Chapter Text
–In the 21st Century–
The hospital was busy when Milo, Melissa, Zack, Diogee, and Mr. Block first arrived, and it showed no real signs of slowing down anytime soon. Doctors and nurses rushed back and forth from one room to the next. Checking vitals, making sure no one needed emergency surgery and just everything in between.
When the kids had short-circuited Lotte, she lost her connection and control over the people in her network. That included everyone at the school play, the Gush Co. factories responsible for producing the soda, Gush Co. headquarters, and (if the snippets of conversation the kids overheard from Mr. Block’s phone call to the future was any indication) everyone she infected at the Bureau of Time Travel.
It was like the kind of ripple effect they had seen in all those B-Tier time traveling movies growing up.
After riding to the hospital in an ambulance and then thoroughly looking over for any injuries (and thankfully only finding minor cuts and a couple of bruises), Zack’s mom had set them all up at a table in the hospital’s breakroom. She even gave them a meal from the hospital’s cafeteria. The kids and Mr. Block ate what she gave them, still trying to process what had happened.
Every once a while, Zack’s mom also stopped by to check on the kids every once and awhile. Her visits lasted no more than one minute before she once inevitably called away to help with another patient. Melissa had called her dad once she had sat down in the breakroom and explained what had happened. He told her he was on his way and would get there as soon as possible. Zack had received a similar call from his dad. Milo was just simply waiting on any kind of news about his family. Diogee, sensing his master’s distress, had taken up residency in his lap. Milo was grateful for any kind of comfort he could get.
None of the kids knew what was going on with their friends and family and teachers. They had seen a few family members of their classmates’ filter through in the hospital cafeteria, but they hadn’t been able to talk to them. And considering how chaotic things were looking to be right now, they figured they wouldn’t be able to for a long time.
“Mr. President, I understand this is a code black but you need to understand, Myself and six other agents are stranded here!” Mr. Block paused in his call. He had been pacing at the other end of the breakroom for about fifteen minutes now. Explaining what was happening on his end of things and getting a summary of what was going on. By the sounds of things, the kids figured everything was as messy in the future as it was in the present. “Sir, I will happily cooperate with any investigation you decide to have, but who knows how well my agents will be affected by the previous events and how well 21 st century medicine can handle it!... I suppose I hadn’t considered how the civilians will handle it… Yes, sir, there were several compromises… Yes, sir, several breaches in security as well… Besides myself?” Mr. Block cast a guilty glance over at the kids. “Three kids and a dog… Yes, they were Agent Landero’s original targets, well the machine’s original targets I supp-… No, sir, I guess it doesn’t make that much of a difference… No, sir…”
Milo glanced over at Mr. Block and frowned. So far, he was the only one out of any of them to know what was going on. Milo supposed that since he was from the future, he had that kind of advantage. Still, it would be nice to have any kind of update, at all. It didn’t even have to be about everyone or even his family. Milo would settle on just about any kind of news at this moment.
“Ahem, I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” A man, who appeared to be around Milo’s dad’s age, said awkwardly as he stepped into the breakroom. He had thin, curly auburn hair that was slicked back, revealing some greying temples. His brown eyes scanned the room nervously before they landed on Mr. Block. “I, uh, I figured it was about time I showed up…” Mr. Block raised a brow at the man. “Ok, that was a bad pun…”
“I’m going to have to put you on hold for a moment, a doctor just walked in.” Mr. Block hit a button on his phone before eyeing the man warily. “Do I know you?”
“I couldn’t have aged that much, have I, sir?”
A lightbulb seemed to go off in Mr. Block’s eyes, as his jaw dropped a bit. “Chip? Chip Wolowitz?”
“Hi, boss.” Chip smiled sheepishly. He then dug around in his pocket for a moment before pulling out a small flash drive. “Well, I was told that I had to give this to you the night everything… happened . Y’know, you let me pick the year I begin my exile and I give you a flash drive to help convict Lotte. A ‘you scratch my back, I scratch yours’ kinda thing.”
“Um… I’m confused.” Zack spoke up. “Mr. Block, how do you know this guy?”
“Well, kids, I used to work for Mr. Block.”
“You were a time traveler?”
“One of the best.”
“Second best.” Mr. Block corrected. Chip shot him a dirty look.
“What’s on that flash drive?” Milo asked.
“This,” Chip handed the flash drive to Mr. Block, “is everything you need to make sure Lotte gets what’s coming to her.” Upon noticing his former boss’s confused expression, Chip elaborated. “Lotte used her TICC abilities to erase any real evidence against her. She would have gotten away with it—”
“—unless you had given me this?”
Milo’s eyes widened. “It’s like the peach…”
The others gave him an odd look but didn’t press for more information. Mr. Block looked at the flash drive a moment before turning back to Chip. “So, this has everything I need on here?”
“Everything to make sure justice is served.”
Mr. Block was silent for a moment. “And Lotte?” Chip’s mouth pressed into a thin line, he glanced over at the wall with a despondent look on his face. Mr. Block frowned deeply, sniffed, then pocketed the flash drive. “Thank you, Wolowitz. I hope your exile has served you well.” And he turned around and got back on a call with the Future President, managing to briefly get a word in about “guaranteed evidence” against Lotte.
Chip turned to the kids, smiling a bit. “I also wanted to say Thank You to you three in particular.”
“Hey, no need,” Zack told him.
“We’re just glad Lotte didn’t end up taking over the world,” Melissa said.
“I mean it. Not only did you save me but you saved my family as well.”
“Oh, did you have ancestors in Danville that got TICC-ed?” Melissa asked.
“No, I mean… My family .”
“You mean that…?”
Chip smiled bashfully as he pulled a picture out of his wallet and studied it. “I felt so lost when I was exiled to the past, but, hey, when life gives you lemons and all. My husband was working when all this happened, but my daughter, she was TICC-ed.”
“I’m so sorry about your daughter,” Zack said sincerely. “Will she be ok?”
