Testing the Limits of Time

Chapter 25: The end?

Everything was in utter chaos when they returned to their home base. The team hadn't slept since that incident with Hitler, and their eyes burned with exhaustion, but no one dared suggest taking a break. They knew better. It seemed like even blinking was to be avoided now, for even the wastage of a split-second would prove either fatal or problematic to them. The Revisionists had their ambush prepared, waiting for another attack.
Tyler was hunched over his console. While his eyes remained glued to the screen, his fingers worked mechanically on the keyboard. Beside him, Jamie rubbed her temples, trying to stave off the headache that had been building for hours. Kody was pacing back and forth, stretching the shoulders to ease off the the tension in them that mirrored the anxiety in the room.
Skylar, sitting at the head of the room, finally stood up and clapped her hands together, bringing everyone's attention to her. "Alright, emergency meeting. Let's get our heads straight before we all collapse."
Kody stopped pacing and leaned against the wall. "Sky," he scoffed, "we're all already on the verge of collapsing. You sure this can't wait for, I don't know, a nap?"
Skylar looked at him with a slight frown. To the third person, it seemed like she was being cruelly judgemental but the truth was, she was just overwhelmed with worry. "A nap's not gonna fix this mess, Kody. I think there is no time to rest. We rather put an end to this problem first and then rest as much as we like." She pulled up the footage from their encounter with Hitler, displaying it on the big screen.
"Yeah, rest in peace, you mean," Kody rolled his eyes in frustration.
"Oh, Kody. Look, I get where you are coming from. I get it, too. After all, I am also a human like you all. But guys, I don't want to get anyone in trouble again. We can't rest when a plethora of unresolved problems are just lingering around the corner. We need to talk about what happened. Specifically, what Hitler might've learned while he was here."
Tyler groaned, rubbing his eyes. "If he picked up anything about the future, we're screwed. The man was only here for a few minutes, but that's more than enough time to absorb some serious intel."
Jamie leaned forward, squinting at the screen. "But he didn't seem to get much, right? I mean, we weren't exactly chatting about flying cars and space colonies while we had him tied up."
"Yeah, but he saw enough," Skylar said, rewinding the footage to the moment Hitler's eyes had scanned the room. "Look at him. He's watching us, studying us. It's subtle, but he knows something's up. He saw our tech, our gear—there's no way he didn't figure out that he was in the future."
Kody shook his head. "And then what? He gets sent back, and now he's got a glimpse of what's coming. That's terrifying."
Tyler, still typing, frowned. "It gets worse. I've been monitoring the timeline since we sent him back. There's a new anomaly forming."
Skylar's heart skipped a beat. "A new anomaly? Already?"
Adjusting his glasses, Tyler nodded in affirmation. "Yeah, and it's big. Whatever we did by sending Hitler back—it's causing ripples."
Before anyone could respond, there occurred a sudden shift in the atmosphere in the room. It sounded like an eerie, strange hum, or more accurately, a low vibration spreading through the molecules of the space around them. They all froze.
"What... was that?" Jamie asked right before a fit of panic overwhelmed her.
Suddenly, a light flickered near the door, and before their eyes, a figure began to materialize. It was like watching someone step out of thin air. First, it was a faint outline, then a solid form. The figure was tall, broad-shouldered, and clearly old.
His uniform was very distinctive: a worn, tattered military jacket, the same style they'd seen on soldiers they'd protected during World War II. But there was another thing that distinguished him, which was the way he carried himself with an air of authority despite the years defined by the lines on his face.
Tyler's jaw dropped. "Is that...?"
The figure stepped fully into view and looked around the room with sharp, alert eyes. His face was wrinkled with experience, and his hair was grey and thinning. The soldier they had rescued a number of times during their missions in the war now stood before them—older, weathered, but without a doubt, it was him.
Thomas. He was Thomas.
The man cleared his throat and spoke in a gravelly voice. "I suppose I owe you all a thank you. You saved my life more than once back there."
Skylar blinked, completely speechless. "Uh... you're welcome?" She looked at Tyler and the others, who seemed just as bewildered.
The man gave them a nod. "Name's General Nathaniel Pierce. You might remember me from a few... decades ago. I come from the future. A future you lot have... complicated."
"Complicated?" Jamie reiterated his words with a confused frown.
"Wasn't his name Thomas?" Kody whispered, nudging Jamie and Tyler.
