They were lined up, the four of them, Wes, Lucas, Trip, and Katie. Alex paced back and forth, glaring. Jen stood behind him, watching them all becoming angrier by the second. She had arrived at the clock tower with Alex to find the others already there. Brushing aside their relieved greetings, Alex had immediately demanded a report. Lucas had just finished telling him about their disastrous fight with Conwing.

“And you think Commander Porter is dead?” he snapped.

“He took a direct hit at close range, from that blast rifle Conwing had. Trip’s scanner said he was dying.”

Alex took another few steps past them, eyes smoldering with fury. “Conwing killed a man. A man who might be important to history. And you let him.”

“We didn’t let him,” Lucas retorted.

“But you didn’t stop him.”

“Conwing’s tough. And he had all those cyclobots...” Katie said.

“Of course Conwing’s tough! All of them are tough! Is that the excuse you’re going to use if Ransik succeeds, and our timeline is wiped out? That they’re tough?”

“We did our best!” Lucas said, his eyes narrowing. “We couldn’t stop him, and no one regrets it more than we do!”

“Alex, please,” Jen murmured. “They already feel bad enough.”

“I suppose,” Alex growled, his face still hard. “There were only four of you, and one is an untrained civilian.” Jen saw Wes stiffen in anger, but he said nothing. “That’s probably why Ransik sent Brickneck into the past at the same time. To split us up. And it worked.”

Jen faced him resolutely. “It’s my fault for insisting on coming with you, Alex. I take full responsibility for my team’s actions.”

Alex looked at her bleakly. “No. They’re my team now. I’m responsible for this failure. Responsible for everything’s that’s happened today, and everything we do from now on.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m the senior officer here now, Jen. I’m in charge.”

She stared in surprise, starting to feel the beginnings of anger herself. But this wasn’t the time for an argument, not in front of the others. And of course, he was right, at least technically -- but he didn’t know the situation the way she did... She swallowed, blanked her face, and said only, “Yes, sir,” as she stepped into line with the rest of them.

Alex walked past again, looking thoughtful this time. “We can’t afford this kind of mistake. Ransik’s killed the commander of the Guardians... That may have been what he was after all along...”

“What does Porter have to do with Ransik or Conwing?” Jen asked stiffly.

“Maybe nothing.” Alex glanced at her, and then away. “The Guardians are involved with all this. They’re important, but that’s all I can tell you. I think we should make every effort to work with them, and to make sure no one else gets killed.”

“Can’t argue with that!” Trip said brightly, obviously trying to lighten the mood.

Lucas cleared his throat, looking acutely uncomfortable. “I’m afraid there’s something else.”

“Well?”

“One of the Guardians saw Wes demorph.”

Another cold and angry glare. Jen cursed inwardly. A serious complication, just at the wrong time. If their identities became public knowledge...

“Do you think he recognized you?” Alex asked Wes.

“Definitely. We know each other.”

“Damn. Do you think he’ll tell anyone?”

Wes hesitated. “I don’t know.”

“Damn,” Alex repeated. “We’ll have to talk to him. Try to persuade him to keep his mouth shut. If Ransik knows where to find us, we’re in trouble. And we don’t want the people of this time watching us too closely. This could ruin everything.” He gave Wes another angry glance.

“It wasn’t my fault!” Wes protested. “If the suit hadn’t given out, it wouldn’t have happened!”

“The damn suit gave out because you don’t know how to use it!”

“I’ve been doing okay! We all have, until you showed up!”

“Alex! Wes! Both of you, stop this! We’re supposed to be on the same side!” Jen watched as they glared at each other, those two faces, so identical, yet so profoundly different. With a deep breath, she went on. “We’re all upset about what happened, but fighting each other won’t help.”

Finally, Alex stepped back. “What’s done is done,” he said flatly. “I suppose there’s no point in arguing about who’s to blame, if anyone. But we must do better. We can’t let Ransik and his crew kill anyone else. I’m sure we can all agree on that.” There were murmurs of assent, even Wes nodding shortly and dropping his eyes to the floor.

“What happened to you two?” Trip asked. “Did you get the Q-Rex?”

“Yes.” Alex pulled a small cylindrical container from a pocket of his uniform. “And we captured Brickneck...”

Jen listened, only half paying attention, as they sat down and Alex told their story, ending with how they had found Brickneck badly wounded inside his wrecked flyer, and had stored him in a cryogenic containment unit. When they got him back to their own time, with modern medical treatment he’d probably survive -- not that she could bring herself to care very much -- then she looked up again as Trip asked another question.

