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heydorothea009 · 7 months ago

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Bread on Toast - A Future Man Fanfiction

Josh Futturman and his fellow coworker and best friend, Liv Branson, get roped into saving the world as time traveling saviors with, what were thought to be, video game characters, Wolf and Tiger. Not only are Liv and Josh completely incompetent, but they are also emotionally inept- will this cause the destruction of mankind? Only time will tell.

Warnings: strong language, alludes to sexual content, ⚠️emotional⚠️, cliffhanger ass ending

A/N: It is with great sadness that I announce that this is the last chapter. Of this season. YAY! Fear not, I am currently 3 chapters away from wrapping up the season 2 installment and will be back in about a month!! Thank you to the readers for sticking around, this fanfiction has meant the world to me and I’m grateful for all the support :) ENJOY!!!!! YEYAH 🗣️🗣️

Chapter 11: A Date With Destiny

Two people appeared in front of them. One of them, a woman, was yelling, “Bomb, bomb, bomb! Get it off me!”

Josh grabbed Liv and dragged her behind the kitchen wall. “Bomb, bomb, bomb!” He yelled. Wolf sprung into action, immediately jumping on the woman and trying to disable the bomb.

“Don’t move!” He commanded her.

“Just chop my arm off!” She wailed.

“Stop moving, if you breathe wrong this blows.” Wolf said urgently. Tiger followed Liv and Josh behind the kitchen wall, all bracing for an explosion that never came. “Clear!” Wolf called out.

“Fuckin’ skull cunts tagged me just as I jumped!” The woman shouted.

“Dingo, what happened? Where’s the rest of the team?” Tiger asked, emerging from behind the wall. Liv and Josh also walked out, eyeing someone with a hood over their face, struggling to get it off. They looked at each other with wide eyes to see if they were looking at the same thing.

“Dead. Just like you, I just watched you die.” The woman, Dingo, said, pointing at Tiger in disbelief.

“Guys, is anybody else noticing the hooded slave?” Josh asked.

Wolf gasped. “That’s no slave!” He rushed over to the person, removing the chain from around his neck and throwing the hood off. The man underneath gasped in the fresh air. “Owl!” Wolf cried excitedly.

“Wolf! Much obliged.” They pulled each other into a tight hug.

“Pre-myrmed Owl!” Liv mouthed to Josh excitedly, giving him a thumbs up.

Owl turned to Tiger, who looked like she might cry if she had the ability to. “Tiger!”

“Owl!” She gasped.

“My good friend.” They pulled each other into a tight hug.

“How are you alive?” Tiger asked, voice full of awe.

“Dingo saved me from a Biotic necro chamber, I’ve been tortured in and out of consciousness for about three weeks.” Owl said.

“So one of you must be Avoid-The-Tunnel.” Dingo looked at Liv and Josh.

Josh nodded and stepped forward to shake her hand. “Welcome to our time.”

Dingo looked him up and down. “The greatest warrior in history?”

“This wee boy?” Owl also studied Josh. “I’m going to ‘69 with him?”

“Oh Jesus.” Liv snorted from behind Josh, turning Owl and Dingo’s gazes to her.

“And who are you?”

“This is Avoid-The-Tunnel’s friend, Liv.” Tiger said.

“Well, we-“ Josh and Liv both started.

“Friend who is a girl who he gets gross with sometimes.” Tiger corrected herself as she pat Liv on the shoulder. Owl and Dingo seemed to accept this answer.

“Josh, you’ll have to explain to them…what happened.”

Wolf said. “You know, with that thing Liv said. Anomaly or something.”

“Oh, uh, yeah, I guess that makes sense.” Josh said.

Josh found a whiteboard and had Wolf help him bring it down the stairs (Wolf carried it while Josh kept a hand on the side so he felt like he was “helping”).

Josh explained to Owl and Dingo everything that had happened up to that point, the dance battle in ‘69, James Cameron’s house in 2023, telling Kronish about his future in ‘85, and the new fucked up 2017. Owl and Dingo chowed down on Wolf’s hors d'oeuvres as they listened.

“So,” Owl held up a hand like he had a question. “In your timeline you didn’t take the bridge to steal the TTD?” He asked Tiger and Wolf.

“No.” Tiger shook her head. “No, we took the tunnel but it was a trap, DMC gas.” She said sadly. Liv took the marker from Josh’s hand and wrote above the timeline Josh had drawn “Timeline A: Dingo A - gassed in tunnel, Owl A - Brain eaten by myrm”. “They picked us off one by one until we dropped to our knees just choking on death.”

“Biotics have a mutated p36 immunosuppressant gene that renders them immune to all poisons.” Owl said to Josh and Liv.

“We know, Owl.” Josh said. “We used that same principle to get all of our coworkers to shit themselves in their formal wear.”

“So the bridge was also a trap?” Tiger asked, making a realization. “We were always doomed? This whole time I thought I’d made the wrong call but there was no right call to make.” She sounded slightly relieved. “Well, I…that makes me feel a lot better.” She smiled. “That is a load off.”

Owl grabbed the marker from Liv’s hand and erased Josh’s timeline. Tiger began to explain to him their plan to get into the Kronitorium. “So, we kill Kronish, blow up the building with all his research inside, no innocents die, future saved.” She said.

Owl began to write down a complicated equation on the board.

“I’m confused. And maybe it’s because I haven’t slept in 4,000 fingers, but why are we planning an infiltration op when there are only six of us? We have enough nukes to level this city.” Dingo snapped, walking up to look at what Owl was writing.

“No! No nukes! We’re doing this lean and clean from a moral standpoint .” Wolf interjected.

“Since when are you anti-blowing shit up?” Dingo narrowed her eyes at Wolf. Liv grabbed Josh’s arm, he could tell she was tense. He was too.

“Truth be told, I’m transitioning out of demolitions. I’m really more of a chef these days.” Wolf said happily.

“What the fuck’s a chef?” Dingo asked, coming off extremely rude.

“You see what we had to deal with?” Josh muttered to Wolf.

“Quick question!” Owl turned around from the board. “Since we are in possession of a TTD, why not go back to when Kronish was a newborn?” Tiger visibly tensed as he asked this. “Babies are supposedly soft and helpless. They’re quite killable, almost unfairly so.”

“Perfect! Easy skull smash.” Dingo said.

“No!” Tiger said, a little too quickly. “No baby killing.” She reached up and rubbed a gold locket that no one had even noticed she’d been wearing until that moment.

Owl shrugged, but Dingo narrowed her eyes at Wolf and Tiger, frowning. “I don’t know who these two face pirates are, but you’re not the Tiger who took an anal rod to the gut and you’re not the Wolf who took a nosedive into a firebog.”

“We went through this, Dingo. The small alteration in the space-time continuum brought them to a new spectral plane. It’s not that complicated.” Owl said. Liv looked at Josh with her brows raised. Maybe he really was a genius like Tiger had raved about.

“No, not that, they’ve changed.” Dingo snapped.

“Hey, you watch your rat hole.” Tiger narrowed her eyes right back at her. “I have half a mind to come over there and wash it out with soap, young lady.”

Wolf looked over at Liv and Josh, brows knitted together in a confused way. Liv shrugged and Josh shook his head, they didn’t know either.

