Tolly: I am very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very sorry for the extreeeemly long wait. I hope I won't make you wait as long for the next one.

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"So, now what do we do?"

"How should I know? You're the mad-scientist-clone."

Edgar and Veronica were working on a class experiment in the school lab. Actually, they were supposed to be working on the experiment. Instead, having finished early, they were seeing how many chemicals they could mix together before blowing up the lab…again.

"Maybe, if we add this," Edgar picked up a small bottle. "And then drop a match in it, we'll see some results."

"But that one says Caution: highly flammable," said Veronica.

Edgar grinned. "Exactly."

"If you ask me, this one will make a bigger bang." Another bottle lifted itself into the air as a man's voice came from nowhere.

"Skinner! What are you doing here?" exclaimed Edgar, taking the bottle out of Skinner's hand before any of the other students noticed.

"Coming to get you five," said Skinner. "There's some trouble on the Nautilus."

"What kind of trouble?" Veronica asked.

"I'll fill you in on the way, but right now, we need to get the others. I could use your help there, Veronica."

"Alright," said Veronica. "Edgar, now would be a good time for a distraction."

"Yep. I'll meet you guys out front."

Veronica and Skinner slipped out the door. Seconds later, they heard a loud explosion from the classroom. Smirking, Veronica led the way to the girls' bathroom. She opened the door just enough to let herself in, shoving Skinner away. "Girls only," she said. "You wait here."

Skinner sighed and turned to lean against the wall. When he did, he saw the sign on the door across the hall: Records Room. The door was slightly ajar. He opened the bathroom door a little and said, "New plan. You get the boys, and I'll get Elle and Dana's records."

"Fine," came Veronica's wry answer. "Mary can yell at you then, instead of me."

Skinner winced and closed the door. He went across the hall and entered the Records Room. There was one person in the room already, an old woman who was adding a sheet of paper to an already stuffed file. Skinner peered over her shoulder to see the name on the file. It was Allan's. Like father, like son, he thought with a smirk, before looking around for the files he wanted.

He quickly found the filing cabinet labeled G. As soon as the secretary left the room, closing the door behind her, he opened the drawer and pulled out Dana's file. He snorted when he saw that there was no picture attached to the folder. Flipping through the papers, he found a sheet stating that Dana was living with Elle Ericson. He quickly located Elle's file as well.

Tucking the files under his arm, he realized that anyone who saw them would think it was a little strange for the two folders to be moving on their own. But it couldn't be helped; he'd just have to move quickly. He hurried through the halls.

Meanwhile, Veronica was busy rounding up her other three foster brothers. Allan was extremely thankful for the chance to skip math, and James was bored out his mind in shop class, seeing as he had been building things since he was two. Timmy, on the other hand, needed a little persuasion before he agreed to leave his history lesson.

"Figures," said Allan as the four of them left the school. "At least now we know why you're obsessed with time. What year did your dad go to again?"

"802701," Timmy answered. "And he's not really my dad. Parents only share half your DNA, not all of it."

"Whatever," Allan rolled his eyes. "So, Ronnie, what happened on the boat?"

"Submarine," corrected James.

"Will you shut up? It's a glorified canoe."

"How can you say that? The Nautilus is the fastest, most powerful ship that has ever existed, above or below the surface. She's—"

"The sword of the ocean, not to be underestimated, one of a kind…We hear enough of that from Nemo," Skinner cut in, shoving the files into James's hands. "Come on. Edgar's already in the car."

"We'd appreciate it if you let us know what's going on." Timmy said, once everyone was in the Nemomobile. It was a rather tight fit, since four of them had to be squashed into a back seat that was barely big enough for three.

Skinner explained what had happened after the Children had left, as James drove them to the docks.

"The Time Machine's smashed?" asked Allan. "But, that means…hold on, I know it means something."

"It means that no one can return to the past," said a pale-faced Timmy. "And sometime in the future, the Time Traveller has to go back to give the League information about us, and the cloning process. If it's not fixed soon…" Timmy trailed off and gulped.

"What will happen if it can't be fixed, Timmy?" demanded Veronica.

"We'll cease to exist."

James hit the brakes and the Nemomobile screeched to a halt. "What!"

"If the League never receives that message from the future, about the cloning process, we won't have been created. And if we don't exist then, we won't exist now."

"Hold on," said Skinner. "We do know about you. The Time Traveller has already been to our time, hasn't he? I mean, you're here now, aren't you?"

"Yes," said Timmy. "But in this case, our timeline doesn't matter. The timeline that my father lives in is the one that changes everything. And he told me that he hasn't received the cloning technique yet."

"That makes no sense!" protested Edgar. "He told us just yesterday that he received it! Doesn't that mean it's already happened in his timeline?"

Timmy sighed. "He received it from himself. He couldn't tell us who because it's a bit shocking to meet your future self—"

"Ahem," interrupted Allan. "We're clones. We have seen our future selves, technically."

Timmy glared at him and continued. "What I'm trying to say is that yes, he's already received the cloning information from himself, but not from whatever source has actually invented it. Today's technology isn't that far ahead yet, so he still needs to go forward in time to find it, then back to a few years ahead of our time to give it to himself. Do you understand?"

"No," chorused Allan, Edgar, James, Veronica, and Skinner.

Timmy rolled his eyes. "Simple terms, then. We must fix the Time Machine before it's too late."

"Well, okay. With you and your dad both working on it, it should be fixed up soon." Allan said.

"It's not exactly that simple. It took the Time Traveller years to get it right the first time."

"What about the one they used on the Nautilus?" asked James. "To bring it forward with the crew?"

Timmy shook his head. "No good. It was designed to be used only twice. Once forward, once back. If we use it for more trips, the League won't be able to return to their own time. And they have to," he said, looking sternly at the place where the invisible man sat. "If you don't go back, it will affect the whole timeline, and screw it up more than it already is."

"Can we just get to the Nautilus before I get a headache?" asked Allan. James nodded and started driving again.

"Why did they take his painting, I wonder?" mused Veronica. "If Dana looks at it, will the spell be re-reversed?"

"Dorian's remains are probably long gone by this time, so he won't be coming back," said Skinner. "But she might be able to become immortal by it."

"It's not her in the painting, though," said Allan. "It's Dorian. You can't do a transgender-painting-soul-switch."

"Yeah, because painting-soul-switches follow certain laws," said Edgar sarcastically. "Nobody knows how that worked in the first place, except Dorian, who's currently non-existent."

"Maybe the painter knew how it happened," said Veronica.

"Maybe," said Edgar. "But he's dead too. He was dead even before the League's time."

"True…" Veronica stared out the window for the remainder of the drive, deep in thought.