Series Title: Never Saw Me There

Chapter Title: Just Like Wes

Rating: PG-13

A/N: This takes place during the episode "The Quantum Quest". It is loosely based on the chapters "Measured Chaos" and "A New Man" in the story Identity by Rach. Some references are made to "Scars" (a wonderfully written Eric backstory… go check it out!) by Rach. Any deviation from Time Force is to remain consistent with the world created by Rach or to bring some consistency to gapping holes in plot lines and logic.

Thank you: once again to Rach… a wonderful person, the bestest beta a writer could ever have, and the bestest friend I have never met (she'll know what I mean)… thank you dear for letting me play with your toys.

*******************

Did I ever mention that I hated Wednesdays? Most people have bad days on Mondays. For some reason mine always fell on Wednesdays. On this particular Wednesday, I overslept and ended up getting into work an hour late, causing me to get the "you need to be more responsible" speech from Carter.

To work out my frustration I decided to head to the gym and turn the pent up anger into something useful…a good workout. Luck was on my side - the gym was empty. It's not that I didn't like my fellow Guardians, it was just that when I run katas I tend to get a bit…enthusiastic. I had even been known to get carried away and severely injure my sparring partners. Also, there would be no one to see the scars on my back should my shirt ride up. Wouldn't have to give explanations to anyone who had no business knowing.

I stood in the middle of the gym and closed my eyes, taking deep cleansing breaths. The voice of Sensei Kyoto rang through my ears. "Your own anger is a weapon that can be used by your enemy against you. You must be like the mighty willow tree… rooted and strong, but flexible enough to bend in the wind." I suppose the advice would have been more effective if I had ever seen a willow tree.

As I began the warm-up routines I had learned years ago, I felt the tension slowly leave my shoulders. It was only while in the middle of the ritual movements of Karate that I truly felt free. It was me and only me. No one to judge and criticize me. No one to tell me that I couldn't do something. My background didn't matter. I was just Eric… fifth degree black belt.

Gradually the katas flowed from the warm-up to the actual work out. My mind conjured an opponent for me - tall, skinny, pox-marred face, black hair, Serbian uniform, barely accented English. In my mind he struck out at me and my body automatically followed, fighting back - blocking, parrying, striking and kicking back. Everything I couldn't do in real life two years ago.

I was close to the end of the routine when I heard the door open. I didn't stop my movements, knowing full well that if I didn't gradually stop, I would cramp. The intruder at least had the brains not to distract me by talking to me. Carefully I brought my kata to an end.

Right on cue my visitor cleared his throat. "Hey Eric." It took all my control not to jump when he spoke. I recognized the voice. Wes. Up until that moment I hadn't realized just how concerned I had been for him. He hadn't been around lately. Not even with the other Rangers.

"You're not dead then," I said. I flinched, that was rude. Luckily my back was to him so he didn't see my reaction.

"Not last time I checked," he snapped back. I flinched again; I had hit a nerve. I turned to look at him and had to fight the urge to gasp. He looked like crud. He had been hurt worse than I had thought. But I was not about to let him see my true reaction.

"Did begin to wonder, considering I haven't seen you with your multicolored friends recently."

Hurt and anger flashed in his eyes. He swallowed, obviously biting back his first response. Finally he returned with the lamest comeback I had heard in a long time. "Well, you know how it is."

Unfortunately I knew exactly how it was. All too well. Too injured to help your team. Treated like a social leper when you finally could return. We were more alike than he realized, but as much as I wanted to let him know that I understood, I wasn't going to share. Not with him. Not with anyone. They were my problems and no one else's.

"Can't say I do." I eventually said. "Was there something you wanted?" Tell me you are here to renew the friendship. Tell me that you've missed me and wonder how I've been. Tell me that you heard about my time with the Marines. Tell me that you are proud of me.

He nodded. "Yes, actually."

My heart began to race in anticipation. Was he going to say it? "So?" Just say it!

"Look -- I know you have a job to do…" he stammered. But before he could finish the thought the gym shook with the sound of the alert klaxon sounding. DAMN!

I tried to give him my best "sorry but duty calls" look. "Speaking of which, time for me to go do it. See ya." With that I grabbed my towel and rushed past him to the locker room. The last thing I needed was to give Carter another excuse to chew me out. Once a day was plenty, thank you.

~*~

Dust and dirt flew everywhere as I skidded the Blazer to a halt outside the archaeology site. We all piled out of the vehicles as the dust settled back down, giving us our first view of the newest threat.

