Chapter 15

Danville, USA
July 4, 2049

The Museum was closed for the holiday, so there was no one else around to notice when the hall labelled "Gadgets Through The Ages" suddenly flared brilliantly with a strange, otherworldly illumination. A platypus exited the futuristic looking time machine that had just appeared, looked out, and saw his time clone waiting there for him.

PJ stared unblinkingly at his past self, waiting for him to exit the machine.

His time clone padded down the ramp to meet him face to face. "Well, hi, me."

"Hi yourself."

"I suppose this means you're here to stop me from arresting Suzy before she goes back in time to try to assassinate the boys and Isabella?"

"I'm afraid so."

"What happens?"

"Too much to explain here. But to prevent a paradox, Phineas and Ferb gave me this." With that, PJ held up a device that looked somewhat like a camera recorder and pressed a button. The device emitted a flash, and the eyes of PJ's past self turned glossy. PJ caught him before his limp body fell to the floor. "That should erase your memories of seeing me here, and keep you knocked out for a while. Once you come to, you'll realize you missed Suzy's arrival, jump back in time, and arrest her, setting you on the path I've been on for the past month." He lugged his body back up the ramp of his doppelganger's time machine, typed a few commands into the automatic pilot, and watched the vehicle zoom off.

Just then, there was a crashing sound coming from the entrance to the museum. PJ hid himself behind the display of an uncannily realistic T-rex model.

Footsteps began echoing down the corridor, announcing Suzy's arrival. The blonde haired assassin made her way for the time machine, totally unaware of PJ's presence. Humming to herself, she climbed into the time machine, fiddled with the switches, and pulled the lever, beginning her thirty-five year journey into the past.

Alone once again, PJ emerged from his hiding place to return to his own time machine. "Time to see if that worked," he said to himself as he put out his hand to open the pod door.

POP!

PJ turned around when he heard the familiar noise of a time machine popping into the room.

An identical time machine to the one he was just about to enter sat parked not a few feet away. The automatic door swung open, revealing a red, bloody mess inside, and another time clone of PJ staggered down the ramp, hand pressed to his stomach, trying to stop a wound that was guzzling blood.

Instinctively, PJ ran forward to help him down. "Oh jeez, me, what happened?"

His time clone collapsed in his arms. PJ held himself in his hands, watching himself die before his eyes.

The time clone gurgled blood as he tried to form words, looking up at the ceiling instead of meeting PJ's eyes. Every breath was a struggle for life. "Don't… arrest... Suzy…" was all he managed to whisper.

"There might be a first aid kit in the time machine," PJ said, setting his dying self down to go look. The other PJ grabbed his wrist to hold him close.

"Don't... arrest... Suzy... when she... gets back from 2014…"

A million questions were running through PJ's head. That was exactly his plan, to arrest her the moment she returned―ensuring a timeline where he'd bonded with Phineas, Ferb, and Isabella back when they were kids, as it was supposed to be, while still capturing Suzy before she could do any lasting damage. "Why?" he insisted. "What happened?"

His future self took another couple of shallow, wracking breaths, then went limp in PJ's arms.

The platypus swore under his breath. His heart was racing, his hands shaking. He gently lowered his own dead body to the floor and rose uneasily to his feet.

Whatever happened in that version of the future must have been bad. Real bad. "What is happening?" PJ whispered between rapid, shallow breaths. Fear was gripping his heart, with cold fingers. He couldn't catch his breath. He couldn't control his diaphragm. He couldn't stop his blood-soaked hands from shaking.

Without warning, his time clone's dead body, all the blood that had spilled onto the floor and rubbed off on his hands, along with the time machine he had arrived in, suddenly vanished without a trace. That future didn't exist anymore.

But the image of his own final breath could not be so easily expunged from PJ's mind.

He backpedaled into his time machine, waiting for his heart to stop hammering in his chest. He'd never felt this scared in his life. He crouched down on all fours and dry heaved before focusing all his energy on controlling his breathing. A few minutes passed. He told himself he wasn't in any danger, over and over, repeating it in his mind, and the panic attack started to reside. PJ shook his mind clear, forced his breathing under control.

It took a while to successfully calm himself. As his ability to reason returned, he started to think. Okay, if arresting her here after her trip to the past is a no-go, where else in the timeline do I know Suzy's location? He thought back to what had happened next after he returned from protecting the kids in 2014. He'd next run into Suzy at her home outside D.C. There they fought, that was when Suzy sicced her giant, mutant poodle on him. He next saw her while breaking out of the HQ building for the Department of Homeland Security, where he was being held by the Conspirium moles in the DHS. After that, he didn't cross paths with her again until the day of the EMP.

