Testing the Limits of Time

Chapter 24: an Umexpected Guest

It was a blinding flash of light that momentarily stunned the group. All five of them hysterically rubbed their eyes to clear their vision.
Skylar was the first to recover. Stressing the urgency of the situation, she shouted, "Everyone, outside!" Without hesitation, the team rushed out of their base on Time Street, adrenaline pumping through their veins.
As they reached the street, Tyler spotted something—no, someone—stumbling near one of the lampposts. At first, it looked like a lost man, all dazed and confused, clutching his head. But as they moved closer toward him, the man's appearance became clearer.
He wore an old uniform that was worn out, but it had a distinctive style. It was a green, military-style jacket adorned with patches and a pair of high boots, polished but scuffed from wear. His hair was slicked to one side. It was black as ebony with streaks of gray, and a small black mustache sat squarely beneath his nose. He was hunched over slightly as if recovering from a hard fall.
"Who is that?" Jamie wondered out loud, though her friends could not hear her .
When the man looked up, his eyes appeared glassy and disoriented. And then, as if recognizing the world around him for the first time, his expression turned hard. And that is when the team's breath is also caught in their throats.
"Oh no," Kody exclaimed in disbelief. "Is that...?"
"It can't be," Tyler's face turned pale as he convinced himself, only to admit otherwise. "But it is."
Standing before them, wobbling on Time Street, was Adolf Hitler. The nefarious dictator, the man responsible for the countless atrocities of World War II, was somehow there—in the flesh.
"He looks like he belongs to the 1940s..." Skylar murmured, trying to process what she was seeing. His old uniform drew an unmistakable association with the era of war. And now, there was no doubt who this man was in their minds.
"What the hell do we do?" Kody asked, his voice shaking out of fear. No one had an answer, but there was one thing all five of them were sure about: this person could not be left free.
"Subdue him, now!" Skylar ordered, stepping forward with caution. She wasn't sure what version of Hitler this was. Confused? Lost? Or was he still danger personified? Whatever the case was, they couldn't take any chances.
Kody and Tyler sprinted toward Hitler. One held him to the ground, and the other pinned him, wrestling him into submission. The man thrashed wildly, swearing in German in a harsh and panicked voice. His confusion made him more reckless, but it was obvious he had no idea where— or even when— he was.
"Raus! Lassen Sie mich los!" Hitler barked, his voice angry and disoriented. He fought back with impressive strength, but Kody managed to restrain him while Tyler tied his hands together with a piece of rope they had brought for emergencies—just like this one.
Once subdued, they dragged him into their base while looking around nervously, hoping no one had seen them. Hitler's eyes shifted from side to side, trying to make sense of his surroundings, but the confusion on his face never left.
Once inside, they shoved him onto a chair and stood by his side to make sure he didn't plot an escape. This was beyond anything they had ever encountered. Time Street had given them strange and mysterious things before, but this? This was a living, breathing man who should have been in another century, almost eight decades before the present time. A man who had no place in their world—and yet, here he was.
"We can't let him out of here," Skylar broke the silence over the group. "We have to lock down Time Street. If he gets out, there's no telling what chaos he could cause."
Jamie agreed though she was still in shock but sane enough to understand how serious the case was. "What if someone sees him? What if someone recognizes him?"
"They can't," Skylar said firmly. "We have to make sure he stays here and only here. No one can know he's in the present. This could destroy everything."
Tyler looked over at Hitler, who was still glaring at them. Since his mouth was tightly shut, he had stopped yelling, but the anger in his eyes was intimidatingly evident. He was processing, maybe trying to figure out his next move.
"So, what do we do with him?" Kody asked. "We can't keep him here forever."
Skylar shook her head. "First, we need to get to the root of how this happened. He came through one of the houses, like we did. But why him? Why now? And what does it mean for the timeline?"
They all quietly contemplated the essence of their discovery and the possibilities it would bring. Adolf Hitler, sitting in their base on Time Street, was beyond anything they could ever expect. His mere presence in their world could result in highly catastrophic circumstances. People could even get horrified seeing a dead person, that too one who was a walking grim reaper, well and alive in the present.
