Ray, Gaby, Gunn, Alcott, Lorent, and TransGenics are mine.
Rated PG-13 : Mild sexuality; harsh language, strong violence.
Yikes, what a response to the last chapter! As Rach said, I could practically hear her screaming from across the Atlantic.
There are twelve chapters in this story, and I will never post a story here without finishing it.
Still plenty of time for more plot twists and turns.
We may be seeing Eric again - or maybe not - *evil laughter*
It was the third funeral Wes had attended in three days, and the hardest to bear. Eric's funeral. Gloomily he thought he should be grateful there were no more, all of the wounded Guardians were recovering. But that didn't make this day any easier.
He saw most of the same people he had seen at the services for the other two fallen Silver Guardians. Steve Miller, his face filled with misery at the loss of three men he had worked with closely, all of whose deaths he still felt responsible for. Daryl Gunn, looking grim and determined. Michael Zaskin, obviously very upset. Wes remembered he had been Eric's first real friend at Bio-Lab. Eric's neighbors, a couple with a little girl, looking out of place among the Bio-Lab mourners.
His father stood beside him, fatigue and grief deepening the lines in his face. He had taken Eric's death as hard as Wes himself had. Gaby was nearby, her eyes and nose red. Emma had come back for the occasion, and stood next to her, looking almost as despondent. Eric's troops stood respectfully in a group to the side, their faces stiff and grim behind the sunglasses that were almost part of their uniforms. And Trip and Lucas were nearby, uncomfortable in their black suits, Trip with his ever-present scanner in his hand.
Wes closed his eyes for a moment, remembering those terrible moments after Eric had died. He had confronted Trip and Lucas, begged them to do something, to take him back before it happened. Trip had explained it to him, helpless misery in his face. "It just doesn't work that way, Wes... We can't go back such a short time. We can't even go back from our time. Not under normal circumstances..." He had gone on, something about corresponding times and fixed time distances, exceptions only under extreme conditions of disruption to the timestream. All Wes had really understood was that they couldn't do it.
Blinking away the memory, he looked up. The weather was perfect, the sky beautiful, lacy clouds floating in clear blue. The sun was warm. He remembered Eric saying he was cold, and shivered. Funerals should never be held on nice days. It should always be raining, and dark, and depressing.
Eric had no family and had left no will, so it had been up to Wes and his father to make the arrangements. Wes had decided on a simple ceremony, outdoors, hoping to banish the memory of that small, airless room where Eric had lost his life. A surprising number of people had shown up to honor a man who had always felt he had no friends. They had already listened to brief eulogies from Collins, Miller, and Wes himself.
He hardly remembered what he had said. He suspected that Eric himself would not have recognized the man they were talking about. They had all spoken, truthfully, of Eric's loyalty, his courage, his good heart, and left out the less pleasant aspects of his personality, some of the things that had made him himself. Wes smiled a little. Eric Myers was a mean, selfish, rude, arrogant son of a bitch. That's how he would have described him two years ago. But not anymore.
Eric had changed, in the time since he had moved to Silver Hills and joined the Guardians. Or maybe, Wes thought, he had simply come to feel more comfortable, and let his true nature come through. He had still been rude, sometimes, and arrogant, and moody. His temper had still been a problem on occasion. But all those things were outweighed by the good in him. And even though there were times he had been mean and selfish, when it really counted he had always done the right thing.
"Wes? How are you holding up?" He looked down into Emma's face, her usual bright smile dimmed today, her warm brown eyes and olive skin contrasting with golden hair, now cut short.
"I'm okay. How are you? I haven't had a chance to talk to you yet."
"I'm fine. We all are. Settled in now."
"I'm a little surprised you came today. T-Gen might still be watching."
"Screw them." She smiled as he raised an eyebrow. "We've decided to come forward. We're tired of hiding from them. Especially now, after what they've done. We want to help you go after them. And maybe that's the only way to really be free of them."
