Note Bene: Hi. Hello. It has been about six (6!) years since I last updated this story. I always mean to come back and finish it, but find that I can no longer muster the energy to do the thing justice. It is not fair to you, the readers, to keep you hanging on like this, wondering what will happen, so it is with great humility and affection that I offer you the outline of what I intended to happen to Rachel, Fanny, Patton, and to Abby, Hoagie, Kuki, and Wally.

As it is an outline, details will be sparse, and character names will not be consistent. It will be very rough and gritty, but it is what it is.

Thank you so much for your patience with this story. And thank you so much for reading it and taking comfort in it. I'm glad that it was able to give so many people joy.


Outline

The convoy drives through the forest, then into farmland, and then into the desert midwest. It's actually kind of nice, but they're spotted by the Wolf Pack, a dangerous guard dedicated to arresting/destroying convoys traveling across the Badlands. They're pretty awful and feral, and they're catching up in a war caravan of their own.

The time travel kids are appalled. The Resistance kids assure them that yes, it is that bad, please focus.

The Wolf Pack catches up with the Caravan and the two sides fight it out Mad Max style. Fanny gets the first shots in with her rifle (she shoots the engines and tires out), but she can only do so much.

Tyr, Boomer, and Wally play defense with the cars. They lose a motorcycle, but Tyr catches a ride with Boomer.

Patton, Abby, and Thor play defense on the Big Rig, Wally plays defense on the sedan, and Tyr and Boomer play offense with the Wolf Pack (Tyr hops on a car, takes everyone out, and hops back onto either the sedan, or the motorcycle).

The Convoy is doing pretty good, until all of the Resistance kids pick up on an aura. The Wolf is out hunting today. Abby and Thor realize that it's a spymaster aura. Abby asserts the Supreme Leader Aura to keep everyone focused, and it works. Tyr hops on the Wolf's rig to fight the Wolf, to everyone's dismay. The Wolf wears a full head wolf mask, and has a voice changer. He/Him/His pronouns. He seems delighted to see Tyr.

"Little pupper-oni wants to play," the Wolf says.

"Stop calling me that!" Tyr says.

They fight. Tyr is…not enough, and Wolf seems to just toy with him. Before long, Thor arrives on the rig too and fights him. He notices that the Wolf is shorter than he imagined. More lithe.

Thor destroys him, but is unable to dislodge the mask. The wolf is so shook that he asks, "Who are you?"

But gets no response. Wally takes out one of the tires, and Thor takes Tyr and hops back onto the Convoy. They escape into a long tunnel that was used by BART to cross the bay.

The Resistance kids are impressed. They went toe-to-toe with the Wolf Pack and no one in the convoy died. But it's all in a day's work for the Time Travel kids. That's just how great they are.

They arrive at Resistance HQ, and Regan introduces the time travel kids as new recruits. The base is actually built in the ruins of the financial district of San Francisco. It's very post-apocalyptic. Everyone spends the night at the base.

The base isn't all work and no play. Kuki and Wally explore the base and make a date of it without calling it a date. It's like walking through a grungy and extensive flea market or farmer's market.

Regan invites Thor and Fanny to a pub where she's playing a gig. While she sings "If I Should Fall From Grace With God" Thor and Fanny discover that she can "fill a room" too. It leans more on the side of the Supreme Leader version. They're so proud. Thor and Fanny actually bump into a grown up Virginia and Bartie Stork, who have turned out to be hipsters complete with tattoos and piercings, but they don't recognize Thor or Fanny. They dance. After the show, Regan gives Thor and Fanny CDs of her band's album.

Tyr is having trouble with his prosthetic hand. Grant helps him with it. They're kind of gay, lads. It's a toy boat ship. Tyr says that maybe the time travel crew aren't as bad as he thought they were. Grant volunteers to help Tyr with his assignment.

Bluey gets Bikkie and Patton into the explosives lab. They take all they can get.


The next day, they set the plan in motion. Penny and Boomer are a unit, Thor and Fanny are a unit, Regan is her own unit, Hoagie and Abby are a unit, everyone else is on bomb planting duty. They split up and go their separate ways throughout HQ.

Penny and Boomer walk into the maintenance bay with gear (vague "gear" because whatever neat gadgets that are unaccounted for could be explained by them getting it from HQ). Penny logs into the system through a laptop, and changes the logs for a couple of vehicles that have just been cleared for use. She prints out tags and switches them out. She takes command of one vehicle, and Boomer takes control of the other. Boomer's an incorrigible flirt over the radios towards Penny. Penny's amused.

Regan has an appointment with the Commander for debriefing. Teenage Nigel Uno is introduced. He keeps a picture of the old Sector V on his desk and while he was a good team leader, he doesn't seem to like being a Supreme Leader. Regan is nervous, because of what the Resistance and Time Travel kids have planned, but she's always nervous around Nigel, who dismisses it.

When Regan's done, she and Grant board the vehicles with gear.

Abby and Hoagie break into an IT storeroom to swipe an un-configured laptop. It's the first time that Hoagie's accompanied Abby on a black bag mission. They're almost caught by an IT personnel, but they act as if they're making out in the closet. The poor IT sighs in resignation.

"Not again," he mumbles, and shuts the door to give them privacy. When he's gone, Abby leaves the storeroom and meet up with Thor and Fanny to give them the blank laptop.

Bikkie and Patton set off electromagnetic-bombs on a few planes, making a distraction for Nigel Uno. Tyr further splits Nigel's focus by acting like a fanboy and asks him questions. A few of these questions are the same questions that Thor assigned him to ask.

"Sir, you're my hero!"

"Thank you."

"What's your favorite food?"

"Uh…snow cones."

Tyr leaves afterwards, and Nigel doesn't think anything of it.

While Nigel's out of his office, Thor and Fanny swap the blank laptop with Nigel's, then they meet up with Abby again to give her Nigel's laptop.

Abby gets Nigel's laptop to Hoagie and calls in Tyr's assignment. Tyr drops off the usb drive and Hoagie is amazed at the amount of information in it. Thanks to the information on the usb drive, Hoagie's able to log in on his third try.

Happy birthday, Nigel Uno. Also, he really likes snow cones. Hoagie searches the Resistance database for any info about the Citadel. He copies the info onto his computer tablet and waits.

While HQ is reeling from the bombs, Bikkie and Patton join Boomer and Penny aboard the vehicles with more gear.

Virginia and Bartie Stork meet with Nigel to investigate the bombing. Virginia is super surprised that the bombing didn't do a lot of damage. Whoever did it is either incredibly inept at sabotage, or they knew exactly what they were doing, and it's a distraction. For what? Nigel asks. They don't know yet. Virginia examines the remains of Bikkie and Patton's bombs. Nigel orders them to find out who did this before going back to his office.

Hoagie and Abby are still holed up in the IT closet. They're only half-way done with copying the data. Tyr did pretty damn good. Regan is feeding them information on what the officers are doing via radio (which includes where Virginia is on her investigation). Patton says that Virginia's an idiot-savant when it comes to bombs, so they don't have the whole day anymore. Thor agrees. They have to leave HQ ASAP.

Bluey, Tyr, Kuki, and Wally get onto the vehicles with gear.

Virginia and Bartie report to Nigel that the bombs aren't typical Citadel bombs. They weren't made with HQ materials either. This narrows down the pool of suspects to visiting teams. Nigel tries out his laptop and realizes that it's not his. He commands a lockdown of the base. He orders Bartie to trace the signal to his real laptop, and Bartie gets a lock on it.

