Wes trotted up the clock tower stairs, trying to be quiet in case his new friends were still sleeping. As he walked into the main room he saw that his caution had been unnecessary. Katie was working on more cleaning, Trip was at the picnic table bent over his equipment, and Lucas was in front of a mirror combing his hair with intense concentration. Katie and Trip looked up and smiled.

“Hey, guys. Glad I didn’t wake you up,” Wes said.

“Are you kidding?” Trip said cheerfully. “It’s nine o’clock already. We’ve been up for hours.”

Wes looked around. “Where’s Jen?”

“Out jogging. She likes to work out in the morning,” Lucas answered.

“How’s it going here?”

“Great. We’re settling in,” Katie said with a smile.

Wes saw a weapon that looked like a large, thick rifle lying on the sofa and picked it up. “What’s this?” he asked.

“Hey!” Trip exclaimed. “Be careful with that. I shouldn’t have left it lying around.” He jumped up to put it into a small trunk. Returning to his seat he said, “I call it the Turbobooster. It’s a high-energy blast rifle. But I’m still working on it.”

“You built it yourself? That’s incredible.”

Trip grinned proudly. “I built Circuit too. I thought the regular computers were too boring, so I made it look like an owl.”

“Pretty impressive. Well, let me know if you need anything. Or if there’s anything else I can do to help out,” Wes said, a little wistfully.

Trip looked up at him. “I think Jen might give you the Red morpher back, if you still want it. We need a Red Ranger.”

“I hope so. The whole thing is so cool!”

“Not so cool when you’ve got a gang of mutants and robots trying to fry you,” Lucas said dryly.

“I guess. Well, I just wanted to drop in and say hello. Maybe I’ll look for Jen. Catch you later.” Wes headed for the stairs.

They said goodbye casually and went back to what they were doing as he left. Wes emerged into the sunlight outside and looked around. Then he started off -- not for his car but for Hillside Park nearby. It seemed like the most likely place for Jen to be jogging. And he wanted to see her.

A quick walk took him into the park, and by luck he spotted her right away. She was taking a break, sitting against a tree above the path, her profile to him as she gazed out over the grassy slopes. She was watching a young couple as they slowly walked along, holding hands and deep in conversation. Then her head bowed and she began to twist the engagement ring on her finger.

Wes waited, watching her until she got up. Then he quickly walked closer and called, “Hey, good morning!”

She regarded him without enthusiasm. “Hi. What are you doing here?”

“You’re not the only one who likes a little exercise in the morning.” When she didn’t respond he went on, “Want someone to work out with? I bet I can show you some moves.” He threw a few playful punches at her.

“Really?” she said with a frown.

“Yeah!” He teasingly patted her cheeks and threw another punch at her head. Jen moved fast. Before he knew it, she had grabbed his arm, twisted, and kicked his legs out from under him. He landed on the grass with a jolt.

“Hey, what was that? You didn’t have to hurt me.”

“If you took anything seriously, maybe I couldn’t have thrown you so easily.” She turned and started back toward the clock tower. Wes climbed back to his feet and followed.

“I was only trying to cheer you up. You looked like you could use it.”

“Well, you chose the wrong way to do it.”

“Look, I’m sorry. I’ll never do it again,” Wes said, a hint of anger in his voice.

She slowed down, letting him catch up. “Sorry if I hurt you.”

“I’ll live.”

“I guess I was taking… things… out on you. I’m really sorry.”

“Forget it. I understand.” They walked on in silence while Wes tried to think of something to keep the conversation going.

“You guys have been here a week, but I hardly know anything about you,” he finally said. “Like Lucas. What does he like to do, when he’s not looking in the mirror?”

Jen smiled at that. “He loves cars. Racecars. He’s won a few championships.”

“A racecar driver? You’re kidding.”

“That’s right. He can drive anything,” Jen went on.

“And in this time, he doesn’t even have a driver’s license. How about Katie? What’s she into?”

“Katie comes from a big family. She misses them. I think what she’s most afraid of is that if history is altered, something will happen to them. Of course we’re all afraid of that.”

“How about Trip?”