“Oh yeah, she’s a trooper. Besides,” Chip nodded and flipped the photo over showing a picture of Chip, a heavy-set man in a pink polo shirt, and a girl with dark brown eyes and long brown hair held back by a yellow headband. “She’s used to dealing with unusual and extreme circumstances.”
The kid’s eyes widened. “You’re Lydia’s dad!”
“Well, one of them.”
The three friends exchanged pleasantly surprised grins. One of their best friend’s dad was an exiled Time Traveler who worked with Cavendish, Dakota, Savannah, and Brick. Life had a funny way of coming full circle.
Chip nodded, stuffing the photo back into his wallet. “Well, my work here is done. Mr. Block, I wish you luck with all your endeavors; past, present, or otherwise. Kids, I’ll be seeing you.”
A sudden thought crossed Milo’s head and as Chip turned to leave, the boy jumped up and met him halfway. “Wait, Mr. Chip! Before you go, I have to ask… What’s going to happen to Lotte?”
Chip froze, glanced back at Mr. Block to check if he was listening (he wasn’t), and then knelt to Milo’s level. “Well, uh… She’s, she’s pretty much public enemy number one right now. And, uh, well it’s—it’s not a, she’s kinda…” Chip seemed to deflate a bit. “I’m gonna be straight with you, Milo. Lotte’s not going to, well, she’s not going to be around much longer.”
Melissa, who walked up to join Milo, felt a pit settle into her stomach. “When you say ‘around’ do you mean…?”
Chip didn’t say anything, only cast a glance to the side. But that gave the kids all the answers they needed. Zack stood up and joined his friends over by Chip. “Can we see her?”
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea, kids.”
“But we need to see her!” Zack insisted, and Milo and Melissa nodded fervently in agreement.
Chip frowned and ran a hand through his hair. “Kids, Lotte’s situation right now isn’t the best… it’s… it’s complicated .”
“We need to see her.” Zack reiterated. “Please.”
Chip looked hesitant and, for a moment, the kids worried he wouldn’t take their pleas seriously. But before they had another moment to doubt, the older man sighed heavily and motioned for the kids to step closer to him, which they did. “Now, you didn’t hear this from me but.” Chip cast one last nervous glance at Mr. Block, “there’s a maximum-security room on the 2nd floor. Usually reserved for high-risk patients or Murphy’s Law Incidents. But they more or less repurposed it this time around.”
“Sooo, we’ll find Lotte down there?” Melissa asked.
Chip shook his head and silently shushed the redheaded girl. “Nope! No, I don’t know where the nearest Mr. Slushy Dawg is kids!” When the kids gave him odd looks, Chip whispered back “Look, even I’m not supposed to know what happened to Lotte. How’s it going to look when a bunch of kids find out too?”
“He has a point.”
Chip sighed one last time. “Remember, you didn’t hear that from me, got it?” The kids nodded. “Cool beans. Stop by and see Lydia some time, ok?”
Chip gave one last half-hearted wave to Mr. Block, who merely nodded at his former employee, before walking out the room.
Milo, Melissa, and Zack huddled close together. “Remind me again why we want to see Lotte? She tried to kill us!”
“I don’t want to see her because I miss her,” Zack told her. “I want to see her because… I feel like I kinda have to.”
“What’d you mean, boy band?”
“I think what Zack means to say is that without any real updates on our parents, our friends, Cavendish and Dakota, or anyone: Lotte might be our best lead.” Milo then glanced to the ground. “And maybe… maybe seeing Lotte will help us get closure.”
“Closure on what? She lied to us about who she was from the beginning, tried to kill us, brainwashed our friends and family into helping her try to kill us, almost took over the world, and almost broke up the OTP that is Dakavendish!” Melissa pointed out.
“And that is unforgivable, I agree!” Milo quickly stated. “But, there was a point in time where we considered Lotte our friend, and we can’t take that back or change it, even if Lotte was lying to us the entire time.”
Seeing Melissa was still on the fence about the whole idea, Zack added “We're not going to forgive her. We’re just… getting closure on what is probably one of the most traumatic experiences of our lives…”
Melissa shifted on her feet and hugged herself tightly. Milo placed a hand on her shoulder. “It helps to say goodbye, even if you think there might be other stuff left unsaid.”
Melissa glanced at her two best friends, sighed, and then smirked. “Who’s ready to sneak into a highly secure floor to get a look at Public Enemy Number 1?”
“Compared to everything that’s happened in the past 24 hours, that sounds like a pretty tame adventure.” Zack smiled.
“Now the question is, how to do that without being spotted by anyone, especially tall, dark, and grumpy over there?”
Milo glanced around the room, stroking his chin in thought. He felt Diogee give a slight tug at his shirt. And when the young boy saw his dog pointing to a large vent, he had an idea. “Did you guys ever want to crawl through the vents like the 80’s action stars did in the movies?”
“Dude, get outta my head.” Zack smiled.
–A little later–
It had taken the trio (and Diogee) some time to navigate the vents. What with all the different floors, the similar tunnels, and the stampede of lab rats racings against them. But, hey, they have all been through worse than this.
When they finally reached the floor Lotte was being held in, the friends knew they had to be as quiet and undetectable as Murphy’s Law would allow. Of course, that idea went out the window when the vent grate by Milo’s head chose that moment to give away due to rust and smash to the floor with a loud thud.
“Crud!” Milo whisper-shouted.
“Quick, move!” Melissa pushed her friend out of the vent before shimmying herself out as well, turning around quickly to help pull Zack out.
“What was that noise?” they heard a gruff voice ask in the distance. The three kids looked around in a panic, looking for either a disguise of some kind or a place to hide.
“I dunno.” Another voice replied to the first. “Let’s go check it out.”
Zack pointed to a food cart at the end of the hallway, one with a kind of cloth hanging over the sides. The three friends nodded and made a mad dash for it.
“And leave the prisoner?” The first voice asked.
“What’s she going to do?” The second voice laughed. “Use her green sparkle powers to zap us?”
