Chapter 4 – Feel Like Death
August 11 2001 – The Clock Tower
The morning light shone through the windows of the Clock Tower, illuminating the four beds that were laid out in the living area. A loud cough echoed throughout the building and Wes's head bolted up from its resting spot. It took him a few moments to realise that the cough he heard was actually his own. He leaned back on his chair, gave a resigned sigh and tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes. Last night had been alarming quiet in the Tower, none of his friends had made a sound. Circuit kept a close eye on them but the news wasn't good, their life signs were fading. The owl was unsure if they would last for another 24 hours.
Once Wes was fully awake he realised that his left hand was intertwined with Jen's. Her fingers loosely gripped the red ranger and her skin was extremely pale. Wes brushed some loose hair away from her face but Jen didn't move a muscle. In desperation he leaned forward and pressed his lips against her forehead. Jen's skin was cool to the touch and the kiss lingered for a few seconds. Wes was sure that he felt her move and pulled away but after a few seconds, he had to accept that it had been a figment of his imagination.
The red ranger settled back into his chair once again and closed his eyes. He wasn't a religious person but the situation was desperate. He said a silent prayer that all four of his friends would survive. He also vowed that if Jen woke up, he would tell her exactly how he felt. She might have to return to the future one day but that didn't mean they couldn't enjoy the time they had together. When Wes left home he told his Dad that he would make his own destiny and something told him that his future would include Jen in some way.
The sound of footsteps grabbed his attention and he was immediately on his feet. He touched a button on his morpher and a Chrono Blaster appeared in his hand. He hid it behind his back to maintain some element of surprise. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw a familiar red beret coming up the stairs, "Nice", Eric began, "very cosy".
"What are you doing here Eric?" Wes asked with a sigh.
"Now is that any way to talk to a fellow ranger", Eric smiled and tapped his hand on an orange suitcase in his hand, "BioLab have been working on this overnight".
Wes placed his Blaster on the chair and walked towards the Quantum Ranger, "A cure?" he asked in hope.
"Possibly", Eric began, "Mr Collins said that it worked on the blood samples but he wasn't sure how it would work on the human body. The red ranger placed the case on the kitchen counter and clicked it open. Inside the case were four phials of a light blue liquid and a set of syringes, "If it works then it should take effect within a matter of minutes".
Wes took out one of the phials and placed it into a syringe, "Thanks Eric", he said and the Quantum Ranger gave a firm nod in response, "you're welcome to stay for a bit".
"Thanks", Eric stated slowly, "but I need to help distribute the Venomark antidote to the city", he turned on his heel.
Deciding now was a good time to extend the hand of friendship further, he added, "You're welcome back any time". Eric paused like he was considering Wes's offer but he didn't linger for long. A few moments later he continued down the stairs towards his waiting vehicle.
Just when Wes thought that Eric had gone, he heard the Quantum Ranger shout, "I'll call you from the road to see if it worked". Wes smiled, perhaps there was a heart inside Eric after all.
Quickly loading up the other syringes, he went around to each of his friends in turn and injected them with the serum. He came to Jen last and sat by her bedside waiting for it to take effect. The minutes began to tick by without any obvious change in their condition and Wes was getting more nervous. He was about to call Eric when Jen slowly began to stir. Her eyelids blinked a few times and her eyes struggled to focus. This quickly passed and her gaze settled on the red ranger, "Wes?" she croaked out and slowly sat up, "why are you staring at me?"
"Jen", Wes threw his arms around the pink ranger and held her tightly, "I thought I was going to lose you".
Jen was initially confused by the affection the red ranger was showing her but after a few moments she relaxed and began to hug him back. Her head rested in the crook of his neck and she slowly inhaled his scent. Some memories slowly began to return, the fight with the Cyclobots and Trip and Katie's sudden collapse. She couldn't recall much after that, apart from the fact that Wes always seemed to be near when she briefly regained consciousness, "It's alright Wes, I'm not going anywhere", she whispered back.
A small part of Wes's heart broke when she said that. At some point she was going to leave and return to her own time, however, he wasn't going let that hold him back anymore, "Listen Jen there's something I need to say", he began and slowly released the pink ranger. He looked into her deep brown eyes and was about to speak when his morpher buzzed. He inwardly cursed at the poor timing and sighed audibly, "Wes here", he answered.
"Did it work?" Eric's gruff voice came out of his morpher.
Jen gave the red ranger a puzzled looked and mouthed 'Eric' in his direction. Wes nodded before turning his attention back to the Quantum Ranger, "Yeah I think everything's going to be alright".
There was a brief pause before Eric answered, "Your father would like to give them a check over once they're feeling well enough. He's not leaving BioLab for a while so drop by whenever", there was no goodbye as the Quantum Ranger shut down communications.
"I see some things haven't changed", Jen grumbled.
"He might have the bedside manner of a DMV worker but he's been surprisingly helpful over the last couple of days", Wes replied, "it's amazing how different people react in a near death experience".
"Speaking of near death experiences", he heard Katie call out, "remember us over here".
"Yeah what do we have to do to get some of that bedside manner", Lucas chuckled. The red and Pink rangers realised they were still holding hands and quickly released each other.
