(A.N. Here we are, chapter 6. Really not the biggest fan of Eric at the moment, let's face it, right now he's kinda being a jerk, but I know he has some redeeming moments later on so we'll wait until then. Watching Jen look after Wes was such a cute moment and I can only imagine what was going through her mind at that moment. And as much as I hate to say it, credit where credit is due, Brickneck's quip about being too tough for the power rangers was iconic: 'no one's too tough for the power rangers.' 'Then let me introduce myself, I'm no-one and I'm too tough for the power rangers.' Admittedly one of the best villain quips of the franchise. Anyway, here's the next chapter of It's Time For Time Force, I hope you enjoy and feel free to let me know what you think :) )
The Quantum Quest
Once they got back to the clock tower after their battle with Brickneck, Lucas and Trip helped to keep him sitting upright while Jen bandaged his chest. As soon as she'd finished, they laid him down and Jen offered to finish the rest. They were a little confused but went off to do their own things. She pulled the blanket up to his waist before she went to get a cool washcloth for his forehead. When she returned, she felt a hand rest on her shoulder and looked up at Katie, who gazed at her with concern. "I'm just returning the favour, he was there for me after I fought Ransik, it's only right that I look after him now."
Katie only smiled at her in response, squeezing her shoulder before she left them alone. Jen's hand fell to rest on his stomach as she looked down at him, her eyes tracing over all the cuts and burns on his face. She pushed the hair back from his forehead – knots forming in her stomach – as she leaned down to kiss his forehead. She didn't give herself time to think as she let her lips rest against his clammy skin for a few seconds before she pulled back to look at him once more. He'd had a rough go these last few battles, Univolt and Brickneck really did a number on him. Her gaze fell on the cut across the centre of his forehead and covered it with a bandaid. She reached for the washcloth she'd grabbed earlier and rubbed it over his forehead, avoiding the plaster she'd just placed.
As she continued the action, she felt the rangers join her once more and they all found themselves looking down at their friend. Trip was the first to speak. "Is he gonna be ok?"
Jen continued her action but looked across at the green ranger, stressing. "He was hit pretty hard but he'll be fine."
Her gaze returned to Wes – her focus almost entirely on him and the washcloth – but she still recognised as Katie said. "We've got to find that control box before it falls into the wrong hands."
"How did it get here anyway?" Trip asked, to which Circuit answered.
"When Time Force first started experimenting with time travel, they sent the quantasaurus megazord and the quantum controller back in time. But something went wrong, the controller and the megazord got separated and were both lost somewhere in time."
"So whoever finds the control box," Lucas concluded. "Will control the quantasaurus."
"That's why we have to find the box first," Jen said as her gaze fell back on Wes.
"My sensors detect a mutant at the storage depot."
Her eyes widened. "The control box." And with that, they raced off to battle the mutant and to find the quantum controller.
Of all the things that could've happened in the battle with Brickneck, Eric gaining the quantum powers and becoming the quantum ranger was probably one of the last things they would've predicted. After Eric had left the rooftop, the rangers powered down and began making their way back home. Letting the others walk ahead, Wes grabbed Jen's hand, turning her towards him. "I wanted to thank you for what you did today, for fixing me up and everything, you didn't have to do that?"
She barely managed to hide her surprise as she asked. "How did you know it was me?"
He chuckled. "I know I wasn't fully with it but I could tell and considering you haven't denied it yet means I'm right."
"Yeah, well, you looked after me when I took on Ransik, it was only right for me to offer you the same this time."
He looked at her cautiously as he asked. "Who told you that?"
His question was met with an eye roll. "You were asleep beside me when I woke up and you were holding my hand, it doesn't really take a genius to figure it out." She smiled as she noticed the blush on his cheeks before she added. "And a few extra details from Katie always helps."
"Katie," he shook his head incredulously. "Of course."
She placed her hand on his wrist, squeezing gently as she nodded her head in the direction that the rangers had walked in. "Come on, we better catch up to the others."
Once they found themselves back at the clock tower, they sat around the table, reflecting on the battle that had taken place. No one wanted to start the conversation, that much was obvious, but it didn't take long until the silence got to him so Lucas finally said. "So Eric has the quantum ranger powers."
They all nodded and Trip turned to Jen, asking. "So what does that mean for us?"
"I honestly don't know." She turned her attention to Wes. "You know Eric, what would he want with the quantum powers? Would he fight alongside us?"
The red ranger shook his head with a sigh, "I wish I could tell you... Eric is complicated, he's always been a bit of a question mark. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get passed the cold exterior, he never wanted anything to do with me. He disappeared for a long time and now that he's come back, it's even harder to get through to him than it was before." He shook his head as he admitted. "I don't even know what I did wrong to make him hate me."
"I don't think you did anything, Wes." She said as she placed her hand on his back before Katie added.
"And if you did, we all know you wouldn't have meant to."
He nodded but looked down, a crease forming between his brows. "I just don't understand what he wants with the quantum powers."
Lucas frowned as he asked. "You don't think he'd start working with Ransik, do you?"
The red ranger shook his head. "I don't think so, he wouldn't be fighting so hard with the Silver Guardians if was going to join Ransik."
"And besides," Jen added. "If he was going to build trust with a team he was going to betray, he'd be working with us. He'd be trying to get us on side not out of the way."
"So what does he want with the powers? Are we in trouble now that he has the quantum morpher?"
The pink ranger wanted to lie, she wanted to take a page out of Wes's book and try to be optimistic, but she was honest as she said. "I guess the only thing we can do is wait and see."
