Bernadette's Ego Trip

**Bernadette's Ego Trip** is the sixth episode of the Punch Time Exploders. This is the story of how Bernadette traveled in time with Dexter to see how he saved the future.

## Plot

Last time, Bernadette was sent by the Kids Next Door to recruit a boy genius named Dexter.

After seeing him routinely chasing the evil Mandark out of his lab when he tries to steal the "Neurotomic Protocore", Bernadette earns the recruitment of Dexter, and both are confronted with a group of robots that have appeared from his time machine. They declare that they are here to destroy the one who saved the future, and make ready to attack Dexter. Dexter easily destroys them with the use of various tools and gadgets from his lab. However, news that he is "The One Who Saved the Future" intrigues him, and he decides to travel through time to discover how cool he is, with Bernadette tagging along.

In the first time period they visit, Dexter finds a tall, skinny, weak version of himself working in office-designing cubicles, with Executive Mandark (known by Bernadette as Mr. Mandark) as his rich, successful boss, and Bernadette finds a dignified and soft-spoken version of herself is the future Dexter's secretary. The child Dexter unwittingly reveals the existence of blueprints regarding the Neurotomic Protocore from the beginning of the movie, and Executive Mandark steals it after the two Dexters and Bernadettes move forward in time.

In the second time period, the two Dexters meet their much older self, a wizened senior citizen Dexter about the same height as the child Dexter (and Mandark as a "brain-in-a-vat", renamed as "Braindark", also known as Mandark con Carne, who can never do anything other than only complain about his situation), as well as meeting eccentric super scientist Dr. Bernadette. All the technology from the blueprints has been implemented, creating a utopian society where anything can be materialized with the power of the mind. Old Man Dexter can't remember how he saved the world, so they travel back in time to find out.

In the third time period, which appears to take place between the first and second time periods, they find a dystopic world where everyone is stupid and knowledge, science, society and technology are forbidden, controlled by Overlord Mandark, thanks to his plan about the Neurotomic Protocore. They meet Action (Hero) Dexter, who is tall, muscular and bald (senior citizen Dexter, it turns out, wears a wig), as well as having grown a large beard and huge muscles while digging underground after Mandark stole the plans, while a beautiful yet obese Bernadette is revealed to be Queen of the Greylands. They go back to Dexter's laboratory and build a giant robot to invade Overlord Mandark's fortress. Reaching there, they are faced by the monstrously corpulent dystopian Overlord Mandark, who has summoned versions of himself from other time periods to oppose the Dexters, while the Great Lord Rottenday uses magic to do the same to combat the Bernadettes. A battle royale ensues, with each Dexter and Bernadette fighting the Mandark and Rottenday of their own time period.

While the Bernadettes and Rottendays fight for their side and the Dexters struggle to prevent the Mandarks from using the core, the Dee Dee from the present timeline unknowingly is transported to hero Dexter's time and undoes Overlord Mandark's dystopia by pushing a button, setting the core's flow from negative to positive. The other Mandarks are transported back to their own timelines and the dystopian Overlord Mandark is reduced to nothing but his brain, meaning that he is now Braindark (or Mandark con Carne), which explains about brain-in-a-vat situation from Dexter and D22's earlier encountering. After DeeDee leaves, the Dexters and Bernadettes are upset to know that DeeDee was the one to save the future, not Dexter. In response, the Dexters build robots from the remains of Mandark's lair and orders them to destroy the one who saved the future. With the core now at a positive flow, the Dexters bid each other farewell and return to their own times.

In the present timeline, Dexter and Bernadette are shocked to find that the robots they sent were destroyed by the Dexter who went to the future earlier. This confuses Dexter, and he goes to eat lunch while Bernadette leaves the lab. He then glares at DeeDee when she comes up to greet him and walks away, confusing her.

## Alternate Ending (Scroopfan)

(One day before the final part of the story was posted, Scroopfan/Superwritermaniac/arthunter3) left a comment suggesting an ending, but in light of this, I decided to make it an alternate ending.)

Great and Powerful Dexter: I remember! I remember! Dee Dee was the one who saved the future!

Dr. Bernadette: She was the hero, not Dexter!

Dexter: What?! No way!

Number 12: That didn't just happen!

Ms. Willows: I can’t believe it!

Dexter the Barbarian: I wanted to be the one who saved the future.

Queen Bernadette: I have to give the credit to HER?!

Bernadette: Uh, guys, what does it matter? At least the future IS saved! And hey, technically, we did save it ourselves by keeping the Mandarks away so she can just, literally walk in and press a button. So--

Great and Powerful Dexter: Argh! That girl!

Dexter: I'll teach her to mess up my future saving! (the Dexters start building robots)

Number 12: Yeah, we'll show her!

Dexter the Barbarian: Ooh, that little ding dong!

Great and Powerful Dexter: We'll get her once and for all. (they finish building the robots from the beginning)

Dexter: Robots! Destroy the one who saved the future!

