Eric stood in a soldier’s at ease position beside the desk. Not for the first time, he wondered why Mr. Collins kept his office so dark, and so empty of everything except the minimum necessary furniture. Maybe he disliked the obvious display of luxury. But from what Eric had heard, the Collins home was luxurious indeed.

They were waiting for Dr. Michael Zaskin. Eric had a peculiar feeling about this meeting with Collins and Bio-Lab’s chief scientist. Something was up, something he had a feeling he wouldn’t like. He sighed imperceptibly, his impatience and unease under tight control. Then he glanced quickly at the door as it opened and Dr. Zaskin walked in.

Collins looked up. “Good morning, Michael. How are you?”

“Just fine. What’s this about?”

“I’ve decided to resume the research on the Quantum morpher. The recent attacks on us make it more important than ever that we bring our weaponry up to the Rangers’ level. I want you to resume studying the anti-venom serum at the same time.”

“Most of our records were destroyed in Ransik’s attack. We’ll have to duplicate our previous work.”

“I know. Do the best you can.” Collins turned to Eric. “I asked you here since you’re involved in this too. Any comments?”

“No, sir.”

“Then I’ll let you both get back to work.”

Eric saluted and left quickly. He had comments… but none that Collins wanted to hear, or that Eric wanted to give him. There was a better person for that. The only right person to talk to Collins and, maybe, change his mind.

Borrowing a Guardian car, he left the Bio-Lab grounds and headed downtown. He was still wondering if he was doing the right thing when he parked in front of the old clock tower where the other Rangers made their home and headquarters.

Eric hesitated in front of the Nick of Time Odd Jobs shop door. While his relationship with the other Rangers -- especially Wes -- had improved, he was still unsure of his welcome. And he had an uneasy feeling that Mr. Collins would see this as a betrayal. With a mental shrug, he opened the door.

Inside, he saw Jen behind a counter, with Wes standing on the other side, the two leaning close to each other in conversation. Eric noticed that their attitude seemed more than just friendly, and filed the observation away for future reference. They straightened up as he entered, looking astonished to see him there. Wes’s face expressed surprise and concern, Jen’s also showed suspicion.

Wes stepped forward. “Eric? What’s up?” he asked.

“I thought you should know -- your father’s starting research on the Quantum morpher again. And on the serum.”

“I thought he’d given them up!” Jen said.

“He hasn’t. I could refuse to let them use the morpher. But I’d rather not have to. And there’s nothing I can do about the serum,” Eric continued. He looked at Wes. “I think you should have a talk with your father.”

“I’ve already asked him to stop research on the serum. What else can I do?”

“Try telling him the truth. He’s not as unreasonable as you think. He’ll listen to you.” Wes frowned but he nodded slowly. After a moment Eric said, “Well... see ya.”

As he started for the door Wes’s voice called him back. “Eric? Thanks for the information.” Eric nodded and gave them the hint of a smile before leaving.

It was the next day when Wes walked into his father’s office. He had been careful to do things the right way, making an appointment and showing up exactly on time. Collins stepped out from behind the desk to greet him with a handshake and a smile.

“Wesley, how are you? How are your friends?” he asked.

“Fine. How are you? You look great.” Wes knew his father had only been back at work for about six weeks. After his injury when Bio-Lab was attacked, his doctors had insisted that he take a month off to rest. Surprisingly, he had done it. Wes had continued to fill in for him part-time. The Rangers had not been busy; Ransik, Frax, and Nadira seemed to have taken some time off as well.

“I feel great,” Collins answered. He settled back into his chair. “What did you want to see me about?”

“It’s about your research on the Quantum morpher, and the serum. I know you’re planning to start on them again.” Wes paused as his father looked at him, his smile fading. “I told you a while ago that there would be bad consequences if you researched the serum. The same thing is true with the morpher.”

“Wes, no… I can’t just give them up when you won’t tell me why.”

“I should have told you this a long time ago.” Wes took a deep breath. Collins looked slightly apprehensive. “My friends are from the future.”

“What? What do you mean, the future?”

“They’re from the year 2200. Ransik is too. He’s a criminal who escaped through time and came here. My friends came to bring him back, and to prevent him from changing history. The morpher and the serum both came from the future. Those technologies shouldn’t exist in this time.” He stopped, watching his father’s face.

“Are you sure? It sounds… crazy.”

“Of course I’m sure, Dad. Think about it. How else can you explain what’s been going on?”

“It kind of makes sense…” Collins said slowly. “We always wondered how the morpher could be so advanced.”

“Will you give it up?”

