"We're live here at VenTech where famous scientist Dr. Venture will test out his latest creation," said the reporter. For Kelly, she looked like she had one face job too many; her cheek bones were as high as her eyeballs, giving her a most terrifying permanent smile. She stood before a newsroom cameraman with a 'Channel 5 News' microphone in her hand. A crowd full of people and an elaborate blue curtain, hiding Dr. Venture's creation, served as her background. "This has been thirteen years in the making, ladies and gentlemen," she continued. "Originally created out of gamma rays and other harmful toxins, Dr. Venture has found a way to make it suitable for human use.

"After many private test runs, Dr. Venture has finally deemed it safe enough to showcase to the world," she said. "Hank Venture, Dr. Venture's son, will be the first living person to use the time machine. Hank Venture has grown popular over the years, serving as a stuntman for his father's inventions. He is most known for being the first human to orbit around mars during a testing of his father's Ferrari rocket ship.

"In just a few minutes, the curtains will open, and Dr. Venture will change the world forever. I'm told a portal will open and Henry Venture will enter it, being sent thirteen minutes into the future. What will be thirteen agonizing minutes for us will be mere seconds for Hank…"

Kelly and Dagwood moved their way up to the stage. Wanting to blend in with the crowd, Kelly left his gas mask at home but still wore his mother's old coat. Dagwood opted to wear his own clothing, one of his black suits and his favorite bear fur coat.

A group of fan girls crowding around the stage held up a giant sign that read 'WE LOVE HANK!' in bright glittery pink letters. Each wore a 'Hank Fan' t-shirt and were screaming at the top of their lungs, in the hopes that Hank, their idol, would hear them.

The people who were hired to protect the machine, guards in black suits and dark sunglasses, were busy trying to tame the fan girls, making sure they wouldn't climb up on stage to get to Hank. So busy, in fact, they didn't see Kelly and Dagwood slip up the stairs and enter through the curtain.

"Holy crap," said Dagwood in a hushed voice.

The device itself was small but its controls beside it were very big. Slowly, Kelly made his way up to the controls. Curiosity getting the best of him, he switched it on. It vibrated, letting out a most terrible roar. A portal opened up and the room instantly illuminated blue, almost blinding the two boys.

"Woah… dude," said Dagwood. He stepped back slightly while Kelly moved forward. "You think it really works?"

"Dunno," said Kelly. He examined the control panel. In the center was a digital screen that had the words 'MIN' inside it. Below it, a little nob. "Minutes," muttered Kelly. He twisted the nob clockwise and the screen read 'HRS'. "Hours." He turned it again. "Weeks." And again. "Months." He turned it one last time. "Years." Beside it there was a number pad with the number thirteen dialed into it. Awe struck him as he looked upon the portal, wondering where he might end up if he goes through it.

Outside, the people cheered as a booming voice announced Dr. Venture. Dagwood peeked through the curtains and saw the doctor, microphone in hand, as he announced his creation to the world. The audience cheered, the fan girls up front being the loudest of them all.

"Dude, c'mon," said Dagwood. "Just grab the thing and let's get out of here!"

"What? No!" Kelly flicked the machine off, the portal closed and the blue glow disappearing instantly. "We have to wait for my dad," said Kelly.

"They're about to open the curtain!"

"Where is he?" he asked himself, nervously tapping onto the control panel. Mindlessly, his hands found the number pad, changing the positive number to a negative. His dad was late. He'd have to take the lead. "All right… we'll go hide in the crowd until—"

The blue curtains opened, and the cheering crowd fell silent. Dr. Venture hadn't noticed yet, carrying on with his speech like normal, unaware or uncaring of the audience's sudden mood change. Awkwardly the two boys stayed frozen, hoping Kelly's dad would quickly come and save the day.

Gary squinted his eyes, trying to make the old kitchen television less blurry. It was no use; even Kelly had trouble looking at it. The thing was a pile of junk, more static than picture most of the time. The only thing that got it to work was hitting it a few times, but Gary was too lazy to get up. Usually, Kelly was the one to do that. He gave up on trying to watch the show—some corny old cartoon with a laugh track—and switched it to the news. It was Dr. Venture's big day and, of course, the news was broadcasting live at VenTech. They had the whole street blocked off for it, even.

While gorging down his second bowl of whole wheat cereal, he eagerly waited for Monarch's "surprise" (scheduled) attack. He turned to the empty chair next to him, his thoughts going to Kelly. Normally, he's down here with Gary, complaining about the terrible tv reception and enjoying a batch of Gary's blueberry pancakes. He was still in his room, brooding about last night. He'll be thirteen in March, Gary noted; probably getting a head start on that teenage rebellion thing.

As Gary slurped the milk up from his bowl, he heard the front door open. He stood abruptly, on full alert. "Kelly?" he questioned. If that kid was sneaking out again… The door slammed shut and Monarch and Dr. The Mrs. entered the kitchen, both surprisingly wearing ordinary clothing. Monarch held a box of donuts from that bakery Kelly loves that was a couple blocks from their home.