Bernadette: WHAT THE--?! BUT DEXTER, THOSE ARE LITERALLY THE SAME ROBOTS YOU THOUGHT WERE AFTER YOU, WHICH--

Queen Bernadette: And don’t come back until you do! (the robots shrink themselves down and travel back in time)

Bernadette: Actually, it explains why they did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! Am I sensing a pattern here?

Dexter: Well, that should take care of Dee Dee. It looks like the future is back on track.

Dexter the Barbarian: Bernadette and I have got a lot of cleaning up to do... (holds up the Neurotomic Protocore) but with the positive flow of the core, everything should work out fine.

Ms. Willows: That’s good for you guys, but what are we supposed to do with this? (holds up Overlord Mandark’s brain)

Queen Bernadette: I may have a few ideas. (pulls Great Lord Rottenday out of the rubble) As for you, we’re going to have a long talk about teaming up with my former enemies.

Great Lord Rottenday: Yes, dear.

Dexter: Well then, we should be getting back to our own times. Goodbye, Dexter.

Dexter the Barbarian: Goodbye, Dexter.

Dexter: Goodbye, Dexter.

Great and Powerful Dexter: Goodbye, Dexter.

Dexter: Goodbye, Dexter.

Number 12: Goodbye, Dexter.

Bernadette: I, I don't... I-I can't...

Dexter the Barbarian: Goodbye, Dexter.

Great and Powerful Dexter: Goodbye, Dexter.

Dr. Bernadette: Hoping you’ll be prepared for something else.

Queen Bernadette: It’ll probably turn out all right by your time.

Number 12: Goodbye, Dexter.

Dexter the Barbarian: Goodbye, Dexter.

Ms. Willows: I look forward to being queen of the Greylands.

Queen Bernadette: Quirks and all.

Number 12: Goodbye, Dexter.

Great and Powerful Dexter: Goodbye, Billy.

Dr. Bernadette: He is NOT Bill-- oh, forget it. (the remaining Dexters and Bernadettes, excluding Dexter the Barbarian and Queen Bernadette, travel back to their own times)

(Back in the present...)

Dexter: Well, that wasn't exactly what I expected, but we did turn out pretty cool in... (sees Bernadette announcing as Dexter as he fights the robots?) the future? Wait a minute... we're still here fighting the robots. But wait, those are the robots I just built to get Dee Dee, or we all built in the future. But now I am about to destroy them before we decided to go into the future. So that means when we came back, we came back too far, back before we ever left. So we must have come... No I’m... Or they were...

Bernadette: Well, great. We created a time loop that from now on in the timestream, there's a never-ending wave of us going through that adventure. Ugh, the High Council are gonna strangle me for this. Never mind the time lords!

Dexter: Aw, forget it. Time travel hurts my brain.

Bernadette: And, basically, you're just gonna shrug this off? (Quietly) And the KND recommended this guy?

(Later we see Dexter eating a sandwich when Dee Dee enters the room. Dexter notices, takes his snack and goes somewhere else)

Bernadette: Don't mind him too much, Dee Dee. He's just moody that you inadvertently usurped him and the other Dexters from saving the future. Anyway, I should get going now. Oh, and if you see a big whale-faced elephant-footed muscly alien dude asking about me causing a time loop, deny EVERYTHING! (Opens up the window and leaves) PEACE! (Dee Dee looks at the camera and shrugs her shoulders, confused as comedic stings are heard)

## Trivia

* The episode was originally entitled "Berna-Dexter's Ego Trip", but it was changed because the title should make more sense than merging the two main heroes' names together.
* The old versions of Ed, Edd, and Eddy make an appearance at the end, foreshadowing their debut in the future.
	+ There was a deleted scene in which older versions of the Punch Time Exploders team were going to appear, but the producer decided against it, as it would be too time-consuming.
* This episode is in dedication to Christine Cavanaugh, who died on December 22, 2014.
* A future version of Bernadette, known as Dr. Bernadette Willows, mentions meeting Samurai Jack at some point, foreshadowing his future recruitment in the Punch Time Exploders.
* The apparent marriage of Bernadette to Lord Rottenday was not meant to be taken seriously, as the addition of the latter's future selves were added in just to complete the joke.

## Links

* deviantART
	+ Part 1: https://www.deviantart.com/heavyhitterconnor/art/Bernadette-s-Ego-Trip-Part-1-749370906
	+ Part 2: https://www.deviantart.com/heavyhitterconnor/art/Bernadette-s-Ego-Trip-Part-2-751068704
	+ Part 3: https://www.deviantart.com/heavyhitterconnor/art/Bernadette-s-Ego-Trip-Part-3-749371108
	+ Part 4: https://www.deviantart.com/heavyhitterconnor/art/Bernadette-s-Ego-Trip-Part-4-749371172
	+ Part 5: https://www.deviantart.com/heavyhitterconnor/art/Bernadette-s-Ego-Trip-Part-5-749371220

* Full story: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PSwdpzB2aO\_NpCuhxy-XdBh9uQI4rXvp6-CaoPQjuRg/edit?usp=sharing