Gray clouds slowly crawled on by, puffy and nearly stormy. The sunlight which was prevalent early in the morning had now been blocked out, a massive set of storm clouds coming from Bravo Beach. Even though it still rained last night, there was a soft sprinkling coming down on the street-tight buildings in Marquee Row.
Nestled within the enclave of Tech Square lied an incredible piece of architecture hidden away behind more holographic fortifications and automated turrets. While they stood as sentinels of this innovation, they scanned left and right in search for smaller fusion creatures which might have slipped into the modern streets of the downtown area. They're sleek, efficient and built with the ever-iconic Dexlabs logo on the sides. Amidst the constant technological war between Mandark's work and Dexter's, it seems in Tech Square that Dexter has his superiority. Even at a most life-threatening event, the young scientist never failed to always remain on the top of the heap against thousands of other tinkerers and inventors on planet earth.
The shimmering holographic borders delineated the boundaries of this particular building, a constant pulse of electricity like water ripples.
The building itself was a masterpiece of architecture, its structure a harmonious blend of functionality and aesthetic appeal. The observatory atop the lab stood tall, housing a large telescope that peers into the depths of space, a symbol of curiosity in uncertain times.
Upon entering the lab, one was greeted by a pristine interior adorned in marble white, illuminated by the glow of strategically placed flood lights that accentuate the laboratory's sophisticated atmosphere. The spacious interior was a hive of activity, with dozens of dexbots tirelessly at work, their mechanical precision evident in the production of cutting-edge technology and inventions. The fresh smell of hot metals and synthetic oil is prevalent, creating a slight must within the conveyor belt rooms intended for creating parts.
The walls were lined with monitors displaying complex equations, schematics of inventions in progress, and real-time data from ongoing experiments. Shelves were filled with books, reference materials, and prototypes of gadgets waiting to be tested and perfected. Despite the messy look to the near hundreds of wires thrown about, every single square inch of the building seemed to have a use for it.
The advanced technology of the lab brought a sense of innovation within the room, a complete polar opposite to the world falling apart around it. The dexbots worked as if there was no major threat, pushed beyond their mechanical limits to complete dozens of personal machinations and projects. Even though they were just programmed machines, they enjoyed their work. Day in and day out they supported the cause, the tireless engineers behind closed doors.
In one of the side rooms, a large rectangular holographic table was laid out in the center. Outside of the ceiling lights, the room had a blue glow coming from the interactable table. Various different notches and buttons were lined up on one end of the table, revealing its many different uses and interactive user interface.
Standing around together on opposite ends of the table were Niles, Dexter, Blossom, Buttercup, Nano X and a tall but curvy automaton. She was a hue of blue, the label 'dexlabs' imprinted on her body while her face was almost like a computer monitor on her own. She resembled a feminine shape, holding a clipboard in her hand with a smile. This was Computress, Dexter's number one assistant in this whole journey.
Niles looked determined, hunching over on the table next to X with his hands holding the ledge armored in his battered suit.
Dexter seemed curious, smacking his large wrench in his grasped hand. His white lab coat had been tightened around him, indicating a sense of anticipation.
Blossom stood upright, having her hands on her thin hips. She appeared to be wearing her usual red, white and black outfit although had a light gray jumpsuit zipped up over her.
Buttercup had her arms crossed, slightly sitting on the table with a thigh. She also wore her usual green, white and black outfit, although had a jacket and some baggy sweatpants to handle the cool temperature.
Nano Alien X was laid out across the table on his stomach with his arms crossed, blinking once or twice while looking around at everyone. His tiny stub feet did a little kick, swaying back and forth completely relaxed.
The table projected a visible three-sixty view of a file with bolded text so everyone could see it. On the corner of the document, young Niles had a blank expression on his face dressed in his chromatic armor. He stood up straight, his hair awkwardly combed to the side of his head like some middle school yearbook photo.
"Mister Arachnid," Dexter began, smacking his hand and grabbing onto his wrench tightly. He turned his head to look at him and pinched his glasses, adjusting them with a skeptical look. "agent number four nine dash twelve. Vould you care to take off your mask so that I can see you?"
Blossom and Buttercup stared at him intently.
"Uhm, I guess I can. Sure." Niles nodded, standing up straight. His metal hands reached up and pinched the edges of his mask; he shut his eyes, pulling the mask off and gently placed it down beside X on the table. He opened them, turning from the two girls and back over to Dexter.
