Into the Future

Into the Future is the eleventh and twelfth episodes of season one in The ACS. In this episode, the ACS, excluding John, are sent to the future from a binding flash of light. John is presumed dead, and the ACS finds that the United States has been turned into a dictatorship by Project Venture. When Web makes a sarcastic remark to a group of guards, they open fire and the team runs and are pulled into an underground hideout by John – only a different John, who goes by the name of Oblivion...
==Plot==
===Part one===
Having just impeded Lord Zorgu from obliterating the moon, the members of the ACS, excluding John, return back to Earth via spaceship. They alight at an undisclosed storehouse of Zhao Industries and rejoice another mission success by dining at a Grease Burger. At the restaurant, JJam notes how John was unable to make it because he was taking a trip to Fort Pooda. Later that day, during the sunset, the team saunters to the ACS HQ, and everything seems pleasant and peaceful. However, that's never possible for the society. Suddenly, there is a binding flash of light. When the light fades, the team finds themselves in a subway station, the exact location where the ACS HQ should be. Nozus, for the first time ever, loses his cool and goes berserk, complaining about how much work he put into the HQ. Wario calls John only to receive an intercept message informing him that the number he dialed doesn't exist.
Collector looks around and notices the subway station is empty. The rest of the team egress the station and are surprised to find things changed: polluted skies, Nazi-esque flags, and factories nearly everywhere. A squad of security officers appears and demands their identification. When Web makes a sarcastic remark, the guards open fire. The team runs, and are pulled into an underground hideout by John – only a different John, who goes by the name of Oblivion. Nozus quickly concludes that something has happened to alter time – why the team wasn't affected isn't certain. Oblivion explains that in this timeline, the members of the ACS, excluding himself, were executed as dissidents by the fascist regime Project Venture. Oblivion now leads the resistance against Venture.
The ACS, with Oblivion's help, infiltrates Venture's laboratory, and finds a time machine. It seems obvious that Project Venture has used it to alter history. The ACS decides to travel back in time and try to put things right – it is risky, as they have heard one of Venture's scientists, Professor Carrotstein, saying that the portal will collapse in forty-eight hours. Oblivion decides to remain behind, saying that if they fail, someone will have to keep fighting against Project Venture.
The time machine malfunctioned. Instead of being transmitted back to 2023 to stop Project Venture, the ACS were sent even farther into the future. They find themselves in the now derelict Venture HQ and immediately notice outside a sordid milieu. The sky is maroon and the citizens of Nicktropolis are impassive; all of them are wearing the same attire. Trouble arises again when the ACS are confronted and attacked by robotic guards who strangely have the powers and abilities of the ACS, including John. Eventually, the ACS manage to defeat the androids only to see them cybernetically repair themselves (they can do this due to John's healing factor). Overwhelmed, the team is ready to accept their downfall until backup arrives – another team that calls themselves the ACS.
===Part two===
Joe the Marksman, Chrome IV, Outcast, Rachel, G-Guy, and Bialy – this era's ACS – square off against the guards until Rachel manages to place mechanical disruptors on each one of them, thus shutting them down. The future ACS guides the current ACS through Nicktropolis where they return to the ruins of the Nicktropolis Elementary School, which serves as the headquarters for what is left of the future ACS. There, the future ACS introduces themselves. Web, seeing various similarities in appearance to John, asks Joe who his father is; he replies, "Kind of obvious, don't you think?"
Joe the Marksman explains to the ACS that, years ago in the 21st century, they were defeated and killed by Oblivion and his militia. The only member who managed to survive was Collector, who escaped amidst the battle when he realized things were looking scared. It is also revealed that the future ACS managed to teleport the current ACS to the future as a last resort. An aged Collector subsequently reveals himself, since Collector is immortal. The current ACS find hope in the fact that the elderly Collector is still alive; logically, that means that whatever the younger Collector is there to assist them with, they already know they'll win. Unfortunately, old Collector has no memory of traveling through time, which means that history itself has become fluid, and their future is still far from certain.