"Wh-what're you guys doing here," said Gary. He motioned to the tv, some woman reporter was coming in and out of the static. "You're supposed to be arching Venture right now! What happened?"

"My son's what happened," he said, a slight hint of anger in his voice. He dropped the box onto the table and turned to the television. The reporter was now interviewing Dr. Venture and Monarch let out a snarl. "God, I hate him," he muttered, disgust in his voice. "Do we still have that shit ray?"

His wife shook her head. "We got rid of it at last year's yard sale," she said. "Remember, Truckules took it to help with his constipation."

"Oh yeah," said Monarch. "We should get a new one. Thing did wonders."

"We'll be spending the day with Kelly," explained Sheila to Gary. "Take him to the city. Buy him some new jeans. Maybe go bowling. Whatever Kelly wants. A Kelly Day, so to speak, to remind him that he's a valued member of our household."

"And guess who came up with that idea," said Monarch. "I'll give you a hint: I am singlehandedly paying for her kid's college tuition."

"Dr. Lola is a professional therapist and she's really helped Kelly this past year," defended his wife. "He's doing so much better in school, making more friends, joining clubs… He's improved so much since last year."

Monarch huffed but didn't disagree with her. Kelly had become more confident since seeing her, less inside his shell. In fact, he first asked his parents to join the Guild around the same time he started seeing Dr. Lola. But two hundred dollars per session, three sessions a week was a lot for confidence building; too much on Monarch's end, anyways.

"So, wait… you're just gonna not show up? Like, just skip the arching?" asked Gary. "Do they even allow that?"

"We rescheduled for next Monday," explained Monarch, frowning.

"Citing it as a family emergency," said his wife.

"Which is totally going to mess up my mojo," said Monarch. "I had this whole thing planned out… I even had the minions repaint the outside of the cocoon."

"But, at least, you'll be showing your son that he's more important than some arching job," said his wife with a glare.

"Well… of course Kelly's more important than some arching job," said Monarch. Suddenly noticing his son's absence, he began looking around the kitchen. "Where is Kelly, anyway?"

"Still sleeping, I think," said Gary, opening the box full of pastries and picking out a nice glazed donut.

"I'll go get him," said Dr. The Mrs. "We can all eat breakfast together."

She made her way to leave, but Monarch stopped her. "Honey, uh, knock first," he advised. "He's… of that age." With his right hand, he mimed a handy.

As she left to retrieve their son, Monarch took a seat next to Gary, his eyes glued to the television screen. They had just opened the curtains, but the picture was fading in and out; Gary could hardly see anything happening.

"It might be a good idea to turn this off," said Gary. He reached for the remote, but Monarch stopped him.

"Wait," Monarch said. He squinted at the television. "Who's that on the stage?"

"Honey," yelled his wife from upstairs.

Gary focused on the screen. It was difficult for him to see anything but static. He saw two figures: one tall and one short. "I don't know. Hank and Dean?" It was a guess. He really couldn't tell. Monarch wasn't convinced, quickly getting up and hitting the television.

"Honey!" his wife said again.

Monarch gave the tv one last hit and the picture went clear. It wasn't Hank and Dean Venture; it was Dagwood H. Fantamos and Kelly Don Fizcarraldo, standing center stage at VenTech. Both Monarch and Gary, mouths agape, looked on in shock.

"Monarch," said Sheila, panic in her voice, "Kelly's not in his room… or in the bathroom. I'm looking everywhere. Sweetie, I can't find him. He's not in the house!"

"Relax, honeybunch," Monarch called to his wife.

"We found him," said Gary.

Dr. venture couldn't understand why the crowd had stopped cheering. Even the fan girls were dead silent. My God, you people are in the presence of a time machine—a time machine, god damnit—and you have nothing to say? Still, he was determined to continue. "And now, may I introduce my son… Hank Venture," he said.

Someone in the crowd coughed awkwardly as Hank Venture walked out. A few people clapped, but mostly it stayed quiet. Hank Venture was a big man, who was more muscles than smarts. Labeled a heartthrob in the media, he was most recognizable for his thick blond mustache and his robotic right arm. Many years of working for his father as his test dummy has made Hank more metal than man. This only seemed to increase women's attraction towards him. He waved with his good arm to the crowd.

Glancing at the machine behind him, Hank suddenly understood why the crowd was so quiet. "Uh… pop?"

"What's wrong with you people?" Dr. Venture finally snapped. "I mean, this is Hank freakin' Venture! He went to mars, for God's sake! Just a few minutes ago you were screaming his name!" His eyes went to the fan girls up front. "And what about you guys? Don't you wanna climb up here and tear my son's clothes off?"

"Pop!"

"Hank, honey, I'm defending your honor—"

"But, pop!"

"What could possibly be more interesting than a man with a robotic arm? Please… please tell me, so we can move on!"