Jen laughed. “There’s nothing hidden about Trip. He’s pretty much what you see. Incredibly nice, incredibly brilliant, loves machinery. And he has some psychic ability. I don’t know what we’d do without him.”

Wes looked at her with a smile. “And what about you?”

Jen’s smile disappeared. After a moment she answered, “I’m a Time Force officer.”

“I know that. I mean… I’d like to know something about you. Get to know you a little better.”

“Not much to tell. My parents died in an accident when I was a teenager. I joined Time Force right out of school. It’s been pretty much my whole life since then. Pretty boring story, I guess.”

“I don’t think so.” Wes hesitated. “Maybe I shouldn’t bring it up, but I’m really sorry about Alex.”

Jen was quiet for so long Wes thought she was angry. Then she said softly, “Thanks. Alex was a wonderful man.” She paused for a few moments and went on in a low voice.

“When I was a rookie, Alex noticed me. He was a few years older -- a little older than you, too, I think -- and he sort of took me under his wing. Helped teach me. Sometimes when I felt like I couldn’t do anything right and I was ready to give up, Alex would tell me to just try again. ‘Never give up,’ he would say. I still say it to myself. I’m not sure I would still be in Time Force if not for him. I probably wouldn’t be in charge of this mission.

“When I was promoted to full officer, he asked me out. I was already in love with him. I was so happy when he proposed… I still can’t believe he’s gone….”

She stopped to wipe tears from her face. Wes looked away, embarrassed and hurt in a way he didn’t really understand.

“I’m sorry I mentioned it,” he said. “It’s only been a week, and you probably don’t want to talk about it.”

“It’s probably good for me to talk.” After a moment she went on in a brisker voice, “So now it’s your turn. Tell me about yourself.”

“Well… there’s not much to tell.” They both laughed. “My father started his business, Bio-Lab, before I was born. Now it’s made him rich. My mom died when I was a baby.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“Thanks. I don’t even remember her. My dad misses her, I guess. But all he really seems to think about is business.”

“Okay, now I know all about your parents. What about you?”

Wes smiled. “Just the usual kind of stuff. I went to a fancy prep school, met lots of other kids from rich families, went on to Harvard, graduated with a business degree, and went to work for my father.”

“How do you like that?”

Wes paused for a moment and shrugged. “Not much, I guess. I just never really thought about doing anything else. My dad always just assumed I’d follow in his footsteps and I never argued. Now that I’m actually doing it -- I don’t think I like it very much.”

“Wes, if you don’t like it, you should do something about it. Now. You don’t want to spend your life doing something you hate.”

“I don’t know. I don’t want to disappoint my dad.”

“You’re the one living your life. Not your dad.”

“I guess.” Wes gave her a long look, tinged with considerable respect and admiration. He found himself envying Alex. It might almost be worth dying to be loved by a woman like this.

They climbed the stairs of the tower in companionable silence and entered the main room to find Trip still working, Katie relaxing with a book, and Lucas, incredibly, still looking in the mirror.

“What?” he said as both of them began to laugh at him.

They were saved from an explanation by Circuit. “Alert! I scan mutant activity at the Silver City Bank,” it announced.

“Okay, let’s go,” Jen said with a deep breath. “Let’s see if we can get one of them this time.” She started for the stairs but halted after a few steps, turning to look back at Wes. The others, right behind her, all turned to look at him too.

He took a step nearer to them, not even trying to hide the hope he felt. Jen hesitated. Wes was sure she was comparing him to his look-alike, the man he was already guiltily starting to think of as a rival.

Finally, Jen lifted the morpher out of her jacket pocket. She held it out to Wes. “You deserve another chance, if you still want it. As long as you’re careful, and do exactly what I say.”

Wes grinned happily, then quickly put on a more serious expression. “Absolutely. Whatever you say.”

“Don’t say yes too quickly. What we’re asking you to do is dangerous. I really shouldn’t let a civilian do this.”

“Ransik is attacking my city. My neighbors. I want to help you stop him.”

She looked at him for another long moment. “All right. Let’s do it!”

It was Wes’s second time in the Ranger suit, and his first ride on a vectorcycle, which was very much like his own high-quality motorcycle except that the engine was amazingly quiet. He was enjoying the excitement of both sensations as they rode to the address Circuit had given them.

