Gaby, Gunn, Kane, Klezmi, and Silva are mine.
Rated PG-13 : sexuality; harsh language, strong violence.
The Eagle skimmed the beach, flying as low as Eric dared in the dim light. He spotted the dark blot on the sand that was the wreckage of Jen's timeship. The two Guardians assigned to watch it were in their positions, now waving up at him. As he circled above them, they pointed inland. It could only mean one thing, that was the direction the timeship that had just arrived had taken. Satisfied that his men were unharmed, Eric accelerated in pursuit.
"Morpher, identify location of timeship," he said after raising his arm.
"I do not detect a timeship," it answered silently.
"When you detect it, display location." He rocketed on, raising his arm again when his morpher bleeped.
"Eric?"
"Wes. I'm trying to find the ship. Head due east from Jen's ship, the detectors in your flyer should pick me up. Is Jen with you?"
"Yes. We're right behind you."
The display inside Eric's helmet came to life, displaying crosshairs on the ground in front of him. He slowed, circling around the spot. A large building and a scattering of small cabins were spread below him. As he dropped lower, he could see what could only be a timeship, almost hidden by a small grove of trees at the side of the main building.
He looked around for a good landing spot, then glanced up as a movement caught his eye. Two flyers had appeared overhead. Wes and Jen. They circled and swept lower to join him. In seconds they were on the ground, behind one of the cabins.
"Did you see the ship?" Eric asked as the Red and Pink Rangers ran up to him.
"Yeah," Wes answered. "On the other side of the main building."
"What is this place?" Jen asked.
"Used to be a health spa. When Silver Hills was attacked, times got tough, and they went out of business. Been abandoned ever since," Wes told her.
"Deserted and out in the middle of nowhere," Eric said, looking around at the neglected grounds. "A perfect hiding place for Conwing and Steelix."
"You think they have my father here?"
"Don't know. Probably."
"We'll have to be careful. Go in quietly," Jen said.
Eric nodded. He knew what she wasn't saying, for Wes's sake. If Conwing and Steelix realized they were here, the first thing they'd do was either kill Collins or try to use him as a hostage.
"I understand," Wes said grimly. He obviously was thinking the same thing. "I've been here. There's a side door."
"Let's go," Jen said.
Wes led the way as, blasters drawn, they crept in single file to the large central building and around to the side, to a spot sheltered by a small garden of overgrown rose bushes. There was a short flight of stairs leading down to a door into a lower level. Silently they filed down. Wes forced the door open, fortunately with a minimum of noise, and they quickly slipped inside.
Their helmets let them navigate even in almost total darkness. They found themselves in a storage room, now storing only a few empty crates. There was another door on the other side. When they opened it, they were in a corridor, dim in what appeared to be emergency lighting.
Jen stopped them. "We should split up. That way we'll have a better chance of finding Mr. Collins."
Eric hesitated, but she was right. "Okay. But be careful. Don't try to take both of them on."
"And we don't know who was in that timeship," Wes added.
"Right. Good luck."
"You too."
They moved apart. Eric walked to the north end of the corridor, and found a stairway leading up. He went up cautiously, watching and listening for any sign of movement.
Jen slowed her steps. First she had noticed brighter lights ahead, then faint voices. She was moving along a corridor in the middle of the building, on the main floor. The voices had stopped now, but the light was still coming from a room opening off the hallway. After flattening against the wall, she edged closer to the doorway.
Staying low, she darted into the room, blaster ready. It was empty except for a few discarded pieces of exercise equipment. She realized she was in what used to be a gym. Cautiously she moved farther in, passing through another doorway, and another.
"Don't move."
The sound of a step alerted her, even as she heard the voice. In a split second she had whirled and dropped to a crouch, and found herself facing a small, silver-haired woman. Both of them had their weapons drawn and aimed. Tensely they stared at each other.
"Silva."
"Jen. We should have expected you."
"What are you doing here? Or should I say, now?"
Silva smiled, the same icy smile Jen remembered so well. It sent a surge of fury through her. "Your interference caused us some difficulties. We came to deal with it ourselves."
"I'm glad of any trouble I caused you."
"Don't worry. We'll take care of it, and return to our time. We'll always win. You'd save yourself a lot of trouble by giving up right now."
Jen sneered inside her helmet. "Seems to me you're already losing. Why so confident?"
Another cold, and completely self-assured smile. "Klezmi will always win. You don't know what he is. How invincible he is."
"Invincible?" Jen laughed. "You wouldn't be here, trying to patch things up, if he was so invincible." When anger took over Silva's expression she went on. "Klezmi's just a maniac who wants power. Worse than Ransik, because he doesn't care about anything but himself."
"Klezmi is a great man."
"When this is over, he'll be just another temporal criminal, rotting in prison. And so will you."
"And what will you be?" To her surprise, Silva laughed. "I already killed you once. I'll do it again."
"What are you talking about? You killed my partners, but not me."
"Did I? Depends on which reality we're talking about. And soon you'll be dead in this one, too."
