Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Great spirits of all who lived before

Take our hands and lead us

Fill our hearts and souls with all you know

- "Great Spirits", Tina Turner

Thousands of years ago, ancient civilizations ruled the world.

The most popular and well-known of these societies was the Hani-Baba Tribe. The Hani-Baba were by far the largest recorded society in history, reigning over the regions of Prickly Pines Forest, Twisted Jungle and Bedrock Desert. The society was named after their deities: Hani and Baba, the Creator Gods. In the heart of their territory was the Temple of the Creation Gods, the single most important building to the people and the epicenter of their culture.

One of the most important items in the temple was a purple tree known to the people as the Wishing Tree, or sometimes Gaia's Gift in official ceremonies. As the story goes, after Hani and Baba created everything under the sun, Gaia, the Spirit of the Earth, had presented herself to the people. As a reward for the peoples' kind and virtuous nature, she gifted them with a beautiful tree that could grant them any wish they desired. Because of the tree's importance, it was placed in the top chamber of the temple, and a hole had been made in the roof so that the tree could bask in the sun's light.

As one of the five ceremonial spots, the Wishing Tree was given great reverence. Care for the tree was taken with the utmost urgency, and it was the responsibility of every member of the Hani-Baba society, even the six leaders, to care for the tree. To keep it fair, a rotation system had been set up with every member's name placed on it.

On a particularly nice day, a group of teenage friends were conducting maintenance on the Wishing Tree. They were ensuring no weeds sprouted up in the Wishing Tree's soil, and that no bugs were bringing harm to the tree's trunk. The teenagers were used to the assignment, having done so many times before. What they didn't realize in the moment was how they were about to shape the future, all because of one question.

"How many times have we cleaned this tree?" Pebbles Flintstone asked her friends, interrupting Wiggy Rockstone's horoscope discussion.

"Oh, I'd say at least over a hundred times," Penny Pillar answered. "If I had a calendar, I can give you a more accurate number."

"No need, a hundred works just fine," Pebbles reassured her friend.

"What are you thinking, Pebbles?" Bamm-Bamm Rubbles asked, eyeing her apprehensively.

As Pebbles' friend since diapers, Bamm-Bamm was well acquainted with the girl's ideas that quickly evolved into doozies. Although her question seemed innocent, Bamm-Bamm had a feeling it was anything but.

"Have any of you made a wish?" Pebbles asked.

"Pebbles, you know better than anyone that the wishes are facilitated through the leaders," Moonrock Crater reminded the redhead.

To ensure that wishes would not be misused, it was decided that if a member wanted a wish granted, they had to present it to the six leaders - Fred Flintstone, Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw, Top Cat, and Secret Squirrel. The six leaders would decide if the wish was necessary, and if so, then the leaders would approach the Wishing Tree and ask the wish.

"I know, I know, but wouldn't it be nice to make a wish without anyone knowing?" Pebbles asked.

"Well, what would you wish for?" Penny asked. Though she didn't want to say it out loud, she was interested in Pebbles' line of thought.

"I've been thinking about this for a while," Pebbles' began.

"Really?" Bamm-Bamm interrupted her, looking skeptical.

"Yes, really," Pebbles fired back, sending the boy a pout. "The Wishing Tree can grant any wish. So far, all we've asked is for material things like food or objects."

"Necessary things," Moonrock pointed out.

"Yes, but, I think the tree can do even more," Pebbles continued. "Bamm-Bamm, haven't you ever wondered how a fight would turn out?"

"All of us do, but Aralia is a fantastic strategist so I never have to worry about the future of the fight. We'll always win," Bamm-Bamm answered.

"Yes, but wouldn't it be nice to know the outcome of the fight before the fight even happened?" Pebbles questioned.

"You mean like seeing into the future?" Penny asked.

Wiggy gasped and slapped her hands on her cheeks.

"Ohhh, that would be incredible! It'd be like a horoscope reading," Wiggy enthused.

"Hold on, how do we even know it can tell the future? So far, the Wishing Tree has only granted physical wishes," Moonrock pointed out.

Pebbles smiled in a way that led her friends to believe they'd fallen for her trap. "Only one way to find out, right?"

"Pebbles-" Bamm-Bamm's warning was interrupted by the girl herself.

"It'll be for the good of the community, Bamm-Bamm," she argued. "Think about it. If we know that the Wishing Tree can tell the future, then our society will be better off. We can plan our harvests for the best time, providing a larger bounty for the community."

"I don't know..." Wiggy trailed off, looking to Moonrock for his input.

"Well, I think we should give it a try," Pebbles said decisively, and she spun away from her friends to face the tree. Before her friends could stop her, Pebbles requested of the tree, "I wish to know if the earth will be destroyed in the future."

The teenagers held their breath, waiting for something to happen. After a long moment of nothing coming from the Wishing Tree, the teenagers came back to themselves. Pebbles' shoulders slumped in disappointment.

"Well shoot," she complained with a huff of frustration.

"Why would you make that wish?" Penny asked.

"What? Aren't you curious about what the future holds?"

"Well yes, but I thought you'd go for something simpler. Why'd you choose end of the world?"

"You know, just in case something terrible happens. Isn't it better to know when something terrible is going to happen?" Pebbles reasoned.

"Well, it doesn't look like the Wishing Tree can actually answer-"

Bamm-Bamm's remark trailed off as they watched the Wishing Tree morph. Nothing about the tree's bark changed, nor did its leaves change color. To the shock of the teenagers, the Wishing Tree grew eyes and a mouth. Green eyes stared down at the teenagers, and the teenagers stared back in dumbstruck awe. For another silent moment, no one said a thing. Then, the green eyes of the Wishing Tree glowed until the pupils of its eyes disappeared.

"In the far-flung future, an invader from the stars will come and wage war upon the Earth. It shall be a short war, and the invader will be victorious. As its reward, it shall consume the planet, bringing an end to the planet Earth," the Wishing Tree decreed in an ethereal voice.

The glow in the Wishing Tree's eyes dimmed until the pupils returned. Once more, the chamber was in silence as the news settled in. The Wishing Tree stared onward passively while the teenagers were thunderstruck.

"The...The world really..." Penny was too stunned to get a proper thought out.

"We need to tell daddy, right now," Pebbles ordered in urgency.

"But daddy, I'm serious," Pebbles complained, her voice pitched high in a whine. "The Wishing Tree told us itself."

"Honey, the Wishing Tree can't-"

"But it can!" Pebbles protested, her raised voice reverberating loudly in the chamber.

Fred Flintstone, one of the six leaders, heaved a deep sigh. He and the other five leaders were having a discussion about the upcoming harvest when his daughter and her friends burst into their chambers. Bad enough she and her friends had entered unannounced, but then they came in saying that the Wishing Tree had developed facial features and that the tree said the Earth would be destroyed in the future.

"She's not lying, Mr. Flintstone," Bamm-Bamm interjected. "One moment the Wishing Tree looked like a plain tree, and then the next its got eyes and a mouth!"

"Maybe we should check on the tree, to see if these kitties are telling the truth," Top Cat suggested.

"We are telling the truth!" Pebbles protested.

"Now just calm down, honey," Fred said. "We just need to confirm for ourselves that the Wishing Tree does in fact have eyes and a mouth."

"Well it does, and you'll see I'm right," Pebbles replied, crossing her arms and pouting.

"If ya'll say that the Wishing Tree told you of the end of the world, then for the sake of our posterity Aah hope you are wrong," Huckleberry Hound said in his drawl.

Unfortunately for the six leaders, Pebbles and her friends were correct. The leaders and the teenagers stood at the base of the Wishing Tree. The leaders stared upward in shock as a pair of green eyes stared back passively.

"Looks like the kitty-cats were right," Top Cat remarked, lifting up his hat so he could scratch at the fur on top of his head.

"Well, what are we going to do?" Yogi Bear asked, also lifting up his hat while he scratched the fur at the top of his head.

"Isn't it obvious?" Quick Draw McGraw asked rhetorically. "We got to take the fight to the invader!"

"Now hold your britches there. The invader won't come for a very long time," Huckleberry reminded the horse.

"We gotta do something," Pebbles said.

"I know, honey, but Huckleberry's right. The invasion won't come for a very long time, and we'll be long gone," Fred responded to his daughter.

"But shouldn't we do something, sir? We know about it, so it doesn't seem right to not let the people in the future know," Bamm-Bamm said.

"Why don't we use the Wishing Tree?" Top Cat remarked.

Several eyes fell on the feline. Not at all intimidated by the stares, the cat shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, the kitties here used the tree to know about the future. Why not make a wish for the Earth to not be invaded?"

"You know, that's not a bad idea," Fred remarked.

"It has my vote behind it," Secret Squirrel threw in.

"Very well," Huckleberry said. He raised his head and said, "Wishing Tree, Aah wish that the Earth won't be invaded by the intruder from the stars."

For a moment, everyone held their breath as they waited on confirmation from the Wishing Tree.

"That cannot be done," the Wishing Tree stated, its eyes remaining a dimmed green color. "The Earth shall be invaded."

"Well shoot, that smarts," Quick Draw McGraw complained, snapping his hooves.

"Hmmm," Huckleberry drawled. "Wishing Tree, Ah wish for the invader to be defeated when it wages war on our planet."

"You think that'll work?" Yogi asked.

Huckleberry shrugged his shoulders. "Aah figured Aah ought ta try."

"For the sake of the Earth, it better," Secret Squirrel commented.

Everyone watched the tree with rapt attention, waiting for a response. Then, the eyes of the Wishing Tree glowed until its pupils disappeared.

"You will begin the construction of obelisks immediately. Craft one for each leaf I have on my branches. The obelisks will be twenty feet in height and five feet in length. Take the earth from the Twisted Jungle and mix it with the waters from the Falls of the Protector to make the material you will construct the obelisks with. Strip the leaves from my branches and place a single leaf in the heart of each obelisk, then heat the constructs over the crater of Mt. Magog and cool with the winds in the Bedrock Desert. Once the obelisks are completed, you will place them around the globe in specific locations that I will provide to you.

"Next, a book shall be crafted. Strip the bark from my trunk and turn it into paper. On these sheets, you will dictate everything I have spoken about on the coming of Fuse, including the purposes of the totems and their activation, as well as spells and potions to be added to the benefit of the future generation. Turn a part of the bark into a harder material to make the cover that shall protect the sheets.

"From the sheets you make, separate a single one. On this page you will dictate the prophecy of the Master Weapon. I shall relay the prophecy to the author when this stage has been met."

The eyes of the Wishing Tree stopped glowing, returning to their regular green color. Once again, the chamber fell into silence as everyone absorbed what the tree had instructed of them.

"Uh, I might have missed it, but didn't we wish for the invader to be beaten?" Yogi asked, scratching the fur under his hat.

"You did," the Wishing Tree responded.

"So was this wish granted?" Secret Squirrel questioned.

"It was," the Wishing Tree responded.

"And this will defeat the invader?" Huckleberry inquired.

"It shall," the Wishing Tree responded.

The leaders shared a dubious look with each other, not following the Wishing Tree's logic. They trusted that the tree had fulfilled their wish just as it had filled all their wishes before, but they found themselves lost on how totems, a book, and a scroll were supposed to defeat an invader; at least the Master Weapon sounded promising.

"Uhh, excuse me, o' Wishing Tree," Moonrock said as he approached the trunk of the magical tree. "How exactly will the things you asked us to construct beat the invader?"

"The invader shall be beaten by the One Touched by Fate. Imbued with the Power of Destiny, they will be able to activate the totems, creating a protective sphere around the globe. The scroll and the book are designed to provide assistance to the One Touched By Fate. The scroll will lead them to craft the Master Weapon, and the Book of Prophecy will unlock the Power of Destiny inside them," the Wishing Tree explained.

Everyone in assembly nodded their heads, now following the logic of the Wishing Tree. Everyone was more reassured now that they knew there would be someone who'd defeat the invader; it made the wish more concrete.

"Alright, call up an announcement," Fred dictated. "We need to tell the people pronto."

"Thank you, everyone, for coming on such short notice."

Not far from the temple was an amphitheater used for when the leaders had to give out announcements. Typically, the meetings were scheduled. Everyone from the tribe, from the smallest child to the oldest member, sat in attendance, waiting to know why an emergency meeting had been called so suddenly.

"Are we under attack?" Aralia, the tribe's Te Xuan Ze and leader of the heroes, immediately asked.

Given the abnormality of the meeting, Aralia's mind immediately went to the worst. Her fellow heroes - Zandor, Ugh, Tor (alter ego of Mightor) and Captain Caveman - all tensed at the idea of an invasion. It'd been a while since they'd had to protect the territory, but they were ready for whatever trouble was on its way.

"No, no, we're not under attack," Fred said, trying to calm their nerves.

"But we will be," Yogi mentioned.

This stirred up the crowd into excitement. Maw Rugg pulled her youngest, Shag, into a tight embrace. Friends Cindy Bear and Floral Rugg attempted to keep each other's spirits up by reassuring each other that everything would be alright. Betty Rubble looked at her friend Wilma Flintstone to see if she knew what Fred was talking about, but the redhead shook her head in denial. Sheera, Gara, and Tarra all shared uneasy looks with one another, and Gara kept an extra tight hold on her little Tana. Lok, Dorno and Little Rok were all bravado as they discussed what sort of enemy would be attacking their settlement and how they'd like to join the heroes in the fight now that they were older. The heroes, except for Bamm-Bamm, were tense and immediately consulted with their leader on how soon they could be ready for a fight. Aralia declined an immediate answer, instead waiting for the orders from the tribe's leaders.

"Smooth," Secret Squirrel said sarcastically.

"What?" Yogi questioned, not at all getting why Fred and Top Cat were glaring at him.

Huckleberry Hound stepped forward so that he could address the crowd. The audience quieted down for a moment, waiting to hear what another leader had to say on the matter.

"Now folks, Aah need ya'll ta calm down. What Yogi means is that we have been told by Gaia's Gift that the Earth will be destroyed in the future." More unrest erupted from the crowd, and Huckleberry raised his paws to calm the crowd down. "Now folks, we've already made a wish for the invader to be defeated, and we were given instructions on how this can be done."

"Yah mean the tree done speaked ta ya'll?" Paw Rugg asked, though his mumbling made it difficult to make out.

"The Wishing Tree talks?" Gorak asked.

"It does, but let's just all stay on task," Huckleberry said. "If we don't want the Earth to be destroyed, we need ta-"

"But you said that it won't happen until the future!" Peter Potamus interrupted, standing up from his seat so he could be seen by everyone. "What does that have to do with us?"

"It's true that the invasion won't happen until the future, long after we're all gone," Fred conceded, stepping up to answer the question. "However, we know this will happen one day, and it'd be wrong for us to know about it and not do what we can to help. These people are our descendants, and we can't let them be killed simply because we didn't want to do anything to help prepare them."

The crowd looked at each other, murmuring in low tones. It seemed like all of them were discussing whether the future invader was their problem or not. Finally, the crowd seemed to agree that they needed to assist the future generation from an invader and turned back to the leaders, waiting for their instructions.

"Here's what we got to do..."

It took a year for the Hani-Baba to complete the construction of the totems. It took them another year to distribute the totems around the world. The last totem they put into the dirt was placed in a chamber in the lower section of the temple. With the final totem erected, the Hani-Baba held a victory celebration in honor of the Earth's defeat of the invader from the stars. It was a victory they would never see, but it was a victory they were assured would happen because they had made a wish, and they knew the wish would be fulfilled.

While the Hani-Baba had averted the end of the Earth, they did not avert their own tribe's demise. Nearly a century after, the Hani-Baba were defeated and sacked by an enemy from the north. The enemy had crossed the ocean when they had heard of the Wishing Tree's abilities. The Hani-Baba's old warriors no longer existed, and due to the peace that they had experienced, the new warriors were weak and easy to defeat. The victorious party approached the Wishing Tree and chopped it down, intending to take it as their prize. While the Wishing Tree was indeed a magical tree, it was still a tree and so it died when it was severed from its roots. However, the enemy did not return empty handed. Seeds had been discovered at the base of the tree when they had been chopping it, and so they brought the seeds to their settlement.

Angered that her gift had been recklessly destroyed by hearts filled with greed, Gaia tampered with the seeds while they were in the soil and turned them dark. The tree still grew, but it was dark in bark and leaves, and so the tribe referred to it as the Dark Tree. The tree still granted wishes, but it could only grant one wish a day and could not do something so grandiose as her gift once could. Despite the limitations, the tribe from the north still revered and guarded their precious tree.

The remainder of the Hani-Baba that had survived after the sacking left their settlement out of shame for not doing more to protect it. For centuries after, the temple and its associated structures were left abandoned, at the mercy of time and the elements. The only building that survived was the temple itself, protecting the secrets it contained inside. While the book and scroll would eventually be discovered by tomb raiders looking for riches and finding none, the Wish remained unknown and undiscovered.

The Earth evolved, and small settlements turned into giant skyscrapers. Small civilizations gave way to large governments. Mutant toddlers, imaginary friends, giant robots, child geniuses, superheroes, aliens, EVOs, and cryptids became the new norm of society. In their day-to-day life, none knew of the path Fate and Destiny had been sowing since the day the Wish had been uttered. Only a lone, purple tree with roots spread far and vast underneath the Earth's surface knew of what was to come.

On a particular morning, just as the sun was rising in the east, the tree's eyes glowed a bright green color as it uttered out a single phrase:

"It is time."

Chapter Text

Like a bolt out of the blue

Fate steps in and sees you through

- "When You Wish Upon a Star," Cliff Edwards

The golden rays of the sun's light entered into the window of a sleeping sixteen-year-old. She was enjoying a pleasant dream when it was dramatically interrupted by knocking on her door. With a groan she stirred and spun over in her bed. She then burrowed herself under her comforter, attempting to hide away from the sound that disturbed her slumber. The knocking wouldn't relent, making the girl groan again in annoyance.

"Go away, mom," the girl whined drowsily.

"You better get your butt up, Misty Cull. It's almost ten in the morning!" her mother's voice called from the other side of the door.

"No it's not! I set my alarm for eight!" Misty argued.

"Trust me dear, eight was almost two hours ago," Misty's mother retaliated.

Her mother's voice was drifting, indicating she had begun walking away from the door. She trusted her daughter would be awake and didn't need to hang around and rouse her further.

Misty groaned her final complaint, but rolled over and sat up, rubbing at her eyes. She picked up her Powerpuff Girls themed alarm clock and raised it so she could see the time on it.

She stared at 9:33 A.M.

9:33 A.M. stared back at her.

Misty blinked and then released a high-pitched screech that could be heard throughout the neighborhood, accidentally throwing the alarm clock away from her in the same action. She had set an alarm last night, but had set it for P.M. instead of A.M. Now, instead of being early, she was late since her original plan was to leave the house by 9:45. In a panic, Misty leapt from her bed and threw back her comforter in the same motion. She almost lost her balance when her feet were tangled by her comforter, but she managed to kick them off of her without face planting onto her carpeted floor.

"Crud, crud, crud, crud, crud!" she cursed, throwing open her closet doors and searching for the outfit she'd picked out the night before.

She quickly threw on the outfit, making sure it wasn't worn inside out or backwards, and then slipped into her white flats. Due to her limited time, she swept her brush and make-up accessories into her purse. She'd have to take care of that on the run, since her hair alone would eat up time. The last item on her morning routine was brushing her teeth, and, once she finished that, she rushed down the stairs, practically taking them three steps at a time. She was passing the opening for her kitchen, racing for the front door, when her mom called out to her.

