"If you want to get back to the past, you're going to need my genius. There happen to be several wormholes that have opened up due to your being here."

Cael beamed," That's great! I can go home!"

"Hardly," Mandark said flatly. "The wormholes are good for transporting objects across space, but any organic material introduced probably wouldn't make it."

"Oh,"

The boy handed her a bundle of three or four cylindrical containers. "Take these to the wormholes," he said, "They're messages to a few specific people in the past. Once you get back, they might be able to help you."

She shifted her weight uneasily. Sending messages into the past to influence someone's actions? Not exactly her idea of how to help things.

She took the containers tentatively, Mandark looking more impatient than before. "Where are the wormholes?"

"Keep your NanoCom on, and I'll give you directions through your mini-map.

Cael turned around and headed away from Genius Grove, still feeling uneasy.

The first wormhole Mandark found for her was in the cul-de-sac. She hesitated before tossing the small container into the green swirling mass. The wormhole spared a bright yellow and when the light died down, the container was no where to be seen.

She swallowed hard as her NanoCom beeped again, with the next location.

The feeling in her gut had left by the time she got back to Genius Grove. Mandark was standing over a Red and black robot, programming it. She waited patiently for him to finish. "What do you want?"

"Messages have been sent." She said, quietly. "What're you doing?"

"What does it look like? I'm programming the Mandroid to take care of all business in the Genius Grove area. Thos Dexbots certainly aren't going to do it, and I'm needed in Peach Creek Commons."

"Oh, alright. Well, while you're here, anything else?" she asked.

"Yes, one more thing: Since you seem to take orders well, see if you can retrieve one of my robots. It went missing in battle a few weeks ago, and it's crucial to obtain if you want to get back to your time. Larry 3000. Last anyone saw him, he was in Goat's Junkyard."

She nodded, turning, but stopped when he called her back. "One last thing," he said. Her taros counter clicked as the count rose. "Once in Goat's Junkyard, you might want to talk to Samurai Jack. He's experienced Time Travel before. He might have a few things that need to be taken care of before you go. To prep the time field." The boy shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. I'd check just to be sure."

She nodded again, her stomach churning on all the talk of time travel. You'd think that she'd be alright with it, or at least better, seeing as how she was three years into the future at the moment, she thought as she ran across the town.

She felt like a traitor. She knew nothing good could come out of what she was doing. She was sure they'd all have a better fighting chance if she just stayed where she was. Going back and changing things that happened could ruin them all.

But that wasn't entirely correct. She was just going home. There was no harm in going back to her time, right?

No. Because in the three years she'd been gone, things HAD happened, and by going back, she would be changing that.

Cael frowned and focused on her direction, putting those thoughts from her mind for the moment. No use worrying herself on something that couldn't be helped.

The world was in a horrible situation. As far as she knew, the few places she'd been already were the only ones left. All the rest of the world had been taken over by seas of green fusion matter. Everyone's homes, and undoubtedly, other people. What had happened to them?

She was suddenly mad. All of this was her fault, she realized. If she hadn't agreed to that stupid time travel project, they wouldn't be in this situation! Her pace sped up and she took off running. She was part of this war, whether she liked it or not, and it was her responsibility to help win it.

Goat's junkyard was massive.

By the time she had reached it, her anger spike had disappeared as she saw the dump. A man in a white robe was standing near the entrance portal. The place was an infected zone… She walked up to him, and he bowed deeply. "Miss Claw, I presume?"

"Yes… Samurai Jack, correct?" she said, bowing back, feeling a bit silly.

"Yes. I heard that you are the one who is going to defeat Fuse."

She laughed. "That's funny. I've been hearing the same thing since I got here."

"Time Travel, yes?"

She frowned slightly, turning to enter the junkyard. "Unfortunately." She jumped onto the entrance portal and felt herself being dematerialized.

Cael Stumbled over remnants of cars and tow trucks – vehicles that were in fact very different from the style of cars she'd seen on the street while here.

Fusion spawn were all over the junkyard, some of them were wearing what looked like gasmasks, although she couldn't imagine why they'd need –

Beep beep! Beep beep! Her NanoCom went off, signaling that someone was trying to connect with her. Cael unhooked the device and settled herself against one of the cars, out of sight of the fusions before receiving the transmission.

"Cael, I've managed to lock on Larry 3000's energy signature. Apparently, his circuitry is intact enough for the homing signal to still be effective. I'm sending the relative pinpoint to you NanoCom now."

"Alright," Cael smiled into the screen. "Thanks, Mandark!" she managed to say before the screen went black again, the transmission having been cut.

She peeked out from behind the car door she was using as a temporary hiding spot. Fusions swarmed the place, but it was just enough for her to slip by… she hoped.

The girl darted out into the open, making her way to a ramp-like structure in the middle of the yard. The fusions didn't see her immediately, but she knew that if one turned around and saw her running, it would attack her, thus attracting every other fusion in the vicinity.

