A/N. A parallel universe is a theoretical universe that mirrors one's world. Where whatever occurs in this universe happens in the alternate universe but an opposite manner. A superposition of two possible outcomes that resolved into one where both outcomes have occurred, although we experience only one. We live on in one of the two parallel universes that result from the split or branching because at that instant they are the same in every other respect.

It began on a summer afternoon, a month of intense heat, rainless skies, and hot, dust-laden winds. At the junction that cuts Highway 54. A dusty truck pulled up by a warehouse a few minutes after one o'clock. There were two men in the car, one of them was asleep. The driver, a short, thickset man with uneasy brown eyes hidden behind dark glasses got out of the car. His dusty, shabby suit was threadbare; his shirt was frayed at the cuffs. It looked like the heat bothered him. He paused to look at his sleeping buddy before getting out and walked towards a group of men who were armed and dressed in black suits, white shirts, and black ties.

"Who is in charge here?" the man with the shabby suit asked.

"I am sir." A man stepped forward. He was tall and pasty-faced.

"Give me an update on the situation." He asked the pasty-faced man.

"Yes, commander; the suspect was last seen going into a house across the road; we are waiting for him to emerge and detain him, sir."

"Is he armed.?" His now awake buddy who had joined them asked.

"We are not sure, but a scan from a distance showed he isn't, but we can't be 100% sure."

"So much for your advanced laser technology." The commander hissed. They headed to the warehouse that the men were using as a temporary base to get out of the scorching heat. The abandoned warehouse was located in a low wasteland. Above and across the road where a block of houses, the target was inside one of the buildings.

Five hours had passed since they were shacked up in the warehouse, waiting for the suspect to emerge. They weren't sure if their target was aware of their presence or a distraction for their primary suspect. The evening sun was a blessing; it wasn't as hot which was relaxing. Suddenly the target came out of one of the houses; he was wearing a baseball cap and dark glasses. He paused for a moment as if trying to decide which way he should go. He looked left and right and hurriedly walked across the busy road. The commander paused to identify the suspect. He didn't have a lot of time "Can you confirm that is our suspect?" He asked the pale face man who scanned the suspect from a distance.

"Yes, that is him. The tracking device has identified him." He confirmed.

"Wait here." The commander ordered his men "Come with me." The pale-faced man nodded and followed a few yards behind. The commander ran towards the target using bushes for cover and crouching in the shadows around an alleyway. The layout of the warehouse was very similar with both indoor and outdoor areas separated by narrow alleys.

The suspect looks back and seems to have spotted a black van following him. He began to pick up pace cutting through the alleys to avoid detection, unknowing running toward where the commander had taken cover who quietly climbed up some steep stairs to close in. The suspect took a slight turn and walked towards the commander's position. He grabbed him from behind and pulled him back, resulting in the suspect stumbling down the steep stairs. At the bottom of the stairs, he was apprehended, as he wiggled in pain and was dragged towards the warehouse by the pale face man.

A few hours have passed since the suspect was caught, he wasn't talking much, in fact, he wasn't talking at all. The decision was made to interrogate him by any means necessary. Their concentration on the matter was suddenly interrupted by the sounds of combustible engines in the distance; the commander went to a small window and saw a black van, with two other vans behind heading towards their location. It was the same van that was following the suspect earlier. The vans pulled up about 1000 yards from the warehouse, about half a dozen men spilled out, guns were drawn.

The commander swore under his breath; this is not what he needed right now. He had to act fast; he quickly ordered his men to move to another area of the warehouse to avoid an ugly confrontation. The suspect in tow. They went down into an underground chamber which looked like a communication room.

"Do we have the cloaking device?" He asked his companion who was in the truck with him earlier.

"Yes, it's in my bag."

"Good, hopefully, it might buy us some time."

"Who are they?" His companion asked.

"To be honest I don't know, they could be government agents or they could be working for our enemies." The commander said worriedly.

The men rush into the warehouse taking precautions and quickly secure the central area, but were baffled as to where their targets were.

"Are you sure this is the right place." The officer in charge asked.

"Yes, this is where the signal was emitted from." One of the men said. He was holding a tracking device.

"So where are they?" The officer looked around moving slow and self-consciously around the outer fringe of some rusty tables in the main area of the warehouse.

"The radar is picking up aleast ten people, but the signal is faint." The man with the tracking device said uneasily.

They moved to another part of the warehouse. He scans the area with his device; the signal was now getting stronger. They entered another part of the warehouse leading underground. The officer in charge looked around the large room they were now in and said. "They are not here. Are you sure your device is not faulty" The voice sounding frustrated.

"I don't think so. These readings are correct I am sure they are here, but can't explain why we can't see them." The device also picked up what looks like a tiny size box object above their heads. He points the object to the officer without saying a word. He moved towards a wall where there was a map with dots on several locations. He tried to get to the wall and felt something stopping him, he jumped back, but the officer sprang into action and shot at the small well-hidden device. There were flashes of lights, and in a split second, about ten men appeared out of thin air, guns drawn and pointing at the officer and group. The commander and officer jerked up their guns at the same time. The two gazed at each other, for a moment paralyzed with shock and surprise, mist in the air adding to the grimy atmosphere. Hands are trembling as the minutes dragged. Eventually one spoke.

"Okay everyone calms down." the commander heard a voice finally say. He couldn't see the officer's face as it was covered by a balaclava. The commander quickly regained his composure and said.

"Tell your men to lower their weapons; we don't want a bloodbath." He said uneasily.

"Drop your weapons first!" The officer shouted.

"Who are you and what organizations do you work for.?" The commander asked.

"That depends on who's asking. Look we have no problem with you guys, we just want the man you are holding prisoner." The officer snarled.

"I'm afraid no can do, he wanted for breaching the time continuum act he is coming with us." The commander replied.

"We cannot let you take him; he is wanted for treason, and I can only tell you that we are a secret organization set up to clean up the mess you time jumpers have created and to track down and prevent them from further damaging the timeline and our world." The officer replied.

The commander was shocked they knew about the time jumpers. "How do you know about us?" He asked.

"We know all about you; we have been tracking time jumpers for a long time. But you guys are new and well armed." the officer replied.

"We are here to stop the time travelers from our universe from contaminating your world. Believe me; we are on the same side." The commander tried to reason.

"We don't need your help. Our government has set up this particular agency unit to counterattack the threat and track down travelers who alter their own past for personal gain and to capture the man responsible for infesting our world with criminals from your universe." The officer retorts.

"I'm sorry, but that why we are here too, to combat the threat before it gets out of control. It will be in your government's best interest if we work together to round up all the escapees."

"What makes you think I believe your claim? You could be anyone or claim to be from any organization that doesn't exist."

The commander could see he wasn't getting anywhere; he needed to prove their credentials. He pulled out a device from his pocket. "It's is really quite simple. We have been compiling lists which contains all the possible names of suspects who have illegally time traveled here."

The officer looked at the list and recognized a lot of names, in fact, it was a copy of the files her task force confiscated from a captured time jumper, but with a lot more names and one name in particular. Only a few people with high-class clearance had access to the database. The officer forced a smile and seemed to give up.

The commander felt confident enough to lower his weapon, nodding to his men to do the same. He put out his hand and said. "My name is Dr. Leonard Hofstadter. I'm an experimental physics and also commander in chief of the time task force."