Chapter 5

"You did swear that, didn't you?" Samantha said. "That you'd be with him through thick and thin until death do you part?"

"Yes, I did," Jen said, not taking her eyes away from her interlocutor's eyes. "Gladly," she sneered.

"Well, I did too, gladly as well," Samantha said. "When I married Alex's father."

"When you married him or his fortune?"

"Both of them," the other woman said. "So, tell me about your family, the only thing I heard about it was that they are farmers, and that they have been, proudly, for many years."

"The fact we are farmers doesn't make us poor," Jen said bitterly. "Or less. The Scotts farms produce approximately thirty percent of the vegetables, fruits and dairy products consumed in this town."

"Really? I didn't know that."

"You would if you had asked. By the way, I WAS engineered, just like any other kid in this town."

"Interesting. I thought you had a small farm, but apparently there's many of them, they are 'The Scotts Farms-s'" she said, extending the last 's' to make her point."

"My father has two, my uncle has another two and my aunt kept one," Jen explained.

"Your grandparents had five farms?!"

"Three," Jen explained. "My dad bought one and so did my uncle."

"How many farms have been in the family inheritance all these years?"

"Those three were given to my grandfather by his father, but since he had two siblings, there have been more."

"Curious," Samantha said unenthusiastically. "For how long have your family been farmers then?"

"The Scotts have been farmers for five hundred years," Jen said. "But before them, there were several other families. In the beginning we thought the Scotts had bought the farms from them, but then, we realized Scotts was the last name of one of the husbands of a woman who inherited only part of the farms. In nine hundred fifty years of known history, the number of farms has been changed, because children with different last names get them, and they were given away to pay a debt once," Jen explained. She didn't know what her mother-in-law's sudden interest in her family was, but a small part of her heart, and a bit of her mind, hidden in the back, still wanted that woman to like her, and Jen was proud of her family history, as incomplete as it was.

"Nine hundred fifty years of known history?" Samantha asked. Jennifer's knowledge of her family didn't go far back enough for her plans.

"Yes, no matter how much we have investigated, we can't find any more information about our family. There's even a gap in the genealogical tree, we have no idea of anything that happened before the year 2054."

"Well, that's a shame," The other woman said, this time meaningfully. "You said you were engineered, by whom, if I may ask?"

"He's already dead," Jen said.

"Oh," the other woman pouted. "Did he work in town?"

"He worked for your husband's laboratories, what are they called again?"

"Bio-Lab," Samantha Drake answered. Jen gasped.

"Still?"

"No, not still," she said. "The name was changed several times, but my husband changed it back to its original name. You know his great admiration for Wesley Collins."

Jen did, all right. The man had invited her and the other Rangers over for dinner to ask them about Wes. He said that little was known about Wes's youth, his years before he became president of Bio-Lab, and that it was suspected he had a secret life. They all assumed it was the Red Ranger thing, and told him so. Mr. Drake was fascinated about Wes, and couldn't understand his son's feelings towards such a hero.

Alex had a very different attitude towards Wes. Before the whole back in time incident, Alex used to say he'd like to meet Wesley Collins and see how much they were truly alike. He didn't see himself as a genetically engineered person, but as a clone. His father told him he wasn't a clone, but Alex had never believed himself to be a true person. After he met Wes, Alex said everything was better when Wesley Collins was only this guy who had died hundreds of years ago and he could think they probably had a lot of things in common, instead of knowing they didn't.

Jen thought he and Wes had a lot of things in common, mostly good ones, they didn't share too many defects, but she kept her mouth shut. Alex was very flammable when it came to talking about Wes and at least, now he saw himself as a real person, not as Wes's clone anymore.

The door opened and Alex walked in, his face dead serious. The door was made of glass so he could see his mother from outside and half-expected Jen to be dead. "Mom, what are you doing here?" he asked. "You should be resting," he said, throwing a quick glance over his shoulder, looking for eavesdroppers.

"I came to talk to Jen about her family," Samantha said. "We were going to talk about her genetic composition, and you arrived."

"Why do you want to know about her genetic composition?" he asked. "What do you want to know about it?"

"The usual, Alexander," his mother said, brushing off her son with an elegant hand. "Who did it, what did they do to her."

"Why?"

"Because I want to get to know your wife better!" she said, smiling brightly and pointing at Jen.

Jen looked at Alex, and he returned the amazed, disbelieving look. "I repeat my question, why?"

"Your father talked to me yesterday, he convinced me Jen is a good girl and that you love her. Look, both of you," she started getting up from her chair and walking towards her son, taking his hand. "I am sorry for the incident ten months ago. I was.crazed, I guess. But these last months have made me reconsider everything. Especially after Nadira betrayed me."