The scientist stared at him carefully, taking a long look. Then he darted toward the paper; his hands started twisting the knobs, zooming in on young Niles' face. He was practically a baby, still on the verge of teenage with a couple of zits under his chin.
Niles was different, practically a man. The marks around his lips and his cheeks revealed a fresh shave; although there were no distinct wrinkles or blemishes. Given his physique, he was a handsome man. Although his eyes carried a certain weight to them. The light bags indicated his history: a survivor from a damned world.
Blossom looked over at Buttercup, her eyelids lowering as a sly grin formed on her face. Her sister puffed out her cheeks, raising an eyebrow and made a gesture in silence. "Quit it."
"Your records indicate that you are a liar, mister Arachnid." Dexter firmly exclaimed. "I ask you to be honest vith me, as lying vill only make this much harder."
Niles nodded, leaning back down on the table again with his arms crossed. "I understand, doc."
"You say this is W.A.I.T. protocol and have brought me a book vith remarkable technologies; you claim you are from Blackhead and have falsely told others that your suit was my invention. Who exactly are you, agent? This book holds almost near technological ramblings, though is thoroughly correct."
There was a long pause from Niles, staring at him in his eyes. He took a deep breath, holding it.
His face winced, "Are you sure you really want to know? You're not gonna believe me."
Dexter nodded. "Mister Arachnid, ve have a policy of honesty vithin earth's forces. I doubt that vhatever excuse you have is jaw-dropping; you have brought a revelation of technology to my doorstep, one that could finally break Fuse's grasp on our world."
Blossom tilted her head, "If I'll pitch in, we can't fully trust you until you tell us who you are. For all we know, you could have lied about everything. You aren't a fusion in disguise, which is a relief. However, nothing matches. Honestly, you're a bit of an anomaly."
Niles frowned, looking back over at Blossom as she gave her two cents. He lowered his head for a minute while Buttercup stared at him with bated judgment in silence, eagerly waiting for his response.
Finally, he spoke. "The record is correct; my name is Niles Arachnid.. and I'm from the future." His finger lifted up and pointed toward Dexter. "That book belonged to a Time Traveler who went by the name of Rick."
Silence.
Dexter's face didn't change.
Blossom blinked at him with confusion.
Buttercup had a slightly raised eyebrow, pursing her lips.
"Okay," Dexter dryly replied. "Assuming that you are correct, vhat happens in the future then?"
Niles stared at him deeply in his eyes, his fingers gripping the table while gritting his teeth.
"We lose."
"Why?" Buttercup pressed. "We're good enough; Fuse ain't nothing but a pain in our backs. Nothing we can't shake off."
The man turned to look back over at her, not letting go of the table. "No, Fuse is not just some pain. He's here to stay, and to wipe out everything on our planet for his own personal gain." He looked back over at Dexter. "You, from the future, built a time machine from this book to send me back with the book in hand. He believed that the technologies in there had the capability of beating Lord Fuse, but sadly he didn't have enough time to craft everything."
Blossom scratched her chin, slight disbelief in him although something stringed towards the truth. "How far along is this, I mean years?"
"Eight, to be exact."
A weight was shared between the other three as they darted eyes between each other. Niles kept his look, occasionally firmly staring at one of the three. There was no point in hiding it anymore; he couldn't. He was a terrible liar, blatantly notable to see on his face when he did.
"Vhy exactly did you lie to the people at Blackhead, and to Two?" Dexter asked.
Niles retorted, "I was tasked with getting the book to you as soon as possible and I had to do it by any means necessary, for the sake of the mission."
There was a long silence from everybody, more so less suspicion but rather the heightened sense of anxiety becoming aware. The air in the lab seemed to thicken with unspoken tension, each member of the trio processing the weight of Niles' words.
Blossom's brow furrowed as she exchanged a knowing glance with Buttercup, their shared concern palpable in the way they fidgeted with their hands or shifted their weight uneasily. The trust they had in the soldier was shaken, not by malice but by the magnitude of his secrets and the implications they carried.
Nano Alien X sat up from his little spot and rested his elbows on his legs. He held a hand up and spoke out, "I was constructed to serve beneficially on behalf of Niles in order to ensure this mission goes well; I can see that you have the book in your hands and thus my mission is complete."
Dexter crossed his arms and leaned down on the table, squinting at the nano. "So.. who exactly are you?"
