The adrenaline still ran high as the student time vehicle returned to the future. Balthazar was practically giddy, a feeling he only ever showed in the privacy of his home, usually while watching Adventure-Inator. His honey blonde bangs hung in his turquoise eyes, but he did not care that his immaculate appearance was ruined.

"That was so awesome!" the man in the driver's seat laughed, dusting off his bomber jacket and readjusting his orange glasses. "That time gear thing? Great idea! Never would have thought of that!"

"Well your driving skills are top notch, my good man!" Balthazar complimented the brunette beside him. "I've never driven on water before! And the way you just swerved us up on the ramp and the flip and yet we still landed perfectly? Incredible!"

"Yeah, but you remembering the stuff in that stupid rulebook really saved those kids." The brunette said.

"I must admit I'm impressed by how quickly you leapt into action to save them." Balthazar said.

"Thanks." The brunette parked the student time vehicle in a secluded lot near the Bureau of Time Travel, where he and his partner-in-crime could sneak back into the building without being noticed. For a high-level government building, they somehow overlooked that one carpark that didn't have a working security camera. The brunette reached into the backseat and grabbed the takeout bag with his burritos. "Kind of reminded me of this one episode of Adventure-Inator I saw."

"Oh! You mean the one where Professor Time is chasing after the kidnapped princess of Egypt and he has to drive on the water of the Nile?" Balthazar bounced in his seat. "You watch Adventure-Inator, too?"

"Sure. A device that takes you to a new adventure in history every day?" the brunette shrugged. "So thrilling."

"I realize it's a fictional dramatization of the great Professor Time, but it's my favorite series!" Balthazar said.

"Ah, a Professor Time nerd, huh?" the brunette chuckled.

"He is my idol! I have seen every episode of Adventure-Inator, read every biography and memoir on him, and I am an avid collector of his memorabilia! Someday, I'm going to be a great time traveler, just like Professor Time!" Balthazar suddenly gasped, his face going pale. "Great Caesar's ghost! My driving test! What time is it?!"

"Well, I brought us back not long after we left." The brunette checked his watch. "It's twelve-thirty."

Balthazar shouted in frustration. "My test was half an hour ago! No! I won't be able to schedule another test for at least a year! Missing my first one without calling ahead will show on my record! How could you do this to me?"

"What did I do?" the brunette demanded.

"You hijacked my lesson and dragged me along on a stupid quest for some lousy burritos!" Balthazar groaned, banging his head on the dashboard.

"Right. I did do that." The brunette admitted. "But, hey, if we weren't there, those kids might've gotten seriously hurt. Time travelers or not, I think things happen for a reason. Aren't you glad you did something heroic?"

"I suppose." Balthazar still had his head against the dashboard.

The brunette thought for a moment. "Okay, you got a confirmation paper or something when you registered for your driving test, right?"

"Yes." Balthazar glanced to the brunette.

"Let me see it." The brunette looked over the registration paper Balthazar handed him. The brunette brightened at the signature of the instructor, and he pulled out a pen from his thick, curly hair. While Balthazar wondered how long that pen had been there and how it got there in the first place, the brunette scribbled out the time on the registration and replaced it with a later one.

"What are you doing?" Balthazar demanded.

"There!" the brunette handed the paper to Balthazar. He started the car again and drove around towards the front of B.O.T.T., fast enough that only Balthazar's seatbelt kept him from being thrown into the window or the dashboard. "See? Now your test is at one o'clock. Since you already got lost once in B.O.T.T., you'll have an easier time finding your way back."

"But all you did was cross out the time and write a new one on top of it!" Balthazar protested. "You're supposed to get a new form and—"

The brunette interrupted him with a casual yet calming tone. "Relax, Stretch. I know that instructor. He's notorious for scratching things out and writing in the margins. Honestly, I don't know why he doesn't just use a pencil. Or even a digital form! I learned to forge his handwriting ages ago. Just show up to the lot with the student vehicles and show him the form. He won't even give you a second glance."

Balthazar wasn't sure if he believed the brutish gentleman. Still, if there was any hope of taking that test today, he would hold onto it. "Very well. But I'm still going to have to report you once I find the proper authority."

The brunette sighed as Balthazar stepped from the car. He rolled down the shotgun seat window. "I suppose you're right. But, you know, there is one thing you forgot."

"What's that?" Balthazar patted his pockets and checked the seat for anything he dropped.

"You don't know my name, sucker!" the brunette slammed his foot on the gas, laughing like a madman as the car peeled away down the street.

