Chapter 8 – The Timeline
Okay, so you know how in movies, whenever there's some genius scientist character, they always have a secret project they're "not ready to test yet" because it's "too dangerous"? Yeah. That's basically the Prof.
Only difference? His "too dangerous" thing wasn't a giant robot or a death ray… it was a freakin' time machine.
Like… an actual… honest-to-goodness… back-to-the-future-but-with-more-math kind of deal.
And the craziest part?
It was just… sitting there in his lab the whole time.
I mean, we'd been in that lab for weeks and none of us noticed it. Probably because it didn't look like a time machine. No glowing circles, no big chrome rings with lightning arcing between them , nah, this thing looked like a giant server rack that had been hitting the gym. All matte black panels, pulsing blue strips of light, and about a billion wires snaking into the floor.
Watt (a.k.a. Melvin, a.k.a. the guy who can run faster than the internet loads memes) was staring at it like it was a PS6.
"Wait wait wait, you had THIS the whole time?" he asked.
Prof didn't even look up from his holographic screens. "Had, yes. Used? No."
ATLAS raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"
"Because," Prof said, spinning around in his chair like the dramatic nerd he is, "I don't gamble with things I don't fully understand. And time… is not something you mess with lightly."
Cue dramatic silence.
Tranquiliser leaned on his bow. "Translation: he's scared."
Prof shot him a death glare. "Translation: I'm not an idiot. This is the timeline we're talking about. Altering it without knowing how it works is like… juggling nuclear warheads while blindfolded."
Okay… yeah, fair point.
[The Breach Equation]
So here's where Prof went full science mode.
Apparently, before you can even THINK about time travel, you need to figure out how to make what he calls a "breach." And no, not like the "breach" in those military shooter games. This one is made by bombarding proton particles at insanely high speeds until they tear a hole in reality.
"Think of spacetime like a giant trampoline," Prof explained, pulling up a 3D model. "If you push hard enough in the right spot, you can bend it. Push too hard in the wrong spot, and you rip it open. That rip is the breach."
"Cool," Watt said. "So we just… rip reality and walk through?"
Prof sighed. "Yes. Except if we don't hit exactly the right speed when bombarding the protons, instead of opening a controlled breach… we'll make a black hole that swallows the planet."
"Oh," Watt said. "So… no pressure."
No pressure at all, right? Just "don't destroy the world." Casual Tuesday.
[Why Watt Was the Key]
Here's the thing: Prof could build the machine, he could calculate the breach equation, but actually TESTING it? That's where Watt came in.
See, Watt's speed wasn't just "fast." It was "mess-with-the-laws-of-physics" fast. And apparently, his top speed was exactly what Prof needed to power the breach safely without melting a hundred-million-dollar particle accelerator.
The plan was simple… on paper:
1.Watt runs into the past.
2. Hides something there.
3. Comes back to the present.
4. Sees if the thing is still where he left it.
Prof called it "Time Stealing." I called it "The Dumbest Science Fair Project Ever" (but, you know, in a cool way).
[ Time Steal]
Now here's the twist: the thing Watt had to hide wasn't just a rock or a coin. Nope. It was a piece of Duranium alloy which, fun fact, doesn't even exist yet.
Prof hadn't built in the past . Hasn't invented it. But apparently made a prototype , which one day , was gonna be the strongest metal in the world.
So Watt takes the alloy, runs into the past (we're talking decades back), and hides it. Easy job for the fastest guy alive, right?
He comes back. We all hold our breath.
And guess what? Someone ELSE invented the Duranium alloy.
Not Prof. Some random other genius.
That's when Prof did the whole dramatic sigh and was like:
"Conclusion: altering the past changes both the present and the future."
Watt just blinked. "So… I broke history?"
"Correct."
[The Revelation]
But Prof wasn't done experimenting yet. Now he wanted to know what happens if you change the future instead.
Watt wasn't thrilled about this part. "Uh, future me might not like me snooping."
"Future you will be dead if the Earth is destroyed," Prof replied flatly.
So Watt ran.
And when I say ran, I mean he blasted out of the breach so fast the room shook.
He was gone for maybe two minutes our time.
When he came back?
Yeah… he looked like he'd just seen every horror movie at once.
"Everything's gone," he said, voice shaking. "Earth's… just dust. Sky's red. No people. No animals. Just… nothing."
Prof tapped something on his screen and nodded, like that was just normal Tuesday science. "Conclusion: changing the future has no effect on the present or past. But the future itself can still be catastrophic."
Translation: we are screwed.
The Realization
At that point, all three of them ATLAS, Tranquiliser, Watt, just kinda stood there in awkward silence. Because now they understood why Prof had started Protocol Zero in the first place.
ATLAS: the future's already a smoking crater, we can't just sit around and hope for the best.[Thinking hard]
ATLAS was the first to break the silence. "If the future's that bad, then four of us won't cut it. We need help."
"Did someone say help?"
The voice came from the shadows near the blast doors. And then he stepped into the light , this Asian dude swinging two nunchucks like he was born with them in his hands.
Not store-bought nunchucks. These things were… glowing. Forged-metal handles etched with ancient runes, and chains that shimmered like liquid lightning.
ATLAS frowned. "Who invited this dude?"
Tranquiliser immediately drew his bow. "Yeah, who let you in here, freak?" His fingers were already sparking as he prepped a lightning arrow.
The guy didn't even flinch. He just smirked that "I've already won" kind of smirk , and spun the nunchucks faster. "Relax. If I wanted you dead, you wouldn't be standing."
Prof cleared his throat like this was no big deal. "I did. Oh, uh… by the way, his name's Lee."
Lee just grinned wider. "And you're welcome."
To be continued...