Thank you for always waiting for me to take months to write these chapters! This one is a bit longer than I intended, but I hope you enjoy regardless.


15 May 2044

The general thought the citizens of Townsville and Earth had at the beginning of the invasion was simple. This will be over soon! We have the mightiest heroes and some of the most powerful beings on this planet. There's no way this can last long! It'll be over in a couple weeks, maybe a month! Right?

Two months after the invasion, that positive outlook had diminished fully.

A land full of goopy, green monsters and Infected Zone barriers littering the area was now the norm, begrudgingly so. Never before had a threat to the planet had lasted so long with this much of an advantage. While the heroes and villains still held their confidence in an Earth-side victory, the more mundane folks of the world were beginning to have different thoughts.

Hannah Orion, youngest child of the wealthy Orion family, created her own faction within the war. Affectionately referred to as 'Duchess' by her growing following, Hannah had been using the internet to push her mindset that those with superpowers and enhanced abilities are useless and dangerous. As Fuse and his minions continued to ravage the land day after day, more and more people were resonating with Hannah's ideal.

Luckily, it seemed the cult of Duchess was barely a nuisance. Most folks in Townsville were preoccupied by the news of the missing heroes being just that; missing! Not gone! After Dexter allowed this news to go public, Blossom created a small band of heroes and volunteers tasked with searching for the missing heroes. Unfortunately, within the month that passed between the revelation and now, not much progress had been made. But that seemed to be a common theme with everything these days, the lack of progress.

Except, of course, for our magical girls and their plight to uncover the mysteries of the Hani-Baba Totems. Thanks to the Scrying Lens gifted to Gwen and Juniper by the Grim Reaper, the girls had slowly been chipping away at translating the Book of Prophecy fully. Over the past month, these two were making more progress than anyone else in the war.

Translating the book uncovered the locations of the three Totems that weren't already activated, and the three that had been activated. Gwen and Juniper were able to activate the Totems in the Really Twisted Forest and Steam Alley without trouble, but were surprised to discover the Totem in Porkbelly had already been activated. But by Them or Charmcaster was the question.

In fact, Charmcaster was on their minds more so than Them was. Her interest in the Totems was a terrifying thought, especially paired with the Alpha Rune she wielded. So it was a good thing Gwen knew someone who was an expert on Charmcaster and her schemes, her college professor, Hex.

Before she was a student at Friedkin University learning under Professor Hex and his Magical Artifacts and Antiques class, Gwen actually fought against Hex during her adventures with her cousin Ben. He turned over a new leaf after believing his niece, Charmcaster, was lost forever, opting to spread his knowledge of magic for good, and forsaking his plea for domination. Luckily, the Master Magician still retained all of his abilities, and has been using them to help protect the college from Fuse.

Gwen was lucky enough to be one of Professor Hex's favorite students, making him delighted to hear she wanted to meet with him. His office attached to his combination classroom and lecture hall was in the utmost shape. He still had to impress his favorite student.

The man, outfitted in a flashy and expensive looking red robe, sat at his desk, a pair of reading glasses resting on the bridge of his nose as he scribbled across a notepad. His attention shifted to an open book laying nearby, only to be distracted by a light rapping on his door.

A second later, the knob unlatched, allowing the door to swing open and reveal Gwen, with both Juniper and Kevin behind her. Smiles come to Gwen and Hex's faces as they see each other.

"Gwendolyn!" the Master Magician exclaimed, standing from his chair. "Please, come in, come in!"

"I'm glad to see you." Gwen smiled, entering the office and moving to one of three seats in front of Hex's desk. Juniper and Kevin followed suit, sitting on either side of her. In June's arms sat the closed Book of Prophecy.

"And a pleasure to see you too, Mr. Levin." Hex said with a nod, taking his seat back.

"'Sup." Kevin nodded. It was clear he was only here for moral support.

"And this is…?" Hex continued, with his gaze settling on June.

"This is my friend, Juniper Lee." Gwen nodded. "You may be familiar. She's the Te-"

"Te Xuan Ze!" Hex exclaimed, finishing Gwen's thought. Juniper offered a sheepish wave.

"That's me." She forced a smile. "You're not still, uhm, evil, are you?"

"The jury's in his favor so far." Kevin shrugged.

"No, no." Hex chuckled, completely unphased by the question. "That's no longer the life I'd like to live."

"That's good!" June smiled. "Sorry. Just had to be sure. Protector of magic… 'n' all that jazz."

"Professor," Gwen jetted in. "We're actually here to talk to you about Hope."

"Hope?" Hex's demeanor shifted drastically, his head nearly hanging as he spoke. "I haven't seen her in months. Maybe a bit longer. Not since she escaped imprisonment."

"Well, I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news." Gwen sighed. "It seems like Charmcaster is up to her old tricks again. And she still has the Alpha Rune too."

"She's been working with a demon, trying to totally butt in and ruin our fun magic adventure!" Juniper pouted. Gwen looked at her, gesturing to the desk. June nodded, pulling the Book of Prophecy from her arms and laying it across Hex's desk.

"Charmcaster and this demon, Them, have been attempting to thwart our plans to activate the ancient Totems detailed in this book." Gwen nodded, pulling the book open. "We've been slowly translating the book, and we believe the power these Totems contain can help turn the tide against Fuse."

"The Hani-Baba Totems…?" Hex questioned. The gaze from his tattoo covered face drifted to the open book. "Then I assume this is the Book of Prophecy?"

"Oh, you know about it?" June asked. "Jeez, I'm the Te Xuan Ze around here! Why don't I know about all these crazy magical things? Ah-mah and Monroe have some explaining to do once I go back to Orchid Bay."

"When you plan to take over the known magical world, you pick up a few things." Hex chuckled. He took the book, spinning it towards him and scanning the open page. "I assume you're interested in what Charmcaster sees in this power?"

"Actually, yes." Gwen nodded, which Juniper soon followed suit. "For someone who is as power hungry as she is, it's obvious why she wants the book, but seeing her team up with that demon troubles me."

"Well, I can't speak for that demon," Hex sighed. "But it's clear that Hope wants to strengthen her own power with this, even if it means putting the rest of the world in jeopardy."

"But, how?" Juniper asked. "If I can't even figure it out, I doubt Charmcaster would be able to control the power once she has it."

"She is… capable of more than you'd think." Hex hummed. "I did teach her everything she knows."

"So that begs the question…" Gwen seemed too uncomfortable to continue, exhaling deeply before moving forward. "If you were in her shoes, Professor Hex, what would you be wanting from this? What would you do?"

Even Kevin felt uneasy as the inquiry escaped Gwen's lips. Though, Hex still didn't seem phased by anything that was said to him. Instead, he rubbed his fingers against his chin, using his free hand to flick the pages of the book over. He flipped to another page, before a sly smirk spread across his face.

"Hope is still in possession of the Alpha Rune, you said?"

Gwen offered a nod in response.

"Typical…" Hex rubbed his fingers against his brow. "She's smart, but headstrong. A power like the one held in the Prophecy is far too much for her to handle."

"So we wait for her to do herself in?" Kevin smirked.

"No." Hex looked at the trio. "Like I said, she's smart. With the Alpha Rune, she controls all magic. That would include power over the Totems. But she's too stubborn to balance that magic without losing her mind."

"Well…" Gwen piped in. "Not all magic."

"Gwendolyn, you should know this." Hex huffed back. "Whoever wields the Alpha Rune holds total dominion over Ledgerdomain, and all magic itself!"

"No, Professor, we witnessed it!" Gwen quickly replied.

"She's right, ya'know." Juniper grinned, relaxing in her chair. "I guess the Te Xuan Ze is immune to her silly Alpha Rune."

"That's impossible." Hex narrowed his glare on the girl. "I know of the Te Xuan Ze's hold. The Alpha Rune should sit above your threshold."

"But, one of Charmcaster's spells was powerless against June when we fought her in the Hani-Baba Temple." Gwen crossed her arms. With Hex turning to a life of good and teaching, it was easy to forget his mannerisms were still intense. "She held me in place, restricting my airway, but nothing happened when she tried the same on June."

"We wouldn't, like, lie to you." Juniper shrugged. "Maybe you're just not up to date on your research. I'm kind of an obscure character." She winked at the group.

"... But how is that possible?"

"I dunno." Juniper lazily shrugged again. "Maybe it's those Fusions invading, screwing with the magical realms… Maybe it's because I managed to cross the Veil." Both Hex and Gwen turned their heads to her.

"The Veil?" Gwen raised her brow.

"The Magical Veil surrounding Orchid Bay." June replied as if the answer was obvious. "The one I made the deal with Grim with to help fight the Fusions."

"You did what?" Hex's reaction was cold, akin to his tone during his villainous days.

"Ju- Juniper wasn't allowed to leave Orchid Bay beca-" Gwen started to explain, but Hex's growing words overtook hers.

"I'm aware the Te Xuan Ze is not to leave their hometown! The Te Xuan Ze isn't meant to pass the Magical Veil! Seeing her manage to get outside of the Veil is no surprise, but a deal with the Grim Reaper?!"

"He's a chill guy." June seemed hesitant to answer. "He has tons of mortal and human friends."

"You think it's smart to trust him? The literal incarnate of Death?"

"Dude, calm down." Juniper waved her hands at Hex. "It's fine! The Magical Elders wouldn't have allowed it to happen if it was going to be a problem."

"Tck!" Hex groveled in his seat. "Someone with your power should know to never trust all-powerful beings… And what, pray-tell, kind of deal did you make with Death?"

"In exchange for letting me leave, all I have to do is deal with his kid, Billy, sometimes." June shrugged. "Now, how Grim has children is beyond me!"

"He's not the boy's fathe-" Gwen cut her words off with a shake of her head. "That boy and the girl he was with are just his friends."

"I don't think he thinks of them as friends." Kevin laughed.

"So you agreed to impromptu babysit just to pass the Veil?" Hex rubbed his chin. "... Kids these days… I find it doubtful that it was a fair trade, nor a smart decision on your part for that matter."

"I can babysit for death if it means saving the planet from alien invaders." Juniper's normally cheery tone was beginning to narrow and match that of Hex's.

"You keep an eye on that bag of bones." Hex seemed to snarl. "He cannot be trusted. But nevertheless, if you're outside the Veil and immune to the Alpha Rune, it means Charmcaster is also out for your power."

"What?" June started snickering. "Is she gonna pull all the magic out of my body, or something?"

"Precisely." Hex nodded back with crossed arms.

"Oh… For real?"

"For real." Hex rolled his eyes at the exchange. "You three have no clue what you're getting yourself into, huh?"

"Well…" Gwen held up the Scrying Lens given to them by Grim. "Your least favorite Reaper also gave us this to translate the book."

"It's a big ol' book, but we've managed to crack most of the code." Juniper followed. "Most of the back of the book is filled with minor spells and potion recipes. But the bulk of it contains a lot of descriptions about an ancient planet named Kelt in the book."

"And whoever the Keltics are were definitely the people to place the Totems across this area, or at the very least, the ones who infused them with their power." Gwen had pulled out her own NanoCom, a screen displaying a list of notes she had taken about the Book. "But the demon Them is the one who wrote this book. And they seemed to be more interested in Charmcaster herself rather than the Totems."

"And nothing in the Book links Them with these Kelt aliens at all." Juniper sighs.

"Hmmm…" Hex rubbed his chin, his intrigue clear on his face. "I have heard of the Keltic before. They're a magical rooted alien race, much like the Anodite. A faction of their species used to live on Earth."

"Oh!" Gwen exclaimed. "Ben and I have Anodite blood."

"Which means maybe you are one of the best people to take this plight." Hex said. "While not the same, the two alien races shared many similarities. Their abilities are essentially the same. Keltics had a more human appearance than the Anodite."

