Author's note: This takes place during chapter 29, "Changes".
"Thanks for coming Tommy. I needed to talk to you," he said.
"What can I do for you sir?" he inquired.
Alex stood up, taking off his sunglasses and setting them on the desk, sitting down on the edge of the desk. "Lets drop the rank, shall we? Truth is, with your experience, you should be a commander by now and in charge of your own unit," he told him.
"Naw. I'm happy where I am with Jen and the others," he said.
Alex noticed the slight sparkle in Tommy's eye when he mentioned Jen's name, recalling that same spark in his eye not too long ago. "Yes, of course you are," he paused. "I read your report about what happened with the Turbo rangers and your brother. That was damn fine work you did," he told him.
"It couldn't have been that great, it cost a ranger his life," he brought up.
"Sometimes things happen that are beyond our control. Its how you handle those types of situations that separate those who can lead, and those who only follow," he said.
"Sounds like the kind of speech you give before a promotion," he stood up. "Like I said, I'm happy where I am. I'm not really interested in a……" he was cut short.
"Just hear me out Tommy," he sat back down. "What I'm offering isn't a promotion, it's a special mission. Consider it a black bag operation," he said.
"What do you want me to do?"
"To you believe in self-fulfilling prophecies?" Alex asked him.
"What do you mean?"
"Didn't it seem strange to you that the history logs didn't give exact details about how Shin Getti was stopped in the 21st century? These types of events are carefully worded to avoid any confusion, to ensure that things don't become too complicated. Truth is, outside influence was necessary for the timeline to progress naturally. If you and the others hadn't traveled to that point in time, Operation: Lightspeed would have never gotten off the ground. Shin Getti would have taken over the world, and history would have been changed. That's why Time Force is important, especially the Slipstream division. You and your unit are the missing links in the timeline; ensure that things flow according to plan. The mission I'm offering you now is a chance to ensure that history once again flows smoothly," he told him.
"How?"
Alex walked behind his desk again, opening a drawer and pulling out a small white sphere, tossing it to Tommy. Tommy quickly caught it, getting a good look at it.
"What is this?" Tommy asked.
"It's a second chance," he sighed. "Come with me," he said as he headed out the office. Tommy stood up, following him out the room.
He followed him down the hall and around the corner, eventually coming to the hub of Temporal Investigations. "What are we doing here?" he asked.
"I'm sending you on a mission. What happens in the next few minutes is completely classifieds. No one must know what we're going here, it's imperative to maintain the continuity of the time stream. Not even your fellow rangers can know," he explained.
"I understand,"
Alex walked over to the controls and pushed a button, opening a door at the back of the room, revealing a time ship. "When you get inside, you'll see that the coordinates have already been set and the auto pilot is engaged. The parameters of your mission will be explained in the files you find in the ship, and after you read them, they must be destroyed. Follow out the instructions to the letter, then return here for de-briefing and memory adaptation," Alex instructed.
"Memory adaptation?"
"It's a standard procedure. When you return, memories of the mission will be erased from your memory to preserve the timeline," he said.
"Understood," he said as he nodded slightly, heading towards the time ship.
A small hatch opened, allowing Tommy inside. As soon as he was on board, the hatch closed behind him, and he took a seat in front of the control panel. Just as Alex mentioned, there was a vanilla folder sitting on the control panel.
'Course set and locked. Do you wish to disembark?' the computer asked him.
The voice startled him, breaking his concentration as he read over the files. "Oh, um, yes. I wish to disembark," he said.
'Engaging engines,' the computer announced.
A time hole began to open in the sky. The ship lifted off the launch pad, leading from the vortex as it disappeared into it.
~
The time ship touched down near a small beach. 'Why do these ships always land on beaches?' he wondered to himself, bending the folder in half as he stuffed it into his back pocket as he stepped out the time ship.
During the trip, he had been able to read most of the files. Although they weren't specific, he was able to get a general idea of his mission parameters.
As he headed towards the city, he realized where he was. "This is Angel Grove," he said out loud, getting a good look at the place, though he wasn't sure when he was. The park was just as he remembered it, and after walking a little longer, he found himself at the Youth Center. He headed in, hoping Ernie would still be there. 'I could sure go for one of those milk shakes,' he thought.
He stepped up to the counter, but instead of Ernie, it was Lt. Stone who walked over to him. "What can I get you son?"
He paused. "Where is Ernie?" he asked.
"Ernie went to South America, until he gets back he left me in charge here. Hey, wait a sec, I know you. You're Tommy, aren't you?" he replied.
"Yeah."
"I hardly recognized you. It must be the new haircut," he mentioned.
Tommy recalled that his ponytail, at one point in his life, was one of his trademarks, but he'd gotten rid of it a long time ago. "Must be," he sighed.
"Let me guess, a milk shake right?"
"How'd you know?"
"Ernie told me all about you guys. He said you always came in here and ordered the same thing, but I don't see much of you or your friends anymore," Lt. Stone said.
"We've been busy, that's all,"
"I'll be right back with your shake," he said, walking away.