"We need answers," Skylar said, "And we need a plan."
Tyler was already fumbling with their equipment, typing rapidly on the console with shaky fingers. The system beeped and buzzed in response, and a bright green glow emitted from the screen illuminated the worry on his face.
He ran diagnostics that scanned Time Street and their surroundings for any indication of what had gone wrong. The idea that they could have accidentally pulled Hitler through time was something he did not see coming.
"It doesn't make sense," he said confusedly, skimming the data as it streamed across the monitors. "There's no indication of a breach. Or anything to suggest we triggered this." Turning to the group with a face that had grown pale, he muttered, "This wasn't us."
Skylar, who had been keeping a sharp eye on Hitler as he sat tied to the chair, was flabbergasted by Tyler's words and asked for an explanation, "What do you mean? How else could he have gotten here?"
Tyler stayed put, still trying to process the information. "Our equipment didn't cause this. He didn't come through any of our portals, at least not the ones we've set up. Something else is at play."
Jamie glanced nervously at Hitler sitting in silence, narrowing his eyes toward this group of strangers as he listened to the conversation. "So, if it wasn't us...then who else could it be behind this?"
"That's what we need to figure out," Skylar said. "But first, we need to know exactly where he came from, when, and how much time we have to fix this."
She turned back to Hitler, locking her eyes into his. "You. What's the last thing you remember before you ended up here?"
Hitler's face remained blank for a moment as though he didn't understand the question. Then, slowly, his eyes twinkled with recognition, and he began to speak in halting German. Kody, who had picked up some basic German from their travels through time, translated as best he could.
"He says he was in a bunker in Berlin," Kody explained, and as he continued, his voice grew heavier with revelations he translated. "It was 1945. He says the Soviets were closing in, and he was with his inner circle."
As soon as Kody finished his sentence, Skylar got the collywobbles about what she made out of it. "That's right before his... suicide."
Kody gave her a grim nod. "He says he was preparing to take his own life. He had just taken the cyanide capsule when everything went white, and he woke up here."
Skylar exchanged glances with the others, who were equally anxious about the problem before them. If Hitler had been pulled out of time right before his suicide, it meant that the timeline had already been jeopardized. His death had marked the end of the war, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the beginning of a new world order. Without it, how could the Second World War even be rightly perceived?
"No, Skylar. This isn't so easy. We have to send him back," Tyler argued, "If he doesn't die when he's supposed to, who knows what could happen?"
"But how?" Jamie asked, almost like she was panicking. "We don't even know how he got here in the first place!"
Understanding that the panic was contagious, Skylar breathed in deeply, composing herself before coming up with a solution. "I think we need to research and go through every history book, encyclopedia, biography—whatever we can find to see if anything unusual is reported around the time of his death. If there were any strange occurrences, they might give us a clue as to better understand what's going on."
Kody and Jamie nodded and quickly scouted the place for any historical documents they had collected in their missions. As they cast around, Skylar turned back to Tyler.
"Keep searching," she instructed. "We need to know if there are any other anomalies out there. If Hitler's appearance isn't an isolated incident, we might deal with something much bigger than we currently assume."
Tyler tapped his fingers over the keyboard, already back at the console. As the team worked on uncovering the mystery before them, Hitler maintained his silence, though unwillingly, scrutinizing each of them, trying to piece together what was happening. He looked like a cornered animal, aware of the danger around him but unsure of how to escape.
Hours passed as Kody and Jamie poured over the records. They looked for anything out of the ordinary in the reports from the 1940s, hoping to find some clue as to how Hitler had been pulled from the past. Finally, Jamie let out a frustrated sigh.
"There's nothing," she said, slamming a file on the table. "All the records show exactly what we know. Hitler died in his bunker in 1945. No mention of any strange occurrences, no unexplained disappearances."
Kody, who had been skimming a different document, frowned at it. "Wait... what about this?" He pointed to a small note at the bottom of the page. "It's just a footnote, but it says there were rumors at the time that Hitler's body was never actually recovered. That it was a double used to fake his death."
