Bogg and Kayla emerged into their dimension and landed in the midst of a riot. They looked above and saw the groups’ tiny helicopters swarming the area and dropping mini bombs onto the buildings. Alarms blasted and gangs of people ran around screaming for cover. Pandemonium rocked the streets as everyone clamored to stay alive from the attacks. When the people on Roosevelt Island saw the miasma spread over Manhattan, they panicked. The silver tanks were rolling and soldiers ran in every direction trying to find the culprits. The dome completely covered the Island and they knew it could only mean disaster.

Bogg grabbed Kayla’s hand and they ran for cover behind an overturned truck, smack into Regina and Tina.

“Hey! What’s going on! The party started without us!” Bogg shouted over the uproar. “We had to bring Jeffrey back! Where are the others?”

“Bogg! John Henry and Bernard are inside with Brian and Jeremy and Bobby are on the roof of Utopia!” Regina yelled back.

“What are they doing in there?”

“Bernard’s is trying to readjust the filter system! Phineas, the command center will be letting the miasma out any minute! We tried to hide in Brian’s tanker, but got ambushed. Take these masks!”

Her words fell on deaf ears as Bogg ran into the building. Kayla screamed out for him to come back.

“Wait! Don’t go in there! The soldiers are bombing it!”

“I have to get them, we don’t need to do this…I…Look out!”

A rocket launcher from one of the tankers was speeding toward the truck; Kayla and the others sprinted as far away as possible and the truck exploded. The women leaped and tumbled their way far from the blast. The force knocked Phineas onto the ground and he couldn’t see through the haze of fire and smoke.

“NO! Kayla! Regina! Tina!…NO!”

He ran back, the heat of the fire keeping him at a distance and then he noticed them huddled on the ground in a large patch of grass. He slid beside Kayla; she was unconscious. Bogg positioned his face over hers and began to give her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. After three long breaths, her eyes opened weakly and she coughed. Bogg cradled her and the four of them ran toward the edge of the island by the East River. He laid her down gently and kissed her.

“You have to stay here with her! Please…this whole nightmare will be over soon.” He looked at Regina gravely. “Tell me you know where the Sovereign kept the omni?”

“Umm…behind his painting in a locked safe…but I don’t know the code!”

“Don’t worry about that, I’ll get in there somehow!”

Bogg kissed Kayla again and then took off past the fires and crowds; he burst into the building and through the stairwell. He knew the elevators would not accept his handprint and he didn’t want to risk being trapped. He tried to pace himself as he raced up the stairs. He came to the top floor, greatly out of breath and kicked open the door, finding himself in a long, ornate hallway; the Sovereign’s floor had been abandoned. He made his way down the hall until he came to the giant gold encrusted doors. He forced his way inside and went straight to the painting. Billy’s image mocked him from a canvass of black velvet, his hands on his hips with a relentless, sardonic grin. Bogg grunted and tore it off the wall, and then he was met with another dilemma, the code. He tried 1984, but that was too obvious, he tried their date of graduation, but again it was wrong. He rifled through the Sovereign’s desk and found an emergency taser. He turned the power up and aimed at the lock, the electricity blew it off and the small metal door swung open. He reached inside for the omni on red velvet. When he pulled it out he gasped with anger, it was his own omni. He toyed with it for a few seconds; it had been so long since he held one. A quick memory of Jeffrey came to mind and he choked back his tears.

“That aught to give ya a pretty good idea why you’ll never touch this omni again... What am I saying? Nice to know ya kid, sorry for any inconvenience, but I work alone!”

“Aww no you don’t! You got me into this, you’re getting me out…I have school tomorrow!”

A smile passed his lips. Jeffrey never did make it back to school, and if it weren’t for him touching the omni countless times, they wouldn’t have been around for too long. Enduring his life without Jeffrey pained him greatly and working alone was no longer an option. He pocketed it with the taser and left the room to find the others.

As Bogg ran out to the stairwell he heard a loud rumbling. The doorway to the roof flew open. Bobby and Jeremy were racing for their lives down the stairs and crashed into him.