Those were his three remaining chances. Her house, the DHS HQ, and the building where PJ's team had perished. Now PJ understood why he'd met his time clone there, all those years ago. So that meant he needed to try that option, right?

But that was a problem. The EMP hit minutes after the explosion. If he went there, there was a chance he'd be stranded without a time machine again. There would be no returning if something went wrong.

What was the harm in trying the other two first?

POP!

PJ looked up to see the same scene as before repeating itself in front of him. A time machine identical to his own had appeared once again. He immediately jumped to his feet, preparing himself for the worst.

The automatic door whizzed as it slid open and the ramp extended out to the floor. A slender foot stepped out onto the ramp, but it wasn't webbed―it wore a shoe.

PJ gasped. The shoe was connected to a long, skinny leg that stretched longer than the length of his entire body, up until it met a short, black battle skirt. His eyes rose further, passing over a bare midriff, black tank top, and withdrawn bo staff, then finally taking in the stare of a battle hardened warrior, whose fierce gaze almost made him take a step back. He immediately recognized who these features belonged to, despite the appreciable length the owner's red curls had grown out to.

Marie pulled off her sunglasses and broke into a big smile. "PJ! Thank goodness! I was afraid I got your directions wrong for a minute, but who cares about that―it's so good to see you!" She rushed forward and pulled him into a bear hug that crushed his ribcage.

Thunderstruck, PJ finally regained the presence of mind to hug her back. "Marie, you're so―big! And strong!" He winced.

She released him, letting him catch his breath. "Sorry, it's just been a really long time since I've seen you."

"It's okay, I'm glad to see you too. What's this about? Why are you here, wearing those clothes, in my time machine?"

"I'm here to deliver a message. From you, in my time. 'Don't try to arrest Suzy at her house or at the place where you were held prisoner."

A shiver of fear broke through the brief wave of happiness he'd rode upon seeing her. "Tell me everything."

"After you tried time travelling to arrest Suzy at the Department of Homeland Security HQ, the Conspirium figured out your plan to stop them by time hopping. Forced to accelerate their plans, they wiped out the entire East Coast with a surprise EMP attack a week later. You had told Mom and Dad that the EMP wasn't supposed to hit until late September, so we weren't prepared for it. Mom and Dad didn't make it. Uncle Ferb was assassinated by Suzy herself before he could build a time machine to go back and warn us. The Conspirium is everywhere.

"After that, you and I, we stuck together. We formed a resistance. You taught me, and everyone willing to join our cause, how to fight. We were as close as a brother and sister. You said, if we could either find or fix ourselves a time machine, we could go back and stop it all from happening. But before we could, the Conspirium found us. You sacrificed yourself so that I could escape, and just like that, the last of my family was gone.

"I was on the run for a long time after that. Surviving on my own, scrounging for parts until I could put this thing back in working order. You told me everything, in case you didn't make it, so that I could know how to save the world. You said to meet you at exactly this place and time, and to tell you to try 'the third option'―don't try to arrest Suzy at her house or at the place where you were held prisoner. You made sure I memorized that sentence, word for word."

PJ's legs were shaking. He sat down on the ramp of his time machine and put his head in his hands. "Oh my Giodee. This is a nightmare that never ends."

After watching him for a moment, Marie propped her bo staff against her time machine and looked down at her hands. "Hmm," she hummed to herself, before pacing across the room and sitting on the ramp next to PJ. "I guess I've earned a chance to relax for once," she sighed, before looking back at her time machine. Now that PJ looked at it more closely, it did look like it had a bit more wear and tear than his did. For Marie to fix it after shorting out from an EMP, she must have had to replace most or all of its electrical components on her own.

"There were a hundred things that could have gone wrong," she said softly, following his gaze and guessing what he was thinking. "I was super extra careful, you know, the whole time I was fixing it. I think this is the first thing I ever made that didn't blow up."

Unable to help himself, PJ let a chuckle escape. That made Marie laugh, too, and suddenly they were both bursting in an uncontrollable fit of giggles. It didn't last long, however, and they rapidly fell quiet again a few moments later.

They sat like that for maybe a minute or two. Eventually, Marie looked back down at her hands again. "Well, I haven't popped out of existence yet. Guess that means the future is still bad."

"Wha?" PJ recoiled. "Wh-who told you you were gonna pop out of existence?"

Marie grinned. "I figured out how to tell when you were lying. Plus, you always seem to forget, I know my science! I understand how time travel works." The grin faded. "I always knew this would be a one-way trip."

