Lex leaned back in his chair, kicking his feet up on the desk, then pressed play on the tape:

"I'll tell you what you want to know," Jen said.

"Excellent," he hesitated. "Who are you and where do you come from?" he inquired.

"I am Captain Jennifer Scott from Time Force, and I'm from what you would consider the future. The 31st century," she said.

"And how did you arrive here?"

"In a time ship."

"Why do you travel through time?"

"Our mission is to correct incursions in the time line, prevent people like you from altering history," she told him.

"So you've traveled to our time period on more than one occasion,"

"Yes, several times in fact. At any given moment, there are at least a half dozen Time Force officers traveling back and forth through time,"

"And the technology you use to transform into rangers come from the future as well?" he asked her.

"Yes."

"How does it work?"

"The Morpher opens a slight rift in the space/time continuum, where our uniforms and most of our weapons and equipment is stored until needed. When we signal for them, our clothes replace our ranger uniforms in the rift," she explained.

"And what are the ranger uniforms themselves made of? What type of material?" he asked her.

"A type of rare alloy that is indigenous to the Torias Sector. Time Force acquired it during a first contact mission to the Solarian home world," she said.

"Well aren't you just the little trekkers? Roaming through space and collecting things to serve your own purpose," he paused. "Where is your Morpher?" he asked her.

"I'm not a power ranger, just an explorer. Nothing more,"

"Tell me, how can I construct a Morpher here and now?"

"Unless you plan on taking a ship to the Torias sector anytime soon, I'd say you couldn't. The government in this era have tried countless times but none of them were successful. The only working prototype is…" she stopped, allowing her sentence to trail off.

"Where? Where is the prototype?"

"A few years back, your time, Bio-Lab was able to construct a replica of the Quantum Morpher. It was highly experimental, but it gave the user unbelievable strength and agility," she said.

"What happened to it?"

"Its still at Bio-Lab under heavy guard. Mr. Collins was worried that it might fall into the wrong hands, so he had it locked away until the day when it may be needed again," Jen told him.

"Excellent Jennifer. Thank you,"

"Are you going to let my friends and I go now?" she asked.

"No, I have a special assignment for you. You're going to escort me into Bio-Lab and get me this experimental Morpher," he said.

"And if I don't?"

"Then you and your friends will be of no further use to me, and I'll dispose of you accordingly. However, I am willing to make you an offer," he said.

"What kind of offer?"

"My scientists are going to need guidance in duplicating the prototype, and I can think of no better person than a rogue Time Force soldier. You help me get the Morpher and successful duplicate it, and I will not only release your friends, but I will offer you a place at my side when the time comes," he said.

"You won't me to betray Time Force and work for you so you can alter history, and no doubt take over the entire world, right?" she asked.

She paused. "If you try to double cross me, I'll have Time Force hunt you down,"

"There's no need for idol threats Captain. I may be a lot of things, but among those things is a man of my word. You help me get the Morpher, and when I have established myself as the dominating force on the planet, you will stand beside me second to no one. The world will be ours, and together, we will forge a new history," he explained.

"You've got a deal,"

He quickly pressed stop on the tape, and then turned to Alexis, who was sitting on the other side of the desk.

"So what do you think?" he asked her.

"I think this bitch will betray you the second she gets the chance. If you're going to believe that she's going to walk into Bio-Lab and bring you this… this Morpher thing, then just hand it over to you, you're a…" she was cut short.

"Of course she wouldn't. She'd no doubt use the Morpher to come after me, which is why I'm going with her," Luthor said.

"You really think this is going to work?"

"Yes, I do. Once I have the Morpher and she helps our scientists replicate them, we'll dispose of her as well," he said.

Alexis smiled.

*

"Do you really think it's a good idea to leave Trinity and Theo behind to protect the city? Luthor might try something," Eric said as he and Wes climbed in the truck, closing the doors.

"They'll be fine. We're only going to be in Gotham City for a day. Besides, Trinity has the Morpher, she'll be okay," he told him.

Eric started the truck, and the two of them pulled out the parking lot. "I've been meaning to ask you Collins, how you holdin' up?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Seeing Jen die must have been tough for you, and now to hear that she may still be alive, its gotta be eatin' you alive. I just wanted to know if you were holdin' up okay," he said.

"Oh Eric, I didn't know you cared,"

"Cared is too strong a word, concerned is more like it," he corrected.

Wes cracked a smile. He was right though, knowing that Jen gave her life to save him had taken a toll on him. The thought of not being able to help her was enough to drive him crazy, so when Trip contacted him and said there may be a way to save her, he jumped at the chance.

"I'm good,"

"I hope so, the last thing I need is you having a nervous breakdown or something," Eric said.

~

Trinity stared out the window. She found herself wondering how her life would have been like if her father was never injured and put in Cryogenic suspension. 'Would he have been a better father than Wes was?' she wondered. Her entire life, Wes had been wonderful to her. Though it was common knowledge that Wes was not her bio-logical father, there were times when she easily forgot that. Whenever there was a problem, or she just needed to talk, Wes would stop whatever he was doing to talk to her. He was everything a father was suppose to be, and there were times when she forgot that her real father was locked away in a freezer somewhere.

'Real father,' she sighed inwardly, wondering how she came up with that definition. True, Tommy Oliver was her father, she knew that. She was convinced that if things had been different, and he wasn't injured, he would have been the father she needed him to be, but there was no way to know for sure. All she did know was that Wes was the father she needed him to be, and she loved him for it.

"Ms. Hart," she heard a voice say, breaking her train of thought.

She glanced up, only to find herself in class. Not only was the entire class staring at her, so was the history teacher.