Time's up! Hoagie finishes downloading the data right when Bartie locks it remotely. Abby destroys the laptop, and she escorts Hoagie out before HQ personnel can find them. They need the FUBAR escape plan, which they were hoping not to do. Thor agrees.

Bikkie and Patton blow the second set of bombs, which are on the other side of HQ from the vehicle yard. HQ is in a mess again, and while everyone's distracted, Thor, Fanny, Hoagie, and Abby make it onto the vehicles. They they escape and drive into the BART Tunnel.

Meanwhile, Bartie and Virginia rightfully conclude that they are in over their heads and need backup. They need to tell Finnegan what happened. Nigel almost throws a fit. Don't tell Finnegan! Don't you dare tell Finnegan. Whatever went wrong, he can handle it. But Bartie and Virginia agree that they need to tell Finnegan now. Finnegan is the leader of the entire Resistance, where Nigel is only the leader of the HQ branch.


The Resistance and Time Travel kids drive back through the Badlands towards the Citadel. Thankfully, the Wolf Pack is nowhere to be found.

Regan cannot believe they just did all that. She can't. She's distraught, but Penny distracts her by talking about what might happen next. Once the Time Travel kids go back to their time, one of two things will happen. One: the Resistance timeline will cease to exist. Two: The Resistance timeline will keep existing, and the Time Travel kids will create an alternate dimension when they go back.

While they drive, Hoagie combs through the data and finds that there IS an unfinished time machine deep underground the Citadel, but the Emperor's scientists are still developing the code to use it. They want to use it to hop to other dimensions and make the Emperor's victory complete. Rachel was right; they'll need to go into the Citadel.

Abby and Thor talk about what to do next. They agree that because of Penny's first suggested scenario, they can't just go back in time and leave the Resistance kids to the mercy of the Emperor. They have to help. Before they go back in time, they have to fulfill the following objectives (in no particular order):

1. Kill the Wolf
2. Arrest the Emperor
3. Find Leroy
4. Free everyone from the Emperor's mind control chips

Thor says that's a tall order, and there's only 14 of them. Abby welcomes him to the world of Sector V, would he like a tour?

Hoagie combs through more data and informs them all of Finnegan, another Leader of the Resistance equal in rank to Nigel, if not higher. Nigel's in charge of HQ, but not of the entire Resistance. It's more of a coalition. Finnegan's running a guerrilla operation in the Citadel and they could ask him for help.

They stop for the night. Penny and Boomer, who've been driving the rest of the day, sleep the whole night. Hoagie, who's still injured, needs rest, so he sleeps too. Bluey and Regan will be drivers tomorrow, and they turn in early.

Thor and Fanny take first watch in the turret. Thor finally peels off his Adam's Apple voice changer patch and becomes Rachel again. She asks Fanny if she likes Thor. Fanny rightfully interprets this question as loaded, and she tells Rachel that while Thor is nice to look at, she didn't fall in love with him; she fell in love with Rachel.

Rachel is so very pleased at that answer. Being Thor is exhausting. She's so pleased that she might start a cuddle session with Fanny. She maps out constellations on Fanny's skin using her freckles, and matches them to the night sky.

The sky is clear out here in the desert, not like in the city, or in the suburbs. They talk about the Wolf and who it could be. Rachel has some theories, but none of them are substantial. They also gossip about who the twins' and Bikkie's father could be, and they talk about who they want to be in the future.

Rachel goes down to let Wally and Abby know that it's their shift, and she comes back up to the turret with a blanket. They sleep.

Wally and Abby talk about time traveling and meeting their kids. Wally says that Kuki's kids are pretty cool. Abby says that of course they are, because Kuki's a pretty cool girl. Wally agrees. He says that Abby's a girl. Abby agrees and is amused with how blunt Wally's being. Wally says that means that Abby would know what girls like. Abby agrees again. She asks if Wally needs advice on how to woo a particular girl. Wally says that he would. Only hypothetically speaking. Abby says to not be mean. He talks to Kuki like she's a real person, and he actually listens to her. What, like it's hard? Kuki's interesting as hell. Abby laughs. That's pretty much it. That…That's it?! Lol yeah. You're doing a good job there, Champ.

On the other side of one of the rigs, Grant and Patton finally talk. Grant draws something in the sand, and Patton says that it's very good. Patton asks why Grant hasn't sought him out before now. Grant says that it was because he was afraid. Patton asks why Grant is afraid of him. Grant says that he's not afraid of him; he's afraid of his disapproval.

Grant is more than aware of his military heritage, and was brought up with the expectation that he would join the military too, but he doesn't want to. Grant wants to pursue art instead. He wasn't even in the KND before the Emperor invaded, he was civilian. After the Wolf murdered Patton and his wife, Grant felt extremely guilty, thinking that if he were tougher, if he were KND, maybe he would have been able to save them. So he joined the Resistance, but found out that he made a terrible soldier. He just doesn't have the temperament for it.

Patton tells Grant that he's pretty damn brave to be telling him all this. He tells him that it's not his fault that Patton died. If he wants to be an artist, then he can be an artist. Patton asks Grant who his favorite artist is, and Grant suddenly can't stop talking. He lights up and suddenly Grant isn't the shy boy that he's been depicted as until now. Patton doesn't understand half of the things that Grant is saying, but thinks that it's okay. He realizes that these things are important to Grant, and so are important to him, so he listens to Grant talking regardless.


The next day, upon reaching the Capitol, they find out that their rigs fit right in, and they're able to smuggle themselves into the Citadel.

The Citadel is vibrant, clean, and "happy." Nothing like the distopia they expected. But there are shades of Something Is Wrong, like the posters put up to encourage blind loyalty to the state above family, the Emperor as a benevolent, wise ruler, that the Resistance is a mafia that must be stopped, that the Citadel is a paradise, that the world outside is unclean and is hell. It's very much an us-vs-them thing.

The late adults that the Time Travel kids grew up to be in this future are referred to as "the Accursed Seven" and are condemned as demons who were cleansed from the face of the Earth by the Wolf, who is a mighty champion in the Citadel. Their deaths are celebrated here. It's messed up. Really messed up. Everyone's shook.

Technology is amazing. Eye-scanning tech keeps track of every citizen. Bluey gives everyone glasses/sunglasses/goggles that will protect their eyes and their identity.

They try to access the Emperor's palace only for it to go very, very badly. The Wolf and his pack arrive again to arrest them all, but Rachel and the other fighters take them on while the others escape. Rachel fights the Wolf to a standstill again, and the Wolf is more disturbed. He's not used to losing fights.

"Who are you!?" He asks, but Rachel and the other fighters escape.

They regroup far away from the palace. Rachel, Abby, and Regan lead a discussion of how they could infiltrate the palace. Especially now that their faces are plastered across the city on wanted posters.

Disguises? No.

Sneak in? No. They just tried that.

An all-out attack? No. They don't have the numbers or the resources.

In fact, they don't have any plan without resources or numbers. How can they muster an army?

Patton suggests that there is already an army, the Resistance. If they formally draft them into the plan, then they can do anything.

No. They are not teaming up with Nigel Uno after pulling the stunt they did. The Resistance kids say that Nigel isn't the only leader of the Resistance. If they can work with Finnegan, then Finnegan can vouch for them to the other leaders. No one knows who or where he is, but he's been known to be open-minded before.