"And you came anyways?" PJ's gaze returned to the floor. "That's really brave. I can tell how much you've grown, Marie, and I gotta say, I'm proud of you."

He received a bittersweet smile in return. She squeezed his hand and didn't let go. "In case I don't get another chance to say it, I love you, PJ."

"I love you too, Marie."

"And I really am happy I got to see you again. This moment has made it all worth it. I can pop out of existence happy now."

"Marie, don't say that! I'm not going to let you pop out of existence!"

"You can't hold on to me, PJ. You have to change the future back to a good one! That's what both of us made so many sacrifices for!"

"But I've seen too many timelines now where that doesn't happen! What if it can't be done? What if the future really is unchangeable? It might be better to go back now, and at least stay in a timeline that's mostly good."

"You can do it, PJ! You're proof that the future can be changed! Just look at how many times you've changed it already! So you can't give up now."

"I-I… just… am not sure about anything anymore… I can't keep failing. It's breaking me."

"Then don't fail this time. You won't, because I'll be cheering you on the whole way!"

PJ deadpanned. "You just admitted that you're about to pop out of existence!"

"Well…" Marie faltered, "then―the version of me that's in the good future will be cheering you on!"

Lowering her voice, she added, "Look, PJ, you're our last hope. You're the only one who can save everyone we lost. Mom and Dad, Ferb and Vanessa, the whole country! We're all in your hands, so you can't give up, no matter how hopeless it looks! Think of all the millions of people out there who are counting on you!"

PJ stirred. "You're right. I can't give up yet. It's time I put my money where my mouth is." He stood up. "I've made up my mind, so the future is about to change. Marie, let me hug you one more time, before you disappear."

His sister smiled and leaned closer. They embraced, and PJ hid his tears from her as he felt her warm body start to fade away. She waxed more and more transparent until finally, with a soft pop, she vanished.

Washington, D.C.
September 28, 2049

Rioters covered the streets below like ants. Smashing windows, breaking into vehicles, ripping out ATM's, looting, fighting, destroying. Moving on only when there was nothing remaining of value or that could provide the pleasure of being smashed.

PJ flew over the scene, confirming that this state of affairs was precisely how he remembered T-1, his designated original timeline, should be. Veering towards the business district, the riotous crowds thinned out quickly as he streaked by. It didn't take long for him to find the restaurant he was looking for. He parked his time machine like a car a short distance away and set up watch, wondering how long it would take for his past self and Suzy to make their appearances.

He checked the time. It was just past noon. If he remembered correctly, the EMP had happened at about 1 o'clock. That meant he had an hour.

Or did he? Actually, time was relative with a time machine. As long as he didn't run out of fuel or get hit by the EMP, he could take as much time as he needed.

No, that was a dangerous way of thinking. He was still too traumatized by watching alternate versions of both himself and Marie die in his arms. He needed to be cautious about what he did. He needed a plan.

How could he use his knowledge of what was about to happen to outwit Suzy?

In a short time, his past self would chase Suzy into this restaurant. She'd then lure him away with a 3D hologram projection, and by the time he got back, his team would be arriving, and they would enter the building. That's when it blows up. And at some point, PJ's past self would encounter his future―or rather, current self.

It had been five years, but he believed he had the important details down.

The best chance to ambush Suzy was probably while she'd be controlling the 3D projector. With controls similar to that of a drone, they didn't have a very long range, and took focus to control convincingly. She would be totally defenseless. He could hide in the kitchen somewhere and easily sneak up on her.

It sounded foolproof. PJ's heart began to pound in anticipation as he locked his time machine and made for the restaurant to set his trap.

This restaurant was a popular Mexican fast food chain. Due to the day's riots, this location was closed. Remembering there was a back entrance in the alley, PJ roamed in that direction. Upon trying the door, he found it locked as well. No good.

He glanced around and saw an overflowing dumpster to his side, with lots of trash strewn about. Lying in sight amidst the garbage, he saw a discarded bobby pin. He quickly used it to pick the lock and entered.

Instantly he recognized it as the kitchen area he expected Suzy to come hide in. The lights were out, he elected to keep them that way. A low amount of ambient daylight leaked in from the doorway to the dining room. His eyes quickly adjusted, and he found a low bench to crawl under to wait.

In semidarkness, the room was a little spooky. The obscured shadows of meat grinders and conveyor belts played tricks on his eyes. Meanwhile, the waiting game dragged on. Five minutes became ten, then thirty. Now he had to have been waiting for over an hour. Didn't the EMP go off at 1? His memory was a little foggy, but he was certain that it didn't hit until after the restaurant exploded.

