Author's note: This chapter contains portions of "Back from the future pt 4" from the Parallels series, you may want to read over it for reference. Coming soon, POWER RANGERS: GENERATIONS, the final adventure in the Parallels series.

~~~

Wes and Eric stood aside as Gaby and Theo worked on the inverse ionic generator. Neither of them were willing to admit it, but the technology was way over their heads. Most of the equipment on the list Trip gave them were things neither of them had ever heard of, but they knew if it was going to work, they needed someone else to construct it.

Gaby was the single most intelligent person Eric had ever met. 'That's why I married her,' he chuckled to himself as he folded his arms, leaning up against the wall as he watched them working.

Over the years, he tried to convince himself that it had nothing to do with the visit he got from Tommy and Jen years ago:

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

"I can't tell you that," she said.

"Both of you into my office, now," he insisted.

Without question, the two of them followed Eric down the hall and into his office, where he closed the blinds and locked the door behind them.

"We don't have time for this Eric," Tommy said.

"Don't have time? Jesus, don't you guys have time machines? Make the time. I want to know what's going on. Why did you rob a convenience store and shack up on the sleaziest hotel room you could find?" he asked them.

"If I tell you, it could alter the time line," Jen said.

"If you don't tell me, I'll turn you into the authorities for theft. I'm sure two Time Force officers sitting in a SHPD jail would alter the time line too," he brought up.

Tommy sighed. "We might as well tell him Jen," he said.

"No, we can't."

"What choice do we have? If we don't, it'll ruin his chances," he said.

"My chances for what?" Eric asked.

"Don't say anything Tommy," Jen insisted.

"Sorry Jen, I have to," he turned to Eric. "You know the girl you've been seeing for a while now?" he inquired.

"Gaby?"

"Yeah, today was an important day for your relationship. You've been thinking about asking her to marry you, haven't you?" he asked.

"Not really,"

"Well, you should, and today will be the turning point. The two of you are destined to be together, and your children will play an intricate part on the formation of Time Force," he told him.

"My children?"

"Yes, that's why we're here. If you don't marry Gaby within the next year, the future as we know it will crumble," Tommy explained.

Eric wondered to himself if Jen and Tommy hadn't warned him about altering the time line, would he still have married Gaby. Gabrielle was everything he could have ever asked for in a woman; she was intelligent, clever, witty, not to mention one of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen. 'Hell, I would have been crazy not to marry her,' he thought to himself. Still, he wondered if he would have married her so quickly.

Another thing that bothered him is that in all the time they'd been married, neither of them had even considered having children. Even though clearly explained that they're children would be instrumental in the development of Time Force, he never brought the issue to Gaby's attention. 'If she knew it was already written in stone, she might not have married me,' he thought, which is why he never told her about it. The pressure was too much for him to handle at times, and he knew they're relationship didn't need the extra strain.

'Maybe it is time to think about having a kid or two,' he thought. 'After all, I don't wanna be 40 with a newborn,'

"I think we're ready over here," Theo said, breaking Eric's train of thought.

He and Wes walked over to the generator, getting a closer look at it. "Okay, so how does it work?" Wes asked.

"The generator will emit a low level inverted ionic pulse, which should be enough to seal the rift once and for all. Afterwards, the generator should be dismantled," Gaby said.

"Why?"

"Because technology like this isn't meant to exist, at least not yet," Wes mentioned.

"Exactly. If the pulses were inverted again, it would be powerful enough to open a rift in the continuum that couldn't be sealed. The last thing we need is worlds spilling over into each other," Theo added.

"So what do we do now?" Eric inquired.

"You have to get the generator over the building where the rift is forming. It has a range of 100 meters, but we don't want to take any chances," she said.

"Okay. The three of you should get the generator over the warehouse," Wes said.

"And where do you think you're going?"

"I have to find Jen. She's here, somewhere," he said, walking out the room.

Eric shook his head. "After all these years he still has it bad for her," he sighed.

(*)

"So what will you do with Lex now?" Jen asked as she watched the Silver Guardians lock him in a holding cell.

"Unfortunately, there isn't much we can do to him. Other than breaking and entering, trespassing and theft, there are no serious charges. With his political influence and connections, it probably won't even go to count," Mr. Collins explained to her.

"If he had gotten his hands on a working Morpher, he would…"

"… he would have had enough fire power to take out the entire city. That's exactly why that Morpher was locked away and under such tight security. One day we'll perfect the Morpher, but until then, the world simply isn't ready for it," he said.

Jen cracked a smile as she recalled reading in the history logs that eventually, Bio-Lab, along with another company that remained a silent partner, merged to become what she knew as Time Force. Together, they did perfect the Morpher, which lead to the creator of the most successful Morpher; the Chrono Morpher. Of course, she couldn't tell him that.

"Perhaps one day you will," she sighed.

At that moment, one of the Silver Guardians walked over to them, saluting Mr. Collins. "Sir," he said, getting his attention.

"At ease Lt. Cooper. What can I do for you?" he asked.

"Commander Collins and Trinity Hart are here to see you sir, they're looking for…" he paused, getting a good look at the woman with Mr. Collins. "Jen?" he replied.

"Hey Max," she sighed.

Max himself had changed over the years as well. He'd worked out, getting a bit more in shape, and the beard and mustache worked well for him. In addition, he'd shaved his head bald, giving him a much more mature look.

"Wes has been worried sick about you," he said.

"Where is he?"

"In Mr. Collins' office waiting for you. I think they have news," he said.

"Well lets not keep them waiting," Mr. Collins said, walked out the room.

Jen and Max quickly followed.

~

As soon as Jen walked into the office, Wes rushed over to her, wrapping his arms around her. "Its so good to see you Jen, I thought you were…" he was cut short.

"Dead? I get that a lot," she said.

"Now that the rift has been sealed, you'll be able to go home," he told her.

'I'm afraid it isn't that simple,' a voice said.

Trinity took the Morpher off her wrist, handing it to Jen.

"Camille. Is that you?" she asked.

'Yep, and I'm afraid I have bad news for you. The explosion in the warehouse that initially caused the rift warped your DNA; a trip through a temporal vortex would disrupt your entire nervous system and kill you before you were able to get through the other side. Trip and I have been working on a way to send you the antidote, but sending it through the vortex would alter it on a molecular level, making it useless to you,' she said.

"What about a time ship?" Wes asked.

'She'd still have to come through the vortex, and the second she entered the vortex she'd…' she was cut short.

"We get the idea, so what can we do?" Trinity asked.

'I'm afraid there's nothing we can do. Without the antidote, Jen will be stuck there permanently,' Camille told them.

"You know you're always welcome to stay here with us Jennifer," Mr. Collins mentioned.

She nodded. "I know, but there is a much bigger problem. Me staying here will alter the time line, history will be changed and the future will be destroyed," she said.

Trinity stood up. "I have to be the one to say it: don't you think you're being a bit cocky? I refuse to believe that you're that important to the future that the everything will be destroyed if you stay here," she brought up.

"I wouldn't have been so blunt about it, but she's got a point," Wes added.

'Wes, there are things about the future that you don't know. Your role in the development of Time Force is being shaped as we speak. The things you'll do within the next few months will determine the outcome for countless millions, and Jen's presence will disrupt that. If key decisions aren't made right now, at this moment, the world as we know it will change, and it won't be for the best,' Camille explained.

"So you're saying you knew this was going to happen?" Mr. Collins asked.

'In a manner of speaking, yes. The history logs are very vague, ensuring that we don't know too much about our roles in the past and how they will shape the future. Jen was meant to be there, at this moment in time, but her staying will start a chain reaction that will unravel the future,' she said.

"So what do we do? I can't come home to get the antidote, and you can't bring it to me," Jen said.

"Can the antidote be made here, in the present?"

'I'm afraid not. Most of the elements are made from binary compounds, most of which won't be invented in your time for another 50 years. Unless we can think of a way to get the antidote to Jen, and soon, history will change and Jen will die,' she said.

"Wait a sec, you never said anything about my dying?" Jen snapped.

'Your DNA has been altered, and unless it can be reverted back to its original state, the alterations will be enough to kill you,' she said.

"There has to be something we can do," Trinity said.

"I think I know a way," Mr. Collins brought up.

~

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Wes asked her.

The doctors laid Jen inside a module of some sort, connecting her to various machines as she nodded. "This is the only way Wes," she sighed.

"Part of me wishes you could have stayed. It would have been nice to have you around again," he brought up.

"Yeah, but you have a life here. A future. You and Kimberly are happy together, and I'd just get in the way of that. Besides, I need to get back to…" she was cut short.

"To Tommy?"

"Yeah. I love him Wes, the same way you love Kim," she said.

"But I still love you," he cried, trying to hold back the tears.

"And I will always love you, but we both knew it could never happen when we fell for each other. We're from two different worlds,"

"Kinda ironic that I ended up with Kim and you ended up with Tommy, considering that Kim and Tommy use to be together," he said.

She nodded. "Its poetic justice. We have a chance to be happy now Wes, and I suggest you take it. Kim is a wonderful girl," she said.

"And Tommy is a hell of a guy," he told her.

She reached up, wiping a tear away from his face. "Don't make this sound so final, you never know when destiny will send me this way again," she said.

"I know,"

"Goodbye Wesley," she sighed.

"You may feel a sharp pain in your lower back when the Cryogenic chamber is activated, but it will pass. Just try to relax," the doctor told her.

"I understand," she said.

Without another word, the doctor closed the lid, sealing it shut. Wes watched on as the doctors activated the module.

"You gonna be okay?" Mr. Collins asked, wrapping his arm around his son as they watched.

"Just seems like I'm always saying goodbye to her," he sighed.

"Things will work out Wesley, they always do," he told him.

* New Silver Hills, California 3000 AD *

The sound of her own heartbeat was all she heard as she opened his eyes slowly, only to find herself in a long, glass tube of some sort. She couldn't see beyond the tube, which was filled with a thick, clear fluid. Oddly enough, there were no tubes to supply him with oxygen, but even in the fluid, she was able to breath normally. From what she could tell, she was floating; unable to determine the top of bottom of the tube she was trapped in. There were other wires connected to her arms, chest, back & head, each of them throbbing with pain.

She tried to think back, trying to recall how she ended up in that position. 'There was an explosion…' she recalled. 'I was hurt, this was the only way,'

Through the tube, she could see a figure, but wasn't able to make out who it was. The image was blurry, and no matter how hard she tried, she wasn't able to determine who or what was staring at her.

Just then, whoever it was, spoke to her. "Don't worry Jen, everything is fine now," the voice said.


The voice was soothing, comforting. It didn't take her long to realize who it was. 'Tommy,' she sighed inwardly, closing her eyes.

* somewhere in the past *

Alexis sat back in Lex's chair, staring out the window. 'I told that idiot that it was a set up. I told him that bitch wasn't to be trusted. He should have listened to me,' she thought to herself. She'd been with Lex from the very beginning; his plans to unlock the secrets of Bio-Lab's technology were his own undoing, but she was determined to succeed where Lex had failed.

'Bio-Lab can keep their precious morphers. When I'm done with them, it won't matter. I will avenge you Lex, and I will defeat the power rangers,' she sighed inwardly with a devious grin on her face.