"Hey!" Balthazar coughed from the smell of burning rubber. "You can't just…just…..oh, forget it." Unfortunately, the brunette had a point. Balthazar never did ask the man's name, and he did not pull out any identification when he purchased the burritos because he had used twenty-first century era money. Balthazar checked his registration paper, and he took the stairs two at a time to get to the front doors.

Balthazar did indeed get lost his first time in B.O.T.T. Evidently, all new recruits did. He even saw a few agents looking at personal maps to find their way. This time, he remembered the way to the driving test vehicles. Now, he could fully process how the day had gone so far. He was so excited to finally arrive for his driving test. Time travel was a ludicrous business, and students went through quite a process to learn it. Thankfully, Balthazar had the added advantage of graduating from secondary school at the bright young age of fourteen.

He spent five years learning the basics of time travel, and then was admitted into the prestigious Professor Time School of Time Travel. There, students had a sort of time bank with a limit on how many cycles they could spend learning. The school was built in a special zone (though Balthazar theorized it was really another dimension) where time essentially stood still. One cycle equaled one semester, give or take a couple months; but since time stood still, none of the students would age. They had to be extra careful to keep track of how many cycles passed in school versus how many seconds or hours or weeks passed outside. Balthazar used all twenty cycles available to him, which equaled at least ten or twelve years.

These were small classes for a reason. The final step to becoming a full-time agent was the driving/field test. The whole "if you survive" part was not hyperbolic. The statistics showed that only half the students who took the driving test survived to become real agents. The reality of time travel is there are not many time travelers.

But Balthazar wanted to be one, more than anything. He wanted to be like his idol and save the world, regardless of any setbacks. He even arrived at his driving test early to pick out a car. There he was, ready for the final hurdle that stood between him and his dream. All of a sudden, here comes this wild-haired, oddly dressed young man who looked about Balthazar's age, give or take a few years. Balthazar first assumed this was his driving instructor until the brunette launched them through the time stream without an explanation. Even stranger, they had gone through the Mesozoic Era (which was an entirely different story in itself) before arriving in the twenty-first century.

Not for a mission. Not for anything important. Just for burritos.

Balthazar fully intended to at least tell his real driving instructor about this. However, the notion seemed less desirable the closer he got to the student vehicles. Maybe he just wanted this day to be over with. Or maybe it just did not feel right to point out this brief moment of poor decision-making. He didn't know the brunette's name, and the physical description already started getting fuzzy in Balthazar's brain.

Like his hair. Balthazar cracked a smile. The brunette did make a valid point: they had saved the lives of a couple children. Professor Time would be pleased. Who knows if he would ever meet the strange man again? Perhaps it was better to trust in karma. Besides, he did give Balthazar a loophole, of sorts, that would ideally make sure he could become an agent today. Balthazar supposed that was the least the brunette could do after the mess he caused. Still, it was a generous gesture. How could Balthazar be so callous as to disregard that kindness and report the man?

"Name?"

Balthazar jumped. His thoughts consumed him so much that he forgot when he found a new vehicle and leaned against it to wait for his instructor. The woman before him had black hair streaked with teal and dressed in jeans, boots, a T-shirt, and a blazer. A small backpack was slung on her back. She had a thick accent, maybe Irish or Scottish. A temporary name tag clipped to her blazer collar read "Morgan Fae – Instructor."

"Balthazar T. Cavendish." He handed his registration paper to the woman. "I apologize for my tardiness."

"You beat me to the car. Sounds like you're early." Morgan noted as she took the registration paper.

"Yes, well, I had….." Balthazar's mouth wouldn't make the words he wanted to say. Part of his brain (perhaps the childish side of him) told him to tattle on the burrito-loving miscreant who risked his life. Instead, Balthazar said, "I ran into another agent and we were talking and I lost track of time. I hope I am not late after all."

Morgan looked over the registration and compared it to the clipboard she held. "Strange. You're not listed for the one o'clock appointments."

Balthazar held his breath.

Morgan looked at Balthazar's paper again, squinting her eyes at the scribbles. "Oh, I see." She turned and shouted, "Hey Emmett!"

"What?!" a man with wild white hair shouted from another nearby time vehicle. A female student stood with him, going over her paperwork.

"Don't take that attitude with me, Dr. Brown!" Morgan sassed. "You're supposed to update the list when you change the driving times around!"

Dr. Brown and the female student marched over, and Dr. Brown looked at Balthazar's registration. He looked to the female student's paper. "Odd. I thought Savannah here was my one o'clock. Maybe I meant to switch them around."