"Pierce. Nathaniel Thomas Pierce," Pierce said in a grave voice. "I'm here because of what happened with Hitler. Your actions—they've had consequences. He learned more than you think. In my timeline, the war didn't end the way it should have. It dragged on for years. Millions more died. And that's just the beginning."
What felt like her stomach dropping, Skylar took a moment to compose herself and then asked, "What do you mean, 'just the beginning'? What exactly happened?"
Pierce sighed and sagged his shoulders slightly. "You sent him back, but he took knowledge of the future with him. He may not have fully understood it, but he used it. He became more cautious, more strategic. His final days in the bunker? They played out differently. Instead of defeat, he managed to prolong the fight. The war stretched into the 1950s, and by then, the damage was irreversible."
Tyler stood up from his desk. Once the blue light from the screen no longer illuminated his face, it could be seen that his face had grown pale—not just with weakness but also terror. "So you're saying... we messed up the timeline that badly?"
Pierce nodded solemnly. "In my future, Hitler survived longer than he should have. He didn't win, but he did enough damage that the world never recovered. I'm here because I need your help to fix it."
The room fell into a stunned silence.
Kody rubbed his temples, clearly overwhelmed. "Okay, so let me get this straight. We stopped a world-ending catastrophe by sending Hitler back... but also caused a world-ending catastrophe by sending him back?"
"Pretty much," Pierce said with a weary nod. "And now, we have to make sure history unfolds the way it's supposed to. You're going to need to go back again. This time, though, we need to be more precise. No more mistakes."
Skylar stared at the elderly general, her mind spinning. "But how do we even do that? How do we make sure he forgets what he saw? Or at least doesn't use it?"
"That's for you to figure out," Pierce said with a slight grin. "You've got all the fancy gadgets, don't you?"
Jamie rolled her eyes. "Great. So now we're responsible for cleaning up our own mess, again."
Pierce chuckled softly. "Welcome to time travel. It's never as clean as you hope."
Tyler was already back at his console, typing furiously. "Alright, I'm pulling up the data from the last jump. If we're going to do this, we need to make sure it's airtight this time."
Kody groaned, slumping down in a chair. "I can't believe we have to go back again. I barely survived the first few trips."
"You'll survive," Skylar said, giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "We've gotten this far, haven't we?"
Pierce cleared his throat, getting their attention once more. "Just remember one thing. The Revisionists—if they know what you're planning, they'll do everything in their power to stop you. You need to move quickly, before they catch wind of this."
Determination was one emotion that never left Skylar's side and once again, she was not devoid of the willpower that had kept her going all this time. "Then we'd better get started. If history's counting on us, we can't afford to waste any more time."
It was time to begin the preparation for their next task at hand. But they couldn't be at ease, knowing that this would be the same as their previous missions. This was what sucked about their adventures every time: they never knew what to expect because each time they though they were well-prepared, they were wrong. They had saved the past once—but could they fix it a second time, before everything unraveled beyond repair?
Only time would tell.
***
"I'm part of a resistance," Pierce began. "A resistance from the future. The world I come from... it's a nightmare, one dominated by a regime that was never meant to exist. The Nazis didn't just lose slowly—they found a way to win, decades later, using technology they shouldn't have had."
Skylar felt a chill crawl down her spine. "What do you mean they won? We sent Hitler back, fixed the timeline... didn't we?"
Pierce shook his head. "No, not entirely. Your mission succeeded in one way, but the Revisionists have been busy. They've been working to alter history at every turn, and Hitler's brief glimpse of the future gave them the foothold they needed. The Axis powers, with that knowledge, adapted and thrived. It took time, but by the 1970s, they had developed technologies far beyond what should have been possible. By 2025, they controlled most of the world. By my time, 2045, the resistance is barely hanging on."
Jamie exhaled with a loud gasp, her hand covering her mouth in shock. "You're saying the Nazis won because of us? We caused all this?"
"No," Pierce stated firmly, sweeping his gaze across the team. "You didn't cause it. The Revisionists did. They've been altering the timeline for years, even before you started your missions. You've actually been a thorn in their side, reversing their efforts. But now, they've tipped the scales."
Tyler withdrew his hands from the keyboard he was so busy tapping away on and looked up, "Wait. So all the times we thought we were setting things right... we were only scratching the surface?"
"Exactly," Pierce confirmed. "The Revisionists have been tampering with major events throughout history. Hitler was just one of their many attempts to create a future where they could control the world. The technology they've developed in my timeline—it's unimaginable. Advanced AI, weaponry, even mind control. And all of it stems from this. From what they gained when Hitler saw your equipment."
