#but then i heard about the female cast getting tossed to the wayside

[alteredphoenix]

The more I read about JJK flooring the gas pedal and any% speedrunning its way to ending this year, the more I lose my confidence in rereading it again.

[themurphyzone]

All Time Travelers Go To Heaven Ch 5

And hiatus is over! Thanks for being patient everyone! Missing Milo was great! I had to tweak this chapter a little because I think my original plan casted Vinnie to the wayside. 

Ch 5- Reunion

“-can’t let him go anywhere by himself. You were assigned a fool for a partner, Dakota,” a female voice quipped from somewhere. 

A fool? Who was she calling a fool? Balthazar opened his mouth for a scathing retort, but something caught in his throat. He gagged on it, the taste of salt filling his mouth and overpowering his other senses. 

“He’s coming to!” a familiar voice cried out. “Make sure he gets all that water out!” 

Balthazar coughed as someone roughly pushed him into a sitting position, one hand clamping firmly on a shoulder to keep him still, then began roughly thumping his back. Water splattered everywhere, though it didn’t matter if he got it on his clothes. They were soaked through completely, weighing him down and making it hard to move. 

His eyes fluttered open, his vision hazy and unfocused. A red and yellow blur moved in his peripheral vision, slowly approaching him. Balthazar flinched and instinctively moved back, only to bump into what felt like a broad chest. The blur paused in front of him, then suddenly two warm arms pulled him into an embrace. 

He’d never registered how cold it was until he could feel the contrast against this body. Shivering, Balthazar burrowed deeper. His brain screamed at him to stop acting like a child seeking their mother. Professionals didn’t behave like this. 

But he was cold. And this was warm. Even if warm meant smelling peanut butter breath. It was a strange, but not unpleasant, change of pace from the salty scent of the ocean. 

“I thought you were dead,” a raspy voice whispered, so soft Balthazar almost didn’t hear it. 

“Sorry,” Balthazar choked. “For making you worry.” 

“We need to talk. Later,” Vinnie said. “But first, you need to get out of those clothes. Can you stand?”

Balthazar struggled to push himself up, then shook his head. “Savannah’s getting the limo seat to extend out here so we don’t have to ruin our clothes dragging you in,” someone said curtly. 

“Brick?” Balthazar asked in surprise. “What are you doing here?” 

“I could ask you the same question,” Brick replied. “You’re lucky we had the proper equipment to drag you out of the bay.” 

“Everything is a little blurry,” Balthazar complained. 

Vinnie tightened his hold, his fingers massaging Balthazar’s back gently. All the tension he carried in his shoulders dissipated. “You lost your glasses and hat out there. We’ll grab your spare from the apartment.” 

“The limo seat is ready. We’ll have to help him on,” Brick announced. His grip on Balthazar’s arm wasn’t nearly as gentle as Vinnie’s, and he hissed in pain. After what felt like an eternity, they managed to drag Balthazar onto the limo seat. Balthazar gripped the cushion as the seat retracted into a proper position. There was a small thud as Vinnie clambered in. 

“The red button will supply you a change of clothes and a blanket,” Brick explained. “Push it once, but after that you are not to touch anything else. We’ll be travelling forward to the 21st century, to your apartment. In return, we’ll offer you a mission that our circumstances prevent us from handling.”

“A mission?” Balthazar said, surprised that Brick and Savannah were acting oddly cordial. There was an ulterior motive somewhere. 

Brick heaved a sigh. “Doesn’t skip a beat, does he?” 

“Afraid not,” Vinnie replied. “We’re ready now.” 

“It’ll be half an hour before we get there,” Brick said. “Your address, if you will.” 

Vinnie supplied the correct coordinates for the dingy room in the strip mall. The door locked with a small click, and Brick slid into the shotgun seat. 

The limo gave a small lurch as they were pulled into an open portal. “Sweet. We’re in the timestream now,” Vinnie said. “When do you want those dry clothes?” 

“Preferably now,” Balthazar said, looking over the buttons on the control panel. Without his glasses, he couldn’t tell which button was red since they were all positioned close together. He didn’t want to push one and risk being flung into the timestream without an anchor. 

Vinnie leaned over and pushed the button for him. A panel slid open, revealing a dress shirt and slacks. Next to the pile of clothes were a pair of shoes. “Do you mind?” Balthazar grunted as he tugged off his tailcoat. 