Skylar leaned over to read the note, and her heart raced faster in anticipation as she did. "Do you think...?"
"It's possible," Kody gasped in surprise. "Maybe someone wanted to make sure Hitler survived. Maybe they're trying to mess history up."
Skylar wondered if this could be the work of the Revisionists. Had they somehow pulled Hitler out of time to use him for their agenda? And if so, what were they planning?
Tyler, who had been quietly working at the console with his entire attention focused on it, suddenly looked up, his eyes wide with alarm. "Guys... I'm picking up another anomaly."
Skylar's heart skipped a beat. "Where?"
"Not far from here," Tyler replied. "Another time distortion. Someone else has come through."
Skylar quickly ordered, "We need to move. Now."
She and Tyler were bent over the time travel equipment with all the tools scattered across the table as they adjusted circuits and reconfigured the portal's power supply. The atmosphere was very tense. Skylar wiped the sweat from her forehead as she focused on the blinking lights on the screen.
"This is impossible," Tyler muttered in frustration as he tightened a wire. "We're not dealing with a simple jump back. We need to send him to an exact moment in 1945 Berlin. It's like threading a needle with a tornado outside."
Skylar sighed, keeping her voice calm despite the pressure. "We have to make it work. The timeline could unravel if we don't send him back exactly when he left. We can't afford to screw this up."
Their equipment wasn't designed for this level of precision, and the realization that someone else—likely the Revisionists—had caused this time disturbance only made things worse. They were playing catch-up, struggling to fix something they hadn't even caused.
As they continued to work, the rest of the team stood nearby, watching Hitler closely. Kody walked to and fro while Jamie crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, keeping her gaze locked on the imposter tied to the chair.
Finally, she spoke once she had enough."Are we really just going to send him back to die? I know he's Hitler, but we're still sending a human being to his death. I don't know how I feel about that."
Kody stopped pacing and turned to her. "We don't have a choice. If we don't, the war won't end as it should. Millions more people could die. And as for history, you know what will become of it."
"But does that make it right?" Jamie argued, looking at him in the eye, searching for an answer."Is it right to knowingly send someone—anyone—back to their death? We aren't grim reapers now, are we?"
Skylar, overhearing the conversation, straightened up from the equipment. "I get it, Jamie. But we can't let our personal feelings interfere here. History already happened. We're not killing him. We're just ensuring things go how they're supposed to."
"She's right," Tyler added without looking up, still focused on the modifications. "If we let him stay here, we'd open the door to even worse possibilities. Imagine if someone like Hitler survived into the future."
Jamie's face twisted with conflict, but she didn't argue further. She knew what was at stake, but the idea of letting fate play out felt cruelly indifferent, even if it was necessary.
As the argument settled into an awkward silence, Hitler shifted in his seat, observing the group. He had remained quiet most of the time, but now, a glint of malice flashed in his eyes.
"You don't have to do this," he said, his voice cold and rough. The team turned toward him, watching warily. "You're not like the others I've faced. You're unsure. I can see it in your eyes. I know things about the future, things you could use."
Skylar narrowed her eyes at him and crossed her arms. "We don't want anything from you."
Hitler leaned forward. "Are you sure? Think of the power you could have with knowledge of the future. I can tell you about the coming wars, the changes in nations, the leaders who rise and fall. You could shape the world to your liking."
Jamie flinched, visibly disturbed by the offer, while Kody's fists clenched. There was something about this man, something that was similar to a predator waiting to attack.
However, Skylar didn't falter. She stepped closer toward him, answering on behalf of all of them. "We're not interested in what you know. You're going back where you belong."
But inside, the team was rattled. Hitler's presence was forcing them all to confront their inner conflicts. Skylar felt the burden, too, but she knew no other option.
Then, Tyler's console beeped again, disrupting the silence. He quickly scanned his data. "I'm picking up something. There's a hidden base not far from here. And it's emitting the same temporal signals as the one that brought Hitler here."
Kody gasped in shock. "The Revisionists. It has to be them. They're the ones behind this."
Skylar felt her heart sinking. "They wanted to save him. They wanted to change the end of the war."