I knelt there, braced against a supply crate; blaster trained on the mutant as Carter came up behind me and addressed the creature.

"HALT! You're under arrest for trespassing on private property. Put the box down. Now!"

The mutant turned towards us. "You've got to be kidding," he sneered. As if on cue, all the robots, or cyclobots as I learned they were called, stopped their assault on the archaeologists and turned their attentions towards us.

Good, I thought, leave the innocent alone. Come and get it you mechanical freaks.

"FIRE!" Carter yelled. More than happy to comply with the order, I opened fire. Like with Univolt, it seemed that our blasters had little effect on the mutant. He just casually swung his sword around, repelling the blasterfire. But eventually he missed and shots made it through and the mutant was pushed back.

Then, as if the mutant wasn't enough of a headache, the cyclobots attacked. Luckily they were not as impervious to our weapons as the mutant and they dropped like flies. I kept my blaster trained on the mutant and left the cyclobots to my fellow Guardians.

Big mistake.

I heard a thump on the crate I was braced against. I looked up to see a cyclobot looking down at me.

"Shit!" I cried as I jumped back.

"Myers, duck!" I heard over my headset. Not taking the time to think, I hit the dirt. Blaster fire whizzed overhead and I heard the unmistakable sound of a cyclobot being blown to bits. I stood up and shook my head clear.

Carter's voice came over the headset. "Myers… Jamison, Morgenstern, Sims and Leibovicci are missing. They went to flank the mutant. Take Olivares with you and see if you can find them."

I pressed the button on the side of my headset. "Roger that." I turned to Olivares. "C'mon, let's go."

Cautiously we worked our way to the other side of the camp to see if we could find the others. I spotted them near a pile of cyclobot parts. All four looked worse for wear. I knelt behind a tent for cover. Pressing the talk button on my headset I contacted Carter. "Carter, this is Myers. Found them. Looks like they've seen some action. Will assist and get them back to the transport."

"Roger that. Be careful."

I looked at Olivares and he nodded that he heard the conversation. I stood up to head over to the team. Suddenly a sharp pain ran across my lower back. "Aaaahhh!" I cried out, unconsciously dropping my blaster. I turned to see a cyclobot standing behind us, recovering from the kick he had just delivered to my kidneys.

Together, Olivares and I lunged at the droid, slamming him into the ground. The sound of electronics shorting was a wonderful sound. The cyclobot twitched once and fell silent. As we scrambled to our feet, I saw that the missing team was making their way back to the vehicles. Unfortunately so did the mutant. Olivares and I rushed the creature to distract him.

Before we reached him though, a cyclobot appeared out of nowhere and cut off Olivares' attack, leaving me to face the mutant. I didn't give a second thought about taking on the creature alone. There was one of him and one of me. Sounded like good odds to me.

I sent a roundhouse kick into the mutant's arm. He didn't even flinch. Instead he used the pommel of his sword to bat me away like a mosquito. I flew through the air and landed…hard. I winced in pain as I felt the air get knocked out of me.

As my lungs started working again I looked up to see the mutant towering over me. "Silly human," he sneered. "You are so out of your league." And then he laughed. A good old fashioned maniacal laugh. All I could do was lay there and watch him raise his sword. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion.

The sword started to descend towards me. My life, as pathetic as it had been, flashed before my eyes. A blur of red. A second sword clashing with the first.

"Huh?" the mutant muttered, surprised by the intervention.

I couldn't help but second the statement. "Huh?"

I continued to lay there and watched the Red Ranger drove the mutant away. Once again Wes Collins had to protect me. How am I to get his respect if he keeps bailing me out of jams?

He offered me his hand. "Are you OK?"

My anger flared and I slapped his hand away. "I don't need your help!" I snapped and gingerly rose to my feet. Luckily it didn't feel like the mutant did any permanent damage to anything except my pride. I glanced once at Wes, thankful for the Ranger helmet's faceplate. I don't think I could have standed seeing the pity I knew had to have been in his eyes. Instead I ran after the mutant.

Damn those meddling Rangers.

The one nice thing about these mutants - subtlety is not one of their stronger points. The thing left a trail Stevie Wonder could have followed and it wasn't long before I found him and the Pink Ranger fighting it out. I ducked behind the curve of one of the archeological trenches, waiting for the perfect moment for me to run in to the rescue and be the hero.

"The Quantum Controller doesn't belong to you!" I heard the Ranger exclaim. "Give it UP!"