The kids had just situated themselves under the cloth when they heard footsteps approaching. Melissa, being the closest to the edge, was able to peek around the cloth. She saw two big men in what looked like National Guard uniforms inspecting the broken grate.
“What’d you think caused this?” One officer inquired.
The other officer hummed thoughtfully. “Heard there were some Murphy’s in the hospital. Could be them?”
“A Murphy?”
“Y’know, Murphy’s Law? Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.”
“Not sure how it would cause a grate to fall off down here. Aren’t civilians being kept on higher floors?” The two men continued their conversation as they walked away. Melissa glanced around as much of the corridor as she could as they left. No one in sight.
Perfect.
“Ok, the coast looks clear,” Melissa whispered. “I think I can see a floor directory near the elevator.”
“Maybe it’ll tell us where Lotte is.” Milo enthusiastically whispered.
“All we have to do is get out and--whoa!” Zack was interrupted as the cart lurched forward.
“Whoo! Heavier than I thought it would be.” A female voice spoke up, pushing the cart along without really noticing it’s stowaways.
“I thought you said the coast was clear!?” Zack whisper-shouted.
“I thought it was!”
“Guys, shush!” The kids quieted down and the cart continued rolling along. As it continued rolling, the kids saw many boot covered feet scattered throughout the corridor. Then, the cart stopped. A glance outside the cloth and the kids realized someone was standing right in front of them.
“State your business here, ma’am.” One of the voices from earlier told the woman.
“Bosses sent me as a food delivery girl for you fellas up here.”
“Oh, that’s very kind of you.” The other voice from early spoke. “What have you got for us?”
As the three continued to talk, Milo experimentally peaked out from behind the other side of the cloth. Seeing that there was no one on the other side, he motioned for his friends to follow him. The three kids stealthily escaped their hiding spots when Murphy’s Law decided to kick in.
“There’s a break room down the hall to the left, you can set the food in there, ma’am.”
“Will do!” And the woman pushed the cart away, revealing to the National Guardsman the three kids inconspicuously hiding behind the food cart.
“Hey! What’re you three doing down here?” One of the guards asked.
“How did you guys get down here? This is a restricted area!” The other asked.
The kids didn’t answer, instead, they gasped in shock and horror at what they saw behind the guards.
The hospital room was locked, that much was an unspoken guarantee given the situation. But there was a wide window that allowed anyone passing by a look in. Inside the room, Lotte was lying on the bed, strapped down for her own safety as her body twitches violently, tiny sparks of green electricity shooting out now and again. The monitors connected to her, as well as the lights in the room, we’re glitching out. Incorrect readings, moments of pure darkness, odd noises, it was a mess.
And there must have been some type of microphone connected to the room, as they could hear Lotte talking, even though the door wasn’t opened. “ Connection Interrupted-- Uuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhh-- Please Restart your Computer to Complete Updates-- Uuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhh-- Network Off-off-off-off-off-offline. Please trrrryy-- Uuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhh-- again later …”
“Lotte?” Milo’s voice came out quieter than expected.
“The prisoner is not receiving visitors at this time.” One of the guards told the kids sternly.
“I… I didn’t think she would be in such bad shape.” Zack said quietly, Melissa numbly nodded in agreement.
As the guards lectured the kids about protocol and the dangers of sneaking into restricted areas, the trio of friends noticed something behind them.
Lotte ever so slowly, as if the very act of moving caused her physical pain, turned her head to the window. Her once vibrant and psychotic neon green eyes were gone. Instead, they were replaced with cloudy, unfocused, dull eyes. One an ugly mud-color, the other a sickly pukish green. Being able to see her face drove home how much pain destroying the TICC network had been for her. The neon green lines that stretched across her skin were now the same pukish green as her one eye, her short hair now hung limp, with some even sticking to her forehead due to sweat.
“Clear Cookies and Cache-- Milooooooooo --to increase internet speeds-- I’m-I’m-I’m-I’m-I’m-I’m-- Would you like to install the latest update?-- I’m-I’m-Milooooooooo-I’m-I’m--”
The guards looked at each other with wide eyes. “She recognizes them.”
“They could be in danger.”
“You guard the prisoner, I’ll take the kids back upstairs.”
“Roger that.”
“Wait, but, we--” Milo’s pleas fell on deaf ears as the one guard began to usher him and his friends away from Lotte’s window. Before they could pull him away, however, Milo looked into Lotte’s window just in time to see her stretch out one of her hands towards him as far as she could (which was admittedly not very far, restraints and all) and croak out “Milooooooooo--Connect to the Internet to Resume Browsing-- I’m… sorry…” Before collapsing tiredly into her bed.
A loud, prolonged beep was heard from Lotte’s room and the guard that stayed behind frantically yelled for a medic. The kids saw a group of doctors rush into Lotte’s room just as they were pulled into an elevator.
The guard that was with them sighed sadly. “I’m… I’m sorry you kids had to see that. But I hoped you learned your lesson.”
The three friends were silent for a moment before Zack nodded. “Yeah… we did.”
Milo glanced at his reflection in the elevator's warped metal door and frowned sadly as he pondered Lotte’s fate.
He knew from Chip bringing that flash drive to Mr. Block that Lotte would be going to trial once the timelines were adjusted, and from what Chip had said, Lotte would be brought to justice… but then what? Milo knew that a crime as severe as Lotte’s deserved punishment, but considering her current state (restrained to a bed like a wild animal, your own body failing you in ways you never thought were possible, your mind reduced to nothing more than a broken computer) he felt as if she was punished enough.
Milo briefly wondered if Lotte would even survive the trial. And if she somehow did, who’s to say how long she would survive after that?
Maybe , Milo thought, it’s not about punishment. It’s about pity.
In Old Yeller, when the dog got rabies, they took him out back and shot him so he wouldn’t suffer… Maybe it was something like that? Milo hoped it was.
Lotte was… a bad person. Maybe she wasn’t at the start, but her actions led her to become who she was today. In the end, she made her bed in life and now she was lying in it. Milo couldn’t forgive her for what she had done, and he doubted he ever would forgive her. But, for her sake, Milo hoped that when her time came, it would be as peaceful as possible.