Hoagie says that according to the data on Nigel's laptop, Finnegan is running a guerrilla operation here in the Citadel. They can find him and talk to him tonight if the data's still good.

That is a truly stupid plan, but it's all they got, so everyone agrees with Hoagie.

They need to find Finnegan. Hoagie is their guide, and they follow him into the gritty undercity of the Citadel.

Hoagie leads them to an Irish pub, and they all go in. Unlike the rest of the Citadel, the pub is cozy and filled with nice people. (Everyone else in the Citadel is nice too, but they don't seem genuine. The pub people are genuine, even if some of them have covered their faces or wear hoods.) A traditional band is playing in the corner. There's a mandolin player, a hooded bodhran drummer, and a guitarist.

Fanny recognizes one of the band members as her grown-up brother, Paddy. Rachel, Abby, and Regan go to the bar to order something. Regan is quiet, as she's never done anything like this before. She defers to Abby and Rachel's expertise.

A masked bartender comes to take their order. He's tall and burly.

Rachel and Abby ask him, in very coded language, if they can speak to Finnegan. They get Regan to flash her Resistance badge.

The bartender looks at the badge, then looks at Rachel, then pulls out a gun. Most everyone in the pub save for the Resistance and the Time Travel kids pull out guns and point them at Abby, Rachel, and Regan too, revealing themselves to be part of the Resistance.

This terminology is confusing. I should rename the Resistance Kids…. Let's call them the Juniors from this point on lol. The Juniors are different from the Time Travelers and are also different from the Resistance.

So the bartender has the Resistance bind Abby, Rachel, and Regan, and he's all, "Did you really think we wouldn't recognize you? Kill them all!"

And Fanny and Hoagie see this and they're all "no!"

And at the same time, all the way across the bar, the hooded bodhran drummer and Paddy also stand up and shout, "no!"

Every single one of them lowers their guns and steps away. Even the bartender stops.

The Time Travelers and the Juniors don't know what to do. The bartender points at the drummer and at Paddy until they leave into the back room, then turns towards the three bound girls. He tells the Resistance to bring the girls to the back. And also that one. And he points at Fanny. The time travellers and the juniors are terrified, but they're surrounded by guns, so they can't escape. Abby and Rachel signal to them that they'll be ok, and they let the Resistance pick them up and carry them back. Fanny also goes.

The back room is bare save for a few cabinets, a table, and a few chairs. The drummer is already there, sitting in the corner and quietly talking to Paddy. The Resistance sets Abby, Rachel, and Regan into them, and Fanny also sits down. The Resistance stands around them as guards.

The bartender comes in and stares at the drummer for a long time, but says nothing and sits on the other side of the table before the kids. He dismisses Paddy.

Damn I keep saying kids when they're really teens, but "kids" is shorter so Imma stick with it.

The bartender orders the Resistance to unbind Regan, and Abby, but orders extra rope to be tied around Rachel. Regan and Fanny protest, but Rachel says it's ok.

They bind Rachel more and they blindfold her. While they do this, their hands shake, revealing that they are afraid of Rachel.

The bartender asks who they are and what they want with Finnegan.

Regan once again takes a backseat to Rachel and Abby, but the bartender interrupts. He wants Regan to say who they are.

Regan is scared, but Abby and Rachel encourage her. She explains who they are and why they're here. Everyone calls bullshit, but the bartender tells the the Resistance to look for scars.

The guards tilt the girls' heads left and right, looking behind their ears and under their chins, and then again at the nape of their necks. When they come back clean, the bartender is amazed. They haven't been surgically altered, nor do they have mind-control chips embedded. He requests a blood sample from each of them except from Rachel for a DNA test. They acquiesce, and the blood is drawn. They wait.

It's excruciating.

The tests come back, vindicating them. No drugs or chemicals either. They're clean.

The bartender suddenly is quite agitated, and he begins to protest, but the drummer stands up and approaches them. They put a hand on the bartender's shoulder.

The bartender slumps, defeated, and he takes off his mask, revealing a grizzled, adult Patton.

He says he isn't Patton, but Negative 60. He and what's left of the DNK followed the Emperor and his regime to this dimension.

Is he Finnegan?

No, but he poses as Finnegan to keep the real leader safe. There are also some troops and agents who take orders from a man better than from a woman. He stands up and offers his chair to the drummer, who takes the chair as if it is their right.

The player lowers their hood to reveal Fanny. Or, Fanny if she were pushing early-to-mid 40's and was the leader of a rebellion. She wears an eyepatch.

Regan's shook. "Mum?"

But the drummer says that she's Negative 86, not Fanny Fulbright. Her real name is Fanny Finnegan. She's watched Regan from afar, the closest thing to a daughter she'll ever have, and she is very proud. This is the reason why she stood up and yelled "no" in the pub. She did it to save Regan.

She talks to Abby too. She remembers Abby from Operation P.O.O.L. And she grieved when Abby and the rest of Sector V were killed.

She glances at Rachel once, and it is so full of grief and terror that Fanny and Abby are loathe to ask her what her damage is. They explain that Rachel was the Supreme Leader of the KND during Operation P.O.O.L. She has Abby's utmost respect and trust. After that, Finnegan relaxes a little bit and orders Rachel's blindfold be taken off. The Rebels protest. Curiosity killed the cat.

Yes, and satisfaction brought it back. Remove the blindfold.

Rachel and Finnegan regard each other for a long moment. The resemblance is uncanny, but there's something about the eyes. This is a Fanny, but this isn't Rachel's Fanny. There's something comforting in that. They seem to come to a silent agreement.

Fanny asks her why her name is Finnegan. Finnegan says that in her universe, her parents got divorced and her mother got remarried so she's Fanny Finnegan.

I realize that by doing this, I'm making the Pool dimension an alternate dimension and not a mirror dimension, but screw it. I'd do pretty much anything to keep from using those ridiculous backwards names.

Abby asks her what happened. She was set to be the Supreme Leader of the DNK when she and Sector V left.

Finnegan says that even though they arrested the Emperor, they didn't arrest his allies. While he was in the broccoli mines, he plotted and sent instructions to these allies, who toppled and broke Finnegan's administration before her 17th birthday.

Negative 60 says that the Wolf was one of these allies.

Finnegan tells him to stop.

Fanny asks if that's true.

Finnegan says that before the Emperor rose again, they were able to arrest the Wolf, and she thought that the Wolf could be rehabilitated. She thought they were making great progress, but they were betrayed. She's not quite sure what happened, but she was viciously attacked. She lost her eye.

Negative 60 says that the Wolf attacked her.

Finnegan dismisses him. Negative 60 leaves in a huff.

The few faithful DNK members smuggled Finnegan into the underground and kept her a secret. Many people thought she was dead, but they managed to nurse her back to health. They formed the Resistance and the rest is history.

That's amazing.

Thank you. It's such a story that they made a song about her. This line is a reference to the song, "Finnegan's Wake."

She asks them what the plan is. They discuss how they could topple the Emperor, end his regime, stop the Wolf and his other allies, and reinstall Finnegan as Supreme Leader.

Finnegan says that they must also disable the mind control chips.

Abby says that they must also find Leroy.

They must do all this before they go down to the time machine and go back to the past.

