It wasn’t fair. Wes eased past yet another pile of smoking rubble, trying in vain to spot a red suit in the ruins left by the explosion he had seen. But there was nothing, nothing but the bits and pieces of the city he loved. At least Doomtron seemed to have disappeared, as he looked up apprehensively. None of this was fair. Innocent people attacked, for something that had nothing to do with them. Just a madman’s delusions, bringing all of this about...
There was movement ahead. A group of cyclobots. They were running in a line, spreading out, raising their fists to attack a feebly moving form lying on the pavement. Wes morphed quickly, then revved his ‘cycle, sped forward as the robots turned towards him, welcoming the chance for a fight, anything to take out the anger he hadn’t even realized he was feeling.
He let the ‘cycle crash into them, kicking up and out to catch a cyclobot in the head, balancing for an instant on one arm before spinning through the air, a double kick driving two more of the enemy back, and then landing on his feet. A side kick, a quick yank on an arm, and he flipped another into its companions. He lashed out again, feeling the solid impact as he drove a fist into metal.
And then there were no more to fight, several cyclobots lying sparking on the ground, the remaining ones backing off, then running. Wes took a step to follow, but stopped as he heard his name called by the man on the ground. With a shock he realized the robots’ intended victim had been Alex, demorphed and back in the red shirt and jeans he had been wearing before, now dirty and ripped.
He ran to bend over his teammate, putting out a hand to help him up. Alex climbed to his feet slowly, bracing himself on Wes’s shoulder. “Thanks,” he said breathlessly.
“No problem. Let’s get out of here.”
“Fine with me.” But as soon as he took a step, Alex winced and almost fell again. “My leg...” he gasped.
Wes took another look, seeing the burns, the scratches on Alex’s face, a cut in his arm and a worse one under a tear in the leg of his jeans. “You won’t be able to walk far like that,” he said. “And I guess your morpher’s dead.”
“Right. I was caught in that explosion.”
“That’s what I figured. What happened to Doomtron and Q-Rex?”
“When I woke up, Doomtron was gone. Q-Rex was badly damaged; I ordered it to retreat and repair itself. Doomtron’s probably doing the same. I have a feeling it’ll be back.”
“Well, we’d better get you taken care of. Come on.” Wes righted his vectorcycle, seeing with relief that it was apparently undamaged. He mounted and took Alex’s arm, helping him get on behind him. “I guess we should go to Bio-Lab,” he said. “Find the others.”
“The clock tower first. The medical unit’s there. Did they get to Bio-Lab okay?”
“Yeah, they’re fine. Hang on.” Wes waited for Alex’s arms to close around his body -- reluctantly, he thought -- and started off carefully.
They found themselves in the middle of masses of rushing people, sensing the panic just under the surface of frantic activity. Bio-Lab employees were preparing for disaster, scientists locking up their research notes, shutting down experiments, Silver Guardians running by, office workers being evacuated. Jen looked around desperately, then hurried towards the sound of a familiar voice.
“Eric!” she called, seeing a red beret through the crowd. He heard her, his eyes finding her, and moved in her direction.
“What are you guys doing here?” he asked with typical abruptness. “Where’s Wes?”
“Alex stayed out there, fighting Doomtron, and sent us here to help you. Wes went back when we saw that explosion.”
“We don’t-”
“I know, I know, you don’t need our help. But we’re here now, and you’d be a fool not to accept the offer.” She confronted him, not backing down as he glared at her, breathing a small sigh of relief as a tiny smile crossed his face.
“Okay, I guess you’re right. What do you know about that thing?”
“We think Frax built it. And we think you’re Doomtron’s next target. Bio-Lab, and the Silver Guardians.”
“But why? Why us? Why Silver Hills in the first place?” Eric watched her hesitate. “There’s no time for your secrets now,” he said. “Tell me the truth.”
“Yes, tell him! He’s involved in all this,” a new voice came. They all turned to see a very unexpected sight, a young woman with bright pink hair, her arms in the grip of two Silver Guardians.