Kody groaned, rubbing his face in frustration. "So what are we supposed to do now? Just fix this one mistake and hope for the best?"
Pierce's face softened slightly, though his voice remained serious. "No. That won't be enough anymore. You need to stop the Revisionists at their core. They're not just meddling with one moment in time; they're creating temporal incursions—changes that are happening simultaneously across different points in history. You're going to need more than just hope."
Skylar swallowed hard, processing his words. "And you've seen this future yourself? Lived through it?"
Pierce looked at her as if he was offended at being required to affirm the obvious. "I've fought in it. For the last 20 years. The world is a shadow of what it should have been. The Nazis used technology to suppress the world, and now, they're practically unstoppable. That's why I'm here. I escaped using stolen time-travel tech, risking everything to warn you. If you don't act now, that future becomes inevitable."
The room was silent, save for the quiet hum of the machines Tyler had running. Skylar's mind was racing. All this time, they had been trying to keep the past intact, but they had no idea how deep the Revisionists' reach went.
Pierce stood and placed a small device on the table. It was sleek, black, and very different from anything they had seen. "This," he said, tapping the device, "is from the future. It's tech that my resistance has developed using bits and pieces we've stolen from the enemy. It will help you in your mission. It can detect temporal disturbances with more precision than anything you currently have."
Tyler, always fascinated by tech, moved forward, examining the device closely. "This is... way beyond anything we've got. How does it work?"
"It scans time threads," Pierce explained, "and identifies where and when the disturbances are happening. You can pinpoint exact moments where the Revisionists have meddled. But there's more. It also has the capability to disrupt their tech. Think of it as a jammer for anything time-related."
Skylar's eyes narrowed as she looked at the device. "And we're supposed to use this to stop them? Just this?"
Pierce shook his head. "No. This is just a tool. You'll still need to do the heavy lifting. The Revisionists are emboldened now, and I can promise you they're not sitting idly by. In fact—"
Before he could finish, Tyler's console lit up, flashing with warning signals. His eyes widened. "We've got multiple incursions. Temporal distortions happening all at once, all across different time periods."
Jamie leaned over his shoulder, reading the data. "It's everywhere. Different points in the 20th century, ancient Rome, even the future."
Kody crossed his arms. "So, what, they're launching simultaneous attacks? Trying to destabilize everything at once?"
"It's worse than that," Pierce said gravely. "They've realized that you're a threat, and they're ramping up their efforts. If they succeed in enough places, they'll rewrite history in a way that we can't undo."
Skylar straightened, feeling a new wave of determination. "So what do we do?"
Pierce didn't hesitate. "You fight back. You've already proven you can stand up to them. But now you need to be smarter. Use the device, track their movements, and stop their incursions before they solidify."
Tyler glanced at Skylar. "We'll have to split up. We can't tackle all these incursions together."
"Agreed," Skylar said, taking a moment to absorb what she is agreeing to. "But we can't just rush in blindly. We'll need a plan—figure out where we can do the most damage."
Pierce nodded. "And remember, you won't be alone. The Revisionists are powerful, but so are you. You've already changed the course of history once. Now, it's time to do it again."
As the team prepared to tackle this new challenge, the weight of their mission pressed down harder than ever. The Revisionists were closer than ever to achieving their goal, but Skylar and her team weren't about to let that happen without a fight.
"Get ready," Skylar said, her voice confident and filled with determination. "It's time to save the world. Again."
Skylar stood at the head of the room, pacing slightly as she glanced at the team. "We don't have much of a choice here. We'll need to split up again." She knew the weight of those words. They'd been through a lot together, and splitting the group always felt like pulling the safety net out from under them.
Kody looked up, frowning. "You sure about this?"
Skylar's resolve was clear and it didn't take her much to confirm what she was asked. "We don't have the manpower to hit all these disturbances at once, and if we want any chance of getting ahead of the Revisionists, we need to gather intelligence from Pierce's future. We have to understand what we're really up against."
Tyler leaned back in his chair, rubbing the back of his neck. "I get that, but it feels like we're taking a huge risk by leaving the present undefended."
"That's why you and Jamie are staying here," Skylar said, locking eyes with him. "You're going to hold down the fort. Coordinate everything. If there's anyone I trust to manage the defense, it's you two."
Jamie, always the voice of practicality, chimed in. "What's the plan for when you're in the future? How long will you be gone?"