“No time Phineas, we have to move now! This building is gonna collapse!” Jeremy shouted.

“But what about the others? John Henry, Brian…. Bernard? Where are they? I found my omni! We have to go back and fix this! Forget the battle!”

“Crikey! Then let’s do that! I just got a communications from Brian; they reset the filters! C’mon.”

Without further explanations, Bobby grabbed Bogg’s arm and they all hurried down. The building was shaking, it’s structure weakened from the repeated blows to its base by Sovereign’s army. They made it out the entrance and saw John Henry practically galloping for cover with the others. The entire squadron of the command center was scrambling out from the lower levels. Utopia was shaking to its foundations and started to give way while the filters whirled to life and a noxious green gas billowed through the fans. They met the rest of the group by the riverside. Bogg sucked in his breath and adjusted the omni to the fateful date, May 23rd 1869. He held up the omni and everyone joined hands. Without a word, he hit it and they took off into the cosmos.

-O-

All eight remaining members of Pioneer landed directly onto the Brooklyn Bridge and not a moment too soon or too late. Drake was positioned over Jeffrey Jones and his thick hands clutched his neck. Jeffrey was sobbing and gasping for release. Bogg let out an enraged holler and ran into him, completely taking him off guard. Drake let go of the boy and was knocked over. The others began battling with Ted, Lewis and Dwight. Tasers and lasers created a spectacular light show for any onlookers of the new monument.

“Hot damn! Don’t damage the bridge!” John Henry shouted to his companions.

Jeffrey was hysterical crying, and Bogg realized that the bombs were still strapped to his body. Drake shoved him away and looked at him with apprehension.

“Where did you come from? You aren’t the same Phineas Bogg! What is going on here?”

“I’ve come to stop you Drake, you…you killed my Jeffrey!” Bogg gritted his teeth in fury and tackled him to the edge, his hands reaching for his throat. John Henry ran toward him and undid the bombs from the boy.

“No Phineas! Remember how it all started! Don’t do it! It’s over! It’s…”

The battle of the others stopped and Phineas, John Henry and Regina’s counter parts just made it to the bridge. Bogg glared at Drake, his eyes filled with hot rage. He yanked at his collar and brought him from over the rail. Bobby let go of Lewis and tossed him to the ground. A remarkable feeling came over all of them.

“We did it! It’s over…we’ve changed history!”

John-Henry ran to Regina and they held each other for the last time.

“Phineas! I love you!” Kayla cried out. Both versions turned toward her and Bogg smiled. “I love you too!”

They all cheered and in a flash of an eye, the Pioneers of Utopia vanished from existence.

The trio could only watch in amazement and Phineas valiantly tried to take hold of for her, but it was too late. Bogg slapped Drake to the floor, he was out cold.

“Don’t ever let this villain get away!” He ran to Jeffrey and stroked his tear stained face, kissing his cheek on a whim.

“I did it buddy! I changed it. We all changed it! Jeffrey, I love you, don’t worry about a thing!”

The boy looked at him strangely, but gave him a tiny grin. “Thanks…Bogg…wait...don’t leave me!” He rasped weakly.

The other Phineas ran to them and Bogg placed Jeffrey in his arms. “I’m not going to leave you, never. Take good care of Jeffrey, control that temper and go back and tell Kayla how much you love her…I’ll handle these!”

“Of course…but wait! Wait…what’s going on here? Are you from the future?” He demanded mystified.

“I would have been you, from an unimaginable future…but now it’s safe, keep it that way and never let Paradox win the battle!”

With five seconds left on the bombs, Bogg grabbed them. The danger that he would kill Drake had passed and Jeffrey lived. Bogg faded away, securing life and the stream of time for his dimension.

“Councilman Garth, Councilman Brendall, Councilman Kane, Members of the Voyager Board, fellow Voyagers, friends and family, good evening and welcome to the Voyager Class of 2010 Graduation Ceremony.

Today marks a day of new beginnings, it is the start of our lifelong career into the cosmos. It is a career that by all means is unique and lends itself to being one of the most rewarding and lifesaving vocations in the universe. Today is the day, my fellow graduates, that we become true Voyagers!”