“Jokes on you, I don’t know what soap is.” Dingo spat.

Wolf was feeling tense too. “Owl, why did you eat my olive tapenade with your bare hands?” Josh stared up at the ceiling with his jaw clenched. “The serving spoon was right in the dish!”

“Hey man,” Owl said calmly and coolly. “I just learned what a fork is.”

“Okay! Alright, alright, look,” Josh butted in loudly, startling Liv. “I see what’s going on here, okay? Some of us are from Timeline A, others from Timeline B.” He put his hand out to Tiger and Wolf on his right and the other to Dingo and Owl on his left. “But you have to remember, we’re all here for the same reason. We can’t have these factions tearing us apart. What we need right now, more than anything, is to come together.” He knit his fingers together.

“Cum? Together?” Owl repeated.

“Come together.” Josh nodded.

“Charge in.” Dingo rubbed her hands together.

“Yes-“ Josh realized what she’d said, his face fell. “No!”

“Tensions do need to be released.” Tiger said. Wolf nodded, folding his arms seriously.

“Um! Like all together?” Liv asked in a high, awkward voice.

“What part of ‘cum together’ doesn’t make sense to you?” Dingo asked in a snobby voice. “Fuckin’ idiot.”

Liv squinted at her. “What if I don’t want to ‘cum together’.”

“It’s team building and tension releasing Avoid-The-Tunnel’s friend who’s a girl who he gets gross with sometimes.” Owl said.

“…it’s Liv.”

“You two,” Wolf said loudly, pointing at Liv and Josh. “Go upstairs and do your thing,” he ordered.

“Uh, Wolf-“ Josh started.

“We’ll take care of business down here.” He said.

“But the team building!” Owl complained.

“It’s fine!” Tiger raised her voice again.

“Go fuck upstairs before this turns into a whole thing.” Wolf said to Liv and Josh. Josh grabbed Liv’s hand and they slowly started to back up the stairs.

“Josh-“

“We’ll just hide in my room until they’re done.” Josh muttered. As soon as the door to Josh’s room closed he checked three times to make sure the door was actually locked. “We don’t have to actually.” Josh said, going and sprawling out on his bed.

“Have to what?”

“Have sex. We don’t have to, we can just be in here.” Josh said. Liv gave him a little smile.

“Josh, what about the tension release? What about team building?” She teased, mocking Dingo. “She’s kinda annoying isn’t she?” She cuddled up next to him. “And a bitch? Did you hear her down there? If she didn’t have the strength to tear my throat out, I’d have kicked her teeth in.”

“I didn’t want to say anything, but Dingo is already getting on my nerves. I think I hate her” Josh whispered as if she might hear from all the way downstairs. Liv gave him a fake surprised face.

“I’m gonna tell on you!” She giggled quietly, hitting his chest lightly with the back of her hand.

Josh chuckled. “No you won’t.” He placed a kiss on her cheek. They laid there in silence for a few seconds, hearing some scuffling from downstairs.

“What do you say to a quick charge in?” Liv asked, looking up at him from her spot laying on his chest. She felt Josh’s chest rise quickly.

“I would say yes.” Josh said excitedly, obvious that he’d been waiting for the go ahead. She sat up and Josh followed, a glimmer of arousal in his eyes.

Liv pulled him by his collar over to her again, kissing him deeply, cupping his cheeks in her hands. Josh’s tongue met hers, the heat of their tongues melding as they got more and more desperate for each other. His hands slid around her waist, holding her protectively. Her arms strung themselves around his neck as she moved into his lap, wrapping her legs around his waist. They broke apart for air looking longingly into each other’s eyes. Their lips softly collided again, Josh kissing Liv breathless. He held her like she was a precious glass vase, touched her so gently, kissed her like he needed air, whispered her name like it was the only one that he knew.

Liv knew that there, in that moment, she was utterly in love with him.

Liv trailed after Josh down the stairs, adjusting the robe Josh had given her, fluffy and white, like the one Wolf had on the day before. They were met with Tiger, Wolf, Owl, Dingo all sprawled out on the couch in matching ones. Owl had an arm around Destiny the sex doll (no one knew where she’d come from nor how Owl had found her).

“Fucking finally.” Dingo complained. Wolf gave them a sly smile, but didn’t say anything. They’d definitely heard everything from their spot on the couch.

“Alright, tensions released?” Tiger asked, standing up. Everyone nodded. “Wolf?”

“Check.”

“Dingo?”

“Check.”

“Owl?”

Owl was caressing Destiny, the sex doll’s plastic face. “What’re you doing after this mission?” He asked the doll.

“Gonna call that a check.” Tiger said, side eyeing him.

“Future Man?”

“Check?”

“Liv?”

“Check.”

Tiger nodded and strolled over to the white board where Owl had drawn up an elaborate map of their plan. “There’s gonna be a lot of security.” Tiger said as Liv took a seat next to Wolf. Josh sat next to her, putting an arm behind her on the couch.

“We’ve got a lot to catch up on,” Wolf whispered to Liv with a teasing smirk. Liv playfully shoved him.

“Hey!” Tiger snapped at them. Wolf and Liv sat straight up and stopped bugging each other.

“Ooh, you guys got in trouble.” Josh said in a quiet singsong voice. Tiger shot him a glare that shut him right up.

“We’re not getting anywhere without hand access. There’s biometric hand scanners throughout the building. Lucky for us, I got us a set of prints.” She held up what looked like a glove made out of glue.

“Who’s…hand is that a mold of?” Liv asked.

“Stu’s.” Tiger said. “He’s fine, don’t worry, I told him not to come into work today. Okay, Alpha team will clear civilians from the building, drawing out Biotic forces. The only problem is, it’s a suicide mission. Either one of us is going to have to sacrifice ourselves or Destiny has just found her destiny.” Everyone looked to Owl, who was trying to hold Destiny’s hand.

“Good riddance to Destiny!” Josh said.

“Team Alpha will consist of Dingo and I.” Tiger said. Dingo fist pumped the air. Tiger pointed to the lower part of the map. “Meanwhile Bravo and Charlie, they’re gonna enter from underground. Bravo is gonna set charges throughout the building,” Tiger pointed to different locations across the map. “Bravo will consist of Wolf, Josh-“

“And Liv!” Wolf interrupted.

“Yes, and Liv.” Tiger suppressed a small endearing grin as she looked over to Wolf slinging his arm around Liv’s shoulders excitedly and patting Josh on the shoulder. “Charlie, aka Owl, will go deep into the core using his genius to kill the power.” She tossed Owl the glue glove. “You’ll open the impenetrable security doors which will give us access to Kronish himself. Once we get the signal from Charlie that the doors are open, Alpha Team will blow up Destiny, killing all the Biotics in the lobby. That will give us a window of a few minutes before reinforcements jump in. We use it to rendezvous at Kronish’s lab, kill Kronish, set the final charges, and jump back to the future.”

“Um,” Josh raised his hand. “Where do we go at that point?” He asked, pointing between him and Liv.

“You guys are coming with us, aren’t you?” Tiger asked blankly.

“To the future?” Liv shook her head.

“No, we can’t- I mean, we have our whole lives here.” Josh said.

“What lives?” Wolf asked.