Self-doubt was mounting in PJ's head. What if he had the wrong address? No, this was definitely the right place. What if he got the date wrong? What if―

The door creaked open, almost making him jump. He could hear someone panting for breath, like they'd just been running. Footsteps. Suzy went off to find a hiding spot.

The door opened again, brightening the room somewhat, held ajar by what was no doubt PJ's time clone. PJ's breathing was so soft it was noiseless. His time clone carefully entered the kitchen and started to search for Suzy.

The time to make his move hadn't come yet. PJ waited.

His time clone was weaving back and forth through the workbenches and stovetops, getting warmer in his search, incrementally closing the distance on where Suzy had hidden herself.

SCREEE!

The sound of metal scraping on metal split the silence. PJ's past self climbed onto one of the countertops to locate the noise, then suddenly dove out of the way as a knife whooshed through the air, narrowly missing him.

"Tag! You're it!" Suzy's voice projected from the hologram as her incorporeal form bolted out the kitchen for the front entrance. As expected, PJ's time clone fell for the bait, and he tore after her like a bloodhound. A crashing sound came from the dining room as he broke through a window with his momentum to give chase to the hologram through the streets.

Now was the time. PJ soundlessly crawled on all fours to where he'd observed the real Suzy hide. His eyes that had become so well adjusted by now could make out the blue lights of the 3D projector she was controlling, leading him straight to her. A feminine figure stood motionlessly, her back facing him, eyes glued to a small screen in her hands―completely unaware of his presence. PJ pounced.

"Oof!" Suzy grunted as she was tackled to the floor and pinned, facedown, with her arms behind her back.

"Suzy Johnson," PJ victoriously declared, "you are under arrest for committing various crimes against the state, including treason, sedition, and being the world's biggest pain in the donkey's you-know-what."

"I'm not Suzy."

"You have the right to remain silent―wait, what?"

"I'm not Suzy."

That voice… it wasn't the right pitch of sugary sweetness. And it totally lacked any hypnotic undertones. PJ's stomach dropped like a brick.

"Hold up, where's the light switch?" He climbed off the woman to hit the lights. The room flared into focus, making him squint for a moment as he looked at her more carefully.

She had the same blonde, curly hair as Suzy, and about the same figure, but when he saw her face, it was obvious she wasn't her. Just a body double. Another trick. Suzy had done it again.

PJ rubbed his face with his hands in frustration. He swore, not caring to check his language around a lady.

The blonde woman picked her controller back up and returned to operating it from her kneeling position on the floor, ignoring PJ.

"Where's Suzy?" he shouted.

The woman shrugged. "Probably in our secret hideout, planning our secret takeover." She didn't even look up, like she was playing a video game.

PJ seethed. Then he remembered what was about to happen. "Where's the bomb? I know you rigged this restaurant to blow up in a couple minutes!"

"Nope, you're talking about my husband. He's the one bringing the bomb."

She was being extremely unhelpful. PJ clenched his fists in anger, but balked at hitting a defenseless woman who clearly posed no threat. "Urgh! I don't have time for this! Look, I should arrest you for being involved with the Conspirium, but I've got bigger fish to fry! So stay here and get blown up for all I care!" He turned his tail to her and started to walk towards the front entrance.

"Yes, my husband will blow up you and all the rest of your team. He should be arriving any minute now. Suzy promised that our names will be honored by all in the coming age: the Waters family will be rewarded greatly for our sacrifice!"

PJ froze. Looking over his shoulder at the woman, he asked, "You're Waters' wife? Waters is a mole?"

Mrs. Waters clicked off the console in her hands; apparently, she was finished controlling the hologram Suzy. Still making no eye contact, she nodded.

So that was how Suzy always stayed one step ahead of us, PJ thought to himself. Jolting to his senses, he blasted off to go find his time clone to warn him about everything.

PJ galloped through the dining hall, leaped through the broken window, and ran for the familiar alley obstructed by a chain link fence half a block away. He effortlessly scaled the fence and churned down the alleyway, stopping just before it split, where he heard a huffing sound headed his way.

His time clone rounded the corner in a hurry, not even noticing PJ's presence until after he'd caught his past self by the shoulders and pulled him back against the wall.

"PJ, stop! It's me!"

His alternate self was panting to catch his breath from all the running. "Oh. Hi, me." He tried to push PJ off. "Look, I don't have time for this, future me. Suzy could still be close by!"

PJ held his grip. "Forget Suzy!" he barked, shaking his past self to get him to stop fighting him for a minute. "It's a trap! Listen to me, if you chase after Suzy now, everyone is going to die!"