The mutant chuckled. "Don't make me laugh! You're pathetic Pink Ranger. Oh, you may want this box, but you aren't going to get it. Or its contents. Ransik is going to have the power of the Quantasaurus AND the Quantum Ranger!"

Quantum Ranger? You mean there's more of them? And what the hell is a Quantasaurus? I wondered in some confusion. It certainly wasn't a dinosaur I learned about back in elementary school.

And then in a totally childish tone he taunted. "And there's nothing you can do about it."

From my location I couldn't see the actual encounter, only hear it. Which was why I was surprised by the next exchange of conversation. "It'll take more than four of you to stop me!"

I then heard a thud as Wes' voice filled the air. "No problem!"

I couldn't stand not knowing what was happening. I looked around the corner in time to see a laser blast being fired, followed closely by a rather large explosion. Smoke and dirt filled the air as I dove for cover. At least we weren't fighting in trenches in Kosovo, I thought to myself.

As the smoke settled I saw a black and silver box land at my feet. That must be the Quantum Controller the Pink Ranger was talking about. I can't let that thing have control over a Ranger. The five of them working on their own is bad enough. But to have one under enemy control is just not acceptable. I grabbed the box and took off before anyone knew what happened.

Keeping low, I made my way back towards the vehicles and the other Silver Guardians. Making sure I wasn't seen, I opened the back of the Blazer I had been driving and stuck the box in the cargo hold, hiding it behind some gear bags.

"Eric! Where are you! ERIIIIIC!" I heard Carter cry out. Why didn't he just use the headsets?

I walked around the vehicle. "I'm right here," I snapped.

"Where have you been?" Carter snarled as he spun towards me. "We've been trying to hail you for ten minutes."

I stood there glaring at him. "Gee, Carter, I was a little busy doing my JOB. You know… protecting our clients against the bad guys. Unlike some of us, I actually tried to stop that thing."

He winced. "Why didn't you answer us?"

"Hard to answer when I didn't hear you." I then reached up and pulled my headset off my head. Sure enough, the antenna was broken. "Must have gotten broken during my run in with the mutant." I held the broken piece of equipment out for him to see.

Carter stood there and looked at the headset. Finally he just looked up at me. "Get in the car. We need to get the wounded back to base." I nodded, snapped him a salute that radiated insubordination and climbed into the car.

It didn't take us long to return to headquarters. As we piled out of the Blazer, Carter turned to me. "Eric, since you're the most fit of us, see to the equipment."

Fit my ass. You are just getting back at me. I know all the games. I've played them for years. "Yes, Sir!" I snapped as I threw him yet another salute and went to the back of the car.

I waited until everyone else was inside before I opened the hatch and pulled out the object that seemed to have been the center of attention back at the dig site.

"Those Rangers are going to want to get this back," I said to myself. "Well, if they want it, they are going to have to come to me for it. Finally I'll be seen as the savior." I knew I had to hide the thing so that none of the other Guardians would find it. Looking around I spotted a construction site not too far from headquarters.

Perfect. There's always enough stuff lying around those places that one little box won't be noticed. I ran over, worked my way through a hole in the chain-link fencing and made my way to the site, moving carefully so that I wouldn't be seen by any of the contractors. Finding a place for the box was harder than I thought. Even though I knew I would be back later for it, I still didn't want to risk someone else finding it. Eventually I ended up climbing the stairs of the building and found a small corner where it would be safe.

Curiosity got the better of me and I had to see what the treasure inside was. I opened the box. Inside laid something that looked like a glorified rattrap… a box closed in on all but one side. Carefully I picked it up. This was the oh-so-important gizmo? This thing controlled the Quantum Ranger…whatever the hell that was. Then it dawned on me. Maybe this was the thing that made someone the Quantum Ranger.

Intrigue overruled better judgement and I started to insert my hand into the opening in the box. Before I had gotten my hand in very far, I was zapped by something. My hand jerked and I dropped the box. Suddenly I was no longer standing on a construction site.

"How many troops are stationed outside Novask?" a voice demanded.

"Myers, Eric. Master Sergeant. 569-34-9032," I responded.

"Wrong answer."

Suddenly my entire body was on fire as they fed a live current to the electrodes taped to my chest. Pain. Searing pain. My body twitching. My voice screaming against my wishes.

Then, just quickly as memory came, it faded, leaving me shaken and sweating. I decided that right then would not be good to explore the depths of my psyche or the mysteries of the Quantum Ranger. I picked the Controller up and returned it to the box. I could investigate it later. I still had a vehicle to unload.

