.

"Hahaha, I see you two are getting along very well. That's good — you'll be interacting quite a lot in the future." — interrupting them, Maya spoke with a faint smile and a calm tone — hard to tell if she was being sarcastic or not.

"But well, you can get to know each other better later. For now, I'll continue the explanation." Saying that, she turned toward the hologram, making Eva's face disappear, replaced by a massive spherical machine surrounded by several rings.

"As I was saying, Eva despised men, considering them inferior to women. But despite all her contempt, she still tolerated them, so to speak, and for several reasons. Then an accident happened — something that fueled her hatred even further, to the point where her already massive superiority complex grew even stronger."

Pausing, Maya pointed toward the hologram of the giant metal structure surrounded by rings.

"The result of that was this machine called the Space-Time Collider. And, if the name itself isn't obvious enough, it allowed Eva to manipulate time and space — and it was with it that she caused the world to end up the way it is now."

Lowering her gaze, Maya met both of their eyes before speaking again: "In an act of hatred, she used her invention to manipulate time and space, thereby altering reality — resulting in the world you see today."

Once again, Jonathan was completely stunned by the new information. "Wait a minute... you're telling me she created a machine that manipulates reality?"

Maya only responded with a silent nod, which made him stare at the hologram, hands going to his head. "Holy shit... and here I was thinking she just time-traveled, which would've already been ridiculous enough... but manipulate reality?! What the hell!"

Vanessa, beside him, just stared at the hologram silently, looking equally shocked, though a faint trace of pride flickered in her eyes too.

"Wait a second, you said there was an accident that triggered her to create this thing. That means if that hadn't happened, maybe the world would still be the same. So what exactly happened?" — he asked, genuinely wanting to know what could've caused all this.

"It was a science seminar, where renowned scientists from all over the world gathered to present their projects. She was ridiculed for the one she presented — the scientists, mostly men, joked that women were better in the kitchen than messing with test tubes." — Maya explained calmly.

Jonathan fell silent, dumbfounded after hearing that. "...That's it? That's the big reason she decided to screw over the entire world? A lame sexist joke that isn't even funny? Seriously?"

Maya only gave a weak smile, saying nothing.

'And people say I'm petty...' — Jonathan rubbed his forehead, sighing again. He could practically feel his blood pressure rising by the second.

"You don't understand," — Vanessa said beside him, clicking her tongue and frowning.

Stopping for a moment, Jonathan rubbed his entire face, feeling his irritation rising again. The urge to just tell Vanessa to shut the hell up and fuck off was strong — but he managed to restrain himself.

It was getting hard to stay calm with all the absurd things he was hearing.

"Well, although she had plenty of issues, something like that normally wouldn't have affected her this much. Not only because she thought herself above it, but... she had a special reason not to have snapped long before that." — then Maya activated the table again, making the hologram change once more.

This time, the image of a man appeared, along with ten other figures — two of them being very familiar: Jonathan himself and Vanessa.

"This is Adam Blake — the creator of the project responsible for bringing you two to this reality, as well as Eva Sanchez's husband."

With that new information, Jonathan just blinked blankly. "What surprises me the most... is the fact that she wasn't a lesbian."

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