That got his time clone's attention. "Confirmation code?" he asked.

PJ leaned in close and reverently whispered the password. "Perry." The other PJ wasn't resisting any more, so he gently let him go.

A thoughtful look crossed his time clone's face. "What else are you here to tell me?" It seemed PJ could read himself well. PJ had so much to tell his former self. He could save himself so much trouble―but wait, this situation, didn't it seem a little familiar?

PJ could tell his former self everything, right here. Then his time clone would stand a chance at finding Suzy and stopping the Conspirium. But if he did, he realized, he would change the future again, and pop out of existence. Just like Marie had.

He sighed. "I really wish I could stop you from making the biggest mistake of our life, but I know you―we―have to be allowed to make that choice for ourselves," he finally said. Yes, I'm not ready to vanish from existence yet. I can't tell him―me. PJ took a step back. "Let's see, what did I tell myself when I was in your shoes? It's been so long, I can hardly remember."

Irritated with the lack of helpful intel, his past self pushed PJ aside to take a step toward the restaurant. "Look, Suzy is just over there! I'm so close to getting her and stopping everything the Conspirium is trying to achieve! And you're saying that that's a mistake?"

"She had this all planned out from the beginning," PJ responded. "She knows exactly what she's doing. The best thing you can do is ignore her. You're the only one who can stop the nukes from going off, and she knows it, that's why she's stalling you with these little diversions."

Past PJ's eyes bulged. "Nukes?"

PJ nodded. "Oh, yeah, nukes. Probably should have led with that."

"How did the Conspirium get access to nuclear weapons?"

PJ chose his words carefully. "I don't know, but they have a hidden bunker deep in the Appalachian mountains. It has a command center. Get there soon enough, and there's a chance you'll be able to stop the nukes from detonating."

Past PJ turned and looked off into the distance, visibly rattled. His gaze then fell on the restaurant with a laser-sharp focus, his eyes smoldering.

PJ walked up next to him. "PJ, I know what you're thinking. If you go down that road, all you'll see is suffering."

His time clone swiveled back to look PJ in the eyes. PJ gave him a somber look, remembering all he'd been through since he'd last lived this moment. The EMP. Being marooned in a future where the Conspirium had won. Leading the mayor of Villagetown on a futile mission to kidnap the Governor and steal his time machine, only to be betrayed and stranded, alone, for the next five years. Watching the UNA Kingdom army slaughter Villagetown afterwards as retribution for their uprising against the Kingdom. Then getting transported to a different timeline where Phineas, Ferb, and Isabella had never taken him in, one where Marie had never existed. And finally, watching his and Marie's time clones die to save him from other, unimaginably worse futures.

A rumbling noise overhead shook PJ out of his thoughts. Looking up, the two platypuses saw a squad car with PJ's full strike force piled in, descending to the street in front of them. Even from here, PJ could see Waters seated next to Olsen. PJ slipped out of sight before quickly disappearing back down the other way along the alley. After all, if Waters saw two PJ's waiting for him down there, he would figure out PJ was time traveling and tip Suzy off. He couldn't let that happen.

Leaving his past self and condemned team behind, PJ stopped behind a brick wall around the corner and leaned against it, shaking his head at himself. He'd failed to capture Suzy yet again. What more could he do? Time was running out, just like his options.

Without warning, a great explosion rocked the air, shaking the very ground and making his ears ring.

Should he have warned his past self about Waters' suicide bomb after all? And the EMP? And the nukes? The Conspirium Command Center? Would it have made a difference? Should he have risked popping out of existence if it would have saved the lives of his strike team? The guilt of failure began to wrack up inside him, to the point of overflowing. He numbly started to march back to his time machine.

Maybe he couldn't stop the Conspirium. Suzy had outflanked him in every instance. The good future he used to know seemed so out of reach. He just wasn't cut out for this job. He couldn't perform miracles, like Phineas and Ferb. He couldn't live up to the standard set by his father. He couldn't win the fight against evil. He was just a small, lonely platypus, an insignificant speck. Who was he kidding, thinking he could save the world? He couldn't even save his family.

Or could he?

That was it. He'd been going about this the wrong way! He needed to stop trying to save the world, and just focus on saving his family!

If the rest of the world perished, he could survive, he could be happy, as long as he had Phineas, Isabella, and Marie with him. They could go into hiding, somewhere that Suzy would never find them.

PJ climbed into his time machine and slipped into the timestream with the press of a button.

Methinks this would be a good time to restate that the credit for creating Marie and Thomas goes to sam-ely-ember and Angelus19.