Eighteen year-old, valedictorian Jeffrey Jones stopped short his speech as the grand auditorium erupted into loud applause and cheers. His dark eyes scanned the first row and he beamed at his family. When the commotion settled down a tiny voice was heard above all.

“Jeffy! Jeffy! That’s my brother Jeffy! He’s a Voyager! Yay for Jeffy! Yay for dead Drake!!”

Everyone laughed and Phineas closed his eyes, turning deep scarlet. Kayla hung her head, embarrassed. He looked back to the rest of the audience with a self-conscious chuckle.

“Umm, kids say the darndest things, don’t they?” He bellowed.

“Daddy! Shhhh! Jeffy’s making a speech!”

The audience laughed again. No one was going to rebuke the little one’s announcement, not after all the trouble Voyager Drake and his vicious group of renegades had caused for the Bogg family in the foregoing years.

Phineas lovingly whispered into the ear of his son to settle down and watch what he says. Four-year old Logan Phineas Bogg was bursting with excitement all day for this event. He had finally decided to actually sit on his father’s lap after running and crawling through the aisles, forcing Phineas to chase him everywhere. Kayla leaned over as far as she could, her protruding belly stopping her halfway. She was due next month with a baby girl they decided to name, Joanna Cynthia Bogg. She smoothed down her son’s dark blonde curls and kissed his cheek.

“Logan, remember it’s quiet time now, Jeffrey wants to finish.”

She looked back at Jeffrey and nodded for him to continue. Jeffrey couldn’t stop smiling at his family, but resumed.

“As Voyagers, we are supporting a great cause, the cause of saving humanity and keeping the time line of our universe from going askew. We well know the vast dangers and hardships that occur when history is brought out of line. Being a Voyager carries a weighty responsibility and our Class has proven that we can meet it, and deal successfully with the commission that was granted us. The Voyager Council plucked us out of time for a reason and gave us all a new lease on our existence. As graduates into this vast field, we should deem this a privilege, perhaps one of the greatest ones we’ll ever have.

On a personal note, I know I have been extremely fortunate, starting my Voyaging earlier than most, but…”

Jeffrey’s voice choked up as he looked out across the sea of faces and then settled his gaze on one.

“Umm…I…I never would have made it if it wasn’t for the strength, bravery, loyalty…deep commitment and love of one Voyager…my…my…father…Phineas Bogg.”

Jeffrey glanced at Phineas and the older Voyager’s eyes illuminated with pride and happiness. The audience once again broke out in thunderous roars of clapping and whistling. Nobody could deny the impact Phineas Bogg had over the entire organization. His devotion to the cause had implemented many positive changes in the structure of Headquarters and there was still much more to be done. Phineas Bogg had gone from grumbling, young field worker to a tireless champion for the rights and stability of humanity as it related to Voyagers and their missions. His youthful enthusiasm and confident spirit raised the bar for all future Voyagers and set the prime example to follow.

Logan held Phineas’ face and stared at him with round eyes, a deep blue with flecks of golden brown.

“Don’t cry daddy, don’t cry! Don’t be sad!” His little face crumpled in grief too and Phineas held him close to his chest. He needed something to cling to at that moment or he would have broke down. Kayla clutched his hand and squeezed it tight. They never regretted adopting Jeffrey as their own son five years ago.

“No…Logan, it’s okay…I’m not sad! I’m happy! These are happy tears!”

“You mean…you mean…not…not like when…I get...a boo-boo?” He asked in sniffles.

Phineas snuggled his face in his son’s hair. “Right, not like when you get a boo-boo.”

Jeffrey concluded his speech. “A Voyager’s got to have spirit, so when everybody’s telling you your wrong you got the courage to fight back, and a Voyager’s got to be able to make people take a new look at a situation, to give people the confidence to take that one extra chance. As we go on our separate ways, always think of the interesting people out there who really need our help. Sometimes you got to bite the bullet, because time waits for no man, thank you!”

