Andrea, Morgan, and 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 story includes slash, which involves sexual situations between two men. If you're uncomfortable with the idea, don't read this.
Reviews are always appreciated.
Eric glared at it, eyes narrowing. It was incredible, but there it was. Destroyed, blown to bits, and yet there it was, exactly the same.
"The clock tower..." Wes was staring up at it, looking stunned and disbelieving.
"Incredible," Trip said. He was off his 'cycle, approaching the shop door on street level, his scanner held in front of him.
"It looks identical," Jen said, following him. Wes trailed behind, Eric next to him.
"This building shouldn't have survived this long," Alex said.
"Not to mention Eric and I blew it up. This is unbelievable."
"Look." Trip was pointing to a small rectangular plaque set on the door, just under eye level. It had a plain silvery surface, with a slight oily sheen. He scanned it. "Some kind of electronics inside," he said. "Can't tell what it's for."
"Here's another one," Lucas called from the building next door. "A lot of these doors have them."
"Obviously it's been rebuilt," Eric said, looking up at the clock face again.
"But why? And it's exactly the same!" Jen touched the worn wooden sign on the door, the paint faded and cracking. "Exactly the same... like we went back in time, instead of forward."
"Except that the other buildings are different from what they were in 2001. Most of them anyway." Lucas had rejoined them. "Not to mention all the people are missing."
"Should we go inside?" Katie asked.
"No." Alex's voice was firm. "Andrea's gotten enough of a head start. We have to find them, and stop whatever they're doing. Maybe later..." He stepped back, and looked up to the top of the tower. "Or maybe not. Maybe it's better if we never know what's going on here." His face settling into harsh lines, he turned back to the vectorcycles.
They rode again, through more empty streets, the strangeness deepening as they reached what had been the center of Silver Hills. More of seeing an entirely familiar, modern building, next to a soaring tower of what seemed to be transparent metal -- next to a storefront that would have looked a hundred years old in 2003, next to a structure that appeared to float several feet off the ground. It was dizzying.
And they were approaching a place he knew very well, a building he saw almost every day. It loomed in their path, square frame soaring into the sky, lines of glass windows reflecting the sun as Eric stopped his vectorcycle on the side of the street that led into the parking lot. "Bio-Lab," he said softly.
"Yeah," Wes said, pulling over next to him. "Right where it's supposed to be."
Alex parked a few feet away and dismounted, the other Rangers following his example. "Okay," he said. "Remember, stay together. We have no idea what we'll find in there."
"What? You mean that's where we're going? Bio-Lab?" Wes demanded.
"That's where the other morphers are, isn't it, Trip?"
"That's right."
"That abandoned building in a bad part of town in your time. That was Bio-Lab?" Eric asked.
"Right." Alex nodded. "The city changed, this section deteriorated. Over the course of a thousand years, Bio-Lab relocated. The building was used by other companies, was remodeled, rebuilt, but eventually it was left empty."
"And now here it is again," Jen said.
"Exactly the same. Like the clock tower," Wes added.
"Yes." Alex started walking. "Let's go."
No one spoke as they crossed the parking lot, went up the steps, and found themselves at the front door. It all looked so normal, the only off-note being another of those small plaques set next to the entrance. The same lobby, the guard's station, the receptionist's desk. Except there was no guard, no receptionist. No one, just empty space, looking as if the entire Bio-Lab staff had simply chosen the same moment to step away.
Eric went first, pushing the door open and striding quickly in, half-expecting a horde of cyclobots to descend on them. Wes followed on his heels, looking around. The other Rangers trailed behind them. Their footsteps echoed hollowly.
"They're farther back in the building," Trip said, lowering his scanner.
Eric faced the direction of the main corridor leading into the back of the building, where the laboratories were located. He led the way again, Wes catching up and falling into step at his side.
"I'm telling you, Eric," he muttered, "This is really creeping me out."
"No shit." Eric didn't smile, his eyes scanning nervously from side to side. "Can't wait to find these jerks and kick their butts, so we can get the hell out of here."
"Remember they've got morphers just like yours. They may kick our butts."
"Thought you were such an optimist." He turned a corner, waited for Trip to point the way; then continued down a wide hallway, heading towards the back of the building. They moved faster as they neared the back entrance, the one that led to the sheds housing a few outdoor projects, to the storage warehouses and yards, and the Silver Guardians' training grounds. Cautiously, Eric opened the door a crack, and then slipped through. After a quick look around, he beckoned the others to join him. They all paused for a moment. The training area was only a few yards away, the equipment they used every day lying discarded; padded sparring staffs leaning against the wall; punching bags, weights, a small pile of boxing gloves, a few knee and elbow pads. It looked normal, and yet -- there was something about the neatness of it, as if all those objects had been carefully arranged...
"What's that?" Wes asked, pointing.
"Beats me," Eric said, fully noticing it for the first time. They were looking at a building in the adjoining storage yard, a place where Eric remembered he and Wes had once argued, and fought, over the Quantum morpher. A building that shouldn't be there. One that hadn't been there when they had left 2003. It was round, the walls made of some reflective substance giving a mirrored appearance, no visible windows, only an ordinary-looking door.