Because no one deserves to suffer like that, no matter how terrible of a person they are.
–The 21st Century, a couple of days later–
The first thought Dakota had when waking up was that he didn’t remember his bed being this uncomfortable. The second he had was, obviously, Ow . The third was the realization was that this wasn’t his bed, it was a hospital bed.
Sitting up was a bit of a chore--his head was pounding like someone took a jackhammer to the inside of his skull, his whole body felt like he ran into the electric fence again, and it felt like his brain had been put into a blender--but he managed. Dakota felt a tug at his arm and glanced down and saw an IV tube and a wire connected to a heart monitor attached to him.
Always a wonderful way to wake up . Dakota thought, only a little sarcastically.
He saw something thin and avocado green out of the corner of his eyes. Glancing over, Dakota spotted Cavendish in the next bed. Sans his usual top-hat and coat, he had on a crisp white tank-top and his usual green slacks. Seeing him made Dakota smile, just happy that he was nearby. It took another second of looking for him to realize Cavendish was awake and staring intently out the doorway.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Cavendish jumped slightly in surprise, winced, turned to Dakota, and then beamed softly.
“You’re awake!”
“So are you…”
“I’d come over there and kiss you but…” Cavendish winced slightly. “It hurts to move too much, right now.”
“Oh, believe me, I’m in the same boat as you, Cav.” Dakota winced himself, feeling his entire body ache.
“Nonetheless, I’m glad you are alright.”
“Right back at ya, babe.” Silence for a moment. “Do you have any idea how we got here?”
Cavendish shook his head. “Not a clue.”
“Yeah, me neither.” another moment of silence, staring at each other, smiling softly. “Do you know where or when we’re at?”
“I believe we’re in the hospital. 21st century by the looks of it.” Cavendish glanced around the room, noting the distinct lack of mobile IV tubes and hover beds with holograms to the nurse’s station. “How did we end up here? Pistachio mission?”
“No, no, that ain’t it.” Dakota scratched his head. Think, Vinnie. Think. What’s the last thing ya remember? “I was with Melissa and Zack, we were at the high school…”
Cavendish nodded. “I believe I was with Murphy and his dog. Then all of a sudden--”
“You’re awake.” Cavendish and Dakota turned to see Milo standing in the doorway. His face was one of delighted shock, but it quickly morphed into a grateful grin. The young boy quickly looked down the hall before shouting “Guys! They're awake!”
Before Cavendish and Dakota could register what was happening; Milo, Melissa, Zack, and Diogee all came barreling into the room. The children were chattering excitedly over each other and Diogee was yipping and howling with joy. The two men soon found themselves in embraces from the children and dog, which they both returned happily. Despite their current soreness.
“You’re ok… You guys are ok.” Milo, bless his heart, sounded like he was choking up a bit.
“Of course we’re ok. Who else is gonna save you, kids, when Murphy’s Law gets too much for you to handle.” Dakota smiled as the kids gasped dramatically.
“ We’re the ones that save you !” Zack insisted, and the others readily agreed. Cavendish rolled his eyes and smiled fondly as he watched his boyfriend “argue” with the children. It felt nice. Right, even. Like, maybe finally, things were going back to the normal they were before.
“I was wondering when you two would wake up.” Cavendish and Dakota turned to see Savannah, wearing a Danville University sweatshirt that looked a little big on her and some exercise shorts, wheeling herself in a wheelchair. The men’s eyes widened as they noticed the large casts on both of Savannah’s legs.
The woman noticed the men’s stares and kinda chuckled. “Heh, yeah. Doc said the kids did a good job of setting it. But, Lotte went and ruined those when she… well, y’know…” The kids' faces fell a bit at the mention of Lotte, but Savannah continued. “But, those knuckleheads over there still helped me out. Even signed it for me.”
Cavendish glanced down at her foot and raised a brow. “Um, which one of you did the little scribble on the back of her cast?”
“Oh, that was Diogee,” Milo answered, looking at the green sharpie scribble in question. “He felt left out so Savannah let him sign her cast too.” Cavendish and Dakota turned to look at their co-worker, who shrugged.
“What? I’m not saying no to a dog. I might be cold and professional but I’m not heartless.” Savannah sighed contentedly as the others in the room laughed. But, then her face morphed into a more serious expression. “Hey, kids, can I have a moment alone with these two? I think a game of catch-up is in order.”
The kids gave a reluctant nod before heading out of the room. The three time-travel agents were left alone, silence filled the room before Savannah exhaled. “Alright. Best to start with this: what’s the last thing either of you remember?”
Cavendish and Dakota glanced down at their hands, sudden memories of thick, neon green lines coursing over their skin flashed through their heads along with a sudden beat of panic. Dakota stuffed his hands in the pockets of his sweatpants while Cavendish merely tightened his hands into fists.
“I… I was with Milo. And Diogee, I suppose. We were trying to get something out of a vending machine, I think. Some of Milo’s classmates showed up, he ran and I stayed back, and then... “ Cavendish paused, swallowed, nervously fiddling with the bedsheets. “It’s like I was a passenger in my own body. I could see what I was doing, but I had no control.”
“Yeah. I was with Melissa and Zack. Then their teacher showed up. Next thing I know I’m standing next to Brick and…” Dakota paused, his face unreadable. He stared down at his hands intently.
Savannah frowned. “Well, I think you two understand that this whole mess garnered a Code Black from the big guys back in 2176.”
Cavendish nodded solemnly. He knew from his years of training that a Code Black had only ever been called once before, back in the early days of B.O.T.T.’s formation. He didn’t know what happened back then (Code Black’s were rarely discussed after they were cleaned up) but knew it was bad. Maybe not as bad as this, but still.
“How’s Mr. Block handling all of this?”
“A couple of presidential time cars came back yesterday to pick him and Lotte up. He’s trying to help all of us time travelers as much as possible, but since he’s under investigation due to his and Lotte’s… history , it’s harder for him to do as much as he wants to.”
