Carefully lowering the dropper to the mouth of the test tube, Bubbles peered cautiously into the side as she added a single drop to the contents. The green liquid in the tube changed to a deep red-orange color and started to fizz. Excitedly, Bubbles called over her shoulder to Bulba, saying, "I think I've got it this time! It's actually working!"

Standing back upright, she looked across the equipment strewn across the table. It had taken her forever to scrounge up enough unbroken equipment and unspoiled chemicals from several cities before she had enough to build this little lab of hers. The table sat inside the greenhouse, up against one of the sides, so that she could be near all of her books, not to mention Bulba and some of the other flowers.

It took me two years, she thought, but I've finally got it! I bet it'd only take me a fraction of the time to duplicate a formula now! She put the test tube down carefully in a rack, next to another one containing a similar formula. There was very little bit of that formula left, but now, she had a way to make as much of it as she needed.

When that alien vessel exploded two years back, she searched through the debris, looking for anything useful that she might be able to salvage. Any useful technology was destroyed, but she did find a container that was intact, and the seal was strong on it. After breaking it open, she found its contents: some kind of fuel. She surmised from the markings on the container that it was probably used to power smaller devices on the ship, like a liquid battery.

It was rich in energy, that much was certain. A single drop of it managed to power the Time Portal for a second, a feat which required many standard power cells from Earth. There wasn't very much of it…she had been studying up on her chemistry, so she decided to try to figure out a way to duplicate the formula in order to make more. It wasn't easy; all of her first attempts resulted in something that looked and acted similarly, but contained no energy.

She finally found the key to its power. It had to be created a certain way, such that the energy released during the bonding process was trapped within the molecules themselves. It had worked, and she found herself another major step closer towards her goal. Powering the Time Portal would be no problem now…she just had to redesign its system, and she was all set. That, however, would be the biggest job. Despite everything she learned, the portal's inner workings and functionality were still a complete mystery to her…she couldn't even fathom how it worked.

I'll figure it out, though, she thought. I've got all the time in the world.

This whole situation had strengthened her knowledge of chemistry. She knew enough about chemical research now that she felt she could duplicate any formula she could get her hands on. If she was able to duplicate an alien formula, anything indigenous to Earth shouldn't be a problem. Not that I have anything to duplicate, she thought. It's hard enough to find chemicals around here…and there's nothing I really need…

Another thought came to mind…What if I could get my hands on some Chemical X? If I could duplicate that, I'd…I'd be able to make more life! But all the Chemical X was destroyed…there's none left. And there's nowhere to find more. She rubbed her arm…she had been working for hours today, and needed to just forget about chemistry for a while and relax…her muscles were getting sore, and…

She suddenly had an idea. Examining her arm where she rubbed it, she thought, Wait…wait, I have all the Chemical X I need to make more, in my own cells! I only need a little bit, not too much! Just a drop of blood or something, and I can extract the Chemical X for study!

Extracting it would be the problem, though…a regular needle couldn't penetrate her skin. She had Duranium, but it was still in the form of those swords, which seemed kind of dangerous to her. Thinking quickly, she tried something else…she simply bit her tongue a little on the edge…not too hard, just enough to break the skin a little. Wincing in slight pain, she carefully lifted a slide and squeezed just a few little drops of blood out from her tongue onto it.

"I'm fine, Bulba, it'll heal," she said, carefully setting the slide down on the table. She began examining it with her equipment, and thought, All right, Chemical X…show me your secrets…

* * *

"Eureka!"

Bubbles always wanted to say that, and she figured this was as good a time as any. The Chemical X was surprisingly easy to isolate and extract, and even easier to duplicate. Perhaps this was only because she had been working for years on a much more complicated formula that wasn't even from this planet, but this one seemed like a breeze in comparison. Only a week's work yielded the results she was hoping for.

Lifting the test tube in front of her, she smiled as she examined the black liquid inside. "If I'm right," she said aloud, "this should be Chemical X! Or something similar at the very least. Well, there's only one way to find out…but before I do, I'd better have a backup plan…"

She worked with the chemicals some more…barely an hour later, she had developed something else she needed: Antidote X. This surprised her even more than her speed at duplicating Chemical X. After all, the professor had told her once that Antidote X took a whole day to make. She wondered what this meant…perhaps she had surpassed the professor's knowledge of chemistry?

Now, with both the chemical and its antidote, she was ready. She walked over to a bowl nearby and looked down at its contents. It made her very nervous, though…after all, this was the only set of components that she had been able to find in its entirety. Blossom's were too far scattered to find again, half of Buttercup's was still missing, and Butch's were completely disintegrated. Boomer had never broken down, so it was impossible to revive him, but Brick…

She looked down at the snips, snails, and puppy dog tail in the bowl, and closed her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes again and reached out very slowly, adding Chemical X to the mix. No turning back now! she thought. Just be ready with the Antidote X! She backed up quickly, clutching the needed test tube to her chest and waiting.