"Hold it, young lady. Where do you think you're going?"

"Mom!" Misty whined, poking her head back in. "I'm heading to the mall with my friends. You said I could, remember?"

Misty had brought it up at dinner, and her parents had agreed. Recognition crossed her mother's eyes, but her mother still casted a dubious eye on her, particularly her hair.

"You're going out looking like that?" she questioned.

Misty reflexively ran her fingers over her uniquely colored hair. It would technically be labeled purple, but it was actually in an ombre-style, with her hair being violet-red towards the top and imperial purple towards the ends. When it was pulled up, her hair reached her mid-stomach, but since it was still down, it inched closer to her waistline.

"I'll brush it on the monorail," Misty defended.

"Okay, but what about breakfast?" Misty's mother asked.

"Mom!" Misty whined. "I do not have time for twenty questions. I'm going to be late, and Ezra is going to give me nothing but grief when I get there." At her mother's skeptical eye, Misty defended herself. "No, seriously, that guy is a stickler for time. He doesn't show up anywhere late or early! He doesn't even turn in his test until time is up even if he finished early!"

Misty's mother stared her daughter down, like she was trying to discern if her child was telling the truth or not. When Misty didn't break, her mother released a sigh of defeat.

"Alright, but get something when you're there, okay? Breakfast is the most important meal of the day," her mother said, espousing parental advice.

"Okay, I will, mom. Love you. See you at dinner!" Misty said in a rush, racing for the front door once again.

She was in such a hurry she didn't close the door behind her. With speed she never once showed in her P.E. class, Misty ran through the quiet neighborhood for the Peach Creek Estates monorail station. The elevator was already three feet off the ground when Misty arrived. Instead of waiting for the platform to come back down like any rational person would do, she made a running leap for it. She managed to get her hands on it, then hefted herself up onto the platform. The elderly gentleman already riding the elevating platform stared at the girl in surprise. She looked at him and flashed him a grin and thumbs up.

"Made it," Misty told him, even though he hadn't asked.

The two passengers stepped off the platform - the old man relying on his cane to assist him - and then onto the monorail that was already waiting at the station. Since the Peach Creek Estates station was on one end of the line, there weren't many passengers on it, so the old man and Misty had the monorail to themselves up until they'd reach the next station. With a satisfied sigh, she plopped herself on the floor. The old man gave her another look, this one judgmental, but she ignored him. It wasn't her fault DexLabs refused to furnish their monorails with seats. She pulled out her phone to take a look at the time, and flinched when she saw that it was 9:53.

Oh well, so I'm a little late, Misty thought. The thing's starting at 10:30, so I'll still make it.

With a mischievous smirk, Misty pulled out her hairbrush and began to tame her messy hair. When she had told her parents she wanted to meet up with her friends, that hadn't been a lie. Meeting them at the mall was the lie. Instead of the mall, Misty was actually heading to the Tech Square Convention Center. DexLabs was unveiling their newest experiment at the convention center, and everyone was abuzz with excitement.

Time travel. Real, bona fide time travel. And who was the lucky person being sent into the future? Misty Cull, that's who.

DexLabs had hosted a lottery to see who'd be the lucky person to go five minutes into the future. Out of thousands of names that had been put into the lottery, it was Misty's name that had been chosen. She was giddy with excitement for this lucky opportunity, but had to hide it from her parents. They would have absolutely refused to let their one and only daughter do something so dangerous, so she had forged their signatures on the consent form when Computress had sent it to her. Underhanded it may have been, but Misty wasn't about to let the opportunity slip through her fingers because of her parents. Misty could feel it. This was destiny, and she wasn't missing the chance to make history.

The Tech Square Convention Center was the joint property of DexLabs Inc. and Mandark Ind. It had been built out of necessity. Dexter and Mandark wanted to show off their inventions, but they ran the risk of their property being stolen if they invited people into their buildings. While there was security at the two companies, that didn't mean that their property would be safe. So for that reason, the convention center had been built.

It had been designed with both owners in mind, making sure each decor represented the two eccentric scientists fifty-fifty. The outside was painted white with red trimmings. The inside was painted black with blue trimmings, and the floor was black and white tile in a checker pattern. The only thing that looked out of place were the curtains on the stage. Instead of keeping with the white-black motif, the curtains were instead red and blue to represent the secondary colors attributed to the two companies.

Because they jointly owned it, the convention center had been built in between the two companies near the northern mountain range. Since it was on a slight incline, a short set of steps had been built leading up into the center. It was on these steps that Misty ran to, spotting four figures waiting outside. She ran up to these figures and stopped in front of them, bending over and propping herself up on her knees.

"Made it!" Misty cried, drawing in air to her poor lungs.

"You're late."

Misty lifted her head up enough so that her grey eyes could glare into the golden eyes of her friend Ezra.

"Rude," Misty huffed.

"Okay you two, play nice," their friend Gabby said, stepping in between the two and raising her hands in their directions. "It's actually too early in the morning to deal with you two bickering."

"Are your friends like this all the time?" a girl with pink hair in twin pigtails complained.

"Hi, Cherry, nice to see you too," Misty said to the younger girl sarcastically.

Cherry harrumphed and crossed her arms, looking annoyed at being addressed.

"I'm only hanging out with you guys because my friends couldn't come," Cherry told the girl.

"Awwh, don't be like that. You know you love hanging out with your big sis," another girl with pink hair said in a singsong voice, grabbing Cherry's shoulders from behind and giving her a little shake.

"Get off. You're the most embarrassing, Peach," Cherry complained to her older sister.

Peach didn't take her sister's complaint to heart and instead turned her attention onto her friend. With an energetic bounce, Peach was invading Misty's space, throwing her arms around her friend's neck.

"Aren't you excited, Misty? I could barely sleep last night thinking about it and I'm not even going to the future!"

Misty grinned at her friend's enthusiasm. No matter the situation, Peach was guaranteed to bring a smile to people's faces with her infectious enthusiasm. Even Ezra wasn't completely immune to her, though he tried to hide or deny it.

"I managed to get my beauty sleep," Misty answered her friend. "If I'm going to make history, I have to look my best." She then realized that they were standing outside the convention center instead of inside. "Wait, this thing's supposed to start soon. You guys need to get some seats!"

"Don't worry about that. Mateo's got us covered," Gabby answered.

"We couldn't get the front rows because of the press and celebrities, but we're still pretty close. You should be able to see us from the stage, especially with this." Peach held up a sign that read: SEE YOU IN THE FUTURE, MISTY!

"I love it," Misty said, her eyes sparkling as she looked at the sign. "I'm so hanging this on my wall when this is over."

"Deal," Peach agreed, sparkles in her own eyes.

"Uhm, excuse me?" a voice addressed.

As a single unit, the group looked to the person that had joined their group. He looked to be close to Cherry's age and suffered from a good deal of acne on his face. Misty held back her flinch as she looked at the boy.

"Can we help you?" Ezra asked, eyeing the boy.

The boy gulped and then cleared his throat to push away his nervousness. It didn't work that well since he still managed to stutter out, "I-I-I'm looking f-for Misty Cull?"

"That's me," Misty said, raising her hand like she was in class.

The boy's face lit up with relief. He avoided Ezra's eyes and focused his attention only on Misty. "Great. I'm Douglas. I work for DexLabs. Dexter asked me to bring you to him. He's backstage and we're almost ready to go."

"Oh, right," she said. She smiled at her friends and Cherry. "See you guys inside. We'll celebrate at Pink Palace after!"

Douglas guided her into the convention center which was full with people eagerly waiting for the start of the presentation. Misty was too busy following Douglas that she only managed to do a quick glance, enough to see that the place was inching toward the maximum amount of bodies set by the fire marshal.

Douglas took her to the stage and behind the second curtain, where Dexter and his A.I. assistant Computress were waiting. Dexter spotted them approaching and grinned. As soon as Misty stopped in front of him, the boy pulled her hand into his gloved one and shook it.

"Aaaahh, excellent, you've finally arrived," Dexter said instead of properly greeting her. "We're almost ready to begin. You remember what you're supposed to do, right?"

"Yep. Step inside the time machine and go five minutes into the future," Misty answered. "Easy peasy."

Dexter had sent her an email going over the plan for the presentation. The bulk of the work rested on Dexter's shoulders. He was to present the object to the audience, and when he called her name, that's when she'd enter the time machine. All she had to do was smile and look pretty and she'd be in the history books. Smiling and looking pretty was what she did on a daily basis, so this was going to be a piece of cake.

"Yes, exactly right," Dexter agreed. "I shall begin shortly. You may leave your personal belongings with Douglas."

Misty eyed Douglas, silently scrutinizing the boy to see if he'd sniff through her purse. The boy sensed that she was silently judging him and reassured her that he'd just hold onto her purse until she got back. He was part of DexLabs, so Misty decided to trust him and hand him her purse after doing one last touch up of her makeup.

She knew the presentation started when the ambient music suddenly cut out. The lights dimmed, the front curtains drew back, and a spotlight turned on as it followed Dexter onto the stage. While the audience clapped and cheered for the boy genius, Misty peeked her head around the drawn back curtain so that she could look at the crowd without being noticed. The dim lights made it hard for her to see everybody in the audience, but she could make out a few faces in the front rows.

Cameras from the press were situated in the front center. She could make out Townsville News, 5 Action News, NNN and Hometown Blather filming Dexter's presentation, airing it live for all the viewers at home who couldn't make it. They were going to milk this content for at least a week. She assumed the people wearing the lanyards were with the printed press, but she couldn't see who they belonged to. Probably newspapers like The Daily Neighbor, Townsville Tribune, World Weekly News and the Daily Horn sent their reporters down to get the scoop.

In the audience were the Utoniums. It was no surprise that someone like Professor Utonium would be watching the science experiment, but Misty couldn't deny the sight of the Powerpuff Girls themselves was surprising. She figured they'd be busy saving the city than sitting down to watch a presentation. Blossom was clearly interested, but her sister Buttercup was not. She looked like she desperately wanted a villain to attack just so she'd have something to do. Bubbles didn't have the same level of interest that her sister and father had, but she was paying attention. In her arms was the famous Weasel, who looked unimpressed that he was being treated as a cute animal instead of a genius. The only representative of the Justice Friends was their leader Major Glory. Major Glory didn't strike her as a big science guy, but he was probably personally invited by Dexter, since the boy genius was a huge fan of the America loving hero. Thank goodness the Infraggable Krunk hadn't been invited; there was a high chance the convention center and time machine would have been destroyed from one of his tantrums if he had showed.

The Mayor was in the audience, seated beside the music superstar and record producer Sunny Bridges. The teen hero Ben Tennyson was sitting in the audience with his cousin Gwen Tennyson and Kevin Levin to the right of him. Of the trio, Gwen was clearly the most interested in what was going on, but Ben and Kevin didn't look as bored as one would think. To the left of Ben was his friend and Providence's E.V.O., Rex Salazar. He was sitting next to a man that looked similar to Rex but older, and Misty made the educated guess that they were related, maybe brothers. Beside the man was Dr. Holiday, a world-renowned expert on nanites. Next to her were three individuals who all clearly knew each other because of the way they were leaning in speaking to each other. Based on what they wore and how invested they were in the presentation, she guessed they were scientists. Speaking of scientists, Dr. Benton Quest and his two children were in the audience, watching the presentation with interest. The family's bodyguard, Race Bannon, was keeping an eye out for trouble.

A man, woman, and teenage boy wearing orange jumpsuits caught Misty's attention. It was a surprising look, and she guessed they were a family. No way three strangers just coincidentally wore similar looking jumpsuits in the exact same color at the same event. Next to the family was an orange-haired woman who was also in a jumpsuit, though it was light blue instead of orange. Misty assumed they were all together, and was given confirmation when the mother - or who Misty assumed was the mother - leaned over to talk to the woman. Soyen Chen, the scientist and entrepreneur of the up-and-coming Chen Enterprises, was watching Dexter walk around the stage in a mix of scientific interest and lovesickness. A boy beside her wearing a sock hat was furiously scribbling on his notepad, seemingly writing down everything Dexter was saying. Two children were sitting next to him, a boy wearing an aviator helmet with the number 2 stitched on it, and a boy wearing a strange headset made up of household objects and having a monocle over his left eye. The two spoke to each other in low tones, gesticulating far more than the other audience members were. A girl in a red cap was sitting next to them, but from the way she was slouching in her seat, it looked like she wanted to be seated anywhere than next to them.

"And now, I present to you the individual who will enter my time machine, Miss Misty Cull," Dexter's voice announced, pulling Misty away from her people watching.

The lights on the stage came on as the crowd began to clap. Misty smoothed down her purple sundress - a dress that would look nice for the event but not formal enough to tip off her parents on her ruse - and lifted her chin, an air of confidence radiating off of her. Without a hint of hesitation, she stepped out from behind the curtain and the crowd clapped even louder for her. She didn't feel an ounce of nervousness with so many eyes - some of them belonging to superheroes, celebrities, and top-of-their-field scientists - staring at her. Misty was the very definition of confidence as she crossed the stage, smiling and waving for the crowd. She grinned wider when she heard her friends cheering for her and Peach waving around her sign. She came to a stop before Dexter, shaking his hand once again. They held that position for a moment so that the press could snap their pictures. When the moment passed, the two broke away from each other and Dexter gestured to the time machine next to him.

"Now, if you'd be so kind and enter the machine," Dexter implored.

It was the first time Misty noticed the time machine. She thought of it like an egg since it was in a large oval shape. The door with the DexLabs logo was slid open, allowing Misty the opportunity to see inside. She couldn't see much because of how dark it was inside, but she could see it was roomy. She stepped inside, but not before giving the crowd one more wave. Once she was inside, the door behind her slid downward until she heard a click, throwing her into darkness. The darkness didn't last long because blue lights lit up along the floor. When the blue floor lights hit the wall, it suddenly brightened up the whole chamber, revealing that the walls were made of blue paneling. Just as she was getting used to her new surroundings, a holographic screen appeared from over the door. It was circular in shape and outlined by Roman numerals, making it look like the screen was inside of a clock. On the screen was Dexter, with Computress and the audience being visible over his shoulder.

"Hello, Misty? Are you reading me?" Dexter asked.

"Loud and clear, Dexter," Misty responded.

"Excellent," Dexter said with a grin. "Your bio scan is complete. I will be powering up the main engine now. You may feel a slight bump."

The slight 'bump' nearly threw Misty off her feet, but she managed to keep herself stabilized. She could hear the engine humming, and the time machine was vibrating slightly.

"These readings are incredible!" Dexter gushed. "A fine day for science indeed."

Although Misty couldn't see the readings, the audience could, and the scientists in the crowd were murmuring to themselves or to their colleagues. With everyone preoccupied with the machine starting up, no one noticed a blonde girl with pigtails moving through the convention center. The girl was Dexter's older sister, Dee Dee. A menace to Dexter's inventions, she had only been allowed to the showing under the agreement that their parents would watch her. However, because of the focus their parents were putting on Dexter's presentation, Dee Dee was able to sneak off with her folks unaware. Because everyone's eyes - including the Dexbots - were trained on Dexter and the time machine, Dee Dee was able to sneak backstage. While looking around the area, she came across a control panel with a big red button on it. Her eyes widened as they honed in on it like a moth to a flame.

"Oooooh~" she cooed as she tiptoed over to it. "What does th~is button do?"

"Alright, all signs are good. Prepare for launch in five... four..." Before Dexter could get to three, he spotted his sister out of the corner of his eye. His eyes widened when he saw her finger poised over the button. He ran for her, prepared to tackle her away from the panel if he had to. "Dee Dee! NOOOO!"

His warning was too late. At the exact moment he had yelled at her, her finger had pressed down on the giant red button. As soon as the button was depressed, the time machine gave a violent lurch. It was so strong that Misty was knocked off her feet. She sat up and looked at her enclosed surroundings, watching as the machine continued to shake like it was part of an earthquake.

"Uhhhhhhh...Hey Dexter, is that supposed to happen?" Misty asked. When she received no response, she looked upward to where the screen was. Or where it was supposed to be. Worry pooled in her stomach when she saw that her window to the outside was missing. "Uhhhhm, Dexter?"

There was still no response. The shaking continued, and she was suddenly thrown into darkness. Misty may not have the highest grade in science, but even she suspected that this wasn't part of the experiment. Something had gone terribly wrong.

On the outside, the crowd watched the time machine violently shake about. Many were left speculating if this was normal or not. When Blossom noticed the time machine begin to glow, she decided enough was enough. She switched into superheroine mode and shot out of her seat. Before she could reach the time machine and rescue Misty, the glowing brightened to an intense degree that had everyone covering their eyes. They were temporarily blinded, but didn't need their vision to hear the loud bang that had them jumping in their seats. Then, very suddenly, the light disappeared. When everyone regained their sight, they were shocked to discover the time machine reduced to a pile of rubble.

Blossom dropped down beside the rubble and began moving aside pieces in search of the girl that had been inside. Bubbles and Buttercup joined her, and with the sisters' combined superspeed, they managed to clear away all the debris in seconds. What they found - or didn't find - stumped them. There was no body underneath the rubble.

Misty just disappeared.

The audience immediately began to panic. Dee Dee threw a hand over her mouth and gasped into it, staring wide eyed in horror. Dexter's mouth was hung open in surprise, but he didn't move. For five whole minutes, he didn't do or say anything, even as the press flew into a frenzy and made for backstage. The Dexbots forced the press to stay back, though it didn't stop the reporters from throwing questions at the two siblings. Instead of taking charge of the situation, Dexter remained rooted in one spot while the superheroes attempted to calm the crowd.

Dexter remained in his catatonic state until Computress hovered over and told her boss that five minutes had passed. The boy's jaw snapped shut at the revelation. His face morphed into fury as the redhead swiveled around to glare at his frightened sister. While the press was content to write off Dexter's lack of a response as him being callous in the wake of his creation's, only Computress knew the truth. Dexter hadn't reacted because of callousness or surprise that his invention had literally blown up in his face; he had been waiting. Afterall, his plan had been to send Misty five minutes into the future, and he had merely been waiting for her return, hoping his invetion had managed to work before the unfortunate incident. But now with Computress confirming time was up and Misty hadn't reappeared, Dexter knew that something horrible had gone wrong. Terribly wrong.

Dee Dee had messed up BIG time, and no amount of restraint could hold back the wrath that flowed through Dexter's veins. Of all the inventions she could have messed with, she had to choose this one. The one where an innocent casualty suffered because of her stupidity. If there was ever a time to let loose on his sister's idiotic actions and read her the riot act, it was at this very moment.

"What. Did. You. DO?!"

Chapter Text

Down an unknown road to embrace my fate

- "Go the Distance," Michael Bolton

With a groan, Misty regained her consciousness. She was laid out on her back until she pulled herself into a sitting position. She pressed the heel of her palm to her forehead as a way to stave off the growing headache.

"Ow, ow, ow," Misty whined.

She forced her eyes open through the throbbing pain, and what she found made her eyes widen. Her headache momentarily forgotten, she tilted her head as she got a look at a patch of green coloring next to her foot.

"Uuuhhh, what's all this green stuff?"