"They're in that direction," Trip said, scanner in hand. "Maybe in that building, or behind it."
"Let's go," Alex said. "Trip, keep scanning, tell us when we get close."
In another moment they were at the entrance to the strange building, Alex silently pointing out the inevitable plaque on the door. He opened it, crouching to quickly scan inside, and then motioning them in.
Another lobby greeted them, not as large or imposing as the main building lobby, but just as empty and just as clean and well-kept. He noticed the walls were almost transparent from inside; he could see out quite clearly. Which meant Andrea and her bunch might have seen them coming. After a nod from Alex, Trip used his scanner again and crossed the room, into a short hallway, and led them to another door. Again, a quick scouting for danger, and they crowded through.
Eric moved in quickly, and then stopped after a few steps, Wes almost bumping into him. "What the hell..." he muttered.
It was a good recreation of a typical Bio-Lab laboratory, workbenches lining the walls, littered with equipment, parts, and tools. But this time, there was also something different. Several large glass cases stood around the middle of the room, each one curved, perhaps twelve feet end-to-end, on a metal or possibly plastic base about three feet high, the glass reaching maybe another three feet. They formed a broken circle, with enough space in between for two people to walk through. There were objects inside, neatly arranged, some with labels. And, shocking after the neatness and perfection of everything else they'd seen in this place, there was a large hole broken in the side of one glass case, leaving shards scattered, glittering, over the floor. For a moment, as a beam of light from outside angled through the air over it, he thought he could see a fine haze of dust.
Wes moved closer, stopping as Eric caught his arm. They waited as Alex and Trip cautiously circled, Trip keeping one eye on the cases and the other on his scanner. Finally he looked up. "I'm not finding any weapons or booby traps," he said.
"This must have been what Andrea was after," Alex said as they all came closer to the broken case. "With the way this place is kept up, this glass must have been broken recently."
"Look, there's another one of those plaques," Wes commented. He glanced around again, spotting more on the other cases, and one on a nearby workbench.
"And look at that," Lucas said. He was peering into another case.
It was a small tube of bright blue liquid, propped in a small stand. "The Venomark serum. Or looks like it," Katie said softly. "Wes?"
"My father kept some samples, and the formula. Promised not to continue research on it after I explained it had come from the future."
"Look at the other things. One of the cyclobot's blasters. A Silver Guardian blaster." Eric paused, his brows drawing together. "The Quantum Defender?"
"Just a replica," Trip said after another pass with the scanner.
"What about all these other things?" Jen asked, pausing in front of still another case.
Eric looked them over. A few were familiar, instruments Bio-Lab had developed, bottles containing a few of the more successful drugs it had sold. But many were not. Things Bio-Lab would work on in their future? He and Wes quickly named the objects they recognized. "But I don't know what Andrea could have taken from here," he finished.
Wes's thoughtful voice came from next to him. "Doesn't this whole setup look familiar to you? Remind you of something?"
Eric glanced at him, frowning. A thought had occurred to him some time ago, but it seemed so bizarre... "You mean the glass case. All those things inside."
"Yeah. The way they're on display."
"I agree," Alex said. "This is a museum exhibit."
"That's what it looks like," Jen said. "You think they've rebuilt Bio-Lab as a museum? The whole building?"
"You know, that could be it," Lucas said. "The plaques. Maybe they're some kind of labels."
"But..." Jen's eyes widened. "Those plaques are on all the buildings out there..."
"Oh, my God. The whole city is a museum?" Katie gasped.
"It's just a guess, Katie," Alex reminded them. "But it might explain some things. Like the mismatched buildings, from different times."
"Or not," Eric said. "If this is a museum, where are the tourists?"
"More important right now, what did Andrea take from here? We've got to find them."
They all turned to Trip, who was already using his scanner again. He turned towards another door on the other side of the 'laboratory'. "They're not far," he said quietly.
"Okay. Morph now." Alex raised his morpher, glancing at the others.
They all followed his example. Eric brought his to his face and said, "Quantum Power!" wishing, not for the first time, that he could morph a little more quietly. While Wes and the other Time Force Rangers had the annoying habit of yelling their favorite catch-phrase when they morphed, they didn't need to say anything.
As he walked through the door Trip had indicated Eric heard it, a silvery whisper of laughter, echoing inside his helmet and bringing him to a halt. A woman's voice, some subtle and sinister quality in it sending a shiver through him. He stopped, looked around, and saw the others reacting in the same way. All except one.
"Andrea!" Alex muttered, and started running in the direction they had been going.
"Alex, wait!" Jen called. She started after him. All of them followed, taking only a few seconds to arrive at another door. Alex charged through, Jen right behind him. With a curse, Eric followed. They all ran outside, into the warehouse area behind Bio-Lab, looking almost the same as he remembered. He stopped, looking around.
"Up there!" Lucas was pointing up.
Eric looked, and saw them. Five TF Eagles, almost identical to his own small, stubby, one-person flyer, but with lines of trim in each Quantum Ranger's color. They hung in the sky, rising slightly, then turned in formation and came at them.