With a snarl, Jen threw herself to the floor, firing while rolling behind a broken treadmill machine. The return blast barely missed her, but she saw she had struck her target. Silva staggered before coming after her, apparently uninjured.
Jen ducked back, then scrambled as Silva simply lifted the machine. She heaved it at Jen, who leapt out of the way. Silva had dropped her blaster in order to pick up the treadmill, and as she bent to retrieve it Jen sprang at her. She straightened and swung an arm. Jen ducked, then shot a side kick into her ribs. Silva was knocked to the floor, but she was up almost instantly. Jen blasted her again, but she took the shot and lunged forward, grabbing her arm. Jen gasped in pain as the vise-like grip closed on her.
Wes walked slowly and quietly though the corridors of the south end of the building. This area was where the guest rooms had been, the numbered doors lining each side of the hallway, like a hotel. Now it was darkened, and silent. Almost silent. He had heard movement, the sound of a door opening. Slowly, he approached the only open door in sight.
He eased forward, gradually moving to where he could see inside the room. A tall, strongly built man with short black hair stood there, facing away. There were signs of occupancy, an unmade bed, containers of food. The man turned abruptly, then froze as he saw Wes pointing a blaster at him.
"Who the hell are you?" Wes demanded.
The man straightened slightly, hesitated, then said, "I'm a friend. Time Force sent me."
Wes stared at him. There was something familiar about him. "Who at Time Force?"
The man smiled. "Captain Logan."
"You still haven't said who you are."
"You don't know me."
"Maybe not. But I know someone who will. Let's go see her." He waved his blaster, motioning the man to come out. They started down the hall, toward the central part of the building.
"You're making a mistake," the man said.
"I'm trying to avoid one."
"My name is Klezmi."
"Thought so. Jen showed me pictures of you."
"Time Force sent me to help you."
"That's impossible. You're the one who changed reality. You killed my teammates."
Klezmi turned a look of pure compassion on him. "That was in the altered reality. I'm sorry for what my counterpart did -- but that wasn't me."
"What are you talking about?"
"The timeline has reverted to the original, thanks to Jen. I've reverted to my original self. I'm a member of Time Force, and I'm here to help. To make up for what my double in the other reality did."
Wes's grip tightened on his blaster. "Why should I believe you?"
Klezmi's face was sincere, his voice soft and sympathetic. "It's the truth. I'm not responsible for what my counterpart did, although I feel terrible about it." He took a step closer. "Let me help both of you."
For an instant, Wes almost believed him, wanted to believe him, but only for an instant. He stepped back. "Jen remembered that you sabotaged the Time Force computers in the original timeline. Besides -- people aren't that different in different realities. You're the same guy who killed my friends." Waving his blaster again, he said, "Keep walking."
Eric heard the voices first, echoing down the hallway of the old locker room area. As he got closer, he saw the lights, first in reflections off the tiled walls, then shining out of an open door. By that time he was near enough to recognize the voices. Alan Collins was one. William Kane was another. The third was unfamiliar. His pulse beat faster as he crept silently up to the door.
He flattened against the wall, then spun into the doorway, dropping to one knee with the Defender braced in both hands. For a moment he froze. There was a gray-skinned man -- obviously a mutant -- standing inside, facing away. Eric recognized him as Steelix from old news photos and Wes's description. He was confronting Collins and Kane, both backed against a wall lined with lockers, both with terror on their faces.
As the two men's eyes moved to Eric, the mutant spun to face him, pointing a blaster at him. Eric dropped to his back, seeing a shot pass over his head as he fired, hitting Steelix. The mutant staggered back, but he corrected his aim and fired again, almost hitting Eric, who had rolled behind the shelter of the doorway.
"Run!" he shouted to Collins. Neither man needed a second prompt, Collins and Kane split and dashed for cover.
At the same instant Eric fired again, on target again. This time Steelix dropped his weapon and fell to his knees. Another shot brought him collapsing on his face. Eric jumped to his feet and ran in, quickly spotting Kane hiding inside a shower stall. He aimed.
"Turn off the disguise, Conwing!" he shouted. "Right now!"
"No… I'm not Conwing!" Kane gasped, shrinking back.
"Turn it off so I can see if you're armed!" When Kane merely gaped at him, Eric added, "I mean it. Don't force me to kill you."
"Eric -- stop it!" Collins' voice came from behind him.
"He's a mutant, sir. He's wearing a disguise."
"This is William Kane, Eric. He's as human as you or me."
"No. It's an illusion." Eric raised his voice again and lifted the Defender slightly. "Turn it off, Conwing. Now."
"No!" Collins grabbed his arm. "Eric, listen to me. William has been here, with me, ever since I was kidnapped. They got him weeks ago, and Conwing impersonated him. This is the real William Kane."
Eric risked a glance at him, then looked more closely at Kane, who was still cowering in the shower stall. Blaster ready, he stepped closer, staring. Kane's eyes were blue, not the intense black he vividly remembered. The disguise hadn't been perfect, he realized. Conwing's own eyes had shown through.
He lowered his weapon and then holstered it. "Sorry, sir," he said, stepping back. "No hard feelings, I hope."