The Rangers pulled up to the bank to see two streamlined, car-like black and silver vehicles, sitting empty in the middle of the street. Wes pointed at them. “What are they? I’ve never seen a car like that.”

“Those are police cars from our time. They kept some in the prison ship. Now Ransik is using them,” Jen answered. They quickly left their vectorcycles and cautiously approached the bank doors from the side.

Without warning the doors burst open and Nadira ran out, smiling, accompanied by a thin man in body armor with strange, rough, brick red skin and reptilian green eyes, and by the inevitable cyclobots. All of them were carrying bags, and Nadira had one hand full of cash. She stopped, laughed, and threw the money in the air.

Then she and the man whirled as Jen stepped forward holding her badge and said loudly, “Nadira, Brickneck, you’re under…”

“Arrest! I know, I know,” Brickneck said. “Excuse me if I don’t make it easy for you.” He pulled a blaster from a holster on his belt, leveled it and fired at them.

The Rangers instantly fell back, Wes following the others, summoned their own blasters, and returned fire from around the corner of the bank. Wes joined in as soon as Katie showed him the right button for his blaster.

Nadira dived to the concrete, cowering in the rain of blaster fire. “I’m getting out of here!” she screamed, and vanished in a twinkle of light. In a few more moments all of the cyclobots were down, and Brickneck retreated behind a pillar.

Jen turned to nod to Lucas. He and Katie quietly ran off along the wall to circle around behind the mutant. Sirens in the distance announced the imminent arrival of the police.

Jen exclaimed, “No! When the police get here someone’s going to get hurt.” To Wes she went on, “Stay there!” She beckoned to Trip and they dashed to cover behind another pillar. Lucas and Katie opened fire from the other side. Brickneck screamed in rage and pain as they hit him from behind. He leaped away from the pillar, ran to one of the black and silver cars, and sped away.

The Rangers were already running for their vectorcycles. They jumped on and zoomed in pursuit. Fortunately Brickneck headed out of town, and the roads were not crowded. They wove through the traffic until Brickneck screeched onto an almost empty highway. Then the superior speed of the vectorcycles allowed them to catch up.

Blaster fire filled the air again as they closed in. The Rangers were behind and had the advantage; but Brickneck turned to aim back at them. A moment later he had lost control of the car, shot off the highway and crashed spectacularly through a fence and into a tree.

The team pulled up, left their cycles on the roadside and ran to the car. It was a smashed wreck. Wes expected to find Brickneck dead inside, and was amazed to see him kick open the door, climb out, and face them, a little unsteadily. As they confronted him, blasters ready, he touched a wrist device and vanished in the familiar transporter light.

“We beat him and he still got away! How can we stop them if they just disappear?” Wes cried in frustration.

“Our blasters aren’t strong enough to knock them out quickly,” Lucas said. “We just have to keep trying.”

“Never give up,” Jen said quietly. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

After a fast ride back they demorphed and, tired and disappointed, walked back into their clock tower base. Lucas, Katie, and Trip flopped into the couches. Wes walked over to Jen.

“Thanks for letting me help. Just sorry you didn’t get him.” He unfastened the morpher from his wrist and held it out to her. She looked at it for a moment and then pushed it back to him.

“Keep it.” She smiled at him softly. “You’ve earned it. And… we need you.”

“Really? All right!” Wes exclaimed. “I mean… thanks. I won’t let you down.”

Jen smiled. “You’re the one who’s helping us. Thank you.”

The others had gotten up and come closer. “Looks like we have a Red Ranger!” Katie said, giving Wes a hug. Unable to breathe in her powerful grip, Wes squeaked in protest. “Sorry,” she said, letting him go. Lucas slapped his back and Trip shook his hand with a big smile.

“Thanks, all of you. This means a lot,” Wes said. “Listen, I hate to leave, but I’ve got to get to the office sometime today. My dad’s going to be furious.”

“We understand,” Jen said. “Thanks for your help.”

Wes started for the stairs. As he left the room he looked back. The others had turned away, but Jen was still watching him. They exchanged a smile before he turned again to go.