Her holo-boots made a loud clunking sound as she ran up the ramp – if the fusions hadn't noticed her before, they certainly did now. But, it didn't matter, she was up on the platform. The fusions wouldn't try to follow her up the ramp – they didn't like being too high off the ground, afraid they might fall and splatter.

Cael looked toward the horizon. A giant robot was standing in the distance, fusion goo climbing up it like an invasive weed. If that thing was Larry 3000, there was no way she was getting back to Mandark. She might have been there to 'save the planet', but she was certainly no superhero.

She checked her NanoCom to make sure that the giant monstrosity really was Larry 3000, and to her great relief, it wasn't. Larry's energy signature was coming from some where northeast from her. She looked, but couldn't see any-

From below, there was a strange gurgling noise, which seemed to multiply into a chorus of growls. Cael frowned before being knocked off her feet by a blast of green fusion energy. The force sent her sliding off the edge of the structure, into the muddy goo below. The pack of spawn surrounded her, beginning to nip at her suit and hair. The girl brandished her weapon and fired a few poorly-aimed shots into the midst of the spawn as she ran from them.

The field she was in was a barren expanse of absolutely nothing save for a small pile of rubble here and there, hardly anything she would be able to use to her advantage.

To her left, she saw a jump pad. Cael swore in her head as she tripped over a stray carburetor before quickly picking herself up and hurrying to the jump pad. It carried her up and she thrust her body forward, sending her across the field. It felt like she was flying, just with more of a falling sensation, which ultimately kept her aware of her situation. There was another platform ahead, such a short distance but she could already feel her altitude decreasing. She stretched her arms forward as far as she could.

SMACK! Her hand hit the edge of the platform and she latched on. She was at least three stories off the ground now. If she let go or slipped, it would mean a definite trip to the Resurrect 'Em. Or, if she were especially unlucky, a broken leg, upon which she would be torn apart by the fusion spawn waiting patiently at the bottom.

Uhm, no. she decided, and with great effort hauled herself up onto the platform, to the great dismay of the spawn below. Now, to find the head of Larry 3000…

Dexter looked tiredly down at the production line. Dexbot after Dexbot was being made, but it still wasn't enough. Number Five had told him that the bots were being destroyed as fast as they were being put out there. He'd need to make some adjustments, to make the bots more sustainable. They were not suited to be out on the frontline like this. He'd created the Dexbots to help him around the laboratory.

Dexter removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. It was now a year since his first human test subject, Miss Cael Claw, had gone missing. The accident in his laboratory had forced him to reveal it to his parents, in hopes of repairing the time machine quicker, but it had in fact delayed his work. Yes, his mother and father had been enthralled with his intellect, but they decided to help him start an industry with what was left of his inventions. And thus, Dexlabs was founded. But it had taken too long for the facility to be built. The invasion had begun, and there was simply no way he'd be able to repair the time machine for Claw to come back.

It was either late at night or early in the morning, he wasn't entirely sure. His watch was broken during the first week of the invasion and he simply hadn't had time to fix it. He disregarded it as a servicebot wheeled in. "Sir," it droned in an electronic voice, "An unfamiliar package had been found inside of the premise. Do you wish for it to be disposed of?"

"No," the boy replied, a tad off his better judgment, "bring it here."

Momentarily, the Dexbot disappeared, later retuning with a green cylindrical container, which he handed off toe the boy genius. Dexter looked at the container for a moment before twisting off the cap, nearly dropping it as the pressurized air hissed as it was released. The body of the device started humming, and he shouted for a securitybot, anticipating the device to explode or some other function of destruction. When a holographic projector shone out of the container, flickering to life, he stopped, his nerves calmed, if not a little confused. The message played.

"Dexter, it is I, Mandark!" The boy genius frowned. Why was Mandark contacting him? Furthermore, why did he look older? "It seems that the result of your failed experiments has crash landed in our time. A certain Cael Claw is working on the time machine you could never finish. With my genius, she will arrive in your time, bringing news of the war between Earth and planet Fusion!"

"Cael – she's there? She's alive?" he asked. However, the holographic Mandark didn't seem to hear him, and continued.

"I have sent messages containing this information to three other people besides you. You and the three others – 'Double D', MojoJoJo, and Benjamin Tennyson – will meet her in Sector Five at approximately 0700 hours. Try not to miss her arrival."

The image died.

Dexter frowned, recapping the device. "Computress!" he shouted.

"Yes, Dexter?" the robotic personification of his supercomputer strode up next to him, from her post on the other side of the overlook.

"Computress, what time is it?" he asked, frowning.

"Time is 6:45 AM, Dexter. Is that all?"

"Computress, I'm putting you in control of all activities here. I'm going out!" He called over the din as he ran from the overlook.