Pierce, standing quietly to the side, spoke up. "Time is relative in this case. The new base we're setting up in a temporal pocket will allow us to regroup without being affected by the normal flow of time. From there, we can manage both past and future. We won't be gone long from your perspective, but for us... it could be different."
Skylar placed her hands on the table, leaning forward. "Once we're in the future, we'll assess the situation and gather as much intelligence as we can. We need to know the full extent of the Revisionist influence, where the cracks in their regime are, and what their next moves might be. Kody and I will handle that. You two focus on building up our defenses here and keeping an eye on the incursions."
Tyler gave a tight nod, but Jamie's eyes narrowed. "Are you sure you can trust Pierce? No offense," she added quickly, glancing at him, "but we don't know if we can really trust anyone from the future. Who knows how much damage has already been done?"
Pierce remained very calm. He didn't even flinch. "I understand your hesitation. But believe me, my goal is the same as yours—undo what's been done. The world I come from... it's nothing like what you know. If we don't act now, your time will become just like mine."
Skylar straightened herself. "This is our best shot, Jamie. We have to take it."
After a few moments of silence, Jamie relaxed her shoulders and relented. "Alright. We'll hold things down here."
Skylar offered a small smile. "Good. We're going to need you two at your best."
With that decision made, the team set about their next steps. Pierce helped them create a new base of operations, hidden away in a temporal pocket. It was a small fragment of time that existed outside the normal flow of events. It was a place where they could regroup, plan, and protect themselves from any immediate attacks. Tyler and Jamie worked with the tools Pierce provided. A number of fine-tuning the systems that were to be used to monitor all temporal activity in real-time.
"We're good here," Tyler said, checking the last of the systems. "This new base... it's something else. No one can reach us in here."
Skylar gave him an approving nod. "We'll need that safety net. Keep everything running smoothly while we're gone."
A few hours later, Skylar, Kody, and Pierce prepared to travel to the dystopian future. With the new temporal pocket in place, they had a way back, but the journey ahead was still daunting.
The moment they stepped through the portal, the differences struck them in the head. The future they arrived in was nothing like the one Skylar had imagined. The cities looked nothing like what they were used to seeing. All the urban life was now desolate. There were oppressive strongholds of brutalist architecture. Jagged and dark skyscrapers towered overhead, throwing long shadows over the streets. Military patrols in sleek, futuristic uniforms moved in a methodical manner.
"God...," Kody muttered. His eyes opened wide in surprise as he absorbed his surroundings. "This is insane. Look at this place."
Pierce looked at him with a solemn look. "This is what happens when the Nazis win. Their regime never fell. They evolved, using every bit of technology and knowledge they could steal."
The streets were eerily noiseless, except for the sound of heavy boots marching in formation. The people—those who weren't part of the military—moved like anything but humans. With their heads down, one could tell they were clearly oppressed by the regime. A few glanced up with hollow eyes, but none dared speak.
"They've enslaved the population," Pierce said quietly as they walked. "Everyone is either a soldier or a worker, forced to maintain the regime's hold. The technology they have is beyond anything you've seen—developed over decades by some of the brightest minds, all twisted to serve their cause."
Kody clenched his fists with a look of disgust on his face. "This can't be real. It's like we're walking through some kind of dystopian movie."
"It's real," Pierce said flatly. "And this is what you're fighting to prevent."
Skylar scanned the area. She couldn't believe how drastically the world had changed because of one man's glimpse into the future. It wasn't just a historical mistake. They had to fix this before it was too late.
Meanwhile, back in the present, Tyler and Jamie were immersed in work. Using the advanced technology Pierce had given them, they monitored the incursions happening across multiple time periods. It was chaotic—every time they managed to stop one, another seemed to pop up.
"We're going to need help," Tyler said, not looking away from the screen. "We can't keep this up by ourselves."
Jamie frowned, glancing at him. "What do you mean?"
Tyler tapped a few keys, bringing up a new program. "I've been working on this idea... we could recruit allies from different time periods—people who understand what's at stake. Train them as temporal guardians, have them monitor their own timelines for disturbances."
"Recruit allies?" Jamie raised an eyebrow. "How are we supposed to find people who would even believe us, let alone help us?"
"With this." Tyler grinned and held up a small, glowing device. "Pierce gave me some tools from the future. This thing can send messages across time. We find the right people—resistance fighters, freedom lovers, whatever you want to call them—and bring them into the fold."
Jamie crossed her arms skeptically. "And what if they don't want to help? Or worse, what if we're messing with the timeline even more?"
