Achieving anything as long as our heart's resolved
Believing will make it so
- "Indomitable", Jeff Williams feat. Casey Lee Williams
Ranger Eugene couldn't catch his breath as he made a mad dash for the Cardboard Fortress that protected the Cul-de-Sac. Hot on his heels was a pack of Painsaws. He didn't have to look behind him to know he hadn't been able to shake them; their chainsaw for hands made a loud enough noise for him to hear. He ran his eyes over the fortress' walls, looking for the easiest climbing paths. Normally, a person would enter the fortress by the opening that he typically guarded, but given the situation, Eugene knew he was going to have to make a climb for it. He didn't want to bring his pursuers into the last sanctuary on the planet. Besides, as far as he knew, Painsaws couldn't climb.
Eugene was so busy imagining which path to take that he wasn't watching the ground he was running on. A medium size rock appeared in his pathway, and caught his shoe, throwing him off balance. He fell forward and managed to turn it into a roll that had him bumping into the fortress' wall. He groaned but didn't bother pushing himself upward or making a run for it. The shadows descending over him already told him there was no escape.
This is it, he thought miserably, curling himself up into the fetal position.
Urban Ranger Leader Rolf would be so disappointed in him. He had expected the best out of all his Urban Rangers, and here was one of his subordinates curled up in a fetal position like a baby. If Rolf was around, he would have chewed out the boy for his weakness. The Urban Ranger Leader was going to have to wait for Eugene to join him in order to express that disappointment. Eugene screwed his eyes shut and prayed that it'd be fast. Over the sounds of twelve revving chainsaws, he heard the monsters cry out in pain. He peeked out from behind his fingers, watching as the three Painsaws turned away from him and began advancing on a different target. Eugene pushed himself into a sitting position so that he could get a better view of the fight.
A girl older than him by a few years stood with a Nano Eduardo hovering over her shoulder. In her hands was a Proton Meta Mace, held in a battle-ready position. The girl wore a smirk on her face, looking unafraid of the approaching monsters, unlike Eugene who had been terrified. Just as the Painsaws were within her reach, she swung the mace back and then at the monsters, hitting all three of them in one go. The monsters stumbled back from the force, which opened them for another strike from the girl and her mace. At the same time that she brought the mace down on them, her Nano Eduardo released a terrifying roar. The Painsaws recoiled like they'd been hit, and their stance seemed to droop like their energy had been sapped. The monsters made a valiant attempt at attacking their target, but she masterfully parried the strikes and gave them all another whack with her weapon. The monsters let out their death cry and dissolved into a pile of Fusion Matter that was sucked up into the girl's NanoCom.
"Heck yeah!" the girl cheered with a wide grin spread across her face. She held up her hand to the Nano. "Way to go little guy! High five!"
"¡Chócalas!" the Nano said with enthusiasm, slapping his tiny hoof against the girl's palm.
The girl giggled at her Nano's enthusiasm and sent her weapon into the NanoCom. She then turned her attention to the Urban Ranger still curled up on the ground. She walked over and crouched down beside him, getting to his eye level.
"Hey, you good?" she questioned him.
Eugene didn't realize he was staring at the fearless girl with his mouth hung open. He simply couldn't help it. At first he had stared at her in amazement that she, with just a mace and a Nano, faced down three monsters without a hint of fear. Now that he was able to see her close up, he stared at her in awestruck. It was her uniquely colored hair that made him suddenly realize who this mysterious girl was. This wasn't just some random girl; she was a somebody.
She was the hope for the future. She was the girl who traveled through time. She was Misty Cull.
Misty raised an eyebrow at the Urban Ranger, waiting for some sort of response from him. She waved her hand in front of his eyes, hoping that the motion would shock him back from wherever he spaced off to. It proved futile, so she drew back her hand, stood on her feet, and shared a what now look with her Nano. The Nano shrugged his furry shoulders back at her, just as perplexed on how to proceed with the comatose boy as she was.
"So, listen, I have to get going," Misty began. "I'm heading inside, so I'm not going to be able to stand around and protect you from the monsters all day. Unless you've got something to fight with, I'd really suggest coming with me so you'll be safe, 'kay?" She waited a full minute for a response, but the Urban Ranger continued to stare in silence. "Uh… okay, bye."
She started to walk away from him, which finally triggered him back to reality. Eugene blinked a few times and then tripped over himself to catch up with her. She hadn't gotten very far, which made his efforts to catch up with her unnecessarily dramatic.
"Wow! I can't believe I was saved by Miss Cull," Eugene thanked.
"Just Misty will be fine. I'm not that old," Misty corrected. "Actually, I don't think I'm much older than you. What are you? Eleven? Twelve?"
