Any others you don't recognize are mine.
Rated R: strong and descriptive but not explicit sexual content, including m/m contact; language; violence.
This is slash, it includes sexual situations between two men. If you're uncomfortable with the idea, don't read this.
Reviews are always appreciated.
"Hello! Rangers!"
"Shit," Eric muttered.
"Shhh." Wes stood up, clicked on his flashlight, and cautiously looked out. The voice had come from the other side of the door protecting them from the thieves who had them trapped in a Bio-Lab warehouse. He could barely hear it. "I'm going to the door," he said.
"It could be a trap."
"I don't think they can get through the door. Not quickly, anyway." He moved around the barrier they had set up to protect themselves and walked to the door, pressing his ear against it. Another light made him look back, to see Eric coming after him. Together they leaned against the door, listening.
"Rangers! We want to talk! Maybe we can make a deal!" It was a male voice, steady and confident.
"Only one of us should answer," Eric whispered. "Let them think one of us is dead."
"Good idea. I'll talk to them." Wes raised his voice and shouted, "I don't make deals with murderers!"
"We haven't killed anyone! Not yet!"
"Yes you have! My partner's dead! You killed him!" Wes managed to put a good deal of anger into his voice.
They waited, hearing the murmur of low voices as the thieves consulted. Then, "Which one are you?"
After a glance at Eric, Wes shouted, "Wes Collins!"
More low voices, before another shout. "Open the door and come out, and we won't hurt you!"
Wes didn't need Eric's help to answer that one. "You must be kidding!"
"You can't stay in there forever. Look, maybe your partner's not dead. You could get medical help for him."
"He's dead, all right. And why the hell should I trust you?"
"You don't have much choice."
"And you don't have much time, before the Guardians and the police get you."
Another pause. "Think about it, Collins. If we have to shoot our way out, someone's going to get killed. You could prevent that. Tell them to let us go."
"What about the blast rifles you stole?"
"We'll leave them. We just want out."
"Yeah, right. Sorry, not buying it."
There was no answer. After waiting a few moments, Wes turned away from the door and touched Eric's arm. They moved back to the other side of the room, behind their barricade. "They just want a hostage," he said when they were sitting on the floor again, his voice lowered.
"Yeah. Unfortunately, you'd make an excellent one. Maybe I should have talked to them."
"You're just as important to Bio-Lab as I am. Maybe more."
"But not as important to your father."
Wes smiled. "Sometimes I wonder..." They sat quietly for a time. Wes began to notice the air again, the stuffiness. It wasn't hard to breathe, not yet, but it wouldn't be too much longer. He spoke again, mostly to distract himself. "My father took to you pretty fast, didn't he? Made you commander of the Guardians."
"Yeah, right." The tinge of bitterness in Eric's voice took him by surprise. "He didn't exactly just hand it to me. Made me fight for it."
"I guess. That's not the impression you gave me when we had that little talk in the yards."
"The yards. Do you have to remind me of every time I acted like an asshole?"
"I haven't even mentioned our trip into the past. When you attacked me, stuck your blaster in my face, almost stranded me there."
"Yeah, thanks for not mentioning that," Eric said dryly.
"You're welcome." Wes smiled, but only for a moment. Those had definitely not been good times, when Eric had seemed to hate him, had attacked him at every opportunity, both verbally and physically.
Their trip to the past. Eric had flown his TF Eagle through a timehole in pursuit of one of Ransik's mutants and Wes had hitched a ride, trying to help. Eric of course hadn't wanted help, and they had ended up fighting each other instead of the real enemy.
Eric had overcome him, forced him to his knees, pointed his blaster right in his face, and laughed. Wes could still remember the sound of it, that soft chuckle. It had made his blood run cold. The laugh of a man who has someone he hates right where he wants him.
But Eric hadn't killed him, had only pushed him down when he saw the return timehole opening up. Had called the Eagle, leaped into it, and taken off, with an ironic salute for Wes. That had been the worst moment, when he had believed himself abandoned in the past, the only human on the planet, with no way to get home, no hope… The volcanic eruption he was caught in was only a finishing touch.
"Were you really going to leave me?" he asked.
Eric obviously knew exactly what he was talking about. "Shit, Wes. What do you think?" he asked sharply.
"You seemed like you wanted to."
"Well, I didn't. I came back, didn't I?"
"Yeah, when it was almost too late."
"I admit, I didn't mind scaring you a little." Eric sounded uncomfortable now.
"A little!" Wes paused, the remembered fear of those moments turning into anger. "You know, you have a real cruel streak sometimes."
There was silence for a few seconds, long enough for Wes to start feeling guilty. "I'm sorry," Eric finally said. "When I get angry, sometimes I do things I know aren't right…"
"And you were angry with me."
"Yeah. You kept trying to take the morpher away from me."
"And I tried it again, in the yards."
"Yeah." He heard Eric sigh softly.