"Shared…? Had?" June questioned his use of past tense.

"Yes. Kelt was destroyed nearly 13 years ago."

"That's eerily recent." Juniper tilted her head to the side as she pondered. "An ancient and powerful magical civilization wiped out only a decade ago?"

"Just because the people are no longer does not mean their power is any weaker." Hex looked over the Book of Prophecy once more, closing the tome and sliding it in Juniper's direction. "Surely that demon is aware of all this, and is merely using Charmcaster to their advantage."

"Just tell us how to stop her." Kevin grunted. At this point, Gwen's boyfriend was barely listening.

"It's only a matter of time before Hope and the demon return to a Totem together." Hex held up one of his hands, which glowed as he muttered a foreign spell. A plush and cuddly pillow conjured above his hand, soon falling to the desk's surface. "You'll need this when you face her."

"You're kiddin' me, right?" Kevin laughed. June's own snicker echoed Kevin's.

"Fool." Hex grimaced. "This here is the Pillow of Common Sense. A swift wack to Hope with the pillow will transfer all the energy she's collected from the Totems. If, and only if, she is not in possession of the Alpha Rune."

"This pillow is really capable of that?" Gwen asked as she took the Pillow of Common Sense into her hands.

"In this situation, yes." Hex smirked. "The purpose of the pillow is to, quite literally, knock some sense into someone. Charmcaster is so power hungry that she's lost her common sense. I'd like to believe the niece I know is a little less careless."

"Something's telling me it's not going to be as simple as just finding her and having a pillow fight." Juniper laughed.

"If there's any two magical girls who can do it," Hex nodded to his student and her friends. "I have no doubt it's the two of you."


17 May 2044

The City of Townsville! A city that has been terrorized by the evil schemes of former lab rat Mojo Jojo and his legion of Monkey Minions for years! The citizens of Townsville would be called crazy for ever believing Mojo could be of any benefit to them. Those folks are eating their feet today.

Mojo's observatory lair sat atop a dormant volcano in the center of Townsville, overlooking what has turned into a forfeited safe area in the Fusion War. Monkey Minions littered the glass field at the foot of the volcano, providing aid to those who came by, whether hero or villain. The glass surrounding the volcano encased a large greenhouse right underneath, with a jungle setting that attracted many wild apes… And wild Fusions trapped within.

Of course, Gwen Tennyson never had any personal run-ins with Mojo Jojo. Juniper Lee would've already laid a beatdown on the fiend too, if she hadn't been trapped in Orchid Bay all her life. Besides, they both knew the Powerpuff Girls were always around to put him in his place, even if one was missing. The two girls, plus Kevin, paid no mind to any of the Minions lurking around as they would plummet into the jungle enclosed below the volcano.

Unbeknownst to them, but sharing the lack of fear of Mojo's minions, were Them and Charmcaster, who simply appeared in the overgrowth at Them's command. While the two were in cahoots, their body language both showed neither were particularly fond of the other. In fact, it would take several moments after arriving for one of them to even speak.

"You are to follow our lead." Them's deep and rough voice called to her. "We never know when your enemy will be seeking out the Totems as well."

"Uhhuh." Charmcaster grumbled. "Whatever you say, o' mighty scatterbrained."

She wasn't aware that the personalities of Them had no true use for her. Having Charmcaster tag along was a simple way to keep the girl from seeking the power of the Prophecy herself, as well as motivate Gwen and Juniper to continue their quest to activate the Totems. That being said, Them was one hundred percent aware Charmcaster was ready to turn on them at any given time. With the witch under their wing, Them had the pleasure of controlling what information Charmcaster can and cannot know about the Totems.

They probably would've dumped her already, if it weren't for the Alpha Rune hanging from her neck. If left unsupervised, Charmcaster could use the Alpha Rune to completely deplete the magic from the Totems and render the Prophecy useless. Even having the Totems on her mind for this long has started making the Alpha Rune react strangely, including the faint glow it now shined as the demon led her to the next Totem.

Right under Mojo's Volcano, covered by the heavy foliage of the jungle biome, sat the fifth Hani-Baba Totem. Like the previous ones, the stone obelisk had several ancient carvings etched into the sides, all of which would begin to emit a faint blue light at their arrival.

"Finally!" Charmcaster cried out at the sight. "You've been keeping me too far away from these things!"

"Silence, witch." Them's dark voice boomed. "You are still not ready to wield this type of power."

"Only because I can't find the other Totems!" she spat back, stomping a foot on the dirt. "This is why I work solo now!"

"Would you hush up!?" the shrillest voice of Them barked. "You're gonna alert the Fusion Simians that dwell here!"

"Oh, is the twinky little demon too scared of the alien invaders?" Charmcaster mocked with pouty lips.

"Twinky!?" the same voice squeaked.

"We could leave you here to fend for yourself against them." Them's most stable tone called out. "There's a strict reason that big-brained ape doesn't allow people down here."

"All you've done since I've joined you is threaten me," Charmcaster's hands curled up into fists. "And keep secrets from me about the Prophecy. I don't care about alien creators, I care about using that mana!"

"We are so sick of dealing with this chick!" Them's cheery tone whined. "Can we get rid of her already? Please, please, please!"

"Imbecile." the deep voice bellowed to cut themselves off. The demon's mouth split open to rage, only to be surprised by a cackle from Charmcaster.

"You can't get rid of me!" the girl snickered. "More like, I'll get rid of you."

Three stone figures fell from her hand, magically growing to her rock monster minions. This time, one was particularly cheerful, another stood confidently stoic, and the third hummed with a continuous growl. At once, the three pounced on Them. The demon let a shriek loose, disappearing from the monster's path. Instantly, they reappear behind Charmcaster, grabbing her by the neck.

"Big mistake, witch." the three voices growl in unison.

Charmcaster began to kick her feet, swiveling her head to glare at Them as their hand began to heat up around her neck. With a panicked cry, Charmcaster kicked herself from Them's grasp, revealing a ball of glowing fire growing in their hands.

Her rock monsters rushed back to the fray, roaring at the demon who lunged their fireball at the middle, stoic one. Though, the fire didn't seem to do much against the stone except disorientate it. Charmcaster took the Alpha Rune in her hand, clutching to it as she recited a hushed spell.

The trees and foliage around Them began to glow with Charmcaster's sinister magic, coming to life and taking swings at Them. The demon narrowly avoided several hits, using their ability to displace their body to blink all over the surrounding ground. The lack of hits she had been making really began to wear on Charmcaster.

She lifted a hand towards the area Them jumped around, angrily shouting a spell to send a blast of magic in the direction. Her rock minions follow the beam of energy, which manages to make contact with Them after a reappearance. Instead of a violent attack, the beam wrapped around them, holding them in place to allow both the rock monsters and the enchanted foliage to wail on the demon.

"Hmpfh!" Charmcaster grunted at the sight. "Serves you right, pigs." She wasted no time at all, using the Alpha Rune to float over to the Totem. Touching her hand against it, the blue energy igniting the Totem began to shift towards her and the Alpha Rune.

A slight shuffling could be heard, only moments before an explosion knocked Charmcaster face first into the Totem. She slumped to the ground, groaning in pain as she heard her rock monsters collide with the walls and dirt of the enclosed ecosystem. A look in the opposite direction revealed Them, enraged as they floated above the ground.

Both of their full arms were engulfed in flames, as well as the tips of their bull-like horns. The jungle below them shared the burning flames, being ignited in the explosion and beginning to spread to more of the foliage. Closer examination of Them also revealed their once calm(ish) red eyes had been completely enveloped by darkness.

Charmcaster pulled herself from the ground as she watched Them, only to start to notice the group of flying Fusion Simians flocking to the growing wildfire, and to her. Before she has a moment to act, Them smacked their hands together, sending a flamethrower from their fingertips into her direction. The flame made quick work of two of the Simians, and knocked Charmcaster back on her butt.

"The smoke is coming from this way!" Gwen's voice called out.

Disguised in her glowing Lucky Girl garb, Gwen rocketed through the forest using a conjured hoverboard. Close behind, Juniper Lee ran below her, using her magical speed to be able to keep up the pace with Gwen. The scene they stumbled into was shocking.

"Wait…?" Juniper paused, ducking behind a fallen tree trunk. Gwen landed next to her, her hoverboard disappearing. "Look, Gwendolyn!"

"It's Them and Charmcaster." Lucky Girl nodded. She watched as Charmcaster rocketed into the sky herself, colliding with Them. The two begin clashing back and forth, slinging spell after punch after jab. "And the next Totem!"

"Wonder what happened there." June giggled, gesturing to the saiyan-like battle occurring above them.

"Maybe it'll keep them distracted." Gwen's gaze narrowed on the Totem. "I'll take the Book to the Totem and activate it."

"I'll make sure no Fusions creep up," Juniper added. "And I'll be a distraction if they notice you."

Kevin would catch up to the girls as they spoke, kneeling down with them. His entire body, including clothes and hair, was that of metal. This was, of course, thanks to his Osmosian abilities.

"Kevin, can you try and cull that fire?" Gwen asked, pointing towards the area under the fight. "Keep it from spreading without being noticed."

"I'll try my best, babe." Kevin nodded.

He soon ducked out, hiding among some of the remaining foliage to maintain cover. He passed one of Charmcaster's rock monsters, the cheery one, that had been split in two thanks to Them's explosion. Kevin held his hand to the stone, absorbing it to turn his metal body into the same as the stone, then moving onward to the fire.

Them's flamethrowers twisted and weaved in the air in unnatural ways, targeting Charmcaster and any magical beam she threw in the demon's direction. Several more of Charmcaster's tiny rock figures were floating around her, circling out of her bag and around her at intense speed. Every so often, one would fling itself from orbit, flying at Them and magically growing to their monstrous size. Though, somehow, a simple flick from Them's hand sends them off-kilter.

The clashing sounds of Charmcaster's growing minions shattering against the walls was enough cover for Gwen and Juniper to reach the Totem unnoticed. However it was also starting to bring the attention of more Fusion Simians, as well as several Monkey Minions sent into the undergrowth to stop the sudden fire! Lucky Girl took hold of the Book of Prophecy, glancing around for just a moment before holding the spine of the book to the Totem's surface. The cool blue glow soon faded into the warm orange light the girls had become familiar with, signifying activation.

Even through the Monkey Minions and Fusion Simians sparking battle with each other and Charmcaster's onslaught of useless, (for their standards,) attacks, Them would be immediately alerted by the Totem's activation. Seeing Gwen and Juniper, the demon would smirk. They blinked from existence, leaving Charmcaster dazed and fuming. She shifted her attention back to the Totem.

"NO!" she screamed at the sight of Gwen and Juniper. Her shout would send a shockwave of wind in all directions, seconds before she plummets to the ground in front of them.

"Stay back!" Juniper cried out, stepping in front of the Totem and Gwen. She threw her fist in the air, while the other clutched to the Pillow of Common Sense. "I'm armed and deadly!"

"If I can't have this power, no one will!" Charmcaster shouted, hurling two of her circling rock monsters at the Totem. Before they grew big enough, Gwen surrounded the Totem with a pink-mana forcefield.

"Not today, Hope!" Gwen called back, lobbing discs of mana from her hands. The symbol on the Alpha Rune began to glow as Gwen's attack is thrown right back in her direction.

"This ends here, Tennyson." the witch snarled, two of her rock monsters growing to size to her sides. They roared, charging forward.

Lucky Girl summoned another hoverboard, flying up above the Totem as Juniper dashed forward. The Te Xuan Ze threw her fist into one of the stone monsters, crumbling it on impact. June kicked to the side, her sneaker pushing into the next stone creature and toppling it off balance.