“What’s happening at home? Are there any changes in history?”

Alex stared at him, his face unrevealing. “There were indications of change. Ransik has already affected history. Our reality could -- could be affected...” He paused, that hint of pain crossing his face again.

“Alex, what is it?” Jen asked.

His eyes moved to her face. “All I can tell you is that we must defeat Ransik. Reverse the changes he’s made in this time, prevent him from doing more. We can’t even think about failure. This mission is more important than us. More important than our lives. Nothing -- nothing -- must stop us.”

“What aren’t you telling us?” Jen asked, suddenly frightened.

His eyes held hers for a moment. Then he turned away. “Nothing,” he muttered. “There’s nothing more I can say that would help.”

There was silence for a few seconds. Trip was the first to break it. “I’ll get back to work,” he said, getting to his feet. “See if I can improve our scanner range, and get the communicator working.”

“I’ll check the historical record again and see if I can find anything useful,” Lucas murmured.

“I’ll help you.” Katie got up and followed him.

“I’ll find Eric. Get him not to tell anyone about us,” Wes said. He headed for the stairs, casting a quick glance back before disappearing.

Jen stayed where she was, watching as Alex got up and went to the window, then joining him there. They both looked out into fading sunlight, the shadows of late afternoon starting to stretch across the city spread below them. For a few moments she simply looked, seeing his face in profile, the tension that hadn’t been there before. The unfamiliar lines of strain.

“Silver Hills. Silver City, in a hundred more years,” he said, almost seeming to be talking to himself. “It’s beautiful.”

“Yes, it is.”

“All those people. Living their lives, never suspecting what’s really going on.” His mouth tightened. “They’re all in danger. We have to protect them. Somehow.”

“Alex, are you all right?” she asked softly.

He turned his head to look at her. “I’m fine. Fully recovered.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I know.” He stared out again. “Yes, I almost died. Yes, it’s affected me. Yes, I’m not acting the way I should. The way you expect.”

“I understand.”

“I love you, Jen.” The words were very soft.

“I love you, too. We’ll get through this.”

“I hope so.” His voice was so sad it almost brought tears to her eyes.

Jen paused, taking a deep breath as she watched him for a few moments, and then decided to say what was on her mind. “Alex, I think I should stay in command.” She hurried on as his eyes turned to look at her again. “We’ve established a team here. We work together smoothly. Lucas, Trip, and Katie don’t know you very well, and Wes… Wes doesn’t know you at all.”

“I’m the senior officer here. It’s standard procedure.”

“I know. But this isn’t a standard situation.”

“Lucas, Trip, and Katie are trained officers. They’ll adjust.”

“What about Wes?”

She saw his eyes flicker and narrow. “What about him? He’s a civilian. Shouldn’t even be here, in my opinion.”

A spark of anger flared in Jen, surprising her. “We wouldn’t be here if not for Wes. He’s helped us… he’s risking his life to help us do our job! He deserves to be treated just like the rest of us.”

“He’s not one of us, Jen. Don’t forget that.” He went on, his voice lowered. “None of us can afford to get involved with a native of this time…”

“I’m not involved with him.”

There was a pause, as Alex’s eyes locked on her. “Aren’t you? You seem very concerned about him.”

“He’s my teammate. And I’m grateful for what he’s done for us. That’s all.” She drew herself up. “I know the rules, Alex.”

“I’m sure you do. But sometimes rules are hard to stick to, especially when the situation isn’t standard.” He paused, seemed to move away from her, just slightly, his face cold. “I’m keeping command. This mission must succeed. We need discipline, especially with an untrained civilian on board. And I’ll make sure we have it.”

Angry, frustrated, and disappointed, she gave him a look just as hard as his. “If that’s the way you want it. Sir.”

Bio-Lab. Wes glanced around nervously as he stood in the lobby of the building where he had worked until so recently, where he had fully expected to work for the rest of his life. The company everyone had expected him to take over someday. It was largely because of Jen and the others that he had realized how empty that future had really been for him.

He wondered for a moment what his life might have been like if they had never shown up, or if they had never come to him for help. If Jen hadn’t knocked on his father’s door, hadn’t asked him to put on the red morpher. He hadn’t believed her, of course. Who would, that crazy story about mutants and time travel… he had laughed at her at the time, but he had been intrigued enough -- and attracted to her enough -- to follow her, only to find out the hard way that it was all true.