Wes closed his eyes, remembering that incident, the second time he had been seriously afraid of Eric. They had both been so angry then. The yards behind Bio-Lab. When he had come to talk, alone, for a last attempt to get the morpher back. Had thought that maybe Eric would be more reasonable if it was just the two of them. Hadn't believed his former friend could really hate him so much. Wanted to make it right between them, somehow. But of course it had turned out all wrong, just more argument, more insults, and another fight, ending with Eric's blaster pointed at him again.
"Wes? Wes, talk to me."
Eric's voice brought him back from a haze of remembered anger. "What?"
"We're still zapped from those blaster shots. And the air's getting stale. We can't fall asleep."
"I wasn't sleeping."
"Then talk to me. What were you thinking about?"
"Nothing."
"Come on, Wes."
"Why don't you talk?"
"Geez. Okay." There was a brief silence. "Remember the time you came to see me, after the thing with Notacon and the time with Conwing?"
"You mean after you tried to kill a harmless mutant and punched me in the stomach when I stopped you, and then refused to work with us again?"
"Shit, Wes…"
"Okay, sorry. Go on."
"Why did you do it?"
"What do you mean, why?"
"Why make the effort, after I did everything I could to screw you over? I couldn't believe it when you showed up at my door."
"You thought I was a fool, didn't you?"
"Actually, no. It really impressed me. Made me think. Why did you do it?"
"I didn't want us to be enemies, Eric. I still wanted us to work together." All true… He had wanted to make one last effort, to see if they could be allies, if he could get Eric to work with the team. And maybe there had been another reason. Looking back, he knew that he also wanted to somehow recapture that fleeting friendship they had once had, that for some incomprehensible reason, he still liked Eric, and felt the need to be liked by him in return…
He had been there before, on his motorcycle, face hidden under his helmet, watching. The first time, he had seen Eric in his backyard, talking to a little girl who must belong to one of his neighbors. They had been playing with a couple of birds in a cage which he had finally realized were Eric's. So strange, to think of him having pets, caring about something as small and insignificant as a bird. Even stranger to see him smiling, being friendly.
Maybe that was his real nature showing through, maybe the anger was only for them, because they had tried to get the morpher back. Or maybe it was only for him, Wes thought uncomfortably. Ever since that time in school… The sudden image came to him, the two of them sitting in the dorm study room, close enough to kiss…
Back then, he had watched for a while and left, unseen. This time, he parked his cycle and got off, summoning courage before walking up to the house and knocking. The wait was just long enough for him to wonder if Eric was home, before the door swung open.
Eric eyed him coldly. "What do you want?" he demanded.
"I think we need to talk."
"What do we have to talk about?"
Irritation began to overcome Wes's nervousness. "Why don't you let me in and find out?"
Eric's eyes flared, but he stood aside and said, "Come on in," calmly enough. "Want anything?" he asked as they entered a small living room. "All I have is coffee and water."
"No, thanks." Wes's lips twitched in a brief smile. "You can actually be almost polite. Amazing."
"Yeah, I'm always surprising people." Eric motioned him to sit on the sofa, and dropped into a chair, staring at him. "So, what the fuck do you want?"
"Eric… I want the same thing I wanted after you beat Conwing. For all of us to work together."
"Not going to happen. I don't do teams."
"You work with the Guardians."
"That's different. They work for me, now." He smiled, an unfriendly expression. "So unless you're offering to put your team under my command…"
"No way. Jen's our leader, and that's the way it's staying."
"Then fuck this shit. We've got nothing to talk about."
Suddenly angry, Wes stood up. "In that case, I'll stop wasting my time." He turned for the door.
Eric's voice stopped him. "Jen. The one with brown hair."
"Yeah… The one who pulled you out of the river." Wes turned back to see Eric standing also.
"What's the story between you two?" There was a spark of something in his eyes, quickly hidden.
"How is that your business?"
"Just wondering."
"We're friends. Teammates."
"Is that all?" Eric's voice was soft now, his eyes watchful.
Not understanding -- or not wanting to understand -- why he was suddenly so uncomfortable, Wes answered, "Yeah, that's all. Why, are you interested?"
"In her? No." Eric moved closer.
"Look, Eric, I just came here to see if we could stop fighting each other," Wes said, facing him. "We're all Rangers. I guess we have to accept that you're going to keep the Quantum morpher. And… you've been a big help so far. I'd really like it if we could work together. Maybe even be friends again, like in school. We liked each other once, remember? Why not again?"
"Liked each other. I guess we did." Eric took a step closer. "But a lot's changed since school."
"Yeah…" Wes trailed off. Eric was face to face with him now, too close, his eyes intent. He stopped, then moved forward again, a little, his gaze dropping to Wes's lips, just like that time in the dorm… They stared at each other, as Wes felt his heart start to pound.
"I'd -- I'd better get going," Wes said, a little breathlessly. He started towards the door after another look into Eric's eyes.
"Wait." He looked back to see Eric looking uncomfortable now. "I won't work with you, but I'll help when I can," he said, a little defiantly. "And… I never thanked Jen for saving my life. Could you…"
"Sure. I'll tell her," Wes said with a smile. "So… I guess I'll see you around."