Finnegan says that they will have whatever they need. The Resistance is skeptical. Is it really that easy?

But Finnegan knows Sector V and she knows they'll get it done. Whatever they need, they'll get it. In the meantime, they can stay here, in the underground. She has one request. While Rachel is here, she must wear a mask. They will unbind her, but she must wear a mask.

Rachel agrees, and they unbind her.


There's an extensive network of tunnels and rooms beneath the pub. The Time Travelers and the Juniors are reunited and they're very relieved. They're in a room that closely resembles a hostel. Outside the room, they can hear the Resistance gearing up for war.

Rachel and Fanny are curled up in a bunk. Rachel is…not okay. She's fine, but she's never been that close to death before. She thought they'd shoot her right there on the floor. She wonders why Finnegan and the Resistance would target her like that, but there aren't any answers. She's got a domino mask hanging around her neck to wear while she's among the Resistance.

In a different bunk across the room, Abby and Hoagie talk. Hoagie is a little clingy. He didn't think he'd see her again. They're interrupted by Penny. Watching Abby walk into the back room was like watching her get killed all over again. And she's feeling…not good. It's surprising, because she's one of the oldest of the Juniors and she's been cool-headed up until now.

Abby and Hoagie readjust themselves so that everyone can sit and they reassure Penny that they're not going to die. But now that Penny's sort of cracked, it all comes out. She's sorry she lost Leroy. She's the older sister, so she was responsible, so it's her fault. She's been carrying around so much guilt over this.

Hoagie and Abby ask what happened to Leroy. Penny tells them that he was taken a few months back while they were caravan-ing back from HQ. They were attacked by the Wolf Pack.

Jesus Christ, the Wolf is turning out to be The Worst.

Abby and Hoagie assure Penny that they'll find Leroy and free him. That it's not her fault. None of this was her fault.

Penny might be too smart to fully believe them, but she'll do it anyway.

Kuki, Bluey, Boomer, and Bikkie are playing a game of mahjong. It's a rowdy one. Turns out Boomer inherited Kuki's enthusiasm and they get on like a house on fire. Bluey and Bikkie are more sedate, but while Bikkie is content to let it all wash around her like music, Bluey doesn't seem to know what to do with Kuki. He's been acting like a father-figure for so long that he no longer knows how to be a son. Very tragic. But Kuki is so friendly and easy-going that Bluey forgets about being perfect and starts to have fun.

Wally watches them play from a separate bunk. He asks Patton who he thinks the kids' father might be.

Patton says that he thinks they have different fathers. He says this as a joke, but Wally gets so offended that Patton decides to run with it. Bikkie has blue eyes, and the twins' eyes are brown. It checks out, bruh. You mad?

Wally is plenty mad. Patton backtracks when Wally threatens to punch him out.

The Resistance strikes at dawn. Bombs go off in key parts of the Citadel away from the Palace, distracting everyone. The entire Resistance engages in the fight against the Emperor's forces. Rachel, Fanny, and their kids lead the main attack bc the Wolf will lead the defense. Rachel and Fanny mean to kill the Wolf. Kuki, Wally, and their kids go off to arrest the Emperor bc is Wally beat him once, then he can do it again. Abby, Hoagie, and their kids go off to find Leroy and to shut down the Mind Control Chips. Patton and Grant go down into the bowels of the Palace to find the time travel machine and a proper bus the time travel kids can ride in.

The fight is awful. Civilians are fleeing the battlefield while the Resistance and the soldiers fight practically door to door. Rachel and Tyr fight the Wolf again, and the Wolf mocks them both before Fanny sets his mask on fire. The Wolf unmasks himself to reveal an older and crueler Rachel.

Regan and Tyr are horrified. "Mom?"

But the Wolf is Negative 362. Since she was a kid, she's had a knack for mayhem and destruction, which is why the Emperor chose her as his enforcer.

Rachel is horrified and disgusted. How could the Wolf commit so many murders? How could she hurt Finnegan so badly?

The Wolf is somehow offended.

Finnegan shows up, amazed, calling the Wolf, "Wolfy?"

Wally simply breaks in through the back, and everyone else gets in that way. Hoagie hacks the palace signal and then hacks the system from there. He gives everyone a digital map of the palace. The Sanbans, Gilligans, and the Drilovsky's split up.

The map doesn't say where the Emperor is; he could be in a security bunker, or he could be in the throne room, or he could even be in the war room. Bluey says that they need a guard's earpiece, so Wally and Boomer say ok and leave for 5 mins. When they return, they give Bluey handfuls of earpieces lol. They…only need one. Well, they did several because they all have different security clearances. Boomer holds up a bunch of key cards. Oh. Ok. Bluey thanks them and listens to an ear piece for a couple mins, then says that he knows where the Emperor is. They follow him.

Hoagie has found Leroy's file. He's actually a medical prodigy, so they have him researching advanced medical procedures and medicines. He's actually trying to develop a form of Bacta. He's ranked under the chief medical doctor to the Emperor and also under the lead researcher tho. They're on their way over to the labs. They come across some badging security points, but Penny hacks them.

Hoagie also finds the code for the mind control chips. Because of his busted hand, he can't type quickly, so he delegates that task to Penny. Penny composes a computer virus that will fry the processors in the chips, effectively rendering them useless. The victims will feel a sharp pain for a second when the chip burns out, but they'll live on without injury.

They find Leroy in the labs, as promised, but there's something off about him. Leroy picks up a scalpel and attacks them.

Patton and Grant find a garage of old TND buses, like it's a sick trophy museum. It's blessedly empty, but creepy. The older ones might not run, but the newer ones might. The newest one they find is about 6 months old, but it's up on axles. Patton and Hoagie planned for this, and he takes out a bunch of gear from his bag. Grant asks why they can't just take a functioning ship, like the Emperor's private yacht. Patton says that they can't take future tech back to the past. They top the oil and other fluids, change out the belts and other rubber parts, and then try the engine. Nothing. Cool. Patton clips the battery to a jumper and asks Grant to try again.

It works. The boys are hyped. Now, they just have to get this bus from here all the way down to the time travel lab below. How? Grant's duffle, of course. They open it up to find a shit-ton of c4.

Abby and Penny distract Leroy while Hoagie finishes the code for the Mind Control Chip virus. Penny talks him through what she's already done so he can continue. While they fight, Leroy goes through phases of hostility, confusion, and distress, but at least he drops the scalpel. Abby finally manages to knock him out. Hoagie finishes the virus and uploads it to the Emperor's system, which pushes a major update to all the devices except for one: the Wolf. That chip doesn't have a signal. Leroy whimpers in his sleep, but doesn't wake up and is otherwise alive. They put Leroy on a stretcher and disguise themselves as doctors and nurses to sneak through the palace to the rendezvous point below.

The Wolf looks incredibly torn, but then attacks. Rachel and Tyr are able to fight her while Fanny tackles Finnegan to safety. The fight is really intense, and Rachel is less effective because she's torn about seriously hurting some kind of version of herself, but the Wolf is also less effective because she's actively fighting against the mind control chip. The Wolf demands Rachel to end her. End her, before she hurts Finnegan. Finnegan protests, but in that moment, Rachel finally feels some kinship with the Wolf. Deep, deep down, they are truly the same person. Rachel punches her and causes Commotio Cordis, the same thing that 206 did to Rachel. (All Rachels are susceptible to it, regardless of dimension.) The Wolf falls, and her army surrenders. The Rebels win. Finnegan kneels by the body of the Wolf and mourns as the McKenzies and the Rebel army break into the palace. The McKenzies make their way down to the rendezvous point below.