She reached down to touch it, but immediately retracted her hand with a hiss of pain. Literally the second she'd touched the green patch, it had burned her hand like it was a flame on the stovetop. She frowned and narrowed her eyes at the patch, trying to discern its origin when she noticed similar patches dotting the area. Her eyes inventoried all the patches and where they were, and it was then that she noticed the state of decay of her surroundings.

Hold up. Is this still the convention center? she thought, sweeping her head left and right.

If Misty hadn't just been in the convention center, she wouldn't have recognized it. The stage she sat on had floorboards missing, and the curtains were nowhere in sight; most likely deteriorated. The ceiling was caved in at various spots, and parts of the walls were crumbled, leaving a pile of debris where the concrete fell. Just like the stage, tiles were missing from the floor and replaced by grass that was clearly trying to take over. The once pristine convention center was now a dilapidated building, and it filled Misty with confusion.

"Am I in the future?" Misty whispered. "How far did Dexter send me!? This place looks so old!"

Her volume had increased and echoed in the empty building, causing her to wince when she saw bits of the ceiling drop to the ground.

"Okay, no yelling," Misty noted to herself at a quieter volume, eyeing the ceiling like she was waiting for it to drop on her suddenly.

The ceiling remained fixed in place, but Misty noticed something strange. She blinked and narrowed her eyes as she focused on the opening in the ceiling.

Am I concussed, or is the sky green? she thought.

Misty wasn't a top-notch student, but even she knew that the sky was blue; it was a universal rule. Yet to her confusion, the sky that was peeking in through the open holes of the ceiling was a vivid green color. Misty shook her head and got up, wiping the dust off her clothes.

Okay, I'm leaving. This place is giving me the creeps. Any minute now some creepy monster's going to pop out and attack me like in The Horror, she decided, carefully hopping off the stage. Gotta get a hold of -

"Oh crud! I left my bag with that nerd!" Misty yelped, gripping her hair and dramatically dropped to her knees again. She ignored the way the ceiling rumbled above her and just released another whine. "It had my phone and everything."

Misty was lost in her own misery, lamenting the loss of her technology and personal items. It left her oblivious to her surroundings, and so she missed the round figure hopping from the corner of the room towards her. She was made aware of its presence when it plopped down in front of her, releasing a rumbling growl. Misty lifted her head from where she had hung it and wiped her tears off her cheeks to see the thing better.

It was small, about the size of a soccer ball only it also had a fin attached at the top of its body. Its skin was gelatinous and green in color. It had red, empty eyes that reminded Misty of monsters from a horror film.

"Uhhh, hi?" she greeted the thing.

The creature responded by opening its jagged mouth and lunging for her. Misty screamed and dove out of the way, avoiding the creature. The ceiling did not appreciate the loud volume and responded by dropping parts of itself. Misty dodged the falling debris.

"Seriously?! Some weird green thing and the ceiling too!?" Misty complained to the open air.

More parts from the ceiling fell in response to her outcry, forcing Misty to leap out of their landing zones. The creature went on the attack, leaping for her in its eagerness to sink its jagged jaw into her flesh. Misty got to her feet and waited for the creature to get closer. When it was within range, Misty kicked the creature, making sure it didn't touch the skin of her toes. The creature went flying, hitting the wall with a loud thud.

"All right!" Misty cheered. She then winced as she looked at her shoe, spotting some goo remaining on her sandal. It was starting to burn, so she quickly rubbed it off in the dirt.

"Now for the escape," Misty told herself as she spun around.

She made a mad dash for the building's exit, a large opening where the convention's sliding doors used to be. She had only made it a few feet when the creature made a reappearance, coming at her from her right.

Crud it's back! she thought with dismay. But why's it coming from my right? Shouldn't it be coming from behind me?

She looked over her shoulder, just to see where she had kicked the creature. To her horror, there was a green creature hopping behind her. She looked back over to her right and saw that the creature was still following her. She looked back to the one over her shoulder, back to the one coming from her right, and once more to the one over her shoulder.

THERE'S TWO!? she cried in her mind. RUN!RUN!RUN!RUN!RUN!RUN!RUN!

The creature coming at her from the right - the one she mentally labeled as Creature #2 - leapt into the air, opening its jaw to take a crunch out of her head. Misty released another scream and threw her arms up over her head to protect it from the creature. The creature didn't reach her because it was shot, sending it flying away from the girl. Misty blinked at the creature and then followed the path back to where the firing had come from.

Misty's eyes widened in surprise when she saw two figures standing at the opening. An elementary aged girl in a red hat was holding a gun - which weirdly had a popsicle attached - still aimed in the direction of the creature. Standing beside the girl was the popular teen hero, Ben Tennyson.

"Whoa, you were right Numbuh Five. Someone is inside," Ben said.

"Numbuh Five will tell ya 'told ya so' later. Gotta take out these Fusion Spawns," the girl - Numbuh Five - retorted.

Numbuh Five continued into the convention center, firing at Creature #2. Misty used this opportunity to get away from the two creatures that wanted to bite her. She came to stand next to Ben, figuring it was safer to be near a superhero.

"Thanks for coming to my rescue," Misty said. "I can't believe I was saved by the Ben Tennyson."

Ben smiled and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, actually it's Numbuh Five who's rescuing you. I came to assist if there was a bigger monster. Luckily it's just those two Spawns."

"Right, right," Misty said, nodding along. "What are Spawns?"

Ben blinked and looked at her in confusion. "What? Everyone knows what a Spawn is. Where have you been?" He thought about it for a moment and then added, "Actually, what are you doing here period? I thought this place was evacuated of civilians long ago."

"Wait, you don't recognize me?" Misty asked.

"Should I?" Ben asked.

"Seriously? You don't remember?" Misty demanded with an accompanying glare fixed on her face.

Ben shrugged. "Sorry, I've got a lot of things on my mind."

"Urgh! I'm-"

"-the girl Dexter was supposed to send to the future," Numbuh Five finished as she came up behind Misty. "Or Numbuh Five guesses, the girl he did send to the future."

Misty spun around and looked at the kid. Numbuh Five was looking back at her from underneath her red cap. There was a look of surprise in the kid's eyes.

"You remember me?" Misty asked.

"Not at first. But then Numbuh Five pieced it together," the K.N.D. operative answered, resting the wrist holding her gun against her waist. "You caused quite a stir when you disappeared."

"Wait, you're that girl?" Ben asked, his eyes brightening with recognition.

"Ohhhhh, now you remember?" Misty questioned him, glaring.

"Hey, cut me some slack. Being invaded by an alien warlord kinda makes you forget about a girl dying in a science experiment," Ben defended himself.

Misty blinked slowly at the revelation. "Alien invasion? Dying?"

Numbuh Five shot Ben a look and raised her hand to her cap. Before she could swipe it off and use it against Ben as a makeshift weapon, the shaking ground and a roar interrupted the trio.

"Hold that thought," Ben said, running outside.

Numbuh Five followed behind him with her Pop Gun raised. Instead of waiting inside the broken-down lobby, Misty followed behind the two heroes. She came to a stop just behind them, staring wide eyed at the creature that had emitted the roar. Unlike what Ben had called Spawns, this creature was large and mechanical looking. Terrifyingly it had three heads, reminding Misty of the Greek monster Cerberus.

"What's that?!" Misty demanded.

"It's a Cyberus," Ben answered, raising up his fists and running at the three-headed monster.

Misty looked at Ben who was avoiding the jaws of the monster, then to Numbuh Five who had her Pop Gun raised and firing, then down at her own empty hands, and finally to the three-headed monster.

"I need something to fight with," Misty announced.

"What?" Numbuh Five asked in surprise, looking over her shoulder at the teenager.

"Well clearly I didn't come into the future with some weapon, and without one that thing'll kill me," Misty argued, pointing at the monster.

Numbuh Five looked at her for a second before nodding. She shrugged an orange weapon off of her back and handed it over to Misty.

"Here, take this Lightning Gun," Numbuh Five said. "You ever fired a rifle before?"

"Nope," Misty answered.

Numbuh Five threw Misty an incredulous look. Her attention was drawn back to the fight when Ben came skidding over on his side to the girls. He had been hit by the monster's snout and sent backward before hitting the ground and skidding. He picked himself back onto his feet, rubbing at his injured side.

"Could really use some cover fire," Ben complained.

"Yeah, yeah. Numbuh Five's got ya," Numbuh Five replied, raising her pistol and firing once again.

With Numbuh Five firing at the monster, Ben ran back at the Cyberus, throwing a punch that hit the monster on one of its jaws.

Misty had never held or used a real weapon before, but she'd played enough laser tag at the Game Hive to get the general idea. Shouldering the rifle like she'd seen in a number of Rod Tango films, Misty aimed the weapon at the Cyberus' middle head and decompressed the trigger. A blue bolt of lightning fired off from the rifle, traveled the space of the battlefield, and hit the middle head. The monster released a cry upon being hit, the middle head recoiling from the lightning strike.

"Woo!" Misty whooped in excitement. "I just did that!"

"Don't stop!" Numbuh Five shouted.

"Oh, right!" Misty called back, firing off the Lightning Gun again.

Between Misty and Numbuh Five shooting at the monster and Ben punching it up close and personal, their opponent was eventually beaten. When it took all the damage it could take, the cybernetic dog monster released a howl of pain and dissolved into a puddle of green goo. Misty blinked at it in surprise and then scrunched up her face in disgust. She looked away from the puddle, sweeping her eyes over everything.

Now that she was outside, she could see how awful the environment looked. The sky was the same green shade she had glimpsed in the decrepit convention center. That green substance she'd seen in the convention center was practically everywhere she looked. On top of that, it looked like entire sections of the earth had been carved out by an invisible hand. After getting her fill of what the future looked like, Misty directed her attention back over to the two fighters who had silently been watching her.

"So I have questions," she declared, putting her hands on her hips.

"About what we just fought?" Ben guessed.

"Sure, that's on the list. But I actually want to start there," Misty said, pointing her pointer finger up into the sky. "What is that?"

Up above the three was a giant green planet that was larger than the moon. Even from her spot on the ground, Misty could make out colorful planets literally smashed into the green core. The sky had been clear of a second planet for her five minutes ago, so it was quite the surprise to look up and see it there. Ben and Numbuh Five didn't have to look up to know what Misty was pointing at.

"That's Planet Fusion. It's run by a nasty guy named Lord Fuse. Fuse has covered the world in gross green goo we call Fusion Matter." At this, Numbuh Five pointed to the green material on the ground. "We call his minions Fusion Monsters and they're wrecking everything."

"They start off as Fusion Spawns, those little guys that chased you earlier," Ben added in, taking over. "The Spawns come from these things called Terrafusers and some can then evolve into uglier and deadlier monsters, like that Cyberus we just took down. The Terrafusers also get the double duty of infecting our planet. If Fuse can infect our planet enough, he'll be able to absorb it."

"We've done what we could to fight back, but it's been a losing battle," Numbuh Five took over once again. "According to Dexter, the planet's at a seventy percent infection rate, and it's only getting higher."

Misty thought over the information in silence. Whenever she had thought of the future, she had always figured things would get better. That's how progress worked. Hearing that the planet was doomed from an alien invasion was troubling news and ignited something inside of the girl.

"Okay, so how can I help?"

"Help?" Ben and Numbuh Five parroted in unison.

"Well, duh. I can't not help after hearing some creepy alien wants to absorb my planet. I kind of live here, ya know?" Misty responded, making it sound like the most obvious answer in the world. "Besides, I've already included myself in this since I helped take down that Cyberus. I'm already in it, so there's no turning back for me."

Ben and Numbuh Five looked back at each other, still surprised by how quickly Misty went from hearing the story on Fuse to wanting to help in the fight against him. At their silence, Misty began tapping her foot impatiently and raised an eyebrow expectantly at them.

"Well?" she demanded.

Ben broke out into a grin at the girl's moxie. Their side had so many losses that many of their fighters - even the best of the heroes - had become jaded and dispirited. Even Bubbles had a hard time keeping people's spirits up, and she was basically the definition of bubbly. Misty's lack of hesitation to throw herself into the fight felt like a second wind that had him energized.

"We were sent here to grab anything that could be salvaged before heading back to Sector V," Ben explained. "We still have our mission to pull off, so you'll need to go to Numbuh Two and see what you can do to help."

Misty smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Before you go, you'll need this," Numbuh Five said, pulling something out of her pocket.

Misty blinked at the glove Numbuh Five held out to her. It was black and fingerless. From the knuckles to the wrist was metal attached to it like it was armor for the glove, and on this metal, embedded to it, was a circular screen. Misty took the accessory and slid it on her right hand, surprised that it fit so snuggly. Misty flipped the new add on back and forth, admiring it.

"You gave me a glove?" she inquired.

"We call it a NanoCom," Ben explained. "Think of it like a phone on the back of your hand, but it does more than that."

"We don't have time to go over what it does right now," Numbuh Five said when she saw Misty open her mouth. "When this is over, Numbuh Five can tell ya how your NanoCom works. For now, Ben and Numbuh Five have other things to take care of."

Misty closed her mouth, looking slightly annoyed that her questions weren't going to be answered further. However, she hadn't missed the urgency in Numbuh Five's tone, and merely nodded her head in understanding.

"Okay, fine," she agreed. "Where's Numbuh Two then?"

"See that S.C.A.M.P.E.R.?" Ben asked her, pointing at a green camper-looking vehicle that had jets on the side. "He's going to be over there."

"Right, thanks. See you later."

With her next destination in sight, Misty ran across the Fusion Matter infected landscape to the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. She kept her eyes open for any possible attack from Fuse's minions, but she was incredibly lucky that nothing interfered with her. She didn't see anyone when she arrived at the vehicle, so she walked around the side and found a boy in a helmet standing there. Misty was surprised because she recognized him from the DexLabs' showcase, while the boy was surprised because of her sudden appearance.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Misty," she responded. "You're Numbuh Two, yeah? Numbuh Five and Ben sent me here."

"Huh, you look familiar."

"I'm the girl Dexter sent into the future."

"Oh!" Numbuh Two said, slapping a fist onto his palm. "That's right! Wow, I didn't think you'd end up here."

"Well I am now, and I'm here to help," Misty said.

"That's great, because we need all the help we can get. This was supposed to be a stealth mission, but an Oil Ogre suddenly appeared and stole the S.C.A.M.P.E.R.'s transmitter," Numbuh Two said. "This attack was no accident."

Misty blinked in confusion because typically attacks weren't accidents in general; they were done on purpose. She kept that thought to herself and instead asked, "What does it want with a transmitter?"

"The Oil Ogre is using the stolen transmitter to broadcast our position, letting all the neighboring Fusion Monsters know our location. I need you to find that monster and get that transmitter! You ready?"

"Sure," Misty agreed. "But, uh... what's an Oil Ogre look like?"

"It's going to be a giant, slimy green looking monster. It'll have exhaust pipes attached to the back," Numbuh Two described.

"Okay, that should be easy to recognize," Misty commented. "I'll be back in a jiff."

Misty ran away from the S.C.A.M.P.E.R., swiveling her head left and right in search of her target. For an area that was supposed to be under attack, there was hardly any monster at all. Which made it that much easier for Misty to spot the Oil Ogre. It was uglier than Misty had imagined, though she could see where its name came from. The Oil Ogre wasn't that far from the S.C.A.M.P.E.R., which made sense since it was using the stolen transmitter to tattle on its enemy's location.

The Oil Ogre hadn't yet spotted the girl despite them both being out in the open, so Misty raised her new rifle and fired a bolt of lightning at the monster. The monster roared when it was hit by the lightning, and spun around to confront its attacker. The Oil Ogre used its large hands to scoot itself forward, approaching Misty rapidly. She kept her aim level and pressed down on the trigger continuously, sending bolt after bolt after bolt at the Oil Ogre. It loomed over her, easily twice as tall as her, and smelling way worse than she thought. It raised a hand up, ready to slam it down on the girl, but another bolt of lightning to the chest turned the Oil Ogre into a puddle. The puddle existed on the ground for a second before it suddenly shot at Misty, being sucked into NanoCom. Misty eyed the device on the back of her hand.

"Okay, another question for the list," she said to herself. "It's going to have to wait. Gotta grab that transmitter."

She didn't know what a transmitter looked like, but assumed it was the mechanical device sitting on the paved road. It was the only tech out in the open, and was in the same vicinity where the Oil Ogre had been. And on the off chance it wasn't the transmitter, she'd just ask Numbuh Two what it looked like and go find it again.

Numbuh Two wasn't alone when Misty returned to the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. Hovering just inches off the pavement was the Powerpuff Girls' strongest fighter, Buttercup. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but the two were speaking in stressed tones and their hands were gesticulating quite a bit for a normal conversation. When neither acknowledged her presence, she dramatically cleared her throat to get their attention. The boy looked delighted by her return, but the girl was confused on her appearance.

"Found it," Misty announced, holding out the device to Numbuh Two.

"Fantastic!" Numbuh Two said, taking the item off her hand. "Good work defeating the monster. You've been a big help."

"Who exactly are you?" Buttercup questioned. "All civilians were evacuated long ago."

"She's the time machine girl," Numbuh Two answered in Misty's stead.

"Time machine girl does have a name," Misty complained under her breath.

Only Buttercup caught the complaint and snapped her head back in her direction.

"Okay, what's your name then?" Buttercup asked.

Right, super hearing, Misty thought to herself, doing a mental slap. Aloud, she responded with, "Misty Cull."

"She may be able to help," Numbuh Two said to Buttercup.

Misty perked at the words, but deflated when she saw Buttercup sharply shake her head.

"No way. It's too dangerous."

"Uh, can I know what it is before you decide that?" Misty requested.

Buttercup's rejection was drowned out by Numbuh Two's explanation.

"Dexter's in trouble. He went after a Fusion and is now trapped in an infected zone. No one's been able to get to him."

"Not even a Powerpuff?" Misty questioned.

Buttercup narrowed her eyes in annoyance at the question and crossed her arms.

"No, okay? So if I can't save him then it's definitely too dangerous for you to do so, got it?"

Misty hummed for a second, tapping her finger against the corner of her lips. After a couple seconds of silence, Misty directed her attention on Numbuh Two.

"What's an infected zone?" she asked.

"The most infected areas on the planet are called infected zones," Buttercup answered in Numbuh Two's place. "Thanks to Fuse's Terrafuser machines, Fusion Matter is totally out of control inside, so Dexter set up energy shields to contain the infection."

Misty made a big show of looking around their environment, her gray eyes hitting every bit of infection on the ground. She then redirected her gaze back onto Buttercup and lifted up her eyebrow to silently say you sure about that chief? The green Powerpuff Girl glowered at the girl, her hands balling up into fists in her aggravation.

"There isn't any time for this," Numbuh Two broke in, holding up his hands in front of both girls to prevent them from fighting. "While you two are out here arguing, Dexter could be in big trouble."

"So point me in the direction of the infected zone and I'll go rescue him," Misty said.

"I already told you-"

"It's dangerous for me, yeah, yeah, I heard you," Misty responded flippantly. "But we aren't going to know until I try."

Buttercup opened her mouth for another argument, but stopped when Numbuh Two held up his hand to her.

"We have to let her try," Numbuh Two beseeched. "Besides, I have a good feeling about her."

Buttercup frowned. She looked like she wanted to argue against Numbuh Two's good feeling but never did. Instead she groaned and closed her eyes in defeat.

"Fine," she groaned. "I'll take you to the infected zone."