"Sorry, I'll just go fetch some water", Wes spluttered out and quickly walked towards the kitchen. Once out of sight of the others, he closed his eyes and clenched his fists in frustration, "Damn you Eric Myers, I was so close", he hissed. He was overjoyed that he would get another chance with Jen and he was going to make this one count.
BioLab
The serum worked much quicker than anyone was expecting and in just a matter of hours, the rangers were almost back to normal. They still felt a little weak but they could be down to spending nearly 48 hours in bed. Deciding not to put off the visit to BioLab for any longer than necessary, they travelled to the outskirts of the city and checked in with Mr Collins. During the journey, Wes filled them in on the virus they contracted and that BioLab had created a cure for them. He neglected to tell them how his father came up with the serum but he was sure that it would come out during their discussion.
The rangers were lead to a small lab away from the main science block where the CEO of BioLab began to run the tests himself. Wes was surprised, he knew his father had a background in bioscience but he couldn't remember the last him he had been so hands on with the tests. Jen looked down at her arm as Mr Collins drew some blood and applied a plaster to the wound. She grabbed her leather jacket from a nearby table and put it on, "So what's the verdict", she asked.
"I'll need to analyse the blood samples in detail but everything seems to be proceeding like it did in the simulations", he replied, "so I'm confident that you'll make a full recovery".
The rangers breathed a sigh of relief at the news, "Thank you Mr Collins", Trip began, "I don't know how we can thank you".
"Oh I'm sure he'll think of a way", Wes muttered.
"Wesley I'm disappointed that you think so poorly of me", Mr Collins began, "you should trust me not to use any of the information you gave me for personal gain".
The rangers from the future slowly turned towards Wes and eyed him suspiciously, "What information?" Jen asked. The red ranger bit his lip and didn't offer an immediate replied, "You told him, didn't you?"
"I didn't have a choice", Wes defended himself.
"Wes how could you?" Katie folded her arms across her chest.
Wes threw his hands up in an attempt to placate his angry friend, "I'm sorry but there was no one better qualified to help".
"He's right", Mr Collins began, "due to the unique nature of your DNA", he then looked at Trip, "and alien physiology, my team knew that something was different about the blood sample Wes gave us".
"Without telling Dad why the sample were unusual, he wouldn't have been able to come up with a cure", Wes paused for a moment, "and all of you would've been dead by tomorrow".
"It was that serious?" Lucas asked and Wes nodded in confirmation.
"I chose to run the tests myself in order to protect your identity", Mr Collins added, "I've persuaded the team that ran the original tests that the blood had been compromised and that's why the results were so unusual".
The rangers allowed that information to sink in for a moment before Jen spoke up, "I think I speak for my team when I say thank you", the others nodded in agreement. "I'm happy to take your word but my superiors will need you to sign an official confidentiality contract", Jen added.
"I'll happily sign whatever you need", Mr Collins paused and took a deep breath, "however, we've got a more pressing issue". With the attention of all the rangers on him, he continued, "Last night I had a visit from someone representing Hexagon".
"The ranger organisation?" Wes asked.
Mr Collins nodded, "They helped produce the antidote for the Venomark virus but it came at a cost".
"Dad what did you agree to?" Wes groaned.
"Technically I didn't agree to anything", he replied, "the head of the Hexagon board, Phillip Spader, wants you to pledge your allegiance to their little project".
"So you signed us up?" Lucas interrupted the CEO of BioLab.
"Please give me a little more credit than that Mr Kendall", Mr Collins snapped in response, "I haven't been CEO of this company for the last fifteen years by making rash decisions". Lucas mumbled an apology before Mr Collins continued, "I agreed in principle to the project but I told him that I wasn't an official representative of the Time Force Rangers. If he wanted a full commitment then he would need to wait until you've had a chance to review the contract".
The rangers looked amongst themselves for moment, "Do you have this contract", Jen finally asked.
"I've had a quick look over", Mr Collins handed a bundle of papers to the pink ranger, "looks pretty legitimate, if a little wordy".
"Full of lawyer speak", Wes asked and his father nodded, "you've trained me well Dad, I'll have a good look over it later".
"I studied law before joining Time Force", Katie added, "I'll check for any loopholes".
Jen was still scanning the papers that Mr Collins had given her, "Off the record, what do you think about this?" she asked the CEO without looking up.
"Honestly", Mr Collins sighed, "this Spader character seemed like a good salesman but I was getting some bizarre vibes off him. If this was my deal then I would probably have walked away".
"And yet you still said yes?" Lucas raised an eyebrow.
"The city needed that serum", he began, "and it allowed me to focus on your cure. I took a risk that Spader and Hexagon would follow through on their promise and that you would be able to negotiate a good deal for yourselves".
"Alright we'll have a look at the paper work", Jen grabbed the stack of papers from Wes, "thanks again for manufacturing the serum". She looked at the rest of her team, "We'd better head back and read through this". The rangers followed their leader through the door and away from the lab. They wanted to spend the time recovering but instead they had another situation to deal with. The team had some serious issues to discuss and quickly.