"Way to scare this poor bairn out of his wits." Morgan laughed good-naturedly, and Balthazar realized his anxiety must have shown on his face. "Worry not, old friend. I'll take this one on his test."

"Much appreciated." Dr. Brown nodded. "Best of luck, young man!"

"Thank you." Balthazar said, relieved. Dr. Brown and Savannah returned to the other vehicle, and Balthazar got into the driver's seat while Morgan sat in the shotgun seat.

"Excited?" Morgan asked. "Terrified?"

"A bit of both." Balthazar admitted.

"Good." Morgan assured. "We'll start with the basic understanding of how the time vehicle works. Then we'll get going."

Balthazar exhaled. "I'm ready."


Thanks to his extensive research and good memory, Balthazar passed the vehicular knowledge test without a problem.

The field test? Problem.

His mother always told him that books were important, but experience was necessary. How he wished he had remembered that sooner. What he read in all those books helped him know how to solve problems, but he still did not know how to apply the solutions. He struggled with thinking on his feet due to his constant overanalyzing. He was blindsided multiple times. Luckily, he did indeed survive, and he returned the student time vehicle to B.O.T.T.

Morgan jotted down some notes. "All right. Let's get you patched up, and I will give you your results."

In his adrenaline, Balthazar forgot about the nasty scratch on his arm from the mutant tiger attack. Now, it began to sting and burn, and he could only hope those monstrously mutated felines (which he just prevented from ever existing) were not venomous in any way. Morgan escorted him to the infirmary, where he shed his torn jacket and T-shirt so she could clean and dress his wound. Per protocol, he also had to strip down to his boxers for a full checkup, which made him blush when he realized Morgan would be doing it. If his nerves were not so frayed, he might have thought to ask for a male nurse.

"So, is that it? I survived. I can be a time agent, right?" Balthazar said hopefully when Morgan finished the checkup.

"That is usually the deal, yes." Morgan said.

Balthazar's hopeful smile weakened. "You don't look happy. What did I do wrong?"

"You were nearly killed. Luckily, you managed to pull yourself out and I did not have to watch you die." Morgan put Balthazar's torn and bloody clothes in what looked like a washing machine, and she pressed a few buttons. "You are an incredibly intelligent young man, Balthazar T. Cavendish. But your field skills need serious work, or else you will not survive long as a time agent."

Balthazar looked down in shame. He pinched the hem of his boxers between his thumb and forefinger and rubbed the fabric to calm his nerves. "What must I do?"

"Now, calm yourself." Morgan went to the washing machine after hearing it chime. She pulled out Balthazar's newly cleaned and fixed clothing. "You passed your test, and you will be a time agent. Knowing that you need to work on your field skills only affects which partner you will receive."

Balthazar wished she would at least look away while he dressed. "All right. Who will assign my partner?"

"The higher-level agents and mentors will discuss the new recruits." Morgan explained. "I am one of them. We'll give our verdicts to Mr. Block, who will inform you. I'm going to recommend my partner, Vinnie."

"Vinnie?" Balthazar raised an eyebrow. A bit of an unusual name. A nickname for Vincent, perhaps?

"You don't like his first name? You can use his last name when you learn it." Morgan huffed. "Anyway, I mentored Vinnie for a few years, but I've got new solo missions coming up, and I've been searching for a good recruit to pair with him. Vinnie graduated with high marks, but decided to forget all those technical, book-related lessons after he became a rookie agent. But even though he lacks the textbook knowledge, he excels in the field. He's a doer, not a reader, I guess. He's a good man; and, like you, he has the potential to be a great agent."

"So, will he be my mentor?" Balthazar asked.

"No. You two will be partners, equals." Morgan corrected. "If you can help him with the technical knowledge, he can help you with the field knowledge. Put together, you two will be an unstoppable team." Morgan opened her backpack and rummaged around in it. Curious, Balthazar craned his neck a little to see inside. Though the bag appeared empty, Morgan pulled a metal pendant from within and shut the backpack again. "I usually reserve these for partners I particularly like. You may not be my partner, but I am trusting you with my friend."

Morgan handed the pendant to Balthazar. It appeared to be an owl made of gears—inspired by steampunk design—and pushing the button on the top flipped open the cover of a small watch. Balthazar was confused by the pendant—what it really meant, why Morgan had it, why she would give it to him, where it came from when her backpack appeared empty—but he accepted it nonetheless and clipped the chain around his neck. He buttoned his jacket to cover it.

"Do you think I have what it takes?" Balthazar asked.

Morgan smiled. "Yes. You and Vinnie are going to do great things together."