Flowers to Transcend Time || Professor Membrane

2 // Zinnias

"𝚂𝚖𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛 𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚜𝚝; 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚒𝚝 𝚋𝚢 𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚎."

The professor groaned as his eyes fluttered open behind his goggles. His head was pounding and his vision was blurry as he tried to take in his situation. He was laying down on his back and staring up at the ceiling, dim lights shining down on him. Finally, he sat himself up and shook his head clear.

The feeling of the plush underneath him and the blankets made him realize that he was in his own room. Why was he in his own room? Wasn't he just in the lab?

The lab! That's right! He was in the lab when he was testing his experiment! Then Dib and Gaz walked in and it malfunctioned. Were they alright?

He pushed off the blankets in a hurry and swung his legs over the side of his bed, stumbling to stand straight, let alone walk.

"Calm down, everything's fine."

That voice - it didn't belong to anyone in his home. At least, not now. He'd heard it before though, he'd heard it a million times, and he thought that he would never get to hear it again. His eyes snapped up, his head whipping from the floor to you.

"You..." Was all he could mutter. Despite the fact that he could barely see your blurry figure, he knew that it could only be you. Your height hadn't changed since you were younger. You were still shorter than him, but you looked different - older, but not by much. "But, you - you-"

"I said calm down." You stepped forward cautiously. "Everything is alright. The children are safe."

He couldn't believe his ears or his eyes, but he prayed to whatever god that was out there that this wasn't. He wanted this hallucination to continue for as long as it could. Underneath the collar of his lab coat, his lips trembled, and before he could open them, he heard a loud shout.

"DAD!" Out of nowhere, his children rushed to his side, clinging to him.

"Are you alright?" Dib asked as Membrane gave his son a quick pat on the head.

"Y-yes, I'm alright."

"Good, that means you can explain who that is." Gaz interrupted as she pointed to you.

You waved in return with a relaxed but somewhat awkward expression.

Good, so Gaz and Dib could see you too. That meant that you weren't just some vision of his past, back to haunt him or something. Not that he believed in ghosts, but somedays the nightmares would stretch past his dreams.

"Umm, about that - how did this happen? Why am I in my room? You guys didn't carry me did you?" He asked, confused. Surely, you and the children didn't carry him all the way here from the basement right? He was way too heavy to do that, especially with his metallic arms.

"Actually, I did." You said. "But you might want a full explination... Where do I begin?"

____________________________________________

The brightness of the room faded just as quickly as it had appeared, and the fluorescent lights hanging above their heads had shut off as well, a few stragglers flicking off and on.

"Dad!? Are you alright?" Dib rushed over to the unconscious man on the floor.

"DIB!" Gaz shouted to her brother, her eyes wide open as they stared at the smoking figure next to their father's exam table. She could say nothing to express her mortification, so she only pointed.

A low groan could be heard as the person emerged from the smoke, coughing and waving it away. "Ugh... What happened?" Their voice was coarse, as if they traveled through a dry desert.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?! Are you a ghost? A monster from a different dimension? Or - or an alien from across the multiverse!?" Dib spouted several theories back and forth, never giving them the chance to speak.

"Kid - kid... KID!" You hissed, holding your aching forehead. "I'm not some sort of - of mythical creature!.. I'm technically human."

"Technically?-"

"Shut up, Dib." Gaz interrupted her brother harshly, glaring at you in disbelief. "How did you get here?"

You only gave a shrug to the purple haired girl. "Your guess is as good as mine... where is 'here' anyway?" You asked, looking around the strangely nostalgic and distinct smell filling your nose.

"An underground lab. It belongs to my dad." She said, pointing to the unconscious Professor.

"OH SHI-" You stopped yourself mid-curse as you reminded yourself that children were here. Gently stepping over the broken device you made your way over to him, feeling for a pulse and checking for any broken bones. But it wasn't until after you took a step away, sure that he was uninjured besides the bump on his head, that you realized he was also strangely familiar.

Gigantic goggles that take up the majority of his face. Pure white lab coat covering the rest of his face. That lightning bolt shaped hair... Those gloves...

"Y-you!" You whipped around and stared at the man's daughter. "What's your father's name!?"

"What kind of question is that?" Dib asked, raising an eyebrow as if you had gone mad. "He's Professor Membrane - the world renowned scientist. Everyone knows him."

You bit your lip, taking a step back, before looking at his children. It really was Membrane wasn't it? Dib looked exactly like the man when he was a child. It was almost like the boy was a copy.

Your mind stalled. Ok, what was the first thing you should do if someone's unconscious? Get him laying on his back. So, you grabbed the man, flipping him over with a thud. Why was he so damn heavy!?

"What are you doing!?" Dib called, stepping forward.

Lifting him up and swinging his arm over your shoulders, you grunted. "Trying to help!" You said, lugging the man upstairs. "Where's his room?"

"We'll never tell you anything!"

"Over there."

The two children were almost exact opposites, but it humored you. Without another word, you kicked open the bedroom door and quickly threw the man onto his bed. "God, that took a little more muscle than it should have." You muttered.

"Are you calling my dad fat?" Gas opened one of her eyes with a scrutinizing gaze.

You took a step back as you were surprised by her expression, so you replied with, "No, I'm calling him heavy - there's a difference." You fixed his position so he'd be laying on his back. "Don't worry though... If your father is who I think he is, then we may have other problems."

"Like what?" Gaz and Dib asked at the same time.

"Oh, there's a huge list for that." You muttered.