Misty followed the flying Powerpuff, though they didn't go very far. The infected zone was only a short distance from the S.C.A.M.P.E.R., which made the escorting seem a little unnecessary. She saw the energy shield Buttercup had mentioned, and was able to see past the shield to the inside of the zone. It looked bonkers inside. She could spot a mini-lake of Fusion Matter water covering the majority of the zone, and above the water were floating boards.

"The gravity inside the zones are totally messed up because of the Fusion Matter," Buttercup explained. "Blossom and Dexter know all the science behind it, but all I know - and what you need to know - is that the Fusion Matter is dangerous. Aside from messing with gravity, it's toxic to the skin and will burn if you touch it."

Misty frowned as she thought back to when she touched the patch of Fusion Matter and when she had kicked the Spawn with her sandal, and the resulting burning feeling from both events.

"Because of the dangers, Dexbots were set up to portal people in," Buttercup continued to explain, pointing at a Dexbot sitting atop a circular platform. "Only people with NanoComs can get in, however. You've got one of those, right?"

Misty held up her right hand, showing off the NanoCom. Buttercup looked disappointed, like she was hoping this would be a way to stop Misty from going inside. Seeing the device left her feeling defeated.

"Okay, then you can go in."

Misty stepped up to Buttercup and tested her luck. She patted the girl on the arm, surprising the superheroine.

"Don't worry about me. I survived a trip to the future, so I don't plan on dying here," Misty said in an attempt to encourage her.

When Buttercup didn't offer anything in response, Misty patted her arm a second time and then walked toward the platform. She was halfway up the ramp when Buttercup called out to her again.

"Hey, Cull," Buttercup called. "Good luck."

Misty closed one eye and flashed Buttercup a thumb's up. "I don't need luck. I'm Misty Cull," she said with an accompanying smirk.

Misty stepped onto the platform fully, approaching the Dexbot stationed on it.

"Nice weather we are having," the Dexbot greeted.

Misty recognized the dialogue as one of the many canned responses the Dexbots gave when interacting with the public. She found the dialogue to be slightly disturbing because of how cheerful it sounded despite the dark green sky above them and all the Fusion Matter infecting the ground.

"Send me in," she instructed the robot, holding up the NanoCom for it to see.

"Prepare for transport," the Dexbot responded.

In a flash of light, Misty was transported from the outside to inside the infected zone. She was standing on an identical platform with a different Dexbot operating it.

"Where should I go now?" she asked herself, looking around the infected zone.

It looked the same on the inside as what she had noticed on the outside. A giant bulbous green thing looking like a brain was tucked into a corner of the zone. Floating wood created a bridge over the Fusion Matter lake, just as she had seen from outside. The only other thing she noticed in the infected zone were green tendrils waving to and fro on the other side of the wooden bridge.

"Might as well check there," she said.

She stepped off the platform and then hopped onto the first floating wooden board. She crossed the wooden bridge, careful to not fall in to the green waters below. Misty made it to the other side no problem, coming to a stop on the last floating board that was situated just before the green tendrils.

It's like it wants me to go here, Misty thought.

She stepped onto the green portal and felt the tendrils wrap around her and fill her vision in green. When the green went away, she found herself in an underground cavern. Compared to the surface world, there didn't seem to be as much Fusion Matter in the underground cavern. She looked around in confusion before spotting that she wasn't alone.

"Hey is that...?" she whispered to herself, squinting her eyes so she could see better. Louder, she called out, "Hey! Dexter!"

The boy she had called to spun around, his mouth dropping open in surprise.

"Wh-who?" Dexter asked. His eyes widened when he saw Misty running toward him. "It's you! You've arrived!"

"Yep! Your experiment was a success," Misty said, standing in front of him. "Now let's go. Buttercup and Numbuh Two are looking for you."

"We cannot go just yet," Dexter said. "We're in Fusion Buttercup's lair and cannot leave until she's been defeated. If we do not put a stop to her, she'll continue to cause more damage."

"Hold on. What's a Fusion Buttercup?" Misty asked.

"Ah, yes, right. Ahem," Dexter said, coughing into his fist as he prepared for his explanation. "Fusions are dark, twisted versions of this planet's people - heroes, villains, animals, and ordinary citizens alike. They are extremely dangerous, but I think you can handle it."

"Uhm, yeah, back up though. You said this is a Fusion Buttercup? Like the Powerpuff Girl Buttercup?" Misty inquired.

"That is correct."

"Okay. I fought against the Oil Ogre and the three headed doggie and came out of it alive, but you want me to fight a Powerpuff? Do you hear yourself?"

"While a Powerpuff Fusion is terrifying, she does not have the full strength or abilities like her original does," Dexter said. "And as I've stated, I believe you can handle the Fusion."

Misty looked at Dexter like he had lost his mind before sagging her shoulders and sighing in defeat.

"Okay, fine. We'll go fight this Fusion Buttercup," Misty agreed.

Dexter looked pleased by her agreement and pulled out a giant wrench that had to be held in two hands. Without a word he spun around and turned around the bend, Misty following behind at his heels. Waiting for them around the corner, hovering near a DexLabs platform, was the Fusion. She looked exactly like Buttercup except with some big differences. The Fusion's skin was the same green goo like the Fusion Spawns, and her red eyes the same as all of Fuse's minions. The Fusion's clothes were all black instead of the green color scheme Buttercup wore.

Dexter ran at the Fusion with his weapon held up high over his head. The Fusion snarled and flew at the boy genius, throwing out punches. Dexter deflected the hits with his wrench. Because her weapon was a ranged weapon, Misty hung back and fired lightning at the enemy. She kept one eye on the Fusion and the other on Dexter; she didn't want to accidentally electrocute the latter and so she made sure to fire at the Fusion's back. The Fusion spun around to rush at Misty, but this left her open for a hit by Dexter and his wrench. Fusion Buttercup roared at the hit and threw a punch at the boy genius that managed to get past his defenses. The punch got him in the chest and sent him flying back until he hit the wall of the cavern.

"You alive?!" Misty called to the boy.

"Yes...although that hurt!" Dexter answered, getting back onto his feet.

Fusion Buttercup decided to leave Dexter at the wall and rushed at Misty, panicking the girl. Misty kept firing her lightning bolts at the Fusion, managing to connect all the hits since it was pretty impossible to deflect the lightning. When Fusion Buttercup was almost upon her, Misty did a tuck and roll, getting herself away from the attacker. She immediately brought herself up to her knee and fired at the Fusion from behind. It took three shots, but the Fusion monster finally screamed out in pain as it dissolved into Fusion Matter. Instead of disappearing into Misty's NanoCom, it instead formed into a new shape. Right before Misty's eyes, the shape solidified into a miniature version of Buttercup.

Misty blinked in surprise as the miniature Buttercup flexed, hopped around midair, and then floated over to hover by Misty. The purple-haired girl looked at the miniature Buttercup for a moment before opening her mouth in surprise.

"Uhhhhhh...?"

"Congratulations," Dexter said, approaching Misty. "You have made your first Nano."

"Nano?" Misty parroted.

"Yes, that is what Mandark and I coined them," Dexter answered. "They are the answer to defeating Fuse."

"This little thing?" Misty asked, pointing a finger at the Nano.

Nano Buttercup looked offended by the comment and pointed back at her.

"Who you calling small!" she snapped.

"Don't be discouraged by her size," Dexter said with a humored grin. "She may be small, but she is powerful."

Nano Buttercup puffed out her chest in pride, pleased by the compliment. Misty flicked her eyes between the two before shrugging.

"Well, if you say so," she said. "It's better to have a Buttercup on my side over fighting one."

All of a sudden, the cavern shook all around them. The force was so strong it knocked the two humans off their feet. Nano Buttercup hovered safely in the air, though she had to cover her head with her arms to protect herself from dirt falling from the ceiling above.

"That does not sound good!" Dexter shouted, getting back on his feet.

"What's happening?" Misty asked.

"Tech Square is too unstable. It's sinking into the sea," Dexter said. "You can escape to DexLabs using the warp gate I have set up." He pointed at the platform behind him, which explained why it was in the underground cavern.

"What about you?" Misty asked.

"I must stay and search this area to make sure Fusion Buttercup did not steal anything from my headquarters," Dexter answered. "I will catch up afterward. Now go!"

Misty looked at her new Nano for an opinion, but the Nano merely shrugged back unhelpfully. With a sigh, Misty nodded in agreement and ran for the platform. The ground shook again, almost throwing her off her feet, but she managed to stay upright and ran up the ramp onto the platform.

"Get me out of here!" she ordered the Dexbot.

In a flash she was taken out of the underground cavern and found herself standing on the walkway of DexLabs' building, which was very surprising. She looked out over the side, sucking in a breath when she realized how high up in the air she was. Then, she gasped in shock as she watched the ground beneath skyscrapers fall into the sea. Dexter was right: the island was disappearing into the sea like Atlantis! She looked around in fright. How was she supposed to get down? She couldn't fly!

Her answer came as the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. landed on the other side of the walkway. The side door slid open, and Numbuh Two poked his head out.

"Tech Square isn't going to hold anymore! Get to the S.C.A.M.P.E.R.! Hurry!" he shouted, waving his arm to beckon her.

Didn't have to tell her twice. She started running on the bridge, but came to a sudden halt as a mechanical batlike creature suddenly landed in front of her. Misty released a scream and fell onto her butt. The mechanical creature growled at her, snapping its mechanical jaw at her. She made to raise her Lightning Gun, but Nano Buttercup flew forward, putting herself in between Misty and the monster.

"Miss Fire!" Nano Buttercup yelled, aiming her two open palms at the monster.

Fire erupted from the open palms and shot at the monster. The Fusion Monster roared out in pain and seemed to be stuck in midair, its head spinning around. Nano Buttercup flew back to Misty's side and grabbed the girl's arm. She began tugging on the arm incessantly.

"Run!" Nano Buttercup yelled.

"Right!"

Misty got back on her feet and ran under the monster's flapping wings. She ran at her fastest speed across the bridge and leapt into the S.C.A.M.P.E.R., hearing the door slid shut behind her. She sat on her butt and spun around, looking at Numbuh Two. The K.N.D. operative looked back at her with a frown before he went to the vehicles' controls. Misty watched him for a second before taking note of who was in the vehicle with her. Numbuh Five was sitting in one of the S.C.A.M.P.E.R.'s chairs, and a Japanese man who looked to be a samurai sat cross legged in the back of the vehicle. A pile of greyish-brown metal parts was thrown haphazardly into one of the vehicle's corners, but Misty couldn't make out what the metal was or what it used to be. Maybe it was the important equipment Ben and Numbuh Five had mentioned.

"We need to get out of here," Numbuh Two said, flying the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. away from the bridge.

"Wait, Dexter..."

"It's too late," Numbuh Two interrupted. "Buttercup and the rest weren't able to handle the Terrafusers in time, and now Tech Square is sinking. The only thing we can do is get back to the airship and regroup."

The ride up to the airship was silent with the knowledge that Tech Square was lost. Misty especially felt a sense of dread and guilt pool up at the bottom of her stomach. When the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. touched down on the airship's deck and Misty hopped off, she felt that dread balloon when she saw there were no other S.C.A.M.P.E.R.s or flying vehicles except for theirs. The only person waiting for them was Buttercup, and there was a grave look on her face.

"We've got a message from Dexter," she said as soon as the four passengers stepped out of the S.C.A.M.P.E.R.

A giant projector was sitting next to her, and everyone fanned around it so they could see the message. Numbuh Five pressed a button on the side of the projector, and Dexter's image appeared as a hologram.

"I am sending this message as my final one. I have unfortunately fallen to our enemy's hands," Dexter's message began.

Misty slapped her hand over her mouth to smother her gasp. The faces of the others fell at the confirmation.

"Despite our best efforts, Tech Square has been lost. But this war is not over yet, not by a long shot. I believe that Misty is the hero we need to end this war."

Misty's mouth dropped open in surprise by the faith Dexter had in her. Where had that come from!? She knew the kid for all of, like, five minutes!

"She is the key to all of this. Between Mandark and Numbuh Two, I am sure you will be able to rebuild my time capsule and send her back to the past. It is already too late for me, but you need to get back to Sector V, where you will be safe. Dexter, out."

The hologram disappeared. No one said a word as they took the time to process the moment. Misty, in particular, was processing the fact that Dexter, a boy she didn't even know, was putting total faith in her in ending this war with an alien invader. She was all for helping out, but ending the war! Talk about expectations and pressure.

The silence was interrupted by the projector making a beeping noise. Numbuh Two startled into awareness and pressed the button Numbuh Five had pressed moments before. Instead of a projection of Dexter, it was Mandark looking at them.

"I assume you've already seen the message?" Mandark questioned, though Misty felt it came out as a statement. His eyes fell on Misty and he squinted behind his glasses. "You're the girl he was talking about? The time-traveler from his botched experiment?"

Misty narrowed her eyes back at the evil genius. While she did enjoy being remembered as the girl who traveled through time, she was getting pretty tired of everyone forgetting she had a name. You'd think if they were going to know she was part of the experiment they'd have the human decency to recall her name.

"First of all, the time-traveler has a name. It's Misty Cull," Misty said, holding up one finger. She then held up a second finger. "Second of all, it wasn't botched. I'm clearly in the future."

"Yes, six months in fact," Mandark responded sardonically.

Misty blinked owlishly. Her brain short circuited and rebooted. "S-six months?"

"You didn't think Fuse was able to do all this in a measly five minutes?" Mandark asked sarcastically.

"Obviously not," Misty defended herself, though her cheeks were stained red out of embarrassment. She had questioned how far Dexter had sent her into the future, but six months was such a surprise. She had figured, once she saw how unchanged Ben looked, that not much time had passed. "I guessed it was a month, two months tops."

Mandark looked unimpressed and seemed to dismiss Misty further since he directed his gaze to Numbuh Two.

"Given that my laboratory is in an infected zone, we'll have to rebuild it in your treehouse," Mandark stated.

Numbuh Two nodded in agreement. "Will we meet you there?"

"No," Mandark answered while scrunching up his nose. "I have another matter to look into. Once you've collected all the materials for the time machine, I'll join you in rebuilding it to make sure it works."

"How're we supposed to know how to build it if Dexter isn't here?" Numbuh Five questioned, raising a skeptical eyebrow at the genius.

"Consult with Computress; she was his assistant," Mandark suggested in exasperation. "I'm sure she has a list of materials needed, as well as the blueprints for the machine." His glasses dripped to the end of his nose almost dramatically. "I shouldn't have to stress how time is of the essence here."

"A time machine is being built to send me to the past. Don't we have time?" Misty questioned.

Mandark eyed her in annoyance. "It doesn't work like that. With Tech Square's sinking, all of Downtown is lost. Only parts of the Suburbs remain."

Misty's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.

"Nowhere else? What about the Nowhere Desert? Or Twisted Jungle?" Misty asked.

"Sunk like Atlantis to the bottom of the Fusion Matter Sea," Mandark responded. "The Suburbs is the sole continent of the world."

"Actually, the Suburbs should be classified as archipelagos," Numbuh Two butted in. "Ya know, since they're not actually in one piece but actually eight islands connected by bridges."

Mandark looked irritated by the correction, but he didn't argue with Numbuh Two. It wasn't worth his time to argue over what the land mass should be classified as. Looking over at the newcomer, it seemed it wasn't necessary; from the way her mouth was dropped open, Misty got the seriousness of the situation.

"So as you can see, Miss Cull," Mandark addressed sarcastically, "we're on a tight schedule. We only have one chance to fix everything and prevent Fuse from consuming our planet. Don't take it lightly."

"Hey, watch your tone, pal," Nano Buttercup spoke up, defending Misty.

Misty smiled in thanks at her new Nano, who grinned back in solidarity. Mandark rolled his eyes at the Nano. He directed his attention back on Numbuh Two.

"Just get to Sector V and get started on collecting the materials," Mandark ordered. "Mandark, out."

His hologram disappeared, but not before Misty and Nano Buttercup were able to stick their tongues out at him.

"You heard him, folks," Numbuh Two said. "Next stop: Sector V!"

Chapter Text

Achieving anything as long as our heart's resolved

Believing will make it so

- "Indomitable", Jeff Williams feat. Casey Lee Williams

Ranger Eugene couldn't catch his breath as he made a mad dash for the Cardboard Fortress that protected the Cul-de-Sac. Hot on his heels was a pack of Painsaws. He didn't have to look behind him to know he hadn't been able to shake them; their chainsaw for hands made a loud enough noise for him to hear. He ran his eyes over the fortress' walls, looking for the easiest climbing paths. Normally, a person would enter the fortress by the opening that he typically guarded, but given the situation, Eugene knew he was going to have to make a climb for it. He didn't want to bring his pursuers into the last sanctuary on the planet. Besides, as far as he knew, Painsaws couldn't climb.

Eugene was so busy imagining which path to take that he wasn't watching the ground he was running on. A medium size rock appeared in his pathway, and caught his shoe, throwing him off balance. He fell forward and managed to turn it into a roll that had him bumping into the fortress' wall. He groaned but didn't bother pushing himself upward or making a run for it. The shadows descending over him already told him there was no escape.

This is it, he thought miserably, curling himself up into the fetal position.

Urban Ranger Leader Rolf would be so disappointed in him. He had expected the best out of all his Urban Rangers, and here was one of his subordinates curled up in a fetal position like a baby. If Rolf was around, he would have chewed out the boy for his weakness. The Urban Ranger Leader was going to have to wait for Eugene to join him in order to express that disappointment. Eugene screwed his eyes shut and prayed that it'd be fast. Over the sounds of twelve revving chainsaws, he heard the monsters cry out in pain. He peeked out from behind his fingers, watching as the three Painsaws turned away from him and began advancing on a different target. Eugene pushed himself into a sitting position so that he could get a better view of the fight.

A girl older than him by a few years stood with a Nano Eduardo hovering over her shoulder. In her hands was a Proton Meta Mace, held in a battle-ready position. The girl wore a smirk on her face, looking unafraid of the approaching monsters, unlike Eugene who had been terrified. Just as the Painsaws were within her reach, she swung the mace back and then at the monsters, hitting all three of them in one go. The monsters stumbled back from the force, which opened them for another strike from the girl and her mace. At the same time that she brought the mace down on them, her Nano Eduardo released a terrifying roar. The Painsaws recoiled like they'd been hit, and their stance seemed to droop like their energy had been sapped. The monsters made a valiant attempt at attacking their target, but she masterfully parried the strikes and gave them all another whack with her weapon. The monsters let out their death cry and dissolved into a pile of Fusion Matter that was sucked up into the girl's NanoCom.

"Heck yeah!" the girl cheered with a wide grin spread across her face. She held up her hand to the Nano. "Way to go little guy! High five!"

"¡Chócalas!" the Nano said with enthusiasm, slapping his tiny hoof against the girl's palm.

The girl giggled at her Nano's enthusiasm and sent her weapon into the NanoCom. She then turned her attention to the Urban Ranger still curled up on the ground. She walked over and crouched down beside him, getting to his eye level.

"Hey, you good?" she questioned him.

Eugene didn't realize he was staring at the fearless girl with his mouth hung open. He simply couldn't help it. At first he had stared at her in amazement that she, with just a mace and a Nano, faced down three monsters without a hint of fear. Now that he was able to see her close up, he stared at her in awestruck. It was her uniquely colored hair that made him suddenly realize who this mysterious girl was. This wasn't just some random girl; she was a somebody.