Jeffrey was taken aback from the standing ovation as he took his place with his fellow graduates. They all patted him and hugged him for the great speech. He caught Phineas’ eye and gave him a thumbs up. Jeffrey couldn’t think of any better way to end his address than with inspired words from Phineas himself. After the ceremonies, everyone gathered together outside to meet and greet one another. Logan ran straight into Jeffrey’s arms and gave him an enormous hug.

“I like the speech! I want to give one too!”

“Oh you will one day, don’t worry kid. I could just see you now.”

Logan loved to talk and Jeffrey heard Phineas’ bass tone already developing in the handsome child’s voice. He put him down and hugged Kayla as best he could.

“I was worried about you up there, I was glad you didn’t have another false alarm.”

“I know, this little girl wants out, impatient, just like her father!” She nudged Phineas in the ribs. “Jeffrey, I can’t tell you how proud we are, that was a beautiful speech. I know I bugged you to go over it with me, but I’m so glad you didn’t.”

“Yep, it was great, short and to the point!” Phineas joked.

Jeffrey rolled his eyes. “Hey, I know how you get at these things. Remember the time Joseph was giving his annual human rights discourse? We couldn’t figure out who was snoring for almost a half-hour. I should have known it was you!”

The family laughed and Kayla took Logan’s hand. “C’mon big man, let’s get back to the complex and get dinner finished, I made yours and Jeffrey’s favorite, Italian food! And we have all our friends from Pioneer coming!”

Logan clapped happily and danced around. “Goody, goody, goody! John Henry will bring Jezelle and Scott!” He loved to play with his twin cousins; they were only a year apart.

“And…and…and…I want baked ziti! Mangia, mangia! Hai fame? Ho fame!”

Phineas looked at Kayla in startled amusement. She kept laughing as they strolled away.

“Don’t look at me! You know he adores Vinchenzo, and what else does he talk about but eating? Are you hungry? I’m hungry!”

-O-

Phineas and Jeffrey took a walk to the lakeside and skipped a few stones. Phineas was burning inside with both joy and trepidation.

“Jeff…when they handed you that guidebook and new omni I just wanted to fall to pieces. It’s the official start of your life as a Voyager, but it’s also the end of an era, isn’t it?”

Jeffrey’s eyes welled up with tears, all the sensitivity he had as a boy, was never too far-gone now that he was an adult.

“I guess you’re right. The end of PB and J…you know, I’m…I can’t even believe I’m saying this, but I’m actually scared. When we traveled together and got separated through the years, I always knew that you right there with me. I knew that you would find me, and everything would be okay. Now…it’s just going to be me out there. Can I really handle this?”

Phineas put his arm around his shoulders. Jeffrey was practically head to head with him.

“Jeffrey, trust me when I say that I know you can handle anything, anything. You got the right stuff for this job, don’t ever lose sight of that. It’s a great fortune to have some passion in life and urgency in direction; it makes our whole being so much fuller. I would never trade being a Voyager for anything now, not after all we’ve been through and accomplished. And hey, who says I’m not always going to be with you? We may not be partners anymore, but whenever you need me, I’m there. I’ll never leave you in the lurch…I love you, son.”

Jeffrey’s heart filled with confidence and he wiped his eyes. One day, these little moments between them wouldn’t make him cry, but he didn’t know when that would be. He gave Phineas his big, lopsided grin.

“Thanks, I don’t doubt that you would be there, I just know it’s going to be real different not having you around, beside me. That’s going to take a lot of getting used to.”

“And you will get used to it! Remember, life goes on and we have to take the good with the bad. It’s time for you to prove yourself without me… which you’ve already done hundreds of times. I don’t need anymore proof that Jeffrey Jones is one heck of a kid...sorry; I mean…man…and one great Voyager! C’mon on Jeff, let’s get back home, I’m starving.”

Phineas didn’t want Jeffrey to see him fully cry. He hurried down the path to the complex and Jeffrey tugged his arm, giving him a firm hug.

“You’ll never quit it with the hearts and flowers, will you?” Phineas joked through his tears.

“No way, being motivated by love is what keeps us being the best Voyagers we can be, Kayla told me that.”

“Well, you know she’s always right.”

“Yeah, I know, and don’t you forget, I love you too…dad.”

The End