Wes, Eric, Jen, Alex, Zaskin, Miller, and Mr. Collins belong to Disney/Saban.
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.

The Time Tunnel


Unhappy Return

It had all seemed to happen so fast, partially, Eric realized, because he was weakened by fever and pain. Dazed, he looked around. He had been on that steep, narrow path, trying to get back up, away from those dinosaurs. Tony and Doug had passed him -- Wes had been behind him. Then purple darkness had swirled over him. Another timehole, he realized.

Now the path, the cliff, the sun, the forest, the dinosaurs -- and Wes, Tony, and Doug -- were all gone. He was on his hands and knees, in a building, under artificial light, surrounded by machinery and the sounds of clanking metal. He pushed up to a kneeling position. Then he saw the two other people in the room.

Three emotions ran through him; a surge of joy at seeing Gaby, a burst of anger at seeing her in the arms of another man, and then rage as he realized she wasn't there willingly, that she was struggling to free herself while staring at him, eyes opening wide in shock.

"Eric!" she exclaimed.

"Let go of her!" he roared, getting to his feet and starting forward.

The man holding her backed up, dragging her with him. Then he grinned. "You want her?" he snarled. "Here! She's worthless anyway!" He pushed Gaby hard, sending her falling to the floor.

Eric raised the Quantum Defender and aimed with a growl of rage, trying to get himself under control. The surge of adrenaline was fading despite his anger, he began to feel lightheaded, and saw his hand shaking. He moved closer to Gaby, who was sitting up, looking dazed. "You okay?" he asked. Without thinking, he held out his left hand to help her up, then flinched and gasped in pain when she took it.

"Eric, are you all right?" she asked anxiously, letting go and standing on her own.

"My arm's a little banged up."

"How did you get here?"

"Beats the shit out of me."

"The time machine must have brought you." It was the strange man. Eric took another look, deciding 'strange' was an excellent word to describe a man with silver hair and violet skin.

"Who the hell is that?" he asked Gaby. "What's going on here?"

"Alex came and got us, brought us home. This is the guy who built the cyclobots. Norman Ryder."

"Ryder? I remember you." He stared. "What the hell happened to you?"

Norman grinned, looking very confident for a man with a blaster aimed at him. "I'm better than before, can't you see it? New and improved."

"Okay..." Eric replied dubiously. "How did I get here?"

"With that." Norman nodded at the machine behind Eric. "The time machine. When I turned it back on, it must have opened a timehole to the last time period it was set for."

"What happened to Wes?"

Norman shrugged. "Obviously, he was left behind."

"What are you doing here?" Eric asked Gaby.

"Norman kidnapped me," she explained with a glare. "That's one of the reasons he attacked Bio-Lab, he was after me. Last night he grabbed me when I left to go home."

"Why? Or do I even need to ask?" Anger steadied his aim again. "I saw the way you used to look at Gaby. The women at Bio-Lab used to complain about you. You stared at them. Now you've moved up to kidnapping."

"They were all too stupid to appreciate me."

He glanced at Gaby's face. "Did he hurt you?"

"Not yet." The anger in her voice told him all he needed to know.

"Bastard," he muttered, turning back to Norman. "You're going to use that time machine again. Bring Wes and the others back."

Norman grinned maliciously. "I don't think so. In case you hadn't noticed, you're standing in my factory. Surrounded by my cyclobots. I'm not bringing anyone here."

"And this is my blaster aimed at your head. Do it."

"Look around you."

Eric looked. He felt Gaby press closer to him as he saw what seemed to be at least two dozen cyclobots coming up on them from behind. "I can still get you first," he growled.

"But they'll get you. And what about Gaby? The cyclobots will attack both of you if I don't stop them. How long can you protect her?"

He was right. Eric cast another look around, seeing the circle of robots closing in.


It was easy to get inside; he found an unlocked window in minutes, forced it open and slid through. It was as dusty as it looked from the outside. Nightwing found a hallway and began to explore, moving silently, getting that feeling of unreality he often had when alone in some forgotten corner of the city, looking for a deadly enemy, knowing that at any moment he might be fighting for his life.

On a lower floor he began to find signs of occupancy. The floor had been cleaned, the occasional hallway light was on. Then he heard the sounds of machinery, metal on metal, a clanking and tapping. Light showed through a partially open doorway. As he crept closer, he heard the voices.

A man -- Eric's voice, he realized with surprise -- a woman -- Gaby Butler -- and another man. He paused outside the doorway to listen, then cautiously peered in. They were all there, Eric in his Quantum Ranger suit, Gaby at his side, facing the second man with blaster drawn. Nightwing blinked, wondering if the lighting was playing tricks on him. The other man had silver hair with a purple sheen and pale violet skin.

It was too noisy to hear what they were saying, but the tone didn't sound friendly. As he drew back and tried to decide what to do, he heard the snap and sizzle of blaster beams. He dropped to the floor and eased forward for another look. Then he heard an agonized cry, in Eric's voice, closely followed by another, a woman's scream of terror.


"Look, what's that?"

Wes looked up to follow Tony's pointing finger. They had spent what felt like hours in a desperate but vain search for Eric, Wes going up and down the path several times, Tony and Doug walking along the cliff edge looking down. So far with no results.

Now he gazed into the sky, wondering what else could possibly go wrong. But what he saw filled him with hope. An egg shape, with a conical propulsion attachment on one end... it was familiar, wonderfully familiar.

"It's a timeship!" he shouted. "They've come for us!" He waved frantically. The ship veered and slowed, passing over them, then circled.

Wes's morpher bleeped. "Wes?" it said, in Jen's voice.

"Jen!" He closed his eyes, unable to speak for a second as his throat constricted in joy and relief. "Jen... Oh, God, it's good to hear your voice!"

"Believe me, I know. Are you all right?"

"Yes. Yes, I'm fine."

"We're coming down. Clear a space for us."

He obeyed, beckoning Tony and Doug away from the area between the cave and the cliff. The ship circled lower, then hovered and lowered itself to the ground. Wes demorphed and waited impatiently, until the door opened.

Jen appeared, spotted him and came running. In another moment she was in his arms, holding him tightly. He pulled her closer, pressed his face into her hair, and kissed her, not even noticing the other occupant of the vessel until he was standing near them.

"Alex!" he said. "You came after us. Thanks."

"Would have been here sooner, but it took a while to get the right coordinates."

"I guess you got Jen and the others too."

"Yes," Jen answered. "Alex came for us yesterday."

"Are all of you all right?"

"We're fine."

Wes saw her eyes and Alex's move past him, and swung around. "Oh, right. This is Tony Newman and Doug Phillips." He gestured. "And this is Jen Scotts, my fiancée, and Alex Drake."

Tony and Doug were doing the usual double take, looking from him to Alex's almost identical face, except for his darker hair and eyes. "Are you two brothers?" Doug asked.

"No. We're relatives, but it's a long story."

"Tony Newman and Doug Phillips." Jen smiled. "So Rick's machine worked after all. It found you."

"What?" Tony asked. "Who's Rick?"

"That's another long story... Where's Eric?" Jen took another look around. "Is he all right?"

"I don't know," Wes said, his happiness fading. "He was injured pretty badly, by a dinosaur. Then, maybe an hour ago, he just disappeared. We've got to find him."


"All right, you win. Just keep them back, and we'll go." Eric began to retreat toward a door he saw in one wall, Gaby next to him.

"Too late." Norman moved, too fast for a normal person. He was suddenly behind one of the manufacturing machines, and there was a blaster in his hand. He fired.

Eric stepped in front of Gaby, taking the shot, feeling the electric sensation ripple painfully through him. "Run!" he shouted at her. "Find a place to hide!" As she obeyed, dashing between the robots -- which, to his relief, ignored her -- he turned back to Norman. As another beam stabbed toward him, he dropped to the floor, letting it pass over him, and fired back.

But as long as he was in the open, he was at a disadvantage. Another shot hit him. He started to roll back up to his feet, and gasped in pain as his injured arm contacted the floor, sending him clumsily collapsing on his face. A third blast struck him. And the cyclobots were on him, roughly yanking him up, twisting the Defender from his grip. A cry of pain was wrenched from him as a robot hand clamped on his bad arm.

Black spots began to dance before his eyes. Norman was standing in front of him, grinning viciously, raising his blaster, aiming carefully. He heard Gaby scream as the beam hit him, and then felt the shock as he demorphed. When he opened his eyes, he was looking up, cyclobots surrounding him, and the blaster pointing at him again.

He tried to get up as Gaby ran past him, dashing at Norman, grabbing his arm and struggling with him for the blaster. Norman snarled and backhanded her across the face. With a cry she flew back, collided with a cyclobot and collapsed limply.

A dark shape shot over him, becoming a man in black and midnight blue, attacking Norman as Eric's vision clouded, the spots growing before his eyes, the sounds of machinery and combat blurring together until darkness claimed him.


Nightwing saw Eric's body sparkle and warp, leaving him back in human form, still moving but apparently unable to get up. Movement caught his eye, and he saw Gaby run toward her boyfriend and his attacker. Without conscious thought, he started for them, ducking between cyclobots, reaching them just as the purple man struck her away.

He leaped over Eric, crashing into purple-man, grabbing at his blaster. They wrestled briefly, but his opponent was strong, much stronger than he looked. It took only an instant to pull out an escrima stick, another instant to bring it sharply down on the wrist holding the weapon. The purple man cursed, dropped it, and pushed Nightwing away, sending him down to one knee.

He stayed there for a moment, taking a quick look at Eric and Gaby. Eric appeared to be unconscious. Gaby was all right, she was scrambling over the floor to crouch at Eric's side. Nightwing returned his attention to the enemy.

"Norman Ryder, I presume?"

"That's right. I remember you. You hit me."

"Not hard enough." He rose to his feet. "Excuse me for asking a personal question, but why are you silver and purple?"

"Because I'm evolving... I've found a way to make myself better." Norman smiled and moved a step closer. "I'm a mutant now. Strong. Stronger than you. I don't have to be afraid of you anymore."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, it's so. I'm faster, stronger, and smarter than any human now. I'm not just Norman Ryder anymore."

"So who are you? Mutant Man?" Nightwing grinned, stepping to the side, away from the cyclobots. "Lavender Lad? The Silver Ryder?"

Norman stepped back again, his face twisting with fury. "Cyclobots!" he shouted. The robots surrounding them stirred, and began to advance.

"I thought you said you're not afraid of me," Nightwing mocked. "Why not fight me yourself?"

Norman's face showed a flicker of uneasiness. "Why should I?"

"Scared, Norman? You're not so tough."

"No! I'm not scared!" He grinned again, savagely. "I'll show you."

They both began to move, circling. The cyclobots stayed back, to Nightwing's relief, silently surrounding them. He moved closer, trying to judge how dangerous Norman really was. With a swift movement he feinted with the stick, sweeping it toward his opponent's head, then continued the motion into a spin and snapped a foot into the self-proclaimed mutant's stomach. Norman grunted, doubled over and staggered back.

"Told you you're not so tough," he sneered. But Norman had already recovered. He charged forward with a growl of rage, grabbing at Nightwing, catching him in a clumsy but frighteningly powerful bear hug and bringing them both crashing to the floor. With another angry cry, he struck out with his fists, showing no skill but a speed that let him connect a couple of times and a strength that made the blows hurt.

Nightwing brought his feet forward and kicked Norman in the chest, hard, breaking free. He rolled to his feet and backed away, then approached more cautiously, dodging as Norman charged forward again, swinging at him. Seeing an opening, he kicked him in the stomach again, then sent a hard punch into his face.

To his surprise, after staggering back, Norman looked up with an angry snarl, obviously not badly hurt. Nightwing realized Norman's lack of skill didn't matter as long as he was so fast, and so strong. "Me and my big mouth," he muttered, realizing goading him into a fight might not have been such a good idea.

But... the purple man was still bent over, clutching his belly, and shaking his head in evident pain. Maybe this fight was winnable after all.

As he moved forward again, he saw Norman look past him and cry out angrily, "Stop her!" A quick glance showed Gaby dragging Eric's inert body toward the door, until a cyclobot grabbed her. "Can't let our audience leave, can we?" he said with a snarl.

Nightwing was already moving, leaping into a midair kick aimed at Norman's head. With that disturbing speed the mutant avoided it, but Nightwing landed, bounced into another, spinning, kick, this time landing a solid blow. Norman staggered back. Nightwing pursued relentlessly, blocking a couple of fast but clumsy punches and snapping a fist to Norman's jaw, finally knocking him down.

"Stop him!" Norman cried, glaring venomously, a hand to his face, as Nightwing felt hard metal fingers close on his arms. "This is over!" The cyclobots held him fast, ignoring his struggles as Norman fetched his blaster, aimed, and fired.


"Where have you been?" Wes heard the anger in his own voice and cut himself off. It was really worry that was making him angry, not Alex. Even though he had disappeared for the last half hour, instead of helping with the search for Eric.

"In the timeship. I've detected signs of another timehole. I think that's what happened to Eric."

Wes stared at Alex. "Another timehole?"

"You think he's gone though time again?" Tony said from beside him. "But how?"

"I can't answer that. All I can say is that something was transported through time from here in the last couple of hours."

"Wes, it's the only thing that makes sense," Doug said. "We've scoured every inch of that cliffside. Looked everywhere he might possibly be. He disappeared into thin air."

"I agree. It's the only explanation," Jen said.

"But -- where is he, then? When?" Wes asked.

"I don't know," Alex answered gently. "It was a relatively low-power shift, and there's interference from the previous timeholes. I can't trace where it led. But he's not here anymore."

"How are we going to find him?"

"I don't know, not for sure," he repeated, taking a deep breath. "Maybe he's back in 2003. There just no way to tell."

"No…" Wes sat, slumping onto a boulder, sagging with exhaustion and hopelessness. "There must be a way to find him…"

"Wes, we have to go back to 2003. He may be there."

"And if he isn't, Jen? What do we do then?"

"Wes is right," Tony said. "We know what it's like to be stranded in time. We've got to find him."

"And soon," Doug added. "He's in bad shape. If he doesn't get medical help in a few days, it may be too late."

"Damn it, I will not lose my best friend like this…" Wes muttered.

Jen knelt at his feet, looking up into his face and taking his hands in a firm and reassuring grasp. "Eric's my friend too. We'll keep looking. We'll contact Time Force Command if we have to, see if they can help. But there's nothing more we can do here."

"You're right." Wes got up, pulled her to her feet and kissed her briefly. "Let's go home."


TBC...