5Disclaimer: I do not own Timeless.
Prognosis: Part 1
Wyatt's racing footsteps echoed on the bunker's metal walls. He reached into his back pocket to grab his last clip. He raced through the entrance to the control center and slammed and barred the door.
"They've breached the outer door," he announced. There were so few of them left now. When the war began, they'd recruited nearly a hundred people to help fight Rittenhouse's army. Now there were less than ten.
A middle-aged African American lady wearing a string of pearls and dress from 1974 collapsed into her seat and started weeping quietly.
All eyes turned toward the tall young man in the middle. "Now Mrs. Johnson, don't let them see you like that."
Katherine nodded and wiped her eyes. "Yes, sir," she choked.
President Kennedy drew a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped the back of his neck. No one in the room had ever seen him look more defeated.
"We've lost good people," he said slowly. "Bass Reaves… Denise Christopher… Garcia Flynn… You've all given me all you got and then some. I never could've asked for more.
"There's no way out of this. The timeline's been blown to hell. Our last move- our ace in the hole- lies with you Jiya."
Everyone in the room blinked and turned to look at the center console. Katherine and Hedy both turned to the young Lebanese girl between them. Even she looked shocked. "Operation Prognosis?"
The president nodded. "If all goes well, our timeline will cease to exist. This is the last play we can do. Jiya. Good luck."
Jiya nodded. "Wyatt, Lucy. We have one last trip."
"Good luck," said the president.
They said their goodbye. Soft murmurs carried far in the vast control center. Jiya hugged a sobbing Connor Mason. Wyatt shook General McArthur's hand. Lucy stood back, watching the emotional scene.
There was a sudden hammering on the barred door. "They're here," said Wyatt. "We gotta go. We gotta go! Come on!"
He led the way up the steps into the machine, Lucy and Jiya hot on her heels.
"What's Operation Prognosis?" he said.
"We're going back to June 22, 2018," said Lucy. "Jiya pitched this after the Hermione Modification."
"We can be in two places at once now," said Jiya. "So we're going back to the day I came back from 1888."
"The day Rufus died?" asked Wyatt.
"We're gonna go back and help ourselves save Rufus."
As the machine roared to life, Wyatt started wondering. "Can't we just tell them about the Mason Data Dump? That would prevent the war."
"The Data Dump only happened because I met Tesla," said Jiya. "I only met Tesla because we had the Hermione Modification. We only made the Hermione modification because Rufus died. We save Rufus, we stop the war."
"But what about everything up to you meeting Tesla?" asked Wyatt. The machine was shaking now. The muffled sound of gunfire was coming from the outside. Kennedy's army was being slaughtered. "Miami, the pirates, the Titanic…"
"Our past selves will still have to take those missions," said Lucy, bracing herself for the jump. "But Wyatt, you can NOT tell them what's coming. Promise me."
"Hang on tight," said Jiya.
"Promise me!"
Wyatt blinked. "Lucy, I-"
And they jumped.
Five years earlier
Wyatt's jaw dropped as he saw himself step out of the machine. He looked older, more weathered and he had a beard.
The older Lucy looked hot. Like Sarah Connor and the girl from Tomb Raider had a baby.
"Well," she said. "Do you guys wanna save Rufus or what?"