“Right, sorry,” Vinnie shifted in his seat so that his back faced Balthazar. “I know how much you like your privacy.”

A flash of gold drew Balthazar’s attention as he removed his vest. Curious, he grabbed it. 

A pocket watch. 

With a green strap. 

The one he’d stolen from heaven. 

Balthazar opened it.  Several drops of water splashed on his pants, but it didn’t matter. The fabric was soaked through anyway. The time didn’t matter to him. Time streams always messed with non-digital clocks, so it was likely inaccurate.

You can never come back.... 

Balthazar jumped, almost dropping the watch. He looked over at Vinnie, who had opened a bag of chips and was eating them three at a time. Maybe Vinnie hadn’t heard that voice. 

You can never come back....

He snapped it shut. He didn’t know if anyone else could hear the voice, but he wasn’t going to risk it. Wonderful. Now he was stuck with a watch that was useless for telling time and only gave cryptic messages. 

Balthazar set the watch aside while he changed clothes, glancing over at Vinnie every now and then to make sure he wasn’t peeking. He was grateful that Vinnie understood his need for privacy while undressing. 

Sometimes he wished that he didn’t get so flustered every time he saw Vinnie change clothes. The bathroom in their tiny apartment lacked a proper place to put clean clothes while showering, and the closet was too small to do it comfortably. So Balthazar had sectioned off a corner with a curtain, stuck a chair and mirror on the inside, and used that space to change. 

Vinnie never used it though, much to Balthazar’s frustration. 

He tucked the watch inside the dress shirt, making sure the strap was hidden completely. How Brick and Savannah had clothes in his size, he would never know. Perhaps Vinnie told them. 

“I’m finished,” Balthazar said. Vinnie turned around, throwing the empty chip bag on the seat next to him. 

“Anything you have to say for yourself?” Vinnie asked, crossing his arms. Balthazar couldn’t tell if he was angry, disappointed, or a mixture of both. 

Balthazar studied the floor of the limo. Two words was all it took. It was odd. He could rant forever and a day about how he never got any recognition. But the simple things lodged in his throat, unable to come out. Maybe a change in subject was in order. 

“How did you find me?” he asked. 

Vinnie leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees. He didn’t meet Balthazar’s eyes. His hands curled into a ball. “You ran into Savannah in the hallway, and dropped a photo of the Golden Gate Bridge. She suspected something, and asked if I knew anything about 1962. Let me tell ya, her boots are real sharp. And I was scared. Really scared you were gonna do something rash. So I asked if we could join up to tail you. You had the Temporal Transporter, and our vehicle was in the shop, so I had no proper equipment to do it myself.”

Balthazar swallowed. There was no way Savannah and Brick would offer to help without repayment of some kind. 

“Then the Bureau was put on alert. A mission file was stolen, and an ion trail was traced back to 1962 within a few minutes. Then they declared you a rogue, and ordered all the agents to scour the time periods for you. We met Brick at the limo and traveled to the date on the photograph. We arrived in time to see Block and that other guy thrashing you.”

Balthazar placed a hand on his back. He wasn’t good at offering comfort. This was the best he could do. 

“And then they dropped you. I was screaming,” Vinnie whispered. “I was prepared to go after you, but Savannah knocked me down and held me there. She said one idiot was enough for her to deal with. We saw them. They killed you, Balthy. When Brick dragged you out of the ocean, you didn’t...you didn’t, but it was true, you didn’t-”

Vinnie removed his glasses, wiping away the tears with his undershirt. “I didn’t what?” Balthazar asked. 

“-have a pulse,” Vinnie choked, gasping for air. He still wouldn’t meet Balthazar’s eyes. “You were dead. Dead! Our boss killed you! I should’ve done better. Should’ve been there.”

“Dakota,” Balthazar intertwined his fingers with his partner’s. “It wasn’t your fault. I don’t want to hear another word from you about that. You said that Savannah and Brick were going to offer us another mission. We can still save the world.”

“Balthy, I wish I could trust you, but after that-”

Balthazar found a handkerchief in a pocket of the slacks, and gently dabbed at his eyes, tilting Vinnie’s chin up. He wanted to be sure the tears were all gone. “No more crying,” he said firmly. “I don’t want Savannah and Brick getting onto us about making a mess in the back.” 