“Is he stuck in the future or something?”
“Not necessarily. Just under strict observation right now.”
“What about the other time travelers here?”
“Well, in a general sense we are pretty much stuck. But Mr. Block said that once things have calmed down a bit more in the future and more people are waking up, most of us we’ll be able to go back.”
“Most of us?”
“Some of us were hurt more than others under Lotte’s control.” Savannah gestured to her cats in an annoyed tone. “Thanks to these two sons of two bitches I’m stuck here for six months! And that’s just the physical side of the injuries.”
“Oh?”
“I heard certain government officials are hesitant to let a lot of time travelers come back unless they have guaranteed time off for mental health reasons. Which, yeah, I think that’s a good idea.”
Cavendish looked down at his hands. “What about… what about Lotte?”
Savannah frowned deeply and slowly rolled her way over to Cavendish’s bed. “She… well. The kids, Mr. Block, and Brick found a way to stop her. I guess TICC’s had a shutdown switch. Who knew?”
“Savannah,” Cavendish sighed.
“I know.” Savannah leaned her arm on Cavendish’s bed. “I know, that’s not what you meant.” Silence again. Until “The shutdown wasn’t good on her. From what the doctors have told me, it was like a million little computers that were powering her brain was pulled from her brain all at once. Some came out rather rough, taking certain functions with it. Others stayed in there, further damaging her.” Cavendish’s mouth fell open in a silent gasp of anguish. But, Savannah wasn’t done. “There’s going to be a trial, Cavendish. You know that, right?”
“... Yes. Yes, I do.”
“They have evidence. I don't think she’ll… I mean to say that…” Savannah tentatively placed a hand on Cavendish’s shoulder in an awkward attempt at comfort. “I’m sorry, Cavendish. I know you were close to her.”
“I… I suppose we weren’t as close as I believed we were. I mean, she did this to me, the people I care about.”
Savannah didn’t say anything, just solemnly bowed her head and patted Cavendish’s shoulder. Comfort wasn’t necessarily her forte, but she would give it a try just this once. Cavendish needed some right now anyway.
The time-traveling woman glanced over at Dakota, who had been oddly quiet during the entire conversation, still staring at his hands. “Dakota, you ok? I know you and Lotte were pretty close too.”
“Yeah. Yeah, I just… Is Brick ok?”
Savannah nodded. ‘Last I heard he was stable. They got him set up in a room at the other end of the hall. Why do you ask?”
“It’s just that… He and I had a… talk before Lotte took over the future. It ended not great. And I think I need to kinda talk to him about that…”
“Well, I hope you don’t mind waiting. He hasn't woken up yet. Doctor has no idea when he’ll wake up either.”
Dakota exhaled, then nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I can wait.” He looked at Cavendish.
Are you alright? Cavendish seemed to ask.
Dakota gave him a small smile, then nodded. I’m ok. You?
Cavendish returned that small smile. So am I .
Savannah rolled her eyes. “God if you want me to leave the room so you can make out just say so.” She smiled as both men turned beet red.
–The 21st Century, roughly three days later–
Once, on one of his first missions at the bureau, Brick had pushed Savannah out of the way of a speeding car. He was hit, of course, and while he survived, he was put on bed rest for 6 months afterward. The pain he felt back then was unbearable. It made every other broken bone or sprained ankle or chipped tooth seem like a minor scrape in comparison.
But, upon waking up, Brick realized that the pain he felt back then was a fraction of what he felt now.
His body was stiff, his head felt like someone tasered his brain, and he was having trouble stringing together two thoughts that weren’t Godammit and Ow .
Groaning, Brick pushed himself up into a sort of seating position. Ok, ok. I’m in a hospital . Brick blinked as he realized that this was a 21st century hospital. Otherwise, he would’ve been hooked up to the Cryo-Regenerator by now.
“Ugh, what happened?” Brick glanced down at his hands and smiled at how pink they were. Wait, why should he be relieved they were a normal pink color? Brick stretched his fingers, trying to remember why having pink skin was something to be relieved about now. That’s when he noticed the IV tube connected to his arm, surprisingly close to a blood vein.
Your blood veins aren’t green anymore.
That one realization brought it all back. Lotte, the TICCs, trying (and failing) to impress Vinnie Dakota, hurting Savannah and Aiden and Jonah, the fall of the Bureau, almost hurting innocent children, and indoctrinating almost an entire school’s worth of people into Lotte’s happy little hive mind. Brick felt disgusted with himself.
How could I let it get so far?
“Hey, you awake?”
… Oh, please, please, please, PLEASE let me be dreaming.
Brick glanced over and sure enough, nope, he wasn’t dreaming. Vinnie Dakota was sitting in a chair next to his bed. On one hand, he was happy to see him, really happy. It means he wasn’t dead, right? On the other hand, Brick remembered Vinnie being coerced by Lotte and her TICCS into “confessing” his love for him. Brick knew he would only do that if the TICC told him to do it and why.
If there was ever a moment Brick wished he could sink into the earth and never come back out.
“Brick? You alright, buddy?”
“... Yeah. Yeah, I’m ok.”
The two sat in silence for what seemed like forever, each studying one another but not knowing what to say. Finally, Vinnie cleared his throat and awkwardly stated, “Lotte’s been arrested.”
Oh. “Oh.”
“Yeah. She got pretty beat up by… whatever you did to her in the end. She’s back in 2176 now…”
“Huh… She’s standing trial?”
“They’re gonna have her try.”
“...Oh.”
Vinnie gave him a look as if he was expecting him to say more. But, what else could he say? What could Brick possibly say about Lotte right now?
That he was sorry this happened to her? No, that bitch had everything coming to her. She did this to herself and dragged everything down with him.
That he felt bad for her? No, he didn’t. She got what he deserved.
That he hoped she pulled through and didn’t die? … That was a more complicated question and he didn’t want to think about that right now.
“Soooo….” Vinnie cast his eyes to the floor.