There was nothing at first, and she was beginning to wonder if maybe the Chemical X didn't work…but then, the bowl shook slightly, and then erupted in a bright flash of light. Bubbles shielded her eyes, as the glow slowly faded, and she tightened her grip around the test tube, ready to throw it.

A figure came into view finally, hovering above the bowl. It was Brick, all right…he was still his younger self, complete with his red shirt and cap, not older like Bubbles had become. Brick blinked his eyes a couple of times, but before he could do anything else, a wave of Antidote X splashed across him. He shut his eyes for a second, holding his arms up in front of him protectively a little too late…in the next instant, he fell the short distance, landing in the now empty bowl.

Bubbles had mixed feelings…on one hand, she was almost giddy with excitement over seeing someone else alive, but on the other hand, she felt her anger rising, seeing one of the ones responsible for the whole mess in the first place. She composed herself as she drifted over to the table and looked down at Brick. He couldn't really fit in the bowl now, so his arms and legs were hanging over the edges of it. He wiped the Antidote X from his face, sputtering, "Wha…ptthh…what the…"

"Brick?" Bubbles asked softly. She was trembling a little…it had been two years since she saw another sentient being, and eight years since she had really spoken to someone from Earth before, way back during her little excursion through the time portal.

Brick blinked and looked up. He looked confused and lost, but a second later, he tensed up and clenched his eyes shut again, gripping his neck with both hands. He gasped for air, and Bubbles thought, His memory's coming back…I hope he'll be all right… Brick finally relaxed after a few moments…he was able to breathe again, but he still breathed heavily, and very slowly opened his eyes again.

Bubbles hoped for the best, and said, "Do you know who you are?"

"I…" Brick said. "Yes, I'm…Brick…I remember now…oh…no…"

"What?" Bubbles asked.

Brick bit his lip and tried to keep from crying as he said, "I remember it all…I remember everything I did…all the killing and…and…but I know now it was wrong…I can see it all now…"

"It's the Antidote X," Bubbles explained. "It cleared the blocks on your memory, and allowed you to see the good of life once again. Are you okay?"

Brick sat up, rubbing his head, "I'll be fine…I think…I just can't believe…that I did all that…" He finally looked up at Bubbles again and said, "You, you're…Bubbles?"

Bubbles nodded, "That's right…I know, I look different now…"

"Heck yeah, you do!" Brick said, rubbing his eyes a little. "You're older! How long was I…was I dead?"

Bubbles sighed and thought, I might as well tell him. "That was about nine years ago."

"Nine years?" Brick exclaimed. "And someone's just getting around to reviving me now? What was the delay?"

"Um, well…" she said, looking out of the windows of the greenhouse, "You see…"

Brick followed her gaze and finally noticed where they were. In a low voice, he asked, "Is…is that Townsville?…" When Bubbles nodded, Brick figured it out all too quickly. Try as he might, he couldn't prevent the tears that formed in his eyes this time as he asked, "B-…Boomer a-activated Mojo's device…d-didn't he?"

Bubbles was starting to tear up as well, seeing Brick's reaction to what happened. She managed to say, "Y-yes…and it worked…except for me, and one flower…that's all that survived…"

Brick was speechless for a moment, then whispered, "…I'm…so s-sorry…" He broke out crying, and Bubbles put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Brick was in obvious remorse over what he helped do, and Bubbles felt the little bit of anger that was left fade away…

* * *

It took some time, but Bubbles explained to Brick everything that happened during the previous nine years. She told him about Bulba, about everything they went through, about the Time Portal…everything. Brick listened intently the whole time, shocked almost beyond belief. "Oh man…" he said, "…this must have been a nightmare for you…I don't even know what to say…"

"You know," Bubbles said, looking down at Brick, "Over the years, I've felt so angry at you and Boomer…angry for having built that machine, for activating it…I've imagined doing some terrible things to you two, if I ever saw you again. But…now, seeing you back to normal, in remorse for what you did, I just couldn't do that. I can see that you were just misguided…like my sisters. You would never have done such a terrible thing if you were able to truly think clearly about it."

Brick hung his head, "That still doesn't change anything…I did it, and now I gotta live with the fact that I helped kill everyone…" He brightened slightly and said, "But you said you were working on that time machine thing…any luck with it?"

"Well," Bubbles said, looking over at where the Time Portal was sitting, "I managed to find a suitable power source. I still need to change how it operates, though, and that could take a while…"

"Months?" Brick asked.

Bubbles shook her head, "More like years. I still don't know nearly enough to even begin tampering with it, without risk of ruining it somehow."

"Oh," Brick said. "Well, do you need any help with it?"