“Ooh, burn.” Dingo snickered. Owl chuckled.

“You don’t belong here, you said it yourselves.” Wolf said.

“No, I mean, I have to go and make things right with my parents and…Liv…well, your life didn’t really fall apart but…you know, we should probably stay here.” Josh rambled. Liv shrugged and nodded.

Tiger sighed and shrugged. “Then I guess you sneak out as civilians.”

“Or maybe as janitors.” Wolf said.

Liv and Josh looked at each other and shrugged. “Yeah, I guess that makes the most sense.” Liv mumbled.

“World’s greatest warrior posing as a lowly janitor.” Owl said to Josh. “Where does your brilliance end, Avoid-The-Tunnel?” He reached behind him into the couch cushions and pulled out an energy drink labeled “JOOSH”.

“I wouldn’t drink that.” Josh held out a hand to stop him. “It’s like 10,000 volts to your brain.”

Owl looked at the drink and back to Josh. “Oh. Okay.” He put the can in his robe pocket.

“Kronish labs opens at 7am.” Liv said. “What time is it?”

“6:45” Josh said.

“Great, Wolf, you get the C-4 from the sewer and we’ll strap it to the charge doll.” Tiger commanded. “This is it, this is our one and only chance.”

Tiger and Dingo waited outside the lab behind a pillar with binoculars. Tiger had pushed Destiny off in an electric wheelchair and she wheeled into the lobby, absolutely stuffed with bombs. Earlier, Liv had scrawled “Evacuate the building in 10 minutes or I’m gonna blow! :)” on a piece of lined paper and taped it to the doll. Dingo and Tiger watched as Destiny wheeled in an immediately caused panic amongst the people inside. Alarms began to blare as people started booking it towards all the exits. A mob of elementary schoolers ran out of the building, probably from a field trip.

Tiger squeezed her eyes shut and touched the locket around her neck, silently praying to a God she didn’t believe in that all those kids would make it out safely.

Meanwhile, entering from underground just like in Tiger’s plan, Liv, Josh, Wolf, and Owl walked quietly through the tunnels, stakes high. Josh looked around nervously, reaching for Liv’s hand and intertwining their fingers. Red lights were blinking throughout, signaling to them that Destiny had caused the disturbance they planned for.

“Should we set some charges somewhere down here?” Liv whispered.

“Not yet, I’ll tell you when…” Wolf said as he walked slightly ahead of everyone. He stopped and looked around, realizing they should probably start doing just that. “…wait actually, when.” He muttered, pressing a detonator against the wall and setting the timer. Josh rolled his eyes. Owl was in his own little world about 20 feet behind, studying a singular brick on the wall. “I see some doors, Owl, we need the hand.” Wolf said in a low voice, catching Owl’s attention. He held up one of Destiny’s hands high above his head, the glue glove wrapped over it. He sprinted past the other three and to the biometric scanner.

“He’s…quirky.” Liv said under her breath.

“I think he might’ve had the ‘JOOSH’ I told him not to drink.” Josh said. As the three of them sauntered through the doors, Owl held a hand out to Wolf.

“It’s been an orange, soldiers.” He said, and Wolf grabbed his arm and nodded in response.

“Wait…orange?” Josh raised an eyebrow as Owl held a hand out to Josh.

“Honor, it’s been an honor.” He said. “Isn’t that what I just said?” He shook Liv’s hand politely. “M’lady.” He mocked a curtsy to her.

“Um, thanks Owl.” Liv didn’t know how to respond to that. Owl saluted them with Destiny’s glue hand.

“I love you.” He said to the three of them and waddled away like he’d shit his pants. He looked even stupider in the leopard print jacket he wore that said “SAVAGE” across the back. Josh and Liv stared after him in disbelief.

“Is he alright?” Josh whispered.

“He’s a genius, that’s how they are.” Wolf whispered back, patting Josh on the chest and charging down the hall. Josh looked to Liv with a concerned look.

“I’m pretty damn sure he drank that energy drink.” He huffed as they took off after Wolf.

Back upstairs, Tiger was surveying the lobby with her binoculars.

“Alright, all the ‘innocent’ people who we ‘can’t let die’ are out. Can we blow this shit up now?” Dingo snapped impatiently.

Tiger slowly nodded, bringing a walkie talkie up to her mouth. “Alright, Alpha’s ready to bl-“ before she could finish, she spotted a little girl hiding behind a pillar inside. “Wait, wait, wait, wait, we are not clear.”

Dingo made a frustrated noise and snatched the binoculars from Tiger’s hand. “What the fuck?” She spotted the little girl. “One fucking youngling?!” She seethed, pulling the binoculars away from her eyes in one aggressive motion. “The fate of humanity’s in the balance here, what are you doing?” She hissed.

“No,” Tiger touched her locket. “I gotta get her outta there.” She started to march inside. Dingo chased after her.

“What the fuck are you doing?!” Dingo grabbed Tiger’s shoulder roughly. “What the fuck is wrong with you, Tiger? You talk funny, you care about younglings, and you don’t smell like dirt anymore.” Dingo looked her up and down as Tiger protectively held her necklace. Dingo scoffed. “This time has turned you into a monster. And why do you keep touching that strangle chain?” Dingo’s hand shot out to grab the chain.

“No, no, no!” Tiger fought against her. “Dingo, do not take my baby!” She said through gritted teeth. The locket had been a gift from Estelle Kronish, something she promised to treasure forever. Dingo snapped the chain from Tiger’s neck, prying the locket open. Tiger stood there, stunned, unsure of how to explain what was inside, pictures of Estelle and Elias. Dingo slowly turned her gaze up to Tiger again, a sneer on her face.

“‘You’ll always be a member of the family’?” She looked between the locket and Tiger. “‘Love, Estelle and Elias Kronish?!”

Tiger bobbed her head from side to side. “You know what, when you read it out loud it doesn’t sound great.” Dingo narrowed her eyes on Tiger, inching closer to her, looking ready to attack.

“What do you think your future’s gonna be like?” Josh asked Wolf in a hushed tone.

“I dunno, it’d be just as strange for me as it would be for you guys.” Wolf said, glancing over his shoulder. “Nothing to do but adapt.”

“Easy for you to say, everywhere you go everyone loves you.”

Wolf smirked to himself. “That they do, but hey! Don’t sell yourself short.” He handed Josh a detonator as they approached a beam. As Josh set it up, Liv looked around protectively. She heard the clicking sound of Josh pressing it to the wall and setting the timer. Wolf slapped Josh on the shoulder proudly. “Way to find the weak axis of the I-beam. Adapting already, see?” He looked at Liv. “Good pick.”

Liv looked at Josh with a small grin knowing full well that the day before Wolf had been judging her. Josh gave her the same small grin before peering around the corner. His body tensed, signaling to Liv and Wolf that danger was coming. He turned back and smashed both of them behind the beam, holding his arms out of either side of them protectively, as if that would shield them from any harm. The Biotics who stomped past them were too busy staring straight ahead to even notice them. Josh felt Liv’s chest heave against his as she sighed with relief. Josh looked at Liv and pressed his forehead against hers as he gave a sigh of relief too. Wolf was pressed into the corner behind Liv.