Suddenly, everything made sense. Hitler hadn't ended up here by accident. He was part of a larger plot, a plan by the Revisionists to reshape history in their favor again. And if they succeeded, the world would be unrecognizable.
"They need to be stopped! What is wrong with these maniacs!?" Skylar cried.
Little did she know, Hitler was only a part of a much larger puzzle.
Skylar stood over the time travel device and hovered her fingers above the controls. The moment of truth had arrived. They were ready to send Hitler back to 1945, but there was something in the air that felt off. A faint hum, almost imperceptible, filled the room. It was different from the usual sounds the device made.
"Something's not right," Tyler said, his brow furrowed as he monitored the readings. "I'm picking up more than one temporal disturbance. There are multiple signals now."
"What does that mean?" Jamie asked, panicking. She had a bad feeling about this, and from the look on Kody's face, so did he.
"It means we've got company," Skylar muttered. "The Revisionists. They know what we're doing, and they're coming for us. Again!"
As soon as she said it, the hum grew louder, vibrating like a low, angry buzz. Skylar's heart pounded as the realization sank in. The Revisionists weren't just watching—they were here and closing in fast.
They had to make an escape as soon as they could. And it was to be made now, for not a second was to be wasted.
Skylar turned to the others. "Kody, Jamie—get ready. Tyler, stay on the controls. We have to finish this before they get here."
As they braced themselves, the room seemed to be hit with a rippling force. A shimmering wave of distortion spread through the walls, and the air around them shifted. Suddenly, figures emerged from the shimmering light—revisionist agents dressed in dark tactical gear, the faces of whom were obscured with masks.
"Here they come," Kody growled, stepping in front of the group, ready to defend their position. "We're not letting them get to Hitler."
As soon as the Revisionists stepped inside the room, their presence intimidated everyone. One agent lunged at Kody, but he ducked just in time, delivering a powerful blow that knocked the agent off balance. Another Revisionist charged toward Jamie, who dodged with surprising agility, grabbing a nearby chair and swinging it at her attacker.
Tyler stayed focused on the device, hands flying across the controls as he prepared to activate the portal. "Skylar, I need two minutes. Just hold them off!"
"Two minutes?!" Skylar shouted as she blocked an agent trying to reach the console. "We don't have two minutes!"
The room was a blur of chaos as the agents rushed in from every side. Skylar's heart raced as she fought off one attacker after another, feeling the weight of all the circumstances bearing down on her. She couldn't let them fail. Not now.
During the battle, Hitler sat restrained in the corner. He seemed surprisingly calm, but there was something in his gaze. It almost seemed too calculating for her to trust it.
As the fight raged on, the air around the time device began to snap with energy. Tyler had finally managed to stabilize the portal. "It's ready!" he called out. "We can send him back!"
Skylar turned to Kody and Jamie, who were still fending off the Revisionist agents. "Get Hitler to the portal! Now!"
Kody and Jamie grabbed Hitler, dragging him toward the swirling energy of the time device. The Revisionists surged forward in a desperate attempt to stop them, but Skylar and Tyler held them off, using every bit of strength they had left.
As they shoved Hitler toward the portal, he hesitated for just a moment and glanced at Skylar. "You may send me back," he said in a low voice that sounded malicious rather than soft, "But I've seen enough of your future to know you're hiding something. I know more than you think."
His words made Skylar visibly uncomfortable, but there was no time to pay too much attention. She pushed him through the portal just as the Revisionists made one last, frantic push. The room exploded into chaos. Lights flickered, walls shook, and an energy could be felt pulsing the air.
Suddenly, the portal flared with a blinding light and closed with a deafening crack. Hitler was gone, sent back to the exact moment he had left in 1945. The team had succeeded, but the victory was bittersweet. Skylar couldn't shake the feeling that something had gone terribly wrong.
Realizing they had failed, the remaining Revisionists retreated into the darkness, vanishing as quickly as they had appeared. Silence took over the room, broken only by the sound of heavy breathing from people suffering from fatigue and the hum of the now-dormant time device.