She was the hope for the future. She was the girl who traveled through time. She was Misty Cull.

Misty raised an eyebrow at the Urban Ranger, waiting for some sort of response from him. She waved her hand in front of his eyes, hoping that the motion would shock him back from wherever he spaced off to. It proved futile, so she drew back her hand, stood on her feet, and shared a what now look with her Nano. The Nano shrugged his furry shoulders back at her, just as perplexed on how to proceed with the comatose boy as she was.

"So, listen, I have to get going," Misty began. "I'm heading inside, so I'm not going to be able to stand around and protect you from the monsters all day. Unless you've got something to fight with, I'd really suggest coming with me so you'll be safe, 'kay?" She waited a full minute for a response, but the Urban Ranger continued to stare in silence. "Uh… okay, bye."

She started to walk away from him, which finally triggered him back to reality. Eugene blinked a few times and then tripped over himself to catch up with her. She hadn't gotten very far, which made his efforts to catch up with her unnecessarily dramatic.

"Wow! I can't believe I was saved by Miss Cull," Eugene thanked.

"Just Misty will be fine. I'm not that old," Misty corrected. "Actually, I don't think I'm much older than you. What are you? Eleven? Twelve?"

"Thirteen."

"Yeah, okay, only three years. So no 'miss' business," Misty said.

"Right, ma'am," the Urban Ranger agreed.

Misty huffed and rolled her eyes. She didn't feel willing to go over it again since clearly he was too much of a blockhead to understand, so she merely let it drop. She had never been more pleased than when the two turned the corner and came upon the Plank-inspired doors that protected the fortress during the night. She stepped through the partially opened doors with Eugene following close on her heels. She stopped just inside, spinning around so she could address Eugene directly.

"Okay, you're safe now. I have things to do, so this is where we're parting," Misty said, laying out the facts.

"W-wait! How can I repay you?" Eugene asked.

"No payment," Misty responded over her shoulder as she continued further into the Cul-de-Sac. "Beating up Fuse's monsters is totally free."

Since she wasn't in need of a Nano, Misty sent Nano Eduardo into her NanoCom so he could rest. She didn't look back at the boy she had saved, making her miss the heart eyes he made as he stared at her retreating figure.

"She's amazing," he sighed wistfully.

"Hey! Eugene! What do you think you're doing?" his troop leader, Charles, demanded as the ranger stomped over to the boy.

"Oh, sorry troop leader!" Eugene apologized, quickly scrambling to attention and performing the Urban Ranger hand salute. "I was just saved by an angel."

Charles huffed and rolled his eyes.

"Uh-huh, an angel," he remarked sarcastically.

"No, really," Eugene protested. "I was! It was Misty. She saved me. Look!" He pointed to Misty's figure.

Charles stepped forward until he was standing next to Eugene. He shaded his eyes and squinted so that he could see what Eugene was pointing to. Then his eyes opened wide in surprise.

"Whoa," Charles gasped. "It's really her. You actually got saved by Misty Cull!"

"I know!" Eugene was practically hopping in place in excitement. "Isn't it amazing!?"

Many had noticed Misty's presence in the Cul-de-Sac and stopped to stare at her with their mouths hung slightly open. Misty ignored all their stares, having become used to people looking at her. She had simply assumed people were still getting used to her being a time-traveller. She wasn't aware that they were staring at her because she was a celebrity in their eyes.

Misty's popularity was known to everybody except the girl herself. It was brought about by a great many factors. For one, it was her status as the girl who had travelled through time, and appropriately the girl who would go back to that time. Mandark had wanted to keep the time-travel plans a secret to avoid Fuse finding out their final Hail Mary, but working with someone like Eddy guaranteed everyone would hear about it, and so the cat was out of the bag. Another was how much work she did. From sunup to sundown, Misty was always running around somewhere doing something for someone. But the biggest factor into her popularity was her demeanor.

For a girl who had been thrust far further into the future than she'd anticipated, Misty was taking the whole almost-everybody-you-know-and-don't-know-is-dead-and-the-planet-is-dying-by-an-evil-alien-overlord-and-his-invasion thing quite well; almost distirubingly well. She would have been forgiven for being overwhelmed by everything that had happened to her since arriving at the Battle of Tech Square, or depressed upon learning her parents had parished sometime after the invasion began and her home and sunk into the Fusion Matter Ocean. Yet to the surprise of all, Misty had merely shook off the moment and got down to work.

Misty was diving head first into the future, but she didn't completely blend in, and it was noticeable to everyone she encountered. Although she was wearing clothes picked from a discarded pile that Numbuh Five had managed to secure, she still didn't look like she belonged to the current time. She was too new; too fresh. It wasn't just from what she wore, but from how she acted. She wasn't pale or miserable looking like the people that had lived through the months she'd lost. She wasn't weighed down by anguish or defeat, and so she always stood proudly with her shoulders back compared to the slumping shoulders of her fellow compatriots. And then there was that smile she always wore. No matter the situation, if she was talking to an Urban Ranger or if she was knocking heads with her Proton Mace, Misty wore a smile. Many had forgotten what it was like to smile, and seeing hers usually inspired them into action. Merely seeing her doing her all, knowing she was the hope for their future, inspired many of the downtrodden fighters and lifted their spirits. It wasn't enough to change the tides of war, but it made the days just a little easier to handle.

"Hey! Cull! I need you to run another assignment," Eddy shouted from his place at his faux throne.

"Hard pass, baldy," Misty replied immediately, pulling up her holographic map.

"Oh, come on! I'll even give you a cut of the profits," Eddy said.

"Refer to my earlier response," Misty answered. "Besides, I'm already running a job."

"For who? That Powerpuff? She can get her own map," Eddy retaliated, waving his hand dismissively as he said it.

Misty ignored the scam artist. He hadn't left a good impression on her when he hit on her the first time she stepped foot in the cardboard fortress. Aside from him being three years younger than her, the pick up lines he'd dropped on her were so sleazy it had her skin crawling. In retaliation, she'd left a print the size of her hand against his left cheek. After she'd obtained his homemade gross paste for the time machine, she'd wiped her hands clean of the boy and refused to do a job for him. She just felt bad that someone as nice as Eduardo had to hang around with someone as greedy and annoying as Eddy. That Imaginary Friend was a saint in her eyes for putting up with the short stack.

"Bah, whatever. What are you even here for? Hiding from some monsters?" Eddy mocked as he fell back into his throne.

"Pretty sure that's what you're doing," Misty challenged. "When's the last time you stepped outside these walls?"

Eddy gnawed at his bottom lip while glaring at the girl. Misty smirked at him in victory and then spun on her heel, disengaging from further conversation with the greedy teenager. She consulted her map, did a quick survey of the area, and brightened when she found a Plumber standing behind a stall that was manned by an Urban Ranger. She walked in that direction, moving her attention off of the Plumber standing at attention and onto the vortex that was swirling beside the Plumber.

Misty stopped just at the edge of the swirling vortex. Her eyebrows knitted together as she inspected the rip in space time. Her confusion was plain as day on her face.

"Is something the matter, ma'am?" Plumber Barney asked respectfully to the girl.

"No. I mean nothing's the matter. Just surprised it's so small," Misty replied. "The one in Genius Grove was like twice as big as this little thing." She then shrugged her shoulders. "But oh well, it doesn't really matter. According to Mandark, it only needs to transfer a message."

Misty opened her inventory and brought out a small gun-like looking object. It was lightweight, and no bigger than the Custard Buster. It had a simple looking LED screen that had a knob attached beneath the screen. She pressed a button on the side of the gun and then pointed it at the swirling vortex. A light streamed out of the device and into the vortex.

"Alright, two down, three to go," Misty said out loud, sending the device back into her NanoCom's inventory.

"Ma'am, a moment!" Plumber Barney entreated.

"Can you all cut the ma'am stuff? You make me sound old," Misty complained.

"I'm tracking some unusual chrono readings," Plumber Barney said informatively, ignoring the girl's complaint.

"Yeah, I just sent a message into the wormhole," Misty said, pointing at the wormhole. "You just watched me do it."

"I don't mean this wormhole, ma'am," Plumber Barney said. "It seems like the remaining three wormholes are giving off some unusual readings. I don't know what it means exactly."

"Okay, then keep your eyes on the readings and send any significant changes to Mandark," Misty replied. "Actually, you better send it off to Computress. She'll be more forthcoming."

"Of course, ma'am!" Plumber Barney barked while he saluted her.

Misty couldn't hold back her huff and decided to disengage from the conversation. She still had three more wormholes to pass information through. Aside from collecting pieces for the time machine, she considered this one of the most important missions she'd been tasked with.

Even if she didn't feel Mandark was the nicest when asking her to do this mission.

Misty stood in front of the infected zone that encased Mandark's home and lab, exactly as Mandark had instructed her. She was supposed to be meeting with the villainous boy genius, but after five minutes of standing there, the bowl cut boy never arrived. Misty's lips dipped into a frown as the minutes passed.

"Hey Dexbot, where's Mandark?" Misty asked the only 'soul' in the area.

"I do not know," the Dexbot responded.

Misty's brows burrowed in a show of her annoyance. She called up Mandark on her NanoCom. It took three rings before Mandark's image appeared on the holographic screen.

"Where have you been? I've been waiting for seventeen minutes," Mandark demanded.

Misty blinked at the other's audacity and furrowed her eyebrows together in a sign of annoyance. Since the first time they held a conversation on DexLab's aircarrier, Misty and Mandark had never seen eye to eye. Everytime they interacted with each other, they were always at each other's throats. Something about the boy always rubbed Misty the wrong way.

"You've been waiting? I'm the one who's been waiting! I'm in front of your house! Where are you?" Misty demanded back.

"With the time machine, building it," Mandark replied, dripping with sarcasm.

"You're supposed to be meeting me here," Misty countered.

"I am not," Mandark responded. "I said to go to my house."

"You said you'd meet me here," Misty snapped back, feeling her blood pressure rise.

"I'm busy with the time machine," Mandark countered flippantly. "Why would I waste my time meeting with you when it is better used working on this machine?"

Misty was so close to pulling out her hair, but she loved it too much to do such a thing. So instead, she settled for releasing a cry of frustration through her clenched teeth.

"Has anybody told you how insufferable you are?" Misty demanded testily.

Mandark's face fell and Misty was able to glimpse the sad, far away look that came into his eyes. It only lasted for a second before he rearranged his face into a blank slate, trying to hide how much her comment had hit him. But he had been to slow; Misty had seen it all.

"Not in a while," he replied.

Misty frowned. Although Mandark got on her nerves easily, she hadn't meant to hurt the guy. She had only been speaking out of frustration. Feeling bad for the wound she'd opened, she released a sigh of resignation.

"Okay, fine," she said. "Stay with the machine. What do you want me to do?"

"I need you to send messages to the past," Mandark explained.

Misty blinked. "Uhm, how? You're the one working on the time machine."

"Yes, I'm well aware," Mandark replied, his sarcasm starting to return. "We won't be using a time machine for this; you'll be using wormholes to send the messages through time."

"Hold it! If these wormholes can go through time, why don't I just hop into one of those and head into the past?" Misty inquired.

"Because the wormholes aren't strong enough to transport large matter," Mandark explained. "But with my Synchronization Engine, it can transport messages."

That name rang some bells in Misty's head. It took her a moment, but she finally pulled up the memory of where she'd heard that name before.

"Hey, wait a minute. Didn't Numbuh Five have me collect pieces of a Synchronization Engine because some monsters broke it?" Misty inquired.

"That is correct," Mandark replied. "My company designed the device before it fell into the enemy's hands." He pushed up the bottom of his glasses with the heel of his palm, a glare momentarily taking over the lens. "I hate to admit it, but Numbuh Two managed to repair it back to its original state. Although it is necessary to the time machine, I can part with it just long enough for you to deliever the messages."

"Okay," Misty said, slowly following along. "So I'm going to be a postal worker?"

"Essentially," Mandark said. "You will be sending five messages. One will obviously go to myself. The others will go to Dexter, Ben Tennyson, Double D, and Mojo Jojo."

Misty squinted at Mandark's image. "Okay, I get you, Dexter, and Ben. What about the last two?"

"Double D was the mastermind behind the Cul-de-Sac fortress, which relies on Imaginary Energy. He was looking into the matter, and even had the idea that there was something on Earth that could be used against Fuse," Mandark explained. "A Newspaper Ninja took him out before he could find it."

Misty frowned. "And Mojo?"

"His technology is far inferior to my work, but his Skyway Agents were a big travel advantage for the short period we had them," Mandark explained.

Misty nodded her head. She didn't feel good about sending a message to Mojo, but she could see the tactical reason behind it.

"Alright, so where's the wormhole?" Misty asked.

"The first is not far from your location," Mandark said. "Computress has put them on your map. You'll use the wormhole to send a message to Dexter. You'll use the wormhole in the Cul-de Sac to send a message to Double D. There's a wormhole in Hero Square to send a message to Ben Tennyson. A wormhole in the southern neighborhood of Pokey Oaks will be used to send a message to myself. And a wormhole in the junkyard is where you'll send a message to Mojo Jojo. I stationed Plumbers to be beside the wormholes, so if you somehow can't find it on the map, look for a Plumber standing beside it."

Misty listened to him list off each wormhole location, cross-referencing it on her map. The wormholes were spread apart pretty far, but not something Misty couldn't easily handle in under an hour.

"I'm sending my Synchronization Engine now. All the messages have been preprogrammed, so all you have to do is select the correct message and send it through the wormhole," Mandark replied. "It's so easy, even you can do it."

"You know if you're going to insult me, you can have someone else do this," Misty replied.

"You're already there, so might as well do it. Chop, chop," Mandark said before he terminated communication on his side.

Misty rolled her eyes. She checked her email, finding the tool Mandark had sent her. She moved it into her inventory, and then had it materialized in her hand, looking the device over. Because the monsters had broken it up into a Time Dampener, Chrono Capacitor, and Driving Casing, she had never seen it in a single piece. It wasn't very big, and reminded her of the Custard Buster. The only difference, aside from aesthetics, was the knob and LED screen at the rear of the device. She turned the knob, and Dexter's name popped up. She turned the knob again, and Double D's name popped up. She turned the knob backward, bringing Dexter's name up again.

"Alright, this is easy," she said. She then turned her attention back onto her NanoCom and pulled up her map, zooming in on the Genius Grove area. "Huh, the wormhole really isn't that far."

In fact, the wormhole was only an arm's length away from the edge of the land mass that made up Genius Grove. As Mandark had stated, a Plumber was waiting patiently for her arrival. Plumber Fred was waiting on the edge of the wormhole, and he ran up to meet her as she came closer to the temporal wormhole.

"Miss Cull, it's an honor!" the Plumber greeted.

Misty held in her eyeroll. "Just Misty's good."

She raised the Synchronization Engine and fired the message into the portal. A bright light transferred from the Synchronization Engine's muzzle into the spinning wormhole. After a second the light went away, though the wormhole remained. Misty checked her tool, and found that Dexter's message was no longer there.

"Guess it went through," Misty said. "Alright, time to get to the others."

Misty's normal mode of transportation, just like everyone's mode of transportation in the future, was her feet. Cars had long since been out of use and Mojo's Skyway Agents, which had apparently been a fast transportation option sometime during the start of the war, had disappeared with their master up in the northern wilds are were no longer an option. S.C.A.M.P.E.R.S. existed, but travelling by them was strictly prohibited. Fuel was running dangerously low, and the limited resources made it impossible to replish the supply. Besides, there wasn't much land left to the planet for them to rely on the S.C.A.M.P.E.R.S. So, the flying vehicles were only to be used if they had to evacute to the DexLabs' airship that hovered over the planet's last contient.

Running wasn't a big probelm for Misty thanks to Nano Numbuh Two's F.A.S.T. F.E.E.T. power. With his ability, she found she could cover more ground in a short amount of time, so he quickly became her go-to Nano when not in combat. However, anyone looking up over the skies of Sector V would have been surprised to see the girl flying through the air. She of course didn't have this supernatural power. Instead, she was being flown by Buttercup.

After sending off a message to a past Double D, Misty had taken off for Sector V, where she was supposed to send a message to Ben. While running through the northern section of Pokey Oaks, she'd passed Buttercup who had offered to give the girl a lift to her destination. It was a generous offer that Misty had instantly accepted. Since the Fall of Tech Square, she and Buttercup had become friends.

The run to Heroes Square was greatly reduced thanks to the green Powerpuff, and Misty found herself being dropped off at the base of the large memorial in only a matter of seconds.

"Thanks for the ride!" Misty told the girl.

"Don't make it a habit!" Buttercup joked back, already flying back in the direction of Pokey Oaks. "I've got superhero stuff to do."

"Pfft! No wonder you're the brawn of the team. Did you forget you offered to fly me here?" Misty joked.

"Watch it, Cull," Buttercup threatened with a cheeky grin.

Misty stuck her tongue out at the retreating form of the superheroine, before consulting her NanoCom. Buttercup had dropped her off close to where the wormhole was active, but not quite next to it. She'd have to move around the monument to reach the wormhole. Before she went in search of it, Misty paused to look at the memorial. In her time, it was just an ugly eyesore with a levitating book. But here, in the future, it was called Heroes Square. At each point of the pentagram-shaped statue was a holographic image of heroes that were lost. Because so many were gone, the images were cycled through to showcase everyone. Misty was silent for a moment as she stared at the fallen heroes, before she continued on her journey. Finding the wormhole wasn't difficult since she spotted the Plumber first. Like Fred and Barney, Plumber Gideon regarded her as a 'miss' which Misty was starting to just ignore.

"Okay, three down, two-"

"Ma'am! The chrono readings-"

"Are unusual," Misty finished sarcastically. "Yeah, yeah, I know. One of your buddies already told me that. Aren't you guys used to space-time stuff? Shouldn't you know the wormholes are going to give this off?"

"It's not that, ma'am," Plumber Gideon insisted. "The wormholes are collapsing."

Misty blinked and gave Plumber Gideon her full attention. Did he just say...

"Ehhh?"

Chapter Text

The road is rough but

wounds are healed by a thing called time

- "End of the Line," Luke Monday & Josey Montana McCoy

"BUTTERCUP, I COULD REALLY USE A FLIGHT RIGHT NOW!" Misty yelled at the top of her lungs as she made a mad dash through the northern suburbs of the Pokey Oaks neighborhood. "SERIOUSLY, WHY DID YOUR DAD EVEN BOTHER GIVING YOU SUPERHEARING IF YOU WERE JUST GOING TO IGNORE ME! CAN'T YOU PUFFS HEAR ALL THE WAY FROM SPACE!? SO WHY THE HECK ARE YOU IGNORING ME?!"

Nano Numbuh Two was huffing and puffing behind the girl, pouring every bit of his power into her person. They needed his F.A.S.T.F.E.E.T. ability more than ever since they were now on a time limit and it was unknown how much time they had left to reach the final two wormholes. Since leaving the Heroes Square memorial, Misty had been yelling into the open air hoping to catch Buttercup's attention. Unfortunately for the girl, Buttercup was not responding, and so Misty and Nano Numbuh Two were running (or flying, in the latter's case) through Pokey Oaks to reach the southern neighborhood where the wormhole was (hopefully) waiting.

"YOU ARE OFFICIALLY MY LEAST FAVORITE POWERPUFF GIRL, BUTTERCUP! DO YOU HEAR ME?! YOU! ARE! THE! WORST!"