All because of his resemblance to Alex, the resemblance that meant they were probably related, that Alex might even be his descendant. He glanced down at the morpher on his wrist, mute evidence of the genetic bond between him and that dark-haired stranger with his face. It sent a chill through him.

But he was wasting time. With a deep breath Wes took another look around before heading back outside, and around the building to the training area in back where the receptionist had told him he would find Eric. It took a little searching, but finally he spotted him.

Eric was dressed in old and beat-up looking sweats, working out with a body-sized punching bag, pounding it with a series of punches and kicks. His face was harsh, determined, almost angry, as if the bag were a living opponent. Wes stopped to watch with a sense of déjà vu, remembering seeing him doing exactly the same thing in school, many times. Eric had always been like this, determined, focused, bent on being the best at everything he tried. Obsessed with winning. Especially at martial arts; he had been the best in the school, better even than Wes.

What had happened to the friendship they had shared so briefly, back in school? Wes had liked him and tried to get closer, but somehow it had fallen apart. Looking back, Wes realized it had basically been because of the differences between them, in temperament, in background, in wealth. While Wes had found him all the more interesting because of them, Eric had only found reasons for resentment. By the time Eric had suddenly dropped out of school, their relationship had gone cold.

And now they had been thrown together again, and Wes already had the feeling things weren’t going to be any friendlier this time. He moved a little closer, hesitant to interrupt, waiting for Eric to notice him.

Minutes passed with Eric pounding the bag even harder, before abruptly turning and taking a few steps closer. “What are you doing here?” he demanded.

“We need to talk.”

“Yeah. I figured you’d show up sooner or later.” Eric pulled off his gloves, picked up a towel and wiped his face, then glanced at Wes again. “Okay. Come on.” He led them several yards away, among piles of weaponry and equipment, still in sight of the other men working out and practicing, but out of earshot. Then he turned, arms crossed, and stared at Wes stonily.

Ignoring his conviction that the conversation was already going wrong, Wes plunged in. “You know I’m the red Ranger.” Seeing no reaction, he went on. “Eric, we need you to keep quiet about it. If Ransik finds out who we are, we could be in danger.”

“That mutant we were fighting saw your face. Seems to me the secret’s out.”

“Ransik and his mutants know what we look like, but they don’t know who we are. Where we live. If they find out, they could attack us at home, or catch us unmorphed.”

“They’re bound to find out eventually.”

“Maybe. Hopefully we’ll capture them first.”

“The other Rangers are those people I saw you with, aren’t they?”

Wes hesitated, but there seemed to be no point in denying it. “Yeah.”

“Who are they? Where did they come from? Where did those mutants come from?”

Wes frowned. “Does it matter? They’re here. The mutants are a danger to everyone in Silver Hills. My friends and I are trying to stop them. We’re on the same side, Eric. Don’t let us down.”

Eric’s eyes narrowed. “So you’re the good guys and I’m supposed to just trust you. A bunch of strangers who showed up out of nowhere with all kinds of advanced weaponry, and who have some kind of connection to those mutants. I don’t think so.”

“They’re my friends, and you know me.”

“Do I? You’re a rich kid I knew in school, ten years ago. How the hell do I know I can trust you now?”

“You know we’ve been fighting Ransik for months!” Wes glared, beginning to be angry. “The only reason you saw me demorph was because I saved your life!”

“But you didn’t save Commander Porter. Some big heroes you are!”

Wes bit back both resentment and guilt. “I know. There was nothing we could do. I tried. You saw that.”

Eric’s face was still cold. “What does your father say about it?” he asked.

“My dad doesn’t know.” Wes stopped, realizing he had made a mistake as a sudden gleam of interest showed in Eric’s eyes. “My father doesn’t know,” he repeated. “If he did, he might try to stop me, or -- I don’t know what he’d do. Look, you owe me for saving your life. So don’t tell anyone.”

“I don’t take orders from you.”

“All right, fine. I’m asking. Please. Don’t tell.”

Eric gave him a last long stare, his face revealing nothing. Finally his mouth curved in what was more a sneer than a smile, and he turned back towards the exercise area.

“Eric? What are you going to do?” Wes called.

He turned only halfway, his dark eyes flickering coldly, his lip curling again. “You’ll find out.”