o0o

" The answer to that question is long, complicated, and rather unique."

The leader scowled with her answer. Missy's attention was drawn to the sight of both guards approaching mewtwo. They used a max revive on the pokemon. It took only an instant for it to levitate, the pokemon's eyes narrowed tenaciously as it gazed upon her.

Missy cocked an eyebrow, with it her voice raised with her disdain, " Oh really?!"

Mewtwo said nothing in turn. With a wave of his hand, the pokemon telepathically lifted her off the ground. In that instant she found herself paralyzed.

Ninetails and absol wasted no time. Both of her pokemon engaged her assailant. With a wave of his free hand, the pokemon launched ninetails into a wall. Absol leaped up, but Mewtwo spun around and slammed the canine down with his tail.

Her thoughts became hazy as the pokemon attempted to enter her mind. She didn't have a moment to waste. The pokemon was powerful but was also terribly inexperienced. That would prove to be her greatest advantage.

Gruesome images of the Time War came to her mind's eye. Memories of the Daleks conjured a vivid reconstruction of days long since past.

She ran past fallen comrades before she tripped on a piece of debris. Swiftly she stumbled back up and ran down the corridor. Friendly and enemy fire boomed overhead.

The ceiling started to cave, she turned from the blocked path in search of an exit. The ominous hum of a hover pad caught her attention. Slowly she turned and glared at her nemesis. A single, soulless, red-eye gazed back at her from its shell.

" Exterminate!" the monstrosity inside shouted.

Her mind phased back to white as she regained control of herself. Mewtwo looked back in horror as failed in the air.

These things are not possible, he telepathically stammered

" Oh, but they are." Missy sinisterly informed him.

Mewtwo attempted to attack her once more but relented with her imagery. Missy snatched her screwdriver and confirmed the pokemon's emotional distress. She hid her disappointment when she learned the pokemon's life was a fixed point in time.

With the threat of the pokemon eliminated she turned her attention to the room. Her eyes narrowed at the gym leader. He was tenacious and she wondered, just who did he think he was.

" All of this over a girl with an umbrella who happened to defeat you," Missy said as she leaned into her umbrella as if it were a cane. " For what reason?"

The gym leader glared down at her. " I think you're perfectly aware."

Missy rolled her eyes at the remark. " Of what? That you're incapable of controlling the most powerful pokemon on the planet."

Both guards were apprehensive, they were waiting for orders. The gym leader was enraged. Missy shook her head, he was a sore loser.

" You think I'm not capable!" He glared at Missy and the viciousness in his voice grew, " You have no idea what I'm capable of." He growled," Your ignorance defies me."

With the snap of his fingers both guards charged at her. Missy aimed the nearest and shot him in the chest.

" There's a difference between power and force," Missy said with deep conviction. " Force is all about attempting to control what you do not have."

She aimed at the other, but he dodged the attack. As he hastened his pursuit she dropped her umbrella and prepared the vortex manipulator. Just as she was in his grasp Missy teleported behind him.

" What the-" he called out in confusion.

Missy promptly pivoted, then shot him in the back. She then turned her attention to the gym leader. He was startled, he stepped back while he reached for something in his jacket.

Missy shook her head in disappointment. " Then there is power. That is the art of controlling what you have while knowing how to take care of the other. "

She snatched her pokemon's ball and recalled them. Then picked up her umbrella before she swiftly set her departure. She would arrive in Viridian Forest five minutes into the future.

The gym leader peered at her. " Who are you?"

Missy smirked as she eyed him. " I'm just a passer-by," she replied as she placed her screwdriver back into her jacket. " So long."

With the press of a button, she made her escape. In the blink of an eye, her position in time and place changed. She found herself on a dirt road at the entrance of the forest.

She looked back at the city and let out a sigh. She had gotten more than she bargained for at the gym.

" That was fun," she uttered.

Missy turned her back to the city and approached her tardis. She mentally accessed the chameleon circuit and turned her tardis back into a pokeball, and placed it in her pocket. She checked the date September 5th, 2014.

