Awoken by the sound of an unwelcome voice, "Morning, sunshine!" Paradox was brought to a state of despair.

Groaning, he rolled over to see a towering stack of notifications emanating from his communicator, 'Seriously Xavier?'. At sixteen, it felt criminal to be saddled with such a workload, he lowered his covers, shifting his gaze to the culprit.

"Six-thirty in the morning? This is ridiculous," Paradox complained, knowing it fell on deaf ears.

A blinding flash of orange light filled the room, revealing a desolate landscape of rock and dust. Xavier, his mentor, stared out the window, lost in thought.

For a moment, Paradox feared the old man had finally lost his mind.

"Alright, procrastinator-in-chief," Xavier mused, turning to Paradox. "I've sent you everything you'll need for later today, sorry for the early wake up but today...you're spending the morning with me. "

A sly grin spread across his face.

Paradox sighed, resigned to his fate. "Great.." he muttered, lazily grabbing his communicator and rising from bed.

Xavier leaned against his desk, a knowing smile playing on his lips. "As usual visit A3, somethings up with our long range communications so we're in for a headache." With that, he left, leaving Paradox alone with his mountain of assignments.

'What a drag..'

Paradox chose his favourite oversized hoodie, emblazoned with "Mars 32," on the back, his colony designation. He paired it with black cargo pants, the multitude of pockets a practical choice.

Unfazed by his messy hair, he slipped on some comfortable sneakers, Paradox squinted at the daunting stack of notifications. "Villain," he muttered, feeling fatigued from their mere presence.

Sleep-deprived and burdened by assignments, Paradox left his residence. As he walked through the metallic halls, he skimmed his communicator, a nagging thought about the unusual malfunction lingered in the back of his mind.

The corridor opened into a vast, metallic expanse. Three large notice boards marking the entrance to each corridor loomed overhead.

Recognizing the layout Paradox concluded he had reached the Hub. Above each entrance to the Hub was a distinct letter followed by a number. He instinctively turned towards the right corridor and headed towards A3.

Since the two years Paradox had been on the Mars Colony, he had only visited two of the three Blocks: the Staff Quarters (A1) and the Information Relay (A3). A2, known as "the Habitat," remained a mystery to him. Simply because it might mean more work, Paradox preferred to keep it that way.

In the year 2045, Earth had become uninhabitable.

Civil wars had escalated into a global catastrophe, leaving widespread destruction and decimating the population. Mars Colonisation was a steady ongoing process before it all escalated, it's standard being a select group of individuals with extraordinary abilities, their relocation to Mars under the Mars Colony Exploration Initiative.

Their actions ensured the continuation of humanity.

Paradox was one of those individuals, possessing exceptional cognitive abilities far beyond his age.

As a minor, he was assigned a supervisor, none other than Xavier.

Though Paradox often called him an old man, Xavier was only in his thirties and had earned numerous accolades during his time on Earth.

Within the first year of Paradox's arrival on Mars, he had developed the intellectual capacity to engage in stimulating debates with Xavier.

While Paradox had only won once, it was a victory he proudly displayed.

The bond between the two had grown into an almost father-son relationship. However, Paradox's past, marked by loss and trauma, often hindered his ability to fully embrace this connection.

Reaching the end of the metallic hallway, the bold lettering "Information Relay" came into view.

Paradox pressed his communicator against the door handle. The device authorized his entry and he twisted the handle, stepping into the block.

A massive row of servers dominated the room, their hundreds of wires meticulously concealed behind glass displays. Xavier, seated in a rotating chair, turned towards the sound of the opening door and grinned.

"Do you have any other clothes in that closet of yours?" he asked playfully, eyeing Paradox's work attire.

"You're so funny! No," Paradox retorted, weary of his jokes. Despite it being early he had a feeling it would be a long day.

Xavier chuckled at his playful response. "Okay okay, let's get to why we're up so early."

The atmosphere seemed to shift slightly, as if the air had become still, both Paradox and Xavier drew full attention. "As I said before there seems to be an issue with our communications, I've been unable to send any of yesterday's reports so.. we might be in for a walk."

Paradox narrowed his eyes at Xavier. "You woke me up...for a spacewalk?"