"Look out!" It was Katie's voice. They all ducked, but the flyers didn't try to hit them. They swooped overhead and continued on, swiftly gaining altitude.
"TF Eagle!" He summoned his own flyer, seeing it appear and dart in to hang just above him, ready to take him in pursuit.
"Eric, wait! I've summoned our flyers from the ship, they'll be here in a few minutes!" Alex shouted as Eric leaped up to the wing.
"They'll be gone in a few minutes!"
"I'll go with you!" Wes cried.
"No, you'd be thrown off as soon as I have to maneuver! I'll call you, follow me as soon as you can!"
There was another protest, but he didn't have time to listen as he slid into the cockpit, closed its round, transparent top, and looked up for his targets. They were retreating, fast, towards the north. He lifted after them, was pressed back into the seat as the small flyer accelerated, and began to gain on them. For a couple of minutes as they raced away from the city, he had the satisfaction of thinking his flyer was faster than theirs. Until they split up, and circled back around him, and he realized they had planned this. They had led him on, and now he was trapped.
"There they are!" Wes shouted as six sleek one-person flyers appeared, swiftly reaching them, stopping, and lowering to the ground. He hardly even noticed that they were basically similar to the Eagle, but somewhat longer.
"Trip, you can locate them, take the lead," Alex ordered. "We've got to move fast."
"Just like Eric to take off on his own," Jen muttered as she started for the flyers.
It wasn't far from what Wes had been thinking, although the remark still annoyed him. But he forgot it seconds later, as they shot into the sky at dizzying speed, with Trip heading northwards, the others right behind.
They were all around him, and their flyers were fast, and their blasters were powerful. Eric dodged a shot, dived, flipped into a roll, and came out headed back in the direction of Bio-Lab. He knew when to retreat. At the moment he wished he had known when to wait for reinforcements. But he also knew when it was too late.
He fought back, firing at them, but their ships were too fast, a later design of course, faster than his Eagle. He only got a few hits as they looped around him, cutting him off when he tried to escape, then darting away. That laughter came over the morpher communicator again, faint and mocking.
Another blast reached for him, and hit, rocking the Eagle violently. The engine, normally almost silent, stuttered. He began to lose altitude, and tried to throw them off by diving again. No good. A little weaving saved him from another direct hit, but it clipped a wing; the little flyer was off-balance, straining, and they were firing again, with the ground coming up fast, so close he almost brushed the treetops.
He saw it coming, a red beam, right at him, tried to dodge again but the Eagle couldn't cooperate, felt it hit hard in a burst of burning energy all around him. And then -- in a warping, dazzling flash the Eagle was gone, back to whatever subspace pocket it came from; he was still morphed but falling, a flash of uncaring blue sky above, hard ground rushing at him from below, only a moment to cry out in terror before it hit him and he landed in darkness shot with red.
"I've lost them!" Trip's shout send a chill through Wes, although he had been half expecting it. They had pursued their quarry at top speed past the city limits, over forest and fields and the occasional building. Then Trip had slowed, and circled.
"Can't you get anything?" Alex asked over the morpher comm. system.
"No! It's like they just disappeared... Either they shielded their morphers from detection somehow, or they're fast enough to have gotten out of range."
"What about Eric's morpher?" Wes asked.
"Sorry, Wes, I can't pick it up, either."
"Eric!" Wes called into his morpher. He waited a beat, heart bumping as there was no answer. "Eric!" he shouted again, uselessly.
"Trip, circle in a search pattern, see if you can re-acquire them," Alex said. "The rest of us will spread out, make a visual search. If you find anything, don't take them on alone."
They acknowledged, and headed in different directions as Trip began to fly in a widening circle. Wes scanned the ground intently, looking for signs of destruction -- for the Eagle -- dreading the prospect of finding it crashed, eyes seeking a form in red... But if Eric was down, he might be demorphed, the Eagle would be gone. He dropped lower, concentrating on his task.
Eric -- so headstrong, so quick to act on his own. But that was part of his nature, part of what Wes loved, that self-reliance, the determination to do things his own way, even the defiance, anger, and occasional arrogance. But at this moment, he could wish that his partner was different, just this once. Now he might be paying the price for his independence.
They tried. They tried very hard, spending hours on the search. It was dark, the ground beneath him almost invisible even with the suit's sensors when the call came from Alex, his voice tired and not quite hiding a note of defeat.
"We'll have to suspend the search for the night. Meet back at Bio-Lab. We'll pick up our vectorcycles and return to the ship."
"But what about Eric?" Wes protested. "He's still out there somewhere!"
"I'm sorry, Wes, but we can't keep going all night. We're not going to find anything in the dark anyway."
"I'll stay out here. Keep looking."
"No, we'd be easy targets if we split up. We'll use the ship's scanners, there's a chance they can pick something up. And we'll try again in the morning."
"We -- we can't just leave him!"
"Wes, we have to." Jen's voice was gentle but decisive. "We've been over every inch of this countryside, everywhere he might be. We're not going to find him this way. There's just no choice."
No choice. Rationally, Wes knew she was right. But he still felt like a traitor as he turned to follow the others back towards the city.
TBC...