“Soooo….” Brick cast his eyes to the far corner of the room.
Vinnie took a deep breath, exhaled, and then bit the bullet. “I remember what the TICC made me tell you.”
Fuck .
Brick slung his arm over his eyes, groaning, hoping--praying--to whoever would listen that his blush wasn’t too noticeable.
Vinnie sighed and awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeahhh…”
Another long bout of silence followed. Brick eventually brought his arm back down to rest by his body. He and Vinnie would intermittently lock eyes only for one of them--usually Brick--to break eye contact. Then, finally, Vinnie laid a hand on his bed--close to his hand, not close enough, but close--and said, “Look, can we just talk about this?”
Brick exhaled. “I… I don’t even know what to say,”
Vinnie exhaled and gave him a small smile. “Just, say what’s on your mind, Brick.”
Brick stared at him for one moment, exhaled, and then finally said what has been on his mind for a long time now. “Vinnie, I… I don’t know what to say except… I’m in love with you. I’ve been in love with you for a long time! I just never really knew how to say… or had the guts to say it.”
Vinnie smiled for a moment then frowned. After a moment, Vinnie gave him a sympathetic look. “Brick, listen, I’m… I’m flattered but...”
Brick sighed, he knew it was coming but it still hurt. “But,”
“But, I’m with Cavendish.” Vinnie smiled a little bit. It broke Brick’s heart, but it was beautiful. “And I think I like him back maybe even,” Vinnie glanced at Brick again, looking pitiful. “Well, you know.”
Brick felt his heart shatter with those words and he didn’t understand why. He knew Vinnie was in love with another man, he knew Vinnie was in a serious relationship with that other man, and he knew that his chances with Vinnie were slim to none. But it still hurt.
“Brick, listen to me.” Brick reluctantly turned to look at Vinnie. “Your feelings are valid, and I want you to work through them but… Ok, I have no other way of saying this except to rip the band-aid off; I think you were in love with the idea of me.” Brick must have given him a weird look because Vinnie quickly held up his hands in defense. “Hear me out! Ok? Listen, you didn’t know anything about me except the stuff you can guess from a glance. You didn’t even know my favorite color.”
“I wanna say it was… burgundy?”
Vinnie chuckled a bit. “Brick, I hope this doesn’t mean we can’t be friends. Not now, obviously, but, later down the line. After we’ve all had time to heal from this.”
Brick purposefully focused his gaze down towards the edge of his bed. He felt the tears prick at the corners of his eyes but he willed them not to fall, not yet. “Yeah, I’d like that. Eventually.”
Vinnie smiled, nodded, and then slowly stood up and left the room. “See ya around, ok?”
“Yeah, see you.” Vinnie turned and left.
Probably to go see Cooperdink , his mind added spitefully. Brick gripped the sheets of the hospital tightly and then waited one minute, two minutes, five minutes, before he finally let the tears fall.
–The Next Day–
Brick walked slowly down the hall. It was still fairly hard to walk without feeling at least a bit dizzy. He’s coming around the corner to the cafeteria, he can hear the voices of the three kids and the dog yipping at the end of the hall. He smiles.
Milo and his friends--being one of the few people not hurt in the whole incident--had taken it upon themselves to visit every single person in the hospital that was affected by Lotte’s TICCs. Brick was honestly surprised to find he enjoyed their visits. The kids were cheerful, they didn’t hold anything serious against him (“You did all of this just because you couldn’t talk to your crush? Seriously, that’s something we would do, not a full-grown adult!” Melissa pointed out once when Milo and Zack weren’t in the room to filter her), and they were never shy to offer him encouragement on his road to recovery.
Brick was looking forward to seeing them again. They had been telling him about a history project they were working on last time. One with a musical number and fireworks were thrown in for flavor. He wanted to hear how the fireworks went off around Milo, how they put the inevitable fire out, and if they got a good grade on the project.
However, when Brick turned the corner, he froze and felt his heart shatter all over again.
He saw the kids and Diogee running around a nearby table laughing. Melissa and Milo were covered head to toe in spaghetti sauce and were chasing a laughing Zack around the far tables of the cafeteria, Diogee (drooling) was running after Milo and Melissa. Brick saw a trail of tipped over sauce spilling from a large pot near the counter. Cavendish and Dakota stood by. From the waist down they were covered in the sauce as well.
Dakota had just put his hand on the side of Cavendish’s face. The mustached man made a small fuss about his face being covered in sauce now, but Vinnie smiled lovingly at him and simply kissed the sauce away. Finally relaxing, Cavendish turned and gave Dakota a proper kiss.
Brick, as quickly as he could, backed up out of sight, pressing his back against the wall. He felt the tears come on again.
“Hey,” Savannah reached up and gave his hand a supporting squeeze. Brick wasn’t sure when she got here but he wasn’t going to question it too much.
“Hey,” Brick realized a bit late that this is the first time the two of them have been alone together since he got the TICC put in his head.
Savannah cast a glance into the cafeteria and gave Brick a sympathetic look. “Look, I don’t understand why of all people it was Vinnie, but that’s not my place to judge. So, if you’d rather not be alone right now, we can go somewhere else and I can order something from DoorGrab? We can… talk about… all of this ?”
Brick released a shaky sigh and smiled. His eyes felt wet with tears but he wasn’t sure if it was from the heartbreak of watching his crush kiss another man or the relief he felt at finally, finally , having someone to talk to about all of this.
“Yeah, I’d like that a lot.”
–April, 21st Century–
Brick sat towards the back of the auditorium, Savannah by his side in the aisle, since her wheelchair couldn’t fit into the actual rows of seats. Brick was very impressed to see how well the school had been fixed in the two months since the whole Lotte Incident. Then again, this school had more than one Murphy in its halls in the past fifty years, so Brick figured they had more than enough practice fixing Murphy’s Law related incidents.
