By Ervin V. Griffin, Jr.

Disclaimer:  Power Rangers Time Force are the property of Saban Entertainment.  The characters of Brandon Taylor and Dr. Robert Savage are my creations.

EPLIOGUE

On this sunny warm morning in the year 2008, Wesley Collins wakes up with the sunlight shining in his face.  He then gets up and heads to the bathroom to wash up.   After this, he pulls out a Silver Guardian uniform along with his chrono-morpher that he uses as the Red Ranger.

When he comes downstairs, he smells food and smiles.

“Hmmm, what’s for breakfast honey?” asks the pleasant young man.

At this point, a young girl about 6 years old comes running up to Wesley.  The young man picks her up and gives her a big hug and a kiss on the cheek.

“Good morning Daddy!” says the excited youngster as Wesley carries her back into the kitchen.  He then puts her down into her seat at the table.

“Okay Alexis.  Let daddy see what mommy is doing,” he says playfully to his daughter.  The little girl just giggles.

Wesley then walks over and gives his wife a surprise kiss.  When she turns around, we see………

“Oh, good morning honey,” says Jen!

“Hey, what are you cooking? Smells good!” says Wes.

“Hmmm, a little bacon, french toast, eggs and some orange juice,” says the woman that is not only his wife but the Pink Ranger and member of the Silver Guardians as well!

“Great,” responds Wes.

After the three eat, they get little Alexis ready for school.  They then drive her to school where the teachers and supervisors are already waiting outside for all the school kids.  They both give Alexis a kiss goodbye for the day and watch her go inside to her teachers.

At this point, they turn to the “camera” and begin to speak.

“Now, you may be wondering, how the heck did we get back together and how is it that we are married and have a daughter?” says Wes to the audience.

“Well, it’s a long story but if you got the time, we can tell you.  To say the least, it was a wild ride with a few twists and turns along the way,” explains Jen.

“Hey honey, I guess we can get started on the way to work eh?” says Wes.

“Yeah, just sit back and enjoy the ride!” says Jen to the audience as they drive away.

CHAPTER 1
   This story begins in 2001. Over a year after Time Force returned to the future:

   It is early morning in the city. The sun is just rising, shining its rays as if to wipe away the residue of the previous night. But, as the day wears on, this will not be an ordinary morning.

   BrandTech, Inc. is one of the most respected research facilities in the world. It is 6am and the workers are just coming into work for a normal day of research, little knowing of what was about to take place would have ramifications into not only his future but also the future of his former comrades as well.

   Dr. Bill Adler is the top scientist at Bio-Lab, Inc. He was making ground breaking research in the field of cryogenics with the express purpose of using the developed technology to freeze people with terminal diseases until a cure could be found. A middle aged man with an average build is dressed in a three piece suit ready for work.

   "Good morning Dr. Adler," says the secretary at the front desk. The doctor acknowledges her with a smile with a "good morning" reply back as he makes his way to the elevator to head up to the top floor of the building.

   When he arrived, he stepped off the elevator and headed to his office before going to the lab. Once he got there, he took off his suit coat and put on his lab coat. Dr. Adler then made his way down to the lab but noticed something strange. There were no guards at the doors! When he went to investigate, he found the guards knocked out on the inside of the lab!

   The doctor turned to sound the alarm but was stopped by a huge, armed man that knocked him down to the floor. The massive individual then picked up the doctor and carried him forcefully to another room inside the lab.

   "What is the meaning of this? You are in serious trouble!" yelled Dr. Adler.

   "No, I think it is you that are in trouble," said a calm but sinister voice. Dr. Adler seemed to almost go into shock as he recognized the voice.

   "No. Robert?" asked a stunned Adler.

   "Yes, Bill. It is your old friend Dr. Robert Savage!" said this middle-aged man as he stood up to face Dr. Adler.

   "What do you want?" asked the frightened scientist.

   "What do you think I want? I want my invention," proclaimed Dr. Savage.

   "It was our experiment! The secrets of cryogenics was our dream but you perverted it into something evil!" argued the scientist.

   "You, my old friend, always did lack vision. I have bigger plans for 'our' dream!" said Savage.
 
CHAPTER 2

   MEANWHILE......

   We turn from that to the room of Wesley Collins as he is just waking up for another day of patrolling the city. Feeling a bit bushed, he heads wearily to the shower to get ready for the day.

   After a quick shower, he put on his SilverGuardian uniform to get ready to go to work. As he reached over to get a comb to do his hair, he knocked over something. He bent down to pick it up.
 
As he did so, he looked at the object and made a pained face. It was the Time Force badge given to him by Jen. Seeing this brought back memories of the final time he saw her:

   JEN: Here, I want you to have this. Promise me you will never forget me.

   WES: I couldn't forget.

   JEN: I should've told you this a long time ago......I LOVE YOU!

   WES: I love you too Jen! I just wished I could live another 1,000 years so that we could be together again!

   Wes' face clenched at the memory as he did his best to hold back the tears of that fateful goodbye. He sometimes wonders where Jen as well as Trip, Lucas and Katie are in the future. A ring on his wrist communicator suddenly interrupted his thoughts. Only a Silver Guardian could use that so he knew it had to be an emergency. He quickly put on the device and talked into it.

   "Wes," said the young law officer.

   "Wes, this is Eric! We got trouble down at the BrandTech, Inc. building! Meet me there!" said Eric with urgency.

   "I'm on my way," said Wes. He quickly went to his motorcycle and raced to the BrandTech building.
 

   Soon, Wes pulls up to the front gate to the building where he meets his partner Eric. Eric and Wes led the SilverGuardians, a para military force dedicated to aiding local law enforcement in the city and to guard it against major disasters and serious threats. Often, however, Wes and Eric would often fight crime as the Red Ranger and the Quantum Ranger. Both obtained their power bands during their
time as members of Time Force.

   Eric and Wes were fierce rivals at one time though they were technically on the same side. In time, however, they grew a grudging respect for each other in the heat of combat against threats to the city. This respect grew into true friendship and trust as they emerged as co-leaders of the SilverGuardians.

   "So, what's up?" asked Wes.

   "Don't know. All we know is someone has Dr. Adler hostage," answered Eric.

   "Dr. Adler? The cryogenics scientist? What would anyone want with him?" wondered Wes.

   "That's what we are going to find out," said the Quantum Ranger with assured confidence. Wes simply turned to his partner and nodded to him. The two men then ordered the other SG's that had gathered to remain outside on standby while they went in.

CHAPTER 3

   MEANWHILE........

   Dr. Savage was ranting about his plans for the cryogenics device.

   "Now, before I destroy you 'dear friend', allow me to reveal my plan to become the most powerful man on earth!" proclaimed the brilliant but mad scientist.

   "You've gone crazy!" screamed Dr. Adler, not believing that this crazed man was once his best friend.

 
"Am I? Or am I just the only one of us two with the nerve to take our invention to the next level?!" yelled back Savage.

   "What are you talking about?" wondered the now confused scientist.

   "I am talking about controlling time itself! Freezing time, speeding it up or even time traveling itself!"
   declared Savage.

   "That's not possible!" rebuked Dr. Adler

   "Before now, you would be right but thanks to a device that I stoled from a secret pod in the woods outside the city from that creature that ravaged the city a year ago, it is now possible!" proclaimed the psychotic genius.

   In the background, Wes and Eric overheard Dr. Savage.

   "He must've meant Ransik," figured Wes.

   "Do you really think that he could've stoled some of the technology to travel through time?" Eric mused aloud.

   "I don't know but given what he's done so far, I wouldn't take the chance that he could succeed partner. We have to stop him now," said Wes with his usual determination. Eric nodded in agreement.

   "Now, watch as I become master of time itself. Men, bring in the device!" ordered Savage to his henchmen. One of the goons brought in a small "8" shaped device and handed it to Savage.
 

   "With this device, I will be able to speed up time, freeze it or even time travel!"

   "Hold it!" screamed out Wes as he and Eric had blasters pointed at the evil doctor.

   "The SilverGuardians. I expected something like this! Men, take care of them!" ordered Savage. With that, the inhumanly built men jumped up to face the two brave SG leaders.
Using brawling and martial arts tactics, Eric and Wes held their own against their more powerful foes but was unable to take them down. Realizing that they needed help, the lured their bigger foes out of the lab and into the hallway with more space. From there, before they could turn the corner, Wes and Eric made their changes.

   WES:  TIME FOR TIME FORCE!

   ERIC:  QUANTUAM POWER!

   Wes and Eric changed into their identities of Time Force Red Ranger and Quantum Ranger respectively.  Both uniforms looked almost identical except for the style and colors.  Wes’ uniform had red and white colors with touches of gray while Eric’s was red and black.

   The thugs made their turn just as the change finished.

   "Huh? Where did they come from?" wondered one of the henchmen.

   "Doesn't matter. They won't get past us!" declared another henchmen.

   "Ten against two? Whoa!" said Wes in a mocking scared voice.

   "Yeah, THEY don't stand a chance!" declared Eric.

   The Red Ranger and Quantum Ranger sprang into action against Savage's men. With the added power of their morphers, they easily overcame the men despite their great size and numbers. After the last of the goons fell to the ground, they raced back into the lab.

   "Hold it Savage! You are under arrest!" declared Eric.

   "So let Dr. Adler go and make it easy on yourself," said Wes.

   "Oh, really? I don't 'do' surrender," said Savage as he stepped back and pushed a button on his wrist.  At once, his height increased from 5'10" to 6'5". His muscle tissue increased to four times its normal size as the two rangers stared in awe.

   "HAHAHAHAHAHA! Where is your bravado now Rangers? Come on, try to take me!" challenged the now massively muscular villain. Stunned but not intimidated, the Red and Quantum Ranger charged the massive human being.
 

   Both Wes and Eric threw their best shots but nothing seemed to phase the monstrous figure. He easily tossed them aside as if they were ants!

   "A valiant effort but all for naught. Now, with this device, I will put you out of my misery by sending you into the past one thousand years!" predicted Savage as he set his hand held device to shoot a ray that would send the two figures into the post Civil War era!

   Eric, quickly reacting, slid beneath the hulking figure and nailed him low! This hurt the giant enough for Wes to lunge towards him and knock him down using his own momentum. This quickly knocked the device out of his hands and against the wall. Eric quickly mounted the giant and attempted to hold him down.

   "Wes! Get the device!" yelled Eric. Wes quickly raced over to get the device but just as he reached it, Savage shrugged Eric off and threw him across the room against the wall. The force of the impact knocked him out.

   Savage then struggled with Wes for control of the device as it had 10 seconds left until that fateful ray would blast out. Wes desperately used a quick kick combo in the chest and face that knocked Savage away. At the same time, Savage got a left hand into Wes' chest, knocking him down as well.

   At this moment, both men fell to the ground. As they did so, Eric began to stir and looked up to see the unimaginable! The ray shot out as it was falling to the ground and hit Dr. Savage! An instant later,  the sinister scientist disappeared into thin air! As he disappeared, the device shattered on impact.

 Both rangers looked on in stunned disbelief.

“Whoa!  Dr. Savage got taken out by his own invention,” said Wes with a hint of sadness in his voice.

“Just as well, that madman was going to do something awful with that machine.  Still, it is sad though,” mused Eric.  Both men picked themselves up and went to order the other SG’s to pick up and make sure everyone was okay.

Meanwhile, unknown to everyone but us readers ;), the time is shown just going out of the shattered device. It shows 1,000 years but not into the past.....BUT INTO THE FUTURE!