Another flurry of mana discs rained towards Charmcaster, who once again deflected them with the Alpha Rune. Juniper, however, quickly took hold of the discs, magically countering the Rune and continuing to send the attack onto a direct hit!

"YOU!" Charmcaster's enraged voice bellowed through the air. As the smoke from the attack dissipated, Charmcaster was still standing up straight, glaring directly at Juniper. "You're not supposed to be able to overcome my power!"

"I've heard that one before!" Juniper laughed. "You gotta have better quips than that!" The Te Xuan Ze took an exaggerated step forward, triggering a shockwave as her foot stomped down. Charmcaster grunted, leaping above the wave and floating towards June with her fist out.

Though, Charmcaster never made it to Juniper, instead colliding with one of her own crumbled rock monsters that suddenly appeared in front of her. Holding up the stone was none other than Them, who rematerialized themselves to protect Juniper. Charmcaster stumbled to the ground.

"Poor girl." the calmed voice of Them sang.

"You're utilizing your skills all wrong!" the higher voice added.

"It's to be your downfall." Them's dark growl boomed, triggering the stone to shatter and a stream of flame to shoot from the demon's horns. Charmcaster winced before throwing up her own magical shield and stumbling back further.

"Uhm?" June looked over Them's shoulder. "Thank you?"

"There'll be time to explain later." Them's normal voice replied. "We have to take out Charmcaster."

"We? You're, like, the bad guy!" Juniper cried out as Gwen drew nearer, hovering above them.

"Nobody's intentions are going to matter if that witch destroys the Totem!" roared the demon's sinister voice.

"Our interests have aligned, swear on the Demon King's throne!" the shrill voice squeaked. "Is that… a pillow?" Them's brow rose at Juniper's arms.

"We help you stop Charmcaster, you give us some answers." Gwen called out.

"They're owed something this far along." Them seemed to mutter to themselves.

The three looked back to Charmcaster's direction, the fire engulfing the biome dying down. Charmcaster, on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen on the field. Her magical minions stood as an army where she once was though. And above them hovered a battered Charmcaster, ponytail broken loose and the bottom of her robes signed by Them's fire. The pink symbol on the Alpha Rune was now glowing with the same orange color from the activated Totems.

"The Alpha Rune!" Gwen cried out.

"That pest has already siphoned power from the Totem at the Temple and the one here." Them's hoarse voice snarled.

Gwen took a single moment to assess her options. She demanded answers to help Them, but even if they're on board, it's not smart to trust a demon, or make a deal with one. Hex made sure to hammer that fact into their heads earlier. Then again, there's no telling what Charmcaster can do with even a fraction of the Totem's power, something she isn't even sure of. After a sigh, she shared their plan.

"Them!" she called them. "We need to get the Alpha Rune off of her!"

"We will burn her to a crisp this time!" the cheery voice exclaimed.

"No, don't kill her!" Juniper blurted out, rushing forward. "Just knock her out or something!"

"Tck!" the higher and lower voice grunted.

"Just make her vulnerable enough to get close." the third voice called out. They blinked from existence, reappearing in the middle of her rock beasts. A blast of fire knocked some of them back, just as the stone cladded Kevin joined the fight against the rock monsters alongside Them.

"How did we stop her last time?" Juniper asked as Lucky Girl lowered down to her level.

"We didn't, she left with Them."

"Right… What are we supposed to do?"

"We've got to knock her prone." Gwen peered around the area. "We need to get her out of the sky and pin her down?"

"Okay!" Juniper stood with her hands on her hips. "Gwendolyn, fire the missiles!"

Gwen reared up on her hoverboard, taking to the sky and reaching Charmcaster's eye level. She threw her hands into the air, balls of pink light swelling up before her arms flung forward, sending a barrage of discs at Charmcaster. The Alpha Rune's orange glow brightened, sending a blast of energy that completely destroyed Gwen's discs. The ones that survived shot past Charmcaster, only to pause in the air.

Below Juniper Lee held her hand up, swaying her arm around to control Gwen's disc, and sending them into Charmcaster's back. She grunted, but didn't stray from her spot in the air. She raised her arm, the Alpha Rune glowing again. Another blast of orange energy welled up in her hand, then rocketed off at Gwen. She had just a moment to throw a shield in front of herself, but the beam broke right through it, and knocked Gwen's hoverboard out of existence.

"I gotcha'!" Juniper cried, rushing to catch Gwen as she fell. As she landed in Gwen's arms, her Lucky Girl appearance faded away.

"T-Thanks…" Gwen sighed, stepping down to her feet.

"Are you ok!?"

"I'll be fine… That power hits hard though…"

"I think we need to hit her just as hard." Juniper muttered. "I have to try to take control of that new energy."

"I was thinking the same thing." Gwen looked up to Charmcaster, who was now firing blasts of energy towards Them and Kevin below. "I don't think I can take another hit from that attack though."

"I need you to attack again. Two rounds." Juniper asked, holding up two of her fingers. "But miss on purpose the first time."

"I trust you." Gwen gave her friend a nod.

"I trust you." June smiled back. The two shook their hands together, then Juniper ran off at superhuman speed.

Gwen threw up a shield, conjuring a ball of energy above it. It began to shoot another barrage, purposely aiming below Charmcaster. The enraged witch's head turned as she watched the missiles skim by her. Juniper came to a stop on the other side of the rock monster cluster, peering up to see the missile coming in her direction. June stomped onto the ground, sending a shockwave towards the monsters while leaping towards the incoming missiles. Her free hand balled into a fist, causing Gwen's attacks to bundle together, forming a large mana ball.

"Round 2!" Juniper cried, pulling Charmcaster's attention. "Batter up!"

Gwen's shield triggered it's next barrage, now directly aiming for the back of Charmcaster. At the same time, Juniper sent the mana ball hurling at the enemy. The Alpha Rune's glow grew again, destroying Juniper's attack, and distracting Charmcaster from the missiles that directly pelted into her back. She hunched forward, glaring at Juniper as she regained her composure, now floating a few feet lower.

"You should've stayed in Orchid Bay!" Charmcaster grumbled, her hand igniting with the Totem's glow again.

"You should've stayed imprisoned in that bag!" Juniper taunted.

Charmcaster smirked, holding her hands out and blasting a new beam of the Totem's energy towards Juniper. The Te Xuan Ze held her hand up, squinting as she watched the attack come closer. And closer… Juniper channeled all her strength into honing in on the oncoming power, coming to close her eyes as the beam nearly reached her. Mere inches away from her, the beam paused, directly in front of her hand.

"Impossible!" Charmcaster howled,

A sly smirk spread across Juniper's face. She pulled her hand back, the beam condensed into a ball of energy floating in her palm. She kicked back, leaping up again and swiveling in the air before throwing the energy to Charmcaster, smacking her right in her wide-eyed face.

Charmcaster's minions all fell lifeless, shrinking back to figurine size. The girl herself plummeted to the ground in front of Gwen and the Totem, knocking the dirt up off the ground while she landed. Them looked about the fallen figurines, noticing Charmcaster and sharing Juniper's goofy grin. They blinked away from the pile of rocks. They then rematerialized floating above Charmcaster, reaching out a hand to the rune on her neck.

"So careless." the three voices snickered, plucking the Alpha Rune from her neck and disappearing almost immediately.

"The… The Alpha Rune!" Charmcaster groaned, clutching to where it once laid.

"Hey Charmcaster!" Juniper cried out. She dashed towards the downed girl, now holding the Pillow of Common Sense in both hands. "Your uncle said to knock some sense into you!"

Juniper came crashing down, swinging the Pillow to clap across Charmcaster's face. She wasn't hurt, of course. It's just a pillow. But a moment later she would cry out in pain, her body becoming enveloped in the Totem's energy. It twisted and swayed, transferring seemingly into the pillow before Juniper leaped to the side, joined by Gwen and Kevin.

"It really is a magical pillow!" June smiled, holding the Pillow up. As Gwen neared with the Book, the spine began to glow orange, slowly fading from the pillow.

"And this is quite dangerous!" Them's normal voice echoed among them. The demon's body reappeared next to the trio, holding the Alpha Rune out away from their body.

"You really should keep these types of artifacts out of the hands of... " their dark voice groaned, the demon rolling her eyes. "Pests like this one." They glared down at the struggling Charmcaster.

"You-!" The girl rolled over, bringing herself to her hands and knees. Her eyes shot daggers at Gwen and Juniper through her tattered bangs. "You'll pay for this, Tennyson."

"Not anytime soon." Gwen smiled, waving her hand to cover Charmcaster in a magical dome. She looked at the group, quickly walking up to Them.

"What's your game here?" she asked, snatching the Alpha Rune from their fingers.

"You fools…" they growled.

"Recruiting Charmcaster was pure strategy." Them's normal voice said with a nod. "Keeping her under our watch ensured the safety of the Totems from her plight."

"And us?" Juniper Lee piped in.

"It's clear we all have the same goal." Them's shrill pitch sang. "Fulfill the Prophecy and shoot the sky booger!"

"We only intervened at the Hani-Baba Temple once she got involved." they continued calmly.

"And you couldn't mention any of this sooner… Because?" Juniper's brow furrowed.

"We had to make sure your intentions were good." they shrugged. "We've been watching you long enough…"

"I dunno... " Kevin rubbed his stoney chin. "Seems a little convenient, don'tcha think?"

"I mean, they are a demon." Gwen pursed her lips. "They're natural tricksters. Egging us on like this isn't abnormal."

"And if our interests have aligned," Them's stable voice spoke. "Then we believe we're all in agreement that we must activate the final Totem in Nowhere."

"Hmmmm." Juniper walked forward, looking at Them intensely. "I trust 'em."

"Just like that?" Kevin blurted out.

"I have a knack for these sorts of things." Juniper nodded. "They've never attacked us directly, and didn't react when Gwendolyn took the Alpha Rune."

"We have no use for that meaningless artifact." Them scoffed.

"If Juniper trusts them, then I trust them too." Gwen agreed, followed by a sharp sigh. "But there's rules to this arrangement. I'm keeping hold of the Book. We're the ones who will use its power if we've gotten this far."

"We agree." their rough pitch echoed. "But we must return the Book to whom it's currently checked out to once finished."

"Once finished." Gwen repeated. She held out her hand. Them took it in theirs, shaking on it.

"Though, real quickly." Them's high voice squeaked, snapping their fingers and flinging the Book open in Gwen's arms. The pages magically flipped towards the end of the Book, stopping where a tear revealed a missing page. "Where is our love potion spell!?"

"The love potion spell!?" Gwen and Juniper blinked in unison, triggering the memory of the blonde Kanker sister who they originally knew had the book.

"EXCUSE ME!?" a new, booming shout rang at them. The group paused, including the encased Charmcaster, looking to see the one and only Mojo Jojo, stomping up to them with a crowd of Monkey Minions. Examining the area revealed the charred trees, destroyed terrain, and cracks in the glass ceiling, all remnants of the battle. "Who are YOU to come into the home of me, Mojo Jojo! And destroy a perfect fit and preserved ecosystem!?"

"We can explain!' Juniper said, waving her hands.

"We'll talk later." Them snickered, suddenly disappearing.

"Oh, come on!"


2 June 2044

"HELLO POTENTIAL MINION!"

What a way to start an email. Roxie sat on a bench next to a railing. She was sitting alone on the bridge stretching across the Sunken Mall in Townsville Center, leaning against the back of the bench. She had her NanoCom within her hands, her messages open as the girl scrolled through, eyes glued to the screen.