"Thirteen."
"Yeah, okay, only three years. So no 'miss' business," Misty said.
"Right, ma'am," the Urban Ranger agreed.
Misty huffed and rolled her eyes. She didn't feel willing to go over it again since clearly he was too much of a blockhead to understand, so she merely let it drop. She had never been more pleased than when the two turned the corner and came upon the Plank-inspired doors that protected the fortress during the night. She stepped through the partially opened doors with Eugene following close on her heels. She stopped just inside, spinning around so she could address Eugene directly.
"Okay, you're safe now. I have things to do, so this is where we're parting," Misty said, laying out the facts.
"W-wait! How can I repay you?" Eugene asked.
"No payment," Misty responded over her shoulder as she continued further into the Cul-de-Sac. "Beating up Fuse's monsters is totally free."
Since she wasn't in need of a Nano, Misty sent Nano Eduardo into her NanoCom so he could rest. She didn't look back at the boy she had saved, making her miss the heart eyes he made as he stared at her retreating figure.
"She's amazing," he sighed wistfully.
"Hey! Eugene! What do you think you're doing?" his troop leader, Charles, demanded as the ranger stomped over to the boy.
"Oh, sorry troop leader!" Eugene apologized, quickly scrambling to attention and performing the Urban Ranger hand salute. "I was just saved by an angel."
Charles huffed and rolled his eyes.
"Uh-huh, an angel," he remarked sarcastically.
"No, really," Eugene protested. "I was! It was Misty. She saved me. Look!" He pointed to Misty's figure.
Charles stepped forward until he was standing next to Eugene. He shaded his eyes and squinted so that he could see what Eugene was pointing to. Then his eyes opened wide in surprise.
"Whoa," Charles gasped. "It's really her. You actually got saved by Misty Cull!"
"I know!" Eugene was practically hopping in place in excitement. "Isn't it amazing!?"
Many had noticed Misty's presence in the Cul-de-Sac and stopped to stare at her with their mouths hung slightly open. Misty ignored all their stares, having become used to people looking at her. She had simply assumed people were still getting used to her being a time-traveller. She wasn't aware that they were staring at her because she was a celebrity in their eyes.
Misty's popularity was known to everybody except the girl herself. It was brought about by a great many factors. For one, it was her status as the girl who had travelled through time, and appropriately the girl who would go back to that time. Mandark had wanted to keep the time-travel plans a secret to avoid Fuse finding out their final Hail Mary, but working with someone like Eddy guaranteed everyone would hear about it, and so the cat was out of the bag. Another was how much work she did. From sunup to sundown, Misty was always running around somewhere doing something for someone. But the biggest factor into her popularity was her demeanor.
For a girl who had been thrust far further into the future than she'd anticipated, Misty was taking the whole almost-everybody-you-know-and-don't-know-is-dead-and-the-planet-is-dying-by-an-evil-alien-overlord-and-his-invasion thing quite well; almost distirubingly well. She would have been forgiven for being overwhelmed by everything that had happened to her since arriving at the Battle of Tech Square, or depressed upon learning her parents had parished sometime after the invasion began and her home and sunk into the Fusion Matter Ocean. Yet to the surprise of all, Misty had merely shook off the moment and got down to work.
Misty was diving head first into the future, but she didn't completely blend in, and it was noticeable to everyone she encountered. Although she was wearing clothes picked from a discarded pile that Numbuh Five had managed to secure, she still didn't look like she belonged to the current time. She was too new; too fresh. It wasn't just from what she wore, but from how she acted. She wasn't pale or miserable looking like the people that had lived through the months she'd lost. She wasn't weighed down by anguish or defeat, and so she always stood proudly with her shoulders back compared to the slumping shoulders of her fellow compatriots. And then there was that smile she always wore. No matter the situation, if she was talking to an Urban Ranger or if she was knocking heads with her Proton Mace, Misty wore a smile. Many had forgotten what it was like to smile, and seeing hers usually inspired them into action. Merely seeing her doing her all, knowing she was the hope for their future, inspired many of the downtrodden fighters and lifted their spirits. It wasn't enough to change the tides of war, but it made the days just a little easier to handle.
"Hey! Cull! I need you to run another assignment," Eddy shouted from his place at his faux throne.
"Hard pass, baldy," Misty replied immediately, pulling up her holographic map.
"Oh, come on! I'll even give you a cut of the profits," Eddy said.
"Refer to my earlier response," Misty answered. "Besides, I'm already running a job."
"For who? That Powerpuff? She can get her own map," Eddy retaliated, waving his hand dismissively as he said it.