The Sanbans use a bomb to break into the bunker. The Emperor is still a cowardly man, and he tries to escape while they fight his guards, but they somehow collapse. The mind control chips are broken. The Emperor offers Wally money, women, power, but Wally rejects them all and kicks his ass, then handcuffs him to a pillar. They're interrupted by -60 and his squad. -60 thanks them and tells them that he and his squad will take it from here. They should go catch their ride. The Sanbans say goodbye and run down to the rendezvous point below.

Patton parks the stolen bus in the acceleration tunnel below the control room. Grant is in the control room at one of the terminals and he…can't figure it out. He and Patton are talking over the intercom and Patton assures him that it's ok. He doesn't have to figure it out. Hoagie and Penny can do that. They probably already have the code. Grant is surprised to find that he'll miss Patton. Do you think, that when they return to their own timeline…Patton assures Grant that he'll do everything he can to stay alive.

The Gilligans arrive with Leroy in tow. Everyone hugs it out. Penny takes Grant's place at the terminal and is dismayed to find out that the code for the time machine is incomplete. It's missing the algorithm. Hoagie thinks really hard and begins typing it in from memory. When he first saw the blueprints for the KND time machine, he committed the entire thing to memory so that he could recreate the plans and study them later. Everyone is damn impressed. Abby gives Hoagie a kiss.

The Sanbans arrive. Everyone hugs it out again. Kuki looks over Leroy and declares that he is physically fine and that the mind control chip can be easily extracted. She also gives Penny her recommendation for treatment in case there are any lingering physical and mental injuries.

The McKenzies arrive. Rachel is haunted and Fanny is worried. Is Tyr still mad at them? He guesses that they're ok. Good. Rachel asks Bluey to mentor Tyr for the program. They also tell Regan that they are so proud of her.

Finnegan arrives, looking like she's been crying. The Resistance has won, but she has cordoned off this area so that no one can come in. They have time to do this right. Make sure there are no mistakes. After they leave, Finnegan will strike their existence from the records. The Juniors will get the credit.

Fine by them.

She asks Fanny and Rachel for a private convo and they step off to the side. She doesn't blame Rachel for killing the Wolf. It's probably for the best, as if the Wolf survived, Finnegan would have probably had to order her execution.

The mind control chip….

Hers was different. Society in general won't believe that. Will they be going to the mirror verse? Yes, that's the plan. The sooner the better. Finnegan tells them that while the Wolf was in their custody, she never hurt anyone. Negative 4 must have not had implanted the chip in her yet. Please be as gentle as possible.

Everyone starts saying goodbye and the time travel kids start going down into the tunnel, leaving the juniors in the control room. Boomer gives Wally a crushing hug.

The Time Travel Kids board the bus and get strapped in. Patton drives this time because of the state of Hoagie's hand. Hoagie rides co-pilot. They start flying and get up to speed, then tell the Juniors to activate the time machine. They get no answer, and instead, the entire tunnel starts to collapse on them. Patton flies through hunks of debris until Hoagie points out a hole above them. There! Escape there! Patton barely threads the needle, and the ship falls apart upon their escape. They're all scattered across the surface, but are alive and relatively intact. The surface is already crawling with KND and TND agents.


They all wake up in the hospital. Rachel and Fanny are visited by Masala, the Leader of the TND, and a couple other people. It's been a few days since they arrived back in the present timeline, and the KND, and the Teen Ninjas have been engaged in a renewed war. The KND are so stubborn and closed-minded that they lump TND and Teen Ninjas together, so they're blaming the Teen Ninjas for the destroyed time machine and 2x4's defection. Teen Ninjas consider the TND to be full of "soyboy beta cucks," so their ego can't handle one of their best being beat by one of our own. By an amazing line of logic, they're blaming the KND for Duncan Kerr's injuries.

Wow, amazing. Does the TND usually get overlooked like that?

Yes. It's truly amazing. Masala's there to collect their report.

Rachel does some quick thinking. If Rachel tells Masala about the Time Travel, then she'll definitely think that Rachel's crazy and will probably put her in a psych ward.

Finnegan is still alive, and there's still some time to prevent the assassination attempt. To find out what really fucking happened between her and Wolf. In order to do that, they need to not be thought of as crazy, so they can be discharged when their injuries are healed.

This means that when she and her team and Abby's team take a dip in the pool, they'll need to do it without TND support.

Damn, that's really ambitious.

Abby's words some back to her. Welcome to the world of Sector V, would she like a tour?

Rachel tells Masala what happened, but leaves out the entire time traveling business. Fanny is confused, but follows her lead. Masala thanks them and leaves.

Their clothes and belongings were salvaged from the wreck. Fanny checks out the CD she got from Reagan, and it's blank. No artwork. No music. It's a blank CD.

All that work, and the other timeline was undone.

Wolf is alive. Rachel's still processing that Wolf is her counterpart. That some version of her could be destructive enough to be Negative 4's top enforcer. That she could be that cruel. Her counterpart. On one hand, that means Rachel must be a good person. On the other hand, WTF?

Fanny gets into Rachel's hospital bed. They cuddle. Wolf and Finnegan, they must have loved each other.

HOW TF? What in the world could Finnegan possibly see in Wolf? You know what would have been nice? If Finnegan fucking told them what exactly happened before they came back to the present.

It was probably too painful for her to recount. And Negative 60 already kinda told them what happened; Wolf attacked Finnegan under Negative 4's orders.

That's not enough information. Under what circumstances? What was the situation?

They'll just have to arrive beforehand and investigate themselves.

Just by doing that, it'll change the timeline. When Finnegan gets attacked, it may not even happen in the same way. It might happen even sooner.

We'll see.

Rachel really doesn't want to kill Wolf again.

How did Rachel kill her? She just…punched her in the chest.

It's the same punch Duncan used on Rachel years ago. The same one that catapulted her to Assistant Leader of Stealth Tactics. All of the Rachels must be susceptible to it regardless of dimension.


Everyone meets in the cafeteria. What do they do now?

They need to leave for the alternate dimension as soon as possible. If Rachel heard correctly, the portal was a pool?

Yeah. Wally's pool. It's a sand pit now, though.

Hoagie saw the original device in the alternate universe that created the portal and he reinvented it. They could use it to open a portal in a different pool.

Everyone is FUCKING AMAZED. That's a very dangerous device, Hoagie. What the fuck?

Hoagie admits that he just wanted to see if he could do it. He forgot to ask about the ethical implications. Abby congratulates him, then says that they are destroying it as soon as they return. Fair.

Which pool do they use? Patton says that there's a pool here in headquarters, but both Abby and Rachel refuse. This portal is a huge security weakness; it needs to be in a neutral location in case something goes wrong.

Patton laughs. That's code for "we don't have permission to run this mission."

Listen, Masala has a lot on her plate; she doesn't need to know about this.

Fanny has a pool at her house. They can use that.

Mom's house?

No, at her dad's vacation cottage in Florida.

Oh. Just gonna casually drop that in conversation? All right.

Fanny doesn't like flaunting her wealth, okay? Do they want to use it or not?

Yes they do, thank you, Fanny.

Fanny shoots her dad a message.

Transportation: done.