Vinnie chuckled a little at that. “They would be really mad.” 

The limo exited the timestream and parked in an empty space of the strip mall. Since the strip mall was closed for the night, the lot was deserted. Vinnie opened the door, stretching.

“Do you have your Transporter?” Savannah asked. She leaned against the hood of the limo casually, as if she was asking about the weather. 

Balthazar rolled his eyes. She certainly cut to the chase. “No, I do not. It’s probably at the bottom of the ocean now.” 

“Possible contamination in 1962,” Savannah declared to Brick. “Make a note of that.”

Brick reached inside his tuxedo, and tossed another Transporter to Balthazar. “We’ll talk inside. I don’t want to risk being overheard.”

Vinnie had the key in his jacket pocket, thankfully. Balthazar did not want to rouse Mr. Thompson from his sleep and listen to another war story, as he did whenever he finally had the rent. 

Balthazar grabbed his spare glasses off the desk and put them on, his vision clearing up. There. Much better. 

“This is where you live?” Savannah asked, pointedly avoiding a discarded sock. 

“Not my first choice, but it’s where we were assigned,” Balthazar shrugged. “Not that I’m complaining, but why did you give us this Transporter?” 

“Because as a rogue agent, you need one that can’t be traced,” Brick said. “I have connections in the Communications Department. That’s how I received that one.”

“New question, if I’m rogue, then explain why you’re helping us,” Balthazar said. “I can’t help but be suspicious.”

Savannah smirked. “As elite agents, we can’t take this case. You, as the bottom feeders of the Bureau, would draw less attention.” 

Vinnie gave his hand a squeeze before Balthazar could lose his temper. “Sounds like you’re asking for a lot.”

“We are,” Brick pulled out a red folder, the type that was used by the Science and Tech teams. “This is a profile for the Jinx. You can look at all the tests and missions done on him on your own time, but we’re here to give you a brief rundown.”

Balthazar took the folder and opened it. A photograph of a young boy clutching a backpack was splattered across the first page, along with a bolded title, ‘Murphy’s Law: Causes and Prevention.’”

“Aw, that kid’s pretty cute,” Vinnie commented. 

“Don’t be fooled by his innocent demeanor,” Savannah warned. “He was stolen from the hospital shortly after birth and has resided in HQ for his entire life. Block believed that the Jinx′s condition, EHML, or Extreme Hereditary Murphy’s Law, could put the world in danger and ordered him locked away. The boy is the indirect reason so many scientists were taken to the infirmary.”

Balthazar raised an eyebrow. “And where do we factor in?” 

“Get the kid out of there,” Brick replied. “Given that Block almost murdered you with the claim of you bringing down the agency with your incompetence, and how he ordered the kid’s isolation with the exception of certain missions, we believe he’s up to something. Our job is to investigate him, yours is to look after the kid.”

“And why do we get stuck with the nannying job?” Balthazar complained. 

Vinnie held up his hands to placate him. “Think about it. We’re saving the world from Mr. Block. And this is a two part job.”

He had a point. They wouldn’t be able to investigate a superior and look after a child at the same time. 

“Very well. Given my new status as a rogue, however, we can’t exactly show up at HQ without being noticed,” Balthazar said. 

“For once, you’re correct,” Savannah said. “But tomorrow at three in the afternoon, the Science and Tech Department will be conducting an experiment in 1921. They’ll be replicating the Little Albert experiment on the Jinx, but presumably with more dangerous stimuli. Since there won’t be agents there, it would be the perfect opportunity to escape with him.”

That poor child had been caught in the crossfire. Balthazar supposed he didn’t have to start with a grand accomplishment. Saving a child was the first step to the bigger picture. 

Saving the world. 

“They might as well declare me an accomplice,” Vinnie declared. “We’re partners, Balthy. And I promise I’ll have your back this time.”

It wasn’t Vinnie’s fault though. Balthazar didn’t understand why Vinnie insisted on blaming himself so much. 

“We’ll do it,” Balthazar said, offering a hand to Brick. They shook firmly. 

“Then get some sleep, boys,” Savannah said as she and Brick exited the apartment. “You’ve got a big day ahead of you tomorrow.”