CHAPTER 3
 It is about noon in the year 3001.  The sun is shining at about 75 degrees in the future version of Silver Hills.  All is peaceful right now in this seemingly shining utopia.
 In the distance we see a building standing in the center of this city.  It is the headquarters of those who guard this modern Camelot.  It is the headquarters of Time Force.  Men and women who diligently protect the city from criminals that would just as soon see hell on earth than peace and goodwill.
We now see Lucas pulling up with his companion Trip from the planet Xyberia.  In this future time, people have learned to co-exist with one another even if they are not native to the planet Earth.  They are coming off a successful assignment as they shut down a drug ring that was selling contraband to young children.
“Well partner, another assignment in the books!” exclaimed the handsome young man who is a budding race car driver and is one of the top rookies on the circuit in the future.  Although loyal to Time Force, he does plan on being a champion in that field.
“Yeah, it was great to shut those guys down!  Bad enough they sell their stuff at all but to children?  That is horrible,” said Lucas’ green-haired partner.  To a casual observer, one might think that Trip was part of a rock band or something but where he’s from, the people all have green hair so for him it is normal.
“Let’s go inside and eat, I am starving!” exclaimed Trip.  His partner nodded in agreement as the two men went inside still talking about their successful bust.

CHAPTER 4

 Staring outside the window, she makes pictures in her mind out of the clouds hanging overhead.  Those strong but lovely brown eyes followed every curve, every outline that the clouds made.
 For Jennifer Scotts, this was one of the few distractions that she would have before and after her shifts at Time Force.  As a member of Time Force, she was one of the top officers not only in her unit but in the whole force.  After all, she was picked to lead her team as the Power Rangers.
 Still, today is like any other day since she came back from the year 2001.  While still duty bound and doing a great job outwardly, inside she still ached for a man that she couldn’t have.  A man whose bloodline was those of her former fiancé Alex, a name that she can’t bear to hear nor even speak without having to fight back tears.
“Where are you now?” Jen asked outloud to no one in particular.  Not a day goes by that she doesn’t think about Wes.
Kind of funny in a way.  When she first went back to 2001, she had nothing on her mind but capturing Ransik and his mutant gang and avenging Alex’ seeming demise at his hands.  When she got there, she encountered the cyclobot soldiers of Frax.  The cyborg henchman of Ransik. Jen might’ve met her end right there if not for the arrival of a young man on a cycle who helped her fight off the robots.  When Wes took his helmet off, the shockwaves went through her body as he totally resembled Alex!  She was both stunned and nearly in tears.  Her teammates, especially Katie, were equally as shocked!
 Of course, Wes was not the serious man that she left behind.  While still just as kind, he was also fun loving and didn’t take anything seriously, even when he was first offered the chrono-morpher of the Red Ranger, it was just a game to him.  Soon, however, he began to take things more seriously as he wanted to save his city.  He also wanted to prove to Jen that he wasn’t just some spoiled rich kid that had everything handed to him.
 “Guess he wanted me to like him,” thought the beautiful brunette.  She cracked a slight grin at that though.
 In the end, he proved to be a great help to the Rangers as the eventually succeeded in their mission.  To Jen, however, he proved to be the kind of man that she truly wanted.  Even when Alex returned, her feelings for Wes never changed.  Wes also had a deep caring for Jen as well.  His love for Jen was so deep that Wes was willing to die alone against Ransik's army of cyclobots rather than let his teammates die with him.
  Upon her return to the future, Jen discovered this fact and was so touched by Wes’ sacrifice that she sacrificed her engagement to Alex to return to the past to help Wes in the final battle against Ransik’s gang.
When she returned to the future after capturing Ransik, she resumed her duties as a Time Force officer though things were never quite the same.  She still thought of Wes everyday and wondered what was he doing now?  As for Alex, he disappeared shortly after her and her team returned so no one really knows what happened to him.
“Probably for the best,” she mused.  After all, things would never be the same between them after her trip to the past.  Alex was all but a stranger to her after that mission.  Things could never be the same between them.  Still, she did feel bad for him because if not for him, she may not have remained with Time Force.
A buzzer rings showing the time.  She walks from her window of her apartment, turns it off and gets ready for work.  She went into her bathroom to take a quick shower before putting on her uniform.  This orphan was still feminine but her trained muscles showed through years of training and combat.  Her spirit was equally as strong as it has helped her survive an upbringing without her mother and father to become a solid citizen. Still, beneath that tough but beautiful exterior lies a woman yearning to be loved.  As the water washed over her body, the thoughts of a lover 1,000 years in the past still haunt her mind.
After a cool shower, she got dressed in her Time Force uniform.  She then put on her belt, which had her chrono-blaster, as well as other devices that she needed in her duties.  Finally, she put her morpher on her wrist that enabled her to be the Pink Ranger.  As she was walking away, a picture fell to the floor.  Jennifer noticed this and went to pick it up.  When she did, she stopped to look at it and froze.  It was a photo of her and Wes in the year 2001.  Both looked so happy as they shared a milkshake together.  This memory was greeted with both fondness and sadness, as Jen had to fight back tears.  It was too painful to remember because she would never have those moments like those again with him.  Still, as painful as they were, she wanted to remember him too.  At times, those same memories are what gave her the strength to get through a day.
Finally, she was ready to face the day as she turned out the lights and walked out through the door.
CHAPTER 5
  “ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!” shouted the tall; slender gray-hazel eyed female as she was doing a set of push-ups.  Of course with her unnatural strength, she easily could’ve done 500 push-ups and only break a marginal sweat!
 
Of course, Katie was always anything but average.  Like most humans in the future, Katie Walker was born in a lab to parents.  Since natural conception was pretty much passe, they chose the traits they wanted their baby daughter to have.  What they got was more than they bargained for as a slight accident during the process gave Katie uncanny strength that manifested itself when she was about 6.  As she grew up, that strength increased to superhuman levels.  She was easily as strong if not stronger than many men in her world and almost all women.  Growing up with this gift, however, wasn’t easy.  While most have grown tolerant and accepting of all races in the future, Katie grew up during a period when racial prejudice still existed.  Add the fact of her genetic gift and you had a very lonely child with only her family giving her love and support.  As time grew on, she decided to try to use her gift to make a difference in the world.  Thus, she made her decision to join Time Force.  It was rough at times, but she made it through with support from her family and from fellow T.F. officer Jennifer Scotts.  Knowing what it was like to feel alone in the world, Jen befriended the strange but pretty black female during training.  Jen wasn’t even frightened by Walker’s unnatural strength.
  Those thoughts of those days make Katie smile.  She and Jen were basically best friends since those early times and have gone through just about everything together.  Jen, in some ways, was the sister that Katie never had.  In return, Katie always stuck by Jen and lent an ear to her.  She comforted her during her periods of stress after returning from the past as far as coping with her feelings for Wes.  In some ways, Katie found Wes attractive as well but knew that Jen was in love with him so she respectfully kept her distance.  Still, though she wanted Jen to be happy, part of her that was still woman wished that it was her with Wes or someone special like that.  These were the times that she hated her natural gift because most men were either intimidated by this or thought she was a freak of nature!
 
After finishing her workout, she decides to get up and clean up before Jen comes.  “She’s probably on her way now,” thinks Katie.
 
After taking a quick hot shower, drying off and putting on her clothes, she heard a doorbell ring.
 
“Hey trooper! We are going to be late!” screamed the familiar voice of Jennifer Scotts.

 “Not with the way you drive,” joked back Katie as she greeted her friend and partner at the door.  The two shared a laugh as they walked down the hallway to the patrol car.

CHAPTER 6

 It is about 12pm noon in the year 2002 in downtown Silver Hills when we see a young black male going into the Silver Guardian’s special gymnasium.  He was about 6’2” tall, weighing around 245lbs but looked heavier than that.  He wasn’t massive but very built.  As he headed towards the dressing room, a voice called out to him!
 
“Hey Brandon!” yelled out Wes.

“Hey Wes!” responded the man called Brandon.

“How are you this morning?” asked the young commander of the S.G.’s.

“I am good.  Where’s Eric?  Doesn’t he work out with you usually?” wondered the curious rookie.

“He had to investigate something out on the waterfront.  I guess it’s just you and me today,” said the Red Ranger.

“Alright.  Personally, I’d like to warm up and do some sparring but its whatever you want Wes,” said Brandon Taylor.

“Cool.  See you on the mats,” responded the young man.

Brandon then nodded and walked to get changed.  Things weren’t always this friendly for him though.  Originally born in Dallas, TX, Brandon Taylor did not have a silver spoon life.  His father died when he was a baby and his mother died when he was 10 years old.  From there, he spent time in and out of jails for minor crimes and in street gangs.  It was on a chance encounter during a gang fight that he met Eric.  Eric was just starting out as a regular beat cop.  When the fight was reported, Eric was the first on the scene to try to calm down the situation.  Of course, Eric was more “gung-ho” back then and was not very strategic nor levelheaded.  He recklessly tried to break it up on his own without backup!

“Not too bright in my neck of the woods,” thought Brandon jokefully.

During this, one of Brandon’s gang members shot Eric in the leg!  The thug was just about to finish him off when Brandon stopped him.
“Are you crazy? That’s a cop!  We got him down! Let’s just beat it!” reasoned Taylor.

“No!  You are nuts!  Once I “ice” this cop, everyone will know who I am!” the thug shot back.  At this point, time seemed to go in slow motion as the low-life was pulling the trigger to finish Eric off!  At that same moment, a choice was made as Brandon knocked off the killer’s aim.

“What the hell are you doing? I could’ve “iced” him!” yelled the would-be murderer.

“Yeah, you also could’ve got us on ‘death row’!” said Brandon.

As the two were arguing, more police arrived.  The killer shoved Brandon down and ran off into the night.  When the police arrived, Brandon got the reception that he knew all too well.

“Get down! You are under arrest!” yelled an officer.  Just as they were putting the cuffs on him, a voice spoke out.

“No!  He saved me! If it wasn’t for him, you wouldn’t be helping me up to an ambulance right now!” shouted Eric.  The other officers looked at him as if he was crazy but one could look at Eric’s facial expressions and tell he was not bluffing.

“Is that true?” asked one of the officers to Brandon.

“Yeah, I might be a street hood but I am no killer,” said the young black male.

Reluctantly, they let Brandon go but as they left, Eric looked back at Brandon and Brandon returned the look.  They both nodded at each other in a sign of respect and both went their separate ways.

The following week, Eric showed up in Brandon’s neighborhood and asked him if he would like to join the force.  Taylor, naturally, scoffed at the idea at first but considering his past, he didn’t have a lot of options.  With no close family to speak of and no connections to a job, Brandon figured “why not?”

Brandon passed training and written exams under Eric’s tutelage.  The two became partners on the force in Dallas.  Later, Eric left to join up with Albert Collins’ Silver Guardians, leaving Brandon to work the streets in Dallas.  A year later after Time Force defeated Ransik, Brandon transferred and joined the S.G.’s himself.  Eric was happily surprised to see him again.  Even more joyful, Brandon was assigned to Wes and Eric for training in the S.G.’s.

   Though friendly with Wesley Collins, he actually felt more of a kinship with his partner Eric.  Like himself, Eric had a hard life and came up the hard way so they had more in common though Brandon was African-American and Eric was of Native American descent.

Those thoughts went through Brandon’s mind as he got dressed for his sparring session with Wes.  After some stretching, he emerged from the dressing room ready for action.

“Ah, yes.  Are you ready?” asked Wes as Brandon approached the mats.  Brandon just simply nodded with his dark-brown eyes.

The two went at it for about 20 minutes, exchanging savate kicks, leg sweeps and submission holds.  While both were careful not to hurt the other, it was competitive nonetheless.  The match was getting interesting when a private showed up nearly out of breath!