Supplies: they'll get supplies.

Are they fit for duty to begin with?

Hoagie says that he'll just put a plastic bag over his cast. He'll be fine.

What's the plan? Do they bust in and arrest the Wolf?

The objective is to keep Finnegan alive and to stop Negative 4's coup. If they could stop the Wolf from hurting Finnegan, then that fulfills both objectives.

What if they're gone for more than a day? More than two days? Time travel was okay but time passes at the same rate in the Alternate Universe.

Spring Break starts this Friday. They could go and see if they can get this done within seven days. If they're too early compared to the original timeline, then it won't matter because the timeline itself will change because they are there anyway.

Then they're set.


DAY 1

Mr. Boss' vacation home is lovely. It's set on top of a slope, within view of the beach, and it's huge and there's a pool out back as promised. Everyone (including the little siblings) is there to relax…at least for now.

Hoagie and Kuki have finished with the nanobots that will serve as an electricity sink in Rachel's body, keeping any taser or strong electrical current from interfering with her pacemaker, and nerves. They make sure she knows that this means that a defibrillator won't work on her. She runs that risk. She knows. Do it. They inject her, then dunk her into a bathtub full of ice water to keep her from overheating. She's out for the rest of the day. Fanny's pissed.

DAY 2

Everyone helps Hoagie set up the portal equipment around the pool. While they prep, they talk about how the future timeline no longer exists. They also speculate on what happened to the negative versions of Sector V. (Probably dead. It doesn't sound like Negative 4 takes kindly to traitors.)

If this plan goes through, they'll save everyone. What happens to Negative 4 afterwards? That's up to Finnegan.

Harvey, Patrick, and Shaunie, are there too, as the B Team. If the A Team fails their mission objectives, then they'll come back and try to ready the home dimension for Negative 4's future assault. If they fail and they die? Then B Team will destroy the portal and prepare the home universe in their stead. Harvey and his team are…kinda scared tbh. They've never heard of such bleak plan b's before. If they're in trouble, then they should go in there and help them! No. The fate of their home universe is too important. Rachel makes Harvey promise to follow the plan. Harvey makes Rachel promise to come back. He's super fucking scared. She promises. She hopes she isn't lying.

At last, the portal is ready. Everyone says their goodbyes and the A team boards the backup bus, and they go through the portal.

They're met by the remaining members of Negative Sector V. Ever since the first crossover, Finnegan has put in place a task force to look for future anomalies, so they were ready to respond as soon as the portal opened. Why have they come? They explain. Oh my.

The Negative universe seems to be doing well. Finnegan has been in charge of the DNK for like, what? Three-four years at this point? The negative universe has cracked in two spheres: the society that the adults still rule, where they laze about and where kids are slaves; and the world that Finnegan rules, where the kids get to play, but they must go to school, and where the adults have to work. The Upheaval (as it's retroactively called) is largely behind them. When Finnegan came into power, she drafted a blitz constitution and established a cabinet that upended Negative 4's empire. A lot of sympathetic adults and children poured into the empire, and a whole bunch of unsympathetic adults fled outside the borders.

Sympathetic adults have come to Finnegan to help; some go undercover in the other society in order to free more children, and other children also go undercover to free other children in a sort of Underground Railroad thing.

Thanks to the legitimate DNK weapons and the remnants of the former empire giving Finnegan stability, she's actually doing pretty good. She, Negative 60 (Lee), and the remaining members of Negative Sector V are in the middle of negotiating with the DNA for a complete overhaul of society for a brighter future.

Wolf already tried to assassinate Finnegan two years ago, but failed.

Where is Negative 4? No longer in the broccoli mines. He's very persuasive and smart, and he was able to rally the other prisoners into a riot. He almost escaped, but they were able to catch him. Now, he's held in a maximum-security cell, where he has minimal contact with any guards and guests, and has minimal access to items that he could use to create dangerous weapons and tools.

Negative 4 is long and lanky, but he hasn't lost a bit of his wit. He snipes everyone on sight, and when mocked for being a prisoner, he says that he'll walk right out when he's good and ready. It's unnerving.

It's been a long day. Finnegan has given Negative 4's old palace to the public, which has opened it up for tours, and the tourism revenue that it generates has been a boon to the city. Instead, Finnegan and her cabinet have decided to live in a small hotel that has been cleared out for their use. There's plenty of room for everyone, so they turn in for the night. Double queen bed rooms: Rachel and Fanny share with Abby and Kuki, while Patton shares with Hoagie and Wally. The rooms are connected, so they talk before they all go to sleep.

DAY 3

They tell Finnegan the plan during breakfast the next morning. Patton and Fanny, who have taken care of Rachel's security detail while she was Supreme Leader, will shadow Finnegan and Lee throughout her day. Abby, Wally, and Kuki would like to spend some time with Wolf. Rachel, and Hoagie will observe Negative 4 more in depth.

Patton and Fanny find no faults with Finnegan's security, which has been beefed up by the Wolf. They might actually be overprotecting her, actually, because he's the best thing that's happened to all of them in a while. If she dies, she takes hope with it. The only complaint that Lee has is the Wolf. She is Finnegan's prisoner. She is somehow well-behaved enough to walk around with only shock cuffs on. Not handcuffs, not ankle cuffs, no collar, no gag, no chains. They trust her that much?

No, Finnegan trusts her that much. Lee is sorry to report that the cuffs are security theater for everyone else's benefit. If Finnegan had her way, Wolf would have no restraints at all…unless it was in the bedroom.

Oh. Uh, are they that close? No. Wolf sleeps in a locked room at night—not a cell. But the looks they give each other sometimes…Lee doesn't like it.

Abby, Wally, and Kuki talk to Wolf, who is caustic and unkind and biting. She tries to intimidate Abby, who isn't intimidated at all. Abby tells Wolf that they found one of Negative 4's assassins, and Wolf is relieved. But when Abby mocks Finnegan for being weak, and for being a fool, Wolf gets agitated. Ah, so she really does love Finnegan. How interesting. Kuki thinks it's so romantic. Abby doesn't understand it, but Finnegan's grown enough. Kuki encourages Wolf to tell Finnegan how she feels. She should know. She deserves to know. Kuki would want to know if someone loved her. Is that so? Abby asks Wally if he finds that interesting.

Rachel disguises herself as the Wolf and pretends that she has broken into Negative 4's prison and is going to bust him out. Ah yes, his favorite enforcer. While Negative 4 is pleased, he is…suspicious. Wolf could have escaped at any time within these two years and freed him, and she hasn't. No visits, no contact? She has a new master: Finnegan. He's…fucking jealous lol. He's possessive of Wolf. He owns her! He's her master! He reveals the rudimentary microchip that he's managed to cobble together. With this, he will finally know where her loyalties lie. Rachel has heard enough and reveals the ruse. Negative 4 is neutralized while the guards search his cell for more contraband.

Everyone returns for lunch. Hoagie and Rachel (as Thor) have analyzed Negative 4's prison and have concluded that it is enough. Someone else must have released him in the Future Timeline. Who would do such a thing? They forget that war could break out between the DNK and the DNA at any moment now. It could be a DNA spy or something. True. Not for the first time, A Team laments the lack of the full story from Future Finnegan. It's hard to prevent something from happening when you don't exactly know how it happened.

