Nightwing/Dick Grayson, Batman/Bruce Wayne, and Oracle/Barbara Gordon belong to DC Comics/Time Warner.
Tony Newman, Doug Phillips, and Ann MacGregor belong to Irwin Allen Productions.
I am using them without permission, however I have not and don't expect to make money from this.
Gaby, Rick, Norman, and any others you don't recognize are mine.
Rated PG-13 : Crude language; violence; sexual references.
Reviews are appreciated, please take a moment to leave one.
"Dick?" Bruce's voice, sounding strong and alert despite the hour.
"Yeah. Man, you're up bright and early." Dick wished he could say the same for himself, hearing the hoarseness of his own voice. He got up from the hotel chair and stretched, trying to suppress a yawn.
"It's not that early here. Did I wake you?" Bruce's voice was amused.
"No, I was up. Just looking for some coffee... Have to get in to Bio-Lab."
"That's why I'm calling. I have that information you wanted about Norman Ryder."
He frowned in sudden, unreasonable annoyance. "I asked Babs for that. Why are you calling instead of her?"
"She asked me to help. We both worked on it, but I got the last pieces this morning. She may not be up yet, and I thought you'd want to know right away."
"Okay, whatever. What do you have?"
"He inherited twenty million dollars from his grandfather. Also a house."
"I know about that."
"About a year ago, he formed a corporation. Never did any legitimate business that we could find. But we traced it through a few dummies and…"
"Never mind that. What's the bottom line?"
"He owns an old chemical manufacturing plant outside Silver Hills. The name's Glasgow Chemical. It's not doing business, but he's been paying for power, water, and fuel. And he's been buying equipment and supplies. Mostly electronics and mechanical parts."
"That's it. That must be where he made those cyclobots."
"What are you going to do?"
"Check it out, of course. See if he's there."
"Dick, this guy is dangerous. You're in a strange city. Don't go alone."
"Don't worry, as soon as they find Eric and Wes, I'll have four Rangers with me."
There was a brief pause, Bruce's voice sounding reluctant as he answered. "Good luck, then. Keep in touch." Another moment of silence before he went on. "Let me know if there's anything else I can do."
Dick could hear the undercurrent of anxiety in his voice, knew Bruce was worried but unwilling to show it, afraid it would be taken as a lack of trust again. Bruce could be infuriating, hard to understand and harder to deal with. But they were family, not by blood but by some connection that ran even deeper. Something born out of the similar tragedies that had created Batman and Robin. They loved each other, although neither ever seemed able to say it. The resentment of the past, anger at Bruce's sometimes distant, sometimes overprotective attitude seemed to fade away in that context.
"Yeah. Thanks for the information." He hesitated for a moment. "Listen, I appreciate the help, Bruce. Bye."
After hanging up he spent another moment staring out at the city again, this time seeing it in daylight, buildings gleaming in the sun. When this was over... maybe he could find time to visit the mansion. It had been too long. After a smile, he looked around for the coffeemaker again.
Jen smiled. Rick was slumped over the workbench, head cradled on his arms, sound asleep. She nudged Alex and pointed. He looked up from his concentration on the time detector, his face lightening for a moment.
"Feel like joining him? You look tired." He kept his voice low.
"Not until we're finished," she said softly. "We don't know what's happening to Wes and Eric."
"I know." He bent over his work again.
Jen turned her attention back to the instrument readout she was monitoring. After a few moments her vision blurred. She felt her eyes closing and pulled herself awake again with a jerk.
"Jen, I think we both need to take a break."
She sighed. She hated to delay finding Wes and Eric, even for a moment, but she would do them no good fast asleep. "Good idea. Let's take a walk outside."
They got up and started out, back towards the building entrance. She saw Alex glance at her face, his expression neutral, but she could see the concern. They moved in silence until they reached the walkway outside the building door and paused, blinking in the strong morning sunlight.
"Alex -- can you stay after we get Wes and Eric back? Just for a little while?" She asked without any real expectation that he would say yes, but seeing him again had brought back some of the homesickness she had almost gotten over. She wanted time, to talk, catch up on each other's lives, for him to tell her how her friends were doing.
"I'm sorry, Jen, but you know I can't. Have to minimize contact. Too many people have seen me already."
"I wish Lucas, Trip, and Katie could have come."
"They would have liked to. But for the same reason..."
"Time Force wanted to send the minimum number of people."
"Right."
She hesitated, then decided to ask it. "Alex, why did you come on this assignment yourself?"
"Why? Why not?" He smiled as she lifted her eyebrows. "All right. I wanted to see you. See how you're doing. Pulled a little rank." After a pause he went on softly. "Jen -- are you happy here?"
She looked up, smiling slightly. "It's an adjustment. There's been some problems, but just normal ones. Yes, I'm happy."
"Good. I'm glad."
"What about you? How are you doing?"
"Great. Rachel and I have been together for a few months now, and things are good. I've been promoted to commander."
"Really? Congratulations. I'm a detective now in the Silver Hills police."
"I know."
"All in the history files, huh?" She paused again, licking her lips with a trace of nervousness. "Wes and I are engaged."