“Commander Collins!  Sorry to interrupt your workout sir!” said the private as he saluted Wes.

“That’s okay.  What is it?” asked Wes.

“Commander Eric was injured down on the waterfront!” said the frantic private.

“Calm yourself soldier!  Is Eric okay?” asked the young commander.

“Commander Eric has a concussion, a separated shoulder and some minor bruises but he’s alive,” said the officer.

“That’s good.  What caused it?” asked Wes.

“I think you better see for yourself,” said the unnamed officer who then pulled out a piece of clothing with a strange star imprinted on it!  Wes recognized the symbol immediately and was trembling!

“The symbol of Time Force,” whispered Wes.

At this point, Brandon came up and saw the symbol.  While he never met Jen, Katie, Lucas or Trip, he was well aware of their exploits thanks to stories from Eric.

“You think one of them could’ve came back in time?” asked Brandon.

“I don’t know,” responded Wes.

While out of his place, Brandon’s curiosity got the better of him.  He examined the piece of cloth along with Wes.  At that point, the officer got a call on his cell phone.  When he finished talking to the person on the other end, he turned to Wes and Brandon.

“Sir, they have whoever was in the exploding ship!  She’s injured by alive and…” said the officer when Wes cut him off.

“Did you say ‘she’?” asked Collins.  The officer nodded affirmatively.

“I’m going!  Brandon, get dressed and come with me,” commanded Wes though it was more of a plea than a command.  Brandon quickly rushed back to the shower, washed and changed into his uniform.  Wes did the same just as quick as the two Silver Guardian officers rushed out of the gym to investigate what happened.

CHAPTER 7
 
When the two officers arrived at the crash site, they saw the remains of a ship.  It was oval shaped with engines that were burnt out and a lot of structural damage.  It’s a wonder anyone survived this crash at all.  Both Wes and Brandon looked at the site with awe of a child.

“How could anyone survive this?” asked Brandon outloud to no one in particular.

“I honestly don’t know,” replied Wes.

“Commander Collins Sir!” shouted a member of the medical team that was also on the scene.

“The female that survived the crash, we have her.  She’s in stable condition but she’s be calling for you and Commander Eric,” said the medic.

“Where is she?” asked a slightly frantic Wes.

The medic pointed to a tent near the crash site.  Both Wes and Brandon raced to the tent to see who was in the crash.  Wes’ thoughts raced a million miles an hour.  While not close to the situation, the young black man with the commander also was anxious to see who their visitor was.

“Commander Collins, I am glad you are here. This woman has been calling for you since we got her in here.   I hope she can give us some answers,” said the chief physician on call.

As Wes approached, he sees the face and form of Katie Walker!  While a bit disappointed, he was also relieved that it was not Jen as well as relieved that his friend managed to survive at all.

“Hey Wes, I didn’t know you went to the black side,” said Brandon.

“What?” asked the confused young white male.

“You know, I didn’t know you digged sistas!  This is Jen right?” asked Brandon.

“No, this is Katie,” shot back Wes while trying to hold back a laugh.  Taylor was feeling kind of dumb right about now.

“Oh, sorry man.  I shouldn’t be asking that anyway, this is a serious matter,” apologized Brandon.

“Its alright, an honest mistake considering you’ve never met the other members of Time Force,” said Collins.  Collins then asked Brandon to see if there were any clues to why Katie was here.  As he left, Brandon did take another look at the black woman that was just now regaining consciousness.

“Hmmm, maybe not Wesley’s type but I wouldn’t mind a date with her,” mused Brandon in his mind.  With that, he went outside to look around.

“Huh, ohhhh,” Katie muttered out as she finally opened her eyes to see Wes.

“Wes!  Oh, thank goodness!” shouted out Katie as she sat up to hug her former comrade in arms.

“Ouch, Katie! Katie!” struggled Wes as Katie’s super strength was unwittingly crushing the ribs of Collins.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” said Walker when she realized what she was doing!

“Well, its nice to see that you haven’t lost any of your strength,” joked Wes.

“I see you haven’t lost your sense of humor either,” shot back Katie.  They both then burst out laughing at each other.

Immediately, however, Wes began to ask questions about why was she here in the year 2002.

“It’s all a blur Wes but here is what I can tell you.  You might want to sit down for this,” said Katie.  Wes noticed a dark tone that he’s never heard from his friend.  Collins took a seat hear the end of her bed as he listened intently.

Katie told of the afternoon that she and Jen were heading in for duty.  It was a normal day with seemingly nothing wrong.  But then, there was a big explosion at the Time Force Headquarters!  It rocked the whole building.  They didn’t have a chance as soldiers with weapons that no one had ever seen came in firing.

As the T.F. officers scrambled for cover, more of these massive giants came moving in, rounding up the officers and forcing surrender on them!

Finally, in the distance, a man in a black trenchcoat with a buttonstrap to his wrist came out of the smoke followed by another man with a black hood and cape.

“HELLO FUTURE! WELCOME YOUR NEW RULER, KING SAVAGE!” proclaimed the now revealed Dr. Savage.

A confused Katie scrambled to get to Jen who was uninjured but stunned on the floor.

“How did this guy get past our defenses?” asked the confused brunette to Katie as the answer was about to be revealed as Dr. Savage’s ‘partner’ removed his hood!  Both Katie and Jen sat up in total shock as the face of who helped this madman was shown!

“Alex?” said Jen.

Alex turned to Jen with a stern look on his face and a cold stare that seemingly looked through her.  Her blood ran cold with a mixture of shock, disbelief and anger.

“This can’t be happening!  Why Alex? Why do this?” said a still stunned Katie.

“Why? WHY NOT!” said Alex in an arrogant tone that was strange even for him.  He responded with a quick blast of a laser to Katie.  This knocked the yellow ranger back about 10 feet into the concrete wall.

“KATIE!” screamed out Jen.  She quickly got up and rushed to her long time friend and comrade in arms!  Katie struggled to her feet with Jen quickly to her side to help her up.  Alex readied his blaster for another shot when the Pink Ranger raised her chrono-blaster at Alex.  The two stood still for a moment in a standoff.  Time seemed to stand still as the two just looked at each other with their blasters ready to go off at any moment.  A look in Alex’s eyes almost said, “Do it if you dare!”  A look in Jen’s eyes would almost read, “Please! Don’t make me do this!  Don’t make me hurt you!”

As the former engaged couple stood in their standoff, Katie made her way to her feet.  As she did so, one of Savage’s “Humanoid” soldiers grabbed her.  Even with her super strength, she was unable to break the behemoth’s grip!  Jen quickly turned around to fire at him.  The blast barely phased him but distracted him just enough for Katie to throw him off of her!  Jen Scotts paid the price for her choice as she was hit by a blast from Alex in the shoulder!

“JEN!” screamed out Katie!

“NO! GET OUT OF HERE KATIE! GET HELP!” ordered Jen.  Katie stopped her advance to look into her leaders’ eyes to see if she was sure! She got her answer!

“GO NOW! THAT’S AN ORDER!” screamed Jen but the tone was almost a plea rather than a command!  With that, Katie reluctantly began running out of the main hallway and down into the lower chambers.

“Take this one to the holding cells with her other friends,” said Savage to one of his henchmen.  The massive man picked up Jen as if she was nothing and carried her to the pens used in the Time Force Headquarters.

“And what of the other female,” asked one of the soldiers.

“Pursue her, but don’t stop her,” ordered Alex.  The subordinate nodded but had a puzzled look on her face.

“Why do you want that?” asked Savage.

“I know where she’s headed and I know where Katie will go to get help.  When she does return with that ‘help’, I’ll be waiting and then I’ll have revenge,” said Alex.  Dr. Savage was puzzled at the young man’s remarks but decided to go along with it.  After all, it was Alex that helped him get into this place and with the technology available here, he could use it to conquer this world or even his own time.

“Still, I better keep an eye on Alex,” mused Savage.  After all, this man seems to have his own agenda and it could severely interfere with his own plans.

A door gets torn open as Katie makes it to the main computer.  Using what she knew about it, she programmed some coordinates as quickly as she heard the guards closing in.

“COORDINATES LOCKED! DESTINATION:  SILVER HILLS 2002!” boomed out a computerized voice.

Katie quickly left the room as the time ship slowly came out of its holding pen.  She was also met with enemy fire as she raced to the ship!  While their shots could’ve hit Katie at any time, they wanted it to look good so that it left no suspicions.  The brave Ranger made her way inside and started up the time ship!

“FOLLOW COORDINATES FOR THE YEAR 2002!  HEAD TO SILVER HILLS!” ordered Katie to the main board of the computer.  As it raced to the portal, a stray blast hit one of the engines as it went through!

“Come on! I got to make it!  Damn you, don’t let me fail now!” mumbled Katie in desperation!  The pressure and exhaustion of the chase had drained her physically and mentally as she passed out.  Just before she did, however, she managed to punch the ‘auto-pilot’ button on the console  of the ship.  The ship took control of itself and made the journey back.

“And that’s all I remember,” said Katie as Wes listened intently.

“So, you came back here to ask for my help?” asked Wes.  Katie nodded.

“WHOA!” said a voice from behind.  It was Brandon Taylor, who just came back inside the tent but was listening to the story intently.  He also couldn’t help to eye the black-haired African-American that was now awake.  Walker also caught his stare.  At that moment, it was like no one was there but Brandon and Katie.

“Hey, hello! What were you saying Brandon?” asked Wes.

“Oh, oh…..uh, sorry Commander! I was just coming back in to tell you that there is nothing strange around the area and also they scientists at Bio-Labs think they could have the ship repaired and running in a few days.  They are having Dr. Adler as well as Dr. Cornwells  look into it since they are experts at time travel,” reported Brandon.  As he gave his report, Katie couldn’t help but grin a bit as the handsome black male who was admiring her earlier.

“Good.  Tell them to make sure it can carry multiple passengers,” said Collins.  Brandon looked back at him.

“So, you are going?” Taylor asked.  Wes nodded affirmatively

“Just you two, what about Eric?” asked Brandon.  Wes turned thoughtfully and knew Brandon had a point.  Eric’s Quantum Ranger powers would be of use here but we don’t know how bad he’s injured.

“Let’s go see how he’s doing?” said Wes.

“I’m going too,” said Katie.

“Uh, ma’am, I don’t know if you should be up and around in your condition.  You are still a bit battered,” said Brandon.

“I am going.  Me and Eric may not have been best friends but we are fellow rangers,” insisted the strong willed woman.

“And its Katie, not ma’am,” snapped the yellow ranger.

“Well, excuse me for having manners!” snapped back Taylor.

“Guys, guys,” reasoned Wes as he stepped in.

“Katie, Brandon didn’t mean anything by that. He was just being polite.  Still, he has a point.  Are you sure you should be up like this?” asked Wes to his long time friend.

“Wes, if it wasn’t for Eric, I might not have survived that crash. I would’ve died in the explosion if he hadn’t have got me out.  I owe it to at least thank him,” pleaded Katie.

Wes finally nodded in agreement, seeing that he wasn’t going to be able to stop her.

“Brandon, help her to Hummer,” ordered Wes.  Taylor nodded in agreement.

As Brandon reached over to help Katie, she waved him away.

“I can make it on my own,” insisted Katie.  As she took a few steps forward, only to start tumbling a bit.  Brandon quickly caught her before she fell to the floor.

“Sure you can make it,” said the black male.  Katie then shot him a look of annoyance and frustration.  She was so used to being able to take care of herself and others, she never thought about if she needed help.

“Here, let me carry you,” said Brandon.  The private scooped up the ranger in his slim but muscular arms and carried her out of the tent.