He wasn’t sure how he got suckered into watching the kid’s play when it finally was able to be performed. If Brick was honest, he was surprised the school would let the kids put on the play in the first place. It was uncomfortably relevant to recent events--Brick was convinced some higher power was ultimately screwing with them, no way could a play this similar to Lotte’s plan happen otherwise--and Brick knew that Milo and his friends had started seeing therapists to help them deal with the situation.
They all had.
It felt nice, being able to talk about what had happened, the trauma, the heartache, and every other shitty thing that went on. Savannah’s therapist and his therapist were in the same building, so as of late the two have been scheduling their appointments together so they could go in together. It was fun, letting it all out and coming out having a better appreciation for your partner and friend.
Also, the greasy diner food after therapy meetings was always a fun little treat.
The music cued up and Milo, his vampire-looking teachers, and the boys the playbill referred to as Mort and Chad stepped on stage. “~You gotta buy her a rose, compliment her on her clothes~”
“~Say you appreciate that she's smart!~”
“~Nah, man, you tell her that she excites you romantically!~” Chad did a little hip wiggle that got all the adults in the audience laughing as Mort and the Vampire-teacher nonchalantly shoved Chad away after singing this line.
“~And that's the way you get to her heart. Trust me, I know how it's gonna go, listen and oh!~”
Milo stepped forward on the stage and began to sing. “~And there are voices in my ear. I guess these never disappear… I'll let 'em squeal~” As the other cast slowly walked off stage, a beam from above the stage snapped loose and swung down, nearly hitting the exiting cast. If not for the timely intervention of Melissa, Zack, Lydia, Joni who saw it happen and came rushing out. Brick was a little impressed with how quickly MIlo shrugged off his backpack and tossed it to Melissa and Zack. “~And I will deal and make up my mind. Might still have voices in my head but now, they're just the normal kind. Voices in my head, but now they're the normal kind!~”
Melissa and Zack quickly yanked a jackhammer out of Milo’s backpack and the four castmates quickly worked to put the beam at a relatively safer height. Milo did a little skip dance backward to help his friends as they sang.
“~Just summon strength from within!~” Melissa’s voice sounded strained as she sang and tried to keep the beam from falling over.
“~Don't get hung up on your skin!~” Joni sang, trying to assist Melissa.
“~She probably thinks that acne is hot!~” Lydia winked and used her free hand to give Milo finger guns.
“~I'll throw you a rope, home slice if you need some dope advice.~” Zack sang, stretching to sling his arms around Milo in a bro-hug like a move while keeping some kind of grip on the beam.
“~Now march on over and give her a shot! Buddy, you'll see it'll go perfectly. If you listen to me, me, me!~” The four on stage gave Milo a half-hearted shove toward the opposite end of the stage where Amanda just as they secured the beam and were able to finish the line triumphantly.
“~And there are voices all around! And you can never mute the sound… They scream and shout, I tune 'em out and make up my own mind. Might still have voices in my head but now, they're just the normal kind, Voices in my head, but now they're the normal kind!~”
Brick smiled as Milo and Amanda’s characters conversed, then frowned as he felt the all familiar dull ache in his head. While extensive surgery was able to remove most of the TICC from a host’s brains, they couldn’t remove all of it. Brick still felt a twinge of electricity, a momentary lapse in control, a sense of his mind is not his own anymore. But it would be over as soon as it started.
While it was harder to talk to Mr. Block about any of this--he had taken to shutting himself in his office after the Lotte Incident, it was hard to get him to talk about anything nowadays--he had a theory that once Lotte was… no longer active in the link, the TICCs activity would stop.
Brick wasn’t sure how he felt about that. Was Lotte trying to communicate some message to him across time, was she trying to apologize? Brick wasn’t sure if he wanted to have the TICC activity end quicker or just simply become numb to it over time.
Which was better in the long run? Brick wasn’t so sure anymore.
He was snapped back to attention when he heard Amanda say, “I still remember how it felt… It's embarrassing to find out, deep down I just want things to be easy.”
“Yeah... but who wants things to be hard?” Milo awkwardly glanced at the ground before turning to tell Amanda, “Look, I almost destroyed the school... maybe all of human civilization… I know that the last thing I deserve is another shot, but, um--”
“Just say what's on your mind, Jeremy”
Brick paused and glanced down the aisle to where Cavendish and Dakota were sitting with Milo, Melissa, and Zack’s families.
“Lunch? Just the two of us?”
Brick frowned, instinctively reaching towards Savannah for comfort. She seemed to sense his sudden distress as she reached over and gave his hand a supportive squeeze.
“~And any voices in our heads?~”
“~There might be voices in our heads… But I swear, the voices there will be the regular kind~”
“~Me and the voices in my head have made up our collective mind!~”
“~What do they say we should do?~”
“~I think that all of us want to go out with you…~”
Brick felt a twitch of sadness. Don’t get him wrong, he was happy for Dakota and wished him and Cavendish the best, but how do you get over having a crush like this? How do you just stop having feelings for someone who you went to such--drastically unnecessary and ultimately stupid in the long run--lengths for?
He figured the feelings would fade over time, but they weren’t fading nearly as fast as he would like them to.
Milo and Amanda share a quick kiss but quickly step back to join in with their friends in singing the final verse. “~And there are voices in my head, so many voices in my head! And they can yell and hurt like hell but I know I'll be fine.~”
Milo stepped forward to sing “~Still have--~”
“Voices in my head!”
“Yeah, there are--”
“Voices in my head!”
“Of the voices in my head, the loudest one is mine!” Milo pumped his fists triumphantly in the air.
Bradley, dressed in his SQUIP costume, suddenly appeared on stage, moving as if he was purposefully being dragged across the stage. “Jeremy…”
Milo defiantly sang, “~Loudest one is mine!~”
“You can't get rid of me that easily!--”
“~Loudest one is mine!~”
“Jeremyyyyy…” Bradley slumped over in defeat, having apparently ‘shut down’ so to speak.
“~Na nananana nanana na nana na!~” The curtains then slowly drew to a close, Bradley jumped up to join his friends in the final bows. “~Na nananana nanana na nana na! Na nananana nanana na nana na!~” The kids gestured very quickly between the people working in the orchestra pit and then the sound booth as everyone began to stand and applaud.