“Listen, I love both of you, but this isn’t really a kissing opportunity.” Wolf whispered. “Although that might be kinda hot-“

Josh and Liv both turned their stares up to Wolf. “Seriously?” Josh pushed away from the wall.

“You’re both very attractive people who I don’t mind seeing kiss.” Wolf shrugged nonchalantly. Josh rolled his eyes as he moved into the next room and up the stairs and Liv chased after him. Wolf took a couple large steps and caught up with them.

They set several more charges. “The pupils have become the masters.” Wolf patted them both proudly on the back.

“Who would’ve thought I had a knack for explosives?” Josh set the timer off on a detonator, winking at Liv.

“Not me,” Wolf started up another flight of stairs. “I never believed in you. I thought you were weak and had bad plans.” Josh sighed as Liv gasped.

“Wolf!” She hissed.

“I’ve heard that before.” He muttered. They came to a door, Wolf pressed his ear against it.

“But you’ve been more dedicated to this mission than anyone else, and Liv really liked you.”

“You met me before you met her.” Josh pointed out in a flat tone.

“Yeah, okay, but she liked you so I had to tolerate you. But now? I really like you.” He looked back at Josh. “I want you to know, if you did come to the future with us, I’d take care of you, like you took care of us.” Josh could recognize softness in his tone and his face, it was the way he spoke to Liv. He really meant it.

“Wow, Wolf,” Josh felt emotional.

“I know,” Wolf opened the door and stealthily walked through. Josh looked at Liv, who looked back at him with the same emotion filled eyes. Josh opened his mouth the day something, but decided against it, slipping his hand into hers and walking through the door and into a dark hallway.

“You know, all I can think about since I murdered myself is that I don’t belong in this time any more than you and Tiger do.” Josh said quietly as he and Liv tiptoed behind Wolf.

“Me too, I keep wondering what this time’s version of me is like.” Liv said quietly.

“I feel like a man out of time.”

“Exactly. But woman.”

“It’s a weird feeling, right?” Wolf lightly chuckled.

“Yeah.” Liv and Josh responded at the same time.

“It’s probably why I did all that coke.” Wolf said, turning a corner. They both nodded, muttering in agreement. “I’m just kidding, I did that because it was awesome.” He grinned over his shoulder at them, making them both laugh quietly. Josh looked at Liv, hand still clutching hers. He looked up at Wolf, who sauntered up to the big, impenetrable doors.

“Liv,” He whispered so Wolf couldn’t hear. “What if we went with them?”

“To their time?” Liv whispered back.

“We don’t belong here.” Josh looked at her with pleading eyes. “And they’ve said how it will be better in the future once we’ve stopped Kronish. I want to go with them, but only if you’re there.” He brought their intertwined hands up, putting his other hand on them.

Liv nodded quickly. “Okay! Okay, let’s do it.” She whispered, a wide grin spreading across her face. “I’ll follow you wherever you go.” Josh��s eyes filled with ecstasy and joy.

“Hey,” Wolf gruffed. “These are the doors.”

Josh and Liv caught up with him. “Wolf. We’re gonna do it.”

“We’re gonna go with you guys back to the future.” She gave Josh a little grin at her reference. Wolf’s eyes lit up. “We’re done being janitors.” She squeezed Josh’s hand.

Wolf looked at them with an enthusiastic glint in his eyes as he raised the walkie talkie to his mouth. “Bravo’s at the Kronish door. Charlie, what’s your ETA?”

They were met with screaming from Owl. “Physics! Inertia! Why have you forsaken me?”

All of their faces fell instantly. “Owl. Come in, Owl.” Wolf responded as calmly as he could. No response. Wolf hit the side of the walkie talkie with the heel of his palm. “Owl, do you copy?”

Owl answered in a high, girly voice. “Yes, how may I help you?” He dropped his voice to a low octave. “Yes, I believe I’m supposed to have an orgasm.” He answered in his girly voice. “Oh yes, right this way.”

Josh looked at Wolf with a concerned face, hoping this was normal, but judging from the way Wolf looked just as concerned, it couldn’t be good.

“Will this orgasm do?” Owl asked himself. He lowered to a low octave again. “Yes, it will!”

“Is…Owl…cumming?” Liv asked as Owl moaned loudly on the other end.

Wolf shook his head. “No, he’s been myrmed.” He sounded distraught.

“Again?!” Josh cried.

“Goddamn necro chamber!” Wolf growled. “Every freaking fucking timeline.” Owl was still wailing. Wolf paced away, halfway down the hall and turned back. “A myrm eats its way through your brain lobe by lobe.” Wolf explained as he paced back to Liv and Josh, who stood in shock, confusion, and terror. “If he’s having an orgasm this intense, it can only be because the myrm is chewing on his amygdala.” He saw the way Liv winced. He leaned down to her level, assuming she didn’t know what that meant. “That’s the brain’s clit.”

“Oh yeah, that makes sense.” She shivered with disgust.

“She’s squeamish.” Josh tightened his grip gently on her hand. Owl continued to moan through the walkie talkie.

“So you went back to the 40s to slit his throat as a baby, that part makes sense.” Dingo was slowly advancing on Tiger, rage burning in her eyes. “Then what?”

“Well, then…one thing led to another and you know how it goes, I kinda ended up raising him.” Tiger kept her distance.

“Was that before or after you sent him on the floaty box with his secret charging mate?” Dingo squinted her eyes.

“It’s called a boat and it was after.” Tiger snapped. “Or before, depending on how you view time.”

Dingo barred her teeth. “How many chances have you had to kill Kronish and not done it?”

Tiger stopped and thought for a moment. She started to count on her fingers. “Oh…yeah…”

Dingo aggressively slapped Tiger’s hand down. “The answer should be zero! You’ve gone fucking soft!” She barked. “You goddamn traitor, I’m not following your plans anymore,” she tried to grab the walkie talkie from Tiger’s belt. “I’m in charge now!” They fought against each other, Tiger tried to pull it from Dingo’s grasp, but snapped it in half. In retaliation, Dingo kicked Tiger through the window and into the lobby, landing her in a mess of shattered glass. Tiger’s head shot up to assess her situation. Remaining Biotics marched single file towards her. Tiger craned her neck to look at the scared little girl, who was still hiding.

“Sweetie, you gotta get out of here, the grown ups are playing.” She said as gently as she could, trying not to scare her further. “Go!” The little girl nodded with wide eyes, standing up and running through the exit. Tiger heaved a sigh of relief.

“Give me the detonator.” Dingo stepped through the broken window menacingly. Tiger grabbed Dingo’s arm as she tried to swing a punch, throwing her into the Biotics, making them topple to the ground like dominoes.

Tiger ran for cover, watching Dingo struggle to stand. She set off Destiny, throwing herself behind a wall as she blew up everything in the lobby. “Owl!” She panted into the walkie talkie. “Owl, open the goddamn doors, I had to blow Destiny early, Dingo turned on me.” She heard nothing. She let out a frustrated groan as she punched the wall, taking off in the direction she hoped led to the doors that Wolf, Josh, and Liv would be at.

“Fifteen brain bombs just blew downstairs, Biotic reinforcements are gonna be here any second!” The Bravo team heard as someone charged down the hall.

“Tiger?”