Tyler shrugged. "We're already in a mess. Might as well try to fix it with a few extra hands."
Jamie sighed but didn't argue. "Alright. Let's see if this crazy idea of yours works."
***
Skylar stood in the heart of the dystopian future. The towering, brutalist structures loomed over them, exuding a dark and oppressive energy. Every inch of the city screamed of control—oppression—and it made her get goosebumps. The streets were empty but lined with surveillance drones, gliding silently above.
"Feels like we're walking straight into a nightmare," Kody muttered under his breath, looking around with horrified eyes. He tapped his communicator, whispering, "Jamie, Tyler, we're in. Any readings from your side?"
Static.
Then Tyler's voice resonated through. "Not good. Temporal distortions are popping up all over the place. You've got Revisionist agents heading your way. Looks like they're onto you."
Skylar clenched her jaw, holding the small device Pierce had given her before they left. It was their one last chance to stop the Revisionists from ripping history apart completely, but they had to move fast. Pierce, now limping beside her, still looked determined but there were also traces of exhaustion. His aged face told a thousand stories of battles long fought, and this, it seemed, would be his last.
"We need to find their core," Skylar said, keeping her voice steady. "That's the only way to stop this madness."
Pierce nodded. "There's a control center two blocks ahead. That's where they're keeping the main device. It's powering all the time shifts."
"Let's move then," Kody replied, already shifting into action mode.
The three of them hurried down the silent street, sticking close to the areas covered in shade. The city looked eerily familiar and yet so alien. The buildings that once might have been cafes and homes were now repurposed as cold, military installations.
They passed by an old library that had its windows boarded up and the roof caving in. This was one of the many sad reminders of how drastically things had changed.
"This could've been our future," Skylar thought to herself, shuddering at the thought. "If we don't stop them, it still might be."
Suddenly, a squad of Revisionist agents rounded the corner ahead. Black-clad, with high-tech weapons and helmets that glinted in the dim light, they spotted Skylar and the team in an instant.
"Go! I'll cover you!" Pierce shouted, pulling out a pulse rifle. Despite his limp, he fired with deadly precision, managing to hold off the advancing agents. Skylar grabbed Kody's arm, pulling him towards the entrance of the control center.
"We don't have time for this!" Kody said, panting as they sprinted.
"Pierce can handle it!" Skylar shouted back. "We need to shut down that core."
They burst into the building and were met with a massive control panel in the center that was pulsating with energy. Skylar could feel the disturbance in time, like static was running through her veins. So this was it—the source of all the chaos.
"Tyler, Jamie, we're at the core," Kody said through his comm, breathing heavily. "We're shutting it down."
"Good luck," Jamie replied. "Just don't blow us all up, okay?"
Kody rolled his eyes, stepping up to the control panel. "Don't jinx it."
Skylar kept an eye on the door. Pierce was still out there, fighting off the agents. She could hear the occasional blast from his rifle echoing through the streets.
"Okay, let's do this," Kody muttered, his fingers hovering over the controls. The core began to vibrate and the lights started to flicker, as if it knew what they were about to do.
Suddenly, Pierce's voice came through the communicator. "Skylar... it's done. The core will reset once you hit the final sequence. But... someone needs to stay behind to keep them from reactivating it. There's no other way."
Skylar froze, her heart dropping. "No... no, Pierce, we can find another way. We can—"
"There's no time," Pierce interrupted. He sounded surprisingly calm despite the chaos. "You two have to go. I've been fighting this war my whole life. It's time for it to end."
Kody glanced at Skylar and had his eyes wide with realization. "He's right. We have to go."
Skylar took all the effort it took in the world to gulp and breathe. It was a struggle to push down the lump in her throat. "Pierce... you don't have to do this."
"Yes, I do," Pierce said softly. "Now, go. Save the future."
Without another word, Skylar hit the final sequence on the control panel. The core began to hum louder, lights flashing as the temporal waves started to ripple through the air.
"We need to move, now!" Kody shouted, grabbing her hand and pulling her out of the building.
Outside, Pierce was still fighting, holding off the last of the agents. He glanced back at them, giving a small nod. Skylar nodded in return, her throat too tight to speak.
As they ran, the world around them seemed to shimmer, the city beginning to distort and fade. The future was resetting, piece by piece, as they were flung back to the present.
When they landed back in the hidden base, the silence was deafening.
Skylar took a trembling breath, glancing around at her team. They were back. They'd stopped the Revisionists. But Pierce was gone.