'If Ernie is already gone, that means this is after we gave our powers to TJ and the others. It has to be 1998,' he thought to himself. Moments later, Lt. Stone came back with a milk shake in hand, sitting it down next to Tommy.
"Here you go. And on yeah, sorry to hear about your friend," he said.
"What? What friend?"
"I bumped into Tanya a few days ago, she came in for a smoothie. I'm tellin' ya, I've never seen a woman drink four smoothies like that. She just…"
"What about my friend?" he interrupted.
"She said that your friend Adam was in the hospital, something about radiation poisoning or something. I hope he pulls through," he sighed.
"Thanks," he stood up. "Thanks for the shake, I have to get going," he picked up his shake and walked away.
He stepped out the Youth Center, trying to organize his thoughts. He recalled reading over the history logs when he originally found himself in the 31st century, there was mention of Adam dying of radiation poisoning, but there was more to it. At the time, the doctors weren't sure what to call his condition. Without a second though, he raced down to the street, making his way towards the hospital.
~
Tommy arrived at the hospital, and as soon as he stepped through the door, Carlos greeted him. "I contacted Katherine to tell her what was happening with Adam, but she said you were out of town on your honeymoon," he mentioned.
Tommy cracked a smile, remembering his honeymoon with Kimberly. He also remembered how hurt he was to return home, only to discover Adam was gone. "Some things are more important. What happened to him?" he asked.
Carlos pulled him aside. "A few days ago, Adam and I were training in the park when we were attacked by a monster. I didn't have my morpher, and the monster overpowered us. Adam used his old morpher without a power coin to morph into the black ranger, but it was unstable," he told him.
"Morphing with a power coin could kill him," he sighed.
"It is killing him. The doctors say its radiation poisoning, and they're trying to treat him, but it's having no effect. They're saying he may not make it through the night," Carlos said.
"Where is he?"
"Come on, I'll take you to him,"
The two of them walked down a hallway, stopping at the last room on the right. Adam was laying in bed with machines connected to him, all of them monitoring his condition.
"I hate to see him like this," Tommy sighed.
"I'll give you a few moments alone," he said, walking out the room.
Tommy headed over to the bed, reaching down and holding his hand slightly. He wanted to say something like "hang in there" or "things will be better", but he knew they wouldn't. He'd already read the files; Adam was going to die.
"Tommy?" Adam mumbled, opening his eyes slowly.
"Yeah man, its me,"
"You cut your hair," he noticed.
"Yeah, I did,"
"Good, that ponytail made you look like a sissy," he said, cracking a smile.
"How you holding up?"
"The doctors don't know what else to do with me. I even had Carlos contact Dimitri to see if it was something she could do for me, they came up with nothing. I'm running out of time," he told him.
'Time,' Tommy sighed inwardly. "There's a lot going on Adam, more than you know. I'm going to make you an offer, but its up to on whether you accept it or not," Tommy said.
"I'm listening,"
Tommy hurried over to the door, closing it to prevent anyone from listening in on their conversation. "I'm from what you could call the future, the year 3000," he said.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"My exposure to so many different types of energy did something to my DNA, and I was dying. A good friend on mine, Wes, worked for a lab that put me into suspended animation until a cure could be found for my condition. I woke up in the year 3000," he explained.
"You're out your mind Tommy, you know that?" Adam laughed.
Tommy held up his wrist, showing Adam his morpher. "This is a Chrono morpher, it's from the future. I'm part of a new team of rangers, and our job to help people from other worlds. Sometimes we end up in the past too, but that's another story," he said.
"Okay, lets say for the sake of argument that I'm buying any of this, what kind of offer do you have for me?" he asked.
Tommy pulled a small white sphere out of pocket. "My commanding officer gave this to me. I'm not sure how it works, but it's suppose to have healing effects. I've been reading about it, and the files say that it can even restore a life force a full three minutes after death," he told him.
"Tommy, are you on drugs?" Adam asked.
"Listen to me Adam; I know how all of this sounds, I didn't believe it at first either, but in all the time I've known you, I've never lied to you. This may be your only chance," he said.
"So what do you want me to do?"
"I'll wait until the doctors declare you clinically dead, then I'll give you the sphere. It should heal you, but once it does, you can never come back to Angel Grove,"
"Why not?"
"Because everyone will believe you died. The time line has to be preserved, so you'll have to come with me," he said.
"To the future?"
"Yeah," he sighed.
"Either all of this is a bad episode of the Twilight Zone, or your story is just crazy enough to be true," he groaned.
"Do we have a deal?" he asked.
"Deal," Adam said.
Tommy nodded slightly. "I'll be right back," he headed into the hallway, where Carlos was leaning up against the wall. "I'm going to need you to do me a favor," he sighed.
"What is it?"
"Adam isn't going to make it much longer, but if they do an autopsy on him, they may find out more than they need to know. When he does…" he paused. "… pass away, I'm going to take his body and get it out of here. You and the rangers should show up and say something about taking him to his family. They won't dispute the word of a power ranger," he told him.