"Are you still with us Trinity?" the teacher asked.

"Oh, sorry Ms. Enrile," she sighed.

Just then, the bell rang, and the class quickly gathered their belongings and headed for the door. Trinity picked up her book bag and headed for the door.

"Trinity, can you stay a moment?" the teacher asked her.

Trinity let out a sigh of frustration, but nonetheless stayed behind while the rest of the students headed out.

"What's up Ms. E?" Trinity inquired.

"You've been missing a lot of days in school the last few weeks, and when you are in class you seem distracted. You're very bright, and I'd hate to see you waste your potential by daydreaming your life away," she said.

"I'm not, really. I've just been…" she paused. "Busy,"

It was at that moment that Ms. Enrile noticed the Morpher on Trinity's wrist. Though she knew what it was, she remained silent about it. "I bet you have. You know, I use to be busy myself, but I still found time for my schoolwork. I know what you're doing is important, but you won't be doing it forever, and when the time comes, I want you to have something you can fall back on," she explained.

"Somehow I doubt you were as busy as I am these days," she said.

"You'd be surprised," she smiled. "Go do what you have to do, but I hope that you take what I said into consideration. In the mean time, I'll talk to your other teachers and let them know that you're busy and they need to bare that in mind over the next few weeks," she said.

"Thanks Ms. E, really,"

"Anytime," she smiled as Trinity walked out the room.

~

Trinity walked into the hallway, where Theo was waiting for her.

"What did Ms. Enrile want?" he asked her.

"Nothing much. You know, I never realized how cool she was until just now," she said.

"Maybe if you went to class for often,"

"Yeah, maybe,"

"Still no word for Wes and Eric yet?"

"Nope."

"I've been working on the teleportation system, and I think I've got it down. I'm going to do some initial testing tonight, but it should be completely operational by tomorrow," he said.

"Great. I'm doing to covert operations thing tonight. Gotta keep tabs on Luthor and make sure he doesn't try anything stupid," she said.

"It's a good thing Wes left you the Morpher," he said, leaning in closer so no one else would hear him.

"Yeah, but I don't think mom is gonna let me keep it. But we'll worry about that later, right now I just hope Wes and Eric get back in time with the stuff we need," she said.

"I'll catch up with you tonight," he said.

She nodded, and the two of them went their separate ways. Ms. Enrile waited until they were gone to peek around the corner, cracking a smile.

*

"Welcome to Gotham City," Eric said as they pulled into the parking lot of Wayne Enterprises.

"Its much bigger than I imagined it. A lot of buildings," Wes pointed out.

"Well take a picture, we got business," he said as they got out the truck, making their way into the building.

As soon as they walked in, the receptionist, who was sitting behind her desk in the middle of the room, greeted them. "Good evening gentleman, how may I help you?" she asked them.

"We're here to see Mr. Wayne,"

"Do you have an appointment?" she inquired.

"Um, no, but I'm sure…" Wes was cut short.

"Mr. Wayne is an extremely busy man. You should make an appointment during regular business hours," she said.

Eric took a step forward. "Listen lady, we don't have time for this. This is a matter of national security," he said.

"All the more reason you should have an appointment,"

It was Wes who walked over to her, pulling out his identification and flashing it at her quickly. "My name is Commander Wesley Collins from the Silver Guardians, I appreciate your position ma'am, but understand that it's imperative that we speak to Mr. Wayne," he told her.

"And I would appreciate it if you had an appointment," she said firmly.

"Let me shoot her Wes, just once," Eric said, reaching for his standard issue Silver Guardian disrupter.

"That won't be necessary. Let them through Sheryl," a voice said.

They glanced up and saw him standing in the elevator. "I had no idea you were expecting them Mr. Wayne, I apologize," the receptionist said.

He simply nodded as Wes and Eric walked over to the elevator, getting inside.

"Mr. Collins, Mr. Myers, its good to see you again. What brings you all the way to Gotham?" Mr. Wayne asked as the elevator began to move.

"I'm going to be honest with you Mr. Wayne, we need certain equipment, equipment that only you have," Wes said.

"What kind of equipment?" he asked. Wes reached in his pocket, pulling out a list and handed it to him. The elevator doors opened, and Mr. Wayne walked out, never taking his eyes off the list. Wes and Eric quietly followed behind him. They eventually came to his office, closing the door behind them. "This is an impressive list of equipment here. I have to ask, what are you intending to build?"

Wes paused. "Can you keep a secret Mr. Wayne?" he replied.

"I've been known to keep a secret or two in my day," he said, cracking a smile.

"We have reason to believe that there is a rift in the space/time continuum, a rift caused by radiation from the reactor explosion not too long ago. If this rift is allowed to stay open, it may weaken the barriers of the entire continuum," he said.

"And what proof do you have of this rift being open?"

"I was there sir, when the reactor exploded. I was able to get out in time, but my friend wasn't. She was sucked through the rift, and to prevent anyone else from being pulled through the rift, we have to seal it,"

"From the parts you've asked for, I'd say you were trying to build an inverse ionic pulse," he said.

"Yes," Wes said.

Mr. Wayne sat down behind his desk, putting the list down. "Do you know why I didn't make your father an offer for Bio-Lab at the meeting?" he inquired.

"No sir,"

"Because although I believe that we all have secrets that we need to keep to ourselves, I don't believe there should be secrets in business. If we were to go into business together, I need to know that all your cards are on the table and that you're being honest with me. Your father couldn't offer me that," he said.

"So what if I offered it?"

"Then we'd talk,"

"Wes, no," Eric said.

"Sorry Eric, I have to," he turned to Mr. Wayne. "It all started in the year 2001…"