Misty ignored the scam artist. He hadn't left a good impression on her when he hit on her the first time she stepped foot in the cardboard fortress. Aside from him being three years younger than her, the pick up lines he'd dropped on her were so sleazy it had her skin crawling. In retaliation, she'd left a print the size of her hand against his left cheek. After she'd obtained his homemade gross paste for the time machine, she'd wiped her hands clean of the boy and refused to do a job for him. She just felt bad that someone as nice as Eduardo had to hang around with someone as greedy and annoying as Eddy. That Imaginary Friend was a saint in her eyes for putting up with the short stack.
"Bah, whatever. What are you even here for? Hiding from some monsters?" Eddy mocked as he fell back into his throne.
"Pretty sure that's what you're doing," Misty challenged. "When's the last time you stepped outside these walls?"
Eddy gnawed at his bottom lip while glaring at the girl. Misty smirked at him in victory and then spun on her heel, disengaging from further conversation with the greedy teenager. She consulted her map, did a quick survey of the area, and brightened when she found a Plumber standing behind a stall that was manned by an Urban Ranger. She walked in that direction, moving her attention off of the Plumber standing at attention and onto the vortex that was swirling beside the Plumber.
Misty stopped just at the edge of the swirling vortex. Her eyebrows knitted together as she inspected the rip in space time. Her confusion was plain as day on her face.
"Is something the matter, ma'am?" Plumber Barney asked respectfully to the girl.
"No. I mean nothing's the matter. Just surprised it's so small," Misty replied. "The one in Genius Grove was like twice as big as this little thing." She then shrugged her shoulders. "But oh well, it doesn't really matter. According to Mandark, it only needs to transfer a message."
Misty opened her inventory and brought out a small gun-like looking object. It was lightweight, and no bigger than the Custard Buster. It had a simple looking LED screen that had a knob attached beneath the screen. She pressed a button on the side of the gun and then pointed it at the swirling vortex. A light streamed out of the device and into the vortex.
"Alright, two down, three to go," Misty said out loud, sending the device back into her NanoCom's inventory.
"Ma'am, a moment!" Plumber Barney entreated.
"Can you all cut the ma'am stuff? You make me sound old," Misty complained.
"I'm tracking some unusual chrono readings," Plumber Barney said informatively, ignoring the girl's complaint.
"Yeah, I just sent a message into the wormhole," Misty said, pointing at the wormhole. "You just watched me do it."
"I don't mean this wormhole, ma'am," Plumber Barney said. "It seems like the remaining three wormholes are giving off some unusual readings. I don't know what it means exactly."
"Okay, then keep your eyes on the readings and send any significant changes to Mandark," Misty replied. "Actually, you better send it off to Computress. She'll be more forthcoming."
"Of course, ma'am!" Plumber Barney barked while he saluted her.
Misty couldn't hold back her huff and decided to disengage from the conversation. She still had three more wormholes to pass information through. Aside from collecting pieces for the time machine, she considered this one of the most important missions she'd been tasked with.
Even if she didn't feel Mandark was the nicest when asking her to do this mission.
Misty stood in front of the infected zone that encased Mandark's home and lab, exactly as Mandark had instructed her. She was supposed to be meeting with the villainous boy genius, but after five minutes of standing there, the bowl cut boy never arrived. Misty's lips dipped into a frown as the minutes passed.
"Hey Dexbot, where's Mandark?" Misty asked the only 'soul' in the area.
"I do not know," the Dexbot responded.
Misty's brows burrowed in a show of her annoyance. She called up Mandark on her NanoCom. It took three rings before Mandark's image appeared on the holographic screen.
"Where have you been? I've been waiting for seventeen minutes," Mandark demanded.
Misty blinked at the other's audacity and furrowed her eyebrows together in a sign of annoyance. Since the first time they held a conversation on DexLab's aircarrier, Misty and Mandark had never seen eye to eye. Everytime they interacted with each other, they were always at each other's throats. Something about the boy always rubbed Misty the wrong way.
"You've been waiting? I'm the one who's been waiting! I'm in front of your house! Where are you?" Misty demanded back.
"With the time machine, building it," Mandark replied, dripping with sarcasm.
"You're supposed to be meeting me here," Misty countered.
"I am not," Mandark responded. "I said to go to my house."
"You said you'd meet me here," Misty snapped back, feeling her blood pressure rise.
"I'm busy with the time machine," Mandark countered flippantly. "Why would I waste my time meeting with you when it is better used working on this machine?"
Misty was so close to pulling out her hair, but she loved it too much to do such a thing. So instead, she settled for releasing a cry of frustration through her clenched teeth.