"That's wonderful, Jen." He smiled and looked out into the sunlight. "Strange. We broke up a long time ago. I'm with Rachel now. You're with Wes, and I hope you'll be happy. But I still feel..."
"A little jealous? A little... wondering what it would have been like, if we hadn't been separated, if we had gotten married like we planned?"
"Yes." He looked back at her, still smiling. "How'd you know?"
"That's what I felt, when you mentioned Rachel."
"Human nature, I guess."
"We loved each other. Part of that will always be there." Jen ran her fingers through her hair and sighed.
"When are you getting married?"
"We haven't decided yet. We've haven't decided a lot of things, where to live and..." Her mood changed abruptly as worry came flooding back. She turned away, trying not to let Alex see her expression of pain.
"We'll have those coordinates very soon, Jen. He'll be fine." His voice and his hand on her shoulder were gentle.
"Do you really think so?" She laughed at herself, inwardly. Just like a child, seeking someone to tell her everything would be all right.
"I'm sure of it." He smiled. "We'd better get back and wake Rick up. Go back to work."
"Yes. Thanks, Alex."
An hour later, Nightwing entered the familiar laboratory at Bio-Lab that had become their center of operations. A few workers moved around the room, still yawning in the early morning, working on the job of cleaning up after the cyclobot attack. Much of the debris had been cleared away.
He watched Rick, Alex, and Jen working over a machine that vaguely resembled a small television. Alex smiled briefly, accentuating his amazing resemblance to Wes. Alan Collins and Steve Miller sat not far away, also watching them and quietly talking. Both Jen and Mr. Collins looked hopeful, undoubtedly looking forward to a reunion with her fiancé and his son.
Only one person was missing. There was no one waiting anxiously for Eric. He took a few steps closer and beckoned Steve. "Where's Eric's girlfriend?" he asked. "She was supposed to be looking at the computer systems."
"I think she left pretty late last night. Must not be here yet. She's not exactly a morning person."
"Gaby?" Rick looked up. "She came by before she left. Said she'd be back early. We're almost done here; someone should call her, let her know what's going on."
"I want a report on those computers, too," Collins said. "Steve, call her, tell her to get in here."
"Yes, sir." With a salute, he left rapidly.
"Between the three of us, we've almost gotten it repaired. Should have the time-space coordinates in a few hours." Rick beamed at them, happiness almost wiping away the exhaustion he must be feeling after working all night.
"Yes, this is similar to our temporal tracking devices, but with some features I've never seen before." Alex smiled again, his own tired face brightening. "Not that I'm an expert… but it should be no problem translating the data and finding the right time. We should have them home this afternoon."
"That's wonderful," Collins said.
"Yes, don't worry, Mr. Collins -- Alan." There was an expression on Jen's face Nightwing couldn't quite interpret as she smiled at Alex before the three of them got back to work. Not for the first time, he wondered exactly what relationship she had with Alex, a man who looked so much like her fiancé. Seemed like a strange situation.
He had gotten another cup of coffee from a helpful technician and was letting his mind wander when a voice behind him brought his attention back. Steve, his face grim and worried as he reported back to Collins.
"Sir, Gaby's not answering her phone. She's not in her office. She signed out late last night. Her car's in the parking lot, but she didn't sign in this morning."
A missing person, something familiar, something he could handle better than robots and time travel. "Show me where her car is," he asked.
They left quickly, Collins' concerned gaze following them out. Nightwing ran the usual gauntlet of curious stares as Steve led him outside into the lot, almost filled with vehicles now, pointing out a small black car.
"The engine's cold…" he murmured to himself, pressing a hand against the hood and then stepping back to look around. "It's probably been here since last night. Could she have gotten a ride with someone?"
"There was no one else who left at that time. And why would she leave her car?"
"Engine trouble, maybe… she could have taken a cab…"
"The guard would have seen her if she came back to call for a cab."
"What's this?" He bent to retrieve a handbag from the pavement, almost hidden under the car. "This is hers, isn't it?"
"Yeah, I think so." Steve's eyes had widened. Now they narrowed.
"No woman tosses her bag on the ground and runs off into the night. Not willingly. That guy Norman -- you said he had a crush on her, didn't you?"
"Yeah. Exactly what I was thinking." His lips thinned. "During the attack in the lab, I heard him say, 'Get her.' Thought he wanted the cyclobots to stop Jen, but..."
"Why don't you check out her apartment, see if you find anything."
"Okay." Steve hesitated. "Should we tell the others?"
"I -- maybe not yet. Let them concentrate on getting Eric and Wes back. I'm going to check something out, then maybe we'll know more."
"Okay." Steve eyed him. "If you have a lead, I want in."
"It's better and faster if I go alone. I need you to check Gaby's apartment." He smiled and rested a hand briefly on Steve's shoulder. "It may be nothing. Don't worry, I'll be in touch."
Eric was worse, lying in his spot by the fire, eyes closed, breathing heavily. Wes took one look at his flushed, sweaty face and felt a chill of alarm go through him. He set down the food he had brought and went to the stream that ran through their cave. Taking out his handkerchief, he dipped it into the cool water, went back to his friend, and began to dab at his forehead.