“Shit…” Wolf hissed, trying to throw his body weight against the doors. “These doors must be impenetrable, there’s no way we’re blowing through this.”

“Wait, you said that Kronish doesn’t let anybody into his lab, right?” Josh asked Tiger. She nodded. “You know what he does let in? Possums.” Everyone stared at Josh, brows pinching together. He pointed to a small chute next to the door. “Guys, the incinerator chute. That’s our way in!”

“No, as soon as they arrive they’ll make straight for Kronish, we’ll be overrun.” Tiger shook her head, face paling.

“Yeah, but not if you hold them off.” Josh said. “Look, all you gotta do is give me enough time to climb up the chute, set the final charge, and kill Kronish myself.”

“What about me?” Liv asked.

“Liv, you can’t come with me, you’ll be with Tiger and Wolf.”

“What? Why?” She asked loudly, voice verging on breaking.

“Liv, it’s dangerous.”

“And the Biotics aren’t?”

“I appreciate your offer, I really do,” Tiger said. “But you've got, like, what, one kill notch on your belt? And evil you did most of the work, let’s be honest.”

“No.” Josh shook his head. “If someone’s gonna kill Kronish, it should be me.”

“Josh!” Liv’s voice broke.

“With that door sealed your only exit is down into the fire.” Wolf said. Josh slowly processed his own plan.

“…it’s a suicide mission.” Tiger whispered. “No coming back, no do-over, no tomorrow…” Liv looked more and more distraught.

“Josh, no!” She grabbed his shoulders.

“You’re gonna die.” Tiger added.

“Yeah, okay, look, I’m realizing that.” Josh brushed Liv’s hands off of his shoulders and walked a couple paces away.

“Josh-“ her eyes were welling up with tears.

“When you guys invited me to come to your future, that meant everything to me, but I don’t think that’s what’s meant to happen. Destiny isn’t something that just arrives on your doorstep from Japan or wherever, it’s something that you seize in the moment, the moment where you realize you have to murder/suicide your former boss and mentor.” Wolf and Tiger looked at each other while Liv began to shake, tears spilling from her eyes.

“What about me, Josh?” She cried.

“Yeah, what about Liv?” Wolf asked in a hushed tone.

Josh closed his eyes and exhaled softly, trying not to cry. Liv meant everything to him, she always had. He couldn’t have her dying because of him. He didn’t know what would happen to her.

“We can take her with us.” Wolf said quietly, Tiger narrowed her eyes at him.

“No we can’t.” She hissed.

“Yes we can!” Wolf wrapped an arm around Liv’s shoulder protectively as they shook harder while she cried.

“I don’t want to go with you guys without Josh!” She pushed herself away from Wolf, running into Josh. “I want to be with you, let me go with you.” She buried her face in the crook of his neck. Josh wrapped his arms around her tightly. Wolf gave Tiger a look, signaling they should let them say their goodbyes. Tiger drew out a blaster and her and Wolf stalked down the hall to give them space.

“Liv,” Josh whispered gently, pulling her away so he could look at her. The heartbroken look on her face shattered him. “I don’t want you to die because of me.”

“But Josh, then we’ll die together.”

“We’re not Romeo and Juliet, okay? Look, I think you should go with them- I know what I just said, but, if it truly is a better future, that’s where I want you to go. I care too much about you Liv, I just…I don’t want you to have to die because of me.”

“Josh. I can’t.” Liv whispered, lip quivering. “I can’t without you.”

Josh nodded, tears falling from his eyes. “I know.” He exhaled shakily, trying to cover it up with a laugh. He shook his head as he looked at her. He loved her. “I don’t want to die.” He shook with sobs, pulling Liv tight against him. “Liv, I don’t want to die.” They held each other, crying and trembling, racked with sobs. Tiger and Wolf could hear them, breaking both their hearts into pieces.

“You don’t have to.” Liv whispered, inhaling shakily, pulling away and wiping her tears. “You don’t have to die again Josh, because I won’t allow you to. You’re going to kill Kronish and then you’re going to climb right back down that chute, I’ll make sure there’s no fire at the bottom, you can trust me. You’re going to sneak out as a civilian like Tiger said earlier, and I will too after helping Tiger and Wolf with the Biotic reinforcements and sending them back to the future, okay? We’ll live a normal life here in this timeline. This is our chance to start over, and you’re the only person who I want to do it with.” She held his face, wiping his tears. He wiped her tears away and nodded.

“Okay, okay, I can do that.” Josh pressed a kiss to her forehead. He reached into his pocket, pressing something round into her hand. “When that thing’s light turns green that means Kronish is dead, the final charge has been set, and I’m coming back down. You make sure that Tiger and Wolf get the fuck back to the future and that they don’t come back for us no matter what.”

Liv looked down at the red light staring up at her from the round object in her hand. She wasn’t sure what it was, but she’d seen Wolf give it to Josh. “Okay.” She whispered, wiping away a stray tear, looking into his eyes. She looked to the side to see Tiger and Wolf looking at them, eyes full of grief and pride.

“I’m proud of both of you.” Tiger said, taking a step towards them.

“We’ll get her out safely, Josh. One way or another, I promise.” Wolf nodded towards him.

“We’ll never forget what you did here.” Tiger made her way over to Josh, placing a hand on his shoulder. “You’re not Future Man, you’re something much better. You’re Josh Futturman.” She pulled him into a tight embrace. Tiger never hugged anyone. Josh sank into the hug, holding back tears again. She pulled away and turned to Liv. “And you, you were the most pleasant surprise I’ve ever received,” She smiled at her, wrapping Liv into a tight hug. “Future Man’s friend.” She said fondly. “I’m glad you stuck around.”

Wolf gave Josh a small smile. “I know we’ll never get a chance to switch dicks back, but I’m cool with that. It was never about the dick, it’s about the warrior’s mane. And you’ve earned every last hair.” Before Josh had a chance to react, Wolf placed his hand on the back of Josh’s neck, pressing their foreheads together. Wolf repeated his last sentence in Na’vi before letting go and turning to Liv. “Liv Branson, I know we’re not saying goodbye just yet, but you are my best friend.” He enveloped her in the world’s tightest hug as she began to cry again.

“Wolf, I love you so much.” She cried into his chest.

“I see her in you. Sigorn-E.” Wolf said. That made Liv cry harder and hug him tighter. “I’ll never forget you Liv, never. I hope every time you and Josh fuck, you think of me when you see my penis on his body.” Liv pulled away.

“Wolf, I think you should be done.” She sniffled, wiping her tears away.

“Yeah Wolf, that’s kinda weird.” Josh said.

Wolf pat Liv’s head, looking down at her with a small, endearing smile. “Okay, okay. Go give him a kiss.” He gestured his head towards Josh. Liv threw her arms around Josh’s shoulders and pulled him in for what could be their final kiss. It was tender and gentle, Tiger didn’t even feel the need to throw up, she just looked at Wolf with softened eyes. Wolf was welling up with tears. Dingo was right, they had gone soft. But they didn’t give two fucks.

Josh pulled away slightly, tucking some of Liv’s hair behind her ear. “I l-“ The floor rumbled.

“Fuck!” Tiger yelled. “They’re here.”

Josh gave Liv a quick peck on the forehead. “I’ll tell you after.” He stroked her cheek one last time as she rubbed her hands up his arms. Wolf helped to boost Josh into the chute.