"I am nano Alien X, a programmed AI dedicated to helping agent Arachnid succeed in his mission against stopping Lord Fuse. It is a pleasure to meet you, past Dexter." X did a little bow and gently hovered up, taking a comfy seat on Niles' shoulder plate.
"A nano?" Dexter eyed Niles. "Vhat is that?"
Niles breathed out calmly, "A nano was an invention created several years later; they are smaller versions of our many heroes and soldiers we have, made from the matter, DNA or blood of their counterparts. Fusion matter is also used to make them in the process, essentially a counter for fusion creatures."
"Using fusion against fusion." Blossom replied.
He gestured a hand up to X, "Yes, X has been a faithful companion to me this whole time. Without him, I'd partially have no idea what I would be doing to be honest."
"I just need more proof," Buttercup spouted. "You claim you're from the future, you've answered our questions. I wanna ask one: do you have any more proof?"
Niles nodded, "You said you had a fusion spawner problem here in Tech Square?"
His confidence touched Dexter in a way; he looked for their separate reactions, standing up and quickly shut off Niles' file on the screen. "If you are suggesting that you have a solution, by all means please show us."
The iron warrior stood up straight and let go of the table, gesturing for everyone to follow him and started his way toward the door. "Alright, show me to the nearest spawner."
It didn't take long for the group to eventually wander their way over toward the nearest one, flying across the border and venturing into the fusion infested streets. Blossom carried Dexter on a little joyride while Niles and Buttercup merely acted as an escort. Thanks to fast speeds, they arrived within a couple minutes.
Deeply implanted in the concrete ground underneath lied the equivalent of one big boil, pulsating with a disgusting kelp and cream green. The fresh smell of burning tar invaded everyone's nostrils, the pockets of dripping ooze rising and falling like different sets of lungs. The faint sound of acidic bubbling formed, tiny drops seeping out from the pockets to form infant fusion spawn ready to eat up more of the world they could get their gnawing mouths on.
By day one, when it first landed, it was merely a small pocket which could easily be mistaken for some kind of mushroom fungus. Now, many days later, it has transformed into a large, puss-filled hazard waiting to unleash a whole horde of fusion spawn at any moment.
The group now stood in front of it, watching it rise and fall as silent observers. The fissures in the ground quietly flashed a glowing green, slowly infecting the area no matter how lifeless concrete actually was.
Niles put his hands on his hips, his cape flowing to the right as he nodded toward the spawner. "Just for safety reasons, I'm putting the helmet on."
He tapped the button on the side of his neck guard, folding his helmet back over his face and got closer to the hazard. He pointed two fingers up at the pockets, "The first spawners you took out, you had the right idea. Think of them like germs: the more heat you provide, the quicker they dissolve and melt. I was shocked to learn that fire did the trick."
The man motioned for Blossom and Buttercup to fly over, double-tapping his boot jets and gently hovered above the spawner. He hoisted his hand cannons up and started warming them up, letting them get adequately hot before firing them off. Trusting in his process, the two powerpuff girls curiously followed his instructions and turned to face it with him. Their pairs of eyes flashed in their respective colors, preparing to launch laser beams along with his.
PZZZZ!
The effort of all three combined started to pinpoint on the top of the spawner, immediately melting off a small portion. Bundles of goop started to sizzle and roll off like fizz out of a soda can, slowly forming a crater within the innards. The tiniest of screeches from living spawn getting caught in the laser beams cried out.
Dexter held his wrench over his shoulder, adjusting his glasses as he watched this process inquisitively. Despite the tedious amount of work they had to commit to the first beacon, this slow but steady technique seemed to have worked pretty well.
SPLOOSH!
The entire beacon violently combused into a large pile of fusion goop which now waterfalled everywhere around it; tiny and unformed fusion spawn desperately tried to crawl on the soaked ground like deformed snails, slowly inching along at a painfully slow pace.
Short bursts were shared between the three heroes, eliminating any nearby remnants quickly.
By now, the entire area had smelled like burnt rubber. A tiny bit of green smoke rose over part of the area, the beacon slightly collapsing in on itself as the root foundation didn't have anything to latch onto. The influence of fuse had faded within the area, a sense of dread unknowingly shared across the fusion creatures hidden within the streets.