Missy decided her next destination would be Arborville. A town she had learned about while studying the pokemon world. She then set her vortex manipulator for the town two weeks into the future, September 19th, 2014.

Missy arrived in a forest filled with treehouses. She frowned as she looked up into the trees. The pokemon center was under the canopy. She took pidgeot's ball and flew up there.

The doors slid open as she stepped in. Missy was disenchanted by the sight of the same nurse. As she approached she raised a brow. The nurse warmly smiled and readied a tray. She took a second look at the nurse. She was sure she was the same woman.

The nurse placed an empty tray before her, the joyfully said, " Welcome to the Arborville pokemon center."

Missy raised a brow as she placed her pokeballs inside. " I think you have a twin."

The nurse placed the tray into the machine. She looked back at Missy and then warmly smiled. " I have ten sisters here in Johto and many cousins in Kanto, we all look very similar so I hear that a lot."

It took less than thirty seconds for the machine to finish. The nurse picked up the tray and placed it before her.

She bowed graciously. " Thank you, we hope to see you again."

Missy paid her little attention as she took her pokemon. " Oh, well I don't think I'll be back."

Missy turned and paraded out of the pokemon center. She just wanted to get out of there. It didn't take her long to return to the forest floor. The moment she landed she put out ninetails.

Ninetails, let out a sigh. Mistress, you got away. I remember him, that man is the leader of Team Rocket.

It was a short walk out of town. When they hit the trail Missy drew her screwdriver and continued her search for Celebi. Pidgeotto and combee flew over as the pair as they strolled along.

" That explains a lot." She sighed. " Ninetails, we defeated him. What does it even matter? He was such a weak leader. He clearly can't keep his cool in a crisis. I'm surprised his-" Missy paused as she thought of the correct word, " -Team even existed in the end."

Mistress, he only got stronger as the years went on, Ninetails said as she and Missy took a diverging dirt path. At the end of days nothing stopped him.

Missy nodded along. " Nothing, well if it was my world I would do the same."

As they walked through the forest a thought crossed her mind. Why didn't the tardis know who he was? Lysandre said he was re-writing history. It didn't matter, she would have the celebi soon. Once she got the tardis off the ground dealing with him would be a simple affair.

Her screwdriver locked onto Celebi's location. She and Ninetails followed its single deeper into the greenery of the forest. After a moderate walk, they found a clearing.

The clear waters of a lake shimmered in the afternoon sun. In the center of the lake, the small green fairy-like pokemon Celebi danced in the breeze. As it flew it skimmed the waters of the lake, the whooper splashed up, water spouted from its mouth. Celebi giggled as the tadpole retreated into the water.

The pokemon laughed at each other momentarily. Celebi paused and smirked as the whopper playfully splashed about. It was cute, but something she didn't care for.

She threw a pokeball." Absol."

The canine confidently leaped into battle. The forest grew quiet when the mega evolution began. After the brilliant evolution had finished, her assault began.

" Absol use shadow ball!" Missy ordered.

Mega absol ran to the edge of the shore roaring as it released a purple orb of energy. Celebi took immediate notice and dodged the attack. The pokemon playfully giggled at her.

The cold voice of a man shouted, " Scizor furry cutter!"

A Scizor charged from the forest. The steel insect buzzed as it fiercely approached its foe. Its red claws gleamed as the pokemon struck Celebi into the lake. Missy found the source of this disruption, a man wearing an iron mask. He was dressed in black armor that bore an insignia she was familiar with.

She aimed for the red R on his chest, then fired. He was quick on his feet, easily he dodged the shot. His eyes widened with excitement when gazed at her. " You're the woman my boss is looking for!"

He turned his attention to the battle, Missy glanced over. Celebi had flown out of the lake. The pokemon flew above the scizor and then unleashed a storm of leaves with the attack leaf storm. Green leaves burst with energy as they knocked the steel insect back.