"Pierce..." Kody muttered, staring down at his hands. "He didn't have to..."
"He chose to," Skylar said quietly, making sure she is not loud enough. Standing up, she struggled to steady her weak legs. "And because of him, we're still here."
They all stood in silence, reflecting on the weight of what they had just done.
Then, Tyler's voice broke the silence, snapping through the comms. "Uh, guys... we've got a problem. There's another disturbance."
Skylar's heart sank. "What now?"
Tyler's screen lit up with a new anomaly. And this one bigger than any they had ever seen.
Skylar stared at the screen, her jaw tightening. "Looks like this fight isn't over yet."
The team exchanged glances, knowing that whatever was coming next, it was going to be even bigger than before.
"We'll handle it," Skylar said as a determined smile creeped onto her face. "But first, maybe let's take five minutes to catch our breath, yeah?"
As the tension eased for just a moment, Kody chuckled, "Sounds like a plan."
After catching their breath, the team gathered around Tyler's computer again. A new anomaly pulsed on the screen. It was bigger, stranger than anything they had dealt with before.
Skylar leaned in, studying the data Tyler was pulling up. "What are we looking at, Ty?"
Tyler scratched his head, clearly baffled. "Honestly, I don't know. This disturbance... it's not like the others. It's not just a blip or a slight shift in the timeline. It's more like... something's trying to break through."
Jamie frowned, crossing her arms. "Break through? Like someone coming here?"
"Maybe," Tyler said, clicking through a few more screens. "Or something."
Kody, who had been quiet for a while, spoke up. "Could it be the Revisionists again? Maybe they're still messing with time."
Skylar sighed, running a hand through her hair. "It has to be. They've got to be behind this. But... this doesn't feel the same as before. Something's off."
The team observed a heavy silence. It was clear that they had barely caught their breath from the last ordeal, and now another challenge was around the corner. The thought of facing something even more powerful than the Revisionists was...overwhelming, to say the least. A fine example of an understatement.
Tyler broke the silence. "I think we should check it out. We can't just sit here and wait for whatever it is to hit us."
Skylar nodded. "Agreed. We need to be proactive. But we also need to be smart about this. We can't just charge in without a plan."
Jamie raised an eyebrow. "Since when have we ever had a solid plan, though?"
Kody laughed, but it was half-hearted. "She's got a point. Our 'plans' tend to be more like 'winging it' and hoping for the best."
Skylar couldn't help but smile a little. "Yeah, well, maybe it's time we changed that. This feels different. We need to be more prepared."
Tyler stood up from the computer, grabbing a small device from his desk. "I've been working on something. It's not perfect, but it might help us track whatever is causing this disturbance."
He held up a strange-looking gadget, a mix of wires and small screens. "It'll help pinpoint the exact location of the anomaly, and maybe give us some insight into what's causing it."
Skylar gave him a narrowed stare. "When did you have time to make this?"
Tyler shrugged. "I tinker when I'm stressed."
Jamie smirked. "You're always stressed."
He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, this time it might actually pay off."
Skylar took the device from him, turning it over in her hands. It felt oddly heavy for something so small, and she could sense the importance of it. This gadget could be the key to figuring out what they were up against.
"Okay," she said, nodding. "We'll use this to get a better idea of what we're dealing with. But we need to move carefully. If this is another Revisionist plot, we can't afford to screw up."
Kody stood up, stretching his arms. "Let's just hope it's not something worse than the Revisionists."
Jamie snorted. "What could be worse than a bunch of time-traveling maniacs?"
Tyler looked up from his computer, his face grim. "Let's not find out."
Skylar turned to the team, feeling the weight of the moment. "Alright, we all know what's at stake here. Whatever this disturbance is, we need to handle it. We've saved the timeline before, and we'll do it again."
The team steeled themselves for everything lay ahead. They had faced impossible odds before, and though the future was uncertain, they knew they were the only ones who could set things right.
"Let's suit up," Skylar said. "It's time to finish this.
***
The team gathered at the entrance of the temporal pocket—their hidden base—gearing up for what felt like their final stand. Each of them was tense, but they masked it with light-hearted banter, the way they always did when they were on edge.
Skylar adjusted her jacket, glancing at her team. "Everyone ready? Last chance to back out."
Jamie, already wearing her gear and fiddling with her watch, raised an eyebrow. "Back out? You mean miss out on more chaos and near-death experiences? Count me in."
"Yeah," Kody added, pulling on his gloves. "We didn't sign up for normal. Besides, it's not every day we get to fight time criminals."