Niles landed in front of Dexter and switched his helmet, taking a deep breath but slightly coughing at the disgusting taste in the air. There was a look of satisfaction on the scientist's face as he tapped a finger on his wrench. "Hm, you are surprisingly crafty, given your background. Not many know about that method."
The soldier shook his head, "Usually a laser cannon works, an orbital strike or even lava as well. I would recommend solar-powered weapons, so that way they can heat up super fast to get the job done."
"I'll keep that in mind, mister Arachnid. Thank you for your tips."
The two girls approached and landed next to the two of them, listening to them talk for a moment.
Niles held his hands out and openly as a body gesture, asking loosely, "Now do you believe me?"
"I don't doubt you," Blossom replied. "It's just.. hard to believe."
Oddly, from out of nowhere, Dexter interrupted. "As a token of good faith, favor for a favor, I'll help out vith something you might have. You broke a beacon, which is not an easy task, vith the help of the girls of course."
Blossom smiled widely. Buttercup flexed a little bit, showing off some of her brute girl muscle. "Well of course, Dex! I'm one of Fuse's worst enemies!" She smiled wickedly and shut her eyes.
Niles huffed humorously, crossing his arms. "Yeah, I got an idea. Could you help patch up my armor a bit and make it shine? I've got the blueprints downloaded into the helmet."
"Of course; I doubt it vould take up much time, so I should have it ready by tomorrow at some point. I'll have Blossom drop it off for you." he turned to look over at her, expecting an approval.
She crossed her arms, giving a nod and shrugged.
"Great," he replied. "Thank you, Dexter."
As the four slowly started a little walk back to the science lab, Buttercup decided to speak up. "Well, given everything so far, I suppose it's believable. That book will tell us whether or not we fully believe you though; you kinda have my support-" she playfully elbowed Niles in between his armor, causing him to turn and look at her with a smirk.
"I could prove it even more, but then the conversation would get pretty dark." he replied cynically.
Blossom waved a hand, "We'll need to arrange a meeting ahead of time on that topic, probably a discussion with most of the higher ups. The protocol you called makes sense, now that I understand the context."
"I'll be contacting Nigel here shortly on that as a matter of fact; I have a feeling he's going to vant to hear about this." replied Dexter.
By the time they arrived at the front gates of the laboratory wall, Niles pushed his chest plate and slid out. He stepped off, brushing himself off and stowed his superhero mask in his shorts for now. As he rolled his shoulders, he shook hands with the scientist. "Will I be seeing you soon?"
He shook his head," I'm afraid not; I have too many projects going on, not to mention this book you just gave me. Very interesting stuff.."
Blossom gave a little two finger salute, "I'll be seeing you two back at Sector V then; if anything comes up, send me a message Buttercup."
Her sister gave a nod and wave, turning to look over at Niles. "Alright dork, are you ready to go?"
"Yeah, I am."
Without hesitation, Buttercup reached over and hoisted Niles up with one strong arm. She reeled back and immediately launched him hundreds of feet into the air, sending him off like an arrow in the sky.
The last thing that was heard was a slight shriek of unexpectedness before being muffled by the distance.
She then gently hovered off the ground and grinned widely, "Have fun you two! Don't give yourselves a headache with all that work!"
With a zip, a green trail was left behind in her wake as she traveled at the speed of light. She was gone, easily on her way to go get her projectile before he fell and hit something hard.
By now it was just the two of them left at the lab, the front gates beginning to unlock thanks to the permission of some watching Dexbots always on patrol.
Blossom took an arm and hoisted the suit over her shoulder with ease, following inside behind the scientist. "That man is just.. odd."
"How so?"
She went on, "When we first met yesterday, he asked about getting training. He said he wanted to become a superhero, specifically using his suit to help others. Granted he's noble, but something just felt off about it. He seems.. I don't know.. urgent?"
"Vell maybe it's because of the fact that he got sent back from his own doomed timeline; that checks out." he replied insightfully, stepping through the front doors and started his way down the main hall.
She shook her head, "Well yes, but he's completely aged differently from his academy files. I don't know, I don't think I can trust him just yet. Everything about it just feels so.. off, you know?"
"Blossom~" Dexter hummed with a smirk on his face. "I doubt it is severely that strange for the man. That's a little bit out of left field, even for you. Ve deal vith oddities all the time."
The girl sighed, rocking the suit on her shoulder while her hips swayed left and right. "Yeah, I guess my insight was kinda far-fetched. Maybe I'm just paranoid."