~*~

I walked into the locker room to freshen up. "Hey, Myers," I heard someone call out. I turned to see Ben Johnson walking towards me.

"Hey Ben, what's up?" I said heading towards my locker.

"Hear about Commander Porter?"

I shook my head. "No, been rather busy unloading and cleaning equipment."

Ben leaned against the locker next to mine. "He's out of commission."

I looked over at him. "How long?"

He shrugged. "Indefinitely. Broken ribs, ruptured spleen. He was hit really bad against that Univolt thing."

I blinked at him in disbelief. "So who's the new C.O.?"

"Beats me. There's a few of the senior Guardians who could easily get the position." He pushed off the locker. "Well, I gotta run." He clasped his hand on my shoulder. "See you around."

I nodded absentmindedly. "Yeah, se ya." I waited until he was no longer in sight before stripping out of my dirty and torn uniform and changing into a new one. I needed to find Mr. Collins.

~*~

Find him I did. He was talking with Carter.

Great. He's probably telling the boss all about my "insubordinate actions". Well screw him. He hasn't the faintest idea how to run a team, let alone coordinate and command a mission.

I came to a stop in front of Mr. Collins and snapped him the best salute I could. "Mr. Collins, Sir." He looked at me like I was scum. You would think that after all those years growing up with it, I would be immune to that look. I'm not. I tried my best to ignore it. "I understand that Commander Porter is out of commission. I'd like to request the assignment of leader of the Silver Guardians."

"And why should I give it to you?"

"There is no one more loyal and dedicated than I am. I fight as well as your son… the Red Ranger…if not better." I explained.

He stood there for a minute giving me the once-over. "I need someone I can trust," he eventually said, confirming my suspicion on the topic of conversation before my arrival. He glanced over at Carter. "The team's yours. You're in charge."

Carter snapped to attention and saluted Mr. Collins. "Sir!" Where the hell did he learn to salute like that?

The boss turned back to me. "I don't know the first thing about you. Now if you will excuse me," he said and pushed past me, Carter hot on his heels. I saluted out of habit rather than respect.

As I lowered my hand I clenched it into a fist, trying to control my anger. Carter? You gave command to Carter? He couldn't command his way out of a paper bag. Just wait. I'll prove to you who the leader should be.

I turned and stormed off. I needed some fresh air.

~*~

It felt like years had passed before my shift finally ended. But rather than head out through the front door, I exited out the back and headed back to where I had hidden the Quantum Controller. I wanted to examine it and figure out how it worked.

I crawled through the hole in the fence and headed towards the stairs. But I found myself skidding to a halt. Cyclobots! Lots of them! If they were there it meant that the mutant thing, or one like him, couldn't be far behind. I couldn't let the Controller fall into enemy hands.

I reacted without thinking. I charged.

"Hey metalheads!" As one, the cyclobots turned to look at me. All the years of martial arts and military training kicked in and I started kicking and throwing punches at the bots. Within moments the stairway was clear enough for me to climb it.

I only made it up a couple of flights before I ran into more. Dodge, parry, kick, grab, twist, throw. No more cyclobots. I finally reached the level where I had hidden the box. Unfortunately I had been wrong. There were more cyclobots. In fact they had found the Controller and had taken it out of the box it had been in.

Luckily the robodrones aren't programmed with much of intelligence. The minute they saw me, the dropped the Controller and attacked. It didn't take much to rid myself of them. As soon as the last one went sailing down the stairs, I ran for the Controller. Carefully I picked it up, inspecting it to make sure it hadn't been damaged.

I sighed in relief, having not found any outward damage to it, and turned around. Only to come face to face with two blaster wielding cyclobots. Unfortunately my hands were full and I couldn't reach for my own weapon. Instinctively I took a step backward, which was mirrored by a step forward by the bots. We continued the dance until I felt the safety rail against my back, telling me that any further and I would be falling to certain pain, if not death.

Great now what?

"Hey bolt-brains!" I heard. I sighed in relief, help had arrived. I looked up and saw my rescuer flatten the cyclobots and had to fight the urge not to groan.

"Wes?" I asked even though I knew who it was. No one else was the Red Ranger. Once again Wes rides in to save the day. What wrong did I commit in a past life to be stuck with this on-going cycle as my karmic-payback?

He reached for me. "Eric…"

I clutched the Controller closer to my chest and shook my head. It was mine. "You're going to say 'give me the box'. Ain't gonna happen, Wes."