Wes smiled. "That's good news. We need all the help we can get."
"I'm sorry about Eric. I liked him."
"I know. Thanks."
With a press of his hand, she moved away. Wes watched Gaby for a few moments, and then walked over to her. She looked up at him, her face closed and tight.
"Gaby. Are you okay?"
"I should ask you that, shouldn't I?"
"You look upset."
"How should I look?" She took a breath. "Sorry. I'm just… mad as hell."
"I can understand that."
"This shouldn't have happened. It isn't fair. It isn't right." When Wes didn't answer she went on, her voice shaking a little. "You've said it yourself, he had a hard life. He never got a break, except for being a Ranger."
"And he had to fight for that, too. Nothing came easy for Eric."
"He should have had a chance to be happy. But then this happened. And to die like that… He didn't deserve it." She looked at him with a hint of guilt in her face. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't say that to you. Probably making you feel worse."
"It's okay. I've thought the same things." But it did make him feel worse.
"He was at my apartment, that night. We went out in the street to see the timehole. He morphed, and took off... It was so exciting... And now..." She looked away, at the mass of people. "I think if anyone else tells me, 'He's in a better place,' I'm gonna slug them."
Wes smiled, a little. "A fist fight, in the middle of his funeral. Eric would probably like that."
She smiled back at him. "Yeah, maybe. Then he'd break it up. Doing his job."
"They mean well."
"I know, I know. But I don't want him in a better place. I want him here." She looked up at Collins as he walked over to join them.
"Gaby," he said with a nod. "Wes, how are you doing?"
"Fine, Dad."
"I'd better get back to Emma," Gaby said. "See you later, Wes. Mr. Collins." With an attempt at a smile she walked away.
"Are you okay, Dad?"
"I'm fine. Glad this is almost over."
Wes's voice was harsh. "It's not over yet. Alcott, Lorent, and that mutant, Ray, are still out there somewhere. They still have the Quantum morpher. And we have to get them."
"Trip and Lucas still haven't found anything?"
"No. They can't detect the morpher unless it's activated. And they haven't detected a timehole, or the timeship engines."
"The police are going ahead with their murder investigation."
"I know," Wes said with a sigh. "Some of the men we captured have confessed. We've got them for the murders of the two other Guardians, at least. And the police know Alcott and Lorent killed Eric. But they can't determine an exact cause of death. Nothing they can use in court."
"Eric went into that place alive, and he came out dead. It should still be enough to convict Alcott."
"I guess so. I hope so. And Lucas and Trip will take Lorent back to stand trial in the future. When we get them." Then this will really be over, Wes thought. Over, except for the endless round of grief, anxiety, and if-only's he had been on for the last week. He suspected that would never entirely leave him.
Wes looked up to see Trip and Lucas approaching quickly, their faces expressing urgency. Something had happened. He straightened, eager for the opportunity to take action.
"Wes," Lucas said. "We need to go, right now. Trip's detected the morpher."
"Good. Wish us luck, Dad," Wes said, as he exchanged a grim glance with his father.
Collins reached out to touch his arm. "Please -- be careful, son." He smiled a little, shakily. "I don't want to lose you, too."
"I will, Dad. Don't worry."
"I can't help worrying. Good luck. Go get them."
Wes took a deep breath as they took off on their Timeflyers again. All the enjoyment he normally felt in going into action, all the exhilaration of morphing, were gone now, leaving only a grim determination to do what he had to do. At least the pain in his chest was only a memory. It had gotten worse after their fight in the T-Gen complex, but Trip had used the medical unit in their timeship to repair his injuries. He was back at full fighting strength. And he'd need it.
"Down there," Trip's voice came over his morpher's communicator. Looking down, he spotted the timeship, its spherical metallic shape unmistakable, in the woods they were flying over. It was on the ground, partially hidden by trees, near a small house or cabin. They headed down.