“Nadira?” Jen gasped.
“What’s she doing here?” Katie demanded.
“Who cares?” Eric snapped. “Arrest her. Make sure you remove all her gadgets before you lock her up.”
“No!” Nadira protested. “I have to talk to you! Please! I can help!”
Jen hesitated. Nadira was the enemy -- but she seemed frightened, almost terrified, desperate. Some instinct told her to listen. Eric was looking at her, obviously waiting for her to say something... Trip nudged her gently, and nodded...
“Let’s hear what she has to say,” she said.
The clock tower. It seemed so silent and dark now, with the power off, and empty with only the two of them. Wes helped Alex to the couch and went to get the medical unit. Alex connected it himself, despite trembling fingers, as Wes watched, and turned it on. Then they both sat and waited.
“Was it true, what you said about Bio-Lab being attacked?” Wes asked.
Alex’s head had slumped back against the backrest of the sofa. He answered in a drowsy mumble, his eyes shut, for a moment seeming almost unaware of what he was saying. “Bio-Lab... Yes, it’s true. Ransik’s been attacking you... and Frax... The Guardians...”
“Why? What do the Guardians have to do with it?”
Alex either didn’t hear, or ignored the question. “Thought I could stop Doomtron by myself... But now it could still happen...”
“What could happen?”
“Before I left, they told me. The last battle, the Rangers dead...”
“You mean... we’re all going to die?”
“Not all. If history plays out the same way... Jen, Lucas, Trip, and Katie will die. But the two of us will survive. Only the red and Quantum Rangers will be seen again.” Alex laughed bitterly. “Ironic. We don’t even like each other... But for some reason I’ll stay here, we’ll be a team... I guess it’s my destiny.” His face contracted into an expression of hopelessness. “And it’s Jen’s destiny, and the others... to die here...”
“But -- if you knew this -- why didn’t you do something? Send them away?”
“Send them where? Our time, their home, is gone. If I sent them to some other time, they’d only come back. And -- without them, there’s more chance that we’ll lose...” His eyes opened. “Can’t sacrifice billions of people -- even to save them...”
“No, they’re not going to die, not if I can help it.” Wes gave him a hard look. “You can give up if you want. But I don’t believe in your destiny. The future’s what we make of it.”
Alex’s blue eyes, only a shade darker than his, were watching him now. “I tried,” he said quietly. “I had to prevent it, couldn’t let them die... That’s why I came... But now I don’t know how to stop it... Jen...”
The helpless pain in Alex’s voice sent a pang through Wes’s heart. Almost unwillingly, he asked softly, “You really love her, don’t you?”
“Of course... so do you, I know...”
“Nothing -- nothing’s happened between us.”
“I know that, too. I watched you. Both of you. Can’t tell if she loves you too...” His voice was bitter, but not angry.
Wes shifted positions, uncomfortable. “She’s never done anything...”
“Couldn’t really blame her if she did. She thought I was dead. And then I showed up and treated her like...” He frowned. “I was cold to her. Kept her out. Should have told her the truth, let her help, should have known she was strong enough. I’ve been trying to make it up to her, but now... it may be too late.”
“I’m sure she still cares about you.”
“I don’t know.” He sighed. “Maybe you deserve her more than I do. Maybe you could make her happy, the way I can’t.”
“Alex...” He trailed off, not knowing what to say, unsure of what he was feeling. Deep sadness overwhelmed him for a moment. He loved Jen... but there was no way they could stay together. All this time, he’d avoided thinking about the future. The truth was, they had no future together, even if they both survived. She couldn’t stay in 2001, it would interfere with history. Equally, he couldn’t leave his own time. And no matter what he thought of Alex or the way he had acted, there was no question that he loved Jen, and they were engaged; no one had the right to come between them, no matter how much he wanted to. “Maybe you should be telling her all this, instead of me,” he said finally.