“Let's go!” Milo shouted joyfully as all the kids on stage began to dance around, successfully dodging whatever Murphy’s Law threw their way.
“~C-c-c-come on, c-c-c-come on, let's go!~” Amanda shouted cheerfully.
“~C-c-c-come on, c-c-c-come on, let's go!~” Milo echoed.
“~C-c-c-come on, c-c-c-come on, let's go! C-c-c-come on, c-c-c-come on, let's go! C-c-c-come on, c-c-c-come on, let's go! C-c-c-come on, c-c-c-come on, let's~” The whole cast sang in perfect harmony as they did one final bow, “~Go!~”
Brick smiled as Savannah gathered her purse. Her being in a wheelchair meant people gave her more room to move around in, but she still liked to be out of everyone’s way in a timely manner. As Brick pushed her wheelchair up the aisle and out the door, Savannah turned to smile at him.
“Good show.”
“Very good.” Brick agreed.
“Subject matter hit a little too close to home for me though…”
“Oh, that subject matter broke into my house and smashed my furniture.” Savannah laughed at his joke. Brick paused once they were out in the hall, enough away from the door to not hinder anyone else, he pulled out his phone and turned it back on.
“Checking for some hot new messages are we?” Savannah teased lightly.
“Just checking the time. Fancy grabbing some Red Gush before we head back to 2176?” Time travel had been reinstated roughly two weeks ago. Under heavy supervision by not only the B.O.T.T. council but also a few higher up government agents. It was by some miracle Brick and Savannah had been able to go; maybe it had something to do with the fact that Cavendish and Dakota had been staying exclusively in the 21st century, Either way, neither of the first-class-agents were not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
“Only if you throw in a bag of BBQ Corn Nuggets.”
“Seriously, BBQ?”
“It’s the supreme chip flavor.”
“That’s Buffalo-Ranch erasure and I will not stand for it.” The two laughed at the joke.
They were just starting to make their way to the exit when a man with curly auburn hair, grey temples, and brown eyes tapped Brick on the shoulder. Brick raised a brow. “Can I help you?”
“Um… yeah, I just…” The man exhaled nervously. “Brick, it’s me, Chip.” Brick and Savannah’s eyes widened in shock. They knew that Chip, for his part in Lotte’s plan, had been kicked out of the Bureau and banished to the late 20th century, but they weren’t expecting him to end up here. “Look I know I’m not supposed to talk to you and I’m breaking protocol here but I just need to know… Are we ok? Like, I know I tricked you into helping Lotte and all but still… are we ok?”
Brick looked at Chip for a second and gave a small, suppose-to-look-reassuring smile to Chip. “Yeah, no hard feelings man.”
Chip smiled, relief clear on his face. “Thank you, Brick!” He smiled at Savannah, who merely nodded, and then gave a quick wave good-bye before walking off to join what Brick and Savannah assumed were his family.
“Well, didn’t see that coming huh?” Savannah asked.
“No, no I did not.” Brick watched as Chip picked up and hugged his daughter, Lydia if Brick was remembering the playbill correctly. Then he saw as Lydia pointed over to her friends and watched as Chip shook hands with, hugged, and took pictures for Milo, Melissa, and Zack. He also caught a glimpse of Cavendish and Dakota holding hands and talking, occasionally kissing. Brick frowned, a knot in his stomach.
Savannah followed his gaze and then frowned. “You ok?”
“It still hurts.”
“I’m sorry.”
“... It hurts a little less every day.”
“That’s good.”
“... But…”
“But?”
“Still hurts.”
Savannah gave his hand a comforting squeeze. “It’ll pass, eventually. Just keep doing what your therapist told you, and you’ll pull through.”
Brick smiled back and patted her hand gently. He was grateful for how close the two had become since checking out of the hospital. It was a new, easy friendship and Brick knew without a doubt Savannah had his back now, just as much as he had hers.
“Still up for the CornNuggets and Red Gush run?”
“Don’t have to ask me twice.” Brick smiled, pushing Savannah out the door and into the cool early spring night.
–In the year 2176–
Brick sat at the bar at Buddy’s Crosstown Pub, nursing his second scotch on the rocks. It was far more lively compared to that fateful night when Chip first gave him the idea to get a TICC. But Brick still felt alone.
Upon arriving back in 2176, with CornNuggets and Red Gush in tow, Savannah invited him to her place to watch a movie, but Brick politely declined. He was happy they rekindled their friendship, but he still needed his space.
He wasn’t planning on ending up at a bar, but here he was. At least it was a Friday night and therefore more socially acceptable to be here.
Brick was just considering settling his meager bill when the bartender set a Tom Collins down in front of him. Brick raised a brow. “I didn’t order anything.”
“I know. It’s from the Carrot-Top at the end of the bar.” Brick glanced down towards the end of the bar to see a lean man with curly, carrot-colored hair and bright green eyes blushing madly and shyly waving at him.
Oh, wow , Brick thinks, cheeks heating slightly, he’s cute . Brick smiles back and raises the Tom Collins at him as if in cheers. The man’s blush deepens as he grins and shyly turns his head away. He’s really cute , he thinks with a smile.
Brick finishes off his scotch and starts working on the Tom Collins when the cute Carrot-Top finally approaches and slides into the barstool next to him. “Hi,” his voice has a slight Irish accent that makes Brick’s heart do something wonderful and funny.
“Hi,”
“My name’s Finn and, um, I hope I'm not being too forward here, but, I just really wanted to say I think you’re… you’re really cute.”
Brick felt himself flush, but he smiled nonetheless. “It’s not forward at all. You’re rather cute yourself.” Finn turned almost as red as his hair and Brick couldn’t think of a better sight to see at that moment.
Suddenly, Brick had the thought that he survived all of this. He survived the past few months and it’s crazy antics; Murphy’s Law related or otherwise. Brick figured that hey, he survived this whole mess. Maybe it’s time he focused on more than surviving.