“I don’t know, Wes,” Collins said. “You’ve really dropped a bomb on me. I don’t want to make a decision right away. But… I’ll think about it.”

“All right,” Wes said reluctantly. “I have to get back. I guess I’ll see you later.”

Collins frowned at his son’s back as he left.

“Frax, my old friend. Back in the robot-making business.” It had taken months of searching and absorbed most of Ransik’s time, energy, and cyclobots; but at last he had found what he was looking for. Nadira looked at her father almost fearfully as he strode into the abandoned warehouse Frax had been using as a base of operations.

“Daddy -- remember Frax was human once. Please don’t hurt him,” she pleaded. Ransik only gave her an angry glare and walked away from her.

Swarms of cyclobots had preceded them into the warehouse, overwhelming Frax and his cyclobot servants. Now they surrounded him, holding him helpless. Ransik walked slowly around him.

“Ransik, please. Don’t destroy me. Remember how well I served you!” Frax said, his mechanical voice holding a surprising amount of emotion.

“You only served me in order to betray me. You’re as treacherous as a human and as useless as a robot,” Ransik answered. He turned away from Frax to survey the interior of the warehouse. A large form loomed against the back wall. Ransik approached it.

“Another battlewagon, like your Dragon flyer?” he asked.

“Yes, Ransik. The Rangers may have destroyed the first one, but this one is stronger. They’ll never defeat it,” Frax answered, pride in his creation momentarily overcoming fear.

Ransik took another long look. “You’ve outdone yourself this time, Frax. With this weapon I’m going to finish this, once and for all. And you will serve me for the last time.”

Frax saw the expression on his face. “No, Ransik! Please!” he howled pathetically as the cyclobots dragged him toward the door. Nadira watched him with pity and horror. Looking at Ransik, she saw clearly the hate and cruelty on her father’s face. With a sob, she turned her back.

“You wanted to see me, sir?” Eric stood stiffly before Mr. Collins’ desk. He was nervous and trying not to show it. He had a good idea what this was about.

“Did you know the other Rangers are from the future?” Collins asked.

“Yes.” Eric’s eyes dropped.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It wasn’t my secret to give away. I only found out by accident. And… I agreed with their reasons for keeping it quiet. They’re concerned about interfering with this time.”

“And did you tell Wesley we’re starting the research again?”

“Yes, sir.”

Collins leaned back in his chair and stared at Eric coldly. “I never suspected you of having divided loyalties.”

Eric shifted in discomfort. “I’m as loyal to Bio-Lab as it’s possible for me to be. But I had to do what I thought was right. If it makes any difference, I asked Wes to tell you the truth.”

Collins continued to stare for a moment and then sat up again and sighed. “Well. You were in an awkward position. I wish you -- and Wes -- had trusted me sooner, but I respect your decision.” He got up to walk around the desk. “What do you think I should do about the morpher and the serum?”

“Like I said, I agree with the Rangers. I think letting their technology loose in this time could be dangerous. And they’re trying to keep their history from being changed. I think you should give up the research.”

Collins leaned against the desk and looked at him. “Get Zaskin for me. I have another job for him.”

Jen wandered the streets near the clock tower, her thoughts leading her aimlessly on. So much had happened in the time they had been here. Becoming Power Rangers. Wes. Eric. The battles. Capturing Steelix, Brickneck, and Conwing. But their main enemy still eluded them. She had begun to despair of ever ending this mission. And now Bio-Lab was starting their research again. They were jeopardizing the timestream every minute they stayed. Even if they left today, a great deal of damage had been done.

Their time had become something ugly. A world she didn’t really want to go back to. Something that had made a bitter, unhappy stranger out of the man she had loved. She had been so happy to see Alex alive again, only to find out that the Alex she had known was gone forever.

Could I ever love this Alex? Perhaps. He was after all the same person, he had just lived a different life. But whenever she thought of him, another face took his place -- the same face -- but with lighter hair and eyes, and a more ready smile.

She couldn’t remember exactly when Wes had become more than a teammate and friend. But she had to face the fact that he had. Even if ‘her’ Alex somehow came back, she would still love Wes. But there was no way they could be together. They belonged to different times, they should never even have met.

They had to find Ransik, Frax, and Nadira, and end this soon. The longer they stayed, the more chance something would go wrong. And the harder it would be to say goodbye.

As quietly as she could, Nadira crept into the confinement area of the prison ship. It was equipped with several cells, for the transportation of prisoners who were not in cryogenic suspension. Only one of the cells was occupied now. She saw the golden gleam of Frax’s metallic form inside.

Nadira grasped the bars of the cell. “Frax!” she said softly. “I need to talk to you.”