"Yeah." Eric followed him to the door.
Wes quickly returned to his motorcycle, put on his helmet, and got on. A furtive glance back showed Eric still standing there, watching. As he saw Wes look up, he hastily stepped back and slammed the door.
Wes chuckled at that last memory. "You were your usual charming self that day. I guess I was lucky you didn't toss me out on my ass."
"It was tempting. But I was starting to realize you guys weren't all bad."
"And we were starting to think the same thing about you."
"Hmm. You lied to me that day, you know."
"How's that?"
"Told me you and Jen were just friends."
"At that point, we were. But…"
"Go on. Tell me about it."
"Sure you want to talk about her?"
Eric's voice took on a slightly ironic note. "Why not? Makes no difference now, does it?"
"I guess. Okay. We were just friends, then. But I had already fallen for her… Maybe the first time I saw her."
Had it been the first time? When she bumped into him in front of the mall? That had been only a quick glance, a muttered 'excuse me'. Or the second time, when he had seen her being attacked by cyclobots and gone riding to the rescue? He could still see the expression on her face when she got her first good look at him. Because he looked like Alex, of course.
Or maybe it was when she came to his house, looking for him. Asking him to help; so determined, so serious, so angry when he didn't believe her story about time travel and mutants. Even then, when he thought she was crazy, he had been impressed.
But it had grown on him, his love for her, over the months. Seeing her courage and dedication, her toughness and the vulnerability underneath, the way she worked so hard, the way she challenged him. Even the way she got mad. He had admired her for all those things, the qualities he didn't have… In fact, Eric had a lot of those qualities too… and where had that come from?
"What exactly did you love about her?" Eric's words startled him, echoing his thoughts.
"Well -- she was strong. Determined. And beautiful, of course."
Eric's voice was heavy with sarcasm. "Oh, of course. Must be why you never fucked her."
"Geez, Eric... Sometimes you're really disgusting."
"Yeah, that's me. Unlike the untouchable Jen."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Collins!" The shout was unexpected, startling him back to their immediate problem. Wes jumped, and heard Eric move beside him, getting to his feet.
"Our buddies want to talk again," he muttered. They both moved around their barricade and to the door, pressing their ears against it.
"Collins!" came the voice again, the same one as before. "You alive in there?"
"Yeah, no thanks to you!"
"Good to hear it. Have you thought about our offer?"
"Sorry, I don't feel like being a hostage."
There was a slight pause. "Look, we don't want a hostage. Just a negotiator. Come out peacefully, and you won't be hurt."
"What do you think?" Wes whispered. "If I go with them, maybe you could stay in here. Play dead, and then contact Steve and the others."
"I don't know. It's risky. As soon as they realize I'm alive, they'll kill you."
"Not if we time it right."
"Well, it's a possibility. But for right now, let's wait. They're more likely to get careless when they start getting desperate."
"I don't want Steve and the guys shooting it out with them," Wes protested. "Someone'll get killed."
"We won't help by getting killed ourselves. When our morphers have recharged a little, we can put up a fight." A hand briefly dropped on Wes's shoulder. "If we hear shots outside, we'll go. Morphers or not."
"Hey in there!" the voice from outside shouted again. "Are you coming out or not?"
"Try to stall them," Eric whispered. "Keep them talking."
"Still thinking about it!" Wes shouted. "Who are you, anyway?"
"You don't expect me to give names, do you?"
"It would be nice to be able to call you something."
After another hesitation, the answer came. "Okay. Call me Joe."
"Joe. Okay, Joe, what do you want here? What are you after?"
"Just trying to make a living, Collins. A lot like you."
"I'm not a thief. Or a killer."
"We're sorry about your partner."
"Yeah, I'll bet."
"Look, we're just trying to do a job here. Take a few things, get out, nice and neat, no one gets hurt. It's gone wrong, I'll admit. Now we just want out, in one piece. The same thing you want. We don't have to be enemies. Come out, and we can all walk away from this."
"Why should I trust you?"
"You don't have much of a choice."
Wes took a deep breath. "I think I'll take my chances in here for a while longer!"
"Okay. Your funeral."
"Well, I guess we wait…" Wes was turning away as he was cut off by the sound of a barrage of blaster fire, loud even through the door. He spun around and backed away, snapping on his flashlight to watch as the door shuddered visibly.
"Wes, get back!" Eric was pulling on his arm. They both retreated, crouched behind the flimsy protection of their pile of boxes, watched the door as the sound of a steady burst of combined blast rifle fire filled the room.
"Do you think the door will hold?" Wes asked tensely.
"Hope so." They waited a few more minutes, but it didn't stop. "Switch off your flashlight," Eric said suddenly. In the renewed darkness, Wes saw a spot in the middle of the door glow a dull red, and noticed that he felt warmth.
"If they melt the lock, we'll never get out of here in time!" he said.
"I know."
And then it was over, as abruptly as it began. They stared, watching the hot spot on the door rapidly fade. The voice from outside shouted again. "You have an hour, Collins. Then we're coming in to get you."
TBC...