As a fully-forged war volunteer, Roxie had gone on a few missions in the past month and a half, but nothing was as exciting as when her and Amp fought the Fusion Plutonium. In fact, she hadn't even come face to face with another Fusion copy since then, just the mindless mobs roaming the streets, and a large Fusion on the beach she fought with Bubbles yesterday. Roxie was itching to kick some Fusion butt again, but her emails didn't offer many good opportunities to do so.

"Mojo Jojo and his esteemed team of Monkey Minions cordially invite all monkey-individuals to attend this June's Minion Seminar. Come see why so many of our brethren are joining the ranks, and learn of the healthcare benefits this job offers. We also offer paid vacation, and even dental!"

Roxie rolled her eyes as she read this e-mail.

"Tck…" She grumbled to herself. "Offensive. I'm not a monkey because Ben named himself Spidermonkey…"

Her finger rolled up on the screen, deleting the message from her inbox. So much for an exciting mission. The rest of the requests in her inbox were run of the mill quests. Retrieving jawbreakers, collecting toothpaste. Maybe she was spoiling herself. She should be thankful she hasn't come that close to another Fusion again, but on the same note, the standstill of the war only made her want to fight more. Maybe even get her hands on another Nano like her Nano Professor Utonium.

While all the missions in her requests were mundane, one caught her eye.

"VERTICAL LIMITS - DEXLABS PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT INITIATIVE."

Roxie tapped on the topic line, pulling the description up.

"DexLabs invites volunteers to test our newly patented DexLabs bounce pad technology, as a part of DexLabs' Public Improvement Initiative. Dexbot Q-12 will oversee testing, and offer rewards for those who choose to test the precision Chronastic system with a timed race. Your optical sensors will be stimulated by the view from the top of City Station Tower. Remember, it's always a fine day for science!"

"A jumping test?" Roxie thought to herself. Of all the missions available to her, this could be a good one, especially with her little Nano's power. Plus, like, she really didn't have anything better to do.

City Station wasn't far off either. In fact, Roxie could see the tower as she stood to walk in its direction. You could see City Station Tower from most of Downtown's districts, as it was the central hub for the area. All of the Slider Bus routes in Townsville linked to a station in the middle of the tower, making it the city's greatest transportation hub! Even Mojo's Minions and the Kids Next Door began offering their services there once the war came.

Fusions on the streets of Downtown were tough, but minimal in number, at least in this part of the city. K.N.D. soldiers were posted up on several street corners to deal with any Fusion that hadn't flocked towards the Steam Alley distract yet. A few groups of Plumbers had some of the alleyways and buildings blocked off too, but none of that made it difficult for Roxie to reach the tower.

The Dexbot described in the email stood stationed at the foot of the tower, but was surrounded by a small group of kids, all roughly Roxie's age, who were yelling at the poor robot! At the head of the group, Roxie noticed David Starsky, the Gangreen Gang fanboy and former fast food worker she had met in the mall. Standing not too far away from the crowd was the purple haired Heather Orion, from Roxie's Academy unit.

"What is happening…?" Roxie asked as she walked up to Heather. The girl looked at Roxie with worried eyes.

"Oh, Roxie, did you come to test the new bounce pads?" Heather peered back to the group. "There's a bit of a wait…"

"Why is everyone so angry?"

"The Dexbot is supposed to give out a reward to people who can beat his time limit for a race." Heather explained, reiterating what the email said. "But nobody has won, or even made it to the top of the tower. I guess people are starting to call the game rigged."

"Rigged is right!" David's voice boomed over them. "What secrets does Dexter dare hide from us atop City Station!?"

"Oh boy…" Roxie grunted at the sight of David. "This guy."

"You know him?" Heather asked. Roxie shook her head.

"Not really. He was working at the mall's Burger Frenzy when I met him, and then ogling over the Gangreen Groupies the next minute."

"He's the only one who keeps trying to beat the time at this point." Heather looked up towards the tip of the tower. "Once people get past the station, they're knocked back. Like there's a downwind blowing near the top."

"Has anyone tried using one of these?" Roxie smirked, tapping on her NanoCom. A burst of yellow light conjured her Nano Professor floating between the two.

"Professor Utonium!" The Nano cheered as it flew around the girls. Heather blinked at the sight.

"Ack!" she peeps, stumbling back and nearly falling. "I-! I- I'm sorry!"

"Heather!" Roxie quickly rushed to her friend's side, her Nano coming to hover and look at the crowd.

"I'm sorry!" Heather shook her head, staring at the Nano. "I didn't mean to scream. The Nanos kind of scare me, I didn't expect it to pop out like that."

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Roxie patted her back. "I wouldn't have summoned him without warning if I knew. M- My bad." Heather smiled.

"It's alright. I'll be fine." the purple haired girl nodded, collecting herself. She looked to the Nano again, who waved to her. "A few people have tried to use their Nanos for advantage. No luck." She waved back to the little friend.

"Those people also don't have these puppies." Roxie taunted, her upper two spiderlegs flexing as she spoke. The girl walked forward, leaving Heather with wide eyes.

"Coming through!" The blonde yelled as she pushed through the small crowd, using arms and spiderlegs to usher people to the side. She came next to David, who peered at her and her Nano as they arrived.

"Lookie here!" he yelled. "Another hopeless test subject against your wack agenda!" David pointed at the Dexbot, who managed to have a worried expression across its eyeball's screens.

"This unit promises there is no such manipulation!" Dexbot Q-12 pleaded.

"Then why can nobody reach the top!?"

"Ugh." Roxie scoffed. "Lay off, dude. It's just a robot."

"Dexter is responsible!" David cried, suddenly silenced by a web shot from Roxie's spiderleg.

"Let me take the test." Roxie said to the Dexbot as David scrambled to pull the webbing from his mouth.

"Would you like to participate in testing the precision Chronastic system with a timed race?" the Dexbot buzzed.

"Yes, I literally just said that."

"You will have one hundred and sixty seconds to reach the top of City Station Tower and touch the beacon placed atop it." The Dexbot gestured to the side, a large bulbous machine stationed next to it. "There are DexLabs patented bounce pads placed here, at the station, and atop the tower to return. Newly installed drifting platforms provide easier access between vantage points. Please use them and any skills to complete the goal."

"Roxie, no!" David cried, ripping the webbing from his mouth. "It's all a part of its sick scheme!"

"Watch me, bro." Roxie smirked. "Time me!"

"Good luck, Roxie!" Heather called out from the back of the crowd. Dexbot Q-12's eyes flashed to an image of a timer with the aforementioned one hundred and sixty seconds filling the space.

"Ready." The Dexbot exclaimed with a pointed finger. Roxie knelt down to prepare to dash. "Set. Go!"

Roxie ran forward at the Dexbot's command, jumping up atop the bounce pad and suddenly being flung into the air! A floating platform was alternating between floating shortly above the bounce pad, and a platform stretching around the tower, and currently on the ascent. She normally would've missed the platform completely, but Roxie's alien spiderlegs gave her an advantage, letting her shoot webs to attach to the platform. In a moment, the girl retracted the webs, pulling herself right up to the platform.

Below, Dexbot Q-12 was standing still, its finger still pointed upright and time ticking down on its face. Heather made her way to the front of the crowd, cheering for Roxie before noticing David creeping up on the Dexbot.

"Now, let's see what you're hiding from us!" he cackled, pouncing on the Dexbot.

"Wait, no!" Heather exclaimed.

Roxie didn't notice the new commotion below her, nor would she have cared in the heat of this race. Before the platform she was on reaching the tower's platform, Roxie had leapt from its surface. Skipping right over the bounce pads on the tower's platform, Nano Utonium triggered his ability to rocket Roxie up even higher. Another shot of her webs pulled her right up to the next floating platform.

This one was moving downward, but Roxie was close enough to the point of the City Station Tower bus station to jump up to it. There was a single floating platform between her and the beacon atop the tower now, and it was right in time for Roxie to leap onto as she got to the station. What luck! At this moment, Roxie was sure everyone else who tried this mission was lacking without her special alien abilities.

Nano Utonium grinned to his creator, shouting his typical; "Utonium Zoom!" Roxie was already making a short hop, only to be propelled even farther into the sky at her Nano's will. She glanced to the top, seeing the fenced ledge surrounding the top. Easy. All four of Roxie's spiderlegs aimed for the top, shooting webs that stuck to the side of the ledge. A quick second later has her being pulled by her webs right up to the top! Just as she neared the pinnacle…

Roxie's eyes began to water, a sudden downdraft of air shooting down at her at unimaginable speed. The gust of wind threw Roxie off balance, stopping her webs from retracting and sending her smacking against the side of the building with a thud, as well as sending a tired Nano Utonium back into her NanoCom. Luckily, her webs still held.

She took a second to collect herself on the side of City Station. But, just a second. She is in the middle of a race, of course. She moved to start her ascent again, only to be hit with a sudden wave of a foul stench. So foul, Roxie had to plug her nose to think straight. Something wasn't right here, and Roxie knew it.

Instead of retracting her webs, Roxie snapped them to break the connection. Her spiderlegs stuck to the side of the wall, allowing her to, strangely, stand on the tower's side. Roxie had always known her spiderlegs let her climb up walls and across ceilings, but she considered this to be a "creepy" part of her abilities. But not the webs? She has some strange priorities.

She wondered how much time was left on the clock as she climbed the side of the tower like a true spider, but knew as she neared the top that she wasn't going to make it back in time. Not with the insidious snickering coming from the top of the tower. She reached the ledge, peaking over to see the Rowdyruff Boy trio loitering with crude grins on their faces.

"Now who can rip one better than that!?" Butch, the green-cladded clone of Buttercup, snickered with his arms outstretched. A dark green track jacket was wrapped around his waist, with a skin tight black tank top covering bruises and bandaids on his body. He was nearest to the ledge Roxie was hiding by.

"That one was lame as Hades, bro." the ginger-haired copy of Blossom, Brick, replied. A red hoodie matched his backwards baseball cap, covering a Gangreen Gang t-shirt for their band. "The last one I ripped totally made that guy start crying before he fell!"

"Bull." Butch shook his head. "That blonde chick totally started crying too."

"Dude, you farted on a girl…" the third Rowdyruff Boy, Bubbles' double, Boomer laughed. He was still wearing his black undershirt and blue overshirt combination from when Roxie saw him last, now paired with a bright blue puffer jacket.

"Whatever, shut up." Butch grumbled, barring his fists. "You smell like you just took a dump on a girl!"

"You smell like Dad's ass." Boomer slung an insult back. "You smell like monkey doo-doo!"

Roxie blinked at the sight of the three boys. She's always known about the Rowdyruff Boys. Their status as supervillains wasn't a secret, and growing up next to the Powerpuff Girls meant Roxie heard all the stories, even witnessing some of the fights! Though, she had never met them personally, aside from briefly helping Boomer during the Battle in Forsaken Valley. And that… strangely intimate conversation with him afterwards. But, seeing the three in this situation was no surprise.

"You guys are disgusting." Roxie finally piped in, pulling herself up over the ledge and onto the top of the tower. Butch stumbled back, all three boys looking to the girl. "You three are seriously sitting up here and farting on people? I can't even begin to explain how wrong that is!" It made sense that any flow of air these superhumans produced would be so strong, but did it have to be this disgusting?

"How did you get up here!?" Brick barked.

"Ro- Roxie!?" Boomer blurted out. Both of his brothers suddenly turned to glare at him.

"Oh, you know this chick?" Butch grunted. He looked back at the girl. "Oh, she's that spider-freak the Power-Dopes hang out with."

"Don't you guys have anything better to do?" Roxie continued her rant. "Like, literally anything better than this? LIke, maybe fighting the aliens invading the planet!?"

"Great, so the bug-girl is going to show up and ruin all our fun?" Brick laughed. "Get out of here, girl. Or I'll throw you off."