“I love you!” Josh heard Liv desperately call to him as he started his perilous journey up towards Kronish. The chute door slammed, leaving Josh alone.

As the chute door closed, Wolf put an arm on Liv’s left shoulder. Tiger’s hand landed on her right shoulder.

“Hey you three!” A voice behind them barked. Tiger pulled a blaster from her jacket, concealing it against her body, shooting Liv a side eye. Liv reached for the blade on her belt. “Don’t you know the building is being evacuated?” They turned slowly to see three Biotic scientists approaching them. Wolf reached behind him, grabbing something from his belt.

“Puck chuck!” He yelled, throwing a circular blade into a scientist's throat. Tiger leapt over them, stabbing the one grabbing his throat in the back.

“Gut knife!” She screamed. The other Biotics shot their blasters at them.

Liv stabbed one of them in the stomach. “Gut knife!” She yelled, copying Tiger. Tiger repeatedly stabbed the man.

“Gut knife, gut knife, fucking gut knife! Fuck you!” She screamed. Wolf kicked the third Biotic through a janitor’s closet door, grabbing an unattended mop and snapping it over his knee. The Biotic tried to advance on him but Wolf stabbed the jagged side of the wood straight through his stomach.

“Science wand!�� Wolf yelled, pushing the dying Biotic to the ground. He tossed the mop end to Liv. “Liv! Heads up!”

Liv caught it, driving the splintered wood into her dying Biotic’s stomach. “Not just a janitor now, bitch.”

“More for the gobulator.” Wolf growled, helping Liv to her feet. Liv saw the blood on her hands and shuddered.

“Let’s not kid ourselves.” Tiger said, handing Liv a blaster from her belt. “I didn’t think you had it in you, kid.”

“Guys, we need to make sure we get the fire at the bottom of the incinerator to turn off.” Liv begged. “I promised Josh, he doesn’t have to die-“

“We heard, we’ll help you.” Tiger said. “Don’t worry, Liv.”

Blaster shots whizzed past their heads as they ducked. “So much for stealth mode.” Wolf threw a mine at the reinforcements making their way down the hall. Wolf grabbed Liv and the three took off down the opposite end of the hall.

“We’ve gotta draw them away from the door!” Tiger yelled as they turned the corner, just as the explosion happened.

In the chute, Josh was awkwardly shimmying his way up to Kronish’s office, taking longer than he expected it to. “I thought this would be easier.” He panted, gritting his teeth. He grabbed onto a vent, trying to help hoist himself up, but his knee slipped, making Josh’s heart stop. He only slid down a tiny bit before he was able to stop himself, but that was enough to scare him. His heart was pounding in his ears as he took in shaky deep breaths. “I’m okay, I’m okay, I’m okay,” he repeated to himself over and over. He looked down into the fire way down before him. “God, it’s hot.” He leaned his head back against the metal, chest heaving. “Why didn’t I just play Madden?”

Having escaped the first wave of Biotics, Tiger, Wolf, and Liv crept through a door that led through another maze of halls, this one split three ways. The lights weren’t as dark in this one, making it feel less ominous. Their blasters were drawn, heads on a swivel. They heard the hum of blasters behind them and saw the laser points on the walls.

“Fuck!” Wolf shouted. The doors in front of them opened, swarms of Biotics on the other side.

“Go!” Tiger screamed, grabbing both Liv and Wolf and running straight down the hall, away from the Biotics closing in on them from the other halls. As they ran, the Biotics fired at them.

Wolf shielded Liv with his body as he turned around to shoot back, but he was struck in the collar bone. “I’m hit!” He cried. Liv fired her blaster around him, taking down a single Biotic. They fired at her, hitting her in the arm. She cried out, Tiger grabbed her other arm but was immediately hit in the leg and stomach. She began to keel over.

“No!” Liv screamed, wrapping her good arm around Tiger. Wolf yelled as he was hit in the back. Liv grabbed him with her bad arm, wailing in pain. Tiger, Liv, and Wolf stumbled their way to a closet with a heavy iron door. Liv heard the beep of a bomb timer being set and watched as Wolf dropped a mine to the ground. Tiger shot several blasts behind them as they made their way to the closet for cover. Blasts flew past them, knicking their shoulders and sides. As soon as they passed through the threshold, Wolf fell to the ground. Liv and Tiger worked together to shut the heavy door, Liv pulling the latch shut and holding it. The door buckled as the explosion went off, Liv and Tiger holding the latch closed together. Liv sank to her knees panting and holding her arm.

“Fuck…” Wolf breathed out, rolling to his side.

“We have to make sure the fire gets turned off.” Liv heaved.

Tiger handed her her walkie talkie. “Owl.” Was all she managed to say.

“He’s myrmed.” Wolf winced in pain as he tried to sit up.

Tiger’s eyes darted between Wolf and Liv. She slammed her fist against the door. “Son of a perf cock!”

Josh spilled out from the chute into Kronish’s giant office. He scrambled to his feet, readying his blaster. The office had cement walls, neutral colors, it felt cold and like a prison, or like a very uninviting IKEA show room.

“Mr. Futturman,” Kronish said politely. “I’ve been expecting you. Where’s Ms. Branson? I thought she’d at least be with you.”

Josh’s heart sank. “Oh my God, you’re evil now.” His blaster hummed as it warmed up, pointing it straight at Kronish. “Damn it, why couldn’t you have just been happy eating your conch fritters?”

“But I was, Josh, I was!” There was a tinge of sadness in his voice. “As happy as a conch, which is like a clam, only much more delicious.” Kronish smiled, but there was no usual Kronish joy behind it. Josh adjusted his hand around his blaster, gulping. “Leslie and I were living our dream far, far away from here until one windless, fateful day just north of the Isle of Lamu.” Kronish’s face fell slightly. “My dearest Leslie brushed past a rusty nail and contracted a staph infection, simple, treatable, but we were a five day sail away from the nearest hospital.” Josh held his blaster steady, shaking his head, eyes full of despair. “In Somalia.” Kronish added.

“Oh God,” Josh whispered, heart sinking further.

“By the time we reached dry land, the love of my life expired right in front of me and there was nothing I could do about it.”

“Please,” Josh begged. “You have to make this easier for me.” He lowered his weapon

“But there was something I could do about it,” Kronish continued, a glint of power in his eye. “You told me! The power to eradicate pain and disease forever lay within me. I could make it so that no one ever had to watch a loved one be taken away from them ever again. How could I not pursue such a noble path?”

“Owl, come in Owl.” Liv said for the eighth time. Nothing. “Owl! Team Charlie! Somebody!” She cried.

“Liv, there’s no use.” Tiger muttered, slumping next to Wolf, who was holding the wound on his collar bone. Tiger reached over and pressed her hand to his wound, trying to staunch some bleeding. Wolf winced and groaned.

“You know, I don’t remember Dingo being such an asshole.” Wolf said in a low voice.

“Yeah,” Tiger chuckled. “She was right though, we have changed.” She looked up at Liv, who was standing over them. “For the better. I like who we’ve become…which is why it sucks we’re about to die.”

Liv violently shook her head, screaming into the walkie talkie. “Owl!”