"There is no need to worry; I agree, he is strange. However, it's a good kind of strange." Dexter reassured her. "If for vhatever reason he has ill intentions, ve can easily take care of him. Besides, has he done anything to help us in our fight yet, outside of the book of wonderful technologies?"
It took Blossom a moment to think, before her head tilted up. She shyly replied, "Well.. he did help at Blackhead when he was stationed there. Numbuh Four said he nearly took out most of an invading horde by himself."
"You see!" Dexter snapped his fingers. "If you had brought that up sooner, ve would not be talking about this. You seem stressed."
There was a long moment of silence when they entered the lab, setting everything up just for the two of them. Right beside one of the many computer terminals, the suit was placed next to a bunch of outlets while Dexter fetched some cords. Blossom pulled up one of the swivel chairs and planted herself in it; a hand held her head up while the other gripped the arm of the chair, posing like a miserable princess. "I've had a lot to do, Dexter; I'm tired."
On the other side, Dexter was curiously inspecting which plugins to use. He looked up at the tiny outlet hole in the back of the suit's helmet, then measured which wire was the right one and quickly plugged it in. He bit his lower lip as he squatted down on his knees and searched for the right plug-in in the computer brain next, clicking it into place. "I kind of figured that, the way you've been acting these past few days. How come?"
She rubbed her temple a little bit, her head tilted to the side while a stray of ginger hair fell over her forehead. "I've had many projects to help with the past month, and quite honestly lots of incompetent people; I haven't been on a single mission, just constantly giving feedback. I didn't think I was ever going to get tired of doing this but.. I'm starting to."
The scientist's hands swiftly scattered across the keyboard of the computer and watched a little light blue bar pop up on the screen, extracting all of the data from the suit onto a new folder on the desktop. His glasses reflected a hue of blue from the screen as he replied without looking, "Why don't you take a break then? Try something new; actually, help Niles out with his training. You even said you've never trained an apprentice before and this is an opportunity to see how good of a mentor you could be."
She waved a hand. "My sister's got it, for now. I don't know if what he said will change some things.. but as far as I know, they'll be busy soon."
"Oh boy, Buttercup?" Dexter chuckled. "She's going to wear him out."
Blossom smiled weakly, "Yeah, that's what I said."
As the bar was near complete, Dexter looked over at her and slightly leaned on the desk. "Vell, if that's the case, I could use a break too." He grinned. "Vould you like to go out and do something?"
Her face slightly shifted into surprise and her eyes widened a little bit. She spun over to face him more, sitting up. "Like what?" she asked softly.
"Heh, well-" Dexter rubbed the back of his head as his cheeks flushed red. "What about cloffee, or dinner?"
It took her a moment to respond, a small grin on the corners of her mouth. "Dinner sounds good. When and where?"
Dexter turned to look up and started searching through Niles' files, realizing there were dozens of blueprints implanted digitally from within. A finger grazed his chin as he did his best not to stammer, "Vell.. I was thinking eight? Ve could go to that steak house near the Cul-de-sac."
"Classic," she replied. "I'd like that! I assume you'll be looking your best for me?"
Dexter chuckled shyly, his foot rubbing against the ground a little bit as he took a seat and kept avoiding eye contact. "Vell of course, Miss Utonium. It vould be rude not to."
For a second, he stopped and his face dropped. His eyes darted around and his mind went into full focus as he zoomed in; the outline of the suit was in white on a bright blue digital print, able to toggle through multiple layers on a 3D map like a model in its own right. He fixated on a bit of text on the top right and gestured to come over calmly.
"Huh?" Blossom wisped back into their reality a bit and started scooting over.
His finger extended and pointed up, "Get a look at this; apparently you're the inventor for this suit."
Blossom squinted at it for a second, nearly stunned. "Wha- huh?" She turned to look at the suit beside them, eyeing it up and down.
Dexter did the same, rubbing his chin. The longer he had the chance to meet Niles, the more the puzzle pieces started to click together. At first it was speculation and small proof but now it was aligning.
Together, the two took a deep dive into the files of the suit with an extensive dissection. There was a sense of surprise, Dexter in curiosity but Blossom in slight flattery.
"Vell, miss Utonium. I did not think that your work was this thorough; even if it is in the future, I am quite impressed." he smiled. "This will be a thrill to repair!"
She squinted, standing up from her chair and pushed it in. "I wonder what our relationship was like in the future."