"Then I'll just climb up the side again!" she yelled at them. "This is so not cool."

"We'll, uh, pack it up soon." Boomer said in a nearly hushed tone, only triggering confused looks from his brothers.

"The weakest link whimpers out again." Brick sighed.

"What's wrong with you?" Butch punched his brother's arm. "We're not just gonna let this chick chase us off."

"Uhm!" Boomer's cheeks flushed with a pink color. "Guys, she's just gonna go down there and tell everyone we're up here! She's ruined the fun already."

The three teenagers looked amongst themselves, silent in thought.

"Weakest link has a valid point." Brick shrugged, turning to Roxie. "Thanks a lot, loser."

"Nah." Butch shook his head, arms folded across his chest. "Boomie's gone soft. He's got the hots for the spider-chick."

"What!?" Roxie and Boomer both yelled out in unison.

"Why else would he suddenly chicken out? Like he's really afraid of a tattle-tell."

"Dude, I don't know her!" Boomer yelled in Butch's face.

"You knew her name, chief." Brick shrugged again. "Butch also makes a valid point."

"I really would just go tell everyone." Roxie admitted, her arms now crossed as well. "It's not like I'd ever be caught dead with one of you anyways."

"Oh, 'cause Mitchelson is so much nicer." Butch snickered.

"... If you didn't even know my name then how did you know that?"

"Like it's a secret Mitch is hooking up with the girl who's a spider." the gruff Rowdyruff laughed back.

"Oh, that's who this is!" Brick laughed as well. "I bet Butch's ass breathe smells better than that wannabe."

"Glob, you guys are so gross." Roxie sighed. She looked between the boys, noticing the beacon the Dexbot had mentioned before. Her time had definitely run out by now, but touching it was worth a shot. She shot a web between the guys onto the beacon, causing Brick and Boomer to jump. "Whatever, I got what I came here for."

"Well I was getting bored anyways!" Brick exclaimed. He kicked off the ground, floating in the air.

"Girls ruin everything." Butch jumped into the air like his brother. "We'll just go find some other stupid mission to screw with." He held up an obscene gesture to Roxie before jetting off in a dark green light.

"C'mon, Boomer." Brick grunted as he followed in his own red light streak.

Boomer and Roxie looked at each other, suddenly looking away with equally blushing faces.

"That was, uh, awkward." Boomer muttered. A sly smirk stretched across Roxie's face.

"Thanks for giving me the idea to tell everyone you guys were here." she grinned, triggering Boomer's eyes to widen. "I was just gonna try to beat you guys up. Maybe tie you together in a web."

"... Whatever." Boomer huffed. "I don't have a thing for you. Goodie two-shoes loser."

"I didn't say you did." Roxie shrugged. "But it looks like it now. Why are you all flustered?"

"Stop flirting with me, you have a boyfriend." Boomer stuck his tongue out.

"Wow, literally none of that was even remotely close to flirting."

Boomer's head moved to look at Roxie.

"Besides, that jerk is not my boyfriend anymore." Roxie started explaining, for some reason. "Not after the scene he caused at City Hall at the end of March."

"That's not what he says."

"What?"

"Mitch tells everyone he's dating the alien girl." Boomer nodded, making Roxie shudder at the mention of her being called an alien by him. "Makes it seem like you're with him all the time."

"I haven't talked to him in two months!" Roxie frowned. "Though, I shouldn't be surprised that you're friends with him."

"Pfft." Boomer chuckled. "That wimp isn't my friend. Only time I see him is to beat him up."

"Shouldn't have expected anything less than violence from you."

"What's your problem?" Boomer stepped closer to Roxie. Now she noticed Boomer's leg she helped fix was perfectly fine now. "It's not like I've been a complete jerk to you. I let you blab to me about your stupid emotions, and I got my brothers to go away just now. Just because I'm a bad guy doesn't mean you have to inherently treat me like scum."

"It kind of does. It says so in the phrase 'bad guy.'"

"Liking to cause trouble doesn't mean I can't help you out." Boomer huffed. "I owed you one for fixing my leg. Sorry."

"You're sorry?" Roxie question, definitely not expecting that response.

"Yeah, for screwing with your dumb mission." Boomer said. "I'm just having a little fun."

"Well…!" Roxie stumbled over what to say. "Thank you?"

"But this never happened." Boomer immediately started talking again. "My brothers already think I've gone soft, I'm not gonna let you feed into that."

"Looks like you're doing a swell job on incriminating yourself with that, dude." Roxie snickered, walking past Boomer to the bounce pad stationed atop the tower. "Go catch up with those two, or they're going to actually think you have a crush on me."

"Which I don't!" Boomer kicked off into the air while rolling his eyes.

"I hope not." Roxie laughed climbing the side of the bounce pad.

The two of them stared at each other for a silent moment. Not a single word more was said between the two, Boomer starting to fly off as Roxie jumped onto the bounce pad. She caught a glimpse of him leaving his blue light trail as she was flung up by the bounce pad. Combining her webs and the descending platforms, Roxie made her way back to the ground, returning to the excited crowd.

Several of the kids cheered as Roxie landed, including her friend Heather. David, on the other hand, was locked in a tight hold by Dexbot Q-12. The Dexbot's normal robotic hands had grown in size and shape, taking the form of a large clamp to keep David contained. The side of the clamp facing Roxie even had the DexLabs Incorporated logo plated onto the side. Dexter really prepared for everything except a life-threatening alien invasion, huh?

"Congratulations," Dexbot Q-12 buzzed, it's tone changing slightly as it robotically recited; "Leeblossom Comma Roxie!" It's tone immediately flipped back to the normal fluidity of before. "You have completed the test of the precision Chronastic system. And with just one second to spare."

"One second?" Roxie was surprised as she joined the crowd, since she was sure the intrusion up top was to run up her time. "Why is David-?"

"Dexter won't hide his secrets from me forever." David yelled into the sky, triggering Roxie to raise her brow.

"He tried to pull apart the Dexbot when you started." Heather explained. "But it quickly held him back."

"She cheated!" David cried out. "You used your totally awesome powers to get past the wind obstacle."

"This unit reiterates that there was no air based obstacle applied to this test." the Dexbot buzzed with a nod.

"What was going on up there?" Heather asked. "Did it really take you so long to get to the top?"

"No, there was an obstacle, just not one set up by Dexter." Roxie sighed, looking to the tower. "The Rowdyruff Boys were screwing around up there, rigging the mission."

"I knew it was rigged!" David scrambled under the Dexbot's grasp.

"What were they doing?" Heather pressed on. Roxie's gaze on the tower shifted to her friend with a horrified expression.

"You really, really don't want to know."

"That bad?"

"I need to go home and take a shower bad." Roxie grunted. "Everyone who tried this probably should too. But, they're gone now. I scared them off if anyone wants to try the race."

"Wow, Roxie!" Heather smiled. "You scared off all three Rowdyruff Boys by yourself!? That's so cool, Roxie!"

"Uh, yeah!" Roxie nodded confidently. "We should go with that story."

"As reward for completing the precision Chronastic system test within the allotted time," Dexbot Q-12 buzzed in, a compartment strange opening on its side, "Please accept this novelty hat, as well as a cash prize of 909 Taros." The Taros bills popped out of the compartment, alongside a hat in the shape of a lemon.

"You get a Scurvy Day Helmet for doing this!?" David seemed like he was about to jump out of his skin. "I'm next! I'm next! Oh, let me do it next!" The Dexbot suddenly dropped the boy, the clamp mechanically shifting back into the normal hands.

"Jeez…" Roxie huffed, grabbing the Taros from the Dexbot. "I think I found someone more annoying than Amp."

"I thought Amp was quite nice." Heather shrugged.

"Oh, Amp and I are friends now." Roxie corrected herself. "Which is why I'm confident in saying that." She waved at David. "Dude, if you want this hat, you can have it."

"Oh, seriously?" David's exaggerated motions came to a calm as he walked up to Roxie, taking the Scurvy Day Helmet from her. "Man, thanks! You're a good friend!"

"We're not-" Roxie paused, shaking her head while thinking about the last time she barked at someone that she wasn't friends with them. "Yeah, yeah. I know. But didn't you tell me we weren't friends last time?"

"Any girl who willingly gives me her Scurvy Day lemon helmet is an automatic friend in my book!" he smiled. "Now I don't have to do that stupid race!"

"This unit recommends bouncing for relaxation and to relieve occasional sinus pressure." Dexbot Q-12 buzzed. "DexLabs is pleased to provide this experience, and further Scurvy Day Helmet rewards, at no cost to you."

"Hold the phone!" David equipped his new lemon shaped hat, and glared at the Dexbot. "You're telling me I can get unlimited hats? Is this the secret Dexter dared to keep from me."

"You're gonna ruin this Dexbot's entire day, aren't you?" Roxie laughed. Dexbot Q-12 let out a pixelated sigh.

"He already has."


5 June 2044

Roxie continued on the next few days with little excitement. No new missions accepted. No new Fusions fought. Besides a short hang out with her cousin Alice, Roxie spent the majority of the past two days indoors. Sitting inside her bedroom, things almost felt simple again. Drawn, (and glittery pink,) curtains hid any trace of the Fusion War outside. But photos of Roxie with her friends inside her room just struck the thought back into her mind.

Which meant Roxie was ready to take on any distraction that came her way first. A call from her older brother had her up and out of the house, dual pistols equipped and spiderlegs ready to fire as she stepped onto the streets. Besides, sitting in her bedroom and wallowing in her sadness wasn't healthy.

She was particularly surprised to learn Jasper called her on behalf of Amp. Apparently, the two of them have become friends since being a part of the same unit in the Academy. Though Roxie wasn't too surprised. Jasper wasn't only Roxie's big brother, but also a big brother figure to a lot of people. He was a bit of a rambunctious teenager himself, lending more to the hoodlum side of things. Towards the end of high school, Jasper began volunteering over at Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.

Of course, Roxie was barely in middle school when Jasper began doing this. Her immature mind definitely just thought he was doing it to get closer to Frankie Foster. While there may have been truth to that as Jasper and Frankie began dating a year ago, Jasper started going to Foster's to be with the Imaginary Friends who needed someone rather than to just help Frankie. She was thankful for the help, but it was even clear to her Jasper was doing this out of the kindness of his own heart. Though, she would get ticked off when Mr. Herriman would tell her she needs to match up to Jasper's diligence.

Jasper took his knack for caring for others further, choosing to go to school for teaching after graduating high school. He was accepted to Friedkin University, where he spent the past four years attending classes and volunteering further to earn his teaching degree. He was meant to graduate this month, but the Fusion invasion put a halt to all academics. This didn't stop him from still hanging out at Foster's and applying his skills still.

Roxie didn't know if Amp needed someone like Jasper in his life, but he grounded her. It couldn't hurt to have the same person do it for her new friend. Plus, even as newfound friends, Roxie preferred when Amp took up Jasper's time with his antics than her's. Seemed like the young boy roped both Leeblossom's into today's scheme.

The Leeblossom siblings stood on the gravel path leading from Wilson Way into Goat's Junkyard. The Infected Zone in the junkyard, Megas' Last Stand, didn't look all too different from usual, save the husk of MEGAS filled with Fusion Matter standing in the center, (Professor Utonium had the Powerpuff Dynamo dismantled and moved to a separate location in hopes of cleaning the infection from it.) The Fusions lurking around here took on both prehistoric and mechanical features.

Near the entrance to the Infected Zone sat Harold Cooplowski's trailer. Roxie didn't know the guy, but Jasper went to school with both Coop and his friend Jamie. And it looked like Amp had also become acquainted with the gamers. The siblings walked down the path towards the trailer, seeing Amp conversing with Coop next to a trio of Mojo's Monkey Skyway Agents, and a relatively small Tyrannosaurus Rex.