Wolf rested his head against Tiger’s, holding his hand to hers, closing his eyes. He opened them and they landed right on his gobulator. He sat up straight and immediately winced and moaned in pain. “We don’t have to.” He gruffed. “Tiger, it’s time for Beaver’s Razor.” He said, looking over at her.

“What- what’s that?” Liv asked. Tiger looked at him, eyes lighting up.

“Wolf, you’re a genius.”

Josh had his blaster raised towards Kronish again. “Look, I’m sorry about Leslie, I know that you loved him so much, and you guys used to really get after it sometimes. But the truth is, every time and every timeline your work leads to the creation of the Biotics who destroy all of mankind.” Josh slowly walked closer to Kronish as he spoke.

“No!” Kronish pointed a finger at him. “I kept the research, all my research right here under this roof, I shared it with no one!” He pointed to a case full of his research and vials. “I will never do that, I am dedicated to good, to ending pain.”

“I know that you are,” Josh said, lowering the blaster slightly. “But this is already happening. I’ve tried really, really, really hard not to kill you. Okay. It’s been my number one goal. I’ve tried to change you, I’ve tried to control events, but it doesn’t work.” Josh rambled, getting closer to Kronish as he backed away. “This is where we end up.”

“You’re wrong, Josh, I’ve been careful.”

“It doesn’t matter how careful you’ve been, okay?” He caught sight of Kronish’s monitors of the security footage. All he could see were Biotics charging into the building. “Look! Don’t pretend you don’t see what’s happening down there. This is the army that your cure created.” Kronish looked at the monitors, watching Biotics breaking down doors. Kronish shook his head, eyes growing horrified.

“…I wanted to heal the world.”

“I know you did.” Josh said gently. “And in another life you were another kind of great man where you were strong and caring and warm and supportive.” Josh’s voice broke. “And that’s what makes this so much harder.” He raised his blaster again.

Liv and Tiger held the door shut as Biotics began to pound in the door, the bolts on the latch starting to loosen.

“It’s now or never, Wolfie.” Tiger said in a strained voice.

“Okay!” Wolf readied the gobulator, spilling the small bombs through the gap in between the floor and the door. Tiger pulled Liv away from the door, watching the bombs go spilling out and into the hall. “Say hello to your little friends!” Wolf shouted, pressing a button in the small box, and diving to shield Tiger and Liv. A massive explosion shattered the door and the walls around.

“You’re not a killer, are you son?” Kronish asked calmly.

Josh had his blaster pointed straight at Kronish’s head. “Today I am.” He said sadly. “And you have to die.”

Kronish didn’t say anything, he just looked down at his desk. “Tomorrow, to demonstrate my breakthrough to the world,” he opened a chest on his desk. Josh’s grip tightened on his weapon and he shifted on his feet anxiously as he saw the chest holding a gun and a small box inside. “I was going to inject myself with a needle filled with microdoses of 100 of the world’s deadliest diseases.” He opened the smaller box, inside sat two syringes filled with fluids. He held up one of them for Josh to see. “And then, dramatically, save myself with my cure.” He held up the other syringe. “It would have been fantastic theater.” He said with a glum smile. “Tonight’s performance will have a different ending.” Without warning he stuck the needle full of the microdoses into his neck, shocking Josh, who watched in horror as Kronish grunted and yanked the needle out.

Kronish motioned for Josh to step aside, to which he did, watching and realizing as Kronish made his way over to the chute, that he had just killed himself for Josh. He slowly followed behind Kronish, lowering the blaster.

Kronish let out a huff as he dropped his cure down the chute and into the fire. “That stings.” He said, trying to keep an air of positivity in his voice.

“Okay, we broke the Beaver’s dam.” Tiger panted as she wrapped an arm around Wolf.

“Biotic flood comes next.” Wolf said through gritted teeth, hobbling out of the closet.

“Owl, come in Owl. Owl, come on, you’ve got to shut off the fire to the incinerator.” Liv begged into the walkie talkie. “Please Owl, please answer me.” Silence.

“Skibidibop.” Owl said.

Tiger and Wolf both gasped, they were both fully convinced Owl had died. Liv let out a strangled mix between a sob and a laugh. “Owl, Owl, are you there?”

Owl answered, singing some sort of garbled gibberish. “Owl, are you at the control panel? Shut down the power to the possum chute!”

“Skibidibibidibop.” Owl answered.

“…was that a yes?” Liv looked at Tiger and Wolf, who just shrugged. Wolf’s eyes widened as they heard something small clank against the floor and start rolling towards them.

“DMC!” Tiger gasped, the air filled with fog.

“Oh shit,” Wolf started to hack. “I really thought this was going to work.” Liv waved her hand around, trying to clear the fog, starting to cough too. It felt like her lungs were closing in and she couldn’t breathe.

“No!” She managed to yell through her hacking. “No!” Tiger looked around them with wide eyes, completely unaffected by the poisonous gas. She touched her face in disbelief, and looked down at her hands, waiting to see them crack and start to bleed, but they didn’t. She was fine.

“Help…” Wolf’s voice came out strangled. The round object that Josh had given Liv rolled out of her pocket as she fell to her knees, fighting for air. It flashed from red to green. Tiger knew what she had to do to save not only Wolf but Liv too. They couldn’t leave her to die. She pulled out the TTD from Owl and Dingo.

“I’m sorry, Josh.” Tiger whispered, firing it up. Liv struggled for air as she weakly turned her head to Tiger, hearing what she’d said. Tiger grabbed Liv’s shoulder and Wolf’s arm. Biotics rounded the corner as the TTD began making its signature buzzing and whirring sounds. Sounds that Liv knew all too well.

“No!” She managed to scream out. “No, Tiger, no!” Light flashed around them, and she felt the familiar sensation of her limbs feeling like they were getting torn from her body.

Watching Kronish die was one of the hardest things Josh had ever had to see. The life draining from his eyes was haunting. Josh had sat with him underneath the possum chute, trying to keep the conversation light hearted, telling Kronish of the Kronish Ball, and the famous chocolate balls.

“How…whimsical…” Were Kronish’s last words before he exhaled his last breath. Josh bowed his head in mourning, a single tear falling down his cheek. Kronish never deserved to go through the things he did. Josh stood and set the final charge, heading towards the incinerator chute. He was met with the heat from the flames down at the bottom.

“Oh God, Liv,” Josh let the door slam as he nervously paced away, raking his hands through his hair. Had she died? What happened? She promised to shut the flames off.

“Joosh!” The voice screaming from walkie talkie scared him half to death. Owl. He hadn’t died yet.

“Owl, Owl are you there?” Josh responded.

“Thirst hyped! Brain plunged!” Owl yelled back. So he had had the energy drink. “Skibidibopbopboo!”

“Owl, do you copy?” Josh shouted. Owl sang in response. “Owl, listen to me, okay? You need to cut the power right now to the possum incinerator chute! Shut it down right now! Right now! Or I’m gonna burn alive! Do you understand- do you copy?”

Nothing. “Skibidibop.”

Josh nodded. “Good enough.” He climbed into the chute, glancing back at the detonator counting down to the explosion. He had 15 seconds. He started to reverse crawl down the chute, praying the fire would shut off any second. When the detonator exploded, it shook the chute, making Josh lose his balance and start to plummet down, down into the flames that hadn’t shut off yet.