“Hey, you!  You don’t have to do this, I can walk!” said Katie in a noticeably embarrassed tone though she tried to sound angry.

“My orders were to help you into the SUV and that’s what I am going to do,” insisted Taylor with a half grin on his face.

“And the name is Brandon,” said this man who was carrying the reluctant ranger to the S.G.’s vehicle.  Katie thought about fighting it but a strange feeling swept over her.  She couldn’t think of what it was but it felt good.

“Still, I ain’t going to let this jerk know it,” thought Katie as Brandon helped her in to the truck so that they could be off to the hospital.

CHAPTER 8
 
 Eric was lying in his bed with IV’s running in and out of his arms and bandages covering his wounds.  The skilled soldier of the S.G. was once their leader as the Quantum Ranger before Albert Collins asked his son Wesley to take over. Even when Wes did take over, he insisted on Eric being his partner in leading the Silver Guardians.  This surprise move brought a level of trust between the two.  Though, in his private moments, Eric still wishes that he were the leader.

 “Eric!” said a voice calling out to him.  It was Wes as he came through the door to see him.

 “How are you buddy?” asked Eric’s fellow partner.

 “I’ve had better days.  Did Katie survive?” inquired Eric.

 “Yes, she’s fine.  Kind of cranky right now but alright,” laughed the Red Ranger.

 “Yeah, that’s our Katie. Strong, stubborn but a lot of heart,” said Eric.
 
 Wes then began to tell Eric about the journey that brought Katie back to the year 2002.  About how Dr. Savage survived that explosion at Bio-Labs and that his own device carried him into the future.  Katie barely escaped to get help from them.

 “Wow!  She came all this way to ask us for help?  Too bad I won’t make this one.  The doctor said it’ll be at least 3 weeks before I get out of here and another 3 before I could return to active duty,” told Eric to Wes.

 “I understand, I guess I’ll have to make due with myself and Katie,” said Wes in an understanding but decidedly disappointed tone of voice.

 “Wes, wait,” said Eric as he raised his Quantum Morpher.

 “Voice command deactivate,” said Eric to the device on his left wrist.  He then removed it and gave it to Wes.

 “Here, you may need it.  You’ll know what to do with it,” said Eric.  The two then nodded at each other and gave each other their familiar handclasp.  Wes then opened the door and left the room pondering his next move.

CHAPTER 9

 Inside the Time Force Headquarters, Alex is walking down a long hallway to the holding pens.  But, on this night, there is one pen in particular that he is interested in visiting.

 He approaches the cell and uses a special key to unlock it.  It is a card that he simply swipes in front of a sensor.  In an instant, the door opens to reveal the form of Jennifer Scotts, Alex’s former girlfriend and fiancé.

 “Hello Jen,” says Alex to his former lover.

 “Can’t say I can say the same,” responded Jen whose voice was mixed with the emotions of anger but also sadness.

 “If it’s any comfort, I am sorry that you had to be involved in this.  I can promise you this however.  It will soon be over,” said the young man with a tone that sounded as if everything would be okay.  Jen slowly stood up despite being battered from the earlier attack to face him.

 “You talk like everything will be like it was?  What’s gotten into you Alex?  You were always stubborn but I never thought you would do something like this!” shouted Jen.  The dark haired man’s face tensed up at those words.

 “Well, I could say the same about you,” retorted Alex.

 “What are you talking about?” responded the young lady as she has a confused look on her face.

 “I am talking about going on a mission to get a known gangster only to let personal feelings get involved,” shot back Alex as he made reference to when Jen, Lucas, Trip and Katie went back in time to capture Ransik.  It was on that fateful trip to the past that Jen met Wesley Collins.    The two stared at each other for a moment.  Then, it became clear what he was saying.

 “So that’s what this is about.  That’s why you are helping that crazy doctor from the past.  This isn’t about Time Force or power or world domination.  This is about Wes, isn’t it?” reasoned Jen.  The name of the very man who’s DNA ran through his veins made Alex tremble with rage.

 “WHY JEN? WHY? HE LIVED 1,000 YEARS AGO!  YOU CAN’T EVEN MAKE CONTACT WITH HIM!  WAS IT BECAUSE HE LOOKED LIKE ME? TELL ME JEN! WHY HIM?” screamed Alex.  Jen wanted to be angry with him but it was all she could do to hold back tears as she really couldn’t blame him for his feelings.  Still, she did stand up to him to answer.

 “Alex, you really think I loved him because he looked like you?  If anything, I avoided him at first because of the resemblance.  But, in time, it was his heart that drew me to him.  I felt safe with him.  Safe in a way that I never felt with anyone else, not even you,” admitted Jen.  At this point, Alex’s face had turned blood red!  He raised his hand as if to strike Jen.  Jennifer, due to years of training, put up her hands in a defensive position to thwart any attack.  Alex, however, stopped himself from doing any harm to the woman.  He then turned to walk out of the holding cell but as he was leaving, he turned back to the lady and spoke.

 “It may interest you to know that I ordered that Katie not be captured,” said Alex in a taunting tone.  This made Jen’s eyes go wide.

 “I wanted her to escape because I knew she would head to the one person that would help her…you’re precious Wesley Collins,” said the man in an evil, vindictive edge.

 “When Katie returns with him, we will finish this once and for all,” finished Alex.  As the door was closing, Jen tried to rush out but it moved to fast.  Trapping the pink ranger inside.

 “Oh, God!  Wes and Katie will be walking into a trap! I’ve got to get out of here!” thought the frantic brunette as she looked for any weaknesses in her prison.  She knew that if she were unable to warn her friends in time, both would be headed into certain trouble.  More than likely, certain death!  But, remembering the love that she felt for Wesley, it motivated her to find anything that could help her escape.

CHAPTER 10

“ATTENTION, ALL NON-PERSONEL PLEASE CLEAR THE AREA!” said a voice at the Silver Guardian’s launch site.  It has been a few weeks since Katie crashed landed in Silver Hills but now her ship is ready for take off.

We now see Wes, Brandon, Katie and even Eric heading to the ship.  He is now walking with a slight limp but in certainly better shape.  Wes still has Eric’s Quantum Morpher though but now Eric has medical clearance to accompany them on this trip.

“Are you sure you want to make this trip Eric?” asked Wes.

“You kidding right? I have to go just to bail you out,” said Eric with the swagger that made him the solider he was.   Wes responded with a laugh.

Now approaching is Mr. Edward Collins, Wes’ father.  Originally, father and son didn’t always get along.  Mr. Collins had an easy life planned for his only son until that fateful day that Time Force came to the their time.  From that day, Wes was determined to make his own way in the world.  This caused friction between them both personally and philosophically, as Mr. Collins’ only interest was money while Wes believed in other rewards besides monetary, despite the fact that he grew up influential.

Privately, however, Mr. Collins actually had a deep respect for what his son chose to do.  He chose his own path and took charge of his own destiny.  A fact that he would later reveal to his son after a near-death encounter with Ransik.  Another irony here is that Alex was the one that saved Mr. Collins from death when his father should’ve died.  A fact not lost on Wes as he thought about Katie’s story.

“Well, I see Dr. Cromwell and his people have done a fine job with your ship Ms. Walker,” said Mr. Collins.

“Yes, they have.  Thank you sir,” said Katie with a smile.

“Wes?” called out the owner of the Silver Guardians and father of the man that leads them.

“Yes dad?” said the younger Collins.

“Are you sure you want to partake in this?  There are other men willing to go on this mission?” said Mr. Collins in a concerned tone that only a parent would have.

“Dad, if it wasn’t for Time Force, I probably wouldn’t be doing the Silver Guardians right now.  I wouldn’t have this either,” said Wesley flashing up his red ranger chrono-morpher.

“Well, at least you are taking along Eric but I am not sure about Brandon,” said the concerned industrialist.

“Brandon is already closer to this than any of the others. He’s probably the best fighter after Eric and myself as well.  Besides, with Eric still not really at 100%, we may need him,” reasoned Wes.  Mr. Collins nodded understandably.

“You just be careful okay?” said Wes’ father.

With that, the two gave each other a hug.  A sight not lost on Brandon as he watched from a distance.  At this point, Katie noticed the sad look on Brandon T’s  face.  She approached him and put her hand on his shoulder. This act startled him at first but then he saw it was only Katie.

“Jumpy are you?” said the yellow ranger with a slight grin.

“Nah, just thinking about how lucky Wes is,” said Brandon with an almost jealous tone.

“What makes you say that,” now pried a curious Katie.

At first, Brandon started to tell the ranger to mind her business but something in her eyes calmed the usually high strunged young man.  His defensive feeling quickly passed.

“My father died when I was a baby.  My mother passed when I was 10 but at least I knew who she was.  I never knew my father at all,” told Brandon.  He then went into the story about his life on the streets, his travels and a chance encounter with a young Eric in Texas that would change his life forever.  The young yellow ranger intently listened to every word.

“So, that’s my story.  Hope I didn’t bore you to tears,” said the young black male.

“Not at all.  I know what it is like to be alone,” said Katie.

“How?  From what you said, you have a mother and a father and even a kid brother,” asked Brandon.

“Well, when you can military press more than most men, that can be intimidating to most people,” said Katie with a serious pain behind her voice despite her best efforts to hide it with a pleasant smile.

“I find it unique.  I like a woman that can hold her own,” said the young man who unconsciously moved closer to Katie.

“Thanks but still, sometimes, I wish I could experience normal things,” said Walker.

“Like what?” said Brandon who was now very interested in the lovely woman that was opening up to him.

“You know, non-solider things.  Things that people take for granted everyday,” said Katie.

“Well, that’s pretty broad,” said Brandon.

At this point, Wes is walking by discussing something with Eric.  The two see them side by side talking things over.

“Jen’s an idiot,” blurted out Katie.

“What?” said a surprised Brandon Taylor.

“I’m sorry Brandon, its just that Jen…..” started Katie as her voice trailed off.

“I thought you two were buddies,” said Brandon.

“We are friends, don’t get me wrong on that.  Still, I look at Wes and think to myself “She should’ve fought for him!” said Katie.

“Well, you guys did have a mission to complete and you did.  What brought this on?” wondered Brandon.

“I don’t know, I’m sorry.  It’s just that Jen had in her hands what I’ve always wanted in my life.  Wes had every reason NOT to like Jen but he accepted the way she was.  In time, she came to accept him.  I know we were on a mission and all but that kind of love is rare for any time period, even in my time.  Jen should’ve fought for it any way that she could,” spoke the young woman with a passion in her voice that caught even the usually sturdy Brandon off guard.

“Hmm, some passion in your soul Katie?” said Brandon.  Realizing what she had just said, Katie felt a bit embarrassed.

“I’m sorry, I know that isn’t my place but still…..” started Katie but Brandon put a finger on her lips to stop her from speaking.

“Don’t apologize.  There is nothing wrong with having feeling or an opinion.  I kind of like that,” smile Taylor as he looked into the eyes of the young lady.

Unconsciously, they took each other’s hands and moved a bit closer into each other.

“You do like that?” asked Walker.  Brandon nodded.

The two are now about inches away from each other face.  Katie looked into the dark brown eyes of this man that she’s only known for a short time just as Brandon looked into her light gray eyes.  For a moment, nothing existed around them as the felt a wave of calm, safety and peace engulf them.  The two then seemingly on cue closed their eyes and were inches away from each other’s lips.

“Brandon! Katie!” shouted out Wes.  This woke the two up from what they were doing as they looked around for Wes.  The commander found them just below the hanger where the ship would be launched.

“Come on, they need us onboard,” said Wes. Both nodded affirmatively.