"Oh!" Amp held his finger up to the men and dinosaur as he saw the Leeblossom's approach. "My squad is here!"

"Oh, hey Jasper!" Coop greeted his old friend.

"Yo." Jasper replied while lifting his head slightly. Jamie made the same gesture, outstretching his arm to fist bump Jasper. "This is my sister, Roxie."

"Hello." She gave a weak wave to the group, eyes darting back to look at the T-Rex every other moment.

"This is Coop and Jamie, Roxs." Amp pointed to the two. "And this is my newest best friend, Tina!"

The dinosaur, Tina, released a short roar, waving one of her tiny little arms.

"Yo- You're friends with a T-Rex?"

"Do you think I'd ever pass up the opportunity to befriend a T-Rex?"

"Touché."

"Tina and her family live in the junkyard." Coop explained, looking at the dinosaur. "But the Fusions have kept them out for a couple months."

Tina hung her head with a guttural sigh.

"We've been trying to help her and her family the best we can." Coop continued, patting Tina's leg. "Goat didn't even know they were living inside, but he's too much of a scrub to tell them to leave."

"I also wouldn't want to get on a dinosaur's bad side." Jamie muttered.

"Well." Roxie blinked. With all the wacky characters she's met in Townsville, a dinosaur really shouldn't freak her out so much. "Nice to meet you, Tina. And you two."

"Now that you're here," Amp nodded. "It's time to get to the task at hand!"

"Which is…?" Roxie asked.

"We're going to talk to Larry 3000." Amp grinned. "The REAL Larry 3000. Dexter said he might be over here."

"Your robot head?" Roxie knew what he meant, but knew that clarifying when it came to Amp was never a bad idea.

"Yeah!" Amp nodded. "Well, the current version of him. Not the Future version."

"Amp already explained his deal to us." Coop butt in. "But I think that's just gonna make that robot even more sassy than it already is."

"That thing's a jerk." Jamie agreed.

"He's so not cool." Coop crossed his arms, speaking very matter-of-factly. "A cool robot is one like Megas. This Larry guy is totally lame."

"If we're supposed to talk to him, where is he?" Jasper asked, scratching the back of his head.

"He showed up here a couple weeks ago and began ogling over Kiva." Jamie said.

"More like policing her." Coop grunted. "So what? She's from the Future. She's obviously not the only one if Amp is here."

"There's more people from the Future?" Roxie gasped. Amp patted his friend's shoulder.

"Don't worry. She's from a different one."

"I-" Roxie blinked again, shaking her head. That explanation would definitely take forever and a day. "So the robot isn't here?"

"Kiva went into the Junkyard to scavenge some items from Tina's cave." Coop said. "He followed her in."

"Then we're going in." Amp stood triumphantly. "It's time to bring this story arc to a close!"

"Yeah." Jasper blinked. "Right."

"I can give you guys clearance to get inside," Coop said, looking at the entrance. "But I'm gonna hang back here with Tina."

"And I'm going inside the trailer." Jamie was already heading for the door. "Glortfs are one thing, I'm not dealing with the Fusions."

"We can handle it." Roxie shrugged, though her tone mimicked Amp's confidence. "Wouldn't be the first time Amp and I kicked total alien butt in an Infected Zone."

"And I'll be here too." Jasper laughed. "I was there to train with you two, remember?"

"There's a hill that splits the junkyard in half," Coop pointed a stubby finger towards the walls of the Infected Zone. "Tina's place is inside the hill, but the entrance is by Megas."

"We'll be fine!" Amp assured, suddenly using his newfound warping ability to simply appear on the entrance warp pad. Roxie and Jasper followed, (on foot.)

"I know you will be." Coop laughed. At the nod of his head, the Dexbot manning the warp sent the three adventurers inside.

The sky looked much darker and grim under the Infected Zone barriers, but it would've matched the junkyard whether or not it was infected. Saying it was a dump would not only be true, but kind of an understatement. Seems old Goat wasn't paying much attention to it after the Fusions moved in. Despite the large size of the zone, it seemed strangely void of Fusions.

A few Junkasaurus Wreck monsters lurked between two abandoned buildings, but none of them paid any mind to Roxie, Amp, and Jasper as they stepped off the warp pad. Other than them, it was fairly quiet.

"Alright." Roxie nodded her head while surveying the land. "Amp, take us to the robot."

"Of course!" The boy cheered, scrambling to march in front of the siblings. Jasper began to follow, but Roxie stood still.

"No, Amp-" she blurted out, causing Amp to peer behind him. "I meant, like, teleport us to him. With your weird Future power."

"Oooooh!" Amp began to laugh, pulling his tophat from his head. "Oh, you're silly! But I can't do that!"

"Why not?"

"Because I can only warp myself to places I've been to!" Amp spoke as if the answer was obvious. "But not back to the Future. I'm bound to the timeline now."

"I guess that makes sense." Jasper shrugged. He was way less phased by the ability than his sister was. "So we go around that hill on foot. Looks like we won't have much to worry about."

"Precisely." Amp charged onward once more, both Leeblossom's following suit. "Which is fine, because I need to get all I can out of this little guy before I give him to Larry." He rummaged through his pockets, pulling out the head of a Future version of Larry 3000.

"Give me to him!?" The head screeched. "This is sure to cause the timeline to collapse! My timeline doesn't exist anymore!"

"Now, tell me, Head." Amp held Larry's head up so that their eyes were stuck to each other. "What time-related mysteries would I be shocked by?"

"Excuse me!?" Larry's head whined.

"Unsolved mysteries!" He exclaimed. "Amelia Earhart was abducted by aliens, wasn't she?"

"I'm not sure aliens would be too shocking these days." Roxie grunted. Her spiderlegs twitched as she glanced at the Planet Fusion in the sky.

"I can't tell you that!" the head of Larry 3000 angrily buzzed. "You are certainly not supposed to meddle with the timeline more than you already have!"

"I'm gonna shove you back in the coat." Amp threatened, albeit with a joking tone. "Dexter said I should introduce you two!"

"You mean to trust the boy who screwed up his own experiment on you over the one who deals with time for a living!?" Larry's head was steaming.

"Dexter helped me more than you ever did in the Future." Amp shrugged.

"I couldn't help because I AM MISSING MY ARMS AND LEGS!"

The sound of Larry 3000's head increasing annoyance echoed through the junkyard, causing the room to fall into a hush. Seconds later, a thunderous applause of the Fusion's typical groans and roars echoed towards them. Amp smacked the robot upside the head.

"Now look at what you've done!" he pointedly whispered.

"Amp." Roxie called out in an equally hushed tone. "It's not from behind us."

She was right. Turning around did not reveal any pack of monsters heading their way. The group hesitantly moved forward, coming to circle around the end of the hill and revealing the true source of the amalgamation of noise. A huge hoard of Fusions were lurking on the other side, congregating below the husk of Megas.

These Fusions also looked like robots, large televisions stuck in their torsos to act as a face for their glowing red eyes to sit on. Their robotic limbs shifted and twisted in all angles and they stomped around. Luckily, it didn't seem like any were heading their way. However, unluckily, the entrance to Tina Rex's cave home was covered by the hoard.

"Scrap Scrappers." Amp named them.

"Oh dear…" Larry's head muttered.

"That's a lot of mobs…" Roxie said.

"I could freeze them." Amp nodded. "Like last time."

"No." Roxie shook her head. "There's no telling where they could come from out in an open space. I don't think that's a good idea this time."

"It doesn't look like there's a way around them." Jasper peered through the mess towards the cave. "We're gonna have to go through some of them."

"We'll have to figure out a way to distract them." Roxie looked around the area, seeing no viable spot to lure them towards.

"Alright." Jasper nodded. "I'll get their attention and run towards the back of the junkyard."

"Jasper!" Roxie crossed her arms. "And do what? Get yourself cornered while we go into the cave?"

"Well I'm not about to let one of you go out yourself in danger like that."

"Like neither of us have dealt with it before?"

"Yeah, the Future was way worse than this, dude." Amp laughed. "'Sides. I have an idea."

"Surely not one well thought out." Larry's head grumbled. It would cry out again as Amp lifted the head above his head. "Heads up! Literally!"

Before either Roxie or Jasper could stop him, Amp had flung the head of Larry 3000 airborne, causing the head to emit a loud, jarring screech as it came to a rolling thud on the dirt. The sound definitely caught the attention of the Scrap Scrappers, with a huge mass of them barreling toward Larry's head. Unfortunately, several of the Fusions also took notice of Amp and the group.

"We could've talked about this first!" Roxie yelled.

"My bad." Amp laughed.

"Yeah, your bad." Roxie grunted. She grabbed onto her pistols as the monsters began charging them. "We've got to get rid of them before their friends get sick of Larry."

"We got this." Amp equipped his ice ray.

"Aim for the legs." Jasper grunted, now brandishing a new weapon, a comically large screwdriver.

The three jumped towards the Fusions. Amp blinked out of existence, reappearing behind the frontline charging them. His ice ray fired, locking up the feet of the Scrappers causing them to fall over each other. Jasper swung his screwdriver like a baseball bat, shattering the screened faces of the monsters and finishing a few of them right away.

Roxie's spiderlegs shot webs onto the side of the hill, pulling her up and over the line of Fusions. She unloaded her pistols in the air, coming to land next to Amp. He had already turned on his heel, firing onto the wave of Fusions continuing to come at them. Their friends thrashing on Larry 3000's head hadn't turned their attention away yet, but were beginning to tire.

A Scrap Scrapper from the rear of the group lobbed a glob of Fusion Matter at Roxie and Amp. In a second, Amp latched onto Roxie, teleporting the two of them a few feet out of the way.

"Yeuuouch!" Roxie cried out once reappearing.

"Pop your ears!" Amp instructed, just like the last time he unwillingly warped her away. Roxie was about to protest the sudden teleport, but changed her tune after seeing the glob of Fusion Matter burn and eat at the dirt where they once stood.

Roxie's webs shot to the legs of the Scrappers that Amp's ice didn't manage to freeze. Jasper followed up with his screwdriver again, but it was becoming clear this method wasn't going to help much longer. Several of the Scrappers surrounding Larry's head had begun diverting towards the group, and it only seemed like more and more of them were climbing out of Megas' woodworks.

Roxie and Amp repeated the process of stopping the next wave of Fusions coming at them, just as another Fusion Matter bomb was flung at them. Roxie cried out, stumbling to the side as the Fusion Matter graced the side of her arm, burning through the fabric of her pink shirt and charring her skin.

"Roxie!" Jasper yelled, smacking another Fusion with his weapon before making it to his sister's side. She applied a quick web to her arm to act as a makeshift bandage. "And you guys have done this before? Alone?"

"Oh yeah!" Amp cheered. "This gives me another idea!"

"Explain it first." Roxie said, shooting a pistol at an incoming Fusion. "But make it quick!"

"Our Nanos!" Amp exclaimed. "You take yours and get you and Jasper onto the hill. I'll group them together and use my Nanos!"

"Just to stun them?" Roxie remembered Amp's Nano Buttercup only simply paused the Fusion Professor Plutonium back when they fought last.

"I've got more surprises under my coat, Roxie, don't you worry." Amp snickered, poking Roxie's nose. His Nano of Buttercup appeared, suddenly stunning a Fusion that was about to attack. Jasper brought his screwdriver crashing down onto it, letting it dissipate into Fusion Matter. Amp teleported nearby, pulling the attention of some of the charging mobs.

"You better." Roxie grunted. "Grab on, Jas." Her brother sighed, walking up to his sister and grabbing her into a hug.