"Nadira what?" Jen asked. She never thought Nadira was the betraying kind.

"She betrayed me, why do you think I haven't been around for so long? Nadira had kidnapped me," she said. Then she lowered her head and shook it, putting a hand up to her mouth, and began to sob softly. "I had a vision, of a world where humans and mutants didn't fight, didn't hate each other. A world where mutants were dignified, useful members of society. But I failed in my methods many years ago, and ten months ago, I was looking for revenge on those who pointed out to me my methods were wrong, when I should have thanked them all," she said, between sobs. Alex and Jen looked at each, their eyebrows furrowed. "I promise you both, The Mistress is gone, forever," she said. Jen looked at the woman silently, but her thoughts kept coming back at her, unaccompanied. This woman had some kind of protection against her powers, and Jen wished she knew how to get around it.

"What do you mean, Nadira betrayed you?" Alex asked.

"She betrayed me when she discovered her true powers and their magnificence; she turned on me and held me prisoner. Until one day, not too long ago, when I escaped. It took me five days to get back to town," she explained, still sobbing. Then she dried her tears with a handkerchief and said: "Well, I'd better go. I'm sure you two have plans. Goodbye, Jennifer, once again I'm sorry."

Jen nodded politely. "Don't worry," she said, even if she still felt that burning hate wrapped around her heart when it came to that woman.

"Alexander," she said softly, and kissed her son's cheek. Alex kissed her back coldly, and stepped out of her way. She left.

Alex walked to Jen and she looked at him, not knowing if she should laugh or just smile, But he was very serious.

"Why didn't you page me the moment she walked in this room?" he asked her angrily.

"Don't give me sermons, I can protect myself from her, besides, we are in God damned Time Force headquarters, she is not stupid enough to kill me here, Alex," Jen answered. She walked to him and he wrapped his arms around her tightly. She did the same with him; she had to admit she had been scared when she was alone with his mother. She found she felt safe and relieved in his arms.

"Did she touch you? Did you let her out of your sight at any moment?"

"No," she assured him. He was running his hands down her arms and back, looking for anything Samantha might have left on her. "I love you," she said softly, hugging him again and taking in his aroma. "I tell you, Alex, you have nothing to worry about! I just want to go out there and do my thing!"

He let go of her and looked her in the eye. "We have a problem with that, Jen. If we believe her, which I don't, Nadira is free and angry. You have gone after both her mother and her father, so she might want to come after you if she's looking for her first reason to be evil and destructive. If we assume she's lying, then you are a potential victim still, due to all the things we both know better than anybody."

"Alex," Jen pouted. "I can't just.lie around doing nothing. If she's coming after me, let her! I'm ready for her. And for others worse than her!" she told him. "I know you just want to protect me, but trust me, baby, I can protect myself. I can fight, I don't need to hide."

"True," he admitted. He didn't like the idea of her running around targeted, but he could bear with it now that he could go on the battlefield with her. "Okay, let's go out for lunch and then to that house, where you say you heard Ransik. We'll check it out," he told her. Her eyes shone at the prospect of action.

"We'll check it out? Really?" she asked excitedly. Then her face went dark. "What do you mean we'll check it out? You can't come, you are unauthorized," she said.

"Unauthorized by whom?"

"By me, and your lack of powers," she answered. "You keep forgetting you are not the Red Ranger anymore."

"I remember I'm not the Red Ranger anymore," he said with a smile on his lips.

"You know something you are not telling me," she said. He smiled playfully.

"I do."

"What is it?" she said urgently.

He raised his left arm and let her take a look at his brand new morpher. "I'm the Black Time Force Ranger," he told her happily.

She jumped into his arms and kissed him deeply. She was so happy for him; she knew it meant the world to him, having his powers back. "Welcome to the team," she said, rubbing her nose against his.

"Thanks a lot," he answered kissing the tip of her nose. He let go and, as she picked up her coat, he added, "By the way, I'm in charge now."

She looked at him raising an eyebrow. "You wish," she told him heading to the door.

*************************

He took several deep breaths and tried to cut through the darkness that engulfed him. "Nadira?" he called. He was in pain, and hungry. He was cold and confused, just like in the beginning.

He heard a noise, and spun as much as his cuffs let him. "Nadira?" he asked again. "Yes, Daddy, it's me," she said, touching his arm. She had a syringe in her hand. "Now, don't move. I've got to get you ready for tonight."

To be continued.