Patton and Fanny report that Lee has a thing for Finnegan. Patton jokes that Fanny's gay energy is just that strong lolol. Fanny's pleased that her counterparts gay, but is dismayed at her taste in women. Patton suggests that Lee really needs to let it go, but it's not his place to suggest it. Lee isn't very friendly.

Abby reveals that the Wolf's shock cuffs are off. They've been off for quite a while now. There really isn't anything holding her back, and yet, she hangs around Finnegan. Openly guards her, protects her. Stockholm Syndrome? More like Taming of the Shrew. Somehow, Finnegan has managed to win Wolf over. Wolf, Negative 4's most vicious enforcer. There's a PR stunt somewhere in there. There definitely is. If they capitalize on that, that would demoralize anyone who still supports Negative 4. A political marriage, so to speak. Exactly.

Whoever shoots Finnegan, it isn't Wolf. They need a new suspect list. They need to investigate the DNA and the DNT. They need to investigate the Negative 4 loyalists. Negative 1, 2, 3, and 5 can provide lists and contacts. Fanny volunteers to be Finnegan's double. Rachel is distraught, but Abby agrees that it's a good move. Finnegan will be in disguise elsewhere, and will feed Fanny lines through an earpiece. If anything should happen, at least Finnegan is safe.

DAY 4

Fanny (as Finnegan), Rachel (as Thor), Wolf, Finnegan (as a guard), Negative 2, Abby, and Hoagie go with the rest of the diplomatic team to the peace talks between the DNK, the DNT, and the DNA (DNT led by Negative 9 "Maritz", and the DNA led by Mr. Onu). While Fanny, Finnegan, Rachel and Wolf are actually absorbed in the peace talks, Abby and Hoagie rendezvous with Negative 11, who is a spy for the DNK. Negative 11 gives them rosters of DNA spies and their positions. They find out that Negative 274 is a suspected spy for the DNK within the Teen Ronin. Huh. So Chad's a good guy in this universe? Volcel Chad. Lol stfu. They should alert him before he gets black-bagged. She also talks about the Teen Ronin (this universe's equivalent of the Teen Ninjas), an insurgent cell within DNK borders that wants the complete domination of youth culture. They reject the DNT and the DNA and don't believe that a compromise should be reached between the factions.

Patton, Kuki, and Wally rendezvous with another DNK spy, Negative 206. Huh. Duncan Kerr (Rick) is a good guy in this universe? He used to work for Negative 4, but he was and always will be Wolf's right-hand man. She saved his life; whatever she wants, she gets. If Wolf is getting with Finnegan, then he's gotta be supportive of that. He and Kuki really hit it off. He's just a handsome as Duncan, but without the bloodthirsty-ness. Wally is immediately jealous. Anyways, Duncan pretends he still supports Negative 4 and is invited to all the fashy parties. He smuggles them into an insurgent base as new recruits and they investigate the cell. Eizzil Enived, aka Negative Numbuh 49 (-Temporary) is the leader of the cell. Didn't she turn nice? She was, and she was part of Finnegan's cabinet too. Finnegan threw her out when she pushed to have a cushier lifestyle. Entitled. Exactly. Finnegan and her cabinet spent a couple years stabilizing the country, then held elections. Eizzil ran against Finnegan and lost, then went underground. Wolf sent Rick to investigate, and here he is. Wait, Wolf sent him to investigate? Not Finnegan? Yeah. Wolf is Finnegan's spymaster. Oh. Huh.

DAY 5

Rachel (as Thor), Abby, and Negative 11 successfully stop an assassination attempt from the Teen Ronin. This impresses Maritz and Mr. Onu, who agree with Finnegan's terms. The peace talks are a success!

Rick prepares the exit strategy, and Patton sets up the plan B while Wally and Kuki break into the Eizzil's office and take her electronics. They replace her laptop with a dummy and try to leave. They fuck it up. Patton blows the bombs while they escape.

DAY 6

Everyone returns. Rick is "arrested" and is put in prison. His location will be purposefully leaked and he'll be busted out by another Negative 4 insurgent cell. The other cells aren't much of a threat, tho.

Meeting with the A Team only: Hoagie has finished analyzing Negative 4's mind-control chip and it's a doozy. It does force obedience, but it's inconsistent and incomplete. Whoever wore it would instantly mentally fracture. If Future Wolf was wearing it for about 20+ years, then it explains a lot about why they were the way they were. How could Negative 4 get it on Wolf in the first place? They must have been physically close, and Wolf must have been very desperate to let it happen. Abby speculates that in the original timeline, Wolf must have been the one to free Negative 4 from prison after Finnegan was shot. From everyone else's POV, she would be suspect number one. She wouldn't have anyone else to turn to. They won't ever know, and there's no way to find out, but it does sound plausible.

They've burned through half of their allotted time out here, and they're nowhere close to finding out who shoots Finnegan. This investigation is infuriating. Maybe it's time they told everyone the truth? They can't, because they don't know the truth. They could mess it up. They could trigger it happening.

Meeting with everyone: the peace talks were a success! They must keep up the momentum. Finnegan assigns Negative 1, 2 and 5 as ambassadors to the DNT and the DNA. They can pick whoever they want to serve as their retinue and security, but Finnegan must have the lists by tomorrow.

The AND spy rosters have been looked over. There are a couple spies in the palace, and while some might be taken care of, the others might be useful (feed the enemy false information). Finnegan assigns this task to Negative 3, who asks for Wolf's help. Wolf agrees. The others agree. Lee doesn't agree. He seethes.

The last possible danger to Finnegan comes from the Teen Ronin. They're pretty bombastic and dangerous; a lot like the original Teen Ninjas are. Negative 274 "Dash" has been in deep cover for a couple of years. He might not be able to come out to talk. He might for Wolf. He likes women who can kick his ass. Ugh. The more things change, the more things stay the same. Wolf refuses to leave Finnegan's side. With so many of the Cabinet leaving, someone must stay behind and protect her. Lee says that he'll be enough. Rachel volunteers as tribute.

DAY 7

A Team checks in with B Team. They're still at the vacation house, and keeping the portal secure. Have they solved the mystery yet? Not yet. They might not even be close. How are all the parents? Still oblivious. Some want to hear from them personally, but they've always been able to either make up an excuse for why they can't talk, or spoof voices for a short time. Come home soon? They aren't well-equipped for this kind of drawn-out mission. That's what stake-outs are like, Harvey. It'll be okay.

Breakfast is tense. Negative 1, 2, and 5 are getting ready to deploy as ambassadors. Lee keeps trying to give Negative 3 pointers on how to handle the DNT/DNA spies, but she isn't having it. Whatever advice she needs, she'll get from Wolf, thank you very much.

Lee loses it. He reveals that he's been compiling evidence against Wolf. That she's been conspiring with Negative 206 aka Rick, with Negative 274 aka Dash, with all sorts of DNT and DNA agents. Bruh. They're all double-agents working for the DNK. Wolf is their spymaster. And Wolf has always been on Finnegan's side.

Finnegan announces that it is time. Wolf doesn't want to do it, but Finnegan assures her that it'll be okay. In front of everyone, Finnegan removes Wolf's cuffs and reveals them to be off. That they've been off for an entire year. That the wolf is tamed. Lee, incensed, takes out a gun and aims it at Wolf. Finnegan leaps into the line of fire as he shoots, taking the bullet in the face. Patton and Wally immediately tackle Lee to the ground. Fanny, Kuki, Hoagie, and Negative 1, 2, 3, and 5 tend to Finnegan. Wolf, lost to grief and rage, bolts. Abby and Rachel hunt her across the city and they fight her. Hoagie and Negative 3 tell the pursuing guards to stand down, but they shoot Wolf and Rachel.