Meanwhile, Oblivion, who currently possesses the time traveling device, travels into the past of 2024. The ACS had disappeared into his timeline a year prior and now all of their mutual friends believe they're dead. John the Marksman, who never went with them, was believed to have been responsible for their demise. Subsequently, he was seen as a traitor and treated as villain, thus setting the premise for his alter ego to evolve, Oblivion. With a smirk on his face, Oblivion travels back to 3023. There, in a castle in Fort Pooda, he speculates how the ACS was able to flee from his refurbished Robot ACS. Aggravated, Oblivion fixes Ö-Bagel with a contemptuous glare and proceeds to send Ö-Bagel back into the time of the dinosaurs, just before the cataclysmic event that killed them off. Oblivion then unwinds, realizing he is now the surefire master of space and time. He could do and prevent whatever he wanted...
Serious disruptions in the space-time continuum begin to transpire. As the future and current ACS make their way towards Fort Pooda, Bagel begins to fade away as he suggests that Oblivion could prevent their entire history. Eventually, Bagel disappears completely and finds himself on FoodTopia. "Déjà vu" he exclaims as he begins pounding his head. Subsequently, Bialy fades away as well. Oblivion is already beginning to attack timelines. Soon, there are even signs that the universe itself is moving towards entropy. The team later confronts Oblivion in Fort Pooda, who is remodeling his castle into a pyramid structure. Oblivion is encompassed with a magnetic aura and his power is clearly perceptible. A battle ensues, in which the ACS (both future and present) are clearly losing. Things take a turn for the better, however, when Nozus and Rachel manage to hack and reprogram the Robot ACS and turn them against Oblivion.
Using synchronized assault patterns, Wario and G-Guy manage to slam and pin Oblivion down to the floor while Outcast manages to snatch Oblivion's time traveling device. Oblivion then hurls Wario and G-Guy off of him and sprints towards Outcast. Chrome IV intercepts by diving straight into Oblivion, lifting him up, and flying upwards. As Chrome IV is busy with Oblivion, Nozus attempts to open a portal back to his time. Some sort of portal opens, however, it leads to the beginning of time. Better than nothing, the current ACS say their farewells to the future ACS, but they all stop when Chrome IV's head, not attached to his body, plummets to the ground. Oblivion immediately falls afterwards but instantly recovers. Irritably, Oblivion flies straight into the portal but is stopped when he is turned into a cute bunny by Joe – who is finally beginning to comprehend his powers.
Nozus, JJam, Collector, Web, and Wario are now in the beginning of time. Present at the beginning of time is a mysterious hand, seeming to hold the infant multiverse. The five members take a brief peak but are immediately stopped by one who calls himself Curator Prime. He redirects the team to their time, which has been personally re-written by him. As quick as a blink, the team find themselves sauntering to the ACS HQ, where they last were at. However, Bagel is not with them and John isn't answering his phone.
The team runs to the ACS HQ to find John and Bagel back, laidback and relaxing. The team is all so relieved that they hug John and Bagel. Nozus, JJam, Collector, Web, and Wario all have a lot to talk about...
==Character appearances==
==Soundtrack==
Time AtrophyPlayed prior to the Oblivion fight scene, as drastic changes were made to the time stream
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Oblivion!Played during the Oblivion fight scene
==Quotes==
===Part one===
===Part two===
==Questions==
===Why did Oblivion's appearance change?===
He had technically evolved. He was, after all, the master of space and time.
===Why was Oblivion wearing a cross?===
Oblivion thinks of himself as a "god of peace," that has to guide the world to maturity through pain.
===How did Nozus get the team to the beginning of time?===
He was trying to go back in time to 2023, but he had actually went much farther back.
===Who is Curator Prime?===
One of the many beings who controls everything and anything, exclusive to the Prime Universe.
==Continuity==
*Web had encountered Oblivion prior to this episode, during an episode of Bandit Territory.
*The Time-Bake 12345678910 was a device used by Carrotstein in the movie Y-Guy: Back in Time.
*Bagel notes that he dislikes time travel, referring to his previous experiences in the two-part Time Trouble story arc of The Bagel Show.
*Joe has trouble comprehending and controlling his powers, just like in the comic.
==Trivia==
*Part one of the episode is thematically similar to how John met Oblivion. The creator of John and the series, KM, has stated that he has done this on purpose.
* When Nozus, JJam, Collector, Web, and Wario peak at the infant multiverse, various characters from different universes make cameos, such as Kiru, Drake Joe Armond, ET-0001, Waker, and more.
* Also, the number 42 is visible all throughout the beginning of time. The number is illuminated and hard to see. 42 is the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything.
*The episode was originally intended to air on June 27, 2013, but the show went under hiatus unexpectedly around that time.
==Reviews==
Category:The ACS episode
Category:Episodes