The hum of fluorescent lights filled the small, cluttered lab as Lucius adjusted the final wire on the device. His dark hair was tousled from hours of work, and his glasses sat slightly askew on his nose. He stepped back, wiping his hands on his jeans, and glanced at Gwen, who was seated at the desk across the room, her nose buried in a dusty old book.
"You know," he said, breaking the silence, "if this works, we're going to be the most famous engineering and history duo since… well, ever."
Gwen looked up, her green eyes sparkling with amusement. "Famous? Or infamous? I'm pretty sure tampering with time is illegal in at least a dozen countries."
Lucius grinned. "Only if we get caught."
She rolled her eyes but couldn't suppress a smile. Gwen had always been the cautious one, the one who double-checked every calculation and cross-referenced every historical detail. Lucius, on the other hand, was the dreamer, the one who saw possibilities where others saw impossibilities. Together, they balanced each other out—a partnership that had started in their first year of university and had only grown stronger since.
"Speaking of getting caught," Gwen said, closing the book and standing up, "we should probably wrap this up. The janitor's going to be here soon, and I'd rather not explain why we're still here at midnight."
Lucius nodded, his expression turning serious. "Just one more test. If the calculations are right, this should generate enough energy to create a localized temporal distortion. Nothing big—just a few seconds. But it'll prove the theory."
Gwen hesitated, her gaze flickering to the strange artifact sitting on the lab bench. It was a small, metallic disc, covered in intricate engravings that seemed to shift and change when viewed from different angles. She had found it during a dig last summer, buried beneath the ruins of an ancient temple. No one had been able to decipher its purpose, but Gwen had always felt there was something… special about it.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" she asked, her voice tinged with uncertainty. "We don't even know what this thing does."
"That's the point," Lucius replied, his excitement palpable. "This could be the key to everything we've been working on. Don't tell me you're not curious."
Gwen sighed, knowing there was no talking him out of it. "Fine. But if this goes wrong, I'm blaming you."
"Deal."
They moved to opposite sides of the lab, Lucius at the control panel and Gwen standing near the artifact. The air seemed to grow heavier, charged with anticipation, as Lucius began the countdown.
"Three… two… one… activating."
He flipped the switch, and for a moment, nothing happened. Then, the artifact began to glow, a soft, pulsating light that filled the room. The engravings on its surface seemed to come alive, swirling and shifting like liquid metal. Gwen took a step back, her heart pounding in her chest.
"Lucius…" she started, but her voice was drowned out by a sudden, deafening hum. The light from the artifact intensified, blindingly bright, and the air around them seemed to warp and twist.
"Shut it down!" Gwen shouted, but it was too late. The energy surged, enveloping them in a wave of heat and light. Gwen reached out instinctively, her hand brushing against Lucius's as the world around them dissolved into chaos.
When the light finally faded, they were no longer in the lab. The air was colder, the sky above them a deep, unnatural shade of violet. The ground beneath their feet was cracked and overgrown with strange, luminescent plants. In the distance, the ruins of a massive city loomed, its towering spires crumbling and overrun with vegetation.
Gwen stumbled, her legs trembling beneath her. "Lucius… where are we?"
He was silent for a moment, his eyes wide with shock. Then, slowly, he turned to her, his voice barely above a whisper. "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore."