(The song that plays when the boys are working plays as they build Cupidtron. The song ends when the device is finished).

The guys admired their creation. Seven feet tall, Cupidtron resembled an arcade game, only wider and stouter. An antenna resembling a TV antenna protruded out the top of the machine. Cupidtron was painted yellow-orange, had its name written at its base in red lettering, and had reddish-pink hearts painted all over it.

"Let's turn it on. Why don't you do the honors, Ferb?" Phineas asked.

Ferb walked up to Cupidtron's control panel and pressed a little red button marked with a white power symbol on it. The machine hissed, but its dark green screen remained blank.

Phineas stood in shock. His inventions had always worked before. Why not now? Why wouldn't it activate?

For safety reasons, Ferb deactivated the machine. He did not want anyone to get electrocuted if they fixed the machine while it was technically still on.

"What went wrong?" Buford asked.

"I...don't know," Phineas said. He took out the blueprints to the machine and started to read them. Baljeet, wanting to be of help, decided to start reading them too. Something caught his eye. And so did something else. And some other things did too.

"I think I understand the problem," Baljeet piped up. Everyone looked at him, so he clarified, "Certain parts require technology that currently does not exist, nor will it for at least twenty years. Not only that, but this technology is so intricate it exceeds our mental capacities. I am not even smart enough to invent it. Cupidtron cannot function without these parts, so in other words, we cannot finish it."

"Why can't we just use the time machine to go to the future and get the technology from then?"

"Did you not hear? The museum is closed for the construction of a new exhibit. We have no access to time travel."

Phineas stood there, processing everything Baljeet had said. "We...can't..." he said weakly.

The other three boys looked at him, as Phineas shed a single tear.

"I've never seen him so...broken," Buford said quietly. "This isn't like him at all."

"No. No it is not," Baljeet responded.

"Normally, he is the last to give up," Ferb said. "But today it seems we've found the one thing he can't build." He walked over and placed his hand on Phineas' shoulder. "It's okay, brother. Maybe we can build it again some other time. For now, let's just take it down."

"Thanks...and good idea," Phineas replied sadly.

But just as he headed for his toolbox, the air began to stir. A few leaves blew in the wind, and the sky clouded over, turning pale gray. Lightning flashed.

"As if today wasn't bad enough, now it's gonna rain," Buford moaned.

"But...the weather forecast said it wouldn't today," Baljeet protested.

There was more lightning, and a spot behind the clouds in dead west glowed. Suddenly, an object broke through the clouds, zooming across the sky with a whirring sound. It was spherical, with a long comet-like tail trailing behind it, and it glowed an eerie blue.

The mysterious flash flew in a circle. And then the boys realized that it wasn't just circling - it was spiraling, down towards...the backyard.

"Everyone hit the decks!" Phineas cried. "That blue flash is headed right for us!"

The boys crouched on the ground, bracing themselves for impact. The flash descended until its head touched the ground. It kept rotating as it drew in its tail. Faster and faster it spun, now just a sphere of energy, before it violently erupted into a column of electric blue light, piercing a hole in the clouds. The ground shook with the force of the movement. The light dissolved, the clouds subsided, and as the boys got up, they found that at the spot the flash had touched the ground was...a girl.

The girl stood slightly taller than Phineas, around the same height as Buford. She wore navy sneakers, blue jean-shorts, and an orchid-purple shirt with a picture of a blue ringed planet and the words "Neptune" above it and "Far out!" below it written in light blue script. Her ruby-red hair bore a cyan bow, and her jade-green eyes gave the impression that she had seen it all. On her left wrist was a large white watch...well, it looked like a watch. The boys had no idea that the watch was really a miniature time machine.

The boys looked at the girl, baffled as to what just happened.

Then she spoke.