The two then locked eyes again and was uncertain what the other would do.

“Let’s go save your world Katie,” said Brandon.

“Yes, let’s do it,” said Katie though in a decidedly disappointed tone.

The two comrades boarded the ship along with Eric and Wes.  They strapped themselves in as the countdown was commencing.  With a thunderous roar, the jets came to life as the ship was launching itself into the sky to take them to their destination.  Katie had given the scientists and engineers on the project the coordinates to take them where they needed to go.

“Time to go kick some “Savage” butt,” thought Eric.

“Hang on Jen, I’m coming,” mused Wes.

“Whooo-hoooo! This is going to be one hell of a ride!” though Brandon with a grin on his face.  As he turned his head, however, he saw Katie manning the ship to guide it back to the future.  He could only sigh a bit for the moment they almost had and may never get back as they now head into unknown territory.

CHAPTER 11

A crackle came from the sky in the year 3001 as the Time Ship landed just outside the future version of Silver Hills.  Ironically, it was on the beach near the ocean.  Incidentally, it looked just like the beach in Silver Hills in the year 2002.  As the ship landed, a gust of sand was blown up from the ground.  A set of steps lowered from the ship and out walked four passengers.  Four passengers with one common goal, to save this world from a menace from the past and to fight a friend turned foe.

The three SilverGuardian soldiers looked around this area.  Trying to take in every scope of the land visually.

“Are you sure this is the future?  Looks like we are still in 2002?” said a slightly disappointed Brandon, who was expecting something more space like than what he was seeing.

“We are hear alright.  Come on, let me show you,” said Katie trying to sound serious but was rushing to show Brandon her home.  Wes and Eric followed suit as they rushed up to the top of a hillside.

Once there, Katie showed him a picturesque countryside filled with trees and countryside.  In the center of it was the city of Silver Hills itself.  Seemingly peaceful from the distance that they all viewed it from.  The three soldiers looked at the buildings and could tell that this was not their time from the way they were structured.  Their design looked more sturdier, stronger and something that screams out “future.”

“Hey, what’s that light over there?” asked Brandon.  Katie began to speak but suddenly realized that “light” was actually something that wasn’t supposed to be there.

“Wes, your binoculars!” screamed Katie.  The Red Ranger gave her the binoculars and she looked through them.  Her heart sank into her stomach as she slowly lowered the viewing device.

“What is it Katie?” asked Wes.  Eric and Brandon are now looking on as well with interest.

“That area…that’s my home.  Its on fire,” spoke Katie softly in shock.

“I got to get there!  TIME FOR TIME FORCE,” shouted Katie as she morphed into the yellow ranger!  She then took a small device out of her pocket that looked like a small toy motorcycle but then, with a press of a button on her morpher, the cycle grew full sized!  She quickly hopped on the bike and rode off to that area of Silver Hills!

“Katie wait!” screamed Wes but Katie was long gone.

“We got to follow her!” said Brandon, showing more concern than he would admit to.  Eric came behind him with a calming hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t worry, we will right now,” said Eric.  As he said this, both himself and Wes took a few steps back.  Wes handed back the Quantum morpher to Eric.

“Guess you will need this,” said Wes.  Eric gave back a nod.

“TIME FOR TIME FORCE!” cried Wes.

“QUANTUM POWER!” screamed Eric.

The two soldiers quickly morphed into their powered identities as the Red Ranger and the Quantum Ranger.

“Mega-Battle ACTIVATE!” said Eric as extra armor covered his suit.  He then pushed a button on his suit to make himself fly thanks to jet-pulportion from the back and feet of the suit.

“Stratacycle ON-LINE!” said Wes as a strange looking motorcycle came down floating in the air.

“Hop on Brandon!” said Wes.  Brandon climbed with his eyes still in amazement.  While he knew that Wes and Eric had the power of the time force rangers, this was the first time that he had seen it close up.  It wasn’t as amazing as he was told.  To him, it was MORE amazing than he was told!

The two rangers then went in the same direction as a frantic Katie.  To check out the disturbance that has a raging inferno swallowing that section of the city.

CHAPTER 12

The normally peaceful city of Silver Hills had been disturbed by a raging inferno in its midst!  Racing across its futuristic streets is the Yellow Ranger, seemingly to save the day.  In reality, however, it is a desperate young woman named Katie Walker who is racing towards the disturbance.  Hoping for the best but fearing the worst.

 Following close behind were Wes and Eric in their ranger identities with Brandon Taylor riding with Wes on his stratacycle.  As they approached the disaster area, they could only see fire and debris all around them.

 “What in the Lord’s name could’ve done this?” wondered Wes.  Both Eric and Brandon were equally as stunned.

 As Katie approached her destination, she quickly morphed back into her regular self.

 “Power Down!” commanded Katie as her ranger powers shut down.

 “Please God no!” whispered Katie as she shook her head and nearly was in tears as she started searching the wreckage for anyone alive.

 Meanwhile, the others showed up to find this horror as well.

 “My God,” uttered Brandon in a real quiet voice as that was all he could say.  Even Wes and Eric stood stunned for a moment.  Then, they heard a voice call out in the distance.

 “Help!  Somebody help!” yelled this voice.  Brandon was looking around trying to pin the direction down but both Eric and Wes knew whose voice it was immediately!

 “Lucas! Lucas, we’re coming!” said Wes as he and Eric raced to where the voice came from.

 They quickly found Lucas holding a badly injured Trip on the ground!  They quickly rushed to the scene with Brandon following in hot pursuit.

 “Wes! How did you…” started Lucas but Wes cut him off.

 “Never mind that now!  How is Trip!” said a frantic Red Ranger.

 “He’s bad!  He’s real bad! We got to get back to the ‘underground’” said Lucas.

 As if on cue, Brandon drove Wes’ stratacycle over to where the injured Trip laid.

 “I watched how you started this thing Wes. Figured you could use it,” said Brandon.  Wes nodded in a silent “thank you.”  They strapped Trip down onto the amazing cycle and Wes mounted it.  He morphed back into his red ranger identity as well.  Eric also morphed into his Quantum Ranger identity to take his “Mega-Battle” mode to travel in.

 “Power Up!” shouted Lucas as he morphed into the Blue Ranger and called for his time cycle.  The three rangers were all ready to take Trip to get help.

 “Lucas, lead the way!  Brandon, come as soon as you can with Katie!” ordered Wes.  Brandon nodded in understanding.

 As the three raced off to get Trip some help, Brandon went to search for Katie.   He walked through the smoldering wreckage looking for any clue for the yellow ranger.

 “NO!” was the voice that yelled out in pain and horror!  Brandon quickly followed the voice.  When he found the source, he found a young black woman on her knees sobbing.

 “Katie?” Brandon quietly called out.  There was no answer from her.  He then walked up to her slowly and placed his hand on her shoulder.  This action got a response in the form of a backhand to the chest that knocked Brandon back 10ft!

 When Katie turned around, she realized in horror what she had done.

 “Man! Wes wasn’t kidding when he said you pack a mean punch!” said a stunned Brandon as he made his way to his feet.  When he approached her again, he sees a woman with pain and tears in her eyes.

 “What is it Katie?” asked Brandon.

 “They’re dead!  They’re dead!” screamed Katie.

 “Who is?” inquired the confused man.

 “My mother!  My father! My brother! They are all dead!” shouted Katie.  Brandon then looked over her shoulder to see the burning remains of three people.  This building is where they lived.  This building is what was attacked.

 As Katie began sobbing, Brandon clutched her gently by the head.  Tense at first, she then relaxed in his arms as both sat down on the cooled but charred ground.  Brandon stroked the back of Katie’s head gently as he just let her cry.  He slightly rocked back and forth as he thought about his own family that he lost when he was young.  Now, a young lady that just popped up in his life has suffered her own loss and there was nothing neither of them could do.  All he could do for her was comfort her at this moment.

CHAPTER 13

 Lucas, Wes and Eric raced through the wrecked streets in a desperate attempt to save Trip who only had precious minutes until he was beyond help.  Lucas got near this brick wall and was closing in on it fast!

 “Lucas!  Where the hell are we going?” shouted Wes who had Trip’s battered body on his stratacycle.

 Lucas pushed a button on his time cycle and suddenly the wall quickly opened, allowing all four rangers inside.  They traveled down some twists and turns until a final stop appeared.  With that final stop, we see a small group of Time Force officers gathering around.  Some officers supplying food, others fixing equipment and administering medical treatment to those in need.

 “Captain Logan!  Captain Logan!” shouted Lucas.

 “Lucas! Thank God you survived son!” said a sincerely relieved Captain.  He then noticed the limp body of Trip.

 “What happened to Trip!” shouted Logan.

 “We went to stop Savage and his men but we were outgunned.  We got caught in an explosion.  I managed to survive but Trip wasn’t so lucky,” explained the young man.

 “Medic!  Get Trip into the EU!” ordered the captain.  He also ordered a doctor to have Lucas checked out as well.

 “Sir, Katie brought back some help,” said Lucas.  We then see Wes and Eric walk up to Captain Logan.  While they have heard of each other, this was the first time they had met.

 “Wesley Collins, leader of the SilverGuardians of 2002 and Time Force Red Ranger,” stated Wes.

 “Eric, co-leader of the SilverGuardians of 2002 and Quantum Ranger,” stated Eric.

 “So, I finally get to meet the Red and Quantum Rangers,” said Logan with a slight smile on his face.

 “It is a pleasure to meet you too sir.  I only wish it was under better circumstances,” said Wes.

 “What happened here?” asked Eric.

 Captain Logan then re-tells the tale of a mysterious visitor calling himself “King Savage.”  He also told of the betrayal of Alex.

 “Come with me, one of our officers managed to get some security video before we evacuated the Headquarters,” said Logan.

 As Captain Logan showed the video, both Wes and Eric were glued to the monitor, as they couldn’t believe that it was the same man that they fought days earlier in 2002 at the Bio-Labs.  Wes was particularly glued to the screen when Alex made his appearance.

 “I am looking at it but I still don’t believe it,” thought Wes.  He couldn’t believe that the same man who once saved his father’s life is now trying to destroy this beautiful world.

 “The question is why?” thought the young red ranger.

 “Captain Logan, I have one question,” said Wes as he stood up.  Captain Logan nodded affirmatively.

 “Where is Jen?” asked Wes with a look of concern on his face.  Wes saw the stand off between them on the video as well.

 “Jen sacrificed escaping the Headquarters so that Katie could get on the Time Ship to get to you,” said Logan reluctantly.  Wes’ heart at this point sank.

 “Do you know if she’s alive?” asked Wes.  Logan just looked down at the floor.  All the breath left out of Wes’ body at this, fearing the worse.

 “I can only hope so.  I do know this, this gauge, which is tied to your chrono-morphers, is like a life-meter.  If Jen were dead, then this light reader wouldn’t be up. Jen’s got to be alive in that place,” admitted Logan.  He went on to explain that many of the officers including him had to escape or risk being captured or killed.

 “Have you made any…?” was all Wes got out before a scream broke the silence.

 “PLEASE! SOMEONE HELP!” screamed out the voice belonging to Katie Walker as she brought in the injured form of Brandon Taylor!

 Wes and Eric quickly raced out to see this awful site!

 “What happened!” asked Eric.

“We were leaving the wreckage to come back here when a gas-line ruptured.  Brandon pushed me out of the way but was caught in the explosion,” said a barely holding it together Katie.

 “Get him some help! Hurry!” said Wes.  Captain Logan quickly ordered some more hands to get him to treatment.  Leaving behind a concerned Wes, Eric and Captain Logan as well as a sobbing Katie Walker.