Kane came out, hesitantly, still eyeing Eric with caution. "You're Eric Myers?" he asked.
"Yeah."
"A pleasure to meet you."
Kane and Collins suddenly grinned. Kane started to laugh, a trace of hysteria in his voice. Eric watched them, smiling inside his helmet. He waited for them to calm down.
"Alan, are you okay?" he asked Collins.
"I am now. Thanks to you. They know you're here, that one" -- he pointed to Steelix -- "was about to kill us when you showed up."
"Glad I was in time. We've been -- worried." Eric reached out to touch his shoulder. Collins smiled and grasped his arm, just for a moment. "Where's Conwing?" Eric continued.
"Don't know. Is Wes all right? Is he with you?"
"Wes and Jen are here. I've got to find Conwing. And I don't know who else may be around." He looked at them indecisively. "I'll find you a safer place to hide."
Ten minutes later, he left the three of them locked in the sauna room, Steelix still unconscious, Collins armed with Steelix's blaster and with instructions to shoot him if he moved. Eric started back toward the central part of the building.
Jen cried out in pain, Silva's grip crushing her wrist, even through the suit. Then the pressure was gone, and Silva was staggering back, clutching her middle. A beam of energy had struck her, from across the room. Inhumanly fast, she whirled and ducked behind a weight machine. With a quick glance, Jen saw Wes, starting toward her, Klezmi behind him, pulling a small blaster from a hidden pocket.
"Wes, watch out!" Jen called. But it was too late, Klezmi was already firing at him. Wes went down, dropping his weapon. Klezmi fired again, Jen started for them, and Silva was suddenly in her way, snatching up her blaster from the floor. In another moment, she was down again, feeling the painful shock of demorphing. Another glance at Wes showed her they were both helpless.
"Bring her here," Klezmi said. He stood over Wes, smiling, as Silva grabbed Jen's arms and dragged her, dropping her next to Wes.
"Jen," he said, venomously. "You've caused quite a lot of trouble." He raised a hand to his forehead. "Remember when you escaped from our time, and brought the warehouse roof down on us? Almost killed us. My face was burned."
"Too bad I didn't kill you, you monster!" Jen blinked at him. "You don't look burned."
"Not now. That reality is gone. For now. But thanks to you, when we restore it, I'll be scarred for life."
Jen struggled to sit, Wes beside her, trying to push himself up. "No," she said. "You're not going to restore anything."
"You're hardly in a position to stop us." He smiled again, looking at Wes. "I owe you something too, for interfering with my previous plans."
"You were behind Lorent, weren't you?"
"Yes. He was selling that outdated mutating treatment to TransGenics when I recruited him. Showed him the larger possibilities of what he was doing." He raised his weapon. "As soon as you're gone, along with Eric Myers and Alan Collins, my version of reality will return. With no one left to change it this time."
Eric heard voices again, coming from what had obviously been an exercise room. First a cry, which he recognized as Jen, then an unfamiliar man. He hurried forward, slipped around a corner, and saw them. A tall, black-haired man and a small, silver-haired woman, standing over Wes and Jen, who were both demorphed and vulnerable. Eric drew the Defender and stepped forward.
"Hold it," he said. They both looked up, startled, and froze. Eric took another step.
"Drop your weapon," the man said. "Or we'll kill them."
"And then I'll kill you."
"There are two of us. We'll get at least one of your friends." He smiled. "We don't have to be enemies, you know. We both want to control the mutants, keep Silver Hills safe. Just drop your weapon, and no one needs to get hurt."
For an instant Eric was almost tempted to do what he wanted. He shook the impulse off, repeating, "Drop your blasters, or I'll fire."
"I know you Rangers. You don't kill."
"You don't know me."
"I'd take him seriously, Klezmi." It was another voice, one Eric knew all too well. They all looked across the room to see Conwing step into view, his blaster in his hand, aimed in Eric's general direction. "Put down your blaster," he said quietly. Eric slowly lowered his arm and dropped the Defender, knowing he had no chance now.
"Conwing. Good," Klezmi said. "We've got all of them. You can pick one to take care of yourself."
"I know who I want to -- take care of." Conwing walked closer, his blaster steady. Eric pulled himself up straight, his heart accelerating.
"Conwing, if you looked at those clips..." Jen said, a note of desperation in her voice.
"Don't bother. I've seen all I need to see." Conwing stopped and raised his weapon, aiming for Eric's head.
"No... don't do it..." Wes pleaded.
For a long moment they stood still. Eric stared at Conwing, expecting that cold, cruel smile, but seeing something in those black eyes that offered a small thread of hope. Conwing gazed at him, but spoke to Klezmi.
"You've played a good game, Klezmi. Looks like you've won."
"I think so."
"But now the game is ending. Your time is up."
Conwing's eyes shifted, and he moved, aiming for Klezmi and firing in one swift motion. Klezmi jerked and stiffened, fell to his knees, and then to the floor, a wisp of smoke puffing from his head. Silva was still staring in shock when the mutant shot her too. She staggered and collapsed limply.
Conwing stooped and laid his blaster on the floor. He stood up again and raised his hands. "I give up," he said.