Eric's eyes opened, fever-bright, hazy for a moment before they focused. "What the hell are you doing?" he rasped.
"Trying to cool you off."
"Gonna take more than that." He took the handkerchief, wiped his face, then grimaced as he pushed himself into a sitting position, propped against a boulder, and lifted his arm across his lap. It was swollen, the hand discolored, angry red streaks reaching almost to his shoulder. The sight made Wes's stomach turn over. He felt a moment's gratitude that Eric's jacket hid his chest wound.
Hastily he looked away and picked up the small hunk of meat he had been carrying. "Here. Breakfast," he said, offering it.
Eric regarded it with distaste. "Roast leg of dinosaur? No thanks. I'm not hungry anyway."
"You've got to keep up your strength."
"Wes…" Eric's voice softened. "Don't waste it on me. That dinosaur that bit me must have had some kind of poison or infection in its mouth. The way I've gotten sick so fast... Unless someone comes for us soon, I'm not going to make it."
Wes looked up, into his face. Eric, who had always seemed so strong, so confident, now looked pale, tired, weak, and hopeless. For the first time it sank in to him that his friend might die here, they all might, with no one to help them, no one even to mourn them. And that there was nothing he could do, even with the Ranger powers. He blinked and looked away. "No. We're all going to make it," he said, not believing it himself.
Eric smiled faintly. "Don't look so tragic, Wes, at least not on my account. I've had a good life the last couple of years. Better than I ever thought I'd have. Besides, unless you guys can get out of here, I may turn out to be the lucky one."
"You could still get better."
A soft snort. "Not a chance. I need a hospital and massive doses of antibiotics. Or that medical gizmo your friends had." He gazed down at the dirt floor, his face tightening slightly. "I just wish we knew the others were all right… Gaby, Jen, Michael…" His eyes lifted back to Wes. "If you do get back, and I don't -- if you find them -- tell Gaby… just tell her I said goodbye."
"Don't… don't say things like that."
"Why not? It's just facing facts."
"No… I'm not going to let you die."
"What are you going to do about it?" Another hint of a smile, then Eric was silent, staring at the floor again, his face somber. "I never said I was sorry, did I? About the way I acted, when we were here before."
"You don't have to."
Eric glanced at him, his expression unreadable. "You really thought I was going to leave you here, didn't you?"
Wes smiled. "Just because you waved goodbye and flew off into the horizon, leaving me in the middle of an exploding volcano? Why would I think that?"
"All of you thought I was some kind of heartless, irresponsible maniac. And maybe I can't blame you."
"I didn't."
A shadow of discomfort showed on Eric's face now. "Frankly, I wanted to leave you. I thought you were such a self-righteous, interfering little jerk..."
"Hey! I was never little."
To Wes's surprise, Eric laughed at that, for a moment. "Maybe for a second I seriously considered it. But I just couldn't do it."
Wes smiled. "See. I thought so."
"I was surprised you didn't seem to hold a grudge."
"You came back, didn't you? Risked your life to save me from that volcano."
"I guess." Eric was silent for a while, staring into the fire, his face gloomy again, before he went on softly. "I'll give the morpher to Doug or Tony, before... That way you'll still have the Quantum Ranger powers." Wes stared at him, shaken. Eric leaned his head back against the stone, eyes closing, and his voice came again -- so low Wes could hardly hear it. "I always thought I'd die alone, with no one to care that I was gone. Back when I had no one… it didn't seem very important. I want you to know I'm grateful for that, to you and your father. You made me feel like I almost had a family. You've both been great, never acted like it was just because of the morpher..."
"It never was."
Eric looked at his face again. "I know I'm not the kind of guy you would have chosen as a friend."
"What? That's not true. I tried to make friends with you in school, remember?"
"And I acted like a jerk."
"Maybe we're partners because of the morpher. But it has nothing to do with us being friends."
Eric's eyes held his until he blinked and looked away. "You, and your father, and Gaby... Now that I have something to lose… I'm scared, Wes."
"Eric, please... don't just give up." Wes swallowed, hard, and took a moment to steady his voice before continuing. "I'm not letting you go without a fight. But I need you to fight, too." He bent to look intently into his friend's face. "You took the morpher, wouldn't give it up... Helped us beat Ransik, kept the Guardians together." He took a breath. "I always thought you were so tough. You can beat this. At least try."
Eric's voice was distant. "Ransik... it wasn't easy, trying to get Bio-Lab back on its feet, keeping the Guardians together, helping the whole city rebuild... I'll be honest, there were times I felt like quitting. And then -- then there was TransGenics, Lorent, Conwing... I'm tired of it, Wes. I'm not as tough as you think." His eyes raised and met Wes's, and he smiled slightly again. "You're right. I'm not giving up -- but -- I just don't see a way out."
"It's okay." Wes smiled as best he could, and reached to squeeze Eric's shoulder. "Someone'll come for us. Someone's got to come."
TBC...