"I'm tired," Nano Numbuh Two whined, slumping over midair.

Nano Numbuh Two had been holding off his fatigue for as long as he could, but he knew he couldn't do it forever. Nanos had a set limit of energy, and his bar was well into the red. He didn't want to leave Misty since she needed his ability, but there was nothing he could do.

Misty pulled out her NanoCom and checked her Nano's vitals. She flinched when she saw his bar was well into the red and had almost no stamina left. She had literally run him to his limit.

"Sorry, Nano Numbuh Two. Head back into the NanCom and get some rest," Misty told her Nano comfortingly, sending him back into the NanoCom.

The loss of her Nano's F.A.S.T.F.E.E.T. ability hindered her speed by half, but Misty still forced herself to run as fast as she could. She hadn't been overly athletic in her P.E. classes, however she felt she had improved on her athletic skills since being in the future due to being forced to walk and run everywhere. She just really hoped her own natural speed would be good enough to get her to the wormholes. Thankfully for the girl, she spotted a familiar red suit three blocks down in the southern portion of Pokey Oaks. She had never been more thankful to see a Plumber than she had in that exact moment. She was already pulling out the Synchronization Engine as she approached the wormhole which was thankfully still there. She fiddled with the nob for a moment and then raised it and aimed at the wormhole. She depressed the trigger despite not being right next to the wormhole; she figured if she could line it up in her sights then she was close enough to send off the message.

The wormhole spun around rapidly for a moment, looking out of control, and then it began to shrink and shrink and shrink until nothing remained of it. Misty collapsed to her knees in the spot where the wormhole had once been and drew in several breaths. Her whole body was aching and her lungs were on fire.

"Dangit. That other wormhole closed too, right?" Misty asked the Plumber, huffing in between each word.

"Yes ma'am," Plumber Gavin answered back respectfully. "I can't find the wormhole in the Junkyard."

Misty sighed. It was upsetting news, but hey, four out of five was good enough for her. Of course, that was banking on if the message actually went through. Once she was able to breathe normally again, Misty moved into a sitting position and checked on the Synchronization Engine. She hadn't been sure if the message made it when she'd pressed the trigger, but since it was supposed to be for Mandark, she wasn't too upset if he didn't get a message. Sure enough, Mandark's name was still in the device.

"Hey, you were monitoring the wormhole, right?" Misty asked the Plumber.

"Correct ma'am," Plumber Gavin answered her.

Misty ignored the whole 'ma'am' business because it felt like a losing battle.

"Did you see if a message went through?"

"It did, ma'am."

Misty's brows furrowed together as she looked back at the Synchronization Engine. How did a message go through yet Mandark's name was still in the device? Unless... Misty turned the dial and Mandark's name disappeared, leaving a blank screen. Mojo's name was missing. In Misty's hurry, she had turned the dial too far over and sent Mojo's message through the wormhole instead of Mandark's.

At that moment, her NanoCom beeped, indicating an incoming call. She lifted her hand and released a groan when she saw Mandark's imaging flashing across the screen.

"For a guy working on a time machine he has the absolute worst timing," Misty complained, ignoring Plumber Gavin. She heaved a sigh and accepted the call. "Yeah?"

"Don't take that tone with me," Mandark's holographic person stated. "I received a notification that all the wormholes closed. Were you able to deliver the messages in time?"

"Sorta," Misty replied dodgingly.

"Sorta? What sort of idiotic-" Mandark cut himself off. He squinted his eyes behind his glasses in an attempt to see better. "Hold on...this doesn't look like the junkyard...Where are you?"

"Jeez, you really need to get out more if you can't even recognize this area," Misty said. "Seriously, touch grass every once in a while."

"Answer the question!"

"It sounded more like a demand. Anyway, I'm in Pokey Oaks."

"You're what?!"

"Pokey Oaks. I made it to the fourth wormhole," Misty clarified.

Mandark breathed out angrily from his nose, still looking annoyed by the answer. He closed his eyes and breathed in, letting out a sigh a moment after.

"Since you're at the fourth wormhole, may I presume you've managed to send off four messages?"

"You may presume," Misty responded.

"Well...at least you managed to do that," he said. "It is unfortunate we could not recruit Mojo sooner, but-"

"I sent off his message," Misty interrupted.

She closed her eyes and mentally counted down from three as she waited for Mandark's freakout.

"...YOU WHAT?!" Mandark screeched over their line. "YOU SENT A MESSAGE TO THE MONKEY INSTEAD OF ME!?"

"Pretty sure he's a chimpanzee," Misty pointed out.

"SEMANTICS!"

Misty rolled her eyes and fell backward, staring up at the dark green sky. She tuned out Mandark's ranting as he went on to explain why he was a better option over Mojo. It was easier to just let the guy go at it now that he was wound up. While he ranted, Misty stared up at the visage of Planet Fusion, the enemy that had put the world into such a dire state. The messages were supposed to warn the world about Fuse and give the past a fighting chance. She was supposed be sent back so she can lend her hand to the war, hopefully bringing it to an end before this bad future ever happened.

But then...what would happen to this future?

What would happen to everyone that lived in this time?

"Hey, Mandark. Can I ask you something?" Misty asked, interrupting the teenager's ranting.

Mandark paused mid-word, sensing a change in Misty's tone. She sounded contemplative, which was new for the teenage girl since she'd arrived in this time period. Out of curiosity, he decided to indulge her.

"What is it?" he asked, devoid of any snarkiness he usually had when speaking with her.

"Have you thought about what will happen when I leave?" Misty asked, keeping her eyes on the planet above her. "I'm supposed to go back to the past and stop this from happening."

"Yes," Mandark stated. "Dexter believes- ...believed you are the key to defeating Fuse. It's why it's important we send you back to your correct time period."

"Have you thought about what that means? When I go back?" Misty asked, tacking on the last question to clarify her inquiry.

"It means if you do your job, Fuse won't consume our planet," Mandark stated, his tone condescending.

"But have you thought about what that means for you? For this future?" Misty further asked, turning her head to look at the boy. "If I go back and stop Fuse, I'm going to erase all of this. I'm going to erase all of you."

Mandark stared at her from behind the screen for a moment, before he nodded his head to agree with the assessment.

"Yes, I know that," he said, dropping his condensation and speaking plainly. "That was always the plan."

"Doesn't that scare you?"

"Compared to what our world has become? No, not in the slightest," Mandark responded. "This timeline is already done for. There are very little of us left, and Fuse will ensure our complete erasure if we remain. No matter if we're here on the ground or on the airship, there is nowhere safe for us. If it's a choice between dying at Fuse's hands or being erased, I can assure you, all of us choose to be erased. It's why we're reconstructing the time machine to send you back."

Misty seemed appeased by the answer, if the way her shoulders relaxed were any indication. Mandark studied the teenager for a moment before posing his own question.

"Since we're having this discussion, I have a question of my own."

Misty nodded her head, silently encouraging him to ask. If she got to ask a question, he could too; it was only fair.

"You were sent further into the future than you ever thought, and upon coming to this point in time, you discovered your parents were no longer alive. Although our time is dwindling, Numbuh Two still offered to give you a day to grieve your loss. Instead, you immediately jumped into action," Mandark said, prepping his question. "I was curious on why. Why did you refuse?"

Misty's face turned reflective as her eyebrows lowered in concentration.

"Huh, didn't think you'd ask me something like that. I don't know if you'll even accept my answer since it'll sound weird. I can barely comprehend it myself," Misty said.

Mandark didn't say a thing further, but he did raise his hand and motioned it in a 'go on' gesture. Misty pursed her lips and turned her head away from Mandark to look upward. Unconsciously, her eyes trained in on Planet Fusion. Given its real estate in the sky, it was pretty hard to avoid.

"Well...Don't get me wrong, I was upset when I saw my parents' names on the list of the dead, and then that the only thing left of my house was a stoop. But it was weird because to me, it didn't really sink in. That grief I should have felt didn't hit me because I couldn't connect to it. All of you lived with this for six months, but I just showed up. For all of you, the time when there was no Fuse was in the past, but it was just hours for me. To me, my home was still around and my parents were still alive." She kept her eyes on the sky as she brought a hand to her heart and clenched it. "And then something inside me reminded me they were alive, in the time period where I came from, and it spurred me to action. I could only see them if the time machine was rebuilt, and the only way it would be rebuilt is if I helped get it done." She closed her eyes, blocking out the image of the invading planet. "I didn't succumb to depression because I had faith. Faith this would all work out. Faith I'd see them again." She opened her eyes and tilted her head back to Mandark's image. "That probably doesn't make sense, huh?"

Misty was unable to get a read on Mandark's thoughts. Normally, the bespectacled genius would be easier to read, since his standard attitudes were annoyed and condescending. For some reason, his face remained quietly stoic as he stared at her. It was actually pretty unnerving.

"You're correct. That doesn't make sense," Mandark finally spoke in a deadpan voice.

Misty stuck her tongue out at him. It was a childish response, but it was the first thought Misty had. Nothing was said between the two for a moment, until it was broken by Misty sighing and getting into a sitting position.

"Well, you probably want your gadget," Misty stated.

"Invention," Mandark immediately corrected. "And yes, I will require it, but it would be more prudent for you to bring it to me along with the final piece of the time machine."

"Final piece?" Misty asked.

"Yes. Had you successfully completed your task, you would have already been in the junkyard for this," Mandark said. "There is a robot that used to be a member of Time Squad. I won't go into detail what the squad is but all you need to know is that this robot has the ability to travel through time."

"Wait, really?" Misty asked in amazement. "If this bot can really time travel, then why do you need me? I mean I want to go home and all since this place isn't ideal, but..."

"The robot was unable to," Mandark continued. "However, you need to find the robot's circuitry so I can use it to power the time machine."

"So a robot that can time travel is in the junkyard because...?" Misty asked, raising an eyebrow upward.

"Do not take that tone with me," Mandark quipped. "The robot went missing some weeks back, it's why no one thought to use it to fix the timeline. Numbuh Five found the robot in Tech Square and brought it back before the island collapsed."

Misty thought about the robot she had seen in the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. the first day she'd arrived in the future. She couldn't recall what had happened to the robot, but she had been too focused on her jobs to think about it further.

"Apparently," Mandark continued with an annoyed tone, "Numbuh Five handed the robot to that kid in the Cul-de-Sac. He didn't find any worth in what was left of the robot and threw it in the junkyard."

Misty didn't even need Mandark to label the kid; she already imagined the bald kid and rolled her eyes in disgust. Leave it to that entrepreneur wannabe to totally drop the ball.

"You'll need to go in and get whatever you can of the robot, then bring it and the Synchronization Engine to me at the Treehouse," Mandark said. "After that, the time machine will be operational, and you'll be sent back to your time period."

"And once I'm there, stop Fuse from causing this happen," Misty concluded.

Despite the pressures placed upon her, Misty felt elated. An excited smile spread across her face as she bounced up to her feet.

"Alright, Mandark, leave this to me. You'll have the robot parts before dinner," Misty promised.

"Hmph. Do not take that long," Mandark quipped.

Misty rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. Bye Mandark," Misty said, cancelling the call.

"Hey Jack," Misty greeted as she approached the neighborhood junkyard.

The samurai known as Jack smiled and bowed his head in greeting.

"Greetings, Misty," he returned. "What brings you to this area?"

"Mandark sent me to look for a robot. Have yah seen it?" she asked.

Jack gestured behind him. "Do you perhaps refer to M.E.G.A.S.?"

Jack was referring to a giant robot trapped in the infected zone. Even from this distance and behind an energy field, Misty could make out the appearance of the giant robot. It was a primarily blue and silver robot with a red car at the top of it.

"Nah, not M.E.G.A.S.," Misty responded. Mandark hadn't given the robot a name, but she recalled seeing it in the S.C.A.M.P.E.R., and the robot was definitely not a giant blue mech. It was brown and closer to the size of a standard human. "I'm looking for a different one. Apparently, Eddy threw it in here."

Jack crossed his arms and placed his chin between the thumb and index finger of his right hand. His eyebrows knitted together as he racked his brain.

"Yes, I believe I know what you are referring to. I seem to recall the boy from the Cul-de-Sac throwing something into the infected zone," Jack replied. "I had to go and rescue him when the Toxic Spawns swarmed him."

"That's awfully nice of you, Jack," Misty said. "Well, thanks for the information."

"I caution you to be careful," Jack expressed his concern. "This infected zone is extremely dangerous."

Misty held back the retort aren't all of them dangerous? She respected Jack, who was an amazing warrior in his own right. Really, Misty was surprised Dexter was choosing to put his trust in her rather than this time wayward samurai who could probably wipe the floor with the likes of the Justice Friends.

"I have been following your deeds, and know you are capable of handling yourself," Jack continued. "I simply want to make sure you keep your guard up while you are inside."

Misty nodded in understanding and confirmation. This was the reason she hadn't made some sassy remark; he wasn't trying to talk down to hear like Mandark would be and was simply expressing his concern for another person.

"I will, Jack, no worries," Misty assured him. "I'm just heading in to find this robot and then I'm out of there."

Jack nodded his head. "If you require help, please do not hesitate to call on my assistance."

"C'mon, Jack, have a little faith in me," Misty teasingly complained to him.

The smile Jack answered her with was good natured. He was probably among the few in the future who could still smile.

"I do," Jack said. "I can tell you will do great many things."

"No pressure," Misty said.

"I find humanity is at its best when there's pressure," Jack said.

"If you say so," Misty said, heading for the DexLabs warp pad. "See you later."

Jack didn't say anything more to his fellow time-traveler. Instead, he gave her a quick wave as she disappeared.

As soon as Misty materialized inside the infected zone, her senses were immediately assaulted by the pungent smell.

"Ugh!" Misty groaned out in disgust, quickly pinching her nose. "Jack was so busy warning me about the dangers of the infected zone, he should have warned me about the smell."

Misty stood on the warp pad for another minute, bracing herself for the disgusting smell of the junkyard. She couldn't fight one handed, - well technically she could since all of her weapons could be wielded one handed, but it simply wasn't a good idea to fight one handed - so she was going to have to toughen up and just become accustomed to the smell. It took her a moment, but she finally felt her nose had become smell blind to the infected zone, and so she released her grip on her nose. She pulled out her Crayon Cannon from her NanoCom and began to search the infected zone.

Misty consulted her NanoCom's map as she ventured through the infected zone. Mandark, wanting the robot as soon as possible, pinpointed the bot's origin and sent the marker to her map so she wouldn't be searching all of the junk in the area. There were also the various monsters scouring the infected zone. Luckily for the teenager, the first part of the junkyard had floating objects above the Motor Raptors, and so she was able to avoid a battle with them. This wasn't because she didn't want to fight the monsters - she was all for wiping out Fuse's forces whenever she could - but she was on a sort of time limit; though nothing was official, Misty wanted to get the robot as soon as possible so she could go back to her time period and set things right. So, stealth was the most important part of the mission.

The infected zone had a bunch of floating objects, and many pieces were well above the floor, avoiding the majority of the Fusion Monsters. Misty used these as much as possible to get around the monsters. Her stealthy objective brought her further into the infected zone, approaching M.E.G.A.S. Misty took a moment to stop and stare at the larger-than-life mech stuck in a lake of Fusion Matter. She had only ever seen the robot on television whenever it went to battle with a giant kaiju. This was the first time she'd ever seen it (almost) up-close. Misty continued past the giant mech until she came to the spot on her map. She looked around and spotted the metal robot among a collection of Fusion Matter. All she could see was the head of the brown robot.

Misty reached out and grabbed the robot's head with both hands, pulling it from the ground. She moved carefully, incase the rest of the body was buried underneath. The head was light and moved easily, revealing nothing below it. The robot's body was separated from its head.

"Wow, just the head? Hope this is good enough for Mandark," Misty commented out loud, sounding a little disappointed.

"Just a head?" a robotic voice intoned indignantly, its mouth piece brightening each time it spoke. "I will have you know this head has a name."

Misty blinked at the robot's head before she released a high pitch screech. She then, with one hand, spiked the robot's head into the ground. The robot released a cry of pain as he made contact with the ground, and the force had him hopping two more times before coming to a rest.

"Owh! Why did you do that?!" the robot's head demanded.

"You're talking!"

"I'm a robot!"

"But you're a head!"

"I'm a robot!"

Misty's scream had already attracted the attention of the surrounding Dread Heads, and the screaming match between the two only enticed them further. Misty had to take a break from freaking out to handle the approaching monsters. With the help of Nano Eduardo's drain ability and her Crayon Cannon, the area was cleared of the monsters, giving the girl and the robot a moment to speak without worry.

Misty took a deep breath before picking the robot's head off the ground. The metal bars above its - his - optics were dipped downward like he was glaring at her. She supposed he had a right to do it. She wouldn't be very happy if her head was sent into the ground like a football.

"Okay, so, I should probably apologize-"

"You think?" was the sassy remark that interrupted Misty's attempt at an apology.

"...You know what. I'm not apologizing for sending you into the ground," Misty said, retracting her sentence. "So what's your name."

"You may refer to me as Larry 3000," the robot's head stated. "I am a member of -"

"Time Squad, right?" Misty finished. "Yeah, Mandark told me. You're supposed to be able to travel through time."

"Hmph! Well, that's a short way to put it. There's far more nuisance and -"

"Oh, yeah, no, I'm stopping you right there. My grade in science is teetering on a B-, so whatever science talk you want to tell me should be saved for Mandark," Misty said, interrupting Larry's impending lecture. "All that matters is that you're needed for the time machine. So just to make sure you're safe..." Misty opened up her NanoCom's inventory and sent Larry's head inside, ignoring his protests as he digitized inside. "There. And as a bonus, I don't have to hear you complain. Seriously, who'd make a robot with a sass streak?"

Misty pulled up her email feature and shot off a quick message to Mandark with the Sychronization Engine and the head of Larry 3000 attached. Finished with the message, Misty made her way to the warp pad which was within eyesight. There was a bounce in her step as she made her way to the exit.

While waiting for the time machine to be completed, Misty opted to go around the neighborhood and eliminate the monsters as a final farewell to the terrible time period she had been thrown into. She could have waited in the Treehouse until Mandark and Numbuh Two were finished, but she wanted to be active and nothing sounded better than eliminating Fuse's minions. It wouldn't mean anything if this timeline was to be scrubbed out of existence, but it made Misty feel better.

It was an hour later when she was sent a message from Computress, stating her presence was needed at the Treehouse. Elation filled Misty's being as she re-read the message.

This was it. She was going home.

Misty made her way back to the front door of the Uno household, which was the base of the Treehouse, and entered. The door was never locked in the day time since there were several KND operatives in the area to protect it. She had expected Numbuh Two or Computress to be waiting to greet her and guide her to the machine's destination, but instead she was greeted by a hamster wearing a red turtleneck sweater and a pair of shades. Misty stared at the rodent for a moment before shrugging and following it through the house and then treehouse. A hamster in a cute outfit acting as her tour guide was honestly not the weirdest experience for her, so Misty opted to roll with it.

The hamster guided her through the winding maze of the KND base, eventually bringing her to a door that was partially opened. The little hamster raised itself to its hind legs and gave a bow, sweeping a stubby arm out toward the door. Misty smiled good naturedly at the critter and crouched down so she wasn't completely towering over the critter. She gave the top of its head two gentle pats as thanks.

"See ya around," she told it, though she knew that'd be a lie.