“If I get the chance...”
“Don’t talk. We both need to rest. This fight’s not over.”
“All right. Tell us exactly why we should trust you.” Jen stared at Nadira, trying not to see the image of Ransik. You can’t help who your parents are, she reminded herself. But Nadira had done her share of violent and contemptible things. Tried to kill Jen herself, right after they had arrived in this time. Had been involved in kidnapping those kids. All those robberies. But now... She glanced around at the others. Lucas and Katie met her eyes, Eric stared stonily, Trip nodded again.
“Maybe you shouldn’t. But please, at least listen.” Nadira surprised her with the steadiness of her gaze. She seemed to have calmed down, although her fingers still twisted together nervously. But now she raised her chin with determination.
“My father was attacked by Venomark years ago,” she started.
“We know,” Jen said. “And we know Frax destroyed his supply of serum. That’s why Conwing was trying to get more from Eric. Ransik was still sick from the venom, and you put him in cryogenic storage to save him.”
“Yes. I guess Conwing told you.” Nadira bent her head over her hands. “Do you know why Frax hates my daddy?”
“No.”
She hesitated, biting her lip, whether in fear or confusion, or perhaps shame, Jen couldn’t tell. Then she went on, her voice so low they had to strain to hear it. “Dr. Fericks.”
“What?”
“You remember Dr. Fericks. Louis Fericks, who discovered the Venomark serum. He found Daddy when he was bitten. Helped him. Saved his life. Daddy stole his designs for the cyclobots and knocked him out and set fire to his lab.”
“That figures,” Lucas said harshly. “We always thought one of the mutants he tried to help turned on him. Might have known it was your father.”
“I’m sorry!” There was a glint of reflected light from the tears in Nadira’s eyes as she faced him. “I know it was wrong! But my father was hated by humans all his life! Rejected, forced to live on the streets... He’s told me about the things humans did to him. Can you blame him for being angry?”
“I blame him for hating people who didn’t do anything to him! For attacking someone who was trying to help!”
“We don’t have time to argue about this,” Katie said forcefully. “Just go on.”
“All right.” Nadira’s eyes dropped again. “Daddy left Dr. Fericks there, in the fire. But he didn’t die. He was injured, really badly. He said -- he had to rebuild his body, in order to survive. So -- so he put his brain inside a robot.” She glanced around at all of them. “He’s Frax.” There was a moment of stunned silence, all of them staring, trying to understand what she had said. Finally she went on, not looking at them, sniffling slightly. “Frax joined the mutant underground years ago. He got Daddy to notice him, and -- and got to be one of his people. Even helped him escape from Time Force. But all the time, he was just waiting to get revenge. He waited until Daddy got sick again, and let Venomark loose, to -- to make him mad, I guess. Then he destroyed the serum.”
Jen asked tentatively, “But -- if Frax is human, why has he attacked us? Why is he doing this now?”
She got another frightened glance. “He came to the ship. The prison ship. Yesterday, before he attacked you. He said...” She paused, eyes filling with tears again. “He said he wants to finish the plan. To keep Time Force from existing. He figured out that then there’s going to be a terrible war...”
“We know,” Jen said. “A war that will destroy everything in our time. Because of your father.”
“I know! Frax wants it to happen. He said then there won’t be any more hatred or anything. Because there won’t be anyone alive to hate. And only the robots will be left.”
A knock on the door interrupted the brief silence that followed. They waited as Eric got up to open it, and saw Alan Collins’ face on the other side. The Guardian and his employer spoke a few quiet sentences before Eric turned back to them. “Excuse me,” he said. “Got something to take care of.” He shut the door behind him.
Nadira looked up again, her breath catching in a sob. “I don’t want that to happen, don’t want my daddy to cause the end of the world. And there’s still a chance.” She leaned forward, voice lowering. “He had Conwing kill that commander of the Silver Guardians... He said without him to lead them, they wouldn’t survive the attack he was planning. I ran all the projections...” Her eyes moved to the door Eric had disappeared through. “And I think he was wrong, he had the wrong commander.”