"I hate this," he muttered.

"I know." Roxie's bottom two spiderlegs wrapped forward and around Jasper's torso to hold onto him. A small yellow light revealed Roxie's Nano Utonium floating by her head. She aimed her other two spiderlegs upwards before looking to her brother. "Now, jump!"

As instructed, Jasper bent his knees and started to jump, Roxie jumping with him. A quick; "Utonium Zoom!" cry has Roxie rocketing up further, flinging Jasper up with her. Her open spiderlegs shot webs from their tips, attaching to the dirt mounds that made up the hill splitting the junkyard. Roxie immediately retracted her webs to pull herself and her brother to safety. They make a not-so-graceful landing, with Jasper's back smacking against the dirt as they collide with the wall.

Once they collect themselves, the two Leeblossom's peered down to the fight below. Amp blinked all around the hoard, with a blast of ice or a cry from his Nano coming from every which way at any given second. There were a few stragglers, including a mass of Scrap Scrappers still congregated around where Larry's head was thrown, but Amp's crazy antics had managed to group up most of the monsters in a central place, where the three originally made their attack.

Amp took a moment to admire his work, standing with his hands triumphantly on his hips. Surely without his Future-granted power, courting all of these Fusions into one spot would've taken forever! Coupling that with his Nano, Amp knew he was the best fit for this exercise, and the results agreed. His Nano Buttercup disappeared into his NanoCom in a burst of red light, with a blue light shining in its place and revealing another one of Amp's Nanos; a tiny and adorable version of Eduardo, the sensitive purple Imaginary Friend living in Foster's.

"Buenos dias!" the Nano called out, which Amp replied to with a quick, and gentle, high-five.

The Nano's greeting caught the attention of the huddled Fusions, but they were no match for Amp's next play. He grabbed onto his Nano Eduardo, teleporting into the air above the mass. Amp held his Nano out, who triggered his unique ability. All of the Scrap Scrappers cried out in pain, visibly becoming weaker and lethargic. Amp quickly blinked back to the ground, his ice-ray completely freezing the pack.

He, of course, threw his arms up in excitement. Roxie and Jasper don't even have a moment to process the beatdown before their targets suddenly enter the fray. Kiva Andru rushed from the cave below, the true Larry 3000 behind them.

"And what was THAT sound!?" The real Larry exclaimed. Kiva used a large, futuristic looking blaster to shoot back into the cave.

"It was me!" Amp cried out while still waving his hands. Now, Roxie and Jasper had slid off the hill to join him, as well as both Roxie and Amp's respective Nanos. "Do you like my Nano's sick Drain power?"

"Coop sent us in to find you." Roxie called back. The groups meet halfway.

"We have to go." Kiva instructed the group, glancing back to the cave. "We were ambushed inside by a Fusion of Coop."

"Oh wait!" Amp scrabbled to pat his coat pockets. "I need Larry to meet my friend."

"Amp?" Larry 3000 blinked. He had only met Amp previously once before, when he returned from the Future. Though, the boy conveniently kept both the new powers and Future luggage a secret from the robot then.

"Dexter said you need to see…" Amp's sporadic patting slowed as he came to a realization. He looked over, frowning as the few unfrozen Scrap Scrappers still lingered around the Head of Larry 3000. "Oh boy."

"I need to see what?" Larry tapped his foot. "Can't you see we're in immediate danger?"

Amp gave no explanation, instead warping himself several feet away to confront the Scrappers around Larry's head, which screamed at the sight of the boy. Of course, the similar screech only made the real Larry confused.

"What in the timeline…?" the robot muttered.

"Not without me, dude!" Jasper yelled, running over to Amp. The two combined their ice and batting skills to subdue three of the Fusions.

Roxie's attention shifted to the frozen block of ice encasing the weakened Scrappers. A crack splitting down the middle showed this prison wouldn't hold forever, especially with Kiva and Larry's pursuers making themselves known.

Two larger Scrap Scrappers, Scrap Superiors, rushed out of the cave, immediately tossing globs of Fusion Matter at the ice. Their commander, Fusion Coop stomped out behind them. Like the other Fusion copies, this one shared the glaring red eyes and sickly green skin and hair. However, this Fusion's hair was more punk-styled than the true Coop, and it's right arm was replaced by a Fusion amalgamation of MEGAS' own arm.

"Another Fusion!" Roxie called out, almost in awe.

"And it's not here to play nice." Kiva grunted, aiming her blaster. Larry cowered in fear behind her. "Though, with a larger group like this, we may be able to defeat it."

"Well, we better come up with something quick before they break their friends out." Roxie nodded.

She quickly shot a flurry of webs onto the ground around the ice, which one of the Scrap Superiors ran right into. Kiva aimed her blaster and fired on the trapped monster, blowing off one of its arms completely. It began to use its remaining arm to beat into the ice.

The other Superior set its sights on the girl who produced the webbing, and spat another glob of Fusion Matter right at her. Roxie dashed forward at the attack, ducking and sliding underneath it. She slid to a halt on the dirt, looking up and shooting her webs at both arms of the Scrap Superior. Her spiderlegs pulled back, tugging the webs and, in turn, the Fusion to topple over on top of her! The girl quickly unloaded her pistols into the monster's face, reverting it into Fusion Matter before the mechanical body can crush her.

"Nice work, kid." Kiva said with a smirk, firing her blaster at the other Superior again. Roxie grinned back at the compliment, only to notice the glowing green ground underneath the woman. Roxie instinctively shot her webs again, using them to pull Kiva away from the patch of dirt right before a Fusion Matter pillar erupted. She instantly remembered when the Shipwrecker in Bravo Beach attempted this eruption attack during a battle with it just a few days ago.

Nearby, the Fusion Coop had his robotic arm held to ground, showing it was the one who triggered the sudden eruption attack. It roared at the group, (somehow, it didn't have a mouth,) and stomped towards them, making Larry 3000 shriek with fear. Kiva collected herself, and aimed her blaster again, only to be surprised by a counter attack from behind her!

Larry's well-known screech rang above Roxie, Kiva, and the present Larry, revealing the head Amp carried once again being lobbed across the battlefield. This toss of Larry's head was a way better shot than the last one, smashing right into Fusion Coop's head. Amp and Jasper arrived next to the group, having taken care of the lesser Scrap Scrappers that had remained.

"Is that my head!?" Larry cried out. Amp nodded his head.

"That's what I came here for!" he said.

"HEEELLP MEEEE!" the voice of Larry 3000's head cried out again.

The head came to lay in the dirt once again, with a disoriented Fusion Coop stomping around it. Kiva used the opportunity to attack again, blasting the Fusion onto its back. Roxie fired her webs again in an attempt to keep the enemy down, while Amp teleported atop the ice block to attack the still-webbed Superior.

"I got this!" Roxie yelled to the group, rushing up to the Fusion and firing her pistols into its skull. Kiva and Larry must've dealt enough damage to this thing before they joined Roxie's group, as the Fusion Coop had no more fight left in him. It sank into a puddle of Fusion Matter, causing the remaining Scrap Superior, and the Scrappers encased in the ice, to all follow suit.

The accumulated Fusion Matter bundled up into tiny balls of light, flying to and filling the NanoComs of Roxie, Amp, and Jasper. Left in Fusion Coop's wake was an empty Big Glug cup from the local Peach Creek convenience store. Roxie's NanoCom played a joyous sound as she picked up the discarded item.

Like it did a while back, Roxie's NanoCom consumed the Big Glug cup, leaving only a moment before a burst of blue light revealed a brand new Nano for Roxie. Instead of a tiny Coop, this Nano was a tiny version of the Megas robot! It squealed with a pitched sound of a car revving before hugging Roxie.

"Shweet!" Amp smiled, carrying Larry's battered and beaten head under his arm. "Roxie just got a new Nano!"

"Of Megas?" Kiva questioned, peering at the floating creature. Roxie seemed pleased.

"Welcome to the armada, little guy." She smiled, giving the tiny car in place of the Nano's head a pat.

"What in the WORLD do you think you're doing!?" the voice of Larry screamed from both directions, interrupting the moment. The Head of Larry 3000 was seething under Amp's arm, and the intact Larry 3000 shared the sentiment as he stomped up.

"Ta-da!" Amp held out the beaten head like a trophy. "Larry, meet Larry!"

The two robots blinked at each other, staring silently.

"You failed to mention bringing a fragment of the Future," the intact Larry's gaze narrowed onto Amp as he inhaled deeply, "BACK INTO THE PAST WITH YOU!"

"What else was I supposed to do with it?" Amp shrugged. "Leave it there?"

"Yes!" Both Larry's exclaimed.

"The timeline has already gone completely BONKERS!" The Head of Larry 3000 buzzed angrily. "Too many people from different times are condensed in this timeline, let alone two versions of myself!"

"What does he mean?" Roxie piped in. "Out of whack?"

"None of this is even supposed to be happening!" The intact Larry 3000 sighed, signaling a hand to the sky.

"Planet Earth is due for an alien takeover for another thousand years." The Head added.

"The Glorft invasion." Kiva sneered. If the Future Larry could shake its head, it would do so in agreement.

"On top of that, the Samurai, the Scotsman, this boy!" The present time Larry gestured to Amp. "Even my squad isn't meant to be here!"

"Larry!" The head called out.

"What is it, Larry?" The intact one looked to his counterpart.

"This is certainly the work of Professor Paradox!" the head grumbled. "I witnessed him myself in the Future! He must be apprehended at once!"

"Of course!" the present Larry 3000 began pacing around. "He's obviously trying to hide from the Time Squad-"

"Hide?" Amp piped in. "Dude, Paradox is so cool! He didn't cause any of this!"

Roxie, Jasper, and Kiva all looked at each other in confusion. The robots and Amp's bickering was growing in volume, but looking around the base of MEGAS showed no new Fusions lurking about. Defeating Fusion Coop must've quelled the area… For now. Good thing too, because the timey-whimey conversation was getting intense.

"Um, I feel like I'm missing something here." Jasper muttered to his sister, who nodded.

"I'm definitely missing a vital part of this story." she shrugged. "Amp barely even mentioned this Larry robot when he talked about the Future."

"All he's told me about is some weird fetch quest." Jasper whispered.

"Who even is this Paradox guy?" Roxie said to her brother, but the attention of the arguers caught on.

"Professor Paradox is only the most notorious time fugitive to ever grace the timeline!" The intact Larry 3000 spat.

"What?" Amp started laughing. "No, no, no! Paradox is a totally awesome time traveler! He's the one who helped me get back home to the present in the first place!"

"I'm definitely missing that part of the story." Roxie feebly said to her brother.

"He is not to be trusted!" Larry 3000's head growled.

"Dude, he knew I couldn't get back without your head." Amp rolled his eyes. "Don't you remember the big ol' final battle we had at Mount Blackhead? I wouldn't have gotten home without either of you!"

"What happened then is no matter now!" the Head grumbled. "That timeline no longer exists. Your return here has permanently altered this timeline…"

"That sounds… kind of extremely bad." Roxie blinked.

"No, no, Roxie." Amp blinked out of existence, leaving Larry 3000's head twirling in the air. Amp reappeared next to Roxie, patting her back. "I fixed the timeline. I deleted the bad ending!"

"Which only means one thing." the intact Larry 3000 sighed, now holding the head of his Future self.

"This is what I was afraid of…" the head buzzed, slowly drawing its words out more as the sentence progressed. The Head started to spark, the lights in its eyes starting to flicker.

"What's happening?" Roxie asked.

"A time anomaly." Larry sighed, looking to his head in his hands. "Both I and myself cannot exist at the same time."

"The time I came from no longer exists thanks to Amp." The head struggled to speak. "It was only a matter of time. Literally. Bringing us together only sped up the process."