Tyler smiled slightly, the tension in his shoulders easing. "If by 'fight,' you mean 'try not to get crushed by forces beyond our understanding,' then sure. We're ready."
Skylar shook her head, suppressing a grin. "Good. Because there's no turning back this time."
With Tyler's makeshift tracker in hand, they stepped into the swirling vortex at the edge of their base. The sensation always felt strange, like stepping through a cold breeze that tugged at their skin.
When they emerged, they found themselves not in the familiar streets of Time Street, but somewhere completely different.
The air had such a strong force of energy that made the hairs on their arms stand up. Around them, everything looked warped, like a kaleidoscope of different eras mashed together.
There were flashes of cobblestone streets blending into sleek, futuristic, unrealistically smooth roads. Old-fashioned gas lamps glimmered next to glowing neon signs. And the sky...the sky was a dizzying ripple of colors.
"Whoa," Jamie breathed, staring at the chaotic landscape. "It's like someone threw history in a blender."
"Yeah, well, let's hope we're not the ones who have to clean it up," Kody muttered, glancing around uneasily. "Ty, any idea where we are?"
Tyler tapped on his tracker, frowning at the erratic readings. "I'm not sure. This place... it's like a convergence of different timelines. A temporal nexus, maybe?"
"A what now?" Jamie asked.
"A place where multiple timelines overlap," Tyler explained quickly. "It's unstable. Which means whatever's causing the disturbance is nearby."
Skylar squinted at a distant figure moving through the twisted streets. It was hard to make out, but it seemed... familiar. "Wait. Do you guys see that?"
The team followed her gaze. A man, tall and wearing a dark coat, was walking steadily through the mess of overlapping time periods. Despite the chaos around him, he walked with calculated moves.
"Is that...?" Jamie squinted. "Is that the Revisionist leader? The one we chased in 1943?"
"It can't be," Kody said, shaking his head. "We trapped him. He shouldn't even be—"
Before he could finish, the figure turned, revealing a face they knew all too well. It was him, the mastermind who had been manipulating history from hidden sources. But there was something different about him. His face seemed blurred, almost as if he was phasing in and out of existence.
Skylar tightened her grip on the tracker. "That's him, alright. And he's not alone."
As they watched, more figures emerged from the swirling streets—Revisionist agents, dozens of them. Each one was armed and moving in formation with their eyes locked on the team.
"Great," Jamie muttered. "An army of time thugs. Just what we needed."
Tyler glanced at the tracker, eyes widening. "Guys... there's something else. Another anomaly, and it's... it's right on top of us!"
Before they could react, the ground beneath them shook violently. A bright, blinding light erupted around them, and a deafening hum filled the air.
"What's happening?" Kody shouted, trying to steady himself as the world around them seemed to twist and contort.
Skylar's heart pounded. This wasn't just a temporal disturbance. It felt... deliberate. As if something—or someone—was pulling the strings.
"Ty, shut it down!" She yelled over the roar.
"I'm trying!" Tyler frantically tapped at his device, but the light only grew brighter. And then, as suddenly as it had begun, the light vanished.
Everything went still.
For a moment, they stood there, blinking against the sudden darkness. Then, slowly, the scene around them came into focus. They were no longer in the nexus, but in a quiet, dimly lit street.
Skylar looked around, trying to make sense of what had just happened. "Where... where are we?"
Tyler checked his tracker, his eyes widening. "Guys... I think we've been pulled to another timeline. One where..."
He trailed off as a figure shrouded in shadows stepped out of the darkness. His face was hidden beneath a hood.
"Welcome to my world," the figure said, smiling faintly. "You're just in time for the end." Though he spoke in a deliberately low voice, he sounded very familiar.
Skylar's blood ran cold. They were in a world completely controlled by the Revisionists.
And now they were trapped.
***
The team stood frozen, staring with paralyzed eyes at the hooded figure. Skylar didn't need to see his face to know who he was: the Revisionist leader—master of time manipulation and their greatest adversary.
Clenching her fists, Skylar took a step forward. "What do you mean, 'the end'?"
The figure chuckled maliciously. His hood had hidden most of his expression but revealed a cold, sinister smile. "You're standing in it. A world where I win. A timeline where your meddling doesn't matter anymore."
Jamie raised her hand, implying that she was unimpressed. "Okay, Mr. Creepy Hood, can we cut the villain monologue? We get it—you think you're in control. But we've beaten you before, and we'll do it again."