A girl up front pointed behind Dr. Venture, at his machine, and, slowly, Dr. Venture turned.

"Who are you?" asked Venture to the two boys, who were slowly trying to tiptoe their way to the stage stairs. The boys froze, maybe hoping they could become invisible. "I can see you!"

Finally, the tall one stepped forward. His eyes wandered the sky, in search for something.

"We're here to arch you." It was the small one who spoke.

"I'm sorry?" said Dr. Venture, rubbing his ears to make sure he wasn't hearing things. "You're here to what now?"

"Arch you," he said. "I'm Dagwood and this is…"

"Milkweed," said the other boy.

Dagwood glared at his friend. "…Milkweed," Dagwood said, disdain in his voice. "We're taking the machine. And don't try to stop us. We've got three snipers on you, just waiting for you to do something.

"Wait… Milkweed? Like, what Monarch butterflies eat? You're Monarch's kid, aren't you? You are, aren't you?" said Venture. Milkweed's face went a bright shade of red. "He said he had to reschedule… I bet that was just a tactic to catch me off guard." He looked around at the crowd, then up at the sky. "All right. Come on out, Monarch… Let's get this thing over with. I've got a schedule to keep."

Milkweed, panicked, turned to Dagwood and whispered a few words. Dagwood stopped him and cleared his throat. He let out a forced, elegant laugh. "No, I'm afraid you are mistaken," said Dagwood. "We are not associated with The Monarch… or anyone with the Guild, for that matter."

Hank pointed at Milkweed. "Isn't that a Guild jacket he has on?"

Dagwood examined his friend's jacket, smiling to hide his anger. "It seems so. Yes."

"All right," said Dr. Venture with a sigh. He turned on his wrist watch and spoke into it: "Brock, get these two delinquents off my stage!"

Brock Samson and a group of guards climbed up onto the stage. "C'mon kids," said Brock. "Just… get off the stage. This is… cute and all, but you're biting off more than you can chew here." Casually, he moved towards them.

Thinking quickly, Dagwood pulled out his Talkie from his pocket and aimed it at him. "I wouldn't move if I were you," he said. "You see this little red button here? I press it and we're all blowing up."

The guards froze, and the audience began to mutter words of panic, but Brock continued on. He cracked knuckles. "You shouldn't have said that, kid."

"Wait!" said a voice from the crowd. "Don't kill them! They mean no harm!"

"Gary?" said Milkweed.

Everyone turned to the crowd as Gary approached the stage. "I'm here on behalf of The Monarch," Gary explained.

"So, this is the Monarch's doing," said Venture, crossing his arms. "I knew it."

"No… No, I can assure you the Monarch had no involvement in this," said Gary. He had approached the stage. "But we are willing to take full responsibility for any damages caused by these… delinquents, as you called them."

"Why isn't the Monarch here to say all this himself," asked Venture.

"Well, he's—"

Suddenly, the room went blue. While the grownups were distracted, Dagwood saw it as his chance to take the machine. While trying to pick it up, he accidentally turned it on.

"What're you doing?" shouted Milkweed. "This isn't what I want!" He pushed Dagwood to the ground, in an attempt to get him away from the machine. In return, Dagwood gave a hard kick to Kelly's shin. In pain, Milkweed jumped back towards the portal.

He couldn't see anyone. He heard their voices, he could tell that they were close, but he couldn't see them. He could only see blue.

"Get him away from that!"

"Dude!"

"Kelly!"

He felt strong hands grab hold of him as he fell back. He blinked, his eyes only seeing blue, and hit the ground hard.

"You okay?" he heard Gary ask.

"Yeah," he said, groaning.

Kelly sat up, no longer seeing blue. He turned to see if the machine had gotten damaged. It wasn't damaged. In fact, it wasn't even there.

Suddenly, he became aware of how quiet it was. Where was Dr. Venture's voice, telling him to get away from his invention. Where was Dagwood's voice asking if he was all right? It was practically silent compared to what it was just seconds ago. Finally, he turned to the audience… but all he saw were cars driving by.

"The… Where is everyone?" he said. People passed by, but they weren't the same people as before, Kelly knew; these ones were going about their business like everything was normal. "It's like… they all disappeared?"

"Now… I don't want you to panic," said Gary, "but I think—"

"We went through the time machine!"

I really wanted the chapter to be called 'The Brat Pack', but it just didn't make a whole lot of sense, because two doesn't make a pack. So, I settled for 'The Delinquent Duo'. For some reason, this was a very difficult chapter to write. It's a little shorter than the last three chapters.

I hope it makes sense (if not, I'll work on rewriting it).
I really wanted to hurry and finish this fic, because I'm so worried the next episode will ruin my motivation for the story. (It's the last episode of the season, I think, and I'm scared they're gonna create canon that'll contradict my story.) Hopefully, it won't! Only two or three chapters left! Let me know your thoughts so far...