The little hamster chittered back at her; whatever it said she didn't have a clue. She assumed it had to be something good, though, considering the salute it gave her as she pushed the door open. Misty had been expecting to see a time machine in the room, and she wasn't disappointed. On the opposite side of the room from her was a circular capsule not unlike what she had stepped into at the Tech Square Convention Center. It was shabbier looking, and didn't look nearly as clean as the one Dexter had built, but given the limited resources and the fact it was built for function and not cosmetics, Misty couldn't blame them for not making it look prettier.

What brought a smile to her face wasn't seeing the time machine, however. Instead, it was seeing the people she had worked with while in this chaotic future waiting for her. They stood in two perfect columns from where she stood to the time machine. Buttercup, Numbuh Two and Numbuh Five stood lined up on Misty's left side. Eddy, Samurai Jack, and Eduardo stood lined up on Misty's right side. Waiting at the time machine on the opposite side of the room was Mandark and Computress, each taking a side. Larry's head could be seen on a pedastool with large wires connecting the stand to the time machine.

"You guys all came to send me off?" Misty asked, sounding touched by the gesture.

She had fully expected just Mandark, Numbuh Two, and Computress since they were the three working on the machine. To see all the others - even Eddy - waiting to see her off filled her with an indescribable warmth. She stepped away from the doorway and began her walk to the time machine.

"We wouldn't miss this for the world," Numbuh Two reassured her, grinning widly. "You're going to do great. You're going to make us so proud." His voice had choked up near the end, and he quickly swiped at the bottom of his goggles. "Sorry, sorry. I swore I promised I wouldn't cry."

"Hey, it's okay Numbuh Two," Misty said. "I'm nearly in tears just from seeing all you here."

"Awwh, you'd cry over me? That's touching," Eddy sarcastically teased.

"Drop into a Fusion Matter pool," Misty deadpanned at him. "I really doubt you're here to see me off."

"Nah, you're right. I'm just here to sell you a newspaper bag," Eddy said. "Ya know, in case you get time travel sickness."

"Yeah, should have figured," Misty said in a deadpan.

"Just ignore him," Buttercup cut in, rolling her eyes at the boy.

"I should ignore you like you ignored me! Did you seriously not hear me?" Misty complained to the green Powerpuff.

"I had my hands full!" Buttercup protested. "Besides, you're fine."

Misty rolled her eyes at the Powerpuff. Buttercup saw the eyeroll and grinned good-naturedly. She then gently punched Misty's arm.

"Just get going and give Fuse's butt a kick for me," she said.

Misty kept her annoyed look for a second longer before it dissolved into a grin. She gave Buttercup a two finger salute.

"You got it," she told her.

"The path of a hero is never easy," Samurai Jack's wisdomed words imparted, turning Misty's attention to him. He was looking at her stoically for a moment, before a smile broke out on his face. "However, I see within you the strength to save this world from destruction." He then bowed to her in a sign of respect. "Though our paths diverge at this moment, it has been an honor to consider you an ally and a friend."

Misty grinned at the words, feeling her cheeks heat up a bit at the sincerity of the words. Jack was way too skilled to be treating her like some great warrior. "Thanks, Jack, but it's really me who should be honored. Honestly, you should be the one going back to the past and fighting the bad guy."

Jack stopped bowing and returned to his full height, resting his hand casually on the hilt of his katana.

"It is not my place. My past self will no doubt do everything in his power to assit you and defend this planet from the unspeakable evil, but it will not be his sword that will deal the final blow," Jack said. "It will be yours. Destiny shall guide you forth to your victory. You must only believe in yourself."

Misty grinned and winked at him. "Don't worry about that. Once I put my mind to it, literally nothing is going to stop me."

She took a step to continue walking toward the time machine, but was stopped by Eduardo throwing his furry arms around her and lifting her off her feet. The Imaginary Friend's loud wailings briefly assaulted her ears given her proximity to him. Ridiculously large tears fell on her as he twisted himself side to side, bringing Misty along for the ride.

"¡Te echaré mucho de menos, Misty!"the Friend sobbed. "Ojalá no te fueras!"

Misty didn't know what he was saying, but she made an educated guess based on the way he was crying.

"Awh, c'mon pal, it's okay," Misty said, patting his arm. "I gotta go and fix everything and make sure that mean old Fuse doesn't threaten your Beanie Baggies."

"It's going to be okay, Eduardo," Numbuh Two said comfortingly, coming to Eduardo's side.

"Yeah, she's just going to the past," Buttercup said, coming over to the other side of Eduardo and gently guiding his arms to release Misty.

"I...I know," Eduardo said, sniffling as he put Misty back on her feet. "I will just miss mi amiga."

"Awwh, I'll miss ya too, big guy," Misty reassured him, hugging him. "But I'll see a past version of you, and we'll be friends again."

"You promise?" Eduardo asked.

"Promise," Misty confirmed.

The words brought some relief to the Imaginary Friend. He wiped at his eyes and sniffled.

"Be safe, mi amiga," Eduardo said. "And make those yucky monstruos go away."

"You got it pal," Misty told him, patting him for a final time on his arm.

Misty stepped away from the Imaginary Friend, allowing Buttercup and Numbuh Two to console him. She approached one of the first two people she met when she awakened in the future. Almost as soon as she stopped in front of her, the spy of Sector V reached out her hand and smiled.

"It's been nice meetin' ya, Misty," Numbuh Five said. "You're not half bad, for a teenager."

Misty smiled and took her hand, giving it a shake.

"Same to you, Numbuh Five," she said. Then, with a cheeky grin. "You're not half bad, for a kid."

Numbuh Five laughed and used her free hand to pat the other girl on the shoulder.

"Say hi to Dex for me," Numbuh Five told her.

Misty waited a beat, to see if Numbuh Five had anyone else she wanted to tact onto the list. When nothing came forward, Misty raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Just Dexter?" Misty asked. "You two secretly dated or-"

Numbuh Five rolled her eyes, turned Misty around, and gave her a shove toward the time machine.

"Just get going, will ya. We're all waiting for you to save the world," the operative said.

"You are literally expecting me to leave on that note!" Misty complained. "You know what, whatever. I'll just needle it out of the past you."

"Uh-huh, you go do that," Numbuh Five said induglingly, waving at Misty.

"How humiliating," Larry's head said from the pedestal. "I was designed for better things."

"You are fueling the time machine that'll send me back so I can save the world. How is that not 'better things?'" Misty questioned the bot's head as she passed.

Larry grumbled but didn't counteract her argument. MIsty sniffed in victory and continued forward. Computress and Mandark were waiting for her expectantly at the time machine.

"You've finally arrived. I've calibrated the machine to send you back two minutes after Dexter's expected time jump," Mandark explained to her.

"Why not just send me back the moment I was supposed to be there?" Misty asked.

"Because I don't want Dexter to think his experiment actually worked correctly," Mandark explained. "I must prove my intellect is superior to his since I am cleaning up his mess."

Misty rolled her eyes, but honestly she expected this sort of pettiness.

"I would say never change, but well..." Misty trailed off.

Mandark may have come to terms with being erased from the time line, but Misty still had trouble putting it into words. The arrogant genius picked up on her meaning and merely smirked at her.

"The time machine is now fully functional," Computress addressed Misty. "It is now time for you to return to your tim epriod and save our planet."

After saying this, the front of the time machine hissed open as it swung upwards. The interior looked as shabby as the exterior, but again, function over fashion. Misty walked up the short flight of steps and then descended into the time machine, but stopped so she could look over at the only living boy genius.

"Not going to wish me luck?" Misty asked.

"Hardly," Mandark said with a scoff. "Scientists don't work on luck."

Misty rolled her eyes in an obvious of course, silly me gesture. Before she entered the temporal machine, Mandark's voice paused her movement.

"Besides, luck is not necessary," Mandark continued. "I have faith you'll stop Fuse and prevent this future from happening."

Misty whipped her head around to look at the bespectacled boy, first in surprise, then out of gratitude. He was smirking at her, but there was a sincerity in his eyes that told Misty he wasn't lying; he really had faith in her.

Misty held up her first to him. At first, Mandark just stared at her. After a moment, realizing she was waiting on him to do something, he raised his own fist and moved it towards hers uncertainly. Misty grinned and connected her fist to his in a fist bump.

"Catcha later, Mandark," Misty said, descending into the time machine.

"Farewell, Cull," Mandark returned.

Once Misty was inside of the time machine, Mandark and Computress immediately went to their consoles to finalize the process. The door of the time machine swung downward and closed with a click. Unlike Dexter's, this door had a glass window that gave Misty the ability to see out into the room. Everyone - including Eddy and the little hamster - was waving at her. The sight brought a smile to her lips and tears to her eyes. She may have only been with them for a short time, but she was going to miss them; all of them.

Computress' voice came over the interior speakers, counting down from ten. Once Computress hit one, the machine whirled to life. A blinding light began to glow in intensity before completely consuming Misty's vision.

Misty blinked, and the white light was completely gone. It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the new lighting. When they finally did, she found she was in the same room, only it was different. Instead of her new friends and a time machine, the room was filled with crates. This was obviously a storage room before Mandark and company had converted it to build their time machine. The very notion of seeing it brought Misty a sense of joy; she was in the past! She was a little confused on why she was in the treehouse instead of the convention center, but whatever! She could still get in contact with Dexter and explain everything!

Misty exited the storage room and stepped into the hall. She stood there for a moment, trying to recall the direction the sweater wearing hamster had taken. She was going to have to backtrack, but she ultimately decided to take a right. She had taken maybe four steps before a sudden and loud alarm blared through the entire treehouse. The sound caught Misty off guard, and she leaped back in surprise. She slammed her hands over her ears to protect her eardrums from the noise.

"URGH! WHY DOES THIS HAVE TO BE SO LOUD!" Misty yelled at the top of her lungs.

Almost as soon as she voiced her complaints, the noise suddenly cut out. Misty removed her hands and sighed in relief.

"Oh thank-"

"Hold it right there, teenager!" a female's voice demanded from behind Misty.

Misty spun around, met with two operatives wearing the same outfit of a green jumpsuit and armor plating with KND painted across it. The two, a boy with green hair and a girl in braids, were pointing hand-held weapons at her.

"Oh, hey-"

"Hands up, teenager!" the boy shouted, interrupting Misty.

"Excuse me? I'm Mi-"

"I said, hands UP!" the boy shouted, raising his weapon higher.

"Would you let me just-"

Misty cut herself off when she saw the two operatives press down on the trigger of their KND issued weapons. Given the tight space, there was nowhere for Misty to hide. She instead dropped to the ground, avoiding the blasts from connecting with her. From her place on the ground, Misty glared at the two operatives.

"What the Tartarus!"

"You are trespassing in a K.N.D. treehouse!" the girl shouted at Misty.

"It wasn't my fault! I was literally brought here," Misty complained.

"Yeah, and we'll help you out," the girl said, aiming her weapon at Misty again.

Misty tensed and scrambled to get on her feet. They say that when faced with a terrifying or life dangerous situation, it activates a fight or flight mode. Shooting at her enemies was an immediate response honed in by her time spent fighting Fusion Monsters, but it was not an option here. She didn't think these operatives would look too kindly on her if she shot at them, and she really wasn't interested in harming anyone. So with the fight option not being possible, that left her with flight. She was going to have to make a mad dash for the exit and hopefully get into contact with someone who would stop these two from treating her like she was target practice. Just as she had made it to her feet, a pink blur rushed in and situated itself between the two parties. Misty blinked and then grinned opened mouth as she saw Blossom floating in between the two, using her body to shield the teenager from the operatives' attack.

"Blossom!" Misty called in elation.

"Blossom?" the two operatives asked in surprise.

"Stand down. She's not your enemy," Blossom warned sternly.

"But she's an intruder!" the girl operative argued, pointing a gloved finger at Misty. "She could be working for Father to steal KND technology while Sector V is away. It isn't safe to let a teenager like her run around unsupervised."

Blossom shook her head.

"She's not working for Father. Take a good look at her," Blossom said, floating aside so the two operatives could look at her. She was still close enough to protect Misty if the two operatives decided to attack again.

The two operatives cautiously lowered their weapons to look at the teenager. Misty, now having a Powerpuff to back her up, raised to her feet so she could look at the kids. It took a moment, but the eyes of the operatives widened to a considerable degree.

"Wait...that's...that's..."

Blossom nodded, as if reading their minds and knowing the answer they came to.

"This is Misty Cull, the girl who travelled through time," Blossom answered for them.

The jaws of both operatives' dropped as the answer was voiced. Feeling confident now that her life wasn't in immediate danger, Misty crossed her arms and smirked. She was also incredibly pleased to be addressed by her name first before her moniker. It took a while to get the people of the future to stop referring to her simply as 'the girl who travelled through time.'

"That's right. I'm not an intruder," Misty said. "I just accidentally wound up in that room."

"It's her. It's really her!" the girl operative loudly whispered to her comrade.

"She's finally here," the boy operative whispered back at the same volume.

Misty raised a confused eyebrow. The two had quickly switched from treating her as an enemy to being starstruck. She knew travelling through time was a big deal, but she didn't think her name would be that known already. Had the news already reported what happened? Had these two caught a livestream or something?

"Uhhhhmmm, okay? I mean I know I'm like two minutes late, but that was Mandark's fault. He wanted-"

"Two minutes?" Blossom interrupted in confusion.

"Yeah. I mean, you were there, so you know Dexter was just sending me five minutes into the future - which by the way, thanks for flying so far for the save," Misty explained. "Anyways, Mandark sent me back two minutes later, so it's really like seven minutes. It's just boys being petty."

Blossom's brows furrowed together, and the two Kids Next Door operatives were looking at each other quizzically. Nothing they did filled Misty with confidence.

"It's...just been seven minutes since the experiment..." Misty said again.

Blossom closed her eyes, breathed in deeply, and released it through her mouth. The alarm bells immediately sounded in Misty's brain. Whatever Blossom was about to say, it was going to suck.

"Misty...the experiment was two months ago," Blossom revealed gently. She opened her eyes so her pink could stare into Misty's gray. "You've been gone for two months."

Misty looked at the Powerpuff for a moment, blinking at her as her mind tried to comprehend the answer. Once the train made it to the station, she threw her hands up into the air and released a frustrated cry.

"CAN NONE OF YOU SCIENTISTS DO TIME TRAVEL RIGHT?!"

Chapter Text

Rise to meet the call

Seize the moment, make it mine

- "The Extra Mile," Laura Pausini

Misty sat on the living room couch with her arms crossed over her chest. A displeased look was on her face. She was currently in a staring contest with her equally displeased looking mother. Maggie Cull was standing in the center of the living room, her crossed arms mirroring her daughter's. They had been like this for an hour after Misty walked through the front door, declaring her return. Misty had barely been in her time period - two months late! - and already she was at odds with her mother; that had to be a new record.

"This isn't fair!" Misty protested.

Her mother's eyebrows furrowed deeper together, looking even more displeased.

"Fair?" her mother questioned in disbelief. "Fair?! You signed your father's and my signatures on a legal document that almost killed you."

"It didn't kill me. It just sent me to the future," Misty argued back.

"Then it made you look dead, whatever! Do you know how devastated your father and I were when we turned on the news and heard your name involved in that accident?" Maggie countered.

Misty huffed but didn't answer. Unfortunately, her mother had her there. It was the whole reason she had forged their signatures in the first place.

"A message was sent back saying I was alive," Misty protested instead. "You knew I was alive."

"After we thought you were dead," Maggie countered. "I lost ten years of my life because of this stunt you pulled."

"Well you don't look older," Misty said.

"Can it," Maggie responded annoyed. "I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or trying to flatter me, but either way, I'm not having it. You are grounded for a century."

"You can't do that!"

"Watch me."

"I need to be out there. I need to fight Fuse's monsters!" Misty shouted, trying to make her case. "I can feel it in my bones."

"Well you and your bones will be staying in this house where you can be watched," Maggie stated.

"Arrgh!" Misty released a cry of frustration and shot up to her feet.

She left the living room, a crossed look upon her face.

"Where are you going?" Maggie demanded.

"To my room! You said I was grounded so I might as well be there!" Misty shouted back, already climbing the steps.

"You get back down here young lady, we are not finished," Maggie stated.

A loud shout of surprise cut through the mother-daughter argument. Both were startled by how loud and how close it was to them. Then, the shout of surprise turned to one of terror. Misty thought she recognized the voice, but even she couldn't pinpoint its origin. Her mother seemed to recognize the cry. The woman rushed to the front door and threw it open, stepping in the frame so she could observe the outside world. A gasp of worry escaped her lips as she raised a hand up to her mouth.

"Chris!" Maggie gasped behind her hand.

Misty's eyes widened at her father's name being uttered by her mother. Then, her eyes narrowed into determination. She hopped on the stair's railing and slide down. When she was about halfway to the bottom, Misty swung her legs over and landed on the wooden flooring. She then ran for the doorway, slipping past her mother once she was there.

"Misty!" Maggie gasped, reaching out to grab her daughter.

Maggie's reflexes were slower than her daughter's; or, maybe she would have actually grabbed her child if it wasn't for Misty calling on Nano Numbuh Two. With F.A.S.T.F.E.E.T., Misty was already across her front lawn and reaching the street. Her dad's vehicle was parked in the driveway with the driver's side door left open. The man in question was running for Father's construction site with three fusionized Crash Loaders following him. With a simple look, Misty could tell what had happened. Her dad had pulled up into their driveway and had been surprised by the Crash Loaders (maybe one, maybe all three). Instead of running for the inside of his residence, he had run in the opposite direction to keep the monsters from targeting his family. It was very valiant of him, but he was on borrowed time. He had no weapon to defend himself which would certainly lead to his death once the Fusion Monsters grabbed him. Luckily for him, his daughter was catching up fast to him and his three pursuers.

Misty pulled out her Crayon Cannon from her NanoCom. Her Proton Mace would have been a better fit, considering the cannon only targeted one monster at a time. However, the mace was an up-close weapon, and Misty wanted the element of surprise. Besides, she had a different option for long-range effect. Misty sent Nano Numbuh Two back into her NanoCom and called out Nano Eduardo. The Nano Imaginary Friend spun around midair upon being called out.

"Nano Eduardo, do you have a lock on those three?" Misty asked her Nano.

"¡Sí! I see three monstruos muy malos," Nano Eduardo acknowledged.

"Drain 'em!" Misty ordered, raising her pistol.

"MONSTER ROAR!" Nano Eduardo screamed as he released a terrifying roar aimed at the three Fusion Monsters.

The Nano's roar traversed the distance and struck all three Crash Loaders, followed by Misty shooting the middle one with her Crayon Cannon. The three monsters halted in their chase and spun around, seeking the one who had injured them. Misty greeted them with a second shot, this time to the one on the right. With a roar, the monsters rushed at their new opponent, feeling the sting of Monster Roar's drain effect with every step their metal feet took.

Chris Cull recognized he was no longer being chased. He stopped and spun around to see what had happened. His eyes widened behind his glasses when he saw his only child facing down the monsters who had previously targeted him.

"Misty! Run!" he warned his kid.

Misty ignored her father's warning and continued to fire at the monsters, aiming at a different one each time she pressed the trigger. She was definitely going to have to look into long range weapons that let her strike several monsters at once. The monsters, tired of being shot at and still feeling their energy being drained, began to fire their own attacks at Misty. The teenager ducked and rolled away from the spot, avoiding the hits. She quickly got to her knees and continued firing without missing a beat.