"Sure, but I'm not sure what you could do…" Bubbles said, but then looked over her shoulder at Bulba, "Hm? Oh, that's a good idea, you're right…"

Brick narrowed one of his eyes in confusion, "Who are you talking to?"

"Bulba, of course," Bubbles said. "Bulba says that you could always just help take care of all the flowers…that would give me more time to study."

Casting a sidelong glance at the flower, he said, "Bulba said all that?"

"Mm-hm," Bubbles nodded, then looked at Bulba again, "Oh, he can't hear you can he? I'm sorry, I should have realized that…you have to be able to understand their language."

"Ooookayyy…" Brick said slowly, not quite following. "Well, I'll help out however I can. What do I have to do?"

* * *

Bubbles studied the electronics book in front of her intently, stopping for a moment to take a sip of water from the thermos next to her. As she did, she looked up through the glass of the greenhouse to watch Brick in the distance. He was flying over with a watering can and watering one of the distant patches of flowers. Bubbles had given him a shot of the Chemical X to give him his powers back, so that his job would be easier.

She smiled…this was working out great. Thanks to Brick's help, she had been very productive in the past ten days on her studies. If this kept up, she'd have the Time Portal fixed in no time. Plus, it was great to have someone else to talk to, even if Brick really didn't have much to talk about. He mostly listened to Bubbles talk…that was enough for her, though.

Brick returned to the greenhouse, setting down the watering can and asking, "How's it going, Bubbles?"

"Not bad," Bubbles replied. "How about you?"

"Pretty good," Brick said. "I took care of the flowers on the north and east sides. I can do the south and west sides after lunch, 'k?"

Bubbles nodded in agreement, and added, "You're doing a great job, Brick! You're making this so much easier on me…"

Brick grinned and said, "Aw, it's nothin'…" He flew over to the supplies to find something for lunch. "I'm gonna fix myself a sandwich, oka—" He interrupted his own statement with a cough.

"You all right?" Bubbles asked.

"I'm fine, it's just kinda dry out there…" he said, waving it off. He started to prepare a sandwich, but was interrupted by some more coughs. He stopped everything else and doubled over, coughing loudly.

Concerned, Bubbles got up from where she was studying and flew over, asking, "Brick? Are you okay?!"

He could barely answer, managing to squeeze out, "I…*cough*…I don't fee— …*cough* *cough*…" Suddenly, he clutched his chest and collapsed on the ground. Bubbles was shocked, but scooped him up quickly and flew him over to some blankets, lying him down. Brick lay quietly, shivering.

What's wrong with him? Bubbles thought. Oh no…it's not the radiation, is it? No, it can't be, it's all clear now thanks to the flowers… She scooped up the Geiger counter and took a reading anyway. The radiation level were all normal.

"I…f…feel…c-cold…" Brick stammered, through his shivering teeth.

Bubbles wrapped a blanket around him and said, "Hang on, I'll find out what's wrong with you…" She glanced over at the table with all her chemicals and thought, Maybe that shot of Chemical X I gave him to give his powers back was only temporary…maybe it's some kind of withdrawal as it wears off…

She spotted something amiss, though…the vial that had contained the Chemical X now contained some clear, oily liquid instead. She got up and went over to inspect it more closely. There was still some black liquid at the bottom, but it was slowly turning into the oily liquid. It's unstable, she thought. I saw this before once, a long time ago. Fresh Chemical X will last nearly forever, but once its been used and separated, it slowly breaks down. The sample I took from my blood must have become unstable once it left me, so my duplication of it is unstable too…but that means…

Looking back at Brick, he looked in bad shape…she quickly flew over to his side again. Brick squinted up at her and coughed, "I…I'm gonna…die, aren't…I?" Bubbles said nothing, but her look told him everything. He closed his eyes and said, "It's okay…I just…wan'…rest a little…"

"Brick, hold on…" Bubbles said, fighting a tear.

"Bubbles…" he wheezed softly. She had to lean down to hear him better as he whispered, "…just…finish…the time…thing….don’t care…if it means I…never come back…to life…" He paused and added, "…life of…the world…more important…do it…please?"

Holding his hands firmly, Bubbles nodded and said back, "I will…I promise…"

Brick smiled, and a moment later his skin started to glow, as the Chemical X in his body started to break down faster. He managed to say, "…g'bye…" before the glow grew too bright to see him anymore. Bubbles shut her eyes, feeling the little ruff break down in her hands, into his snips, snails, and puppy dog tail.

That was it, she thought, wiping the tears from her eyes. The last person I'll ever see until I get the Time Portal working again. He was truly changed…and if such a person can change and learn from their mistakes, then there really is hope for the world. I need to finish the portal so that I can make my own changes now. It is more than my duty, more than what is right…it's also a promise.