"Yeah," Kody added, cracking his knuckles. "You're just one guy. There are four of us."
The leader tilted his head slightly, amused. "Is that what you think? That you can change things by sheer willpower alone?"
Her heart continued to thud in her chest, but Skylar forced herself to stay calm. "It's not just willpower. It's knowing we're on the correct side of history."
With an unnerving presence, the leader stepped closer, "The right side? Tell me, Skylar... what does 'right' even mean in a world where time itself is so fragile? You think you're a hero who is taking care of history like her baby, but all you've done is fracture it, over and over again. And now, it's breaking."
He lifted his hand, and the world around them shifted slightly, like a ripple in a pond. Buildings wavered in and out of existence. Every inch of the sky darkened. It was as if reality itself was struggling to stay intact.
Tyler quickly checked his tracker. "He's... destabilizing the timeline! We've got to stop him before—"
Before he could finish, the ground trembled beneath their feet. Suddenly, more Revisionist agents appeared from stealth areas and started to surround them. Each one carried a weapon. They were prepared and clearly determined to make this moment the highlight of their day.
Jamie groaned. "Of course, there's an army. Because things weren't complicated enough already."
Kody glanced around, his expression steely. "So what's the plan, boss?" he asked, looking at Skylar. "Are we taking them all down, or do we go after the big guy?"
Skylar felt like she was losing her mind. They were outnumbered, outgunned, and in an unstable timeline. But they had something the Revisionists didn't—hope. They knew that time could be saved, even if it felt impossible. And they had each other.
"We split up," she said firmly. "Tyler, you and Jamie take out the agents. Kody, you're with me. We're going after him."
The leader smirked. "Bold, but futile."
"We'll see," Skylar shot back, adrenaline coursing through her veins.
Without hesitation, the team made a run. Tyler pulled out a device from his pack, slamming it on the ground. Instantly, a dome of energy formed around him and Jamie, creating a barrier between them and the advancing agents.
"Stay close!" Tyler shouted. "This should buy us a few minutes."
Jamie nodded, pulling out her baton, which sparked with electricity. "Let's make them count."
Outside the barrier, Kody and Skylar dashed toward the Revisionist leader. He remained indifferent, watching them with detached curiosity, as if their attempts were nothing more than entertainment.
"You think you can stop me?" The leader said, casually raising his hand again. This time, the ripple in the air grew more violent. The entire street seemed to bend and twist like it was being torn apart.
Skylar stumbled, trying to keep her footing. "We don't have a choice!"
Kody charged at the leader, fists flying. But before he could land a blow, the leader flicked his wrist, and Kody was thrown backward by an invisible force.
"Kody!" Skylar shouted, panic flaring up.
"I'm fine!" Kody called, struggling to his feet. "Just... keep going!"
Skylar narrowed her eyes, pushing through the distortion in the air. She had to get close enough to stop the leader, but how? His control over time was too powerful.
Then, an idea struck her. She pulled out the small temporal stabilizer Tyler had given her earlier—their last resort. If she could get close enough, she could plant it near the leader and disrupt his control over the timeline.
She sprinted forward, her legs burning with effort. The leader noticed her approach but did not really let anyone know what he was thinking.
"You can't stop what's already begun," he said. His voice reverberated unnaturally in the distorted air.
Skylar gritted her teeth. "Watch me."
With a final burst of energy, she reached him. In one swift motion, she slammed the stabilizer at his feet and activated it.
For a moment, everything went still. Then, with a deafening crack, the ripple in the air collapsed. The distortion faded, and the timeline began to stabilize slowly.
"You... you've—" The leader's expression twisted with rage.
Before he could finish, Skylar lunged at him and tackled him to the ground. "You talk too much," she muttered.
Behind her, Tyler and Jamie had successfully subdued the remaining agents. The street embraced silence again except for the hum of the stabilizer.
Kody limped over, rubbing his shoulder. "Nice tackle."
Skylar stood, breathing hard. "Thanks."
The Revisionist leader struggled under her grip, his eyes filled with fury. "You haven't won, loser! You can't keep fighting time. It's already broken!"
Skylar looked down at him with an unwavering resolve. "Maybe. But we're not giving up."
Just then, the air shimmered again, and a portal opened behind them. It was their way out, back to their base.
Tyler gestured toward the portal. "We should go. Before this place falls apart."
Skylar smiled. "Let's wrap this up."
Today, they had won.
And tomorrow? Who knows what tomorrow might hold?