“Nadira. If you’ve come to gloat, I’m not interested.”

“I’m not here for revenge. I need to ask you something,” she said. “Why do mutants and humans hate each other so much? Why does my father do these things?”

“Ah, hatred,” Frax sighed. “That’s a subject I know very well. Humans rejected and persecuted your father, and taught him to hate. He destroyed my humanity, and I was consumed by hatred as well. It’s a vicious cycle that never ends! But I was so obsessed by revenge I was ready to destroy all of them, humans and mutants, so there would be no one left to hate anymore.”

“What do you mean?”

“I have studied the historical records and done projections of the probable outcomes of our actions here. If Bio-Lab is destroyed and Time Force never exists -- your father is right that mutants will become as powerful as humans. But what he doesn’t realize is that this will cause a long, bitter, and destructive war. More destructive than any war before it. Both sides will lose, when the weapons they unleash will destroy most of the Earth’s population. It will be -- the Apocalypse.” He sighed again. “And I did my best to bring it about. Now Ransik will finish what I started, in the name of hatred.”

Nadira was too horrified to speak for a moment. “I’ll stop him. I don’t hate humans, not like that.”

Frax’s voice became bitter again. “You can’t fool me. You’re an evil mutant, with a heart as black as coal, just like your father. That’s all you’ll ever be. Now -- get out of my sight!”

Nadira stepped back, tears starting to come to her eyes. She turned as a group of cyclobots marched in, and opened the cell door. “Don’t hurt him!” she cried as they forcibly restrained him and dragged him out.

As he was forced past her, Nadira said softly, “I’m sorry for what my father did to you, Dr. Fericks.”

Frax must have felt the sincerity in her voice. “There’s hope for you, Nadira,” he said. “Don’t give in to hatred. You can break the cycle. Don’t give up!”

“I won’t,” she promised as they pulled him from the room.

Wes was sitting at a small table at the back of the Nick of Time office, working on an antique clock. It was always a challenge trying to repair things, especially since he had never been very mechanically inclined. But spending time with Trip had taught him a lot. He put a part into place, saw that it fit with the rest and smiled with satisfaction.

There was a light knock on the open door and Wes looked up to see Eric standing in the doorway holding a large carrying case. He got up to greet him with a cheerful “Hey.”

“Your father asked me to give you this.” Eric handed Wes the case and watched as he opened it. Inside were stacks of papers, laboratory notebooks, and some computer disks and tapes. Wes examined them briefly and looked up.

“He’s not going to continue the research. Those are all the records we have on the morpher and the serum.”

Wes smiled happily. Eric nodded with a faint smile and turned back to the door.

“Eric -- would you like to hang around for while? Maybe come upstairs, see the rest of our equipment?”

Eric looked back at him and seemed to consider the invitation for a moment. “I don’t think the others would appreciate my company,” he said finally.

“Why don’t you give it a try and find out? Give them a chance to get to know you.”

“I have to get back to work. Maybe some other time.” There was a flicker of regret -- and maybe shyness -- in Eric’s face.

“Okay. Some other time.”

A few minutes later Wes walked into the main clock tower room with a big smile. The others were relaxing, watching television or reading. Wes sat down in one of the chairs, facing Jen.

“My dad’s giving up his research. Eric brought Bio-Lab’s records over,” he said proudly, setting down the case.

Jen sat up and started looking through the case’s contents. “On both the serum and the morpher?”

“Yeah. He listened to me. It feels great.”

Jen smiled. “That’s wonderful, Wes. It’s a big relief for us. And I’m glad things have worked out for you and your father.”

“Thanks,” Wes said. “Eric’s attitude has changed a lot too.”

“He’s still not exactly friendly. But he’s certainly helped us.”

The others had been listening. “I always thought Eric would turn out all right,” Trip put in. “And I’m really happy about your dad too.”

Katie spoke up. “Seems like everything’s turning out well. It’s been so quiet lately, I feel like we’re on vacation.”

“I don’t know,” Lucas said. “It’s not like Ransik to stay quiet this long. I keep wondering what he’s up to. And Frax is still out there, remember.”

“I’d like to know what’s up with Nadira too,” Wes said. “She hasn’t knocked over a store in months.”

“What do you think, Trip?” Jen asked. They all turned to their green-haired resident psychic.

“I think this is... like the calm before a big storm....” he said. Quickly looking around at them he went on, “Sorry. I don’t want to scare you. But I feel like something really bad is coming soon.”

They exchanged concerned glances in silence before Jen spoke. “Whatever it is, I’m sure we can handle it... together.”