His body language told me that he wasn't surprised by my answer. He squared up his shoulders in determination. "You don't know what you have. Please… just give me the box and get to safety."

Me get to safety? You're the one with no formal training outside of the few semesters of karate you took in P.E. I shook my head. "Uh-uh. Not a chance."

He took a step towards me. "Please," he begged. It was the first time in all the years that I had known him that I had heard him actually say that word. It sounded foreign coming from him. But I couldn't give it to him. I couldn't risk the kind of power I had a feeling the Controller contained falling into the wrong hands.

Maybe this thing would make me the Quantum Ranger. If I were a Ranger, then I would know that there would be someone who knew what they were doing working with them. And if I were the Quantum Ranger, no one would treat me like dirt. I would have their respect.

Bracing myself for the shock I knew would come, I slid my hand into the box. This time, however, there was no shock. Just a warm, tingling sensation that worked its way up my arm to surround me. The box began to vibrate and suddenly disappeared in a flash of light.

When my vision cleared I could see a devise strapped to my wrist. While it didn't look like the ones the other Rangers had, somehow knew exactly what it was… it was a morpher. The Quantum Morpher. I was the Quantum Ranger!

"Nonono…Eric please. Don't…" Wes begged. I looked up at him. I could tell by the way he was standing that he was hurt, but more importantly I could hear in his voice how upset he was. He was realizing that I didn't need him to ride to my rescue. I wasn't some welfare charity case who needed protection against the rumor mills and stuck-up cliques of high school.

"Jealous?" I asked him.

His head jerked in surprise. "What?" He shook his head. "Eric, this isn't about us… what you think I think about you… or what you think about me."

I wanted to scream at him. I wanted to tell him that he hadn't the faintest idea of what I thought about him. How much I missed his friendship and company. How it had hurt to walk away all those years ago. I wanted to tell him how much I envied the fact that he had a father who obviously cared about him. How much I had wanted to be just like him. But I couldn't. Sharing my thoughts and feelings was not something I had been good at. So instead I just stood there.

"You don't know what you're getting yourself into. Please don't do this," he continued.

Don't know what I'm getting into. My friend, if you only had an idea of what kind of hell I've been living the last two years, you would realize just what a stupid thing you are staying. Compared to what I've faced, anything that can happen now would just be a walk in the park. No, you have no idea what you are talking about. And I really wish I could tell you. But I don't want your pity.

"And who's going to stop me?" I looked at him, making my gaze obvious. "You? You can't hardly stand, let alone stop me."

He stood up as straight as his injuries would let him. "I can stop you," he insisted.

I just smiled at him and shook my head. "Not this time, pal." I lifted the morpher to my mouth and called out "Quantum power!" How I knew what to say I had no idea - I just did.

The world grew silent as the morpher on my wrist began to shake and let out a blinding light. The faint smell of ozone filled the air and I felt every hair on my body stand on end. My heart started beating rapidly, my breathing came in short, shallow gasps and I broke out in a sweat. Suddenly a warm rush ran over me and my skin began to tingle. The light from the morpher grew even brighter and I had to close my eyes against it.

When the light died, I opened my eyes and gasped in surprise. I was looking out of a visor unlike anything I had seen before. I saw digital readouts as well as my surroundings.

I looked down and saw that I was dressed as a Ranger. The Red Ranger to be precise. Only it wasn't the same. Where Wes was dressed in red and white, my uniform seemed to be red and black. I was just like him. Only different. Stronger. Better.

"Eric…is that you?" I heard him ask.

I opened my mouth to say something when a something appeared on my heads-up display.

MUTANT ACTIVITY, the readout said, accompanied by a map indicating the location of the mutant. The mutant was just outside, doubtless looking for the Quantum Controller.

I didn't have time to waste talking with Wes. I had a job to do. I turned and vaulted over the guardrail to land on some scaffolding. I looked around and saw the mutant engaged with the rest of the Rangers.

Another readout appeared. MUTANT IDENTIFICATION: BRICKNECK. So the thing had a name. Not that it mattered. It didn't need a name to become history.

From the distance I was to the thing, I couldn't hear what it was saying. I didn't really care. It had its rifle trained on the Rangers. Finally I would be the cavalry. I reached down for my blaster, even as I did so, I was telling myself that it was a stupid move…Rangers don't carry blasters. But my hand hit something. I took hold of it and looked at it. A blaster. Well the Time Force Rangers might not carry blasters, but apparently the Quantum Ranger did.