There was movement below. As they flew over the cabin, they saw Lorent, morphed into the Quantum Ranger, standing behind it, looking up at them. The TF Eagle was next to him. As they flew downwards, he leaped into the aircraft and took off.
"He's mine!" Wes shouted. "You get the other two!" He looped to pursue the Eagle, which was headed up and away, flying fast. He wondered if the Timeflyer could keep up, but it did, barely. Finally, Lorent seemed to give up on getting away. The Eagle swept into a turn, and they circled.
Lorent's voice came from Wes's communicator. "You might as well give up, Red Ranger. You know you can't beat the Quantum Ranger."
"You're not Eric. Quantum Ranger or not, I can beat you!" He opened fire, targeting the Eagle. It fired back. Wes saw again the evidence of Lorent's lack of skill and training. His aim was bad, and he wasn't dodging Wes's shots. They looped around each other several times, exchanging fire, before the Eagle broke off and fled back toward the cabin.
"What's the matter, Lorent?" Wes shouted. "Don't want to fight your own battles? Don't like an enemy who's not tied up?" There was no answer. In moments the Eagle was back where they had started from, swooping to a landing near the timeship. He followed.
The Blue and Green Rangers were on the ground, facing Alcott, who was armed with a blaster, and the blue-haired man, Ray. They seemed to be at a standstill, Alcott blasting at them from the cabin doorway while Ray attacked Lucas, who was holding him off for the moment.
Wes's target was Lorent. He jumped from the flyer to chase him as he ran to the timeship. Lorent turned at the ship's door, pulled the Defender, and fired at Wes, who was taken by surprise and hit. He fell to his knees.
"Alcott! Ray!" Lorent shouted. Wes turned to see them come running, Trip and Lucas behind them. He pulled his own blaster and shot Alcott as he ran by. Ray paused long enough to scoop him up and continued running to the ship. Wes and Lucas fired at him, one shot hitting him. He staggered but didn't stop.
Wes was back on his feet and started for them, only to be hit by the Defender again. His morpher was getting dangerously low on power. He saw Trip and Lucas pass him, but the Defender drove them back. The timeship door closed. They ran to it, but there was no way to open it, and they were forced to fall back as the engines began to power up.
"Look!" Trip shouted. He pointed up. A narrow beam was spearing into the sky from the timeship, generating the familiar black and violet whirlpool of a timehole. It opened in the sky, like a huge and unnatural flower. In seconds the ship lifted off and swiftly flew upwards, disappearing into the tunnel.
"They've gone back to our time," Lucas said, unnecessarily.
"And we're going to follow them," Wes said softly.
Both Trip and Lucas turned to face him. Lucas spoke. "This is our job, Wes. We'll get them."
"I'm coming with you."
"Wes," Trip protested. "You can't come. You belong in your own time. We can't risk it."
"They killed my friend. And my men. You need my help. If we don't stop them, who knows what they'll do, to change history? You could end up worse off than when Ransik screwed up the timestream."
Lucas sighed and looked away, then back, obviously reaching a decision. "Look. Our history may already be changed. None of this was supposed to happen. Eric shouldn't have died, not at this time. If we take you to our time, if we can't stop Lorent and Alcott and get that morpher back, we may not be able to bring you home. Ever."
"That just means it's even more important to stop them now, before they do more damage. And I can help you."
Lucas and Trip looked at each other. "He's right. Alcott and Ray are from this time. We could use his help," Trip said.
"Okay. Captain Logan will probably kill me. But I guess you're right."
Ray stared at the back of Alcott's and Lorent's heads. He hadn't liked this fight, with two Rangers ganging up on him. He was beginning to realize he wasn't as strong as he thought, not stronger than anyone. In fact he felt sick sometimes lately. Eric had said he would get sick and die. And that was something else he didn't like. Eric was dead, he knew that from overhearing what Dr. Alcott and Lorent said to each other. They had killed him, with that machine. It hurt to remember the way he had looked, and the way he had sounded, that last time.