"Noooo!" Amp sniffled, warping back to the two Larry's. He bundled the Head of Larry 3000 again. "You can't die! Not after all we've been through!"

"What did you think was going to happen?" the present time Larry 3000 buzzed. "You're lucky this is all you caused by bringing him to me. With all the inconsistencies right now, I'm surprised the entire timeline hasn't folded into itself!"

"Larry…" The Head feebly buzzed. The intact robot kneeled to look at the head.

"What is it, Larry?"

"Find Professor Paradox…" The Head pleaded. "Regardless of the cause…"

The last whirl of power emitted from the Head of Larry 3000's mouthplate. The lights in its eyes faded, feeling the present Larry unphased, but Amp distraught. The boy sobbed into his hands as Larry 3000 took his head back. The robot hesitated, soon reaching out his hand and tapping the boy's head, to mean to console him? At the tap, Amp warped back next to Roxie and company, tears completely gone.

"He was a valiant soldier." Amp nodded, pulled completely together. "But YOU on the other hand, I'm not so sure about!" he pointed at the sole Larry. "What's your problem with Paradox?"

"Hmpfh!" Larry 3000 groaned, holding a yellow communicator in one hand. "None of your business! You failed to mention those powers back at DexLabs, so I suppose we're even."

"For someone so concerned with time, you're not doing a good job at maintaining it." Kiva interjected into the conversation. "You've been here keeping tabs on me, and for what?"

"Ensuring your safety." Larry 3000 grumbled. "You are one of the few anomalies meant to be here."

"Is that why you never attacked the Fusions and whined when they got close?" Kiva laughed, crossing her arms. "I think I'm just fine without you watching me."

"Puh-lease." Larry held his metallic finger up to the woman. "Tuddrussel, come in. I've got a piece of a Fusion controlled Future I'd like to run some tests on." The communicator he held blinked, and without giving the group time to react, Larry 3000 disappeared in a flash of light.

"This is so weird." Jasper shook his head.

"He must've gone back to his Time Squad cronies." Amp rubbed his chin in thought, pacing around the group. "They're probably going to look for Professor Paradox, which means I have to look for him! I thought bringing Larry's head to Larry would be the end of my story, but the plot has only thickened!"

"The boy is from the Future?" Kiva asked either Leeblossom.

"It's a long story." Roxie waved her hand.

"I guess it's never a day of rest for the protagonist of this dastardly invasion." Amp huffed to himself, wiping his hands on his coat. "What other trials and character arcs will I overcome next?"

"He's not much of an explainer." Jasper said to Kiva. "Coop said you were trying to grab some stuff from that T-rex's cave." Kiva nodded to him.

"I was, and the Larry 3000 followed me." Kiva looked to the cave entrance. "But the inside has been turned into a Fusion Lair. The Fusion of Coop caught us off guard, and I had to fight them off to even get Larry out of there."

"So we should report back to Coop and Jamie!" Amp cried out, stepping between the three. "We have much to celebrate here! I'm still the main character, Roxie got a new Nano, and Larry isn't annoying you right now!"

"I agree, we should return to his dwelling." Kiva nodded. "I would like to hear more about this Future you were in. And these Nanos."

"I wonder what this guy's power is." Roxie said to herself, looking at her Nano MEGAS floating around her. He must've heard her, as he waved his tiny hand. He held a finger up to his car head as if to say shhh, then tiptoed in the air.

Roxie wasn't sure what he meant by this action, but soon became aware. As the group traveled back to the warp pad of the Infected Zone, the group of Fusions they saw as they entered had migrated closer to the warp pad. With Roxie's new Nano active, the group managed to sneak past the Fusions eerily close without being noticed. Once out of harm's way, the group exited the Infected Zone.


11 June 2044

Roxie stood in the driveway of the Mitchelson house. All the houses in Pokey Oaks tended to look the same, but the home of Mitch Mitchelson took some deviations from the rest of the cookie-cutter houses. An overgrown lawn, grunge lining the siding of the home, a broken window and busted shutter on the front of the house. It almost looked like the place was abandoned. Who lived like this?

The boy's parents were busy and diligent workers. They spent little time at home, and seemed to let Mitch take the run of the place. Though, a sixteen year old didn't keep the well-being of the house in his best interest. With the Fusions around, his sleazy home blended in a bit better.

Boomer's words kept jetting back to Roxie's mind over the past couple days. Telling her that Mitch still says he's dating her, and never fails to let it be known. She was sure the screaming match, and subsequent violence against him, signified the end of the abnormal relationship, but it appeared like Roxie needed to make it official. Just get it over with, and pray he doesn't be a jerk about it.

She knew the latter would probably be hoping for too much, but swallowed her pride and walked up to the front door. It didn't even look like anyone was home, but where else would this guy be? He didn't particularly have any friends to hang out with. Jeez, how did Roxie find herself paired up with this guy anyways? Was she really so fooled by some smooth words by the local bad boy?

The doorbell rang. Roxie hoped nobody would answer. But if there was no answer, when was she going to set the story straight? While she thought smacking him at City Hall was a suitable ending, she knew this had to be done. It would appear she would have to face her fear as the sound of the door unlocking caught her ears. The door swung inward and revealed Mitch.

"Look who decided to show up." the boy grunted at the sight of her.

"We need to talk, Mitch." Roxie said. Mitch blinked, turning to walk away and leaving the door open. Roxie stepped inside.

Mitch slumped onto the couch in the dark, dank living room, presumably where he sat before Roxie interrupted. An old television sat on a broken stand, a game console plugged in and a violent war game flashing on the screen. Several crushed soda cans and empty snack bags littered the floor. A typical teenage boy's bedroom, but transferred right to the living room of the house. Mitch patted the couch next to him.

"Come sit, babe." he sneered. "Wanna make out?"

"Ew, no." Roxie crinkled her nose. "I said we need to talk."

"Ugh." Mitch picked up his controller, causing the television to ring with the sounds of gunshots as he started playing his game again. "About what?"

"I- I know you're still telling people we're together." Roxie stepped forward. "And you have to stop."

"Why?"

"You are not my boyfriend." Roxie placed her hands on her hips. "I thought the memorial was a clean cut for this relationship."

"Why? Cause you hit me?"

"Not entirely, but yeah," Roxie threw her arms up. "Basically."

"Whatever." Mitch snickered. "You never did say it outloud though. I ain't wrong for assuming. So you're dumping me now."

"If that's what you want to take it as." Roxie nodded. "So stop telling people you're dating the 'alien' girl."

"Fine." Mitch shrugged.

Wow. Roxie was kind of surprised at the typical jerk. Any other thing she brought up would've made him put up a bit more of a fight, surely. He must've known it was already over too. Feeling accomplished, Roxie turned on her heel to leave.

"Now I get to tell people I was dating the nasty alien girl." Mitch snickered, causing Roxie to stop. "Oh, woe is me! My mean, destructive alien ex. I saw the real you when the other aliens showed up, or something stupid like that."

"People don't like you enough to feel sorry for you being with some 'nasty alien.'" Roxie barked back. "How many times do I have to tell you I'm not like the Fusions?"

"Tomayto. Tamaytoe." Mitch shrugged.

"You're more like the Fusions than I am." Roxie continued. "Cruel and antagonistic for no good reason! Do you feel better about yourself after dragging everyone down in the dirt?"

"Yeah, you're totally right, Roxs." Mitch laughed, tossing his controller to the side again. "I am more like those monsters. I'm definitely more threatening than you are."

"Threatening?" Roxie blinked. "I stood up to you, I am standing up to you! If you were so threatening, I wouldn't be here!"

"Uhhuh, uhhuh." Mitch rolled his eyes. "I'm not scared of you, babe."

"You already act like you fear me." Roxie barked, flaring her spiderlegs. She turned on her heel again, ready to rush out in a huff.

"You're all talk." Mitch laughed. "I should just tell everyone you attacked me. Make them scared of you." Roxie paused again, turning back around as Mitch stood and walked up to her.

"Like anyone would believe you."

"I just gotta make it realistic." Mitch sneered, getting in Roxie's face. "I've got pocket knives. Jab myself in the arm. Cry to the police. You were just here at my house."

"Get away from me." Roxie grumbled. "Nobody would believe that either."

"You'd be surprised, babe."

"You're a pig." Roxie stepped back, but Mitch still remained up in her space.

"You're a freak of nature." Mitch grinned.

"I've been called worse."

"Well, if you're still here." Mitch winked at Roxie, "Wanna smooch?"

"Absolutely not."

"One last time?"

"Back off, dude."

"Oh, come on-" Mitch reached forward, starting to grab Roxie's arms. However, the moment she felt the boy's hands on her, Roxie immediately tensed up and shrieked. She pushed her arms forward to shove Mitch off of her… As well as accidentally extending her spiderlegs outward with her arms.

Roxie had her eyes shut tight, but heard a squishing sound before Mitch winced in pain. He stumbled backwards, crashing onto the drab coffee table in the living room. Her body was still tense, and a shiver rang head to toe as she felt the tip of her upper right spiderleg feel wet and warm. Opening her eyes revealed the pointed tip of the spiderleg stained red.

"Holy crud!" Mitch muttered, clutching onto his left shoulder with his right hand. Blood stained his black 'MITCH ROCKS!' t-shirt, and leaked between the fingers holding his new wound. Roxie looked horrified, noticing Mitch's left arm had fallen completely limp.

"Oh my glob!" Roxie panicked, stepping backwards. Her spideleg folded inward, her hands cupping the bloodied tip. She had known the ends of her alien appendages were sharp, but never had done something like this with them before. While shoving Mitch away from her, Roxie's spiderleg pierced right into Mitch's shoulder, breaking fabric and skin alike.

"You really attacked me!" Mitch cried, fear now finally laced in his voice. "You freakin' stabbed me! With your freaky alien arms!"

"O-Oh my glob, I didn't-" Tears welled up in Roxie's eyes. She had hurt many Fusions, but never another person like this. Even if he was a tool she's fought before, this mortified Roxie.

"I can't believe you actually did it!" Mitch was almost laughing, but in clear visible pain. "You're insane!"

"It- It's not like that!" Roxie blubbered. "You grabbed me!"

"You are just like them!" Mitch cried, crawling back away from her.

"I'm-" Roxie broke off, taking in the scene and his words.

"At the end of the day, all aliens are the same, aren't they?" Mitch growled. "Can't be satisfied unless your enemy is dead, huh?"

"No." Roxie's brow furrowed as the boy struggled to sit up. "No, no, no." She shook her head furiously. "I'm not going to let you spin this around, and make me the victim for protecting myself!" Roxie stomped forward towards Mitch again. "You are the one who tried to drive a wedge between me and my friends, causing a public scene and making a total fool of yourself. Only to blackmail me when I try to end things because of it?"

"Well-" Mitch is silenced by a web shot from a clean spiderleg. A muffled cry emits from under the web, and Mitch's eyes grow in fear.

"You should be scared of me." Roxie now shoved her nose in his face, staring him down in silence before pulling away.

"... You don't deserve help." she muttered to him, pulling her NanoCom from her pocket. "But I am a better person than you. And this proves it…"

She tapped onto her NanoCom's screen, holding it up to her ear and waiting for a moment. A click came through the receiver when Roxie's call was answered.

"Blossom? I- i-." Her emotions broke through her shattering voice. "I me- messed up…"


As always, reviews and critiques are greatly appreciated! A list of shows represented in this universe is listed at the footnotes of Chapter 1.

We're in the Endgame of Book One now! Two chapters are left in this one, but don't worry! I still plan to continue this story onto Book Two, as well as the various spin-offs I've teased in other author's notes and comments. I hope you all look forward to it.