CHAPTER 14

 Within the former headquarters of Time Force lies a prison wing that contains several Time Force officers that were captured in the attack by Dr. Savage and Alex.  One of those prisoners was Jennifer Scotts, the pink ranger of time force.

 As we see her in her cell, Jen has been working for hours trying to “jimmy” up the door circuit to open the door.

 “Wish Trip or Circuit were here,” though Jen as she frantically trying to open the door.  Finally, she managed to get the wires to trick open the door.

 “Finally!  Now to get out of here!” said Jen to no one in particular.  She quickly scrambled out the door but as she did so, she “tripped” off an electronic beam which alerted the whole building!

 “Damn!” thought the desperate brunette as her time to escape was slipping away!  She quickly picked a corridor that led to some stairs.  Jennifer knew that if she could make it down to the basement level, she could access a secret passage that led to the outside of the building.

 Of course, Alex also knew about this passage because it was Alex that showed her it during her early days in Time Force!

 “He’ll probably be aware of that,” thought Jen so she had to be extra careful.  Soon she was down in the basement level and almost home free…or so it seemed.

 “Strange.  No guards, no resistance.  This isn’t like Alex.  He knows that I know about this door.  Why would he leave it unguarded?” wondered Jen.

 Meanwhile, in another section of the building, Alex has been observing her the whole time with Dr. Savage.  Savage quietly stroked his mustache and goatee as he watched with interest as well.

 “Alex, aren’t you going to send guards to capture that ranger?” asked Savage.

 “All in due time Doctor,” said Alex.  With that, he reached over and pushed a button on the console.

 “Yes sir?” said the voice of a man on the other end of the communicator.

 “Go after her and offer resistance but don’t capture her,” said Alex.

 “Sir?  Are you sure?” said the confused guard.  This made Alex very annoyed.

 “Just do it!  That’s an order!” shouted Alex.  The guard simply said “yes sir” and did as instructed.

 The guards soon reached the basement level as well to pursue Jen.  Jennifer, however, anticipated this and already had a plan to thwart her would-be captors.  As they approached into the tunnel, Jen systematically took them down one at a time, using the shadows as her ally.  Once they were taken down, the pink ranger made her way to the outside.  Once outside, she made a run for it to get as far away from the T.F. building as possible.

 Meanwhile, inside the headquarters, Alex simply smiled at Jen’s escape.

 “Why are you smiling?  The Pink Ranger just escaped!  We’ve got to capture her!” shouted Savage.  Alex simply turned around to face the brilliant but paranoid scientist.

 “Calm yourself Doctor.  This is going according to plan.  You see, I wanted Jen to escape.  Remember when she was unconscious during our initial attack?” asked Alex.  Dr. Savage nodded.

 “Well, she doesn’t know it but I placed a homing signal inside of Jen’s chrono-morpher!  She doesn’t realize that when she finds the remaining Time Force Officers, she will lead us right to them.  Speaking of which, I see that the signal is coming in loud and clear!” proclaimed the young but bitter man.  Dr. Savage also has a big smile on his face as well.

 “Soon, if all goes according to plan, we will both have what we want!  By the way, let me introduce my newest and greatest soldier,” said Alex as he pointed at a door inside their private room.  The door opened and in walked in a tall, solidly built man with a clean- face and long black hair.

 “Dr. Savage, may I introduce Blackout, a skilled solider for hire that’s here to make sure that Time Force and especially the Rangers are no more,” proclaimed Alex.  As he says this, he hands this new ally a morpher similar to Eric’s Quantum Morpher.  Alex then nods for the new man to try it.

 BLACKOUT:  DARK RANGER POWER!

 With those words, the solider morphed into an all black outfit with white trim that was the same design in costume as Eric’s!

 “Excellent!  With these new powers, the rangers won’t stand a chance against us!  I also acquired some new abilities of my own,” stated Alex as he pulled out a morpher similar to the other Power Rangers.

 ALEX:  TIME SHADOW POWER!

 Alex morphed into a gray colored costume with black trim.  He looked up and down at himself as all three laughed a sinister laugh!  They now possessed Ranger powers of their own and an element of surprise since the other side wasn’t aware of them!  Soon, it would be reckoning time.

CHAPTER 15

 “Captain!  Captain!  You’ve got to see this!” yelled out an officer at the underground headquarters.  Captain Logan quickly ran to see what this was about.  The veteran leader was pleasantly surprised by what he saw.

 “Jennifer!  You managed to escape!  How did you find us here?” asked Captain Logan out of joy and as his duty as an officer.

 “One of the other officers was on their way back and saw me.  They I.D.’ed me and brought me here,” explained Jen.  As the other officers were greeting Jen and wishing her well, a familiar face approached.

 “Jen!” shouted Katie.

 “Katie!  You made it!” shouted Jen as the two women and partners hugged each other.  Grateful to see each other alive again.

 “I have a surprise for you Jen,” said the excited woman as she was able to forget her own pain for the moment.

 “What is it?” asked Jen.  Katie simply put her finger to her lips and motioned for Jen to follow.

 “Okay, Brandon’s down.  He’s doing okay right now but he’s still critical.  We need to…..”said Wes as he was cut off by the sound of a door opening.  He turned around to see the face and form of Jennifer Scotts!  Both Wes and Eric were stunned as Katie motioned for Eric to leave the room.

 “I’ll see you in a few minutes Wes,” said Eric as he walked out of the room.  He nodded to Jen politely as he left.  With no one in the room but them, the pink and red ranger just looked at each other for what seemed to be forever!  Finally, Jen ran to Wes and gave him a big hug!  Wes returned the embrace in kind.

 “Tell me this isn’t a dream!  Tell me this isn’t some dream!” said Jen as tears began to flow from her face.

 “It isn’t Jen.  I am here,” said Wes who also has tears of joy on his face.

 “There is something I forgot to give you when we last met,” said Wes.

 “What was that?” wondered the young lady.  Suddenly, Wes kissed Jen and not some peck on the cheek either.  It was a full passionate kiss!  When the two could finally tear themselves away, they looked at each other with both of their faces glowing with joy.

 “You don’t know how many nights I’ve dreamed about this.  About us being together again,” said Wes with a love in his voice that he’s never felt in his life.

 “You came here to help Time Force?” said Jen.

 “Yes and no.  I came to help this world but I also came back to help you.  I couldn’t resist the chance of being able to hold you once again,” said Wes.  Jen almost began crying again but held her ground emotionally.  Still, to know that after all this time, this handsome young man still loved her meant the whole world to her.  Hell, it meant the whole universe to her!

 “Wes, as much as I don’t want this moment to end, I have to tell you what’s been going on here,” said Jen with sadness in her voice.

 “Okay, what’s been….”Said Wes before a big explosion rocked the complex!  Within seconds, lasers and soldiers invaded the secret area!  Wes and Jen both looked out the window of the room they were in to see what was going on.

 “They are here!  But how did they find us?” wondered Wes outloud.  Jen then looked down at her morpher to see a small chip on it that she hadn’t noticed on it previously.

 “Oh no!  Wes, I think they bugged me!” said Jen as she pointed out the small black square object on her morpher.

 “They must’ve planted it on you to track you here,” said Wes.  Jen looked at him with a shameful look on her face.  Wes gently put his hand on her face.

 “Jen, we can’t worry about that now.  They need us down there,” said Wes in a firm but gentle voice.  Jen nodded in agreement as they opened the door to get out.

 Downstairs, many of the officers were either running for safety or scrambling for weapons to attack!  Katie, Eric and Lucas were behind a safety bin, using it as cover for them to fire back at the creations of Dr. Savage.  Captain Logan was also back with them.

 “Our weapons don’t have any effect!” said Lucas.

 “Eric!  Any ideas?” shouted the captain.

 “We have to morph now! Only in our ranger suits can we even begin to have a prayer against these guys,” said Eric.

 “We agree!” said Wes as he and Jen came from behind them!  The group stood up behind the safety bin together.

 “Ready?” said Wes.  The others shouted “ready” in response.

 WES, JEN, KATIE, and LUCAS: TIME FOR TIME FORCE!

 ERIC:  QUANTUM POWER!

 The four rangers morphed into their identities of the Time Force Rangers!

 “I’ll make sure that Brandon and Trip get out of here,” said the Captain.  Wes nodded in understanding.

 “We’ll make sure you have the time you need,” said Wes.  With that, the four rangers went on the attack against Dr. Savage’s men.  As Eric predicted, in their super-powered forms, the rangers easily handled his men with dazzling skill, teamwork and passion.

 Then, suddenly, a blast came from nowhere that knocked them back about 6ft.  The rangers looked up to see an ominous figure walking towards them.

 “Greetings Rangers!  I am Blackout!  My enemies call me that because I am the last thing they see before the ‘lights go out’!” said this massive figure.

 “Blackout, I’ve heard of this guy.  He’s a renegade soldier that’s wanted across the country,” said Katie with a slightly frightened tone in her voice.

 “Well, renegade smenagade!  He’s going down!” said Eric as he leaped into action!

 “Eric!  Wait!” said Wes but it was too late as Eric had his Quantum Defender gun already drawn.  The huge man just laughed at this as he held up his arm with his own morpher!

 BLACKOUT:  DARK RANGER POWER!

 Blackout shouted these words and morphed into his own Ranger just as the blast from the Quantum Defender reached him.  There was a big explosion but when the smoke cleared, there stood this dark ranger laughing!

 “What?  That’s impossible!” declared Eric as no one’s ever deflected his Quantum blasts before.  Blackout then launched an attack of his own with a flying kick that sent Eric back!  As the Quantum Ranger was in mid-air, Blackout took to the sky again with two quick kicks and five lightning fast punches to the body and face!  The other rangers quickly attacked but they proved to be equally ineffective, as this new ranger seemed to know their every move.  With all of them piled together, Blackout waived his hands forward throwing a wave-shaped energy blast that put the rangers down for the count!  The ranger’s power dissipated as they returned to their regular forms in a hurting mass.

 By then, the whole base had been evacuated as the rangers did what they wanted to do and that was buy time for Capt. Logan and his people to escape.  But now, who will save them as Alex and Dr. Savage walked in.

 “Excellent!  Excellent! Your new morpher has proven more powerful than all the rangers’ powers combined!” proclaimed Savage.

 “Did you expect anything less?” asked a confident Alex.  As he spoke, Wesley Collins looked up to see him, Dr. Savage and the new ranger that had defeated them.

 “So, its true, you….you betrayed Time Force,” said a barely conscious Wes.  Alex squatted down to meet the gaze of this stunned man.

 “Yes, Wes.  It is true.  I betrayed Time Force,” said Alex.

 “But why?  Why do this?” pleaded Wes.

 “Because I had nothing left to live for.  At one time, I had it all.  A high rank in Time Force, respect from my peers and……” Alex stopped at that point as he seemed to be struggling with his words.  As Wes looked up at him to see what he would say, he was met with a violent backhand from Alex that totally knocked him out!

 “Take all of them back to base!” shouted Alex as the few remaining soldiers picked up the Rangers and carried them off.  As Alex was leaving, Dr. Savage and Blackout looked at him.

 “Keep an eye on him.  His personal vendetta may ruin my plans.  You know what to do when that happens,” said Savage.

 “Certainly, once he outlives his usefulness, it will be my pleasure to take care of him,” said Blackout.  The two men then followed Alex out of the now destroyed hidden base.

CHAPTER 16

 In a secret corridor that leads to another section of the hidden base, Capt. Logan and his small band of resistance fighters make camp.  In a section of this small area, we see both Brandon and Trip still lying on their beds.  Trip has recovered somewhat but Brandon is still clinging between life and death.

 “Who are you?” asked Trip.