I leveled my blaster, aiming it at Brickneck's weapon. Slowly I squeezed the trigger. A burst of energy fired from my blaster and hit its target. Bull's-eye! Time to show these mutants that there was a new sheriff in town.

Casually I leaned against the scaffolding's rail and tapped my blaster on the back of my hand. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the mutant and the other Rangers turn to look at me. Ever so nonchalantly I walked down the stairs of the scaffolding.

As I neared the bottom, Brickneck took several steps towards me.

"Huh? Another Time Force Ranger?" he asked credulously.

I grinned behind my faceplate. "Listen and learn, Brickneck. I'm not just any Ranger. Not by a long shot. I'm the Quantum Ranger!"

"I don't care what you call yourself," Brickneck scoffed. "I call you destroyed. Cyclobots, attack!"

With the command, more cyclobots appeared. I had to laugh. If I was able to stop those things BEFORE I became the Quantum Ranger, they would be a piece of cake now. "Give me a break," I laughed as I aimed my blaster, or as the readouts in my visor called it -Quantum Defender, and fired. It was like shooting fish in a barrel.

But I didn't become the Quantum Ranger to stand off on the sidelines taking potshots at robots. I wanted action! I jumped off the stairs and did a flying summersault through the air, landing perfectly on my feet.

As I landed, I called out, "Computer, access strategy." I might have been trained in hand-to-hand combat and stuff, but every little bit helps.

A pleasant sounding female voice spoke inside my helmet. "Recommend Blaster Mode," the computer answered and showed a schematic of the Quantum Defender indicating a button on the side of the weapon.

I raised the Defender so I could see it, pressed the button and called out "Quantum Defender, Blaster Mode." For some reason I knew that the thing was partially voice activated, though I had not been told. Maybe the knowledge came as part of the morphing process.

My defender changed before my eyes into a larger weapon. I looked up from the blaster to find myself surrounded by cyclobots. I raised the blaster and fired, spinning in a circle. The cyclobots dropped and soon the buzzing and twitching remains of the robodrones surrounded me.

Unfortunately more advanced my way. Need to stop them, I thought. No sooner had I thought it than I did it. The powers of the Quantum Ranger had enhanced my natural speed and agility 100 fold. I was moving so fast that even I was having trouble following my movements.

I looked up to see even more cyclobots marching into view. My heads-up display showed my Defender again and instructed: BLADE MODE. Not one to pass up a good suggestion, I pushed the button again and cried out "Blade Mode, now!"

The Quantum Defender morphed again into a nasty looking sword. But it was better than any sword I had ever seen. Moments later the newest bunch of bots joined the other on the scrap pile.

Adrenaline poured through my system as I turned to Brickneck. This ends here and now, I thought as I launched myself at him. He apparently had the same idea I did and we met while airborne, our weapons clashing and scraping against each other.

We landed and began to circle each other. "You may have been able to defeat the cyclobots, but you are no match for me!" He sneered as he pulled his rifle. I saw the action coming and flung myself backwards, changing my blade back into a blaster as I did so.

We fired simultaneously. He missed. I didn't. I didn't score marksman back in the marines for nothing. Brickneck began to wail in agony. It was music to my ears. As I stood I watched him fall to the ground, clutching his chest.

Suddenly my morpher beeped. "Quantum Ranger," the computer said, "recommend Freeze Strike Mode, to complete mission."

"Sounds good to me," I agreed. Pushing the control button one last time, I changed the Defender again. Once again I held the sword, but it was different. It radiated freezing cold. Letting out a battle cry, I charged at Brickneck, who was slowly rising to his feet.

He tried to defend himself. Tried. But I was able to easily parry past his blade and bring mine crashing into his shoulder. He cried out in pain as his body began to twitch. I took a step back and faced the Rangers. I had the huge rush of satisfaction as the mutant exploded behind me.

I had saved the day. Me, lowly Eric Myers. Not so lowly any more.

The computer spoke up one more time. "Cryogenic freeze reconfiguration complete." Yep, I did it.

Leaving the now frozen mutant where he lay, I walked towards the rest of the Rangers. I stopped when I saw Wes advancing on me. He stopped about twelve paces away from me.

"Eric?" He asked. "Are you all right?"

That was what I had expected him to say. I stopped and did a quick self-assessment. "Oh yeah," I chuckled. "Never been better."

TO BE CONTINUED…