Skylar collapsed into a chair, her chest heaving from the exertion. "We did it," she muttered, but her voice had no sense of relief.
Tyler wiped the sweat from his temples, staring at the controls. "Yeah, but he knows something. Did you hear what he said? He saw our future."
Kody frowned, leaning against the wall as he caught his breath. "He was trying to mess with us. It's what he does. We can't let it get to us."
But Jamie shook her head sadly. "What if he's right? What if something had changed while he was here? What if we didn't fix everything?"
Skylar didn't have an answer. She had felt it too—the strange undercurrent of wrongness that had defined the air since they had encountered Hitler. It was as if the thread of time itself had been stretched beyond its elasticity, and now, it was on the verge of tearing apart.
"We need to check the timeline," Skylar said, her voice grim. "Make sure nothing's been altered. And we need to figure out what the Revisionists were really up to."
And now, with Hitler gone, they had to face the possibility that history itself was unraveling, and they were the only ones who could stop it. But in the present moment, though, they had one small victory. Hitler was back in 1945, and history, for the moment, was safe.
The aftermath of the battle left the team drained and disoriented. Skylar surveyed the damage around them. Everything was so depressing, with broken chairs, overturned tables, and scorch marks from the fight. The walls of their base seemed to radiate with the residual energy of the portal, which reminded them how close they had come to losing everything.
Kody wiped the blood from his lip, leaning against the wall. "Well, we did it. Hitler's back where he belongs. But I can't shake this feeling... Did we change something?"
Jamie glanced at him, her face pale. "We must have, right? Even just having him here for a few minutes—what if something tiny changed and we didn't notice?"
Skylar's gut churned at the thought. They had been so focused on the big picture, on returning Hitler to his place in history, that they hadn't considered how delicate the timeline might really be. A misplaced word, an object out of place—anything could ripple outwards, resulting in dangerous consequences.
"We'll need to check everything," Tyler said as he reviewed the readings from the time device. "Cross-reference every bit of history, look for inconsistencies. Even small things could cause massive changes down the line."
As they gathered around to assess their next steps, Kody let out a frustrated sigh. "We've exposed ourselves, haven't we? The Revisionists—they're not going to stop. If anything, this just put us right in their sights."
Jamie nodded. "They were already watching us, but now... They know we're a threat."
Skylar didn't like where this was headed. It felt like they were only a few steps ahead of total disaster. "We knew the Revisionists were dangerous," she said, trying to keep her voice steady. "But we'll figure it out. We have to. There's still too much to worry about."
No one spoke anything after that. The room fell into silence, and they all were occupied with their contemplations. Outside, the unnerving stillness of Time Street deafened their senses. It felt like the street was waiting, as if it knew more secrets would be uncovered.
"So what now?" Kody asked. "We can't just sit here and wait for the next attack."
Tyler looked up from his monitor, his face looking as serious as it could ever be. "We keep going. We explore, we research, and we stay one step ahead. But we need to be ready—time's more fragile than we thought. One wrong move and we could break everything."
Skylar stared out the window, lost in anxious thoughts. This battle was won, but there was still much more to conquer. And the worst part? They had no clue what to expect. The Revisionists were out there, waiting, plotting, and they were still a hundred steps ahead of them.
"Tyler's right," she said, returning to the group. "We can't afford any more mistakes. The next time the Revisionists come for us, we need to be ready."
Kody crossed his arms, frowning. "And what if we're not? What if time's already broken, and we just can't see it yet?"
Skylar glanced at him as the weight of his words settled over the room like a heavy fog. She had no answer for that, no reassurances to offer. All she knew was that they were in big, big trouble and still far from finding a proper solution to this mess.
Gripping the table, she pondered how one wrong step could change everything. And the Revisionists? They were out there, waiting for the perfect moment to strike another blow for the zillionth time. How much of the past—and future—was still in their hands?
The group sat together, each member lost in their thoughts, when suddenly Jamie spoke up, "What if... we're the Revisionists?"
No one spoke, and the question loomed large over them all. At that very moment, they all felt their control over time slipping, realizing their future was more uncertain than ever.
Were they really not different from their enemies?