And he didn't like the way Dr. Alcott and Lorent had been acting. They whispered, and stopped talking when he came into the same room. They didn't tell him anything. Dr. Alcott just smiled and told him everything was fine, but Ray knew he was lying. They left him out of everything.
They still needed him when the fight came. Then Dr. Alcott expected him to do all the fighting, while Lorent ran away, even though he was the Quantum Ranger now. He had done okay, even against two Rangers, while Alcott just hid in the cabin and used his blaster. He had even saved Alcott, when they all ran into the ship.
And now, they were flying, and they had gone into some strange thing like a black whirlpool with lightening inside, and Ray was scared, and neither of them would talk to him. But he would make them talk, if he had to.
"I want to know what's happening! Right now!"
Alcott was still only half-conscious. Lorent answered him, although he sounded like he wasn't even paying attention. "Everything's fine, Ray. Just relax."
"Tell me what's happening!"
"You wouldn't understand."
"Explain it. I've gotten smarter, you know."
Lorent glanced back at him, his face holding surprise and displeasure. "Behave yourself. We don't have time for you now."
A few weeks ago Ray would have just shut up. But not now. "I want to know what's going on. Now." Something in his voice made Lorent look again, this time with uneasiness.
"All right. We're in a timehole. This is a timeship. We're traveling into the future. Now please be quiet, I need to concentrate so we won't crash and all get killed."
Ray was quiet, thinking about it for a few moments. "The future. Eric asked me if I was a mutant from the future. So did that other Red Ranger."
"Yes. I got the treatment that made you strong from the future."
Ray started to speak again, then stopped as the view through the portholes suddenly and dramatically changed. They were out of the dark tunnel, and flying high in a clear blue sky. Below he could see a vast city, unfamiliar buildings, impossibly tall towers, other flying ships far enough away to look tiny. He turned his attention back to Lorent.
"Did you make me a mutant?"
He turned again to look at Ray. "The treatment changed your DNA."
"Am I going to get sick and die now?"
Lorent blinked, a flash of something like fear crossing his face and disappearing. "Of course not, Ray. Dr. Alcott and I wouldn't do something like that to you."
Ray watched him turn back to the controls. The words had been reassuring. But he knew Lorent was lying.
They paused, as Wes looked at the timeship waiting for them on the beach. He felt suddenly nervous, despite the fact that he had taken a trip through time once before. That had been done on impulse; he hadn't had any idea what he was getting into. And he had been with Eric, he remembered sadly, even though they had been far from friendly then. This time, going into the future instead of the past, it was different somehow.
"Sure you don't want to say goodbye to your father first?" Lucas asked.
"He'd just try to talk me out of it." But he felt guilt. If something happened, and he never came back, he would seem to have just disappeared. His father would never know what had happened to him unless Time Force sent someone to tell him. But there was no time now to do anything about it.
"Last chance. You can still change your mind."
"No. I'm going."
"All right. Demorph." Lucas tapped a button on his morpher and changed back to normal, still in his funeral suit. Trip and Wes did the same. They walked closer to the ship. It was very similar to the timeship Lorent had used, but a little smaller. Lucas held his morpher up in front of the door, which slid open silently. Wes smiled; it still reminded him of Star Trek. They went inside. Trip secured the medical unit they had left out after treating Wes while Lucas checked the controls. When they finished, both Trip and Lucas faced Wes, looking uncomfortable.
"Before we go, there's something you have to know," Lucas said. He looked at Trip, who looked back, both their faces troubled.
"What is it?" Wes asked. A thought struck him, sending a shock of fear through him. "It's Jen, isn't it? Has something happened to her?" He looked from one to the other of his friends. "Tell me!"
"Wes," Trip finally said. "Jen could have come on this mission, instead of one of us. She didn't want to. She didn't want to see you again. And she's been going out with Alex again. We thought we should warn you."