"Has anybody told you how insufferable you are?" Misty demanded testily.
Mandark's face fell and Misty was able to glimpse the sad, far away look that came into his eyes. It only lasted for a second before he rearranged his face into a blank slate, trying to hide how much her comment had hit him. But he had been to slow; Misty had seen it all.
"Not in a while," he replied.
Misty frowned. Although Mandark got on her nerves easily, she hadn't meant to hurt the guy. She had only been speaking out of frustration. Feeling bad for the wound she'd opened, she released a sigh of resignation.
"Okay, fine," she said. "Stay with the machine. What do you want me to do?"
"I need you to send messages to the past," Mandark explained.
Misty blinked. "Uhm, how? You're the one working on the time machine."
"Yes, I'm well aware," Mandark replied, his sarcasm starting to return. "We won't be using a time machine for this; you'll be using wormholes to send the messages through time."
"Hold it! If these wormholes can go through time, why don't I just hop into one of those and head into the past?" Misty inquired.
"Because the wormholes aren't strong enough to transport large matter," Mandark explained. "But with my Synchronization Engine, it can transport messages."
That name rang some bells in Misty's head. It took her a moment, but she finally pulled up the memory of where she'd heard that name before.
"Hey, wait a minute. Didn't Numbuh Five have me collect pieces of a Synchronization Engine because some monsters broke it?" Misty inquired.
"That is correct," Mandark replied. "My company designed the device before it fell into the enemy's hands." He pushed up the bottom of his glasses with the heel of his palm, a glare momentarily taking over the lens. "I hate to admit it, but Numbuh Two managed to repair it back to its original state. Although it is necessary to the time machine, I can part with it just long enough for you to deliever the messages."
"Okay," Misty said, slowly following along. "So I'm going to be a postal worker?"
"Essentially," Mandark said. "You will be sending five messages. One will obviously go to myself. The others will go to Dexter, Ben Tennyson, Double D, and Mojo Jojo."
Misty squinted at Mandark's image. "Okay, I get you, Dexter, and Ben. What about the last two?"
"Double D was the mastermind behind the Cul-de-Sac fortress, which relies on Imaginary Energy. He was looking into the matter, and even had the idea that there was something on Earth that could be used against Fuse," Mandark explained. "A Newspaper Ninja took him out before he could find it."
Misty frowned. "And Mojo?"
"His technology is far inferior to my work, but his Skyway Agents were a big travel advantage for the short period we had them," Mandark explained.
Misty nodded her head. She didn't feel good about sending a message to Mojo, but she could see the tactical reason behind it.
"Alright, so where's the wormhole?" Misty asked.
"The first is not far from your location," Mandark said. "Computress has put them on your map. You'll use the wormhole to send a message to Dexter. You'll use the wormhole in the Cul-de Sac to send a message to Double D. There's a wormhole in Hero Square to send a message to Ben Tennyson. A wormhole in the southern neighborhood of Pokey Oaks will be used to send a message to myself. And a wormhole in the junkyard is where you'll send a message to Mojo Jojo. I stationed Plumbers to be beside the wormholes, so if you somehow can't find it on the map, look for a Plumber standing beside it."
Misty listened to him list off each wormhole location, cross-referencing it on her map. The wormholes were spread apart pretty far, but not something Misty couldn't easily handle in under an hour.
"I'm sending my Synchronization Engine now. All the messages have been preprogrammed, so all you have to do is select the correct message and send it through the wormhole," Mandark replied. "It's so easy, even you can do it."
"You know if you're going to insult me, you can have someone else do this," Misty replied.
"You're already there, so might as well do it. Chop, chop," Mandark said before he terminated communication on his side.
Misty rolled her eyes. She checked her email, finding the tool Mandark had sent her. She moved it into her inventory, and then had it materialized in her hand, looking the device over. Because the monsters had broken it up into a Time Dampener, Chrono Capacitor, and Driving Casing, she had never seen it in a single piece. It wasn't very big, and reminded her of the Custard Buster. The only difference, aside from aesthetics, was the knob and LED screen at the rear of the device. She turned the knob, and Dexter's name popped up. She turned the knob again, and Double D's name popped up. She turned the knob backward, bringing Dexter's name up again.
"Alright, this is easy," she said. She then turned her attention back onto her NanoCom and pulled up her map, zooming in on the Genius Grove area. "Huh, the wormhole really isn't that far."
In fact, the wormhole was only an arm's length away from the edge of the land mass that made up Genius Grove. As Mandark had stated, a Plumber was waiting patiently for her arrival. Plumber Fred was waiting on the edge of the wormhole, and he ran up to meet her as she came closer to the temporal wormhole.
