Back to the current time wreck of Nasty Burger. Jazz drove up in a pink sedan and parked in front of it. She had a personalized plate that read "JAZZ" and a bumper sticker reading "Have you hugged your inner child today?"

Jazz leaned out her car window and looked around. "Danny has to be out here somewhere."

In the alley beside the Nasty Burger, Kurai and Tucker appeared in a flash of light. The still-live heating element and tanks of Nasty Sauce were visible. Tucker was on his knees, still shielding his head, screaming. Kurai crossed her arms and frowns at him. He looked up, surprised.

"You got the medallions off, didn't you." Tucker said.

"Better," Kurai said. "I used mine to send us back. But yes, I took yours off." She gestured to her pendant. "We have to help Danny!"

"Tucker? Kurai?" Jazz called.

They turned and saw her standing at the entrance to the alley.

"You got a second? Let me answer that for you." Jazz approached with one hand pointing. "Yes, you do. I know Danny stole the answers to the C.A.T. That he's going to cheat!"

"Actually, Danny wasn't going to-" Kurai attempted.

Jazz held up a hand. "Kurai, enough. I know more than you think I do. A lot more. So I suggest when you see Danny, you tell him I wanna talk to him. Tonight! Because if I don't, I will be talking to our parents and Mr. Lancer tomorrow." Jazz walked off.

"Lancer knows Danny has the answers..." Kurai said.

"Oh, man, is he in trouble." Tucker said.

"That's gotta be it. Danny cheating is the thing that leads to that horrible future..." Kurai said softly.

"Let me get this straight. Danny gets caught cheating on a test, and we pay for it with our lives? How is that fair?" Tucker said.

Xxx

Danny was lying on the ground, opening his eyes, next to the memorial.

"Mom? Dad?" Danny rolled to his knees. Danny's arms were bound to his torso with glowing green rope. "Gone but not forgotten?" Danny stood. "And where's the Nasty Burger?"

He looked up at the wreck of the Nasty Burger. It had been blown open, and the sign was fallen. Dark Danny walked around the corner of the building.

"Strange how one massive fireball of highly combustible condiments can ruin your whole future." Dark Danny said.

Danny looked down. "The time medallion?"

"Fused inside you. Nice, huh? Intangible and unreachable whether you're ghost or human which means...you can't go back in time." Dark Danny raised his hand and a disc of green swirling light began to form around it.

"It doesn't matter if I go back in time or not. I'll never turn into you! Never!" Danny said.

Behind Dark Danny, the swirling green vortex had grown to his height.

"Of course you will." Dark Danny reverted to human form, but he now appeared to be Danny's age; a perfect clone. "It's only a matter of time." Dark Danny seized Danny by the bonds, he threw him screaming into the portal. "I need you out of my way and out of my hair while I make sure nothing happens to change my past. And luckily, this—" he pulled out one of the time medallions. "—is all I need to make sure of that..."

A ball of bluewhite light engulfed him and he vanished. He reappeared back in the present, in the alleyway next to the Nasty Burger.

"...And to get where and when I need to be." Dark Danny said.

Xxx

In Clockwork's Tower, Clockwork stood before his viewer, which was blank, fiddling with something on his staff. The two Observants appeared behind him and he stopped what he's doing, looking back at them.

"Have you completed the task?" Observant said.

"Everything's fine." Clockwork said crossly, then smiled. "Everything's the way it's supposed to be." He turned to the console of the viewer and pressed a button as he reverted to his elderly form. Disguised Dark Danny appeared on the screen in front of the Nasty Sauce vats. "And there's your boy, back to his time. Safe, sound, and clearly not evil." Onscreen Disguised Dark Danny started walking. "Now. Care to observe the door?"

The two Observants looked at each other, then vanished. Clockwork switched to child form.

Xxx

Back at the Nasty Burger, disguised Dark Danny was looking up at the sign. Even disguised, he retained his adult voice.

"The Nasty Burger. Still standing. For now..." He looked inside where the heating element was warming the Nasty Sauce tank. The temperature indicator was still slowly creeping higher.

"Danny!" Kurai and Tucker said.

Disguised Dark Danny turned away from the hole in the Nasty Burger, surprised. Kurai and Tucker ran, up, grinning. Kurai hugged Dark Danny, then looked at him for a long minute, frowning, then rearranged her face into a smile.

"You made it back!" Kurai said.

Tucker, not noticing Kurai's odd behavior, also hugged Disguised Dark Danny. "Did you beat that evil jerky puspack alternative version of yourself?"

Dark Danny's eyes flashed red for an instant, then returned to blue, and he laughed shortly. He now spoke with Danny's voice. "Always with the quips. In my weaker moment say, sometimes I miss your droll sense of humor."

Kurai and Tucker looked nonplussed. Kurai glared at him.

"I'm sorry?" Tucker said.

Dark Danny realized he messed up. "I'm just kidding! I beat my other self quite easily. Had you guys going there for a second, didn't I?" He put an arm around Kurai. "Especially you, beautiful."

Tucker looked at Dark Danny uncertainly. "...Well...we should probably do what we can to stop the Nasty Burger from blowing up, huh?"

"Already done! Now, who's up for..." Dark Danny looked down and muttered to himself. "What did we used to do together?" Dark Danny spoke out loud. "Playing some games and raging against the machine?"

Tucker smiled enthusiastically, sold. "We're in!"

"Actually, 'Danny,'" Kurai said. "I have some unfinished business."

Before Dark Danny could catch on, Kurai winked at him and waved.

"See ya later, sweetheart!" Kurai grinned and headed off.

Tucker looked over at Dark Danny. "About time, man!"

Dark Danny stared with lovey puppy dog eyes after Kurai.