“You mean Eric?” Lucas demanded.
“Yes. He’s the one who’ll keep the Guardians going, so they can become Time Force. If we can stop the attack soon, everything can be all right again.”
“Assuming we believe you, how can you help?” Jen asked.
The pink-haired woman took a deep breath. “Maybe I can’t. But my father can.”
“Are those the Rangers? What are they doing here? Where’s Wes?”
Eric could see the anxiety in Collins’ face, and tried to look reassuring. “Yes, they’re the other Rangers,” he said. “They came here to give us a hand. Wes went back for the sixth one. Alex.”
“He’s out there? Alone?”
Eric sighed. “I don’t know. But Wes knows how to take care of himself. He’ll be okay.”
Collins stared at him, eyes narrowing. “I’m going to look for him,” he said abruptly.
“I’ll send a team of Guardians…”
“No. You need your men here, to protect Bio-Lab. I’ll do this myself.”
He started off, towards the door. Eric cursed softly and hurried after him, muttering, “Not without me, you’re not.”
“How do you feel?” Wes asked, watching Alex disconnect the last leads from the medical unit.
“Still weak. The treatment healed my wounds, but it can’t replace the blood I’ve lost.” Alex leaned his head back again, his face harsh in the dim light. “But it doesn’t matter. When Doomtron comes back, I’ll have to fight. The Q-Rex is the only weapon we have that has a chance against it.”
“I guess.” Wes eyed him uncertainly. Alex was pale, and looked completely exhausted. In no shape for a fight. “Meanwhile, you’d better get some rest.”
“No. We have to get to Bio-Lab. Find Jen and the others... And you want to make sure your father’s okay, don’t you?”
“I guess you’re right.” Wes stood.
Alex got up more slowly. “Bring the Timeflyers,” he said.
As Wes retrieved the case that held their flyers in miniaturized form, Alex headed for the stairs going down and stood for a moment, seeming to gather his strength. When they started down, Wes took his arm as unobtrusively as he could. Alex gave him a sharp look, but accepted the help.
“What?” Jen exclaimed. “You really expect us to give your father the serum? Revive him? He started this whole thing. Why should he help us now?”
“He didn’t know what would happen! He doesn’t want a war, not like that! I’ll tell him, explain to him…”
“He won’t believe you.”
Nadira met Jen’s eyes. “I have the proof, it’s all there, in the prison ship. His own research, his own simulation programs. He’ll have to believe it.” She smiled bitterly. “Anyway, you have no choice. Even if the Q-Rex can defeat Doomtron, the cyclobots will still do enough damage to destroy Silver Hills. My father’s the only one who can stop them. I don’t think Frax has had time to change the programming that makes them obey him.” She looked at each of them. “He’ll be weak when you bring him out of the container, you can -- can handcuff him, or tie him up, or whatever you want. And if he won’t listen, I’ll put him back in the cryogenic unit myself.”
“Well -- what do you think?” Jen asked, with a glance at the others.
“I don’t like it. Not sure I trust her. But she’s right, we don’t have much choice,” Lucas said, arms crossed, a frown on his face.
“She knew about the war… She must have really found out the truth. I believe her,” Katie said, earning a smile from Nadira.
That left Trip, the most important opinion, from the only psychic member of the team. “I think we can trust her,” he said, his eyes on the pink-haired mutant. “Nadira’s telling the truth. And -- I have a good feeling about Ransik too. It won’t be easy to convince him, but I think we can do it.”
“All right.” Jen thought for a moment. “Katie, you and Lucas come with me and Nadira to the prison ship. Trip, you go to Alex’s timeship. Get the video record he said he has of the time wave, and a tube of the serum, and meet us.” She stood up and looked down at Nadira. “I hope you’re telling the truth. Because if you’re not, you’ve just condemned the whole world to death.”