"Miss Cull, it's an honor!" the Plumber greeted.
Misty held in her eyeroll. "Just Misty's good."
She raised the Synchronization Engine and fired the message into the portal. A bright light transferred from the Synchronization Engine's muzzle into the spinning wormhole. After a second the light went away, though the wormhole remained. Misty checked her tool, and found that Dexter's message was no longer there.
"Guess it went through," Misty said. "Alright, time to get to the others."
Misty's normal mode of transportation, just like everyone's mode of transportation in the future, was her feet. Cars had long since been out of use and Mojo's Skyway Agents, which had apparently been a fast transportation option sometime during the start of the war, had disappeared with their master up in the northern wilds are were no longer an option. S.C.A.M.P.E.R.S. existed, but travelling by them was strictly prohibited. Fuel was running dangerously low, and the limited resources made it impossible to replish the supply. Besides, there wasn't much land left to the planet for them to rely on the S.C.A.M.P.E.R.S. So, the flying vehicles were only to be used if they had to evacute to the DexLabs' airship that hovered over the planet's last contient.
Running wasn't a big probelm for Misty thanks to Nano Numbuh Two's F.A.S.T. F.E.E.T. power. With his ability, she found she could cover more ground in a short amount of time, so he quickly became her go-to Nano when not in combat. However, anyone looking up over the skies of Sector V would have been surprised to see the girl flying through the air. She of course didn't have this supernatural power. Instead, she was being flown by Buttercup.
After sending off a message to a past Double D, Misty had taken off for Sector V, where she was supposed to send a message to Ben. While running through the northern section of Pokey Oaks, she'd passed Buttercup who had offered to give the girl a lift to her destination. It was a generous offer that Misty had instantly accepted. Since the Fall of Tech Square, she and Buttercup had become friends.
The run to Heroes Square was greatly reduced thanks to the green Powerpuff, and Misty found herself being dropped off at the base of the large memorial in only a matter of seconds.
"Thanks for the ride!" Misty told the girl.
"Don't make it a habit!" Buttercup joked back, already flying back in the direction of Pokey Oaks. "I've got superhero stuff to do."
"Pfft! No wonder you're the brawn of the team. Did you forget you offered to fly me here?" Misty joked.
"Watch it, Cull," Buttercup threatened with a cheeky grin.
Misty stuck her tongue out at the retreating form of the superheroine, before consulting her NanoCom. Buttercup had dropped her off close to where the wormhole was active, but not quite next to it. She'd have to move around the monument to reach the wormhole. Before she went in search of it, Misty paused to look at the memorial. In her time, it was just an ugly eyesore with a levitating book. But here, in the future, it was called Heroes Square. At each point of the pentagram-shaped statue was a holographic image of heroes that were lost. Because so many were gone, the images were cycled through to showcase everyone. Misty was silent for a moment as she stared at the fallen heroes, before she continued on her journey. Finding the wormhole wasn't difficult since she spotted the Plumber first. Like Fred and Barney, Plumber Gideon regarded her as a 'miss' which Misty was starting to just ignore.
"Okay, three down, two-"
"Ma'am! The chrono readings-"
"Are unusual," Misty finished sarcastically. "Yeah, yeah, I know. One of your buddies already told me that. Aren't you guys used to space-time stuff? Shouldn't you know the wormholes are going to give this off?"
"It's not that, ma'am," Plumber Gideon insisted. "The wormholes are collapsing."
Misty blinked and gave Plumber Gideon her full attention. Did he just say...
"Ehhh?"
Urban Rangers Eugene and Charles are NPCs from the game and can be found in front of the Plank doors in the Cul-de-Sac. The Plumbers are from the game and can be found next to the wormholes in the Future.
I didn't have any plans for Misty to stay in the Future very long; there isn't much for her to do except get Nanos, send messages back in time, and build the time machine. In fact, she was only supposed to stay all of two chapters, but it was getting long so I cut it in half. Chapter Three was the longest I was going to allow since it was the tutorial in written format.
I styled how fresh she is to the war compared to the rest of the fighters after America's involvement in World War I. I really wanted that comparison because it helped elevate her status in that bad environment. Also, her always smiling is pulled from All Might from My Hero Academia.
The mission Mandark sends her on is "Messages Across Time." The game only had the player send back four messages; one to each guide so as to explain why they would be your choices upon returning to the past. I added Mandark wanting her to send a message to his past self just because he'd be egotistical for it. The mention of Misty helping retrieve the Time Machine parts are references to the missions: "2X4 Technology," "Start Your Engines," "Haste Makes Paste," and "Into the Vortex."