When the monsters were within arm's reach, Misty switched out her weapons. She wielded her Proton Mace in both her hands and began striking the monsters, first aiming for their legs since they were the closest target. The monsters roared out in anger at her strikes and attempted to squish her with their metal claws. Misty protected herself with her mace, blocking the strikes or batting them aside. One of the monsters got lucky and managed to strike her arm with its metal claw. The hit caused Misty to scrunch up her face in pain. She glanced at it quickly, saw some blood was beginning to escape, but determined she would live. With that reassurance, she continued her attack against her enemies.

"Gonna need another drain," Misty instructed her Nano.

"Sí, señorita," Nano Eduardo agreed with a salute. "MONSTER ROAR!"

He roared again, inflicting his drain effect upon the three monsters again. The three monsters paused their attacks for only a second, but it was a second Misty needed. She swung her mace faster and harder, knocking out the knees of the three monsters. They fell, giving her easier access to their heads. She struck each like she was playing a game of whack-a-mole, unrelenting in her fighting. It paid off. One by one, the three Fusion Monsters dissolved into a puddle of Fusion Matter at her feet. The girl took a step back, not wanting to get the acidic material on her shoes.

Misty balanced her mace on her shoulders and behind her neck. She looked down on her work with a prideful smirk, and a burst of giddiness entered her bloodstream. These three were the first monsters she had fought and defeated since her return.

"Misty!"

Misty raised her head at her dad's call. The man was running at her and threw his arms tightly around her. Misty flinched as he inadvertently brushed by her open wound. She hissed in pain, which had him jumping back with wide eyes.

"Mist-"

"Don't worry dad, it's just a scratch," Misty reassured him, looking at the wound casually. "I got a guy who can fix it, watch."

Misty switched out her Nanos, calling on Nano Eddy. Without needing to be told by his girl, Nano Eddy activated his ability, Jawbreaker Break. He conjured a jawbreaker and held it in his tiny hand. He then passed the jawbreaker to Misty, who promptly popped it in her mouth. As soon as she consumed the candy, a brief glow consumed the girl. When the glow disappeared, the wound on her arm disappeared. No evidence remained of her ever being injured. Misty inspected the former injury and flashed a smile at her Nano.

"Good work, li'l guy," Misty said approvingly. "You're way more useful than the guy you're based on."

Nano Eddy smirked in pride and put his knuckles on his hips.

"Why thank you," he said haughtily.

With his job done, Misty sent her healing Nano back into the NanoCom. Her dad, despite having watched the whole thing, reached out and gently raised his daughter's arm to eye level so he could observe it for himself. He was simply stunned.

"I'm good, dad," Misty said to reassure him. "Nano Eddy's ability heals me completely. It even returned my stamina. I could go another round if I wanted to."

Chris moved his eyes from his daughter's arm and looked her in the eyes. While his must have reflected terror and astonishment, Misty's shone with determination and strength. His daughter had always been headstrong and like she could take on the world. Looking at her in this moment, he felt this was something different.

Chris actually felt like she could take on the world... and win.

"Misty! Chris!" Maggie shouted.

Daughter and father looked upward at the shout and found the woman rushing at them. Chris opened his arms and caught his wife. She threw her arms around his neck, dropped her face into his shoulder, and broke down.

"I thought...Oh, I was so scared," Maggie said through her sobbing. "Those monsters..."

"I'm okay, hun," Chris reassured her, shaking off his own nerves so he could be there for his wife. "Misty took care of those monsters before they could hurt any of us."

Misty frowned at her mom in pity and then looked away. She moved her eyes onto the puddles of Fusion Matter near their feet. She blinked and then narrowed her eyes. How weird. She remembered Fusion Matter being sucked into her NanoCom every time she beat them. Why was it still on the ground?

"Let's go inside, all of us," Chris suggested, pulling Misty away from her contemplation. "It'll be safer."

Maggie readily agreed and was led back by her husband. Misty straggled behind after a moment longer of eyeing the Fusion Matter.

Her parents were in the kitchen and she was sitting in the armchair in the living room. Chris was making some tea for his wife to calm her nerves. Misty was told they would talk to her in a moment, so she decided to wait for her folks in the living room. To pass the time, she turned on the family's SANY TV and switched it to the 91 Action News, putting it on a low volume. Misty hadn't been interested in the news prior to the time travel experiment. If her parents were watching it, she'd glance at it; but she was never one to seek it out. All the important news for her came from Celebrity Weekly and Sparkle Teen. However, Misty felt a need to listen to the news, just to have an update on what was going on with the war effort. She'd also have to tap her friends for the 4-1-1, on top of letting them know she was back. She couldn't wait to talk to them.

Desk reporter Tabby was just going over a segment on missing heroes who hadn't been seen since the start of the invasion when her parents finally made an appearance. Color had returned to her mother's face, although the cup she was holding shook every so often. Misty avoided calling her out on it and instead muted the television. Her parents took a seat on the couch, turning so they could look at their daughter.

"So...your mom and I were talking..." her father began.

The temptation to say, yeah, no duh, you literally told me that when we got here was strong, but Misty held her tongue. She wanted to see where the conversation was going before she started firing off.

"As you know, you're grounded for signing our names so you could be involved in a dangerous time experiment," her father said. "Not only is that illegal, it's also incredibly foolish."

Misty rolled her eyes. She really didn't want to rehash this point again. Nothing bothered a teenager more than being lectured to on the same subject for a second time. Once more, Misty kept her mouth shut. Something told her there was a but involved.

"That being said... your mom and I agreed to postpone your punishment," her father continued.

Misty's face split into a grin. There it was; there was the 'but' she'd sensed.

"Your mom told me you said you felt you needed to be in this fight, and after watching you take on those Fusion Monsters, I believe it. You handled yourself better than I did, and you not only kept yourself safe, but rescued me," her father continued. "So, we talked it over and agreed we'll let you join in this fight. However," - he held up his finger - "there are some conditions. You need to keep in constant contact with us. You have to tell us where you are at all times, and if you have to stay out late because you traveled far from home, you need to tell us." He leveled her with a firm look. "Do you understand?"

"Yes!" Misty agreed with a cheer. She hopped out of the armchair and flew at her parents. She threw her arms around them and hugged them tightly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! You won't regret it!"

Misty fell backwards onto her bed with a sigh. She settled into her comforter, letting the soft material suck her in. The comfort of her bedding had been one of the few things she missed when she was stuck in the terrible future. She of course understood a good bedspread was not a matter of survival for them, but she couldn't deny how happy she was when she was able to sleep in her bed and get a good, long rest. She felt she earned it from all the fighting and hustling she did in the future; plus she wanted her body to be reaccustomed to a mattress after having to sleep on a cot for nearly a week.

The purse she had brought with her on the morning of the time travel experiment was on her bed next to her. At some point, Dexter or that acne assistant of his had brought it to her parents while she was off in the future, and her parents had placed it in her room. She grabbed it and quickly pulled out her phone. Unfortunately, the phone was dead. Considering it's been two months since it was last charged, the thing was dead as a doornail. She went and found its charger, letting it gain enough juice to power up. Still plugged into its power source, Misty unlocked the phone and went to her text messages. Opening up the group chat with her friends, Misty wrote a simple:

Hey guys! I'm alive and back from the future!

She didn't expect a response back so soon; she wasn't sure what her friends were up to, but figured they may have joined in the war effort and were busy fighting monsters. She was jumping onto TubeTube to see if she could find some videos to bring her up to speed on what she's missed when she heard her phone dinged, indicating a text message had come in. She hopped back over to the text messages and discovered Peach had left her a message.

MISTY! YOU'RE ALIVE!

A second later, Peach dropped another text message.

Do you have a NanoCom? If you do, can you send your number to me?

Misty checked her contact information from her NanoCom and sent a text relaying the information. A moment later, her NanoCom began to beep. A look at its screen indicated Peach was attempting a video chat with her. She accepted without delay, and a holographic screen appeared. It wasn't just Peach looking back at her. All her friends were hopping on, looking at her in varying degrees of surprise, disbelief, and excitement.

"MISTY!" Peach screamed as soon as she saw her friend. "You're back!"

"Yeah, later than I was supposed to be," Misty commented, rolling her eyes. "I blame Mandark for that one."

"What happened to you? The news said you died," her blonde friend, Tanya, asked.

"Well, until Dexter revealed you were alive," her pink haired friend, Josiah, corrected. "He said a person from the future sent a warning about Fuse, and that person was you."

"It's how we learned you weren't actually dead," Gabby added. "Which, by the way, we're so glad you're not dead."

Her friends - even the stoic Ezra - chorused this sentiment.

"Thanks, you guys," Misty said with a smile. "I was actually sent six months into the future."

"Six months?!" Mateo shouted.

"Yeah, I was shocked too," Misty said. "And boy was it bad. Like, it was almost going to be consumed by Fuse bad."

"Wow, that is bad," Peach agreed.

"Why did you return now?" Ezra inquired. "Why didn't you return sooner?"

"That was the plan, but Mandark must have messed up somewhere. I was supposed to come back two minutes after the event, not two months!" Misty complained. "I swear, these so-called genius' need their IQs checked."

"You're here now, that's all that matters," her short haired friend, Chieko, said.

"She's right," Peach agreed.

"How did your parents react?" the redhead, Linus, asked.

"They freaked," Misty responded. "They're letting me join in the war effort."

"Really? They didn't ground you?" Tanya asked in surprise.

"You definitely should have," Ezra said.

Misty rolled her eyes. "It's being postponed. Once Fuse's butt has been kicked, I'll be grounded."

"How'd you swing that deal?" Mateo asked. "My mom would have used la chancla on me."

"My dad was chased around by some Fusion Monsters wandering nearby and I saved him."

"Huh. Yeah I guess that'll do it," Mateo said with a nod.

"Actually, something happened after the fight that I want your opinions on," Misty said, broaching a new topic. "Now in the future, when I fought a Fusion Monster, my NanoCom would collect the Fusion Matter. Does that happen here?"

"Yeah," her friends agreed.

"You saying yours won't collect?" Josiah asked.

"Yep. The matter was left behind in a puddle," Misty said.

"You think it might be because she didn't go to the Academy?" Gabby inquired to her friends.

"The Academy?" Misty parroted.

"Yeah, it was created after your messages came in. Dex and a bunch of Earth's heroes came together to build an academy designed to train us in fighting Fusion's Monsters. Weasel's been the headmaster of it," Peach explained.

"It's a month long program to get everyone trained on using weapons, fighting monsters, and acquiring Nanos," Linus said. "When we graduate, we pick a guide to follow."

"Guide?" Misty parroted again. She shook her head. "No, we'll get to that in a moment. Let's stay on track here. You think I need to go to the Academy?"

"It's possible," Josiah said. "When you came back to this time, your NanoCom must have hopped on the network, and it was locked to stop you from joining the fight since you didn't go through the process."

"I don't need the process. I got a crash course in the future," Misty argued.

"Awwwh, but the Academy's not bad. A lot of heroes are there, like Ben! Plus, all of us were the first graduating class, isn't that cool?" Peach said.

"It's great for all of you, but I really don't need it," Misty said. "I'd be so bored."

"Why not talk to Dexter?" Tanya suggested. "He was in charge of the program and the designer of the NanoComs. Maybe he can unlock it?"

"Tanya, you're so smart!" Misty complimented. "I'll talk to Dexter first thing tomorrow. I can't go beating up Fuse's monsters if it's just going to leave puddles behind. I'm so glad I talked to you guys. You've definitely been a big help."

"We're your friends, amiga," Mateo said with a grin. "We've got your back."

"And there's so much you missed! We have a lot to catch up on," Peach said excitedly.

Misty smiled back at her friends. "I've got till dinner. Tell me everything I've missed."

"Unlock my NanoCom," Misty demanded, slamming her left hand down on Dexter's desk.

The redheaded genius looked up at Misty in an exasperated frown. When he had agreed to take the meeting with Misty Cull, he hadn't expected the girl to be so abrasive. Where was that girl who had barely said a word to him at the presentation? This girl, who was leaning over his desk so that she could stare him down, hardly looked like the respectful volunteer he had met two months ago. Did something in her personality change when she was sent to and from the future? Was her politeness at the presentation a facade? He didn't know the correct question and answer, but a headache was steadily growing.

"Miss Cull, I have been made aware you were instructed to attend the Academy-"

"Yeah, and as I told your Dexbot that was helping me with this, I'm not going," Misty cut in. "I don't need the Academy."

"That is not a decision for you to make," Dexter argued. "The Academy is designed-"

"To what? Learn how to fight Fusion Monsters? Literally what did you think I was doing in the future? Twiddling my thumbs?" Misty challenged.

"I haven't the foggiest idea," Dexter stated deadpanned.

"I was fighting monsters! There is nothing I need to learn at the Academy," Misty argued. "I know how to shoot, I know how to fight, I know how to dodge eruptions, I know the different types of Nanos and how to obtain them. I even have four Nanos, compared to the three your graduates leave with."

"Miss Cull-"

"If you keep insisting I go into the Academy, I'm just going to be bored the whole time. And you'll literally be delaying me for a month for no reason," Misty further ordered. She slammed her other hand on the table so that she could better support her weight as she leaned forward. "If you think I need some resolve, you're mistaken. I've fought all kinds of Fuse's minions; I know what happens if Fuse wins. I have all the resolve I need to face the enemy and come out winning."

Dexter leaned back in his rolling chair, a contemplative look on his face as he observed her. He didn't want to admit it, but she had a point. The Academy was designed to bring in the uninitiated and teach them how to fight so that they wouldn't get merc'd by a Fusion Spawn. People like the Powerpuff Girls and Ben, people who were natural fighters, were exempt from the Academy because of their experience. Misty had experience that the recruits coming into the Academy didn't have. He had briefly reviewed her NanoCom as soon as it came onto the network, finding similarities in the monsters she faced. She was clearly experienced. Where would her experience be better utilized? At the month-long Academy program? Or out in the field?

He knew the answer...he just didn't like kowtowing to this teenager's demands. Girls could be so annoying.

Dexter released a sigh and rubbed his temple with his index and middle finger. "Very well," he conceded with a sigh. With his other hand, the genius tapped away at a surface on his desk.

Misty watched him dubiously, wondering what Dexter was doing to his desk. In her opinion, it simply looked like he was tapping away at it in a random pattern. After a few more taps, Dexter was finished.

"Check your NanoCom," Dexter advised, looking at her.

Misty pulled away from his desk and tapped at her NanoCom. As soon as she activated it, a screen was projected upward. On it were four symbols, three Misty instantly recognized. The fourth looked to be a gumball.

"You will need to choose your guide. Each one has a different method to beating Fuse-"

"No, I know this," Misty said, flippantly waving a hand to cease his talking. "My friends already explained the guides and what each one wants."

Misty had also noticed that each of the guides were the same people she had sent Mandark's message to. She imagined Mandark as a fifth guide, and then shook off the image. She really wouldn't want to be working under him. She had listened to what Dexter, Ben, and Double D were planning since she wanted to choose one before she went back into fighting. She already disqualified Mojo Jojo because of his villain status, and was very pleased all of her friends had done the same. Villains may be helping out but that didn't mean she was interested in working under one.

"Yes, well." Dexter pushed up his glasses so that the lighting in the room casted them in a glare. "As you are aware, I am a guide. My goal is to find all the missing heroes like the Justice Friends and Astounding League of Super People."

Misty rolled her eyes at Dexter's obvious attempt to recruit her. She wasn't interested in working under Dexter. His plan to deal with Fuse wasn't a bad idea. Super heroes had apparently gone missing just shortly after Fuse made his appearance on the scene. Buttercup had been such a casualty, although her disappearance had come from Mojo Jojo prior to Fuse's invasion. Misty had been quite shocked when her friends informed her of the green Powerpuff's disappearance. To her, she had only just said bye to the girl. Buttercup had never once told her about disappearing to parts unknown. She felt it was a pretty important thing to mention; you know hey, I may disappear at some point. Could you stop that from happening? Or if it already has, you'll find me at such and such place. Tell my family not to worry about me. Why hadn't she? Buttercup wasn't heartless, so didn't she want to let her family know she was okay?

Despite a desire to find the green Powerpuff and shake her shoulders, demanding to know why she'd keep such a secret (even though logically she knew these were two different Buttercups), Misty had ruled out Dexter as a guide. Even though finding the missing heroes was very important to their case, Misty had no interest in working under him. There was Ben, but his plans were less interesting to her. With Mojo not even being considered, that left Misty with one option left. Strangely, despite it being chosen by a process of elimination, Misty felt drawn to this selection. She tapped on the projected screen, selecting the orange-tinted gumball. The screen disappeared after she made her selection, and the base of her NanoCom, which used to be white, turned orange in reflection of her choice. Dexter frowned when he saw the change of color.

"Yes...well..." he began his voice slightly strained from annoyance. Clearly, he was hoping she'd choose him; or maybe he was annoyed she'd barged into his office, made him make an exception for her, and then didn't even bother to pick him as her guide. "Double D is... an excellent choice. He's very brilliant, though I do not necessarily understand his obsession with finding...candy."

Misty held in her snort, though she did roll her eyes.

"C'mon, Dex, you never got excited by a treasure hunt?" Misty asked him.

"I was busy," Dexter answered deadpanned.

"Whatever," Misty responded back, equally deadpanned. "It sounds interesting. Plus, the kid sounds confident this is a big deal for Fuse."

"Yes, he's discussed the matter with me before," Dexter admitted, ending the statement with a sigh. "As I said, I do not understand it, but I trust him."

"He can't be any worse than the chimpanzee," Misty stated.

"Yes," Dexter agreed with a hum. "I still don't understand why a message was sent back to him of all people."

"Yep, weird how that happens," Misty stated a bit awkwardly, glancing away.

"At least that hack Mandark didn't receive one," Dexter continued.

"Mhm mhm," Misty hummed, continuing to look out the glass windows in an effort to not look at the redhead. The kid would flip a lid if he knew how close they were to having Mandark as a guide.

"Is there anything else you need from me, or are you going to remain standing in my office?" Dexter asked, tapping his fingers against his desk.

"Geez, you could just say get lost," Misty said. "It'd save you some breath."

Dexter sighed and rubbed his temple again.

"I am rather busy at the moment. If you were not aware, we're in the middle of a war with an alien invader, and I am currently a guide tasked with finding our missing heroes. Furthermore, I am attempting to construct weapons to use against said monsters and I'm running the Nano enhancement project. I am extremely busy."

There was also the fact it was the weekly Monsters and Mazes night with his pals, but he was not going to inform the girl about this.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. But things are going to be fine from here on out. Wanna know why?"

"I am very terrified of the answer."

Misty flashed him a haughty smirk and pointed a thumb at herself. "Because I'm here!"

Dexter's face dropped, looking utterly unimpressed. Misty stared at him for a moment and then rolled her eyes.

"Seriously, dude, have some faith, would yah? The other you did. Heck, even the future Mandark did."

"That does not fill me with confidence," Dexter remarked with a disgruntled look on his face.

"Ugh, whatever," Misty said with a roll of her eyes. She headed over to the sliding door, waiting for it to open. "You'll see I'm right." she told him over her shoulder as she made her exit.

The sliding door closed behind her, separating the two and effectively ending the conversation. When his sliding door closed, Dexter dropped his forehead onto the back of his hands, which were folded on the top of his desk.

We're so doomed, he thought.