"I understand, but where are you taking him?"
"Someplace safe," Tommy assured him.
(*)
The door to Adam's hospital room opened, there she stepped in. With a look of concern on her face and flowers in her hand, she walked over to the bed.
"Hi sweetie," she sighed.
He opened his eyes slowly. "Oh, hey Tanya," he mumbled.
She set the flowers down on the night stand next to the bed, then reached for his hand. "I came as soon as I could. How are you feeling? What are the doctors saying?" she asked.
"Nothing different. They don't know what it is, so they can't treat it," he said.
"You should just tell them the truth, tell them what happened to you,"
"Even if I did, it wouldn't change anything. The morphers are beyond anything they could come up with, and there would be no way for them to treat me," he sighed.
"I don't want you to die," she cried, trying to hold back the tears in her eyes.
"I'll be fine, I promise,"
"There's something I have to tell you, something I've wanted to say to you for a long time," she wiped the tears away from her eyes. "I love you Adam Park, I've always loved you. I never thought you would be interested in me, so I kept my feelings to myself, but before you die, I want you to know how much you meant to me," she cried.
"You should have told me,"
"I didn't know how. I didn't want you to reject me," she mentioned.
"I wouldn't have,"
Then, it happened. The machine next to Adam's bed began to buzz. The monitor flickered as his condition changed. "Oh my God, Adam," she screamed. "I'll get the doctors," she said as she tried to run for the door, but he held onto her hand.
"No," he moaned.
"Let me go Adam, you're dying," she screamed.
"I love you too Tanya. I always have," he sighed.
Before she could respond, the monitor flat lined… and he was gone. Tanya fell to her knees as tears rolled down her face. At that moment, Tommy walked into the room.
"Is he…" he didn't even have to finish his sentence.
"He wouldn't let me go for help," she cried, running into Tommy's arms.
"Its okay now Tanya, its over," he sighed.
"It isn't fair," she cried.
Tommy walked over to Adam, pulling the sphere out his pocket again. "Just go Tanya, I can take it from here," he said.
She wiped her eyes. "What are you doing?"
"I'm taking his body. I can't let the hospital to an autopsy on him, they would find out who he was," he said, putting the sphere in Adam's hand, closing it tightly.
"What is that?"
The sphere began to glow, and as the light filled the entire room, the machine stopped beeping. Soon, the light died down, and Adam quickly sat up in the bed, his eyes wide open.
"Oh my God," Tanya sighed, and then fainted.
"We've got to get out of here," Tommy said.
Adam was still disorientated, but managed to nod slightly as he slid off the bed, getting back to his feet. Tommy reached for his morpher, and the two of them disappeared in a stream of light.
~
They arrived at the time ship, but Adam collapsed to the ground. The hatch on the time ship opened, and Tommy put Adam over his shoulder and carried him inside as the hatch closed.
He checked Adam. 'He has a pulse, he should be fine,' he thought to himself as he carefully placed him inside a long, black bag. In the files, he was instructed that Adam should be placed in the bag to protect him from temporal displacement, which may have made his condition worse, but to Tommy, it looked like a regular body bag.
'Course set and locked. Do you wish to disembark?' the computer asked.
"Yes, get us out of here," he said.
'Engaging engines,' the computer said.
Soon, the time ship lifted off, disappearing into the vortex.
~
The time ship came through the portal, landing safely in the docking area. As soon as Tommy stepped off the time ship with the black bag in his eyes, Alex was there to greet him.
"Excellent work Tommy," he praised.
"Sorry it took longer than expected, there were……complications," Tommy told him.
"The time ship was set to bring you back to the exact moment you left Tommy. From my standpoint, you were only gone for a few seconds," he explained. "I'll take this, you get down to memory adaptation," he ordered, taking the black bag from Tommy as he walked out the room.
'If I go through memory adaptation, I'll forget everything that happened here today,' he reminded himself as he stepped into the hallway. At first he considered not going through the procedure at all, but was positive that once Alex found out he hadn't, they'd re-issue the order. 'Sooner or later, they'll mind wipe me anyway,' he thought. He headed down and into the locker room area, stopping in front of his locker, then pulled the vanilla folder out his back pocket.
"It's the only way I'll be able to remember," he mumbled, putting the folder in his locker and shutting it, then walked away.
(*) later (*)
The doors to the science lab opened as Tommy walked in. "Whoa, what happened in here?" he asked as soon as he noticed a truck in the middle of the lab.
"It's a long story," Jen sighed.
"So how did your meeting with Alex go?" Katie asked, walking over to him.
He paused. His head began to throb, but he quickly shook it off. "Um, I didn't even have the meeting. He was called away and we had to reschedule for another day," he told them.
"That's strange, you were gone for a while," she mentioned.
"Its no big deal," he glanced around the room. "Where are Trip and Camille?" he asked.
"They're taking a personal day, they deserve it. Besides, when they get back, they'll have their hands full with the silver morpher," Katie said.
"Silver? How did you……"
"I told you, it's a long story," Jen told him.