The attack went into the forest. Hordes of beedrill and combee flew out of the trees. Celebi attempted to dodge the swarms but got caught in the swarm, the pokemon was powerless.

" He says your powerful. That man will do anything for power, you know." He glanced over at Missy and grinned. " He offered a seven hundred thousand poke yen reward to anyone who could bring you in alive, but don't worry I don't want his money." His grin widened as he peered at her. " Judging by the things I've heard it sounds like you have a quarrel with him."

Missy shrugged while Celebi franticly attempted to flee. The pokemon was powerless to do anything inside the swarm of insects.

Missy looked over at him, he was just as focused on the battle. " I think your boss has a quarrel with me." She laughed sarcastically at the notion. " I've done nothing to him that would hurt his reputation or power. Tell me is he still angry that I defeated him?"

Her question had gotten the man to grin. " You should have seen him the days after- he trailed off. The swarm was ending. Scizor began to charge celebi. " Scizor bullet punch!"

Scizor's claws both began to glow and it unleashed a fury of punches. Celebi responded by shielding itself in a green orb. Iron mask snarled as the attack continued. After a few seconds, it was over. Celebi had disappeared with a flash of brilliant light. He crossed his arms, looked away, and spit.

"Damn!" he grunted. " I hear rumors around the base, that you're a thief and a time traveler. I would very much like to team up with you and take over Team Rocket. I would have to bring you in of course. Then together we can take over. For your services, I would give you a high-ranking position on the team."

He offered his hand but she refused. " Oh really, What lead your team to believe I am a time traveler?"

He scoffed, then asked, " You are the living legend?"

He smiled when she nodded yes. " He wasn't sure. Spent a lot of time researching you after the battle-" he paused and put his finger to his chin. " I'm not entirely sure, take me up on my offer and I promise you we'll get the answer."

He offered his hand once more, but Missy shook her head no. " What makes you believe I would want such a thing? Especially from a stranger."

" I am Iron Mask. I sense you seek something greater than what you are. I've read the stories of the things you've done and I am impressed."

" I am The Mistress." Missy gazed into his eyes giving him the impression she was ambitious. " Take my hand and I'll show you the future to which you belong."

Ninetails cried out, Mistress!

True to her word she set the vortex manipulator for four hundred years into the past. Iron Mask proudly took her hand when she offered it.

Together they traveled to the same spot at a different time. The sun was rising when she let go of him. She took a few steps back as Iron Mask looked around in confusion. She couldn't help but giggle as she watched him.

" I've never been fond of the competition or traitors," Missy briefly explained.

He gazed on in horror as she pressed the recall button. She arrived back at the same place in time a moment later. Ninetails and absol ran to her.

Mistress, what did you do to him? Ninetails asked as she searched for him.

Missy laughed a bit more before she answered, " I sent him to a time when he would be more welcome."

Missy pulled out her tardis and transformed it into a giant boulder. Inspired by the combee horde she had gotten an idea.

Missy was more than happy to get to work. She ripped apart her tardis and found the parts she needed. An arton crystal from the council, a spare transmitter from under navigation, she took a battery from storage and snagged a silver tiara from her wardrobe.

Gleefully she paraded into the laboratory. Celebi was helpless in the swarm of insects, now all she had to do was create one. She began to organize the pieces. She used emolga's electricity to charge the battery. After a couple of hours of work, she marveled at her creation. A crown with a yellow arton crystal inside.

Missy recalled emolga before she paraded outside. She summoned vespiquen and then placed the crown on its head. With a wave of her screwdriver, she activated the device.

" Attack order," she calmly commanded.

Vespiquen was quick to comply releasing bugs from its dress. Missy pointed her screwdriver at the crown as she learned and then mimicked vespiquen's frequency.

A warped hum rattled through the forest. A small swarm of insects flew out from the nearby trees. The pokemon were frantic in their flight. Missy pointed her screwdriver at them and mimicked the attack order frequency.

It worked exactly as intended, the insects were following her commands. They swarmed and circled in the sky, following her every order.

