Inside the house, the three gather to have a conference and talk about their future plans.
"Let's just escape, no one will find us. I'll find a way to bring the time machine with us, " Finn suggested.
"No, no. We're not going anywhere," Jasper interjected. "I still have to solidify my winnings," he said, referring to the dog races.
"And I still have to get what I want too, " Callie said.
"We'll have to find a way to miniaturize the machine though," the artist added. "We can't go back there though. What if we're caught?"
Finn was referring to breaking into their dead neighbor's dwelling so they could steal the time machine and escape.
Of course, escape and then with whatever greed and what else they had on their mind, they could enjoy that when they got away.
Little did they know that the neighboring mad scientist was in on it.
He faked his own death to divert suspicion that he was the one behind it. He purposely set up the thing with Heidecker, his colleague and partner in crime.
What they tested was some weird simulation of sorts, they weren't actually rich but the kids thought they were because of their imagination. You see, that the time machine makes it a reality for whatever they imagine it to be.
They weren't actually rich in the real world, but in this alternate reality they were in the minds of the kids.
For the three friends, the alternative reality became their actual reality and there is no going back after that. They had been overcome by their character flaws, their want of fame and fortune.
"Heidecker, you may come in now."
"Yes, Bertil Soren, what is it?" Soren was the newly-appointed assistant to the acclaimed Heidecker. Bertil moved from his native Denmark about three years ago after his wife left him.
"We have a mysterious finding here, you will be amazed," the assistant explained.
"What is it?"
"So here the half-life of the particle increases as its subjected proteins dissipate. The alternate reality are becoming real for the kids and they will die if they don't stop their destructive ways."
"That means that the world will be doomed!" the senior scientist exclaimed fervently.
"What must they do to reverse this trend?" Soren asks calmly.
"They must believe in free will," Heidecker states firmly.
"If they don't then they'll keep this up, falsely assuming that they must match the photo the time machine prints out for the next day." she explains as beads of sweat drip down her forehead. It was just not the summer heat and the poor air circulation of the building.
"Those kids are too stupid though," Soren says correctly, "They'll never figure it out because they are too clouded by their selfish desires" he says distantly. He is disappointed.
"What are we to do?" he cries out suddenly, a clear turn from the passivity he displayed moments ago.
"We must let things unravel as they are. Do no interference. It is in God's hands now. And their own. They determine their own fate, not us."
"Affirmative. Yes. Ma'am. We must strive to not interfere."
"It's a cold, cold winter for us. We must do something" adds a third. Out of the shadow comes a figure they have never seen before.
"How long have you been there listening?"
"Oh, I only caught the part about the recklessness of the kids."
"Good. Keep it to yourself" adds Mr. B. out of nowhere. He says it a little too commandingly, he doesn't get the tone right because of his internal panic about someone else knowing other than the specified few.
"Sure thing." Big Joe replies calmly. He is trained in this sort of thing, being a security guard and all, he knew how to handle it.