There's chaos as everyone is getting different information at once. The A Team aren't in a position to be obeyed, and Finnegan and most of her cabinet are indisposed. NEGATIVE 3 SHOWS THE FUCK UP. She's THAT BITCH. After getting status updates from everyone, she snaps out orders.

Negative 2 is to scramble a squad and secure a route to the hospital. He will escort Kuki, Fanny, and a stabilized Finnegan to that hospital and establish a security detail here.

Negative 5 is to scramble another squad and go with Wally to escort Lee to a maximum security prison. As of now, Lee is stripped of all titles and status and is to be treated as an enemy of the state.

Negative 1 and Patton are to scramble a third squad and secure Abby, Wolf and Rachel. They'll escort them to the same hospital and rendezvous with Negative 2.

Go. Now. In the meantime, Negative 3 will secure the hotel and try to stop the Press before they publish information that does more harm than good.

Fanny, Kuki and the medical team work on Finnegan. Her eye is gone, and they extract the bullet and and clean the wound as best they can, but it's gruesome stuff. She'll have to wear an eyepatch for the rest of her life. They stabilize her and gossip about what's happened at the hotel, then there's another bit of chaos when Negative 1 and Patton arrive with Abby, Wolf, and Rachel. Whoever can be spared, they need their help.

Kuki and half of the medical team goes. Fanny tries to go too, but she's too distraught. She can't tell who is which under all the blood, and Abby and Patton must restrain her from getting in the way of the medical team. Rachel's pacemaker kicks in, defibrillating her, and that's how Kuki knows that's her. She chooses to treat Rachel. They get the bullet out, stabilize her, and Kuki puts in a fresh pacemaker.

By the time they're done treating Wolf and Rachel, Finnegan stirs. She asks for Wolf, then goes back to sleep.

Fanny, Abby, Kuki, and Hoagie wait in Rachel's room. They discuss her status, then go over how they failed to keep Finnegan safe. They speculate that in the Future timeline, after Lee accidentally shot Finnegan, he blamed it all on Wolf. Wolf had no one else to turn to, so she freed Negative 4. By the time A Team got there, Lee was very invested in the lie. Hoagie goes into quantum mechanics and how it's impossible to determine how it would have happened the first time around. That it's more amazing how Present Finnegan and Future Finnegan happen to share the same wounds.

Negative 5 and Wally return from the max security prison. They made sure that Lee was kept away from Negative 4. Negative 3 has released her statement on the issue and has announced a trial date to convict him. The Press has proclaimed her to be acting head of the DNK until Finnegan returns.

DAY 8:

What are they gonna tell Rachel's parents? Fuck. Fanny says that there's a yacht at the summer home. They'll say that they took it for a spin, and ran into a bunch of pirates. Oh shit. They'll confirm the details later, so all their stories match up, but they'll be okay. Abby will go set up the entire thing. She knows a thing or two about creating a crime scene. Hoagie goes too in order to doctor the yacht's computers and cameras. Between the both of them, they'll make sure everything checks out.

Wolf wakes up first. She regrets being a coward. That she ran when Finnegan needed her most. They wheel her into the same room as Finnegan so that she can see her.

Negative 3 finally arrives to check in on Finnegan. Rachel wakes up. How convenient. Now, Finnegan may have tolerated their vague, mysterious bullshit, but after everything that's happened, Negative 3 feels entitled to some answers. They will tell her everything they know. As soon as possible.

They tell her. Negative 3 prefers not knowing. Too bad. That's how leadership works. She knows so that the people don't have to know. Fair. Finnegan wakes up. She and Wolf reunite. Abby and Hoagie come back and say that everything is ready.

They all say their goodbyes. The negatives thank the A Team for everything they've done. If something happens, they'll send word. The A Team retreats through the original portal and close it.

B Team and A Team reunite. They clean up the house and then go into the yacht. Patton, Abby, and Hoagie take the boat out to sea and go over the plan; rendezvous with Maurice and a TND team who will pretend to be pirates. Wally finally asks Kuki out on a date. She accepts. Everyone else rejoices.

Fanny fusses over Rachel, who is fine. She's on a lot of pain meds right now. They affirm their love for each other and are very tender and sweet. She was thinking…. Of? Taking a sabbatical. She's tired. Rachel was kinda thinking the same thing. What about retiring completely? They can be normal together. That sounds wonderful.


Epilogue: 25 years later

Fanny runs an Irish pub. She checks in with her line cooks and with her bartenders as they prep. They're all excited about Slam Poetry night tonight. Her kids, Regan and Tyr, come back from school. They're happy and healthy. Regan is excited about her band playing the pre-shows tonight. She's always wanted to play and she's finally doing it. Has Mom come back from her trip yet?

Not yet. The tension is palpable. The kids are pretty disappointed. Fanny is distracted by a few messages. Bikkie has made her first explosive and Wally and Kuki have invited a whole bunch of their friends out to a quarry to celebrate. Wally and his firefighter crew will ready the quarry and make it safe, then Bikkie will set it off. Tyr asks if Grant will be there. He will, even though he's not part of the same "after school club" that the other kids are part of. Tyr will come.

Abby sends her congratulations, but she won't be able to make it, however. She's very busy serving as the USA Secretary of State. Hoagie will be able to come. His job at NASA isn't as demanding. Penny and Leroy will come too.

Paddy comes by and helps set up the sound system. He's part of Regan's band. He announces that he's getting married. Shaunie's been roped in as his wedding planner and Paddy and his wife love it. Finally! Finally? Not everyone is lucky enough to be childhood sweethearts like Fanny and Rachel. Where is Rachel? Has she returned? Not yet. They whisper so that the kids don't overhear. Has she heard anything? No. Well, with the dangerous nature of her job, of course there's a communication blackout until she comes back. Paddy is confident that Rachel will come back. She always does. Fanny thanks him for his kind words.

Regan and Tyr eagerly tell Fanny about their friends. Boomer and Bluey invited them to watch them compete at an important Karate tournament (they are both blackbelts). It's the last one they'll compete at before they go to college. Penny will also be there (she and Boomer are dating). She'll also be going to college soon; she got accepted into MIT.

Patton and Grant arrive to help Fanny prepare. Patton's a big, big man, so he can serve as a part-time bouncer. Grant plays second guitar in Reagan's band. Tyr helps Grant set up and assures him that he'll do great. It's cute. They're cute.

Customers and poets alike come through the door, waiting around for the event to start. Fanny's line cooks and bartenders are busy filling orders and the smell of weed wafts in from outside (It isn't a poetry slam without weed). It's rowdy and exciting.

Fanny does her best to appear happy, but is really worried about her wife. The tension finally breaks when Rachel steps in through the door with a suitcase in hand. Tired and rumpled from traveling. She's home. Fanny is ecstatic. How did it go?

As well as expected. Even though Rachel's technically just one of Abby's consultants, she just keeps on asking favors. This should be the last one though.

Last one?

Last one. Abby promised. Rachel's home to stay.

The relief is immeasurable. Rachel and Fanny kiss. The band begins to play, signalling the start of the poetry slam. The crowd cheers.

The End