She was pleased with her result. She ended the swarm and then recalled vespiquen before going back inside.

Missy walked back into her tardis and went to her wardrobe. She took a black bracelet with a socket from her jewelry box.

She walked back into the control room and summoned charizard. She placed the mega stone inside the socket before attaching the bracelet. She spent a few minutes hypnotizing it in preparation for a mega evolution. With that taken care of she assembled her team, Ninetails, Emolga, Charizard, Hydreigon, Pidgeot, and Vespiquen.

Mistress, what on earth are you doing? Ninetails asked.

Missy turned her tardis into a pokeball. She snatched it from the ground and put it back in her jacket.

Her answer came ambitiously, " Ninetails you told me that celebi liked Ilex Forest, now we venture there and end our hunt for it. First, we have to change things a bit."

Not too long ago she learned that the pokemon vespiquen was capable of creating a nest. All good things came with time, that was on her side. Her fingers danced across the vortex manipulator. Their next destination was Ilex Forest. They would arrive one hundred years to the past, on September 5th, 1904.

They arrived at a sprawling field in the forest center. She let vespiquen out of her ball, then approached her.

" Vespiquen, I want you to create a nest," she gently said. Missy tenderly caressed the pokemon's arm. " I want you to fill this forest with your own kind."

The pokemon's eyes drooped in sorrow. Missy changed her tone to one of reassurance. " You're going to do wonderful things here. Of course, I'll be back for you soon," she said then gave a reassuring smile.

The pokemon seemed satisfied by that. Unwilling to drag out the affair she set the vortex manipulator for the following year.

When she and ninetails returned, the forest was alive with combee. She raised her screwdriver into the air. The device released a pulse that summoned vespiequen back. The pokemon was enthralled to see Missy. The queen bee flew up to her and hugged her so hard she almost fell over.

She warmly accepted the pokemon's affection. " Vespiquen you did very well."

Missy gladly recalled the pokemon as she admired her work. " This is what we're doing."

Puzzled, Ninetails looked up to her. Mistress why go through all of this trouble to set this up?

Missy grinned at the question. " To capture Celebi of course, I need to get my tardis off the ground."

Missy could tell ninetails had been amazed by all that had happened in such a short time. They admired the sight for a while longer, before she decided to proceed.

Missy set the tardis on the ground and they went inside. She began to search the timeline for a celebi encounter worth trying for.

She soon found one. It was a hundred and two years in the future. The date was September 6th, 2016 close to the world's end. The encounter was nearly seven minutes long. To get so close to the end was risky, but the rewards were far greater. She decided to take advantage of the opportunity.

" Ninetails, soon everything changes for us," Missy said as she walked into her wardrobe.

She fixed herself up with a new outfit. A black jacket with a white shirt and a grey power vest. Her tie was black. Her pants and boots remained the same. She smiled as she placed her hair into a high ponytail. She placed on a pair of protective glasses. Missy smiled as she placed the badge set back in her jacket. She looked like a stunning and fashionable warrior. She left the wardrobe.

Missy beckoned ninetails to join her and soon they teleported out of the tardis. She picked up the tardis ball and put it away. She then set the vortex manipulator to the time her tardis gave her, September 6th, 2016.

She and ninetails return to Ilex Forest at the base of a field. They arrived a few minutes before the celebi would appear. Missy quickly called out vespiquen. She put vespiquen to work summoning combee.

The sound of rotating blades drew Missy's attention to the sky. The helicopter was a good distance from her. It was a black jet combo with a red 'R' on the side. She sighed as she took out her black controller from her bag. She pointed the device at the helicopter and pressed a button, but nothing happened. She concluded that the limited energy levels took away from the device's power.

Knowing Team Rocket was after her Missy decided to take action. She didn't want them intervening in her plans. This whole mix-up was frustrating, She couldn't allow them to interfere, not now. Not when she was this close to achieving her goal.