 “My name’s Brandon.  Brandon Taylor, member of the SilverGuardians 2002,” said Brandon, barely able to talk.

 “SilverGuardians?  Did someone named Wes come back with you?” asked Trip.  Brandon nodded.  Trip continued this conversation with Brandon as the black male revealed that Katie came back in time to get Wes, Eric and himself to come and fight against Dr. Savage.  He also explained about the accident that put him in this position while trying to save Katie.

 “Your yellow ranger, she’s quite a woman,” said Brandon.

 “Yeah, she is.  That’s what me and Lucas was over there trying to do.  We were trying to rescue her family but we were too late.  When we did get there, they had already destroyed most of the building and we were caught in an explosion,” explained the Xyberian.

 “Yes, that’s what Lucas said when he along with Wes and Eric pulled you out of there.  I stayed to comfort Katie.  That’s when I had my mishap,” said Brandon.

 “It looks far from a mishap,” said Trip.  At first, Brandon shot him a mean look that made Trip look away.  But then, he began to laugh at it.  Suddenly, a surge went up through Brandon’s body as he was beginning to pass away!

 “Help!  Someone help!” screamed Trip but everyone was too far away to hear.  As Brandon was still dying, Trip began thinking on what to do.  He then came to a fateful decision.

 “Hold on.  This is going to be a bumpy ride,” said Trip as he placed both of his hands on Brandon Taylor’s temples.  With that, he began a chant that saw a green glow pour out from him and into the injured SG.  Slowly, the vital signs of Brandon began to stabilize as he regained consciousness.  As he opened his eyes, he saw what was going on but also saw Trip’s own life fading away.  When the green glow stopped, Trip slumped to the floor.  He was dying because he gave his own life-essence to save Brandon’s life!  Brandon quickly jumped out of bed to Trip’s side!

 “Man!  Why did you do that?” asked a frantic Brandon to the man he only knew for a few minutes.

 “I had to save….you.  Promise me you’ll help my….friends,” said a dying Trip.  Brandon nodded as he realized now that there was nothing he could do.  As Trip neared death, he reached up with his left wrist and put his chrono-morpher near his mouth.

 “DNA…scan.  Reset,” said Trip as the device followed the voice command.  He then took it off and handed it to Brandon.  Brandon took the strange device as he watched the life go from Trip!  By that time, Brandon had noticed that Capt. Logan and the remaining T.F. officers were standing there.  They had seen the whole thing!  Some were crying, others stood there solemnly in silent tribute to what Trip had done.  Even Circuit, the little owl that Trip had created, had a sad look on his face.  Brandon then stood up with Trip’s body in his arms and placed him on the bed where he had laid just moments ago.  His dead eyes still open, Taylor shut them.

 “Rest well. I’ll make good on that promise Trip,” said Brandon in a solemn tone.

 While the T.F. officers removed Trip’s body, Capt. Logan came over and put his arm on Brandon’s shoulder.  Brandon turned his head to look at the Captain.

 “Wes and the other rangers need you now.  They’ve been captured by Alex and his band of mercenaries,” said Logan.

 “So, what’s the plan?” asked Brandon.

 “We go in there and put an end to this….NOW!” said Logan with a fire in his eyes and determination in his voice.

 “Captain, you’re my kind of man,” said Brandon as he put the green morpher on for the first time.

 “This is for you Trip,” whispered Brandon as he followed the Captain out of the room.

CHAPTER 17

 Wes wakes up to find himself inside of a massive room that looks like it is an arena for combat.  He wakes up in nothing but a black tank-top shirt his SG pants and boots.  He also still has his red ranger morpher on his wrist as well.  He looks over to find Jen also beginning to awaken.  She is chained to the wall on the far side of the room.  Wes rushes over to her.

 “Jen!  Jen! Wake up!” says Wes as the young woman finally stirs.

 “Wes, where are we?” said a barely conscious Jen.

 “We are in some kind of arena it looks like.  Here, let me get you unchained so we can get out of here and find the others,” said Wes.  Suddenly, another door opens and a familiar figure walks in.

 “A nice plan but it has one thing missing from it.  You have to get past me first,” said Alex dressed in his old Time Force uniform with a morpher on his wrist!  Alex then motions for Wes to come out.

 “Okay Alex!  What the hell is this all about?” said Wesley as he walked forward to reluctantly face Alex.

 “Oh, I think you know what this is about Wes.  It is about revenge and redemption,” said a confident Alex as the two circled each other.

 “You’re crazy!  What did I ever do to you?” responded the confused Red Ranger.

 “Because of you, I lost respect with my peers!  I lost my command in Time Force!  I lost…. I lost,” struggled Alex.  In that instant, Wes understood what this was all about.

 “This is about Jen isn’t it?  It wasn’t really the job or your rank that you cared about.  It was Jen.  Alex, I never meant to fall in love with her!  I am sure she never meant to fall in love with me!  It just happened!” explained Wes.  Those words of sincerity, however, seemed to anger Wes even more as he fired a stun blast from his chrono-blaster!  This knocked Wes off his feet and onto the ground.

 “Alex!  Stop!” screamed Jen, as she was still weak from the earlier attack.  Alex just simply ignored her as if she wasn’t there.

 “You stole Jen away from me!  Jen was mine before you!  You should be a distant memory and after I am through with you, YOU WILL BE!” shouted Alex with a fury in his voice that bordered on demonic!

 As Alex was in his rant, Wes slowly made his way up to his feet to stare at this near mirror image of himself.  It was like looking at a dark twin.

 “If this is what you want Alex, then this is what you are going to get,” said Wes.  While he never wanted to fight Alex, he realized now that there is no other option.  To survive this, he must defeat Alex.

 WES:  TIME FOR TIME FORCE!

 ALEX: TIME SHADOW POWER!

 The two men morphed into their super-powered alter egos!  Alex’ uniform look almost identical to Wes’ except it was a grayish-blue with white trim.

 “Let’s get this over with!” shouted Wes.

 “For once, we agree on something!” snapped back Alex.  With that, the two rangers charged in for battle!  Wes made great moves in this fight but it was almost as if Alex knew what he was going to do!  Even when they went to the chrono-sabers, the fight was still a draw!

 Finally, seeing that they could fight forever like this, Alex plays his trump card!

 ALEX:  SHADOW SABER ARMOR!  ENGAGE!

 With this command, some sleek blue and black armor surrounded him with razor sharp blades on each of his hands!  Alex charged in with this new armor and got two quick blows on Wes!  One of which knocked him down!  When Wes looked down at his chest, he saw blood coming from that area.  Jen covered her mouth in shock, as she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.  The man that she once loved was about to kill the man that she now loves.

 “Alex please!  Stop this!” pleaded Jen.

 “Hear that Wes?  She actually pleads for your pitiful, weak existence!  It won’t matter though, because once you are gone, she’ll remember that she loves me!” ranted Alex.

 “She’ll never love you like you are Alex!  The man she loved was hard but honorable!  You have no honor now!  Do you think she’ll really love you if you kill me?” asked Wes.

 This caused a moment’s hesitation in Alex as he pondered Wes’ words.  Hating himself for doing it, Wes took advantage of the situation by tripping Alex with his right foot and kicking him in his armored chest with his left!  This only knocked him back a few feet but enough to get some distance.

 “Let’s even the odds a bit!” shouted Wes.

 WES:  FIRE-BATTLE WARRIOR!  ON-LINE!

 Wes morphed into his own armored powered suit!  The two armored rangers then engaged in battle with fire-blade going against the shadow sabers!  The power that they hit each other with literally shook the arena in which they fought!  Finally, the two backed away and looked at each other.

 “I have had enough! SABERS!  FULL POWER!” commanded Alex.

 “FIRE-BLADE! POWER UP!” shouted Wes as the two combatants charged towards each other!  The two hit their respective weapons at the same time, causing a massive explosion of power that shook the arena and cracked the floor beneath them!  Jen managed to shield herself by morphing into her Pink Ranger mode but still felt some of the brunt of the blast!

 When the smoke cleared, Jen struggled to see what was left.  What she saw looked like an atomic bomb had gone off!  She slowly walked over admist the debris and saw both Wes and Alex laying motionless on the ground!

 “NOOOOO!” was all Jen could scream as she was reliving her worst nightmare!  Seeing both the man she loved and the man that she was once engaged too seemingly dead!  She fell to her knees in grief, crying for both men.  Then, she heard a stir from that area.  Amazingly, Wes was slowly moving!

 “Wes! Wes, I’m coming!” screamed Jen as she powered down and made her way past the destruction to get to her lover.  When she got there, she helped Wes get up into a sitting position.

 “Wes, are you alright?” asked Jen.

 “Yeah, I am okay, just shaken up a bit,” said Wes.

 The young woman held Wes’ head like a mother would hold a child’s head.  As she did, Alex began to stir as well.  He turned his head to see Jen over with Wes.  The sight of this caused him great grief.

 “No.  I’ve lost,” muttered Alex.  Both Jen and Wes heard him and looked over at him.

 “Alex, I am sorry for any pain I may have caused you but we both changed.  I changed and so did you during that Ransik mission.  The man that I fell in love with is gone,” said Jen with pain in her voice.

 “So is the woman that I loved,” responded Alex with an equal amount of pain in his voice.

 “Alex, you’ve got to end this.  Look at all this chaos and destruction around us.  Your obsession with me has brought you nothing but pain and misery.  Instead of Jen, you’ve only brought horror into your life,” said Wes.

 “Wes.  I….I..” was all that Alex got out before a door opened to see Dr. Savage and some of his soldiers walk into the ruined room.  They are followed in by Blackout as well.

 “Oh, if I have to listen to this sentimental crap one more minute, I think I am going to puke!” said Savage.

 “It doesn’t matter now.  I have all the science I need to become ruler of all time!  Not even the Power Rangers can stand in my way! Blackout, go kill the remaining Rangers below in the pens!” ordered Savage.

 “No!” shouted Wes but was blocked off by the evil Dr.’s henchmen.

 “Guards.  Kill them all! Including Alex!” said Savage.  The inhumanly large men start to move in on Wes, Jen and Alex.

 “Alex, regardless of what has gone on, all of us are going to die!  Wes and I can’t take them on alone!  Please, help us!” pleaded Jen.

 Alex looked at the two power rangers and then looked at the man that had just betrayed him.  He then stood up and was silent at first as the soldiers were moving in to finish them.  Suddenly, the silence in the room was broken by these words.

 ALEX:  TIME SHADOW POWER!

 Alex morphed into his Power Ranger guise and began attacking Savage’s men!  Wes and Jen, seeing this act, decided to follow suit.

 WES/JEN:  TIME FOR TIME FORCE!

 The three rangers now stood side by side to face off against Dr. Savage and his henchmen.  Win or lose, they would stand together for this one battle.

 CHAPTER 18

 The guards stood outside guarding the perimeter.  Suddenly, men and women dressed in Time Force uniforms took down the guards with the exception of one.  That soldier was going to sound the alarm but a black gloved hand reached out and touched him with a right cross and a good left hook to put him down!  That hand was Brandon as he went into the control booth and opened the door for Captain Logan and the T.F. fighters.  With the element of surprise, Logan and his troops overpowered Savage’s forces with the help of Brandon.

 “Where are the holding pens?” asked Brandon during the heat of battle to Captain Logan.

 “Level Ten-Basement Section!” said Logan.

 “I’m going for the other rangers!” shouted Brandon.  Logan nodded in agreement.

 “Good luck son!” said Logan as Brandon took off into an elevator to get to the holding pens.

 In the holding pens below, Katie and Lucas as well as Eric were chained up inside of a single cell.  Blackout, once Alex’ ally turned Dr. Savage’s henchmen, walked into the cell.