“I don’t want to die!” Josh screamed as he manically grasped the metal walls for anything, anything that could stop his fall. Just as he felt the heat get stronger, the flames shut off and he tumbled down into the coals and singed possum bones. He gasped for air, the wind having been knocked out of him. “I’m not dead! I’m not dead!” He cheered, rolling off of the hot coals and kicking the metal door to the incinerator open. Owl lay in front of him, very much dead. A hammer was stuck in the control panel, the lights around it flickering. “Thanks Owl,” he panted, giving him a quick salute before taking off down the hall. He could hear the charges set earlier start to go off. As he ran for his life, he prayed that Liv was okay and would be waiting for him outside.

It was just like in Biotic Wars, and Josh had never run so fast in his whole life. The charges caught up to him quickly, he could feel the debris from the explosions gaining on him, hitting his back. He retraced his, Liv’s, and Wolf’s steps from earlier, running out the way they came in. He sprinted outside, greeted by the coolness of the outside air which contrasted with the heat from the explosions. Windows shattered, spraying glass everywhere as the building collapsed. Josh turned around to watch the tower crumble with one last final boom.

“I did it!” He gasped, falling to his knees and throwing both hands into the air. “I did it!” He looked around, waiting to see a certain girl come running to hug him. But he saw no girl. He saw no one. “Liv?” He called. “Liv?!” He called louder, spinning around. He turned back to the crumbled and burning building. “No. No, no, no, no, Liv! Fuck!” He scrambled to his feet, starting to run towards the rubble and damage, ready to go rake through it with his bare hands to find her. “LIV!” His lungs stopped working as a vicious lump formed in his throat, he was in utter shock and the immense feeling of grief washed over him as he realized something had happened to her. He couldn’t formulate words.

Someone grabbed the back of his shirt roughly, slapping a handcuff around his wrist. “I heard you ‘did it’, huh?” Skarsgaard. He forced Josh to his knees. “Mind if I quote you on that?” Josh let out a defeated sound, feeling a single tear roll down his cheek. “I’m assuming you’re calling for Liv ‘Pastman’ Branson, huh? We can’t find her. Shame I never got to meet her.” Skarsgaard said as Josh’s head hung in sorrow. “Sorry for your loss, but you’re going away for a long time, Futturman.”

I don’t expect anyone to understand what I’ve done. Please believe me when I tell you, I’m not the person they’re saying I am, or the person that you think I am. I’m someone else entirely. I know that sounds confusing and I wish that I could explain it. But what I know to be true is a burden I have to carry alone. Maybe not for that long or maybe for the rest of my life. All I can do, in my own way, is try to make things right. Sometimes I feel like I’ve spent my whole life pretending to be a hero, so when the time came to be one in real life, I went for it. I really did. Which is why I have to go. I love you, Mom and Dad. I’m sorry.

Gabe held the letter in shock. A check with Joosh’s entire net worth and keys to their house were also in the envelope. Gabe called out for Diane.

“Cupcake! Cupcake, we’re going home!”

One Year Later…

Alamore Asylum wasn’t so bad. Skarsgaard actually ended up being one of the sweetest men Josh had ever met, paying Josh constant visits and chess matches every week. In this timeline, Skarsgaard wasn’t a detective, he had been a parking officer, but after he traced Tiger’s steps from Stu Camillo’s house to Kronish Labs, he’d gotten a generous promotion.

The part that was torture was the fact that he was alone with his own thoughts. His imagination would run rampant with thoughts of what happened to Tiger, Wolf, and most importantly, Liv.

Josh thought about Liv every single day, he even dreamed of her every night. He dreamed of memories with her. Most times they were simply sitting back in the janitor’s closet that was their designated hang out spot back in their Kronish Labs days. It shattered his heart to wake up to find she wasn’t there. He couldn’t shake the thought of Tiger and Wolf too, wondering what became of them. It gnawed at him everyday, wondering what happened to the three of them, wondering if they all perished in the “terrorist attack” that Josh had caused.

That’s what the media called it, a “terrorist attack”, even going as far as to nickname him “Little Boy Blew”.

Skarsgaard moved his chess piece. “Check. Mate.” He smirked at Josh cockily. Josh sat on the other side of the chess board in his cell.

“Uh, I don’t think that piece moves like that.” Josh said.

Skaarsgard tilted his head and studied the board. “Oh, right. That’s the horsey.”

“No…that’s the pawn.” Josh chuckled.

Skarsgaard chuckled along with him, leaning back in his chair. “Speaking of pawns, I take it no word from your time traveling pals?” Skarsgaard had figured out about Tiger and Wolf’s dicking around in time back in the 90s when Tiger gave him a matching three slices down his other cheek to match the ones she’d given him back in ‘69.

“Oh, hey, look, I blew up that building completely on my own.” Josh lied nonchalantly. “You sat through the whole trial.” His heart ached as he lied for the millionth time, thinking of Tiger, Wolf, and Liv.

“Some friends.” Skarsgaard scoffed. “They leave you locked up while they’re free to robo-surf and hunt sport gators in a beautiful unknown future.”

Josh’s face fell slightly. “No, this is what I signed up for.” He said solemnly. He hoped that that’s what they were doing. He just hoped they were alive, but he’d never know.

“Hm.” Skarsgaard nodded, thinking over what Josh had said. “Well, I better get going. The widow Santiago’s coming over for dinner. Pretty soon her belly’s gonna be swollen with meatloaf.” He smiled.

“Vince,” Josh smirked at him. “Are you…are you sweet on her?”

“Time heals all wounds, Futturman.” Skarsgaard smiled wider. “Oh, by the way, I clipped this article for you.” He reached into the pocket of his suit coat. “Looks like your folks are putting good use to your Euros.” He handed Josh a newspaper article.

“Joosh Community Center Opens Fourteenth South American Location”.

Josh smiled, looking down at the picture of his parents surrounded by children holding toys and sports equipment. As Josh read, Skarsgaard stood up, stopping before he walked away.

“Does it ever bother you that everyone thinks you’re batshit crazy?” He asked.

“I know the truth. That’s all that matters.” Josh said.

“Reminds me of someone I used to know.” He nodded.

“Santiago?”

“Vincent Skarsgaard.” He smiled fondly at Josh. He knocked a knuckle against the glass separating them. “Next week, Future Man.” He winked and walked away.

Josh gave a small, grim smile and nodded, moving the chair he sat in back to the corner of his cell. He walked to his small bulletin board and stuck the article on it. He was proud of his parents, he wished he would have known that the last time he would have seen would’ve been in front of the police station. He never texted them that he was going to be late that night. He missed them dearly.

He sighed as he walked to his bed, laying down on it, resting his hands behind his head and staring up at the ceiling. No Biotics, no weight of the world on his shoulders. Just Josh Futturman, doomed to be alone in his asylum cell. He let his eyes close.

Behind his eyelids he saw flashing lights and heard buzzing, the same way the TTD would. Josh’s eyes shot open, unable to see a single thing through the bright, flashing lights. It was the last thing that he remembered before blacking out.

End of Book 1.

Picture the song “Don’t Look Back” by Boston playing epically

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