Missy sighed as she summoned her hydreigon. She mounted the dragon and took flight in the direction of the helicopter.

The dragon soared through the air in approach to the helicopter. She reared up the dragon and flew in front of the windshield. She peered at the pilots inside. She smiled as she raised the black controller so they could see it. She let out a laugh and shook her head no.

The pilots watched Missy press the button on the remote. There was a loud crack as the helicopter became locked in time. She watched in delight as the pilots began to panic. The first hung on to the throttle while the other frantically began to press buttons.

With a wave of her screwdriver, she disabled the weapons and communications systems. The pilots gazed back at her in terror. Missy smirked as her screwdriver hummed, it informed her that the siege was starting.

She and hydreigon flew back down to vespiquen. Missy landed and called back her pokemon. She drew her screwdriver once more, it lit up as she began to mimic the frequency for attack order. The sound of buzzing grew as countless bees began to swarm.

Missy twirled as she pointed the screwdriver unleashing more hoards. A loud metallic hum filled the forest as combee poured out of the forest.

The swarms quickly forced Celebi out of the forest. With the pokemon defenseless, she began her assault. She outlined Celebi while she ordered the bugs to tackle it. The hums from vespiquen and her screwdriver screeched through the area, it sounded awful.

Celebi frantically flailed with its attempts to flee. The pokemon twisted and turned as the insects overwhelmed it. The pokemon began to panic, the buzz from the many wings overpowered its cries.

She allowed it a moment of reprieve as more combee entered the fight. Then she had them all attack again. The combee drove Celebi closer to the ground, the pokemon struggled with great vigor. The pokemon flew up and attempted to use leaf storm. Its wings glow a bright green. Missy struck the pokemon down with the bees.

The screwdriver droned while Vespiquen hummed her orders. The sounds she made were nearly unbearable. Her target was starting to grow weak. Missy set the pattern to follow while she watched the fairy-like pokemon struggle.

Missy placed her screwdriver back into her jacket. She noticed Celebi's movements had slowed down considerably. She decided she would need a slower pokemon to help her chase after it.

She reached down and plucked pidgeot's ball from her belt. The pokemon cooed before it looked at her and nodded. She ran to battle alongside pidgeot, then hopped onto the bird.

Pidgeot soared into the sky in pursuit of Celebi. The mythical pokemon lead the battle in the direction of the frozen helicopter. They swooped past the helicopter in pursuit. Celebi fell and glided in the sky then swooped under the frozen fixture.

She had pidgeot dive down in pursuit. They flew directly into the combee horde. She drew her screwdriver and forced them to make a circle.

Celebi made another dive at pidgeot, but she kept up with its pace. Missy pulled the master ball from her bag and prepared to use it. As she tossed the master ball it spun while barrelled through the air.

The master ball burst open when it struck the pokemon. Missy watched in disbelief as Celebi disappeared in a flash of blue and white light.

The sound of screech took her attention. A large yellow beam came from below. Pidgeot narrowly avoided the attack. Missy looked to the right where the energy had originated.

A man dressed in grey charged at her on a dragonite. The dragon soared as it prepared to attack again. She ducked and guided the bird into a dive. They dove down before pidgeot soared back up. Together they swooped in a full arch and began to fly over to vespiquen.

Team Rocket was on her heels, that was a problem she didn't want to deal with. Her best option was to retreat.

She and pidgeot flew into the combee hoard. The bees would give her enough cover to return to the forest. Her retreat was cut short when pidgeot slammed into an invisible barrier. She clenched the bird's feathers as she regained control of the pokemon.

She had pidgeot dive down and swoop across the barrier. She searched for hidden opponents as she guided the pokemon close to the barrier. Pidgeot cried and shrieked as they searched for the source. The pokemon was in pain Missy wasn't sure how much more pidgeot could take.

She scoured the sky in search of the problem but found nothing. When she looked down she discovered her problem. Eight metal boxes had been placed in a massive circle around her space of air. People dressed in black peered at her. Her hearts throbbed as she looked back.