 “Hehe!  The mighty morphin Power Rangers held at bay!” said Blackout.

 “I’m sorry, you must got us confused with another group,” said Eric, his swagger still just as strong even if he didn’t feel that strong at the moment.  This was received with a backhand slap to the mouth.

 “Silence!  You know, I almost hate killing you this way as it is no challenge to kill people who are bound up in chains,” said the mercenary.  Indeed, Blackout prefers a kill in hand to hand combat.  However, his personal feelings would be put aside in order to carry out orders.  He then noticed Katie tied up on the far wall.  He walked over to her and faced her.

 “Hmmm, were these friends of yours?” asked the evil soldier as he held up a picture of Katie with her parents and kid brother!  This brought back shock, grief and anger to the young lady as she tried valiantly to break her bonds just to get at Blackout.
 
 “IT WAS YOU!  YOU KILLED MY MOTHER!  MY FATHER! MY BROTHER!” screamed Katie.

 “Hahaha!  Yes, it was me that leveled that building and killed those inside!  Soon, you all will be joining them in the after-life!” declared Blackout as he readied his favorite blade to do the honors.  As he approached Katie to deliver the blow that would stop her heart forever, a laser blast came from out of the dark!  It struck Blackout in the shoulder and brought him down to his knees!  There were then several more blasts that freed Katie, Lucas and Eric!  All of them turned to see a figure emerge from the shadows.  The form of Brandon Taylor.

 “I reckon I got here just in time,” said B.T.

 “Another ranger and at top strength!  Good!  This will make this even more satisfying!” declared Blackout.

 BLACKOUT:  DARK RANGER POWER!

 Blackout then morphed into his ranger form to face off with Brandon Taylor.  As he approached confidently, Brandon stood ready for action.

 “Okay.  Let’s get it on!” said Brandon as he went under his own transformation!

 BRANDON:  TIME FOR TIME FORCE!

 Brandon morphed into the Green Ranger for the first time ever!  The surge of power was dizzying at first but he quickly regained his composure!  Blackout was taken by surprise by this.  Even the other rangers were confused by this turn of events!

 “How can this be?” said Lucas.

 “Its impossible!  How can Brandon be the Green Ranger?” said Katie.

 “Don’t know but we can’t worry about it now!  I’m just glad he’s here,” said a sincere Eric as he signaled for Katie and Lucas to help him.

 KATIE/LUCAS:  TIME FOR TIME FORCE!

 ERIC:  QUANTUM POWER

 All four of the rangers went on the attack against the Dark Ranger!  Surprisingly, they worked together well despite the new ranger joining them.  Still, Blackout held his own as his Dark Ranger power proved to be formidable indeed.

 “Hey Eric!  Follow my lead!” yelled Brandon.

 The Quantum Ranger nodded as he followed Brandon into an attack.  While the Yellow and Blue Ranger had Blackout distracted, both Brandon and Eric drew their chrono-sabers out!

 “Yo Blackout!” yelled out Brandon. When Blackout turned around, he was hit flush in the chest and torso area with duel chrono-saber slashes!  To follow this up, Lucas and Katie pulled out their B3 and B4 weapons respectively!  Their blasts also hit Blackout in the chest!  With his hands stretched out, Brandon took his saber and cut Blackout’s Dark Ranger morpher loose!

 “Eric!  Now!” yelled Brandon.

 Eric quickly pulled out his Quantum Defender blaster and shot the morpher!  It exploded and caused a massive explosion!  Everyone there was blown back several feet!  When the dust settled, Katie dug herself out of the rubble along with the other rangers.

 “Are you guys alright?” asked Katie.  Everyone nodded.

 “Where’s Blackout?” asked Lucas.  They looked around to find him crushed under one of the boulders that came down inside the room.  Katie stood there at that site stoically.  Not relishing in another’s death but with a satisfaction that justice had been served.  With that, Brandon walked up slowly behind her.

 “I overheard what Blackout told you.  I am so sorry Katie,” said Brandon in a sincere voice.

 “Not the way I would’ve wanted him to answer for his crime but sometimes you can’t get what you want,” said Katie.  Brandon nodded in agreement.

 “Now, let’s get another mystery solved.  How did you get that morpher?” asked Eric.  Brandon went on to explain the turn of events that led to him becoming the new Green Ranger including the death of Trip in saving his life.

 “So, that’s how it went down.  I wouldn’t be here if not for Trip,” said Brandon to a now shocked and solemn group.  To break this silence, Brandon gets a buzzer on his morpher.

 “What is it Circuit?” asked the young man.

 “Rangers.  Jen, Wes and Alex need you up on the arena floor.  They are being overwhelmed by Savage’s group!” said Circuit.

 “We’re there Circuit!” said Lucas as the four begin to run up to the upper levels of the headquarters.

CHAPTER 18

 Jen slams hard into a wall as Circuit’s report proves to be very accurate.  Despite fighting well for a make shift team, the numbers and sheer power of Savage’s men were too much for a weakened Jen and Wes.  Even the additional help of Alex wasn’t much as he was tiring as well.

 “Well, my little rangers!  Why don’t you make this easy on yourselves.  Surrender now and I will make your deaths quick!” ‘offered’ the demented Doctor.

 “NEVER! I’d rather be dead than surrender to you!” said Wes.

 “Well, if that’s your decision….” Said Savage before laser blasts floored him from behind!  It is the other rangers coming in to help!  With the new arrivals, they easily made short work of Savage’s men!

 “Power Down!” ordered Eric as the other rangers did so to reveal themselves.  Wes, Jen and Alex did so as well.

 “Guys!  Am I glad to see you!” said Wes as he just now noticed that Brandon morphed from being the Green Ranger.

 “Wait a minute?  How did you get the green ranger powers?” asked Wes.

 “It’s a long story Wes but now is not the time for questions,” pointed out Brandon.

 “We have to get out of here!” said Wes.  As he said this, Savage had regained his feet and pushed his button make himself grow into a hulking brute again.

 “Awww jeez!  Not this again,” said Wes as he remembered how much of a time that he and Eric had with Savage the last time back in 2002.

 “Ready guys?” asked Wes.  They all nodded.

 WES/JEN/LUCAS/BRANDON/KATIE/ERIC:  TIME FOR TIME……

 “No!” yelled out Alex.

 “You were right earlier Wes.  I caused all of this.  I will end all of this.  Take Jen and get out of here!” ordered Alex.

 “Alex, you can’t fight this guy alone and expect to win,” said Wes.

 “I will put an end to this.  Now, you get out of here!” argued Alex as he morphed back into his Time Shadow Ranger form.  He let out a “Shadow Wave” blast that knocked Savage on his back!

 “You now have an opening to escape. Take it and go!” said Alex.  The other rangers reluctantly began escaping.  Before going, Wes turned around to face Alex.

 “Alex, good luck,” said Wes with his hand outstretched.  Alex shook his hand.

 “Wes, promise me one thing.  Please look after Jen,” Alex said with a sincere tone in his voice.  Wes nodded at this request before quickly running behind his fellow rangers.

 “So, its now just you and me Alex,” said Savage with the tone of a wild animal ready to devour its prey!

 “You are right!” said Alex as he pushed a button on his morpher.  He then leaped at Dr. Savage and held on to him.

 “What are you doing?” demanded Savage.

 “Making sure this ends tonight!” said Alex.  He had just set a trigger for a bomb that would destroy this whole complex!  The small explosions had begun and it would be mere moments before the big explosion would take place!

 The other time force officers had just escaped the complex with the other T.F. fighters outside mopping up Savage’s troops!  They soon stopped to see the small explosions going on.

 “EVERYONE MOVE BACK! HURRY!” ordered Captain Logan.  Everyone moved away from the building as fast as they could.

 Meanwhile, inside the headquarters, Alex still held a death grip to Dr. Savage as the crazed doctor frantically tried to get away to escape but Alex was hanging on.

 “Goodbye Jen,” were Alex’ final thoughts as the big explosion hit and brought the whole complex down!  Those outside stood in horror and awe at this.  The rangers knew who had done it though as they all stood watching.  Wes held Jen tight as Jen looked on sadly.  Both Katie and Lucas stood with tears rolling down their eyes while Brandon and Eric stood silently.

 Over the next few days, clean up began for the city of Silver Hills.  Funerals were held for Katie’s family as well as Alex as his body was recovered from the wreckage.  Both Blackout and Dr. Savage were buried in unmarked graves.

 The time machine used to bring Wes, Eric and Brandon here was finally fixed during those days and was ready for use.  Captain Logan walked the three SilverGuardians to the ship.

 “Again, thank you for all you’ve done,” said Logan.

 “You are welcome sir.  I only wished it could’ve turned out better,” said Wes.

 “It could’ve been worse.  Alex and Savage could’ve took out a lot more than they did,” noted the wise Captain.  Wes nodded in agreement.   As Wes and Co. boarded the ship, a voice called out to them.

 “WES! WES! WAIT!” screamed out Jen.  She was almost out of breath as she came with a packed bag.  Katie and Lucas also came with a bag as well.

 “What is this?” asked Captain Logan.

 “Sir, I am going back with Wes,” stated Jen.  Those words sent a shockwave through Wes’ body!

 “You can’t go Jen, you know…..”started Logan but Jen interrupted.

 “Sir, I don’t mean to be rude but there is nothing for me here now.  I can do more good back there.  Please sir,” pleaded Jen.  Captain Logan looked into the eyes of Jen and saw a woman that wasn’t going back for duty reasons.  She was going back for deeper reasons.

 “And we are going with her,” said Katie.

 “Alright.  I know I shouldn’t do this but if you guys really want to go back, you can.  Know this, however, once you go back through this portal and reach 2002, the time portal and the ship will be destroyed.  You’ll never be able to come back,” warned Logan.

 “Are you sure you want to do this?” asked Logan of all three of them, especially Jen.

 “I understand sir…..and I accept,” said Jen.  Katie and Lucas nodded to him as well accepting this.

 “We will miss you.  I only hope you’ll find happiness there in the past and forge your own future there,” said Logan in a sincere voice.

 With that, the three rangers gave their old commander a hug as they boarded the ship with Wes, Eric and Brandon.  With that, the ship fired up and went through the portal back to the year 2002.

AFTERWORD

 “Well, that’s our story,” said Wes.

 “Needless to say, upon our return, Wes and Eric was greeted with a hero’s welcome.  Katie, Lucas and myself were welcomed with open arms into the SilverGuardians.  Even Mr. Collins eventually grew to accept and even like me,” said Jen.

 “As for Brandon, he still remained the Green Ranger as well as Katie remained the Yellow Ranger. He and Katie eventually got married and had twins recently.  A boy named Ervin Jamal Taylor and a girl named Zoe Alicia Taylor,” said Wes.

 “Lucas went on to become a big time NASCAR driver.  He isn’t married but he is dating Kelsey Winslow from the Lightspeed Rescue Rangers, who is also into extreme sports,” said Jen.

 “As for us, well, as you can see we got married, our own home and a beautiful daughter named Alexis,” said Wes as we see him lean over and kiss his wife.

 “Well, that ‘giving birth’ thing was something to get used to as well as the ‘process’ of making it happen,” said Jen tongue in cheek.

 “Oh, yeah!  Like you don’t like it,” said Wes with a wink.

 “Well, now that you mention it, we actually don’t have to be in until later this afternoon…” said Jennifer Collins with a big smile on her face.

 “Well, it looks like I got another ‘appointment’ folks!  Catch you later!” said Wes with a huge grin on his face now!

 The two wave goodbye as they race back home!

THE END